It’s been more than six months now since we packed up and left North America for a new adventure in Italy. I completed my second month of language training and mostly feel like I’m barely getting by with my “market” Italian. But there are fewer instances of defaulting back to English, so there must be some progress. Ashley has had work trips to Switzerland and Zambia as her career continues to evolve. My older daughter has been home from university in Canada for the last several weeks and has given much energy to father/daughter Rome explorations. She goes back for a summer internship in another month. My younger daughter is struggling with the end of junior year IB exams, and can’t wait for high school to be over for the summer.
Recently, a cool wet May has given way to a warm sunny June. Rain-delays at the Italian Tennis Open and the odd puffy jacket have finally been eclipsed by short pants and walking on the shady side of the street.
We’ve continued to explore both inside and outside of the city, going to parks and museums when the conditions are right and expanding our circle of restaurants into other neighborhoods. The joy of discovering new aperitivos has been matched by finding the quality family osteria. And we’ve explored many other nearby towns like Orvieto, Tivoli, Salerno, Frascati, Bari, Castel di Guido, and Castel Gandolfo. We rented a car for my first Italian driving experience to Itri and Gaeta. Before the snow melted, I took the skibus to Campo Felice (twice), Ovindoli, and Campo Imperatore. Spring break was in Bulgaria.
And just a few observational vignettes:
- They might look funny and out of place on the highways of the United States, but on a recent 7-block walk between my house and the pet store I counted 52 Smart cars. In tight urban city driving conditions they are very popular.
- Black! I know I’ve spent my career on mountainous backroads and I’ve only been in this city for the cold winter/spring months, but I’m looking forward to seeing a fashion choice other than black, black, black.
- The grass is always greener… On every crowded subway, tram, or bus ride there seems to be a person that enters through one door and pushes through the masses only to stop in front of another door. What’s the point?
- Cigarette butts, beer bottles, graffiti, dog shit, overflowing garbage cans, overgrown vegetation… Come on people, have some pride in where you live! There I’ve said it.
- I understand that little urban dogs provide companionship without the need to invest any effort in training. But untrained dogs are frustrating especially when they are embarrassingly being dragged down the street.
- The public transportation may not be perfect, particularly on strike days. But coming from a city that truly has a dysfunctional system, this is pretty great.
- At the beginning we were stuck in the pizza-pasta-caprese-cornetto cycle, because it was so new to us. But I’ve discovered the American-Mexican-Thai section at our local grocery store, so we’ve been able to diversify a bit at home in the kitchen.
- Our house has four bathrooms and four bidets. Enough said.
- Why does it seem that all Chinese restaurants also serve Japanese food? All-you-can-eat sushi is popular, but I haven’t felt the urge to do that yet.
- Situational awareness: many Romans seem to be oblivious that they live in a dense urban environment with other people. Some sidewalk etiquette please! Please don’t walk into me because you’re so embroiled in what’s on your phone, or stop in the middle of a crowded sidewalk to make a point in your invisible phone conversation. It’s not my fault if I bump into you!
- Life is awesome in Rome – there are no regular weeks.
Looking forward to a great summer!