Ricominciare

Forse era questa sfida che ieri e' stato bello. ... vai VIA uomo vecchio! Provo di fare la brava. 1

una Sfida d'Amare G.A

Oggi e' stato un giorno bellissimo. ERA...a l'ultimo momento Dio mi ha dato una grande sfida e non riuscivo a farla. Adesso ho una voglia di gridare, ma non ho piú la energia. Mi sento proprio giú e giá lo so che cosa devo fare ma e molto difficile. Non c'e nessuno in la casa... qui posso amare? e' Lui. Sí, devo sceglierLo pero in questo momento voglio rimanere da sola. Pero Lui non mi lascia mai! aiutooooooo... Ho perso.

HARRY POTTER MANIA

I think I just pulled a muscle from pickin up the latest version of Harry Potter. 759 pages - Seven-hundred and fifty-nine pages... what 8 year old can read all that? Ok, maybe I'm being dramatic. I think it's great that kids are reading since it seems it's become more of a past time with all the video/computer games that are offered as other ways to kill time.

But it's the freegin size of the Bible. Did I just use the word "freegin" and "bible" in the same sentence? (Sorry God!) Maybe it's more like all of Shakespeare's works combined. Either way - you get the idea. You can't really tell but - I'm a Harry Potter fan. Not a big enough fan to dress up and wait on line for HOURS the night before the book is released but a big enough fan to buy all seven books and enjoy them...

I was watching the news reports on this Harry Potter mania and they interviewed one 16 year old girl who had flown out with her friend from California to wait on line at a bookstore in NY, just so she can have the book 3 hours earlier than her friends back home.... umm... WHAT? In cases like this I want to speak to that girl's mother and father. Is that really necessary? You don't find that your daughter has freakishly obsessive behaviors and some issues if she HAS to have her hands on that book so badly that you're willing to pay hundreds of dollars to fly her out to New York? No, on second thought, maybe I'd like to speak to THEIR parents.

My goodness - this last one is enormous. I can't carry this thing around with me! I can't just pop it in my bag on my way out the door or read it on the train, etc... I suppose I can read a few pages before bed but it will take me a long time to finish it and I'm not so sure I want to invest in all that time with Harry Potter when there are so many other books out there that I'd rather read. So...... what to do with that book?

Friday's Photo: Union Square

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I like to people watch. I enjoy walking through the city and pretend to be all touristy at times taking pictures of random things here and there. I was walking through Union Square when this little girl caught my eye. Not only was she simply adorable because she was dressed pretty outrageously but also because she was just mesmorized by the music that the man was playing. So much so that when he stopped, she ran over and begged him to play more...

My great day

Yesterday was a good day for me... No, GREAT day
Why, you ask?

1. I found gas for less than $3.00 a gallon. $2.99 in fact. I consider that a miracle.

2. I got a visit from my not-so-nice-friend which under normal circumstances, I'm not happy. But considering I'll be on a beach in Costa Rica in one week, I say - Bring on the muscle aches and back pains!

3. I had the day off which gave me a chance to catch up on my tan that I lost while in Argentina.

4. My favorite yogurt was on sale at the supermarket.

5. I find out that I'll be hosting a Slovakian guy with nice, blue eyes and a killer smile for the next day and a half. So what if I only met him once in Castelgandolfo, and once in Loppiano? We're practically family now right?

6. I found $5.00 in a pair of old jeans...

7.... that I recently fit back into.


Ain't life grand??

What's an american?

Hey all! I realize i've been M.I.A lately but considering I had been working extra hours (...hello over time pay!) and my computer being busted, there weren't many opportunities for me to write much of anything. Today is an absouletly gorgeous day where I'm at and I was hoping for a little time at the beach but considering I still have to finish laundry and packing there isn't much hope for that.

In less than 12 hours I'll be at JFK watching a slew of people rushing in every direction going to and from wherever they're coming or going. God, how i LOVE airports!

**

I'll be in Argentina for a week which means pulling out all my sweaters that I already packed away for the summer. I'm real excited to go and most of all to learn - not only improve my spanish but also to hear how things are going on the other side of the world. To meet new and old friends, and realize the concept of North and South America as being one, whole continent...I'm lucky to have had the education I had growing up (my parents did the best they could and I was sent to those ridiculous private schools) but the USA is one of those countries that teaches its children that we are in fact, two SEPERATE continents...NORTH & SOUTH... so right from the start we're set out to think of how completely different we are, rather than focusing on what draws us together as common people...

