La mia bella vita.

Just another day in this perpetually sleep deprived life of mine. Why can't I sleep you might wonder...well tonight...My oh so lovely father is snoring in the other room, sounds like a freight train is coming through..or maybe a tornado just hit on the street next to us. I can here every time my brother turns over in the room next to me because the floors squeak. The lady in the apartment above us likes walking loudly in heels right above my room. The guy in the apartment next door to ours must be rearranging his entire house, the cars are honking, the dog down the street is barking, our neighbors have decided to have a heated discussion outside the apartment building, it's cold and rainy and as I already mentioned above this beautiful house....squeaks, creaks, snaps, pops, it might as well talk! But honestly it's kind of nice to have some alone time to think at night!

Ah...the thinking. Wouldn't it be just exquisite, if our brains came with off switches!?!? But unfortunately, my brain did not! I can literally lay there for hours on end! Just pondering life, the past, the present, the future. My dreams, my nightmares, what I want in life...and it isn't until I literally like count sheep in my head, that I will actually fall asleep. And once I fall asleep I will continue to think, and dream about whatever I've been thinking about!

If you let it, the term "homesick", can literally make you ill. It's something all four of us has been fighting and we all have days that are better than others. But over all I would say we are doing well. But I don't know if we could live here forever, it's the little things we all miss!!

Like, garage door openers it literally can take us up to 7 minutes to open the door! The locks here are ridiculous! Spin the key five times, switch keys, get out the next key unlock the second lock, then unlock the lock to unlock the next lock...seriously it's ridiculous! But at least you know the house is secure :) from gypsies of course! Ah. The gypsies.

The gypsies, they stand on the street corners, throw themselves on your car and wash your windows. You can attempt to yell (that's Dad's personal favorite), arguing (Corey's favorite), nicely saying no (My mom and I's favorite), it doesn't matter they will still wash your window! And then pull up your windshield wiper, and hold on to it until you pay them! Giving them the ability to simply snap your windshield wiper if you do not pay them. Even if you didn't want your windshield clean to begin with. And meanwhile every Italian and there great-grandmother is laying on their horns because the light has been green for 5 minutes as you frantically rummage through your black hole (your purse), for a Euro, which is not exactly an easy feat as personally, we are Americans and our purses and wallets, are still consumed with American dollars. But eventually you find your, Euro, practically throw it at the lady and get on your way. As soon as you pull away from the light, 20 highly irate Italians, pass you honking because your slowness has clearly inconvenienced them, and they are going to be 5 more minutes late than they already were. I say that, because Italians are ALWAYS running late. They simply blame it on the traffic while in reality, the traffic set them back about 5 minutes and they're over 45 minutes late! But hey that's Italians for you.

Oh and they never work. Every once in a while stores are open Saturdays for a couple hours..but never Sundays, rarely Mondays; stores are typically open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and for about 2 hours on fridays. They take 3 hour lunch breaks in the middle of work. Even the lunch restaurants close for lunch. I'm not even joking! But the smart ones close after the typical lunch house, as to get a little more business. Even the parking garage, closes for lunch and holidays. Its as simple as, you can't retrieve your vehicle from noon to 3, on christmas, valentines days, easter, or any other weird Italian holiday, or simply if your "porter" doesn't feel like being there this tuesday..well you just don't use your car that day.
Italians are interesting people, still trying to figure them out.! They're kind of like coconuts. On the outside they are hard as a rock but once you break that shell, they're all sweet and soft. While as Americans we are more like a peach; on the outside, we are sweet and nice and soft but if you get deep enough, we put up walls that are almost impossible to break through. I love it here I really do. It's been quite the experience. And to say I'm blessed would be an understatement! God, is definitely keeping me on my toes though! The plan I develop for myself, never goes exactly how I envision. But I know there is a greater plan, that continues to develop in my life, as time goes on. Benvenuto nella mia bella vita. <3