Riso Freddo and the Power of Change.

Italians are funny.

Tonight we ate riso freddo - cold rice - aka chilled rice served with sliced egg, canned tuna, tomatoes, capers, mushrooms and cut-up hot dogs. I am paying $50,000 to eat cold rice and sliced hot dog salad. Brava! Too bad it was extremely delicious.

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This morning I went to Pistoia (everyone MUST go here, its BELLAISSIMA) to meet some of the teachers I may be working with for my little education internship. We also heard some of them speak and watched a little video about the architecture of education. It was all very interesting, and the elementary schools in Pistoia are incredible, but I am still feeling hesitant.

I love children, I always have. I love working with them and teaching them and laughing with them and watching them change. I have even (frequently) entertained the idea of getting my teaching license for the elementary level, but in the past few months I think I have changed my mind.


Whenever I try something new, I fall in love with it and decide that I want to dedicate my life to it. I alluded to this in a past post, but I'll elaborate just the same. When I took Anatomy & Physiology senior year of high school, I wanted to become a doctor. When I took my Anthropology of Dying & Death course at Smith, I wanted to become a forensic anthropologist (a là Bones). When I worked at a daycare, I came home thinking, "Hmmm, maybe I want to open a childcare center." When I attended a Doula workshop, I wanted to become a licensed Doula and after receiving acupuncture for the first time, I wanted that as a career as well. When I subbed at my mom's elementary school, I decided that I absolutely wanted to be a 1st and 2nd grade teacher. Now, all those ideas have flown out the window because my most recent endeavor in the real world was working in a restaurant and naturally I am dead-set on opening a restaurant. 


I am not saying that I don't think the Pistoia internship wouldn't be an incredible learning experience but I am worried that there is another internship or another volunteer opportunity out there somewhere in Firenze that would benefit my interests even more. There is a school of hospitality and restaurant management in Florence but I am pretty sure the classes are taught in English so that won't really work... but I'm sure there are others out there! 


I guess I am just worried because I want this year to be the best that it can be and I don't want to waste or miss any opportunity I am given. Pistoia would be incredible, as would many other things, so I suppose at this point its just up to me to explore some options and decide what I truly want to do.


Baci a tutti!

new life plan.

If you can dream it, you can do it.  --Walt Disney 

When I was little, I wanted to be a ballerina. Then I found out my hips were double-jointed and was informed by an evil doctor that I would never be able to live my dream.

When I was in high school, I was positive I wanted to go to college and then move on to medical school because there was nothing I wanted more than to be a pediatrician. Then I got to Smith College.

Upon arriving at Smith, I abandoned the idea of becoming a traditional doctor because far more intriguing was the idea of becoming a midwife and an acupuncturist. I combined this with my love of the anthropology department and decided that a good fit was to major in anthropology and specialize in medical anthropology.

I still love this idea and it is indeed the degree with which I am going to graduate. That being said, I have one dream at this point, and it is a dream so intense and incredible that when I start to think about it - really think and dream and plan - I start to shake a little, my pulse races and I even cried a bit yesterday.

The one thing I want is to own a restaurant.

I want this so badly that I am considering dropping my education internship this spring in Italy so that I can find courses in Italy in restaurant management. Either way, I plan on taking courses next summer, possibly during senior year, and upon graduating so that I have some knowledge of management. It seems perfectly feasible to spend a few years working in restaurants, a job which I adore, with the goal of attaining assistant manager at a local, well-loved establishment. Waitressing is something I enjoy a great deal. I love the rush and the business, I love learning about the food coming from the kitchen and I love chatting with customers, ensuring their return.

My dream is an elaborate one. I want to open a taproom/bistro where I brew my own beer and cider, and bring in many other local beers on tap as well. I want as much locally grown food as possible and in addition to pub fare (burgers and wings are a must-have), I want funky and intriguing snacks, salads and entrees to appeal to everyone. I want a dark yet fun and enticing atmosphere. I want regulars who come the same time each week and order the same beer with the same burger. This is something I would kill for....

Talk about college being worth it.... I have the opportunity to spend 4 years learning about things I love, finding a passion even if its unrelated to my major.... I can then attend a few classes while working at a variety of restaurants.... all en route to establishing something of my very own....

And what if this dream actually came true?

My boyfriend, someone who has more faith in me than God (he would rather I say Sir Isaac Newton), strongly believes this is a dream I could achieve by the age of 22. If I can take out a loan, and save my own money, and (fingers crossed) receive some assistance from Obama's small business act, it is feasible. I have begun to make connections in the restaurant business and if I can continue to immerse myself and I can find a perfect piece of real estate for the right price.... get help from the right people, come up with the right name and the best menu....

Hey, it could happen.....

Any advice? Suggestions? Ideas? Connections? All is welcome and needed!!!

BACI!

Dreams do not vanish so long as people do not abandon them. --Phantom F. Harlock

Sometimes dreams alter the course of an entire life.  --Judith Duerk