We learn that Mexico is part of Latin America but scratch our heads like baffled monkeys when asked if it's truly part of North America or not. (The answer is yes people.) Yes, mexico is part of north america. PERIOD. But because of the whole spanish speaking country that lies south of our border thing, we assume it's not. What is America? Who are americans? Let's not forget our dear neighbors to the north... Yes, God bless Canada, eh?! I mean, so what if they add the letter "u" to the words like neighbor, color and honor and switch the "z" to "s" like in "realize" or what not.... Che confusione!

Never in my life have I ever been a patriotic citizen of this country - The good ol' US of A... - I never even owned a flag and I sure as hell would NEVER wave it around in a big piazza anywhere abroad. To this day I'm amazed at how proud Brasilians are to be...well, brasilian!!! Wherever they go it's a guarantee that there will be a lot of blue, yellow and green everywhere - and I truly mean EVERY- freegin -WHERE. I sometimes wonder what that would be like, to love my country that much that I would want to tell the world where I am from...What am I so afraid of? ...errr...

I'm not a hater or anything though. I'm just not particularly proud...at the moment. We're not all pagans who worship BUSH and consumerism...and each country has their own problems too. We're not perfect! There are downright good people in this country and some foreigner don't see that!! ...BUT there are also down right good people in those places where we shouldn't be either....and some people would rather not think about that either...but I'll save that for another time because once I get started on that topic...look out!

There was never a big red,white and blue star spangled banner proudly hanging outside my house. Not even on the 4th of July (our independance day) ... Sure, we celebrated it with a crazy BBQ, but that was for the mere fun of being surrounded by great company and good wine....

Anything "american" was seriously considered to be schifo. The very word, "Americana" was usually preceeded by the word, "Babba" ... Babb'Americana was what I'd hear anytime I did something my parents disapproved of. To even be thought of as american was mostly disrespectful. It meant, ignorant, not knowing, not being bilingual and not knowing anything about geography. So why whenever I'm out of the country do I get all "patriotic"?? Where does this come from??? Isn't it odd that I'd all of the sudden say while out of the country that i'm "american"?? I sometimes amaze myself.

This should be quite an extra-ordinary experience, i think, this going to Argentina for a Panamerican congress.

And this whole "label" of being "American" --- tell that to someone from south or central america... are they not american too? But when I say, "Hi, I'm american" - I don't mean any disrespect to anyone who is from south and central. I don't want to sound like I'm saying "You're NOT american if you're from central and south america" because in fact, they are...very much so...they're just as much american as I am...!!!!!!!

In english, there is no other way to put it though. We say we're "American" because there's not a word for anyone who is from the USA, EUA or whatever. When you're from Italy, you are Italian. Or if you're from Mexico, you're Mexican. In other languages, someone from the USA could say, "Stati Unidense" or something of that nature. But there is no "United States-icans" and America is in our country's name - "united states of america." --- rather than introduce myself as being "American" ... I think i'll just stick with , "Hola, soy de Nueva York" and let them decide what in the heck I am!!!!

Don't worry people, depois ti escreo contando como foi! Knowing me, I'll probably learn more portugues than spanish while I'm down there...vediamo.

See you in a week!

Adios!

Friday's Photo: PEACE

PAX

I saw this panel of the word "Peace" written in several languages alla entrata de una chiesa famosa in una cittá famosa... - forse, some of you may even recognize it and know che ogni cinque secondi, c'e una dull voce from above saying nothing but "SSshhhh. Silencio." I wonder if it's a recording or an actual man sitting in una stanza con un microfono. Just the thought of it makes me laugh....

I'd go back to this city in a heartbeat. Good times.

Eli + technology = disaster

Sorry folks! Mio computer e un pezzo di merda e sta faccendo un schiopero. E se como sto lavorando tante ore durante la settimana, non ce l'ho tanto tempo per andare alla biblioteca per leggere emails e fare altre cose. You may not hear from me for a while. Everything having to do with technology has got it in for me... I don't know what I'm going to do without being able to read all your blogs for the next few days.. .. All you guys' blogs got me so bad, I don't even watch General Hospital anymore.

