La terza è la volta buona

Winding down ...

2009-11-10T09:44:00.014-05:00

Well, as difficult as it is to fathom, I'm am literally about 12 days away from being home again. Seems like just yesterday I was counting down the days until departure, and now here I am going through pre-return information and planning with the students - and planning my own arrangements for my trip back too! In some ways my time here has flown and in others not, but it's been a lovely three months and I'm very much looking forward to the adventures that await me in the spring! I will be returning at the end of January/first of February with a new group of students and staying until the end of April/early May.

The knowledge of a return does funny things to someone who is leaving all sorts of people and places that they love. If there was no immediate prospect for return, I would be very sad indeed - a whole big mess of emotions! But as it is, sono una ragazza molto, MOLTO fortunata: since I know I'm coming back, I am free to relish the joy and excitement of returning to home and loved ones without sad thoughts, such as, "Will I ever come back to Sansepolcro?" Talk about removing most of the bitter from "bittersweet" :)

Although, I would be remiss if I did not admit how much I will miss my fellow Palazzo inhabitants - and my young charge, and the entire Falaschi family, and my daily haunts, and my friends around the town, and the town itself. It's no small matter leaving, that's for sure, but in another light it is ... because I'll be back again before I know it!

But enough about that - here's what I've been up to since last I wrote:

On Sunday and Monday (the 1st and 2nd), le ragazze returned from their travels and then life began anew on Tuesday. It was good to get into a routine again after a week where "getting better" was my main occupation. The cold also set in quite soundly, as did the rain, so taking care of Veronica became (and continues to be) more of a challenge. I am missing those beautiful days in September and October when comfortable, sunny days weren't just the norm, but expected. Rain was nearly not thought of, and any coolness was felt in a welcome breeze.

While we are on the topic of weather, I should mention that I am quite interested in what "spring in Italy" is like. I've only ever been here during summers and falls (and one day in winter), so I'm curious to experience spring firsthand. Can't say the same about winter, I'm afraid!

This past Saturday (the 7th), we took a day trip to nearby rival town, Gubbio - and I loved every minute of it.

We started our day with a visit to a beautiful mausoleum honoring forty Gubbini civilians that were martyred by German troups during World War II ...

Then we got a bird's eye view of the place by riding up the side of a mountain in a human-sized bird cage ...

Next, we delighted in the many beauties of the gorgeous basilica at the top of the mountain ...

Here's the group! L-R: (Back row) John Rose, Dr. Webb, Nicole, Hannah, Chelsea, me, Sam, Dr. Swab, and Mr. Ed - Dr. Swab's husband; (front row) Amanda, Lauren and Vi.

After that, we made our way back down the mountain, two by two and in our birdcages, and started seeking out a place per mangiare (for EATING!). Hannah, Sam, and I really lucked out in our choice: we found a little pizzeria and after ordering, started talking with the owner a bit. Naturally, he wanted to know where we were from, and after learning we were Americans, he smiled, pondered a bit, then informed us that we were the first Americans to have eaten in his restaurant since the currency in Italy changed from lire to euros! We were so excited. Can't get much more authentic than that!

After one of the most delicious pasta dishes of my life (penne with a spicy pink sauce con stinco), the girls and I decided to wander around the town and take in more of the local scenery. Here are some snapshots from our post-lunch adventures:

Overall, we had a positively GORGEOUS day - and Gubbio was probably my favorite new place this time around (so far). That being said, this Thursday we are heading over to Val d'Orcia (which is in the province of Siena) and then from there we are heading way, way, way southward to Matera. Both places are closely connected to specific readings in Dr. Webb's literature class, but thankfully the rest of the Palazzo has been invited to come along and join in the fun :) We'll be gone Thursday through Sunday and, knowing our group, I think there is great potential for it to truly be a trip to remember ... I can't wait!

After that, I'll have one last week watching Veronica, leave for Roma on Saturday, and then depart for Raleigh via Dulles the next morning. Craziness.

Must end for now. Much love to those back home - looking forward to seeing you all very soon!

un bacio,

Bekah

Sono malata ...

2009-10-27T17:06:00.007-04:00

I'm sick :( Head, throat, cough, and general tired-blahness since Saturday. But it's not so bad ...

The students are having their long break this week and I didn't have any plans, so thankfully I now have plenty of time to take it easy and get better before the craziness starts up anew next Tuesday! And if I'm not showing signs of improvement tomorrow, Sara is going to take me to the doctor - I am in very good hands!

One happy bit of news is that I got to wear my yellow galoshes THREE TIMES last week - what joy is mine :)

I will write more once I get to feeling better ...

ciao a tutti,

Bekah

Little notes on today

2009-10-21T14:31:00.010-04:00

It rained today! But guess who didn't have her galoshes?

Bekah.

I went well out of my way to try and determine the forecast earlier this morning, but clearly this was to no avail. First, I checked online after waking up and was informed that there would be showers this afternoon. Promising, but most of my excursioning tends to happen in the mornings or at night. Darn. Well, then I did "the window check," twice - once before and once post-shower. Still no rain, although the sky was certainly a bit cloudy. Oh well! On went the sneakers and that was that.

Or so I thought. But somehow, from the time it took me to grab my keys, phone, and Burt's Bees and then get downstairs ... it started to sprinkle. By this time, I was borderline in ritardo and needed to begin my ascent, so since it was only misting, I decided to decline my desire to run back upstairs and apprehend the galoshes and umbrella.

That was a mistake.

By the time I was truly too far along to turn back it had really started raining, so I had to take off my peacoat to cover my head (wet hair in cold Italian house = miserable head cold) and then increase my velocity x2. By the time I got to Sara and Patrizio's I was cold and even more frustrated by my choice to leave the rain gear behind. What was I thinking? When was I going to learn to just LISTEN to my woman sense (having intuition only serves you well if you heed it) and WEAR the galoshes?!!

Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. Unless I am met with fluffy, white sheep clouds and a Carolina blue sky in the morning, those galoshes are going to be on my feet!

In other news, the second session (quarter) of classes is in its second week and seems to be going along quite nicely. Next semester I plan to audit one of them - ENG/HIS 940: Justice and Liberty - where I will get to "read closely some of the works of Primo Levi, along with those of other Turinese Jews, namely Carlo Levi and Natalia Ginzburg, whose lives and writings were shaped, if not to say determined, by the rise of fascism [while we] examine autobiographies, biographies, historic accounts, poetry, fiction, and film as they begin to form a picture of Italy during WWII." Exciting! Because believe it or not, I really miss school. I miss classes and lectures and my English professors and even (sometimes) the homework too ...

Because I really loved Meredith, especially my beloved Joyner, where I spent so many hours drinking in literature from professors who love what they teach. Look, here I am hugging it:

Oh, and look what I had on my feet. See, that was clearly a more intelligent time of my existence! Maybe I need to cut back on the Nutella ...

On a less mopey note, next week is a two-day school week for the students and then they will begin their long travel breaks! Many are going to London, but others are going to Switzerland or even Morocco and another is staying in Italy to travel with family that will be visiting her during the break. I'm going to tag along and serve as a tour guide the day they go see Siena, and I am really excited about going back! It is also very special to share places you love with people that have never seen them before. As exhausting a role as it can be, being a tour guide offers rewards that are priceless! I loved introducing Sarah and Jamie to Sansepolcro, Anghiari, Citta' di Castello, and Firenze, and I will treasure those visits because seeing these cities anew with them made each trip uniquely dear.

Speaking of Sarah and Jamie, I want to thank them again in the presence of all who read this blog for transporting wintry necessities my way! I am truly relishing my expanded collection of long sleeves, my sneakers, my Birkenstocks, and the track jackets and hoodies ... and in immense proportions! Thank you!

Of course, at present I am holding a small grudge against my New Balance sneakers because both times that it rained I wore them instead of my galoshes and almost died in consequence. For you see, the traction on the sneakers is minimal and, clumsy human being that I am, this makes me a walking hazard, a show for all of Sansepolcro to watch and enjoy :)

And this is yet another reason why tomorrow, Lord willing, I will not leave the house without my yellow galoshes ...

Buona serata!

Scusami tanto! Here's a much-needed update ...

2009-10-19T08:44:00.032-04:00

I have been extremely negligent - forgive me! October arrived with a bang and brought a series of visits, events, and to-dos that have kept me quite busy up until now ...

First, we had a lovely group come visit us for a week - friends of the college, alums, trustees, deans, even President Hartford herself - in celebration of the Palazzo's grand opening on October 4th. While our Meredith visitors were here there was no end of good food, conversation, and laughter, and I think it would be difficult to say who had more fun - our visitors or the students! And as for the open house that took place on the 4th, I am not sure what the final head count was, but it felt like half of the population of Sansepolcro came by to see the place - it was wonderful! Everyone was so excited, interested, and complimentary. Here they were, people of the town that had watched the restoration of this incredible building from the outside looking in, finally getting inside to see what was done to the place. It was overwhelmingly delightful to see how genuinely curious and interested they all were. And of course, there was lots of delicious food for everyone and students walking around all afternoon with big trays of prosecco. It was quite the event, and quite the success!

Of course, by the end, me and my introverted self collapsed in bed with a migraine to boot. The dynamics of crowds and playing hostess have always sucked the energy out of me (I'll never comprehend the idea of it actually imparting energy on some folks!), but just imagine doing so for hours and hours in a language that is not your primary one :) It was a terrific afternoon and evening of practice for me, but whew, it sure did take a toll on my brain!

The next week had me heading to Milan on Thursday to spend a lovely long weekend with Amber - and put me in position to pick up Sarah and Jamie from the airport the next morning! I hadn't seen Amber since March (see below), just before she left for her two-year sojourn in Milano:

Since then, I've graduated from college and made my way back over to Italy; meanwhile, Amber has picked up Italian so that we can now argue in two languages :) The two of us had a great Thursday doing some major catch-up and then got up bright and early to apprehend Jamie and Sarah from the train station the next morning.

Here they are with beautiful pre-departure smiles! I wasn't adept ... ahem, I mean, cruel enough to snap a photo immediately upon their arrival :)

We started to get worried after shuttle after airport shuttle turned up without any sign of them (and remember, they have no way of communicating to us!), so we split up - I stayed at Milano Centrale while Amber cut back to a Metro stop in case they had gotten confused and taken the "Malpensa Express" instead of the "Malpensa Shuttle." We knew the second we did so the girls would turn up, and sure enough, not 15 minutes after Amber had taken off, I hear my name being called and, whipping around, there they are running toward me, suitcases and all! It was quite a moment.

They were pretty out of it, giggly and loopy from the lack of sleep and the various comedic adventures that had happened along the way, but their spirits were high and their humor was in top form :) That's the key to maintaining sanity during world travel fiascos - laughter! When the unthinkable happens and it seems like there is no immediate solution and you don't speak the language so you're basically helpless and without a cell phone? Laugh, just laugh!

Later that afternoon, after some showers, naps, and food had been had, Amber gave us a delightful insider's overview of Milan. Here we are all post-recuperation:

We got to go inside the cathedral ...

Then we gawked at the beautiful Galleria ...

Disapproved of some Milanese fashion specimens ...

Walked past La Scala, which is the famous opera house of Milan:

And naturally, there was some gelato eaten and some shopping accomplished as well. I bought my first piece of clothing! I'm sure there is more than one soul reading this that has fallen out of his or her chair at this news, but it's true. I had steered clear of clothing stores and the keep-away method has served me well! Another thing that helped was telling myself that this trip to Milan was coming, and that I should just wait and take advantage of the stores and the companionship then. So I did! And it was worth it. The top I bought is unique, and quite beautiful in my own humble opinion, plus, it's the kind you can dress up or down ... and it only cost me 14 euro. The only problem is, the moment we got back to Sansepolcro cold weather hit! So I'm going to have to wait till spring to sport my new Italian fashion piece :( Oh well! I suppose that was why it was on sale.

