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Published: June 14th 2011
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View from the Terrace
Here's just a picture I randomly took from the terrace of the Sasso home Monday, June 13th, 2011.
It started out as a lazy day. Not much to do. Not much going on. The sun wasn't even out--only the pattering of soft rain on the terrace. The only people that were home was Paolo and I... and the cleaning lady, Lucia.
When I finally woke up to the sound of cleaning in the kitchen, I made my way towards the sound. There she was- Lucia- wiping off the stainless steel counters of the Sasso kitchen. I paused at the doorway... she looked up and gave a cry of fright.
"Stan!" she said.
"Dispiace" I replied (sorry)
Then she beckoned me towards the table where a placemat sat, saying "vieni" (come).
Lucia doesn't speak English. So this was my chance to try out my Italian.
"Per colazione" she explained
"Oh si, certo" (oh yes, of course) I replied.
"Hanno finito i cereali" she said, as she pointed towards the cereal dispenser.
"Ah" I commented. "Tutto bene".
I opened the cupboard and got out some pre-toasted bread in plastic packaging.
"Ah! con marmalade!" Lucia exclaimed, and went to look for some in the cupboard.
Ok I'm getting tired of this dramatic writing style. I
Cool picture of Rovigo Street
I snapped this photo just walking around with Paolo before dinner. I thought the sun made it pretty neat-o feel like I'm writing for some cheesy black-and-white mystery show. But to make a long story short, I had some pre-toasted toast with marmalade for breakfast while actually communicating with someone in Italian. It was a good start to the day to say the least
The middle part of the day didn't hold much excitement... basically just a lot of reading, super smash brothers, and looking up stuff for college. (That one sentence just covered 6 hours of today)
The day really got started when it became night... and Elena dropped us off in downtown Rovigo. For the sixth day in a row (a personal best blown out of the water), we ate pizza. I ordered a "tropicale" pizza which had prusciutto (ham) and pineapple on it (just like a hawaiian pizza in the USA. hence the "tropical" name)
But the best thing about the dinner, I'd have to say, was not the delicious pizza, but the conversations I had with Davide Bettarello--one of my newest friends here in Rovigo. It was a pretty interesting start because one of the first things he asked was "do you like Italy"? and I said "oh, si" and then he
Due Torri
The pizzeria where we had dinner (and my 6th pizza in 6 days) responded with "I hate Italy". Hmmm... (It turns out his grandfather and father were both born in England I think it was, and so someday he'd like to get out of Italy and move to London or Canada where he can speak English. He is excellent at English by the way 😊 When we were sitting down he wanted me to sit next to him so we could talk while we ate. So that's what we did. We talked about many things, from music and families to speaking Italian and the American dollar bills.
One interesting this was that Davide loves the American one-dollar bill. Now that may seem weird to us Americans, but if you think about it, it's understandable. Who out of all of us doesn't get excited when we see money from a different country? I was pretty excited when I saw some Euros for the first time. But anyways, I let him look at a dollar and eventually I decided to give it to him so he could (a) keep it for himself and (b) remember me by once I'm gone. Well, he insisted on giving me something in return. So he took out his
Davide's Guitar Pick
I know it's weird to post a pick pic (haha!) but It think you all should see it because it has great significance to someone. wallet and removed two guitar picks. He proceeded to explain to me that these were the first picks that he ever bought when he first learned how to play guitar, and that he was going to let me choose one to take home with me to remember him by. I had a really hard time taking one of these picks that meant a lot to him, but with a lot of explaining that he is happy with just one of them, I chose one and placed it in my wallet. I guess it never occured to me until now how much it would mean to someone you give a valued possession to. I'm always afraid that if I do the same, it will be neglected. But with the guitar pick, I know that I will take care of it and will not lose it, because it did mean something to someone before it was given to me. So, just for another little gift to Davide, I folded a football (you know, the kind you play paper football with?) and slipped it into his bag. (Davide, if you are reading this, I hope you have or will find it in there
Boom!
That's right. the fireworks. "fuochi d'artifici" Happy June 13th! somewhere!) Davide and I have already become friends on Facebook, and he is already helping me a lot with my Italian-speaking skills. He is a friend that I hope to keep for a long time onwards!
Other interesting dinner topics amongst the whole table included trying to find an idea for the band Paolo was in formerly known as "Marshmallow". Some ideas: Winged Angels, I Scream, Sparkles, Underground, and Sparkleground. I pitched in with my English expertise and told them what sounded cheesy to the American speaking community. I don't know what name they settled on (if they did at all). But it was good fun thinking of some!
Anyway, after dinner, I managed to order myself a gelato (caffe e tiramasu 😱) in Italian (I had to tell the lady "sono americano" so she knew why my Italian was so bad though. Until we had to leave, Davide and I talked some more about English v. Italian, and how to me "pianta" and "piaggia" sounded a lot cooler than "plant" and 'rain", while he begged to differ, saying that "plant" and "rain" sounded better. It's a weird concept to think about... how English sounds weird, cool and exotic to them when it's just same-old same-old to us, and vice versa.
Eventually, Paolo and I left and came home, where we almost immediately went to bed. (except for me writing this blog post). Also, for some reason, there were fireworks going off somewhere in Rovigo. I do not know why. But I enjoyed the show. I guess it's just a special night for some reason 😊
Speaking of nights, "sto sonno" (I am sleepy) (I learned that one from Davide) and I am going to bed. So buonanotte!
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Mel
non-member comment
love ya best friend!!! glad you're having a good time with the italians ;-P