I just finished my final exam, which means the PROGRAM IS OVER AND I'M DONE. It feels good but also a little sad, like it went so quickly. But now it's technically vacation, first with my Italian family and my Italian boyfriend, then with my madre and zia. And as thrilled as I am to be traveling through Italy I am also definitely ready to go home. Today on the walk to class I caught myself making a mental list of all the things I'm excited to come home for:
-Going to Red Robin and getting the fattiest chicken burger. However, I'm probably more excited about the endless fry basket, and massive quantities of ranch. And ketchup that doesn't taste like vinegar!
-Phad thai.
-Putting on nice, tight clothes straight from the dryer.
-Laying around in my sweats all day without people looking at me funny.
-TV in English.
-Constantly having Pandora going. And wireless access everywhere I go, including at home.
-Not having a prepaid phone that you constantly have to add credit to.
-Snacking midday, especially excited for chips and popcorn.
-Not having pasta at every meal.
-Driving. And having a nice smooth ride in an automatic car.
-Ordering water at restaurants and not paying for it.
-Being physically able to sleep until noon.
-Singing along with the radio.
-Eating desert after dinner and not for breakfast.
I'll probably add more this weekend as I prepare to set off. I love Italy, but I miss home. Can't wait to see you all!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Pazza Inter amala
Yesterday I was a soccer fan for a day. It was actually pretty awesome. I was in the Villa after lunch working on my journal/final project for Giuseppe with Faith when we heard someone nearby screaming in Italian. After a little while we determined he was yelling at a TV. Then later we heard sirens and loud pops in the distance. I thought it was an ambulance and maybe gun shots, but then the sirens came closer and eventually up the street we were on. It was actually a long (long!) line of cars all decked out in blue and black, horns and megaphone sirens blaring. Apparently a very popular northern soccer team, called Inter (rival of Milan), had just won some tournament that I would say is equivalent to the Superbowl, and every Inter fan turned out to celebrate.
It was actually pretty cool, there were people hanging out of car windows and waving flags, throwing confetti and such. And of course I was playing tourist and taking pictures while standing on the curb watching with everyone else. I saw Enrico drive by with a few Zona Briganti in the car and waved. Then I made my way home. I guess the sfilata of cars goes back and forth across town a few times, so they passed the house another 1 or 2 times before Enrico and the rest finally stopped and waved for me to get in the car. I got to wave the Italian flag out the window, which was pretty fun. They threw some black and blue Inter scarves at me to help me fit in.
Then right as the procession all parked and made its way up to the Villa to form a crowd it started to rain. I improvised and wrapped one scarf around my head ninja-style to keep my hair less than soaked. Then, with all the spectators left over from some political rally in the square watching us, the crowd started to sing and chant and wave flags. Then they lit off fire crackers. And I mean real heavy duty firecrackers, probably illegal in the States. Every time one went off without me seeing it I screamed like a girl. But that only lasted about 10 minutes, then they drove me back home. Anyways, I’m pretty excited I had the whole soccer-madness experience, especially since I wasn’t in Rome for the Champions League Barcelona-Manchester game. I’ve at least now had a taste.
It was actually pretty cool, there were people hanging out of car windows and waving flags, throwing confetti and such. And of course I was playing tourist and taking pictures while standing on the curb watching with everyone else. I saw Enrico drive by with a few Zona Briganti in the car and waved. Then I made my way home. I guess the sfilata of cars goes back and forth across town a few times, so they passed the house another 1 or 2 times before Enrico and the rest finally stopped and waved for me to get in the car. I got to wave the Italian flag out the window, which was pretty fun. They threw some black and blue Inter scarves at me to help me fit in.
Then right as the procession all parked and made its way up to the Villa to form a crowd it started to rain. I improvised and wrapped one scarf around my head ninja-style to keep my hair less than soaked. Then, with all the spectators left over from some political rally in the square watching us, the crowd started to sing and chant and wave flags. Then they lit off fire crackers. And I mean real heavy duty firecrackers, probably illegal in the States. Every time one went off without me seeing it I screamed like a girl. But that only lasted about 10 minutes, then they drove me back home. Anyways, I’m pretty excited I had the whole soccer-madness experience, especially since I wasn’t in Rome for the Champions League Barcelona-Manchester game. I’ve at least now had a taste.
Friday, May 29, 2009
No more bambini!
Alright, I finally feel like writing. First off, yesterday was the last day teaching at the elementary schools. For once, the first school was a major pain. We wanted to make it a 'review' day (translates to game day), so we did Simon says then duck, duck, goose. Except the teacher, who is normally a joy, was being a major pain in the ass. Serious PMS or something. She thought playing duck duck goose in the main foyer was too dangerous so we went outside. After a few games of nice, safe telephone they wanted to play red light, green light. Again, a few minutes in the teacher nearly had a heart attack that someone would get hurt. So we tried to teach them quack didilyoso (I couldn’t believe I remembered the song from first grade) which was incredibly hard. I can’t even explain the game in English, let alone Italian. I don’t remember why she didn’t like that game, but ultimately we ended up going back inside and leaving soon afterward. When we said it was our last day and good-bye, the kids all charged David with hugs while the rest of us left unnoticed. Not exactly a good start to the morning.
