Summer Fires

I am finally moved into my apartment.  It feels like I have been here for forever just because of how crazy things got.  Things are supposed to calm down a lot after the next week, but for now free time is a luxury, when I find it  I do the healthiest thing possible.  Nothing.  My first sight of freedom was last night, my first night in Firenze, I had been running around moving everyone in and had a light lunch and no dinner.  I figured I just would get a light fare and then if there was leftovers I would reheat them for breakfast.  I walked around for a bit just to remind myself of where everything is.  Some stuff I remembered, others looked completely new(although I am sure that 400 year old buildings are put up all the time).  I wandered around for a bit before I ended up in Piazza Signoria and stopped.  The night was dark, it was probably around 9:30, and I decided that I wasn't going any further.  I could have bought a cheap sandwich anywhere, but I just wasn't in the mood to do the whole grab-and-go thing.  So I sat down at the most obvious tourist trap that looked right out at the Palazzo Vecchio with full intentions of ordering dinner.  As soon as I saw the menu I knew that wasn't happening.  It was in Italian with not only English subtitles but pictures.  PICTURES.  Yeah.  I felt ridiculous sitting there, I knew I was better than that.  I felt bad leaving after I sat down, and I was so tired I dont know if I actually had it in me to move anytime soon so I decided to just enjoy a glass of wine.  It was obnoxiously expensive, but that wasn't the point.  I spent two and a half hours drinking my one glass of wine just sitting staring out at the families bustling around, making friends with the waiters, and just decompressing.  It was exactly what I needed.  The view was beautiful, it really reminded me of what I missed about Florence.  My free time and meals are appreciated more when the world is quiet and I just get to sit and enjoy my surroundings.

Steady As She Goes

I passed out.  Between the stress of coordinating three different flights, jet lag, lack of sleep, mild dehydration, lugging about 7 tons of luggage from the airport to the bus.  I was exhausted.  So this morning I set my alarm for six even though I didn’t need to be there to help the kids with breakfast for two hours.  I walked around Tuscania just to orient myself as I was pretty much zoned out when I got to my hotel the first time, fell asleep and was still a little asleep when we walked to dinner.  It was necessary to figure out where everything was.  At 6:30 am the town was quiet, although it is generally a quiet place, it has that feeling of restfulness about it.   The doors are crowned with creeping vines, and the stone is old and worn, the place has a old world feel to it.  A lot of Tuscania’s architecture and buildings are made out of volcanic stone, which were built around the time of the roman empire(over the Etruscan tombs).  Some parts were restored after an earthquake destroyed a good section of Rome and its surrounding areas.    

After these messages we’ll be riiiighht back

Ok.  Remember when I said “so long as I have my credit card, my few important items and my passport everything else can be replaced?”  Yeah.  Don’t ever say that again.  In fact I should know better than to say such blasphemous things aloud – you know my track record with saying stupid, stupid things aloud (and if you don’t, ask me about shooting stars and maybe I will tell you).   Today was a long day and I am not going to go into details (because, well I am exhausted and can’t keep my eyes open) but I will give you small details.  There were missed connections, overweight luggage, bad lightning storms, very invasive TSA security checks, flight cancellations and flight re-booking, but all the madness was dealt with aplomb (until the very end).  Long story short I  am now in Tuscany with only my carry-on.  I have a change of clothes, and my laptop, passport, various sundries and three pairs of shoes.  Go figure, I would put several pairs of shoes in my carry-on, the one thing I can’t actually buy in Italy... Go me!  I would almost say that bad packing saved me.  Almost.   

Silver lining – we are all here in Italy, whole happy and ready to fight the day….  Or eat dinner…..  Whichever comes first.  Probably dinner.  Viva Italia. 

Pop Princess

So I sit here, poised on the edge not yet leaving but still caught in-between.  I packed up my room the best I could (that is to say I shoved everything into the closet), made a lunch for the train and now I sit… and wait.  This is it.  The moment of truth has come.  The last time I was leaving for Italy I didn’t actually get nerves until I saw the JFK terminal off in the distance with hundreds of planes taking off and landing.  When I told my mom and dad I was nervous they said the flight would take less time than the traffic to get home so I should just get on the plane.   So this is it.  I am just going to get on the train.  Nothing will get in the way of Crossing the first threshold………

It's The Final Countdown

And so it begins -  my final hours before take off.  I have my rain boots tucked safely away, piles of individual packets of powdered Snapple and my bear (who I am unashamed to say has been to as many countries as I have) in my carry on.  Now if only my luggage would zip closed I would be golden.  The day has been crazy, I felt like was being stretched into a million different places trying to finish the long list of things I needed to get done.  Somehow I miraculously managed it because here I am sitting in my parents office typing away, as the house sleeps.

