Splish Splash

Today (Thursday) was a good day overall except for this crazy weather is causing me problems. Today it was in the high 50’s and rainy. This changing weather has finally gotten the best of me and I think I am getting sick. I have been taking Airborne just in case but apparently that is not working. So I am hoping that it is just allergies and I will be over it by tomorrow. Unfortunately they are forecasting rain again tomorrow and cloudy over the weekend. Today was uneventful and slow pace…YEAH!! After school I came home fixed the best grilled cheese I have ever had. I think it because of the bread they have here, so good. During the afternoon I caught up on personal work and I talked to an American woman that is an elder at the church I attended on Sunday. She happens to be a co-worker of Alberto’s and gave me a call to see how I was settling in. Hopefully next week we will get together over coffee and chat. After I picked up the boys from school we came home and played until 6ish and then I gave Ruggie a bath. I was really dreading the day I had to do this by myself but it actually turned out fine. He didn’t throw a fit like I thought he might and I only got squirted with water once. After I blew his hair dry I fixed the boys ravioli (not the can gross stuff, but actual Ravioli) We had dinner and I let them watch a movie before going to bed at 9:15. Overall it was a good experience having the boys for that long by myself. Tomorrow I am scheduled to spend 4-5 hours alone with Ruggie so he can get use to me and hopefully we will have fun. Side note: His English is really coming along so I am proud of him.

It was fun, it was fair, and I saw a clown with purple hair

Wednesday was very busy. The day started with Italian class….molto bouno. Pat has a friend who is a PhD student and TA at the Polytechnic school near our home. She asked her if she could show me around the school and introduce me to any students. At 1:00 I met her and another PhD student, Gianfranco, in front of the school. They took me up to their classroom/office and introduced me to several students. I went to with Gianfranco and two girls to eat lunch in their cafeteria. (Interesting note about the school, they have two bars located on the first floor). The food was your normal school lunch so I felt like I was back at Tech eating in the “create your own pasta line”. After lunch the girls went back to work but GF took me around the school. We went to the language center and they told me I could come and watch all the Italian movies I wanted at anytime! They also showed me exercise book I could check out to help with my Italian. I had a good time hanging out with GF and we exchanged numbers so that if him and his friends go out sometime he said he would give me a call. The school has a student body of 22,000+ and is mainly for engineers. It is the number one Engineering school in Italy and they do an exchange with MIT in the states….so I’m sure I just ate with a few geniuses.

After meeting new friends I had an hour before I had to pick up Ruggie so I went to a computer store to get a device that would hopefully give me internet in my room….so far I can’t get it to work! From the store I went and picked up Ruggie and we walked to another school where one of his friends was having a birthday party, she turned five. The party was in a small room filled with pink, purple and white balloons. Have way through the party a clown with purple hair arrived and started making balloon animals. My first encounter with an Italian clown. I also acquired a new boyfriend….he is one and half years old and very handsome. We played together while the other kids were knocking themselves silly with balloons. The highlight of the party for me was the birthday candle. I have never seen anything like it before. It looked like a pink tulip and when it was lit small fireworks shot out of the top and the pedals folded down to reveal 6 candles. If that wasn’t enough it spun in circles and played “Happy Birthday”. We arrived at home a little past 6….but the activities weren’t over yet.

Pat’s youngest sister, Louisa, came to pick me up around 7:45 and took me downtown to eat dinner with some friends. Torino is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! The city sparkles at night and the old cobblestone streets and buildings remind me just how old the town really is. We ate at this new restaurant that is very contemporary in style and great in taste. We all had pizza….for 5-7 euros you can have a huge pizza fresh from the oven made just for you. There were seven of us in all and we had great conversation. I tried to speak Italian and one guy, Ricardo, would only speak to me in Italian (even though his English is wonderful) and made me repeat the sentence until it was right. This was a great help. After dinner we went to a pub to see a local art show. You could vote on your two favorite pieces and then they would announce the winner at a later date. Before going home, Louisa and I walked around for a while looking at the old buildings and the beautiful chiese (churches). We stopped for some gelato as a midnight snack (literally) and then it was off to bed.

A week and three days!!

