The next chapter

Grad school days are long over. Career days have begun and I have to ask myself "Where should I put down some real roots?" I started my first real job in Madison, Wisconsin and soon discovered there just wasn't enough happening there. A year or so later I moved to Chicago with the same job and to see if my current relationship would work. Well my relationship worked really well! unfortunately my job did not. I transferred nine months after moving to Chicago to a new job in the California bay area. This blog is now complete.

last days

Things are rapidly coming to a close here for me in Rome. This last week has been a flurry of thesis writing, job searching, and last minute sight seeing and shopping. I feel as though i have accomplished quite a bit this week and looking back over the last 11 weeks too.

My 40 page paper is finished as well as the presentation that goes along with it = ) Printing that sucker out was a huge weight off of my shoulders. I put in only one half day at the office this week to wrap up things otherwise I was at home writing away and hoping I would make my Aug 1st deadline. I did = ) Now its R & R time and also the moment to squeeze in anything else I could possible want to see in Roma. I cant think of one thing I need to see yet - so I went to the beach and soaked up more of the summer sun on the mediteranean sea. I will dedicate most of my last full day to wash and packing and then drinks and a glorious dinner with friends.

Coming home will be really a joy this time. I cannot wait to go shopping with my sisters and hang out with my friends on the Terrace, on a lake, or a backyard patio. I feel its a good moment to leave and that upon my return life should get back to normal fairly quickly. I dont think reverse culture shock will hit me too hard this time around and I pray i am right. After France I was depressed for months...I will be busy to help with the transition - several weddings, family gatherings, and of course finding that perfect job. Out of all the applications I have sent out, I have had only one interview. It is a bit discouraging but maybe its a sign that I should take a must deserved break! I did do a 2 year masters in one after all.

For all of you blog readers, thanks for checking in with me. This will most likely be my last entry. If ever you want to go to Roma, or just see hundreds of beautiful pictures, you know who to ask.

un bacio! Ciao!

Ostia Antica

I met up with friend at Pyramide station one afternoon to take a train to Ostia Antica. This city was the first harbor for Rome and perhaps its first colony. Located at the mouth of the Tiber River, Ostia was founded by the 4th king of Rome in 7th century B.C. Over the centuries, the river shifted its course more north thus pushing cargo up the coast away from Ostia. As a result, the city became ghost like and was forgotten. The buildings that exist there now have been untouched since Christ times and are slowly eroding and being restored by archaeologists. Ostia Antica is three times larger than the ruins of Pompeii and are much closer to central Rome.

My friend and i spent a few hours wandering through the ancient city. We imagined what the buildings were once used for and what life was like before Christ. Difficult we decided. I may not have visited Naples and Pompeii this trip but i think i got a flavor for them. In addition to seeing an ancient city, i also went to a pizzeria the other day for Napoli pizza. This city is known to have created pizza and the pie is characterized by a thicker crust. It honestly was the best pizza i have ever had. Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and basil - it was really delicious!

Musvei Vaticani

I was fortunate to enter the Vatican Museum at last for free! Usually 14 euros, the museum is free to the public the last Sunday of most months ( i say most because i wanted last month and it never opened). This time however, the line stretched far into Rome and the wait was about 1.5 hours. I entered at 1220p just ten minutes before they stop letting people in before closing at 2pm. The museum is a maze of rooms and gardens. My first priority was the Sistine Chapel and it took an hour (all the time i had) to reach it! On the way I saw wonderful tapestries, marble statues, paintings, and exquisite furniture. I really liked a hall dedicated to paintings of parts of Italia and a round table inlaid with several different colors of marble. There is so much gold in the Vatican i bet it could feed a few impoverished countries for decades. It is almost too ornate. Vatican city has its own post office, radio station, and the most beautiful gardens. I was not allowed into the main section but from the windows of the museum I saw it was exactly where i wished i could be.
I had about 1.5 hours in the museum and was very content with that. It is another world within the Vatican walls.

Terme di Caracalla Opera

Last night, the food safety crew from the WHO Rome office went to an Italian opera called AIDA. The theater was in the open air in the center of Rome just in front of the Terme di Caracalla - ancient ruins of a Roman bathhouse. Back in the day, this large building was used by the up to 1600 bathers at a time. It also housed wrestling and boxing rooms, a sauna, and both Greek and Latin libraries. The opera story takes place in Egypt thus the hieroglyphics and columns were complemented nicely by the bath ruins behind them. The synopsis of the opera is Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, although he does not return the feeling. This love triangle raises suspicion about Radames loyalty to Egypt. Like Romeo and Juliet, the story concludes not so well for the forbidden lovers.

It was a wonderful experience. My boss and I walked to the opera together crossing most of central Rome. We joined another colleague for dinner (for me artichoke pizza) in the Testaccio neighborhood. The operas use of color and motion was breath taking and the acoustics incredible for being an outside theater. Surrounded by Italians wearing their best clothes, watching beautiful costumed actors dance and sing, in the heart of ancient ruins in Rome is something I will never forget.

back to my roots

Most people dont realize this but i am part Italian - Carolfi is an Italian surname. While I have been here i have met some of my distant relatives in Milan and got a tip that I may be eligible for dual citzenship 'jure sanguis' or by blood right. In my case, my great grandfather emmigrated to the US in 1907 at the age of 25. A single young man, Fiore Carolfi, took a ship from le Havre in the north of France and arrived at Ellis Island on March 5, 1907. His plan was to settle in Monroe, Wisconsin to make cheese with other family member who were already settled there. Later, his beloved 'Anna' joined him there from Casalpusterlango, Italy, they married and they started their family including my Grandpa Ervin.
If Fiore was not a citizen at the time of my grandfather birth, and neither him nor my father have claimed their citizenship rights to Italia, I can do so now. This part of the story is still under investigation. Assuming, Fiore had not yet been naturalized when my grandpa was born, all i have to do to be a citizen of Italy is collect and translate into Italian everyone's birth and marriage certificates from Fiore down to me. Sounds easy right? Well from what i understand, some of these documents have to be taken from the birthplace itself, so a return trip to Italy might be in order. Translations can costs in the hundreds, and the process to approve the paperwork is now taking up to two years. I know it can be done. I have heard of other Italian Americans being successul acquiring dual citizenship and so being a part of the EU. A European passport would definately be an asset for me as I love to travel and it will be so much easier to find work, purchase property in Europe etc. I am just not sure if I should be starting this process now.

Summer Reading List

I have had a lot more free time here than im used to being in graduate school. So i have borrowed some books from collegues over my stay here. Buying books in English is not a problem in Rome, I just didnt want to buy them because cant take them home with me later. To use any of the English libraries here you have to pay a annual fee or be a student here. Anyhow, here is the list of books I have read/am reading over the summer-

Goodbye, Jimmy Choo by Annie Sanders
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (loved that it is set in Rome!)
The Brethren by John Grisham (a convict run scam that blackmails gays)
Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwall (too creepy, murder mystery)
Lucy Sullivan is getting Married by Marian Keyes (hysterical, laughed non-stop!)
Thirtynothing by Lisa Jewell (quite funny about young love)
Le Fond de L'Enfer by Ian Rankin ( mystery about drugs and squats)

It is so nice to read for fun again! Do you have any suggestions?