How long should a 1 L bottle of olive oil last?

I want to know what the FDA would have to say about olive oil consumption. The other day, I made a Freudian slip and described my olive oil consumption as "drinking" it. Let's just say that I don't drink, uh, I mean consume, it quite as fast as water, but it's only a tad more expensive than water, so it might as well be enjoyed. On most everything, for most meals. Tutti.

You've been patiently awaiting some sort of pictures. Here's tonight's dinner. Tortellini and pesto from the grocery store (another something that's dirt-cheap here). Also imagine steamed spinach as the 2nd course. 3rd course will probably be wine and bar food--am going out tonight. Thursday just seems like the best night to go out and my classmates aren't off traveling for the weekend. So many kids in this town go out every night. I'm just too old to party that much and survive. (Actually, I've always been "too old" to party on school nights.)

Would have loved to get good pictures from today's ride, but it turns out that after I went through Assisi and found an interesting new road to follow, a couple of lycra-clad guys (Daniele and Louie) on bikes rode up behind me so I followed their wheels until I got back home. Riding with them meant doing some sprints and keeping a very high pace at times--they didn't speak English so it was a test to see where I fall strength-wise. It also meant a mid-ride stop for a drink--red wine for Daniele, not sure what Louie had and I got orange juice. I've never seen anyone drink wine during a ride and I sure have never seen anyone down it as quickly as Daniele did!

It's rides like this that I have been hoping for the past few months and it was a real motivation to train (for this and grand fondo races). My strength is no where near where I'd like it to be, but I would have died if I had tried to keep up a racer's training schedule on top of moving here. Va bene. All is well, though, I'm strong enough to hang and attempt conversation in Italian (trust me, it's work at this point, pretty exhausting to try to catch what they're saying and think of an appropriate response--frustrating because I want to say so much but so little comes out). We exchanged enough information to know a fair amount about each other. We will ride Saturday. Woohoo!

With that, it's time to start the process of getting ready for the evening. If I were like most people here, I wouldn't even consider going out until 11:00 or later. Just too old...

Slammed

I think I enjoyed (trying) to speak Italian a little bit more when I didn't realize all of the different ways to screw everything up. Now that I'm becoming more aware of this, some serious studying time is in order, but that won't fix my newly-discovered fear of speaking it all wrong. Tomorrow is language lab, that should help. I'm really looking forward to the Italian roommates for the extra dialogue...and at least I can ask them if I'm mispronouncing words.

Right now, my roommate is having a dinner party, but I decided to skip it and just eat steamed spinach and tortellini earlier tonight. Smoke clogs my brain...and I need to study. Not many Americans in town (I rarely run into one), but there's a NJ guy in the kitchen. He's lived here for two years. He works at a bar and said he picked up the language just by doing that. I cannot fathom how anyone can do it without going to class, there are so many nuances.

The little guide book should have something to say about running here considering what they said about cycling. I ran earlier today (great way to see more cool streets and I found some pretty parks and good food shopping), but with the cars parking on sidewalks and sidewalks jumping from one side of the road to the next (and every road going either straight up or down), I'll take riding here any day over being on foot. Still, good workout since it was a bit chilly and my laundry hadn't dried yet from yesterday.

Time Flying? A Secret to Slowing it Down...

As we get older, time goes by faster and faster. My idea on why this is: once life begins to repeat itself, everything that is repetitious of a previous day or activity ends up being stored in memory as a single item. Thus, as one grows older, more and more activities turn out to be the same and time is, literally, compressed in memory--creating that time-is-flying feeling.

Simple fix to this pesky problem: uproot your life, move to somewhere else and get another profession. Easy, eh? :) Honestly, I don't see why not (if you don't have school-age kids). Packing up one's life is challenging (especially in a credit- and contract- based society like ours), admittedly, and I've been fortunate to have family helping me (to this day) wrap up a few loose ends. But once I got here, everything that I thought would be really hard has turned out to simply fall into place.

Back to the point about slowing down time: I've been gone from the US for 1 month and 4ish days. It truly feels like four months have passed. It's hard for me to imagine that I've only been in 5 total days of Italian school and haven't been in Italy for that long at all.

