Provisione

Foremost out of my trip to Italy, I expect beauty, beauty in architecture, landscape, food, and people. I see Italy as a place of utter artistry, everything done with intention, from the way they simmer pasta sauce to what chic vestments they don, to each gorgeous, crooked cobblestone, upon which the most elegant women in the world trod in high heels without a thought. Not only will everything be beautiful and intentional, but the aura of the entire nation will be deep, comfortable ease. I read in a travelogue (that may or may not have been made into a movie starring Julia Roberts) two summers ago about "il dolce far niente"--the sweetness of doing nothing, and I've dreamed about it since. My friends Sebastienne and Maria honeymooned in Northern Italy, and reminiscing about their trip, mentioned a detail that sums up "il dolce far niente" perfectly in my (pre-Italy) mind; a bee hung around their house for several days, and they gave it a name. "Il dolce far niente," the sweetness of doing nothing, the art of naming bees. At the same time, I expect a lot of that renowned passion in the Italian people I will meet, and that composite of artistry, intentionality, nonchalance, ease, and passion I expect to see as a whole philosophy on life that will impact the way I approach my studies, work, play, and downtime. I also expect to feel a little isolated and alien, and usually I find endearing myself to people pretty painless, but I wonder if it might be harder there, if I'll find that I need to develop more subtlety in the way I approach people. I expect to develop some humility. On the whole though, I feel ready to meet a different culture, to stand in awe of their achievements, to feel inconvenienced at the lack of public restrooms, and to win some new friends with my unabashed enthusiasm.