Perche Roma?

I was riding on the back of a vespa of a new friend ... of, say, three hours. Salvo. Salvo and I were zipping around the people on the narrow streets in Trestevere after a great dinner. One of those dinners that lasted about two hours longer than planned - one of those hours spent on waiting for the bill to arrive! This night was unfolding in the most perfect way. A whole new experience ... one I would've only dreamed of a week before.

I had never rode a Vespa before. I had never been to Roma. I had never rode on Vespas with brand new friends in a big city after only 1 day of having arrived! Talk about foreign. But this city, this ancient world away from home made me feel as though I belong, as though I have stepped foot on it's ground before. Talk about the most foreign-familiar feeling. It could have been the wine ... maybe the company of friends I was with.

The weather in March was only a little chilly to me, but certainly cold to an Italian. I sported a permanent smile the entire trip from the restaurant to our next destination. I'm pretty sure the smile was only partly due to the cool air hitting what bare skin I had and blowing into my jacket. Passing ancient statues (they are as frequent as trees in the States) and a lit up Colosseum calls for a smile ... probably not one as cheesy as mine, however.

Salvo, the Vespa and I parked ourselves outside a church near the center of the city. This church (and I say 'this' because we all know there are only a few in Roma :) ) is incredible. The church sits on this quiet street lined with several cars and Vespas. To get to the entrance we walked up a number of steps and entered a courtyard. OK, wait ... who goes to a church at 11:30 at night? Well ... I was soon to find out. Salvo, too.

Inside we were going to meet up with the three friends from dinner. Their taxi had not arrived yet. At this time, the night had been a blast. All of us were unsure of what to expect when we only heard of this little fiesta at the church. Now, I am a christian and am not someone to participate in anything sacrilegious. There was indeed a large gathering of people having a great time, dancing to music and having some beers and cocktails. Now, it was comforting to find that this church no longer held any worship. It was extremely old and vacant for numerous purposes. Telling others about "partying" in a church could cost a person some respect ... but I'm not sure how else to explain the situation. I suppose this is a perfectly appropriate time to use the phrase, "When in Rome..."!

So we stayed. We danced. Shared plenty of laughs. Had a drink or two. We met a fellow American who got a tatoo of a dinosaur on his leg earlier that day which caused plenty more laughs later on - especially since he snuck into all of our pictures! And yes, I said dinosaur! A dinosaur?! Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to certain things in life ... which leads me to say that the night was wild. Wild in the sense that we were only an insignificant representation in terms of our origins to the other globe trotters at this party. It was just wild. Wild because my life changed that night and I never saw it coming. Wild because being there - in Roma - made perfect sense.

Now, I am here, packing bags in Ohio, to venture back to the city I fell in love with a year and a half ago. I board the plane in nine days. Because I lived that night - the rest of that week, too - I am returning. I must pursue this city in which my heart wasn't stolen, but filled with a new sense of passion. A passion for all things Roman. A passion which I didn't pursue too quickly, because I wanted to do it right.

Hindsight has proven my feelings for Roma after that night were like those you find in a movie. The girl and boy meet, but circumstances only allow for them to realize they love each other and their meeting is cut briefly. They are, in all actuality, worlds apart and plenty of sacrifices must be made for them to spend just another day together. One of them decided they cannot live without knowing their story, their joint lives. Hence, Roma could not slip through my fingers so easily. I began telling those people close to me how I would return. There is something more for me in Roma and I simply could not settle with the idea of not pursuing such an opportunity. Certainly, I think many friends and family doubted my motives, thinking this was some sort of "puppy love" or "vacation high", if you will. They believed my feelings were genuine but returning for a whole year of school was not plausible.

I have trusted my heart. Now, I face what most relationships encounter - serious challenges, things I will wish I could change and people/places/experiences I know will leave my life when I am not ready for them to. Good or bad, happy or sad - I will be able to say I pursued this love of Roma. Now, I must live with the fact that I'm sharing this captivating city with many, many others. They are people just like me who were enticed by everything Roman and others who come from all corners of the earth just passing through. I am certainly not unique in Roma's eyes as it is used to such behaviors as mine. Then again, this is my own Romeo and Juliet story ... am I truly in love or is this simply infatuation? Only the future will tell. Surely, whatever the truth may be, Roma and I will not have as dramatic of an ending! I will be fortunate enough to walk away in the end a better, learned person (well, hopefully!).

After visiting the church hotspot, Salvo and I hopped back on his black scooter. We were ready to cruise - which, of course, means to weave in an out, up and down the narrow, cobblestone streets with an occasional honk for pedestrians - and find a way to not end such an awesome night with this group of new friends. It was then that we made our way to the Colosseum for more laughs. More cheesy smiles. Alla prossima, Italia!