Every day is new, brings new people, new experiences. Every time I venture out of the house, I discover a new street that leads to an incredible vista, a useful establishment (tourist office gave me a book of bike rides today!), yummy pastry shop, chill bar or another public water fountain (no need to ever buy water here). Every single day.

Today's big adventure and success was finding a bath towel. Sad but true, I've been using a travel towel since I left hostel living. There is nothing like drying off with a terry-cloth towel and today I finally purchased one. Finding that store was sheer happiness. Next time you dry off after a shower, appreciate that towel that you've taken for granted your whole life.

The other successful adventure (but not as exciting as the towel) is that I found a new place to live! It's full of Italian students (3 or 4 others), saves me about 100 euro every month (utilities are included in the price, major stress reliever), should have better internet (this connection stinks--usually not good enough for a Skype call) and is significantly closer to school. My view is about the same (stone wall) and room is 1/2 the size of this one, but I'm a believer in small, uncomfortable bedrooms (less comfortable=more time spent out in a public place!) Bedroom = camera da letto (I learned this today in school). I've committed for 2 months so I can decide at that point whether to continue taking Italian classes or travel around a bit more in Europe. It's anyone's guess as to what I'll end up doing.

On a totally different topic, I got some questions pertaining to the last blog entry...my philosophy on dating. It's actually quite simple: I date with the intention of getting married and having a family (family may or may not include having kids--there's nothing certain about having them, even if they're really wanted). Dating is time to get to know the other person (and vice versa) and determining if this is a proper fit for a future family. Just that simple. I like the idea of how people dated back in the 50s. Go to the movies, ice cream, etc, with a variety of people until one person really stands out. Date that person solely for a few months, if all signs are good, get engaged, get married. Done. Simple.

Central Perugia is a town of one-night stands. Most young people are only temporarily here and so many are from around the world--chances are incredibly small that two people who meet here are going in the same direction (or will want to be in the same place) in the future. Italy, in general, has a reputation for being similar, but I don't know how true that is. Stereotypes can be so very wrong. From what I'm hearing others say about the United States, it's pretty shocking some of the ideas people have about it. Most of the foreigners I've met haven't been to the U.S. ever, but they assume a lot that isn't based on reality. (Nor is everything based on what they are fed from Hollywood or even the media.) In a few months, I'm sure this is a topic that will be blog-worthy. The last comment I heard that made me laugh is a girl who assumed I am an expert in gelato since Americans eat an extraordinary amount of ice creams (it's plural in some other languages).

Hello Mother, Hello Father, I am Smoking...

Make that "I am second-hand smoking." No, I don't like the smoke, but after years of staying far away from it, a few nights of smoke-filled rooms is worth it for the social aspect. It's also just one more way I'm learning to tear down my comfort zone, to get rid of that attitude of everything must be just the way I want it.

We often think we can control everything in our lives; I think Americans have that "God" mentality more than most people... Why do we put up a big fence around our home? Well, to control our space and keep it the way we made it to be (we forget that we aren't the ones who made anything or own anything...it's all on loan to us while we're alive the way I see it). I know that I need to completely remove these qualities in myself if I ever hope to be the person I need to be--for whatever purpose I am meant to have.

My roommate had a dinner party tonight so she cooked spaghetti with a very yummy sauce of olives, celery, tomato sauce, guests brought great wine and gelato. It was a fun group and good time--and particularly nice to have people here after the past week and a half when I was the only person here (my roommate had to go home for a week since someone in her family died).

This was pretty amusing, so I have to share. One of her guy friends came and within 10 minutes of meeting me asked me out on a date. He didn't want to accept no as an answer. So I shared with him my philosophy on dating. He responded, "Well then we can just be friends." Nice. I wish I could have been this straight-forward in my younger years, it would have saved a lot of wasted time. Really, as interesting as it might be to check out the dating scene, this is not the town for it. (The cool little guide book I blogged about earlier today had a whole section about dating...it helped me appreciate what the scene is all about.)

In other news, it's true what people say, full immersion language classes are exhausting. After class this afternoon, my head hurt--literally, from being stretched in every which direction. This was day #4 of class, and I can already tell my level of comprehension is way up from this time last week and I'm thinking/reading a bit faster (I still have an incredibly long way to go). Vocab is sort of floating in, it's not hard for me to remember words after learning them once or twice since it's in context and I am stressed to learn. It's a super fun pasttime to look up words and check out idioms--even though these scare me a lot since it's just so much to learn.

