Who Says You Can't Go Home?

Ciao!

I can't believe I'm actually writing my final blog. This is really it. I thought maybe I'd write one when I get back and talk about what it's like to return (plus that'd put my blogs at an even 50), but the point of the blog was to tell you about my trip here, not the mundane things that go on in the states. Plus, I won't have time. So this is really it.

My last weekend here was good, I suppose. The weather wasn't so hot Friday or Saturday, so I spent the day cooped up in the house, reading. On Saturday, the clouds were moving so fast, and they kept tricking me. I'd look outside and it'd be bright and sunny, so I'd gather my things to go outside. Within 10 minutes, though, a raincloud would roll in and it'd be raining! :(

Yesterday, though, was gorgeous. I went to the lookout and stared at the ocean and Isola Bella for probably over an hour. It was very peaceful, and I'm so glad I got to spend some time there. I think it might be favorite place in town (right after Osteria dal Rita and Martina's place, naturally). I left the lookout in a great mood, only to meet up with the creepy old man who tried to ask me out two weeks ago. I spotted him way ahead of him on the road, and he saw me coming. Actually, he had followed me to the lookout, I believe, but got distracted hitting on an Asian tourist, so I was relieved he had left me alone. Anyways, I pulled out my phone and pretended to be on it. I finally "hung up" when I thought he wasn't really paying attention to me anymore. Wrong. He walked right up and asked if I was on vacation. He did at least recognize me, though. We spent about 3 incredibly torturous minutes in conversation. He asked me the same questions he did last time. I usually answered in one word answers, hoping he'd get the hint to leave. He didn't. He asked for a date that evening. I told him no again. This time he got mad and wanted to know why. It's amazing how simple answers fly out of my head in moments when I really need them. Instead of saying, "I have a boyfriend," which would have been really easy to say, I started stuttering and saying "Because, because! Because I said!" And in general not making sense. He then asked if there was a problem, I said "Yes. Ciao." I think he was quite angry at this point, but so was I. He had intruded on my nice, peaceful afternoon, and I didn't appreciate it. Not to mention we were around several people, and we were starting to create a scene. Thankfully at this point, we were right outside Martina's bar, so I ducked in to grab some lunch, and he didn't follow, which was probably a good decision on his part. Martina would've taken care of him! :) So I chatted with Martina for a few minutes while she heated up my arancini. I then decided to retreat to the house to enjoy my lunch. I spent the rest of the day enjoying the view from the terrace at the house. And then I walked the Corso that evening.

I didn't think I'd really be sad to leave here. I've been looking forward to going home this whole week, but this morning, I've already had two goodbyes, and I'm feeling a bit emotional. I stopped by Aurelio and Angela's house to say goodbye this morning. I saw Aurelio Friday and already told him bye, but I sat and chatted with Angela for awhile. I meant to get them flowers to thank them for everything, but never got around to it. I wasn't sure I'd actually get a chance to see them, either. I'll make sure to send a nice thank-you note when I get home. About an hour ago, I told the teachers goodbye. I'll really miss this bunch of teachers. They are all so sweet and fun to be around. Naturally, tonight, we'll have to say goodbye to Elsa and Nini. Clay and I have some Auburn things to give them, which will have a lot more meaning now that they know about "War Eagle." Once Clay gets back from Barcelona this afternoon, we'll also head to Martina's to say goodbye. And naturally, I have to pack everything as well.

Tomorrow will be a long day, no doubt, so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We leave Taormina at 5 a.m. in a taxi. We have a flight from Catania at 7:10 a.m. We land in Rome, and from Rome we go to London (Heathrow) and from London we go to Chicago, and from Chicago we go to Atlanta. Assuming everything goes according to plan, we'll land in Atlanta a little after 10:30 p.m., which is 4:30 a.m. "our time." By the time I make it back to the house, I will have traveled for 24 hours straight. Yeah, long day.

Anyways, I've got things to do now, so I suppose I better sign off. I hope y'all have enjoyed reading the blog as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm so glad I'll have a record of my trip when I get home. I've enjoyed it so much, I've contemplated blogging once I start teaching (Teach for America actually has a blogging site), but I'm thinking I'll be too busy. We'll see. If I decide to do it, I'll e-mail out the link. Thanks for thinking of me while I was over here, and if you ever decide to head to Sicily, I have loads of advice, so let me know!! Alright, I'll see y'all back in the States!

Ciao and AQUILA DA GUERRA!!!!!!

First I was Afraid, I was petrified . . .

Ciao!

Thought I'd follow the song theme this week. Anyways, this will have to be short as I'm running out of time today. The Internet wasn't working at school earlier, and then we had a really bad storm. First time I've seen lightning and heard really bad thunder. The power at our place was knocked out for 10 minutes! Anyways, I wanted to just write some random things about what I've learned on my trip. After all, my blog's subtitle is about what I've learned along the way.

I have to admit that my first week here, I was convinced I wouldn't survive three months here. I did. Successfully, and I'm so proud of myself for sticking it out past that first week or so. And what do you know, I actually enjoyed it! :) Along the way, I also learned a lot:

I think after this trip, I will be even more willing to try new things. I've always been outgoing, but this was definitely out of my comfort zone. I've also gained some skills at adapting to new surroundings. I think I'll be able to be more flexible and adaptable in the future, as well.

I've learned to look at things in a different and new way, from someone else's perspective. I've always been fortunate to be able to do that to some extent through journalism, but experiencing a completely different culture is really eye-opening.

I think the biggest accomplishment is learning to rely more on myself. Again, I've always been an independent person, but I've also been a people person, and one who relied heavily on my friends and family for support. While I've had a wonderful network of friends and family back home to e-mail with and occasionally talk with on the phone, it's not the same. I like having someone in the room next to me, or just across town, or even only two hours away back in Atlanta. When I started feeling homesick or overwhelmed, sure I called occasionally, but for the most part, I had to learn to comfort myself.

Lastly, I think on some level I realized what things are most important to me. As I've stated over and over, everything must be simplified here because of my lack of language skills. There were times when it was easier for me to just not explain something because it would take too much time or I just didn't know how to explain it. But for the things that really mattered, I made sure I understood what words to use. I looked up and memorized sentence structures to describe my friends, family, and Auburn. I made sure I knew how to explain Teach for America and my job with them. I could tell someone things that I really liked - tennis, piano, singing, music. Interestingly enough, I never got around to talking about past jobs at newspapers . . .I'm not quite sure what this means, but on some level I think it means those just weren't as important to me as the things I did learn to say. Maybe. In fact, the only thing I could say about newspapers was that I studied journalism and worked at the student newspaper. I also could say exactly what kind of articles I liked to write. That was about the extent of my explanation.

Anyways, the school is closing. I'll get on Monday for one last post! :) Have a great weekend!

These Are a Few of My Favorite (and not-so-favorite) Things

Ciao!

I have officially finished all my courses and exams for my undergraduate degree!!!!! I don't think it really hit me since instead of walking out of a class from Haley or Tichenor, I walked out of a small room in a small building in Taormina, Sicily. As I walked through the door, I thought, "Wow. I am completely finished with my undergrad. Four years. Done." It's a bit surreal, but what better place to end than Sicily?

Heads-up, but this blog might get long-winded. I've got a few things to catch you up on, and then if I've got time, I'm going to list the things I will and will not miss from Sicily. Let's start though with the Catania trip. It started out not-so-hot. They bumped the price of a ticket up 60 centisimmi, and the bus schedule online was wrong, so we had to chill at the station for about 30 minutes. We went to Catania to take pictures and so some last-minute shopping. The last time we were in Catania was on a Sunday, and everything was closed. We thought returning on a weekday would solve this problem, but we came in the afternoon during naptime. I thought for sure a big city like Catania wouldn't have a nap time, but they do. So, we walked around the city for an hour, then got some gelato. We met up with Sabina, one of the daughters of Elsa and Nini to drop off a key. Then we waited for the bus. But here is where the trip was totally worth it, and I hope you don't think I'm sick in the head for this next part.

Ever since we got here, I thought for sure I'd see a car accident. After all, they drive like drunk maniacs. Yet, I haven't once seen a car accident. Until yesterday. It happened right in front of us at what has got to be one of the worst intersections in Catania. It's right by the bus station, and there is supposed to be a one lane road with a bus lane merging with another lane from the opposite direction to form a two-lane road. But people think the bus lane is a second lane, so there are actually four lanes of traffic merging into two, without a stop sign or light, but with motorinas zipping and swerving in between. I actually think they could merge faster if they wouldn't tie up the bus lane. Each lane from either direction could flow directly to where it is supposed to go, without stopping. But there is constant braking because instead of following the rules, the Sicilians create new lanes.

Anyways, so this little car stops, but the guy behind him is in the middle of lighting a cigarette, so he's not paying attention, and he rear-ends the guy in front of him. It was only a fender bender, and the front car didn't even have any damage, but it's the only accident I've seen, so at least I know they do happen here. Unlike in the states, though, the guy in the front car got out, greeted the guy behind him, and they just politely chatted. No cussing, no yelling or getting mad, like a lot of people back home would do. Then the guy in the front car helped the cigarette guy reattach his front grill, which had fallen off and suffered some damage. Then the two went about their business.

The second fun thing happened on the bus. We were sitting right behind this young Sicilian who was carrying on a conversation with the man across the aisle. The young guy spent the whole ride talking about all the places in the States he had visited and his opinion of things in the States. We were eavesdropping the whole time. Then he scooted over, and I couldn't hear him anymore, but Clay could. After about 45 minutes, Clay finally asked him (in Italian) how many times he had been to the States. The guy looked a little shocked, but politely answered the question and asked us if we were from the states. We're pretty sure he already knew since we would perk up when we heard American cities, but we don't think he knew we spoke Italian. In fact, after Clay asked, the guy tried to whisper to his buddy that he didn't realize we spoke Italian. But Clay heard that too. It was pretty entertaining. He didn't say anything negative really. He said it was a completely different world. I did overhear him say we had really big cars, and we actually stopped at lights and signs, which was funny in light of the accident we had just witnessed.

Two nights ago, Clay and I taught Elsa and Nini "War Eagle," a phrase that above all else, they must know! We wanted to tell them the story behind it, but we knew there were a lot of phrases we wouldn't know, so before dinner yesterday, we looked up what we needed in the dictionary. After dinner, I read the legend of how "War Eagle" started (in Italian of course), and Clay told them about the tradition of rolling Toomer's corner. We also showed them a video and a photo, and Elsa absolutely loved it. Now she keeps saying War Eagle, and we're so excited! So, "Aquila da guerra!"

