2007

One of my friends did a survery for the year 2007 and I decided it would be a cool thing to do so here it is:

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? hmm, graduated college, became a registered nurse, moved to Italy, spoke a new language, became a full time nanny (twice), traveled Italian trains (ALOT!), flew on Ryanair!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I dont really make them, but maybe I will make some for next year...

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? unfortunately no

4. Did anyone close to you die? actually no, and that is a really big deal for me lately. I think it is the first year in about 5 years...

5. What countries did you visit? Italy

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? the ability to speak two languages

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? February 10th, March 5th, May 21st, August 20th, September 28th, December 6th (all for their own different reasons)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? moving to Italy on my own and surviving, as well as going through a tough first month all alone and still deciding to stay in Italy, instead of giving up and coming home. Traveling almost all of Italy by train all alone with two massive suitcases.

9. What was your biggest failure? I dont think I had many, but I was pretty disapointed when I had to leave my first family in Italy because things werent working out.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Just my usual minor cuts and scrapes and bruises because I am extremely clumsy, but thats all.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I would probably have to say my train ticket to Montebelluna to meet the family, turned out pretty well :)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? i think my mom, she had a tough year, with her oldest graduating college and then moving to Italy...

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? cant think of anyone

14. Where did most of your money go? phone calls and internet cafes in the beginning, communication in general, but it is the best way to spend money :)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? both leaving for Italy and coming home for Christmas

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? Time of your Life - Greenday

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? I think I am a) happier b) maybe a little fatter (I am also writing this after the holidays...c)im pretty sure im poorer since I have spent a lot of money!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? nothing really, I want to do more traveling around Europe but I did a lot and plan on doing a lot more

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? being lazy, but I really dont regret that either, because I have to live my relaxing life now while i can

20. How did you spend Christmas? at home in America with my family like we do every year, for details look at my recent blog post

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? i think possibly twice....

22. What was your favorite TV program? Grey's Anatomy by far

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? i dont think so

24. What was the best book you read? too many to think of on the spot

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? i will say Taylor Swift since she is my newest favorite

26. What did you want and get? the experience of a lifetime, living in Italy

27. What did you want and not get? i think i got everything i wanted...

28. What was your favorite film of this year? movies and books are very hard for me to pick just one

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 23 and I had a very special Italian birthday: breakfast and presents in my pjs at Manuela and Lucas house with them and Chicco and then the afternoon spent talking to family and friends from America, then out to dinner with Andrea and Mattea and then out to a party at a disco, at the end of the night recieving the best present I could ever ask for....

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? not too much, I am starting to realize that I had a pretty amazing year!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? comfortable and unstylish as always

32. What kept you sane? my family and my ipod did a pretty good job, acting as my best friend for the first few lonely months in Italy

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? i lost track of celebrities when I moved

34. What political issue stirred you the most? i hate politics so all of them

35. Who did you miss? everyone back home in America

36. Who was the best new person you met? Andrea, he also has helped me so much

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. Sometimes things happen when you least expect them to.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. sorry cant do that one either. I think I have a song lyric for everyday of my life...

Turns out 2007 was a pretty amazing year for me, even though New Years is kind of depressing right now, but because of this I am going to bed happy :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :)

America

I AM HOME IN AMERICA!!!! I am soo happy and just had to share my happiness here but I only have 10 days here and need to suck it all up as much as possible so I probably wont be writing until I return to Italy. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! :)

Christmas

Now that I am all ready for my flight to Rome this afternoon, and then to return to America on Sunday, I am getting really excited for Christmas at home. One of my fellow expat friends is writing about her 12 favorite Christmas memories and it made me want to write about mine. But instead, since my memories aren't quite as poetic as hers and it would be very difficult, I decided to write about my family's Christmas traditions that I love so much and look forward to every year. I am so happy I was able to go home because I don't know what Christmas would be like without my family and our traditions.

First of all, we usually have a dinner with our cousins, sometime in the week before Christmas when we usually order Chinese food and exchange gifts. It is a very casual relaxed dinner and very nice. This year we are doing it the night I get home so I am excited.

Then, on Christmas Eve, we go to the early mass at church (I think it is at 6). We always go there with our cousins too and some more of their family. Then we go home to light the lumineria (the candlelit bags that line our yard and our street). We get ready and then we head over to our cousins house where they have a big Christmas Eve party every year. This is the only part of our Christmas that is really even remotely formal, which I really like because I don't like formal things. We get slightly dressed up for church and for the party and that's all. It is a really good party with mostly family and some close friends too. We always have a really good time there. Santa even pays a visit too.

After the party, we go home pretty early, and sometimes we decided to each open one present. So we do that all together and then if we are in the mood we try to watch a movie together as a family (which we never do). Then we go to bed early because even though we are all old now, we (usually just me) get up very early on Christmas morning still. What can I say, I am still a little kid at heart! This year will be interesting because we have my aunt Polly and her husband Steve and daughter Sadie, who is four, so it is the first time in a long time we will have an actual little kid in our house.

Anyway, Christmas morning we wake up and our stockings are on the foot of our beds. So we spend some time opening them and then we go into each others room and compare and look at what we got. When we think it is finally late enough we wake up our parents (if they haven't heard us already) and we can go downstairs to start opening presents. After the presents (we try to take our time as much as possible), we usually have a special big breakfast. During the course of the morning we also talk to our relatives from California who are always up early with their kids.

Then we spend the day relaxing in our pajamas, sometimes we play a game together, sometimes we watch a movie, but it depends on what everyone got for Christmas. We usually stay in our pajamas most of the day and for lunch/dinner my mom makes a ham and we have ham sandwiches, very casual. Then if we are in the mood and there is a good movie playing, we finally get dressed and go to the movies together.

Ok, that was a lot longer and more detailed than I thought it would be but I really love the way my family spends Christmas and it makes me happy just writing about it. Sorry if it is boring to some of you but it is nice now even if it is just for me to have in the future.

Four days until Christmas!!! :)

...the next time I write it will probably be in America! So exciting!! :)

Loving Italy

Today is Chicco's 2nd birthday and I just got back from giving him his present. He really loved it and it made me so happy. I will try to post a picture soon but I didn't have my camera so they are on Luca's camera. I got him a little lego set with a car and a truck (it is like a small mechanic shop, which he loves). Anyway, I am really going to miss him and Manuela and Luca when I am home in America for Christmas. I would really love to see him on Christmas morning because he and all of them now feel like a pary of me.

Also, I realized today that I really am falling in love with my life here in Italy now. I took an unexpected trip today to see Lake Garda and the cutest little town on the lake. And on Friday I am flying to Rome and am going to the Vatican on Saturday, (I think it sounds really cool to say that casually and I can now because I live in Italy!)

Anyway, I am really excited to go home and really happy with my life here in Italy. It is a very good time in my life right now! :)

Christmas, Snow, and new address....

Well, it's been awhile that I have been meaning to post but I have been busy. My apartment is decorated and ready for Christmas (ok, I didn't have much to work with but I did my best). I go home to America in four days and counting and I am so excited to see my family and everyone and be in America for Christmas!!

