Update

I haven't post anything since this summer. Things has been super busy for me recently. After the summer, I have return to Milan for about 6 weeks and then visited my family at Taiwan in October.

The house at Piacenza is almost done. We still need to furnished it a little more but that can wait when i get more time in my hand.

Taiwan trip was great!!! i got to see Jessica's tummy. I cant wait to see my brother's babe next yr. A sweet surprise from Mandy, Catherine and Joyce. I haven't seen them for at least 3yrs!!!
They all get to meet Fede.

Fede stayed in Taiwan for a week with me. It was a great week since he get to spend some time with my parents. They got pretty comfortable just like a happy family :P most of all we took the wedding pictures in Taiwan this October. Fede and I had so much fun. I will try to upload some pictures next week.

Anyhow that is a fast update for the last few weeks:P

Updates of Milano

This summer was a good break from Italy. Now I am back to Milano, getting ready for school and the wonderful wedding planning. I know it is not THAT bad. just 10 weeks then flying again to TW for wedding pictures. OH YEAH!

Casa Fusi aka the country house is almost ready. Furniture will be in next 2 weeks. The floor, the kitchen, the bathroom, and whatever u can think of is DONE!!! Cant wait to have a place call HOME! Cant wait to unpack all my boxes.

Kelly flew back to U.S. 2 days ago. We had a going away party for. Lots of fun. We try to stuff Kelly's tummy with as much wine and pasta as we can. :P you all know me and my tummy.

Rowena's philosophy in life
Make your tummy happy and you will be happy! Have FOOD! it is the best medicine in the world!

After Kelly left, I haven't really done anything, just staying at the Milano apt trying to review my Italian and emailing the wedding planner. Last nite, Fede finally get my lazy ass off the sofa and had a wonderful walk around Via Brea. A cute area right by center of Milano.

Leah and George

Have ever seen true love? Have you ever been in presence of one. I have once at my brother and sister in law and now Leah and George's wedding.

I was lucky enough to witness one of the beautiful true love celebration at George and Leah's wedding. http://photoelan.com/Wedding_SlideShows/Leah_and_George/ go to this site and see how happy she is. She couldn't stop smiling!

The strong bond and the love not only between Leah and George but also with family and friends are endless.

I never thought I could have a best friend. Not in this life time. I envy people that had a best friend since childhood. I always wish I could have one. I never realize she has always been beside me.

George is one of the sweetest guy I know. He is always so sweet, kind and sensitive. He treats me like his own sister. I couldn't think of anyone else Leah should marry besides George. They are a match made in heaven.

Reddy is MIA????

Vancouver weather has been cooling off now. It isn't that hot anymore, in fact it is more the temperature i remember growing up with. Slight sunshine with with clouds. Cool weather but not cold. it is perfect. IT would be nice if i have a car that way i can drive myself to Starbucks but did i mention Reddy IS GONE!!!!!!!!! MIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The oldy 4runner is gone! some freaker sneak into the underground parking and drove the car away!!! My wonderful luck. Every time i am back to Vancity there is always something going on. This time is the car. ay yeah.

OH wait. i am not done complaining yet!!!!! i have just started!!!!!!! Starting few days ago, my wonderful back pain is coming back to hunt me... just perfect isn't! K i am done complaining. i think i will go to the fitness room work off some of these frustration.

Milano- San Francisco- Seattle- Vancouver

It has been a crazy 2 weeks. I have been flying non stop travelling to different city to meet people.

the trip for San Francisco was crazy. it was non stop shopping with parents. and non stop hanging out with Norman. I had fun. But it was weird. this is the first time i visit San Fran after quiting Arcadis. I am no longer living there taking Bart to work or driving to Richmond.. i didn't have any jet leg at all. i think that is because my parents did gave me the chance to feel it...

around the 3rd, i flew to SEATTLE for my best best friend's wedding. I was one of the bridesmaid. :*) the experience was amazing. the prep before wedding, practice dancing routine for Leah and George.. ( i still cant believe i did that for you Leah.!! wait till my wedding!! gotta think of something for you to do :P), the yummy midnite tofu soup...YUM - Leah you do know your girls and boyz well. feed our tummy and we will all do whatever you said :) - the rehearsal lunch yummy BBQ.. and all the extra secs we had to catch up our lives.. I did quite good not being a crying babe at the wedding... but hehehe couldn't stop myself from the happy tear I have for you and George right after the wedding.. hehe Tina and Miran had to do some emergency makeup to fix the mess. oppsy..