One other thing I failed to mention - Nini has been speaking to us in Sicilian for the past two weeks. He and Clay made a deal a long time ago that he would speak in Sicilian for our last two weeks. Sicilian is essentially an entirely different language. We actually found a Sicilian-Italian vocabulary dictionary in my room the other night, so we were looking through it. My understanding from the book and Nini is to speak Sicilian, you change an "O" at the end of a word to a "u," and you change "e" to "i." So now we just make up words with him. If something ends with an "O," we just switch to "u," and about half the time, we're correct. Or we just shorten a word. They do that a lot as well. We're probably destroying our Italian.

Today was also the last day we ate at Osteria dal Rita, or Sala's place as we call it, which makes no sense since Sala isn't a member of the family that owns it. Anyways, it was the perfect last lunch. They gave us free bruchetta, which happens a lot. We both ordered Penne Sicilia, and we got a double helping of it! Then they gave us their traditional almond dessert wine with biscotti. Plus, we got 2 euros off the final bill! We were sad to leave, but we went inside and told the family goodbye and how much we enjoyed their osteria. I really will miss eating there every week. With that, I'll move into a list of other things I'll miss:

1. Martina's sweets at her bar (we're going there one last time Monday)
2. The incredible views here - from the beach to Etna to Madonna della Rocca
3. The incredibly nice people.
4. The gelato.
5. The Sicilian Sweets!!!!!!!!!!!! I really don't know what I'm going to do when I get home. I can't possibly get the same canoli, cassata siciliana, tiramasu, ochio di bue, etc., etc.
6. The teachers here at Babilonia. They are absolutely the nicest bunch of people you'll ever meet. I can tell they really enjoy their job as well, which makes class all the more fun.
7. Aurelio and Angela, and Elsa and Nini. Both families are incredibly kind and welcoming, and I've learned so much from them.
8. The cute houses and doors. This weekend I'm going to go around Taormina and take pictures of people's doors because they are quite interesting.
9. The walking. I've really enjoyed not having to drive, although, sometimes it would be nice to drive to places the bus won't take me, but overall, I have not missed my car.
10. Not having anything to do. This could also go on the list of things I won't miss as there are days I'm so glad I have nowhere to be and nothing to do, but there are other days where I miss being busy.
11. Constantly meeting new people from all over the world.
12. The blog
13. Sundays at the piazza.
14. The cliche European background music - flutes, guitars, accordians. I might even miss hearing The Taormina Special being played over and over by the accordian guys. I still haven't figured out why between two or three accordian players, they only know one song.
15. The sense of accomplishment I feel when an Italian actually understands what I've said to them.
16. Window shopping in front of really large window displays.

Naturally, there are some things I won't miss, like:

1. The smoke. Almost every European here smokes, and I've breathed in so much second-hand smoke that I might as well have been a smoker these past three months.
2. The driving. I've gotten more accustomed to it, but I still think I might be hit by a car every day.
3. The euro, and constantly making exact change.
4. Hand-washing my clothes.
5. The flower guys.
6. The mime.
7. The steps. I like walking, but I don't like climbing.
8. Dog poop on the sidewalk.
9. The loud cats.

Alright, I'm sure I'll think of some more tonight. Maybe I'll add them tomorrow. Ciao!

It's a Small World After All

Ciao!

I don't have much time today because we are headed to Catania for the afternoon - our last trip to Catania! So, this will hopefully be short and sweet. One of the biggest discoveries I've made here is that the world isn't as big as I thought. I mean, it's huge, don't get me wrong, and there are a million different cultures to learn about, but in the end, I think we're all a lot more similar than we like to think.

In talking with other students from the school, I've discovered that many countries struggle with the same issues. I've learned about illegal immigration in other countries, corrupt politicians, unemployment rates, crime, racism, and justice. The issues in other places really don't sound that much different than what we have in the states. Sure, some countries struggle more than others with different issues. And everyone's economy suffers at some point more than others. Ultimately, though, there are so many similarities between countries.

I think one of the biggest similarities, though, is human nature. Through the school we have met so many incredibly nice people, but we've also come across some not-so-nice people, and that sounds exactly like back home. I know good people, and I know bad people. Period. The families here are a lot like in the states - they love each other, and would do anything for each other.

In a physical sense, I've also had some instances when I thought the world was way small. Back in February, there were two Swiss students here. Now, they were from the same country, but still, this is a cool story. One of them, Christoff, worked at a company that his parents founded. Another student, Francesca, had a brother who also founded this company with Christoff's parents. The two of them didn't realize this until his last week here! It was amazing! Another example is us meeting Jay and Michelle. Two Americans, and she happened to go to school here for two weeks, and they happened to now live in Marsala. And then just last week, there were two other Americans here from Hawaii. I mentioned a professor of mine had started a mediation center in Hawaii, and they actually knew what I was talking about! Two weeks ago we had a student from London, Susannah. Once she had decided to come to Taormina, she was telling her friends about the trip. Turns out one of her friends in London is the nephew of Elsa and Nini! We also met an American here several weeks ago who now lives in Rome, a huge city, yet he actually knew our terrible tour guide because she had dated one of his friends! It's like playing 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. I think we're all connected a lot more than we realize, and I think if I stayed here longer, I'd find even more connections.

That's probably enough for today. The weather looks like it's going to cooperate for our trip into the big city! I'm actually taking my camera today to get pictures of Catania. A domani!

The Final Countdown

Ciao!

It's crazy, but in exactly one week at this time, I will be on my way home. The rest of the blogs this week will probably be dedicated to last-minute explanations and reflections on my time here. I hope I don't bore you with them, but when I get home, I want to have a written record of all these things that I've seen, experienced and thought while I was here. So today, I'm going to try and wrap up any other random explanations and descriptions I haven't previously detailed.

I'll start, though, with my new family, Elsa and Nini. It has been two weeks since I moved into their house, but for about 5 of those days, I was in Marsala. I still feel more like I'm a guest, there, although I think that's normal. I didn't feel really comfortable and at home at the Ferraris until I had been there for a little more than two weeks. Of course in this case, by that time, I'll be leaving. Clay and I have rooms on the second floor, which is also where the family lives, so we all share a bathroom. This hasn't been as awkward as I initially thought it would, which is good. My room is absolutely huge, probably three times the size of the old one. Plus, I have more storage room, so I don't feel as cramped as I did at the old place. In addition to my bed and a desk, there is a couch and a small chair in my room!! I've really enjoyed both of those as I have another place to read, and it gives Clay and I another hang out area that isn't really someone's room (although technically it's in my room, it's kind of across the room from my bed/desk area).

Elsa and Nini are incredibly nice people, and very different from Aurelio and Angela. Elsa talks non-stop, which means I really have to pay attention every second to understand what she's saying. I don't want to say they are a stereotypical Italian family, but really, they do fit the stereotype sometimes. Elsa talks a lot, and only has one volume: loud. The two of them bicker and banter playfully, but they are so affectionate with each other, which is adorable. When I asked Nini how long they had been married, he got a big smile on his face as he told me 33 years! Aurelio and Angela were a lot softer-spoken, and I don't think I ever saw them give each other a hard time. Although, it's fun to watch the antics between Elsa and Nini. Nini says stuff just to irritate her, which is hilarious to watch.

Nini is always joking. He gives Clay a hard time because Clay used to say "Si, va bene" to everything (like I did as well) when he first arrived. They finally caught on that he didn't actually understand what they were saying, so now Nini always says "Si, va bene" at times when you wouldn't normally say that.

I also realize how much I have to adapt to understand how different people speak. I had grown accustomed to Aurelio and Angela's voices, so I really had no problems communicating with them. If Aurelio asked me a question, and then Nini asked me the same question, I can guarantee you I would understand Aurelio, but not Nini, mainly because I'm so used to hearing Aurelio speak. In my defense, though, Nini mumbles a lot, so it is more difficult to understand him. I've been embarassed sometimes when Elsa asks me something and I tell her I don't understand. She then repeats it 4 or 5 times before I understand the words coming out of her mouth. The majority of the time, it's a simple question that I could've answered two months ago, even, but I just am not used to her voice.

That's probably all about the new house, really. The cooking is good, but I liked Aurelio's better (and Elsa would probably kill me if she ever knew I said that). But, I am often treated at their house with homemade limoncello or chocolate liqueur, both of which are absolutely wonderful!

Ok, onto other explanations.
1. Italians like to make out a lot. In general, they are very affectionate with each other in public. They are always holding hands, embracing each other, kissing, etc. They are actually really good at multi-tasking. I've seen several couples walking down the Corso, kissing, and pushing a stroller. Keep in mind, the Corso is crowded, and a stroller takes up some room, but somehow they manage to do both. It also seems that all Italians are in a couple. I rarely see people walking around by themselves. Occasionally I'll see a group of young people, but past the age of about 25 or so, and everyone is holding hands with someone. I suppose they never learned about cooties.

2. They don't recycle. This one really surprised me, actually. The Italians, and Europeans in general, are good about conserving energy. We rarely have the heaters on, and I think my toes have actually been frozen most of the time I've been here. They'll need to go through a deep-thaw when I get home. At the Ferraris house, we always had to turn off the lights as soon as we were leaving a room/area, etc. So they conserve energy. But then, they go buy mounds of plastic water bottles because they won't drink the tap water, and just throw them away! I realize the conserving energy is probably the more important thing to do, but google "Naples trash" and you'll get pages of articles about the huge trash problem in Napoli. Their land fills are full, so now people just pile up their trash bags on the street. The images are so gross, and I can't imagine what the city smells like. I realize recylcing doesn't help everything, but I thought maybe they would. I've only seen a recycling bin once or twice in train stations. Maybe I've missed them, but there doesn't seem to be a huge push for it, like there is in the States right now.

3. This is really a language thing, but jokes are often lost between languages. We have so many jokes that are play on words, or rely on complete understanding of the meanings (or double meanings) or words. Since I don't have complete command of the language, I miss all sorts of jokes. One night back in January, we were out with our group of friends, and Benjamin and Christoff made a joke about my last name. Apparently in German, if you take the "r" out of it, then it's some sort of sexual innuendo, I'm not really sure. Anyways, they said something about how sorry they felt for the "r." This gave them about 10 minutes of amusement, and since I don't speak German, I was utterly confused.

