The smells that dominate

Today was a rather “nothing” day.   I woke up early, ate breakfast in bed, but had a text from my momma saying that we had in fact beaten Tennessee!! Roll Tide!! I love to wake up to that news!!  I sat down in the new living room to write some and my momma called.  When I opened the balcony doors inside the new living room the most wonderful smells were coming from the apartment across the way!  It smelled slightly of peppers, but mostly just smelled AMAZING!! I killed some time writing and taking care of household things.  It was eventually late enough that I was hungry for lunch.  I ate, and then I set out to walk for a bit!!  I decided to be Uniquely American and went out in t-shirt, tempos, and tennis shoes.  It was so warm outside and this seems to be my typical Sunday outfit….like by Sunday I just need to relax into a bit of the familiar! 

My walk was good.  People were just getting out of church and so there were floods of people coming from the doors and out onto the streets.  There were people in the few bars that were open, and you could hear the clinking of the glasses.  I of course got many strange looks for my outfit of choice, but I really did not care!!!  I saw so many sweet older ladies walking arm-in-arm and it was so sweet to see and is just endearing how they support each other (physically, socially, emotionally, etc).  I walked for about an hour and a half.  I discovered some preschools, took pictures of random things like parks and statues, and just enjoyed the process of getting to know the layout of the city!

Restaurant from last night

Elementary and Pre- schools

Once I made it to Corso Mazzini (main street) I could smell the most wonderful food!!  It was early enough that there were people out walking and chatting with each other.  There were children learning to ride bicycles, men pushing strollers (no moms in sight…strange to see soooo much of this), and this one sweet little girl was playing with a leaf that had fallen to the ground.  I walked to the “best” gelato place (according to Lilla) and treated myself to some gelato.   I made my way back to the apartment and once again was greeted with the smells of amazing food!!! 

I started writing some more, and trying to get used to the different Microsoft word…the Microsoft work I Italian…where bold is a G and underline is an S.  I washed clothes, even though it is more expensive to do during the day, but I knew I had to give them time to dry, and I boiled some eggs (not doing them as well as I did the first time…oh well).  Then it was time to go to the hotel. 

On my way there I saw the funniest thing…a man texting and riding a bike!  It looked rather difficult, but he seemed to have mastered it.  Last night I saw a girl texting and driving…a stick shift…though I suppose it was no more unsafe than not having lines on the road. 

I had a cappuccino at the hotel and was able to talk to my Avery girls, my momma, and April. 

I had decided that I could not go with Luca tonight because I had too much to do and it was made worse when I got on the Fulbright page on facebook and started feeling more pressure about the presentations we had to do! I’d spent a large portion of my afternoon creating mine and practicing what I would say, as not to stumble over my words!  I had cancelled on Luca at this point and he kept trying to reschedule, but I just had too much to do!  I am not one to sacrifice my responsibilities and things I want to be done well for a social thing.  I felt bad, but not too bad actually!  I had explained that I had a lot to do for Rome, a presentation to make, my computer had crashed so I had to make an extra trip to school Monday, etc. etc.  Then he got on skype and was pissed to see that I was on there and said that he thought my computer was broken and he was acting all crushed and kept telling me that he missed me. 

Okay, this is where I was getting annoyed.  Not just with him, but with the fact that I cannot communicate well and thus could not actually communicate what all I had to do and how stressed it was beginning to make me.  He also does not really know me and therefore does not fully understand why I am here in the first place and how seriously I take school/work stuff.  It was beginning to annoy me that he keeps saying he misses me…you don’t know me…how can you truly miss me!?!?!  The whole “it’s romantic and foreign and sweet” thing was beginning to wear off.  I miss my family…and I miss my friends…but I miss them because I know them and they know me and we have genuine things to miss!!!  I was nice about it, but my inability to fully explain left things hanging. 

I eventually went home and made veggies, some pasta, and chicken!

It was amazing!!! I was once again sitting down to eat at 9pm.  WHAAA??  I watched the X-Factor for lack of anything else.  It was, um….interesting.  One of the judges was yawning and the camera tried to quickly cut away, but it was still visible.  Their outfits were hilarious.  One girl had on the most hideous houndstooth dress…no, really!  Not all houndstooth is good.  She even took her shoes off when she was finished singing and had walked over to the Italian Ryan Seacrest type guy!  I was shocked…it was weird. 

Thus ended my nothing day.  I read and went to sleep! 

Bible study tonight was about false humility; about how when we are either overly confident or we are self-deprecating, neither glorifies God.  Essentially, either way you are focusing on the self.  I found this very interesting because it asked how you take compliments about your successes, abilities, etc.  Even when you are not prideful, but you downplay things or you speak negatively, or allow yourself to feel inferior to others, you are still focused on the self and not what God can do in and through you!   WOW! Eye opening and something I needed to hear, think about, and pray about.  The Fulbright experience has been testing me in the way that I feel inferior to my other Fulbrighters and often feel like a fraud.  Feeling this way is not acknowledging that God placed me in this position and He has laid the groundwork for it.  Allowing myself to feel inferior or a fraud is essentially saying that God made a mistake…and He makes NO mistakes!!  In life in general it is like stating that I am the one in control of these things, when really He is.  This is a daily battle, but man what a reminder!!!