if at first you don't succeed, try try try again

I have tried again and again and again to upload pictures onto this thing, but it just isn't happening. I'm working on setting up some sort of external photo site, so I'll post the link on my blog if and when I ever figure that out. Grrr.

It's rainy and cloudy in Florence again. We had a few days of sunshine over the weekend, but instead of exploring the city, I chose to master what the Italians like to call il bel far niente. The beauty of doing nothing. I'll be the first to admit that it wasn't an easy lifestyle adjustment for me. In the States, my life is governed by to-do lists and the satisfaction of crossing things off of said lists.

I woke up on Saturday with every intention of having a ''do nothing day''...but then I cleaned the kitchen, did my laundry, went to the grocery store and attempted to write out a budget. Clearly the opposite of a do nothing day. While attempting to write out a budget, I realized what I was doing, stopped myself and asked, ''Jen, what do you want to be doing right now?'' The answer was simple: I want to read.

So I tucked away my unfinished budget (sorry Mom and Dad), climbed into my bed and started to reread Eat Pray Love, one of my favorite novels and probably the reason why I chose to study abroad in Italy. After a painful divorce, the author chose to take a year-long sebatacle to Italy, Indonesia and India, and the book is a recount of her travels.

I guess you could say that this experience is my very own sebatacle, and I could not be more thankful to my parents for granting me this opportunity. After a long and lonely summer and a series of broken hearts, I needed this. I am lucky enough to have come to Italy with a couple pieces of home (namely Sara and the UCLA sweatshirt I stole from JC's trunk in high school), but it feels wonderful to be here, in this beautiful and lively city, and have very few ties to home. A fresh start to life, if you will. A new year, a new city and a new me.