"An Awful City for Cyclists"

"Perugia is, simply put, an awful city for cyclists. No cycle paths, narrow roads, endless hills, cobblestone streets, lanes that end in steps and rain blowing sideways quickly put an end to most two-wheeled ambitions."

This statement comes directly from a cool little guide book that I just picked up. I understand where they're coming from--I only start and end rides here. The riding in the central part here is not great, but the location simply cannot be beat. The insane uphill at the end of the ride leaves me quaking in my cleats before starting the ascent. My eyes always burn of sweat in them by the time I get home.

The guide book is free and written by an American and Australian who tell of the great places to eat, shop, etc. Thank goodness a fellow classmate told me about this guide! I'll be a good tour guide to the city in no time. Hint, hint.

It's cool to start getting the locals recommendations on things. First recommendation from one cousin was to go to the chocolate shop and get a jar of their version of Nutella. Yes, it's better than Nutella and the ingredients are much better. While I'm on the subject, I'd been craving almond and peanut butter (staples of my American diet). Yes, I did find peanut butter, but it's expensive and has fully hydrogenated oil. So I won't eat it for any reason. Bananas are expensive, too, I haven't eaten a single one since I've been here. Surprisingly, I haven't missed them (I used to eat one or two daily back home). Add Clif Bars to the list--an addiction back home, I haven't seen or consumed one in over a month.

On that note, a pizzeria is another recommendation. That just might be dinner. Can you tell we just learned all about food in class?

Comparison of American and Italian Life -- OR NOT

As my cousin pointed out yesterday, how can one possibly compare Italian life to that in America? She really thinks the question, itself, is invalid. They are two completely different lives, that only small pieces can be considered against that of the other culture; but in doing this, everything else is left out--which is what defines the full experience of one living in a place.

If none of that made sense, mi dispiace (I'm sorry), I'm writing this even though I should be sleeping. Today was spent with more cousins, most of whom live in a nearby town; again, I'd never met any of them prior to today. It was raining all day today so it was a particularly good day for a visit. I'll say one thing about the weather here: when the forecasters say it'll rain, it does. Makes it easier to plan around it because this rain makes riding a bike (or doing much outside) close to impossible.

Capturing the moments that made yesterday and today great will not be possible as much as I am desperately wanting to do that. It's simply not feasible, in words, to tell of the feeling of comfort, of warmth, that I instantly felt with all of my family members the moment I met them all. We may be related, but I was a stranger to them prior to this weekend. They didn't even know what I looked like. For the most part, we don't speak the same language, but I don't feel the stress of not having the right thing to say; I don't feel like I need to concern myself with how I look or dress or any of that. I can simply be part of the family and I have to be content at this moment in not understanding where this odd feeling of unexpected comfort originates.

The food, like yesterday, was prepared with a supreme level of care and it was wonderful. I think the system of serving up each course one at a time is terrific--it allows the chefs in the kitchen to enjoy the food with everyone and there is a little time in between courses for digestion.

Turns out the guys who are somewhere around my age are really into cycling. That was a pleasant surprise! I was glad I took this magazine with me along with the GPS watch and bike riding pics from the Colorado National Monument. (We watched a decent portion of the Paris Roubaix, too. I'm convinced that if everyone rode bikes, we'd have world peace. And yes, Mark-mystery-blog-reader, I highly encourage the purchase of GPS. I happen to really like Garmin, not sure how it compares to others out there. It's the best purchase, aside from airline tickets to Europe, that I've made in a very long time for multiple reasons. Can't wait to try out your suggested hack! Thanks!)

The conversation was almost all Italian today, two people have a good knowledge of English so I got some translations at times, but it really forced me to pull out the little Italian I know and piece it together. There was also a lot of communication via hand waving. The full-on Italian exposure was like a week in class...and it helped emphasize to me the importance of living with Italians. Apartment shopping for May will commence tomorrow. When I got home tonight, I spent a long time at the local bar reviewing vocabulary and realizing the hundreds of mistakes I made today.

Two common questions they all asked me are: what do I do for a living? and why do I study Italian here? This has been something I've been thinking long and hard about on bike rides. The creativity flows when there's so little stress and fresh air. I'm starting to come up with some interesting ideas, but nothing that I will do anything about until I get a bit further in school. One step at a time. If the dreams I'm having at night are any indication, I need to do do something dramatically different from the 8-5, M-F desk job.

