More fundamental experiences

I can't believe it has been more than a month since my last post. Time is passing so unbelievably quick and it has been happening recently I'm not properly following everything that has been happening. Continuing the story from the last post, I have been at the EVS on-arrival training last week and I have to say it's been one of the best, if not the best part of my EVS. I have spent eight days with 30 incredible people and already the first day I have found people with whom it simply clicked. Incredible. I felt so so sorry I won't be able to visit any of them, at least not in Italy, as I am leaving in less than two weeks and then moving abroad again, so I guess it would be quite difficult. However, despite having the on-arrival training at the end of my project and strongly doubting how much I would actually learn, I have learnt so much, it's quite ... wow! More or less all the activities were based on games and group work and everything portrayed the reality so well, it was very easy to apply the games to every-day situations. Having strengthened my inter-cultural and team-work skills have been two main things I will benefit from the most and I'm happy I was able to turn the training into a positive thing regarding how doubtful I was prior the departure. Thanks to to amazing EVS trainers it was quite easy to do that. At this point I'd like to thank again the whole group and trainers, Carmine and Michele, for making my EVS even more special and bringing it to a whole new, higher level. A special thanks goes also to Anna, Burcu and Marta for the photos below.

The hotel where we were staying was ... a bit special. Considering it was a four-star hotel, I definitely did not have the feeling it really was. The rooms were very small and the food was far from a four-star menu. Healthy four-star menu. Fried dishes almost every day were killing my stomach as I'm not used to fried food any more as I never make it neither eat it. Then, dinner was actually heavier than lunch (what sense does that make?) and sometimes we had very strange combination of plates - for example, one evening e had risotto as the first dish and a hamburger as the second dish. How does that go together?! Not mentioning the amount of meat in the hamburger which could easily count as a single dish. My stomach has been refusing food ever since I arrived from the training. I guess it's because we were having pasta and stakes every day at least once, if not twice a day. I am so content to being able to cook by myself. One dish, no desert and nothing fried. Ah well, after a few days of complaining about food the cook changed the menu a bit, so it got sort of healthier. There was another special thing about the hotel restaurant. At every meal they were playing the same Christmas-songs CD. Every day. Three times a day. After one day I (and also the others) were pretty annoyed with it. Now, whenever I hear Michael Buble's song Christmas (or whichever it was), I think for a moment I'm back in Rimini having breakfast or lunch. At the moment it seems like an unerasable memory, but I guess after some time it will fade.

After coming back from Rimini my first and most important mission was buying a train ticket to go back to Slovenia. A mission that at some moments seemed impossible. I have easily bought the ticket from Firenze to Villach, but the buying a ticket from Villach to Ljubljana ... oh dear, that's quite a drama. First, I went to the Prato Central station where I was told that the train system does not find any trains from Villach to Ljubljana, so I should find a different way to buy the ticket. Buying the ticket in Austria is out of question as I was supposed to have only six minutes to change trains (at 4 o'clock in the morning, pretty please). Then I was trying to buy the ticket online at the ÖBB website, but, again, it turned out as impossible. Unfortunately, I was too late to buy the ticket, so it could not be sent to Italy in time. I was slowly running out of plans. Then, I asked one of my lovely flatmates if she could check (and possibly buy) the ticket in Firenze. Yet again, it turned out the train is supposed to be full, so no more tickets were available. I was quite freaking out by that moment. I had no idea what I can still do except going to Firenze myself and somehow trying to get the ticket. Anyway, I still had a spark of hope for the Prato Central station and I tried my luck there again. First, the man at the ticket "office" (it's not really an office, it's just a window) tried finding the train himself, but the strangest thing came up - the train-ticket system was able to book me a seat on the train, but could not offer me a ticket. Yeah, hard to explain, even harder to understand. I already saw myself going to Firenze tomorrow and, again, turning back home empty-handed. But then, a sort of a miracle happened. Another man came, obviously the other employee's supervisor, and together they have managed to get me a ticket. I cannot remember when it was the last time I was so happy and relieved at the same time. I literally wanted to squeeze myself through the little hole in the window and give both men a big kiss. So, now I have more than an hour to change the trains in Villach (going to Austria in order to get from Italy to Slovenia still seems absurd). 

It has definitely been two very very stressful days thanks to Trenitalia and ÖBB, so I should get to bed. I'm making a spicy white-chocolate cake tomorrow, trying out a new recipe, so I should be full of energy. 

Marjeta

Fundamental experiences

To me, meeting other EVS volunteers is always more than a pleasure. Sharing stories, comparing experiences, complaining about the same annoying things, ... Last night, Léo, Marta, Kristiāna and me went to Florence to meet with a group of EVSs that live and work in Florence. Since we have never gone out in Florence, we decided to meet them there despite a train strike began at 9 p.m., just a bit before our train was supposed to leave. However, we got to Florence nicely, met with the EVSs and spend some great time in two pubs. The second pub where we went was an Irish pub and was full of American students. Kristiāna, Marta and me were having a great time, dancing and singing (I actually have a sore throat today due to all the singing or better said shouting) till 3 a.m. Then, however, the adventure started. We still had an hour and a half till our train, so first we had kebab and then coffee at McDonald's (yes, of course it was disgusting). A bit before our train we sadly discovered that due to the train strike the 4.35 a.m. train was cancelled and with it also more or less or other regional trains to Prato. People waiting at the station were pretty furious, even shouting at the train conductor even though he had nothing to do with the trains being cancelled or not knowing which trains will go and which not. It was actually funny looking at the people running to the trains every time there was a train-is-departing announcement since no one actually knew that these announcement are automatic and not up-to-date. We slept a bit on one of the trains that were open, then we waited outside a bit, we had a breakfast, then we waited a bit more and had another breakfast. I was so tired and cold, all I could see in front of my eyes was a cup of hot tea (real tea, not the tea-bag one) and my bed. Finally, at 8.35 a.m. there was an inter-city train leaving for Milano and, luckily, stopping in Prato. Having come back home, we treated ourselves with another breakfast (and a cup of hot tea) and went to bed. I was so happy to have come back home and when I crawled into bed ... oh dear, all the waiting in the cold was forgotten. All in all, it still was a great night, no regrets, despite all the train chaos. I guess experiencing a train strike in Italy in this way is one of the fundamental experiences of living in Italy. 


