Rome & Feeling Blue

You may know that I had been planning to go hiking in Spain with my friend David this week. It was months in the works, with flights scheduled, gear in the mail, pilgrim passports, all sorts of preparation... I got myself all of the way to the airport in Rome, checked in, when I panicked. I've never done anything so abrupt like that, but I've also never felt so scared either. All I could think about was how ill I felt with this bronchial infection, how I didn't know a lick of Spanish, and how it could be days of trains, busses, and hotel rooms before I could meet up with David. David insists that I would have been fine, which I'm sure is true. But in that moment, I could not see myself boarding that plane. I cried. I was led back through security to get my bag... God, they probably thought I just found out that someone died or something. That's almost what it felt like. I was ashamed of the decision I was making, of how I was adding one more thing to my list of failures this semester, of how I was letting down David. But I could not get myself on that plane. 

So I'm in Florence for a week battling boredom. There is obviously plenty left to do, but it's sad doing it all alone. Yesterday I went to the Galleria Academia and saw Michelangelo's David, and then to the Bargello Museum. Today I took the bus to Volterra, which was absolutely amazing. I'll post pictures soon.

Right before I left Volterra today, I went to the edge of the piazza to get a view of that breathtaking  Tuscan countryside. A man came up to me and mumbled something I didn't understand. I got him to repeat what he said, but it was all just mumbles and hand gestures. He was mute. His hand gestures were those stereotypically Italian gestures... twisting a finger in his cheek, wiping his forehead, the "muah, bellissimo!" hand, you know. But this was all he had to communicate with me! I spoke to him in Italian, which he understood. I think he was trying to call me cute, ask where I was from, tell me where he was from, which by showing me his ID, I could see was a town called Crotone, which I ashamedly hadn't heard of. He kept making these gestures as if he were swimming and sunbathing, trying to communicate that Crotone was on the beach. I just Googled it, and sure enough, it's a beach town in Calabria. He seemed really grateful to talk to me, which feels sort of good. I'm glad I could make someone feel good... especially since I'm questioning whether it was the right decision to stay here or not. Blah.

I bought a guitar today too. It's a travel sized classical guitar. 40 euros. It feels so good to have a guitar.

I really need to post some pictures of Rome from last weekend. The internet is too slow to upload.. maybe I'll have some luck when SACI opens later in the week.