16 May 2005
Torino, Italia

There have been more travels and friends becoming closer. Added acquaintances from new countries and even an addition to the Italian family. The sun is out and warm and I am starting to experiment with cooking. This city is my home for now and it’s actually starting to feel like it. And little things add up for new happenings and situations, new experiences and more learning. And so, as promised – to some of your delights and some of your dismays – here is the continuation of the “Laura update,” hoping my words find you rested, happy, and content.

To continue with the travel update, there isn’t too much more to tell. The day my family left, and right after our dinner with them in Milan, Jen and I took advantage of the long Easter weekend. So, since we had Monday off and found a cheap flight and were offered a free place to stay, we trekked it off to the beloved London. (this would be third country in a three-week period, but hey, you gotta do it!) It was so so wonderful to be back in this city after studying there for a semester. Jen had been there twice before so we didn’t feel pressured to do everything. I made Jen go back to all the places we hung out at while I was there including the Daniel House where we lived. It was like walking down memory lane and really wonderful, though a bit sad at the same time. It made me miss my group of girls from my time in London and reminded me of how lucky I am to have experienced such a semester, especially with them. We had a fab host as my cousin Kendra has lived in the city forever and knows her way around, drove us places, offered us her spare room, and took us to a hilarious restaurant that we never would have discovered on our own…she was awesome and patient to say the least!

We saw the show, The Producers, met up with a friend who was studying there, went to Westminster’s Abbey for Easter morning service and St. Paul’s for the evening one. We walked around a lot and really, really, really enjoyed being in an English-speaking country. It was as if someone had taken the cotton out of our ears because suddenly we could understand everything. Sure, now we’re getting to the point that we can understand Italian pretty well, but that involves concentration and usually doesn’t just come naturally, you have to work at it. But in England, all of a sudden we overheard conversations, understood every sign without thinking and didn’t hesitate to ask someone a question! As strange as it sounds, going to London was a bit like going home for us … there were Subway sandwiches, Dr. Peppers, Starbucks and green gum!! Not that we don’t love Italy, but a little comfort from home never hurt anyone. (Needless to say we drank a few too many Dr. Peppers and visited Starbucks about once or twice a day, just because we could.) Being there also made us realize that though both England and Italy are in Europe, they are so incredibly different, its amazing. What living in a place will do to you….I tell you what. It was a great long weekend and we both were so happy that we were able to go.

Last weekend Jen and I finally made it to a little piece of Heaven on Earth called Cinque Terre. This cluster of five small towns nestled into the cliffs of the Italian West Coast was a favorite of both Jen and I when we traveled Europe before and we couldn’t wait for the weather to get warm enough to make it worth our while to go back to such a place. It’s like stepping back in time, being there. The buildings in each town are almost built on top of each other and painted in every color imaginable. To top that, the towns are right on the water and the views of the cliffs descending right into the ocean are quite amazing. The last time I was there I stayed in the last and smallest town called Riomaggiore (with my traveling chicas) and Jen stayed in Corniglia up the cliff about 100 steps (literally).

This time we decided to go for the second largest town called Vernazza because it came highly recommended (any Rick Steves fans out there?) and because it is the town with the small beach perfect for laying out. After our 3-hour train ride, we arrived at the beautiful coast, were welcomed by Josepina the 60-ish short, plump, Italian woman who rented us a room “10-minutes walking distance” outside the village. 15 minutes later and after hearing Josepina’s stories about having a mole removed in a Torino hospital to how all the young people are moving away from Vernazza (in Italian, mind you) we made it to the house that we were renting for one night which was surrounded by a garden, a creek, and resting in the middle of Italian hills. After we got settled, changed into swimming gear (with no intention to actually swim), walked down to the water after passing by the foccaca place and picking up lunch, we found a place on a sunny boulder at the water’s edge where we ate and started the tanning process. It was a relaxing weekend, to say the least. We ate at a restaurant that I went to the last time I was there (!), the same owner greeted us and talked to us about where we were from. The ceiling is covered in flowers and the restaurant is so high up that the view (there were no walls) was quite a sight. Not to mention that the pesto lasagna was delicious as this region (Liguria) is known for this type of sauce. The next day was a repeat of the first and then in the late afternoon, we came home with a little more color and relaxed bodies. We already are planning to go back at least once before we leave.

