One coin in the Trevi Fountain means

you will return to Italy (worked), two coins means you

will fall in love (we'll see), three means you will marry

an Italian(haven't thrown the third yet as I know Laurie will

kill me)- wavering on dangerous territory here

on my second coin....

Zuppa a la Toscana, cheating on Rome for a dish

Piazza del Popolo, next to the spa

I went to for my birthday massage and facial

On a night out, bumping into the Colloseum

The Spanish Steps

Living in Rome means trying to take a

shortcut home at night and getting thwarted

by the ol Forum

Nothing like turning 30 in Rome to make a girl feel young again. Something about the 2,000 year old buildings might have something to do with it. A lot of you were worried about me being alone for my 'big' birthday, have no fear that the ol buildings kept me company and made me feel young.

Birthday - Since I was turning a somewhat big birthday by myself, I decided to treat myself with a facial and massage. There's nothing like having someone rub your face for an hour and then your whole body in the opulence of Roman spas to make you feel like turning 30 isn't so bad after all. That coupled with a new SLR camera, 4 bouquets of flowers, a bottle of hot sauce, and 10 cards that you all managed to get to me all amounted to me feeling like one girl shouldn't be so lucky. Thank you - if this is how my thirties are going to be, I can't wait!!!! I also spent my 30th evening at a Spanish dinner party (as the only non-native spanish speaker) followed by clearing out the dinner table to make a dance party, right in Campo di Fiori, ended with a sleepover with my spanish friend Lidia and waking up to making nutella pancakes. Thirty = So Good

Transport - People always complain about how bad the public transport is in Rome - unreliable, random strikes, doesn't run late at night, etc. I've found a very reliable form of private transport, with my own music choice - my feet. I've partly been intimidated by the public transport and partly not wanted to be smashed into a sweaty pickpocketing metro/bus, and partly just enjoyed being outside so I've basically walked everywhere since I got here. People often ask how I'm getting home and when I say walking, they look incredulous - again the largesse. But what all this walking has meant is 1) Total DOMINATION of the streets, mini cars and motorinos, I'm not scared of you, dog poop on the other hand.....2) I've gotten to know Rome really well and actually where things are in relation to other things. I lived in Boston a whole year before I realized how close certain T stops were to each other and realized it was ridiculous to be taking it certain places 3) I've gotten real good at the passegiato or Italian word for strolling....

Eating - A lot of you have asked me about the food, and yes as you know, it is amazing. But I'm also not on vacation here and I have to stop eating like I am or I seriously may balloon to 250. One friend asked me if I thought prosciutto would get old, ummm no. But I could see pasta getting old, so I'm trying to only have the very best. I eat most meals at home and I've decided that I'm going to conquer Italy one region at a time through cooking the quintessiential dishes of each area. This week - Rome - Bucatini alla Amatriciana. I had planned to feature pictures of each dish, but I got so excited about this first one that I ate it all before I remembered to snap a pic. My friend Giuseppe helped me prepare this one and insisted that he buy the pancetta and pecorino because he wasn't confident I would buy the right one. You'll have to just imagine the pancetta/tomato goodness that it was. Next on my list Minestra di Pasta e Lenticchi - Lentil and Pasta Soup. In the meantime, I cheated and made a dish from Tuscany, aka Olive Garden, see above.

Oh New Zealand, my heart is with you - devastating week with the earthquake in CHCH and I continue to struggle a bit with the adjustment and dreams of the beach and mountains. I couldn't sleep last night so I thought I would try counting sheep, and then THAT just reminded me of NZed again....I had planned to do a post before I moved here comparing NZ to Italy, and potentially that is still forthcoming. It's impossible to compare and yet impossible not to

Lost in Translation - learning Italian is proving more difficult than I wanted, mostly because I work in English all day and the only time I have to speak in Italian is in shops. I am taking a class, and I can understand it, but it still pains me to speak. And even in English there's a bit lost in the difference.....Example A, I decided to tell some Italian friends about my first experience with the Italian mail system since I had heard it was so bad, and I had had a positive experience this last week with Schultz arriving!!! Convo = Me: So I had my first Italian mail experience. Them: Oh no, were they really pushy? I will apologize in advance, I'm sorry I feel like every American has one of these. Me: Oh no it was really easy, and I was quite surprised......Fast forward to them thinking I was talking about my first Italian MALE experience....uh awkward and no. Oh please speed up my Italian speaking ability