There's some great news that made my week, actually. Two important parts of an EVS are also the on-arrival training (at the beginning of an EVS project) and mid-term evaluation (sometime in the middle of an EVS project). With everything being organized very well in Italy (not), we of course haven't had none of those trainings yet and all up till last Monday (or was it Tuesday) we were absolutely sure we'll never be invited. However, we have been called to attend the on-arrival training. In December. Two weeks before our project ends, we're going to attend an on-arrival training. Even though I strongly doubt how I'll benefit from an on-arrival training now, I'm still very very excited about it. I'll be able to share my experiences, meet new people and there'll also be an Italian language course, so I'm sure it's going to be far from a waste of time. So, on December 12th, Marta, Burcu and me are going to Rimini for eight days and we'll be staying in a four-star hotel (I'm sooooo looking forward to the hotel breakfast). Instead of the training giving me a smoother start of the project, it's going to be a lovely end of the project. Some kind of our last adventure together. I guess it is fundamental to attend an on-arrival training at the end of your project. I do live in Italy, after all.

A Cup of Sweden with a Dash of Denmark

Ever since my sister visited Sweden 11 years ago, I have been thinking, man, Sweden must be a fiiine country! Over the years spent abroad I twice had the opportunity to live with a Swede which was more than a pleasure. Then, when also a good friend of mine moved to Sweden last year, it was only the question of time when I'd pack my bags and head to the country of Ingemar Stenmark and Abba.

As many times before, Ryanair again turned out as the cheapest option to visit Sweden and having bought the tickets already in June it seemed like the d(eparture)-day would never come. However, the closer October 18^th was, the more nervous and excited I was. Finally, the day came and I packed my bag, checked 100 times if I had all the documents and the boarding passes and I was off. Arriving to Stockholm in the middle of the night didn't give me the impression of how beautiful the city actually is. In Stockholm I was staying with a friend of mine, Annika, who I lived with last year in Austria. I have to admit, it was so surreal seeing her after more than a year and a half, but I couldn't have asked for a lovelier welcome: a huge smile on her face and a big hug. We quickly got on the bus and when we got to her apartment, I was simply amazed on what a pretty little flat she has! I definitely wouldn't mind having such a flat myself. It took me a while before I fell asleep. I was so excited about everything that was about to come, but eventually tiredness won over the excitement. Having woken up early (early = 8 a.m.) the next day gave me loads of time to discover Stockholm on my own as Annika was busy with a school assignment. Despite bad weather I was determined to make it to the City Hall by foot in the morning and then I spent the afternoon in the city centre. I felt like it'd been my first time in a big city. I was amazed by the most ordinary things, like the trams and the underground, then all the big shops and how everything was lit up in the evening. I had no idea I had missed living in a big city so much. What is more, I immediately felt at home in Stockholm as in a way it reminded me of Dublin and in another way of Graz. It seems I would be pretty happy living in Stockholm. If only …

Over the next days I was walking around the city, I met with one of my ex-flatmates from Graz that I haven't seen for more than three years, I (finally) bought myself a new cell phone (after having the old one for four and a half years it was about time) and I spoilt myself with fika. Fika is a Swedish “thing” and the word basically stands for having coffee and cake. It's not only the cakes, it's all kinds of pastry. I immediately fell in love with the Chocolate Cup, a café in the old town, where they serve a white-chocolate cheesecake. It was pure heaven! Having friends that know where to get good cake is so useful. It makes my life easier.

Fika (top left and right & bottom centre);  reindeer with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam (top centre) and a Swedish candy shop (bottom right corner)

While being in Stockholm I had time to see just two museums, the Nordiska museet and the Skansen (I'm saving the Vasa museum for my next visit). I especially loved Skansen, also because it was such a lovely sunny and blue-sky day and I got some great shots of Stockholm. In the evening I met two lovely Annika's friends that reminded me of two Irish friends of mine. Not only because of their appearance, but also because of their sense of humour. It's amazing how you find similar people on different parts of the world. Anyway, we went to an Italian restaurant and with the menu being written in Italian and Swedish I could play a smart-ass with the Italian pronunciation. Oh, such fun! We finished the evening going to the cinema. Such a lovely evening!

In Skansen, Nordiska museum, view on Stockholm

The next day was already Saturday and, sadly, it was time for me to leave Stockholm. I took the train to Helsingborg with a heavy heart, but as I was on the way to another friend of mine, I was looking forward to visiting the pearl of the Sound. This friends of mine, Sara, who lives in Helsingborg, moved to Sweden last year and we haven't seen each other for more than a year. She and her boyfriend waited for me at the train station with two little flags, a Swedish and a Slovenian one. Another lovely welcome! At their apartment they set up my bed in their living room and they put the Slovenian flag on the bed – so thoughtful! With Sara and her boyfriend being a bit occupied the next few days, I kept myself busy with no problems. One day I was walking the streets of Helsingborg, the other I went to Denmark to see the Kronborg castle, where Hamlet is supposed to take place, then I also went to Malmö and Lund. Luckily, the weather was more or less on my side and it was such a pleasure wandering around.

