Ciao to my wonderful friends & family!
I hope this post finds you all well. As many of you know, it was a rough start to this week. Kevin and I had to put Aspen down. It's been sad for me, but I'm feeling better and am able to remember the good times.
As for my adventures in Italy, it's going great. I'm so glad to be here and they're so glad to have me. I spend most of my days basically hanging out with Amanda, Ross & Lola. We don't do a whole lot, get up, eat breakfast, play or do some grocery shopping, fix lunch, put the kids down for a nap, wake up, play, eat dinner & get ready for bed.
I do get some time off, usually half a day or 3/4 of a day. Most of my days off so far have consisted of going to Arezzo and window shopping. Once I went to get a sketch book and another time I went for a canvas and some paints. Although I haven't used either one all that much. About three weeks ago I was able to go to Florence, it was a really nice day. One of my old college friends happened to be in town and we went with two of the professors from Santa Chiara.
Other than that I've been getting back into running. I try to go every day, but I'm probably only averaging 4 or 5 days a week. I go while Ross is down for his nap, around 4 o'clock. That was really nice when the weather was colder, but now that it's getting hot it's kind of torturous. Oh well, sweating is good for me and there's no way I'm getting up early in the morning to go. :)
My language skills aren't progressing as quickly as I would like. I'm getting the vocabulary, but having trouble putting together sentences. I am however, picking up on more of the culture. It's really very funny, from my American perspective. For starters, everything happens later here. We don't get up until 8 or so and we don't go to bed until 11. That goes for Ross too. It just blows my mind because I know Wyatt and Sierra (Kevin's nephew and niece) wake up at like 6 and go to bed at 8 or 9. But it's just normal here. Since Lola arrived I've been learning more about Italian theories on babies. They believe the baby needs to lay flat all the time. So all the strollers are these big baskets that the baby lies down. Not so unusual until you consider riding in the car... They take these big baskets and put them in the car so the baby can ride flat. I just keep thinking, what happens to the baby when you get in a wreck? They just go flying around the car I guess...
Another funny thing I've learned is that Italians have a serious phobia about sweat on your neck and the wind. They never leave the house without something to cover their neck incase they get sweaty. They believe if you sweat and then the wind blows you'll get a stiff/sore neck. I knew about this phobia, but I thought at 80 degrees maybe there would be some breaking point to this phobia. Nope... Today we were driving home and we saw a woman out exercising with a jacket tied around her waist! It's seriously 80 today and there's no coolness, even in the shade. Ahhh, it makes me laugh. It also makes me wonder what kind of traditions we Americans have that other foreigners think are funny.
There's a lot of entertainment to be had here. I've got to meet some real charecters through Amanda. One of my favorites in John Franco, Adriano's business partner. He's like 40, not married, no kids, and squemish as can be. The other night he was closing with his staff at the Garden (their bar) and one of his employees had a ceisure. Adriano happened to be working at the 911 call center that night and he answered the call. He thought his emploees were playing a trick on him, but when he realized it was for real he thought, "Should I send two ambulances? One for Mateo and one for John Franco."
To interject here, Adriano has two jobs. he works as a nurse at the 911 (or 118 here in Italy) call center. Half the time he answers the emergency calls and dispatches the ambulance, the other half of the time he rides in the ambulance to work at the emergency. His other job is working at the two bars he is co-owner of. One bar, the Velvet Underground, is the winter bar. It's underground and they have bands often. It's a great pub and I spent many nights there when I was here in 2006. The other bar, the Garden Underground, isn't underground at all. It's a bar in the middle of the park in town. It's really a great setup. They serve lunch & dinner and it's open until 2 in the morning as a pub. Parents bring their kids there in the day to play at the park while they socalize at the Garden with the other parents. At night the young crowd comes out to drink & socalize in the cool air. Oh, did I mentchion it's all outside? There will be pictures of it on my flickr site soon so you can get a better idea.
Anyway, we spend lots of time at the park & the Garden. Other people I've loved meeting are all of Amanda's American-Italian friends. There are a large group of mostly women who moved here after coming as students and have since married Italian men and have children. They're all really nice and friendly and I love hearing their stories. Another guy I really enjoy is Palo Bucceti. He's an older man and the music coordinator at the Velvet. He doesn't speak much English, and really doesn't want to try. Unless you get him talking about music. I got him started on Red Rocks (a concert venue in CO) and we had a 20 min conversation. He's verey good natured. Oh I could go on, there's Sorana, who is married to Mark. Mark moved here after college (a former Santa Chiara student) and eventually married her. She's very sweet and they're both fun to be around.
Really, there are lots more characters, but I'll save some for another day. That's about it for me. I'm going to get my hair cut today from a Lady who doesn't speak any English. That'll be interesting... :) Wish me luck! On Monday we're headed off to the beach for 4 days. Later this summer we will go for two weeks, but this is just a warm up. I hope I don't frighten anyone with my ghostly white legs!
