It's been over a month. A month and four days, actually. Officially the longest I've ever gone without seeing my parents in my whole entire life. The second longest time I've gone without seeing them is when I lived in California for a month freshman year of college. And that was like, 29 days. Not even a full month. But I have officially passed that one month mark now, and it's crazy to me. When I'm at school (and when I was living in California), I call my parents pretty much every day. At least twice a week. I text my mom goodnight. I call to ask their opinion about pretty much everything I do in my life. In short--I'm not independent. I like to think that I am, but I'm not. I am a mama's girl/daddy's girl through and through and there is no doubt that I am a product of their raising. And I love them. And they are two of my BEST friends in the whole world. And I respect their parenting and the way they raised me and I am so grateful for them and the person they've raised me to be. And my mom is probably fainting as she's reading this because she is so shocked that I'm saying it.
But living away from them, in a completely different country, completely on my own, with no real means of contacting them, I've really realized how blessed I am. Personally, I think they are the best parents in the whole world and I just love them so much. They were so incredibly supportive of my decision to come here, and I realize that more and more every day. So THANK YOU, Mom and Dad. YOU ROCK.
Updates on my eating habits:
I've been learning how to cook! Crazy, I know. I learned how to make Eggplant Parmesan last weekend. The most delicious thing I've ever had in my entire life. I learned how to make Pappa al Pomodoro today in one of my classes...so that will be a recipe to try on my own next week. My roommates are going to teach me how to make Vegetarian Lasagna sometime soon, and I learned how to make mashed potatoes last week! I'm SO EXCITED to learn how to cook now that I realize it's actually kind of fun and way healthier than eating pre-made food. I've always had this dream of being the perfect housewive (hahaha) but I told my roommate Crystal that last night, and after watching me struggle to make meals and eat scraps to avoid cooking for the past month, she informed me that I'd be better off getting a housekeeper/cook. So that's encouraging. Hahahahaha. She's probably right.
Little accomplishments:
Today I met the other lady who lives in our apartment building! She's an elderly lady who lives alone, so she's never out when we are. Finally, today, I was heading out the door to go to class after lunch and I ran into her in the hallway. I was shocked at first and didn't know what to do, but decided to be brave and introduce myself in Italian! So I asked her her name, told her mine, said nice to meet you and was on my way, BUT I WAS SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Not a lick of English. YEAH BABY. It was a two second conversation, but to me it was a big deal.
Also, Amanda Knox Trial. Maybe you've heard of it. An American student studying in Perugia in 2007 was convicted of killing her roommate. She's been in jail for the past for years, and this year she appealed the verdict and a retrial took place. Last night she was acquitted. The courthouse is literally like five minutes from my apartment, even closer to my school, right in the center of town, and the place was a media frenzy last night (the verdict was to be announced at 8pm). Obviously I'm not a judge or a jury or a detective, so I have no idea where I agree with the verdict or not, but being amongst the crowd outside the courthouse was definitely an experience. Very invigorating. Not only did I meet a lot of Italians (and some Americans who realized we spoke English), but I learned a lot about the different perspectives on the case and the Italian government. Everything was in Italian, so we had to listen really hard to figure out and understand what was going on (and ask Italians who spoke English to explain things to us). Sometimes Itailans would come up to me and ask, in Italian, if I thought she should be freed or not. I didn't really have an answer (not my place), but it was so fun trying to speak in Italian back to them! It was really an interesting experience being among such a huge crowd of people in what is normally such a calm city. Unfortunately I did NOT meet Matt Lauer (sorry mom and Robyn), even though he was in the city earlier that day filming. :( OH WELL. However, it was really interesting to learn about the Italians' judicial system, as well as the view of the case and how the verdict affects them. Definitely a very cultural experience.
But living away from them, in a completely different country, completely on my own, with no real means of contacting them, I've really realized how blessed I am. Personally, I think they are the best parents in the whole world and I just love them so much. They were so incredibly supportive of my decision to come here, and I realize that more and more every day. So THANK YOU, Mom and Dad. YOU ROCK.
Updates on my eating habits:
I've been learning how to cook! Crazy, I know. I learned how to make Eggplant Parmesan last weekend. The most delicious thing I've ever had in my entire life. I learned how to make Pappa al Pomodoro today in one of my classes...so that will be a recipe to try on my own next week. My roommates are going to teach me how to make Vegetarian Lasagna sometime soon, and I learned how to make mashed potatoes last week! I'm SO EXCITED to learn how to cook now that I realize it's actually kind of fun and way healthier than eating pre-made food. I've always had this dream of being the perfect housewive (hahaha) but I told my roommate Crystal that last night, and after watching me struggle to make meals and eat scraps to avoid cooking for the past month, she informed me that I'd be better off getting a housekeeper/cook. So that's encouraging. Hahahahaha. She's probably right.
Little accomplishments:
Today I met the other lady who lives in our apartment building! She's an elderly lady who lives alone, so she's never out when we are. Finally, today, I was heading out the door to go to class after lunch and I ran into her in the hallway. I was shocked at first and didn't know what to do, but decided to be brave and introduce myself in Italian! So I asked her her name, told her mine, said nice to meet you and was on my way, BUT I WAS SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Not a lick of English. YEAH BABY. It was a two second conversation, but to me it was a big deal.
Also, Amanda Knox Trial. Maybe you've heard of it. An American student studying in Perugia in 2007 was convicted of killing her roommate. She's been in jail for the past for years, and this year she appealed the verdict and a retrial took place. Last night she was acquitted. The courthouse is literally like five minutes from my apartment, even closer to my school, right in the center of town, and the place was a media frenzy last night (the verdict was to be announced at 8pm). Obviously I'm not a judge or a jury or a detective, so I have no idea where I agree with the verdict or not, but being amongst the crowd outside the courthouse was definitely an experience. Very invigorating. Not only did I meet a lot of Italians (and some Americans who realized we spoke English), but I learned a lot about the different perspectives on the case and the Italian government. Everything was in Italian, so we had to listen really hard to figure out and understand what was going on (and ask Italians who spoke English to explain things to us). Sometimes Itailans would come up to me and ask, in Italian, if I thought she should be freed or not. I didn't really have an answer (not my place), but it was so fun trying to speak in Italian back to them! It was really an interesting experience being among such a huge crowd of people in what is normally such a calm city. Unfortunately I did NOT meet Matt Lauer (sorry mom and Robyn), even though he was in the city earlier that day filming. :( OH WELL. However, it was really interesting to learn about the Italians' judicial system, as well as the view of the case and how the verdict affects them. Definitely a very cultural experience.
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