Hello Everyone!
While I might not be good at updating this blog, at least I have been consistent in it. I think my last update was in March, so I’ll catch you up on April!
• My grandmom, aunt, and second cousin came to visit. It was fun! We did things. I took pictures of us doing them. Having family visit is cute.
• I figured out that some pastries they make here are vegan. I went pretty wild over that. There are these crazy banana almond things that are paradise (I had to teach Paradise in class today).
• I finally tried the Indian restaurant in town. It was delicious but expensive.
Apparently, April was more boring than I thought. I also ate a lot of pizza and sat outside. The weather finally got nice. There were a ton of surprise rain attacks, but that is pretty normal for April.
May has been way more exciting than April already:
• I went to my first Italian disco on Friday. Laura’s friend just started a record label and her first band was playing, so we went to see them. It was on the lake and fancy. Outside, there was a pool that changed colors and a fake piano. There was also a scary German man who yelled at us for “making a fool of him” and pictures of naked men in the bathroom.
• I went to my second Italian disco on Saturday. There was a boy strip show at this one. They pretend they are in a locker room. On Tuesday, my 16 year old student and I realized we were both there. What a coincidence! I feel the same about Italian discos as I do American discos. Here is something that I just realized: I’ve started calling clubs discos. I feel good about that.
• Laura and I had a picnic with Franco and Melissa (who was visiting Laura from Spain) on Lake Garda. It was really hot and there was a lot of wine involved. Needless to say, I was asleep for most of it. Franco’s mom made us a potato and mushroom tort that I ate most of. I was awake for that.
• One of my classes ended last night, so tonight we are having a dinner! I made cookies. They are peanut butter and chocolate chip. This is the class I made pb&j sandwiches for, so I know they like peanut butter. Thankfully. Oh man, Shannon sent me a package and it had two huge cookies in it! They were delicious. I can’t wait to eat lots of sweet cookies when I come back!!
Okay I think that covers life pretty well. See you in less than two months!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
life
I have decided that it is too difficult to try to write about everything that has happened since I last updated, so I will pretend that I have been updating all along. And if you have been reading Laura’s blog, then you pretty much know what is going on anyway.
It is starting to feel like spring here! I am afraid that by saying that I am going to jinx it, but it has to be said. I didn’t even wear socks yesterday or today! I have realized that I really hate wearing socks. They are annoying and have to be washed too often.
I ate sushi finally this week! It was good but expensive. The restaurant was really swank and I almost felt underdressed in my jeans. The Italians were serious about their sushi and chopsticks. Also, Laura and I went to a Mexican restaurant last night. It was so good! They even had chips and salsa, but the basket of chips was so small that it was comical. The waitress there even knew what vegan was, so she helped me pick out dinner. I got so much food though that I couldn’t even finish my dinner. That never happens! AND taking home leftovers is against the cultural rules in Italy, so I just had to abandon them. But it was a fun night anyway.
Teaching is still really fun. I like pretty much all of my students. This week Laura and I are getting pizza with students from two of our classes at the bank. I am pretty excited about this event. I have this new student who is only 16 and intimidates me more than all my adult students. My adult students know that I don’t know everything, but I don’t think that she has come to that realization yet. And let me tell you, it is stressful being all-knowing.
I have been on a peanut butter binge since we got here. I know this will be hard to believe, but I think my love for it has increased. I guess I just love the things I can’t have. Abby brought us 8 pounds when she visited and we have almost finished that on top of the maybe 8 other jars we had. Remember that this has only been since the end of December. It is insane. Insanely wonderful. I passed along the joy of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to one of my classes. I made one crunchy and one creamy and it was a big success.
Wait, here is a crazy story:
On Valentine’s Day, Laura and I went with Elena to a concert at the university. And guess who was in the audience with us. Dante’s last living descendant. Isn’t that the most insane answer I could’ve given you? I wanted to tell him that a bust of Dante watches me sleep. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance.
So, the internet has stopped working on my computer. I don’t know what has happened to it. It is pretty annoying because now I have to go to internet cafes and pay for it. So if I don’t respond to you immediately, that is why.