But then a miracle happened. We went to the second school and were brainstorming ways to get out early. I suggested we go to the supermercato and get some treats, so we could walk in with goodies, say thanks and good-bye and leave. Katy went and got some stuff, and as we walked down the hall to the classroom it was eerily quiet. At that point David said out loud “wouldn’t it be great if they weren’t here.” And right then we look in our classroom, and it’s completely empty. It was an absolute miracle, the gods heard us!! I like to think carma paid us back for never slapping any of those kids by giving us our last day off. We wrote a little note on the board, something like “Good-bye! ~Gli Americani” then split the snacks amongst ourselves and booked it the hell out of there before they came back.
When I came home I had the best lunch. She made boiled potatoes and fresh grown Italian green beans, and mixed them together. Simple, but so, so good. I was pretty psyched to eat Italian green beans in Italy.
In class we had an exam, which again took me probably under 20 minutes. If we don’t all 4.0 these classes I will be shocked. Then I hung around for a few hours and watched the end of my Grey’s Anatomy finale from the other day; it took me an hour to watch the last 10 minutes, but it was so worth it. Finally at 6pm we had a short lecture with Ruggero followed by a demonstration by Zona Briganti (Enrico’s band). They came in and played us some songs then each talked a little about their instruments and their music, etc. The dancer for the group explained the basics of tarantella, then asked if anyone wanted to come up and try. Of course, Matteo, the class suck-up, jumps right up there. It was pretty hysterical. Then afterward I walked home with Enrico and one or two others from the group. Yep, that’s right, officially a groupie…
Later that night I uscire’d once again with Enrico. We met some of his friends in the Villa, grabbed a bench and just chilled there for the night. They spoke nearly the entire time in Roglianese dialect, and I did not understand a single word. It sounds like a mix of Italian and Greek to me, seriously messed up. But we must have sat there for more than two hours, and even though I was just kind of half listening it was a fun night.
Finally, to sum everything up, this morning I went on a special little outing. Manuel’s teacher at the kindergarten asked me earlier this week to come in one day and read some English words to the kids. I just finished up there, and it was literally about 20 minutes of me teaching them how to pronounce English words that were in their little workbooks. Thinks like apple, butterfly, green, feet, brother, etc. Italians absolutely cannot make a “th” sound because in their language they always keep their tongue behind their teeth. So when I tried to teach the “th” for “brother” and “three” they all sounded pretty ridiculous. The teacher kept sticking her tongue out way too far and the kids kept spitting.
Alright, that’s about it for now. I have the rest of the weekend mostly free, so maybe you’ll hear some good stories or maybe you won’t. Baci ciao
But then a miracle happened. We went to the second school and were brainstorming ways to get out early. I suggested we go to the supermercato and get some treats, so we could walk in with goodies, say thanks and good-bye and leave. Katy went and got some stuff, and as we walked down the hall to the classroom it was eerily quiet. At that point David said out loud “wouldn’t it be great if they weren’t here.” And right then we look in our classroom, and it’s completely empty. It was an absolute miracle, the gods heard us!! I like to think carma paid us back for never slapping any of those kids by giving us our last day off. We wrote a little note on the board, something like “Good-bye! ~Gli Americani” then split the snacks amongst ourselves and booked it the hell out of there before they came back.
When I came home I had the best lunch. She made boiled potatoes and fresh grown Italian green beans, and mixed them together. Simple, but so, so good. I was pretty psyched to eat Italian green beans in Italy.
In class we had an exam, which again took me probably under 20 minutes. If we don’t all 4.0 these classes I will be shocked. Then I hung around for a few hours and watched the end of my Grey’s Anatomy finale from the other day; it took me an hour to watch the last 10 minutes, but it was so worth it. Finally at 6pm we had a short lecture with Ruggero followed by a demonstration by Zona Briganti (Enrico’s band). They came in and played us some songs then each talked a little about their instruments and their music, etc. The dancer for the group explained the basics of tarantella, then asked if anyone wanted to come up and try. Of course, Matteo, the class suck-up, jumps right up there. It was pretty hysterical. Then afterward I walked home with Enrico and one or two others from the group. Yep, that’s right, officially a groupie…
Later that night I uscire’d once again with Enrico. We met some of his friends in the Villa, grabbed a bench and just chilled there for the night. They spoke nearly the entire time in Roglianese dialect, and I did not understand a single word. It sounds like a mix of Italian and Greek to me, seriously messed up. But we must have sat there for more than two hours, and even though I was just kind of half listening it was a fun night.
Finally, to sum everything up, this morning I went on a special little outing. Manuel’s teacher at the kindergarten asked me earlier this week to come in one day and read some English words to the kids. I just finished up there, and it was literally about 20 minutes of me teaching them how to pronounce English words that were in their little workbooks. Thinks like apple, butterfly, green, feet, brother, etc. Italians absolutely cannot make a “th” sound because in their language they always keep their tongue behind their teeth. So when I tried to teach the “th” for “brother” and “three” they all sounded pretty ridiculous. The teacher kept sticking her tongue out way too far and the kids kept spitting.