Helsingborg 

Helsingør and the Kronborg Castle

 

Malmö

They say that time passes quickly when you're having a good time and my holidays in Sweden couldn't confirm this more. So, my last day came and I headed to Göteborg as I was flying to Pisa from Göteborg City Airport. However, my last day started a bit chaotic. Sara, my Helsingborg friend gave me a lift to the bus station as I was supposed to take the 10.15 bus to Göteborg. I arrived to the bus station pretty much on time, maybe a minute or two earlier and I was expecting the bus would already be there or at least it would arrive on time. Oh, how wrong I was! After waiting for the bus for 10 minutes the display at the bus station showed that the 10.15 bus is not coming and that the next bus for Göteborg leaves at 13.15. Oh, dear! Such  a panic! I had no idea what to do. I was 100 % sure I had missed the bus and I'd have to take either the 13.15 bus or a train. The problem was, the ticket for the bus I had, was exactly for the 10.15 bus, so I couldn't take another bus with that ticket and the train costed around € 25, which was, regarding I'm a volunteer at the moment combined with the amount of money I had spent in Sweden, not an option. Then, after texting Sara and scaring the hell out of her, finally the bus arrived. The 10.15 bus with an almost 20-minute delay. I was so relieved! In three hours I was in Göteborg, where I was welcomed with lovely sunny weather. Despite the morning panic I still had a great last day in Sweden and it didn't spoil my idea of coming back. So, yeah, Sweden, see you soon, but not earlier than in summer!

Göteborg

Cold as Ice

It's unbelievable how spoiled I've got with hot/warm weather. The last few days have been a lot colder and also the apartment sort of feels like an ice cave. Having stone-pavement floor is great in the summer as it help to kill the heat a bit, but now ... Even though I'm really against having carpet floor, I've been dreaming of waking up in the morning and stepping on soft carpet or a fluffy rug. If only the heating system worked the way it's supposed to - it's supposed to switch on automatically when the temperature in the apartment falls below 20 °C. This worked once or twice, then the system obviously turned its back on me and now it refuses to heat our cold apartment. I guess I shouldn't be complaining this much as I'm going to Sweden this afternoon and there it's already winter (at least from my point of view). I've already checked where they have the best ice-cream in Stockholm, but now I'm not so sure I'd be up for ice-cream when it's 5 °C outside.

Anyway, after having come back from Sicily, I've started working in maneggio again and I have to say it's much more fun than it was in May and June. Since my Italian really improved over the summer, it's now so much easier to talk with the children and the staff and I feel more included in the whole group. There are also new volunteers working there and it seems that things are better organized than they were before. There's enough work, so I don't waste time sitting for an hour or so and waiting for children to come. They also have a new horse, Iris, which is actually still young and not used to participating in hippotherappy yet, so sometimes it goes a bit left or right even though I try to hold it tight and keep it going straight. I guess it must be a bit stressful or weird for the horse to get adjusted to this kind of work and also to feel good in a new environment. The other horses are actually kind of jealous of her. The other day one of the horses even bit Iris! I understand it takes time for the horses to except a "new member of the group", but still I wouldn't except such behaviour.

Apart from working in maneggio and Cave there isn't much work or actually there's no other work. There's no news on the EVS training we're supposed to have (on-arrival or mid-term) and I don't know I'll benefit from it (whenever it'll be) at all now as I only have left two months and a half. Last year the EVS training was in Sicily, but this year it's in Torre del Greco. Of course I wouldn't mind going there (and visiting Napoli at the same time and tasting the real pizza), so whenever it is, I'll be happy to go.

I'm thinking about checking again whether I have packed everything. It will be a bit weird going in a winter coat and I've even packed gloves and a thick scarf. It's 17°C at the moment and we have lovely sunny weather, but I'm more than sure all my winter clothes will do the job in the cold cold North.

Sicily Sicily Sicily Sicily Sicily

Monday, September 26^th, 5.30 a.m. Alarm clock rings. Press snooze. Roll over. No, no, no! Get up! Get dressed, brush your teeth, check your documents, make a sandwich. It's time to go. Sicily, here I come! Ok, here we come!

Having bought the tickets for Trapani weeks and weeks ago I was (im)patiently counting down the days. Not having a lot to do gave me way too much time to think about my future travellings, especially Sicily, and I was really looking forward to a change of environment, people, atmosphere … and Sicily was a perfect choice for what I wanted, plus the fact that we were all going (all = Burcu, Marta, Kristiāna, Léo + me) made everything even more exciting.

After arriving at the Trapani airport we went to get the car we had rented online. A more-or-less new Ford Fiesta was waiting for us and we quickly took care of formalities, stuffed our luggage in the trunk and set off. Within five minutes Sicily already grew on me. Wild, sort of arid landscape, dotted with olive trees and vineyards on one side and bright blue sea on the other is absolutely my cup of tea. Our first destination was Erice, a little mountain village, as charming as little Italian villages can be. It somehow reminds of San Gimignano, yet still it has a different flavour. While walking narrow paved streets I soon spotted a pasticerria with an abundance of typical Sicilian sweets from cannoli to cassata. If you're on a diet, Sicily is no place for you. Every village and town, no matter how small, has a pasticerria where you can try such delicious sweets they take you to a different dimension. Cannoli, a roll filled with ricotta cream and candied fruit, is extremely luscious, but nothing can beat cassata siciliana. Cassata is made of a special type of sponge, pan di Spagna, then filled with ricotta cream, topped with a usually green marzipan layer and decorated with candied fruit. The combination of flavours exceeded my expectations. There's also some kind of a smaller version of cassata – cassatina and I had three of those – one in Siracusa, one in Trapani and one in Taormina. They were all a dash different, but still very very very tasty. Another Sicilian speciality is marzipan paste, often shaped and coloured like fruit. I think there's no point in losing time on describing how good ice-cream in Sicily is; the photo is pretty self-explanatory. However, balancing all this sweetness, Sicily also offers lovely fish and sea-food dishes and, of course, pasta. Well, I think you know what I want to say – visiting Sicily is an absolute culinary delight.

