So far, the sun has been out every day for almost a week. I keep checking the weather channel online with a slight fear that the next day will bring back the ugly winter weather, but so far, I have been saved. Spring is upon us now. The average daily temperature just falling short of 60 degrees, I would say pleasant would be the correct word to describe the current weather here (Although, it would be really nice if it were 70 and sunny, that would be perfect). Since I am still wearing a cuddl dud every day, I cannot say it is warm, but at least the general chill is gone.
The girls have been in such expectation of Sam's arrival that there is hardly a moment of peace in the apartment when they are home. Always they are fighting over whose turn it is to use the computer, or what movie they will watch that night, or where one does their homework, the other inevitably crowds them. These past few days I have been so absorbed in my own issues, I have mostly stayed in Pam and Sam's room with the door shut. Who cares if they stay up till midnight hitting one another, I am still getting them up at 7am and I am not going to lose a bit of sleep over it. They are both good children, but they are sisters, and there is just no way to get around them fighting. Perhaps one day they will grow up to be best friends... but I doubt it; I bet they will end up more like Ashley and I; friendly, but not friends. They are exactly the same amount of years apart as Ashley and I, and I think that siblings, who end up best friends with one another, are either much closer or much further apart in age. Four years is not close enough apart or far enough apart. Still, the time has flown since Pam and Sam have been gone, and I have thoroughly enjoyed having complete, uninhibited access to the internet, and being able to rule the roost. I prefer ruling to following.
I think you all know I have been dreading going back to my dirty, cold littler apartment, but that has all changed. Mom persuaded me to go and buy a few things for my apartment to make it feel like home. If you are buying a lot, let's say curtains, or bedding, or kitchenware, the place you go to find the best prices is the market. While Castelnuovo Berardenga does have a little market that comes every Thursday from 8am to 1pm, it is small and limited; aka, the prices are higher and the selection is not as good. The real market to go to is the one in Siena, which is held every Wednesday from 8am to 1pm. Knowing Sam was coming home in less than 72 hours, I begged Caterina to take me to the market so I could buy all new bedding and blankets. I am just about sick of bundling up in a mass of cat hair. I mean, seriously, if you had a foreign guest coming to live with you, would you hand them dirty blankets and sheets for their bed?? I think not, but would you hand them sheets and blankets filled with cat hair....apparently some people do, and think this is no problem. Let me tell you, it is a problem. If you have pets and have pet hair all over your house, be respectful to your guests and their allergies. Do what you have to do to get the pet hair out of your house so your guest can relax. Ok, that was my little rant, and it's over now :).
Caterina, being the nice woman she is, told me she would take me to the market to buy all the things I wanted so long as I could get on the bus and meet her in Castelnuovo. I readily agreed, and the next morning I go on the bus-fortunately there was a different bus driver!-and make my way to Castelnuovo. However, when I get off of the bus, Caterina is not there. So, I wandered around looking for her car for about five minutes until I came back to the bus stop where I saw her car parked on the other side of the road. She said she had been a little late getting out of the house, and apologized. By this time, it was already 9:15, and parking for the market was going to be impossible. Caterina looked in several parking lots, but ended up parking at a gas station a little up the road from the bus stop. You see, Siena is not quite as well laid out as Florence or Bologna. The train station is on the outskirts of Siena, and although you can walk from the station to the city center, it is about a 2.5 mile uphill trek. Also, everyone would know you were a foreigner since everyone takes the bus. It costs 90 eurocents to take the bus up to the city center, and it is money well spent. It was 10am when we finally came upon the market which was in full swing. There were people everywhere shopping for everything from underwear in a box, to kitchen ladles. In the first thirty minutes Caterina and I came upon a stall we liked. I had seen a nice comforter at another stall, but the woman brushed Caterina off when Caterina tried to ask her a question, so Caterina say Au Revoir, and we went on our way. We are both like that, if someone does not take the time to help us, we just move on to the next stall. After all, it is not like anyone at the market is selling handmade baubles. Most vendors are selling the same stuff at different prices, and there is a good chance that all of it is made by Chinese workers which Italian factory owners import and pay practically nothing. Sometimes, I wonder what we would do without China or all of the poor countries in the world for that matter. If we were all rich, I think eventually the whole world would be poor. Still, what do I can if some Chinese worker made my bed sheets for a grain of rice? You cannot help everyone in the world, and when you have little money, you cannot afford to say I will buy more expensive but know it is from Italian workers. I will leave all that to the rich.
