I left off Tuesday telling you all about the women's center, and I'm happy to report that I had a great experience there. As soon as we walked inside we met a woman holding an adorable 2-month-old baby whose name was Saba. You all know that I'm not really a huge fan of kids or babies, so when she offered him to me I rolled my eyes a little bit and accepted him grudgingly. What a pain it was to hold him, rock him, sing to him, talk to him, give him my finger so he could wrap his tiny little hand around it...only joking of course. I was thrilled that there was an itty-bitty little baby to hold! I haven't held a baby that little since Charley was a wee one, and I definitely had to hide my disappointment when his mom came back to take him to go run errands.
Luckily there were a few other kids there on Tuesday to keep us busy, and they definitely kept us busy. There's Gabri, a chubby little 5-year-old who is most certainly un mostro, and Mari, a beautiful 7-year-old girl who's as sweet as they come but can also turn into a bit of a little mostra herself under the influence of Gabri. They were very fond of games of the varieties that included them running around the hallways as much as possible, screaming at the top of their lungs, and making farting noises. However, after we introduced "The Silent Game" to them they were a lot more manageable. There was also some older kids there, including 15-year-old Napoleon and 12-year-old Valerio. I especially liked Valerio because he reminded me of my seventh graders back at St. Ignatius. He told me that he loves playing soccer and that he plays goalie like I used to, so he took out his ball and started taking shots off each other in the huge rec room. This proved to be a terrible idea as the echoes of the ball slamming into the walls and cupboards reverberated throughout the room, so we agreed to find a park to play at next Tuesday.
We were also able to talk to all their mothers a bit, most of whom have lived in Italy for a few years and are still learning the language and trying to get back on their feet. Unfortunately the calls of "Viene, viene" (come here, come here!) from Gabri and Mari distracted me from spending a lot of time with their mothers, so hopefully next week I'll be able to find out more about them. I'm already looking forward to going back next Tuesday.
Tuesday night we went and watched a Beatle's cover band at a club called Bebop (love that name) with some of the other studenti, and following Tuesday was the half-week of perfect weather. The sun has caused somewhat a euphoria among us all, and we have taken full advantage of our sunshiny days. Activities throughout the week have included:
1. A long run that actually took my friend Nick and I completely outside of Florence...you know this because in Italy, as you leave a town, they have giant white signs with the name of the town in black with a great big diagonal red line through them. We found a quiet, hilly little town with lots of trees and windy little streets that were about the width of a Vespa, but it was really pretty and the locals were very friendly. By the run/walk home we were absolutely beat, but it was well worth it.
2. A 463-step hike to the top of the Duomo. Although you feel like you're ascending the dark, dank, stone steps into a medieval torture chamber, it looks like heaven at the top--what a view!
3. A soccer game played in a little park with some of my classmates. We felt a little self-conscious playing soccer next to a group of 8-year-old Italian bambini who most likely would have kicked our butts if we played with them, but it was a good game all the same.
4. A picnic up at Fiesole, a town you can get to by bus that's located in the hills above Florence. We found little piazza and ledge that had a great view, so we stayed there all afternoon to watch the sunset. This was followed by a tipsy game of pick-up soccer which, although in theory sounds like a bad idea, turned out to be an excellent game.
5. A Valentine's day excursion to Chianti in which we got tours of a winery there and all their different types of wine. This was followed by a delicious lunch and some excellent wine tasting. There was plenty of food and plenty of wine to go around, so we obviously had a pretty good time. Our excursion also included a tour of the pretty little town of Siena, but seeing as we were all fairly inebriated I don't think we fully absorbed the tour guide's lectures on the town and its history.
So those are the highlights of my week so far! I'm looking forward to the arrival of the Sacramento Women's Cultural and Touring Society [title coined by John Doyle], and I've been in touch with the other Italian cugini so that we can have a nice reunion when all the americane arrive. Mom, Aunties, and Grandma, if I don't talk to you before Wednesday, have a safe flight, can't wait to see you all!
Allora tutti, c'e' il sole today as well, so who knows what adventures the day will bring!
Vi voglio bene; auguri e cent'anni!
Love, Caity
That's the first time that I've heard "our name"...looking forward to seeing you also, Caity. Been watching the 10 day weather forecast, from the 20th to the 25looks like 4 days of overcast and two days of light rain....better than it's been. Maybe we'll bring you some sunshine!
ReplyDeleteAunty Rose Ann