After three months away, I am back in Italia, soaking up the sun in Roma. It feels good to be back. Although I am here for work, it feels strangely more like a vacation. The weather is sublime, with temperatures near to thirty degrees & today, I have been strolling around town, taking in the atmosphere. Whilst my time in Italia overall, has shown me I don't wish to settle in the country, I really do enjoy my visits & spending time here.
I've actually really missed the language, the rolling 'r's & the avid hand gestures. Whilst cycling through the streets of Berlin, I am constantly shouting 'che fai!' at people in my head, as I continually swerve round cars & people who seem to feel the need to get in my way. It's nice to be able to practice & improve my Italian. In fact, today, I had a few people come up to me asking me in Italian for information about the metro. I think it's the tan, they don't think I'm English, although, I'm not convinced they think I'm Italian either. I've started to be able to respond nearly entirely in Italian, although, I always start with "parlo solo un po d'Italiano." Perhaps by the end of the month I shall have etched a little closer to fluency.
One thing I have not missed, is the excessive amount of food Italians eat. On my first day back in the country, we had a two course lunch, consisting of pasta & then a light salad. The same evening, we had a three course dinner, with the inclusion of pasta & salad once again, followed by pizza & ending with fruit & sorbet. I was in pain. Pasta & I are not the best of friends & I have since avoided its consumption & stuck to eating only the salad & fruit on offer. I'd forgotten how late meal times were here too. I've never understood the point of eating so late & then going to bed on a full stomach.
Equally, I have never understood the Italian obsession with disposable cups & plates. If you are Italian & you happen to invite some friends round for dinner, you immediately pop down to the supermercato & pick up the disposables & shun the hoard of perfectly fine crockery in your cupboard, which seemingly never gets used. Has this nation not clocked onto the financial & environmental pitfall of this love of plastic yet? It seems not.
What I do love about Italians however, is their love of the sun. As a summer baby & a Leo, I am never happier than when I am in full corpse pose, soaking up the heat & watching my naturally porcelain skin darken to a golden shade. As I arrived in Italy on a bank holiday weekend, we took a trip to a lake, just north of the city & spent the day sunbathing & floating round the water in a pedalo. It was blissful & I am now a rich shade of mahogany.
I have to say, that recently, I have started to feel more human again. More myself to be precise. Finally appreciating more & worrying less. What did worrying ever achieve in any case, bar frown lines. Today, as I sat outside the Pantheon, people watching & soaking up the sun, I nearly cried with the overwhelming feeling of gratitude I feel inside, that this is my life right now & how fortunate I am that this is the case. Bellissima!
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