I'm back in the United States for one week. Unfortunately there's not much to report. I've been doing a lot of organizing, cooking, watching decent television, and applying for jobs. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat again.

Mostly I've gotten used to moving back and forth between Italian and American cultures. But there are things that I certainly miss about living in Italy. The first thing is the walking. Or just general accessibility to other places. I'm going tomorrow to get my car which has been stored while I was away. I've driven a bit, but I hate that I can't just walk 10 minutes to the grocery store or just to look at my favorite windows.

Which brings me to numero due: window shopping. I barely spent money on non-edible items or "experiences." It's part of my travel philosophy, but then it's also just a practical case. You can't go with one suitcase and accumulate too much. Still I loved to waste time just walking around and looking at the windows. Normally you don't go into a store in Italy unless you have the intention to buy, so the merchants spend considerable time putting those windows together as bait. Just stunning.

And while I could go on about lots of things, what I notice, but don't necessarily miss, is the anxiety of speaking with strangers. Most of the time I like to talk to people I don't know just to be friendly. I get it from my momma. Or maybe I'm kind of Southern. Either way, I find talking to O.P.s, or "other people," to be a neat way to meet different kinds of people and learn things I never would have known before that conversation. The thing is that talking with O.P.s is infinitely more difficult when you have to speak your second language. What if you don't know a word? How about if you can't understand something? These are feelings you get used to with time and lots of practice, but I like being able to make jokes and to lead conversations sometimes.

I miss some parts of living in Italy, but I could get used to this.

Lessons Learned 3.0

When asked how I'd like to spend my final moments in Rome, I'll admire art.

I should always prepare for my trip to and from Italy to be at least 5 hours longer than expected. 

While traveling I should be as padded as a linebacker. Too many bruises.

No matter how old you are, you can always run into Momma Bear's arms.

A brother is the best friends a girl can have. Best friends are the sisters she never got.

I can live at home (at least for now) happily unemployed.

“There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.” --Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Homeward bound

This entry will be the shortest I will probably ever write:

I'M COMING HOME!!!!!

Sure I'm a little sad to be leaving my friends and Italy. But I miss my family and friends back home. And I'm ready for some new adventures. So stay posted for those from the domestic side of the Atlantic.

Until next time!

When the South comes to town

Of course, my mind is oriented toward coming home. There's only a week left here to enjoy Italian life and finish up business, then I'm back to the States. But to my surprise, I got a strange preview of live back home this past weekend.

Friday night, I went to a local bar gig to watch some of my friends play in their band called The Last to Knows. (Yes, they're completely aware that the name is grammatically incorrect.) The Last to Knows are a pop-punk country/folk band of six Italians from the district of Siena. The lead Mattia writes the songs and sings...always in English. Have any of them been to the South? That seems to be an irrelevant point, but I'll have you know that they have the heart. Three of the guys also performed live on the radio Sunday--after which we had the most awesome dinner of specialty meat, cheese, and olives which we washed down with some tasty IPAs. Oh, the joys of simple life.

I must admit that I was left wondering during the concert Friday night and then on Sunday as Mattia spoke to the disk jockey, what did Italians understand when they hear their music? Now, don't get me wrong, Mattia's English is great. Sure, lyrics are sometimes hard to decipher, but that's the case with any singer. (I just found out the lyrics to this jem are "Just stay close at hand" and not "Just because I asked." Rocked my world.) Although I still think Mattia should get a tutor with a drawl.... But then there's the question of what do they think of the sound? Italians are pretty used to getting inundated with music from the Anglophones, but this is no Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. I guess all that matters is that there was a packed bar Friday and, I assume, some radio listeners out there on Sunday.

Back to the point: if you want to listen to some of The Last to Knows' recent recordings you can download their newest songs, listen to some older ones, or just watch my poor quality video clip (cut short since the file was so big). Also, I only have a point and shoot and Friday night's concert was at not an ideal location for picture taking, but here are a few anyway.