Alright, that’s about it for now. I have the rest of the weekend mostly free, so maybe you’ll hear some good stories or maybe you won’t. Baci ciao
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Spazzatura
It’s getting harder and harder to bring myself to update this thing. I pretty much do the same thing every day here. In the mornings we get terrorized by first graders, then come home and eat way too much, then rest a little and go to class. After class I surf the internet, which lately has meant catching up on some Gray’s Anatomy, then come home and eat yet again. Finally I finish the day with a shower then uscire with Enrico. So there you have it.
The last few days I’ve been trying to also update my Italian journal, which will serve as our final project for Giuseppe’s class. Yesterday I had to meet with him and show him where I’m at before I turn it in next week. So I’ve been trying to catch up on a month in Rogliano as well as doodling in it to make it look personal. I printed out all my blog entries for May and summarized those into Italian. It was a pretty daunting task, I’m still only up to the 8th of May.
Sunday we went once again to the beach. I spent the morning working on my journal, then we left around 11 to go to the grandparent’s house for lunch. I again stuffed myself, except this time it was with chicken breast and French fries! And the nephew Giuseppe, who was a real jerk last time, was a little tiny bit more courteous this time. We started talking about music, and he thought I had good taste—except the guy likes Avril Lavigne so his judgment is evidently questionable. After lunch it was straight on to the beach in Falerna, about 20 minutes from Rogliano. I slept under the umbrella for a bit while the rest of the family cooked themselves. Then I joined them in the sun, and soon after in the water. This time we were on the Mediterranean, and the water was quite a bit warmer than the last time we went to the beach. It was also surprisingly salty; I don’t know if it was the extra salt or the extra fat that made me float so well. And when I took a shower that night I could taste the salt in the water that came off my hair. We ended up playing catch with my rubber duck (paperella) and with a soccer ball, then went back on the sand for a few more hours in the sun. We didn’t get home until about 8pm. But the best part was that I didn’t burn a single bit.
Finally, the only other notable part of the week has been some issue with the trash bins in the neighborhood (called spazzatura). Across the street there were a few dumpsters for the people who live her to put their trash in. As far as I can tell from what I pick up while they yell at each other in Italian, there are people who don’t live on this street coming by and dropping off their garbage. So much so that it’s overflowing onto the street next to the bin. I really don’t see what the big deal is, but Marilena and others have taken to calling people out when they come by with trash in hand. When they have “discussions” with each other here, it always sounds like they’re fighting. Absolutely every time. Then at the end of their talk they say friendly things along the lines of ‘bye, see you soon, take care.’ A few times I’ve asked Marilena afterward if they were arguing or not, and she always says no, in fact that’s a friend of hers. Anyways, can’t get used to how they talk to each other here.
The trash issue has turned into a real crisis, though again I don’t see the big deal. Today a cop even came by and the neighbors all complained about the happenings with the trash. Yesterday the trash guys took the dumpsters away (don’t have a clue why), and now when people walk by with stuff to throw out Marilena and others have to tell them to go home or “talk” to them when they leave it on the ground. The trash guys also went around trying to explain recycling the other day, and passed out handouts about what goes with what. The family seemed unsure, so I said I’d help. So far they’re kind of struggling with it; they keep asking me if different things can go in different bins. But it’ll be nice to finally be able to recycle in the house. I’m so institutionalized, every time I threw away a glass bottle or water bottle I felt incredibly guilty. Walking home the other day Kevin threw some of my trash on the ground, and I stopped and picked it up, and without thinking told him “Common Kevin! I’m from Seattle, that’s basically against my religion.” Then I had to pause and translate it so he’d understand…
Ok I think that’s all I’ve got for now. Manuel told me to tell you all "vi salutano Manuel e Kevin" (Manuel and Kevin say hi). Ciao
The last few days I’ve been trying to also update my Italian journal, which will serve as our final project for Giuseppe’s class. Yesterday I had to meet with him and show him where I’m at before I turn it in next week. So I’ve been trying to catch up on a month in Rogliano as well as doodling in it to make it look personal. I printed out all my blog entries for May and summarized those into Italian. It was a pretty daunting task, I’m still only up to the 8th of May.
Sunday we went once again to the beach. I spent the morning working on my journal, then we left around 11 to go to the grandparent’s house for lunch. I again stuffed myself, except this time it was with chicken breast and French fries! And the nephew Giuseppe, who was a real jerk last time, was a little tiny bit more courteous this time. We started talking about music, and he thought I had good taste—except the guy likes Avril Lavigne so his judgment is evidently questionable. After lunch it was straight on to the beach in Falerna, about 20 minutes from Rogliano. I slept under the umbrella for a bit while the rest of the family cooked themselves. Then I joined them in the sun, and soon after in the water. This time we were on the Mediterranean, and the water was quite a bit warmer than the last time we went to the beach. It was also surprisingly salty; I don’t know if it was the extra salt or the extra fat that made me float so well. And when I took a shower that night I could taste the salt in the water that came off my hair. We ended up playing catch with my rubber duck (paperella) and with a soccer ball, then went back on the sand for a few more hours in the sun. We didn’t get home until about 8pm. But the best part was that I didn’t burn a single bit.
