marta

i'm so so happy to be back home! visiting rome was amazing, but it was way too long for my taste, and i don't know what i was thinking before about staying in that crazy city for 10 days...? usually when i travel there tends to be a little bit of sadness or reluctance about having to come back home, but this time, i couldn't have gotten home faster. i've never wanted to be back in the safety of my little cubbyhole apartment any sooner as i did on this trip.

i met this really interesting italian student on the train from siena to rome named marta. it was so unexpected and quick, but i felt like when i met her, it was a sigh of relief - like a sweet little gift from God from some of the tough challenges i was experiencing on this particular trip.

my first introduction to her was when she invited me to follow her to the little cafe at the trainstation where, at 11 o'clock at night, she declared that she must have a cup of coffee and a jagermeister. as i followed her from one side of the bar to the other (first the jagermeister, then the coffee), we started chatting and i discovered that she was a film student - "but for serious documentaries only". it definitely gave us a lot to talk about on the rest of the way back to rome, as she was telling me what filmmaking was like in italy, and i told her what the entertainment business was like in LA. i also loved the fact that even though i had just met her, she explained to me the reason why she needed a jagermeister was b/c she had just broken up with her boyfriend from her village and had just met someone else in rome.

we met again a few days later, where she took me to "the best pizza in all of rome," and then walked me through the jewish ghetto, where she showed me her favorite fountain. it was awesome connecting with her on an intellectually stimulating level, and i loved how passionately she expressed her views on society, politics, and art. she invited me back to her flat to hang out (she had to do laundry and dishes) and generously offered me a joint(!), but i politely declined. i loved the mischievousness glint she would occassionally get in her eye, but i also loved her thoughtful reflections on connecting with the rest of world. meeting marta was definitely an experience in itself and special indeed =)