Day 10: Putting My Skills to Work

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Today just seemed to be one of those days where I was being tested on my skills (or lack thereof) all day long. But I’m proud to report that I earned passing grades across the board.

It started in the morning with Test One: laundry. I bundled up my dirty clothes in a dirty bath towel and headed downstairs to the washing machine. At first glance, the washing machine looked like a shrunk down version of the one back home. But it was a front load washer and I didn’t know how to put the soap in. And there was a handwritten note about the washing machine posted above it with what appeared to be—obviously—some noteworthy information. So it was back to my room to get my Italian-English dictionary and look up the words one by one. The good news is that the laundry detergent I purchased at Familia did not have bleach in it. Yay! I eventually got the machine running.

Well, an hour and 20 minutes later, the cycle finally stopped. Seriously? For all the conversation they do in Italy, can’t they figure out how to make a 20 minute wash cycle? Then it was back up to my room with my clean, wet clothes bundled in a clean, wet bath towel to string out for a day of line drying. (I have heard that there are dryers available on campus and in town. But it’s €14 (or $20) to wash and dry one load. No thanks, I think I’ll stick to line drying!

At that point, it was off to Asolo to meet Fred, an MBA student from UNL. (Go Huskers!) I parked on the outskirts of the city center in a parking spot recommended to me by Julie. And then I hiked up to the CIMBA grad campus, where Fred was waiting. He gave me the nickel-tour of the grad campus. Very nice digs. And then we headed into town for lunch for my first meal out unaccompanied by someone fluent in Italian (a.k.a., Test Two).

The first time I drove into Asolo I spotted an outdoor café that intrigued me instantly. I remember almost gasping and thinking, “I am going to eat there someday!” So I suggested the place to Fred and he was game. When we arrived, I used my favorite line: “Sono americana. Lentamente, per favore?” (I’m American. Slowly, please?) I know it’s probably conjugated incorrectly. But it gets the point across. So then I asked for a table, ordered lunch, and paid the bill at the end. I suppose that it helps that the owner intermingled quite a bit of English when he talked to us. After lunch, Fred and I traipsed around Asolo some more, snapped some photos, and indulged in yet another gelato. Because I had a car (which grad students do not have the luxury), we took a drive around the area and stopped at Familia to pick up some groceries.

Test Three came when I dropped Fred off at campus. I was heading back toward Paderno when I turned down the street heading out of town. And when I say “down,” I literally mean down. It was quite a steep hill. There, I was met with two pedestrians who refused to walk close to the wall, a car coming from the other direction smack-dab in the center of the street, and a cyclist who pulled up directly behind me. There is just enough room for two cars to pass on these streets. But both have to be very close to the outside edge—not in the middle. And I couldn’t get any closer to the wall because the pedestrians were just taking their dear, sweet time wandering up the street. There was really only one thing to do at this point: Thank the powers to be that I learned how to drive a stick shift. I put it in reverse, revved the engine enough to let the biker know that I was coming his way, backed up—and I mean UP—the hill, maneuvered a really tight three-point turn at the top of the hill (between some outdoor diners, pedestrians, bikers, and a wedding party getting their pictures taken by a whole host of photographers), and left town in the other direction.

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Photos

Taking Pictures
I've snapped more than 100 pictures of Asolo. Here I decided to take a picture of myself. You can't see my face because the camera's in front of it. But that's pretty much what I look like in Asolo.

The Fountain
What photo album of Asolo would be complete without at least one picture of the fountain in Asolo Centro? I love the lion heads at the base.

This Is What I'm Talking About
The streets in Asolo are not very wide. Believe it or not, this is a two lane road. It's a good thing nobody drives a Suburban in Asolo.

Comments

[Jordan]

Too many things to be impressed about in this entry... though the up-hill reverse does it for me! Why do I picture something out of the movie "European Vacation" when I read this part of the story!?!?

[Vicki]

You rock!
reversing up hill with a stick shift? You've got skills, girl. :)