Si mangia bene in Italia

Well, I am officially the worst blogger ever at keeping up with posts! 

Let’s rewind a bit. Two weeks ago I went to visit Abbey for the weekend in beautiful Firenze! I miss Tuscany so it was really great to be back. Abbey was a darling friend as usual and celebrated my birthday with me! She cooked me a delicious dinner of pasta with fresh cream sauce (in honor of the cooking lesson we had with my mom last year) and chicken with mozzarella, then she surprised me with a homemade cake! It was chocolate coconut with nutella and chopped hazelnuts on top with adorable candles- SO TASTY!  She then showered me with presents and we watched Bridesmaids- hilarious movie! The next day we walked around Florence in some really nice weather and I ate the most delicious panino eva! (Prosciutto, Pecorino, Pesto…the 3 P’s!) Near Abbey’s apartment they had a street full of artists displaying their work and some painting as they sat there. It was all so beautiful and I had a nice time walking around the city. That night we went out and about with some of Abbey’s friends from the program and it was a good time! It was a much needed visit to Florence as I was still getting settled in Corsico and hadn’t been around anyone my age. 

There is, however, quite an epic story that I have yet to mention about this weekend to Firenze…the ENTIRE process of getting there and back. Taking the train was an absolute, utter fiasco and I definitely learned the hard way. I took a train from Milan to Firenze and did not realize that it only stopped at one station in Firenze. It wasn’t the name of the station where Abbey lives so I stayed on the train assuming it would stop at the other stations. It most certainly did not and I ended up in Arezzo 45 minutes later. It was so stressful because I had no idea where I was or when the next stop would be. I didn’t freak out but I wanted to! From there I sprinted around the station and caught a train to the CORRECT station in Firenze with 2 minutes to spare before it left. All of this meant that poor Abbey was left waiting in the station in Firenze for me for well over three hours. Yes…THREE HOURS! I felt so incredibly bad to make her wait that long by herself and to take away from our Friday night. Needless to say it was glorious to see her face when I finally arrived!

Well…you might think, okay, could have been worse, now you know how the trains work. WELL, once again screwed up the train home on Sunday! I was trying to take a train that would connect me to that station in Florence from the way down so I could head back to Milan for a cheaper price. Note to self: FIND A CONDUCTOR OR WORKER BEFORE THE TRAIN LEAVES. I got on the wrong train and finally talked to someone on it after a few stops and figured out that it was definitely not the right one! Go figure. I got off at the next station and tried to figure out where in the world I was and how I could get back to the main station in Firenze. After deciphering the hieroglyphics the Italians call a train schedule, I realize that the next train I could take wouldn’t be coming for another hour. It was a Sunday and I was at an incredibly small, barren station in the outskirts of Florence but at least the sun was shining. Some time passes and I am hanging out, doing my thing, and the PA systems comes on “The train will be 50 minutes behind schedule”. Great, wanted to work on my tan anyways. Eventually an American couple comes to the train station and I started to talk to them, relieved that people actually existed at this station. They were from Boulder, CO but the woman went to Smith College and they knew people who went to Amherst College and Hampshire College- small world, huh?! They were the NICEST people in the world and really helped the time pass until the next train came. Not only did they help pass the time but they were serious moral support. Get this- I had been sitting across the tracks before they came and crossed over to the main side of the station when they arrived to get into the sunshine and also try to talk to them. Across from us, there were a bunch of bushes and trees and you couldn’t see anything behind them. ALL OF A SUDDEN, we hear a pack of dogs barking their heads off. We couldn’t see them but we sure could hear them! They continued to viciously bark for about 10 minutes…then we hear a squeal, as in a boar or a pig….then silence….then THREE GUN SHOTS….then more barking!!  Needless to say it was a little unsettling and I was happy to have company. I eventually made it back in Milan in one piece! 

In a few hours I am heading back to Firenze to celebrate Abbey’s birthday!!!!!! Can’t wait to see her again and to get some redemption the damn trains! Haha, now I will be an expert. In my little notebook I copied down every station name and time of arrival from Milano to Firenze so no excuses! We will also be heading back to Siena on Monday to visit our old citta` and see Elena, our amazing program director from study abroad. I am so excited to return!!

Last weekend was amazing! I went to Lodi to visit Patrizia and Francesco and fell in love with the town! It has a very old, historic feel to it and is home to some truly beautiful architecture with stone, wood, and marble everywhere. It was a great escape from the urban center that is Milano. The main Piazza in the middle of town was so beautiful! It has four main streets that lead to it and there is a beautiful church there which I was able to visit. The town itself was charming and I enjoyed walking around. Patrizia and Francesco took me out to a scrumptious Sicilian dinner where I died and went to heaven. We had gnocco fritto which are basically fried pastry puffs which we ate with salami and prosciutto etc. They were fresh and warm and SO delicious! I then ate two different pastas that were so savory and delicious and toped it all off with some grilled meat….and part of a cannoli =) It was a great dinner and on the way home we stopped at the pub for a beer and relaxed. All in all a very nice time in Lodi. 

The next day we went to San Donato and met up with Giovanna, Massimo, and the adorable Davide! Two of their friends came over and we headed north to an absolutely beautiful restaurant for a delicious Sunday meal.  There was an outside terrace that was gorgeous and had all of these different types of trees on display. The inside of the restaurant was even nicer and we had the most delicious meal! Antipasto to die for and then salads and the restaurants speciality- grilled meat! It was so so delicious and I could barely move when we left. I am so fortunate to have such welcoming and generous family here in Italy and I feel like I cannot thank them enough. They have been such an important part of adjusting to life here and I really feel fortunate. 

