Addio

Addio..

There are only so many duty-free shops one can go into before she gets bored…so therefore I am sitting at the Leonardo da Vinci airport with my laptop out.  Too bad there’s not a Starbucks in my hand, then I would REALLY be believable.  Little do the passersby know that I’m actually just writing a blog post and not some grand novel or the “work” I decided to do on the plane. 

Either way, this feeling is quite surreal.  After some massive rearranging of my bags (my large suitcase was 40 kilo!!!!  They laughed and said there was no way.  Thus 74 euro later – I have two checked bags which are both overweight, a handbag which is way too cumbersome for my liking, and a “purse” which is in actuality almost as large as my other bags) I am finally here.  

My show-off was quite nice.  I spent my last days in Rome having brunch at a fabulous restaurant with my friend Federica, perusing the city, dinner with Vera in the Jewish ghetto, and finally a stop off to the Trevi fountain for my favorite gelato.   I bought the girls Monsters Inc. because they know that’s my favorite Disney flick (sometimes we joke and they try to say Mike Wazowski).  They were just waking up for the day, so our good-bye was short because my driver was waiting.  I will truly miss those adorable little faces, but I am so eager to see all of the adorable faces that will be waiting for me when I arrive. 

I’ve been truly blessed here with a wonderful family and a chance to know a magnificent city, the eternal city.  I am even more blessed knowing that I have smiling faces waiting for me when I get back to Philadelphia.  It almost makes you want to cry, because I know how particularly lucky I am.  God must really love me; because I definitely don’t deserve the good things he gives me.  Thank you all for following my rambles and I hope you’ve enjoyed one or two of my posts.  Much love, as my boarding bell rings!

Baci e un forte abbraccio <3>

Carrie 

due settimane.

my bags are packed, i'm ready to go...

it's official.  in two weeks at this time i'll be on a plane headed for chicago.  i can't begin to tell you how hard that is to believe.  in actuality, this is my last week in beautiful roma.  next week i'll be in padova (a really cute city outside venice) with natalia and the girls.  i finish teaching in the next three days.  my bags are practically packed because when i return to rome, i'll have less than 24 hours until departure.  my mind is desperately trying to remember everything i wanted to do and buy before i leave.  a bit of coffee, a pashmina, little gifts for everyone.  oiy!  i'm a mess.  so anyone who's had dreams of something italian should speak now or forever hold their piece (or at least until my next trip..ha).  let me know, and i'll see what i can do.. ;^)  

see you all soo soo soon!

backtracker..

hello lovelies.  i never posted anything about my kickass easter weekend, so i will indulge..  this easter i went to a small town in tuscany with the family.  pitigliano is a little bitty cliffside town, where most of the buildings date back to the 1200's.  we arrived and i was immediately at a loss for words (ha, hard to believe, i know).  the house was divine.  high curved cathedral ceilings, carved from stone.  dark wooden rustic armoirs, that have been distressed naturally through time.  huge plush couchs, huge bay windows that overlook the rolling hills of tuscany.  the air smells better, the flowers are more colorful, the food tastes better.  

THE FOOD.  generally speaking, we run a tight ship here in rome.  we don't eat bread (italians who don't eat bread?!) and we usually only have pasta once or twice a week.  for easter weekend we started with a slough of carbonara.  for those of you who aren't familiar, carbonara is traditionally egg pasta with a creamy sauce of egg yolks, parmigiano, and LOTS of cream.  oh and then bacon to top of the heart attack.  we then had asparagus grilled with lemon and grated parmigiano, and a pate of salmon.  the weekend was strewn with homemade bruschetta and fig jam, the traditional "colomba" which is basically big cakey bread, and lots of wine.  we were in tuscany after all...  

easter in italy is much like how my family celebrates in the states.  there is a huge breakfast of cured meats, more colomba, easter eggs (of course), and fruits.  then about 4 hours later we ate the fire-roasted lamb.  roasted right in our fireplace, with rosemary and garlic (we had giovanni's brother pietro to thank for that).  then we roasted some potatoes and smothered them with gorgonzola.  we ate with our hands and drank wine.  it was heaven.

 

VERY important question:

how much would stephanie and jennie want to kill me if i dyed my hair like this before their weddings?