I bought some really awesome yarn about a month ago and came up with a really awesome, complicated pattern for a scarf, but now I have no motivation to do it because I am scared that I am going to mess it all up. I think I need some support to get through it.
Happy March!
It is starting to feel like spring here! I am afraid that by saying that I am going to jinx it, but it has to be said. I didn’t even wear socks yesterday or today! I have realized that I really hate wearing socks. They are annoying and have to be washed too often.
I ate sushi finally this week! It was good but expensive. The restaurant was really swank and I almost felt underdressed in my jeans. The Italians were serious about their sushi and chopsticks. Also, Laura and I went to a Mexican restaurant last night. It was so good! They even had chips and salsa, but the basket of chips was so small that it was comical. The waitress there even knew what vegan was, so she helped me pick out dinner. I got so much food though that I couldn’t even finish my dinner. That never happens! AND taking home leftovers is against the cultural rules in Italy, so I just had to abandon them. But it was a fun night anyway.
Teaching is still really fun. I like pretty much all of my students. This week Laura and I are getting pizza with students from two of our classes at the bank. I am pretty excited about this event. I have this new student who is only 16 and intimidates me more than all my adult students. My adult students know that I don’t know everything, but I don’t think that she has come to that realization yet. And let me tell you, it is stressful being all-knowing.
I have been on a peanut butter binge since we got here. I know this will be hard to believe, but I think my love for it has increased. I guess I just love the things I can’t have. Abby brought us 8 pounds when she visited and we have almost finished that on top of the maybe 8 other jars we had. Remember that this has only been since the end of December. It is insane. Insanely wonderful. I passed along the joy of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to one of my classes. I made one crunchy and one creamy and it was a big success.
Wait, here is a crazy story:
On Valentine’s Day, Laura and I went with Elena to a concert at the university. And guess who was in the audience with us. Dante’s last living descendant. Isn’t that the most insane answer I could’ve given you? I wanted to tell him that a bust of Dante watches me sleep. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance.
So, the internet has stopped working on my computer. I don’t know what has happened to it. It is pretty annoying because now I have to go to internet cafes and pay for it. So if I don’t respond to you immediately, that is why.
I bought some really awesome yarn about a month ago and came up with a really awesome, complicated pattern for a scarf, but now I have no motivation to do it because I am scared that I am going to mess it all up. I think I need some support to get through it.
Happy March!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
this is a boring update.
I haven’t updated in ages, and I am sorry for that. But here is a new entry!
I am on Christmas break from work. I got off last Thursday and don’t have to go back until the 7th. It is a nice long break. Last weekend, I went to France to visit Robert and Brittany. I had a lot of fun! It was nice to see people from home. I took an overnight train there and back. On the way there, I woke up while we were passing through Monaco and the Riveria and the sun was rising. It was beautiful. It is kind of crazy how different France and Italy are. There were a lot of similarities, but for how close we are, it seems like they should be more similar.
I spent Christmas with the Fortunas. It was really nice. I even got a stocking full of stuff! We hung out in their hotel room all day. Laura and I bought a Christmas tree, so we packed it up and brought it to the hotel also. It was very festive. On Christmas Eve, we went to Venice. I had never been before, but Laura said it was pretty empty for Venice standards. We walked around instead of taking a boat straight to the center and I really liked that. The streets are so twisted and tiny. I am going back next week with Abby. It is only an hour and half from Verona.
Abby is coming to visit in a couple of days! I am so excited. She is my first visitor. She is going to be here awhile, but I am travelling with her for the first week of it. I’ve barely done any travelling here so far, so I am ready to do it. I am also ready to see more friends. It is exciting that the end of the year is here because I am getting closer to having more visitors!
Okay, that is all I have for now!
I am on Christmas break from work. I got off last Thursday and don’t have to go back until the 7th. It is a nice long break. Last weekend, I went to France to visit Robert and Brittany. I had a lot of fun! It was nice to see people from home. I took an overnight train there and back. On the way there, I woke up while we were passing through Monaco and the Riveria and the sun was rising. It was beautiful. It is kind of crazy how different France and Italy are. There were a lot of similarities, but for how close we are, it seems like they should be more similar.
