Sharp Monica

An honest voice in Italian paradise.

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Update from Italy: Day 12 in the Florentine Quarantine

Sometime around four a.m., when my stomach was broadcasting static noise waiting for the regular programming to begin, I wondered: what does the planet think? What do the plants and animals think? Where do they think the humans have gone? The pandemic will re-green the

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Update from Italy: Day 11 of General QuarANXIETY

We’re in Day 11 of general quarantine here in Florence, although the real worry at our house began somewhere around February 20 or 21, when the Zona Rossa included a handful of seemingly very unfortunate smaller towns in the far north of Italy. Far, far

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Update from Italy: Day 9 of General Quarantine

The Italian Quarantine. It sounds like a film. I numbered our days on a calendar since we went into quarantine. I had already lost track of time and incorrectly numbered it, starting it one day earlier than it actually did. For the record, day 1

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Update from Italy: Day 8 of General Quarantine

The kids and I made rustic biscotti today with olive oil and finocchio seeds. It was a recipe I found online which I’d never used before. In time gone by, I was a mad biscotti queen. I routinely made 100 biscotti, and brought my biscotti

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Update from Italy: Day 7 of General Quarantine

We are in the morning of Day 7 of the general quarantine in Italy. I have had other experiences in my life that were, in important ways, analogous to this one. One event in particular continues to come to mind. September, 1995. I am living

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Update from Italy: Day 6 of General Quarantine

The new title convention speaks volumes. It no longer really matters here what the date is, but rather where we are on this new timeline of waiting, isolation, anxiety, and monotony. It’s not easy. We don’t know when it’s going to end. We have a

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Update from Italy: Saturday, March 14

This is day five of the general quarantine across the country in Italy. I suspect the earliest we might return to normal could be April 5, or after Easter and Pasquetta (the Monday after Easter), so April 14. I’m kind of losing track of time.

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Update from Italy: Friday, March 13

Not gonna lie. I’m jittery as hell. Everyone has something to say, someone who knows someone who really knows something. But none of it is real. We’re all just looking for an anchor, a psychological handhold on the current climbing wall. And this is in

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