Post within a Post within a Post...Enjoy!

I have absolutely let too much time pass between posts...and I'm sure that this entry will be a little too scattered with thoughts and events from the past two weeks so I apologize in advance! I am currently sitting in OU's new office, at my brand new desk (finally, after 8 months I have a place to work!), which has been wonderful. Last Thursday we had several visitors from OU here as we had our office inauguration party-it was very cool to see everything come together for such a great evening. It feels nice to know that even after I leave OUA, I will have been a part of the very beginning...literally, on my hands and knees scrubbing the floors to make sure everything was ready for last week (that might have been a little much). I even hand hot-glued the crimson and cream bows used for the ribbon cutting.

Before the party, one of my directors asked our friend Silvano (a 75 year old landlord of one of our student apartments and INCREDIBLE concert pianist) to play for the evening. I have seen him play several times now and he is truly remarkable. The man knows at least 500 songs by memory, and can pick up a new one after playing it once or twice through. He invited me to his apartment to work on a couple of songs together so that I would be able to sing with him-we ended up playing Moon River and You Don't Know Me....two songs that I have always loved but have never been part of my set. It was so nice to be able to incorporate something that I love so much into an evening dedicated to the work I've been doing for Oklahoma. It also helped me to realize how much I miss playing Thursday nights at Benvenuti's in Norman with my brother....I really took for granted having the opportunity to play out once a week for a couple of hours-and my voice, like any other muscle, is feeling the lack of practice! Speaking of which...I finally cracked this week. After eight months gym-less...I broke down and walked into the gym located right beneath my apartment (how convenient) and joined for the next two months until I am back home. Now, for most people, I understand that walking past a gym every day might not even be enough to merit a double-take...but for me it was absolute torture. I will admit, in the beginning it was pretty liberating to walk home with a bag of bread and a box full of pastries and know that I couldn't go to the gym even if I wanted to, so why worry about it. I actually enjoyed watching my body transform a bit in the beginning...but then it just kept changing and I had less and less energy....and I had finally had enough. I spent Sunday at a French market in Piazza Grande...which means I bought more cheese than I ever need to be eating on my own. Hence, the following day, it was time to reconnect with the treadmill. Oh exercise, how I've missed my 45 minutes of blaring music and elliptical-ing a day. I am sleeping better, not falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon, and completely enjoying my extra wine and cheese. Win-win.

I am also enjoying the masterpieces that my incredible new french roommate likes to throw together so effortlessly in the kitchen. The week after Eloise moved in, I opened the door and all that I could smell was chocolate and banana....she had baked a banana-breadish loaf but packed it with pieces of dark chocolate and oh, flame-cooked the bananas in Rum before even putting them into the bread. Heaven. It was a rainy, dark day...and I swear the smell alone made the entire apartment feel warmer. Elo has been such a blessing, and while I can't believe that I will only have two months left in the apartment that has become my home, I am very grateful to have been given the chance to get to know her. She is so generous and easy to talk to (her English and Italian is perfect...so it has been nice to have both of the languages together!)...and of course, I love listening to her speak in French, too! It's hard to believe that when I was a freshman in high school I actually spoke a little french...and now I know only a few words at best. It's actually kind of terrifying...as I absolutely do not want to lose the Italian that I have learned. So, if you know anyone who speaks Italian in the DFW area, please let me know : )

Continuing on the food trend, I spent last Saturday celebrating Marco and Chiara's birthdays (a brother & sister that have become incredible friends). Dinners at their house are always some of my favorite....not only because Marco should be a chef and open a restaurant, or because some of them are themed (I have a thing for themed parties), but because the company is always the best. Elisa and I were running a little late, but arrived to a table full of friends with glasses of prosecco waiting for us and Marco on his way out of the kitchen already with food in hand. We sat around the table for about 3 hours eating, drinking, and talking...at which point after enough glasses of champagne I almost started to cry because I realized that I would only be able to be a part of this for another couple of months. We changed the subject. I just always feel so thankful to have been included the way that I have...to look around a table of friends that 8 months ago didn't know me, that now don't even view me as the 'guest', but rather, just another friend. It will be these nights that I remember forever, and I have tried not to take a moment for granted.

Well, I think that catches things up a bit. Sorry if this post made you hungry.

Pass the Plate, Please!

So what if I've had a few glasses of wine and moscato...I LOVE Cooking Class Mondays. Last week, the students and I started the first of four cooking classes at a little family owned restaurant here in the center of Arezzo called Osteria delle Poste. Pietro, the father and chef, is the sweetest Sicilian man and not only do we love watching him effortlessly throw together plates of pasta, but it is so wonderful to see how much joy it brings him to be teaching us and enjoying everyone's company. The kitchen is usually pretty chaotic...as there are never measurements but instead ladels of crushed tomatoes...spoonfuls of minced garlic and more salt than I would ever care to know is in my food (but it's so good!). I have been trying to keep up with him so that I can put together a recipe book for everyone at the end of the class, but it is no easy task!

Tonight, we made Papa al Pomodoro (a traditional Tuscan soup with tomatoes, basil, garlic, and bread..the definition of comfort food), baked chicken with potatoes, olive oil and rosemary, Chicken Milanese (fried chicken cutlets), and homemade gnocchi with two different sauces (one cheese, one tomato). I had no idea how easy Gnocchi was to make! You just need to boil some potatoes, mash them, add some flour to roll into a dough, and slice away. It was clear that everyone felt much more comfortable tonight, joking with Pietro, carrying dishes onto the patio where we eat every week, and just relaxing to enjoy an authentic Italian meal.

It means so much to me to look around and see everyone so happy and content..and it always makes me want to work harder to make sure that they are continually given these kinds of opportunities in and outside of the classroom to really experience and to become a part of the culture. It is certainly not perfect, but there is so much beauty in that here. One of the things that I've loved about working in Italy is watching the way that it changes the students over the course of the semester-we are all so used to our busy lifestyles back home, and to come here and learn to appreciate a 3 hour dinner without feeling like you need to be somewhere else is such a gift. I hope that we can all hold onto some of this mentality at home, as I know it really is such a key to happiness and fulfillment. Some things about Italians are always funny to me....like the way that they don't know how to wait behind someone in line, or not run over your toes in the grocery store with their carts, but if you are a guest in their home you better believe you will be there for hours drinking coffee, talking, and sampling everything in their kitchens. I'd like to believe it's just because they are that genuine...nobody actually wants to wait in lines, so they just don't. Afterall, they need to rush home to make lunch or dinner for everyone!

After we finish eating, Pietro always brings out a plate of dessert and at least two bottles of sparkling wine. Afterward, his son Salvatore always asks, 'How was everything tonight?' and naturally, we all give him an enthusiastic smile as we say 'Incredibile!', hug and kiss Pietro on our way out, and tell them both how much we can't wait for next week.

Meal time in Italy has really inspired me to continue learning to cook, because I really do love nothing more than sitting around a table with the people I love and enjoying one another's company over a good meal and bottle of wine. Even if that meal means pancakes for dinner some nights...it is just so nice to have everyone together. Oh gosh, I miss pancakes. And sushi. I don't know how I'm even thinking about food after tonight's meal! Now I think I will make some tea, and sit down with my lovely new French roommate Eloise (she is the best...I am so lucky to have her here for the next few months!) to watch an old Audrey Hepburn movie in leggings and a sweatshirt. Thank you, Tuscany! Buonanotte!