Well I can't believe it but it has been a week and three days since I arrived. Today combined all seasons. This morning it was cold like winter and then became spring in the early afternoon. Around 3 a cloud rolled in and covered the city in darkness and rain...again. By late afternoon it was a beautiful autum day. I realize summer is missing in this but I counted it since it really should be summer...anyways

This afternoon I picked up the boys and headed to Baby Gym for Ruggie(like gymnasticks). I love Baby Gym. The instructors are so nice to the kids and they play great American music.(it also doesn't hurt that one of them is very handsome) Another plus to Baby Gym is talking with the other mothers. I am beginning to feel like a PTA mom or something because at all the boys' functions I see the same women and have long conversations with them(even if I don't know half of what they are saying). One lady asked me if I spoke Spanish instead so I surprised myself because I actually carried on a conversation with her. The way home from Baby Gym was not so pleasant. The boys were getting tired and very cranky. But we finally made it home and started to prepare dinner. This week Alberto is away on business so it has been more difficult helping with the boys. Tonight his nieces came over for dinner (they are 14 and 11). The oldest speaks English and Marta the youngest tries. I was really proud of Filippo cause he actually knows more than Marta!! During dinner I felt like an exotic animal on display at a petting zoo but I enjoyed ALL of their questions..."Do you like to shop", "Have you been to Florida, CA., NY" "Do you think CA boys are cute", "Do you have a boyfriend", "Why no", so on and so on.

While I was walking to school today I started thinking about all the great things I love about Torino so here are a few and as time goes by I will add to list for sure. So have a wonderful night in the States:

Grissini (the hard long skinny breadsticks)
The snowy peaks of the mountains I can see from my window
Knowing that the mountain used for Paramount Pictures is an actual mountain, Mon Visso, and I can see it from our balcony.
My chocolate store
My family and the way we laugh all the time
My friends at the International Church
Italian shoes

Monday Monday

Okay so I don’t know what’s wrong with this weather but last week was July-August weather and for the last 4 days it has been winter. This morning we had to bundle up just to go outside. I guess in a way I am glad I got to experience all the seasons since I will just be here two months.

Language school today was very frustrating because my other classmate never shuts-up and it is hard to learn this language when he is talking but not correctly. He is a very nice guy he just likes to talk a lot. It is also frustrating because he has studied Italian for months now and is ahead of me. However, I am catching up with him quickly….so thank you Mrs. Randolph.

I only had to pick Filippo up from school today because Pat thought it would be too hard for me to handle both. But at four I had to take both to the swimming pool (pascina). Last week was a nightmare with only one kid so I was worried about having two this week. It turned out to be fine. There was a mother and a grandmother of two other boys there that helped me with the youngest and showed me where to go. I made two more friends this week. The mother is from Croatia and can speak a little English. The grandmother is so sweet and sent home some birthday cake for Filippo and I because we missed her grandson’s birthday party over the weekend. When we finally got home we only had an hour to eat and get ready because Alberto took Filippo and I to see the Harlem Globetrotters!! The show was held in one of the new buildings (Torino Palasport Olimpico) built for the Winter Olympics by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. In fact it was the building where speed skating and hockey took place. The building was absolutely incredible. Very modern and contemporary, all the chairs were clear plastic so it looked like everything in the building was made of ice. The show itself was corny. I enjoyed parts of it but by the end I was a little embarrassed for the US. The tricks they did were fantastic but the side commentary was over the top. I felt bad for the commentator because he was American and every time he said stand up or put your hands together there was no response. Two upsides to the evening: Filippo loved it and they played some great American music.

Work'n for the Weekend

Saturday was a great day to relax because it rained almost all day. In the morning I slept in with the rest of the family and then had a simple breakfast of biscotti and juice. For the rest of the morning I hung around the house playing a board game with Filippo and avoiding Ruggie because he wanted nothing to do with me. (I think he is having a hard time with the new change because he had the same nanny since he was five months old and she left the day before I got to Turin. So for the moment he won’t even acknowledge I am here, however, Filippo and I are buddies).

