It’s my cousin’s birthday today. Who happens to be 4 days older than me. Hence found a reason to make tiramisu this weekend or rather today. Yesterday we had an event. I found an excuse to drink 3 glasses of red and 2 glasses of white. I do admit that I’m never good with wine, one glass is all it takes to keep me floating but hey, wine should never be wasted. It had a nice effect on me but I’m sure situation did not get unpleasant. After all I was still very alert and also knew that my vision was blurry thus did not want to drive until later.
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Sometimes I think I have a fear. Fear of good things passing by so fast and bad days just repeat themselves again and again like how they repeat movies again and again on Hallmark. Actually, the bad horrible days repeat themselves more often than the movies seeing that I probably spend an average of 5 hours a week watching telly.
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It’s been almost a year since I left for Italy. Around this time last year I was clearing all documents and visa matters at the embassy. I remember how I arrived in Rome on 2nd April, all excited, tired and looking forward to the next several months of my life. Now… I feel like I’m in the dumps again.
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Some reminiscence.. The plane arrived at Fiumicino about an hour late and I knew I missed my first train connection to Perugia. I could either take the ES train which comes in about an hour, or I could wait another 2-3 hours and take a cheaper connection. With my hostel only opening at 4pm to take in new backpackers for the day, I figured I’ve got more time than money to spend. So hey, why not hang out in the Rome stations for a bit while having McD’s and obviously had so many gypsies approaching me and again I didn’t feel comfortable being in Rome alone. After all, everyone knows I’m afraid of gypsies.
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I remember waiting at huge but quiet train station in Rome for the train to Perugia. Close by was a guy from Bangladesh who works in Ancona. We conversed in my broken Italian and his broken English. He was ‘sponsored’ by his uncle and working in a steel factory. He goes home for 3 mths every year. This is going to sound lame but I bet he earn tons more than Bangladeshis in Malaysia.
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I do salute people who travel thousand of miles to work in a country where they don’t speak any of the main languages in the world at the same time joining the lower working class. Not sure if I can ever do that myself but I suppose if desperation calls, I would travel halfway round the globe to be a maid.
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The one thing I really miss about being in Italy or any part of Europe is the walking. I feel like a blob sitting on my office chair 8 hours a day at minimum. I miss the Spring morning where I just stare into the horizon while going to town taking the panoramic route or watching how cherry turn red from green as the days go by.
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I miss watching magnolias bloom in Bruno’s garden which became a good reason to stare out my window everyday. I miss the busybody Signora Francesca who talks about her neighbours all the time. I miss the 3 girls who stay next door. The beautiful Barbara who’s always ready to lend a hand and always so apologetic for not being able to speak better English which embarrass me more for speaking crap Italian when I first arrived. The bubbly young Concetta who loves elephants and has the most colourful room I’ve ever seen. These are my Calabrian friends. How I wish I could visit Calabria one day soon.
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I miss the pizzas we buy and the pastas I cook. I miss the gelato shop near uni where I get my Venezuelean chocolate gelato which so often reminds me of Liz who was then back in Venezuela.
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I miss the time I spend with Bree, especially our first night out together. She tells me it was her first time finding someone to really talk to in Perugia and she’s been there nearly 2 months before me. She is the second American that I can really get along with after Janet. Bree is fun and crazy and I still do miss her. Not to forget the crazy times we had while Priya was here. It was also quite an unforgettable time when Priya was here. The parties, bonfires, the walks, the people, the breath we took and all the dramas we imagined or tried to start.
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I miss my Thursday nights movie in uni which I always go alone and enjoy so much. Most times in Perugia, you don’t need to find a company to do anything. That’s whats beautiful about it. Not forgetting my Thursday night-outs with Martin. We work on a basis where we don’t arrange to meet, we just make it a point to bump into each other after the movie screening. One of us would just hang around outside the hall long enough to see the other person. Most times it’s him waiting and I would take my time before walking out of the room. Reason being, I’ve got too much pride to wait outside the hall. Typically, I would just leave immediately. It’s nice to have someone to walk with me at night in town. Especially when we visit the lover’s garden which is at the edge of the hill and you get an awesome view and nicely lit tiny garden where couples hang out by the bench. We just stand at the edge by the railing and stare into the sky and then I would play with the water fountain and make it shoot from 3 inch tall to 3 metres tall and then run away and laugh like a child. This is something I learn from watching children do it during their school outing.
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I entirely remember the time we spend talking crap over more espresso or gelato and more gelato. Did I also mention that Martin is my first friend I Perugia. Of course I did. I blog about my friends in Italy so much I’m boring you. Don’t know why but my postcards and email to Mr Prelsmayr are going unanswered. Sometimes it’s a peccato… Other times I just have to tell myself that that’s how it is with traveling friends.
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I terribly miss my sunbathing days. Be it at the temple’s lawn with Katharina and Johanna or on a big fat rock in Riomaggiore back during my Cinque Terre hike. Of course when you do it by the sea, you’re probably covered like 10% of your body and you know nobody’s watching and it doesn’t matter if they do because you’re halfway round the globe from home and you’re not famous enough to be featured in tomorrow’s The Sun.
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How I long for the days that passes by slowly and having the chance to take afternoon naps on weekdays. Maybe Italian life is the way for me with the mid day break they all take.
