Oct 2, 20233 min read

Homesick but Happy!!

October 1, 2023

This week was an exciting one! My cousin Jenna got engaged, I received my first il bacetto (Italian air kisses), and I ate a few of the most memorable meals of my life.

I finally broke the seal.

On Tuesday I left class early because I was exhausted after my 10-hour school day Monday, I had a horrible headache, and I was homesick. I talked to my aunt on the phone, studied a bit, and watched Greta Gerwig’s rendition of Little Women. I don’t really count movie cries as real cries – but technically the Laurie and Jo on the hill scene is what got me. It gets me every time. That night I called my best friend Sofia, who was also having a tough day, and I cried again. My first real cry in months. I knew my cousin was getting engaged Friday, and it killed me to be so far away. Following that, there were MANY tears, for some valid but also some very silly reasons: the whoa that’s good podcast hit close to home, the book series I have been reading all month is almost over (only 300/5500 pages left), I wasn’t at the Ryder Cup, I found a good song, it came to my attention that when kindergartners graduate high school I will be 37 years old, and my FYP on TikTok is full of AI song covers by King Julien from Madagascar… sometimes you just need a good cry (or ten). Aside from becoming a human waterfall, it was a wonderful week.

This week I ate WELL.

Some family friends of ours (who I actually hadn’t seen since I was two) came to Piacenza on Wednesday, and we went to a castle a bit outside of town for dinner. We had a six-course-seasonal-chef’s-special for dinner. It was incredible. Our waiter was hilarious and knowledgeable, and when our dinner ended around 11:30, he showed us their wine cellar which was built sometime between the 13th and 15th century. It was an amazing night.

Thursday, a few friends and I went to an authentic restaurant. The staff consisted of two bald old men who didn’t speak English. We asked for a table for three and they said no, but then when we said “okay bye” they chased us down in the street to get us and lead us downstairs. It ended up being us three girls, alone, in a basement that smelled like salami, with no cell service. They turned on some lights to make it “romantico”. When ordering vino rosso (red wine) our waiter asked if we wanted “stop” (still) or “movement” (bubbly). At the end of the meal, the other waiter came and banged spoons together and sang until the three of us at the table joined in clapping and tapping our utensils – we were probably the best band in Piacenza that night. I cried from laughing.

Saturday morning, after pulling an all-nighter to read and celebrate Jenna’s engagement via FaceTime, I got a crema brioche and a Nutella cappuccino from Rosanna. She said she made it extra pretty for me to post on Instagram. After that, my friend Pauline and I went to the Saturday market and ended up walking around a lot. We ate Chinese food for lunch, and although it was still noodles, it was nice eating non-Italian food. Sunday, I ate pasta at my Italian friend’s house for lunch, then gnocchi at my Macedonian friend’s house for dinner. My goal for October is to eat vegetables.