I almost do not even want to talk
about this again, but the point of my blog is for me to remember things, so
here goes nothing:
My morning started out pretty
good, albeit earlier once again than I would have liked. I drug myself out of the bed and had hazelnut
yogurt (by the way I was once again wrong…the brown Florence yogurt WAS
coffee…confusion over), and 1 toastate with jelly and one with a little bit of
Nutella! I might have to hide the
Nutella from myself; it is so freaking enticing. Once I ate, I started cleaning things up so
that I would be ready to go to the beach.
I’d heard it was supposed to rain, but it was bright and sunny while I
was preparing to leave. I washed all of
my dishes, gathered the trash to go out, cleaned up my room, and straightened
out my desk. I also tried to decide what
to do with the rain soaked “clean” things; I was too frustrated and gave up! I’m
going to have to go buy some more towels.
Though I appreciate very much how thoughtful Lila and Ernesto were to
buy me some starter towels, 3 towels are just NOT getting it, especially when
one of them isn’t a full-sized towel!! I
packed my backpack, prepared for rain, downsized things, took off my jewelry,
put on my bathing suit and BAMA t-shirt, and was ready to go. I was thinking of Mrs. Malissa a lot this
morning because I was wearing the awesome t-shirt she gave me and carrying the
houndstooth crossbody purse/camera case/id holder! I was excited to be decked
out in Bama, but also that it was all from someone very special to me!
So far all is sounding like a
decent morning. The thing that was
happening while I was doing all of
this is the creepy part. At 8:45ish my
phone rang. Not having a caller i.d.
screen, though now seriously considering buying the one at TIM that does have one, I answered; afraid it was
my mom for some reason because my Italian people do not call me so early. I saw that it said Massimo, but it didn’t
seem that anyone was there. THEN my
phone continued to ring; like 6
times. I put it on silent and went about
my business (which at this point was sewing up the inside liner of the purse I
carried in Florence and the liner ripped and I have just had safety pins in it
since about two weeks into my Florence trip).
When I came back to my phone, I had like an additional 22 missed
calls. At this point it was making me
flustered and nervous that someone would call my phone this many times. I started wondering if we hadn’t gotten our
days confused the other day; I thought he was supposed to come on Thursday and
perhaps it was Saturday! I was finding
this a bit hard to believe, because I may be struggling with some things, but
days of the week are certainly not one of them!
I was also so flustered by now that I could not bring myself to pick up
the phone because I didn’t feel that I was thinking strait. Around call 28 I was beginning to lose
it. I had been peeking out the window this
whole time to see if he was standing downstairs or something; it was really
beginning to FREAK ME OUT!!!! To add
insult to injury, I knew my phone was running low on credit, and TIM was on my
morning to-do list, so I could not call anyone.
I decided to try a call to my momma; though I KNEW this was going to
freak her out! Thankfully the phone call went through, and I made sure she knew to
call me back and why it might drop our call.
She was equally as freaked and told me that I needed to just answer
and/or call him back and tell him I was not comfortable with him coming to my
apartment. We talked for a few minutes,
after she had to call me back, and then we hung up. I let it ring 2 or 3 more times before I
worked up the courage to answer the phone.
I led him to believe that I had been asleep, and that I was leaving to
go with my teacher at 10:30. He asked if
we were having coffee at my apartment.
That’s when I told him about the teacher and he said, “at 11? Then we
can meet for coffee at your apartment!”
I told him no, not at my apartment and he thought I said that I was not
at my apartment. I reiterated that I was
leaving with a teacher (unfortunately this was a lie, but I did not want him to
know that I was going to be alone and that I was leaving to go to the beach
alone!). He asked again about coffee at
my apartment and I once again said no.
He finally seemed a bit pissed and said okay bye bye and hung up. So, that was that.
I was still feeling a bit
unnerved after the whole thing and was a bit nervous to leave my building. Of course I had already worked up quite a few
freaky scenarios. Do I really think he
is going to show up or something; no, not really. However, I am still a bit unnerved by the
RIDICULOUS number of phone calls. I feel
like in America we would call once, maybe twice if we thought that the person should be answering. If they don’t answer, we either leave a voice
mail or assume that they will see our name on their missed call list and return
the call when possible. Not
Massimo. I was also feeling a bit of
anger towards him for rattling me and stealing my peace about living alone; it
would later be restored, but I was so mad that he would take that away from me;
that I would let him take that away
from me.
When I left the apartment it was
beginning to look overcast! I was
determined NOT to let it deter me though.
