Day 4

3 Decembre 2008
Day 4
I’m late. Not terribly, but definitely late. Apparently my cell phone alarm clock doesn’t function when I’m out of service range. It will keep the time though…what can you do. So I’m 15 minutes late, and well, Carlo is fine with it. Mi dispiace, bisogno comprare un orologio a sveglia. Now that I’m situated, I’m getting to it, a loin of beef that is. First time I’ve done this since Andreozzi , freshman year, four years ago. It went well, Carlo portioned the tenderloin, sirloin and rib-eye and the rest of the meat was ground and we made a beef Ragu. Not Ragu the way you know it, this is a traditional sauce, slow cooked for hours and treated with care and love. That was about it for the morning, so with all of my unspent energy, I spent the afternoon roaming the city, because the sun decided to make an appearance for me. Two and a half hours of climbing and descending the hilly streets, walls and landscapes, I have pictures. Tomorrow I will toy with uploading, although I’m finding the internet to be intolerably slow for such processes. I’ll tell you what though, this city is devastatingly beautiful. I’m not sure many of my contemporaries appreciate stonework, classic structures, or even a simple orange tree sprouting out through a medieval back drop. Distant castles nestled in the trees at the base of the valley, foggy mist masking the modernized structures yielding a panorama from a time I never knew. There are landmarks worth noting, particularly the Museo da Duomo dell’Opera. This magnificent structure will take an entire day of photography in order to give it due diligence. I was no more than a 15 minute walk in any direction to the outskirts of this elevated city and the views were all spectacular, each direction boasting its own value: a walkway along the ancient walls that stretch, in my estimate 80-100 feet in some places, or perhaps the aforementioned castle, and otherwise the simple countryside, with a vista of hillside vineyards on the opposite slopes of the valley. My wandering today was well worth the wait, and certainly my pictures will aid in telling the story, but do not, by any means, depict the true value of what this country is capable of portraying itself.

At work tonight, it took a long time to upload the pictures to an online community I am a member of, and if I have trouble loading the pictures here, I’ll be sure to pass that along to you. My dependency on the internet is starting to wear on me. In the States, I would use it, but not rely on it, not for a long time anyway. Now, I’m leaning so heavily on it to communicate with friends and family and it’s not working out well enough for me. I want to talk to everyone, tell them what this is really all about. I want to hear stories from home, and listen to someone bitch about work. My friends and family are out of reach for the first time and I’ve no means of appeasing my anxiety. Work is not engaging me, not draining me of my excess of energy. A hobby is what I need. Exercise, a mountain bike, a gym, something to exhaust me, so I don’t have the time or energy to focus on how out of touch I am, rather than having too much time to examine and think. Thinking has always been my nemesis and my greatest advantage just the same. At some point, and maybe this is the time, I need to resolve that conflict, but there are too many conflicting emotions here, and too many people I care about back home…I’m going to chalk this up to adjusting to a new situation, but you hear my venting none-the-less. Moving on, today’s new words:

Enough Basta
Certainly, Certain/Sure of Certo
Side of Beef Fianco de vacca/tagliate
Loin Lombata
Ragout Ragú (just a spelling adjustment)
Alarm Clock Orologio a sveglia
The Best Il Migliore
The Worst Il Peggiore
Last Scorso
Last Year L’anno scorso
Ready, willing Pronto
Boil Bollire
Simmer Cuocere a fuoco lento (cook on a slow flame)
Shoes Scarpe
Wet Bagnato
Quick Rapido
To be ready to do something Essere pronto a fare qualcosa
Reduce Ridurre, Ridursi

Sono le mezzanotte, e non ho sonno. Non ce fare niente, ma, non sono frio, va bene, no?
Well, I’m wrapping it up. Ciao tutti, mi mancate!

Go Slow, Stay Local.
Va Piano, Rimane Locale.