Pazzo ma contenta

What a busy weekend! But what fun weekend. Had the chance to head up to Tahoe and visit my friend Cristiana, which as I mentioned before was pretty awesome. It was nice to go rafting and just hang out - just the relaxing couple days I needed. That's not to say that I've been extremely busy, I just haven't had the chance to truly relax since I've returned from Italy.

It was a bit of a slap in the face to have to drive back for work. But I can't complain, I have the sweetest job ever. I get paid to play soccer, it doesn't get much better than that. It was nice playing, but I'm starting to realize that I really need to keep myself in check. There are times when my patience runs thin with the girls - and I really think I need to plan out a talk with them about there lack of focus during practice.

Today was pretty hectic. Helped my mom clean out her classroom for the first half of the day. Moving all the books and boxes from classroom to classroom made me realize that my arms were still tired from rafting yesterday.

Arrived home and started on the project that is organizing my room. I realized after many failed attempts at organizing my books that I needed more shelf-space. Lugged some bookshelves from one of the storage closets and proceeded to play musical-furniture in my room. It's probably a good thing that the satellite cables restrict the movement of my TV, otherwise I would have spent a good 5 hours moving my bed, sound system, desk, tv, and three bookshelves around. Sigh, I really wish I could though - it'd be a sweet set up. Heh.

Organized the majority of my books though, with a good deal of shelf space left for more books - can you say book shopping? I just needed to organize my art supplies now, which will be interesting; I'm having trouble finding space for my easel. Once that's done all that will be left is to reorganize my entertainment area and sell off all my gaming equipment that I don't use (DDR sounds fun right now - huh).

Took a break around 7 to ride my bike to the store. Picked up a few things I needed before doing some computer updating. I've Italian-fied my entire laptop. It's actually pretty cool. I'm definitely brushing up on my computer vocabulary. And then being the nerd I am I started changing all my preferences - so now I have a nice pink desktop with a groovy matching pink Trillian skin. Then I started thinking about Italy and lo and behold I'm browsing Google Earth and marking points all over Viareggio and the rest of Tuscany.

Tomorrow should prove just as busy as today. Another day filled with doing grunt work for my mother followed by gelato and then work.

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am. Hah.

Ritornare alla realtà

It's incredible what can happen in a month. In so many ways, I feel like a completely different person; I can only hope that I've changed for the better. The month I spent in Italy was by far one of the best experiences I've had in my life. I met some incredible people and I realized a lot of things about myself. And as I said before, I met some incredible people. It's pretty wild really. I had to go to Europe to meet someone that literally lives two minutes from me. I'm going to be seeing one of my new friends in a few days down in Tahoe. And hopefully in a year, I'll be in South Africa visiting a few others. It's really cool.

When I was in Siena in 2001 I didn't keep in touch like I have now. I know that technology makes it far simpler for us to keep in contact than before. But it makes me sad. I look at all the pictures I took from that trip and the t-shirt I had everyone sign, and I really regret not keeping in touch with those people because they were just as incredible and that trip also changed me and shaped me into the person I am today. I only hope that from now on I don't ever lose contact with the people I meet and connect with, you can really learn a lot from people - not only about them, but also about yourself.

I was able to focus on my flaws and hopefully try to improve myself for the better. It was a month of reflection really - that's not to say I didn't do my fair share of partying. The truth is, I did party a lot. I think I made up for all the times I wasn't able to go out this past year. It's funny being back now really. My days are far more mellow than they were when I was in Viareggio. But it's probably for the best that I'm taking it easy. Looking at my schedules for work, class, and APhiO, it looks like my life will be extremely hectic.

I'm planning on taking 18 units this semester, which is one less than what I took the past two semesters. And none of the classes I'm taking are exactly 'easy.' To be honest I think I don't have one easy class. Four classes are art history, which means I'll be making my fingers bleed this semester with all the papers I'll have type. And one class is a historical research class that will focus on writing a thesis. Possibly my easiest class will be my advance Italian conversation course.

