What a lovely stage. I knew it hit when I stopped feeling quite so “what is even happening right now” and a little more “I could leave my apartment alone if I needed to and make it back alive.” As a matter of fact, my friends and I have a hard time remembering life back in the states. Thus, Stage Four has officially begun.
Some lifestyle habits have been easy to adopt; for example, drinking wine on a daily basis. I’m lucky enough to have a fourth-floor apartment with a balcony and roommates who just so happen to be incredible friends with the same music taste as I do. So every night, we sit on the balcony, listening to country (stop judging please), and drinking wine. We just talk about life as we sit under the stars. Living in step with “the good life” regimen of Tuscany is pretty sweet.
We’ve also (mostly) sorted out the practical aspects of living here. We plan our meals for the next couple of days and make our grocery store trips accordingly. Side note: food expires after 2-3 days here because there are no preservatives, so this whole “buying food” situation is quite different from home. We remember that bags cost extra and the 1.5 Liter wine bottles get heavy on the walk home, so we bring our backpacks. We now handle the stressful scramble that occurs at the checkout like professionals.
We’ve even caught ourselves calling Siena “Eugene” about ten times now. That’s when we knew it was home. I mean, we’ve figured out which pizza places are cheapest and which gelato places give you the most bang for your buck. If that doesn’t scream “integrated” I don’t know what does.
Public transportation was certainly rough, but we’ve learned to adjust. Simply expect your bus to be 20 minutes late. Trains will get delayed and possibly even cancelled. Such is life. I’ve learned to breathe. I’ve come to the realization that I’ll get home somehow. So far this has stood true.
I’ve even adjusted to the endless drum parades and can now nap through even the loudest instrumental expression.
Essentially, Stage Four has been all about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. After accepting the differences in Stage Three, I’m at the point where I can start to adopt parts of the culture in order to truly embrace the Italian experience.
On that note, I’m off to eat gelato in the main square…Ciao, friends!
Some lifestyle habits have been easy to adopt; for example, drinking wine on a daily basis. I’m lucky enough to have a fourth-floor apartment with a balcony and roommates who just so happen to be incredible friends with the same music taste as I do. So every night, we sit on the balcony, listening to country (stop judging please), and drinking wine. We just talk about life as we sit under the stars. Living in step with “the good life” regimen of Tuscany is pretty sweet.
We’ve also (mostly) sorted out the practical aspects of living here. We plan our meals for the next couple of days and make our grocery store trips accordingly. Side note: food expires after 2-3 days here because there are no preservatives, so this whole “buying food” situation is quite different from home. We remember that bags cost extra and the 1.5 Liter wine bottles get heavy on the walk home, so we bring our backpacks. We now handle the stressful scramble that occurs at the checkout like professionals.
We’ve even caught ourselves calling Siena “Eugene” about ten times now. That’s when we knew it was home. I mean, we’ve figured out which pizza places are cheapest and which gelato places give you the most bang for your buck. If that doesn’t scream “integrated” I don’t know what does.
Public transportation was certainly rough, but we’ve learned to adjust. Simply expect your bus to be 20 minutes late. Trains will get delayed and possibly even cancelled. Such is life. I’ve learned to breathe. I’ve come to the realization that I’ll get home somehow. So far this has stood true.
I’ve even adjusted to the endless drum parades and can now nap through even the loudest instrumental expression.
Essentially, Stage Four has been all about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. After accepting the differences in Stage Three, I’m at the point where I can start to adopt parts of the culture in order to truly embrace the Italian experience.
On that note, I’m off to eat gelato in the main square…Ciao, friends!