Here and There

My name is Joanna Weinstein. I'd tell you my major if I thought that was a good way to define a person, but its not. Instead, I'll tell you this. I spent six months living with an Italian family smack in the heart of Florence, Italy. I traveled around Europe, learned Italian, crashed a vespa into a ditch, ate a lot of pasta, and drank a lot of vino. Now, I am spending my year in Syracuse, New York as a senior in college. It's a touchy subject. I also can't seem to go more than an hour here without thinking of Italy-it's worse than any breakup I've ever endured.

Domani Siamo Qui. Tomorrow we are here. But for the past year, I am trying to figure out where here is. To the left is Firenze, Italy, and above is Syracuse, New York. The left is my past and the right is my present. But almost every other day, I find myself mixing up the two. Where I came from, where I went, and where I am now seems like one big city shape shifting on me every second.

Now, instead of finding myself atop the Piazzale Michelangelo looking at the Duomo, I find myself in Syracuse, New York gazing at the top of the Dome. The quad is my new piazza, Marshall Street is my new Guiseppe Verde, Hendrick's Chapel is my Duomo, and the food...well unfortunately nothing seems up to par to replace that. But, I still manage. I struggle a little knowing that cappuccinos don't sell for a dollar here, and the farmer's markets aren't up to San Ambrosio standards, but there is something about 'Cuse that still takes me back to Florence everyday. I think about it more here than I did over my summer in New York City, and I'm trying to understand way. So I am starting this blog. Two cities, one big world, and how they balance each other. My mission is to discover how I came to call both my home. In the process, I'll travel back and forth over the atlantic, reliving these worlds every day.