Just a quick reminder before I get started, if you scroll down to the bottom of the page there are more pictures. Okay so this week was fun. My friend Rebecca who is now in India (many people have referred to me coming to Italy, similar to the book Eat, Pray, Love, but Rebecca's story fits the bill much more than mine) anyway, she took me to the greatest place to eat on Tuesday night. It is called SAID and it is a very old, and possibly the first chocolate factory in Rome. It is known for it's amazing desserts but the food was to die for. I wish I would have taken a picture of the food. We shared the most amazing zuchinni flower souffle that melted in your mouth. The texture was unlike anything I've tried and they topped it with pistachio's and bacon. If you come to visit I will take you there.
On Saturday Luke and I spent the whole day in Villa Borghese. It is a beautiful, park, like Central Park in NYC. It is very big and there are many things to do. We rented a boat and boated around a pond that was full of turtles and fish as big as Luke. We rented a bike thingy and biked in the rain around the entire park, we went to the children's library and read children's books, but they were in Italian so I had to pretend I could read them and guess what they were about by looking at the pictures (which gave me a great idea of a way to improve my Italian, go read children's books and take a dictionary to tranlate), then we ended the day with a beautiful sunset on top of Piazza di Popolo where we could see the city of Rome and the beautiful St. Peter's Cathedral "Vatican".
The beauty here is indescribable. The pictures and my words will never do it justice. I haven't been able to find a job. A work visa is almost impossible to get in Italy, and people won't hire me without one, so my time here might have to be cut short. I would live here for years if I could get a good job, but I can't just walk around Rome everyday (as much as I love it) without a purpose. I need a job, so I'm not sure what to do from here. I do know however, that Italy will be a place I hopefully visit once a year. I just love it, and I am determined to speak Italian fluently.
Learning Italian has made me appreciate the fact that I can speak Spanish so well. I think I took it for granted, and I didn't appreciate it as a gift. Speaking another language really is a gift and I've forgotton how hard it can be for people to learn. I think Spanish came easy to me not only because of the mission but also from marrying Alex, working as an interpreter and other relationships I have with Spanish speaking people. I'm grateful now for the gift to speak another language and I will be a better Spanish teacher in the future for having gone through this experience. I really thought learning Italian would be easy but it is harder than I thought. I have been humbled, and I will be more patient and understanding to those I teach in the future. I won't give up though, I will be tri-langual, and who knows, maybe someday I will move to Paris (if I'm an old maid, and Luke is on his mission) and I'll learn French and then I'll be...... what's the word for 4 languages?
Observation of the Week:
Although Rome is beautiful, there are many things that remind me of a third world country, for example; there is dog poop everywhere, it is very dirty, there are beggars, Luke went on a ride and there was no seat belt, he almost fell out and could have gotton very hurt, the other day I saw a guy washing windows at a stop lights for money, you can buy packets of tissues from your car, and there are vendors on every corner selling roasted chessnuts, jewelery, shoes, clothes, and of course fruit. It really reminds me of my mission except the people speak Italian, dress much nicer, and they aren't as humble. It is a lot prettier however, and the food is much better, oh and the men are better looking.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Still Loving Rome
The greatest thing happened this Sunday. They announced at church that they are breaking ground to build a temple here in Rome. The actual fact that they are building a temple wasn't what excited me (I take temples for granted living in Utah, and I didn't think that much of it) but the reaction of the members of the ward touched my heart. They were gasping, crying, shaking, screaming with excitement, even the young men and women, and the children were so over joyed. They would give testimonies about how when they were growing up they were one of ten members in the ward, that they would only dream of travelling to Switzerland to visit the temple, and what a miracle it was to see a temple being built in Italy. I know not all my friends and family that read this are members of my church, but I just wanted to express how spiritual and beautiful this experience was for me. It really put things in perspective for me. I am so grateful for the gospel whether I'm in Utah or in Italy. It is the same spirit everywhere, and I love to feel it. Hearing the same beautiful music, meeting wonderful people, and feeling the spirit each Sunday is so comforting to me. I am lucky to have it in my life, wherever I go in the world.