I finally connected with some girls from the program (Kathryn & Caitlin) who are teaching in Milan so that is good news! They are very sweet and we find ourselves experiencing the same challenges so it’s nice to have them around. On Thursday 11/3 we have a training day/meeting for all of the language assistants in Milan, so I will finally meet the others and hopefully get some good ideas for future lessons. 

The kids have been very hard to handle and I’ve learned that this is a typical problem, not just for me! The kids have no interest in school and there is absolutely NO DISCIPLINE in the school. I try my best to control the class but there is usually always noise and intervals of chaos haha. The teachers I work with are really nice so that helps. I just need to try and think of some lessons that they will be able to understand and be interested in. As of now I am teaching grades 1-3 this semester (in Italian high school they have grades 1-5) so it is the younger age group which explains some of the challenges. They really cannot speak or understand English at all so that definitely accounts for a lot…if they don’t understand they wil give up and not be interested anymore. SO I need to try some other approaches! All in all things are fine and I will start doing an afternoon conversation class with a few different grades for kids who want to become certified in English proficiency I guess you’d call it…so that will be nice to work with students who are actually motivated! =)

I will try to be better about updating! And HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

For more pictures here is a link to my pictures on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2053250210959.2100678.1235640003&type=1&l=c02d802e30

Milano, Mercato, Mamma Mia

Ciao!

Friday I headed into Milano with Patrizia! It was awesome and we walked around for hours. We met up with her friend who is studying to be a tour guide in Milano. She was so sweet and was having fun practicing her English with me. Not to mention it was like getting a free tour! I had my first gelato of the trip with them (bacio, stracciatella, panna) and got a few pictures, but mainly I was just taking it all in because I know I will be here a while and can go back for pictures. Patrizia was great and it was nice to be out of the apartment for a while. It's amazing how many models we passed walking around, a whoooole new world over here.

The beautiful Duomo

Every Saturday there is an open air market in the parking lot right behind my apartment. Fruits, veggies, underwear, candy, luggage, fish, anything you want you can likely find beneath one of the many awnings. Naturally I took a stroll down to browse and see what it was all about. Sadly, the one image scorched in my mind was not the colorful stand of flowers, the tomatoes that were rounded to perfection or the endless hunks of formaggi…but instead the outfit of an elderly woman. She must have been over 70 years old (& fake tanned for at least 30 of them) and was wearing an outfit that, the only way I know how to describe, resembled that of a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader- crazy tasseled white boots, lots of leg, not a lot of blue skirt, a ridiculous top, all topped off with stage makeup, hahaha. Of course no one else looked at her twice and I just had to laugh. So inappropriate in my opinion but I guess you can get away with that here!!

Picture of the market taken from my bedroom window

While on the subjects of markets, I will recap my weekend briefly. After this escapade at the market on Saturday I hopped on the bus and then 3 metro lines and headed to Giovanna and Massimo’s house for the weekend! They live in a gorgeous apartment and could not have been better hosts to me. I truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have them be so generous and loving and giving during my first couples days in Italy by myself. I had a great time playing with Davide and we did some grocery shopping and the only way I can describe the store atmosphere is APOCALYPSE ON THE HORIZON. The people are CRAZY!!! You cannot move through the aisles, people cut you off and slam into your cart and are yelling all over the store. According to Giovanna it is always like that on the weekends, the only way to avoid it is going at the crack of dawn.

Me and Davide

Today (Sunday) Patrizia and her husband Francesco came to Giovanna’s for lunch! We had pasta fagioli, a delicious meat loaf of sorts that was stuffed with cheese, salad, and of course some espresso- delicious. Patrizia and Francesco drove me back to Corsico which was EXTREMELY nice of them, but not a moment before we went to the market by Giovanna’s to buy some bikes for them! What a scene that was….we got there at the end of the market and there was more trash on the ground then I have EVER seen in my life. People and trucks flying around everywhere, vendors yelling at each other, flies swarming around, gypsies on the prowl (literally). We got the bike tent (some of them definitely stolen I think…) and after trying about 7 of them, Patrizia and Francesco each found one they liked and bought them. They were good bikes and they got a nice deal on them. The market scene was absolutely nuts. It was the polar opposite of the one by my house. I asked Patrizia if the area is always like that (trash wise) but she said only on Sundays when they have the market. Lord knows who cleans it up but bless their soul!

A few more observations about Italy:

1) Grandmas are always on a mission. They will elbow you and run you over and not feel a hint of remorse.

2) Drivers will basically sideswipe you or speed up as you walk across the crosswalk. Stop signs mean nothing. NYC drivers seem courteous in comparison.

3) The Italians HATE big bills. They will hassle you at the register for exact change or smaller bills. Anything over 10 euro might as well be covered in spit to them. If only the ATMs could realize this and not give me massive bills. I asked Carla about this and she said it is usually because they are weary of counterfeit money. I understand that but it doesn’t mean I am any less annoyed by this fact. It was like this 2 years ago when I was abroad butI guess I just forgot!

I am going to end here for now. I head to the school tomorrow at 11am and will sign some papers and who knows what else! I am excited to see what the school is like, meet people, know my schedule, and just get started in general! I’m nervous of course but I know it will be okay after tomorrow!

A dopo!