Well, we were all sad to leave Milan that following Monday, but the girls were also really excited about seeing Sansepolcro at long last - this place I have talked their ears off about for over two years now. So we spent Tuesday morning touring Sansepolcro: the town center, the cathedral, the market, the park, the little shopping center (which reminds me of the old North Hills mall), and little nooks and crannies I've fallen in love with over the years. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to finally get to share this part of my life with family and friends from back home!

After lunch we took off for Anghiari, the little jewel of a town that sits high on the Tuscan hills and woos every visitor - it's love at first sight every time.

From there on out the rest of the week was crazy - but wonderful fun. On Wednesday we made a day trip to Firenze (Florence) ...

It was quite the day!

On Thursday we dropped in on Citta' di Castello, a town comparable to Sansepolcro in size that is about thirty minutes away by bus ...

Citta' di Castello's charm is superseded solely by the beauty of its views. Guarda ...

And then, we stumbled upon a truly delicious find and ate a fantastic lunch at this delightful little hole-in-the-wall local eatery ...

It was one of those afternoons that can only be referred to as "magical." Maybe it felt so because of the hurried, crazy, walkathon kind of days we had just had with Florence the day before - but I don't know about that.

Friday we had another such day because we attempted (and succeeded, I might add) the impossible: Rome in a day. Crazy, yes, but they wanted a glimpse of it so we did the best we could! Jamie wanted to see the Vatican and Sarah the Coliseum, so we made those two sights our top priorities and took in the rest in double-time (as we ran by!). Since I had already seen the Vatican the last time I was there, I used that time in the morning to return to a different (gratis) site: the Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus). Journal in tow, I hopped on the Metro and then plopped myself down on the grassy hills that remain and drank in some sunshine - it was lovely. Then it was off to meet the others at the Coliseum!

Now, seeing as this is probably hands down my favorite place in Rome ... I paid to go inside again :) And it was worth it ...

After that, it was time to run back to the bus station and head home. It was a crazy day, and we came back to Sansepolcro exhausted (utterly!), but they were glad we had done it, so I was pleased.

Sadly, the very next morning I had to see them off to Milan again so they could catch their Sunday morning flight back to the States. Just before they left, the three of us ran up the hill to Sara and Patrizio's house so they could give one last hug to each of the bambini. We had gotten to have dinner with them three or four times that week, so all three of the kids were quite attached to Jamie and Sarah - and in no mood to see them leave!

Case in point: this morning, when I got to the house to watch Veronica, there were immediately cries of "Jamie!" and "Sarah!" ... someone was not pleased that it was I that had come to watch her, not Jamie or Sarah. Even after I had been there for an hour, she looked over at me and just said, "Jamie? Jamie?"

So now, life has returned to normal. I'm watching Veronica again in the mornings and enjoying it anew - although I am still adjusting to watching her in cold weather instead of warm! For instance, today the weather said cold but not rainy, so I did not wear my wonderful yellow galoshes so very kindly brought over by Jamie ... and it rained. Not happy. Now, the good thing is, it was not a real, good, hearty rain, and frankly, had I actually worn the galoshes that might have been more disappointing. If I'm going to make a fool of myself with these lovely things (the Italians are going to be a bit appalled at them I think), I want to do so in a decent torrent of rain that in fact merits their use! Is it odd that I am dutifully checking the weather forecast for rain? Yes. Will I keep doing it until it actually happens? Absolutely!

So send your rainclouds my way - I want them!

A presto (I hope!),

Bekah

Translation complete!

2009-09-29T07:36:00.002-04:00

For those interested in a translation of the video, I added it to the end of the post below. Enjoy!

Bekah

Our first "happy" Monday

2009-09-28T13:54:00.006-04:00

I am very pleased to announce that Veronica did not cry today - and on a Monday no less! Those are usually the hardest days! But no, we walked around town, had to make a run for the palazzo mid-walk so she could go potty (I was so proud of her!), continued on afterward to the park, played with the pigeons, then went back to the palazzo for a snack and brief visit with Alessandra before finally heading back home to meet up with a nonna. I was thrilled.

I was probably even more thrilled because the way the morning began seemed to imply that a tempest was imminent. Here's what happened ...

I left the Palazzo a tiny bit in ritardo (late!), but knew that a quicker pace would get me there in time. (As a side note, it is funny to me that I still "worry" about being late, when I am in Italy and the people I am running "late" to are Sara and Patrizio, who are not high-strung or worried about such a thing ... ever. ) Anyway, there I was, beginning my morning climb up the mountain, when I noticed that the woman walking her dog in front of me looked like ... Patrizio's mother! Nonna Graziella! And it was her! (Another side note: This is the nonna that got all of the bloodstains out of my beloved aqua sweater after Ginevra's tumble down the palazzo steps. It was amazing! I didn't think such stains were possible to be rid of - but I digress, again!) So I called out a cheerful "Buongiorno!" to get her attention, we exchanged pleasantries, and then she offered to walk with me and stop in to see the kids. On the way up, we talked about Veronica first, then cycled through discussing Leonardo and Ginevra as well. It was interesting to hear her take on the kids, and to even get the chance to talk with her for longer than 30 seconds without interruption!

When we reached the house Nonna Manuela (Sara's mom) was there with the kids and they were working their way towards the door. Each one seemed in their own state of uproar: Veronica, who was on her hip, took one look at me and, grabbing her shoulder, said, "No!", Ginevra was saying over and over, "I don't want to do to school today," and Leonardo too was expressing a distaste for leaving home - "Why can't I go play at (the other) Grandma's house instead of school?" Oh dear! It was quite the picture of chaos. Each of the grandmothers kept exchanging glances with me and each other as if to say, "What is wrong with them today???"

We finally got them out the door by the divide and conquer method: Manuela coaxed Leonardo out the door, Graziella had Veronica and puppy, and I took Ginevra to my hip and cuddled her in the nook of my neck to try and calm the crying. We were quite the parade! The comical procession got even more ridiculous when Veronica refused to get into her stroller and wanted to walk the dog ...

Needless to say, with this as my introduction to the morning, I was certain the parting at the bottom of the hill (when Nonna Manuela and I trade places and I secretly take over the pushing of the stroller without Veronica's immediate knowledge) was going to be ... eventful. But it wasn't! She was tearless and amiable and quite playful all morning long - it was lovely!

And to top it off, I got a great video of her chatting away:

TRANSLATION ...

Me: Veronica, do you like the "caccia" (Foccaccia bread)?
V: Yes.
Me: Yes. Yes a lot, or yes a little?
V: (No answer)
Me: A lot, right?
V: (Points) GINEVRA!
Me: Where is Ginevra?
V: (Baby mumble)
Me: Ginevra’s going … to school!

V: School …

Me: And Leonardo? He’s where?

V: At school.

Me: At school! Good girl! And Veronica, where is she?

V: I …

Me: You?

V: Stroller …

Me: Stroller, yes! You are in the stroller.

V: I want to get down …

Me: You want to get down?

V: Yes!

Me: You don’t … don’t you want more bread?

V: Yes …

Me: Yes, ok, but how do you ask?

V: VORAY! (her way of saying per favore, which means please!)

Me: Please! Good girl!

V: Please …

Me: Say bye!

V: Bye …

Me: Bye!

Pesto alla Genovese

2009-09-26T15:09:00.007-04:00

This is a pesto recipe Sara's father got for me - he heard me mention wanting one at dinner Thursday night and found one for me! Such a sweet man ...

I've translated it below - enjoy!

Ingredienti:

- 160 medium basil leaves
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 100 grams of shelled pine nuts
- 10 pinches of granulated salt
- 10 tablespoons of grated Pecorino cheese
- 10 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
- Extra virgin olive oil (to taste)

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and mix until well blended; add more olive oil as needed. Serves 20 normal people (17 if I am one of the dinner party).

Buon appetito!

*Note: One ingredient I know Patrizio uses to add extra flavor is walnuts ... I will post Patrizio's version of this recipe as soon as I can get it from him!

Reflections on a quiet weekend ...

2009-09-26T08:47:00.008-04:00

Sometimes I feel more like a eighty-something instead of a girl of twenty-two! Here I am, spending my weekend quietly at the nearly empty Palazzo in my beloved Sansepolcro while the vast majority are off seeing the beauties of Venice and Italian countryside - and I wouldn't trade it, not for a weekend of traveling anywhere else in Italy. I can hear friends back home laughing at me, or see them shaking their heads. "You're in Italy, girl - go out and enjoy it!" But I needed this little period of stillness and quiet. I was looking forward to it all week, and now that it is here, I am thankful for the time it has offered for both thought and general collection of mind.

Anyway, there I was sitting in my chair earlier - window open as usual - when I began pondering a number of things. I was enjoying the cooler breezes that arrived earlier this week, the rich blue sky, and the wide-ranging splendor of the moment. My weekend in Florence eventually floated back to the surface, and thoughts of that weekend set me to reflecting back on my travel experiences in Italy over the past few years. It makes me smile to notice the difference between Bekah in Italy 2007 and Bekah in Italy 2009: in so many ways the same girl is here still - and yet, my idea of pleasure and where to find it has shifted dramatically.

I remember how oriented to constantly doing and seeing I was the first time around, and how my go-go-go drive to do and see as much as possible took me spinning through destinations like a kid on a scavenger hunt. I've wondered sometimes how much I truly took in during those trips! This time feels so different, and my "methods" of seeing and doing seem to have changed considerably - and, I would say, for the better.

The trip to Florence last weekend really showed me where these differences lie and, although I already touched on them some, I think they are worth revisiting. I know that many of you have not been to Italy, but in the hopes that you will travel, either here or some other amazing site away from home, I want to give you an alternative to the typical way of seeing and enjoying a new place. I'm not in any way suggesting that it is the way - I've just had some new thoughts on the subject and want to share them with anyone willing to listen ...

There are two main aspects I want to highlight, two key disciplines, if you will, to this version of acquainting oneself with a new city or area - and I think it is fair to refer to each as an art form, for neither is risk-free or easy all of the time. The first is the art of observing - truly observing. It seems one thing to see a place and quite another to get to know it through keen observation of its makeup, movements, and personality.

I was so pleased with Firenze this time around because I was at leisure to actually sit down and enjoy her! Yes, there is great value in throwing yourself headlong into the beauties of the Uffizi or the wonder of Brunelleschi's dome, and one should take in as many such opportunities as possible, especially if it could be the one weekend of your life that you are in Florence. However, if you are able, save time in your day to take a break from the going and seeing and just stop ... allow yourself to sit, observe, relish. One can learn so much about a place just by sitting in the same corner for an hour, or even a half hour, and taking note of the people milling around you, the architecture above your head, the conversations filtering into your ears (even if you don't speak the language!) ... the possibilities are extensive and wonderful!

I have also found that there is great value in devoting more extended observation to a few key places (say, 3-4 main ones versus 8 or 9+) instead of overstretching and only taking in a fraction of what the sight has to offer. The experience of a museum, cathedral, garden, palace or ????? when you allow more time for each will be worth it. This method can also be far more economically friendly to your pocketbook too! Imagine paying to see a handful of sights and spending an hour or two (or in the case of a place like the Uffizi three, four, etc) on each and actually getting your money's worth out of the experience! Too often I made this mistake, paying to see a place and then not allowing for the time it deserves because I was too preoccupied with getting to the next thing - checking one more thing off of my list of to-see's.

On a similar financially-minded note, keep an eye out for beauties and enriching experiences that are free of charge. Parks, piazzas, and markets (if you can keep your hands in your pockets and out of your wallet!) are always open to be enjoyed by all, and they can often be great places to take in the lifestyles of locals too. This is especially true if you are able to enjoy them in the late afternoon or evening - by then most of the tourists have lost their steam and have either crashed back at their hotels, flooded the tourist-friendly restaurants, or better yet, left town :) And remember too that you will get a richer experience of churches if you wait to see the inside during a service. Even with the ones that usually charge for entry you will be spared that cost and, as a bonus, you will get to witness firsthand the chiesa in motion, which is the best way to observe one in full.