And no more talking on msn o skype with my famiglia mondiale... ERGH!! ok ok... Eli, stay calm. ...

Anyways, try not to miss me so much ok? Hopefully me and my computer will be able to reach some sort of contract agreement over the weekend, but you all know how strikes go...!!

The girl's toy...?

In recent attempts for one toy company to break out of double standards, they've created a track for little toy cars... for girls. Notice the pretty purple and fuscia-ish tints? It's called, "Polly Wheels Race to the Mall Playset"

Have you rolled your eyes yet? So not only does the track have to be set in "girly" colors (which are all socially constructed because really, what IS a girly color anyways??) but the real kicker is that now it's completely acceptable to have little girls believe they should be "racing" to the mall?

I may be over-reacting. I just remember walking into a gym notoriously known for women, and thinking, "What's with all the pink and purple machines?" For crying out loud, even the towels were pink. I think it's overkill. But that's just me.

Friday's Photo: Troppo carino

TOO CUTE !

While in Rome, there was a local "movie shoot" of some sorts going on and the director was in need of extras for this one particular scene. He started selecting people from the crowd - not me since I apparently don't have "the look" - Comunque, I totally felt for this kid over on the left side of this picture. You can see all of his friends were pulled for this scene (that's them, sitting on the first step) and he was left out. He didn't even whine, kick or scream. He simply looked on sadly trying to accept that God had other plans for him, I guess. Then eventually, he smiled since he was able to run around and play while his friends had to sit still - in the hot Roman summer sun - waiting until the director finished the scene.

*I just wanted to pick him up, walk him up to the piazza and buy him a gelato!

My Purgatory

This morning I spent $2.65 on an ice coffee for breakfast on my way to the court house only to be yelled at by the security guard that no food and beverages are permitted beyond the front door. I gulped down as much as I could and cringed as I was throwing away the rest...
After waiting a few hours in a small room with a bunch of other "offenders" I was ready to keel over since I was so famished. Maybe it was all the guilt I had been feeling that was making me sick. I felt like I was in Purgatory or something...well, I was in fact, waiting to be judged now wasn't I? Before you think I've been arrested, I can honestly say I was NOT. ... I talked my way out of it. And "it" isn't something y'all need to know about right now.
But I have one quick question for you folks -
It's not really perjury if I lie in traffic court is it? I mean, it's traffic court. I somehow managed to finagle my way out of a $285 ticket for something that happened in April of 04...that's right, this offense took place 3 stinking years ago- see? I told you people I was a good procrastinator!
After all was said and done, I ended up only paying $35 to lift the suspension on my license and now I can call it a day. So, um...does this mean I'm goin to hell or what?

Friday's Photo: Leaving the nest

3's a crowd...

A few weeks ago in the spring, my papá had noticed a small nest outside our kitchen window. I'm oblivious to these things and forgot all about the eggs. A while later, he notices how big they are and that today is the day they will fly away. And so I took that as my cue to get out my camera and go all 'national geographic' in my backyard and bird watch about 10 minutes until the mama bird came home. Well, as you can see, it's kind of crammed in the nest and getting these two out was going to take some work. They wouldn't budge. They seemed perfectly content staying home under the protection of mom's wing. Afterall, the world can certainly be a big, scary place.

They finally made it to leave the nest but not without difficulty. One of them crashed right into our window!! Then perched himself on the ledge to most likely get over his splitting headache as well as muster up the courage to give it another go, and then made it off to fly. The second one took a straight nose dive into the grass. The poor thing wobbled around a bit, got a running start and also made it off to fly. It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. To this day I think of them sometimes when I'm scared of doing something new.

It would be nice to stay all comfy, cozy, in a safe place but at the same time, there's a whole world out there and I want to get to know it. There's always a new adventure on the horizon and we're never quite sure if we should take it, or if our wings would make it that far. I say, go for it. And if you're headed for a nose dive...shit happens. Wobble around a bit, get a running start, and then try again!

DAY into NIGHT

See that girl in the green leafy dress? She's getting married in just under 50 days. That's right. A mere 7 weeks to go and I'll be standing beside her as her maid of honor watching this girl marry the love of her life on some romantic beach in Costa Rica.