Well, hopefully I'll be able to update once we get back from the beach. Until then!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
April 27, 2008
Ciao amico! Hello friends!
Sorry to all of you who have been waiting for this! I haven't been inspired, and if I'm not inspired it's not worth reading. :)
So, I have been here a little over two weeks now and have settled in just fine. It's been busy around here, getting to know the family and now little Lola has arrived, so everything is crazy.
But lets start from the beginning... I arrived in Rome on April 10th in the morning and took the train to Castiglion Fiorentino. It took me a couple of minutes to remember how things work, but I quickly figured it out and made the first train to CF. Amanda met me at the station and we were off to their house. It's up the hill from the city center about a mile and has a wonderful view of the valley, the town and Montecchio (the neighboring town with castle that has a great silhouette from here). The house is very large by Italian standards, 3 to 5 bedrooms (depending on how you count them) and 3 bathrooms. I have my own room and my own bathroom on the first floor, the rest of the bedrooms are upstairs. It's a small room, but nice for me.
When we got to the house Ross (the little boy) was just getting ready for a nap and his father was taking him upstairs. Adriano tried to introduce me, but Ross just muttered something to him in Italian and they went upstairs. Since then, though, Ross has really taken to me. Some mornings he will come downstairs and ask his mom for me. He's accepted me very well, which makes my job MUCH easier. All in all he's a really good kid and Amanda and Adriano have done a great job with him. He's very secure in his relationship with them so he doesn't worry to much when they leave him with me.
For the past two weeks, up to Thursday, we had just been hanging out and getting to know each other. Amanda would leave Ross with me for short periods of time, but mostly the three of us would do things together. On Thursday, Amanda's due date, she had an appointment at the hospital. She had a few contractions, but we thought it might just be false labor. The appointment went fine and they said she wouldn't be having the baby today. So much for modern medicine, by dinner time she was ready to go to the hospital and have the baby. Lola came early Friday morning, maybe 2 am.
Since then Ross and I have spent much more time together. It's been really crazy here, back and fourth between the hospital, interrupted sleep, totally messed up schedule... That has made Ross a little cranky, epically because he hasn't seen as much of his mom as he would like. But Amanda and Lola come home tomorrow morning and I think we're all looking forward to finding our new routine.
Other than babysitting, I haven't got to do a whole lot. It's been rainy almost every day which really puts the kibosh on walking into town. I did make it to Arezzo one day and found a beautiful sketchbook at one of the art stores. I would have loved to go to Florence to get it, but didn't have time and didn't want to wait until I do have time.
There have been a few clear days, and I've taken advantage of those to go into town and get some gelato and walk around. On Wednesday I went to the cassero (fort) at the top of town and went into the museum. I didn't do that last time I was here and it was fun to see all the exhibits. There is a part where you can go below ground and see some excavated Etruscan ruins. Foundations of an old house and a tower.
Today was probably the best day here yet though. This morning we went to the hospital and to Adriano's parents for lunch like we have for the past few days. After that we came home for a nap, again-normal. But after siesta we went to Lignano. It's a natural park on the top of a small mountain. Adriano's brother and sister-in-law and their little boy live and work there. Ross and Adraino went to feed the animals but I decided to stay in the bar and read. They had some great jazz-type music on and I got a cappuccino and setteled in with my book. I just finished Under the Tuscan Sun. For the life of me I can't figure out how Frances Mayes has made a career of writing... Her style is awful! Her paragraphs don't flow, and sometimes even her sentences don't! Alass, I still read the whole thing. Have you ever heard of a book without a conflict, climax, and resolution? Me either, until I read this. There was no point! (Regardless, I am TOTALLY grateful to my colleges for getting me the book as a going away gift. It was so thoughtful of them and I love the little notes from them in the front cover.)
Anyway... I finished the book and pulled out my Italian grammar book. I'm slowly catching on to words and phrases and have recently started writing them in my sketchbook. It was so nice just to sit in an Italian cafe and study the language. I was totally relaxed.
For dinner we went to the Velvet Underground, a local pub that Adriano is part owner of. We eat there frequently and it's fun to go in and chat (or attempt to) with Adriano's co-workers. Tonight was great because I got to talk to a bunch of people and because a couple of Amanda & Adriano's friends were there. They speak English and the girl went to Santa Chiara (my old study center) and Kansas State, so we have lots in common.
An old friend of mine from college, who now lives in Ireland, will be visiting CF this week and I'm excited to have him in town. I'll be glad to have some time away from the house with someone I can have a full conversation with. :)
Other than that, the Garden Underground (The Velvet's summer counterpart) has just opened. (Thankfully! Adriano has been working feverishly to get it ready.) We will be spending a lot of time there this summer and I'm looking forward to when the weather gets warmer and they open for lunch. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to find some Italians to put up with my limited vocabulary.
That's it for now, I hope to update this again soon. Until then!
