An Ode to Italian Efficiency

A lot of what I have learned during my short time in Rome is how to deal with the pace of the country. Every time something happens (or doesn't happen) to this effect, I am told, "that's just Italy". Italian inefficiency is seemingly legendary. Take the Carabinieri for example, the police. I have yet to see the police here actually doing anything. Whenever I do see them, they are in groups of 3 or more, standing around and talking. I was informed that this is normal. I have this vision of a massive crime scene where criminals are escaping because the Carabinieri are just standing around, discussing what to do. This also seems to be an Italian affliction in general. There is a lot of discussion about 'what to do,' and 'when to do it,' but little definitive decision-making actually occurring. It's kind of funny usually. And then there's my boss. As I think you know, I am working part-time for an English-teaching company that sends teachers to private homes to teach. I am working with children. The lessons come from some mother-ship entity and are sent to my boss, who is then responsible for giving them to the teachers. This job is also intended to be done at day cares and preschools, for the most part, at intervals of about 20 minutes, especially for the younger kids. Every time I go to the office to pick up materials for lessons, I am treated to an hour-and-a-half-long experience of Daniel looking through the many boxes piled up around the office, forgetting what I am there for in the first place, getting sidetracked by his own thought processes, and ultimately giving me about half of what I need to do my lessons. I use the word lesson loosely here, as I am working with children. One of my groups is full of 2-year-olds, who do not speak their own language, let alone harbor some internal burning desire to learn mine. I cannot do lessons with them, and am supposed to teach them for about an hour. They are cute, but it's incredibly frustrating. Another group is 4 4-year-olds, who have already been in school all day, and have no desire to learn any more. I understand enough Italian to know when they tell each other to ignore me, and just keep playing. After that experience (last Monday), I told the parents, and they said that their old English teacher just played with them and talked English. I'm fine being a babysitter, as long as that is what I'm hired for. Daniel thinks there's something wrong with me, and asks what I plan to do about it, and my only response is that I can only think to just play with them, so that's that. Another example of things we learn to deal with here: I went to pick up materials from Daniel yesterday, and he called to say that he had stepped out, but that he left the materials with Lucia, the old, hard-of-hearing woman who manages the building. After 15 minutes of leaning on her doorbell, banging on her door, and searching the two buildings she could have been in, I left for my lesson without the materials, and basically just colored with the kids. Still actively looking for something else, and will let everyone know when that happens! Miss everyone!

Food for Thought

The food culture here is awesome. There is no other way to put it. Italians really don't eat breakfast like we do- they just have a cafe and cornetto (coffee and a pastry), usually at the local coffee bar. Oh, and don't order a cappuccino after like, 11 am here- they think it's weird. Lunchtime is amazing. Today I went to lunch at a real Italian home. BACKSTORY: When my mother was 20 she moved to Rome and worked for a period of time as an au pair for a Roman family with 5 children. She has kept in touch with the mother, Francesca, and now the children are all grown up with their own families. We met them a few years ago when we were here on vacation, and mom contacted one of the 'children' (now adults) and told her that I would be here. Sabina is lovely, she had me over to her house today for lunch, and it was amazing. I met her two older children, twins named Elena and Oliver(!). They are 19, and really great kids. Anyway, we had a pasta with meat sauce, which was amazing, then a salad (so simple, just mache with salt, oil and vinegar), and thinly sliced beef that she cooked in oil with some lemon, red wine and a tiny bit of flour. SO GOOD. Then ice cream and coffee. It's such a nice change from just grabbing a sandwich. America doesn't really have a defined lunch culture like that. Sabina told me that Italians like to have at least 2 meals a day like that, family all together eating. And the food is so simple. They eat a lot, but it's good food. Not covered in preservatives, just food. I love food, everyone knows that, so I think this is a good place for me! Miss everyone.

When in Rome...

...walk at a glacial pace, apparently. Seriously, if I did as the Romans do, it would take me twice as long to get anywhere! Now, I'm not saying that I like to sprint from point A to point B, and I'm all for a leisurely stroll to enjoy the view, but for Romans, every time they leave the house seems to be a quiet walk down a country lane!!! It's so funny, they walk sooo slowly, and will then stop. right. in. the. middle. of. the. sidewalk. It's one of the many unique and wonderful things about Italy that I have and will come to appreciate for what it is. Another funny thing is that Italians won't leave their houses, even just to run to the store for a jug of milk, unless they are fully coiffed and blinged out. Seriously, where in New York I would run out wearing my glasses and a ratty pair of jeans, here I get strange looks, like who is the new homeless woman on the block? I love finding out these cultural strangenesses, it's part of the fun of going to different countries. One of the things I love most about Italy is the food (obviously). It is fresh, it is simple, and it is delicious. I can't wait to travel around the country and sample some of the more region-specific food, but in Rome there are a plethora of markets to choose from, and fresh food available. I am still at Erin's apartment, but am looking at another one this weekend. I checked one out today, and it was right near the Vatican, had a private balcony in the room I would have, and was pretty well-connected, but...had no kitchen. OOF. That hit hard, especially because I had already fantasized about being able to see St. Peters every time I left the house, but alas, I will press on. Still looking for another job. Right now I'm still doing the part-time thing, a few hours a week, with children. I really prefer adults, so I'm still searching for something else. Today was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and I fell a little bit more in love with the city, so I'm really hoping I can make this work. The picture above is of me, Erin and her friend Carly at a cocktail party at the Pakistani ambassador's house last weekend. Great experience! Love to all.

