Conversations with S

So today I was talking to my husband using Skype (oh my gosh, can I tell you how much I love Skype? Where were you my fair Skype 8 yrs ago when I was racking up HUGE telephone bills?) and I was asking him about his day. I would like to take this post to highlight some very "Italian" moments we had. It went something like this...

(words in Italic were those in my own head - regular type was spoken)

Italian moment #1:

Me - "hey my love, how was your day?"

Him - "good, I just got back from hiking in the hills for 4 hrs."

Me - (4 HOURS! Will I have to hike 4 HOURS if I move there?) - "Oh, wow that's a long time. How was it?"

Him - "oh great! it was a beautiful day, no one around, I walked about 15 kilometers - here I am downloading the pictures and sending them to you. (how much is 15 kilometers? oh my gosh, about 10 miles. 10 MILES. IN THE HILLS - I don't know how to walk in the hills, I walk on FLAT LAND) yeah, its so nice. there are bars along the way where you stop and get coffee, and a few restaurants - when I got done I had a gelato."

Me - "huh. What kind did you get?" (hey, if gelato is the prize maybe I CAN walk 4 hours... nah, I'd rather just have the gelato)

Him - "It was very good! It was chocolate and vanilla cream. VERY good."

Me - "nice. What else did you do today?"

Him - "went to the post office, got a hair cut - found a place just 2 minutes from the house, so I biked over there and they let me walk in. It only cost 12 euros!"

Me - "cool. how does it look? is it short?"

Him - "yeah it looks good. short. they are 12 millimeters in length."

Me - (giggling to myself) "12 millimeters? How do you know that? I don't know anyone who knows the EXACT length their hair is cut."

(see what I did there - boring story then WHAM. threw in some very Italian stuff. These are the moments when my heart wells up with love. I love how Italians refer to hair as "hairs". and call them they. and the fact that he knew the length was 12 mm and went on to explain to me why he knows this measurement. hehe )
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Italian moment #2

a little while later... talking about my father, who while retired a few times over, still wants to work so he drives new/used cars between dealers. sometimes he goes on long trips to different parts of the country which is where we find ourselves here...

Me - "Dad is stuck in Atlanta. They flew him in and the car he was supposed to drive back didn't work so, he has to stay over the weekend until the mechanic can show up."

Him - "why don't they put those cars on the truck? That car is not new! If it has miles on it, it is not new. They are taking your money for a new car and the motor has been used, it has mileage, and it's been sitting out in the hot sun!"

Me - (oh great, now I've opened up a can of worms. it's like *discussing ice, or engraved jewelry.) "It was a used car."

Him - "Oh."
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Italian moment #3

Me - "so what are you doing now?"

Him - "I'm in bed. OH I need to download **&$#$ (some Italian radio show I don't remember the name of so I am using characters - its not a bad word!) Tonight, the program is about the Princess of Belgioioso. She used to live with the corpse of her lover."

~~ here we went on an obsessive search to find out about the principessa. It was a bit fruitless, I did not find out about the corpse but she does seem to have an interesting story. We then got sidetracked and starting discussing Gothic literature, most of which I haven't read or heard of.

* on ice and engraving - First, Italians as a whole, freak out about ice in drinks here. 1. because you aren't supposed to drink liquids that cold. but most importantly 2. you are paying for a full drink and they fill the glass up with ice! they are cheating you! Secondly, my Italian doesn't like to engrave jewelry. Why you ask? Because you pay for the weight of the precious metal and if they engrave it you lose some metal. THEN the jewelers gather up all that "dust" at the end of the day, melts it down to make other pieces. which they then sell at FULL PROFIT. (rolls eyes)


We are a hot couple are we not? hehe.

It is days like this that I appreciate the very different mind and way of thinking my Italian has. It is so endearing. With that cute accent saying things like "they" when referring to hair. And how he falls asleep listening to some historical or cultural program. no romance books for him! (thats what I read to fall asleep. lol)

I just love that man.


More later...

on going back to work and various sundry of things

I have one more week of my "work from home" contract left! After that, it is back to the commuting grindstone for me =) I am not complaining though - I am just happy to keep working.

It will be an adjustment. I have been working from home for 3 months and it's been nice to hang out in shorts and a tee and swimming whenever I want. Always having time to run an errand and yet STILL working efficiently and well. hehe It has in fact, shown me that if I want to start my own business in Italy or do work from home there, I can!

Since I will be back to 9-5, I really need to work out a study schedule. Right now, I am studying 2 things - Italian, and for a professional certification. The certification has to be completed by Feb but the deadline for use of practical Italian in everyday life is still undecided. What should I do? study Italian on certain nights and for my certification on others? do both each night? so much reading and note-taking. UGH, I have to really get my study hat back on. It's amazing how easy it is to forget how to learn.