I came back yesterday to find all my plants had shot up over the past two weeks.  The morning glories took over - climbing on; the trees, the fence and the porch making a raucous mess.  My brother and sister where off enjoying their summers as kids should be and my mom took me to find shoes, and my dad and I finished the banking.  I deferred my phone, it was the only way to preserve my number but not pay to have a phone I would never use.  What that means is they freeze the number, I cant tell if I am relieved I don't have a phone or going through withdrawl of legitimately not having a phone any more.  I can handle not being on Facebook or my email for long periods of time( I may not like it but I can do it) but my phone is another story.  My mom didn't understand why I made such a fuss about keeping my number - she was voting to just delete it and get a new one when I came back.  Some part of me just couldn't let go, I can still delete it later if I so choose but for now my phone lies dormant surrounded by all the other things that didn't make the cut.  It looks a little like the island of misfit toys- I am sorry Buddha mug and shirt that I bought in the 5th grade its not that I don't love you but there is only so much room in my bag and I can't bring everything. 

Totally Necessary and Important Tangent:
I sometimes wonder how younger generations will deal with power outages without their phones or facebook or constant connection to their networks?  Not to go all Into The Wild or Armageddon on you but I am pretty sure that need be I could survive on my own for a while.  I would get lost as hell and never find my way back to anything and most likely eat something that (while harmless to most people) would end up killing me.  But for that one glorious week - I would survive like a champ. I am not so sure as to how these kids would do without power - because for all their life problems their is an App to solve them.  I digress, this is not a social commentary but the ramblings of a girl who had far too much coffee and went a little overboard on shoes.  I swear I never thought I would be that girl but show me a pair of Carlos Santana's and I melt like a Popsicle in July.  

Annnddd moving on.  Tomorrow should be interesting I am taking the train to DC which should take just over five hours, not the longest train I have ever taken but it is the longest train I am doing by myself.  I am bringing with me the card game Phase Ten and peanut butter.  This will be my go-to solution to any homesick crisis that may confront me.  A kid come crying to me about missing their parents and wanting to go home - I make them a PB&J, play some cards and have just chat with them.  Boom.  Done.
 
I know I am going to forget something so long as I have my passport and my credit card I am not going to worry about anything.  I find that thinking like that helps to have a calm flight and a relax traveling experience.

The Importance Family

My parents raised me knowing the importance of family, they believed that to be a fundamental building block to our character.  Family come first.  Friends come and go but your family comes forever.  If you donate to charities - first makes sure your family is ok - then you share with others (that is if you have a cousin who is homeless you find ways to help that cousin first before you donate to a charity).  Those and many other ways of thinking, are now just second nature to me.  I didn't realize until later in life that other family's don't operate how our family operates.  When our elderly is sick or in need - we hire in home nurses and have family move in or move them in with family.  We don't farm out the old to nursing homes.  Its just not done.  There is a deep respect for the history and life that was lived. 

I had dinner with my aunt my last weekend in Poughkeepsie, and she told me wonderful stories about my dad as a kid, and how she had watched all of us grow up - and how she grew up.  Before dinner was over she made me promise that I would be back for holidays, and to keep everyone updated.  She also gave me a piece of my grandmothers jewelry to remind me that family is always close by and that there will always be someone watching over me. 


So why should I ramble on about family for a paragraph - what does family and respect for family have to do with travel?  Travel and adventure may be about leaving everything you know and love - but its the family who supports who pushes you out of the nest to fly on your own wings for the first time - that makes coming home so sweet.

A Girl of Many Names

Over the years I have had many nicknames and as I changed they have change- or maybe I just grew into different nicknames.

My dad called me Baby Doll because he thought I looked like a doll when I was a born.

As a kid my grandfather called me stretch or green-bean, because I was constantly growing and looked like someone took me and stretched me out.  

In high school I would buy a corn muffin every single morning for breakfast so my friends called me Muffin Queen

In college my one of my BFFL/housemate Heather (fondly known as Eather) saw me across the green and called out for Hoolianne.  This was because she had just watched Romeo and Juliet and the Maid called for Juliet across a field (and pronounced it Hoooliettt).  And thus a legend was born.   

When I hangout with my cousin in New York everyone calls me Connecticut because...  Well because that's where I am from.

