Have you ever run across anyone that is totally living a slice of life that you had imagined for yourself? I don’t mean some fantastic anomaly like being a rockstar or member of royalty. I mean a simple life decision that you could easily make now if it weren’t for all those darned responsibilities you have weighing you down.

I “met” one such person. An American who moved to Rome and is living there like a local. Her name is Jessica and she publishes a wonderful Blog called RomePhotoBlog. A photography blog aimed at capturing the city of Rome through the eyes of a someone who lives there.

Each day I visit her blog to get a quick fix of one of my favorite places. Like a box of fine Italian chocolates, you never know what you are going to get…a snap of cocktails and nibbles at a local bar, an empty piazza or fountain lit at night, a vegetable vendor or a “gladiator” chatting with a friend on a bike.  Whether you have been to Rome for a quick vacation, long stay or never at all, Jessica manages to give you the feel of looking through a friend’s treasured photo album with lovely anecdotes and explanations of each picture.

Once I got a glimpse of RomePhotoBlog, I was immediately smitten and wanted to interview the person behind it. I can’t tell you how delighted I was that she agreed to the interview and that she took the time to give such detailed answers. Thank you Jessica!

I have only met Jessica through Twitter and a couple emails.  Through her daily Tweets, I get brief flashes of La Dolce Vita..vicariously. You know what, I can live with that.

So let’s get started shall we..andiamo…let’s go!

Tell us a bit about Jessica…
I’m from a small town in Massachusetts called Hopkinton (most people know it as the start of the Boston Marathon).  I was lucky enough to have a history teacher who took us on class trips to Europe, and made my first trip to Italy when I was 16.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but that really shaped my life and caused my to take an art history course during my first year at Boston University, which then led that to become my major.  I’m also from a family with Italian origins (on my mom’s side), which I guess had subconsciously made me interested in Italian culture.

Where did you study?
I did my undergraduate degree in art history at Boston  University.  It was there I began studying Italian language and had the opportunity to study abroad in Padova for a semester.  That experience helped me believe that Italy could be a place that I could actually live.  I then did a master’s in Renaissance Studies in London at University College London, which just helped give me more of a push to live abroad.

Where do you work in Rome?
I work for a great organization called Context Travel.  We organize small group (6 person) walking seminars with scholars throughout Italy, as well as Paris, London, Istanbul, and New York.  I work in the office managing our Rome and Venice programs, which is a perfect job for me.  It allows me to stay in contact with art and culture, as well as the scholars who love it as much as I do.  Bringing that love and knowledge to travelers is really satisfying.

Where do you live in Rome
I live in a residential area in the north-east part of the city known as Montesacro.  I enjoy living a bit outside the historic center, as it’s still a very Roman neighborhood.

How did you learn Italian, how long did it take?
I started learning Italian in college, with one year of lessons behind me before I went to Padova.  When I got there, what a shock!  What I realized is that even though I was good at languages, in the classroom learning can’t substitute for real life experience.  In the four months I was there, I grew enormously from living with an Italian family and interacting with people in town.  I learned you can’t be afraid to make mistakes, otherwise you’ll never grow.  From there I kept up my Italian with classes and also when I lived in London, as there are a lot of Italians living there.  Here in Rome I live with two Italians, which I did purposely, as I work mostly in English.  I would say I’m pretty fluent now, but there is always room to grow and there are definitely still some things I don’t understand.  It’s a constant learning process, but I’m not afraid of speaking with anyone and Italians are very supportive of you speaking the language.

How have you been accepted by the locals?
That’s a tough question.  In many ways, yes.  In general Italians have a very warm attitude towards Americans and I think in general people appreciate you when they see you are curious about their culture and way of life.  I’ve made some great Italian friends and acquaintances here.  That being said, Italy is still fairly new to letting in other cultures.  You definitely hear a lot of stereotypes being thrown around about cultures, including Americans.  But I can understand this, as unfortunately most of what they see is from television and film.  One thing about living abroad is that you definitely become a bit of an ambassador for your culture, whether you like it or not.  So if I can break the stereotype of what an American should be for someone who has never met one before, I think that’s great.