Finally, the only other notable part of the week has been some issue with the trash bins in the neighborhood (called spazzatura). Across the street there were a few dumpsters for the people who live her to put their trash in. As far as I can tell from what I pick up while they yell at each other in Italian, there are people who don’t live on this street coming by and dropping off their garbage. So much so that it’s overflowing onto the street next to the bin. I really don’t see what the big deal is, but Marilena and others have taken to calling people out when they come by with trash in hand. When they have “discussions” with each other here, it always sounds like they’re fighting. Absolutely every time. Then at the end of their talk they say friendly things along the lines of ‘bye, see you soon, take care.’ A few times I’ve asked Marilena afterward if they were arguing or not, and she always says no, in fact that’s a friend of hers. Anyways, can’t get used to how they talk to each other here.
The trash issue has turned into a real crisis, though again I don’t see the big deal. Today a cop even came by and the neighbors all complained about the happenings with the trash. Yesterday the trash guys took the dumpsters away (don’t have a clue why), and now when people walk by with stuff to throw out Marilena and others have to tell them to go home or “talk” to them when they leave it on the ground. The trash guys also went around trying to explain recycling the other day, and passed out handouts about what goes with what. The family seemed unsure, so I said I’d help. So far they’re kind of struggling with it; they keep asking me if different things can go in different bins. But it’ll be nice to finally be able to recycle in the house. I’m so institutionalized, every time I threw away a glass bottle or water bottle I felt incredibly guilty. Walking home the other day Kevin threw some of my trash on the ground, and I stopped and picked it up, and without thinking told him “Common Kevin! I’m from Seattle, that’s basically against my religion.” Then I had to pause and translate it so he’d understand…
Ok I think that’s all I’ve got for now. Manuel told me to tell you all "vi salutano Manuel e Kevin" (Manuel and Kevin say hi). Ciao
Friday, May 22, 2009
"If this is Italy, and my ass is Venice..."
Wow, I haven’t posted for a full week. I think that’s the longest I’ve gone without writing during my whole time here. Sorry, I’ve kept busy. Not sure with what really, but apparently I have. Alright, let’s get right into it then.
We left bright and early Friday morning for our weekend in Sicily. Before leaving, Marilena tried to send a ridiculous amount of food with me. It got to the point where I had a full sack lunch packed, and as she kept putting more snacks in the bag I had to follwe her and put them back. But when we saw everyone at the bus station, they all had their own gigantic bags of food too, it was pretty comical. At 7:20am, Sara, Faith and I were all on the little train to take us from Rogliano to the next town over to pick up the bus. Once in this town, called Piano Lago, I decided to use the station bathroom while waiting for the bus. When I opened the outdoor bathroom door, I saw this massive black spider crawl across the floor. Of course I flipped out. Then I called Sarah, literally on my cell phone because she wasn’t in earshot, and had her come over to play man and kill it for me. I stood outside the bathroom and listened while she killed the little bugger, from what I heard it took at least 7 whacks with her shoe. Told you it was big…
The bus ride was pretty uneventful. At the southern tip of Italy we had to take a ferry across to Sicily, and it felt like going to Bainbridge on a school bus. Molto déjà vu. It only took about 15 minutes, but in that time we all got off the bus and went on deck. A few of us went to the front of the boat for some extreme wind. It was like being in a wind tunnel, my clothes were blowing off and after a while I couldn’t see or breathe. I could also lean about 45 degrees forward and the wind held me up. Afterward, my hair has never been so tangled, I think I ripped about half of it out of my head while trying to comb it out later.
Once we got off the bus in Taormina, a hill town in eastern Sicily, it was a real bitch trying to get to our hostel. First we had to take a small bus the rest of the way up the hill into the actual town. Then we got lost looking for the city bus station. Once we finally made it onto one of those buses, we took it down the hill to the next town over called Giardini Naxos. Our hostel was sufficient, but evidently way out of the way of everything.
As soon as we all got our rooms, a few of us walked to the supermercato. We didn’t realize that a 1 kilometer walk to the supermercato would be as long as it was. And I don’t know what it is about Sicily, but we have never been honked at so much as there. Not even in Rome. Literally every other car honked or yelled things at us. It actually annoyed the hell out of me.
After our little trip for groceries, we all crashed and took a nap. This was followed by a massive dinner. We came back and I was so full I couldn’t move. Faith joked about going out to the balcony and throwing up into the boat parked below. This then became an ongoing joke for the weekend.
Saturday morning we woke up early to go with Christina to Mt. Etna. Because the universe hates me, and I guess knows that we’re from Seattle, it rained all day Saturday. But for some reason we wanted to see Etna regardless, so we got on the bus we had taken from Taormina the previous day. Of course we miss our stop, and instead just ride it all the way into Taormina to chill and get breakfast. This worked out, since we spent the rest of the day in Taormina and forgot Etna. We did some shopping, rode this wire gondola deal (called a funivia in Italian) which had a great view minus the rain. We then had a great lunch at what was said to be the best restaurant in town. Finally we finished the day by checking out the Greek amphitheater there. By then the rain was off and on, and while off the view was incredible. But I was absolutely spent at that point and really just wanted to go home.
