No Gots

OK, I didn't go and I dont want to talk about it. I had found a room in Positano and I wasn on the Alitalia page ready to book my ticket, and I didn't. So undecided, I was. Geesh.

I ended up doing nothing for three days. The first two days I watched the Olympics on TV and almost never left my house. I went out once to have a coffee with a friend and I bought shoes, justifying the purchase with the money saved from the trip-not-taken. The thrid day I went to the beach and read a book. I watched the Sex and the City movie in English for the first time and spent a lot of time on my slingbox, mostly watching the Learning Channel and HGTV. I love Jon and Kate plus Eight. Such a great show.


I relaxed and slept late. Today back to work. Sigh. I am a summer person. I am happier, more fun and gosh-darnit better-looking in the summer. The fact that it is the end of August is already making me nervous. Can I really do a whole other winter here? I think one of the main reasons I live in Italy is so that I can be here in the summer. I suffer from September (even though its still warm there isn't that "summer feeling" in September) all the way through May just so I can can have those precious three months of sun, beaches, and Italains. That's right, the people here are different in the summer. They are Mediterreanen and the sun gets into their blood. And into mine too.

Pros and Cons

OK,

So Tuesday Gius is going home for a wedding and coming back on Friday night. I don't have to work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and possibly Saturday. If I went somewhere...

...the PROS would be
1. It is my last chance to go somewhere this summer so I should take advantage of it.
2. I could get down to Positano again, get some sun, and possibly be there for the make-up Ferragosto celebration or I could go somewhere else that is closer and less expensive. but really who am I kidding, of course I'll go to Posi.
3. I would not have to stay in Venice all alone, literally ALL of my friends are away.


...the CONS would be
1. the cost--I have already gone down to Posi twice this year-- I dont know if I feel like paying for another roundtrip plane, hotel, ferry boat, meals out, beach chairs, etc...
2. I would be alone, which is not so bad because I know people there, I have been there alone before, but still not as fun as usual. hmm.
3. I would have to leave Daphne alone for two nights. I have a couple people that could stop by and feed her, but I hate leaving her alone 23 hours a day.


These stupid lists never work. What do I do?

Special K Frutti Rossi

I am obsessed with this cereal and since all of my visitors have left and I can once again do as I please, this has become both my breakfast and my dinner (not all that cheap at the special Venetian price of 3.19 a box). Currently, at 10:49 pm I am enjoying a bowl before Gius gets home. It is too hot to cook and I don't feel like creating too many dirty dishes as I am already up to my neck in house cleaning-- even neat guests leave dirty sheets and towels and extra dust.

Other than that today I have eaten two cucumbers, olive bread, 4 Oreos (which are just making their way to Venice), some cheese and crackers, and a peach. My diet is so screwed up but it probably has to do the the overall weirdness that is Venice in August. The city is half-closed and although it is a slow tourist season Venice is teeming with Russians and Eastern Europeans who do huge group tours but stay on the mainland. People are either gone to the beaches or here but kinda anxious because the summer is ending and would rather be on vacation.

But alas, there is the simple pleasure of eating Special K at 11pm all by myself.

My Cities

I am very intrigued by my little visitor feed on my webpage. I see that I have some regular visitors and this THRILLS me. I seem to have a regular from Manassas, Virginia (not too far from DC) and another from St. Louis, Missouri. The former is where I grew up (DC, not Manassas) and the latter is where I went to school. I LOVE both cities.

Perhaps I am biased, but DC has got to be the greatest city in the States. It is beautiful, green, full of parks and bike paths, has tons of FREE museums, is international, cosmopolitan, young, fun, not too northern, not too southern, close to the beach and the mountains, and well, it is and forever will be, home.



St. Louis is my second American casa. I love that midwestern ease. 24-hour Schnucks supermarkets, the Loop, cute Clayton and the trendy Central West End. My university was in a great part of town near parks and shops and I have so many memories of a city that I miss.



I will try to post more on the cities soon! I know I need some American posts!

Adolescenza

So everybody knows that adolescence is a difficult, embarrassing, awkward time. We all have many a moment that we can recall cringing at the idea of past haircuts, boyfriends, and interactions. Kids in America seem to really suffer their ways through middle and high schools. We even see some of the most tragic results of this in the news when events like the Columbine shootings take place, but most of us experience adolescent angst on a lesser level.

I think a lot of this awkwardness, frustration and insecurity is present in many cultures, but I have to say, I think that Italians seem to live through it better than most. Italian kids are just as strange, silly, and confused as their foreign counterparts, but they do not seem to be as aware of it, and they certainly do not seem to be as unhappy about it. Perhaps this has to do with some cultural differences-- American kids can be very isolated in their homes and dependent on their parents if they want to do something or go somewhere. Italians kids can often meet up in the piazza whenever they please. I do think that Italian parents are less strict, which can lead to some big problems, but also has its advantages.

This topic came into mind today while I was at the Lido beach here in Venice, watching a big group of 14 year olds run around, joking and playing and just having fun. They were obnoxious, yelling and spitting and hitting people with their soccer ball. They left a bunch of trash on the beach, but they seemed to lack that self-awareness by which so many American youth seem imprisoned. I was almost jealous.

Tim Parks mentions this a little in his book where he writes about his children (I don't remember the name right now). His comparison is with British youth.

What do the other expats think?

As for myself, I just got back from another mini-break in Positano with another visitor. Tomorrow she leaves and I will have a bit more time to myself to get back into blogging. Positano was lovely as always, now I just need to convince Gius to move there...and come up with a cool 2 million euro for a house...