I stopped at TIM and put some credit on my phone, and then I was headed
to the small train station that would take me to the main station, which would then
take me to Paola, and thus to the beach!
I left TIM and started walking!
 |
| Random building I saw...Liked that it said Cosenza |
When I arrived, it was looking
mooooooorrre overcast than before, but again I was determined NOT to be
deterred. I bought my ticket and the
lady said something to me, but OF COURSE I had NO idea what she said. According to the times for the trains that
Francesca and I had written down, a train should have come almost
immediately. When it didn’t come I began
to get a bit worried, but tried to wait patiently. I was desperately trying to call my momma,
but of course the credit had not gone through yet. Then, she called me!! Yay! We talked for a bit about many random things;
including the fact that I was thoroughly confused about the train
situation. A train going in the opposite
direction came, but still no train for me.
I finally went inside and asked again.
She said 12:47. It was 11:20. UGHHH!!! I had been getting a feeling that
we’d written down the wrong times, and sure enough…we had! The lady noticed that I was obviously not a native speaker and asked where I
was from. When I said, “Stati Uniti”,
she followed it up with, “what state?”
“Alabama!”- me “Why are you here in Cosenza?” I gave a brief explanation and then went to
sit down and sort out my thoughts. By this
time it was starting to rain! I was
already starving at this point, so I tried to wait it out by going to buy a
water (and ended up buying the WRONG kind…I ended up with the fizzy/gassata
kind...ughhh..) and eating my sandwich/snack bar! I had killed about 20 minutes and then
decided to give up. I put all of my
stuff inside the plastic baggy I had brought with me, wrapped it in the towel I
had, put it back in my backpack, put on my rain coat, and I was off.
I was feeling quite defeated at this point. 1. Creepy/unnerving morning 2. Wrong train
times and therefore severely delayed getting to the other station 3. Wrong
water 4. Rain and thus pointless to try for the beach
Before I had made it very far
from the station I decided I needed a different state of mind; NOT one of
defeat, but rather of opportunity to do something else. I had decided that the something else would
be to go home and open the balcony doors (it was raining, but not enough to
keep the doors closed), lay on the “couch” in there and READ!!! I was pretty pleased with my ability to
change my mindset/select my thoughts and was feeling good about my plan; who
doesn’t love to read a good book on a rainy day??
On my way home though, I decided
to stop in a few shops!! I went into this
store called “OVS” that has signs in the window letting everyone know that in
2011 they were named Italy’s top retail store.
I was really glad that I stopped in this store! They had SO MUCH houndstooth; it is
everywhere here though. If only they knew
the significance (which I tried to explain to Luca, and I think he
understood). What this has shown me
though is that the Italians need to learn a lesson that some Alabama fans have learned, though unfortunately not all, which
is that just because it CAN be made
of houndstooth or IS made of
houndstooth, doesn’t mean it should be
bought/worn!! However, they had some
cute scarves and shoes (though the shoes are once again toooo narrow…and I do
NOT have a wide foot!!!). I tried on a
cute dress, some pants that were on sale, and….A HOUNDSTOOTH SKIRT!!! NOTHING else looked good, but I was loving
the skirt. It was a reasonable price and
so I decided that because my houdstooth skirt at home is too big now, and the
only houndstooth thing I have with me is my scarf, I must own this!! I realized I could use my new Italian debit
card, but had trouble remembering the PIN number, and sure enough I got it
wrong twice. So, I put it on my credit card and walked out of the store a
happier girl! A small treat, but a nice
one! I am excited to wear it with my
tights and boots (NO, not UGGS).
I went in a few more stores and
found a ton of things I wanted, but either could not afford, or did not need at
the moment! I particularly saw some
dresses and coats I wanted. Which
reminds me, I went in H & M and tried on the cute coat…HATED the way it
fit! Therefore, the search for a thick
coat is still on!! I’ve seen some cute
ones, but am having trouble deciding if I want to buy a sensible black one…or a
navy one…or like a red one!! I’ve seen
some other colors that draw me in as well!! I will probably have to wait until
Fulbright pays us in November to buy a thick coat! Anyway, it was nice to look in the
stores. I did stop in one store that was
advertising this gorgeous houndstooth coat that cost 300 euros, so of course I
bought it! HAHA…I wish!!!
