Jessica in Rome

Welcome Party People!

Welcome to my Ultimate Blog Party 2008 graciously hosed by 5 Minutes for Mom! This is my first time partying and I am happy to get my groove on.

A bit about me: My name is Jessica and I am an expatriate living in Rome, Italy. I have been living here since December 2006, when I moved to be with my husband Daniele. I grew up in Spokane, Washington and moved to Seattle where I lived for 5 years. I am married to a wonderful, funny and sweet Italian man and am a “mom” to a chinchilla named Olivia. I love painting, reading gossip websites, watching movies, blogging and traveling.

How it started: My love for Rome started when I happened to win plane tickets at my company’s Christmas party and that’s where it all began. I fell in love with the city on my vacation and promptly quit my job when I returned home. A few months later I was back in Rome without a plan. I just wanted to live life and not waste it inside a gray cubicle. That’s when out of nowhere I ended up meeting the love of my life in Saint Peter’s Square! You can read more about how I got to Rome and met my husband here on my bio page!

I started this blog as a way to keep track of all the important moments, strange new experiences and the endless frustrations of living in Italy. Being an expat has definitely tested me in every way imaginable! From struggling to learn the language, being scared of the mailman and learning to just slow down and absorb all that life here has to offer.
I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to immerse in another culture. When we decide to have kids, I am happy that they will be raised in Italy. I hope that by reading my blog you can get better acquainted with Rome and with me! I would love to get to know YOU so please join the party and leave a comment!

Happy reading and see you at your party!

Jessica

Posted in Jessica | 26 Comments

Mar 9th, 2008

26 Responses to “Welcome Party People!”

on 09 Mar 2008 at 10:36 pm1Goddess in the Groove

Buon giorno Jessica! Rome is one of my favorite cities, I used to be there often in my younger days . Good to meet you, happy party!
on 09 Mar 2008 at 10:49 pm2Cindy

Holy cow! Rome….. I just hope to be able to visit one day.
on 09 Mar 2008 at 10:56 pm3Dannie

I wish I could get up the nerve to just go and raise my children there, but that would be taking too much from them, but I think they would gain a ton as well. Such a great story you have. I will definitely be back! You are now my gateway to Rome!
on 09 Mar 2008 at 11:51 pm4Erin

Rome is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and you are so lucky to live there! Can’t wait to read more about your adventures and daily life : )
on 09 Mar 2008 at 11:59 pm5Susan

I love Rome… and Italy in general! I was there last September. There’s just so much to see and do! And what a great story about meeting your husband! I’ll definitely have to come back to hear more about your adventures!
on 10 Mar 2008 at 12:07 am6Heidi

Wow~ this is about the closest I can get to Italy! I spent 5 months there in 1975 when my dad was on an extended business trip. Italy is a beautiful country!
So nice to “meet” you through the Ultimate Blog Party.
on 10 Mar 2008 at 1:44 am7Linda

Hey! I absolutely love Italy and if I hadn’t met a Brazilian man i would probably be living in Veneza right now (I am from Sweden but live in Brazil) Love is wonderful isn’t it
So nice to read about you and get to know you a little more. I will be back! Ciao!

ps: i invite you to my oarty as well of course ds
on 10 Mar 2008 at 2:11 am8My melange

Buona sera mi amica So glad to get to know you better. Keep on partying!!!
Ciao!
ps….thanks for the linky love
on 10 Mar 2008 at 3:16 am9Tipp

That is one of the most amazing and inspiring stories! I love your zest to experience life and your go get it attitude, I wish I was more like that!

I am adding you to my reader, I will be back!

Happy partying!
on 10 Mar 2008 at 3:21 am10Carmen

Oh, oh…how I love Rome and Italy, in general. I visited quite often when I lived in Germany. I’ll never forget the buzzing of scooters as they swarmed us in a round about. CRAZY!! I loved every minute of it!

Welcome to the blog party! Now that you’re here, let’s get this party started! There are so many blogs to visit & friends to meet. What a pleasure!

Peek in on us at GraceFULL Days & say hi before you go! Skip over the Vicks Caring Tributes & vote for my Gracie Cakes story as one of their finalists~ Thanks in advance. http://videos.vickscaringtributes.com/videos/index.html

GraceFULL blessing to you & yours~
Carmen
http://gracefulldays.blogspot.com
on 10 Mar 2008 at 6:53 am11Deborah

Hi! I’m an American living in Australia…I married my Aussie husband a year ago an moved to Brisbane. I understand the frustrations of being in a foreign land. Yes, English is spoken here…but it is not the same as American English. For example, do you know what it means to be “crook”? It means you are sick, ill, not feeling well, under-the-weather. Much different meaning in America!

I’m inviting you to party with me!