Now, talking of le activita' gratis leads me to the second ingredient of my recipe for non-traditional seeing of a place: that of wandering. Before I continue, I should say that this is one suggestion to approach with some caution, particularly if, like me, one is prone to getting lost. But there is a solution - visit a tourist office! Get a free map! Orient yourself to important places, like the train or bus station, your hotel, or even the tourist office, and mark up your map. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to look or sound stupid when asking for help. If you must ask for help and the tourist office is not an option, approach a younger person of your sex who appears friendly - they would be more likely than a middle-aged or older individual to speak English (isn't always the case, but generally speaking it's a good rule of thumb). Now, that caveat having been noted, I will continue on to the benefits of wandering ...

When people are comfortable wandering, they open up new windows of opportunity and place themselves in the way of interesting new discoveries. Leaving the beaten path of tourists is freeing and exciting, and you are also far more likely to say goodbye to the place feeling like you own a piece of it - or that it owns a piece of your heart! I can't tell you how many delightful spots I've accidentally stumbled across, or how many home away from home sensations have warmed my insides, or how many interesting locals I've had the pleasure of crossing paths and conversing with (if only for a minute, or 5) all because I took pains to throw myself into the less obvious corners of a city. I've also happened upon free jazz concerts, tasted original-to-the-site gelato flavors (and paid less for them too), found that perfect Italian alleyway to capture on camera, and exchanged pleasantries with a friendly nonna as I passed under her apartment window.

These are all things I would have missed out on had I stuck to a strict schedule that took me from one museum to another, or held fast to the main roads out of fear or insecurity. It is difficult to pull yourself away from the obvious big streets when you are new to a place and unsure of your surroundings, I know - I've experienced that too! But the rich potential for gain is completely worth it - and the freedom of time to simply meander and enjoy is priceless.

Buon weekend!

Sights seen, thoughts thought, & lessons learned …

2009-09-22T12:46:00.011-04:00

… since I last wrote. It’s been twelve days now – yikes! So here is what happened, the unfortunate reason behind my unexpected silence: INTERNET WOES. Simple, yes, but still sad – and after I was on such a roll too!

Our network is experiencing long term difficulties and the failure has caused no end of troubles, especially since there are projects, papers, and communications that must happen despite the lack of wireless. Thankfully, all seem to be handling the situation with an appropriate amount of humor. Yes, we are all annoyed by the near constant inconveniences that come up each day, but at least we are laughing about it :)

The funny thing is, an open neighboring network was quickly discovered by Dr. Webb and me – and now we are all using her! She’s everyone’s newest best friend – Alice, we call her, for that is actually her name (although it is pronounced ah-LEE-chay). Alice is an internet provider here and last weekend I actually saw a commercial for it and pointed to the screen, squealing, “HEY! It’s Alice!” Anyway, thanks to our new friend, we can get just enough internet to check email and surf slowly, but it cuts out on a regular basis so there is still plenty of fodder for jokes/complaints regarding the situation.

Here is the truly funny thing though: since it’s a neighboring system, only one side of the palazzo gets it – as in, literally one wall. Well, it just so happens to be the back wall of Dr. Webb’s apartment, the student kitchen, and, ahem, my little bedroom (and bathroom!). Convenient for me, yes? Absolutely! But not so nice for le ragazze, so the students have been lining the kitchen counters, hanging out in my bathroom, and sitting on my floor to get some internet. I am not kidding! Guarda …

Anyway, so until a solution is reached, it seems I will be having more company than usual! It’s so cute really, and I don’t mind a bit. Right now I’m just thankful that Alice is running strong enough for me to access Blogger and post this update – I couldn’t get the page to load at all last week!

But enough about the internet. Basta! I’m sorry it has already eaten up so much space when there is this much to update you all on, but I wanted to give you an explanation so no one was under the impression that they were being neglected for gallivants around the Italy (however, there has been a bit of gallivanting going on – just this past weekend to be honest)! In the interest of time and the preservation of my fingers, I will not attempt to tell you everything … but I will do my best to remember back and jot down the highs and lows, as well as a few other odd points of interest that rest between those two extremes. Consider this entry a blog of “snippets,” for that is all I have time to attempt I’m afraid :)

The weekend before last (when the internet first failed), we were fortunate enough to attend the fall edition of the Balestra, a Robinhood-esque competition that takes place every fall and spring between Sansepolcro and another nearby city, Gubbio.

There are parades, flag throwing performances, constant drumming, pasta festivals, and a cut-throat rivalry (think UNC vs. Duke, but with everyone in medieval dress). It was incredible to witness!

And we even had great seats – thanks to Sara. I will post more pictures on picasa as soon as I can get enough bandwidth to support the videos (don’t know if Alice is up for that task). You simply have to see it to understand/believe it! Sort of like Cornhuskin’ …

Another thing you have to see (or taste, rather) to believe, is the pasta at my favorite little hole-in-the-wall trattoria, Le Mura. This is the same place I got the sage and butter ravioli at a few weeks back – remember? Well this time I went with Chelsea, the evening of the Balestra, and we both picked a different pasta dish and then split them. I got a spicy spaghetti dish, which basically consisted of long, angel-hair pasta tossed in red pepper, olive oil, and garlic … probably my favorite way to eat spaghetti! Fulvia used to make it for me a lot last semester while I was in Siena, and I was so glad to find a place that serves it. Chelsea ordered my longtime favorite dish at the trattoria – homemade gnocchi in a cheesy casserole with tiny little shrimp simply bursting with flavor – and so I got to eat some of that again, which was equally wonderful. Goodness, just writing about it makes me want to go back there tonight for dinner …

Watching the kids, eating out-of-this-world Italian cuisine, and drinking in the breathtaking scenery that surrounds me are my three favorite simple joys of life here. The fourth? Well, I’ve indulged in a bit of reorganizing … furniture reorganizing. See, my little bedroom is not a perfect square, so various pieces of furniture, such as my bed and the nightstand, will not ever be flush to the wall. This may not seem like a big deal to most, and well, it isn’t … but some of us struggle with accepting such inconsistencies more than others! The way I see it is, this is just another part of living in a palazzo that is more than twice as old as my home country. And well, there is some added personality and character to a room that isn’t “normal,” so it’s growing on me. But I have experimented with the arrangement some here and there, and am quite pleased with the current setup …

One aspect of the room I have not embraced so wholeheartedly is the frequency of visitors. Every night, around 7:30 or 8:00 without fail, little friends from the outdoors creep in from who knows where and conduct their own miniature passeggiata, making use of my walls, floors, and ceiling as if they were theirs, not ahem, mine. Now, as a child I absolutely loved rolly-polly bugs and thought they were just as cute as they could be, but now that they have become nightly drop-ins I have grown quite tired of them. I’m not sure where they come from – maybe I don’t want to know – but they appear no matter what. Whether the window is open or closed, it makes no difference! Oh well, as always, it really could be so much worse. Rolly-pollies really are amiable little creatures, and after all, I could be dealing with something like spiders instead! I’d probably retreat and let them have the room before willingly sleeping in the same space as them …

In a way though, I am glad for these little slices of reality that cut into this seemingly heavenly life in Tuscany I am leading. The sock wars, the internet woes, the lonely moments, the missing of loved ones back home … they keep my feet on the ground, spark a rush of renewed thankfulness for all the wonderful gifts I have so graciously been given, and remind me to enjoy each moment here.

That reminds me of one morning last week, when I was walking to Sara and Patrizio’s in the rain. For one reason or another, it had already been a low morning for me: I was tired, I wasn’t looking forward to the battles over socks or the third and fourth cookies that shouldn’t be eaten, and then, of course, the rain just made me even less thrilled about leaving my warm bed and our snug Palazzo apartments. I spent the walk up praying, trying to clear my head and my heart before getting to Veronica, and as I approached the last corner the turnaround swept over me like a warm hug. To my left, I saw a long row of various flowers – ones that I had often noticed and admired – but this morning they were stunning. Absolutely glorious in color! The rain, as it so often does, had taken their beauty and enhanced it tenfold. The glistening moisture dripping off the petals was leaving them wet, yes, but ever so much more beautiful that they had been the day before when surrounded by sunshine. It was like I had only just then woken up, like I’d been in a cloud until then! Because it suddenly hit me that that is exactly what the rain in our lives can be like: it drenches us, leaving us wondering what hit us, and what on earth are we going to do next … but in the end, we are more beautiful on the inside, more radiant and strong and nourished because of the storm, and that is something worth smiling about, isn’t it? So instead of feeling mopey and tired for that last minute of my trek, I felt light, invigorated, and ready for whatever was coming next, sock wars and all. I’ve never so appreciated the beauty of a rainy morning …

I’ve made other treks, longer ones, since I last wrote. The Saturday before last, a small group of us went to Citta’ di Castello, led by Dr. Webb and John Rose on a morning outing. It was quite lovely! We arrived mid-morning and walked around a bit before indulging in a delicious cappuccino at a little café in the main piazza. A little bit later we all made our way over to a restaurant for lunch, which lasted at least two hours, I think. Or so it seemed! There was some disorder about the plates because the place was pretty busy and we were a bit group, but there were no complaints and everyone handled the inconvenience beautifully.

After lunch I wandered about the little town with the students, peeking in on the ancient town hall and the local cathedral before settling in at a pretty little park to capture the gorgeous scenery that surrounds the walled city. More pictures to come soon! I will try to upload some this afternoon …

Then this past weekend the group made a trip to Firenze (Florence), and despite the forecast had a full weekend of sunshine (it rained buckets and buckets a few minutes after I returned to Arezzo to catch the bus home to Sansepolcro on Sunday, but I didn’t mind by that point!). Since this was my fourth time, I was a bit unsure of what to do with myself at first. There is always the option of going back and re-seeing the sights and museums I have enjoyed before (the gorgeous collection in the Uffizi, Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia, the Boboli gardens behind the Palazzo Pitti, the Bargello museum … it’s hard to say no!), but I am trying to stick to a pretty tight budget this time, and since I have had the privilege of seeing them once before, I decided to say no to re-paying entry fees and instead content myself with simply enjoying the city and its “on the house” delights.

Thus, after a truly lovely evening out with Dr. Webb, John Rose, and Mary Susan Friday night, I spend most of Saturday and Sunday either sitting in various piazzas to think, read, and journal or walking about the city in an “aimless” fashion that I quite enjoyed! I spent nearly all of Saturday morning in the Piazza della Signoria, a good little space of the afternoon wandering about with Amanda, and then a half hour or so in Santa Croce that evening. The next day I did the same sitting and relishing bit in the Piazza di Santo Spirito and the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, and it was just wonderful! I think one sees so much more that way, when there is time to do so and there’s no pressure to see this, that, or the other, and I think I got a much better idea of the personality and feel of Firenze as a city this time around – and I genuinely like her now, which is a relief of sorts, because I didn’t at first! I know that must sound funny to most people. What? You didn’t like Florence? However not?! I don’t know. The first time was rushed and hectic and in high tourist season, so I don’t think we got off to a great start. That makes me even happier to find that I truly like her now! First impressions can be so off you know. I mean, if Elizabeth had held fast to her original feelings for Mr. Darcy, where on earth would we be then? Oh Lizzy …

I still see my old man friend with the pretty dog nearly every day, or at least every other day (the one who told me to walk on the left side of the road). Little friends I’ve made like him, the lady who owns the music store across from the palazzo, and the kindly nonnas in the park have quickly become highlights of my morning walks with Veronica …

Speaking of Veronica … she is letting me kiss, tickle, and cuddle with her now. Success! Today she even curled up next to me and laid her little head against my arm while we watched Gli Aristogatti (The Aristocats) …

It’s not all cuddles and kisses though. Some mornings (especially Mondays) she still throws an all out hissy fit when Sara and Patrizio leave the house with Leo and Gigia. She has certainly got some lungs in that little body! The good thing is, the recovery time seems to be decreasing and, as I mentioned above, once the initial trauma has passed she is actually quite affectionate with me …

