A Big Decision

You have heard us rave in praise about the wonderful little cottage we were so lucky to find and the wonderful friends we have made in Dante and Mariella, and so the following news may come as a bit of a shock to you, but bear with us.

We have officially decided to move. Don't freak out just yet, because we aren't abandoning our dreams and heading home to fall slave to real jobs, not yet anyway. We are simply planning to move to a more central location.

Trust us, this was not an easy decision. Zagarolo is a great place, with peace and quiet, and all the free wine we can drink, but it does have its drawbacks, which unfortunately have begun to outweigh the benefits for us. One drawback, which we are forced to endure day after day, is the commute. In the mornings it's a rare occasion that we can find a seat on the train into Rome, and so we have to start our day off with standing for a 40 minute train ride (after the long walk to the station). It also requires us to wake up much earlier than we otherwise would have to, in order to get into Rome for our morning lessons. To give you an idea, we have to leave the house at 6:45 am to catch the train we need every morning! I wish this upon no one!

Truth be told, the commute is tiresome and exhausting, but it's not the whole reason we have decided to move. The biggest factor in our decision is our lack of a social life. Because the last train for Zagarolo leaves Rome at midnight, we have become the Cinderellas of Italy, always rushing for our ride before it's too late and we turn into pumpkins. And not only that, but if we do stay until midnight we have to face the long walk home in the cold dark night, since the busses don't run past 9 in the country. To sum it up, it sucks.

The last straw came a couple of weeks back when a colleague invited everyone to watch him perform at an open-mic night at a local pub. We really wanted to go, but we knew that the performances probably wouldn't start until 9:30 or 10, and if our friend didn't perform first we might not even get to see his act. Needless to say, we didn't go, and the next day everyone was raving about how awesome he was and how much fun they had. We were really bummed that we couldn't be there.

Since then we have been invited to see films, grab beers, go to parties, etc., but we know that we just can't do it because of where we live. We just can't live with the idea of going home in two years not having made any friends! What a waste that would be. We also knew that this wouldn't be much fun for those of you planning to come see us, since nights in Rome can be wonderful and exciting, and many of the monuments look spectacular lit up in the evening. So, we made a decision, and we are set to start looking for new places starting next week. We sadly informed Dante and Mariella of our choice, and they were very understanding. We plan to be out of Zagarolo by the first of April.