Do you plan on moving back to the states ?
If I had a quarter for every time I heard this question!  The answer is, I really don’t know.  For now, no.  I have my life here, my career, my friends, my apartment, etc.  Rome is home and it’s the place I’ve lived the longest besides home.  That being said, I have no idea what the future holds.  But I always say that as long as it’s good here, I’ll stay.

Top 3-5 things  (or more) you love about living in Italy?
I love the “mom and pop” feel of Italy.  Going into the local bar each morning to get my coffee, where they know me and I can chat with the waiters.  Going to the market and making friends with the vendors.  It gives Rome a smaller feel than it is and that’s comforting when you are away from home.  And of course, the food!  The amazing produce and ingredients you get here.  I didn’t realize what a difference that makes.  Also, being an art historian, all the art and history you have around you.  It’s incredible to me that I have all these historic places at my fingertips to go to whenever I want.

Top 3 –5 things you miss/don’t miss about the U.S.

The top thing I miss would be my family and friends.  You can’t replace that of course…now I need to convince them all to move here!  Another thing I miss about the US is what a melting pot we really are.  Just seeing all different types of cultures and ethnicities come together.  I also miss the variety of food we have in the US.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Italian, but you just don’t find the different mixing of food cultures here.  My friends and I often lament the lack of a good Mexican restaurant in town.
What surprised you about moving to Rome and/or leaving US.
Not too much surprised me when I got here, just because I’d already had experience living away, first in Padova and then in London.  I think what I learned from those experiences what that you need to bring some pieces of home with you, even if it’s something tiny to put in your room.  You also need to find someone to confide in, someone you click with, as it’s not easy being here away from things you know.  Ha, ha, what surprised me what how much I took for granted in terms of the simple things.  Questions like, where do I go to buy clothes hangers or a hair dryer?  It took time to figure out those things, and a lot of stuff I’m still learning every day.

Do you get home sick?
Of course, and I think I always will.  Not so badly that I want to go home, but I think everyone has times when they just wish they could be around the people who know them best.  That being said, I’m lucky enough to have some really great people here in Rome that have become like family and who I can talk to when I’m feeling like that.

How do Italy/Italians and US/Americans differ in everyday things you have noticed?
Oh wow, that could be a whole interview on its own! One big thing I’ve noticed is that Americans tend to keep things to themselves more.  Like if we observe someone on the street wearing something strange, we may say in our head “Why are you wearing that?” but we wouldn’t voice that opinion.  Here everyone has an opinion and they aren’t afraid to voice it, from “What are you wearing?” to “Why are you eating that?”  That took some getting used to.  Italians are more laid back, however, and I like that money and career aren’t the only important things to them.  They know when it’s time to work and when it’s time to pull back and relax.  That’s something that a lot of Americans have a hard time with.  I see a lot of people on “vacation” but still attached to their Blackberry or taking conference calls.  They maybe don’t take that extra time to really spend it with their family because it’s all about work.

Favorite spot in Rome for: Gelato, meals, shopping, shoes, people watching, cocktails etc.
For gelato, I’m a big fan of Gelatone on via dei Serpenti (in the Monti neighborhood).  There also a place called the Cremeria by the Pantheon that makes this amazing thing called a cremolato.  It’s kind of like a mix between sorbet and gelato and it’s incredible.
For shopping, I often go to Zara on the via del Corso, as it’s affordable and fashionable.  If I want to splurge, I shop in Monti at the Contesta Rock Hair store (Piazza degli Zingari) or the B Outlet on via dei Serpenti.  If I really want something unique then I head to my friend Jessica Harris’s store in Trastevere, as she designs and makes everything there.  The store is called 38 Leopardo and is located in Trastevere on, appropriately, vicolo del Leopardo.
Any of the piazzas make for good people watching, but I usually do it from the benches.  Sit at one of those cafe’s and you’re going to pay the price!  Piazza Navona is a favorite for the amazing Bernini fountain, as well as the plethora of street performers and artists.
For drinks,I have a few wine bars (enotecas) that I frequent.  Al Vino Al Vino on via dei Serpenti (yes, I go out in Monti a lot), Angolo Divino on via dei Balestrari (right near Campo de’ Fiori), and a really cool wine bar call Palatium on via Frattina that focuses on wines just from Lazio.  For aperitivo, which is like a pre-dinner cocktail that also comes with a buffet of delicious food, I like Freni e Frizioni in Trastevere (via del Politeama) and Societe Lutece (near Piazza Navona in the tiny Piazza dei Montevecchio).

