Hello again! After a month long hiatus I am back in action. But really that means back in wifi. And also back in motivation to write.
Well in the past month I have been in Tuscany, Florence, England, the more mountainous part of Northern Italy, and now back in Trento. A lot has happened, and I honestly have no idea where to start so I am just going to make a non eloquent list of funny moments as I think of them.
- I spent a month in Tuscany. oooooooo. Yes it is cool, but it was actually a lot like Hilton Head of the Mediterranean Sea. People hard core chill, families all know each other, and an "outing" for the day was going to get gelato at night. A plus was that the small string of shops down town regularly had a group of adorable but pretty terrible teenage break dancers who danced for money. Its not that they didn't have tricks- they did. Well one of the three did. You could just tell they tried so hard to show swag they didnt have. In fact one day I passed them all sitting on a bench reading poetry.
- Everything shut down from 1-4 or 5pm. One time I walked to get wifi at 3:30 pm and the few people that were out looked at me like I was crazy. Air conditioning is not a thing, so during the hottest part of the day people just relax. Well actually, its most of the day. I'm ok with it.
- Tuscany turned me into an Indian, in that I am tanner than I've ever been. Now I understand why people go to the tanning beds, cancer coffins as I like to call them. I've started getting many more compliments on my appearance now that I am a different shade of human. I mean thank you, but can you please compliment me when I'm pale so I forget that being tan really does make a difference?
- I thought I could get away with a slow tan and no peeling. Lol. This week (a solid month after I started getting sun) all of my skin started falling off. My host family's nonna (grandma) was concerned and wanted to know why I looked like a lizard. No skin disease, just nature's process.
-I went to England to visit Haley's expat parents and it was amazing. It had the Disney world affect on me- seeing the world of my favorite book, movie, and music characters come to life. I was geeking the whole time. And I was also fan girling every accent I heard (which was a lot).
- When I was on a train there (one of many), I heard the man behind me buying a ticket.
Ticket man: "Where are you going?"
Purchaser: "Nottingham. Two, please (that means a round trip)"
Ticket man: "Alright, when are you returning?"
Purchaser: "Later on."
Literally that's all he said. I couldn't stop laughing.
- I also over heard a polite middle aged artist talking about how much she enjoyed her nieces wedding, but went on to kindly critique everything; mentioning the parts of the reception that were quite inconsiderate to her guests. One of these concerns included not providing a menu for the dinner. It is unpleasant to not know how many courses you're going to eat. But it was quite lovely, really.
- When I was in Florence I was eating at a sandwich/pasta place for lunch with my host family's niece, Chiara, who is amazing and the best friend I have here. An American tourist walked in and loudly asked, "Do you sell PIZZA?" "No, we sell sandwiches and pasta." "Oh. So no PIZZA?" "No, I'm sorry." "Its ok. Can you heat up the sandwich? Hot? Oven? Toasted?" (this was said very slowly and loudly). "Yes, of course."
She talked so loudly everyone in the small restaurant immediately felt awkward.
My commentary on this:
I get it. Everyday I try to get by and hope people speak English. Its hard and humbling. I get embarrassed all the time, and I sound stupid more than all of the time. But Woman! You have got to TRY to not end up in a pizza place in Florence. Every other building has "Pizzeria" written on it. But you did it! Also, although you may need to speak a little slower to non native English speakers, Italians are not deaf.
With that being said, my Italian is still atrocious and I still get sweaty nerves walking into stores, even if I know they speak English. Its difficult not to feel apologetic for my ignorance. But, people here are kind, and more often than not they're glad you're here. So thanks Italy!