I spent Christmas with the Fortunas. It was really nice. I even got a stocking full of stuff! We hung out in their hotel room all day. Laura and I bought a Christmas tree, so we packed it up and brought it to the hotel also. It was very festive. On Christmas Eve, we went to Venice. I had never been before, but Laura said it was pretty empty for Venice standards. We walked around instead of taking a boat straight to the center and I really liked that. The streets are so twisted and tiny. I am going back next week with Abby. It is only an hour and half from Verona.
Abby is coming to visit in a couple of days! I am so excited. She is my first visitor. She is going to be here awhile, but I am travelling with her for the first week of it. I’ve barely done any travelling here so far, so I am ready to do it. I am also ready to see more friends. It is exciting that the end of the year is here because I am getting closer to having more visitors!
Okay, that is all I have for now!
Friday, November 2, 2007
Pink
Okay, here is the update on my life:
I’m working more now. Working is a lot of fun because I get to talk to Italians in English all day. All of the lesson plans basically have the students speak about their culture and the differences between others. I mostly have high intermediates, so they can say a lot. I have a private lesson with a vegan! He is preparing for an English test that has listening parts. To help him prepare, I have to read transcripts of a CD that the school doesn't have. Sometimes there is more than one person speaking, so I get to use different voices. I feel sort of bad for him because I have so much fun doing it and he just has to sit there and take it.
I’ve got my bicycle. It has no gears because Verona is flat. No one listens to me when I ring my bell though. I am going to have to get more assertive with it.
Something I did on Wednesday was drop my ipod in the middle of the road and watched it get run over. It still works though. I can’t read the screen and it looks like a dog chewed it up, but it works!
Carrie sent me a postcard. I got it and loved it! Everyone should send me mail.
I went to my first yoga class here. The teacher ended up being a teacher from my school! She is Spanish and was excited about practicing her English in a yoga class. I was the only one that came, making it a lot easier for both of us. It was a Kundalini class. I have never done that type of yoga, so it was quite interesting. It is the kind where people wear all white. We sat the whole time and did postures I had never even seen before. We also rolled around on the ground. Talk about fun! I think I will go back because I liked it. But I think I want to continue more with Hatha. Now, I just need to find a place.
Laura and I went to the Inlingua Halloween party. It was a lot of fun. I was spring and I jumped everywhere. Only people who spoke English well thought it was funny. Luckily, everyone we work with does speak English. I tried to explain the joke to a few of my classes, but they barely understand why we like Halloween let alone Halloween costumes.
I found a store that sells yarn here! Well, Elena found it in the Yellow Pages for me. It was a whole store of yarn from the floor to the ceiling. It is run by little old Italian ladies and the only other customer was a nun. I felt pretty wonderful shopping there. Something I love about Italy is seeing all of the nuns and monks riding bicycles in their religious garb. It is still bizarre for me. Oh, and monks wearing backpacks. I don’t know why that is weird to me, but it really is.
You know last time when I told you that Italian men love purses? Well, they also love riding pink bicycles and scooters. And on that note, I’m off.
I’m working more now. Working is a lot of fun because I get to talk to Italians in English all day. All of the lesson plans basically have the students speak about their culture and the differences between others. I mostly have high intermediates, so they can say a lot. I have a private lesson with a vegan! He is preparing for an English test that has listening parts. To help him prepare, I have to read transcripts of a CD that the school doesn't have. Sometimes there is more than one person speaking, so I get to use different voices. I feel sort of bad for him because I have so much fun doing it and he just has to sit there and take it.
I’ve got my bicycle. It has no gears because Verona is flat. No one listens to me when I ring my bell though. I am going to have to get more assertive with it.
Something I did on Wednesday was drop my ipod in the middle of the road and watched it get run over. It still works though. I can’t read the screen and it looks like a dog chewed it up, but it works!
Carrie sent me a postcard. I got it and loved it! Everyone should send me mail.