Friends…
On to another topic, I will try to keep it short, but no promises. First there is Marco and Giuliana whom I wrote about before. Jen and I met this couple on the train coming back from Rome, weird and a bit sketchy, I realize, but nonetheless, that’s how it happened. After establishing that they, in fact, didn’t want to kill us or kidnap us, we finally just decided that these two people liked the two random American girls and also want to practice their English as they become friends with us. It’s great for us too because we get to hang out with Italians, meet new people, be taken to cool places and practice our Italian. Marco is hilarious and about as good at English as we are at Italian. Giuliana is fluent in English, but still struggles with sentence structure and phrases. Both are hilarious and, really, just plain wonderful. We have hung out with them, Marco’s cousin Cristian, and their group of friends numerous times now and each time it’s hilarious and Jen and I find ourselves glancing at one another throughout the night and thinking, “If only we could explain this to our friends/What is happening?/This is so random.”
One night we went to a place where they make beer aka “beereria” but that is also a restaurant. We met about 10 of their friends there, ate really wonderful chicken (with no silverware), and after the meal joined everyone else in the restaurant as they stood up on the table benches and danced to music such as the Grease theme song, YMCA, and Hey Baby among other Italian ones. It was hilarious. We are talking kids, parents, us … all dancing away and to these English songs! If only these people knew that they reminded Jen and I of a 6th grade afternoon dance and to be dancing to them with adults in Italy was quite a strange, yet hilarious experience.

A few weeks ago it was Marco’s birthday so Jen and I decided that we would make them the “American meal” that we have been promising for quite some time. We worked the entire day on Saturday (I had the house to myself), went to the grocery store with the English-Italian dictionary (though we kind of forgot the measurement converter chart), came home and started creating the meal. Now, mind you, neither Jen nor I are much of a cook so this was an interesting experience. The menu? Instead of being boring and cooking hamburgers (which seems like the only American food since we are pretty much a melting pot) we made chili, corn bread, twice-baked potatoes and an apple pie. (I know the apple pie doesn’t really go with the chili, but that was American for sure.) To add to the Southwest feel of the night, the whole day we blasted country music from Kenny Chesney to Trisha Yearwood and laughed at the irony of such music in Italy.

The two worlds are just too different to mix. When they came to pick us up, it looked like we had cooked for an army….and, well, we kind of had. We had doubled all the recipes because there was going to be 8 of us that night. Let’s just say that it was a really great evening and we really enjoyed one another. The fact that the chili was a tad bit too spicy (Northern Italian food doesn’t have too many hot spices in it and they just weren’t really used to it) so much so that poor Marco crumbled up two cornbread muffins inside his bowl and still couldn’t handle it and that they all were so confused that we would mix a sweet bread with a spicy chili, was beside the point. The potatoes were a huge hit (I think everyone was just hungry for something) and so was the apple pie with ice cream, though they were also bewildered by the fact that one thing was hot and the other was cold and we ate it together….how differently our kitchens work, eh? (they also got quickly tired of the country music that we definitely brought over and played for them…maybe that was taking it a bit far.) There have been other nights out with this couple that have always ended in pleasant evenings and conversations, laughs and new words learned in English and Italian. Though it may be a strange friendship (did I mention that they are 30?), it is one of our favorites here.

While saying goodbye to Bea one day in front of her school, Maghi and I heard someone speaking English on a cell phone. Immediately my English radar found the girl and I realized that she had to be a nanny like myself. I stopped her after her conversation and introduced myself and we have been friends ever since. Her name is Tiana, she’s from New Zealand, lives a few blocks from me and, oddly enough, has been here since December though we just met about a month ago! She’s a nanny as well, teaching English to her kids like Jen and I are. The great thing is that she actually has a group of other English-speaking nannies that she introduced me to! Two girls are from America, one other from New Zealand, one from South Africa, one from Poland and two from Australia. These girls have been fun and interesting to get to know.

Though we are all pretty different, what more could you want in common than babysitting experiences and English!? We can communicate and even talk about what is our lives right now … Italian children! I have really enjoyed getting to know them and hanging out a bit. They have allowed/forced me to get “out” a bit more than I had before and it’s just been nice to meet new people as they have Italian friends and then those people have friends and the list goes on. Tiana has been especially fun to get to know, she’s really hilarious and it’s amazing how much you can have in common when just knowing the same language. We always find ourselves having a ton to talk about, especially being in the exact same place in our lives.