I discovered the best Pizza in Rome, so if you come to visit I will take you there. We have been three times this week already. I discovered the first Gelato shop ever, and tried the rice flavored gelato which is kind of like frozen rice pudding, has real rice in it, and it is to die for. The weather is beautiful, cool and fallish. The women here are so stylish. Everybody wears cute boots and all different kinds. There isn't one specific kind that is in style. The boots are short, long, leather, suede, black, grey, purple, brown, with bows, buckles, rhinestones, heels, no heels, whatever they feel looks cute. I like how there isn't a specific style. The women go with what they think looks sexy to them and they all look great.
Every now and then I'll duck into a church (they are EVERYWHERE and they are amazing), and ponder about life. I'm so lucky to just "pop in" the most beautiful churches full of soft worn marble, gold, beautifully painted ceilings and walls, marble statues, the detail of the molding, etc. Instead of popping into Anthropology really quick at the Gateway, I'm popping into beautiful historic Roman Cathedrals that are thousands of years old, with painting and sculptures created by some of the most talented artists of all time.
Observation of the week: They don't refrigerate their eggs and milk in the grocery store. How does it stay fresh? Everything is in small portions too, so you have to go back to the store every other day. The markets are tiny with not much of a selection. I need to go to different stores to get different things. I feel like I'm at the market everyday. I do miss Costco, Target, and Wallmart just a little, but that's the price you pay for character and quaint Italian personality.
I discovered the best Pizza in Rome, so if you come to visit I will take you there. We have been three times this week already. I discovered the first Gelato shop ever, and tried the rice flavored gelato which is kind of like frozen rice pudding, has real rice in it, and it is to die for. The weather is beautiful, cool and fallish. The women here are so stylish. Everybody wears cute boots and all different kinds. There isn't one specific kind that is in style. The boots are short, long, leather, suede, black, grey, purple, brown, with bows, buckles, rhinestones, heels, no heels, whatever they feel looks cute. I like how there isn't a specific style. The women go with what they think looks sexy to them and they all look great.
Every now and then I'll duck into a church (they are EVERYWHERE and they are amazing), and ponder about life. I'm so lucky to just "pop in" the most beautiful churches full of soft worn marble, gold, beautifully painted ceilings and walls, marble statues, the detail of the molding, etc. Instead of popping into Anthropology really quick at the Gateway, I'm popping into beautiful historic Roman Cathedrals that are thousands of years old, with painting and sculptures created by some of the most talented artists of all time.
Observation of the week: They don't refrigerate their eggs and milk in the grocery store. How does it stay fresh? Everything is in small portions too, so you have to go back to the store every other day. The markets are tiny with not much of a selection. I need to go to different stores to get different things. I feel like I'm at the market everyday. I do miss Costco, Target, and Wallmart just a little, but that's the price you pay for character and quaint Italian personality.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Lake Como
I have found the place I want to retire! LAKE COMO! It was beautiful, and so not what I was expecting. I was thinking it was a small little town with a medium sized lake. It was gigantic. It seemed as though it was as big as Lake Powell, it just went forever in all directions. It was huge and had a ton of cute small italian towns all around it. It would take weeks to vistit all the little towns. We went to about five. We stayed in Monterosso, where I want to retire. Luke and I took the train and met my friend Lindy and her mom in Milan. Together we took a train to Como and then a bus to Monterosso. We stayed in a cute hotel, and when they left to go to Florence we stayed another night, but in a hostel (only 19 euro for both of us). It was fun to be around so many travelers. Luke was given so much attention by the people staying at the hostel, kind of a family type setting. He loved it.
On the way back from Lake Como I thought Luke and I could spend the day in Milan since I'd never been there. People have told me Milan wasn't that great and not really worth seeing, but I am so glad we went. I have seen many beautiful churches in my life, but the main church in Milan, The Duomo, was breathtaking. It literally took my breath away. I was amazing at how beautiful and big it was. I loved it. We shopped and ate and walked around for the day and then we took the night train, which was a horrible experience and I will NEVER do it again.
