Departure

25 February 2018

This date has been looming on my calendar for months—blast off for a Fulbright in Italy at the University of Padova! It sounds so elegant and romantic, unless you factor in the preparations. Frantic completions of to-do lists, lamenting how much I am going to miss my golden retrievers, Barley and Gunnar, and their dad, Mark. Filling prescriptions, ordering travel gear, reading Rick Steves, and not practicing my Italian web course enough. People assuming I might as well be dead and therefore demanding a meeting, decision, or new advisor. Going through several edits of my suitcase and still being overweight at the airport (bless the gate agent who let me squeak through with overweight suitcases—I thought the limit was 70#, but that is just for domestic. International is 50#--whoops!). Good thing pulling those books and files out of my bag got me closer to “legal.” Now that I’m on the plane, I am hopeful that a long stretch of change and challenge ahead will give me more space to be and think. The trick will be to not let my life get as jam-packed as it usually is and embrace wonderful Italy. I am not complaining, because it is a privilege to work as an intellectual with amazing people and have friends who always have exciting events and causes to participate in. Still, I am hopeful for a pause, a reset, an opportunity to really think. Such reflective breaks seem rarer and rarer these days. Perhaps a good omen: I don’t have a seatmate on the Atlanta to Amsterdam leg, which means I have the bulkhead emergency aisle and exit row seats to myself: Immediate space to chill and contemplate the journey ahead!

Well, now that I have relaxed and a gin and tonic has appeared, welcome to my blog. I have wanted to start blogging for years and decided that this opportunity as a U.S. Fulbright Research Scholar presented the perfect impetus to do something about this kernel of an idea! I welcome you to my musings which will be a mixture of travelogue, academic pursuits, and reflections on working, learning, and living. Thanks for joining me on the ride! BTW, if you want to follow me on social media, my hashtag is #bieremadova. I promised some family and friends that I will Tweet and Instagram more! 

Ciao!