how it got to be 6:00pm. All I know is it is 6:00, and I am sitting on my balcony watching the sun set across a wall. The light here is golden, antique, and warms slowly. It suits old buildings and tan skin. It catches you by surprise, and stuns. It is truly Roman. I don't ever want to leave.
Time flies. It generally flies away from me. We wake up early to run through markets, pick through vegetables until we find the right squash, hop on a bus, run to the grocery store for flour to make bread, learn the Italian words for vegetables, race to afternoon lecture, jog to Piazza Navona, bake the bread in a rush, and lay down only to sleep.
Despite the rush, I find balcony time.
"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."
-Thoreau
Every day, we are deeper into fall. This morning I woke up at 8, made coffee with our moka, and ran the Run for Food 5K. It was cold outside, and although there aren't many leaves to change colour, you somehow you know it is fall. In the morning, I stood in the Campo di Fiori waiting for friends, and a restaurant had put out a heat lamp for the farmers and food vendors at the market. They came by one by one to warm their hands, and I did the same. An Italian woman smiled at me and spoke to me, and I nodded and smiled back as if I understood although I did not know. Fall seems right for inclusion, for coming together, for giving thanks.
On a day to day basis, I find it hard to keep up the pace. I feel tired, and seek caffeine. I complain about going to lecture. I complain that my feet hurt when I walk. I talk without thinking, and regret it. But then I turn my head, and open my eyes, and I see the world in a new light. I am filled with awe. And I think, how did I get so lucky to watch this sunlight on this balcony?
"However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not shun it and call it hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thought. God will see that you do want society."
-Thoreau
Earlier today, the apartment downstairs invited us over for spiced apple cider and pumpkin muffins with coconut cream cheese frosting. I feel as if I am eating fall, and I never want to stop. The people in my program never fail to impress and amaze me with their cooking skills and culinary fearlessness. My cooking confidence is growing daily, with the help of Mikaela and Nicole's (roommates) small encouragements. In the past week, we have made tacos with homemade tortillas and baked bread. From now on, I want to bake my own bread every day. Thank you to Sarah for the beautifully simple and delicious bread recipe.
Tomorrow is World Food Day! Celebrate, and eat lots of good, local food. We will be celebrating at the FAO. I will be partaking in many $0.35 latte macchiatos, and I will be tired. But of course, it will be worth it.
Love from Rome.
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