Bikes & Books & Buddies

September 10, 2023

This week has been a very notable one for a few reasons:

I am a resident of Piacenza!

I’m basically Italian now! I can say about five phrases (watch out world), I have a receipt from the questura saying I’m allowed to stay in Italy, and I bought an annual bus pass.

I now own a bike!

I am the proud owner of a new bike! It’s new-ish off Facebook Marketplace, and I saw it and bought it for $50 within an hour. To be cruising down cobblestone streets in a linen jumpsuit I bought at the Saturday market on a blue bike with a basket!! What a dream!!

For some reason (probably the countless Hallmark movies my parents always had playing on the TV) when I was younger, I thought I’d meet my husband by crashing into him while riding my bike to a coffee shop. My bike legs are a bit shaky, so this childhood dream really could become a reality. As romantic as that sounds, now that I actually have a bike I pray I never crash it.

I moved into my real apartment!

I knew I would love my apartment, but I had no idea how much. Arched doors, little steps, beamed ceilings, brick floors– it’s an Italian dream. My kitchen is literally in a closet too, so I don’t have to do my dishes. I can just shut the cabinet doors and my apartment looks clean. Score!

Every night I enjoy a cup of tea and read or journal before bed, and I’ve noticed a squeaking noise. I can’t tell if there’s a bird right outside my window or if there’s a little mouse in my apartment. Only time will tell. As much as I hope it’s a bird, a little mouse kind of adds to the apartment’s charm. I imagine it being like Gus Gus from Cinderella and think that we could someday be friends.

I got closer to my friends!

Spending time with the girls in my class has been the biggest blessing. We are all so different, but each difference we have with someone in the group is a similarity we share with someone else, so it’s been super sweet to continue getting to know them all. After hanging out every day last week, we all worked up the courage to tell each other that we are in fact a bit introverted and love to go home and not talk to anyone. I looked forward to seeing everyone for class each day, but the minute school was out we all went back to our respective apartments and didn’t leave our couches. I read four books this week and it was amazing.

This weekend we went out both evenings, which was so much fun. I can’t believe how stressed I was about moving. I would’ve never even dreamt of laughing till I cried, of being invited to another person’s home for Christmas, of making deals with girls that we will take care of each other if we get sick, or even of the blatant honesty of people saying “you are very strange” to my quirks. I love it. I had expected to be so lonely for six months at least – I tend to always plan for the worst. Some mornings I wake up and feel a world away from home, but I don’t feel alone in the slightest.

I finally learned how to use my stove!

For the two and a half weeks I’ve been here I haven’t figured out how to work my gas stove, so I’ve been living off of “girl dinner”. My girl dinner of the week (which I literally had every single day) was a rosemary-focaccia-cracker-type-thing with gorgonzola, a nectarine, prosciutto, and arugula on top. It’s heavenly. But I am so sick of thrown together meals.

On Sunday I slept in until 12:45 (yikes) after staying up till 3 am reading. I had a slow morning and made my first home cooked meal in Italy: Scrambled eggs with pancetta, potatoes, and arugula. I also used my Moka pot for the first time. Brunch has never tasted so good!