Leaving Erice we headed to Segesta, a little village with an ancient temple and a Greek theatre. Taking a break in the middle of mountains was a perfect late-afternoon energy refill. I was actually very keen on visiting the Greek theatre also, but as it was on the other side of the mountain and it was already almost half past five, there was no time. I was thinking, well, there's another one in Taormina and another one in Siracusa. There will be more opportunities to see at least one of them. Back on the road we headed to a hostel close to Palermo, in Sferracavallo. It took as quite a while to find the hostel as it was already dark when we reached Palermo and with the streets being very clearly marked (not!) we had a bit of a difficulty finding the right way. However, we eventually found our hostel, which was located right by the sea. We actually picked the very best day to visit Sferracavallo as there was a local feast with fireworks and a late-night market, but 15 hours of travelling took its toll and we went back to the hostel soon after midnight.

Segesta

Sferracavallo

Tuesday was the Palermo day. Waking up to a rainy morning didn't promise a lovely day, but the anticipation of visiting Palermo put away all negative thoughts. For a while, at least. It was raining on and of all the time, but still we got a chance to admire the town. I think I was most amazed by the theatre, Teatro Massimo, probably due to its role in the The Godfather 3 movie. 

Palermo

When we got back to the car, it had started to rain again. We were then actually quite successful at finding our way out of Palermo, but at some point, we didn't know which way to go, so the best way was to ask a local. Asking the locals for the way usually turned out great as Sicilians are extremely kind, warm, open and helpful. As I went to ask two people selling fruit on the street which way was right for Cefalù, they explained me perfectly, but started to laugh when I said, Yeah, ok, so when we get to the second round-about, there'll be directions for Cefalù, right? They just said, Ha, you're in Palermo, there are no directions! I also bursted out laughing. So, we continued our trip according to the directions I got, but the rain was getting heavier and heavier. Finally, we had to turn our car as the road we were taking was basically flooded. When I saw one of the newer BMWs trying to pass a huge puddle, which seemed like a lake to me, and having water almost up to the windows, I started to panic a bit. The rain just wouldn't stop, the level of water on the road was only increasing and finding a right way to get out of a Sicilian town isn't a piece of cake. We turned the car around, took another road, drove the wrong way on a one-way road, turned the car around again and finally got on the highway. I was relieved. Really relived. Even though it was still raining cats and dogs, at least we were on the right way. By the time we reached our camping close to Cefalù, it almost stopped raining. We made pasta, took a walk and took a swim in the unexpectedly warm Sicilian sea. We visited Cefalù in the evening and decided to visit it also the next morning which turned out as a great decision. Cefalù by night is namely a bit of a ghost town, but in the morning it was buzzing all over. We soon headed towards Taormina, but first we stopped at Etna. I wasn't expecting a magnificent view on the volcano and my expectations were right. Etna was overcast when we reached one of the excursion start-points north of the volcano. It was, however, despite the bad weather, quite impressive to see it, all the volcanic rocks, signs of how lava flows destructed the landscape … People that work in the souvenir shops at this excursion start-point explained everything about the most recent eruptions. One of the guys even took loads of photos of the 2002 eruption and I was quite speechless as I was imagining all the lava flows, bursting out of calderas. We didn't stay long at Etna as it was cold, 12°C, so we headed back via a very serpentine road (which made me sooo sick) towards Taormina. Despite of how much I liked Taormina, as it is again one of those little charming mountain villages, it felt too touristy for my taste. It's also possible I was feeling too tired to really admire its beauty or maybe it was simply just too full of people. However, again, I wasn't able to see the Greek theatre as we were too late. 20 minutes too late. Being a bit disappointed I was thinking I can see the theatre close to Siracusa (I was wrong, of course). Late in the evening we reached Catania, which is now my favourite Sicilian town. It's not enormous, but big enough, it has a great fish market, its architecture is extremely beautiful, plus, it's at the seaside and within an hour drive south you can reach breath-taking beaches. Roaming the streets of Catania by night and by day, the next morning, gave me that perfect holiday feeling. I was surprised how cheap food and drinks are – a cocktail €4,50, pint of beer around €2. Unbelievable. Also food isn't expensive and in bakeries they have real bread – with a dash of salt and so soft your heart melts when you eat it. After five months of eating Tuscan bread I almost forgot what a pleasure it is to eat this kind of a bread. Sicilian bread. Lovely, seriously lovely.

(from left to right, clockwise)

our private beach, Cefalù, Etna, Taormina, Etna, Cefalù

Catania; Ari Trezza - the Cyclops Coast (bottom right corner)

Having a bit of a bad luck with the weather we didn't exactly get as much sun as we'd wanted, but the last two days were sunny and hot and we definitely wanted to get to a beach, sunbathe and take a swim. We headed north of Catania hoping to reach a sandy beach, but we had no luck, so we headed south direction Siracusa where we, after a while, got to a quite empty beach in Arenella. After a few hours of relaxing on the beach we had to find a hostel. We had no place booked for our last night as we kept out accommodation side as flexible as possible. Eventually we found some kind of a hostel or a house or a B&B close to Enna. We had no idea what kind of a place it would be. As Marta would say, with the universe being on our side the whole trip, our last night turned out more than perfect. We were staying in a B&B on the countryside, basically in the middle of no where. There were big beds, fresh towels, clean bathrooms and hot water. The owners of the B&B also have horses, two sheep (which think they're dogs, so they run after cars all the time), four dogs, two cats and a load of geese. The atmosphere was so warm and relaxed, I could stay there for another day or two or three. They also had fig, orange and pomegranate trees. I slept like a baby and in the morning we had such an awesome breakfast I thought I had died and have gone to heaven. We also rode the horses, pet the dogs and cats and hung out with the owners. 