O.K. maybe not so drastic, but you get the idea.  also, in a bright green dress will i look like a lost lass from ireland or worse, poison ivy?  that would be bad.  

who remembers my bout with red? so cool.  such a pain in the ass.  i know.  not that anyone cares...but i've found a NEW dye that stays in for weeks!   or so 

everyone claims...and there's a salon in philly that uses it.  let's imagine my past red obsession INTENSIFIED.  not so much the ronald mcdonald look (though i totally dig that).

then there's the whole pink thing.  i've been missing that for sure.  and have also gotten several suggestions to go back.  i definitely wouldn't be able to go pink before the weddings..  that would just be terrible.  

oh yes, and the whole job thing.  i suppose wild hair will limit my options more so then they already are, but honestly, when has that stopped me?  i'm feelin' a little drastic people.  hair change is inevitable.  i just need your solid advice.  these are very important life decisions!  so help me out!  grazie.

worse case scenario

it's 3:34 a.m and you are awoken by a strange rumbling.  you sit up immediately (is this the apocolypse?) and realize the entire building is shaking.  crap, it's an earthquake.  what do i do? i'm from scranton, earthquakes concern me about the same as being attacked by flying monkeys. of course, i stumble out of my room, shoeless, in my pajamas, and hurry to the girls room.  what the hell is earthquake survival? aren't we supposed to crotch in a ball under the bed or something?  no, i think that was atomic bomb survival..  anyway, it stopped.  it was hella scary though.  i wish i had my handy worse case scenario game to tell me what to do.  let's test your earthquake survival skills.  in case of an earthquake, you should:

a. hide in a large fixtured structure, like a bathtub or refrigerator.

b. stand in a doorway, or hide under a desk

c. stand near a window, and be prepared to jump

d. do whatever necessary to get outside.

we'll see who knows how to survive... you never know when an earthquake is going to be your alarm clock.

da baffetto

rachel 2's visit is officially over.  it's been really great to have my friends see my life here.  it reminds me how much i have learned about the city over the past few months, like: 

- the 84 bus is okay, but wait a minute and the express will probably come

- the best gelato is on via del lavatore near the trevi fountian.  (seriously though. i've had it all.  it's the best)

- the taralucce from Todis are divine.

- the night bus is NEVER a good idea

- if you want to eat well, and fairly cheap, go to the jewish ghetto

rachel's first night (actually both rachel's AND rachael's first night) i was insistent on going to this pizza place called da baffetto (the mustache).  three years ago when we were here we talked to a nice swedish actress who's name escapes me, perhaps sarah could help me out with that one, but anyway, she told us to go to this restaurant in trastevere.  i undoubtedly thought she said IL buffetto (the buffet) and we never found our destination.  this time around, when i heard of the famous pizzeria DA baffetto i immediately knew it was the place we were trying to find years ago (p.s. NOT in trastevere at all).  rachel of course didn't remember any of this, and i rolled my eyes.  SARAH would have!  

anyway, i remember meeting this girl, not much older than i am now...and saying to myself, "wow.  that's awesome.  she lives in rome, and knows all the hot spots.  i wish i could do something like that."  maybe not verbatim, but it went something like that.  i realized the other night (as i was recounting the story to rachel) that now - i'm now that girl.  

i'm feeling great tonight

the spring season has arrived!  hooray!  days are longer, the air is warmer, the trees are greener. no wonder spring is a natural high.  for my fabulous followers out there, most of you know that the winter was not the easiest, i definitely had my downfalls.  but now as i look back on the majority of my trip, i can be nothing but satisfied with all that i've done here in rome.  

i went for a run yesterday and i swear i felt like i was skipping.  the grass had just been cut, and the trees were trimmed, and i can't even begin to describe the smell of the air after the cool spring rain - i'll tell you one thing, you can't bottle that shit.  no.  it was marvelous.   i'm so excited to be home and to see you all.  it's been crazy being away for so long, but i know now that this definitely won't be the last time i'm away.  perhaps even next year, if i can't find a job in the U.S. (just giving ya'll a heads up...).  anyway, i know this is just a silly rant - but i'm feeling great tonight! 

