valeria out loud

Hello everyone! 👋🏻

Hope you guys are having much better weather than we are in MA this Summer. Holy rain every single darn day! My grass and plants love it but I am not a big fan of all this humidity or dampness everywhere. My hair actually looks crazy in humid weather, so braids and pigtails it is. But I am hoping you guys are at least in fairer weather! Please tell me that there is sunshine happening daily somewhere!!

Despite the month-long soggy conditions, I am doing pretty great. Had a fun weekend that I am about to share with you today, and am feeling pretty good, overall. Soooo…Let’s get into it!

Date Night

What an incredibly fun night with my husband! The day finally arrived to use the tickets my husband had given to me to a comedy show for Valentine’s Day; for a comic out of Australia who I like-it was a big surprise and a happy one. Joe Avati is an Italo-Australian comic who talks about what it is like to grow up Italian, in a place and time that is so polar opposite to how the kids are raised today (he speaks of Australia but it’s relatable to the States too). We, as Italians, don’t have a ton of accurate representation in comedy out there. Most people, stupidly link Italians only to the mob or the American food they think is Italian, but we are way way more than these stereotypes. The best and most accurate comic on Italian American observation, however, is Sebastian Maniscalco, being that he is Sicilian-American like myself. He nails it each time with what it’s like growing up ethnic in the USA. Joe, though, is pretty hilarious too.

We started off the night grabbing Mexican food near the venue, at Acitron. The place was beautiful and the food was out of this world good. The cocktails too. I will definitely be heading back for dinner again.

After dinner, we headed to the theater to watch Joe Avati, he is on his “When I was Your Age” tour. The show was a riot! Joe’s comedic timing and hilarious stories had the entire audience cry-laughing. We laughed so hard that our sides hurt.

My favorite part of his show was not terribly funny, though; near the end of his set, he spoke about how hard it is for the Italian communities, especially those of my father’s generation and before, having to immigrate to these countries and fight off a lot of racism and xenophobia… something most people don’t understand happened to Italians (even modern day) because of how we have integrated into society. His words struck a chord with me because I have heard countless stories from my parents, of their first years in this country and when they moved to where I eventually grew up, of gross racist people telling them to go back to their country or better yet..swim there. My father has dealt with an immense number of these incidents, always taking it with pride, letting it roll off his back and deflecting it from affecting his family. Which is hard to do. So, I was pretty emotional when the comic gave credence to every single person’s story in that theater because we all have either suffered directly or know of someone who has. Idk if a lot of people truly understand what it was or is like to be an immigrant.

Anyways, Joe put on a hilarious show. Great comic and so glad I had the opportunity to see him live.

Being a Tourist in my own City

Saturday was all about family. We took my sister and niece to the Museum of Science to watch a captivating planetarium movie called “God, Science, and our Search for Meaning.” The film delved into the mysteries of the universe and how science and spirituality intertwine. It sparked intriguing conversations among us, and we left the theater with a renewed sense of awe for the world around us. The best part of the movie, imo, was the fact that every organism on earth has geometric patterns throughout itself, across the globe. Every detail, seen by the naked eye to microscopic, of every single thing, has a pattern. Fascinating.

After the movie, we ventured to the Seaport, to add a little adventure to our day. We booked to take a water taxi across Boston Harbor to the ICA Water Shed. The boat ride was thrilling, and we marveled at the beautiful city skyline from the water. At the Water Shed, we explored a contemporary art exhibit that was frightening and confusing, which I think was the point, but nonetheless, we were captivated by the diverse range of expression.

We made our way back to the Seaport, and walked across the boardwalk to show my sister all the new changes and things that didn’t exist when she was last home. We strolled through the area, then took everyone out for an ice cream at Taiyaki NYC. It is a traditional Japanese treat—a soft fish-shaped waffle cone filled with sweet fillings like red bean paste or custard, topped with ice cream. It was a delightful way to end our day.

Monday Night Pottery

Monday’s pottery class was ahhhmazing. The moment I walked into the studio, I was focused on my creative process. Which is funny because all I did was glaze pieces all evening! Ha! But I experimented with so many glaze combinations and even patiently painted my lil rooster! Which came out so cute!

Now I wait, with anticipation of seeing the final results of all my pieces. 😬

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Well, guys, I am bummed and excited to say that as I finished out my post today, I realized this will be my last one for over a month (if I can’t post from overseas). So you may not hear from me till I come back from my trips… which will be in August! 😱 I wont have time to update my next Monday night class before we leave next week, then we come back only to head out a few days later for a college tour and a few days up in Maine! It is going to be crazy paced.

So let me get this out now to say I will miss you guys! Thank you for always being supportive of my diary posts. I keep gaining followers and views, it is really quite lovely. You guys are amazing and I hope you have an awesome and truly Summery month ahead -try not to miss me too much, ok? 😆

till next post… in August xoxo