Che cosa ho fatto questo fine settimana

Ciao tutti!

Oggi, scrivo in italiano perchè posso! ("Today I write in Italian because I can." To my un-Italian readers, the translation is below).

DISCLAIMER: I am sure there are plenty of errors in this Italian blog. So to those of you who know Italian, I'm sorry I'm butchering the language. But here goes:

Questa fine settimana, siamo andati ad Agrigento, una città antica con la scuola. Prima siamo arrivati a Sicilia, la nostra professoressa ci ha detto che dobbiamo vistare Agrigento. Eramo preoccupati che non possiamo andare perchè è difficile andare ad Agrigento senza la macchina. Ma la scuola finalmente organizza una gita ad Agrigento! Abbiamo visto Vallei dei Templi e sono molto impressionante. Ci erano 7 templi che sono construiti nel sesto e settimo secoli BC. La originale città era una città greca. Forse domani metto le mie foto su dropshots.com. I templi sono doric, e sono diversi che i altri templi abbiamo visto prima.

Dopo abbiamo vistato Vallei dei Templi, siamo andati alla casa natale di Luigi Pirandello, un scrittore (scrittrice?) Siciliano. Ho letto un libro di Luigi Pirandello, si chiama " The Late Mattia Pascal." Non so il nome in italiano. Mi è piaciuto questo libro. Nella casa di Luigi Pirandello, ho visto molto coppie dei suoi originali libri. Erano molti interessanti. Vicino la sua casa, c'è sua tomba e un albero. Ma, il primo albero è morto, e adesso, c'è un nuovo albero.

Non abbiamo vistato il centro della città, ma ho visto "la nuova città" da Vallei dei Templi. La nuova città è costriuito sulla terra che è un parco nazionale. Di solito, similare negli Stati Uniti, non è possibile costriuire sul parco nazionale, ma La Mafia ha voluto costriure una città, e cosi l'ha fatto. Adesso, Agrigento è una città della Mafia, naturalmente.

Domenica, non ho fatto niente. Abbiamo cambiato gli orologi una ora avanti. Ho dormito tardi e poi, Clay ed io abbiamo pranzato alla Osteria dal Rita, la nostra osteria favorita! Ho lavato le mie lavanderie per la ultima volte!!!!!! Sono molta contenta! C'era un incidente con le mie lavanderie, ma è troppo difficile per me spiegare in italiano. La storia è in la traduzione sotto.

Dopo il pranzo, abbiamo camminato cerca Taormina, abbiamo giocato a carte siciliana, e abbiamo incontrato il nuovo studente alla nostra casa. Si chiama Tony e è di Australia. Ok, basta in italiano!

ENGLISH:

This weekend we went to Agrigento, an ancient city, with the school. Before we arrived in Sicily, our professor told us that we have to visit Agrigento. We were worried that we could not go because it is difficult to go to Agrigento without a car. But the school finally organized a trip to Agrigento! We saw the Valley of the Temples (sidenote: It's not in a valley, it's on a ridge) and they are very impressive. There were 7 temples that were built in the 6th and 7th century BC. The original city was a Greek city. Maybe tomorrow I put my photos on dropshots.com. The temples are Doric and different than the other temples we saw before.

After we visited the Valley of the Temples, we went to the birth house of Luigi Pirandello, a Sicilian writer. I read a book by Pirandello called "The Late Mattia Pascal." I don't know the name in Italian. I liked this book. In the house of Luigi Pirandello, I saw many copies of his original books. They were very interesting. Near his house, there is his tomb and a tree. But, the first tree died, and now, there is a new tree.

We did not visit the center of the city, but I saw the "new city" from the Valley of the Temples. The new city was built on ground that is part of the national park. Usually, like in the United States, it is not possible to build on a national park, but The Mafia wanted to build a city, and so they did it. Now, Agrigento is a Mafia city, naturally.

Sunday, I didn't do anything. We changed the clocks one hour ahead. I slept late and then, Clay and I lunched at Osteria dal Rita, our favorite osteria. I washed my laundry for the last time!!! I am very happy!! There was an accident with my laundry, but it is too difficult for me to explain in Italian. The story is in the translation below (here): At this new house, they have lines on which I can hang my clothes. I washed several items so that I wouldn't ever have to hand wash something again! Well, at least not here. Anyways, I used the clothespins to hang my stuff, but I have a short-sleeved sweater-type shirt. I didn't want the sweater material to stretch out anymore by hanging wet. So, I decided to fold it over once. I folded it over and clothespinned it. Later in the day, I went out to check on the laundry and I took this sweater off the line. When I unfolded it, I had two clothespin marks right on the breasts! Basically, I clothespinned nipples into my sweater! And now I can't wear it until I iron it, or throw it in a machine! Needless to say, I'm tired of this handwashing/line drying! Ok, back to the translation:

After lunch, we walked around Taormina, we played Sicilian cards, and we met the new student at our house. He calls himself Tony and he is from Australia. Ok, enough in Italian!

Tomorrow I will write in English so that I can write longer, more comprehensive sentences! But I wanted to prove that I do know Italian!!! Ciao ciao!

Update on Learning Italian

Ciao!

I've been struggling today to think of a great topic to blog about. I left my list of topics at the house, so I'm trying to remember some of the things that I want to say. I think I'll try to update y'all on my language ability.

I've decided the real sign that I've speaking Italian too much is when I forget English words. This has really only happened twice. Once I forgot the word "stool" (as in chair) and once I forgot the word "drawbridge." I think it's actually quite humorous when this happens. With stool, someone used the italian word and asked the meaning. After I was given the explanation, I could picture it in my head, but I realized I couldn't think of the English word. The incident with drawbridge happened with our friend Sala. He wanted to know how to say that word in English. He explained it to me in Italian, and I told him I understood perfectly, butI couldn't remember the English word. Thankfully Clay was there, so I asked him and he remembered! Then, the other day when I was typing my Easter blog, I couldn't remember how to spell "scratch." I had to sound it out as the English "c" and "ch" just sounded weird coming from my mouth.

I don't speak Italian all the time. Clay and I speak English to each other, and we also speak English with all the other English-speakers here. Plus, I obviously type my blog and e-mails in English. But, I think a good portion of my day is spent listening to and speaking Italian, so sometimes I just forget some of those less common words like drawbridge and stool.

So onto a bit of a self-evaluation of my Italian. I don't think I realized how hard it would be to really become fluent in another language. I perhaps was a bit over-ambitious thinking I'd speak excellent Italian by the time I left. I still speak like a 4-year-old, although I probably understand the grammar better than a kid. It's funny, but it really bothers me to hear the kids here just blabber away in Italian! I keep thinking I'm so much older that I should be able to speak better, but I can't even understand what they're saying most of the time! I'm at a point now where I can get by pretty comfortably. I can ask for directions when lost. I can order food or buy things in a store. I can carry on a conversation for a while, although I'd hate to think about how terrible I sound. Changing just one little preposition can change the meaning of the whole sentence sometimes! One time instead of saying "Feed the dog some food," I said "Eat the dog as food," as the difference between the two was a very small word (that's not quite the exact translation, but you get the idea).

Am I as far along as I would like to be? No. But I now realize it takes years to really master a language. There are so many little things that you have to figure out, and it really does take awhile. I'm so glad I've had this experience, though. Most of you know that I move to Houston in June to join Teach for America. I'll teach some subject yet to be determined in grades 4-8. Houston has a large Hispanic population, and the majority of my classroom will most likely be Hispanic (although I could end up in a historically African-American school, who knows). When I first arrived in Italy, I realized learning Spanish probably would have been more practical for my upcoming job. Although I don't think there's that big of an Italian population in South, at least going through this process of learning a language, any language, will help me. I don't know how much English my kids will speak (actually, chances are good their parents won't speak it, even if they do). I now know what it's like to be a strange country and not speak the language. I know what it's like to have to constantly ask for someone to repeat themselves 10 times because I don't understand. I have felt the frustration of not being able to convey my thoughts in an articulate way. I have been overwhelmed when I didn't know what words to use or how to ask for something.

One constant frustration of mine the past three months is my lack of communication skills. My friends and family know I like to talk. I also like to write, and when I have an opinion, generally everyone knows it. But here, everything has to have a simple answer. How do I explain my decision to join Teach for America? That takes pages and pages to explain, but I don't know that many words in Italian. So my answer has become "I am joining a company called Teach for America. They send new graduates to poor schools." One time I tried explaining to Elsa that I would be a teacher. She then said "Oh, so this is to help your career. This is to make money." I then tried again: "No, this isn't for my career, but I will get paid. But to me it is important because the goverment is rich but there are lots of people who are poor. And the poor kids don't receive a good education, and this is not right." Teach for America doens't like the word "poor," the proper word is "underserved." I'm going to an underserved school district. That's just too complicated in Italian, so I have to say poor. Sure, the U.S. is a wealthy country, but I don't think the government's rich either when it's in debt, but all that is way too complicated in Italian. So I have my simple answer.

I remember the day I was asked what my parents did for a living at school. That turned out to be way complicated. Dad's a pastor, and I knew that word, but my teacher didn't understand. Everyone here is Catholic, and obviously priests don't marry. But here I was, in flesh and blood with a father who (my teacher thought) was a Catholic priest! We quickly cleared things up when I learned the word for protestant in Italian. Then, he was confused because he didn't understand who paid my Dad. I said the church. Then he thought everyone who came to church had to pay. Explaining an offering and budget of a church is way above my language capabilities. I think my final explanation went something like this: "The church pays my Dad. People at the church give money each Sunday. They don't have to give money, but they usually do. The money pays my Dad." I suppose that gets the point across. Then of course, I had to explain what my Mom does. This question is actually trickier in my mind. Mom is a GED instructor, but when asked I usually just say she is a teacher. One day, though, someone asked what she teaches. Uh-oh. My answer: "She teaches men and women who did not finish high school." The teacher (in Italian): "I understand. She teaches at night school." Me: "No, she teaches during the day." Teacher: "Yes, a night teacher." Me: "Right, a night teacher."

