Pasta Pasta Pasta

“Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.”
— Sophia Loren

I don’t live by the sea. I don’t live in the mountains. I don’t even live in the Tuscan hills. But here where I do live I have wine, and cheese and yes, pasta. So much pasta….

I am like most people in that I do love a great dish of pasta. Who doesn’t? If you don’t well, you are probably not reading my posts about my Italian life because it is a staple. No literally a staple. I had an interesting conversation with a friend, yes in italian, so I guess my skills have increased from age 3 to age 4 1/2 about the importance of having spaghetti in the home.

Here when italians speak about spaghetti they are not talking about the marinara red sauce and noodles but rather literally about the pasta itself. Because there are hundreds…

I know you think I am exaggerating but when you walk down an aisle in a large supermarket that has two sides filled with different kinds of pasta and most likely another section with fresh pasta refrigerated and another area of the store with local pasta that was made there, even if though I haven’t counted I am pretty sure it is in the hundreds.

My best comparison I could think of is the chips aisle or maybe the soda aisle in the grocery stores in the US. I still have trouble trying to make a comparison. There are just so many different kinds of pasta, it blows the mind.

So back to spaghetti which is a style or type of pasta, stop, that’s it. Now why were we talking spaghetti because that’s what everyone has in their house as part of their food survival kit.

Aka when an earthquake hits I have to have spaghetti. Interesting because this is also what everyone bought at the store at the beginning of Covid. Not toilet paper, but pasta. The aisles were empty, and the run was on for pasta because well who needs toilet paper or bread and milk when you have Pasta!

Buon Appetito from Italy!

Lazy weekend afternoons

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched- they must be felt with the heart.”
— Helen Keller

Today the sun and heat has died down a bit and the breeze is coming in through the window as I write. My onions are caramelizing slowly in the kitchen and every now and then the smell of sweetness passes under my nose.

vista point

It’s a quiet day, with the hairdresser next door being closed. Typically talking echoes off the tile floor loud enough to penetrate my closed front door and filter in through my open window. There occasionally women stand outside with liquid color that has been painted onto their heads and plastic pink sheaths wrapped around their shoulders. They speak privately on the telephone, but with such emphasis that the conversation becomes not just between two people but the neighborhood population.

I find the chitter chatter soothing most days, I don’t know why. Perhaps it is because I do not fully comprehend the language or maybe because it fills the moments with background noise. It is similar to leaving a television on, but without paying for the electricity.

wine and garlic confit

Today, however, I am happy to listen to the breeze and have the slow soft jazz music in the background. I am looking forward to my evening walk along the river when it cools down and the sun sets over the river.

During this time of solitude one must find joy in every moment. Reaching out for the moments that one has to reflect, to find goodness in others, and to not be shaken by silence.

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.”
— Helen Keller
fried zucchini

fried zucchini

The carmelized onions are finished and their sweet taste lingers like the silence I am surrounded by today. It is time to eat. The next best part of the day after the lazy solitude. Until next time.

May your weekend be filled with quiet if you search for it, people because it brings you joy, or a lazy afternoon of time to just be you.

How did you spend your weekend? Comment below…

Ciao from Italy,

-jc

Italian Arrival

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”
— Unknown

halls of perugia

Afternoon espresso the ultimate introverts necessity

Perugia Landscape

I have arrived in the land of dreamy landscape, meals of length and gregarious people. Yes, my little Italian life is starting. After two weeks of quarantine, escaping outside to see nature and take in the landscape was a must, as was the need to be with people.

Sunflowers of Umbria

And yet now, I find myself back in my introverted shell. Being with others, and the constant sounds of voices, the decreased amount of time spent alone all of this is more profound here in this beautiful country than anywhere else I have ever lived. Explaining to someone that you need to be alone is for some living here a foreign concept.

Perhaps you are tired and need a siesta is what I am told. The siesta that is something understood, but the recharging of the brain from the over stimulus of others is a much more difficult concept to explain. Add to this concept learning a new language, and my brain is on overdrive. With the amount of people, the noise from cars, the outdoor conversations, and the music from the windows it is clear why an introvert like myself must work hard to find the right balance.

Perugia Views

Learning to balance my introversion with my extroversion starts at the dinner table. Italians love food. They love to discuss it, to eat it, and to be knowledgeable of its history. All of this is very important and meant to be shared. For example, the glass of white frizzante wine must be drunk cold, the pasta fresh from the boiling water must be eaten hot, and then, and only then, can the speaking cease.

However, the sounds and gestures of communication, never stop. The mmm’s and the occasional “Buona” is reiterated until the bowl of pasta is done and then the laughter, the questions, and maybe even singing can start again. I am an introvert living in an extroverts world here in Italy. It will take time to adapt. That is what living abroad is all about I think. Adapting, changing, and still marveling at who you are inside.

Introverts don’t stop being introverts, but, learning to take time to find the moments of internal silence amongst a world of cacophony now that to me is a truly skilled wallflower.

I am looking forward to learning how to acclimate my internal solitude with the external love of the Italian people. I will let you know how it goes…

Until next time..Eat well, drink well, and love your life. Ciao from Italy.