On the bus back, I had the best moment. Taormina is kind of a touristy town, especially for Germans. While on the bus a British couple got on and started asking the driver where some hotel was. The driver of course didn’t speak English, and could only answer them in Italian. The couple looked so freaked out, so I leaned forward and translated for them what he had said. I was so proud of myself and my Italian. Then when we got off, I let them know this was their stop and what direction to go. Seriously, I felt pretty accomplished.
Once we finally made it back to the hostel, we all decided to take a little rest. I was still full from the massive lunch with no plans on eating dinner, and so were the rest of them. That is how our rest turned into sleep. We were asleep by nine. Faith woke up at 3, couldn’t get back to sleep, then at 5 asked if I wanted to walk with her to see the sun rise. Of course I said no :) I did go the next morning though, don’t worry. Anyways, that’s how we party: sightseeing then in bed by nine. Pathetic.
The next morning we slept in, went to the grocery store and bought snacks, then hit the beach. We chilled there, got some sun. While on the beach, Faith tried to explain to me where some Italian town was, and used her leg as a map. I believe the exact quote was "if this is Italy, and my ass is Venice, it's right here." I about died laughing, the quote of the weekend for me! The water was too cold and rough to swim in, so instead I dipped my feet in when I got hot. We then went back to the beach for dinner; we specifically chose this restaurant because there was garlic bread on the menu. It wasn’t even very good garlic bread, but the rest of the food was pretty decent. We ordered cocktails, and got some seriously strong pina coldas. Then I got the first full, complete meal I’ve eaten at a restaurant while in Italy: swordfish served with French fries and salad. It was glorious. We finished the evening with some tiramisu.
Back at the hostel, we chilled up on the roof for a while looking at the stars and fireworks. I’m not sure why there were so many distant fireworks, I can only assume from festivals for saints and whatnot. Then while on the roof, we thought we heard a mouse scurrying around; of course we flipped out. We tested the theory by throwing one of our Pringles near a hole we saw and waiting for something to pop out. Nothing ever did.
The next day, Monday, was the day we went back. Basically took all the same buses in reverse. I was pretty ready to get back to my routine, but when we were on the ferry floating away from that beautiful island I didn’t want to leave anymore. I’m definitely going back at some point and exploring more.
When I finally got home to Rogliano, I showered and did homework and went to bed. Nothing more exciting than that.
We left bright and early Friday morning for our weekend in Sicily. Before leaving, Marilena tried to send a ridiculous amount of food with me. It got to the point where I had a full sack lunch packed, and as she kept putting more snacks in the bag I had to follwe her and put them back. But when we saw everyone at the bus station, they all had their own gigantic bags of food too, it was pretty comical. At 7:20am, Sara, Faith and I were all on the little train to take us from Rogliano to the next town over to pick up the bus. Once in this town, called Piano Lago, I decided to use the station bathroom while waiting for the bus. When I opened the outdoor bathroom door, I saw this massive black spider crawl across the floor. Of course I flipped out. Then I called Sarah, literally on my cell phone because she wasn’t in earshot, and had her come over to play man and kill it for me. I stood outside the bathroom and listened while she killed the little bugger, from what I heard it took at least 7 whacks with her shoe. Told you it was big…
The bus ride was pretty uneventful. At the southern tip of Italy we had to take a ferry across to Sicily, and it felt like going to Bainbridge on a school bus. Molto déjà vu. It only took about 15 minutes, but in that time we all got off the bus and went on deck. A few of us went to the front of the boat for some extreme wind. It was like being in a wind tunnel, my clothes were blowing off and after a while I couldn’t see or breathe. I could also lean about 45 degrees forward and the wind held me up. Afterward, my hair has never been so tangled, I think I ripped about half of it out of my head while trying to comb it out later.
Once we got off the bus in Taormina, a hill town in eastern Sicily, it was a real bitch trying to get to our hostel. First we had to take a small bus the rest of the way up the hill into the actual town. Then we got lost looking for the city bus station. Once we finally made it onto one of those buses, we took it down the hill to the next town over called Giardini Naxos. Our hostel was sufficient, but evidently way out of the way of everything.
As soon as we all got our rooms, a few of us walked to the supermercato. We didn’t realize that a 1 kilometer walk to the supermercato would be as long as it was. And I don’t know what it is about Sicily, but we have never been honked at so much as there. Not even in Rome. Literally every other car honked or yelled things at us. It actually annoyed the hell out of me.
After our little trip for groceries, we all crashed and took a nap. This was followed by a massive dinner. We came back and I was so full I couldn’t move. Faith joked about going out to the balcony and throwing up into the boat parked below. This then became an ongoing joke for the weekend.
Saturday morning we woke up early to go with Christina to Mt. Etna. Because the universe hates me, and I guess knows that we’re from Seattle, it rained all day Saturday. But for some reason we wanted to see Etna regardless, so we got on the bus we had taken from Taormina the previous day. Of course we miss our stop, and instead just ride it all the way into Taormina to chill and get breakfast. This worked out, since we spent the rest of the day in Taormina and forgot Etna. We did some shopping, rode this wire gondola deal (called a funivia in Italian) which had a great view minus the rain. We then had a great lunch at what was said to be the best restaurant in town. Finally we finished the day by checking out the Greek amphitheater there. By then the rain was off and on, and while off the view was incredible. But I was absolutely spent at that point and really just wanted to go home.