So, like I was saying, in about thirty minutes, we came upon a stall we liked, and I bought a cream colored quilt with little antique looking roses on it, a cream and light pink thick wool blanket, a set of pink and purple sheets, and a new rug for my apartment (one of those woven Navajo looking ones which, at the time I was not too crazy about, but now I like a lot). In the beginning I bought the rug because it was relatively light and could be easily folded down into a sack. After a little more shopping I ended up buying a Ladle (for one euro), some little "S" hooks, a small rug for when I step out of bed in the morning, a French style, white washed lamp, and a cream lampshade to go over it, and two light bulbs. All of this cost me 111 Euros, which I would say is a pretty good deal. I still have to get some more little things, but they can be gotten in Castelnuovo, and I am not in such a rush for them. The one thing I did not do was wash my pink sheets before I put them on my bed. I did not even think about it until I had the whole bed made, and I was so tired afterwards, I am just going to take my chances and sleep on them for a few days anyway. The apartment is seriously dusty, and although I would like to stay home tomorrow to clean it, I know I need to ride the bus into, and out of Siena, find where exactly my school is (and clock how long it takes me to walk there), as well as just take some me time. So, I guess I will just be cleaning on Saturday; and maybe as a treat I will go into Castelnuovo.
Sheryl, the old nanny, is coming back for a two week visit on Saturday. The girls are really excited since I think she was their favorite. When she was here she started up this relationship with one of the Italians that works in one of the restaurants here, and now she is coming back for her booty call. :D Okay, maybe not a "booty call", but they will certainly be spending some time together. Emma wants to go over to the apartment she is renting to sleep with her for a few nights, and I wonder, Sheryl must know about the diaper thing then. Oh, and just as a side note, Emma wet her bed last night, so the girls were already up when I went to wake them up. I did not say anything to her excuse, and just asked the girls if they would put the sheets in the washer to save me a little time. I washed them on super hot with some serious detergent action. I think everyone in this family loves Sheryl, so I am really anxious to meet this godlike figure. I think she must be liberal, like the family, and probably not as clean or organized as myself; Birds of a feather, you know.
I am really anxious to get paid! I have been going almost a month with no salary whatsoever, and now I am getting down to the end of my cash flow, and since I forgot to bring my debit card with me, I really have no way of getting any more money, so I am very very happy Sam is coming back. I am also curious, because Pam had mentioned to me, before she left, that she had decided to pay me two hundred Euros on the weeks she and Sam were gone. I am anxious to see if Sam pays me two hundred Euros per week or just one hundred. Either way will be fine, and since I would feel weird about asking, I will just take what they give me.
Finally, just in case you all did not know, this Monday I will be starting my Intensive Italian session which will last for two straight weeks. I am very excited, and I am going to do my best to be as outgoing as possible so I can meet new people, and hopefully create some sort of friend base. Then, at the first of April, Pam and Sam have their first tour, then I am headed to England for nine days, and then P&S are on tour again, I have a little bit of a break in May and hope to either travel some more or take more courses at this Siena school I am currently enrolled in. Then it will be June, and then the summer. Finally, I have found enough activities for myself (although I am still looking for piano lessons), and it feels like time is going to start flying, but I am prepared for the breeze. I just have to keep my mind on smooth sailing and the bumps will not seem quite so major.
3 comments:
So what did she look like? A goddess? Or Hillary Clinton?
dad
We will see, I think I will meet her sometime today.
You are sounding precariously like your mother. Try to remember that you are not a foreign guest in this house, but an employee. And as such, you can pick up and provide for yourself, not depend on them to do it. By the same token, however, you do not have to be happy with whatever pay someone decides to give you. I know it is uncomfortable to talk about compensation, but it is important to iron these things out in advance and pin down cheap or disorganized employers. When you are told that you will be paid X, or 2X for a certain period of time, repeat back to the employer exactly what you are understanding them to say, so it is clear that this is not a gift, but an agreement. Expect to be paid with the exact same efficiency that you are expected to work. This is a business arrangement, not a favor. If you do not treat yourself with respect, your employer will likely not treat you with respect, either. It is very easy to be taken advantage of...and a bit more difficult to advocate for yourself. Try to handle the situation exactly the same as if you were an agent representing a client - but you are both the agent and the client. By the way, your apartments has made an amazing transformation. I think it was money well spent. I see no reason you cannot inquire about pulling the nailed up curtains down and washing the dust off of them and then replacing them. I think that is a reasonable request, especially since they are in your food prep area. I love you, and I am proud of you.
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