Prep

Easter is a few days away and all of us at Villa Maiella are gearing up. We started this morning by cleaning and breaking down a whole mess of chickens. I got the lovely job of cleaning out the cavity's and taking out all the organs.

In America the job of cleaning chickens is not only gross, it's dangerous. Not to harp on the vileness of food in the States but raw chicken is really one of the most dangerous foods to handle and there are so many rules on cooking it that you would think its a hazmat issue. Not here. Here the chickens don't even look the same. The meat is darker, and the skin and fat has a yellow color to it. The first time I saw a chicken at a butcher shop here I was shocked at how different it looked from the Perdue packaged chicken in the American super market.
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I just got home from the dinner shift. The service was slow but we were doing a lot of prep for the next few days.

I hate when service is slow, it gives me too much time to think. Recently I have been growing anxious about the next step in my life. I literally don't have a home at the moment, all my things are in various storage facilities in Colorno, New York, and South Carolina. I don't have anywhere to return to really. It is exhilarating to have this kind of freedom, and unnerving at the same time. This is all I've ever wanted, the ability to go with the wind and move around as I please. My career will allow for this, you can be a cook anywhere in the world. My only problem is that I have no idea what I want.

Do I go back to New York and begin my career as a cook in the most cutthroat city possible?
Do I move to South Carolina where my parents live and work in a seasonal beach town?
Do I stay in Italy and continue working in my isolated little village?
Or is there an entirely different option that I have yet to stumble upon?

I have one month today until I have to return to Colorno for my finals and I am starting to feel the pressure of needing a plan. Soon I will need an answer and I am at a complete loss.