Throughout my life I can pinpoint traits that have remained constant, and traits that have changed.  My dad's and my favorite story to recant is when I was two and had just mastered the art of walking.  He used to joke that I went from crawling to running and skipped the walking around phase.  He would take me to the mall where I would full on run around the mall as fast as my little legs would take me, and he could just walk next to me seeing as he was a tall grownup.  He said that I would run, stop,  look to at a widow that caught my eyes then keep running.  My mom used to say it was a miracle that she didn't lose me because I would be standing next to her one second and bolting off the next second without another word.  It wasn't that I would try and ditch her or anyone else - I am just curious and what I wanted to see  might not be there later.  She attempted to use a child leash to keep track of me but I got out of it so fast that it was useless.  Honestly - not much has changed since then(except I am taller now and can talk about what I see).  I am always running off somewhere to see something, those are the times when I am truly happy.  Sometimes what I see are what people categorize as fantastic sights like the Grand Canyon or the canals of Venice, and sometimes they are things like a street light or the way a set of trees look like out my window.  There are so many beautiful things to see in this world, sometimes it feels like people take for granted the natural beauty that is in their surroundings be it urban, suburban or rural.  

There is so much to see and do, and I just want to do it all.  Realistically, I know that I can't possibly do everything - but that will never stop me from trying.  Every opportunity I find to do something new I try and take.  This weekend I learned how to salsa and it was fantastic.  This type of adventurism helped me to go to Vegas by myself where I made friends with a band from California, talked to a woman with a B.A who turned to stripping because she couldn't pay her bills, and hung out with a new set of people each night.  I had a great time.  I may not have a defined plan of where I want to be in 5 years(or even know what I am doing next month) but I know that I am going to meet good people and see amazing things where ever I am.  I hit the ground running and never stopped.  

A Change of Scenery

Summer:

Its been such a whirlwind I haven't been able to think straight everything happened so fast I can't believe its almost over.  As I suspected at the beginning working 5 days a week with a rotating schedule, having graduation parties to attend, family events, and what ended up being a whole lot less time to sleep than I ever had to deal with (and I was a college student on the crew team) - my travels through CT were put on hold.  although I did visit more places than I blogged about whoops.  I had much less free time than I anticipated.

I did see so many things during my brief travels and definitely learned a lot about myself and Connecticut.  The main point that was really emphasized by not only the people I spoke to but also the culture of many towns was the importance of tradition and family.  When I boil down everything I heard from people around our great state family and tradition was the overwhelming sentiment.  Someday I think it would be a great project to pick up again as it was so interesting, a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be!  There are so many hidden gems in Connecticut than people give it credit for(myself included) and it can be extremely easy to discount as boring if you don't know where to look.

What: working in retail, visiting friends and living with my family this summer taught me was to have courage in my convictions and to be more confident in my decisions.  I made some friends, had some laughs and learned some new tricks.  Month's ago I used to joke that I wasn't going to leave college without a fight, I was actually at peace after I got settled back at home.  My School is just a bunch of buildings, but the college experience I loved and will miss is college; that is doing Teach-For-America in Newark, that is going to India for a year to study women in Rugby, that is going to Ireland to be a screen writer, that is working in the Manhattan, and the other million and one people doing amazing things.  That is what I will miss, and as I learned this summer- that college wont end just because we aren't living together in that physical place any more.

Fast forward two months of working long hours, seeing people every other weekend, and a sudden realization of my love of Iron and Wine and you arrive at the end of July.    

Thursday July 28th - I get a call offering me the job to be the RD in Florence

Tuesday August 2nd - I move into campus housing 

Sunday August 21st - I will fly out to Florence 

So in the span of four days I packed up my entire room, got my finances in order and went back to school for
training.  I lugged all my suitcases up one flight of stairs which was enough for me reconsider every single item I packed, there is no way I need all of those clothes!  Especially if I am going to not only have to lug them on a 5 hour train ride, through the airport, connecting flight, and up six flights of stairs.  No way Jose.  I tell anyone who asks about traveling is to pack light, you need a lot less than you think you do!  Only, I didn't take my own advise.  Everyone re-wears clothes when they travel and you can always buy clothes there.  However my logic in the extraordinary amount of things I packed (two of the largest suitcases I could find in JCPenny, a rolling carry on, side bag and purse all packed to the brim) is that.... and how do I put this delicately.....  I am not of average size.  I have on occasion (in jest of course) been compared to an Ent (a mystical tree in the book series Lord of the Rings) for my contemplative nature and tall stature.  They don't exactly carry Ent-sized clothing in European stores as the average size woman I overshot by 8 inches before my freshman year of college.  My choices are very limited when I comes to replacing the simple things like shoes, and pants which most people don't think of as difficult items to buy - I may just have to develop a stronger friendship with the mail-room than I ever anticipated.  As for now though I feel like I have everything packed and ready for blast off at the end of August.  

Foods I am packing:

Diet Snapple Peach Ice Tea

Peanut Butter

VitaCraves    

Music I am listening to:

Mika - Kick Ass

Radar Brothers - Horses Warriors 

Labrinth - Let The Sun Shine