For the afternoon I was free so I chose to walk around the main street of Turin (only 10 mins from my house). It started to rain on my way back but I came prepared with an ombrello. Afterwards I watched a movie on my computer that I brought from home. Ah alone time….gotta love it. That night I went out with two other Au pairs, Anna and Beth. We went to a sports bar/restaurant and had hamburgers and French-fries…not bad. Afterwards we went to an Irish pub and watched rugby. Overall the night was nice but the other girls and I don’t have much in common so I think it will be hard to hang out with them a lot because we don’t like any of the same things. I told Pat this and she told me not to worry that I have time to make other/better friends and just give it time because it will happen.

“Majesty”

Today was a wonderful day. I decided that I would go to this chiesa (church) that Alberto found for me. When I found the church I sat down and waited for it to start. They told me it was in English but I was given a hymnbook in Italian and I thought I might be in the wrong place. So I asked a woman where the English service was. It happened to be in the right building but in the basement. The church was amazing. There were 18 people in attendance. We sang a least 7 songs acapella (three I knew: Majesty, the Doxology and Friend we Have in Jesus) because the organ player is in Turkey for two months. The speaker preached about praising God in all things not just when good things happen or when prayers are answered “how we asked for them”. After the service we all greeted each other. I met a guy from Indonesia, India, a woman from Minnesota and a girl and guy from Ghana. The girl from Ghana, Sylvia asked me if I would like a ride home and since it was raining I said yes. When we were almost to my house they asked me if I would like to hang out with them and since I didn’t have anything else to do I said yes. Instead of going home I went with them to pick up a friend and then we went to a SUPERmarket. That was the biggest grocery store I have ever seen. It was as large as a Sam’s or Costco but all food. We went back to their apartment and ate lunch. They fixed me calamari and zucchini and pasta with red sauce. I was thankful they did because they fixed them a traditional African meal of some kind of weird looking meat (I didn’t ask) and maize they ate with their hands. But overall my part of the meal was good. We ended up watching 2-1/2 African movies. They were all in English but some of their accents made it hard to understand. These were the equivalent of very low rate independent films. After the marathon they brought me back to the house. The family was going out for dinner and asked me to come along. So I decided this sounded nice and accepted. Two of their friends are members of a country club close to their house and invited us and one other couple to dinner at the club. On our way we passed the old Olympic area and saw the huge torch and stadium that held the opening ceremony. This could possibly be one of the most interesting groups of people I have met so far. One woman was a professional Violist and music teacher, her husband is a composer and talented piano and guitar player, their 13-year-old daughter plays the clarinet, their 9-year-old son plays the drums and loves Walker Texas Ranger (and was excited to meet me cause he thought I might know Walker). The other man was a professional soccer player. He has been retired for 3 years but still!! He played in the same league as Beckham and was very handsome (it is times like these I do not mind the kissing of the cheeks to say goodnight ☺). The pizza was wonderful as well as the conversation. I tried my Italian but mostly just listened because they were speaking so fast I was trying to understand. My day was jammed packed with new acquaintances. As the church bells ring for midnight, I begin to think of the busy day that lay ahead. So with that in mind I wish everyone a goodnight Bounonotti!!

Today's word...Discovery

I did it!! I finally rode the bus/tram. I was avoiding this adventure and was quite honestly afraid I would get stuck on the bus and end up in Milan or somewhere. (I did that in Lubbock once and rode the bus for an hour on accident.)

This was the day for discovery, for sure. First I discovered I could carry on a small (very small) conversation in Italian in class today. I understand more than I speak but as the Italians say “stap by stap”. I also found an Italian design school. I plan on visiting it sometime but am waiting to see how well I can improve my Italian. On my way to pick up the boys from school, I found a chocolate/candy store that I pass everyday but I decided to stop and see what it offered. Oh my goodness, this shop is a little piece of heaven. It is very cute and all of the products are freshly made in the store. The patroness spoke English so I felt right at home. My dentist might be glad to know that I am addicted to the chocolate here. Turin is the home to chocolate, tic tacs, Nutella and the chocolate Easter egg.

