Buon Natale

Buon Natale!!! Merry Christmas!!!

Italy has taught me many things. What I believe has been the biggest lesson, is to love my family and friends until it hurts, kiss them on both cheeks, and share a pizza.

This is the first Christmas in a long time I have felt such a Christmas spirit. It comes from being away from home, and knowing in just 2 (1.5) days I get to see them again. I am like a child, and cannot wait for Santa to bring my family back to me. Ok, so actually me back to my family.

I do have to say, I am enjoying the holiday season here. My friend and colleague, Elenor, and I have been decorating the school for about two weeks. This is our last week before going home, so maybe we get to enjoy the finished project on the last day. Being here for Christmas has really been great. I do go home for the actual day, but this season has been surrounded by friends I want to keep forever. They make me laugh, talk to me when I cry, make me laugh again, give me rides home, take the complaining I lay out, smile when I sing to them, and they do not get annoyed when I say for the gazillion-th time that I want to be like Carrie Underwood. So after pizzas and wines. Cookies and champagnes. Operas and toasts. Jokes and funny faces, I would like to show you a video of the people in Italy who have made it special. Ti Amo Amichi!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUdFJPA3b4g

A Year in Review

So it's that time. The time for making New Year's resolutions, making a conscious choice to be better. This just so happens to be one of my favorite things to do, and I have to admit, and I probably the world's best keeper of resolutions. Due to resolutions, I have been a vegetarian for 5 years, ran many more miles than I would have otherwise, been a yogi student for four years, ate extremely healthy, taken language learning and teaching rather seriously, and been a much kinder person. (Also one of the best gift givers on the planet, if I can say so myself.)

Now, since it is once again that special time to decide what I must do to be better, I must review this year. I have to admit, I am pretty proud of 2013. It has been my year.

I have graduated university, with a degree with something I am pretty good at.
I have moved to another country.
I have a job in my field.
I have learned a bit (small as it may be) of Italian.
I have travelled to hmmm...8 countries on two continents so far.
I have decided to stop being a coward. Which may be my favorite of the year. And also leads me to my next year resolutions.

1. I will be a vegan again. Last January I became vegan, and decided not to be when I came to Italy in May. Here we go again. I must be vegan. The only thing stopping me is Italian cheese, and pizza. Let's move on.

2. I have a guitar, and just bought another one. Time to take it up. Last time I did I quit because it hurt my fingers. If I start Jan 1st, nothing can stop me. Except maybe customs, when I bring the guitar back.

3. More running. Nuff said.

4. Food journal. I had one before, for about a year. Time to take it up again.

5. Karaoke Sundays.

6. Back to grad school.


Now if y'all think I totally skipped Christmas for the excitement of New Year's think again. Let me take in a couple more festivities here in Italy, and  post will surely follow. Not to mention  Christmas back home with family and friends. Now I must go watch CMA Country Christmas to complete my spirit and relax this Sunday. Ciao ciao!

Why Red Roots are hard to Cover

So let's just be honest. Redheads are sometimes known as being a little passionate or crazy. This may be because we are. Although I have tried to dye my hair, (asking in Italian for blonde but getting brown because their concept of blonde is screwed by the amount of dark hair here,) and my hair has rather quickly faded back to red. You can't cover it up, and I think it has something to do with the personality that comes with it.

Today I went to the bank to send my money to America. I will be arriving in a few days and need to have cash when I get there, not to mention to pay off my rather large credit card bill. As I told the lady what to do with my money she refused, along the lines as since you are not an Italian with an account here, but a foreigner we cannot do this for you. I instantly begin to cry, because that is what redheads do. (These are the same bankers that asked me, having German citizenship, if Germany was part of the EU. Umm...yes, yes it is.)

After arriving at work 2 hours early...I expected to be at the bank for a while...I wrote an email to my mommy expressing my redheaded on fire concerns. The title of this email was, "I HATE Italy." I went on to say how the Italian banking systems are for morons.

After I few hours I realized what a feisty child I had been. I do not hate Italy. They do have good coffee, cute scooters, marvelous monuments, fantastic wine, wonderful fashion, and I somehow think the perfume smells better here. I think my joy for going to for the holidays has become a unjustified disdain for my current country. Yes, I come home in a week. Yes, I have many Italian Christmas gifts. Yes, I will watch the National Lampoon's Christmas vacation tonight. Yes, country Christmas songs have been playing in my head. Yes, sometimes I am an irrational redhead you takes a setback for yelling and crying, and cursing and screaming in foreign languages, but hey, I have an excuse.

Missin' the Twang!

After three days of unreliable Pisa bus lines which have led to, walking to work, complaining without stopping, Being driven to work, missing my morning coffee, waiting for 40 minutes, giving mean looks, and possibly saying some qualified curse words.

Due to this lack of respect for people that live 4kilometers from work, I am missing home more and more. I cannot wait for Christmas to arrive, to hear country music on the radio, and to see family face to face.

Now, I do happen to have many Italian students reading this blog. Please do not be offended by the fact that I am missing home. As Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home."

I also want to introduce everyone to what my family's culture is. Before moving to Italy, I did not think my family had much of a culture, but after spending so much time away, I realize the hard working, free spirit, buck hunting, plaid wearing, truck driving, stew eating, twang talking people have a culture that I very much fit into. I want to show this video, if English is not your first language please note the one in plaid represents my family. The one with a beard is Babbo Natale (Santa Claus)

 

I am becoming more and more proud of the touch of twang I was raised with. Although Italy is what I have and want in my life right now, no way can I forget the roots.

La Musica de Oggi

This past weekend I was able to see an opera for the first time. In Italian, I saw my very first Italian opera. I wore a red dress to be like Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman', I had box seats similar to what the rich get. I wore six inch heels. And I enjoyed this first.

Tosca, what can I say. Well, the female lead was horrible, but I am pretty critical of  female singers. Unless I get goose bumps, I am usually not a fan. (Small thank you to Whitney Housten, Adele, and Carrie Underwood for giving me goose bumps.) The male lead, on the other hand was quite spectacular.

Is opera my new taste in music? No. Although I did understand a lot, and it made me what to study my Italian much more, this is still not what floats my boat. I need music with a little more resemblance to home, actual life, a slight amount of passion, a tasteful amount of sorrow, and hey, guess what...on New Years I will be in the capital of this music. Yes! For New Years I decided to go to Nashville. The hotel is booked, and now I have to control my excitement.