Long walks

I just got home from a much needed long walk. I'm going to try to make a habit of it. In Italy, Sundays are considered sacred. They're a time to spend with friends and family. I'm starting to understand the meaning behind this. I knew that taking a chance, and moving to Italy for six months would be a life changing experience. It's what everyone was telling me. My friends. My family. Myself. But I don't think that I ever really understood what it meant, and definitely no idea what it would feel like when it was happening.

I set out of my apartment with my earphones in and a good playlist blaring on my ipod. I headed down my street with no tangible destination in mind. I knew there was a park that I had never been to or seen about two Kilometers north, so I went in that direction. I made it there quite quickly, took a few pictures, walked through, circled back through Piazza Castello, and headed down Via Po. In America, we tend to rush everything. Meals. Driving. Diplomacy. Especially walking. When we rush things, we don't take the time to enjoy them (Or in the case of diplomacy, we often do a poor job of it). In America, I feel that the process of doing something is often only seen as what happens in between points A and point B. Over here, I feel that the process is more important than the end result.

View of Mole Antonelliana

I never thought that I was an especially swift walker. I didn't realize it until tonight, as I was walking down Via Po. Via Po is one of the major streets in Torino, and the sidewalks are almost always flooded with pedestrians (especially on Sunday evenings or in the early weekday afternoons). As I walked down the street, I realized that I was passing people right and left. I didn't have any place to be, but every few seconds I was bobbing and weaving to get by the leisurely Italians. So I slowed my pace, and walked as fast as the Italians around me. It felt quite strange. But I liked it. Every few minutes, I caught myself speeding up and passing people by. Then I'd slow down and get back to neutral. I walked around the cobblestone-paved streets of Torino for about an hour and a half before I made it back to my apartment on Via Mazzini. I'm learning a lot about myself over here, and I hope that the next few months will be a very transformative process. I think that it will be for the better.

For those of you who were hoping to read this to find exciting stories about my adventures, I'll try to have that next time for you. (Believe me, there are already plenty of great stories). But I'm feeling a little reflective today, so this is all I've got.

This is a Discoteca I went to this weekend.

Ps. For those of you that I've skyped so far, it was fantastic to see you.

Shout out to Chico State.