Summer in the secluded-Italian-town

And I'm back in Italy! I certainly meant to update more often while in the States, but found myself overwhelmingly busy and sleep-deprived (what? you call that a vacation!?). I was all twisted up in the bureaucracy of applying for University. (I still don't know whether I was successful in that endeavor).

Since it has been two weeks since I returned, I suppose this post would considered "overdue," (in Italian, in ritardo). It has been a crazy couple of weeks! The air is full of summer vacation excitement, and my summer activities are already in full-swing. Last week was full of art-ing and park-ing with Filippo. It is HOT here, so we art in the afternoon and park in the evening. And this weekend was just as busy. On Friday I found out that despite having missed the final, mandatory rehearsal for The Melting Pot concert (my music school's annual display), I could sing in the final performance here in Sala Baganza. That was great news, except that I had never gotten around to learning the song. Thank goodness the Sala Baganese (not the official term) do not speak English and do not know my song ("Feelin' Alright" by Grand Funk Railroad), because I decided to skip a couple lines and throw in some melody interpretation. But what I lacked in knowledge, I made up with in spunk. What can I can I say? I'm a rockstar. I chalk this one up as a success.

Saturday was a bit of a recovery day, as in I slept until 3pm and spent most of the day reading this engaging book The Know-it-all, which is one man's quest to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. It's very entertaining and informative and I highly suggest it. (I bought it for a dollar at the used book store!)

Yesterday (Sunday), Dany and I went scuba diving for the first time this year! I'm happy to report that we remembered almost everything from our courses, did not get the bends and did not get munched on by sharks! We had a great time and I'm still super happy from the experience. The coolest thing I saw underwater was a moray eel, staring me down until I moved away from his rock (see picture). The moray eel (or murena) that we saw was not yellow, but gray.

Starting next month (mmm, next week), we'll be starting the course for Advanced Scuba Diver, which will teach/certify us to dive to depths of 30m/100feet instead of our measly 18m/60feet.

In other news, my birthday is in 9 days! I'm going to be 25! One-quarter a century and what I've decided to be one-quarter of my life. Good first quarter-century, I'd say.

10 Things I Miss About America, the Food Edition

1. Condiments: That's right, you heard me -- condiments. Ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, honey mustard, etc. The Italians limit themselves to oil and vinegar on the salads (with popular variations including lemon juice) and ketchup/mayo/mustard on other food items. I regularly bring BBQ sauce and Ranch dressing back to Italy with me.

2. Delicious Chinese/Mexican/Indian restaurants. Are there cultural restaurants in Italy? Yes. Are they reliably delicious? No. And therefore, no one will go to them with me (expect Charlotte!) [As an aside, I do enjoy the deliciousness of the many, many kebab shops in Italy.]

3. 24-Hour Convenience. There will always be a convenience store, grocery store, or breakfast-food restaurant open somewhere. In Italy? Not so. In fact, finding something open after 8pm can prove tricky.

4. Kroger. My Kroger with its Starbucks, free samples, bread-cutting machine, chocolate fountain, large wine selection, and sushi bar.

5. Buffets. Italy is close to France...why aren't buffets more popular?

6. Sweets. As is to be expected, the flavor of the sweets (dolce) in Italy tastes different from those of America. The sweets are not quite as sweet, and they favor the hazelnut flavorings. Also, the icing is not the butter-sugar icing to which I am accustomed (and adore), and a large portion of their cakes have fruit and gel on top of them. Those are what pies are for!

7. Diet food options. Sugar-free fudge pops! Low-fat ... anything! Whole wheat bread, fajitas, bagels, chips. Double-churned ice cream. Every diet soda variation.

8. Free refills. In Italy, if you get a pop -- even from the tap -- you pay at least 2Euros for a can's worth. I don't know if they haven't yet discovered the wonder of the syrup-pop-setup, but they should get on that. Here you can get a pop for a buck and refill till your heart's content!

9. Cheeses. Don't get me wrong -- Italy has some amazing cheese. But they are missing cheddar, Monteray-Jack, and Colby, and therefore, so do I.

10. My mom's cooking. Obvious.