In the beginning....

My Rome Friends. 

So I find myself calm but strangely at home on this jet to Philadelphia and then on to Rome. Last time I flew on a plane was when I was 14 and headed to Kansas City to play in the National Chess Tournament. Yes, I am admitting I played chess professionally. I am also admitting that my sister was so much better than me. The last time I flew was before September 11th. Things are so much different than they were back then. There was this Muslim woman sitting next to me with her children. Her baby son was so cute and so adorable. I want a baby.....what am I thinking. I don't have time for a child right now. I am 21 years old and headed abroad for the first time in my life. I am headed back to my grandparents country, Italy. My mother has never been. My grandparents only went back once in 1974. That was the only time they had traveled to Italy. 

When we arrived in Philadelphia we had to sprint to the bus that would take us to the next terminal for our flight to Rome. When we arrived at the gate I borrowed Rachel's phone to call my parents telling them that I would be flying out. Getting on the plane I spotted my first Italian man. haha I don't really feel like I am leaving home but going home which is strange. Into our flight, I noticed this Italian woman that resembled my grandmother. She had this distinctive color of hair that only grandma Frances would have, a mix between blonde and an attempt to stave off the greys. She leaned over to her daughter and spoke Italian and I understood it. It is was one of those moments that I will never forget. 

Our group continued on with our conversations. We must have been loud because all of the Italian men were staring at us. In a strange way it was corrective in a polite manner. I honestly couldn't sleep during the flight. I started talking to Matt. This man sitting several rows up from us started messing with his air over head. Every time he tried to adjust it the vent would make this awful noise. Matt and I laughed stating that if that noise sounded when everyone was asleep he may have been thrown off the plane mid flight. We both tried to skip through the movies to watch while everyone else was sleeping and nothing was on except the history of milk. The history of milk....what a show. It put us both to sleep. 

Several things that I am looking forward to during this trip is to stand on the shores of Naples and look out on the same horizon my great-grandparents did before they left Italy. I want to experience everything about Vatican City, the Spanish steps and have those rare moments sitting around the dinner table having a conversation that could last for hours. These are the moments that I look forward to living.