This morning I was on a mission: get to school so that I could have a laptop!!! I ate breakfast, got dressed, and headed out the door to TIM to get more minutes on my phone. Of course, they were not open yet, so I walked the 10 minutes back to the bus stop (good exercise I suppose). While I was on the bus, the new bus that the headmistress suggested because it gets to school quicker (thank goodness), Valeria called. She said that the school technician at Fermi could look at my computer when he arrived and she would call me then. I am so grateful for all of the help that is being offered to me.
When I arrived at the school (Valentini) I went straight to the teachers’ room to see if I could find a familiar face! Thank goodness Lilla was sitting there. She and another teacher took me immediately to the bar for a cappuccino to get the morning started. Then, they took me to a private room where one of the teachers has a computer and no students are allowed to come in. I was so grateful and I sat and answered some emails and such and ate my yummy apple for a snack. Lilla went to class, but then came and got me so that we could go see the president about the laptop they were going to let me borrow!!! I was excited to understand some of what the headmistress (preside) said to me! Lilla and I sat there and talked to her for a few minutes while the IT guy went to get the laptop set up, etc. He told us to come back a bit later to get it because he was going to make sure everything I needed was on it! The headmistress and Lilla were discussing some of the topics I was going to do and they both told me that bullying among teenagers does NOT exist in their school, or in Cosenza; given an experience I had later in the day, I would beg to differ.
I eventually went to class with Lilla. I talked to the students about how our schools are so different: we are not allowed to eat in the hallways/classrooms, there is no gum allowed, the noise level is significantly different, and we are not allowed to have PDA (they are all over each other here…).
The lesson that day was supposed to be about healthy eating, and something they had read about it! However, Lilla jumped topics every two minutes and so we covered numerous things. They said that they think Americans speak faster than Italians…um, I beg to differ! Though I suppose it has more to do with not understanding the other language and therefore feeling like it is too fast! They told me stories about the headmistress and how she speaks in dialect and how she has NO desire to learn English and will often just walk away from someone speaking English! They asked me about how long the medical school process is in the U.S. and told me that Saturday afternoons are VERY important to them because that is when they hang out with friends.
In random conversation Lilla told them that I was from Alabama…you know, the home of slavery, civil rights and racism. Then she turned to me and said, “tell them what you think of Obama!!” Well all right then…no transition. They said that they believe he fights for the American people. I simply let them express their ideas to me. The topic of September 11th was also brought up. They asked me about my experience, and it was weird that they are the same age now as I was then! I told them about being in class and taking a test. They asked if I was afraid and if my parents were afraid. Lilla had me explain that I watched the second plane fly into the 2nd tower and then we watched the towers collapse live on tv. I explained that most of our day was spent in silence at school, and that yes, we were all very afraid and unsure of what this meant! A few of them told me that they were watching cartoons when the news interrupted to tell them of the events. It was strange that they had memories. This was the first time I’d even spoken with a non-American about the events of that day! I’ve had many conversations with people from around the United States about their story from that day and how it made them feel, but never a non-American. I was surprisingly very emotional while talking about it; I had chills and at one point I had that weird lump in your throat you get when something is emotional!
Lilla told me that her 5th year class was talking about September 11th today, something in their textbook, and asked if I wanted to come with her later to that class. I said YES, but then headed to the computer room for the in-between time.
When I headed to Lilla’s 5th year class…I was in for an interesting experience. The students are organizing for a demonstration next week. They were very loud, and one group of boys kept leaving class at will and paying no attention to Lilla. She even had to put one of them out, but he kept coming back. There was a small group of students interested in talking to me! They were sweet and asked some different questions than I’ve had so far! They asked me how old I was when I had my first “love”, or boyfriend…haha…they were shocked to find out it lasted from 15 until I was 23. When we finally got around to September 11th, they told me that they were 7 years old and remember watching cartoons when the news interrupted with the news (consistent experiences between the two classes). There was once again a sort of spokesperson of the group who spoke in English and translated for his friends. This boy kept apologizing for the group of boys that were disrupting.
A few of the students informed me that ALL Americans are fat and eat only fast food; apparently a common stereotype of us!
**Okay, now I understand that this is a stereotype that others have of Americans, but they continued to insist upon this matter even when I said, “really you think ALL Americans are fat!?!?” Umm hello…I’m standing right here in front of you, as plain as day….I am American and you know this…and I am NOT fat…and you still want to insist that ALL Americans are fat?!? They supported this idea with the fact that the news reports America as the #1 country for obesity! Again, I understand that, but this was like me saying, umm…I can’t think of an equivalent at the moment. I found myself becoming very defensive of the U.S. Now, I do understand that we are not as healthy as we should be, but come on guys….a healthy American is standing in front of you…open your mind to new truth!!!**
The rowdy boys gathered around Lilla in the back of the room while I went over to talk to the students who were interested in talking. Then Lilla informed me that the boys wanted to sing me a traditional Calabrian welcoming song as an apology for being so rude (her words, not mine). It was hilarious…I told them that I would only forgive them if they would let me video the song. The agreed with increased enthusiasm. It was loud and funny and ended with banging tables and jumping around. After they left class we went to get the computer from the IT guy.