So, those are probably my best examples of simple answers, but really everything here has a simple answer because I can't explain things using long, complicated words. The day after the murder happened at Auburn, I found myself trying to explain it to several people. The Italians (my teachers and family) kept using the word "strage," which is shooting. I kept repeating that it wasn't a shooting, it was a homicide. Then that led to a discussion where they told me these things happen all the time on college campuses in the States. How do I explain that no, they don't happen all the time, but when they do, it's international news? That then led to a discussion of gun control and the differences among different countries with regards to gun laws. Yeah, trying having a conversation on gun control in Italian!

Alright, basta! I actually think that was a really disconnected blog, but hopefully it gave you an idea of some other language problems I have. It will be nice to be back to speaking English all the time and being able to really express myself when I want. Have a wonderful weekend. We're headed to Agrigento tomorrow, so I'll update you on that Monday. Ciao!

Random Musings

Ciao!

I had a first today in Sicily: I heard thunder! I have actually debated whether storms existed here. I realize that sounds silly, but I have only seen rain. When it rains, I haven't heard any thunder or seen lightening, until today. When I woke up this morning, it was gorgeous weather, but now I'm at school and it's raining and thundering (but I still haven't seen the lightening). I think once I walk all the way across town for lunch, (I really miss my old house today because it was so close!) I'll just get into my pajamas and curl up with a book the rest of the day. Or play Monopoli with Clay. We found the Italian version in my room the other day and we played it. It takes just as long to play in Italian as in English, especially since we occasionally have to stop and look up a word on the chance card. I do feel richer when I play it, though, as the money is in lire!

So today I just have some random musings/things to explain. I believe I've briefly mentioned all of these before, but they all deserve to be explained in more detail.

1. Exact Change. For those of you who don't know about euros, here are the denominations. There are 1 and 2 euro coins (a euro is like a dollar, except way stronger and worth more right now, but for our purporses, they're equal). Then there are 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 euro bills. I think there is a 500 euro bill as well, but I'm not that rich, and I have no idea where you would break a 500 bill. As far as centissimi go, they have a 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 centissimi coins. All of the coins and bills are different sizes, which makes my wallet look a little odd. Ok, I hope that helps as I attempt to describe their weird obsession with exact change. I described a situation in my Venice blog where a ticket lady went crazy about exact change. This was not really unsual. Stores and ticket offices here generally expect us to pay in exact change. This isn't too difficult as the grocery store is the only place that ever has an uneven total. Ice cream shops and stores sell things in whole numbers, which makes a lot more sense. Personally, I'd rather pay $10 than $9.99 for a shirt just so I don't have to carry around the penny. The Italians think the same thing, which is fantastic. HOWEVER, because there are few places where you pay any centissimi (with the exception of 50 centisimmi. That is quite common for something to be 6.50 euro), they don't like to make change for you, even in full euros. For example, if I buy a gelato for 3 euro, they expect me to pay in three euro. It's not a huge deal if I pay with a five euro, but anything larger than a five euro, and I risk getting a dirty look. This also is silly since all the ATM machines spit out only 50 euros, but it's difficult to break a 50 euro. We usually break our 50s at the grocery store, and for that reason, the clerk there does not like us. When we do pay with a higher bill, like at the supermarket, this is where we run into problems with the exact change.

For instance, the other day at the supermarket we had a bill of 14.80 euro. I had a 20 euro, and I knew she'd want exact change, so I fished out the 80 centissimi. She kept looking at me, even though I had now given her enough so she could return 6 euro. That was not good enough. She wanted me to pay another 4 euro so she could give me a 10 euro bill instead of a 5 euro bill plus a 1 euro coin. For some reason, they prefer to give out bills. I suppose that makes sense because I do hate carrying around 10 euro in heavy 1 and 2 euro coins, but still! If I want to carry around those coins, then let me! It's very strange to me, and sometimes I can't do the math fast enough in my head to figure out which combination of bills and coins I should give so the cashier can make the most effiecient change. I should note that I'm actually good at math, but for some reason I find it difficult to do math in euros, even though it's the same numbers . . .

Ok, my other random topic of the day: mobbing. Not like, the mob, although I think the two are related in an indirect way I'll explain one day. You can probably deduce from my blogs that many things in Sicily have no rhyme or reason or order to them. The streets/drivers are chaotic. Public transportation leaves when it wants. Stores open and close at will, etc, etc. In addition to all this, the Sicilians never form lines. I'm not sure if they just don't like them, or if their 2nd grade teachers never taught them. But for whatever reason, lines don't exist in Sicily. This can sometimes pose a problem. I've lost count of how many times I've walked into a panini or gelato place and patiently waited my turn, only to have a huge group of people walk in and order before me! In the States, even when there's not a line I typically take notice of how many people are ahead of me, and I let them order, then I take my turn. Here, if I wait for "my turn", someone else will walk and not even notice me and "cut" in front.

I actually first noticed this at Hartsfield Airport the day I left for Italy, but I didn't realize it at the time. While we waited for our flight, a line formed at the counter. The next person in line waited several feet back from the counter to give the person ahead some privacy when speaking to the Delta representative. Out of nowhere, this Italian family (and now I'm convinced they were probably Sicilian) came barreling in and right as the person at the counter left, the man walked up to the counter and started asking questions. The 5 people in line looked at each other and started talking amongst themselves. Now I realize the man probably didn't even see the line, and it's entirely possible he thought those people were just hanging out in a linear formation.

The post offices and banks here have tried to remedy the problem. Since the Sicilians won't stand in a line, they employ the "take a number" system, as do some butchers as well. This way, the Sicilians don't actually have to form a line, but they can't just step up and order when they feel like it. They at least have to wait their turn.

The other form of mobbing I've noticed is on buses and trains. This really cracks me up actually, mainly because it's such a paradox. The Sicilians seem to go at their own pace, and to be honest, if you took the clocks out of their houses, I'm convinced they wouldn't even notice. In fact the clock tower in town is almost always wrong. Despite the fact that they don't pay attention to time, they always seem to be in a hurry when on a bus or train. On the trains, people begin to stand up and gather their things at least 5 minutes before the train pulls into the station. I can understand this one a little bit since the train only stops for a few minutes at smaller stations, but I think 5 minutes might be a bit overkill. When we went to Palermo two months ago, we were quite confused because we saw everyone get up and head to the doors. We naturally got up as well, only to stand up for a good 15 minutes before we reached the station. The buses are a similar situation. People get up, walk to the front, and stand by the door a few minutes before the bus stops. This is more practical on the buses, though, as you sometimes have to tell the drivers where to stop.

What I don't understand on the buses, though, is the desire to crowd the front half. If there are only 5 people on the bus, all five people will sit in the first 2 or 3 rows. As people file onto the bus, they take the first available set of seats. I think this is probably because unlike in the states, the Italians (and Europeans in general) aren't obsessed with having a large personal space area. In the States, when I climb onto Tiger Transit and there are only 3 other students, we typically spread out. It's also expected on Tiger T that you don't sit next to someone unless there is not another empty double seat anywhere. That's not the case here at all. The buses here between cities are long, charter buses, so there's probably at least 50 seats or so. If a Sicilian climbs onto a bus and notices that there is someone sitting in the first 6 rows, but the back is empty, he'll most likely take a seat next to someone in the front so he can sit closer to the front, even though the entire back of the bus is empty! It's really hilarious to watch, actually.

In loving memory of George and Fred

Ciao!

Sorry to just run out on the blog yesterday. 5 p.m. snuck up on me and I had to leave the school. Anyways, back to my Easter weekend. I hope yesterday's blog adequately described the procession and the town. The name of the winery we visited on Thursday is Caruso & Minini by the way. We started off Friday on a great note with some pancakes, something Clay and I have been craving since the first week. Then we headed to Selinunte, which is one of the ancient cities in Sicily. Now the place is full of ruins, which is nifty.

Friday was extremely windy, and we were near the coast, so I was certain I might just blow away. Thankfully, we all made it out alive, although cold. First we visited the ruins from the temples. I say ruins, but really one of the temples is standing, looking pretty impressive. Saying the temples were large is a bit of understandement. In fact, one of the temples, which is now in shambles from an earthquake, was the largest temple in the world before it fell. Even after seeing so many ruins in the past two months, I just don't understand how these people built such colosseul buildings. They didn't have the same technology we had. In fact, in illustrations at the ticket office in Selinunte, we got an idea of how the temples were most likely built: using lots of men, giant, strong poles, and large, healthy oxen. Yeah, I still don't get it.

After walking around the temples, we had lunch in the car so we could warm up a bit! Then we headed over to what was the residential area of the city. There weren't really as many things standing, but we could see more of the layout of the city. We walked down what was one of the main roads to the outer portion of the city, where the fortress walls are still slightly there. Apparently (this information comes from historian Jay), the location of the city made the place too difficult to defend, and Selinunte was constantly at war with nearby Segesta. So, the people of Selinunte picked up and moved to Marsala. Before the Selinuntites (probably not the right word) left, though, they practically destroyed the city so it couldn't be taken over by anyone else. The four of us had an interesting conversation about what it must be like to be told that not only will you have to leave your home and move your family, but you must destroy your home before you go. I realize that houses are just possessions, but still, I think I'd be difficult to torch my own house, even if it was for a good cause.

After Selinunte, we headed back to the house to relax and cook. We had a wonderful time Friday evening cooking and eating! First Michelle and I made a typical Sicilian pasta with clams. Actually, I mainly watched. I did learn faster, better and safer ways to do just about everything with a knife. We had a fantastic time eating and enjoying good wine. After our first course, we headed back to the kitchen to cook George, our very good friend from Nino, Michelle's fish guy. George was a pretty orange color (although not Auburn orange, or Gator orange - Jay is a Gator - so he was college-neutral), and I actually forgot what kind of fish he was. George was quite delicious, and you can see pictures of him at dropshots.com.