I went to my first yoga class here. The teacher ended up being a teacher from my school! She is Spanish and was excited about practicing her English in a yoga class. I was the only one that came, making it a lot easier for both of us. It was a Kundalini class. I have never done that type of yoga, so it was quite interesting. It is the kind where people wear all white. We sat the whole time and did postures I had never even seen before. We also rolled around on the ground. Talk about fun! I think I will go back because I liked it. But I think I want to continue more with Hatha. Now, I just need to find a place.
Laura and I went to the Inlingua Halloween party. It was a lot of fun. I was spring and I jumped everywhere. Only people who spoke English well thought it was funny. Luckily, everyone we work with does speak English. I tried to explain the joke to a few of my classes, but they barely understand why we like Halloween let alone Halloween costumes.
I found a store that sells yarn here! Well, Elena found it in the Yellow Pages for me. It was a whole store of yarn from the floor to the ceiling. It is run by little old Italian ladies and the only other customer was a nun. I felt pretty wonderful shopping there. Something I love about Italy is seeing all of the nuns and monks riding bicycles in their religious garb. It is still bizarre for me. Oh, and monks wearing backpacks. I don’t know why that is weird to me, but it really is.
You know last time when I told you that Italian men love purses? Well, they also love riding pink bicycles and scooters. And on that note, I’m off.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
one month in italy!
today laura and i have been in italy for one month. it feels like a year though. not in a bad way, it just does. tonight we are celebrating by going to the vegan restaurant we found a block from our apartment! it has tofu! hopefully it will be good because i have been going through withdrawls. this place seems really awesome. they have free wifi (which doesn't exist in italy), lectures, and i think yoga. i'm really excited.
erica, an italian i work with, and i went to buy used bikes the other day and it was a successful trip! mine is silver and i can pick it up tomorrow. it is really pretty. i will take a picture of it when i get it and put it up here. i am so excited to be able to ride around. i miss it a lot. but of course, i had to buy it right when it got cold.
okay here are some things that i like about italy right now:
1. that some italians think their public transportation is terrible and goes nowhere.
2. that i think most italian men have more purses than i could ever hope to own.
3. that i used my landlord's roller suitcase to buy vegetables this morning. she offered it and how can you turn down an offer like that?
4. that i was using a different computer, but the keyboard thought it was american when it was clearly italian and i couldn't find any of the puncutation marks.
5. that when laura and i went into a tobacco store to buy bus tickets, there was, honestly, a calendar of mussolini (included in it was a framed picture of him). AND next to that? a calendar of naked women.
there are plenty more amazing things, but right now, in my head, these are the best and what i would tell you about if i saw you in person.
erica, an italian i work with, and i went to buy used bikes the other day and it was a successful trip! mine is silver and i can pick it up tomorrow. it is really pretty. i will take a picture of it when i get it and put it up here. i am so excited to be able to ride around. i miss it a lot. but of course, i had to buy it right when it got cold.
okay here are some things that i like about italy right now:
1. that some italians think their public transportation is terrible and goes nowhere.
2. that i think most italian men have more purses than i could ever hope to own.
3. that i used my landlord's roller suitcase to buy vegetables this morning. she offered it and how can you turn down an offer like that?
4. that i was using a different computer, but the keyboard thought it was american when it was clearly italian and i couldn't find any of the puncutation marks.
5. that when laura and i went into a tobacco store to buy bus tickets, there was, honestly, a calendar of mussolini (included in it was a framed picture of him). AND next to that? a calendar of naked women.
there are plenty more amazing things, but right now, in my head, these are the best and what i would tell you about if i saw you in person.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
a real post
I bought a bunch of internet time, so I have decided that I can update my blog. If you have actually read Laura's blog, you will know a lot of what I've been up to. But if you have't, I'll update you right away.
Italy has been wonderful. It is very strange how quickly you get used to not understanding what the people around you are saying. I can only understand if the person is speaking dierctly to me and very slowly. A lot of people think I am Italian, so I try to make it through conversations without giving away that I'm not. Usually that means I just say "non lo so" or "boh." A lot of times they know I'm not Itlaian as soon as I open my mouth though. I can't even get out one word and they switch to English. I think I need to keep my mouth shut. It is nice while getting settled that most people speak a little english, but it won't when I am ready to learn more Italian.