That takes me back to a mental breakthrough I had early last week: good parenting, and good nannying too, I believe, seems to require an absolute dying to what you want. I never viewed it this way, but now I am pretty thoroughly convinced that this is fact (perhaps even cross-stitch pillow worthy, if I could find the right phrasing). I used to think that as a nanny or a parent one needed to hold fast to what you wanted over what the child wanted, in order to relay the message that you are in charge and they must heed you (as a nanny I’ve found this to be particularly important from a safety perspective, for if they don’t listen at the wrong moment, the child’s life could be in danger). But here’s the catch – sometimes, you don’t even want what you originally wanted. I’ve found myself going from wanting Veronica to wear shoes to, mid-all out war, finding that I don’t really care whether she wears them or not … I just want the kicking, screaming, and public humiliation to stop, please! So you see, it’s not about what you want at all, it’s about what is best for the child long term, and in the case of the shoes, it was vital that I follow that battle through and win it – otherwise I’d be fighting it anew each and every time it was time to wear them. The method is not a fun one, and the carrying out is not a neat, predictable process, but I am convinced that the hard-lining technique will prove to be the most beneficial to both me and the child in question at the end of the road. Until then, I have to keep asking the good Lord to grant me extra patience in the meantime …

Another testing of my patience is less concrete – literally. The trying element hangs over my head, drifts into my breathing passages, and floats in and out of my path unexpectedly, never content to let me be! I speak, of course, of smoke. It’s everywhere. You wouldn’t believe how prominent it is in Italy. Someone said yesterday that if smoking were suddenly banned in North Carolina, our tobacco industry could still make out like bandits off the demand for cigarettes over here. It’s incredibly sad, but also difficult and potentially quite disastrous for individuals like me who are particularly sensitive to the fumes. I’ve already had a few of those terrible headaches over here – two of which I’m certain were migraines – and each of them I could trace back to either extended or concentrated exposure to cigarette smoke. I wish folks would realize that their choice to smoke carelessly around other people can have serious consequences …

As can talking in Italian too quickly. One day at lunch last week, I was telling Sara about one particular sock war I had just had with Veronica that morning and I slipped up on a word, saying something dirty and rude instead. Why do the crude ones have to be so close to the normal, nice ones???? I guess it could have been much worse though. At least I said it to Sara! She just said, “What? No, no … no, no, no … you mean _____, don’t say ______!!! Non e’ una parola carina!” Ah, bless you, Sara …

My Italian in general does appear to be consistently improving though! I cannot express enough how grateful I am for this third opportunity to practice and learn and refine my language skills in the country of origin. Now if I could just expand my knowledge of Italian idioms …

Another thing that has improved significantly since last time (and especially since the first time) is my budgeting. I have been quite frugal and prodigiously careful with where and how I spend my money, and that too has been a good thing for me to practice. Frugality and financial planning are art forms, you know, and while I might not be a Michelangelo by the time I leave here, I might manage to enter the States in the black instead of leaving Italia with my pocketbook redlining …

Oh! Speaking of planning: I have some fun plans coming up next month! First, my sister, Sarah, and my lifelong friend, Jamie, are coming to spend ten wonderful days with me the second week of October – too exciting! And then, a week after they leave my roommate from college, Cassie (who is teaching English in Angers, France for the next year), is coming over to spend her fall break with me. Yippee! Did I mention that both of these trips involve/include me visiting or being visited by Amber, my dear, dear friend who happens to be living in Milan just now? Wow. Just writing it all out makes me smile!

After Cassie leaves November will be here and I’ll be home in only twenty-two days, which is unbelievable. How time speeds past one in a country like Italy, where the lifestyle and postal service are known for being somewhere between slow-paced and snail-paced, is a wonder!

I guess I better do my absolute best to enjoy each and every moment then, hadn’t I? I’ll be home before I know it! You know though, I am really excited about that too. I missed Thanksgiving last year, when I was in Siena, and I was actually sick at the time too, so I am really looking forward to being a part of it this year. But that is neither here or now, so until then, I leave you with molti bacini e tante buone cose!

a presto (I hope!),

Bekah

P.S. Did I mention that the food continues to be delectable at every turn? I’ve begun a list of things I want Patrizio to teach me how to make before I leave. His pesto recipe is at the top :)

P.S.

2009-09-10T14:22:00.002-04:00

Forgive the lack of photos ... my camera lens is not cooperating so I am in the middle of trying to decide what to do next. I'm hoping it will work again, at least to get me through until the end of this semester, but we shall see. Until then, excuse the boring prospect! IF you need help wading through the flood of words, there are life jackets available ...

Well-Behaved Wednesday and Thankful Thursday

2009-09-10T11:29:00.008-04:00

After Tuesday's public outburst, my embarrassed and exhausted little self decided to spend Wednesday with Veronica a casa - under the radar and safe from any judgmental nonnas! Sara and I both thought it might be better if the "transition" (read: meltdown) from five Falaschi's in the house to one took place behind closed doors ...

So when the others left the house for the morning, Veronica and I stayed home, and while the screaming lasted a bit longer, the only person exposed to it was me, a seasoned veteran to this type of auditory assault. Every now and then I'm impressed by a particular set of toddler lungs, but for the most part it's just a matter of finding something to do while waiting for the waves of noise to pass.

And pass they did, about five minutes or so after the others had left. In the meantime, I had made myself master of the childlock on the movie drawer (a new edition to the decor that Sara had forgotten to tell me about!) and pulled out La Spada nella Roccia (The Sword in the Stone) to use as a source of distraction for Veronica and education/entertainment for me. Before long the little munchkin had joined me and we played with blocks, dolls, and borse (purses) while the movie was running. I was so encouraged ... because I understood everything! I had Italian subtitles on, which really helped. My next goal is to get to the point where even those are unnecessary, and my ultimate goal is to be able to follow the evening news (!), but until then I'm quite happy to have had yet another instance show me that my knowledge of the language is improving!

The rest of that morning was easy. I watched Lolo until 11:30 or so when Patrizio got back and then the three of us went to get Ginevra from her morning school. Her eyes lit up when she saw me, which completely made my morning!

At lunch we were visited by a couple from the Netherlands that Dr. Webb had met and invited, as well as the Bankers (who were taking their art history class to Arezzo post-meal) and Lucia Bini, a twenty-something Italian girl Dr. Webb and John Rose have known for years. The frequency (as in, almost daily) and variety of visitors make our lunch table a very special time and place here at the Palazzo. Today, for instance, we had the two Italian girls (in their early 20s) from a favorite gelateria come for lunch - it's been a great way for us to meet new people and an equally nice way for them to see us in the flesh (after hearing about le studentesse americane for so long) and get a good sense of our pleasure at being here. I think it does them good to see how glad we are to be here, and how much we enjoy meeting various individuals of Sansepolcro. It is certainly furthering the Italian perception of Americans as being friendly, open, relaxed, and well, financially "comfortable." I can't help but wonder what our life in the Palazzo, from the beautiful living quarters to our abundance of electronics, clothes, etc., looks like to an Italian outsider. I'd give a lot to transpose myself into that perspective for an hour or so! Then I could write a bestselling expo on Americans in Italy and travel on a whim for the rest of my life :)

Ok, back to reality! Sort of. I mean, how much reality am I truly living right now, really? Not much in my opinion. When I titled my blog, I had only an idea of it being a "charmed" time of my life, but now I am convinced. Getting to live in Italy for a third time, work on my language skills, spend time with my dear Italian family and the likes of Dr. Webb, John Rose, and these lovely young women, AND get my own bathroom out of the deal? Oh, and there's a gelateria across the way ... is that a SHOWER of blessings or what?! So in actuality, it has nothing to do with being charmed and everything to do with being positively drenched with graces from above!

Backing up out of bunny trail ... yesterday afternoon I spent some time at the Happy Bar (main cafe in the piazza) with Nicole and Chelsea as we shared a lovely little reading hour over coffee. We all got some reading done and it's also the perfect setup for people watching, which I love. One can look on a good many interesting conversations and non-verbal interactions while tuning in on all sorts of cultural differences as well. I'm reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court right now, and while it hardly "matches" my current location (can one get much more American in literary makeup?), I am thoroughly enjoying Twain again.

Today was another better day with Veronica - a very good day in fact. We took off shortly after Sara left with the kids and made our usual grand sweep through the town. On the way down the mountain into the walled city centre, I made friends with an older man walking his dog (un bel cane, I said with a smile). He then proceeded to tell me that I was walking on the wrong side of the road, and that it was molto pericoloso (very dangerous) to walk on the right side instead of the left. Now, for my own parents and all other parents reading this who may be thinking, "She graduated from college and never learned to walk opposite of traffic!?!" give me a minute to explain ...

See, I realize that the left side is supposed to be safer ... but from my perspective, as a stroller-pushing pedestrian in Italy, I have to disagree. The way I see it, I would rather the car hit me first, with my body and the major part of the stroller shielding the munchkin, than have Veronica's little feetsies be the first thing to come into contact with a macchina that whips around those tight, hard-to-see-around corners too fast. I have just never felt good about that supposedly "safer" position when in Italy - the roads and even the small streets in neighborhoods are just different here.

I explained this to him, saying I was scared for her and afraid of a car hitting her first, but he kept arguing for the other side ... so I humored him out of respect and silently decided to try his way for awhile and see if I could convince myself that it truly was safer for Veronica. It may be a semester-long argument! After I took his advice, the old gentleman and I proceeded to talk a bit more, which was fun. I love making the odd friend here and there on my morning walks because the odds are I already "know" them (by sight at least) and will likely keep bumping into them again. Even if it's just a passing "buongiorno" or "come stai oggi?" as I pass through with Lolo, little things like that take me deeper into the heart of this community and make me feel even more local and permanent and "at home," or essentially, more italiana!

No worries on that front though - I remember last year around this time I was already sad to think about leaving at the end of the semester, and my family was beginning to feel like they'd lost me to Italia forever! But there is no need to fear :) I think I've finally reached a good medium between the two countries I formerly felt so caught between. A very wise woman (one I happen to be privileged enough to see on a daily basis these days!) once explained to me very well the traveler's dilemma: once you live somewhere new for awhile, and make new friends, and fall in love with new things, and find yourself captivated by new sights and beautiful places, you can't ever go back to the person you were before. From then on, your heart will be divided between these places (be they two or three or many, many!) and, most particularly when there are good friends and/or adopted family involved, you will always be missing something or someone. Because one cannot be in two or more places at once, there will always be events missed out on or people that are temporarily out of one's life. It's just the way it works!

So the moral of the lesson is, accept these facts. Live where you are at the moment, but don't forget or take for granted the other place(s) or person(s) either. It's yet another example of how life is a series of choices - I know I've made a good one in coming here, but that doesn't mean I've lost my heart and soul completely to Italy (quite the contrary!) either. I love both places, and I have people who are very dear to me in both, so yes, wherever I am, I'll be missing someone. But I wouldn't trade this "torn" feeling, for if I'd never traveled in the first place, I would never have met the newer ones at all - and how different my life would be!

All that to say, I think I've settled happily into this forever divided state of mine. I'm happy to be back in Italy and loving each day here, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to returning home again as well. It's a strange thing to hear I'm sure - the Bekah of last fall wouldn't believe her eyes and would probably lay a hand on current Bekah's forehead to check for a fever - but it's where I am now, and I'm content in it.

Whew, didn't see all of that coming! Back to today ... Veronica and I had a nice tantrum-less morning passeggiata-ing about Sansepolcro before heading back to the house for water and biscotti. Oh! Did I mention that I have become competent in my third language? Cookie-se. Veronica make be Italian, but she is fluent in Cookie-se (or as she calls her favorite treat, "toh-toh"). How does one speak Cookie-se? Well, it goes something like this (I have translated from the Italian dialect of Cookie-se to English, for your convience):

(Scene. Veronica, not wanting sit still in stroller, leans back to look up at me and starts spitting between her intervals of "no" and the occasional angry "Bekah!")