Our school friends, Noam (Israeli car design student) and Michael (Austrian nanny for three boys) are also still in our friends picture, which is nice, though Michael is on a bit of a hiatus as he broke his leg and went home for surgery. Noam continues to join us at church almost every Sunday despite his Jewish background and heritage, which we love along with the always-interesting conversations he brings along with him. The church friends are always comforting as well, we have the most important thing in common with these people, though it is a crazy mix from all over the world and from all different walks in life. It is nice when you meet people and begin to know that you can count on them or ask them for help when you need it. (By the way, speaking of church, they just bought a building –we have been meeting in a hotel – and it is almost finished with the remodeling, so that is exciting. Also, just because I know you all went to know, the choir – that would be me included – definitely did a choreographed version of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot while wearing African costumes borrowed from African church members. Just thinking of what we did is absolutely hilarious to me… who does that?! But it turned out great and we had a ton of fun with lots of laughs and a great sound!)

It is through all these people that Jen and I are beginning to feel even more at home here in Torino…starting to have our place and making roots in friendships and just with people in general. Not that it wasn’t there before, but these things take more time that just knowing your way around the city. And it’s really, really nice. Not to mention, always interesting!

One thing I have realized living here is how I am really not used to such extreme seasons. The fact that everyone has a completely different wardrobe that is taken out and put away every winter and spring -- different shoes, different blankets for the beds…everything is changed! I realize this is quite normal and the fact that I think it is strange is strange in itself, but alas I think you already knew that about me. With this change of wardrobes has obviously come the Springtime. Finally it has arrived and I couldn’t be happier. The windows and balcony doors are opened when we wake up and aren’t closed until we go to sleep. The sweaters are finished , the boots are done and my beloved flip-flops are back in business. The sun is warm and the breeze still a bit cool which makes for perfect days which are clear enough to see the white-capped Alps in the distance. Because of this weather, we have played outside as much as possible. Maghi and I have ridden bikes, rollerbladed (scary), gone to the park a lot and simply played in the courtyard of our building. Jen and I couldn’t resist Valentino Park which is a huge park in the city with a few castles, playgrounds, food stands, a flower garden, lots of grass and which is located right on the river. We have gone a few times already and I look forward to going more.
The new addition to the extended Italian family came on Thursday, May 5 around 10 a.m. Jen’s Italian mom had a baby girl and she is beautiful! Her name is Matilde and she looks just like her older sister. Such exciting times in these families that we get to be apart of!

There have been other moments too. After my family left at the end of March and once we got home from London, Jen went off to travel with her parents, the girls were home from school for two weeks for Easter and voting, and I slowly began to realize that I was at my 6 month mark. I missed my family (they weren’t coming back), my friend wasn’t there for me to talk to and my daily routine was upset by a new schedule of staying at home with the girls and playing.

None of these things were bad, in fact I think they were good. It was the combination that was interesting and made me think a lot about my time here and what was to come. It made me come back to that ever-popular question of “What in the world am I doing with my life?” and made me think about what was next on the road that I am traveling down. Though a bit strange for me (I don’t really like being in such moods, as most of you know) I think it was good and a time where I could just think a lot and realize that, hey, it’s ok to miss home sometimes, and that didn’t make me any less of an adventurer, and maybe the fact that yes, independence is good, but let’s not get too extreme. Anyway, it was an interesting few weeks and once they were over – Jen was back, the girls were back in school, and I was into the seventh month – things were ok. Did a lot of praying, thinking, and realizing that I will never have all the answers, I will never know what is going to happen next, and that I need to be content with every circumstance (especially when living in Italy, hello…). I feel ok about the future year, though I am not sure of all it holds, I know that God will lead me, as He leads each of you if you are willing. And what a comfort that realization is.

Now, however, Jen and I are comfortable in our home here in Torino and don’t like to think about leaving it. Though I have until late October, she only has two more months in Italy as she is going home to hopefully start teaching in the fall. I know the next five months will fly by as there is something huge in each month to do, but still! What a crazy thought of having to leave! And yet to see all of your faces also excites my soul.

Enough of my rambling, you have been good enough to read the “continuation” and now I hope that I am fairly caught up. A huge thanks to all of you who have emailed encouragement and simple hellos, they are all so appreciated and loved! Life is good and I am so thankful to be experiencing it here.

Hoping all of you has a fabulous day, a beautiful night and an exciting week! (that could entail getting something free from the vending machine or finding out that you are pregnant, getting an amazing parking space, watching a baby laugh, or getting a raise…)
Ciao e buongiorno a tutti!