Arenella, Siracusa, Siracusa (top)

Sacchitello (bottom)

Even though we didn't want to leave this little paradise, we didn't have a choice. We headed to Trapani, which was a lovely surprise after driving through its bland suburbs. After having lunch (pasta for €4) we quickly visited the historic centre, had a few sweets and we were back on the road for the last time. Destination: Trapani airport. 

Trapani

After returning the car there was nothing left to do except waiting for the plane and reminiscing all the lovely moment we had and watching the photos on our cameras. One thing was clear: we're definitely coming back!

Autumn melancholy and good news

After holiday-flavoured August life has finally come back to Prato. Shop owners have thrown away the „closed-for-August“ signs and roads are full of crazy Italian drivers that are again keeping my adrenalin level up any time I have to cross the road. I have to admit, I was enjoying a few weeks of deserted streets and empty caffés. My favourite gelateria stayed open as well as the library (ok, it was closed for a week), so I wasn't exactly deprived of anything. However, now that life is, or at least supposed to be, back on track, I'm starting to feel a bit useless. I'm still hosting couchsurfers, who really bring a whole new dimension to my EVS life, but I'm starting to feel my EVS project is giving me way too much free time. I don't have to wake up early, I have time to study Italian, I have time to go running in the evenings (which I can finally do regularly after three weeks of inexplicable, but constant pain in my ankle), I have time for aperitivo, I have time for everything. You'll probably say, what am I actually complaining about. My life is good. I have a great apartment, which I'm sharing with four amazing people. Well, I guess I'm just not used to being passive. I'm not used to not-studying, not-working, like, eight hours a day or so. Maybe that's the problem. I have to learn to enjoy these carefree days. There's actually a lot of courses starting in September and October, so I just have to get myself going and apply. The other day I saw a poster for salsa courses starting in September. It looked very very tempting ... 

The last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about what I can do after the EVS and as I've decided to postpone my plan of studying abroad, I started searching for au-pair opportunities in Italy. I'd love to stay in Italy for at least half a year(or more, I wouldn't mind) and improve my Italian, plus spending more time with children doesn't exactly sound bad. It sounds pretty good, actually. I've heard so many awesome aupair stories and I'd love to experience it on my own. Actually, I have received my very first aupair message the other day. It was from a family with four children aged from 8 to 15 and judging from the description of the family, the children should keep me busy, which is exactly what I'm looking for, so I'm waiting for the family's reply now. I was thinking it might be a bit early to plan my aupair year four months in advance, but we'll see how things go. I'm definitely excited just thinking about staying in Italy for a(nother) year!

Actually, I have some more exciting news. I'm going to Sicily in less than three weeks! I've been planning the trip this week, looking at places to go and with every new destination I take a look at I get more impatient and I can't wait to go. It's going to be one of the rare trips with all my flatmates and as we've all been either travelling or working during the summer, we haven't really had a chance to spend some time all together. With autumn knocking on the door we'll catch the very last moments of summer. Ah. Sicily with my Italian family. I can't think of a better thing right now ... 

Roman Holidays

It's exactly four months since I moved to Italy today and a few weeks before the big step, I made a list of places to visit. As I have already ticked off Bologna, Lucca, San Gimignano and some other towns, Rome kept on lingering unticked on the list, but only up till last week when I finally visited the eternal city with one of my dearest friends, Marija. 

I have to say, it all started out a bit surreal as we took the Frecciarossa train to Rome and got there in less than an hour and a half. It felt like out of the sudden we were thrown into a city that, centuries ago, used to be the capital of the world. Having arrived to Roma Termini train station wasn't exactly a no-fuss arrival as putting directions is definitely one of the things Italians do the worst and it took us more than 15 minutes to find the Metro A line or, more precisely, its Termini stop. Reaching the hostel, which was out of town, consequently took us more than one hour. We did master taking the extra-urban trains and metro in the following days, however. 

As mentioned, our hostel was a bit out of the city, in the northern suburbs of Rome. As we were trying to keep everything low-cost, I booked one of the cheapest hostels - 9 €/night. However, we had beds in a huuuuge room with 44 beds. 44! It said online it was a 20-bed dorm. The room was divided onto smaller "rooms" with two bunk beds per "room" with a curtain instead of real door, so you could sort of have a bit more privacy, but still, 20 isn't even close to 44! We were already thinking how it would be like to sleep in such a room with all the beds occupied, when we found out we were actually the only ones staying in the female dorm! With the high tourist season ending the whole hostel was quite empty, actually, which turned out to be good thing. In the following days, a few more girls stayed in the female dorm, but the hostel still felt kind of deserted.

our hostel (Tiber Village Hostel)

Despite starting our get-away with a transport confusion and the hostel surprise Rome quickly grew on us. Myself, being a fan of baroque architecture, especially fountains, was amazed by enormous buildings, romantic fountains and charming squares. It's actually really hard to recap all four days spent in Rome as so many things happened and with my enthusiasm for Rome resulting in more than 400 photos it's a bit difficult to decide about which of them are the most appropriate for this post. Anyway, after discovering narrow streets of Trastevere on Saturday, we decided to visit the City of Vatican the next day. Every last Sunday in a month the Vatican Museums charge no entrance fee and we both wanted to see the museums. However, arriving around 9 a.m. on Sunday morning it was more than clear there's no way we'll get in as the queue was already more than 3 km long, so we just decide to take a look at the Saint Peter's Basilica. That was overwhelming. I mean, seriously overwhelming. Just looking at the church, at all its golden ornaments and huge statues and, basically, just seeing the size of it made me realize how incredibly unbelievably rich Catholic church is. I was speechless. I sort of still am. 

