Under The Tuscan Sun

A while back I wrote a post about Cast Away, which seemed to have a real impact on me. I guess movies have a kind of an influence on me, because tonight I borrowed a movie from my sister to watch while grading brochures. After I got home and changed into pajamas, I poured a small glass of milk and grabbed two oreos for a snack. Unfortunately, while watching the movie I dropped a half eaten oreo on my bedroom floor, which I haven't vacuumed in a while so I had to throw it away. I guess that is just better for me anyway! Goodness, I digress! So I snuggled up in bed and pressed start to a movie that I have heard a lot about lately.

I decided to watch, Under the Tuscan Sun. Recently I was talking with a coworker about traveling. It seems to be a continual topic for me. She and I were discussing places we wanted to go. I'm pretty sure I'm going to move next year and I will be traveling back to Utah. I have decided that I'm giving myself a year to have fun there and see if I enjoy the social scene (the more Mormons boys, the better). And after a year I will be making a move again...maybe to teach internationally or possibly just to work my way around the world for a year. Well, my coworker suggested going to Tuscany, because she thought it was beautiful. She had never been there before, but after watching the movie, which was filmed in Tuscany, she has decided to travel there one day.

So when I saw the movie on my sister's bookshelf, I wondered if I had ever seen it before. It didn't seem familiar, which made it a perfect choice for my simple movie night. This is a story of a woman who gets a divorce and a broken heart as she finds out her husband is cheating on her and does not love her anymore. A few friends suggest that she take a trip to Tuscany for two weeks. While there she impulsively buys a house. It is a fixer-upper and she is in way over her head. However, she makes friends, learns a new language, and finds moments of happiness.

I especially loved the part where she meets a hot Italian man, whom is the "first" after her divorce. She is nervous to kiss him, but he says something I find profound. He says, "when happiness smashes into you, you must go with it until it feels right to move on." It got me thinking about this past year of my life. I have had some real fun, which I think I could have shied away from. I lived in the moment instead of dwelling on my past or thinking too hard on the future. I went with the happy moments. It was a good year for me.

Of course the main character goes through some rough times as well. She isn't always happy, even though she changed her surroundings on a whim. She still had to move past the lonely times. At one point when she was really lonely, a friend used a metaphor to remind her to have hope. He said, "In Switzerland, they built railroad tracks over the alps before they even had a train that could make the trip. They built it knowing that one day a train would come." She was living an adventure, but she was lonely and that bothered her. I can relate to that. I have a lot of friends in my life right now, but I'm missing the closeness of a best friend. Someone that I can trust completely. I have best friends, but they are married and have families. We are in different phases, and since my last best friend was my ex boyfriend, I guess in some ways I'm looking for that again.

So, back to the movie, the main character is afraid of being lonely in this big house that she just jumped into. She wants to have a wedding and a family in this house. I find it fascinating, because in the end she does have a wedding and a family in the house, except it is not her wedding nor her family. Her impulsive change helps many other people and she brings love into her home. Her best friend joins her in Italy as she plans to have a child and she helps bring a young couple together in marriage.

I guess in the crossroads of life we are full of wishes. I want to be in love again and I hope it comes my way, but if I can help others in the process of my finding my own happiness then all is well. I think a trip to Tuscany could be in my future. As I was watching the movie I started thinking, I could learn Italian while teaching at an international school. I love that the main character takes such a big risk to move to another country where she doesn't know the customs or language. I could definitely do that. Plus Italy is a good location for seeing Europe and Africa. But if I don't teach there then I definitely want to explore when I take my trip around the world.