Coming Home (It Was All a Dream)

FULLERTON, Calif. - Coming home from Italy felt a lot like waking up from a dream. The airport, I have always thought, is very sobering. It's like this portal of timeless clockwork. When I found myself in the passenger seat of my 02 Honda Accord with my brother behind the wheel, it felt almost as if I had never left home, like all of it - Italy - was just some wonderful dream. After just five miles on the 405 freeway, I was already struggling to hold onto that sense of who I thought I had become after a summer away from home. I spent that drive back to Corona from the airport convincing myself that the last month really happened, that it was all real, that the people I had become close to would still care to see me now that it's all over, and that the new life I had started halfway across the world was to continue with me at home and throughout my future travels. Some places are just too familiar, though. Home - which for me is a combination of Corona, Santa Ana and Fullerton, Calif. - is one of those places. I came home expecting it to be different. Instead, I have found that home is exactly the same, and I am different.

The first week back wasn't too rough on me. In fact, it was one big homecoming parade - happy hour with coworkers, a perfectly-timed toga party, and old friends who took the time to visit me. Then there were the weekly rituals like dollar beers at Brian's on Wednesday and saki bombs in Downtown Fullerton on Thursday. Nobody rolled out the red carpet, but I did turn the corner at the office to find my desk bedecked in streamers and balloons, and the Architect - who many of you know and love - cleaned up his apartment. I'd like to think he did it for me.

I learned, upon coming home, that lots of people had been reading this blog. Family, friends, coworkers, and in some cases, their spouses and children caught up with me regularly. In the end, I'd like to think that my writings have served some purpose, however small or insignificant, in their lives. Some have told me to ditch the law firm and to become a writer, some have told me that they were moved by my experiences, and many have told me that they have been inspired to travel. People like my friend, Gwen, who did what I did a year ago were happy to see photos and read entries about familiar places.

Even with the audience I have amassed, the greatest purpose this blog has served was for me. In fact, this site is probably the epitome of narcissism and exhibitionism. What you will find, however, is that this blog becomes less about Eman and more about Italy. My first night home, as I have said, I was already struggling to hold onto the memories. All of these memories, and my thoughts on everything and everyone in Italy are all here, packaged, polished, and ready to withstand the test of time. I know there will be some days when I will forget. Over time, many of the memories will fade. This blog will help me reclaim those memories throughout the years. Looking back on these posts with all of the writings, photos and video help me revisit that wonderful dream that was my summer in Italy.

More photos of Florence
More photos of Rome
More photos of Capri
More photos of Venice

Home

Goodbye Italy...

Florentine Window

FLORENCE, Italy - I took one last look outside of my window overlooking my street at 5:47 a.m. The streetlights over Via Dello Sprone shut off as I watched daylight invade the morning sky over Florence. After a month of unpacking, I had placed everything neatly back into my suitcases, and my room was once again just as it was when I arrived, with no trace of me ever being there. The apartment was silent, except for the faint sound of zipping and clicking from the room next to mine as my roommates finished packing the last of their belongings. The last 31 mornings flashed before me as I shut the window and turned my back on the morning view outside. The hardest part of leaving my apartment was
watching the door close for the last time, knowing I no longer had a set of keys in my pocket.

In the process of traveling, there exists a point in time, if you stay long enough in one place, when you begin to break free from the label of “tourist.” I spent my first week in Florence navigating the city through the labels on a paper map. Hysterically, I dodged Vespas and Smartcars as they buzzed by in the streets with no sensible order or speed. I spent much of that time lost in a city where the streets seemed to have no names, and in finding my way, I have slowly become this city. By the end of my month-long stay, I was the one giving directions to people, sometimes in Italian, and I would often walk fearlessly in the middle of the cobblestone streets as the Vespas and Smartcars dodged me.

When you uncover the layers of a city like Florence, known for its Renaissance architecture and art, that is when you become property of the city. Visitors come to see things they have already seen in photos and movies. Most people go home with photos of things that are already printed on postcards. My photographs at the end of the trip were not of the statues in the Piazza di Signoria, nor were they of the bell tower of the Duomo. Rather, they were of the street corners, bars, and gelato shops that will forever be emblazoned in my memory. I took these photos on my last of many late night strolls in the city. I have come to love Florence as if it was my home.

What I learned from my 31 days in Firenze is that there are no destinations in life, only new points of origin. This window in this room in Italy is my newest point of origin. As the taxicab pulled onto our street to take us to the train station, I felt as if I was leaving one home for another. I don’t know yet how I will view home now that I have spent the last 31 mornings waking up to the sun coming through my Florentine window.

Roommates

Emmanuel, Chad & Dominic

Nocturnal Tour of Florence

FLORENCE, Italy - I photographed the streets of Florence on one of my last strolls in the city. Towards the end of this trip, I decided to break away from the group a little bit more and spend more time getting to know this city. Some of my most vivid memories of Florence will be walking along the empty streets late at night.