Vatican City and the St. Peter's Basilica

Having seen quite enough of the Vatican City, there was time for something more multicultural. The Bolivian community in Rome had organized a diablada boliviana, which is actually the dance of the devil, but organized in honour to the Virgin of Urcupiña. There was Bolivian music, dancers wearing Bolivian national costumes and dancing Bolivian dances. I always enjoy this kind of traditional events with music and dancing, so this was such a great surprise. I never would've thought I'd be able to see a Bolivian feast in Rome. 

diablada boliviana

Eventually, we got hungry and grabbed lunch. Our afternoon was spent buying postcards, admiring Roman architecture and simply roaming the streets. We took it easy, just enjoying the city's warm atmosphere and creating our own Roman Holidays. We found amazing gelato near the Trevi fountain, we witnessed stealing money from the Trevi fountain (and saw how fast Italian policemen can really run) and we also experienced how crazy Italian bus drivers can be (when taking the bus to the extra-urban train, the bus driver was driving so fast that one of the tyres blew out). You might say we missed out a lot since we didn't get to any of the (important) museums, but that's left for our next visit to Rome. If there's any truth in throwing coins to the Trevi fountain, we'll definitely return. And even if there isn't, we'll make sure we return. 

At this point, I have to admit I got a bit wordless. Anyone that has already been to Rome, knows it's not easy to describe the city. Despite having high expectation for Rome from the very start, the city itself more than over-reached them. Thinking that centuries ago the world's history was being shaped in the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Vatican City makes me feel so small, so unimportant, so insignificant compared to all majestic that was going on in Rome. Thinking that Cesar might have stepped on the same stone in the Roman Forum I have is simply a breath-taking thought. All in all, together with Paris, Rome has found its place on my places-to-re-visit list. 

the Trevi fountain

Roman streets

at the Palatin, Roman Forum and the Coloseum

charming Rome

Holidays

According to the online English dictionary Macmillan holidays are a period of time when you do not work or study and do things for pleasure instead. It has been quite a while since I was on holidays. I mean real SSS holidays - sun-sea-sand holidays. Last summer I was busy with the Celta course and I was working on my thesis and the summer before I was volunteering in Ireland (with 15°C and constant rain it didn't really feel like summer), so it was about time I go on holidays.

Last week I spent a day in the charming region of Chianti, southern of Florence, with a lovely American girl, who was couchsurfing at our flat for a few days. After taking a train to Florence we took a bus to Greve in Chianti, a little village, which, after having it checked online, was promising excellent wine and a breath-taking view on Tuscan rolling hills. Considering we arrived in Greve at 11 a.m., we decided to discover the view first and then spoil ourselves with some wine .When we were walking the streets of Greve, we saw a sign that was supposed to lead to some kind of a belvédère. At first we had no idea where we were going as it seemed the road wasn't exactly lelading anywhere and being very steep it wasn't exactly relaxing and the belvédère was nowhere to be found, but I have to say it was totally worth walking 20 minutes uphill. Finally, we arrived in Montefioralle, a village so pretty it felt a bit surreal being there. However, while walking the narrow paved streets and admiring balconies and windows with beautiful flower pots I started wondering, do people really take that well care of their houses because of their own interest or is it only to keep the village attractive for the tourists? Sometimes things just seem too good to be true or too beautiful to be genuine. A landscape dotted with olive trees and vineyards offering exquisite wine and authentic cuisine sounds like a line taken from an American advertisement promising unforgettable holidays in Tuscany (ok, I've never been to the States, so I don't know if it really is that way, but it's just the impression I got). Roaming flowery streets made us hungry and we decided to have lunch in a spagetheria in Greve we saw earlier. The food and the wine were just as good as we had expected. Even though we had our bellies full, we still had some space for ice-cream. Also the ice-cream in Greve met our expectations as we found a gelateria where they also had Kinder chocolate flavoured ice-cream. Being a Kinder-chocolate fan I, of course, couldn't resist it. (I'm actually thinking right now I'd like either some Kinder chocolate or Kinder-chocolate ice-cream. I guess I'll be going to gelateria after having written this post). Satisfied with our little trip we gleefully turned back to Prato. 

Montefioralle

 the photo below: left: Marina di Alberesi; up and down right: seaside close to Piombino

Spending a day out of Prato woke up my travel bug and I couldn't wait to go to the seaside for the weekend. We were going to a place near Grosseto in the south of Tuscany where Legambiente was organising an annual festival called Festambiente. It's a 10-day festival to promote sustainable life, renewable energy, bio products etc. including also other events such as events for children and concerts in the evening. Officially, we were going to the Festambiente to work at the stand of Provincia di Prato, but as we had nothing to do during the day (we had to be at the stand only in the evenings), we were able to spend some time at the seaside. I didn't get much sun the first day as we didn't exactly have much time, but the second day ... oh, I got enough. Even a bit too much. My legs and my bum got so nicely sunburnt even now I have problems sitting and wearing jeans is pretty impossible at the moment. To make things worse, six new mosquito bites (tiger mosquitoes, not the regular ones) make me want to constantly scratch my legs. I know it'll be better within two, three days, but now it's just making me nervous. 

The middle of nowhere (Tuscany)

Our house in the middle of nowhere

Another lovely thing that's awaiting me this week is my sister's visit. I haven0t seen her and her husband since I came to Italy which has been more than three months ago, so it's going to be soooooo nice to see them again. I remember two years ago, when I was living in Ireland and we hadn't seen each other for more than eight months and seeing her face after such a long time was ... well, it's quite indescribable. All in all, I'm counting down the days. I'm planning to make a chocolate pie when they arrive as a welcome surprise, but they don't know that yet. Unless they're reading this post this very moment ...

