life as i know it

just thought it was worth mentioning that i a) have a schedule for next fall and an idea for the spring and b) have a room in my beloved washburn house!!!


fall:
tennis, MW 1:30-2:30
italian seminar: creation of the italian identity, MW 2:40-4
medical anthropology, TTh 9-10:20
italian literature: dante, TTh 10:30-1120
advanced italian conversation, Th 3-4:20


spring:
an anthro course at another school, hopefully the anthropology of food or something similar
anthro seminal in traditional chinese medicine
anthro colloqium in research skills (or archaeology research skills at another school)


and as for rooms!
i will be living in 308 - cute nook for my bed, tons of space for desk, dresser and chair, and TWO windows!!! breana will be in 210 and allie will be in 208! i can't wait!!!

xoxoxo

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 

The Menu for Sunday, September 20th, 2009

I have finally figured out why Italians eat their salad and vegetables after eating their pasta and meat....

The following was the menu for this evening, in order:

One large bowl of spaghetti carbonara (once we all had our full large bowls, Luciana realized that there was still some left in the pot so naturally, without asking, she dumped it into my bowl, making it the largest bowl of pasta I think I have ever seen).

Once we had all finished off every last bit of spaghetti (which took a bit since my bowl was about 1/3 of a pound of pasta...) we were presented with the most amazing veal I have ever had (although I have only had veal once or twice.... but non importa!).

Then came the salad and the eggplant - both very amazing, but really...... at that point, even iceberg lettuce was pushing my limit. Regardless, once we took our desired portions of eggplant there was, again, some leftover and, again, it was piled high on my plate.

To top it all off, we had not only fruit salad, but fruit salad and gelato.... Oddio!!!!

Anyway, back to my main point. Italians must eat their veggies after their pasta because the pasta is the heaviest, followed by white meats and fish and then the vegetables. Then usually there is a small break before i dolci (dessert) but for some reason it appears that we skip that much-needed break in this house....

.......

On a different note, tomorrow is the first day of orientation! We have Italian, conversation time with some young Italiani, history and cooking class at Giovanna's apartamento!

Fino a domani!! Baci e abbracci!

Un giorno perfetto!

Ciao a tutti!

Things just keep getting better and better! Last night Luciana made such an amazing dinner - fusilli bolognese (I think...) made without oil or butter, followed by thinly pounded chicken in an amazing light lemon sauce (again no oil or butter!), and then - the best part by far - homemade torta di zucchini which was like an exceptionally delicious quiche with a light, fluffy crust. Just when we all thought we were going to burst with joyful fullness, Luciana brought out a homemade panacotta - an Italian custard of sorts - with a blueberry sauce on top. Incredibile!

After dinner, Ali, Julie and I sat down to watch TV with Luciana - who knew that Criminal Minds in Italiano would be so good!!

Jet lag kept me up until about 1:30am which was unfortunate given that I was aiming to get up at 7:45 this morning (which I did not succeed in!)

This morning I woke up to breakfast, a nice simple Italian breakfast - pane tostato (toast!) with cherry marmalade and nutella, and some black tea - it was perfetto! Now I am about to commence my day, shower, wander to il centro to meet Alayna and everyone else, perhaps buy some fruit and chocolate and biscotti for snacks, as well as some postcards to send a casa mia in the U.S. and then we are meeting Giovanna for a lunch of cheese, bread and fruit (pardon me if I already explained this yesterday!) After that we are meeting some younger Italiani to talk with them and get to know the city more. Hopefully I can make my way home to take a nap before our 8pm (sharp!!) dinner, and ideally, I would love to go out after that! Unfortunately, the area where I live is near the train station which doesn't have the best nighttime reputation. I can get to il centro without directly passing the station so it should be okay, but when it gets late, I have to take a taxi home.... and no walking around at night alone - EVER - according to my dear nonna Luciana!

Più tarde!

Sono arrivata! I have arrived!

Yesterday, I arrived in Florence at 2pm (10am @ home) to spend 9 months living here.

I cannot express how thrilled I am to actually be living in this city for an extended period of time.

When I arrived (with Alayna and 4 other Smith ladi

es), we wandered around Florence and found some dinner at a touristy place by the Duoma but our Smith program director, Giovanna, talked the owner into not charging us the cover fee (instead of a tip, there is a cover fee for most ristoranti!) After dinner, we walked to the Ponte Vecchio and along the Arno River, then stopped for gelato on the way home. I had a delicious combination of fragola (strawberry) and bacio (chocolate and hazelnut, like those little Bacio truffles sold in the U.S.).

Jet lag was pretty rotten.... Fell asleep at 10pm Italy time, woke up at 2am and was up until 3.30am and then woke up at 7.30am still fairly sleepy. That being said, I am ecstatic right now because at 2pm I hopped in a taxi with

my 80kg (over 100lbs....) of belongings and met my host mamma (Signora Luciana Dionisi - age 70). She is INCREDIBILE. Our apartment is stunning - marble floors, two stories, we (Ali, Julie and I) each have our own room, all of which are amazing. I have a dresser, armoire, couch, chair, desk and adorable bed. Lucian

a is the sweetest woman and she speaks at just the right speed and bears with us as we give her blank stares after asking us a question. She is said to be the best cuoca (cook) that the Smith program has ever seen and therefore I am rather psyched for tonight's big cena (dinner).

Tomorrow we meet lots of Italians our age who hopefully will help us learn to communicate a bit better, but only after meeting for a delicious pranzo (lu

nch) of foccacia and cheese and fruit with Giovanna and Monica (the program director in Firenze). Perhaps tomorrow night will be our first night going out in the città!

Baci e abbracci!

Check them out - More photos on Facebook!