Proud to be her daughter

Yup, you guessed it. "Her" in the title refers to Diane Blum. I have been thinking about her a lot lately. While living here in Italy, I feel more connected to her than ever. We share many of the same qualities, and I feel honored to carry on her legacy and hopefully make one of my own.

Today I have 4 events/ideas to catch you up on.

1. Like I've said in previous posts, living in this Villa has been a very unique experience. I've never lived amongst so many people in my life. I have 2 roommates in a small room, we share a bathroom with 3 other girls, I walk out of my room and enter the library where there are 1 or 2 people (at a minimum) at all times, I eat in a large dining hall with 55 individuals every meal, and I walk down the corridors and pass at least 2 friends anywhere I go. Life here is like that every single day. And guess what? I LOVE IT. I grew up in a home that had enough space to fit a tiny village. There was too much space for only 4 people, which soon became 3, and then 2. So much along time, so much isolation. I refuse to go back to that living style. I love living here in a community type setting. I love seeing so many faces and bouncing off ideas from multiple individuals in a day. For this reason, I decided to plan a party to celebrate all of us living together in harmony. This party applied the theme: Dress your own stereotype. It was a major hit! Everyone embraced their inner stereotype even if their stereotype wasn't true. There was a Wisconsin hick (a kid who everyone knows as loving country music), a stoner (he had never smoked before but looks like a druggie with his long hair), two preppy sorority girls, a country club yuppie, a JAP (me), a teeny bopper, two frat stars, a fashionista, and so many more. We all got creative and put a lot of effort into the theme. The party was in the Villa's basement and many hilarious memories came out of the night. The next morning at breakfast, everyone I saw thanked me for putting together such an amazing night. Some even said it was the best time they have had so far on the trip (as far as night life goes). I was elated! Just last night a few of the boys were asking when I'm planning the next party and what the theme will be.

Similar quality to Diane #1: Extroverted personalities

2. Friday was one of my favorite days since being here. I went into downtown Florence by myself and made plans to meet up with my Fascism professor Scott Spector. He is middle-aged, gay, Jewish, and incredibly neurotic. He's hilarious. We met outside the Duomo's doors by noon and kicked off our journey. First he wanted my advice on some shoes, so we went into this upscale Italian shoe store, and I convinced him to buy the handmade leather shoes. Ha. Then he wanted to show me cathedral that had early Renaissance frescoes on the walls. He didn't know how to tell they were from the early Renaissance, so I explained to him how I knew (thanks to my art history professor) and he was impressed! From there, he took me to the Jewish synagogue which was beautiful with its limestone dome and unique architecture. We got a kosher lunch at a nearby restaurant, and then I started the Hayley interview. I am not one for superficial conversations..you know, on the surface stuff. Instead, I learned about Scott's upbringing, his family, his views on scantron evaluation in large universities, and his political ideology. After the meal, we did a bit more exploring and then I split off on my own. I did a lot of walking, observing, and evaluating. And if you know me at all, you know this is probably one of my favorite things to do. I realized how much I enjoy being an active observer of other cultures, but at the same time, I felt integrated with the Italians around me. When I'm surrounded by Europeans, I feel an inner peace and a strong connection to my roots.

Similarty #2: Love for European culture

3. Saturday I went on a day trip to Perugia. I went with my roommates Kaitlyn and Meagan and a few other people who enjoy being active explorers..precisely what I wanted in a group dynamic. We had a wonderful time together. My humor comes out so easily with people I feel comfortable around, and the day was filled with good food, beautiful sights, and never ending laughter. My favorite moment from our visit to Perugia was when I got us into the famous Umbrian art gallery....fo' FREE! Yah, you know it...I worked my magic. So this is how it went down.. My friend Ryan and I went up to the ticket collectors at the front of the gallery and since Ryan doesn't know much Italian I talked. I asked them how much it cost for a ticket, and this dude said it was 7 euro. (keep in mind this whole convo is in italian). then i said, "but we are students, can do we have a different price?" and he said, "well what do you study?" i said, "we are art students." and he nodded and said, "then you get in for free." I look at Ryan and gave him the look of OHH HECK YES. but WAIT, it's not over. The dude told us we needed to go downstairs to the ticket booth. Crap. I find the rest of the group and I brought them to the ticket booth and faced another non-english speaking Italian. I explained to the woman that a man upstairs said we can get in for free because we are art students, and she had this smug look on her face and said, show me documents to prove it. I turn around to look at everyone and they read my "uh oh" face. So my roommate whips out her Wisconsin ID, license, museum card (that only works in Florence haha) and her Villa address card. HAAAAA. She hands them to me and i slap them on the woman's counter. She looks at me again and says, "none of these say you are art students" and i said "our university doesn't put that on our ids" and flashed her my puppy dog eyes. She gave me a final look of, "wow this is complete b.s." and struggles for a moment..next thing i know she types in 7 tickets to print..and gives them to us FOR FREE. OH babbyy. The minute we walked away w/ our tickets we had a quiet celebration and spent over 2 hours in this spectacular museum that contained original works by some very famous artists. We all embraced our inner nerd and analyzed the paintings. It was amazing.

Similarity #3: Determination...with a bit of charm on the side

4. Since I won't be blogging for a while (due to lack of computer access), I wanted to tell you about my spring break plans. Spring break begins this upcoming Friday Feb. 19th. I am flying to Paris, France with two friends Kate and Emma and staying with my old softball coach. His name is John Kim and is this awesome guy who is working as an English professor in Paris. He and I have remained in touch since I was a sophomore in high school...we relatedly in the fact that both our moms passed away from cancer, and John actually knew my mom because she would come to my softball games (even when she was on chemo) when I was a freshman. He was so nice to offer us his living room in his apartment, and just sent me a message that he is exciting for our arrival. He is going to show us around and celebrate break with Kate Emma and me! We are spending 3 nights with him, and then I'm going off by myself to Frankfurt, Germany. 2 days before I left for Italy, I found my mom's first cousins' telephone number and called it praying that was still their contact information. 3 hours before I left for the airport, I got a call from Vera (my mom's cousin) and I couldn't believe it! We exchanged email information, and ever since we've been in contact that way. Vera and her husband Daniel offered me to come stay with them for as long as I want, so I thought spring break would be the best opportunity. I haven't seen Vera or Daniel since I was in 6th grade and my mom was on her 2nd round of chemo. They are the only German family I remember meeting of my mom's (the rest i met when I was 2.) I'm going to Frankfurt and staying with them for 6 nights...I cannot even describe how excited I am. This is going to be a very moving experience. They were so excited once we finalized the plans that they called all of the German family and planned a reunion dinner in my honor. Vera's mom Ostrid was crying, they told me, when she heard Diane's daughter was coming to Frankfurt. NO ONE ELSE IN THE FAMILY SPEAKS ENGLISH. All German only. This is going to be the ultimate experience and I CANT WAIT. I plan on doing a lot of smiling, cheek kissing, and eating the food they throw in front of me. Living in Italy is an incredible opportunity, but this adventure I'm about to embark on makes my journey here that much more special. Being with my mom's family is something I've been dreaming about for years. This is only the beginning. My plan is to build such a strong connection with Vera and Daniel that these visits become ritual. When my mom is in my life in any form, I am beyond happy.

Similarity #4: Family oriented and Always looking to build deep connections

I love growing up. I love the surprises in life. I love being open.

Keepin' it real,

Hayley