On another note, it finally snowed in Montebelluna on Saturday morning. It was a very little bit but enough to be able to see some snow on the ground and on the rooftops. It made me very happy to see it! :)



Lastly, I have a new address for packages. I can get regular mail at the old address but anything that needs to be signed for is easier to be sent to Manuela's office because there is never anybody at the house to accept packages. That address is:

Manuela Zanin
c/o Mionetto SPA
Via Colderove 2
31044 Valdobbiadene (TV) , Italy

I am working on putting up some new pictures because it has been a long time and I have a lot of new ones so check back soon.

Caca...languages...

So I found this incredibly funny so I thought I would try to share it here even though I know no one else will find it as entertaining as I did. It is just a small insight into the daily life of someone who does not speak the local language very well.

In the local library, there is a kids section that Chicco and I go to, usually about 3 or 4 times a week if we can. It's full of toys and games and he really likes it there and it is something different from being in the house all the time. Anyway, everytime we go there, no matter what time it is or anything else, he always does caca (poop). Literally, every SINGLE time!! It is absolutely crazy. I swear there is something in the air because it literally never fails. Anyway, now I am prepared for this and bring a diaper everytime and have to take him to the bathroom to change him. Now it is just part of the experience. Haha.

So we went to the library yesterday and sure enough, even though he just had pooped not even an hour ago, he did it shortly after we got there. To go to the bathroom I have to pass the librarian at the desk so, trying to be funny (which I now see should never be attempted in a foreign language, at least not in public), I said something to her. I said, "ogni volta qui, fatto caca." Now I was trying to say, "everytime we are here he does caca," but in Italian I always cut a few words out of sentences and people usually get the point. So what I should have said (I think) is, "igni volta siamo qui, lui fatte caca." So what I said instead was that everytime we are here I do caca. She must have thought I was absolutely insane sharing with her that fact! I think she understood what I was trying to say, but when I thought about it afterwards I couldn't help but crack up. However, I didn't know the words to say to correct myself. So she could very well think I am either really stupid or a very disgusting human being!

On a more positive note, my new friend Mimi, who is American from Denver, wanted to find someone to help her speak Italian. Just really someone to talk with once a week, so that they can correct her when she is wrong and tell her what to say. I offered up Andrea for the job and we started this week. It is actually really fun because the three of us get along really well. Also, since Andrea is young and not really our teacher so much as our friend, he is honest and tells us exactly what is right or wrong and not only the polite ways to say things. He is more realistic in teaching us everyday speech. We all came to my house and I made pasta and we had a lesson for about an hour or so. It was really helpful so far. I wasn't planning on participating but it was fun and we both took a lot of notes. We are going to try to do it every Tuesday and switch off between Mimi's house and mine and maybe learn some Italian cooking from Andrea as well..

And one more thing, I am very very very very excited to go home next week! I can't believe it is finally almost here. I am so excited for Christmas as it is my favorite time of year, and I am so happy that I can spend it with my family. I can't wait to see my family and friends and spend some time soaking up as much of America as possible to remember for the next seven months that I'm here.

Although, I will really miss my family and friends over here. I have made my own life out here and I am so happy about that. I feel like a part of my new Italian family and it makes me feel very comfortable. It will be weird to be home and away from all of them too. I kinda wish I could spend Christmas in both places at once.

The only other thing I am wishing for is a white Christmas in New Jersey because it doesn't seem like we get very much here in Montebelluna and I miss it!

Mexican and Vicenza

Wednesday night I went out for Mexican food in Italy. It wasn't anything special. We were going to try to go to another place, but apparently it is a little expensive and kinda far away so we settled and a tex-mex pub. I was still excited just to eat something other than pizza and pasta (not that I am complaining!). Anyway, it was okay. They didn't have nachos which is what I really wanted but instead they just had chips and salsa. Anyway, I had two tortillas (soft tacos basically) with chili and beans. It was good, but I also hope to be able to go to the other one soon because maybe it will be more authentic. It was a good time though.

Yesterday (Thursday) was also a really fun day. I had planned a day trip with a few friends into Vicenza. There were five of us total, three Americans, one Italian, and a German. It was a good day. None of us really knew what we wanted to see but it was nice because it was a relaxed day for the most part. We walked around a lot and went into a few museums and palaces, and we all had lunch together. It was really nice to spend the day with some different people and I hope that we can do something like this every week. Maybe not with everyone but at least with a few of us, because it is such a better way to see different places than by yourself. This weekend, we will all work on planning our outing for this week! Here are a few pictures from the day:

this is the Teatro, the only thing we knew we wanted to see, so we started there. It worked out pretty well.

this is almost everyone at lunch, left to right is Mimi (American), Andrea (Italian), Me (American), and Jenny (German). Susan is American also and was taking the picture.

Federico

Here are some more recent pictures of Chicco... he's so freakin cute! :

Amazing!

Wow, what an amazing weekend!! I really ended up having such a great birthday and I am so happy! There wasn't a dinner party after all, so I just went to a pub to grab dinner with Andrea and another friend, before going to the party. I went to the party at about 10 and it was not what I was thinking at all. I was thinking it was going to be this huge party but instead it was about 20 people, which I actually enjoyed a lot better. We were all standing around listening to Erica (who the party was for) read her poem...

Let me first explain the Veneto tradition when you graduate from University. University in Italy is not the same as it is in America, so not everyone graduates together at one time. So when you graduate from University and get your degree you are considered a dottore( or dottoressa) no matter what your degree is in. So you are now considered to be a professional. So basically, your friends have a party for you and the whole point is to make you look like a complete idiot! They dress you up in a costume. They also write out this huge poster with pictures of you and a poem about your life. But since it is from your friends, it is usually not neccessarily good things that happen in your life. Then at the party you have to read the poem out loud and everytime you make a mistake you have to drink, so by the end of the night you are pretty drunk.

Anyway, so Erica likes pink so they dressed her up like Paris Hilton and she was reading her poem when I got there so we had to wait until she finished, and then we talked and ate and drank for a while, cut the cake for her (it was just like an American cake because my Canadian friends made it, SOO GOOD!!), at which point they all also sang Happy Birthday to me. It was a lot of fun because everyone spoke English and was really nice to me.

So then the disco opened to the public at midnight so more people started coming and everyone was dancing and it was just a really good time. Andrea and his friends came so I felt cool because I actually knew quite a few people at that point, and could do some introductions. Anyway, overall it was a very good time and a very late night. I went to bed at about 7 am!!!