On the bus back, I had the best moment. Taormina is kind of a touristy town, especially for Germans. While on the bus a British couple got on and started asking the driver where some hotel was. The driver of course didn’t speak English, and could only answer them in Italian. The couple looked so freaked out, so I leaned forward and translated for them what he had said. I was so proud of myself and my Italian. Then when we got off, I let them know this was their stop and what direction to go. Seriously, I felt pretty accomplished.
Once we finally made it back to the hostel, we all decided to take a little rest. I was still full from the massive lunch with no plans on eating dinner, and so were the rest of them. That is how our rest turned into sleep. We were asleep by nine. Faith woke up at 3, couldn’t get back to sleep, then at 5 asked if I wanted to walk with her to see the sun rise. Of course I said no :) I did go the next morning though, don’t worry. Anyways, that’s how we party: sightseeing then in bed by nine. Pathetic.
The next morning we slept in, went to the grocery store and bought snacks, then hit the beach. We chilled there, got some sun. While on the beach, Faith tried to explain to me where some Italian town was, and used her leg as a map. I believe the exact quote was "if this is Italy, and my ass is Venice, it's right here." I about died laughing, the quote of the weekend for me! The water was too cold and rough to swim in, so instead I dipped my feet in when I got hot. We then went back to the beach for dinner; we specifically chose this restaurant because there was garlic bread on the menu. It wasn’t even very good garlic bread, but the rest of the food was pretty decent. We ordered cocktails, and got some seriously strong pina coldas. Then I got the first full, complete meal I’ve eaten at a restaurant while in Italy: swordfish served with French fries and salad. It was glorious. We finished the evening with some tiramisu.
Back at the hostel, we chilled up on the roof for a while looking at the stars and fireworks. I’m not sure why there were so many distant fireworks, I can only assume from festivals for saints and whatnot. Then while on the roof, we thought we heard a mouse scurrying around; of course we flipped out. We tested the theory by throwing one of our Pringles near a hole we saw and waiting for something to pop out. Nothing ever did.
The next day, Monday, was the day we went back. Basically took all the same buses in reverse. I was pretty ready to get back to my routine, but when we were on the ferry floating away from that beautiful island I didn’t want to leave anymore. I’m definitely going back at some point and exploring more.
When I finally got home to Rogliano, I showered and did homework and went to bed. Nothing more exciting than that.
Back to life
Tuesday, vacation was really, truly over. At the elementary schools we taught the kids a few verbs then played at least 30 minutes of Simon Says. I think they liked it. Except at the second school, it was yet again another FML day. During Simon Says these 4 or 5 boys, the trouble makers, were running all over the place, including out of the classroom and down the hallway. The teacher (who did very little, just sat there and looked scary. Totally an empty threat) at one point sat in front of/barricaded the door. Fifteen minutes before we were supposed to leave, we were more than done. I leaned over to the teacher and asked if it was ok if we finished early because the class was going crazy—seriously, you have no idea how out of control it got. She seemed kind of surprised, yelled at the kids a little, something about how we won’t come back if they don’t behave. Then she looked at me like ‘ok, continue’. So needless to say, we didn’t leave early.
The only other thing I remember about Tuesday was uscire-ing again with Enrico. We drove around for a while, then he asked what I wanted to do. Of course I had no idea, so we just went up to the villa and walked around. There we met the rest of the people from the band, and went together to a local pub to sit and chill. It was a little awkward because it was all in seriously fast Italian, and poor Enrico obviously felt like he had to lean over once and a while and slowly explain what had been said. But what made it more awkward was that his brother and his bro’s girlfriend were there, and got into this major fight. As I said, awkward, but also seriously fun to listen to in Italian.
Wednesday we didn’t have the morning free like we usually do. Instead we met up and went down the hill a little ways to meet a bee keeper and find out how he makes honey. At this place there were a few dogs and cats, and this insanely cute puppy. We were all way more absorbed in the puppy then in the honey-making process. Until he started messing around with bees and such, and there were hundreds of angry but smoke-doped bees flying overhead; then we paid attention. Afterward we went to the place where he purifies the honey, which is literally right next to the second elementary school. As soon as we took that turn to the school, there was this collective shutter and feeling of “wait, why are they taking us here? Get me off this bus!”
The honey was good, but tasted way different. I went home after and ate homemade gnocci. It was fabulous, but I was (again) too full to move. I swear, these people are deliberately trying to fatten us up. Like livestock.
After was class as usual. Then I watched two episodes of Greys Anatomy online, which I have missed tremendously. I think now I only have 2 or 3 episodes to go before I’m all caught up. Later I went out yet again with Enrico. It’s nice because it’s something new to do, something to get me out of the house. We drove to Piano Lago and got gelato, then drove around Rogliano for a while, again pretty chill. I can’t tell if this guy is interested or not. I originally thought maybe because he finished almost all his text messages with baci (which means “kisses”). But when I asked Marilena about that she explained that this greeting is super common in Italy and means nothing like it would in America. She said that friends always write that to each other, and it’s no big deal. So now I really have no clue what’s up with this guy. Well there you go, the full update.
