The other night, I had to accompany the little girls to their friend Mia's 5th birthday party. This is why I love my job. I got paid to admire a beautiful home in Piazza Venezia while gawking at the high designer clothes all the mom's were wearing. There wasn't a single couch or corner that didn't have a couple middle aged women whispering to each other, laughing, and smoking cigarette's. At the same time, there were about 30 children running around, staining their fancy dresses and trousers with the abundance of food. I found myself chatting with one of the maid's and she said, "Isn't it too bad? Her favourite colour is blue, but the mom insisted the colour theme to be white."
But this was no ordinary birthday party. It looked more like a wedding, just without the groom. There were tables filled with trays of finger food, two stands for crepes and cotton candy, and a coca cola fountain. There was also a live puppet show performance in the living room. I ventured onto the wrap around terrace which had, as my host mom told me, "one of the best views of the whole city." It really did.
I will never forget the sad images of the house workers running about to make sure this party had gone off without problems. The three of them, dressed in formal maid uniforms, were constantly speed walking all over the place cleaning up spilled drinks and making sure everyone had enough to eat. I saw the male cook who could've very easily been someone's grandfather, and I have never seen someone look so tired in my life. He brought the cake out which was a delicious vino cake. As in wine cake. What 5 year old gets a cake made with wine for their birthday? I must say, it was so delicious, with little chocolate chips baked inside. The whole time I was there I was wishing I had someone else to share it with.
So. I have something on my brain that I need to share. I mentioned in my previous post that Nathan and I were going out for dinner in Trastevere Wednesday night. Well, that didn't happen. He likes to cook and when we met up in our usual spot in Campo, we agreed to just go back to his apartment, eat pasta, and watch a movie. One of the reasons I was excited to see Nathan is because he's leaving in a week now, so I don't have much time left to spend with him. It might seem selfish, but there was a bigger reason than that... Did I mention that he grew up in New York City? And that I kinda wanna sorta move there next...? He moved to Boston when he was around 13 years old, but he spent most of his life living there.
I've been giving a lot of thought lately to what I want to do next year, and The Big Apple is looking more and more appetizing to me. I've never been there, except to the JFK airport where I connected flights on my way to sunny Florida. But seriously. When I close my eyes and ask myself, "Where do I see myself in one year?" I see me jogging in Central Park. I can see myself bustling through Queens, Brooklyn, and Chinatown. I can see myself drinking martinis and going to cool parties in Chelsea and admiring the beautiful townhouses in Greenwich Village. I've been doing a lot of research about the pros and cons, and the only cons I can find is "lot's of traffic, expensive, high unemployment rate, rude people..."
Its still so much to think about, but can't you see me sticking my head out of a yellow taxi cab and being happy there? I can. But its still a lot to think about, just as I gave Italy a lot of thought before coming here. But talking to Nathan got me so hyped up, because really - how lucky am I to know someone who grew up there? My only true issue is that even though I turn 19 this July, I won't be of age in the U.S. You have to be 21. But luckily... I have my sister's old driving licence who is already 21. So really - I'm technically of age there. What do I have to lose?! The really nice thing is that I would be on the same time zone as my family, and the distance between my hometown and New York City is a mere one hour plane ride. That feels like practically nothing compared to being a nine hour flight from home as I am right now. I would definitely come home for Christmas, and the best part is that I already speak English. So I can go there already understanding everyone. In a city with a population of over 8 million, do you think they'd make room for me?
I know what some of you guys are probably thinking right now... I'm in Rome, and I should be enjoying myself here. I definitely am enjoying myself here, and I absolutely love Rome. But lately I've been having to think about my future, too, and what I'm going to do next fall.
I had the greatest few days of my life thanks to a little unexpected adventure. The family I'm working for took me to the countryside where they have a house just one hour outside of Rome. Its located in the Lazio region, and the mom's side of the family owns a small village perched comfortably atop a huge piece of land overlooking herds of sheep and mountains. It was literally like a small village, with houses only owned by those related to the grandparents. All of the houses were made of stone and covered in ivy and English roses. The family even owns their own Catholic church that sits proudly among the dozens of beautiful homes. I felt that I had left Italy for the weekend and landed in Ireland. When I I went for a walk through the countryside, I felt like I fell into a scene from PS I love you.
I spent the entire time drinking homemade red wine, horseback riding through the mountains, and doing my best to stay on the good side of the strict grandparents.
Clemi, the eldest daughter, took me aside later and assured me not to worry about them, because "nonna is impossible." This made me feel much better, and I could see it was true every time we sat down for a meal when the grandmother would boss everyone else at the table around. Get your elbows off the table. You cannot sit at the table with messy hair, you must tie it back with a pony tail. Sit up straight. Speak more clearly.
I even got the chance to go to Bracciano, the town where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married. As it turns out, the mom is close friends with the woman who owns the 15th century castle where they got married, and I got to go there! I was completely wonder struck and have never seen anything so extravagant in my life. I asked the woman how the wedding happened. My first question was how they approached her. She explained that Tom is a close friend of the Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani and they have connections and BAM - they had the wedding there.
Now I'm back in Rome sweet Rome, and missed the city oh-so much during the past few days. The family is still in Bracciano and comes home tomorrow, giving me some time to do whatever my little heart desires. I drove home with the Filipino workers who sang country songs for over one hour.
