*Thanksgiving Dinner!!...On a Saturday night* Going around the table left to right: Graham, Hassan, Liz, Mark, Emily (or her arm), Matt, Chiara

Okey Dokey, well, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve written a post, mostly because there’s been a lot going on, so I haven’t had the opportunity to steal internet and write a post. Let’s get the bad news over with first. About a week and a half ago my purse was stolen. Suckville. It was stupid, the ‘zingaro’ (Italian term for someone who is non-native and makes a living by street vending and stealing things) took it from right under our noses at a bar, and my only gratification from the episode was that there was only about 7 euros cash in the wallet. The horrible terrible awful very bad thing about it was that my iPod was in my purse. *Sniffle* When I called my mom later that night to get credit card company numbers and etc., she remarked, “I don’t quite understand why your iPod was with you.” True enough, maybe a bar isn’t the best place to have an iPod, but this thing was attached to my hip at all times, and I always carried it with me because you never know when you’re going to need to have a dance party in your head to Madonna, or settle a heated bar discussion about song lyrics. Since I am poor as poor can be, when the glorious day arrives that I can finally buy another iPod, I am going to throw a party, and all of you are invited.

Next up on the news bulletin: I GOT A JOB!!! This is very exciting, because it means that I am going to be able to return in January and get at least a couple more months out of this adventure. The awesome thing is that I really, really like the job. Most jobs I’ve had have never been intellectually stimulating, it was all office work or driving rich vacationers around all day, or, and I even hate to mention this, it was retail (I’m sure some of you remember me in my green Ames vest, practicing A+ service—smile, meet, greet and thank…barf.) I’m working at the Trinity school, which is a short walk from my apartment (good thing too, because my metro pass was stolen with my wallet and I didn’t want to buy another one) and most of my classes are one on one or two on one. I have a lot of fun helping my students bust through grammar exercises and have fun with more creative activities. It’s also cool to teach little things that aren’t in the book (i.e. the meaning of ‘five-finger discount’ and ‘to get on/fall off the wagon.’) In turn, they teach me too (see ‘zingaro’ in paragraph one) and tell me about cool spots in Rome to go to—such as a club that has really good live jazz, sweetness. So yes, I am working now…not a whole lot, four or five hours a day, but at least I’m working, and I’m loving that jobs do exist out there that I can come out of thinking everyday, “That was awesome,” it gives me hope for future endeavors, whatever they may be.

My next piece of news, which you probably guessed from the beginning of this post, is that EMILY TULLY CAME TO VISIT ME, WOOOOT!!!! Little Miss E-Tizzle arrived on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and not a second too soon, as the purse thing kind of threw me into a bit of homesickness. It was as if we were back in Burlington all over again, except we were in Rome. I had a blast taking her to all of the touristy sections, such as the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, the Campidoglio, Piazza del Popolo, Villa Borghese, Trastevere, the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the few (or maybe only) Gothic church(es) in Rome, the Spanish Steps and a few others. We took a ride in the Time Elevator, and the coolest part by far was the 5D animation movie we saw about the beginning of life here on Earth…it was sweet. Thanksgiving Day we were treated to a middle-Eastern meal made by our friend Hassan, and it was super delicious, but not the same as the spread that I know was put out in West Glover. Saturday night we had another Thanksgiving party at our apartment, and about the only thing “Thanksgiving-ish” was the mashed potatoes, however, the stir fry, gelato, bread, chicken cutlets, and everything else was pretty good. Sunday night, we went to a bar that plays American Football, and I watched the Giants blow their 21-0 lead at the half to the Titans (so typical, and to which Emily remarked, “I make up for being a Yankees fan by being a Giants fan, because only the Giants would suck so bad to blow a lead like that.” Well said.) and I watched the Pats beat the Bears (GO PATS, WHOO!) We both thought of home while we watched the game, knowing that while we were in Rome watching these games, at the exact same moment members of our family were relaxing on a Sunday afternoon doing the same thing. Emily and I had a great time, and I’m looking forward to making a trip to Prague (probably at the end of my time here in Europe) to let her return the favor, ha!

And, while I know this is quite a long entry, not that many people read my blog, so I feel I can ramble on without much consequence. That said, with the passing of Thanksgiving, comes the Christmas season, and I’m very excited that exactly three weeks from today I will be on a plane back to the United States for 12 days. I’m ready to see my family and friends—I want to sleep in my gigantic comfy bed, I want to drive my car, I want to have a conversation and cup of tea in Gram’s kitchen, I want to eat a burger at the Shed, I want to drink homebrew with my brothers, I want to go sledding with my nieces, I want to giggle and gossip with my sister, I want to pick on my dad about anything I can (knowing full well that he’ll pick on me), I want to gush over the Christmas season with my mom, I want to see friends I haven’t seen in over a year, I want to see the friends that I saw the days right before I left, I want to eat the Thanksgiving dinner that I missed, knowing that it will be made up on Christmas Eve and the following day with much of my extended family there, I want to go skiing, I want to walk down Church St. with the lights on the trees. Then I want to take all these times, and bring them back to Rome with me, knowing that it’s important for me to be doing this right now, because it’s a once in a lifetime chance, and despite the worrying and stress that I’ve experienced on this trip, I don’t regret one single day, I can’t.