Have you learned a lot about cooking?
Yes definitely.  My mom cooked Italian all my life, so I had a good base there, but I learned a lot in Padova, where the cuisine is very different and I continue to learn here.  It’s amazing because Italians are ingrained with things like the seasonality of vegetables and what sauces go with what shape of pasta, etc.  I’m still catching up and learning new things every day.

Things you still want to do in Italy?
There are a lot of places I still want to visit, like Sicily.  I want to continue to grow and learn the language even better, try to understand more about the culture and how things work.

What blogs do you follow? About Italy or anything?
I have friends that write some really great blogs about Rome and I keep up with those.  The first is written by Katie Parla and talks about her adventures in Rome and elsewhere.  I also read Food in Rome for yummy restaurant suggestions.  If you can read Italian, follow 06blog, which I read to keep updated on news in Rome.  I also love reading NYC/Caribbean Ragazza, as Arlene’s observations on life in Rome crack me up.  And of course, my guilty pleasure is Perez Hilton , which keeps me up to date on all the pop culture in the US.

Favorite Italian moment(s)?
One of my most vivid is from when I was studying in Padova.  It was one of my last weekends in town and I’d made a trip with friends to Rome.  Walking through the Villa Borghese on my own, I all of a sudden realized that I was no longer nervous about speaking with strangers in Italian.  I don’t know when it had happened, but I’d become comfortable with the language and that was one of the most triumphant feelings I’ve ever had.  Another vivid memory is about food.  I had a roommate from Salerno and I remember one weekend he went home for a visit.  On Sunday he called and told me “Make sure you don’t eat dinner, I’m bringing home a surprise.”  When he got home he had a huge styrofoam crate full of fresh mozzarella di buffala, made from a famous farm near his house.  We put the balls of mozzarella in a huge bowl and just gorged on them.  They were so incredible, like nothing I’ve had before or since.  Ha, ha, I even called my mother to brag!
Another crazy memory was riding a train from Verona to Rome with a friend over a holiday weekend.  We hadn’t thought to buy tickets in advance and had no seat reservation so had to ride for hours literally stuffed in the corridors with everyone.  It was miserable at the time, but just one of those things you shake your head at and know you’ll always remember.

Tell me something I wouldn’t know about living in Rome , Italy or it’s people.
That’s a tough question, there’s so much and sometimes I take for granted at this point that things are so different.  That actually the nice thing about doing my blog.  By taking photographs of things I see as normal now in Rome, it really forces me to look critically at things and explain them to readers who live outside Italy.  I would say that for all of Italy’s faults and any frustrations I might feel at times, overall Italians are welcoming and willing to help.  I’ve really been amazed by the amount of times someone has been willing to go out of their way to explain things to me that I might not understand.  I would also say that Italy is a country and the verge.  Both paralyzed by, but also amazingly unique, in their traditions. I’m really curious to see where the country will be in ten years, as we are also suffering with a lot of economic problems and with the brightest minds in the country going elsewhere to find work.  I really hope that moving forward things will change and those people will come back because Italy has a lot to offer to the world, not just for what they did in the historic past, but also for the future.

What memory or feeling or Rome/Italy will you most carry with you when you leave?
I think just the small things, the everyday routine that is so different than how I would live in the US.  Taking the bus into work, walking down cobble stoned streets, going to be my morning cappuccino and espresso.  And all the people that I’ve met, the friends who have opened their doors to me and made me feel like family.

Any thing else you would like to share and think would be fun, interesting or something a Diva would have to know!
I guess the one piece of advice I’d share is to go after what makes you happy and to have no regrets.  I wasn’t sure if moving here would work out, but I made a leap so I would never regret not having tried.  And I would also say to just take a step back when you are out of your element and try to understand where the other person is coming from. The world is so large, don’t be afraid to go out and explore it.

Well…don’t you feel like you have taken a quick trip to Rome? The one question I forgot to ask, where is the best place for cappuccino or espresso?…maybe she will answer in the comments..

For a daily dose of La Dolce Vita, why don’t you subscribe to the RomePhotoBlog or Follow Jessica on Twitter?

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 11:01 am and is filed under dolce vita. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.