I taught a class today and when they asked me questions I didn't know the answer to (like how many people live in Atlanta versus D.C.), I used italian-like gestures. I think I'm getting it from Elena, our 54 year old roommate/landlord. Classes are really fun, I think. Most of the students I've had love to talk, so it isn't hard to get them to practice but is hard to keep them on track.
I teach at inlingua. It is only 5 minutes walking away from my apartment, but we are sent to businesses to teach. It is pretty neat. So far I've gone to a non-profit foundation that spends money repairing things around Verona and a paper factory. I'll also have private lessons at the school.
Laura and I rented two rooms in a huge apartment from this lady. She speaks English much better than we speak Italian, so we mostly use English even though we've asked her to help us our Italian. The apartment is amazing. I'm trying to upload my pictures to a place separate from facebook, so everyone can see them. Apparently the building was built in the 1800s. I thought Elena said the 1900s, but I guess it was 19th century. The 1800s makes a lot more sense. We overlook the river that runs through the city and live over a pizzeria. It seems like the most Italian thing possible. Okay, I got some of the pictures uploaded. So here is a tour of our apartment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14516126@N08/sets/72157602330733008/
Everyone here rides their bikes. It is amazing. Elena is going to take us used bike shopping because Verona has a big problem with bike theft. No one wears helmets while they ride though. It seems very bizarre to me because there is still a ton of traffic and people who ride scooters never seem to take their helments off. I can walk everywhere from my apartment, but for my job I need a bike. Also, Verona has two pools! But I need a bike or a bus to get to the one that is filled. And apparently it has tons of yoga places, but I haven't been able to find them yet.
Um, I know there were a ton of thing I wanted to say, but I can't remember them now. Hopefully I'll write more later!
Italy has been wonderful. It is very strange how quickly you get used to not understanding what the people around you are saying. I can only understand if the person is speaking dierctly to me and very slowly. A lot of people think I am Italian, so I try to make it through conversations without giving away that I'm not. Usually that means I just say "non lo so" or "boh." A lot of times they know I'm not Itlaian as soon as I open my mouth though. I can't even get out one word and they switch to English. I think I need to keep my mouth shut. It is nice while getting settled that most people speak a little english, but it won't when I am ready to learn more Italian.
I taught a class today and when they asked me questions I didn't know the answer to (like how many people live in Atlanta versus D.C.), I used italian-like gestures. I think I'm getting it from Elena, our 54 year old roommate/landlord. Classes are really fun, I think. Most of the students I've had love to talk, so it isn't hard to get them to practice but is hard to keep them on track.
I teach at inlingua. It is only 5 minutes walking away from my apartment, but we are sent to businesses to teach. It is pretty neat. So far I've gone to a non-profit foundation that spends money repairing things around Verona and a paper factory. I'll also have private lessons at the school.
Laura and I rented two rooms in a huge apartment from this lady. She speaks English much better than we speak Italian, so we mostly use English even though we've asked her to help us our Italian. The apartment is amazing. I'm trying to upload my pictures to a place separate from facebook, so everyone can see them. Apparently the building was built in the 1800s. I thought Elena said the 1900s, but I guess it was 19th century. The 1800s makes a lot more sense. We overlook the river that runs through the city and live over a pizzeria. It seems like the most Italian thing possible. Okay, I got some of the pictures uploaded. So here is a tour of our apartment: http://www.flickr.com/photos/14516126@N08/sets/72157602330733008/
Everyone here rides their bikes. It is amazing. Elena is going to take us used bike shopping because Verona has a big problem with bike theft. No one wears helmets while they ride though. It seems very bizarre to me because there is still a ton of traffic and people who ride scooters never seem to take their helments off. I can walk everywhere from my apartment, but for my job I need a bike. Also, Verona has two pools! But I need a bike or a bus to get to the one that is filled. And apparently it has tons of yoga places, but I haven't been able to find them yet.
Um, I know there were a ton of thing I wanted to say, but I can't remember them now. Hopefully I'll write more later!
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