Home/Life - In addition to settling into a new country and learning how household things work (aka no water pressure, no dryer (thank you again NZed for preparing me), lighting the stove with a lighter, etc.), this is also the first time I've lived alone and had to figure everything out myself AND be left alone to my own devices. Needless to say, I'm still getting used to it. Landlord is making it easier = complaint about the water pressure and he arranged to come with the plumber before I had to go to work and then gave me a ride to work (he's 80 for those of you that think he's trying to woo me). I have made friends with a homeless guy on my street by giving him my change three days a week = so it's beginning to feel like home. I went to Ikea this weekend for a few odds and ends that my flat was missing and I can confidently tell you that Ikea is the same in every country - very convenient on the one hand, and on the other full of crowds/exhausting/annoying, but you always leave with meatballs

Shopping - I had to leave a few things in NZed including a pair of black boots, so I've been struggling a bit with some outfits that demand them. I swear I've been in every boot store in Rome and have mastered how to ask for them and say my size in Italian and yet NOWHERE seems to have my size in a city that is obsessed with boots. I do love that Italians don't really wear heels because of the cobblestones, added bonus. I went to a big public market the other day to look at bikes, and came home with a pasta/meat/vegatable grinder/maker. I'm not actually sure it does any of those things - again why my shopping needs to wait till I speak better Italian

Living in Rome vs. Vacationing Here - A lot of you love to say to me, "oh you're just like Elizabeth Gilbert", and while I love you, I am not 40 or recovering from a divorce and I am not living here for a month to just parade around Italy. This is my real life (and yes at times it is hard to believe, but it still is). Which means, I have to get up and do laundry and pay bills adnd run errands just like you, and it means getting anything normal done takes me ages cause I don't speak the language and Rome frankly isn't set up for easy living if you're not on vacation. Your other favorite thing to say to me is, "Well at least you live in Italy". Yes, true and don't ever think I don't appreciate it, but life is not all pizza and gelato here. However, it is true that gelato makes everything better. Another thing about living here is that I will be trying to find the easiest route home after a night out, and think I found a shortcut and then get thwarted as I come upon a huge pile of stones - oh right the Forum, guess I have to go around those thousand year old rocks

In short - I love it - I'm getting fat eating so much and enjoying every moment - I'm exhausted, while it's easy to find beauty treatments, impossible to find a house/land phone and other basic items - Italian, I'm trying, but this is going to take more than I thought, But I will not be thwarted - Rome/Italy I will make you my home

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

Welcome home to my apt in Roma
The mini kitchen with washer
My dressing/getting ready room
Bedroom on raised steps
Living room with fireplace (thats a sofabed guests)
On my walk to work across the Tiber
My grocery store
My church
Just wandering around the Jewish Ghetto
My first meal I made myself in my new place

orrechiette with pancetta, garlic, basil, spinach

I've now been in Rome for one week, and frankly the main thing that has run through my mind all week is - WILL NOT COMPUTE. If living in New Zealand was surreal, I haven't quite been able to come to terms with the fact that I actually live in Rome now. It could also partly be the jetlag, 48 hours of flying time and who knows how many times zones. I still haven't quite managed to stay awake past 10pm and still wake up at 5am (or earlier) everyday, or like last night went to bed at 7pm and woke up at midnight. Anyway, I'm here and in one piece even if I'm not totally together mentally yet.

Here's a bit of a summary of my first week of life in Roma -

My arrival was made a bit smoother in that my driver was from Ecuador so we could habla en espanol, and the vacation rental that I had reserved was right in Trastevere so I could quickly get some prosciutto in without venturing too far. The next day, my first full day here I had set up an ambitious day of apartment viewing. With map and dictionary in hand, I set off. The day was characterized by me asking questions in Spanish and them answering in Italian - this has become a theme which I am desperately working to break with Italian studying. The second place I saw actually brought a tear to my eye because I couldn't believe the place for the price. Rome apts are very expensive and most don't have full kitchens (meaning no oven, and usually only a mini fridge and two burners), and I had set a high standard wanting a terrace/outdoor space but also within walking distance to work. I went to see another four places, but just reconfirmed that the 2nd place was the one. The other thing to figure out was getting 1100 Euro in cash immediately, from my foreign bank accounts. The end result is I'm all moved in, my landlord is adorable and welcomed me with fresh fruit in the kitchen, champagne in the fridge, and a fire in the fireplace. Um you had me at Buongiorno - so for my 30th birthday I got myself an apartment, first ever time living alone. When in Rome....(ps, how soon do you think Rome cliches are going to get old? In the meantime....)

