I'm learning things, too.

This language learning stuff is really fascinating, and hard. It’s interesting to think about how phrases are constructed. The kicker comes when you have to let go of all of your rules to put some words together that if translated into English would be so disgustingly incorrect cringing would take place. They put phrases together that place words like “more” and “better” right next to one another, and it’s completely grammatically correct. Makes me gag just thinking about it. This said, rules are important and should be followed, but sometimes you just have to let go of all that you know in order to learn more, super cool stuff.

Madeleine L’Engle put it like this:

“Something almost always happens to startle us during the act of creating, but not unless we let go our adult intellectual control and become as open as little children. This means not to set aside or discard the intellect but to understand that it is not to become a dictator, for when it does we are closed off from revelation.”

~Walking on Water

We are a world. Not just America and Mexico and those almond-eyed folks that we see going to Saturday school. I only say this because, at one time in my life, I didn’t know better. I knew there were other countries, but I never thought about who inhabited them. That people live in those places wasn’t a thought in my mind. Did you know that Holland has a queen? And as for people not being able to point out America on a map, could you find Italy? Can you name all 7 continents? (I had to check with my friend and then do some googling, and that’s an easy one.) Do you know the difference between a country and a continent? Part of which continent is Iraq? Is every place that we know of on the earth inhabitable? Even Antarctica? I don’t think it is, but I’m not sure. (And today I see they are selling tickets to Antarctica on the web for penguin watching...I guess people do live there.)

And yeah, lots of people know the English language, but not everyone. I have met so many interesting people from all over the world and have been talking with them in Italian, a second language for me, but a third or fourth for many of the others. So, our conversations are limited. I’m sure they have so much more to say. I have so much more to say (this could also be a blessing, because I’m sure sometimes I have a bit too much to say). I like to know what moves people, and now that I am approaching the end of my stay in Italy, I am just beginning to be able to ask the kinds of questions that will bring unexpected answers. These are the answers that will inevitably increase my vocabulary and allow an acquaintance to become a real friend.

These are the events of my life that are bringing me closer to that utterly unattainable, yet worthy of the chase, “wholeness” for which I strive.

Treats for the tastebuds

Well, there’s pizza for starters. Unless you’ve been here, well, you just can’t know real pizza. It is absolutely decadent. Thin flimsy crusts, fresh out of the wood-fired stove (I’m talking tall flames), a thin layer of fresh tomato sauce, fresh bufala mozzarella (not that shredded stuff), a sprig of basil in the center, and, if you really need more, your choice of the widest variety of toppings that could be asked for.



One of the best pizzerias in the city is right across the street from my apartment, literally (the pic is from out of my window), and they offer pizza by the slice, by the plate (for one if you are Eline, Miyuki, or myself), or by the meter (for about 5 people). And each meter comes with a free bottle of wine! This is not the comprehensive list, but you can top your pizza with any one or combination of the following:

Mozzarella
Provolone
Gorgonzola
Ricotta
Arucola
Artichoke
Basil
Cherry tomatoes
Anchovies (those furry little fish my gramma loved, ick!)
Salami



Tuna (now my favorite!)
Peppers
Onions
Olives (black and green)
Prosciutto (thinly sliced cooked or raw ham)
Sun dried tomatoes
Sausage
Potatoes
Nuts
Eggplant
Hot Dog slices (not as bad as you might think, though I don’t order it myself)
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Egg
French fries (I’ve seen it, but I can’t bear to taste it)


And the pizza’s are, for the most part, so directly from the oven that the cheese drips from the edges of your slice like syrup from a fresh Cracker Barrel pancake…it’s a “lick your plate clean” kind of delicious (as Eline demonstrates in the photo below). (Now, after I visit Napoli, home of the world’s very first pizza, I’m sure I’ll have more details to share, but this is the general idea.)


So, with a pancake, I usually have coffee. Well, with pizza we have wine or water, but AFTER the pizza, I enjoy a good cup o’Joe. Except, in Italy it’s probably more like a cup o’Giovanni or Giuseppi or…cappuccino. So, at Starbucks you can order your coffee in tall, grande, or venti, right? Well, here you order your coffee in caffe, caffe macchiato, or cappuccino. And if you just can’t handle the espresso, don’t bother ordering Caffe Americano, just call it Acqua Sporca, ‘cuz that’s what the barista is gonna call it as he pours hot water over the espresso in your slightly larger, but still tiny little cup (aqua sporca=dirty water).



• Caffe is one shot of espresso in a teensy tiny ceramic cup.
• Caffe Macchiato is still espresso with a little milk, in a relatively larger, but still tiny little glass (the teensy clear one).
• The cappuccino, well, that’s a shot of espresso with steamed milk and then the foam on top. In a large ceramic mug (large by Italian standards, that is). If you’re lucky, sometimes the barista will smile and make a pretty little picture in your cappuccino foam. Giuseppi makes me a flower!
• And that other glass is for some delectable creation the barista of your choice may offer to make you…the art of coffee is such a splendid thing!

Believe you me, there’s more than just pizza and coffee, but for all practical and survival purposes, this is precious information. There’s pasta too, but that’s a whole ‘nother entry in itself.

So, for now I’ll say “alla prossima (until next time),” which is what the waiter at the pizzeria said as Eline and I were leaving a couple of nights ago…he knows we’ll be back.

Vi voglio bene (I love you all).

~Grace