I spent most of early Sunday recovering but had a really great afternoon and evening on Sunday too, so overall it was just one big amazing weekend!! :)

We didn't end up having Thanksgiving on Sunday because it turned out that we couldn't find a whole turkey after all. Everyone says they will start coming in soon. So if we can get one we will attempt our own Thanksgiving but who knows when that will be. Meanwhile, Manuela and I bought the ingredients to make my mom's famous ice cream pie that she always makes me for my birthday, so we will make that for this weekend!! :)

I am also getting excited because I will be home in just over 3 weeks!!! :) And before that, in about 2 weeks we are having Chicco's 2nd birthday party, so I am excited for that too! :) Overall, I am one very happy girl!! :)

Birthday!! :)

Wow, what a change of emotions over the past two days! Today is my birthday and this is what it looks like:







(just a little tribute to everyone who sent me stuff :) the first one is all from America and the second one is including the present from my Italian family)

This year is my first Thanksgiving away from home and also my first birthday because my birthday always falls on the Thanksgiving holiday, so I was always home from school. It's a good thing I didn't think about that one before today because I would have been sad. But today there is no way to possibly be sad. It is amazing how nice people are on your birthday!

Let me just start by saying that being in another country is very difficult on relationships. I mean friendships, family relationships, and relationships of all kinds. I think being away during this year is particularly hard because I am in the transition period where we are actually adults now and it is time to see who out of high school and college friends will really keep in touch, because it is difficult. Well add to that the fact that I then move across the world and it is almost impossible. It is just hard to talk to people as often as you would if you were in America. Anyway, my point is that I had thought a lot of my relationships were dwindling because of it. But then my birthday comes and I can't even believe all the stuff I got. So many more cards than I ever could have expected. I am so happy that so many people thought of me!! :)

Anyway, today has been a really good day so far. I went over to Manuela and Luca's this morning for a big breakfast of pancakes and fruit and then I opened my presents. It was very exciting and Chicco helped me:

After that, we went out to do some errands together including buying the ingredients for my ice cream pie, the recipe that my mom so kindly included in her card to me! So tomorrow we will be attempting to make our own version of my birthday ice cream pie!

Tonight, I am going to one, and possibly two parties. The first, and the one that I am not sure about, is a dinner party with some friends (it's not for me but I might just pretend it is if I go). The second is at a disco (club) in the center of town and it is a party for a friend of a friend who just graduated from University. I will tell you more about them tomorrow but it should be a good time.

Ok, time to go try on all my presents and figure out what I'm doing tonight!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, whether you are American and celebrating or not! This is one of my hardest days so far in Italy, or at least since I have arrived with my new family. I am trying not to get too upset about it but it is really hard, because I really love this time of year. I love any holiday that brings my whole family together and home from school.



Last night PJ and Andrew went to a fight in Atlantic City with Brett and they stayed overnight. I am just jealous that everyone gets to spend time together except for me. I knew that this day/week would be hard so it is not coming as much of a surprise but it still sucks. I just have to keep thinking that I will be home a one month for Christmas, which is must more exciting!



On the plus side, we are attempting our own Thanksgiving here in Italy, with my Italian family, who I do feel comfortable enough with to call my family, which is good because I have my own comfort system over here. Our Thanksgiving will be on Sunday, because that is easier and gives us more time to cook together (it should be quite the experience, as Manuela has never cooked an American Thanksgiving and I have hardly ever cooked at all!)



On another positive note, my birthday is in two days and this is what I have to look forward to come Saturday morning:






..and those are all just from my mom! (the stars and stripes are the only wrapping paper we have at home that isn't for Christmas, always used for birthdays). If you look closely there are also cards from many people on top as well, and I am still awaiting a few more packages! :) So if you think I am down and upset, don't worry, it is just part of me and I will get over it!

Cemetery

So, I got up a little late for my class at the gym today so I decided to attempt to go for a bike ride. I have taken the bike to the gym but, hadn't yet just rode around town so I thought I would try it out and tour some parts of town that I haven't seen. Luca had told me that there was a sidewalk bike route that went for a good distance so I figured I would just follow that. Well, that didn't turn out so well and I was getting really angry. The sidewalk stopped way before I thought it would and even before that there was construction about every two feet, so I spent more time walking my bike than riding it.

But eventually, I took a little side street and it got much better. So I was riding along and I came to this really pretty street next to the church that I pass everyday on the way to pick up Chicco. I had wanted to see what was down there so I went down it. Andrea had told me it was only really the cemetery but I figured I could at least check that out.

WOW! I am not a religious person at all and don't even really appreciate art so me saying this is a pretty big deal. The cemetery is the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen. I literally could not believe it. I am considering going back to take pictures but I am not sure of the etiquette about taking pictures in a cemetery, I am sure it is not really highly recommended. So I will have to find a time when there aren't many people there. Anyway, for now I will just have to describe it. From the looks of it, the Italians have so much more respect for the dead than Americans do. Not that we don't respect the dead, because I always thought we did, until today. When you enter the cemetery (I now realize I'm not quite sure how to spell that word so I apologize), it looks like a florist or something. There are literally flowers on every single grave, and not just one or two. There are a lot. They even have little containers of water all around so that you can water the flowers when you come. The cemetery is huge, and there are just graves everywhere of every different kind. There are walls of graves piled high. There are those buildings with graves inside (don't know how to spell that word either). There are also mostly family plots of all kinds so there aren't many single graves but more entire families. Almost every grave has a photo of the person on it, as well as their name and dates. There is even a small section that I found for children, which was really sad. Especially because many only had one date, both birth and death. Very sad. Anyway, I was absolutely amazed, and even knowing not one person in there I think I could easily spend an hour just walking around the place.

Just thought I would share my amazement with you all. Despite the morbid topic, it actually turned out to be a pretty good morning and I will definitely go again.

Lazy

On another note, I have become increasingly more and more lazy since I have been here. I think it has something to do with the fact that I hardly have any responsibility, so there isn't very much that I actually have to do. I mean I have even put off replying to emails, that at the time I read them just simply require too much thought for me to have at that moment. So now I am actually sitting down to do a whole bunch of things that I have put off all week.

I guess now is the time to do it because I will never be able to do this again, at least not anytime soon. Or at least that is what I keep telling myself as I crawl back into bed with a book.

Also, the only thing I would feel guilty about is that I am not experiencing everything completely, but I think for the most part I am. And I try to see at least one or two new things every week. It's just not realistic to expect to do something new and exciting every single day, but I am certainly trying. Regardless, I came here to enjoy a new country, learn the language and enjoy the next year of my life, and I am definitely doing all of that! So I'm happy!! :)

One More Thing

One of my fellow expat friends reminded of what is probably the number one thing that I miss about America, each and every day. I somehow forgot to mention it (maybe that is a sign that I am getting used to it after all).

I really do enjoy reading other expats blogs as ir is quite comical to hear about them going through, and how they got through, some of the same things I did or still am going through.

Anyway, the number one thing I miss is...

GARBAGE DISPOSAL!!

I miss it so much. Here we have to dump all of the extra contents of our food out into the trash, which is it's one separate can so it is never very pretty. I don't know how people can stand but since mine contains mostly of fruit remains, it smells so bad that I had to put it outside. It is really annoying and really gross, and now that its outside and it is cold outside, I have to put shoes on to go out there. Ugh! So much work!