She's my cousin, my "sista", BFF, fellow gen and dog lover - my everything! We've been friends since we were born. Our mom's were best friends and God willing, so will our unborn children and their children. There's one teensy-weensy problemo: I still have yet to buy my plane ticket down there. You would think as the maid of honor I'd be the first one and then call the other bridesmaids to get the ball rolling. But then my reputation for world's biggest procrastinator would be tanked... but all joking aside, I need to get that ticket as of like, 5 weeks ago. I also need to get my dress altered. I can't find a decent pair of shoes to go with the dress and my Zia can't do the alterations without the shoes... so it looks like I better get shopping.



Last weekend was her Bridal Shower - a tradition where all the women who know the bride get to "shower" her with gifts. It wasn't much of a surprise since someone slipped but she pretty much knew she was having one eventually. I then slipped even further and told her the date and everything! She's my best friend!! I tell her EVERYTHING!!! Gosh, I was so annoyed with myself!
Since her other bridesmaid flew out from L.A. and wasn't going to see the bride until Costa Rica, we decided to have an impromptu bachelorette party that same evening as the bridal shower. We called some of our closest friends and went out for a night on the town.

It had been a loooooooong time since I've gone out. I've gone out, but not "Out-out" if you get what I'm saying. My tolerance level is so not what it used to be but I could honestly drink capirinhas all night long if it means getting to see our cute waitor...


I didn't have a pair of clean jeans, and cargo pants just wasn't going to cut it. So I was left with this skirt. The skirt that I wear to the beach and the beach only...Hummmm, so much for that rule! And that pair of black strappy heels somehow managed to make their way to the front of my closet, over all the flip-flops and sneakers. I used to dress like this when I thought I was the coolest 19 year old on the planet but that bitch retired years ago. I haven't dressed like this in years.

I have the greatest city at my fingertips and don't even get out much - I figured, my best friend's bachelorette party would be a good excuse!

We didn't do anything too crazy (we kept it classy...) and could still count to ten by the end of the night, which is always a good sign.

In 20 years I wonder what I'd say while looking back at this photo.

Most likely, "Who in the hell did I think I was walking around like that - on the eve of the Puerto Rican day parade no less!"

All in all, it was a fun night and I was able to spend it with a fantastic group of girls!

We're obsessed with SUSHI

Friday's Photo: Blessed little fingers

Blessed little fingers

This photo was taken a while back but it still is worthy of being one of my favorites.


I had gone to my cousin's baptism and the baby was being tossed around like a hot potato because everyone wanted to get their share of holding him. It bothered me a bit but well, he is cute and there are a whole lot of people who love him. The baby was sleeping like a little angelito and had just let out a big yawn and grabbed a hold of his chain with the crucifix.... while everyone was snapping away at the yawn- i went for his tiny fingers... Just knowing that this baby was reaching for the cross when he was all vulnerable and tired put a great smile on my face and joy in my heart. I hope as he grows, he'll continue to reach out for that cross...

If you want to read something that will really move you

Go here:

www.asianbagunceira.blogspot.com

I'm so lucky to have had this girl by my side in Italy... She now has started a blog herself and is a much better writer than I'll ever be. Her words will move you and inspire you. ... so check it out already! GO!

Argentina!

Is it Thursday already? See, this is what happens to me in the summer whenever I'm not in classes. I forget what day is what and don't even think about asking me what the date is! But I have some great news...

ARGENTINA, HERE I COME! I need to get ready for work and so I can't write too long, but yeah, I spoke with my boss yesterday and managed to tell her about this once in a lifetime opportunity to go down to Buenos Aires for a Pan-American congress of young adults involved in "Youth for a United World" project. I've been to only two in Rome but this is the first of it's kind, where it's specifically for the continent of America... And so I've been chosen to be sponsered and go down and represent the North-East Zone of the States. People will be coming from all over central and south americas and I'm thinking I'll need to seriously brush up on my spanish since it hasn't been used in SO long. I'll get by with the Italian though, I'm sure. AH! I'm so excited! I thought I'd never get a chance to go and was so scared to tell my parents (although I don't need their permission, it's certainly nice to have their blessing though) ... and I thought they'd flip out on me leaving the country AGAIN... but they seemed real cool with it all. I figured, if it really is God's will for me to go, than nothing can stand in the way of that. And so now we're pulling together the money from the sponsers and let's see if it all works out in time! It's still up in the air right now but at least it's within reach!! I'll keep you informed later but now I'm off to work! Ciao!