Me: Lolo, you may not do that.
Lolo: NO! (Spits again.)
Me: Listen. And look at me, please (she spits again) - no! Do not do that ... if you do that again, you will not get your cookies when we get home. Do you want to have cookies when we go back?
Lolo: (Eyes soften. Tongue returns to proper location.) Yesh ...
Me: Ok. Then do not spit again, ok? Do you understand?
Lolo: Yesh.
Me: Ok, good girl! Let's go to the park now, ok? You like the park, don't you?
Lolo: Yesh!

Total transformation. Now, it is not lost on me that I am walking the fine line between using loss of privilege as an enforcer/incentive for obedient behavior and, well, gross bribery. But I do not think I am abusing the previous method, and my fluency in cookie is even teaching the bambina please and thank you (in Italian though, of course)! I am quite pleased with her progress ...

The rest of my day went rather quickly. I walked back to the Palazzo around noon and enjoyed another wonderful lunch in the "great hall" shortly thereafter. Then I was very Italian and took a nice nap after lunch, something I've found that I actually really enjoy after my mornings with a kid or two! After that I made use of my lovely, striped shower and then met John Rose a bit later for another computer lesson (he too is making very good progress, so we are able to cover more and more ground as we continue on into the world of computers). After that I started this post, but was interrupted a couple times (first by the entire Falaschi clan, then to help translate for Dr. Webb when the water heater guy came to look at a faulty part in some of the wiring, and lastly to eat some dinner), but now that I have finished, I am off to read some more Twain and enjoy this amazing period of my life to the fullest.

A presto, tutti! Ciao ciao!

The adventures of Monday and Tuesday

2009-09-08T15:13:00.008-04:00

Catch-up seems to be the story of my life right now! Oh well ... I suppose I might as well accept it as reality and do my best to not get too too behind on my posts. If I go too long I begin to forget all the things I want to tell!

So, Monday first. I had another lovely morning with the girls that included all the normal activities - walking around town, spending time in the park, enjoying the weather phenom of the day (clouds, potential rain, sun, or wind ... this Monday it was wind that was particularly fascinating), and this, that, and the other. Ginevra has really taken to playing with my hair, which is very sweet (especially since there are plenty of hugs and ti voglio bene's thrown in as a bonus!), but I often have to remind her to do so "piano, piano!" (gently, gently!).

But then, I'm afraid the the loveliness was interrupted with a bang - a bang too literal for my taste! Let's put it this way: I got a generous serving of what true Mommy-anxiety feels like!

It seems that Ginevra cannot bear to be without a battle wound of some sort. Monday marked the first day that I could honestly say the awful black eye, from a fall that happened earlier last week, had truly disappeared ... and then she went and black-and-blued another member of her face!

Here's what happened: we had been walking for an hour and a half or so, and le ragazzine hanno sete (they were thirsty). Ginevra had also been begging to see gli americani all morning, so it all worked out and everyone was happy. We dropped in at the Palazzo for water and fruit, and then visited some with Alessandra, the lovely young woman that helps cook our meals and keep the kitchen well-stocked with delicious foods. The little girls also got to see a bit of John Rose, which both they and he enjoyed!

But then a few steps from the door, Ginevra wiped out on the last couple stairs ... I was so scared! I had Veronica on my hip and Gigia had been coming down behind me, but then Lolo started squirming to get down and I had to get to the bottom fast so that she didn't take us all down. No sooner had I gotten to the bottom and set Veronica down that I heard a boom and felt my heart hit the floor. Ginevra had tripped and, not holding the railing, fallen face first down the last three steps.

Since her nose got the brunt of the blow, there was quite a lot of blood at first and it got all over both of us. The funny thing was - and this is how I knew almost immediately that she wasn't too banged up - Ginevra was more upset about the blood getting on her clothes ("It's there, and there, and here," she said, pointing at her clothes and mine) than she was about her poor little nose! Go figure ... that's Gigia for you :)

The end of it was, I sat on the floor with her for a few minutes to calm her down and stop the bleeding, and then after both the tears and the blood had stopped, we all got back up on our feet and made for home with little to no drama. Gigia was pretty somber, but whenever I asked her how her nose felt she would simply say, "Bene," and then start calling my attention to the blood spots on her shoulder or her sleeve. A half hour later she was jumping off the couch and playing peek-a-boo on the floor with Lolo (Want proof? Watch the video on Picasa!). Oh, Gigia!

Thus, I am very happy to report that the adorable little nose remains intact - a little purple in one or two places this morning, but otherwise you'd never know anything was wrong with her!

Ahhhh, today. Today was challenging for me. The funny this is, I only had one child today! There really is a lot of truth to the notion that watching multiple children can often be much easier than watching only one ...

Ginevra, purple nose and all, had her first "day" (it's really only a couple hours in the morning) of school today, so Patrizio took the two of them to school and I took Veronica out the door at the same time. Our hope was that she would mind being left behind less if she felt that she too was going somewhere ... no such luck. She screamed all the way down the street and then all the way down the next, alternating between family members' names and spitting at me!

I tried everything I could think of to distract her and was about to throw up my hands in typical Italian fashion and say "Boh!" (I don't know), when Veronica started screaming a new word: "toh-toh." Read: biscotto (cookie). Ah-ha! There was my saving grace! I started talking to her about cookies, and how good they were, and how we would try to find one somewhere in town during our walk. Bribery? Borderline, sure. Effective? Absolutely!

In another minute the storm had passed and she was happily engaged in regarding all the people around her. Tuesday is a market day, so we wound in and out of the crowded streets for a half-hour or so, enjoying all the pretty things from a distance. A stroller is a wonderful preventative measure for those who struggle with window shopping :) One gets so caught up in the art of not taking anybody out or running over a stranger's toes that it is impossible to even consider reaching into one's purse for money.

Anyway, after that I decided to follow through with the biscotto discussion, and concluded that it was equally important that I have some coffee. So we dropped in a little bar and I bought a caffe lungo for me and then a brioche and some water for Lolo. All began very well - she sat up in a big girl chair, nibbled on her treat, and drank her water without spilling because she let me help her. I should have known things were going too well! It's hard to believe this cute little munchkin can cause the level of ruckus she did today ...

The trouble began with the brioche. Out of habit, and in the hopes of there being less mess (which ending up not being the case at all), I tore the sweet bread in half to make it easier for her to eat. Bad idea. The screaming recommenced with greater force this time, in the middle of a very public place, and I could feel the judgmental eyes descend upon what they likely deemed a mother who was incapable of controlling her child. There were two old grandmothers sitting nearby who were particularly obvious in their disgust with the scene. I wanted to ask if their children had never cried or misbehaved, and if not, whether they would share with me their secret formula for the perfect child ................................. but I refrained.

When I finally got her calmed down, there were bits of brioche everywhere, my pride was seriously marred, and cutting eyes of the nonnas as frustrating as ever. But then Veronica la Cattiva disappeared and Veronica la Bellina returned in full swing, so she started being sociable and saying "Ciao!" to everyone, including the disapproving nonnas. I expected this would help, and that in another minute they'd be commenting on how sweet and adorable she is, as is the normal response to la Bellina. Well, I was wrong.

At first, they simply ignored her, which was rude enough, but then, while Veronica is smiling and saying "ciao" like the sweet little thing she usually is, one of them looked into her little face and said, "Stai zitta!" ... which is the Italian equivalent of "shut up." I was so mad! It took a whole lot more self-control than the first time to keep myself and my knowledge of smart alec Italiano in check. I couldn't believe how rude and, really, just downright mean they were!

Lesson learned: not all Italian nonnas are kind. There are sweet ones and there are sour ones, just like green grapes.

And on that profound note, I will have to call it quits for tonight! There is more of Tuesday to be told, but it will need to wait until the next post ...

Buonanotte!

Catching up: Thursday with the ragazzine, Friday fun, Saturday trips, and a sunny Sunday spent writing this blog!

2009-09-06T07:25:00.011-04:00

Well, I knew the time would come where I slacked off for a couple days, but now it is officially coming to a halt! Let me run through the events that have transpired since I wrote last day by day so as not to overwhelm yours truly ...

Giovedì (Thursday)

Another morning begun with two pretty little Italian girls. It was overcast and the sky looked pretty threatened, but I declared it all bark and no bite and we played outside extra long just to spite those gloomy clouds. The girls even did their part by pulling out umbrellas to show the dark skies that we didn't care if it did rain ... with our umbrellas in tow, we were covered!

They were just precious with those things too. Ginevra started spinning around with hers and saying "Piove, piove, piove!" (It rains, it rains, it rains!), even though it wasn't raining, and so then of course Veronica, little sister that she is to a T, joins in with the chant as well!

After that game got old, we loaded Lolo into the stroller (along with no fewer than three umbrellas) and set off for our daily mid-morning walkabout. Now Ginevra does the sweetest thing when we walk: she holds onto the stroller! It is actually a very good thing that she does, for several reasons.

One, because with only me to look out for them, they can't both be in strollers ... so she has to walk. I think this is a good growing up moment for her. Secondly, the growing up part includes learning to be safe when crossing a road or walking down a street where cars can appear out of nowhere, and by learning to stay close to me, she's becoming more aware of the world around her. And finally, she is becoming very good at listening to and obeying me (most of the time!). I always like her to be on the inside (with me on the outside, closest to the cars), but that changes depending on where the best sidewalk or walkway is from street to street. So every now and then we'll change sides and I'll take her little hand and either say "A destra," or "A sinistra, cara," depending on whether I want her to move to the right or left side. She is so much more complying now than eight months back, and her vocabulary has improved to the point where I can explain things to her, such as, "I am moving you over here because there are cars on this side." She responds quite well to these, and seems to enjoy being my helper with Veronica (when little sister takes off her shoe and throws it on the road, Ginevra hops over to pick it up and then hands it to me). I'm excited to keep watching these girls grow up over the next year!

Lolo is in a copycat stage (which takes a individualistic turn every now and again), and that day in the park, she kept doing everything Gigia did! So both girls when up, then down ...

Then played with their feet ...

And then they moved on to playing with little rocks with their tiny fingers ...

... who knew a stone step could be so diverting!

After we got back things got interesting. The weather cleared completely up and it was hot and sunshiney yet again, so we put the stroller away and went inside to get some water. Well, Veronica didn't want to stay in, so she ran back outside and wanted to play out there. So Ginevra and I braved the heat for awhile longer, sitting on the steps while Lolo ran here, there, and everywhere. This included back up the stairs to the front door, where she started playing with the door. Do you see where this is going? I think to myself, "Hmmm, it would be really bad if she closed that door right now, because I don't think the keys are in the lock and if she manages to close it, we're in trouble." Now, you should know that this is no piece-of-cake kind of door - that very morning I had battled with it for over a minute trying to get the thing to close all the way! It's quirky, it's tricky, it's difficult ... I've even see Patrizio have a time closing it before. But the moment after the fearful thought of being locked out had passed through my mind, tiny little Veronica reaches up, gives a little tug, and with an innocent little click, the door closed as the sound of the lock shifting into place rung in my ears. I was dumbfounded!

Thankfully, Patrizio got back thirty minutes earlier than planned, so we were only waiting for five minutes tops. But the funny thing was, he had been out biking that morning, as in, on a mountain bike, not a skooter. So we had been using his keys ... which had his motorcycle keys on it too. So to go fetch another set of keys from Sara's parents, he had to pull out the ancient, creamy beige Vespa from the garage, AND he had to fit it through the small gate because the larger one is operated by a remote control that was also on his keychain!!! The whole situation was hilarious ... ridiculous even, like a masterful comedy of errors. Needless to say, an extra set of keys is being made with my name on them :)

Venerdì (Friday)

Another morning with the girls ... which meant another walk, another park date, and another good start to my day. It was an especially nice day in the park because I made friends with one of the nonnas there! She has a little one year old granddaughter named Georgia - who is both adorable and seems to be one of the easiest and contented little low maintenance baby! - and the three little girls played together pretty well while the two of us joint-watched them. Gigia and Lolo were pretty fascinated by the little one, and it felt so wonderful to me to be able to converse with this sweet old lady without struggling linguistically! I don't even think she realized I was American for a good little while there because when I told her she looked really surprised (which of course made my morning!). She's also one of the first older ladies that didn't correct my Italian as I talked to her - they almost all do that, presumably without even realizing it - and I think that was one of the things that made her so easy to talk with that day. I hope we'll bump into her again! It would be nice to have a park friend, both for me and for the little girls :)

Friday night I revisited a favorite place of mine - a little trattoria just off the main piazza that became a haunt of mine the first summer I was here (2007). It's a tiny place, but the food is just excellent and the people are wonderfully kind! I went with a couple of the girls and had a fabulous meal - I ordered ravioli with butter and sage, mmmmmmmmm!