La Ponte Santa Trinita

Il Duomo

A copy of Michelangelo's David at La Piazzale Michelanglo

The steps leading to La Piazzale Michelangelo

Galeria Ufizzi

Arches along the Arno

Via de Pepi

Archibusier

Il Ponte Vecchio

Water from the sky

Famous Last Words

For an Old Friend of Firenze

FLORENCE, Italy - So many of the reasons I ended up here in Italy this summer rest upon a random encounter with my friend, Gwen, who did a summer abroad program in Florence last year. We were having lunch at the underground café at Cal State Fullerton, and she mentioned to another friend that her loan had been processed for the trip. That was the very first time thoughts of Italy came into view for me. I probably would have never applied had I not witnessed her go through her own experience.

I waited all last summer for her to come back, and although we didn’t see much of each other after she returned, she’ll never know how profound of an effect that random lunch with her had on my life.

I wonder what questions I will have about Florence a year after I leave. She asked me the other day to take a photo of her apartment building, to which of course, I obliged. This was her home on Via del Neri. I hope these photos will bring back memories for her.

Michelangelo's David

So I'm really jealous of Michelangelo's David. Not because of his perfect physique or his perfect hair, but because he gets to stand around like a damn manniquin in the best air-conditioned room in Italy.

Here is my illegally taken photograph of the David.



Take that Galeria Academia!

Piazzale Michelangelo

My roommate, Dom and I sat at the top of Piazzale Michelangelo on one of our last evenings in Florence. From there, you can see the city in its entirety. Over a couple of bottles of Morretti, we watched the sun go down on Florence. As we looked at the skyline of the city, we realized just how much walking we’ve been doing in the last month. On a map, it doesn’t look like much, but when you see everything at a distance, you realize how far apart things are.

I’ve fallen in love with every view I have gotten of Florence. From the Piazzale Michelangelo, it seems that each building – Santa Croce, Duomo, Santa Maria Novella – they all stand like monuments.

San Marcos Square

We did what all people should do when they go to Venice. We fed the pigeons at San Marcos Square. We probably caught some diseases, but I'm still glad we did it. It was probably one of the most fun things we did in Italy.

Venezia

VENICE - Though many of us were low on funds, we decided that we can't go to Italy without seeing Venice. I know I'll be paying for these trips for months when I get back, but in the end, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

We had a bit of trouble finding our hotel on the map. Venice is such a maze. Every 100 meters, Xander asked someone where our street was. We targeted people who looked official. A police officer guided us for part of the way, but we were on our own for the second half of the walk. It was quite the journey.

I enjoyed Venice a lot. It's one of the more quiet cities. Not much of a night life, but it was nice for a change. A few of us took a walk with the green ferry that night....and I'm not talking about me. ;0)

Italian Cinema

A list of films we studied in Comm 426, Italian Cinema

Class Dismissed

Yes....this was in fact an academic program.

The Liberation of Eman

"I don't want to hear you talk anymore. I want to hear others talk about you." - Alfredo, Cinema Paradiso

FLORENCE, Italy -The quote comes from a film that we watched in our Italian Cinema class. An old man said this to his young friend, encouraging him to leave home and pursue his future. When I decided to come here, I decided that I was in need of some amnesia, and I'm sure many of my classmates on this trip will drink to that. The purpose of this trip was to not give any thought to anything or anyone back home. The truth is that I've thought a lot about my life in California since I got here.

I think most about the things and the people I have tied myself down to at home. I am coming to realize that I invest far too much into things in which I have no future. It is in my nature to get too attached to things and while I keep a forward momentum, I live my life looking too often into the rear view mirror at my past. Life, even with all of the things that tie us down and set us back, is to be lived forward.

I am eager to see the difference my time in Italy will make in my life when I return home. The most profound power we have when we travel is our ability to remove ourselves from who we are at home and to recenter our self-perception. All I can say is that I've grown tired of being who I was before Italy, and I'm anxious to discover who I will become when this is all over. I feel more ready than ever to become that person.

Sorrento

SORRENTO, Italy - We sat in the lobby at Hotel Maison in Sorrento, a coastal city in southern Italy. We found what we thought was a deal on a hotel room that we could pay for in U.S. dollars, and it ended up being a disaster.

The hotel was far away from everything. The nearest beach was over 1 km away, and the actual city was not in walking distance. As we waited for the shuttle into central Sorrento, other guests came to the reception desk and complained about their rooms. One German woman had a number of complaints, one of them being that her shower only spouted off steaming hot water. She requested a room with a working shower, and the desk clerk kept saying, “It’s impossible.” He said that tomorrow would be a possibility. “Maybe tonight, you don’t shower? One night?” As the complaints continued, he then resorted to pretending not to speak English. Such was the case even when we asked for an extra towel. The Italians definitely know how to shake off the tourists' requests.

When I come back to the States, I think I’ll take a weekend trip somewhere. The hotels are just that much nicer in the US than here in Europe. I guess any place that accepts US dollars in Europe has got to be a little sketchy. We certainly learned our lesson here.

Motorboating Capri

CAPRI, Italy - For 95 euro, we rented a boat and took it all the way around the island. For me, it was the highlight of Capri. At certain points, we anchored in the middle of the water and swam. Swimming gets tiring when you do it in a spot where you can't touch the ground.