My TOEFL day

Saturday, July 23^rd, was a big day for me. It was my TOEFL exam day. After studying for around five weeks, not sleeping properly for about a week and experiencing a few tachycardias due to (too) large amounts of coffee I finally got it over it. The exam was exactly what was expecting – never-ending reading and listening parts, which I did quite well, a stressful speaking part, which I, as expected, didn't really ace, and a writing part, in which I was showing off with long grammatically perfect sentences and a rich vocabulary. As I knew that the speaking part could be tricky, I was practising answering the questions a few days before the test which looked like this: talking to the computer recording my answer (I almost always ran out of time), listening to the answer and thinking I could have done better and what an annoying voice I have. When speaking part came up at the exam, I was feeling confident, telling myself I have an OK voice, an OK accent and I am by every mean more than able to get the maximum points for each task. However, when I heard the first question (Your friend doesn't know what to study. What would you suggest him?) and the beep, which indicates it's time for your 45 seconds of glory, my heart started racing and after 35 seconds I totally blacked-out. Despite having started answering in quite a satisfying mode, I didn't finish my answer and I just babbled something that seemed like the best I was able to do in that very moment. What I felt afterwards was a combination of disappointment, anger, sadness and fear. As there were five more people in my classroom taking the exam (speaking at the same time), I could hear their answers, which were all better than mine. At least it seemed to me that way. The other five speaking tasks went a bit better, but I'm still kind of disappointed about the first-task fail. Ah well, at least I did better all other tasks, so now I'm (im)patiently waiting for the results, which will be posted on August 8^th.

After the 4-hour exam I felt quite worn-out, so my plan of having a little shopping spree didn't exactly come to life in its full potential. After an hour and a half of aimlessly loitering around Florence to make myself feel better I eventually got sick of all American tourists that occupied the centre and went to the train station. There I learnt my lesson of why it is sometimes good to buy your train ticket in advance. As Italy is a very popular summer travel destination hundreds, thousands of tourists are visiting charming Italian cities these days. Florence of course is no exception and when I arrived at the station I had to wait for almost half an hour to get the ticket as too many people wanted to buy the ticket at the same time, so the ticket system got either snail slow or over-occupied and eventually some of the “fast-ticket” machines stopped working displaying only an Out of order. notice on an alarmingly bright-red background. Finally, having the ticket in my hand I boarded the train and started thinking how nice it would be to get home to an empty apartment, take a shower, have something to eat and just go to bed. Also this plan didn't come true. Kristiāna and Léo, who are currently leading a volunteer-work camp in the village of Cavarzano, were in Prato for the day and were waiting for me at home. Despite having a headache and feeling sick from all the stress and sleep deprivation I couldn't refuse their invitation to Cavarzano for the night as the community of Cavarzano organised a kind of a party with pizza and a concert of a group called Black Out. How could I ever say no to pizza and Black Out?! I quickly grabbed what I needed the most and we were on our way. After meeting and spending some time with other volunteers of the work camp, there was finally time for pizza (which was a bit too thin for my taste, but still exceptionally good) and the Black Out concert. We were dancing till almost 1 a.m. and I have to say it was one of the best nights in the last few weeks. After all the exam stress it felt so great to just let go, forget about the exam, the speaking-part fail, the results, all the university applications I have to do and all the nasty bureaucracy that's still waiting for me. I'm taking it easy the next weeks – travelling “spiced up” with university-applications bureaucracy. I call it the post-TOEFL pampering. 

Ristorante da Marietta

Firstly, let me apologize for a kind of an unsatisfactory level of English in this post. I am not used to speaking (or writing) in English anymore as I have spent the last three weeks (Only three weeks! Who knows what will happen after eight months …) at children camps working with Italians and, therefore, speaking more or less only Italian. So, please bare with me and my poor English today.

I guess by now it's obvious that I love food not only in the pure sense of feeding yourself in order to survive, but also in the aspect of preparing it. Baking has been my passion for more than a few years now and working at children camps for the last three weeks I got an awesome opportunity to improve not only my baking skills, but also my cooking skills. My Italian cooking skills. The last three weeks have been, therefore, like an intense cooking and language course. I have spent quite a large amount of time in the kitchen absorbing the secrets of Italian cuisine like a big undryable sponge. In front of the kitchen in Cave it's now written Ristorante da Marietta. I have to boast a bit - now, I am not only able to make an awesome pappa al pomodoro, but I have also mastered my crostata-making skills. Unfortunately (or as expected), working in the kitchen for three weeks also resulted in gaining a few pounds (or at least it seems to me I’m like a big dumpling now), so the next few weeks will have to be a bit diet-oriented.

However, to me, working in children camps has been one of the most beautiful experiences ever. The first week we had a group of 10- and 11-year-old children from Milano. They were a lovely group except one girl, one of the accompanists, made me sometimes a bit angry as she didn't eat any fruit or vegetables. Can you imagine how difficult it can be cooking Italian food without tomatoes?! The second week we had another lovely group of 8- to 10-year-olds. It’s amazing how quickly and easily children get fond of you despite your poor language skills. No, working with children did not make me want to have children, if that’s what you’re thinking now, it just made me realize how, in comparison to children, judging and selective adults can be sometimes. Maybe judging and selective aren’t the best adjectives to describe this break-through of mine, but it’s the best I can think of at the moment. Anyway, the last, third week we had a group of teenagers that made me quite angry on the first day they arrived. The thing is that when they arrived, we were making lunch for 112 people. If I say there was a lot to do, a lot doesn't really cover the amount of work as we prepared some food already the day before, but there was still cheese, mortadella, prosciutto, etc. to slice (and I actually got a blister from slicing a few kilos of meat) and other food to prepare, not mentioning he number of plates we had to wash as there's no dishwasher in Cave. The other day when we were making sandwiches to the Milano group, I sliced so much bread I wasn't able to move my right-hand thumb for a few days (the Tuscan bread has a very hard crust which makes it, well, yeah, very delicious, but also a bit difficult to cut). Still, I also have to add that working in camps hadn't been such a great experience if it hadn’t also been for the team I have worked with. Thanks to Kristiāna, Marta and Léo, my flatmates, plus Serena & co (the Legambiente people)., who all bared with my German-like discipline in the kitchen, I really had a blast despite feeling sick the last few days due to tiredness. 