Check it out: www.mondounito.net/ENG/iniziative_progetti.htm

*Hope the link works but if it doesn't you can just google "Youth for a United World" (... is google even a verb?) whatever, it is now!

**and don't forget to stop by tomorrow for Friday's Photo!

Fabulous friends

On days like this I realize how small this world really is. This morning began with reading an email from Elena in Holland, helping me out with a recipe that I am translating for Sheila in Brasil. Followed by a two hour conversation about love, life and lots of laughs with another Eli in Sydney, Australia. After feeling bad about an argument with my mom, a close friend called at the perfect time and listened patiently to me blabbing about what more can I do to be a better person/daughter.... blah blah blah... I then signed onto msn messenger and up popped a box from Carlos in Sao Paolo. He offered some comforting words and made me feel a whole lot better. As I was finishing up my conversation with Carlos, Titsiana in Italy gave me a quick shout out, which made me smile. Then Saxa in Chicago and I talked more about the pressures of entering the real world after college and how our parents aren't exactly the listening type when it comes to our NonProfit endeavors and how we'll change the world someday.... I have high hopes we'll be meeting up in Buenos Aires this summer...

These are all friends I picked up in Italy to add to my collection of fabulous people I know. I was neighbors and room-mates with these people.

...I saw them passing by in the street

...I saw them sitting in the pews at the church

...I saw them playing calcio

...I saw them at the market

...I saw them at work in the factory

...I saw them at dinner time

.

Each day I pray for them and realize that they're not so far away - they've been with me all along...and on days like this, I feel loved.

Eli saves the day...

After coming home from my first errand this morning (at 7:30am), I came home to find an enormous puddle of water spreading throughout my kitchen. We've been having disgusting weather lately and there's been nothing but rain in our forecast, unfortunately. I assumed it was due to all the rain... I mopped up the mess, put a load of laundry in the washer and went back to bed. After waking up for the second time, I returned downstairs to see cleaning products that were once under the sink, spread out all over the kitchen floor and my brother eating my left over General Tso's chicken for breakfast at the table looking annoyed and frustrated.

"What's up?" I asked.
He replied, "There was water EVERYWHERE and it's because the pipe is leaking under the sink."
"hmm... " , I said as I knelt down to inspect the leaky pipe.

...indeed, we had a steady stream of water coming out from the pipes. So what does my genius of a baby brother do? He mopped up the mess with a gabillion paper towels -because at 21 years old, he still needs instructions on how to use a freegin mop- and instead of taking an actual bucket and placing it under the sink, he decided to use several tupperware containers to catch the water.

He then proceeds to ask me, "You have the day off today right? Because at this rate, you'll need to empty out these containers at least every 10 minutes."

... like it's my God-given duty as the only girl in the house to save the kitchen from the big bad plumber ghost?
...like he thinks I should sit here and wait for these tiny little things to fill up so I could empty them out again?
... like he couldn't just stop and think for a second and get a bigger bucket instead of 8 little plastic containers?

I was getting more and more annoyed but remained calm and tried to look him in the eye and be patient with him instead of being a jerk of an older sister.
I was still kneeling under the sink and had an "A-Ha!" moment. I reached over and placed my hand on something called a knob. "Righty tighty, lefty lucy" and I turned the knobs to the right. And so, with that, the water was shut off and the leaking stopped.

**
Now all I have to do is clean up this mess in the kitchen, finish the second load of laundry, and charge my phone to full battery power so I'll have enough power on my cell phone to listen to one of my best friends call me to stress about hypothetical major plans to spend a week in Buenos Aires this July...

Friday's Photo: Liquid Sunshine

LIQUID

SUN

SHINE

I love taking photos. My digital camera is an extention of my right arm. I am not a photographer per se but I like to capture interesting things and show people my perspective. So I'm designating each Friday to a favorite photo of mine.
Here's the first of the series of favorite photos.

While walking home from work on a sunny day, the sky opened up and started to rain a bit. This is Elena from Holland and Sarah from the States reaching out for some unexpected liquid sunshine.


In the distant background, you can see the vineyards we walked through to get to the road leading to our casetta.

This picture makes me smile!