She also reminded me of how I miss grapes. Ok, so they have grapes here that actually look delicious and refreshing, obviously more so in the summer. So I was tricked a few times by them,. but they are deceiving because they have seeds in them. Biting into a grape and finding a seed and then to have to find somewhere to put the seed is just far to much work for me for a piece of fruit. So I will have to wait until I am back in America for some seedless grapes.. And on that same note, something that I knew I would miss when I came here, is skim milk. Now, I have been very lucky because I was thinking that all I would find was whole milk but they actually do have whole, 1/2 whole (as they call it), and skim. However, these all come out of boxes that are not refridgerated. So it is not fresh milk. The only fresh milk that they have is whole. So while I have been lucky and been able to use milk for my cereal, I havent really been able to drink much which is something I never went one day without back at home.

Venice

This took a little longer than planned because the website wasn't working with me but, here are some new pictures, some of Castelfranco and most of Venice last Thursday.

http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/ryetoasty/

I met my first American expats last Thursday and we had a really good time. It is always good to talk to people who are going through the same, or similar things as you.

And today I met a Canadian woman for lunch and I enjoyed that as well. She has two kids that are around my age so I am very excited to hopefully meet them soon!

Home

So since my return to America is getting closer (only 40 days now!!) I have been thinking more about the things I really miss from home (aka the things that I will get as much of as possible in the 10 days that I am home):

Here they are:

Starbucks- since I don't really like coffee, I haven't had any at all since I have been here, but in Starbucks I usually don't get coffee anyway. I miss all of the other drinks and the atmosphere. This one came to me when I was watching Grey's Anatomy and saw a Starbucks cup in Meredith's hand. I have never been an addict of Starbuck's but apparently for me it is one of those things that you don't miss until it's gone. (I want some peppermint hot chocolate!)

OPRAH- this one is pretty simple and self explanatory, I just missing having the option of turning her on in the afternoon.

TIVO/Satellite TV- on that same note, I miss the TV that we have at home. We don't have TiVO anymore but I can't even remember the name of what we have now. In Italy, they have Sky which is satellite TV, where you can watch things in English, but I don't have it and it's not the same. I miss DVR!!

TV I understand- still going on that same note, I just miss TV in general. I mean I watch a little bit of it here and it is helping my Italian but while I'm still in the learning stage, it is really hard to focus. It just not as entertaining when you put learning into it. And even Finding Nemo isn't as funny in Italian! :( However, starting tomorrow, every Thursday night I will be watching (old I think) episodes of Grey's Anatomy, which will be awesome. Not even a different language can keep me away from being entertained by Grey's!

Magazines- yeah, I miss my trashy gossip. While I have never been a fan of the really trashy magazines like US and stuff like that, I mostly miss People. I have been reading a ton of books but it's just not the same without a magazine to read once a week. However, I have started reading some Italian magazines (attempting to) so thats entertaining and they have Time magazine in English in the library so I am making that a weekly tradition.

My books- ok, this one is not so bad. I have read at least about 10 books since I have been here and I love reading so it is making me very happy. I have been lucky enough to have my mom send me a bunch of my books, but I just miss my collection. Since I could never really read for leisure in high school or college, over the years I have started a collection of books I want to read. And I have so many that I don't remember half of them. I just wish I had them here.

My movies- same as above. I have a few here that my mom has sent me, but my collection of movies is one of the best things I own. Hopefully by the end of this week, I will have a season of Friends from home though and that will make me very happy! :)

Malls!- yeah they don't so much exist in Italy, at least not that I have found. I mean there is definitely shopping everywhere you go but I miss just being able to go to the mall for the afternoon and walk around or be able to find anything and everything you want or need.

Different kinds of cereal-maybe I am being a little picky because I am very lucky to have even found cereal here at all, as most Italians don't really eat breakfast. Ever since I can remember, I have had cereal for breakfast just about everyday of my life, except the occasional big breakfast from my mom on the weekends. So cereal is a big deal to me. Now, the grocery store below my apartment (which is very convenient) has about 15 or so different kinds of cereal but they are all basically the same thing. So out of those I get the same 2 or 3 kinds every week. I am very excited to go home and go to the store and see that glorious cereal isle. (Which I have always taken for granted)...by the way, I miss American grocery stores too.

Ok, that's about all for now. If you notice, I have found ways around most of things that I miss but it's still just not the same.

CIAO!

Public Bathrooms

Anyone who thinks public bathrooms in America are bad, take a look at this!!





I really dont understand how it is even possible. I mean this is not a third world country, and yet I feel like it as soon as I step into one of these things!! GROSS!! I have to say I think it is one of my least favorite things about Italy!!

Happy Days

Yeah I know it has been almost two weeks since I have posted, but nothing has happened that I could really write about. The past two weekends have been pretty quiet and I did a lot of babysitting rather than going out. On Sundays, I usually go to another town nearby in the afternoon and walk around. This past Sunday I went to Castelfranco, which was pretty cool, other than the fact that as soon as we got there our waitress spilled my wine ALL over me, so I had to walk around the rest of the afternoon like that.

For some reason, I have been exceptionally happy lately. I'm not really sure why but I think it has to do with the fact that I am getting more and more comfortable here and have established some pretty good routines. Yesterday, I had a perfect day. It was nothing too exciting but for some reason to me, it was perfect. In the morning, I went to the library for a "women's meeting," and to sign up for a card. Unfortunately the meeting turned out to be down the street so I decided to wait until next week to go there. But I got a library card and walked around the library. I spent over two hours there. I looked at all the english books they have, the movies, the english magazines they have, and I sat and read Time magazine and then my book in the periodical room. I think I will make that a new routine, to go to the library once a week and read the new Time magazine.

Anyway, then I was really proud of myself because both of the watches that I have here stopped, and needed new batteries. So I went to the jeweler and asked him if he could put new batteries in. He did and it was very cheap. So I successfully had an entire conversation in Italian, which I have done before but for some reason yesterday I was proud.

Then I came home, ate lunch, and took a nap. When I woke up, I actually got it together to go for a walk to the gym and work out for about an hour, where I finished my book. It felt good to have made myself go. And then I had dinner with Luca and Chicco and went to bed. But it felt like the perfect day. :)

I was thinking yesterday about how weird it will be to go home in the middle of this journey, because I have gotten so used to life around here. I am used to going to the stores and saying Ciao or Boungiorno when I walk in, and saying Scusi or Permesso as I try to walk around someone, and saying Quanto Costa when I want to buy something. I know these are just little things but they are things that I do everyday and it will be weird to have to stop that when I'm home. I'm sure I will use some Italian by accident and it will quite interesting, but also cool because that means I am learning!!!

Ok, thats all for now, tomorrow I am heading to Venice for the day, so hopefully on Friday I will have some new pictures to post.

Ciao!

Treviso

Here are some new pictures: http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/ryetoasty/

Most of them are from my trip to Treviso on Tuesday, which was nice. I only ended up staying there for abot 3 hours because it was a very confusing city. There were so many small side streets everywhere that I did a lot of walking back and forth and I was getting tired. But it was a good time and I got some good pictures.

