Life Unexpected

Things have been busy and quite interesting the past couple weeks.

I made it to America with little trouble (definitely got checked by customs when I got to Dallas).

The Hozhabri family survived another wedding. It was great to see everyone and catch up after so long.

Just like my younger siblings 🙂

From there I headed to Nashville.

I had a wonderful birthday with close friends and it definitely felt good to be back in this town that I love so much.

At Greenhouse for my birthday

I also posted a 27 Things list that day. This is a list of 27 things that I’d like to complete before I turn 27. I’ll be blogging all about it as I complete each one.

And then my trip took a turn for the unexpected…

I had an eye doctor appointment that thursday and it turns out that I had a couple little tears which caused fluid to get in between my retina and the wall of my eye. This caused me to loose most of the peripheral vision on the right side of my left eye.

All this to say that I spent Thursday afternoon at the Vanderbilt ER as the retina specialist tried to decide whether or not they were going to do surgery that evening or the following morning. At 10:30pm they decided to go with the later and sent me home, reminding me that I wasn’t to eat or drink anything after midnight.

Eyes dilated waiting for surgery.

Friday morning, good friends in tow, I arrived at Vanderbilt for my surgery. Everything went well and I have been recovering since. Plans to go to Memphis with my girlfriends got canceled unfortunately, but I was given the all clear to fly home to San Diego on Monday.

Post Op: The Cyclops

Needless to say I’ve been like a cyclops this past week: only able to see out of one eye, which gets tired easily. That of course means that blogging – along with catching up on reading and movies – has been on the back burner.

Anyway, sometimes life throws you an unexpected curve ball.

On the plus side – I got my UK visa. YAY!

I’ll get back to blogging when I can. Thanks for your patients.

Ciao,

Sheila

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Getting Settled

My first two weeks here went by pretty fast. Between getting settled and planning baby Leone’s baptism Peter Pan Party, I spent most of my time at the house.  Oh, also it was a miserable 85 degrees every day, which doesn’t seem really hot but coming from cold London plus not having AC to cool down makes anything over 78 feel REALLY hot.

I did get down to the town of Como one afternoon, took a stroll by the water and enjoyed a yummy gelato.

Peach & Strawberry gelato

I love old Italian buildings

The Duomo in Como

We also went down to Como for dinner one evening. I got to try some new foods, including octopus, which is very popular here but I had never tried.

The family, consisting of father, Dario, mother, Paula, and children, Allegra (4) and Leone (4 months), are neighbors with Dario’s parents, his brother, Ivan, and his family. Sounds like something right out of “Everybody Loves Raymond”, but unlike the Barones, everyone here is respectful of personal space.

The first Sunday I was here (July 4th) Ivan and his wife, Sandra, had a BBQ the for her father’s birthday.  We enjoyed some delicious home cooked food, wine, and meat brought from an area near Tuscany.

Bruschetta! yummy!!

L to R: Ivan's brother-in-law, Dario, and Ivan

Best Bellini ever!

Home made desserts and berries from the orchard

I’ve definitely been doing a lot of cooking here, including an apricot torta (the apricot jam can be replaced with your personal favorite), lasagna, and risotto!

We even had a Mexican food night with guacamole, beef tacos, and chicken and steak fajitas. Surprisingly enough, we were able to find all the ingredients in the supermarket.

I’ve also taken a few trips to surrounding cities: Bellagio, Milan, Brunate, Bergamo, Lugano, and Verona. You can read about Verona by clicking on the link, and I will be doing a separate post for my trip to Bellagio, but I’ll take the next couple posts to showcase the other towns, starting with Milan.

Next up, the Peter Pan party & Bergamo!

Ciao,

Sheila

I lived there in 2010

“It’s been five years since I lived in Fargo, and I was only a citizen of that community for four years. Somehow, it still feels like I lived there for two decades.” – Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself To Live

With my move to Italy just 6 days away, I’ve been thinking a lot about something…

What criteria must be met for a person to say “I’ve lived there”?

It is just a certain period of time that must pass?

Living in an actual residence as opposed to a hotel or hostel?

Knowing your local shops and making a point to purchase goods from them?

Having a particular place you and your friends always hang out?

If it’s an international country, does it matter what your visa status is? (ie. student, visitor, work permit, resident)

Or is it just a feeling or connection you have with that particular place?

At this point, I can say without a doubt that I have lived in London. I’ve been living in a house for 7 months, made new friends, have my favorite places to eat, shop at my local stores and charity shops, and even got a library card for my local library (I can’t remember the last time I had a library card. I think I was 13).

But after 6 weeks in Italy, will I be able to say I’ve officially lived there? What if you consider the 4 weeks I spent there last October? Do those 10 weeks combined count as having lived in a country?

Just something I’ve been pondering between walking all over London, reading on the tube, cooking at home, and still being computerless (incase you’re wondering, I’m at the library typing this). Feel free to comment with your thoughts on the matter.

Ciao,

S