After our big dinner, we headed to bed happy! Saturday was a day full of cooking and hanging out at the house. We played Guitar Hero III and we got to see some March Madness games. Before all the cooking began, though, Michelle and I went into town to pick the lamb for Sunday's Easter dinner. I have been kicking myself all week for forgetting to take my camera for this momentous occasion, but I'll do my best to describe everything in detail here. You can find anything fresh in Sicily. In fact, you probably have to really try if you ever wanted to buy something that wasn't fresh. Marsala, like all cities here, has a fish and meat market (in addition to a produce market as well). Anyways, Michelle has a meat guy there where she gets all of her cuts, and everything is fresh. Michelle had ordered the lamb ahead of time, so I thought we were going to just pick it up. Not so much. When we got there, the meat guy took a whole lamb out of the freezer. The lamb had been skinned, but it was completely in tact still. It's head was in a bag to keep the dripping blood from going everywhere. So the meat guy (I can't remember his name, maybe Maurcio?) hangs the lamb up by its legs in the doorway. This about the moment when I said, "I can't believe I didn't bring my camera. I will never get to see this again." We hadn't ordered a whole lamb, so obviously he needed to cut some up for his. First, Maurcio pulls apart the lamb from the middle, and you can hear all these bones breaking. Then he takes out his knife, which didn't look that big; it was just really sharp. And he just slices straight through half the lamb, so when he finished, we had a nice pretty cut, and the other of the lamb was still swinging in the doorway. Needless to say, we had pretty fresh lamb. We named him Fred, and you can pictures of him at dropshots.com, but sadly, you can only see our half of Fred - not the part where he was getting carved up.

We went back to the house and spent the day cooking. We made two different tiramasùs, homemade tortillas, and a rolled and stuffed pork roast with roasted potatoes. Michelle was so kind to share her tips, secrets and recipes. I just hope I can replicate it when I get home. As a sidenote, I did finally get to weigh myself on an American scale at their house. The final verdict is that in two months here, I have gained a little weight; however, I also finally got to wash my clothes at their house, and after putting on some pants that were dried in a dryer, I realized the weight has primarily been deposited on my backside. I am a firm believer in Sir Mix-a-Lot's buttocks theory, so this really doesn't bother me.

So after a fabulous Saturday evening, we slept in on Easter Sunday. When I finally woke up, though, the Easter bunny had put a little bag of chocoloate eggs on my door! I was so excited! Sunday was also full of cooking. Michelle cooked a phenomenal egg dish for breakfast, which we ate with the homemade tortillas. We then made homemade pasta, which was a long process, but really fun. Michelle had given Clay and I matching Sicily aprons! I think Clay might wear his a little better . . . Anyways, so we made cannelloni with our pasta, which was really delicious! I then got to call my family and talk to all of them for awhile, which was nice. Normally our calls are short, and I usually just talk to mom because of the time difference and cost of calling. Michelle and Jay have unlimited calls to the U.S., though, and were gracious enough to let us use the phone, so I got to talk to everyone for awhile.

Then we ate Fred! He was so, so good. It was probably the best dinner we had the whole we were there, which is saying a lot since every meal was absolutely outstanding. Fred was accompanied by some incredible Gorgonzola mashed potatoes. I love potatoes, and I really love gorgonzola cheese, so this was basically the best invention ever. We of course had more excellent wine with Fred, and it was really the perfect Easter dinner. We had on some Christian music in the background to accompany dinner, and it was really the perfect soundtrack.

After dinner we went downstairs and watched an Easter service from their home church back in Las Vegas. I was really glad we got to see a service on Easter, since that's what Easter is. After service, we went back upstairs and finished with our tiramasù!!!!

Monday was the sad day we had to leave. After we packed, we watched the highlights from some March Madness games - I did get to see Davidson upset Georgetown. Of course, sometimes instead of watching the games, which had already finished, we would just look up the scores online. Michelle and Jay drove us back to Taormina, which was really nice of them since driving takes about half the time the train does. Unfortunately, the weather was rainy and gross for most of the drive. We all hung out together for a little while in Taormina, and we went to Martina's. I still haven't figured out how Martina always remembers Michelle's name, but doesn't remember ours, even though we have gone to her place about 3 times a week since January.

It was so sad to have to tell them goodbye, but I know we'll still be in touch! Michelle taught fourth grade back in the States, and well, I'm about to teach soon (and possibly fourth grade, who knows), so I also got some advice there as well. All in all, it was a perfect Easter and easily one of the main highlights of my entire time here. After talking about all this food, I'm really hungry, so I'm off to lunch. Ciao!

Holy Week Procession in Marsala

Ciao!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter, although no matter how hard you try, I doubt it was as good as mine. I have so much to share and tell, so I'll get started right away, but as a warning, this may be a long blog. Also, pictures from my week in Marsala are already up at www.dropshots.com/sebrock. If you don't ever look at any pictures, I would at least say you have to see the ones from the Maundy Thursday procession. Ok, back to the task:

Clay and I left right after school last Wednesday to head to Marsala for the rest of the week and weekend. The whole purpose of the trip was to visit Michelle and Jay, the nicest couple you could ever possibly know, and I swear I'm not saying that just because Michelle reads the blog. We had met Michelle at Babilonia back in February and we instantly hit it off. Michelle and Jay are American, but they have lived in Marsala for the past year for Jay's job. They have a gorgeous house, with two guest bedrooms, complete with fluffy pillows and boxsprings (the difference between a box spring and no box spring is really noticeable, and it was nice to be in a big bed with a boxspring!). Anyways, that's probably a sufficient introduction for now. Hopefully you can pick up more through my descriptions.

So we arrived late Wednesday evening to the Palermo airport. We took a bus from Taormina to Messina, then a train from Messina to Palermo, and then another train from Palermo Central Station to the airport, where Michelle picked us up in the car. We had a wonderful pasta dinner complimented by an olive oil cake! By the way, if you are hungry right now, you probably shouldn't read this blog until later. We had a great time with food and wine this week, so I'd hate to make you jealous.

Thursday morning started off great. We had biscuits and gravy for breakfast!!! For more than two months I have had nothing but stale cereal or a piece of bread for breakfast. I've already told you how much I miss an American breakfast, so to be treated everyday to amazing breakfast food was a real treat. On top of that, I'm not a gravy person, but I loved Michelle's gravy. After our breakfast, we headed into Marsala.

First we stopped in at a winery. I have the name written down back at the house, but have since forgotten it, so I'll fill it in tomorrow. Anyways, Michelle teaches private English lessons, and her student, Erika, works at this winery. She needs to practice giving tours and tastings in English, so we were her guinea pigs! She is actually quite good at English and was pretty easy to understand. She explained the process to us, and showed us around. Then we did an actual tasting, which was loads of fun as well.

We then actually walked around Marsala. Marsala is an adorable town, and it was nice to get a break from the tourists. It is definitely larger than Taormina. We stopped in and saw the fish market where they buy their fish. We don't ever go to the weekly market here in Taormina because we don't cook, so we have no use for that, so it was really fun to get to see a real fish market. We then had lunch at these great restaurant with several other American couples who they know from Jay's job. One of the ladies had made everyone cupcakes and colored eggs for us! It was so exciting to get a little touch of an American Easter! Plus that cupcake was delicious. I ate triglie, which are fish, for lunch, and it was also excellent.

After lunch we lined up for the Maundy Thursday procession. The locals do this procession every year, and it's really an act of love and devotion for them. They walk around town, re-enacting scenes from the Easter story. Actually, they start the procession a little before that and show a few scenes of Jesus preaching. Many of the people in the procession don't wear shoes, and they walk around town all afternoon like that! Like I said, it's act of love. There were a few scenes that were acted out right in front of us. If you see the pictures, you get a better idea. It was all in Italian, obviously, so there are a few pictures where I can't really identify the person in the picture because I didn't pay enough attention. But I believe we saw Pontius Pilate asking for Barabas. We also Jesus and the prostitute, and Jesus and the children. All but the first Jesus have on masks, and these masks are over 400 years old! After we saw the scenes of Jesus as a teacher and some of Pontius Pilate and the guards, then comes the bloody Jesus. This part was moving, and at times difficult to watch. I was pretty busy snapping photos, which was also difficult when I thought, gee, I'm just snapping a photo of Jesus getting whipped. They don't really whip him hard or anything. In fact, they really just shove him around and slap a little bit for the sound effect; however, the makeup people have done an excellent job, and he has incredible realistic scratches and bloodied whip marks on his body. It's also a bit surreal to realize that when he was beaten, it probably was in front of a huge crowd like this. Anyways, after this Jesus comes another one, and this time they put the cross on him. That part was pretty dramatic too as we could hear the band behind him playing this sad song. Walking behind Jesus are a bunch of mourners and people wailing. The whole thing really seemed a bit real. In fact, if it weren't for the masks, it would have seemed really real.

Besides the main characters, there are also lots of little children and older people. Many of the older people hold the rosary while they walk. They also had these girls that had huge headresses on, complete with gold and real gems. They were escorted by guards because their heads were really worth a lot of money. All in all, it was really incredible to watch, and a good start to the Holy Week.

That evening we just hung out and I learned how to play Guitar Hero III, which I am now addicted to. Thankfully I don't have a Guitar Hero to play, so I shouldn't waste too much time on it. We ate a wonderful meal of Chicken Marsala with some herb-roasted potatoes and Strawberry Tiramasu. I helped cooked the Marsala. Actually, I just watched and learned how to use a knife. Anyways, there will be plenty more about the cooking lessons and food tomorrow. The school is closing, so I have to cut this off, but I'll pick it up tomorrow and finish telling you about our trip. Ciao!

In Moda!

Ciao ragazzi!

This will probably be my last blog for awhile. I'm headed to Marsala tomorrow for Easter!!! And I won't be back until next Monday, so it'll probably be a week without blogs, but I'll have plenty to blog about when I get back! Today I'll explain some of Italian fashion. "In moda" in Italian means to be in fashion, and I'm not entirely convinced of some of the fashion trends, but I suppose the Italians know better than anyone.

The first big thing is the black and brown. I don't know how the fashions go in the summer months, but so far, all we've seen the Italians wear is all black or all brown. There is rarely color in the wardrobe, despite the fact that I continually see brightly colored outfits in the display windows. Frequently, they also wear black with brown, which I always considered a big no-no. I never thought the two went together, but yesterday I wore a black shirt with a cute brown cardigan over it, so I've caught on!

The next big thing is boots and heels! I'm impressed by the ability of the Italian women to wear heels in this town. I have tried on several occasions to walk around in my boots, but I usually can't make it all day because of the stairs. Not to mention the cobblestone streets! I have no idea how the women don't get their heels stuck in the stones and fall flat on their faces. Even when I do wear my boots and all black, I know I don't blend in as I always wear my boots under my jeans. Everyone here tucks their pants into the boots. The one time I thought about doing that, I realized I need skinny jeans because mine looked ridiculous tucked in.

