Lasting Impressions

While in Rome one night, waiting for Allesandro, I grabbed a napkin and began writing my thoughts on Italy. I continued writing until he arrived and wrote more in my journal later.  I have continued to note things that I liked and disliked.
Things I loved and miss:
1.  Waiting on fast Italian men
2.  Eating chocolate for dinner
3.  The view of both Rome and Sora at night from anywhere high
4.  The people and their passion
5.  Being sung to
6.  The fountains-I have water on my soul so I was completely taken in by them
7.  Buying all new clothes in Italy-that should be a no-brainer
8.  Being complimented by men constantly
9.  The peace I felt on the farm and in the countryside
10.  All of the brave, bold, courageous people I met who were not afraid to step out of their comfort zone to become my friend even if it was short-lived for some.
11.  Homemade wine
12.  The price of wine
13.  How good the wine was

Things I didn't like at first but see the value of now:
1.  Siesta
2.  Time being meaningless
3.  Ice in red wine-Rome was hot it made sense

Things I didn't like:
I cannot think of one


Italy is sensuous.  It awakens every part of you.  It takes you and bathes you in it.

To me Italy tastes like a hot apricot after a long mountain climb.  It feels like a shower of sweat pouring off of your body and leaving you glowing and happy and hoping for someone to trace the lines of your body through the sweat.  Italy sounds like loud cicadas, birds chirping exuberantly, church bells ringing and butterflies fluttering.  Italy smells like the sea air slowly coming off the water and lemon mint in the mountains where old villas stand.  It looks like all the pictures you have seen and none of them at the same time.  It is mountain homes, busy city streets, meandering rivers running through valley towns big and small and villages perched atop outcroppings of rock.

It is a place that makes you feel at home, at peace and in a place your heart should have been for a long, long time.


 I was told a couple of days ago that vacation spots always make you feel better because you are not worrying about the day to day of your regular life.  While I can agree with that I also disagree in so many ways.
I have been blessed to travel to many places in my lifetime.  I have never felt absolutely at home in another country.  I always have had the experience of an outsider looking in.  I have tried previously to have authentic experiences in other countries so I don't think that is the factor which is different.  In Italy I felt at home.  I felt at peace.  I felt my soul rest and feel wholesome.  It is not something I have experienced elsewhere and it is not even that feeling I get when I drive down the grade into Prineville knowing that I am home.  It was an all-encompassing home.  It was a feeling of fullness, of all my longing being fulfilled in a brief moment of time.  Why?
Italians live my lifestyle; they grow their own food, appreciate being outdoors, experience the beauty of creation, love people and like to savor things.  As I took my time eating my salad and salmon today I was reminded, most Americans do not appreciate the moments of their lives and their food as much as I do.  I feel as if I live an alternative lifestyle in the United States.  I am a person who wants to have a self-sustaining farm where everything would be grown organically and in concert with nature.  I would not compete against the forces that have lived longer than any human soul.  I would simply enter into that concert and play my instrument. I do things differently.  I love to sit and sip my tea in the morning slowly savoring each drop.  When I am eating something I enjoy I sometimes make noises in appreciation for what has been prepared.  I do not love material things and therefore have very few.  I am a hopeless romantic when I am honest with myself and I fall in love pretty easily because I am accepting of who people are.  And that can make it exceptionally easy to break my heart but at least I have taken the risk.  Others are not so willing and lead a life of solitude, heartbroken and sad.  I refuse!
Italy somehow made me more aware of what I truly want in life and for that I am forever grateful.  So much so that I am trying to go again soon and learn Italian!!! More on that later.