So see? I am busy but have nothing exciting to talk about. No travels upcoming; not going out much in order to save some money; and boring reading. I will try to come up with some interesting tidbits or recipes to share though.hehe Try not to write me of just yet. hehe

Any and all suggestions for managing continuing education while working full time are welcome. lol

More later...


**PS - the chocolate Shelley sent was DELICIOUS. I haven't tried the coffee yet - but I will. Thanks again!

I love mail!

A little while ago Shelley moved her blog and had a housewarming party. If you left a comment you had a chance to win some Roman coffee and chocolate! YUM. Of course I had to participate because who can pass up a chance like that?

And guess what? I won! She did a random drawing and I came up the winner. woohooo Last week I got a lovely package in the mail with my prize. The coffee smells wonderful! I swear, my whole house smells of that comforting coffee smell. I love how Italians wrap things up like individual little presents, don't you? The chocolate made it in one piece AND was not melting which is quite a feat for shipping in July. I haven't tried anything yet but I will be treating myself this week. hehe

Thanks Shelley for the goodies!

On another note, my sweet husband is playing tour guide in Venice today for my cousin's wife and her 17-yr old daughter. They haven't ever met but each are so sweet, they should be having fun. Isn't it cool that the girls are traveling around Europe for a month together? What a wonderful memory and exposure to other cultures for the 17-yr old. She's never been out of the country. And they couldn't find a better tour guide then my Italian. Venice is one of his favorite cities and he knows so much about it. Makes me a little jealous. I would love to be there, but know I will be going back sometime soon. I have never been in July though; I wonder if the canals stink? hehe

Hope your Sunday is as beautiful (and hot) as mine!

More later...

"A lonesome man on a rainy day who does not know how to read."

... Benjamin Franklin - on being asked what condition a man he considered the most pitiable.

Thankfully, I know how to read and it's a good thing, since all we've had in my neck-of-the-woods is RAIN. for like a solid month. every day. Mostly, it's sporadic but today...ugh. It has rained all day. buckets. which is not good since our ground is already saturated so we have flash floods all over =) woohoo. Last year drought - this year flooding.

Anyway, as it's pouring today and work is slow. I thought I would share my rainy day activities with you in case you find yourself *ahem* unable to swim in a pool you & your Italian husband HAD to have in order to deal with a "normal" Texas summer.

Books:
- Queen of Babble in the Big City, by Meg Cabot

If you have never read this author and like funny books, you should definitely check out Meg Cabot. She writes alot of teen books too, but her adult ones are hilarious. My favorite and the first one I ever ready was "Every Boys Got One". Oh my gosh, it is funny AND set in Italy. If you like Sophie Kinsella type books, you will love Meg. However, being that I am a fast reader and since I've been waiting for months for this book (its a sequel) I finished it too quickly. But thankfully, I got another one in the mail just yesterday~

- I am Charlotte Simmons, by Tom Wolfe

YAY, just in time my first Sisterhood of the Traveling Books book arrived yesterday. WOOHOO, I am just starting it and haven't read this author before so I am looking forward to getting into it. Thanks Michelle!

Websites/Podcasts:
(as a small aside, I also check all my favorite blogs but am not listing them here)

- Meg Cabot's blog. She makes me laugh and has funny cat stories - whats not to love?

- katia and kyliemac. Two expats living in Paris recording podcasts. Katia (long a like in katie) is from Australia married to a Frenchman. Kyliemac from Michigan(?) working as an au pair in Paris. They are really funny and now I can't miss an episode.

- frog with a blog. An Frenchman speaking English with an atypical accent which doesn't sound french at all and is very charming. His "short and shallow" interviews are great.

TV Entertainment:

- The Mummy AND The Mummy Returns. 2 of my all time favorites. I own those movies yet still can't not watch them every time they come on tv. Hours of enjoyment was had.

- 2 episodes of Charmed. I didn't watch this show until the later seasons, so early episodes are always worthy of watching. hehe

So there you go. Fun for a rainy day. Tomorrow, more rain in our forecast and I think I am going to take my niece up on her offer for a date - we're going to see Evan Almighty. should be fun.

More later...

My Fellow Americans...

HAPPY 4th of JULY!





To all my fellow Americans here and abroad - have a wonderful day! I hope you get a chance to grill some goodness, eat some ice cream, and watch spectacular fireworks!

(Hope yours is not as rainy as mine is probably going to be)

More later...