Actually now that I think about it. There's a very good chance that I might be taking 19 units. I forgot that I'll probably be doing a Italian tutoring like I did last semester - hopefully there will be more tutoring than before, or at least more Italian spoken. I really don't want to lose the language. I should be far more proficient than I am considering I've been studying the language since I was 14. That's nine years.

One thing I did realize was that I have a bunch of amazing friends, who are all very different yet extremely cool. So I'm hoping despite the inevitable stress I'll be feeling starting in September, they'll be able to keep me sane. Between the APhiO gang and their craziness, the art history cult, the movie night gang, and my Davis friends - I'm sure I'll have some semblance of a social life.

Mi mancano Italia e tutti voi

It's strange to be back in the States. Since I flew in on Saturday, I feel out of place and imbalanced. It didn't quite hit me until today, as I started to edit video footage, that the reason for my uneasiness is the fact that I am homesick for Viareggio and the incredible people I had the privilege of meeting over the past month.

As of now, everything feels so strange and uncomfortable. Everyone speaking in English is so strange - while shopping I caught myself three times asking for something in Italian, Spanish, or a combination of the two. Even driving a car feels so foreign. So foreign, in fact, that I started using my bike. I even stuck on my old basket on the front just to make myself feel more at home. Riding my bike even felt a little strange, it took all afternoon riding around town to finally feel comfortable in the seat.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, I live in a town were the bike population is larger than the actual population. It's not difficult to ride around to the supermarket or local bookstore. However, because my town is so 'bike-friendly' it's difficult to find that comfortable and familiar flow of traffic that I've become accustomed to in Viareggio. It's like a complex and elaborate dance that one either understands or doesn't. Once you get it, it's as if you're part of this amazing flow of energy that can weave in and out and around bikes, cars, and people. As corny as that sounds, I miss that feeling. And unfortunately, riding with more than one person on a bike will not fly in Davis. The bike police (yes, we have police who ride around on bikes) will issue a ticket without hesitation - after all, there's not much for them to really do around here, especially with all the university students out of town during the summer holiday. Regardless, I'm sure I will find a time where one of my friends will be willing to ride two to a bike (most of us haven't done that since we were in grade-school).

Above all, I miss the people I've met and the never-ending nightlife. Here in Davis, stores and restaurants close at 22:00. It's strange to not be able to ride down to the passegiatta and check out the bars, cafes, and shops until late into the night or even grab some french fries at one of the Piadina places after heading home from Seven or wherever the night had taken us.

Lately, I've been amusing myself with watching some of the video I took during the trip as well as perusing through the photos that other people have posted thus far (thank you to all of you who have). Other than that, I've gone to the movies, shopped for books, gone out one night, and attended one barbecue, which I probably would have enjoyed more had I not been so jet lagged. Otherwise my life has been less hectic and exciting than I would like. I have, however, attempted to keep with an Italian routine by watching RAI in the morning, brushing up on my verb tenses while lounging out in the yard (yes, I am a nerd - but there's a chance I may make my Italian minor into a major - pending certain credits), swimming in my pool daily (it's not the sea, but it will have to do), and riding my bike when running errands or meeting friends in town. Wow, I sound like the biggest dork on the face of the earth, don't I?

I'm hoping that by the end of the week I'll start feeling at home again, which I'm sure I will. I've rejoined my indoor soccer squad and our next game is on Saturday, which will apparently be followed by a good "unofficial" gathering with my fraternity brothers. The rest of the weekend will be monopolized by coaching at a tournament in the bay area. I'm hoping that my social agenda will pick up during the remainder of the month with people coming home from holiday, the state-fair starting, and hopefully my lack of a busy schedule, which will allow me to be social.

For all of you who I met this past month: thank you, it was an honor and a pleasure to meet such a diverse and fun-loving group of people. You all left an impression and opened my eyes to various outlooks on life and helped me see things in a fresh new light. I really hope that we all stay in touch and perhaps someday meet again. And I hope everyone had a safe trip home - and for those of you who are still traveling (oh, how I envy you) I hope you find your way home safely.