One more fun fact from dinner - I think our waitress may have thought I was Italian at first after a few basic interactions, because she was talking way too fast when describing the specials of the evening to have thought I was American. When they do, they slow down considerably, and there's usually a shift in tone too, as if they are talking to a younger child. Oh, and I lied ... one more fun fact: I understood her when she talked super fast :)

After dinner we were off to our favorite gelateria - The Goblin. So delicious! I got pera (pear), melone (cantaloupe), and fragola (strawberry). With gelato in hand and smiles on our faces we made our way down Via XX Settembre, the main street of Sansepolcro, found an empty bench, and plopped down to enjoy our bowls of yummy goodness ...

Here are our happy faces post-gelato:

It was a delicious way to end a good night!

Sabato (Saturday)

First day of day trips, yeah! The whole group (meaning Dr. Webb, John Rose, le ragazze, and I) got up and at 'em and were on a bus bound for Anghiari at quarter after nine. It wasn't my first time in this pretty little hill town, but the place never ceases to bring a smile to my face - it's simple beauties and sweet, small town personality are nothing short of charming. There are gardens and flower pots at every turn, and little attentions to detail that tells you just how special a place you've wandered into that day. Case in point: three little snails crawling across the window guards ...

In addition to its lovely collection of flower pots, Anghiari has beautiful selection of views to choose from as well - it's hilltop location gives it a decided edge. And then we went and made the landscape even more stunning by adding our own beauties to the mix!

We also have the distinct pleasure of not only meeting the mayor of Anghiari, but getting to see his office (I've said it many times and I know I'll say it more: John Rose can get one in anywhere, even without previous connections). Now, seeing a mayoral office may not seem like that big of a deal, but it is when you live in these small but ancient towns like Sansepolcro and Anghiari. There is was so much history within those walls: frescoes and family crests from the Florentine families that ruled the area ... it was incredible! His furniture was probably older than our whole country, and that's a funny feeling I don't think I'll ever quite get over here.

After our tour of the mayoral office we kept walking up and down, here and there, trying to see as much of the town as we could before our bus for Arezzo arrived. We happened upon a lace weaver that Dr. Webb had talked with on a previous visit, and her work was one of the most intriguing craft processes I've ever seen!

Mary, you should get into lace making ... so you can make me pretty earrings like these (Disinterested motives on my part? Absolutely not!):

A few of us also got to visit a gorgeous view of the hills and valleys and enormous mountains beyond from a little cafe balcony. You really can't see just how incredibly far the view goes from a snapshot (my camera won't do it justice!), but you can get the idea. I don't have time or space to post all my photos here (because I took a lot!), but be sure to check out more of Anghiari on Picasa site if you get the chance ...

After Anghiari we were off to Arezzo to introduce the girls to their "gateway away"! Since Sansepolcro isn't connected to the main railway system, a bus ride to Arezzo is the pathway to other places. With a population sitting just under 100,000 (as of 2008), it's quite a jump in size and general feel from little Sansepolcro, which has about 16,000 people in and around its city walls. We don't see sights like this every day: people, people everywhere!

I can hear Amber laughing at me now ... she lives in Milan, which has a population of approximately 1.3 million :) But one gets used to, and soon enjoys the small town feel, so that even a not so very large city like Arezzo feels enormous at first!

My favorite part of our hours in Arezzo was definitely the antiques market. I walked through, around, and through it again for over an hour with a couple of the girls and picked out all sorts of mysterious, romantic, and ancient things for the Gothic castle I will never own :)

I really loved some of these plates. My heart fluttered at the sight of those pretty little white and blue/white and red/white and green imageryish ones, and for one fleeting second my whimsical side wondered if they could survive the trip home ... but then my practical side kicked in and I thought better of the idea! Would you believe me if I told you that I didn't buy a thing? You better, because it's true ... and it wasn't easy!

Then on the way back down the hill to the bus stop ... I saw this pretty Vespa and fell in love. It was the perfect color (a mix between a soft, powder blue and light aqua) and had my name written all over it!

Domenica (Sunday)

I spent most of today writing this blog, reading, and gearing up for this week, so there's niente to tell! Hopefully I won't let this many days pass again for awhile ... thank you for your patience :)

A presto!

Bekah

My first day "da sola"

2009-09-02T13:10:00.016-04:00

Translated: alone.

Today was the first day I had the chance to be on my own with the kids. It was only for an hour and a half or so while Sara was at school and Patrizio ran errands, but that period of time can suddenly feel very long under the right conditions :) Thankfully, it was anything but long!

Leonardo was wonderful today. Before Patrizio left, he gave Leo the stern eye and told him he had to be bravo and a help to me, and the little guy went above and beyond what I expected! He sent us out of the kitchen - us being Ginevra, Veronica, and me - and cleaned the WHOLE kitchen by himself. He washed the breakfast dishes, cleaned the counter, and swept the floor to a state of perfection (as in, he moved all the chairs out of the way - either out of the kitchen or up on the kitchen table - and then he swept)! It was adorable, and really helped me out because it freed me up to take care of the girls. Grazie, Leo!

The girls were just hilarious. Veronica, as I mentioned before, is still warming up to me a bit, but I am getting very close to a home run I think. Today she got upset quite a few times about this or that, but the last time she really got to crying she looked up and reached for me! It sounds horrible to say that was one of my happiest moments of the day, because she was crying, but it truly was a highlight. She isn't crying in the shot below, but you can certainly imagine the potential for pitiful to the max when you look at those big, brown eyes!

Ginevra and Veronica play together well for the most part - so much better than last time! Gigia seems to have embraced the role of big sister, and in addition to that change in mindset she has grown up and settled down quite a bit. She's still got her crazy side though! I think that will always remain intact, even when she's 90 years old :)

After playing inside for an hourish, we switched locations and ventured out into the yard for fresh air and sunshine. Leonardo hit the hammock almost immediately, and when he did it made me think of all those pictures I took of him there last summer. I reminded him of it, and he asked that I do a retake! Also, I know you can't read all of his shirt, but it's in English and it says: "Just because you say that you surf, doesn't mean that you're a surfer!"

I had my hands a little fuller outside, mainly because there seem to be so many more perils outdoors than in. Leonardo was jumping in and out of the hammock, which made me a little nervous because I can remember flipping out of those when I was little ...

Lolo was constantly up and down the stairs, which also made me nervous because I still fall down stairs and know just how much that can hurt ...

... and Ginevra was in and out of pretty much everything! Everytime I turned around it was something new :) If you want to see more of our playtime in and out of doors this morning, there are many more on Picasa - including a video of Ginevra talking up a storm! Translation is available by request ...

After another little while, Patrizio returned and we gathered the kids for a midday excursion. Lolo was pushed by Patrizio in the stroller, Leo walked, and Ginevra, naturally, was quite literally attached to my hip almost the whole time. If it sounds like I mind her clingyness, I blame it on the flatness of the blogged word!

We walked up to La Casa dello Studente, an outdoorsy hostel-type place where Italy-Switzerland trip Meredith students used to stay before the location changed to the Servi, which is where I stayed. I had never seen this place before, so it was fun to poke around a bit! Then we went and took care of the real reason we had come: fichi! It was fig-picking time ...

Now, I'll be honest: fig-picking is not my favorite activity. Your hands get all sticky, and le zanzare (mosquitoes) abound, and, well ... I don't know! I'm just not a fan. It worked out though, because Veronica needed looking after and the beautiful landscape around was just BEGGING to be photographed.

Lolo was not happy to be designated to the stroller and kept saying, "Scenddddo!" (scendo = first person singular of scendere, which means "to go or come down," so literally translated she was saying, "I come DOWN!" ... emphasis mine). Her next two most frequent words? Fichi and Behhhhtah :)

In between keeping the little sciocchina somewhat peaceable, I kept wandering into the edge of the beautiful vineyard just near us, by the fig tree. I couldn't decide which were piu' bella, the red ones or the green ones. Mi piace molto l'uva ... I really like grapes!

After enough figs had been picked, we packed up the crew and walked back down the mountain (or, halfway down, because Sara and Patrizio's house is about halfway up) and made a beeline for the kitchen. See, picking figs is one thing, but eating them is quite another! Yes, eating them, that I can certainly do, and well :)

Not sure what tomorrow holds other than more time with the kids and working on a couple projects for Dr. Webb. I need to do laundry. Hmmm, maybe I should do that tomorrow ...

A domani!

And so begins the busyness!

2009-09-01T12:38:00.003-04:00

Time for catch-up ... I slacked off on a post for Monday, so today I'll try to cover both yesterday and today :)

The start of the school week marked the beginning of my time with i bambini in the mornings. I help out my dear friend Sara, who is also the associate director of the program, by watching the kids in the mornings so she can be at school. She heads home around lunchtime and then I come back to do things with/for the school in the afternoons. Once Italian schools start in mid-September I will only have Veronica, but for now all three are still at home and need looking after.

Yesterday I tag-teamed with Sara's mother; she came over shortly after Sara left for school and we took out for a walk, making our way to a local park within the city walls. There were quite a few other children with a parent, or more frequently, grandparent, so Leonardo in particular enjoyed playing with them. Ginevra continues to be particularly clingy to me - it's so funny! Sara and I always laugh because Gigia took the longest to warm up to me when I lived with them last summer, but after a month or two had passed she was clearly the most attached and devoted to me. Well, I was out of the country for nearly eight months and very little changed! Within the first minute of my seeing them again she was in my arms and had to be pried away when it was time for them to leave - it's so sweet!

Of course, this annoys Leonardo to no end because he wants me to play with him too. It takes quite a bit of maneuvering and diplomacy on my part to keep the peace! So we are not only learning to share la palla (the ball), we are learning to share Bekah too :)

Veronica is the least interested in me right now because she doesn't remember me as well, if at all, as the other two do. Yesterday, like I said earlier, we had Sara's mother to help and Veronica stuck close to her. Well today I had both Patrizio and his mother to help (I think they're trying to ease into this, or else just worried that having all three would be too much for me - which, they very well could be!), and Veronica wanted to be with babbo or nonna all morning! We had a great time though ... instead of staying at home or heading to the park, we got in the car and went to play in the River Tiber! Patrizio's mother had two other grandchildren (Patrizio's sister has two little boys that are a little bit older than Leo), so it was easier for three adults to cover five children than divided forces.

The sun made things pretty hot on land, but then we got to the water and it was freddissima - so incredibly cold! Now, I enjoy a nice, cold water source to rest my feet in when it's super hot outside, but this water was so cold that it actually hurt to keep your skin in for very long. I couldn't believe it! It felt like the water was mere degrees away from being ice ...

Around midday we parted ways with the river and Leonardo went home with his nonna and cugini to play for the rest of the afternoon. Meanwhile, Patrizio and I took the little girls over to Sara's parents house before he dropped me off at the palazzo. There's a look at Italy childcare for you! The grandparents play an enormous role in the modern family - in varying degrees of course, but the point is, in many cases they are essentially co-raising the children along with the parents. It's very interesting to watch, and while there are some downsides and natural complications that arise, it is good to see so many grandparents be involved in the lives of the their grandchildren. This is an especially intriguing concept to consider in contrast with the States, where many children get to see their grandparents only around family holidays or special events. Since both of my grandparents live in North Carolina (and one set in the same town as my family), I got to see them all quite often growing up and they played an active part in my growing up years, so I actually relate more to the Italian setup - and I'm grateful for that!