-Work: While going back to work full-time is not awesome, if I have to be in an office 40 hours a week, this isn't a bad gig. To start off the day, I walk past the Forum and then my office has a window, and I share it with two girls, one from Mexico and one from Spain - more hablaing en espanol which is good cause I've been worried about losing it. Also, the transition into the subject matter has been pretty easy since its what I was doing before NZ and I know a lot of the people already. Not to mention, my office is directly next to one of many coffee bars and the cafeteria which has an outdoor terrace with views of all of Rome. And thankfully the IDB gave me a good understanding of what working in a huge bureaucracy is like with all the infighting and largesse and ten coffees a day. It's also nice to be exposed to a ton of interesting projects/studies/work and have the freedom to explore and make the position somewhat into what I'd like. However, I do get lost about ten times a day just in the building. Another added bonus of working for the UN is they figure all the Visa stuff out for me and even give me a diplomatic card, which makes life in Rome (and the EU) much easier. Extra added bonus - there's a post office, and "commissary" on site which sells American products at discount prices, and a whole Expat group that also offers Italian lessons.

Remember how patience was one of my goals/NYE resolutions for 2010, well its going to get its true test living in Rome. A wise friend who moved to Europe a few years ago, LJ, always talked about the hassles of life in Europe and I while I tried to mentally prepare, living in New Zealand certainly didn't make the transition to Europe's way of doing things any easier. As one example, I bought a SIM card at the airport which I had researched prior to arriving to make sure I would have a phone right away. Well come to find out that SIM card is incompatible with my phone, and after a long convo with customer service the only way I can get a refund is by going back to the airport. So I went to go purchase another SIM card on my lunch break, but alas the Metro was shutdown because of a strike. Just one of many examples this week....

-Learning paso per paso:

-Apparently you can't order a cafe latte or cappuccino in the afternoon unless you want to

look like a total tourist. Only some version of espresso. I've come to favor the macchiato (with milk froth) or the cafe marocchino (with bitter chocolate)

-You also should only take pasta with lunch, not dinner unless you also want to be a tourist

-Dominating the streets: needless to say the craziness of Roman traffic is a bit to adjust

to from tranquil NZed where you often don't see any cars. Coupled with the fact that on

my first day in the office I found out my co-worker was out all week cause she had been

hit by a car walking home from work. In true Roman traffic sense, the pedestrian light will

be green when it is also green for cars to turn, and no they don't stop for you, so you

either wait forever and never cross or you DOMINATE the streets and walk with authority

and pray that no one wants to commit manslaughter. Or you find a local who is crossing

and keep them to the side of traffic so they get hit first

-Grocery shopping - best done at public markets where you can also negotiate prices and

they usually (in my one week here) throw in a few extras, like bits of herbs or a few extra

tangerines. I went shopping for the week and spent 40 Euro for tons of veggies, fruits,

cheeses, prosciutto, pancetta, and fresh pasta. I did end up with quite a few more items than I had been planning on given that I can't really negotiate yet and when they rapid fire me with Italian I usually just give in and say "Si". Soon to be on this blog a before photo of the giant food baby that I am about to give birth to, so you can follow my bump as it grows

-Shopping in general - I had to leave a few things behind in NZed (just replay Dulles and

you'll get the gist but without the tears) and I needed a new bag here in Italy but planned

to take my time finding a bargain, well the canvas conference bag I was using temporarily

broke on my way the other day and after going in a few places, one lady got the better

of me rapid firing me with Italian telling me how it was all made my hand and of very good

quality, needless to say I am now the proud owner of a new Italian leather handbag. Note

to self, if I want to hold onto any Euros, hold off on shopping till I can speak a bit more

Italian.

