Alright, let's not talk about the fact that in the past 10 days I've had the flu, tonsillitis and bronchitis and just started getting out of bed again yesterday. No no no... let's talk about something a little brighter please. Have I ever told you how great some, well actually most, of my students are?
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
some updates
Fabrizio was very well behaved for our little pizza party last night. He did start knocking on the door around 5:30pm, even though Alberto told him they would go at 7pm to pick up the pizza. But, apart from his impatience, he was a delightful dinner guest. Today, he's only knocked 3 times, and we've been able to avoid letting him in with various excuses.
In other news...
A while back I wrote about my adventure in trying to secure a more long-term, less limiting work permit. Just 2 days before we left for Minnesota, I finally had temporary papers in hand, enough to get me back into the country after the holidays in the US and to keep working for the time being. This week I got a message saying that my actual permit was ready and that I could pick it up at 10am today (Saturday). However, this morning when we went to the immigration office, it was dark. There were a bunch of policemen and immigrants just sitting around in the dark. "Technical problems", they told me, "come back some other time." Nothing surprises me in this country anymore.
It's cold here and there's snow on the ground. I'm loving it. The News on TV is making a huge drama out of a couple inches of snow in Rome. The world must be ending! Don't go outside, you might die! It would be funny, except of course that this country is terribly unprepared for even a slight amount of snow. Alberto's dad slipped on some ice this morning and bruised a rib :-( Salt, sand, anybody? I feel like I should be educating an entire country on how to shuffle your feet down an icy sidewalk to avoid a disaster. And let's not even talk about their driving.
In other news...
A while back I wrote about my adventure in trying to secure a more long-term, less limiting work permit. Just 2 days before we left for Minnesota, I finally had temporary papers in hand, enough to get me back into the country after the holidays in the US and to keep working for the time being. This week I got a message saying that my actual permit was ready and that I could pick it up at 10am today (Saturday). However, this morning when we went to the immigration office, it was dark. There were a bunch of policemen and immigrants just sitting around in the dark. "Technical problems", they told me, "come back some other time." Nothing surprises me in this country anymore.
It's cold here and there's snow on the ground. I'm loving it. The News on TV is making a huge drama out of a couple inches of snow in Rome. The world must be ending! Don't go outside, you might die! It would be funny, except of course that this country is terribly unprepared for even a slight amount of snow. Alberto's dad slipped on some ice this morning and bruised a rib :-( Salt, sand, anybody? I feel like I should be educating an entire country on how to shuffle your feet down an icy sidewalk to avoid a disaster. And let's not even talk about their driving.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Nikita has a boyfriend!
On a lighter note...
His name is Chicco (pronounced Kiko). Don't worry, he's fixed.
He and Nikita meet at the window every morning and meow hysterically until we open it. They usually share a nose-sniffing kiss and then proceed to ignore each other. Chicco is one of our not-crazy neighbor's cats. He's a good guy.
His name is Chicco (pronounced Kiko). Don't worry, he's fixed.
The Neighbors: Part 2
When Alberto and I first moved into our apartment in May we thought it was cool that we enter from a communal courtyard, the neighbors seemed quirky and interesting... until we got to know them.
Exhibit 2: the head case upstairs
Oh, where do I start?
When we first moved in, our 70-something year old neighbor upstairs, Rosetta, warned us about her son. "He's not well.. and don't worry if he doesn't say hello when you see him, he really doesn't like many people." As the story goes, Fabrizio was a totally normal, functioning individual... until his 27th year of life. Apparently, at 27, he had some sort of nervous breakdown, or 'psychotic break' as psychologists like to call it, and he was never the same again. Now, at 47, he's like an overgrown kid, with a drinking problem, a gambling problem and a coffee addiction.
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| Alberto with Fabrizio |
Oh, where do I start?
When we first moved in, our 70-something year old neighbor upstairs, Rosetta, warned us about her son. "He's not well.. and don't worry if he doesn't say hello when you see him, he really doesn't like many people." As the story goes, Fabrizio was a totally normal, functioning individual... until his 27th year of life. Apparently, at 27, he had some sort of nervous breakdown, or 'psychotic break' as psychologists like to call it, and he was never the same again. Now, at 47, he's like an overgrown kid, with a drinking problem, a gambling problem and a coffee addiction.
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