let the wedding madness begin

i'll be heading back to the U.S. in may, mostly because i have a crapload of weddings to be awesome at.  really, it's only three.  it would be four, but one occurs on the same day as another.  not important!  anyway, obviously weddings have been on my mind.  music, dresses, parties, all fabulous stuff.  the other night i had my first wedding dream.  i'd like to know what ya'll think of it.

i don't remember seeing any familiar faces.  but i do know there were a whole lot of people.  we were in some sort of hotel/convention center.  i'm assuming it was a wedding convention because all the girls were in wedding dresses.  mine was FABULOUS (obviously).  anyway, there were lots of escalators and stairs and mezzanines and such, and we were all running away from this rabid tiger.  we were all split up in little groups, hiding behind this wall, running down these stairs...all in wedding dresses.  you can imagine the chaos.  it was quite frightening, and exhilarating at the same time.  i thought i was going to get free, and then of course, i turn the wrong corner and there was the tiger.  so now i'm fighting a tiger.  i'm pretty sure it's not humanly possible to fight a tiger, but i did.  and i survived!  barely.  he ripped my dress to shreds, and i was obviously completely covered in blood.  i think someone shot him in the end.  i really don't remember because i didn't write the dream down right away.  i can't figure out what it means.  any dream readers out there?  let me know what you think.

you know things have gone too far when...

your mom (who is not your friend on facebook) asks you who that girl is in your profile picture.  for all you non-facebookers out there (cheers to you.  DON'T join!) i'm currently sporting a picture of the lovely natalie dormer as anne boleyn in showtime's "the tudors."   

now i know we are sooo twins, right?!  an approximate 20 people commented on this photo.  i'd say about half actually thought she was me (thanks!).  it wasn't until my mother called to tell me that my family was sitting in front of the computer analyzing the picture that i figured i should put things straight.  (rich and ria, you guys are sooo caught!)  i originally started watching the tudors because some girl in my italian class told me i looked like anne boleyn.  i didn't believe her.  obviously, she was right.  

personally, if i was the tudors i would have gone after king henry's friend, charles brandon ....mmmm. 

yeah, so i have a totally hot celebrity twin.   i'm down with that.  who's your celebrity twin?

the bad guy.

ok so i KNOW i continuously go back and forth between hating this place and loving it, but i HAVE to vent because today sucked.  today i discovered that i'm the bad guy.  

rachael left this morning.  we had a FABULOUS week, jam-packed with sightseeing and running around with small children.  she met every person i come in contact with on a daily basis, including the girls' parents - giovanni and natalia.  it's kind of funny that she met everyone, actually.  anyway, the girls were OBSESSED with rachael.  why?  well, obviously because she's awesome.  but also, because she just gets to play with them and i'm the one who gets to reprimand.  in fact, camilla told me yesterday that i could go home to the states and rachael had to stay.  nice, camilla.  nice.

natalia came in for a few days that she had free to spend with the girls.  she played and cuddled with them and let them do whatever they wanted.  what did i do?  "don't do this."  "don't eat that."  --> bad guy.

today we went to the park after school to meet up with their best friend and her mom.  the mom thought it was fine for them to roll around on the dirty ground and get their coats dirty, and when i said it was time to go the girls ran away to the other mom.  cool.  now what do i do?  i'm no fun.  i'm the person who deals with all the shit while everyone else plays with the girls.  soooo....i'm ready to NOT be the bad guy.  that will be nice.  

crap

i think the cosmic forces may be trying to keep me in italy.  i've had a very calm several months months here, and now and without a hitch EERthing is taking a turn.  well, for one, i'm getting attached to those little balls of italian joy.  although, i wouldn't mind NOT waking up at 6:30 am to screaming children.  none the less.  it makes me really sad to think of leaving them.  

numero due.  NOW, i'm being pursued by a teacher...with whom i am going to meet next week.  i mean - in all due respect, it's about dang time.  i can blame myself for that one.  i could have been searching harder.  anyway, we'll see how that goes.  if the cosmos have anything to do w/ it, he'll be the best teacher i've ever met and i'll never want to leave. 

oh, did i mention it's absolutely beautiful in rome now?  yeah.  there's a reason people come here in the spring.  damn. 