The reception was beautiful. I don't know how u planned it but I am so glad you let me be part of your sweet cute romantic fun wedding. Kisssssss

Now I am in Vancouver. Quite and relax. I think on average I have been sleeping more than 10hrs a day not bad at all !!! i am slowly getting my beauty sleep back.

Travelling

Trip back to the states. I am at Amsterdam right now waiting for my connection flight to San Francisco. I have to say compare to all the European airport this is a nice one. easy to catch connection flight. Yet something amazing for me to see.. at this day and age you can smoke in the airport. Yes yes i know at Las Vegas you can too but!! you smoke in a smoking room. here is it a corner of cafe shop. random isnt.

Anyhow i woke up at 3:45 today actually i didn't really sleep last nite. get ready and Fede help me catch a taxi. took 40min to the airport cost 70 Euro!!! got on my KLM flight and now i am here. My trip is not ending yet. another 10 hr flight to san francisco. get rental car, come back to SFO pick up my two parents. I have to wait for about 2hrs for them.. I already know this is going to be a long long day...

but i am not complaining that much beside the fact i get to see my parents I can also!!! drink my long waited STARBUCKS@@@ yum!!! life is good when there is Starbucks, and star magazine ( yes i miss those gossip magazines).

I miss Milano already. to be exact not Milano itself but Fede..... I wish there is one day i can have both parents and Fede all at same place.

Summer Trip

After 2+months living in italy, i am coming back to U.S. and Canada for a little rest. Italy is fun, and romantic. But it feel great to visit Leah, and my Parents. The next two months i will be traveling from Milano to San Francisco. San Francisco to Seattle. and then Seattle to Vancouver.

See you all super soon!!!

Row

Castello

For those never visited a castle. your prob think it is somthing similar to the castello of Snow White, Disney Land castle. Cute and Clean. at least that is what i thought of it.

However, after visiting few castello around Northern Italy i have realize.. the castello we see in the cartoon, and movies are lifeless. The real castello is full of stories and purpose. Castello are build to protect the rich land owners from its near by enemy. Sometime they are build on the most incredible landscape. Sometime they are build right in the middle of the land making it hard for their enemy to attack directly.

Castello represent what each previouse owner believe. From each castello we can see their past, love life, and their suffer. Not every castello has a wonderful romantic stories.

We have been searching for the right castello for Fede and I. We want to have a castello for our wedding reception. we want to have a castello but not to have the dust and gray that comes with it.

This weekend we found this.. the castello of our dream. It ldoesnt ooks semi like a castello outside but trust me inside is all a princess can ever dream of. At least for me. Each room has its amazing drawings and decorations.

June 15th 2007

A wonderful vacanza at Lerci. Fede and I took a little break from Piacenza and Milano last weekend. We took the boat out with Carolina. The weather was pretty nice. was a little cool but it feel good with there is sun.

We had a wonderful lunch on the boat. Amazing we had a prefect pasta. yumm.

Time passed by super fast here in italy. in two weeks i am going back to the states. My travelling plan is kinda crazy but nice. I get to stay in the bay area for few days, fly to seattle for Leah's wedding and then there is Vancouver. This will be a nice break from italy.

I cant wait to order a tall latte at Starbucks!!

Life in Milano after a month

it has already been a month since i started with the language school. starting Monday i will be in another level. fast isn't!!! yep time for sure pass by faster than i thought. i was telling Fede it felt like i have been in Italy for months.

I am getting use to Italy. Ppl are still rude in Milan. I guess that is never going to change. life is getting a little easier day by day. I am able to go to the restaurant and order some food for myself now. not bad at all :)

As for friends. i made few since i have arrive. therefore i don't feel as alone as before. i don't ever feel that alone here in Italy cuz i have Fede. He is a great husband to be and a friend.

Our renovation for casa fusi is still going. we are still deciding the tiles and kitchen.. it seems like it is a never ending process. We are hoping we will get the whole house done by middle of July. Cant wait to have a house. it will be great!!

Milan finally have few rain drops this last few days. as a result the temp has been a little bit nicer for me to walk around the city.

As for the wedding we are still in the stage of choosing our reception place. Fede and I have been busy with house. we will get ass together and see some castello this weekend. I hope.