And it's nine now, so off to bed, more soon hopefully from a more clear mental place, but all in all - yes Rome you and I are going to get along, I'll work on my patience, and you just continue to work on being kind to me while I learn Italian- deal

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time the NZ gov't and the US gov't arranged a three way call and gave me a ring and said, "We were wondering if you'd like to live in New Zealand for a year on us? Not convinced? We'll throw in a free Masters degree to sweeten the deal. No no, don't worry about taking the GMAT or GRE, we got you. All we ask is that you speak in your hot American accent, learn how to blowdry your hair, learn a bit of Kiwi slang, give up shopping, and most importantly that you put yourself first and get real comfortable spending time alone. You will also never experience February 2, June 21st, or August 1st, 2010, but we will let you do June 10th, July 25th, and February 4th twice. Oh and one more thing, we forbid you to work".

Okay, so that's not exactly how it happened, and I won't lie and say it's always been easy or that the loneliness and homesickness weren't crushing at times - but if you asked me if I would do it all over exactly the same, I think you can tell that my answer would be a resounding yes. Even the not so choice moments (rewind to my flight here or being told to go home and learn about Native Americans) have all been worth it because they have taught me a lot, most importantly perspective.

And obviously I have a lot of people to thank for contributing to the truly outrageous fortune of this year -

-U.S. taxpayers and Fulbright NZ- if I haven't convinced you through this blog (considering my minimal discussion of my research), the Fulbright is an amazing program and it has changed my life. Even if you're not buying into the whole peace and understanding part, if you want your kids to be able to go live in NZ and get a free degree one day, just remember that when it comes time for voting

-My family - thank you for letting me go be selfish for a year and not making me feel bad for missing big events/gatherings/holidays back home. And thank you to my Mom and Allison for using up all your vacation time to come celebrate with me here.

-My friends - thank you for staying in touch so well and learning to use skype or google video, or sending me random links and photos to keep me in the loop and feeling like I'm still a daily/weekly part of your lives.

-Those of you who realized that mail does get delivered to New Zealand - thank you, I was excited and thrilled about every card, thank you note, Xmas photo, Save the Date, care package, flowers, etc.

-The Maori Orgs - thank you for making time for my academic pursuits and for being so frank and open in sharing your perspective. I not only learned a lot about climate change, but even more about values that I'll carry with me the rest of my life. And thank you for letting me crash your conferences and the heaps of kai, waiata, and Tohu wines

-Fellow Fulbrighters - thank you for letting this ol girl hang out with you ivy league youngins. and sharing in the trials and tribulations of adjusting to life and Fulbright and Kiwi randomness

-Matty NZed, Cap'N Steve, Anton and Amy, Jesse, the 505ers - thank you for befriending this American and for inviting me into your Kiwi lives/homes and letting me relax and forget about my research for awhile and making me feel like I really lived here

-The Sciascia Family - thank you for adopting me, feeding me, trying to matchmake for me, and generally making me feel like I had a family here

-Alice and Aaron - I couldn't have asked for a better living situation and frankly made everyone else jealous with what I had found with you two. I could go on forever, but thank you for letting me live in your awesome house with your awesome view and the new habits you've taught me, sharing meals and teaching me to make things from scratch, new music, sharing your friends, and putting up with all my inane questions from cricket to cars. Now get married already so I can come back for the wedding

-New Zealand - thank you for giving me the most gorgeous of padded walls to explore my mind, for being kind to me (through wallet loss and car probs, etc), for teaching me what meat is supposed to taste like, helping me appreciate simplicity, your quirky ridiculous humour and love for superlatives, and so much more

Thank you to all of you for supporting me in my Fulbright Fairy Tale. I hope I can repay the favor somehow/someday, so let me know.

Now I had planned on shutting this thing down, because frankly you must have had enough of the inner workings of my mind (I know I have) and as my friend Meredith says she knows what I eat for breakfast and what time I go to bed. But alas, I am moving to another capital tomorrow, so I'm debating what to do about that.....I had also thought I would be coming "home" and planned to say a few final words to the person who made the largest difference in my year here.....

To ME:

"Oh hey you, been a great year huh? It's been awesome getting to know you better. Thanks for laughing at all my jokes, you're pretty funny yourself too, and thanks for consoling me when things were rough and figuring out how to get through it. I'll never forget this year together....it's just that I think in order to grow that it's time we saw other people. It's not you, it's me"

Oh wait, uh awkward, I guess we're stuck together for a little longer? You better get some new jokes then.....

And as I think about the fact that I'm leaving NZ today I can't help but be sad, because its over, but I'm thrilled that it happened, although it all still feels totally surreal. And in surrealness, onwards to Italy

Italy I hope you're ready for the hot mess that is about to explode on your doorstep.....