simple things.

does life get any better than counting flowers?  i don't think so.  can we even begin to try and remember the simpleness of being a child?  i see so much of myself in camilla (she's the older one, who is counting of course.) most of the time she's drifting off into another land, talking to some of her imaginary friends, or singing some song that she just invented.  

i know i used to call my friend "mary" on the phone when i was little.  and i can actually remember sitting in my grandparent's kitchen, talking to the dial-tone until the operator picked up.  then i would get scared and hang up. but i can't remember the simpleness.  i can't remember that carefree joy of being a child (even though i like to pretend i still am one.   you should see the poofy dress i want to get for these weddings!)  i remember collecting little glass perfume samples, dumping out the samples, and then filling them with little fragments of flowers and pine needles with stephanie and kaitlyn.  man.  those were the DAYS.  does anyone else feel me on this one?  my friend jen is pregnant (and is going to be HUGE when i see her!!!).  jen, you are growing someone in you who will experience all of these marvelous things!  although, i think he'll be putting bugs in bottles, not flowers.  but you never know.  don't want to discriminate.

anyway, i'm reminded of the simple joys in life everyday:  like snow white and the seven dwarves.  scissors.  petting dogs.  parks.  a piece of chocolate.  sunshine.  juice.  laughing.  ESPECIALLY kids laughing.  how many steps before the queen.  twirling.  dirt.  balloons.  

and that's just to name a few.  so PLEASE, do me a favor and remind me to stop worrying about tomorrow, and what kind of job i'm going to get, and losing weight, and being tired, or OVER-SLEEPING.  and remind yourself of whatever it is you need not be stressin'.  

reason #357 why i wish i was italian:

no it's not because of their freak metabolisms that let them eat pounds of pasta and still remain a size 2 (that's reason #24).  and it's not because God decided to make them prettier than most other people on the planet.  

reason #357 i wish i were italian is - they are badass grandmas (and grandpas for those masculine out there).  listen.  i figure you reach eighty-something years old and your done.  you glue yourself to a recliner pass out watching jeopardy.  it's cool.  i had come to terms with that.  but these italians...i dunno, maybe it's the wine, maybe it's the pizza, but they keep rollin..  

i'm on the bus.  who are the other 10 people on the bus?  anziani (old people).  i started paying attention after awhile - about 80% of the people on the bus are elderly.  and they STAND.  i offer my seat (yes.  i sit.  if there's a seat, i sit).  they decline.  now i look lazy.  great.  remember the post office?  they were all standing.  

stairs.  if you have ever been to rome, you would know that most of the buildings are hella old and don't have elevators.  you get used to it after awhile.  the four flights up to the school where i teach still sucks though.  anyway,  who lives in these old buildings?  old people.  climbing stairs.  

i swear if i mentioned "retirement home" or some other similar facility - italians wouldn't know what i'm talking about....because they rock out until they die.  hence, why i wish i were italian.  the end.

generazione cellulare

she's a natural.

my grocery list

arugula

parmesano reggiano

sun-dried tomatoes

onions

tuna

fresh mozzarella

risotto

salmon

wine

chocolate

i wonder if this will change when i get home?

cheers.

thanks to all who are concerned about my friend.  since i'm abroad and all i don't have much info...but really the only thing we can do is pray.  pray hard.  thanks for your concerns.  it's good to know that people are praying "six degrees of kevin bacon" style.

not cool.

not exactly sure how i'm supposed to go into this after "wig fetish". guess i'll just dive in.

some of my readers are already aware of the following.  to the others, all seven of you, please use this entry to remember all we've got in this life.

a friend of mine was just diagnosed with breast cancer.  i found out only a few moments ago it's stage IV breast cancer.  any of you who've seen "wit" will know that it's incurable.  she's 24.  

i wish i had something witty or uplifting to say.  i don't.  my brain is currently telling me that it's incapable of processing such news and has caused different parts of my body to act strangely, for example, my stomach currently feels like it's in my throat.  despite this horrifying news, my friend is actually a mountain of faith - and is currently affecting more people than she could possibly even know through her strength.  i, on the other hand, feel weak, and a mess.  not only is it terrifying to have to think about cancer at 24, it's terrifying to think of how i would be in this situation.