Once I was home it started to
rain harder!! I laid down with my book and read for a bit. It was a nice afternoon for me after
all! It rained, so I read. It rained, so I got out my Italian textbook
and notes and studied for a bit! I’m
tired of being so frustrated, so I did what I do best; I studied! I think doing this every day or every other
day will help me get back to the basics that I do know and help me move beyond them with more confidence. When in doubt: STUDY!
During this time my momma called to check on me! Then around 4 I got ready to go to the
hotel. I was excited because I knew I
was supposed to talk to Kelly and the girls while they were driving! When I got to the hotel, and saw that Massimo
was not working, I relaxed and sat down to escape into my world; a world full of wonderful people whom I miss so much! However, it should be said that I feel like I
am doing well being away. I know that as
time passes I will miss things more, but I am doing okay for now! I think it has a lot to do with being able to
talk to everyone regularly! The first
thing I did was open skype to see who was there. Then I had wonderful surprises waiting in my
inboxes for me from my momma and Maria!
Maria is so thoughtful and has given me an idea about something; details
will come as I see how I can sort it out!
Love my people! My momma and daddy got on skype and I was able to talk
to them for a bit! My momma showed me
her new purse and we just caught up!!
Then I worked on my blog for a bit.
Then I got to talk to April,
which is always such a blessing! I am
reminded every day how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my
life. That was a wonderfully therapeutic
hour, and I am happy to say that my \a will be moving into her house again very
soon! YAY!! The best bed in the world
will be returned to its rightful place and will be waiting on me! ;) I was also
excited when April said she had gotten my letter! I mailed them on the 9th,
so it only took about 5 days; well, 4.
NOT TOO SHABBY!! Then I called
Kelly to talk to her and the girls!! I
LOVE LOVE LOVE my Avery girls!! While I
may be physically distant from these wonderful friends/family, I feel so very
blessed to have been able to connect with all of them on an almost daily
basis!! I am so grateful that God has
provided the means for this source of comfort and joy! Meanwhile on facebook;
friends and family alike are prepared to come kick Massimo’s butt and send me
defense tools through the mail! I
appreciate everyone’s support and love, but I’m thinking you should not send
mace (SP??) through the mail; pretty sure customs will frown upon that!!! ;) However, prayers regarding this situation
are appreciated!!
After the blog was updated,
facebook was barely looked at (other than all of your supporting comments),
emails were read and replied to, and I had talked to as many people as
possible, I had to leave to go eat. I
had been sitting there since 4:50ish and it was now 8:00. When I left to walk home there were a TON of
people on Corso Mazzini, and I desire to be down there with them. However, I do not want to be there
alone. It is everyone out taking their passeggiata
with their friends/family, and I would be the weird American girl that everyone
is looking at. I stick out like a sore
thumb. I am just waiting to see my
students and they’ll be thinking, “oooohhh I saw her walking down the street,
and I wondered if that was the American girl coming to our school!??!” (or some version of this thought!). I am bound to have seen some of them by now
given the large number of teens I have seen.
Coming into my apartment gate
every night, I always see at least one stray cat out there! The other night I
heard a horrific cat fight. Tonight, I
counted like 5, and one was this beautiful white cat! I so desperately want to feed them so that
they do not have to dig through the trash, but I wont! I will not get emotionally involved; well,
I’ll try not to!!
When I got home I made
dinner. OH MY GOSH…amazing! I used those tomatoes, white zucchini,
carrots, and a small amount of spinach and cooked it in the pan with olive
oil. While that was starting I took one
of my thin chicken breasts and put just a dash of salt on it, a bit of pepper,
and I put some of Ernesto’s fresh oregano on it. I cooked it in the pan with the veggies, so
it took on some of the tomato juices and overall flavor of the veggies; on top
of the oregano!
I took it to my room to eat, hoping that Gilmore Girls would be
on, which it was not! Sad times! Though
I was disappointed, I was so distracted by how AMAZING my food was!!! When
I was putting my extra chicken in the freezer, it is soooo cold in there that
my finger touched the freezer…and got stuck!! OUCH!! It seems so silly, but it
really did hurt! I was kind of shocked…
Luca did call, but I missed it!! :( I text him back and told him I could talk tomorrow!!
I laid down to write and was sooo
tired!!
So a nothing day really; didn’t
start out too great, but ended well!!
My mom called and said that she
got her letter and that eggnog was out in the stores!! I want some Barber’s
Eggnog!!! Though I will say that I think
it is ENTIRELY too early for eggnog to be in stores!! I love it and all, but
why are we pushing everything sooo early these days! We haven’t even had
Halloween, much less Thanksgiving!!!
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