Lilla was sweet enough to take me home. She gave me the phone number for a lady at the church where the Canadian lady goes; I am excited to look in to this!! YAY!! Riding in a car around here is interesting…there are rarely lines on the roads to divide the lanes or sides of the road. You just have to hope that the other drivers respect the “rules”; which they do not always do!! It makes for an interesting trip every time.
When I got home I had the shock that I had been waiting for…I noticed that the balcony room door was closed, the kitchen doors to the outside were open (not something I’d done), and one of the other rooms was left open. Then I noticed the furniture had been moved…and there was a note letting me know that a roommate would be moving in. Well, this was the straw that broke the already emotional camel’s back..I called my mom and melted down on her! I cried…I gave my thoughts about having a roommate…I insisted that I must come home and that I was done with this whole thing; I was tired of Italy and was coming home because I did NOT want a roommate! **To those who think I’m dramatic…not that I am denying it…but this was prime “Elyse is so dramatic” material!!** I eventually hung up and tried to GET.IT.TOGETHER! It took me a while to really calm down and proceed with my random chores. **P.S. thanks for all of the facebook reminders of how God works all things for my good! He has a plan and he has not failed me yet!!**
There were some amazing smells in the stairwell of the apartment building on my way out to go to the hotel. Thanks to the generosity of the people at the school I had a computer and a webcam!! I was able to talk to my momma and daddy, and then April. I talked for a bit, wrote some emails, etc. etc. However, it was getting late and I had to go home to shower and get ready for dinner with Virginia, Lilla, and their friends.
When I got home Ernesto was here installing the phone line. He said that the modem should be here next week, which is good because I’ll be in Rome and then I should have internet when I return! Ernesto closed the room he was working in and I showered and started getting ready for the evening ahead! Lilla was coming to get me at 8:45 and dinner was at 9. I chose to wear my black dress with brown boots, houndstooth scarf, and a cute headband. I had a happy accident with my hair that can only be explained with a picture.
I threw my stuff in a clutch and ran downstairs to wait on Lilla.
When Lilla came I went out to meet her and she said that the restaurant is just around the “corner”…hard to explain, but I can almost see the restaurant from my apartment. It was a cute place…a lot of wines everywhere; a nice place with a nice atmosphere. Thus began a beautiful night!!!
We had a reserved table, but first we talked to this other group sitting at a large table behind us! They were all very sweet and excited to meet an American! They spoke a little bit of English, but primarily tried to speak Italian that I could understand, and I did understand some! Yay!! One lady who had been paying attention, but had not appeared to be paying attention, suddenly looked up and said, “You’re American?? What do you think of Obama??” Ahh….the popular question of the day! I just kind of shook my head and honestly just sort of brushed it off!! I hate that it is my reaction, but I do not care to discuss politics; it is not something that I openly discuss at home, and so it is hard here to be bombarded with that question in such a direct manner.
We then sat down at our table and two couples arrived. I asked Lilla where Virginia was, but she said that Virginia’s mom (who lives with her) was not doing well and so Virginia would not be able to come. So, I sat down with Lilla, Rosa (teacher from school..not English), another lady (whose name I unfortunately cannot remember), and their husbands. Thus began a wonderful dinner. One of the men spoke a little bit of English and had fun trying to translate things, and had even more fun when I knew the word in Italian and taught him the word in English! Cultural exchange right there!! ;) The other husband did not know any English, but was a very funny man!! The one who knew English (whose name I do not know) was hilarious…by far my favorite. They all knew the owners of this restaurant and the funny man, who Ill now refer to as…Friend…went through an elaborate process of ordering the wine! He had the lady (owner) tell him all of the courses and they discussed (in rapid Italian of course) all of the wine options! Once it was ordered, and arrived at the table, glasses were poured and the clinking of glasses all around the table signaled the beginning of dinner.
The table had been set with these small bowls of what looked like croutons, and essentially were croutons, but BETTER!! Then the appetizers arrived right around 9 pm. It was a huge chili pepper that had been almost like caramelized and was “sweet” (peppers are a staple in the Calabrian diet…and everything that says “Calabria” on it has chili peppers on it (Ill have to buy something for my Aunt Susan who LOVES chili peppers!). The other two things on the plate were a mushroom that had been somewhat breaded and then this little “sandwich” thing that was “bread” with smaller mushrooms inside. I do NOT eat chili peppers OR mushrooms, but I tried…EVERYTHING!! I was able to stomach the sandwich thing, and about 3 or 4 bites of the mushroom, and a few bites of the chili pepper. Lilla said, “oooh nooo…you don’t eat mushrooms!” However, I DID try everything, as not to be rude!!