One thing I discovered that I wish I hadn’t was I lost a child. Only for 15 minutes but still… Really what happened was I always pick up the youngest first and then the oldest 25 minutes later. Apparently on Fridays I pick the oldest up at 1 and the youngest at 1:10. So I was waiting outside the youngest school when I saw older kids coming my way and panicked. I walked to the other school and he was not there. I called another au pair and asked what to do. She calmly explained it has happened to her and not to worry. She told me where to go and what to ask in Italian. Filippo was waiting for me inside the school….no harm no foul. But oh what a relief he wasn’t lost.

I am so glad the weekend is here and honestly can’t wait to see more of the city and rest from the boys. It has been in the high eighties and nineties all week and with no ac I am melting like my beloved chocolate. Thank goodness for forecasted rain this weekend

Hallelujah

It took five days, five miles of walking and two store visits but I finally got my computer hooked to the Internet at the house!!

After language class today I went to find a Mac store to help me. I had a map and the address but I ended up walking over five miles and never found it. Finally I gave up and came home tired and thirsty. So after a nap I went and picked the boys up from school. Pat met me there and took us to the Mac store by car. But I didn’t feel so bad about being lost cause we got lost and had to ask for directions. The store was a hole in the wall and very hard to see from the street.

The parents are going out again tonight and I am cooking dinner for the boys and they rented Batman from Blockbuster, so looks like a dinner and a date night for me. (Lucky me cause I have too handsome dates!!)

I am becoming fast friends with my language teacher, Manuela. We had class just one on one today and really practiced speaking today. My other classmate will be back tomorrow. I am a little worried about tomorrow because Pat is going to Milan for work and I have the boys all by myself from 1-whenever. Next week I am going to have to be more hands on with the boys, she told me this week is just for watching. Okay I guess I’m ready to dive in with both feet….

Buon Appetito!!

My language course is going very well so far. Today I studied with the teacher and the guy from Vietnam for 3 hours and then had a private lesson with another teaher for 1 hour. Their ways of teaching are totally different and by the time I was through I was mentally spent.(not to mention flustered when I arrived at school because I got lost) I am starting to learn how to put sentences together and proper endings for verbs. Thank goodness I had Spanish in high school because I would be totally lost.

Yet another victory in the kitchen....First I cooked up a concotion of meat and potates for lunch and for dinner Pat taught me how to make Italian pasta.(with homemade tomato sauce and parmesan cheese) The food is so amazing and so far I am not sick of pasta everyday.

At Filippo's school I met up with another Au Pair, Anna, and she introduced me to other au pairs that came to meet me. They all seemed very nice and hopefully we will have time to hang out soon. Yesterday I took Ruggie to gymnastics and this evening we went across town to a theatre to watch short cartoons that the classes from his school made. They were very cute and quite entertaining. Last night marked the "real begining" of my job. I got the boys ready for bed and tucked them in while Alberto and Pat went to Tango. I read a book to Ruggie(in Italian) and then laid with him until he fell asleep.

My favorite part of my day is dinnertime. The conversation is always exciting and we always laugh at each others jokes or mistranslations. Tonight Pat's youngest sister, Louisa, came over and we had a wonderful time talking about our travels and enjoyed the evening rain.

Language homework is calling my name but hopefully will have time to post again tomorrow.

Highlights of Sunday

On Sunday evening Pat and Ruggi and I went to the park were I met several of Pat's friends. After the park, Alberto took Filippo and I out to dinner downtown. This was a treat. we walked around and saw the main train station and several important plazas. I saw the Royal palace and a local castle. We also walked by the church that holds the Holy Shroud of Turin and the Roman wall that was constructed during the Medeival Times. My first Roman ruin of the trip.
One note about all the horrible spelling errors...I am on an Italian computer and the keys are diferent and no spell check so please bear with me

Thanks, much love Lindsey

Day 1-1/2 of the week

Something strange is starting to happen....even though I can't speak very good Italian, I am starting to dream only in Italian. I am also forgetting how to spell simple english(which isn't saying much since I can't spell that well anyways) But these are good signs I am learning.

