Sometime ago, I promised you some news and I am finally ready to share. I am in Italy. Living it, breathing it, studying it, embracing it, learning to love it! No, not as as a tourist but as a resident and student....
It has been a roller coaster few months with a lot of travel and several questions, hopes, unfinished threads, introspection, revelations, understanding, awareness, even more questions. In the midst of it all, I decided to leap.. to Italy... to Reggio Emilia, a village-town in the center of the country!!!
I am here for a year doing a second level Masters in Food Innovation and figuring out what the hell my place in enabling a better food system can be! I will be learning about the ancient traditions of the land and about new innovations from around the world. I will traveling far and wide within Italy, EU and around the world to make sense of this complicated subject that is so intrinsically human.. I am hoping to make a little bit more sense of it all and make my own contribution to this world.
That is the reason why I have been quiet for a while now. Going back to student life has been interesting, revealing and also, quietly comforting. Particularly in my thirties as I am, I recognize it as a privilege and so very thankful for having the opportunity and grateful to those who have supported me to be here!
So, while I am here, I am hoping to continue keeping this blog up on a relatively regular schedule. But, if I fall off the wagon, it is only because I am somewhere where there is no internet digging up the real story of Balsamic Vinegar or have in head buried in figuring how to make your kitchen connect with you and make your life easier...
I hope to share more on both as I go along. For now, I leave you little slices of my life for the past couple of weeks.
I spent one in a hostel with 6 other women of varying ages, which, was a testing experience that I am both glad is over but happy to put myself through. Now, in a cozy apartment with another soul of similar orientation, I am slowly building my life with the basics, viz. the kitchen! Kitchens in Italy are the heart of the house and it has become so for me and my roommate as well. We are fortunate to be renting in the heart of the city center, a short skipping distance from amazing weekly farmers' markets, fresh bakeries, tons of cafes and so so many gelatarias!!!
This is going to be a fulfilling and enriching year! Wish me luck! :D
The beautiful Piazza Fontanesi on a gorgeous weekend with the leaves just turning!
This stunning church in a popular piazza with beautiful archways leading to it and so many food and other shops lining the arches! One of my favorite places in Reggio :)
There are so so so many gelatos to try! I plan to make a walking tour of them all :D