Not everyone likes to be center stage.

Hardest to photograph. The most fun to watch.

 

Saturday, I bribed Gabriele into driving me to Sansepolcro with promises of lots of good food and company. Upon arrival, we were picked up by Sara, had a wonderful lunch prepared by Patrizio, and were entertained by Leonardo, Ginevra, and Veronica. Beyond the fun that children bring to life and the great warmth I feel when I'm at their home, one of the best things about seeing this wonderful family again was being able to actually "speak." I met them at the end of my first trip to Italy and Patrizio just couldn't believe I was following his point about bike racing in detail. Like I said before, it's the simple things, people. :)

Aren't we the cutest?

I was also able to visit Palazzo Alberti and visit with Dr. Betty Webb, John Rose, and the ragazze from Meredith College. We just happened to arrive on the day in which Palazzo Alberti was celebrating a year in Sansepolcro. As a result there was an open house birthday party complete with cake and prosecco. It was wonderful to see how Meredith has started to become a real part of the community. You could hear both English and Italian floating around the room, along with the most important language, MereCollian (or Meredith-ese? I don't know. I just made it up.).

This one was an exclusive tongue known only by a few of us. For instance, Dr. Webb introduced me to some of the students as 2010's Senior Tall Tale and although I didn't know most of them, I was instantly recognized as being a part of Cornhuskin'. Of course it was a mystery to the other guests because...all toooooogether now: You just have to experience it! But it was nice to find others out in the real world who made "good ol' Meredith, Meredith ol' MC" their home, too.

Coming back soon!

Too much excitement

There's a point in every world-traveler's experience in which she feels too far from home. After all this time in Siena, I've always known that life went along as per usual with the natural ups and downs. I know this fact because I've had them for my own, but it's difficult to remember they go on at home, too. This weekend my little brother Jason (who, in fact, is not so little but a young man in his own right) was pretty sick. Hospital sick. I'm happy to report that he is back to his quite silly self, but I spent plenty of hours in "big sister mode."

My parents and grandparents kept me as informed as possible and reassured me of his general well-being. I appreciate the network and trust their information, but there was nothing that could stop me from having Jay in the back of my mind. At every moment. It didn't matter that I spent a wonderful day in Florence examining the most beautiful art. I couldn't care less about engaging myself at a dinner with Italians. I had no will to celebrate receiving Fulbright recommendations (and therefore nearly finishing my application) or to bask in the glory of surviving my first Nordic walk. I went on with these activities because I was ensured Jason was okay and because I've learned that is what I have to do to live my life: I keep moving forward.

The most interesting realization made during this time was knowing that I still have a desire to move on and away. Whether I'm here in Italy or anywhere else, I am trying to make a life for myself and haven't finished exploring quite yet. Heck, I've just started! My family and I are getting used to this fact and we're all learning how to communicate despite the distance. I'm quite so thankful to them and all my wonderful support system for bearing with me as I bounce around.

And speaking of bouncing around, I'd like to inform you all that I'm officially moving back to the States. That's right, I'm coming home. At least for a while. I'm very happy with the decision if I'm to be honest with you. I feel like I've found everything that I came here looking for plus so much more. As you know, I didn't have many plans about when I was returning or what I was doing here, but hoped I would know the "right time." I think I've found it.

Please don't be mistaken, the life I lived here was real. I imagine sometimes it's silly to hear some of my stories because, as my best friend Alexa says, I live "so cinematically," but rest assured that living here was hard sometimes. I faced some of the same challenges I would have had in America in addition to so many that you maybe couldn't fathom. I'll have you know that I will definitely appreciate some of America's "simple tasks" I took for granted. But then these past two and a half months were also filled with an abundance of great things. I've started learning how to live out of an academic pattern and how to get wherever I want to be. I'm not exactly sure what's up next for me, but I'll keep you posted as the adventures continue to unfold.