half way point

we’re now heading toward the mid of summer in Rome, what with unbearably stuffy and smelly bus rides and days that feel like you’re being cooked in a furnace.

and on a quick reflection, I’ve suddenly realized that i’ve reached the half-way point of my stay in Rome. literally. 4 months have gone by, with less than 4 to go. and by all counts, that was a bittersweet reflection. to be honest, i wish alot of things happened – i wish i was more outgoing, i wish i could have connected with my italian colleagues better, i thought that i would have had more friends to spend the stuffy summer nights with and to head to isola tiberina for some summer aperitivo and snacks.

but yeah, none of it has really occurred. =( i think on hindsight, part of the reason lies in the fact that this isn’t student life, where you have a bunch of fellow sojourners of the same age and somewhat same interests as you, wading together in a foreign land. it isn’t going to be presented on a platter to you. welcome to the scary depths of adult work life, frank.

and yeah, i was kind of depressed the past week. lamenting that fact that i have spoken to like no one from my gym, have made really few friends and wonder if i am seriously just utterly introverted to begin with, or have some sort of social aspergers defect (lol).

but it can only go up right? in a fit of trying to make things right, i signed up for multiple expat events and i will grin and bare it and go out there and try my best to

(1) not think bad of myself as being the solo asian in the group of expats

(2) be disarmingly genuine and attempt to talk to others

and to be honest, the past events i have gone for have been surprisingly very pleasant, though initially tough. i mean, i realize that i really do get the kick out of meeting new people and learning about new experiences and new perspective, regardless of how tiring and daunting it might seem initially.

ah well. half-way point. let’s work hard to make things better.