A presto! (Wait, no that's see you soon...)
Buona notte! (Good night!)
Sorry to all of you who have been waiting for this! I haven't been inspired, and if I'm not inspired it's not worth reading. :)
So, I have been here a little over two weeks now and have settled in just fine. It's been busy around here, getting to know the family and now little Lola has arrived, so everything is crazy.
But lets start from the beginning... I arrived in Rome on April 10th in the morning and took the train to Castiglion Fiorentino. It took me a couple of minutes to remember how things work, but I quickly figured it out and made the first train to CF. Amanda met me at the station and we were off to their house. It's up the hill from the city center about a mile and has a wonderful view of the valley, the town and Montecchio (the neighboring town with castle that has a great silhouette from here). The house is very large by Italian standards, 3 to 5 bedrooms (depending on how you count them) and 3 bathrooms. I have my own room and my own bathroom on the first floor, the rest of the bedrooms are upstairs. It's a small room, but nice for me.
When we got to the house Ross (the little boy) was just getting ready for a nap and his father was taking him upstairs. Adriano tried to introduce me, but Ross just muttered something to him in Italian and they went upstairs. Since then, though, Ross has really taken to me. Some mornings he will come downstairs and ask his mom for me. He's accepted me very well, which makes my job MUCH easier. All in all he's a really good kid and Amanda and Adriano have done a great job with him. He's very secure in his relationship with them so he doesn't worry to much when they leave him with me.
For the past two weeks, up to Thursday, we had just been hanging out and getting to know each other. Amanda would leave Ross with me for short periods of time, but mostly the three of us would do things together. On Thursday, Amanda's due date, she had an appointment at the hospital. She had a few contractions, but we thought it might just be false labor. The appointment went fine and they said she wouldn't be having the baby today. So much for modern medicine, by dinner time she was ready to go to the hospital and have the baby. Lola came early Friday morning, maybe 2 am.
Since then Ross and I have spent much more time together. It's been really crazy here, back and fourth between the hospital, interrupted sleep, totally messed up schedule... That has made Ross a little cranky, epically because he hasn't seen as much of his mom as he would like. But Amanda and Lola come home tomorrow morning and I think we're all looking forward to finding our new routine.
Other than babysitting, I haven't got to do a whole lot. It's been rainy almost every day which really puts the kibosh on walking into town. I did make it to Arezzo one day and found a beautiful sketchbook at one of the art stores. I would have loved to go to Florence to get it, but didn't have time and didn't want to wait until I do have time.
There have been a few clear days, and I've taken advantage of those to go into town and get some gelato and walk around. On Wednesday I went to the cassero (fort) at the top of town and went into the museum. I didn't do that last time I was here and it was fun to see all the exhibits. There is a part where you can go below ground and see some excavated Etruscan ruins. Foundations of an old house and a tower.
Today was probably the best day here yet though. This morning we went to the hospital and to Adriano's parents for lunch like we have for the past few days. After that we came home for a nap, again-normal. But after siesta we went to Lignano. It's a natural park on the top of a small mountain. Adriano's brother and sister-in-law and their little boy live and work there. Ross and Adraino went to feed the animals but I decided to stay in the bar and read. They had some great jazz-type music on and I got a cappuccino and setteled in with my book. I just finished Under the Tuscan Sun. For the life of me I can't figure out how Frances Mayes has made a career of writing... Her style is awful! Her paragraphs don't flow, and sometimes even her sentences don't! Alass, I still read the whole thing. Have you ever heard of a book without a conflict, climax, and resolution? Me either, until I read this. There was no point! (Regardless, I am TOTALLY grateful to my colleges for getting me the book as a going away gift. It was so thoughtful of them and I love the little notes from them in the front cover.)
Anyway... I finished the book and pulled out my Italian grammar book. I'm slowly catching on to words and phrases and have recently started writing them in my sketchbook. It was so nice just to sit in an Italian cafe and study the language. I was totally relaxed.
For dinner we went to the Velvet Underground, a local pub that Adriano is part owner of. We eat there frequently and it's fun to go in and chat (or attempt to) with Adriano's co-workers. Tonight was great because I got to talk to a bunch of people and because a couple of Amanda & Adriano's friends were there. They speak English and the girl went to Santa Chiara (my old study center) and Kansas State, so we have lots in common.
An old friend of mine from college, who now lives in Ireland, will be visiting CF this week and I'm excited to have him in town. I'll be glad to have some time away from the house with someone I can have a full conversation with. :)
Other than that, the Garden Underground (The Velvet's summer counterpart) has just opened. (Thankfully! Adriano has been working feverishly to get it ready.) We will be spending a lot of time there this summer and I'm looking forward to when the weather gets warmer and they open for lunch. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to find some Italians to put up with my limited vocabulary.
That's it for now, I hope to update this again soon. Until then!
A presto! (Wait, no that's see you soon...)
Buona notte! (Good night!)
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