am back in rome, back in the center. i have just had possibly the best week of my entire life. from now on, whenever i am scared or nervous or sad about what is about to happen, about what is unknown, i am going to remember a week ago, last sunday night, when i cried into my pillow about how terrified i was to go and have this week on the farm. i was homesick as hell, i was scared of the language barrier, i felt totally lost and at the whim of fate. this, i have now learned, is a really beautiful whim to be on. this week with the caramadre family was just...unbelievable, and like so much else that i have experienced on this trip, something that i dont think i will be able to fully understand the importance and true beauty of until it has had time to settle, until i am able to reflect.
laura dropped me at the roma metro station this morning, and after much hugging and kisses being blown, i turned away and began to cry. i love this family so very much, each and every one of them has changed my life in some tiny way, and i hope very much that i can meet them again.
on a lighter note, i dont know that i have ever eaten more or better at any time in my whole life then i did this week. three solid meals a day, each exceptional and italian and delicious, and in between all the fresh fruit i could get my greedy little hands on.
saturday i went with the nephew, daniele, the cute one who is my age, to work at a local organic produce market in downtown rome. the place was somewheer i have never been to before, an area called testaccio, where an ancient slaughterhouse has been converted into a sort of artists conclave, galleries and cafes and organic grocery stores. we worked that morning selling the vegetables from the farm and taking multiple coffee breaks (i LOVE these people for, if nothing else, their desire and knowledge of the importance of coffee), and occasionally during a lull daniele would encourage me to go explore and see what i could see of the neighborhood. after the market had closed, we took a light lunch in the sunshine and watched the children play and chatted a bit. my comprehension and understanding at this pont is 300x better then it was, especially considering before i culd understand nothing, and now im able to understand generally. after we left the market, daniele offered to drive me back to the farm, and first we took a scenic detour through the city, over the river and through the streets, into neighborhoods that i have never seen before and off into the countryside. we drove fast in his little car and i asked for him to put in a cd of house music and he handed me an extra pair of sunglasses to wear...
that night for dinner la nonna made, oh my god, linguine with clams and some sort of breaded and baked beef butt which, i can honestly admit, is the only thing that i have ever tasted that gave grannies fried chicken a run for its money, oh my god, and the boys and i just gorged ourselves and they kept explaining that this meal was "a gift from god" and i totally agreed and there was alot of laughter and games and paolo taught me how to flick a bottle cap across the room and then we all watched some old classic roman film...
my time online is almost up...ill write more later...i have to go find my hostel and figure out what it is i am doing with myself this week...
love