This blog's been used for many things in the past (all four posts) but for the next four months its going to be (mostly) dedicated to travel writing, some undoubtedly terrible photography and general musings on the strange position I occupy as a Kiwi surrounded by a bunch of Americans living in Italy.
I've been here in Viterbo, Italy for a whole week now, and every day my eyes are constantly opened, my ears are constantly tuned (for what little Italian I understand) and my blisters are constantly enlarging.
I mean its a pretty hard town to walk around. Those cobblestones and hills are pure murder, and buying a new pair of shoes right before I left wasn't really the smartest thing I've ever done....
There's only like a million and one beautiful things around every corner.
This fountain is my favourite because there's randomly all these apples and capsicums just chilling in the water and this one time I saw an Italian walk up to it with a bag and just pillage all the vegetables he'd need for the next week from it. As you do.
Every day this country continues to surprise me. I mean we were casually here this morning.
Things which look like something you'd put as your screensaver are just right in front of your face, and this fact alone continues to regularly blow my mind.
Ever since I've jumped on the plane, its been a whirlwind ride. Camping out in Auckland airport and using those last precious NZ minutes to call the family. On the flight to China listening to Conrad by Ben Howard and the line "Climb out to where you see the curl of the world" just hitting me SO hard as I looked out over the clouds from the back of the plane. Nearly dying in Shanghai airport, getting lost in Rome trying to find my hostel, meeting a few Americans and being just so happy to hear and understand a language again. Buying food simply by pointing at it until I learnt "Vorrei..." (I would like) and using that religiously to devour ungodly amounts of gelato, pizza and pastries.
Travelling certainly is a unique experience, especially travelling to study abroad. I love it, everything about it and it's teaching me new things every day but it sure is difficult at times. Not only do I struggle to function, struggle to even understand others at times, but I'm constantly finding my default state of being challenged as well. The adventurer in me wants to go and do everything, meet everyone and just spend my time to its absolute fullest - as I've joked about multiple times, I can sleep on the plane (back home) right? Then the writer in me just wants to soak it all in, to simply sit and observe, reflect on everything which has happened and find new ways of conveying my experiences through this one language I understand: through words (primarily English ones). Capisci? (Do you understand?).
I guess I'm trying to find a way to live life on the edge, but that's always a balancing act between pure grace and sheer disaster. Its like trying to catch a moment that is always slipping away from you - like most things in life I should be focusing on the tightrope in front of me - the next step, and the one after that. Like they say in my favourite Italian phrase: "Piano, piano" (Slowly slowly).
Here's hoping for the best in my tight-rope-walking travels, Ciao!
Ever since I've jumped on the plane, its been a whirlwind ride. Camping out in Auckland airport and using those last precious NZ minutes to call the family. On the flight to China listening to Conrad by Ben Howard and the line "Climb out to where you see the curl of the world" just hitting me SO hard as I looked out over the clouds from the back of the plane. Nearly dying in Shanghai airport, getting lost in Rome trying to find my hostel, meeting a few Americans and being just so happy to hear and understand a language again. Buying food simply by pointing at it until I learnt "Vorrei..." (I would like) and using that religiously to devour ungodly amounts of gelato, pizza and pastries.
Travelling certainly is a unique experience, especially travelling to study abroad. I love it, everything about it and it's teaching me new things every day but it sure is difficult at times. Not only do I struggle to function, struggle to even understand others at times, but I'm constantly finding my default state of being challenged as well. The adventurer in me wants to go and do everything, meet everyone and just spend my time to its absolute fullest - as I've joked about multiple times, I can sleep on the plane (back home) right? Then the writer in me just wants to soak it all in, to simply sit and observe, reflect on everything which has happened and find new ways of conveying my experiences through this one language I understand: through words (primarily English ones). Capisci? (Do you understand?).
I guess I'm trying to find a way to live life on the edge, but that's always a balancing act between pure grace and sheer disaster. Its like trying to catch a moment that is always slipping away from you - like most things in life I should be focusing on the tightrope in front of me - the next step, and the one after that. Like they say in my favourite Italian phrase: "Piano, piano" (Slowly slowly).
Here's hoping for the best in my tight-rope-walking travels, Ciao!
No comments:
Post a Comment