Lotti Porto

Last Sunday, Carolina, and Fede took me on their boat. We started out from Lotti Porto, and docked at Lerici. It was a perfect day for sailing. The weather was nice and hot. There was a slight breeze. Perfect for sun tanning.

On the right. this picture was taken at the very beg of the trip while Fede's uncle and Fede get ready to sail. Us girls were busy doing nothing.. :)

Below: This picture is where Porto Venere, aka Venera is the Goddess of Beauty. From the name you can imagine how pretty the place was.

There was a castello right by this village. right by the village there was a church. We didn't stop at this place. Fede continue the sails and docked at Lerici.

Many of you will recognize this castello by Lerici. This is where Fede propose to me :P

Anyhow, we docked here for about 2 hrs. We swim a little. ( I had my first swim in the sea :P I was holding on the noodle super tight. that thing was the only reason why i can float for a long period of time :P ) We cooked on the boat. had some pasta, some bread, some prosciuitto, some melone..some salame...etc

During this whole time, I putted on SPF 50 sun screen to protect myself. Fede and Carolina was making fun of me. How is possible someone put on such a high SPF sunscreen. Will guess what! I STILL GOT SUN BURN don't ask me why :S cuz i have been asking myself the same question.

My flight with Verbi Irregolari

It has been almost 2 weeks since I started my Italian classes. ( Did I mention I am one of the oldest student in class! notice i didn't mention i am one of the mature one :P) Things are okay in class. I have two classes. My early morning class the teacher is kinda crazy. She has random yelling moment. At first it was kinda scary,there are few time i was pretty offend, but after few times it is kinda funny to see her going crazy and screaming at everyone.

Most of you are wondering why she yell. Well for lots of reason but mostly it is because none of us can remember the irregular verbs. Those nasty verbs are hard to remember! When they gave you 10 at the time! HELLO Brain capacity is not on the highest level right now!!!

Anyhow for now.. i am still at the stage of learning random vocabs. I can hardly put a sentence together. If i do usually no one really understand what in the world i am talking about.. ( Weird.. in my mine i always thought i put a sentence together correctly .. i think it is the teacher. her Italian level is just not as high as me :P)

News for Wedding

Oh yeah! progress everyone. Fede and I have met the prist this weekend. It seems like i will convert to catholic next year and after that a wedding can finally be planned. not bad isnt! >P

An emotional week

There has been lots of ups and downs last week...Didn't feel too good about being here.. felt really home sick. everything i do and say i felt like someone is looking at me. Every reaction i get from the random clerk or milano ppl i felt uncomfortable.

Dispite the fact i have moved to different cities all my life i never felt this alone in Milano. Where i lived, usually has a large asian community. Unlike in milano. Many time i go to a shop i get treated differently because my language problem. But i love the fact they just simply called me the Chinese! Very rude dont u think. yeah my conversation level is still at the babe level but trust me when i have to i understand what they are talking about. Even my teacher calls my the chinese !!! drives me crazy.

Last week of full of random cases like this. From school, to little boy. I know they dont mean it but i feel like crap whenever i am out. I just dont feel like i belong in this community. If it is not for Fede's support i think i am already on the plane back to San Francisco.

Milano, Italy is a great play to visit. It is romantic and full of culture however living here is another story. The reality hits. English may not be as useful you think.

I NEED TO SPEAK ITALIAN. I NEED TO START BEING MYSELF. STRONGER AND GET OUT THERE MORE. I THINK THIS IS THE ONE AND ONLY SOLUTION FOR ME TO FEEL LESS OUT HERE BY MYSELF. OF COURSE THIS MEANS WHEN I FELT I AM MISTRATED I AM MORE ABLE TO DEFEND MYSELF.

First day at skewl

At age of 26, I am back taking classes. The experience is nothing new. it seems like i have taken a time machine back to 16 years ago when my family moved to Vancouver Canada.

Walking to a classroom full of new faces. The only difference is this time the teacher speaks italian. I felt very helpless. It seems other students already know much of the language except me. Honor student at Highschool, graduating top 10% in University and finish 1st at Berkeley yet I was being sit aside when other was participating in little number games. This is a feeling hard to discribe and i hope none of you ever of experience.

I think it is the super Rowena side of me comes out. I want to be the best. Miss know it all. sitting at the desk today did not make me feel comfortable at all. Yet i think i will improve the most in class since that is what happen 16 years ago.....

School is expensive 710 Euro. not cheap. So i decided to at least give it a month. Did I mention they only gave me an excerise book and not a text book.. ummm where should i start studying.... On the brighter side, at least my day is going by faster now....