Its raining out today and going to rain all weekend I think, which is no fun especially because I think we were going to have a BBQ at Manuela's parents house on Sunday. So hopefully it will not rain.

Music Update

So we went to Music Class again on Monday and Chicco hated it just as much as last time. To tell you the truth, I don't really blame him. I don't know what it is about it that he doesn't like but like I said before it is a little weird, but the other kids don't seem to have a problem. Except when they tell all the kids to go free, and they are in socks on a wood floor so everytime at least one or two of them fall and start crying. If I was a kid I think that would be enough to scare me.

I will try to write a post later about my trip to Treviso on Tuesday and some pictures...

Neglect

So I have been neglecting my blog a little, only because there hasn't been much interesting to write about this week. During the week all my days are pretty much the same. However, this week I think I am going to start traveling. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings I go to a class at the gym so I think Tuesdays and Thursdays I will start to explore the area. I have been exploring Montebelluna a little but I could do that more too. The good thing about this town is that it seems to be really close to a lot of other towns by train or bus, and I can walk to the station. So, from now on I will try to go to a new town every week at least.

Here is a picture of a really cool moon I saw one night from my balcony. The picture isn't the greatest quality because it was obviously really far away and my camera sucks at taking pictures in the dark:

This weekend was very relaxed. Friday night, Andrea asked me to go with him to Venice. He had to drive his parents and their friends because they had a dinner to go to and didn't want to have to drive, so they paid him to do it. He asked me to go so he didn't have to be alone the whole time while waiting for them to finish. It was a good time. It was a small adventure. The van was too small so we were all squished which was kinda funny, being smashed in a van with a bunch of Italians (especially on the way back because they were a bunch of drunk Italians). After we dropped them off, Andrea and I went to Jesolo, which is a beach town. It was quiet because there are not many people there in the winter. But we had a really good time. We went to dinner and then walked down to the beach, which was nice because I have missed the beach! Then we went to an American bar called Gasoline. I guess it is a chain in Italy. It's a really cool bar with American decorations inside, and barrels of peanuts for everyone to eat and throw on the floor. It was just a very cool atmosphere, because it was an Italian bar trying to be American so they had every little detail. Here are some pictures:

This is the front of the bar:

This is the only half decent picture I could take inside because it was too dark for my camera (I really need to ask someone what the deal is with it, because I should be able to take pictures at night). I will try to take more pictures next time I go. This is a giant Texas longhorn above the bar (taken just for Brett):


Then Saturday, I didn't really do anything except go to the post office and got a package from my mom! (Finally! She sent it to me in Calabria for my train ride up to Turin, but I'm just glad it didn't get lost). I slept in the afternoon and then called a whole bunch of people from America which was really fun. I enjoyed catching up with everyone. And everyone is so happy to hear from you when you live in Italy, it's kinda fun! Then I babysat at night.

Sunday, I went to a party in Treviso (which I think will be my first travel adventure town this week). The party is called Ombralungo, which translates into long glass of wine, and it is held once a year in Treviso. It is basically an all day drinking party where there are a million drunk people running around. The bars have specials and some have tables outside where they sell glasses of wine, and there is music and food. I think it starts in the morning but we were only there at the very end for an hour or two. But I am glad I got to see it. Then Andrea and I got some dinner at a pub and then we saw Ratatouille (I don't know how to spell it). It was a cute movie and for the most part pretty easy to understand because it was simple language and there were a few scenes with no words at all.

Oh, last week I took Chicco to a music class for babies for the first time. It is every Monday. He hated it. The whole time he couldn't get close enough to me (which was kinda cute actually). He kept saying "braccho (sp?)" which means in your arms, basically hold me. It was a very odd class. I guess just totally different than I was expecting. I was thinking it would be like a gymboree class in America, but it was not. We were in a dance studio and the instructor was this man who told us all not to talk to the kids. We were supposed to let them go free. Then he sang the whole time as we repeated him (it sounded like a chant). Only at the very end did they bring out two intruments and pass them around to the kids, which Chicco liked, but even that was weird. Then at the very end he started to cry. So we are going to try again today and hopefully it will get better and he will like it more this time.


So, I think this blog will be more of a weekly thing now unless something happens to write about, because otherwise there is nothing too exciting.

PS. As of about 10 minutes ago, I finally have hot water and heat in my apartment!! I am so excited because now I don't have to go next door to shower and I don't have to freeze everytime I wash the dishes!! It only took about a month! Ahh, gotta love Italy!

Weekend

I had a very good weekend. Manuela and Luca went to Stockholm for the weekend so I only had Federico for about 2 hours every day. I spent a lot of time with Andrea and his friends which was a lot of fun.

Friday we went to watch some of his friends who are in a band play at a bar and that was nice. Saturday we went to a party in Pedorobba, another town. It is called Festa della Castagna (Party of the Chestnuts) because they are coming into season now. It is just in a big tent and you can drink and eat chestnuts and there is a band (although they werent very good). But it was fun though. We just sat at a table and drank the whole time. And Sunday we went to Bassano to walk around and we had some drinks and pizza. So it was a nice weekend.

This is Andrea as a guest singer with the band:

This is the big church in Montebelluna that I pass everyday on the way to pick up Chicco from his grandma's house. It is very pretty but the main reason I took a picture of it now is because the day before I saw a funeral here. I felt a little weird taking a picture but I wish I did. So instead I took a picture of just the church. I wanted to take a picture that day because when I walked by they were starting the funeral procession. In America, that usually means all the cars follow the hearse to the cemetery. Well here they had someone walking in front of the hearse carrying a cross and then instead of cars, all the people were walking behind the hearse. I dont know if that is an Italian thing or not but it was very interesting to see.

More Chicco

So we go to the park everyday and, because he is 2, we pretty much do the same things everytime. And he always remembers. So we usually walk there together and he stops to hide under this sign:

I know you can't see his whole face but how freakin cute is his smile.

Then he stops to take a look at the flowers (which I actually noticed for the first time today):

Then we get to the playground and he goes up the stairs and down the slide (over and over again) but the whole time he counts in English now (1,2,5 but it's a start), and when we get to the slide, I count to three while holding him still and he looks at me like this:


He's pretty cute!! I'm so proud when he speaks English, it's so cool! I guess this year is my small glimpse into the world of a teacher.

Boun Giornata (Have a good day)!

Pictures

Here is another picture of Federico taken at the park yesterday...

Finding Myself

So, everytime I would complain to Brett and ask him what I'm doing here (it happened a lot when I was going through my "bad" times), he would always say, "You're there to find yourself"

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and he is right. That is one of the reasons I am here and I think I will, as I have already discovered a lot.

But, if nothing else I finally have time on my side. I finally have the time to do all the things that I want to do everyday. I pretty much have no one to answer to and, although its the reason I'm here, almost no responsibilities. I only have Federico a few hours everyday.

