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.