And finally, today I didn’t teach at the elementary school. I showed up, along with one other girl in my group of 5, and there was no way we were going in there the two of us. So I went and explained to the teacher that my group was sick and I’ll be back Monday. Then I had a nice free morning! After classes, once I finally got home around 7pm Marilena told me we were having dinner at Carmella’s house. It was good, I stuffed myself again. I don’t try to, but they keep telling me to have a little taste of this, or a small bit of that and at the end I’m a balloon. Kevin and Manuel were being really weird tonight, and I was a little less than patient. So I spent most of the time talking in English to Caitlin. It was nice not to think for a while. Then Kevin started playing a Britney Spears song he had on his phone (not sure why he had it) and the kids thought it was extremely entertaining to watch Caitlin and I sing along in English. They kept playing more and more American songs to see if we could sing along. That was actually a lot of fun. I was supposed to uscire yet again tonight, but I am to exhausted. So instead here I am getting you all up to speed. Ok I think this is enough for now (basta così in Italian), ciao tutti.
*Also a note: Sorry for not putting pictures for you all to see on Picasa, I've been uploading pretty exclusively to Facebook with my precious little internet time. But I'll try and get Picasa all updated so you can see all the new pictures. Enjoy!
The only other thing I remember about Tuesday was uscire-ing again with Enrico. We drove around for a while, then he asked what I wanted to do. Of course I had no idea, so we just went up to the villa and walked around. There we met the rest of the people from the band, and went together to a local pub to sit and chill. It was a little awkward because it was all in seriously fast Italian, and poor Enrico obviously felt like he had to lean over once and a while and slowly explain what had been said. But what made it more awkward was that his brother and his bro’s girlfriend were there, and got into this major fight. As I said, awkward, but also seriously fun to listen to in Italian.
Wednesday we didn’t have the morning free like we usually do. Instead we met up and went down the hill a little ways to meet a bee keeper and find out how he makes honey. At this place there were a few dogs and cats, and this insanely cute puppy. We were all way more absorbed in the puppy then in the honey-making process. Until he started messing around with bees and such, and there were hundreds of angry but smoke-doped bees flying overhead; then we paid attention. Afterward we went to the place where he purifies the honey, which is literally right next to the second elementary school. As soon as we took that turn to the school, there was this collective shutter and feeling of “wait, why are they taking us here? Get me off this bus!”
The honey was good, but tasted way different. I went home after and ate homemade gnocci. It was fabulous, but I was (again) too full to move. I swear, these people are deliberately trying to fatten us up. Like livestock.
After was class as usual. Then I watched two episodes of Greys Anatomy online, which I have missed tremendously. I think now I only have 2 or 3 episodes to go before I’m all caught up. Later I went out yet again with Enrico. It’s nice because it’s something new to do, something to get me out of the house. We drove to Piano Lago and got gelato, then drove around Rogliano for a while, again pretty chill. I can’t tell if this guy is interested or not. I originally thought maybe because he finished almost all his text messages with baci (which means “kisses”). But when I asked Marilena about that she explained that this greeting is super common in Italy and means nothing like it would in America. She said that friends always write that to each other, and it’s no big deal. So now I really have no clue what’s up with this guy. Well there you go, the full update.
And finally, today I didn’t teach at the elementary school. I showed up, along with one other girl in my group of 5, and there was no way we were going in there the two of us. So I went and explained to the teacher that my group was sick and I’ll be back Monday. Then I had a nice free morning! After classes, once I finally got home around 7pm Marilena told me we were having dinner at Carmella’s house. It was good, I stuffed myself again. I don’t try to, but they keep telling me to have a little taste of this, or a small bit of that and at the end I’m a balloon. Kevin and Manuel were being really weird tonight, and I was a little less than patient. So I spent most of the time talking in English to Caitlin. It was nice not to think for a while. Then Kevin started playing a Britney Spears song he had on his phone (not sure why he had it) and the kids thought it was extremely entertaining to watch Caitlin and I sing along in English. They kept playing more and more American songs to see if we could sing along. That was actually a lot of fun. I was supposed to uscire yet again tonight, but I am to exhausted. So instead here I am getting you all up to speed. Ok I think this is enough for now (basta così in Italian), ciao tutti.
*Also a note: Sorry for not putting pictures for you all to see on Picasa, I've been uploading pretty exclusively to Facebook with my precious little internet time. But I'll try and get Picasa all updated so you can see all the new pictures. Enjoy!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Prima il fine settimana
Ciao tutti. I’m off to spend a nice, long weekend on a beach in Taormina, Sicily tomorrow, and thus should post before I can’t write for 4 days. First off, we’re just about half way done with our time here, which means just a little more than a month till I’m home! I love Italy, but now that I’m living with a family I feel like I'd rather be at my own home with my own fam and friends. So as of June 21st I’m all yours!
