textures and shades

a mix of obligation and curiosity led me to reggio emilia this past weekend.  turns out, i have some family in a town only two hours away.  people in mia famiglia are laid back.. or they are completely not.  these kinsfolk belonged to the latter category.  i am so thankful there was a big hearted eleven year old boy among them.  as soon as i stepped into the car with all my unease in tow, he turned his chubby cheeks towards me, parted his lips to ask, "didi, gum?"as he thrust a pack of daygum towards me without any sort of visible reservations.  it was refreshing to encounter one of those rare brilliantly open and trusting human beings, contained in a less than five foot frame.  little did he know that with that gesture, he offered me not just minty fresh breath but a venue to ease the tension.  among his interests were: tekken, drawing and 50 cent; we got along great.  the marriage of italian and punjabi created the most fun love child of a language (italijabi?  punjtalian??).  random, but i also think i saw the olympic torch while i was there, unless it was some other flame traveling with an entourage.

well, good or bad (or just awkward) everything is a learning experience in one way or another.  visiting a more average town, i got away from the posh italians that surround me and saw the REAL ones.  when i stepped foot into their local mall, i entered upon a collection of familiar stores and disenchantments for i could just have easily been in america.  i know i've complained about my lack of a decent shower, heat, dryer, siesta (all stores close 1-3 pm everyday), carrying groceries great lengths, mosquitoes etc etc - but i've become grateful for every last bit of it here in firenze.  if life abroad was exactly as i was used to, what would be the point?  culture shock is awesome, it triggers so many thoughts.  it forces me to ask myself the questions through which i reach a greater understanding of myself, even if i only make attempts at answers.  i've made conclusions about stuff i hadn't even really considered before.  i'd like to clarify the ambiguity of this "stuff" for you, but i lack those kind of articulation powers.

study abroad is good.

unleavened flat cracker bread

so i bet you american folk are enjoying your 70s weather and the sun kissing your skin as ya frolick about in your summer garb as mine sits in the back of my closet.. tragically untouched.  well, i have something you don't! 

MATZO!!!

i'm sure by now, the jewish bread shortage in the states has impacted your life oh so terribly.  (i kid)

In Palo Alto, Amy Kawadler said she had been told there was no matzo at the Mollie Stone's Market, which carries a wide selection of kosher food, but she noticed a lone box making its way down a checkout conveyor.

When she  inquired about it, the customer "grabbed it and pressed it against his chest and said, 'This is my matzo,' " Ms. Kwadler said.  He directed her to the section where one last box, of onion poppy matzo, remained, resting on the back of a bottom shelf.  "I ran with my hands in the air, pumping the box in my hand saying, 'I got the last box of matzo!' " Ms. Kawadler said.  "It was the talk of our seder."

i fucking love matzoh.  tonight we had a seder, ate: matzo soup, matzo pizza, and chocolate covered matzo, and read the haggadah.  not everything was kosher, but it's not like there's a passover popo.  i love stealing other people's cultures, i want to collect them all like pokemon.  i was also lucky enough to have my first easter this year with emily's family in munich.  how did a holiday involving such heavy chocolate consumption escape my celebration for so long?

while on the topic of chocolate, my personal contribution to tonight's dinner was making reeses cups!  scratch that, they were better than reeses, they were S-double O-K-I-E cups yo!

here's the ridiculously simple recipe, via pictures.  because you're smart, you'll figure it out.

you should go make some because when you eat them you'll feel so great.

craniofacial duplication

meet baby lali

she opens and shuts all four eyes at one time.

look at her dimple!

what does springtime smell like?

the sun has finally come out to play!  happy little daisies and dandelions popped up overnight everywhere, just to make me smile i think.

my life is trying new flavors of gelato by the arno (i've decided the best are: nocciola, bacci, and tiramisu), pretending to study on steps in piazza ss. annunziata while i take in political rallies and locals and drinking too many leisurely coffees where the italian futurists did.

i'm not in the real world.  i feel like i exist in another dimension, floating through life.  i don't know if this is good or bad.  should anything be endless, even if it is bliss?  this steamy affair with firenze is interrupted by thoughts of my long time lover, new york city.  part of me misses that lifestyle, the excitement of feeling like i'm keeping up with something and part of something big - even if it's all in my head.  part of me dreads the day i'll no longer be able to roam the cobblestone brunelleschi's dome casts in shadow like it ain't no thang.

i want to go back to new york, but i don't want to leave here.  i'm a greedy mofo.