On that note, I could write a book just on the experience of today alone, but this captures enough such that the day doesn't have a chance of slipping into oblivion.

A Day in Bevagna with "New" Cousins

Today was a very cool day of visiting cousins living in a medieval town (not very far removed on the family tree). The neat thing about this visit was that this is the first time I've ever met them. I started the day at the bike shop getting my bike fixed (this was a proactive fix to prevent a shifter cable from breaking again). I absolutely adore the bike shop. Right now, they're the only people I know in this town who don't think I'm a lunatic for riding a bike. (Note, I have at least two classmates who have never once ridden a bike.) While the mechanics were fixing the bike, I got to stroll along a nice dirt trail next to a river, just a lovely place and morning.

Tomorrow is similar, I'm meeting a whole bunch of cousins who, again, aren't far removed on the tree. Pictures and stories might be coming, this is the kind of stuff that's better not blogged and I'm simply out of time.

Have been picking up Italian fairly quickly (as compared with trying to learn it in Denver), but my big limiter right now is my lack of vocabulary. I can't try out much when I don't have words that come close to what I want to say. With that, time to go stuff some words in my brain!

Note to self: Hilltowns involve hills that add up to mountains

Today was the day I was actually going to get to a destination (instead of turning around early like I've done quite a few times lately). I'm feeling pretty comfortable on the roads now and have a good sense as to how to get where I want to go. Goal today: Gubbio. On my way out of town, I ran into a cool couple who just happened to be heading to Gubbio, too. (It's universal that couples who ride bikes together are pretty much always fun to ride with and interesting to be around.) This girl is the first female road cyclist I've seen since I've been in Italy. She and her husband were unfortunately just vacationing in the area for the weekend.

Total distance: 106 km, 5,000 feet of climbing. For the record, riding at low altitude with rollers is FAR more taxing on the body than riding in the Rockies for the same duration.

I found my knight in shining armor! Also to be found in the store in the background were all things a medieval warrior would need on the battlefield. Not quite sure how they stay in business, is there a market for this stuff?

Looking back at Gubbio as I ride out of town.

This is what hay fever looks like. I've been eating lots of eucalyptus honey lately, am hoping that keeps allergies at bay. So far, no sign of any issues. And no, eucalyptus honey doesn't taste like eucalyptus. It is made from bees buzzing around eucalyptus & the honey is said to be good for sore throats.

Simply a beautiful landscape found as I was putting in a few extra miles (my form of procrastinating) before doing the ridiculous hill-climb to get home.

Dedicated to my Rock Band Friends & Anyone with a Sentimental Bone in their Body...

I heard this song tonight in the bar and it took me back to our Rock Band jam sessions. Upon logging into Facebook, I see the fantastic news about the newest (youngest/littlest) member of J-Force!!! Congrats, Christine & Matt!!!!!

Thinking about all of you guys!

A German, Turk, American and Two Swedes Walk into an Irish Bar.......

Sorry, not the beginning of a funny joke, but this describes the fun night I just had! How cool to get to know people from all over the world and compare our countries, the good, bad and our philosophies on why we all ended up here, in Italy. The evening lasted a little longer as a liter of (decent) red vino, coupled with a cheese and prosciutto plate cost a mere 10 euros. There were far more people on the streets just now (2 am here) than at 9 pm when we met up.

Just after class let out today, a lot of us hung out...gelato was on the menu for the group. I found the best pistachio gelato that I have had to date. If you want some, you'll have to come visit me. I'll buy you one or even two, if you give me a lick.

Mikael says this is a good combo--beer and gelato.

Just chillin' with some of my classmates. The new class of the day was a language lab. It's where we get to put on headphones and say stuff in Italian to the microphone...the teacher can listen to any student whenever he chooses to. It's a great exercise in actually speaking the language properly, but I found it stressful to figure out how to talk, out loud, over the din of the rest of the class doing the same thing. By the end of the class, I was fairly used to it. However, by the end of the day today, I was ready for a break.

There are lots of words and concepts to review this weekend, but I'll be splitting time between being studious and visiting family. Yes, family!!! Ciao!