Also, the sunburn has now just about healed and I’m a nice crispy brown all over. I’m not used to seeing myself this tan. I kind of like it, I look healthy now. And though I’m using sunscreen religiously, I am sprouting some serious freckles on my nose for the first time. I’m a little worried that in Sicilia they’ll all merge into one big mass…
The last day or two my host brothers have somehow managed to get me to kick a soccer ball around with them. I told them I’m not brava and that they had to teach me, but I don’t think they really understood the degree of pathetic I was talking about. I mean I can kick the ball a good 75% of the time, but it definitely doesn’t go where it’s supposed to. Manuel kind of took the role of goalie guarding this garage door, and at one point I way missed him and he screamed my name and did this great Italian hand gesture that basically means “what the hell are you doing?!”
Speaking of Manuel, this is now my new favorite picture. Ever.
Yep, I taught him that. They still don’t get why I think it’s funny, though. Wait, Enrico understood it.
OH that’s right I haven’t written about Enrico yet. You’ll enjoy this. So remember how I said I met those guys in the band last weekend, and we went to see them at the villa but they didn’t show? Enrico was one of those two or three guys, one of the ones that live next door. I saw him a few times while I was leaving/returning to the house Wednesday morning, and eventually waved and said ciao. I guess later that day Enrico came up to my host mom and asked if I was ‘allowed’ (I think that’s the general translation) to uscire. She said ask her yourself, which he definitely did when I returned from classes. I told him I was leaving all weekend, but I was down for going out, said I’d call a few girl friends and he would call a friend or two. Of course none of my friends wanted to go out Wednesday night, but Marilena told me I should still go.
And I went. Instead of the fare una passeggiata type of uscire, which involves walking back and forth down the street, we andare in giro-ed. That one’s apparently a little different, you drive back and forth across and around town in a car. I actually enjoyed it. And they wore seatbelts! Well, at least in the front. My standards for guys here, or even just friends are simply 1) how well can I understand them when they speak to me and 2) do they carry the conversation well because I can’t do that too well just yet. Mostly just good at answering when spoken to. And that’s what our giro in macchina basically was; a nice tranquillo night.
Enrico asked if I wanted to uscire again after Sicily, and this time I will actually bring friends for his buds. There was talk of going to the beach and chilling down there, grabbing dinner. Yay new Italian friends!
Alright now I have to get ready to leave. I think it's rather ironic that in order to spend a relaxing weekend on the beach, I have to get up at 6 and leave by 7. But apparently that's easy for me now since I wake up on my own way too early here. Yesterday I was awake at 6:30 and there was nothing I could do about it. Maybe if I'm lucky it will be this easy to wake up back in Seattle, especially with my 8:30 chem class all summer. Fun. Arrivederci!
Also, the sunburn has now just about healed and I’m a nice crispy brown all over. I’m not used to seeing myself this tan. I kind of like it, I look healthy now. And though I’m using sunscreen religiously, I am sprouting some serious freckles on my nose for the first time. I’m a little worried that in Sicilia they’ll all merge into one big mass…
The last day or two my host brothers have somehow managed to get me to kick a soccer ball around with them. I told them I’m not brava and that they had to teach me, but I don’t think they really understood the degree of pathetic I was talking about. I mean I can kick the ball a good 75% of the time, but it definitely doesn’t go where it’s supposed to. Manuel kind of took the role of goalie guarding this garage door, and at one point I way missed him and he screamed my name and did this great Italian hand gesture that basically means “what the hell are you doing?!”
Speaking of Manuel, this is now my new favorite picture. Ever.
Yep, I taught him that. They still don’t get why I think it’s funny, though. Wait, Enrico understood it.
OH that’s right I haven’t written about Enrico yet. You’ll enjoy this. So remember how I said I met those guys in the band last weekend, and we went to see them at the villa but they didn’t show? Enrico was one of those two or three guys, one of the ones that live next door. I saw him a few times while I was leaving/returning to the house Wednesday morning, and eventually waved and said ciao. I guess later that day Enrico came up to my host mom and asked if I was ‘allowed’ (I think that’s the general translation) to uscire. She said ask her yourself, which he definitely did when I returned from classes. I told him I was leaving all weekend, but I was down for going out, said I’d call a few girl friends and he would call a friend or two. Of course none of my friends wanted to go out Wednesday night, but Marilena told me I should still go.
And I went. Instead of the fare una passeggiata type of uscire, which involves walking back and forth down the street, we andare in giro-ed. That one’s apparently a little different, you drive back and forth across and around town in a car. I actually enjoyed it. And they wore seatbelts! Well, at least in the front. My standards for guys here, or even just friends are simply 1) how well can I understand them when they speak to me and 2) do they carry the conversation well because I can’t do that too well just yet. Mostly just good at answering when spoken to. And that’s what our giro in macchina basically was; a nice tranquillo night.
Enrico asked if I wanted to uscire again after Sicily, and this time I will actually bring friends for his buds. There was talk of going to the beach and chilling down there, grabbing dinner. Yay new Italian friends!
Alright now I have to get ready to leave. I think it's rather ironic that in order to spend a relaxing weekend on the beach, I have to get up at 6 and leave by 7. But apparently that's easy for me now since I wake up on my own way too early here. Yesterday I was awake at 6:30 and there was nothing I could do about it. Maybe if I'm lucky it will be this easy to wake up back in Seattle, especially with my 8:30 chem class all summer. Fun. Arrivederci!
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