Yesterday was the most frustrating day so far. After I took the boys to school I came home and met the maid, Micca. I stayed at home for awhile just relaxing and read my book. A 12:15 I decided to leave early and go the boys school in case I forgot the way. Mistake. It took me 10 minutes to get there so I had too much time to waste. I walked up and down the streets looking at the buildings and went to an open market. This was nice to see and some relief from the sun. By the time I picked up the oldest I was very tired. Pat(the mom) fixed us lunch when we got home and I helped Filippo on his English homework. He also made signs both in English and Italian and put them around the house ex: bicchieri=glass, rifiuti=garbage, etc.
At 4 Filippo and I went to the swimming pool for his weekly lesson. We had to take a mini bus with other children and the instructor was very nice and tried to speak english with me. When we got to the pool all confusion broke out. Apprantly I had the wrong pair of shoes on and could not follow Filippo to the pool. Whe I sat down to watch him this grandmother(nona) started talking to me a mile a minute. She was telling me about Turin and how the clock works according to the sun and moon. Also how to work a bus ticket(I think)
By the time we got back home and inside(cause I couldn't firgure out how to work the key and neither did Fil) I was mentally exhausted.
I met Alberto's mother and played with Ruggi(the youngest that's what I call him for short). At eight we ate dinner out on the terrace. This was the highlight of my day because we all talked about our day and laughed a lot. After dinner we googled rattlesnakes because they had never heard of such a thing. When the boys went to sleep I decided to watch a movie on my computer to wind down. For some reason movies always calm me down even if they are intense.

Today has been interesting and its not even half over yet. We dropped the boys off at school and Pat and I went and got coffee at a cafe. Then we headed to my language school. Everyone(like the rest of Turin) was so nice. They put me in a class with one other student, from Vietnam. He is above me in levels of speaking but the teacher worked with me too. I felt ore confidant when I left and suprised at what I have learned in this short time. My speaking is still very basic but my comprehension is very good. I will go back for the rest of the week and I am hoping that by Friday I can hold my own in a conversation....gotta set goals.

I live very close to a modern art museum so I decided to stop by on my way to the apartemento. When I arrived I couldn't find my way so I asked where I should go (all in Italian!!) and suprisingly they understood and pointed me in the right direction. The museum does not rank in the top ten for me but overall it was okay. They had some interesting pieces and it was nice to see local art as well as modern Italian art because you only really think of the masters like Di Vinci and Michelangelo, ect. when you think of Italian art. There was a "painting"by Warhol, The Car Crash that was very disturbing to me and made me realize how messed up he had to be. After my afternoon with culture I decided to go back to the flat and fix lunch. I am proud to say I acutally cooked and did not set anything on fire. I made mac and cheese(although I'm sure you've never tasted the Lindsey Special. All the cheese they had was parmesano so after I boilded the water and added milk and butter I grated fresh parmesano over the top and viola, lunch(with a few bread sticks of course) for desert nutella a pan. Simple but filling.

First Day in Italy

First, thank you everyone for your comments keep them coming...

I arrived in Turin yesterday evening and my new family was there to pick me up. They had a "Wellcome Lindsey" sign for me :-) When we got to the apartment I was blown away. It is very nice and for all you interior design grads you would love all the famous furniture they have from Phillipe Stark and Matise paintings. They also have Miele appliances.
Anyways I took pictures but cannot figure out how to connect my computer to the internet so I cant upload them right now.
For dinner we went out with some friends to a pizzaria and I had my first Italian pizza(mushrooms and basil) motto buono. We then went to a gelato shop and had gelato while we walked the streets. We went to an outside concert in the neighborhood and several high school aged kids sang. The highlight of the evening was a boy dressed as Elvis and sang "Your were always on my mind" and "Barabra Ann". A couple sang "summer nights" and "youre the one that I want". Oh so funny but also gave me a touch of home.
The kids are so cute and very well mannered and the parents are amazing. They are so helpful and very patient.

The Warm-up

Okay today started my three full days of traveling. Nothing really exciting yet though. This morning my grandma and I left for Oklahoma City, where I will leave for Houston tomorrow morning. From Houston I will leave Bush International airport on Friday afternoon around 4 pm. At 7:05 am!!! I arrive in London and FINALLY on Saturday afternoon (Italy time) I will arrive in Turin. So for now it is just the "warm-up" before the game starts.