Me vs. the Universe

One thing has become very, very clear in the last couple of days. The universe wants me to try new things and expand my horizons! Go beyond your comfort level, says the universe, I’ll make it worth your while.

Here are three stories to illustrate my point:

1) Remember how I’m trying new foods? And told my host mom I eat “tutti” (except mint). Well, it was bound to happen that one night there would be something on the table that I would not like. And a couple of nights ago, I just couldn’t stomach the food. I was having a really hard time, but kept at it, telling myself to just try it! And then, once I’d cleared my plate as much as I possibly could – Carmen brought out dessert. Strawberries and raspberries. My two favorite fruits! I had my fill, and said to myself “this is a sign from the universe, keep trying new things!”

2) 2) The next day, it became clear I needed new sandals. I brought a crappy, cheap pair from target but they are basically no good on the old roads here. I was bound to twist an ankle walking in those old shoes. What I needed, I decided, were Birkenstocks. I made it my mission that day to find them, if it meant going into every shoe store on the way home.

But do you know how many freaking shoe stores there are in Florence? A lot. A whole lot. Eleventybillion. NONE of them had Birkenstocks. They had knock offs. They had other brands. But I was sure I didn’t want to invest in something I wasn’t positive would be full of grace for my feet. So I kept trying. I decide to try some of my Italian while I was out. In the next store, I asked the nice lady “Ha Birkenstock?”. Pretty simple Italian. Do you have Birkenstocks?

She looked at me like I was crazy.

I tried “sandals??” standing on one foot and gesturing at the other, like a crazy person.

She looked at me, shrugged, and said “non capito” or “I don’t understand”, looked down at her book and forgot I was there.

Well that was ENOUGH. This is when the crazy in me started thinking “I want ENGLISH no one here speaks ENGLISH I can’t do this I can’t DO THIS!!!!”. Tears came. I fought them. I went into a bookstore in the hopes they would have just one, stupid, English book I could buy and read. Nope.

By this point, I was just a block from home and had given up. No Birkenstocks in Florence, after all. I would just have to resign myself to breaking my ankle.

And then, like a shinning beacon of hope, I saw REAL BIRKENSTOCKS. This shoe store was literally on my block, meaning I’d walked twenty minutes and gone into twenty minutes worth of Italian shoe stores with no luck. But they had them! I didn’t probably get the perfect size, and this man also thought my shaky Italian made me a little bit crazy. But with Birkenstocks on foot, I returned to my flat a confident woman.

Once again, said the universe, try things Amy. It’ll be okay.

3) Fast forward to today. Today, it rained. I knew it would rain, and still I thought “I’ll wear shorts. It’s been hot the last few days, so shorts sound like a good idea”. I was freezing at school, and it looked like it would rain all day. And, of course, I forgot my umbrella. After class, I went to my usual grocery store for my usual baguette and got rained on. After eating, some other students and I decided we needed to go to the Duomo.

I should explain that today is a special day for the Duomo. One day a year, on September the 8^th, the balcony near the top of the Duomo is open to the public. This balcony used to be used for maintenance or some such, and gives a spectacular view of the entire city of Florence. A pretty unique experience! Additionally, it was free.

So we decided to go. Halfway there, we sought refuge from the rain to decide if we should continue on and stand in line (only to get soaked) and possibly not be able to go up at all. Might they close the balcony since it was raining? We decided it was worth the sojourn and literally the moment we walked outside, the sky cleared. We didn’t get rained on the rest of the time, or while we were on the balcony. Not only that, but I didn’t get rained on the whole walk home.

So, okay universe, you win. Everyday I will try something new. And I hope to keep getting these sweet rewards. Tomorrow, the Uffizi. Updates to follow J