Blogs from Lombardy, Italy, Europe - page 91

Things here are going pretty darned well! I just got another private student tonight. She starts next week and comes to our home two times a week for lessons. I have one other student who comes one time a week. They pay 35,000 lire/hr. At my regular jobs I am getting 28,000 and 24,000/hr. So this is a bit better and it's more convenient. We went to pizza with one of my students the other night. He's from sardinia and he's absolutely lovely. His name is Pier-Giorgio. He and Ry hit it off and 4 hours passed like they were nothing. I feel very lucky to be teaching English because it has allowed me to start to get to know so many wonderful people. I feel like i am having a real cultural exchange. Today, for ... read more

I have never been so lonely, isolated, scared or stressed in my life. I am as vulnerable and emotionally volatile as I can remember being. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Things are up and down, up and down. I found out yesterday that I had bad information and my stay permit that runs out on Tuesday CANNOT be renewed. I left the police station and headed straight to the most grueling interview I've had in years for a teaching position that really doesn't pay all that well. I went straight home and spent the next few hours on the phone with the US consulate, the US embassy, the Irish Consulate and Charlotte. Ry and I had already begun the long and arduous process of getting married, but for the next step we ... read more

I'm making some time today. I just got a 15 hour/week job teaching English. I'm feeling better right now-but no telling how I'll feel 10 hours from now. My moods vary wildly from day to day and sometimes hour to hour. I have been really depressed for a while and I have really felt like crumpling under the stress. I have been homesick, angst ridden, and frustrated. Ry has been frustrated and frequently grumpy, and scared of trying to talk to people. It's hard. It's funny cause we send out these emails to our list of friends saying how hard it is and how stressed out we are, and they write back saying "glad to hear things are going so well, you're really living the dream." People don't want to believe that we are absolutely MISERABLE!!!! ... read more

Things are going fine here. I feel a little overwhelmed sometimes and i have this amorphous fear of running out of money. I have a very vague sense of what I'm spending and I don't know when I'll start earning...I do have this job but it will probably be a mostly part time affair. Maybe teaching English is the answer for the rest of the time...Its pretty darned hot here, and humid and the italians pretty much don't use air conditioning. So, i sometimes find myself sleeping in the middle of the day wondering what i would do if my fan ever broke. But on the up side, the fruits and vegetables here are fantastic. They are SO flavorful! All the coffee is great and I must meter my consumption or i will surely become a ... read more

So, I am sitting here in my new apartment which I was by some great miracle able to get for 6 months rather than a year. Last night was my first night here. It's all coming along pretty quickly. I can't believe I have a job and an apartment already. I wouldn't have any of it if there weren't all these amazing people helping me. I feel so endebted to so many people. This woman Charlotte that i have been staying with has completely opened up her life to me and I have been staying in her apartment downstairs since my arrival on the 22nd of June. I am glad to finally be able to get my stuff out of her way, but I am still heavily reliant upon her for so many things. I need ... read more