In other news ... well, you are probably wondering what the afternoons look like for me. The answer isn't straightforward as far as details go because I do different things each day. But primarily, I've been working on formatting or creating documents for the school, such as a community contract, roommate contract, laundry room guidelines, etc. The long-term project is for me to complete a student handbook specifically for this program, but during these first few weeks we are knocking out the more time-sensitive bits and focusing on getting the program up and running smoothly. For example, this afternoon I oversaw the reading, discussing, and signing of the community contract for life in the palazzo. We covered issues of common courtesy (noise level), safety (ensuring the door locks behind you), and general living guidelines (kitchen care), etc. It went very well - mainly because we have such an excellent group of students this semester - and had its fair share of amusing moments besides.

I think what is encouraging about this inaugural group is that everyone seems to want to function well as a group. I also think that they recognize how unique this semester is, and how special they are as a small, dedicated student body. I look forward to seeing how the semester unfolds from here!

And now I must sign out for now - we have a travel meeting to discuss tactics and planning in fifteen minutes :)

Until I write again ... thanks for listening!

Bekah

P.S. Next time I will try to get some pictures up of the kids! I pulled my camera out to take pictures at the river today and realized I had left my memory card in my computer ... I could have SPIT I was so mad at myself! UGHHHHH!! But anyway, more photos to come soon :)

Guarda il Palazzo!

2009-08-31T17:36:00.004-04:00

Ciao! I'm far too exhausted to blog extensively tonight, so here is what I hope will be considered a nice compromise/surprise: pictures of Palazzo Alberti are up on Picasa! Also, I will hopefully post again tomorrow after lunchtime ...

Enjoy the photos :) A presto!

Domenica (la prima)

2009-08-30T09:50:00.006-04:00

Today is Sunday, today is Sunday...
Sunday ice-cream,
Saturday chicken,
Friday fresh fish,
Thursday roast beef,
Wednesday soup,
Tuesday spaghetti,
Monday string beans ...
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Looks like I have to eat some gelato today - darn :) Today has been a beautiful day because it is actually quite windy, which has kept the heat away and made me feel whimsical and romantic. There's nothing like taking a walk on a quiet, Sunday afternoon in Italy with the sun shining down on you as a breeze whips your hair, skirt, and entire self down the cobblestone streets!

This morning I attended church at la cattedrale with Nicole and Chelsea. John Rose and Amanda were already there, but the three of us had arrived a little late so we sat a few rows behind them closer to the back. John Rose took our picture after church for posterity -

I wish I could have taken some pictures of the cathedral today, but one just doesn't do that during a service (frankly, I'll feel funny taking photos on a Sunday, period!). The inside of the biggest and most grand of the Sansepolcro churches is beautiful though - it's not a breathtaking beauty like the Sant'Antimo in Maremma (which is made of alabaster), but there is a calmness and simplicity to its cool stone walls that I love to just sit and take in while I listen to the service. The echo of the priest's voice made it hard for me to follow everything, but once again I was surprised at how much I was able to understand.

So far I've definitely noticed a difference in my vocabulary and conversation skills (I was much faster and had a greater selection of words in December), but the funny thing is, I think my listening comprehension has actually gotten stronger - sort of like all the things I learned last fall kept sinking in while I was away. I've also regained a lot of my speaking agility this week, and can already see improvement from Tuesday and Wednesday, which is both exciting and a relief!

After church, we walked back to the palazzo and killed time for a half hour or so before lunch. Sunday lunch is basically the event of the day, the biggest and most enjoyed lunch of the entire week. We ate at a pretty little restaurant just around the corner from us where we had two kinds of pasta (one of them with a goose sause!), roast beef and coniglio (rabbit), insalata, and pleasant outdoor seating. I got photos of the whole group in two batches (couldn't get the whole table at one without missing faces), so we have John Rose's half and Dr. Webb's half:

After pranzo we all parted ways, some heading back directly for a nap while others, like me, walked about a bit to aid in digestion before coming back to the palazzo to crash. Meanwhile, John Rose gave the Italians sitting at the table next to us (which we had befriended) a tour of the place, taking them in all the rooms and making sure they saw each of our many many bathrooms. We have a shocking number of bathrooms in our palazzo :)

And now, I'm off to participate in another Sunday tradition in Italia, "un pisolino il pomeriggio" - an afternoon nap!

a presto!

Bekah

P.S. I forgot to mention - last night we went to a horse exhibition in the main piazza and I took a few pictures and videos of that! So go check out my Picasa site and see at how Italians horse around :)

Ieri ed oggi ...

2009-08-29T06:41:00.006-04:00

Yesterday and today ... very different days, but both wonderful ones. Friday was a short school day for the students (just Italian for two hours in the morning), so after lunch I ran errands with a few of them to the local COOP (co-op). After that, Dr. Webb and I worked on documents and to-dos for the school during the majority of the afternoon. I have really enjoyed working with her each day - we have so much fun working together, it seems almost dishonest to call it work!

Mid-afternoon John Rose brought us tea and cookies for refreshment mid-workday. I asked him if he would help me find a husband that would bring me tea and cookies in the afternoons, but he replied that unfortunately he was the only one - so I was out luck! Dr. Webb and I kept working until around 6 or so, but at that point John Rose came and said we needed to come and enjoy a little market that had been set up in the piazza, and perhaps an afternoon prosecco (a deliciously fizzy, white wine) as well :) So off we went to enjoy the cooler air brought by a light breeze, peeks at the wares of various vendors, and a pleasant hour of good conversation at the piazza bar.

Around 8 o'clock we made our way back to the palazzo for a community dinner of leftovers - it was wonderful! All the leftovers from our lunches this past week were pulled out for everyone to enjoy a second time; I ended up eating the rest of my calzone from Thursday's pizzeria outing and then treated myself to a helping of panna cotta, which was divine. Even after the eating was finished the group - which included most of the students, Dr. Webb, and John Rose - just sat around the table and talked in true Italian form. It was such a relaxing way to wind down on a Friday evening into the weekend mood.

Today is sabato, but my body still woke me up early! Just after 8 a few of the students and I accompanied Dr. Webb and John Rose on a long but enjoyable morning walk in the countryside just outside the city walls.

I put up more pictures on my picasa site, so be sure and check them out when you get the chance! The rest of the day has been laid back and restful, "full," but of "busy nothings" as Jane Austen would say, not of to-dos. Most of us had a late breakfast due to the walk or sleeping in, and then I spent some time in my room straightening up and getting ready for the day. After that, one of the students and I tackled the task of hooking up the DVD player, which was sitting sadly neglected in its cardboard box. The successful connecting of TV to player required that we "test" it out, naturally, so a handful of us curled up on the beautiful new furniture in one of the lounges and watched Casanova - a classic favorite in the school's Sansepolcro movie collection because it takes place entirely in Venice - and stars Heath Ledger :)

And now most everyone is taking it easy, working on homework, and, quite likely, also facebooking. I am waiting for a text from Sara that says, "Come over!" I got to see her and the kids briefly this morning when they stopped by to say hello, and I also got to see Sara's mother again, which was wonderful. I have missed that whole family so much! But it looks like this afternoon/evening I will get plenty of time with la famiglia Falaschi, and until then, I plan on catching up on some reading in my room over Tootsie Rolls ...

That's all for now! A domani!

Giovedi il primo

2009-08-27T16:32:00.004-04:00

Today started with a bang as the students kicked off their day with their first Italian class. While they were occupied, I helped Dr. Webb, Sara, and John Rose with various things around the office.

Dr. Webb and I gave a tour of the palazzo to a morning visitor, who happened to be the supervisor of the language school the Italian professor is from ... he came with her this morning just to introduce himself and see our new "school." After that, John Rose and I had another computer lesson (this time covering the Start button and Windows Media Player with a review on email shortcuts) and then we rearranged the dining room tables and chairs to our liking. They had been split up into four separate tables, but we didn't like that segregated feeling so we lined three of them up to make one huge, long table and then used the other as a buffet on a different wall. Everyone approved of our improvements and the arrangement is here to stay until the student population exceeds 16 ...

That morning I also read over something Sara has been working on for her "Italy Today" Italian culture and history class. She's constantly worrying about her English even though it is amazing - I aspire to be as brava a student in Italian as she is in my language! I have absolutely loved getting to see her all the time again, and am really looking forward to watching the kids next week. There are plenty who think I'm crazy for that, but I don't mind! They can each be difficult in their own ways on certain days, sure, just as all children can be. But the truth is, I love each of them so much that I consider myself una ragazza fortunata to have this much time with them. I can't wait to show pictures!

This afternoon I began working on the student handbook project, and then later on in the afternoon Dr. Webb and I met to discuss this project and others as well, plus different logistical or housekeeping issues that had come to our minds. The students are doing great so far! The handbook will be the place the law is laid down, but both of us feel that this will not be a semester where many restrictions or reminders are necessary, and that's encouraging.

Earlier this evening all of the girls and I went down and ate dinner at the pizzeria located on the bottom floor of the palazzo - and it was fabulous!

For many of them, this was their first experience in a pizzeria, so it was fun to watch them take in the dynamics of an Italian eatery while they enjoyed the delicious food. I got a calzone sort of pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, and prosciutto stuffed inside, and it was absolutely delectable!

It was also incredibly filling, so half of it walked home with me in my tummy and the other half in a take home box (which, is a new phenomenon in Italy thanks to Michelle Obama's asking for one while they were visiting Rome - before, asking for a take-home box was unheard of!). I'm glad to have dinner covered tomorrow!

Whew, so after a full day, me and my full stomach are ready for bed. Tomorrow I'll hopefully get to run to the store and shop for a few things I need since that didn't happen today, and I may get a chance to take pictures too. I'm sorry I don't have palazzo pictures like I thought I would, but they will be here soon :)

Buonanotte!

Il nostro primo giorno

2009-08-26T14:55:00.003-04:00

Our first day at the Palazzo Alberti has come to a close and everyone seems to be adjusting nicely to life in Sansepolcro. Clearly we are still a bit jet-lagged and thus more tired than usual, but aside from that the inhabitants of our beautifully restored home are all doing quite well!

We began the morning with an informal breakfast - some turning up on the earlier end while others had to drag themselves from bed for nourishment. After that it was time for orientation with Dr. Webb, who talked the students through some logistical details of life in the palazzo and in Sansepolcro as well. Her husband, John Rose, and I chipped in with our two cents as needed :) Next we had a bit of technology orientation that didn't go quite as planned, but everyone in the group was a good sport and the delicious pranzo (lunch) that followed was the perfect distraction to our frustration with the misbehaving printer.

As pranzo came to a close, a glance around the dining area led to a decision for some downtime. So from 1:30 to 4 everybody took it easy by napping, unpacking, catching up on emails, etc. I did a little of the latter, then got off the computer and finished putting away my clothes before meeting with John Rose for a computer lesson (he has a hate-hate relationship with his laptop). Then at four in the afternoon the group reassembled for a walk around the town of Sansepolcro designed to orient the students to their surroundings. It was wonderful to wander through old haunts and see shops, cafes, and landmarks that I hadn't seen since December!

After the walk around town Dr. Webb and I chatted over some vino bianco about artwork for different parts of the palazzo and general plans for this week. The students start classes tomorrow, Dr. Webb and I will be working to get things like chore rotation charts, directions for appliances, roommate agreement forms, etc written up and implemented by the end of the week. I won't be helping Sara with the kids until Monday, but I have already gotten to see them twice! Leonardo doesn't look too different (a little taller) since I saw in March, but Ginevra has grown both in height and vocabulary and Veronica is talking and walking like you wouldn't believe! Pictures to come soon ... I'm hoping to eat dinner with them either tomorrow night or the next :)

Tomorrow I'm also going to run some errands to get things I need, like an Italian hairdryer :) There were also things like body wash that I just opted to buy once I got here to save on space and weight in my suitcase, so I'll pick up those as well. And I really need to get a recharge on minutes for my Italian cell phone! When we arrived I had just enough time and battery life to call Sara, get in touch with Dr. Webb, and then call home to say I'd gotten there. I was amazed I had that much though - it hadn't been charged since I last used it in December because I don't have an Italian-to-U.S. converter for my phone charger.