Dispatch from the Bat Cave

So I've been in Rome for 5 days, and it feels like a lot longer, in a good way. As I mentioned before, on Monday, I interviewed, was hired, and started working for a small language school called Horizons for their children's program. As I also mentioned before, the first experience did not go so well. I've been given 2 more assignments, these two in the 1-3 age range, so yesterday I was to be found at another private home in Rome, teaching English to three of the diaper set. At that age, the first lesson only consists of repeatedly showing them a picture of myself, and reinforcing who I am. One of the kids was really good and stayed with me, but the other two kept running out of the room and going back to their toys and/or moms. I should mention here that when we go to a private home, the parents are told to give us a quiet room with no distractions (toys, moms, etc). I should also mention that it is very clear that it is not my job to discipline the children and make them stay. If the kids stop having fun, they will stop learning, and all that. Anyway, I made it through the hour moving from room to room, following the kids, all the while fighting a nagging suspicion that the mothers thought I was crazy. I'm happy to have this job, but I really would love to hear back from any of the language schools I have applied to. I think this weekend I will print out more copies of my resume and maybe next week just go to the schools. Erin and I have been going out every night, to various social events- dinners, Pub Quiz, and the like. It's been really fun. I have met a lot of very nice and interesting people, some who are doing the same thing I am, others who have 'real' jobs here. I'm enjoying staying with Erin. I call my little part of her room my 'cave' because it's under her lofted bed, and very cozy. I have started looking for an apartment, hopefully something cheap! Miss everyone and much love to all.

Roman...Holiday?

OK so I just finished my 3rd day in Rome. I had an interview this morning with a language school that is hiring for their children's courses. Now, my TEFL certification is for teaching adults, and there's a whole other certificate to get if you want to specialize with kids, but the guy seemed to like me, and I'm not really in a position to turn down work and money. So, when he asked if I was interested, I said yes. Now the next step is to get a codice fiscale (tax code) and get paid. Anyways, I went back to Erin's after the interview, and was just chilling after we made lunch, and I got an email from this guy saying can you work TODAY? I'm like whhahhHHHAAAT? But I went, because again with the not needed to turn down money. I had a group of 6 3-6 year olds at a private home towards the outskirts of Rome. I was 45 minutes late, because he had me leave the office 30 minutes before the lesson was due to start, with only the vaguest directions. I wasn't too fussed about it, however, knowing how arbitrary things like 'start times' are here. After waiting for my bus for 20 minutes near the Vatican wall, it came, I found the place, and sat down to teach the kids...essentially nothing. I was given materials, but not enough to fill the 2 hours I had been assigned. Long story short, I wound up reading to the couple of them who seemed interested, and attempted to teach all of them the words of the day ('soap,' 'wash' and 'hands' being among them). It was certainly an experience, of which I am more than marginally proud, mostly because I found my way there and back and didn't somehow wind up in another city. Amazing. I really think in future, given a choice, I would prefer to teach adults. I loved teaching the people who came into ITC for the courses we taught as part of our training, and hopefully I will get the opportunity to do so sometime. I arrived back at Erin's to be told that I would be changing quickly, because we were running out the door to Pub Quiz at an expat hangout called Scholar's, an endeavor for which I felt completely overtired, but we actually wound up winning 2nd place, which was great for Team What Willis Was Talking About. I just realized this is a very scattered post, but my mind is racing a thousand miles an hour after that very stressful but exhilarating day. Much love to all.

Till Next Time, Praha

Well it's the morning of my last day in Prague. Or rather, I should say, the morning of the day I'm leaving Prague. We finished the course yesterday, and got our certificates, and now it's up to us to find jobs. The above picture is after we all got our certificates- I don't know why I look like such a creeper there. We had a lesson yesterday on using drama and role play in the classroom and we wound up playing a few "Whose Line Is It Anyway"-type games. So funny. I'm flying to Rome and Erin is very sweetly picking me up at the airport. I'm excited- I was in Rome 3 years ago, and loved it, and Italy in general, so I really hope this works out. Will write more later when I'm in Roma. Oh, and it's snowing right now in Prague so cross your fingers for no delays!

I Hope This Works!

This is me trying to upload a video for my cousins.
This video is of my cousin Tom playing the trombone- this kid is adorable. I took this video when I was in London before I came to Prague, and have been trying various ways of uploading video to the interwebs but all of them seem to take so long!!!

The Plague, Round 2

(Me, Becky and Jaclyn at the John Lennon Wall)
This weekend was great. Becky came from London to visit! She arrived early Saturday morning, and we walked around Prague, crossed the Charles Bridge and saw the John Lennon wall, a curious amalgamation of quotes and pictures. It was a beautiful day, almost 50 degrees and gloriously sunny- a rare sighting in February in Prague. Unfortunately, I have been battling the nastiest cough/cold/plague outbreak, so I was probably not much fun. Going to a smoky bar on Saturday until 2 am probably didn't help either, and by the time we left the bar I had essentially lost the will to live. I am so sick of people being able to smoke in bars and cafes here- it's so frustrating, I mean, why should I have to smell like an ashtray just because other people can't step outside!? It's gross. I'm feeling better now, but man! I haven't been this sick since my junior year of college, when I had strep throat for the better part of the year. We went to the store yesterday and I managed to get some cold medicine, so hopefully it'll fix itself soon. On another note...I'm moving to Rome on Saturday! I haven't heard back from many places, which apparently is par for the course, but in Western Europe it's better just to go to the schools, CV in hand and ask for a job. I have a place to stay, at least temporarily (Erin's floor), and I know of some language schools, so hopefully it will work out. I'm excited- it's exhilarating to be 'homeless' in Europe, and be able to go anywhere! Also, it's against the law to smoke in bars, etc in Rome. My flight is booked, I'm leaving at 11 am on Saturday, and here's hoping for the best. Miss everyone and much love to all.