They almost always dress nicely, too. I don't think I've ever seen anyone (other than tourists) running around in a t-shirt. It's always nice sweaters, jeans and boots. Plus a scarf. They absolutely love the scarves here, and they're constantly wearing them. I only brought two scarves over, but I should've brought more since those are apparently the item that make the outfit!

The jackets here crack me up, mainly because I hate this fashion back in the states, and I think it looks ridiculous here too. In the winter, all the Italians wore jackets with fur lining the hood. I think it looks silly, especially on the men, who wear it as well.

The men dress like the women in my opinion, with the exception of shoes. They wear tight pants (as I explained in another blog). I should mention that one of my teachers wears these really tight, black leather pants. That's all I'm going to say about that. The men also wear tight shirts and scarves. When it's sunny, the younger Italian men wear the big bug-eyed sunglasses, just like the women. Sometimes the glasses even have beads or jewels on them! The first few weeks here, I really just walked down the street laughing half the time because the men looked so ridiculous. The younger guys also seem to take a lot of time on their hair. Gelling and shaping it just so!

Even though the weather has turned warmer, I haven't seen many Italians change their attire. They only noticeable difference to me is that they don't wear their coats anymore, and sometimes they'll go without a scarf too. But they still wear sweaters, dark colors and boots/heels. I can't imagine flip-flops are considered fashionable here. The tourists are even more noticeable now because the Sicilians are still wearing their sweaters while the tourists are in shorts or capris and t-shirts or tank tops!

Ok, so that's the famous fashion in Italy! I'm actually proud of myself for not buying any shoes here since the shoes are so so cute! I also haven't bought any sweaters or shirts either, although I've been tempted. Most of the fashions I've seen here I realize I can find back in the states, for cheaper too, so I've held off. Maybe when I get back, I'll be more fashionable. Then again, I'm going to be a teacher, and (not to offend any teachers who read) but holiday sweater vests and matching, flower-patterned capris with shirts is not fashionable. I haven't yet succumbed to teacher fashions, but I should admit that last fall, I bought my first "teacher purchase" when I bought these some Christmas earrings - snowmen and Christmas trees. Emily told me earrings are just the beginning, and it won't be long before I've bought a Halloween sweater vest. We'll see.

Have a wondeful week, and Buona Pasqua to everyone! (Happy Easter to Everyone!) Until next week, ciao!

Paging "Doctor House"

Buon giorno! Happy Monday to you all, and Happy Easter week! I'm so so excited for this week as Clay and I are leaving Wednesday to visit our friends, Jay and Michelle, in Marsala for five days! It'll be the perfect Easter, and I wish Wednesday would hurry up. Anyways, the weekend was alright. We stuck around Taormina again. Clay had a friend arrive from home on Saturday for a few days, so we've been having a good time showing her around Taormina. It's been fun watching her point out all these things that seem so strange and new because I've forgotten how foreign everything seemed to me in my first week here!

Moving Day was Sunday. Clay was the only one who offered to help, which bothered me a little. Since I was being forced to move, it would have been nice if the school or the Ferraris had found a car (the family owned one actually) to drive me across town. I suppose I could have asked as well, but I didn't know a polite way to do it. That's always the problem here. Oftentime when I need something (or when I want to turn something down), I don't know a polite way to do it, so typically I won't say anything at all. Anyways, at 8:30 a.m. Clay showed up and we carted my two big suitcases 20 minutes across town. The new house is actually only about 15 minutes away, but stairs would have been impossible to use, so we miraculously found a very round-a-bout way that didn't involve stairs. The biggest accomplishment was probably actually not rolling my suitcases through any dog poop (there is always a positive in every situation!). Sadly I didn't get everything in one trip, so it wasn't until about 10 a.m. that everything was moved into my new place.

Before unpacking, I walked around some with Clay and Christine, and we saw the Palm Sunday procession through town. There were lots of kids, and everyone had palm branches, and they were singing. It was neat. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and showing Christine around. I haven't been around the new family much - their names are Elsa and Nini. Once I know more about them, I'll blog some more about the new place.

So onto today's random topic: TV and Radio. Back at the Ferrari house, we watched a lot of TV,
but usually it was the news. Following the news is Striscia la Notizia, my favorite Italian show! Well, actually it's one of the few Italian shows I've seen. Stricia la Notizia is part late night talk show, part Daily Show with Jon Stewart, part Regis and Kelly, part 20/20, and part soft-core porn. So it's a variety show, obviously! It's hosted by man and a woman, and the woman is almost always wearing something that shows off her breasts or legs (or both at the same time). The show begins like a late night talk show as the man, Ezio Greggio, gives a short monologue with a bunch of one-liners. It's very difficult to understand jokes in another language. Then the other host, Michelle Hunziker comes out, and the two of them dance one the table for a minute. And then they do a short bit where they talk to each other and give each other a hard time - a la Regis and Kelly (actually this continues throughout the show). Then the show cuts for a short commerical break, and when it returns, these two girls dance all over the place, on poles, in hoops, and usually they are wearing very little clothing. I have no idea what this part has to do with the rest of the show, or why it is necessary, but whatever. Then the show begins, and it mainly pokes fun at politicians and journalists, like Jon Stewart, by showing clips of them messing up. They do usually have one serious clip, though, where a reporter exposes some terrible thing, like hospitals that don't meet code because they have all sorts of mildew and mold all over the place (hence, the 20/20 portion). Anyways, so that's my one Italian show that I always watched, but they don't watch much TV at the new house, so I probably won't see it much anymore, which is fine since I never really knew what was going on.

Sometimes, though, at the Ferraris' house, Gaia, their daughter, would get a hold of the remote, and she usually put it on a younger show. One night she flipped it to Futurama, an animated show on Adult Swim that I absolutely despise. Unfortunately, thanks to Michael, I've had to see lots of these shows as he likes them quite a bit. I about fell out of chair when that was the show that came on. I thought for sure I would get a break from this show! She also would watch Gilmore Girls a lot, which I watched Saturday night actually. But here the show is called "Una Mamma per Amica" - A Mom for a Friend. It loses some of its spunk and humor when it's translated into Italian.

From what I can tell, they have about every American show over here, and they just dub it into Italian. They have everything from Friends to Grey's Anatomy to King of Queens to 24, etc. They also have their version of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire and Dancing with the Stars (which I love back home, but have yet to see here). The favorite show here, though, is easily House, which they call "Doctor House." Aurelio and Angela absolutely love House! And many of the other foreign students here also love this show. It's so funny. I think House comes on about 2 or 3 times a week, and since I don't watch it back in the states, I have no idea which season it is. I also rarely can understand what they're saying, although Aurelio tells me I should just read their lips in English while I listen in Italian! Easier said than done. House also comes on a network here called FOX, which is very interesting. So I've never seen House in English, but I've watched several episodes in Italian now!

Besides the TV, there is a lot of American music here. Anytime we walk into a store or a bar, I immediately hear American music. They know Georgia on My Mind and Sweet Home Alabama, and they think it's so cool that I'm from those states! We've been asked several times about Sweet Home Alabama. The interesting thing, though, is that they play all kinds of American music together. I'll hear something from the 80s, followed by a rap song, followed by a rock song, then an oldie, then Celine Dion. They also don't seem to know the difference between good American music and bad American music. They play it all! Anyways, that's it for American music and TV. I'm making a list of everything I have left to explain since I don't have much time left. I hope to get to everything! Ciao ciao!

One more Birthday Surprise

I can't believe I forgot to put this in my earlier blog. And I felt so terrible about forgetting it, I came back up to school to type it. Anyways, there was one other birthday surprise I got last night. Right before dinner, Gerhard called. Gerhard was the Swiss student who lived with us for a month. His last week was our spring break week. Anyways, he knew my birthday was the 13th because his was on the third of March. So he called the house last night to talk to me and tell me Happy Birthday, which I thought was just so nice. And I was so excited he called, and I can't believe I forgot to tell you. Ok, have a great weekend!

Buon Compleanno a Me!

Happy (belated) birthday to me! So yesterday was my birthday and I have to say it was absolutely fabulous! I've put pictures up online from the little party we had last night, in addition to pictures of Giardini-Naxos from last weekend and Teatro Greco from earlier this week. All of them are in their correct folders at www.dropshots.com/sebrock.

So, my birthday! The weather cooperated and it was gorgeous and warm for me! I had class in the morning, and then during the break, Clay passed along a bag of chocolates from my new family, Elsa and Ninni. Clay had told them it was my birthday and they wanted to get something for me, which I thought was so so sweet. After school, we went to my favorite restaurant - Salo's - for lunch. When Clay told him it was my birthday, he told me Buon Compleanno everytime he came to the table! We also got free bruschetta again, although we get that most of the time when we go there.

I spent the afternoon just relaxing, catching up on e-mails and enjoying the pretty weather. In the afternoon, we hit up Martina's for some sweets. Clay told her it was my birthday and she got really excited. When we went to leave, she wrapped another one of my favorite sweets for me to take with me for my birthday! The people here are just so nice.

A little pause here: When the Italians say hello or bye, they always do the Italian kiss - the doublt cheek thing. It's really more like touching cheeks while making a kissing noise than it is actually kissing each others cheeks. Anyways, everytime someone found out it was my birthday, they'd give me a big Italian kiss!!

Anyways, after Martina's, we strolled around town, and relaxed some on the terrace at Clay's house (soon to be mine as well). A little before 8 p.m. we headed to my place for dinner/a small party. I guess it was really more of a large dinner. Anyways, the group included me, Clay (who the Ferraris had kindly let me invite), Donna (an American who was doing her cooking class last night), Kathy (a friend of Donna's), Claudia (who lives with us as well), and Katrin (a friend of Claudia's). Everyone was so so sweet in wishing me a Happy Birthday. Donna had brought me some flowers. Claudia gave me a cute little ceramic bowl from one of the stores here, which is funny because I had just been looking to get one the other day. And Katrin (who I actually hadn't met before last night), brought me a box of chocolates! And in addition to the birthday party, Aurelio and Angela had got me a chocolate egg (for Easter/my birthday).