2 more days to my Birthday , yet this year i am not looking forward it at all.... not because i am getting older!! just because i dont feel like there is much to celebrate at.

I am really having a great time here in Italy, I have Fede. I know things will get brighter and better as each day goes by. I think for now going by each day is too big of goal for me. .. i think going by hrs is my new goal....

dont worry i am really doing better each day!

Suprise! Fontanellato

I couldnt help it two days ago when i call home, the sec i heard my mom's voice i burst into tears. My mom, Jessica and my brother were all stress out with these sudden burst. I just need a little emotion out flow.

I miss home. and miss my family and friends. I miss being able to go out drive around, pick up cell call someone and chat for 10 mins. yes Fede is around me and trying his best to protect me and yes i understand when school starts everything will be easier however it is just hard at times.

Poor Fede saw me crying on the phone and decided to take me out for a drive. He try to cheer me up with this! Fontanellato!! The Sanvitale Fortress aka Fontanellato Castle is at Parma less than

one hr drive from Piacenza. This is a very cute castle. Small but full of cute things. The Castlewas build by the Sanvitale family coming from France in Mid 14 Century. The castle is complete by the 17th century.

The two most amazing rooms was the Optic room and Parmigianino's room. The optic room is a small tower originally used as a prison. In late 19th cenutry and works by a complex filtering of teh light through prisms projecting on to the concave screens two views of the around castle.

The Parmigianino' Room is about the tale of Actaeon ad Diana. I can go on and on about this room. The young painter at the age of 20 finished painted in less than a month. The details of the art. The story behind this master piece was full of sadness and belief and of a mother who lost of son. Send me an email if you want to know more about it.

As you can see bratty Rowena feels a lot better at the end of the day with Fede babe me with Castle and gellato . I am heal from home sick for now.

Renovation of Casa Fusi

the last few days was one of the many long weekends in Italy. Fede and I went back to Piacenza to look and choose new materials for our house. we hope the whole renovation will be done in late June. if everything is on time....

Choosing floors, discussing which wall to keep which wall to destroy, which window we want to make it larger, type of stairs, type of restroom .etc i never know there is that much decisions to be make. by the end of the day, Fede, Marina and I were all out of brain power.

Redesign the kitchen was not a easy thing too. we have a cute little kitchen which need to squeeze in a full kitchen, oven and stove and all the other good stuff,. gives me and Fede the biggest headache. now the design has been done we will see what happen.

i have to mention our contractor, Max is pretty easy going. everything you ask he will say sure no problem. On the other side we have a wonderful architect who says no, on almost most of things Max suggest. standing there watching to two go at it was pretty fun.

I am okay

I am slowly getting used to milano. it is only the 2nd day but i feel a little more comfortale in the city. I learned to have a thicker face, and be like RAT :P. sounds werid isnt but Rat is not a bad animal at all. Rats have amazing life strength. They can lived anywhere in the corner of world. No matter how tought the living condition is they are still around living their day the fullest. :)

that is me! fine i know my life is not as bad as the RATs however it is similar. new place, new language and new culture. not everyone is acceptive of asian in italy. not everyone is polite and gentle. yet i will still find a way to find my space in this city.

thank you for all of carring and love thoughts ! these thoughts are keeping me going everyday. I am okay and going to be better each day. no worry!!! I choose this road and i will never regret it.

Many of you request photo and more update regarding the wedding. Photos will be coming soon. As for wedding me and Fede will start talking to the wedding planner soon. Casa Fusi ( Fede and my first house is under renovation right now) is is located in a beautiful countryside outside of Piacenza. (45min outside of milano) Tomorrow Fede and I will decided some material for the interior.

Moving

It has already been 24 hrs since I have landed in Italy. Milano is where I will call home in the future. Everything is so new and fresh. I finally get my cute ass out of the apartment. with fear and uncertainity i slowly walk to the center of Milan. To many people, it is a dream come true living in milan, for me it is just another unknow.

My whole life, ever since I was 10yrs old. i have been moving around. now i think about it i have never stay at a place long enough for me to feel like home. the only time i feel like home is when i am with my family.

Many of you prob thought why did i moved around so much? the truth is i just did. each time i moved i saw a better oppourtunity to have a better life, and education. and here i am 15years later i am still folating around. I dont regret the choice i made because i have many experience that i will be able to keep for years.