Ciao! I am now on my fourth day in Italy after arrival, which means day four of quarantine (ten more to go!). SCP* - Standard Covid Procedure - here dictates that I stay inside 14 days after entering the country. And so, naturally, I am becoming very well acclimated with my apartment. And the sounds I hear from it, that illustrate what life outside my living space is like.
the sounds
One of my favorite sounds so far - church bells. This beautiful ringing that I can hear perfectly from my room. I often wake up to this ethereal *ding* and it makes me quite joyful. Even though I cannot seem to wake up before 9 or 10 AM - I cannot blame jet lag forever, but here I at least present the idea - arising to the bells makes me feel ready to take on the day.
A sign of life beyond what I can see: the German Shepherd barking from the next courtyard over. I know he is there because I passed him on my way to finding my apartment on the first day. This dog seems to bark at the most convenient times, like when I am facetiming my loved ones. My quarantine status serves as a barrier to me being at all sympathetic towards the sound, as I cannot know what he is barking at.
Other signs: the window in my room is above a side street, so I can hear the passing of cars on nearby roads and the chatter of people walking past. I am excited to be a part of that noise soon, even if it is just the sound of my footsteps on gravel.
~ I will continue on to other senses of equal importance ~
the sights... so far
From my apartment, the view from the kitchen window is my favorite (pictured to the right). You can see the apartments across the courtyard, filled with plants and lively colors.
The inside of my apartment is beautiful as well. The lace curtains above the kitchen window are used over all of the windows here - in the bathroom, bedrooms, and sitting room. The ceilings are high and there are doors into all the rooms (even the kitchen!) that have textured opaque glass pieces that run almost the whole length of them.
There are many things I find very interesting that are commonplace for my Italian roommates. I am finding that I can learn much about the culture simply inside the space I share with them. For example - the way to make coffee.
There is a small device called a Moka that uses coffee grounds to make espresso. It is small, only a bit bigger than a canned good. You set it on the stove and the water inside it boils and then you pour out your coffee. It is absolutely wonderful.
I prefer espresso over regular coffee, the flavor is much better in my opinion. So, this is something I will continue to use once I return to the US.
Other interesting things: we have a bidet in one of our bathrooms. I have yet to use it, but I have been told it can also be used to wash off your feet. The shower situation is also interesting. We have a bathtub and shower head, but it does not hang from the ceiling. Instead, it is like a hose with a shower head on it. It is little things like this that intrigue me about this new place. Even in quarantine, I am learning.
the taste
Oh my goodness, I really cannot say enough about how delicious the food is. My first day and a half here, I had no food of my own yet and so my roommates were kind enough to share with me. My first night, we had pasta with passata di pomodoro al basilico (tomato sauce with basil - it sounds prettier in Italian, doesn't it?) and some parmigiano. Simple and delicious. I ate every bite.
I have also tried pasta al pesto, pizza margherita, and risotto alla milanese (saffron). Each new bite is exciting and full of flavor, a taste of culture and of friendship. Some tastes are more nuanced, like that of celery, carrots and onion in the risotto that came from a vegetable broth used to cook the rice. It is just as pleasant to hunt for underlying flavors as it is to realize those that instantly announce themselves on my tongue.
Seeing my roommates cook is fascinating. I try to absorb every technique, to learn how to make Italian recipes authentically. What a privilege to take in so much in the kitchen.
A couple of days into my arrival, I got my first groceries. I was able to order online and have them delivered by my university since I have to quarantine.
I ordered these items before I arrived in Italy, so my cart was filled with items that were familiar to me, along with some items to try.
Pictured on the left is a salad I made yesterday. I had to improvise a bit as I did not have salad dressing. After combining some rucola (arugula), carrots, chickpeas, and capers - I drizzled over some olive oil, the juice of a blood orange (sounds more morbid than it is - they have a beautiful red-orange color on the inside) and added some seasonings to create a sort of dressing. I must say, it was quite tasty. At least, to me.
In many moments here, I am thankful for the ways I was being prepared that I was not even aware of. Take cooking for instance. In college, I must admit, I was quite lazy. I prepared much of the same meals over and over again - oatmeal for breakfast, salad for lunch, frozen vegetables - cooked and seasoned, of course - for dinner.
However, dating my boyfriend, Isaac has encouraged me to cook more. Before I left, I would often visit him in the evening after he finished work, and so we would have dinner together. In January, we decided to fast from watching TV and going to restaurants. We had much more time on our hands, which resulted in a lot of cooking. The registered dietitian in me was always looking for ways to incorporate vegetables into our meals.
I began experimenting with recipes and ways of making dishes I already knew. Isaac has arugula growing at his house, so salad was a frequent side dish I would create since we already had a base ingredient. I would add whatever toppings were in the house - sundried tomatoes, cucumbers, olives - along with some olive oil, a vinegar of choice, and spices. It was fun trying new combinations to find what we did and did not like.
All of this to say that the increase in cooking before I left has helped me to improvise more here with the ingredients I have. A recent conversation I had with my roommates, they asked me what my specialty was in the kitchen. I was humbled when all I could think to reply was "salad". I have much to learn.
Even though cooking is very important to me, I have never had to be especially great at it because I was either being cooked for by my family, or I was just cooking for myself (of which, I am my best and worst critic). Now, however, I am being challenged to better my skills the more people I cook for. When I was home (and when I return), it is Isaac, and here it will be my roommates and future friends I make. I have seen how communal eating is here, and it is a beautiful thing.
It is a joy and blessing to be here, learning such valuable things already.
* a term, to my knowledge, of my own making. I am sure other minds have thought "alike" on this one.