Wild Goose Chase

The marathon of interviews are finally over and I'm pooped. Today was none stop and I counted I only sat down 5 times (not counting the interviews). After breakfast and my daily chores I went to the train station to meet my American friend Lindsey. I was a little early so I decided to go buy my train ticket for Verona. I didn't have to wait in line hardly at all and when I got to the window I asked the older man if he spoke English. He grinned and said yes. He was so helpful and kind. I was asking him what time I could leave on Sunday afternoon from Verona when a huge man behind me started yelling Sinorgina, Sinorgina. I turned around and in English he very rudely told me to go to information because he was about to miss his train. The man in the window didn't like him yelling at me and starting yelling at him in Italian to shut up and go to another window and that I was trying to buy my ticket. I was the filling of an "angry sandwich". Not sure I really liked playing that role but I was glad the man stood up for me. They didn't have any tickets available back from Verona cause it was too far in advance so I will have to try again tomorrow. I'm really hoping that man caught his train cause I don't want to see him again.

I met up with Lindsey and took her to two open air markets were we did a little shopping. We bought forcacca (like pizza but with more oil and it is rectangular) and cokes and had a picnic in the park. We had another great conversation about books, family and life happenings. When lunch was over I went back to the house to change for my first interview and checked the map to see were it was. I left the house an hour early because by my calculations I was very far away. Well apparently I can't read maps very well. Turns out I was only about 25 mins away so I had a long time to wait. This was unfortunate because it was very hot and the studio is in a scary part of town. But I found shelter in a cafe and had some water. When I arrived to the studio only one woman was there cause everyone else was at lunch. She seemed nice but only talked to me for 15 minutes!! I couldn't believe it. She showed me some of her work and told me what I might be doing if I got the job. I liked there work but didn't really feel welcome so I wasn't really head over heels in love with this one....which is good cause it's one less I have to worry about. I took the bus straight to the park becuase I knew if I went home I would fall asleep. The ride took almost 1 hour but I was still 30 minutes early. So I sat in the park and read USA Today that Alberto had brought me back from Rome on Tuesday. I took the boys straight back to the house instead of stopping for gelato because I had another interivew at 5:30. Pat's sister, Chinsia, was waiting on us and took the boys while I went to the meeting. I took a taxi and savored every minute of the ac time. The interview was in the heart of downtown and very far away from my house. When the taxi let me out I was in a scary neighborhood (so I thought) and the address didn't turn out to be right. I was kinda freaking out cause I didn't have the office number and didn't really know where i was. I asked two guys and they couldn't really speak English but they took me across the street to a Western Union where the guy inside could. He had never heard of it and didn't really understand what I was looking for. But luckily there was a lady being waited on that spoke English. When she was finished faxing something she went with me to try and find it. She is French but lived in USA for 15 (most of it in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami). I really appreciated her helping me and at exactly 5:30 we found the office. (It was tucked away in an old warehouse away from the main street---without help I would have never found it. A guy came out and took me to a cafe right next door where we had the interview. This company is more than architectural. They do mostly exhibits and company design. They do do interior design but in a different setting than what I am use to. He was really nice and we had a great conversation but he just hired two new interns so he doesn't have room for me. I told him I understand and that it wasn't a problem. I took my time getting back to the house and explored downtown. It was the perfect time of day because people were getting off work and businesses were still open. The cafes were filled with people and the streets smelled like coffee, gelato and fresh produce from the open air market. When I got home the boys weren't home yet so I took a brief nap on the marble stairs....Chinsia had my keys. When they got home Chinsia dropped us off at a pizza place to meet her mother for dinner. When we got home I put the boys to bed---poor guys, it is so hot in their rooms they only sleep in shorts and are still drenched in sweat. This was a very productive day but I couldn't help but feel like I was on a wild goose chase going from one appointment to another---walking, taxi, bus, car, tram, All that's missing is a boat.