The Summing Up

As the title says, this is the post where I sum up my time in Italy into a nice, concise paragraph or two. Thinking back to when we arrived in Rome and even before then remains painful but I'll do my best. The fantasy of over three years ago versus the reality of today.

Fantasy: Move abroad without any guarantees of success, family or friends.
Reality: A year of planning guaranteed success for three years. I lost the first girl I ever loved but made a lot of great, new friends.

Fantasy: Travel all over Italy and Europe as well.
Reality: Even with cheap flights connecting Italy to the rest of Europe, finding money and time together is difficult no matter where you live. I'm happy with where I went and all I can do is go back again and again to see the rest.

Fantasy: Live in Rome for three years and become fluent enough to use it in future career endeavors.
Reality: It was impossible to take Italian lessons and work two jobs at the same time. I feel good about my level after three years of learning "on the streets" but am nowhere near fluent. I like to say I speak "restaurant Italian". I can read Italian cookbooks fairly well though which will be very useful in a future endeavor.

Fantasy: Work and live in Rome.
Reality: Worked and lived Rome. In fact, I was hired by and worked for same school the entire three years. It was the first school to interview me. I also feel like I truly lived in Rome. I went to my local market where the vendors knew me. I had a coffee bar or two where I was a regular and was treated accordingly. I know many of the neighborhoods quite well and I think I walked or tripped over every damn cobblestone in that city.

Fantasy: Meet an Italian granny and have her teach me all her "secrets".
Reality: I was lucky to have an Italian granny smile at me once. They are not so friendly to those outside their family. I'm not sure there are "secrets", just high quality (don't read expensive), simple ingredients combined with a little practice and a lot of love. However, thanks to my students and I received thousands of invaluable hours of discussions on all things food and recipes disguised as English lessons and I got paid for it! Ask a Roman their next holiday, their opinion on soccer, for directions, or the best way to prepare carbonara or amatriciana and you'll have them for hours.


I wish I could thank the guy who told a twenty-year old, Las Vegas version me "When in Rome, do as the Romans." Of course he had no idea that snidely delivered bit of advice would come in handy seven years later. Probably the single most misused phrase I heard in my time in Rome but sometimes the basest of platitudes are the truest. I took it to heart and did my best.