Thoughts of Rome...

Today was a nice breezy day outside so I kept the windows open for the fresh air. American windows slide open and have screens, very different from Italian windows that open inwards with vertically reclining shutters. For one, our windows can't block out the sun and let in fresh air at the same time. However, the door of my room was slamming from the changing air pressure and I went to go hook the chain behind the door to keep it open, only to find that it didn't have one...

On another note, I managed to find some "Genoa salame" at the market, despite the very Americanized name. It didn't taste all that bad but it just wasn't the same as the boar salame I got in Rome.

I have been keeping in touch with my friends, co-workers, and professor since I've been home. I really do think I will get to see at least some of them again. It's so sad to think the world was shrinking so rapidly when the mess of expensive energy got caught up with travel.

My next goal is to get my hands on a Vespa so I can feel the wind in my hair again. I think I'm going to go watch Roman Holiday again. It's so amazing that Rome over fifty years ago looks exactly the same it does now, except with fewer tourists. Is anyone else feeling nostalgic for their times abroad?

That is not to say that I am having a terrible time in America. I went bowling last night and ended up in Hooters watching the Olympics with some delicious buffalo wings and cheeseburgers WITH PICKLES. I'm sure you can imagine how very confused I was the first time an Italian expressed distaste in putting "cucumbers" in hamburgers in America.

If anyone is aching to get some real Italian food in Atlanta, Baraonda's in Midtown makes some very authentic Neopolitan pizza. As for the fluffy Roman pizza with potatos and ham, I will have to search some more to get a taste here. If someday I happen to fail at life I think my plan B will be to open an Italian style pizzeria, complete with arancini (fried rice balls with peas, meat, cheese, and sauce), fried olives stuffed with meat, gelati, and of course, tall decanters for serving tap water.

Speaking of tap water, I'm sure there was something in the water in Rome. For at least 5-6 weeks straight I remember I would wake up every morning with my head filled with the vivid dreams that I had had the night before. Afterwards either I just became accustomed to it or perhaps they stopped, but they definitely started again when I went back to Rome and drank some more Roman water. It's really unavoidable, as there are spigots spewing refreshing cold water every block or so. Something is up. I jokingly told my friend that the government might be doping the water to give everyone in Italy the happy demeanor they always have. Whatever it is, that's about the only thing I don't miss about Rome.