All my life I have always looked forward to the time that I could wake up, take walks, watch movies, read books, etc, and not feel guilty about relaxing because I have other things to do. So it is really a great thing to finally be able to do that. I am surely enjoying it and I think it will also make me feel that much better about starting my life when I get home because I will have truly had a year off from life. So, basically, I am happy! :)

This is the park where I take my morning (or afternoon on days that I go to the gym) walks:

Address

Here is my new address:

Ryan Nestler
c\o Manuela Zanin
Via Regina Cornaro 9
31044 Montebelluna

Send me mail!!

Brett

I just came across this picture again and thought I would share it. It's Brett and I on our last night together. We went to The Chart House in Weehawken and had a great night. I miss him and can't wait to see him!

Cinema

So I went out for the first time last night with a new friend. Manuela's brother is 24 and he took me out to the movies. It was very interesting. We saw Evan Almighty, entirely in Italian so it was very hard for me, actually a lot harder than I thought it would be because they talk so fast. But I got the jist of it and it was an interesting experience. They have an intermission in the middle of all their movies, so funny, but kinda nice if you have to go to the bathroom.

It was very nice to finally go out with someone and he was really nice. We had a good conversation and I think we are going out tonight as well to see some of his friends play in a band. So that should be fun too.

On another note, I am in a very good mood because almost everything is finally working here now. I have a new cell phone, and this one is so much better. I understand how to use it and I can send and recieve text messages!! My new number is 3465909150 but to call or text from America you need to dial 01139 and then the number.

I'm also excited because I got my webcam to work, so now when I talk to people on Skype they can see me, very exciting.

And, I am able to watch Grey's Anatomy, which is the best news of all because ABC.com won't let people watch their online shows outside of America. But thanks to Meagan I found another website where I can watch them, even the new ones, so exciting because I am already hooked again after one episode!

I think that's all for now!

Ciao!

Flowers

and flowers complete the place....

I think this was the first time I have actually bought flowers. I am very proud of myself and they look beautiful. It's weird that this is the first time I will be actually living on my own and it is in Italy...who knew?

View and apartment again

Here's a few more pictures, the view from my apartment and my apartment now that it's all clean and decorated...it looks much better than the other pictures.

http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/ryetoasty/

Entertaining....

So I found this really entertaining. Yes that is a shopping cart in the middle of my kitchen! I had too many bags and since the grocery store is right downstairs I just figured I would bring the whole thing upstairs. Haha. So of course I had to take a picture. :)

...maybe I'm just easily entertained nowadays....

Federico and Skype

Here is Federico on Saturday morning, driving the car.. He is so cute. He really makes me laugh, and he is pretty much used to me by now I think. I am only getting happier and happier that I am here. I went grocery shopping today (I have a little story and picture that I will post maybe tomorrow) and bought food for my apartment so now I am all set except for my TV (its coming) and the gas and hot water. But it feels good to be independent and almost completely settled.

On another note, I have just successfully used Skype for the first time over here so I encourage everyone to download it (skype.com) because it is a way to talk through your computer for free. You just need a microphone (some computers already have them). I even have a webcam that I am currently working on installing so I can have video conversations too!! :)...this is all very exciting to me..so everyone go download skype so I can talk to you!

Pictures

Ok here are all my new pictures... There are a lot but now that I have internet all the time I should be able to upload new ones more often and not so many at a time...

I changed websites because Flickr had a limit that I already reached...so now half are on there and half and all the rest will be on here...
http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd191/ryetoasty/

sorry if some are boring....

I'm Here!!

So I arrived yesterday in Montebelluna, to start with my new family, and I am soo happy! They decorated the apartment for me, down to even buying a decorative pot with fake sunflowers in it. The apartment is really nice, small but very cute and brand new. It is weird to have my own apartment but I think I will like it. It is also great to have internet access all the time finally. It is amazing how much of a difference that makes in my mood.

The family is great. I am very happy. They are so nice and welcoming and I think we will get along very well. The little boy is really cute and I already know I am going to love him. I just need to work with him a little so that he can learn to understand some basic English, but I don't think it will take very long.

I met an Australian couple on the train yesterday and they were so sweet. It was really great to have people that spoke English because we talked for over 2 hours, all about my life and their lives and their kids and everything. It was really a great way to pass the time. And they helped me with my luggage too which was awesome, because no one else had and it is very difficult to travel Italian trains by yourself with two 70 pound suitcases and about a 20 pound backpack. The morning was very difficult (going up and down stairs, etc)

Anyway, so today I have the whole day off to get settled and see some of the area if I want to. It should be a good day even though it is getting kind of cold here...it is supposed to get warmer next week. I hope so because I need to do some serious shopping for warmer clothes!

Christmas

Something I forgot to mention is that switching to this new family also means that I can come home for Christmas!! I am so happy because I really didnt want to miss Christmas with my family (I never have and am not really ready to do that yet). This family doesnt require that I get a visa so the legal aspects shouldnt be a problem and they said going home for Christmas shouldnt be a probelm at all.

YAY!!! :)

Decision

I have finally made a decision!! I am going to be working for the first family that I met (outside of Turin), in Montebelluna, which is near Venice. I got along really well with the parents and there is only one little boy who is almost two. I also have my own apartment next door to them which I think will turn out to be a good thing. So I am excited!

She cant pick me up at the train station until Thursday so I will be leaving here Thurs morning. Until then I will spend the next two days exploring Turin. Today i am on my way to take the tourism bus around the city, so that should be interesting, and maybe going to see a movie tonight...who knows..

So I am excited to be settled and start this next chapter of my adventure in Italy...

Adventures

Well yesterday was a very interesting day....the plan was to go to Padova (where the mom of this family works) and spend the day wandering around and visiting there and then to meet her at the train to go home at 5...things turned out a little differently than planned (of course...why would anything ever go as planned..)

I ended up getting on the wrong train which was headed to Milan. I had not looked at a map of Italy so I had no idea where Milan was compared to where I was supposed to be going. So I got off at the first stop and went to the info desk where they told me to take a train to Milan!! It was terrible because I now had to wait 2 hours in this small town to get on a train that I was already on! So I hung out there and took a train to Milan, then had to wait an hour and a half in Milan to get a train to Padova.

Luckily, they only charged me 9 euros on one of the trains so that is all the extra money I had to spend, and i got to see the Milan traion station! haha... otherwise the only thing I lost was the chance to see Padova because I arrived in the train station with 2 minutes to spare and had to run to meet the mother.

The good thing is that I think it was very much worth it as I love this family. I think that this is the one that I will end up with. Everything about is pretty perfect and I already feel comfortable with them and get along very well with the parents.

So today I am off to Trento, another day on public transportation, to meet another family, and then tomorrow to Lucca, the town in Tuscany, to meet my last family. For now I am thinking this family is it but I dont know what the other families will be like. So hopefully my decision is easy one way or another.

Anyway sorry for the semi-boring posts but all I have been doing lately is doing a lot of traveling. Hopefully I will be settled soon!

Treat....

I am very excited because I get to treat myself tomorrow. I have made an appointment to get a manicure\pedicure!! I am very happy because it will be great (I hope) and it will be a nice relaxing thing to do before continuing with my crazy week.

