Post Break Musings and Fudge

Forty days is all that we have left here in Rome. Forty short days.

I remember realizing that there were forty days till I was to leave the States for Italy and the number forty was a shock then. Yet now the number is full of of even more gravity as I realize that in forty days I'll be gone. I'll pack my two bags, ride the bus to the airport and bit Via Nomentana arrivaderla. No more lit up piazzas or long drawn out meals, no more ruins, no more trains, no more churches and museums that drag my jaw to my feet. I'd rather not think such thought right now...

E returned from Ireland only a few hours after I returned from Austria yesterday. It was All Saints Day and virtually everything in Rome was closed and the streets were silent, and yet we didn't care; It was good to be back in Rome and in our own room in the convent inside a city we are now familiar with and love dearly. Italian is such a beautiful language; I missed hearing it. On the bus ride from Termini I closed my exhausted eyes and let the romantic sounds of Italian conversation envelope me like a warm embrace.

Now she and I are sitting in our room eating fudge from Dublin, freezing in the cold cold convent, expectantly waiting for Rome to turn the heat on in the city and trying to wrap our minds around the workload we have for school this coming week. Irish fudge tastes more like toffee we've decided. I think I may open up a box a Czech berry tea I bought in Prague and perhaps that will help us stay warm. Wednessday we will be going to the Sistine Chapel for class. For now I must study up on my art history. I cannot wait to see Rafael's "School of Athens" in the Vatican Museum. Mental Note to Self: Read Macchiavelli...And don't forget to write that paper on Calivino's Invisible Cities. I also need to think about signing up for classes next semester. I have film class in an hour. I'd better read some Luther and Calvin before I spend three hours sucked into Italian Neorealism.

When I am able to snatch a moment or two I will do my best to write about the days of break, the beauty of Eastern Europe and watching the sun set over castles and towering spires. When I have a moment I will leaf through the very worn pags of my journal and remember stories to tell. When I have a moment I promise to be a better blogger.

For now I must focus on being a better student...and eating fudge.