Sep 25, 20233 min read

Talks Around Tables

September 24, 2023

I have never been able to sleep the night before school starts, but I think I’ve cracked the code: Saturday night, stay up till 5am reading and set your alarm for 9 on Sunday, then you’ll be too exhausted to stress about anything once Sunday night rolls around, and you’ll knock right out. I woke up early Monday morning, so I made eggs with pancetta for breakfast, drank my coffee, had a little quiet time, did some Pilates, took the classic first day of school photo, then headed to class. Mondays and Tuesdays are LONG. I am taking Vineyard Variability, Advances in Enology, Statistics and Big Data Analytics, and Wine Marketing. To celebrate the first day of school, I ate my first burger since arriving. To celebrate the second day of school, my friends and I went to an Irish pub where they were playing the AC Milan match and I ate another burger. It was HEAVEN.

This week was the most eventful yet uneventful week yet. It was productive and restful. I finally got my bike tires pumped up and rode around with my friend Pauline (we felt very Italian). I also learned how to buy produce at an Italian supermarket (it only took me a month) so now maybe I’ll start eating vegetables. There were a few little rainstorms, so I made tea and soup, snuggled up in my favorite chair by the window, and read. As much as I love easy dinners at home with the company of a good book, this week reminded me how important it is to “break bread” with other people. The best conversations happen around a table – over a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, a good meal. Hooray for hospitality!

This weekend I got to play hostess a bit, and it was so much fun. On Thursday I had the girls over for a wine and paint night. It was so special to get to host ten women from seven countries. We talked and painted and relaxed and my Italian friend taught me the proper way to make pasta: Salt your water with Grosso Salt, people! And add chopped onion to store bought sauce. On Saturday I had my neighbor Marte over for dinner and made risotto. I don’t think there’s a better smell, nor a better comfort food. We talked for hours, and I am just SO thankful to have such an incredible neighbor! We have plans to cook a meal for each other once a week – to be neighborly and to be with good company.

Sundays are my reset days, and today was a great one. I walked around all morning and tried out a new café. This afternoon, my Italian mom called and had me come to her shop to help a boy who just arrived from Turkey – he didn’t know Italian and stumbled into her café. She is an angel for adopting us lost international students! I met her dad, who is visiting from Sicily, and I think he invited me to come to their home by the sea. But who knows, my Italian hasn’t gotten much better. I also met her son this weekend, and he gave me a free drink. It feels like I am a part of a family over here, all thanks to Rosanna’s hospitality.

Tonight, the school put on a dinner for international students where we had local food and wine. It’s sweet to see so many people, so far from home, so happy to be around each other. My friends and I sat at a big table and soaked it all in. It was a perfect way to end the week.