So I just spent a long weekend in Rome. It was quite a last minute thing – I heard about a conference via the AAA’s environmental anthropology listserv and although I was a little apprehensive, I was so glad I went for it. I went alone – Dave didn’t have the holiday days – and it was such a wonderful experience. Rather than writing a long post I’ll go with my traditional list format, to give you a general idea:
- My first conference! – learning, sharing and listening (longer post on this to come!)
- Sightseeing
- Sunshine!
- Flea markets
- Vino. Mucho vino…
- Meeting new people, making new friends
- Having girly time
- Walking, and walking, and walking…
- Incredible architecture and artwork
- Beauty
- The best lasagne I’ve ever had
- Gelato
- Coffeeeee
- Kitty cuddles
- Moving, and the world moving too.
As my Airbnb host Claudia said, “When you move, things start to move.” This couldn’t have been more true with this trip. I’ve been in a bit of a rut recently – I’ve not got long left here in the Netherlands, I’m trying and failing to get some writing work, and I was feeling a little lost. What better tonic than going somewhere new! And what do you know, on my last night in Rome, I got an email about a possible PhD opportunity next September in Budapest. I’ve been thinking and thinking about it, and as I was walking through the airport, I saw a screen saying BUDAPEST with queue of people on their way there. Food for thought…
I got home and told Dave about it, and we booked flights then and there! So we’re off this Saturday for a few days, to have a look, together.
To be continued…