i know that's incredibly morbid to think - but i know you've all thought it.  when something bad happens to someone what do you do?  if you're as selfish as i am, you think "wow.  what would i do if that were me?".  in response to that question, i don't really know.  i know my faith is strong, i know that god is going to use this situation to bring so much glory...but i haven't been doing my part.  i fall way short.  and i know, we all fall short.  we're not perfect.  but you've got to try dammit.  if you want to stay healthy, can you continue to eat donuts everyday?  and shouldn't you add some exercise into your daily life?  (those are two places i fall short for sure - i'm lucky if i do yoga every other day. and my donuts are currently croissants).  if i want to love people better, and live the life i know god wants me to lead - shouldn't i pray more?  (b/c believe you me....i don't do it even half as much as i should) and even worse - shouldn't i be reading the bible, the one and only source of my lord and god, everyday?  the answer is most definitely yes.  i should be.  and i'm not. 

today also happens to be ash wednesday.  i told eva and camilla today begins the forty days that jesus was in the desert without food or water.  the man died for me.  i don't think i give him the time of day sometimes.  not cool.  very traditionally, christians usually fast during the lenten time.  i usually fast from sweets (difficult.  i know.).  is fasting from sweets really my ode to jesus' sacrifices for me?  no.  actually i think it's a way to get skinnier.  again.  so not cool.  my mom told me today that she's going to try and give herself more to the people she loves, and people in need.  my mom is an amazing woman.  and as i just got a spiritual slap in the face, i'm going to try and stop slacking - and be the person god wants me to be.  i know it's probably someone pretty awesome.  after all, this is the only life we got.

wig fetish?

maybe it was the air.  maybe it was the booze.  maybe it was the fact that i was wearing a bright pink wig.   whatever it was, people were extremely friendly with sue and i this past carnevale weekend.  SO friendly that we were almost victims of the "accidental mouth kiss" (several different times!). you know how the italians always kiss both cheeks, european style? well, what do you do when the guy come a little to close to the mouth?  answer:  smile awkwardly and stroll away.  even the door man at the hotel tried to get some.  does my pink wig make me look like i'm gonna give it up to whoever asks?  i certainly hope not.  in actuality, it's PROBABLY because i was nice.  NEVER be nice to italian men.  or men from bangladesh (in the door man's case).  or men in general.  that's the moral of this story.  

p.s. i looked up wig fetishes.  google doesn't recognize them - but i'm convinced they exist.  

countdown to carnevale!

Carnevale or Carnival is probably the most famous thing to come out of Venice (besides the whole city on water thing..).  Carnevale is a festival that starts on St. Stephen's Day (Dec. 26) and lasts to Ash Wednesday.  The Italian Carnevale of Venice dates back to the 12th century, where people dawned the famous masks and had luxurious parties complete with gluttony, adultery, and all those other deadly sins.  

I will be one of those fabulous people in 48 hours!  okay, minus a few deadly sins..  i am taking the night train to venice, arriving at 5:30am (what the hell am i supposed to do at 5:30am?), and partying until i drop.  I hope the dropping doesn't happen until Sunday morning when I grab another train back to Rome.  Sounds insane, I know...but NOT experiencing the famous Venetian Carnival would be a travesty.  Ideally, I would be attending one of those fabulously outrageous parties, in the most fabulous ball gown and powdered wig one can find - BUT i am one of the unfortunate poor and don't have 400 euro to spend on a ticket.  although, they all have some very wonderful entertainment.  maybe i could snag a gig for next year!  here's hoping.  oh well, i'm not bothered...i will dawn my mask with sue (my partner in crime, who's currently teaching in milan) and we'll eat, drink, and be merry (and did i mention FREEZING) for a whole 24 hours.  the pictures are going to be CRAZY!  stay tuned..

obsessed much?

since i need to turn off my brain at the end of the day (much like all of us)  i've taken up watching several shows online - and by several i mean two:  the office and scrubs.  now that i've thoroughly exhausted those two shows i've moved on to LOST (i know i'm SOOO behind.).

question:  what genius made EVERYONE on LOST unbelievably beautiful?  THANK YOU.