We had so much food last night! We ate my favorite pasta with a pepperoni cream sauce, which I'll be getting the recipe for next week! Some meat, salad, bread, tomatoes in oil, bruschetta, this side dish I don't even know the name for, etc., etc. Aurelio was so excited to have Clay there because Clay eats about twice as much as I do. Aurelio just kept asking him if he wanted some more. There was also a sign that said Buon Compleanno! up in the terrace, which is where we ate last night. I was finally full (but not completely), and then Angela said I better save room for some Tiramasù!!!!!! This was the most exciting part!!! I love Angela's tiramasù, and they know it's my favorite dessert here (actually I don't like coffee, but Angela's tiramasù isn't a strong coffee flavor, so it's good!). I've been raving about this tiramasù to Clay as well, so I was glad he finally got to try it.

Before we ate it, though, Aurelio put on a large "candle", which turned out to really be more like a sparkler! It thought for sure the thing might shoot right off the tiramasù. There are some great pictures of the whole thing at dropshots, and major thanks to Clay and Donna for taking over the camera last night and getting some good shots with me actually in them. I think my favorite is when the tiramasù is first lit and I'm in shock at the fire! Aurelio kept telling me to blog on the candle, but not blow too hard otherwise it'd blow out. So I didn't really blow out my candle. It just fizzed out after about 3 or 4 minutes. There was a bit of singing - nothing really organized. Everyone kind of sang a few bits of their country's version of Happy Birthday. Then we cut it and I had two wonderful pieces!

After dinner, Aurelio then grabbed Clay and handed him a guitar. Aurelio grabbed this small instrument he likes to play, and they serenaded me. The only problem is that Clay can't play guitar. And Aurelio can only play one note on this weird instrument (I'm not sure if that's the instrument's fault, or Aurelio's). Then Claudia played the guitar for awhile and she and her friend sang, so that was a lot of fun. For some reason Aurelio then wanted to put the candle centerpiece on my head. I think it had something to do with Hawaii, which is where Donna and Kathy are from. I was pretty confused, but I put it on my head anyways.

Finally, everyone left. I told the Ferraris thanks a million times as we just as so so much fun last night. I also got to talk to both of my parents, who called to say Happy Birthday. And I really appreciate all the facebook messages/e-mails wishing me a very Happy Birthday. All in all, it was a wonderful day!

It's way too pretty to be cooped up inside all day, so I'll sign off now! Ciao ciao!

The British Are Coming! The British Are Coming!

Ciao ragazzi!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! I'm wearing short sleeves for the first time today, and I'm very excited. Interestingly enough, my teacher thought I was crazy and she had on a sweater today. I do have to watch out a bit for the sun, though. I don't burn easily, but the sun feels more intense here, especially since it's usually reflecting off the ocean and the snow on Etna (or "The Etna," as they say here). So, I have a few random topics to blog about today that really don't go together, but perhaps don't deserve their own blog, so here goes:

I don't know what happened two days ago, but it's like we've had an explosion of English speakers (not just British, but American and Australian too). Once I leave the school, I hear more English than I hear Italian, which is driving me crazy! You have to understand that about 80% of the time, I don't comprehend what's going on around me. As I walk down the street, it's very difficult to understand the conversations of the Italians. This means that most of the time, I'm off in my own world, my own head (it can sometimes be a scary thing to be left in your own head for awhile). So most of the time, everything sounds like background noise to me when I'm in the streets and in shops. I only understand Italian when I'm in the middle of a conversation, or paying attention to something. It's virtually impossible to pick up bits and pieces of conversations here and there when I don't know the language that well.

So here I am, in my own little quiet world, when two days ago, the English speakers descended to Taormina. Now as I walk down the streets, their conversations are constantly intruding into my thoughts as I can actually understand what's being said without even trying. As soon as I hear something, I turn around to see where that English came from. And then two seconds later I'll hear someone else speaking English. It's very bizarre, and I really wish they'd all go away, although I realize that in fact, we'll only be seeing more English-speakers. I guess the upside is that Clay and I like to try and trick other English speakers and make them believe we're Italian. So we'll often speak Italian to each other when other Americans/English are around us. I guess we'll only be speaking to each other in Italian from here on out.

Next random thought: marzipan! I tried marzipan for the first time Tuesday. It's a Sicilian sweet - actually it's an Italian treat that was taken from the Arabs. It is one of the few sweets I hadn't yet tried until we had our culture class on it this week. Anyways, marzipan is made from almond oil and sugar. That's it, so basically it's pure sugar. In Sicily, they shape the marzipan into fruit shapes and then paint it with food coloring. I'll have to take a picture to show you sometime, but in all the shops here we see very colorful marzipan "fruits." I think it's a bit ironic they chose to make the marzipan look like fruit since it's about the most unhealthy thing you could possibly eat. Other places shape the marzipan into little animals, especially around Easter time, but I have yet to see little animals in Taormina.

As if I haven't said it enough, I absolutely love Sicilian sweets. I'm probably turning myself into a diabetic actually with as much sweets as I eat here. I never eat this much sweets back home, but they are just so good here!! Despite my love for sweets, though, I'm not a fan of marzipan. It's not horrible, but it's pure sugar!! It's like cotton candy, except it's more solid and about twice as sugary. I can't even think of anything close to it in the states. I do like the marzipan on cassatta siciliana, though. They use sheets of marzipan on wedding cakes and other cakes. The cassatta has a thin layer of it for icing, so it's not overpowering like the fruits are.

The shop we visited to try the marzipan was a cute, small shop. They consider people who make the marzipan to be real artists. We didn't get to actually see the man make any, but he explained it to us some and we tried some. I had a "fig" and some other form of marzipan not in the shape of a fruit. The guy was excited once he found out we were from the states because Bill Clinton came into this shop once while he was president!! He then sent him a thank-you note with the presidential seal on it, and the guy has it displayed front and center on the display window. I wonder what Bill Clinton was doing in Taormina . . .

So, that's marzipan. Onto something else in Taormina I hadn't done until yesterday: visit Teatro Greco. I had put it off for quite sometime as I didn't want to rush around Taormina and see everything right away. I figured if I left a few things until later, I wouldn't feel like I had seen everything. Plus, I could perhaps appreciate it more.

So I finally went yesterday since we had gorgeous weather. I've seen one other greek theater in Sicily, and that was in Siracusa (Syracuse). I think this one is more impressive in Taormina. It's very much still intact. And the view on all sides is magnificent. From the back of the theater, I could see the beach and the ocean. From the front, I could see Etna, Taormina and Castelmola. I spent the afternoon there, just relaxing and listening to music. As students here, we get in free, so if the weather stays nice, I can go as often as I like.

The only downside to the theater is the tour groups - both outside tourists and Italian school groups from nearby. The theater has great acoustics still, so as the groups of school-aged children come in and out, it gets very loud, even when I'm sitting on the other side of the theater.

So my last random topic of the day: The Influenza. I had completely forgotten about this until today, so I better blog about it now before I forget. The Sicilians are a bit dramatic when it comes to illnesses. Everything is The Influenza.

Back in February, a classmate of mine got sick the same time I did. He was out of school for a few days and the teachers told us he had The Influenza. I got really worried since I was starting to get sick, thinking maybe I had caught it from him. All I had was a little cold, but when I told the teachers I didn't feel well, they asked if I had The Influenza. I said no, just a cold, but they would repeat that I had The Influenza. When my classmate, Tomohiro, returned I told him I was sorry he had gotten the flu. He looked at me like I was crazy and said he only had a little cold. I was reminded of this today when my teacher told me she didn't feel too well. She didn't have any blatant symptoms of even a cold, yet she called it The Influenza. I swear every illness here is considered the flu! If you just feel a little off, you have The Influenza!

The flu in the states is something that really knocks you out for like a week. It's more than just a runny nose and a headache. Not here. If just sneeze accidentally, they immediately think you've got the flu. They do love the dramatics here. I've also heard that when you go to the pharmacy, the pharmacists give you like 8 different medications. (I've never been, so I can't confirm this). One for your cough, one for your runny nose, one for the headache, one for the fever, one for the stomach, one for the sore throat, one for the congestion, etc, etc. Anyways, I think it's quite hilarious and now I find it hard not to laugh when someone tells me they have The Influenza.

Ok, Basta! (Enough!) Ciao ciao!

Only One month (or 1/3 of the trip) remains

It's hard to believe, but in exactly one month from now, I will be home. I'm not quite ready to go yet. We still have one more exciting trip planned next week. Plus, I know that once I return, I will have a million and one things to get done. Between my return and graduation (only a month apart), I have to study and prepare for my teacher certification test and Teach For America's Summer Institute, in addition to packing up my apartment and preparing to move to Houston. And in the meantime, I'll have dozens of people to see (and cook for!)! Needless to say, I'm enjoying the peace and quiet while I can! But that doesn't mean I don't occasionally miss a few things from home, so I thought I'd dedicate today's blogs to those things I miss.

I'm often surprised by the things I miss, really. I obviously miss my friends and family, but usually it's the little things I miss about them. For instance, I miss my mom calling me back 3 times after we've hung up the phone because she forgot to tell me something. I miss hearing my sister call me "sissy" (or "homeskillet", whichever she's in the mood to say). I miss hearing my Dad's laugh and him saying "Hey Sarah!", followed by a kiss on the head, when I've come home after being at school for awhile. I miss hearing Emily and Lindsey walk into the apartment and yell "Hey!" Sometimes I even miss Justin calling us when he knows we're in the middle of watching 24 and he's not supposed to call!! I miss dinners with The Clique, and choking on my food when one of the girls decides to tell me some shocking story. I miss seeing Katie Wiley on campus and yelling, KATIE WILEY!! There's tons more of little things I miss about people, but it'd take all day to write them. So, I'll move on to just listing things that I've come to miss, in no particular order:

1. Breakfast (Ok, this one might be in order). For all the great food here, the Europeans sure do know how to ruin breakfast. No eggs. No pancakes. No bacon. No grits. No danishes. NO biscuits. I'm actually lucky in that I get to eat cereal for breakfast. Most families only offer bread (hard bread) and coffee. When I'm home, it's not like a cook a big breakfast every morning; I usually have cereal or a poptart. On weekends, however, or when I'm in the mood, I'll sometimes cook a big breakfast with my roommates, and it's wonderful!

2. I really miss dancing around the living room, singing showtunes with Em. I can kind of dance in the privacy of my own room here, but I have my headphones on, not speakers, so it feels a bit silly. And I can't sing out loud as there's usually other people on my floor, and they probably wouldn't appreciate it. The first night I'm back in Auburn, we're going to go through the whole Chicago soundtrack, followed by Hairspray. Then maybe Dreamgirls and Rent.