The night train was the cheapest option plus I thought it would be empty and we could sleep. The seats are in little rooms with six chairs that you can make into beds, but the train was full, not one seat was empty. I didn't buy Luke a ticket because I thought there would be so many empty seats. Just picture a tiny enclosed space with six seats, four were occupied by big fat Italian men, the one directly across from me was occupied by a really tall African man with such long legs, they all smelled of b.o., Luke was on my lap asleep, but moving around every five minutes, they for some reason didn't want to open the window, it was soooo hot and smelly, the men were snoring, sweating, making noises, I was in the middle, they acted annoyed by every move Luke made, and this was a 7 hour train ride! This was all after transferring from a very small town, with a tiny train station, at midnight, sitting on the dirty floor, looking like gypsies, Luke asleep in my arms, waiting for two hours for our connection to Rome. One woman offered to get Luke some food, we really looked like beggars, all to save $40. Yes I am a Harmsen, it is in my blood, I don't know why I go to such lengths to save money, but I guess there are worse character traits than being frugal.
We are back in Rome, Luke is in school. I had my first Italian lesson today. My teacher doesn't speak Italian and she is pretty funny. She just points to things in the room and says it in Italian, it's a free class so I can't expect too much. My skin has been acting very funny here, it is really red and irritated. She asked me in front of the whole class what was wrong with my skin? She went on forever telling me to go to a dermatologist, and then even had the class repeat words like dermatologist and skin in Italian. She even wrote it on the board. Now I will never forget the word pelle (skin). I was embarrassed but it was also pretty funny. I felt like I was back in Chile where they ask you about every little red mark or irritation and tell you about all the creams you should buy and all the doctors you should see.
Observation of the Week
I have observed that all the Italian children have blonde hair and blue eyes, yet the adults don't. Luke is the most Italian looking boy in his class.
On the way back from Lake Como I thought Luke and I could spend the day in Milan since I'd never been there. People have told me Milan wasn't that great and not really worth seeing, but I am so glad we went. I have seen many beautiful churches in my life, but the main church in Milan, The Duomo, was breathtaking. It literally took my breath away. I was amazing at how beautiful and big it was. I loved it. We shopped and ate and walked around for the day and then we took the night train, which was a horrible experience and I will NEVER do it again.
The night train was the cheapest option plus I thought it would be empty and we could sleep. The seats are in little rooms with six chairs that you can make into beds, but the train was full, not one seat was empty. I didn't buy Luke a ticket because I thought there would be so many empty seats. Just picture a tiny enclosed space with six seats, four were occupied by big fat Italian men, the one directly across from me was occupied by a really tall African man with such long legs, they all smelled of b.o., Luke was on my lap asleep, but moving around every five minutes, they for some reason didn't want to open the window, it was soooo hot and smelly, the men were snoring, sweating, making noises, I was in the middle, they acted annoyed by every move Luke made, and this was a 7 hour train ride! This was all after transferring from a very small town, with a tiny train station, at midnight, sitting on the dirty floor, looking like gypsies, Luke asleep in my arms, waiting for two hours for our connection to Rome. One woman offered to get Luke some food, we really looked like beggars, all to save $40. Yes I am a Harmsen, it is in my blood, I don't know why I go to such lengths to save money, but I guess there are worse character traits than being frugal.
We are back in Rome, Luke is in school. I had my first Italian lesson today. My teacher doesn't speak Italian and she is pretty funny. She just points to things in the room and says it in Italian, it's a free class so I can't expect too much. My skin has been acting very funny here, it is really red and irritated. She asked me in front of the whole class what was wrong with my skin? She went on forever telling me to go to a dermatologist, and then even had the class repeat words like dermatologist and skin in Italian. She even wrote it on the board. Now I will never forget the word pelle (skin). I was embarrassed but it was also pretty funny. I felt like I was back in Chile where they ask you about every little red mark or irritation and tell you about all the creams you should buy and all the doctors you should see.
Observation of the Week
I have observed that all the Italian children have blonde hair and blue eyes, yet the adults don't. Luke is the most Italian looking boy in his class.
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