The Ultimate Experience

17:18. September 15, 2011. Astor Café in Firenze.
I have a feeling that there will always be about a million things I want to write about. Life is just too big and complex an experience to contain within a weekly blog unfortunately, or fortunately, it depends how you choose to look at it. Take for instance the past week; I managed to cook some exquisite Italian dishes made from fresh ingredients I purchased at the most incredible local market, I traveled to Portofino (a major hotspot for vacationing Italian celebrities) and Cinque Terre (a national park along the Italian coastline with crystal clear blue waters and beautiful hillside vineyards). Yet, I don’t feel the need to say much about any of these things. Obviously those places were wonderful and if you ever find yourself traveling through Italy, Cinque Terre is a must-see. If you’re in possession of a few million Euros you might check out Portofino (it’s great if you’re in the market for diamonds or expensive lunches but if you’re a poor student like me, stick with the 10 Euro hiking and train pass to Cinque Terre and bring along some water and granola bars from home). Cooking needs an entire blog of its own so I won’t even go there but perhaps another time. This week I have to talk about Frisbee.
As much as I’ve managed to travel in my lifetime when it all comes down to it, I’m just another girl from the suburbs really. I like fresh air, and trees, and that deeply serene quietness you can only really get when you’re outside of a city. Florence, while it is breathtakingly gorgeous in its own right, lacks the sort of rural charm I’ve grown to take fore granted in my life. It irks me a bit to admit that while I’m here in the very heart of the city that launched the Renaissance I actually miss Poughkeepsie, New York. I miss the green Marist courtyards, I miss the familiar buildings, I miss the comforting rush of the Hudson River and I miss Frisbee. Lacey misses it too. And on that note, I really must mention (for the billionth time) how happy I am she is here with me. While we are each having distinct experiences of this new and exciting place she remains my familiar rock and when things get tough, I know I can always count on her. Looking back, I think her delayed arrival may have been a bit of a reminder to make sure I appreciate those familiar things I take fore granted and since then I really am cognizant of how lucky I am to have her here. But I digress, back to Frisbee. In a fit of Frisbee and fresh air withdrawal Lacey and I contacted a local Italian Frisbee team in the interest of attending their practice. We were gladly invited to join them, and so we set out on a Euro-frisbee adventure which included taking a local bus out to East-Middle-of-Nowhere Florence, Italy. This may seem simple but like I said, were just a couple of suburban girls who’s experience with public transportation goes about as far as the elevator of our freshman dormitory. We made it though (I think I now take a little too much pride in my ability to ride a bus).
We were told that a few people on the Frisbee team spoke English (when we got there, nearly everyone spoke English, when I asked one gentleman where he in particular learned to speak English, he gave me a puzzled look and told me, “this is not a good question in Florence.” It was as if I had asked him where he learned to breathe an perform other basic bodily functions.) Yet, well they had the ability to speak English they obviously conducted practice entirely in Italian, it was a workout for both the mind and the body at once. When it was all said and done we got some fresh air, Frisbee and felt pretty good about accomplishing what, at school, is a highly normal and under-appreciated occurrence.
To us though, it was all new, it WAS an accomplishment. It’s so easy to sit at home and do the same things you do everyday, but you’re not any safer there and you might miss the experience of a lifetime. In the comforting words of a mother who’s daughter is far braver than I to be studying abroad in Africa right now, “It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. I Love you.” I want to commend anyone out there right now who is breaking out of his or her comfort zone, releasing the familiar and embracing the new. It’s a hard thing to do, even if it is just riding a public bus.