Oh! And something else I'll start doing tomorrow which I am quite excited about is doing a photo shoot of the palazzo! It's mainly for purposes regarding insurance, but the upside is that I can post them on picasa for all to see - and maybe get some good shots for advertising the program to potential attendees back at Meredith.

Thank you much for your prayers and emails! The trip was extremely long, but I traveled with a great group of girls so all went well despite the delays.

Waiting for our first plane (RDU to IAD)

First there was a mechanical difficulty in Dulles: at first we were told it was an issue with the maintenance crew, which we interpreted as a housekeeping kind of problem, but it turned out that the temperature monitor of one of the engines (think: mini fire detector) was not functioning, so that was clearly a problem!

More waiting in Dulles ...

So we ended up sitting on the plane for three hours while the malfunctioning piece was fixed, realizing that if it wasn't resolved we'd be moved to a different flight and who knows what else ... but thankfully, that was not the case! We were at long last in the air and made it safely to Rome only an hour and a half behind schedule - turns out we had been scheduled to arrive an hour ahead before the delay, so in the end we didn't get there that much later than originally planned. In Rome Dr. Webb and John Rose were waiting for us with open arms and bottles of cold water, and then all ten of us hoped on a shuttle train to Roma Termini, the main train station of Rome and, consequently, all of Italy. Two hours and a delicious lunch later we were on another train bound for Arezzo, and then a fifty minute bus ride got us from Arezzo to Sansepolcro at last - it was QUITE the day, but all of us and our luggage made it in one piece so we were very grateful.

The smiles we had on our faces when we saw the palazzo (meaning, the end of travel and carrying luggage) grew even wider as we actually got inside. It's an amazing place! So much hard work had been lovingly put into this place in preparation for our arrival, and it really shows. The palazzo is big enough to accommodate up to 23 students, but since we only have 9 they are happily spread out, mostly in sets of two. I have my own suite, which was a surprise to me! I had thought I'd been sharing a room with at least one student, but it turned out that I not only have my own room, but my own bathroom! And until more Meredith faculty arrive in October, I have an entire wing to myself - Dr. Swab and her husband will be staying in the other room/bathroom suite in this section of the palazzo.

I will try to put up pictures tomorrow evening! Until then, buona serata!

Siamo arrivate a Sansepolcro!

2009-08-26T04:32:00.001-04:00

WE HAVE ARRIVED! More to come later ... orientation commences :)

Arrivederci!

2009-08-24T08:49:00.002-04:00

CIAO!

The countdown has come to an end and the big day has arrived - I'm off to the airport in just a matter of hours now! We'll be going from RDU to Dulles (Wash. DC), then on to Rome from there; arrival time is 8:50 am Italy time, 2:50 am EST. After we get through customs, Dr. Webb, the program director, and her husband, John Rose, will be meeting us to help direct us to the train station in our zombie-like state. We'll go from Rome to Arezzo via train then wrap up the journey with a bus ride to beautiful Sansepolcro!

It's going to be a long trip, but it's comforting to remember what's waiting for us on the other side. I am so excited to see what they've done to the Palazzo Alberti - the last time I saw it (in October), the transformation had only just begun. I'll take photos and post them on Picasa as soon as I can so you all can see where we're living! I will also try to update this blog Tuesday evening if only to let you know that I have arrived safely. After that my plan is to update this blog a few times a week, so check back for new posts when you can. I'm thinking that since this will be my first time in Italy without homework (!), I will consider this blog my self-assigned homework of sorts. If nothing else, I hope to do far better than my all too infrequent scribbles from last semester ... which won't be hard :)

I covet your prayers! I will have five of the students under my charge for the journey, so please be praying for any anxieties they may have regarding travel and that we would all have good attitudes and be flexible whatever happens.

Grazie mille! A presto ...

Venti giorni!

2009-08-04T14:35:00.005-04:00

Yesterday marked exactly three weeks and today only 20 days to go! Also, on Sunday I was busy cleaning my room and decided it was time to pull out the big international suitcase so I could start dropping things in bit by bit these next few weeks; it's now cozily situated in its own little corner of the room next to my dresser - and its contents are now free to grow a little each day. Crazy! Oh, speaking of crazy ... the girls and I have had some crazy fun together these past couple weeks!

This is my last week with the girls, and I'm getting quite sad. Yesterday morning I thought, "So this is my last Monday with them," and this morning it was the same rainy thought, except it was Tuesday. Last week was the best yet, and it seems that instead of the natural course of things (which is to gradually get more tired of being around the same people all the time, and more ready to leave), I am growing more and more sad about not having all this time with these precious little girls!

Thankfully, this week I'm getting to watch them longer than usual because Uncle Tim's on a business trip ... and we have all sorts of plans. We're having a "sisters and cousins sleepover" (only girls allowed, as Ashley says), watching The Aristocats for the fiftieth time, going to and from the pool as often as we can, and baking our very own sugar cookies then decorating them with chocolate icing and sprinkles (that's coming tomorrow - I'll have Mary around for back-up in case the chocolate gets out of control!). We also have plans to make a library run because we've read our current stock many times over, and there is talk of a grocery store run later for "supplies" and a potential movie theatre visit to see Ice Age 3 ... in 3D! We'll see how much fun time allows for :)

Now, don't let all these mopey words make you read me wrong: I'm eager to return to Italia and see all of the folks I've been missing on that side of the pond, and I'm also excited about all the little fun happenings between now and then! This weekend we have dear friends coming, the next weekend Sarah returns from Asia, I'm helping throw a party for an engaged friend, another friend is celebrating a birthday, and then my own birthday rolls around that following Monday. Talk about a full few days! And after that it's really time to pack and get in those last minute goodbyes, because my birthday marks a week from departure ...

But look at me! There I was thinking I wouldn't get another post written before the farewell entry, and here I am finishing another :) So in light of this unexpected frequency, I make a toast to similar unexpectedly frequent posting when in Italia - or at the very least, to posts that appear FAR and AWAY more often than they did last fall (blushes)!

Ciao a tutti, ed a presto ...

The latest

2009-07-22T10:01:00.016-04:00

It's been a good little while since I last wrote, but a lot has happened! The job search continued to look bleak into June, and before I knew it the time had come for our annual Williams family beach trip to Sunset - and I was still jobless. But the night after our return to Raleigh, sudden events led to sudden changes.

These days, life looks pretty different - but it is different in a good sense. We had a family emergency that put my grandparents out of commission for a couple months, leaving my uncle strapped for help with my little cousins. And there I was, available to help! Sarah and I had spent a week with them in late May and had so much fun together that I was thrilled to get more time with the girls before Italy. They are the sweetest girls!

Ashley and Shannon at Isle of Palms in May

Ashley was a little water bug - she couldn't wait to get in that ocean!

Shanny, on the other hand, was not a fan of the stingy sand pelting at her legs - so I held her much of the time :)

Since then, God has been very good to all of us: my grandmother is on the mend and I am happily occupied with the girls. They have had the likes of VBS and summer camp many mornings, and our afternoons are filled with trips to the pool, grocery store shopping, weekly visits to Chick-fil-A, or, before it got stifling hot, local parks. Mary and Michael are also frequent visitors, which just increases the fun. The girls love it when they join in on our adventures!

Michael makes the girls' world go 'round - in real life he's a rockstar :)

And Mary is always a ball!

In June we had two special birthday girls: Ashley and my mom!

Mom let Ashley have the spotlight this time around and we had a wonderful party - complete with playground fun, crafts, snacks, and pool time. And of course, Ashley's birthday called for delicious cupcakes ...

After the party, most everybody looked like this: tired but chocolatey!

We also had a fun morning at Marbles with Mary and Michael earlier this month - which included a visit to the IMAX museum for a 3-D movie about the ocean!

Ashley in the kitchen

Shannon was a bit crazy at the wheel ...

Ashley taking a sniff ...

Shanny in the peas!

Since July arrived, we have found that we prefer to either be inside with the AC, in the pool, or "watering the plants" (i.e. water wars with the hose). Just yesterday we went to go see UP in theaters, picking up Mary and Michael to join in on the fun. Shannon konked out for a half-hour or so, but they both had a ball - and we had the theater almost to ourselves :)

So that's life of Bekah these days. The weeks are flying by at an unbelievable pace ... I can't believe departure is now a mere 35 days and counting! But what do the next five weeks look like? BUSY. Very busy (but good, very good!) ...

This coming weekend I'll be trekking up to Virginia Beach to visit my roomie, Cassie. It's so strange to go from living with the same person for a couple years and then POOF! College is over. And you aren't roomies anymore. The funny thing is, our last semester she was student teaching so we had completely different schedules and sometimes went a good day or two without actually speaking (I was asleep when she left, and she would be asleep when I got in at night). Our solution? Communication via sticky note. It wasn't ideal, but it allowed us to encourage each other and keep morale high for that last push through undergrad.

Anyway, we going to have one last catch up before we both head overseas. She'll be teaching English in Angers, France for a year starting in September, so we'll actually remain in the same time zone - how bizarre/wonderful is that? I haven't seen her since early June, so we're in for a good sleepover.

After that it's another fun week with the girls, and then next weekend, a wedding! Shakia is getting married and I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of her big day. I'll be missing out on others because of Italy, which is hard, but I'm grateful to be here for at least one.

That weekend brings us to August - unbelievable - which holds two more weeks with the girls, a bridal shower to bring into being, visits from friends, a few fun birthdays, my sister Sarah's return from her adventures in Asia, and then goodbye NC, hello Italia! It's all going to fly by even faster than the last couple months have - I'll be amazed if I get another entry done before my "farewell" post :)

That's all I have time for at the moment, but I hope I've done a decent job at filling in the gaps for the blurs of June and July. Before long I'll be writing of passeggiate and gelato and i miei bambini italiani ...

a presto!

Indovina?! Torno a Sansepolcro in 91 giorni!

2009-05-27T13:32:00.029-04:00

Wow, look who's already counting. My goodness - just a little excited? Sì! Sì! Sì! Assolutamente sì!

I'll be in Sansepolcro from late August to late November helping with Meredith Abroad's latest addition - a semester program in Italy! Now technically it's still quite a while off, but in the midst of my summer job hunt (that, unfortunately, continues still), I can't help but keep counting down the days in the back - and sometimes the front - of my head. I even started a suitcase a few days back.

Non mi credi? Non lo so che dire, ma è vero! Maybe I should channel this energy toward more imminent needs, like the post-undergrad unpacking/room cleaning project that is on the brink of completion - but not yet finished. But have you ever tried cleaning your room with Italy on the brain? Non è possibile!

Needless to say (but I'll still say it), I cannot wait! In 91 days I'll be back in beloved Sansepolcro for the third time, but seeing it in a new way: through the eyes of le studentesse. How exciting! To get to see the joy and wonder on their faces as they see Sansepolcro for the very first time, to hear their squeals of disbelief as they try to believe what their senses are telling them, and to walk the cobblestone streets with fresh feet, like someone that has never felt the sensation before. Che bello!

Of course, once my charges are safely conducted to the Palazzo Alberti, I'll be running up Via Donato Sbragi to Sara and Patrizio's house, then hugging la mia famiglia italiana and covering Leonardo, Ginevra, and Veronica with kisses! And once I'm in Italy, I'll also be mere train rides from Milano (Amber!), Siena (Siena School!), and other places I've made amici italiani. Sono una ragazza fortunatissima, sì?

And now I really am going to try and transform this mess of a room into a state of perfection. A presto, amici!