I did have an opportunity to tour a little bit or Turin today which was really nice. I just walked about a 3 hour circle near my agents office (which is where I am staying, she has a bedroom off of it) so I got a small idea and got to see the Royal Palace and some of the city. (I will post pictures tomorrow hopoefully).

I also got pizza for dinner from supposedly the best pizzeria in Italy. It was very amazing. But now I am very tired and I have quite a long day\week ahead of me so I will write more soon.

Ciao!

Turin and train travel....

Well the train ride was actually pretty uneventful, other than the fact that it was of course 1 hour late getting to Reggio and even later getting to Turin. Also, it was the smallest train I have ever seen. I dont know what sleeping cars are like in America but I am pretty sure they cant possibly be like this one. I couldnt even fit my bags through on their wheels so that was quite difficult. But other than the bag difficulty and the wake up call I got at 3 am that I was in the wrong bed, it went pretty well and didnt feel anywhere close to 17 hours which was good cuz that sounds like forever! There wasnt even a restaurant car or any food either which is weird for a 17 hour train ride. But I made out ok.

So now I am in Turin and I really love it here. Yesterday I met 2 families. I liked one and not so much the other one. Unfortunately the one that I did like (I only met the mom, but am going to her house to meet the kids tomorrrow, they are 3 and 1) doesnt have a place for me to stay, so I would have to work with her and my agent to find an apartment. So I dont know about that job, but I will see how everything goes tomorrow and see if I like everything else about it and then go from there. The mother seems very normal which is always a good thing.

I still habe 2 other options at the moment. I have kind of a busy week planned. Tomorrow (wed) I will meet that family that I was talking about. Then thursday I will take a train to Montebelluna, which is about 4 1\2 hours from here. There I will meet (and stay the night with) a family who has a 20 month old, and the possibility of caring for a 6 month old who is also related and lives in the same building, and I would have my own apt right next door to the family which could be kinda nice because it is completely paid for and right next to them but it is also private so I could have it to myself. I am excited about meeting them.

Then I come back to Turin on Friday, and I am off again on Saturday morning to Lucca, a town in Tuscany, which is about a 3 hour train ride. I will meet a family who have 3 older kids (6,10, and 11 i think) and I would live in their house with them I believe. I will stay the night with them as well and return to Turin on Sunday to think everything over, make a decision and collect my luggage. By then I will hopefully have found a family I love and be starting sometime next week.

The good thing is that even if I dont end up finding a job I will have been in Italy for 2 months and seen most all of it by the end of this week, including the time I have spent here 2 summers ago. So thats the worst case scenario because I am having the opportunity to see so much this next week, anyway.

Regular in Reggio

So before I talk about Turin I wanted to post one more story about Reggio.

I have established quite a routine of going into town with the children in the morning when they go to school and from there going to the internet cafe, but while I am waiting for it to open or when I am done I usually go to this cafe on the corner because they have outdoor tables andI sit there and wait or in the afternoon I usually get a gelato.

Anyway the internet guy has gotten to know me because I am always there and always for so long too, so now in the mornings he goes to the same cafe before he opens and asks me if I would like some coffee. Its so cute. I have made friends with him (well as much as possible because he only speaks italian, but I mostly understand him).

Anyway so now the owner of the cafe has started to recognize me and says goog morning to me when he sees me. The other day I went in to get gelato and I asked for the same kind that I got the last time (stracciatella, which is chocolate chip) but they didnt have it. So the next day I went in and he got all excited and looked at me and said Stracciatella! (because they had it again).

Stupid story I know but I thought it was kinda cute that I was now a regular in a small town in Italy. I felt special.

.....of course that was the day before I left :( haha

Real World

I am very happy right now. For the first time I am watching something American! (other than 7th Heaven and Discovery Channel). I have been able to watch online episodes of Real World so I can finally catch up with the episodes I have missed. I love it!!

It's the little things in life.....

Take 2

So I am currently working on booking a train for the next part of this so called adventure...I am now leaving for Turin, Italy (pretty much as far as I could possibly go while still staying in the country), which is about a 15 hours train ride. I will be leaving tomorrow (Sat) evening and arriving in Turin Sunday morning. So hopefully I will get some sleep on the train. It should be an experience in itself, as I have never been on a sleeper train before, let alone in Italy.

I am sad to leave my family but have been ready to leave as I am getting more and more frustrated with the ways these children are raised. So, as of now, I will arrive in Turin and spend the day on Sunday with one family. Then I will stay the night either in a hostel or an apartment that my agent has available. Basically for the next week or so I will be homeless in Northern Italy. I am kind of excited because this is something that I would never do on my own (not exactly a "fly by the seat of my pants" type person) but it should be interesting and I have my agent to help me so I am not too worried about anything happening or being on my own.

I will still have my same cell phone until I get settled somewhere else but who knows when or where the next time on the internet will be. So now I am off to continue my research and train reservations and I will be seeing most of Italy tomorrow through my train windows...

Ciao!

Pictures

Here are all of the pictures that I have taken so far.. I have labeled most of them. I Hope you like them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13137851@N02/

hopefully that works...because my battery is dead...i will hopefully be back on tomorrow...Enjoy!

Disappointed

Well, there has been quite a change of events since my last post. I went to the doctor last week and she said I had an infection (dont think she really looked, but thats ok). She gave me antibiotics and I am actually 90% better now. I would be 100% because I have no more ear or throat pain but it still feels like my left ear is completely blocked and I am now getting a little worried that I am losing my hearing, as the pain is all gone and I have one more day of antibiotics and I still cant hear anything at all out of that ear.

On another note, after endless thought and consideration, Claudia and I have decided that this situation is not going to work out. The kids and I do not have the connection that she would like us to have and I think that our expectations are just too different. She expects me to be more of a creative kindergarten (English) teacher for the children and a babysitter on the side, while I was expecting to be a nanny and teach some English as well. It is just too different for me to live up to. Also, there are too many things about the children and then situation (really the "servants") that will not change and I can not deal with without being miserable.

I am extremely disappointed (not really in myself) but in the situation. Unfortunately this is something that I couldnt have known before coming so I just had to learn it on my own. I am sad to leave because the situation is actually perfect except for the children. I mean it is more than I could ask for. I have people cooking and cleaning after me, I have my own room with a balcony 3 houses from the beach and a bathroom, and then family speaks English and has been very accomodating and very nice. So that part I am sad about and I wish things would have worked out. But neither Claudia or I wanted either one of us to be unhappy.

So now we are spending the week trying to figure out who will come to the house and where I will go. I am pretty much still working the week but also trying to figure out where I am going. I havent decided yet if I will go to another family in Italy (it depends on what type of families my agency has to offer, as I now know more of what I do and dont want) or if I will come home to America and go from there (either find another aupair job in another state or get started with nursing).

So basically I have a ton of things to think about and it has been really difficult but I am happy with my decision and excited to see what I have in store for me next. I want to make this a positive experience, however I can.

