Not Much Goin' On

I'm updating my blog today despite the fact that I have nothing to report. :) Something about being overseas has turned me into an obsessive blog-updater. I wonder if that will carry over when I get back? Actually, I wonder a lot of things when I think about going back. Will home feel different? Will I feel different? I don't feel like I've changed over here at all, but people keep telling me that travel changes your life. I suppose that remains to be seen. I'll get back to that topic once I've been back in the States for a while. :)

Today is a day of relaxation. Without a paper to work on, and without the gumption to shop or sight-see, not much is left but to relax and enjoy life. I don't know if I'll get that gumption back anytime soon. I mean, I've shopped and seen sights for several weeks, and what do I have left to see anyway? So I am just feeling totally lazy...maybe I'll stroll down some little streets in Trastevere and people-watch, maybe I'll take a book and sit by a fountain in a piazza, maybe this evening I'll go get gelato. (I love gelato here. I figured it would be overrated, but it most assuredly is not. I don't even eat ice cream at home, usually, but this stuff is amazing.) Maybe I'll go sit in the park next to Castel Sant'Angelo and watch the Tiber flow by. I relish the choices, relish this feeling of complete laziness. I know it'll never really be this easy for me again...I'm getting too old to be irresponsible like this. The real world's coming back soon, so I'm enjoying this while I can.

Claudia and I ended up chatting for a long time this morning as we had breakfast and then waited what seemed like an hour for our bus. We started talking about food back home, and she shocked me by asking me what brisket is, what chicken fried steak is, and what sour cream chicken enchiladas are. Oh my lands. Pennsylvania must be an awful place to live. She and Nancy stared at me blankly the other day when I said that the difference between two things was "six one way, half a dozen the other." Is that a southern expression? Or is that a family expression? I don't know, but I thought it was standard. Guess I was wrong. I'm trying to think of the other sayings I've baffled my roommates with, but they're not coming to mind. But anyway, they are always being amused by the things I say. I had no idea I was so...quaint. (At least they don't make fun of my accent.) America is a weird place, apparently. Maybe I should travel more. But then again, if they don't even know what barbecued brisket and chicken fried steak are, I'm not sure I'd want to go!

Mmm that's making me hungry. I miss homey food. But I'm still not tired of Italian pizza and pasta and lasagna and...everything. :) Claudia and I are about to go eat when Molly gets here to meet us. It's just the three of us this weekend, since Nancy went to Venice and Courtney went to Greece. (Yes, I'm turning green with envy. Someday I must come back, for some other Italian cities and definitely for Greece.) Tomorrow we're thinking about going back to the beach, since my back isn't lobster-red anymore and we have nothing else to do. The weather says we'll have a 90% chance of rain in the evening, but hopefully in the morning we'll do okay. I'm definitely remembering to put sunscreen on my back this time!

Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that I randomly met some guy from Morocco in the metro. It was kind of funny, because I was just talking with one of my classmates, and after she got off, I was continuing on to my stop and he was standing across from me. He asked if I spoke English (haha he'd been listening to me the whole time, but I guess you have to start a conversation somehow), and I started looking around to see if he was trying to distract me, or trying to flirt with me, but he wasn't. He was just curious about where I was from and what I was doing in Rome and if I liked it, etc. It was marvelously uncomplicated. Usually in Italy, if a guy randomly starts talking to you in the metro, he has some kind of agenda that you need to keep your guard against. But then again, this one wasn't Italian. Not that Italians are all bad, it's just that the ones who are nice will mind their own business and leave you alone. Anyway, it was interesting to talk to him because he's from Morocco, working here in Rome. I've met people from everywhere while I've been here, seems like. Rome seems to be the center of the civilized world, even today.

Well, I'm still sitting here rambling just because I'm bored, so I'd better stop rather than completely wear out your patience. I will probably update sometime tomorrow, although if we go to the beach there's no guarantee. Anyway, lots of love to you folks, and I'm starting to count the days to when I get to see you again!