3. A washer and dryer!!!!!!!!! My hands get so chapped when I wash my clothes. Then I have to hang them over the heater and wait a day or two for them to dry. I can't do many clothes at once, so I feel like I'm doing laundry every other day. Plus, I never feel like my clothes are getting clean . . .I never realized what a luxury a washer and dryer are.

4. I miss having a logical cell phone plan with reception inside my apartment! I don't think I've explained the Italian cell phone plans, so I'll do that briefly now. The Italians think it's silly to be charged twice for calls like we are. I had never thought of this until now. When I call someone, minutes are deducted from my phone and theirs, so it's like getting charged twice. Or really, two people are getting charged for the same thing. My phone here has free incoming calls, but I pay for outgoing calls. So I have to pay for every call I make! There are no free minutes after 7 (they think it's silly we can't call when we want - which we can, just not for free). I pay for every call, no matter when. And reception here is terrible.

5. My pillow. The pillow I have (and from what I can tell, the type of pillow in most houses) is very thin. I actually have to fold my pillow over once to make it the size of my pillows back home.

6. My music. I have a little MP3 player that can hold only 109 songs. I'm getting a bit sick of these 109 songs to say the least. Not to mention that somehow one of favorite songs (You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban) cut off when it downloaded. I don't understand how the entire CD loaded fine, with the exception of that one song. Whatever. I'll be ready to hear something different.

7. A burger from Niffer's.

8. Mexican food from Laredo's.

9. Driving down College Street and seeing Samford Hall. Actually, I miss that after only being away from Auburn for a week.

10. Having a kitchen! I'm incredibly spoiled since I never have to cook all the delicious food I eat, although, I actually really enjoy cooking, and I miss it! BUT, it is nice to have a kitchen where I can store food that I like, and prepare snacks, etc. It will also be nice to return to my house/apartment where I can get on my own eating schedule again. I've fully adjusted to the schedule here, but sometimes I'd like to change it up a bit. For instance, at home, there are nights when I'm just not that hungry. Maybe I had a big lunch, or a late snack. On those nights, I just cook a small dinner, or maybe have a large snack instead of dinner. That's not really an option here. I'm fed by the family, and I don't want to be rude and turn down food. So even when I'm not hungry, I almost always feel like I have to eat. If I turn down any or seem to not be hungry, Aurelio always asked me what I ate that afternoon. He can just tell when I've had a large dolce (sweet) late in the day!

11. A heater! I actually have a heater here in my room, but I can't control it, and it takes forever to heat up. It'll be nice to be in control of my own surroundings again and not have to rely on someone else to turn on my heat! (or once I'm home, my air conditioning)

12. Carpet! I'm always walking around in socks because no one has carpet here, which makes it quite cold in the winter. I don't know what it's like in the summer. The upside of no carpet is that I don't ever get those little electrical shocks in the winter because there's no friction between my body and the carpet.

13. Sadly, I do miss American TV. They have quite a bit of it over here. I'll blog soon about it, but I miss being able to veg out in front of the TV and watch something. Thankfully, with the writer's strike, I haven't missed any of my programs, except Project Runway (and no body better tell me how it ends either!!). Bravo runs marathons of it all the time, though, so I should be able to catch up. All my other shows start up again the week I get back, and I'll only miss three episodes of Dancing With the Stars. (So I watch a bit of TV - so what??). I even miss dumb reruns sometimes, though. On my MP3 player, I have the Rembrandts "I'll Be There For You" (Theme song from Friends), and whenever I listen to it, I feel like I'm back in my apartment. I can see myself sitting on the couch, and then the song comes on, and Emily comes out of her room and sits down. And I look at her and say "Aren't you supposed to be studying". "Yeah, I'm taking a break. I thought you were studying." "Yeah, I decided I was done." And then we watch an episode of Friends that we've already seen about 6 times. I guess this is really #13 and 14: TV and distracting Emily from studying/being distracted from studying.

14. Knowing all the news and what's going on in the states. The way the news cycle works in the online arena is this: Newspapers are traditionally updated in the mornings, around lunchtime, then late in the afternoon. Really big (meaning tragic) news is updated more frequently. Because of the time difference, the only news I read is that which is updated in the morning (which really means the stuff that was written the day before for that morning's paper, and then anything that might have happened overnight, which isn't much). I miss the afternoon and evening updates, which is really frustrating sometimes.

15. Sometimes I miss going to the movies.

16. Having the option to stay in my pajamas all day. I can't really go upstairs to dinner in my pajamas here. Jeans and a sweatshirt is OK, but pajamas? Uh, no.

Ok. That's probably most of the things I miss right there. I hope you don't read it and think I'm desperately waiting to be home. Like I said in my little disclaimer, I'm not yet ready, but I occasionally miss things, and these are those things.

Driving, McDonalds and moving

Ciao!

So after touring other Italian cities for eight days, I have to say I returned to Sicily with new eyes! I thought I would just explain some differences between northern Italy and the island, but first I'll talk about the Sunday we returned (March 2, which seems so so long ago).

By the time we got on the plane to head back to Sicilia, I was ready to be back in the place where I've made my home for two months. When we landed in Sicily, the weather was in the 70s! How nice to be back! Miraculously, the bus at the airport was on time, early even, and we started to think that a lot had changed since we'd been gone. I think we just got lucky in riding at least one bus that was on time in Sicily.

Taormina is really a different town, as I said yesterday. When we got back, there were loads of tourists, and shops that we hadn't even seen because the doors have been closed. It was nice to get back to the people we know as well. Aurelio and Angela were excited to see me, as was Salo who gave me a huge Ciao! when I walked by the Osteria. And I already told you about Martina who immediately lit up when we went into her bar for a real Sicilian treat!

My excitement quickly decreased, though, when I got some bad news. I found out Sunday when I got back that I would have to move out of the Ferrari house. I'm moving out this Sunday because they leave for vacation next week. They'll be gone for two weeks to Japan, but I'll be moving in with a new family for the last three weeks as it doesn't make much sense for me to have to move twice, especially just for that last week. I'm moving in with Clay's family, actually, Elsa and Ninni. I've met them before, and they're very nice people, but let's be honest here . . .Clay and I see enough of each other! But Elsa is also supposedly a very good cook, so I'll still eat well!!!

I was quite upset when I found out, for many reasons. I really like them, number one. I'm also a routine kind of person, and I've settled in and made a routine here, and now I have to move and establish a new routine and re-adjust to life here for my last three weeks. And I've enjoyed not having to share the family with too many other students. When I move in with Elsa and Ninni, there will be Clay and then two other Americans there as well. It will be like Attack of the Americans really. I also, unfortunately, had to hear about the move from Clay. I was a bit upset that he knew before I did. The Ferraris didn't even tell me - I had to wait for the school to tell me. After a week of thinking about it, though, I'm OK with it (what choice did I have really). I'll have the opportunity to experience a different family and see which things are unique to different families. Plus, it'll be different cooking, and Ninni makes his own limoncello, which I'll get to try!

Anyways, enough about that. Some general observations from the trip:

1. Life in the northern part of Italy moves faster. Transportation is on time. People walk faster. Everyone seemed like they have somewhere to go, which never seems to be the case here. Here, we could walk up and down the Corso for an hour or two with no real direction or purpose. I think that would drive the people up north crazy to not have a destination in mind. Then again, that sounds a bit like the U.S. really. I've never spent much time up North, but it does seem like life goes slower in the South.

2. The people aren't quite as nice up there. In Sicily, I think anyone would stop to help me if I needed help. They are patient and kind, and are usually willing to wait for me as I stumble through my Italian vocabulary to ask a simple question. The Sicilians love to be helpful and explain things about their culture. While most of the people we ran into up North were nice, there are a lot of people that are just out to make a buck off of you. And there are even more people who were not patient when we spoke Italian.

3. McDonalds:Italy::Waffle House:The South. I heard about the McDonalds stereotype when I first got here, and I've heard it over and over. Europeans think that all we eat is McDonalds, everyday. After being here for two months, I've decided that the Europeans eat way more McDonalds than any American I've ever known, and it's wearing off on me!!! We ate at McDonalds three times on our trip, sad, I know. Here is my justification, though (or excuse, whatever you want to call it). There is almost always a McDonalds in a train station or airport, which accounts for two of the times we ate there. Oftentimes there is only a McDonalds and a crappy fast-food pizza place. McDonalds is supposed to be crappy. Pizza in Italy is not. So I cannot bring myself to knowingly order a crappy pizza. McDonalds are also convenient. Besides train stations, they are also often in areas with less food options, which is what happened when we ate there in Rome. We also know what we're getting into with McDonalds. No cover charge, but there are bathrooms - two key items when it comes to selecting a lunch locale in a strange city. But I think the real reason we've eaten there so much is that we are becoming Europeanized while we're over here, and the Europeans eat McDonalds. A lot. I have eaten more McDonalds here in the past two months than I usually eat back in the states! There was a student here several weeks ago who said that she and her friends eat at McDonalds every day. Anyways, it's not like I love McDonalds, and if I can help it, I won't eat it here again!

4. The driving gets progressively worse the farther South you go. We've met a friend this week who lives in Rome, and he believes in a different theory. He says that Naples is the center of bad driving, and it gets progressively better the farther you are from Naples. Since I haven't been to Naples, I can't comment on that. We didn't really see any cars in Venice as you can't drive on the islands. Although, I think you drive a motorina, maybe? I don't know. I didn't see any cars. Then in Florence there are tons of motorinas and cars, but everyone seemed to follow the rules. There were stop lights and yield signs, and there weren't five cars across on a two-lane road. Once we hit Rome, the driving got a little bit worse, though. The cars went a bit faster, and they enjoyed slamming on their brakes at the last minute. And I've already discussed the crosswalks the the likelihood of dying from a car-pedestrian accident. Sicilia still has worse drivers, though, so that's how we came to decide that the closer we got to Sicilia, the worse the driving became.

I think that's probably all my main observations. I've written about everything else as far as what we saw and the experiences we had. So I'm officially done blogging about the trip! Only a week and a half later or so! I'll move on to more mundane topics tomorrow! (Just kidding - it can't be that mundane if it's in Italy, right?) A domani!