Win some chocolate from my-sister-in-law and I…we blog about CHOCOLATE…me from Australia…and her from Michigan. Here’s the link: http://thechocolistas.blogspot.com/2008/03/ultimate-blog-party-2008.html

What am I doing in Australia? I married an Aussie…and moved to Brisbane, leaving my family and friends and all the right-side-of-the-road drivers in America.

Win a handmade pocket place mat from my blog Comfort Joy Designs. Here’s the link:
http://comfortjoydesigns.blogspot.com/2008/03/ultimate-blog-party-2008.html

Want to know more about life in Australia? Visit my A Cup of Joy site where I keep up with my family and friends in America. Here’s the link:
http://acupofjoy.wordpress.com/

Happy Partying!
on 10 Mar 2008 at 4:02 pm12Rajab

Jessica, I have been reading your blog for a few months and your story really motivates me. I’m a 19 year old languages student currently studying in North Africa. I have roots and bonds with Italy and planning to come over during the summer. Initially, I will be studying Italian at the University of Perugia. I already have Italian relatives there who live in Via Sellano, Roma.

I’m a blogger and search engine optimizer myself. I have a blog called “SEO Gladiator” where I rambles about search engines and Italy.

I would love to chat with you sometime on MSN or Yahoo and hey, If you need any hand with the blog (Technical problems, search engine optimization or anything) I would be happy to help.

Ciao,
Rajab
on 10 Mar 2008 at 9:03 pm13tracey

So nice to meet you! Having been raised in a family that was mainly of Italian ancestry, I’ve always wanted to visit Italy. Looking forward to your pictures and stories!

Also, I love your outlook on life. I wish more people could grasp how fragile life is and just ENJOY it TODAY instead of planning for tomorrow…
on 10 Mar 2008 at 9:15 pm14Ivan Girl

hey, welcome to the party and hope you’re having a blast. Do call me Ivan Girl and I’m from Manila, Philippines.

I love your blog. Pleased to meet you! Will definitely visit you again.

Do stop by my blog and join me for the party…
http://ivan-ulrich.blogspot.com/2008/03/ubp-2008.html

Have Fun!
on 11 Mar 2008 at 5:26 am15*Bluefish*

I love reading your blogs but you don’t seem to read mine much.
on 11 Mar 2008 at 2:16 pm16bleeding espresso

Hey I didn’t realize you were partying too! Woohoo!
on 13 Mar 2008 at 12:50 am17The Random Muse

Hello, I am wondering about the party, but I’ll have to visit you more often
on 13 Mar 2008 at 2:08 am18LolaBloom

Hi Jessica,
Finally coming out of Lurkville to wish you a Happy Party! today. I found your blog by way of several other expat blogs. I went to HS in SpoCorn too, although I think I’m a bit older than you
I’ve read a bunch of your posts about your story and I enjoy your blog a lot, I’ll definitely be back to see what you’re up to in Rome!
Take care!
on 13 Mar 2008 at 12:40 pm19Busymama Kellie

Aloha from Hawaii! I can’t wait to check out more of your site. Got a chance to see a bit of Italy but never made it to Rome! Nice to meet you!
on 14 Mar 2008 at 6:41 am20Sandy Y

this is my first visit to your blog, but I’ll definitely be back! I can’t wait to read about Rome…I’m planning a trip there for next year!

Thanks Sandy! Hopefully you can find inspiration here for your upcoming travels!-jessica
on 14 Mar 2008 at 6:44 pm21Melanie

So glad to find you through the blog party! I hope to visit Italy one day, but for now it’s nice to find a place to read about it!

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello! I love finding blogs written by people all over the world, this blog party is really awesome for that! I am heading to your party now!-jessica
on 14 Mar 2008 at 11:33 pm22Butterbean

Oh my goodness! Just reading your blog makes me want some yummy Italian food! Come visit if you get a chance!

I am headed your way right now! Thanks for visiting -jessica
on 15 Mar 2008 at 8:48 pm23Cindy

Oh, you lucky girl. Rome was my favorite city from all my adventures overseas. I look forward (I will return, I promise!) to spending a super long vacation in Rome and visiting all over Italy.

Happy Blog Party. It’s nice to meet you.
on 16 Mar 2008 at 11:53 pm24glenda

Happy Party, sorry taken so long to get info back to ya, we are staying at Prime Hotel Villa Torloniam, and thanks for all the great info, now to see how many times in 15 days we can get lost
on 26 Mar 2008 at 8:30 am25Results from The Ultimate Blog Party 2008 Group Writing Project } Group Writing Projects

[...] Brenda 895. valmg 896. Sudz N Bubbles 897. Britni- Talent To Play 898. Plucky Moms 899. JennyV 900. Jessica in Rome 901. Kari @ Just Another Day in Paradise 902. ExtraordinaryMommy 903. Vader’s Mom 904. [...]
on 29 Mar 2008 at 2:13 am26Storm

Still hopping from blog to blog… my goal is to post at each blog at least once. Nice to meet you. Happy blogging!