Infine - finally

I am finally going to write a bit about the adventures I have been having and now the life I am living here in Orvieto, Italy. I did not write anything the week that my mom was here with me so those stories will come in time. I had such an amazing time with her exploring Rome and seeing almost every huge monument/attraction in the city. It is relieving to know that I will be returning to Rome with my class because I did not process each site as much as I needed to. I was definitely viewing them mostly from a tourist eye and I am excited to now learn more about each site and spend time as an artist in each space.

I definitely started off my time here comparing things to what I am familiar with back home and even from my time spent in Ecuador. Comparing Ecuador and home was in a way easier because we used the same currency so it was easier to tell how different the prices were from each other, but also, Ecuador is a third world country so I knew that life was going to be very different from what I am used to in the states. I did not really know what to expect when I came here because I have nothing to compare it to.

SOoooo this is it! I am here. Finally. Here in the program with my piers, in our new home. I knoew I have been here for a week already but now that everyone has arrived it seems more real. Every time I fall asleep I forget where I am. Just as adjusting to the time has been a chance in reality, so is every day life. Sleeping seems more of a reality sometimes than my daily activities here in this wonderful place. When everyone arrived last night it was just so great to be all together finally. The little I know about this incredible city blows me away. Here even compared to Rome is so different. Rome is a typical city with drives of people and cars but around every corner is an ancient site or old building, older than our countries existence. But here in Orvieto it is different in so many ways. We are literally a city on a hill oberlooking the glorious rolling hilss of the Italian countryside with farm after farm in view creating a quilt of land scapes as far as you can see. 9/2 Today we woke up early and went on a small tour of the town. We walked down to one of the side walls and talked about how the organic and the man made work in harmony here. There are underground caves and tunnels under almost every home. The rock is dug up to create the house above it and in turn is then used as a cellar of sorts. I took a tour with my mom and we went to a few of the caves that were found that link together. Some were used for oil presses and others were used for dove coves. The small winding stone carved stairs with low ceilings were so incredible to me. The tufo rock that makes up the caves  is very easy to carve and crumbles away easily because it is volcanic rick. There is so much to even think about that I find it hard to write because seeing and feeling and tasting and smelling all of this is so hard to translate into words.

So walking around these little streets is like a dream. It seems like a movie set or something from Epcot, but it is a million times better because it is the real deal. Every meal is fantastic and even the instant coffee the one morning was good. So our meal plan is set up with a local restaurant called Locanda del Lupo. We will eat lunch (pranzo) and dinner (cena) there except for on the weekends when a lovely local named Mimma will cook. Her first meal that she made us was this amazing egplant parm dish and tirimisu (which means pick me up). Wow. SO amazing. I am skipping some things to share at another time but a few more words...if you're still with me, bravo, thank you for reading.

This is going to be such an amazing time to learn, slow down, and become engulfed by new exciting things. This town is still so connected to its medieval roots so it's almost like stepping back in time. Life is at a slower pace and I am loving it. I had my first experience drawing in public here and it certainly was an interesting one. I don't mind the glances from onlookers and people watching but this dude was all up in my grill. Too close for comfort. Then his friend took a picture of us. Really odd. Thankfully he didn't stay too long but if it had been longer I was going to move and glare at him. I am excited to dive into getting to know every nook and cranny of this place and get to know locals and even the other students here! So many things. So many things and thoughts and prayers.

One final thing to share for now, just one of the beautiful sights I saw and wrote down was noticing the older men in town strolling along with their hands behind their backs, walking, thinking, taking life as it comes. Life is beautiful.