Yay!

I am happy to say that I am writing from my own computer! I wil lnow work on posting pictures on another website and then placing the link here...

My dad

Today is the day of my dads surgery (for those of you who dont know he is donating his kidney to his neice, who was very sick last year). I have been thinking about him all day and my being sick and him having the surgery might be a big reason for me missing home. I wish I could be there with him and for him. I am very proud of him for doing this and hope everything is going well (as I am writing this I think they are both out of surgery and in recovery, if everything went as planned, which means Meagan has a new kidney! I know she has been waiting for this surgery for a long time so I am also very excited for her!)

More later as I have been on here for a very long time and my ear is really starting to hurt...

PS. Brett and I have been officially dating for six months yesterday!! =)

Ciao

Sick :(

So this whole adjustment thing isnt exactly going so well for me. Now I am sick and have for about 4 days now. I am so sick that I am on my way (hopefully) to see a doctor tonight.
I have a sore throat, which is actually slightly better now but before was the worst pain I have ever experienced! And now I have developed an ear problem and seem to be going deaf in my left ear.
I really hope the doctor can make things better and next week turns out much better than this one did because as of now I dont know if I will be able to make it out the rest of the year. I am not exactly having the time of my life yet and am starting to wonder what I am doing....

I am sorry that all of my posts have been so negative lately and despite all that I am really really trying to be positive! But like I said before I am waiting for the day when I fall in love with this place and this job and that day doesnt seem to be coming anytime soon.

I was reading Julies blog today and it made me very sad an am wondering why I didnt just decided to be an au pair in another state in America. At this point that seems like a much better idea to me.

I hope all is well with everyone else.

Address

My address here is:
Ryan Nestler
Via Vecchia Provinciale 32 Archi
89121 Reggio Calabria, Italy

all mail\phone calls\visits\emails\comments are more than welcome!! I miss America!! haha

Reggio!!

So things are still going... I am still not completely loving it here and am trying to wait patiently for that day to come....but I am having a good time...

Had a little incident yesterday when one of the woman from the Phillipines (Jenny, the one who is pregnant, and I was told was "moody") told me what to do with the kids. I did not appreciate it and immediately wanted to go home..but felt much better after writing in my journal and calming down for a little bit. It was nteresting, but not a big deal in hindsight.

Today is very very very windy and I have now discovered that attempting to ride a really old, too small, flat bike uphill against the wind on roads that are pretty much rocks and dirt, not such a good idea....I fell coming around a corner as I was trying to get back on the bike and the wind blew it over under me (just thought I would give you all a little mental picture, and let everyone know that unfortunately my excellent grace has followed me to Itay). Oh the things I will do to get to the internet!!!

Finally moving to Reggio tomorrow and I am very excited!!!...

Thats pretty much all for now as I am now in a different internet cafe but now my camera card doesnt seem to fit into the USB port...I promise I am really trying to load some pictures!!

Ciao!

Settling in... and the kids..

So I am now in an internet cafe, as I came into Reggio with Claudia to go to the police station which of course, like everything else in Italy, didnt work the first time. So I will have to come again this week, but I dont really mind because it is kind of nice to get out of the house every once in awhile. Otherwise, the days with the kids are the same thing over and over again. It will be better next week because they are all in school so I at least have 4 hours a day to myself to get better acquainted with the house and the city, and get myself situated, or just relax. Right now I have the kids all day long, and while I have help it does get a little tiring...4 kids is a lot! haha

Anyway, things here are pretty good. The kids are getting used to me. The triplets are 4 and their names are Guiseppe, Vincenzo, and Maria Luisa (Milla). The 2 year old is Chiara. The are really cute and also very difficult at times. So far Guiseppe is the best one. Out of everyone he is always the one to listen and he is the sweetest. He will gladly sit with me and talk with me one on one. The parents are Claudia and Antonio. The people from the Phillipines, who cook, clean, and help with the kids are Jenny, Flora, and Renall (?).

I am anxious to get to Reggio next week and move in to air conditioning!, and also to get situated in my room as right now I am still living out of my luggage...

That is about all for now...nothing too exciting.. I think from now on I will have Friday afternoon and all day Saturdays off so this week I will probably just go into town but maybe next week I will try to venture out to Sicily, probably just for the day on Saturday. It is only a 20 minute ferry ride from our house.

My italian is coming along as now I can understand a lot and will soon start to speak a little...

I hope all is well with everyone and feel free to email or post comments or even call... I got a cell phone and my number is 3204527852...to call from America you dial 01139 32045 27852. I dont know much about how much it is or anything.

I still have awhile until we go back to the house so I will try now to post some pictures....

Arrival and Bocale

I felt much better after talking to my mom and started to get excited to meet the family. I arrived in Reggio and Antonio (the dad) picked me up with all four kids (who are adorable). At that point I was happy and glad to finally be somewhere.
We went straight to their house at the sea, which is in Bocale. Unfortunately there is no air conditioning so it was very hot but it is very nice and I was happy to be there. Showering was interesting (I will post a picture whenever I can of the "shower" that I use here.
Anyway, everything is going well here but I miss home and my family and Brett sooo very much!!! I have to go now as I am going with Claudia (the mom) to the house in Reggio (the one they live in during the year), and I am very excited because it sounds very big and nice from what I have heard. I have some pictures and will post them and more later.

Ciao!!

Italian

PS. This is very confusing because I forgot about the fact that this website will be in Italian over here....am guessing which buttons to push...

Traveling

Well it has definitely been a very emotional week. Leaving was very hard and I cried my eyes out in the airport and on the airplane. The flight was ok, and I slept on and off for about half of it, which was good. Then I got to Rome....that was my first interesting\terrible experience. I found my way to my next gate and went to check in for my flight to Calabria, only to find that I had to go back where I started to get my bags and check in again. I finally went back to get my bags (up and down a million elevators and escalators and past 3 Ferrarri stores, which I took pictures of for Brett and also having to go through the checkpoint and security a total of about 3 times, all while speaking no Italian). Then I get my bags and go to check in and my bags are overweight (as they were in Newark but here the minimum is even less) So I end up having to pay 100 euros (i dont even know how may dollars that is)!!! By this point no on was paying attention to me and I was on the verge of tears. I just wanted to get settled at my gate so I could call my mom and Brett and gain some sanity!

Then I get to the phone and try for 20 minutes to call my mom with my phone card which wont work so eventually I just call with my credit card and am absolutely sobbing at this point. Needless to say my first experience in Italy not so much a positive one....

Welcome!

Welcome!

So 2 days from right now I will be in the airport and I am officially getting a little nervous/excited too. I think for the past week every dream I have had has had to do with Italy in some way.

As of right now the only way to contact me is here or through email (my email is ryetoasty@aol.com). Once I get there I will know my address (which I have right now but I'm not quite sure how to write it out), and possibly a phone number where I can be reached.

I just wanted to officially post something so everyone has something to look at...but now back to packing....

Me

So since I can't seem to get a picture on my profile yet, here it is for now.