The first (first) course was my favorite of the night. It was risotto (rice) cooked in a pumpkin and amaretto sauce. I am not HUGE on pumpkin, but OH MY GOSH…this was delicious. I ate almost the whole plate…amazing…wanted to lick the plate actually, but rest assured that I did not!
The second, first course (yes there were two first courses…new to me) was my LEAST favorite of the night. When it arrived I thought something smelled odd, but could not put my finger on what it was. So, trying to be a non-obnoxious “I don’t eat things” person, I tried it. Once again I could not put my finger on what was wrong with it. I’d only taken a bite of the noodle and broccoli, but could not stomach the flavor. Lilla looked at me and said, “it’s sal…salmoneee…”. I said, “SALMON?!?!??” I’d already discussed with my new friends at the table that I would try anything I supposed, but I do NOT eat fish or any type of seafood. I had to pass on the dish. Unfortunately this did not go unnoticed by the owner lady! I had to gracefully explain to her that I do not eat seafood! She said she understood and she was sorry! I of course reassured her that it was no problem! Friend did not really care for his either, and Lilla informed me later that she did not like this course.
The second course, which is always the meat and veggies, was really good! It was like a steak type thing with this little serving of mixed veggies! I loved it, and thankfully my meat had no pink, whereas the others had very pink insides! God was watching out for me there! ;) By this time the table was on its second bottle of wine, but it was nearly midnight at this point. The musicians had finally started playing and everyone settled in to listen and wait on dessert.
Conversation was never ending at the table. I understood some things, but when they would get excited and expressive (which they often do), I would have a hard time following some of it! Lilla would translate some, but other thing I would just let go by me! I did understand enough to genuinely laugh at some stories and Friend tried to say things in English if he knew them! There was NO shortage of hand gestures (which I LOVE) and facial expressions! One thing I noticed was that wives rolling their eyes at their husbands is a universal thing. There is the Universal language of love I suppose, and they say a smile is universal, but apparently a wife thinking her husband is being crazy or has said something outrageous and rolling her eyes in response is also a universal language! It cracked me up!
When Lilla went outside for a bit, Friend tried to talk to me and was surprised and excited when I could respond and when I could give him the Italian words for what he was trying to say in English! In his efforts he made up a new word for “we”, which in Italian is “noi”…it is now, NOIO”. He was dying laughing and it really was funny! He started telling me that next Sunday he was inviting me and Lilla to go to the beach with all of them. He said that we would cook out, and they would have fish and I would have beef. He said that as the old people they would just sit and I could bring my bathing suit and go swimming if I’d like. His wife agreed and Rosa and her husband agreed. I was beaming with excitement and on the inside I was SCREAMING with joy!
Friend asked me about Obama, and when I was somewhat neutral, but had expressed that I did not particularly care for aspects of either candidate, he sat there deep in thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think Obama is a good president…do you want Burlusconi??” I laughed and said, “nah!!” It was a funny and light hearted political moment…thank goodness! We talked about football and soccer, which I had to pull out my camera and show them the stadium and a play in progress picture in order to get them to understand that I was not talking about soccer! So weird…it is so much a part of who we are…and they don’t even know it is different than soccer!!
The whole night was just one amazing Italian experience!!! Dessert came around 12:20ish and it was this cream with chestnut…or something! It was good…sweet, but not too sweet!
The singer was beautiful and had a beautiful voice. She alternated between singing in Italian and Portuguese. We listened for a while and then they were ready to leave. They were so kind to pay for my dinner and it was just a wonderful, wonderful evening. They walked me home…practically just across the street and we stood there confirming our plans to go to the beach Sunday. Friend encouraged me not to forget! I wanted to say, “Friend…I am so excited and I hope that you don’t forget our plan!!!”
With hugs and handshakes behind us, I ran upstairs and they walked to their cars! I called my momma to tell her about the wonderful evening. I told her about all of the hand gestures and how I wish I could video them because they are so present in every conversation and seem to add so much meaning that I do not always catch! I also told her that throughout the dinner I had been wanting to write everything down so I would remember. I’’d also taken pictures of the food….which Rosa said, “OOOH we did that the whole time we were in Ireland for the school project!!” So, I’m not the only one who takes pictures of my food…and it is not an American thing!!! I’d also decided (and had texted him) that I would go with Luca the following evening. I need to stop being my uptight self and learn to go with the flow. I changed clothes and laid down in bed to read. It had been a wonderful and EXTREMELY UNIQUELY ITALIAN EVENING!
Impara con me:
Goloso- sweet tooth
Zucca- pumpkin
I went down to Indiana this past weekend to see one of my scouting family from t-town I babysat who moved up there, and I had McAlister's and took pictures of it!! I was so excited. :) It reminded me of you.
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