Back in the U.S. but not settled. I have eaten lots of Thai food. I have also read some books I had waiting for me, including Beppe Severgnini's La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind. More to come on what's happening with me, but for now I leave you with a near-perfect description of my apartment in Milan.
While describing the problem of mammoni and young Italian's difficulty in finding a house, Beppe writes:
...the compromise is utilitarian yet poetic. Many young people create an all-Italian (my house: all-Italian, all-male, except for one...me) melting pot, in apartments where a graduate from Milan (R, the intern/slave for a gossip news agency, and he's actually from Gallarate) lives with two students from Bari (just one student, also from Milan) and a sales rep from Rome (solar energy engineer from Abruzzo)...These are places where spring-cleaning is put off until October (my fault on this one too), food is stored in the freezer (pre-cooked meals from mamma), pasta with tuna is cooked in a dozen different ways (A's specialty is with olives as well), and a glass is raised for every celebration because it costs too much to go out for a drink. (Gassata and gin anyone? Or would you prefer a glass from the Vinbox?)
