There have been so many moments here in Rome that I already have probably forgotten. I've heard of people getting so drunk and forgetting what they've done and I'm not sure if I can be like that. I certainly enjoy drinking, don't get me wrong, but forgetting whats going on seems like its a waste of time. I don't know, I also can't figure this wine business out either. Some wine tastes "alright" but I'd never pick it over a nice lemonade or iced tea. But I'm trying. Maybe I just haven't found the right one yet. Just like I haven't found that happy medium between tipsy and tipping over and forgetting your entire evening.

THe other day I was wandering around here in Roma by Termini (the main traffic hub) and I wandered by a pet store. I saw some very cute dogs in the window and there was a lady up next to the puppies tapping at the class and the doggies were reacting to her. She kept saying cutesy things in Italian and I stood up next to the glass too in order to better admire the dogs. Dogs, by the way, are quite popular here in Roma and so well behaved. I hardly hear any barking and dogs don't seem to need tying up either. They can be left alone when eating dinner and most places allow dogs, including most stores. I love it. So after spending a minute or two at the pet shop window I noticed some other people looking at the pets and I saw an old guy, maybge 60-70 smoking a cigarette (everybody smokes, luckily they just passed a law banning smoking in public places before I arrived) and he stood a good 10 feet back looking at the dogs. I walked a ways away and continued to watch the guy and he kept watching the dogs whilst enjoying (I assume) his cigarette and then he left. I realized something then, life and people here in Roma are much the same as they are back home. Men are still unwilling to show their emotions, the opposite of women. The lady went straight up to the dog to tap on the glass and express her fondess for the canine kind while the man stood back and watched from afar. Maybe he was just checking out the ladies. They do that a whole lot here too.

Another Roma moment:

Isn't the idea of travelling abroad to take in another culture? I think thats what people say. But home is always home. Sure, Roma does have a certain home-y feel to it now, but when I went into McDonald's the other day it was the most delicious Big Mac I'd ever had in my life. And French Fries never tasted so good. They were like golden sticks of potato-ey oragsm. Why I do believe somebody described it as "I almost cried when I ate my Big Mac." (not me, but it was sooo delicious) I've been to McDonald's two times since and I've been abroad barely 3 weeks.

Then today while wandering I found out about the existence of something I missed very much. I was almost giddy to find out about it. I went into this market and I thought the shopkeeper was Chinese but she turned out to be Vietnamese. After buying some very expensive asian products (re: instant noodles) I left the store. But then a minute after leaving it hit me! I ran back into the store and in probably the worst Italian grammar ever I asked her if she knew any Pho restaurants. When she told me, she wrote down the address, and phone number, which she knew off the top of her head (guess the Asians all know each other) I almost skipped out of the store.

The point is, why, if I'm supposed to be experiencing and enjoying these new cultures and ways of life do I constantly find myself looking for familiar foods, products, and things in general. I thought my not being sad about leaving home (or my un-homesickness) meant that I would be ready to live life type thing, yet my continued discovery of how much I love Ronald McDonald, Vietnamese food and white rice (we also went to a not very good Chinese restaurant) has forced me to take a new perspective on things. Thats probably what people mean you never know what you have until its gone. I can't wait to have some Pho tomorrow.

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