It's All How You Look At It!

Maybe the newness really hasn't worn off. Maybe the routine is not yet established. Maybe I'm looking at the world through rose colored lenses. I'm not sure what it is- but I always have to do a double take when someone tells me how miserable living in Naples is.

Really? Are we living in the same place?!

Don't get me wrong- the Naples culture has its quirks. So many quirks that I can see how it could be overwhelming. Even with these critical difference I've been fortunate enough to think back on other times of my life that have prepared me for this: tea parties, crazy drivers of Salinas, living in pine tree infested areas with above ground power lines, windy back roads.

But that's not the point of this post.

I was just thinking once again how fortunate I am to be here while I watched the sun come up over Vesuvio with my Italian kitty and espresso in my Starbucks DC mug. You know, the one I bought when I resolved to be working in DC by 30?

Sure I could curse at the growing trash pile outside my gate (no one seems to know why it hasn't been picked up in 3 days). I could kick myself for agreeing to 3 years out here (my 30th year will be spent in Italy). I could criticize the parts of Italian life that I still haven't fully adopted (dinner at 8?), but why would I?

The sunrises and sunsets from my roof are only intensified by the pollution. The fireworks at all hours of the night just adds to the twinkling stars in the night sky as I chat with friends on a roof top with fabulous wine. The littered streets help me pass the time running when I'm counting empty water bottles. Sunbeams sparkle off the water reflecting an indescribable  blue. Power outages give me a reason to light my candles and listen to the rain coming down.

Even in the moments when the "what I miss the most from the states" game starts...garbage disposals, Target, and Mexican food...they are really all things that I can live without for 3 years. And typically that is the verdict of the other players of the game, because we are being paid to not only work, but also live in this crazy, beautiful, amazing place.

After all, wasn't one of the goals for the end of this tour to be able to talk about "when I lived in Italy" down the road? If I'm going to talk about how I lived in Italy...I want to tell how I really lived in Italy. Not how I lived in an Italian town like an American. I want to have stories about how I went to Sicily for the weekend or ran through an itty bitty town before being handed a watermelon and medal.

It's all how you look at it and if I've left any doubt in your mind about how I'm looking at my time here in Italy, let me sum it up:

It's AMAZING! And, thank you once again for paying your federal taxes to give me this opportunity!


***Trash was picked up after 3 days. Longest it's ever been in MdP. Still have no idea what the deal was...maybe the garbage man was sick?***