Anyway, what's waiting for me now (besides answer to I don't know how many, but many many couchsurfing requests), is a 500-page book I'm reading for the TOEFL exam that's waiting for me in less than two weeks. I'm freaking out a bit about it as I haven't really had a lot of time to study, but I guess it should be fine. My English isn't so bad after all, is it?

M.

The adventure continues

Where should I begin? So many things have happened since my last post, I really don't know which one to begin with. So, as they say, it's best to start at the beginning.

After having been bitten by a horse a few weeks ago (yeah, it my fault – I wasn't paying enough attention when holding the horse by the strings and at some point my hand was too close to the horse's mouth, or better said, it suddenly somehow got between its teeth and ended with a bloody bite), I had another little accident. This time I wasn't paying enough attention on where my feet are when I'm taking a horse to an open-air stable, so a 400-kg horse stepped on my foot leaving a not so ugly, but quite painful bruise on my right foot. From that very second on I got extremely cautious on how I walk while taking a horse … anywhere.

Unusual for this time of year, it was raining more or less every day of the last week which did not have an uplifting influence on me, but a rather I'm-tired-all-the-time effect. This weekend, after another eventful few days and a change of the weather to the better, I finally managed to get enough sleep and recharge my batteries. First, on Thursday we (= me and my flatmates) had dinner with some of our Italian friends. As usually, I was in charge of the dessert. I made an orange cheesecake, which was, yes, I have to brag a bit, one of the best cakes I have ever made. Maybe slightly too sweet, but with such a luscious cream and sugar-glazed orange slices on the top. Everyone loved it and, yeah, I did feel proud of myself! Honestly, I had never thought I'd be so good in baking or that I'd be capable of making an edible and nice-looking cake, so every time I succeed in making a cake (or tart or pie or biscuits) everyone likes, it feels like such a big step forward in my baking career.

However, this week hasn't been all peachy. On Friday, I got to find out how the Italian ER works. As Burcu, my Turkish flatmate, sprang her ankle while playing with children in mannegio, Marta and I went to the doctor with her. As one would think people working in a hospital would help you when you need them to, things, (un)surprisingly, don't always work out this way. The thing was that, of course, we had no idea where exactly we have to go or where the ER is, so the first hospital department we went to was what else than a wrong one. We went to some kind of a health centre where only specialist doctors work and you can only see them if you have an appointment. As things obviously weren't stressful enough already, people working there didn't want to help us. At the information desk we wanted to ask which doctor can we go to and as we don't speak good Italian, we called our mentor Irene, but the man (read: idiot, morrom, asshole) at the information desk literally refused to talk to Irene on the phone. What the hell?! Are you forbidden to talk on the phone if you're working at the info desk?! I'm really not fond of gong to hospitals, actually, hospitals and doctors make me very anxious, so at that second I got extremely nervous as we had no idea where we have to go. Eventually, the info man told us that we should go to prosto soccorso (ER) and that it's at the other side of the hospital, but when we got outside, there were no signs indicating where pronto soccorso is. While we were trying to find the pronto soccorso, we found a surgery for immigrants. There was a very kind doctor and a nurse that spoke English, so Burcu was able to explain what happened and the doctor showed us the way to the pronto soccorso.We finally found our way, got Burcu registered for a check-up and then, thanking each and every supernatural being in the universe, Bengül, one of our friends arrived. She is such a kind and lovely girl, but what was more important in that very moment, she speaks great Italian and she's Turkish, so she could go to the doctor with Burcu. The next two, three hours I spent in the waiting room watching Komisar Rex and Who wants to be a millionaire in Italian. Finally, Bengül and Burcu came back with Burcu having only an ice-pack on her ankle saying it's nothing serious. I was relieved. I have to admit, not knowing where we have to go and how to explain to the nurse what happened and what is wrong made me extremely, extremely nervous, so I was just happy it all ended well. While I was sitting in the waiting room, I saw a Chinese couple and they couldn't speak a word Italian. When the nurse asked them whether they spoke Italian, they weren't even able to say si or no. I cannot imagine how hard it must be living in a country without knowing the language and going to the doctor. Anyway, we celebrated our happy end with pizza and I went to bed more exhausted than ever before.

On Monday I applied for a TOEFL exam this summer and as I really need a good score, I have been trying to study at least an hour per day, but yesterday I just couldn't resist going to Montecatini with one of my friends that prefers to remain unknown due to a special adventure later that day, so let's call him Andrew. 

Montecatini is a nice little town that reminds of Slovenian Portorož or Suisse Montreaux. Palm trees, a big very very very green park, big four- and five-star hotels, golf and tennis courts … It's a lovely one-afternoon trip as you can really see everything in around four hours. One part of the town, Montecatini alto, is on a hill and you can take a cable car to get there. It's a bit pricey (return ticket: €7), but when you get to the top, it's worth it. From one side you can see Tuscan hills with olive trees and from the other side the view on near-by villages is astonishing. Montecatini alto itself reminds of San Marino with charming little paved streets that rise up the hill. 

Even though we were dying for a coffee or (and) ice-cream, we decided to go back to the town and have coffee there. On our way to the cable car we saw a nice cafe Caffe Biondi, so we decided to go there. After having ordered two cappuccinos and a zabaiglione pastry for Andrew and a chocolate pasrty for me, we took our caff`es and pastries outside on the terrace. A few minutes after we found ourselves a table and sat down, the waiter shows up with a €10 bill. We were shocked. €10 for due cappuccini and two pastries?!! It was just because we were sitting outside. Yes, despite bringing out cappuccini and pastry ourselves. There was no way we'd pay that much, so Andy was trying to be a polite and cultivated person and decided to ask the waiter, but seeing the bill reminded me of one time I was in Paris and me and a friend of mine decided not to pay for cocktails we had as the waiter just wouldn't show up with a bill. So, I got this crazy idea we should just do that. Drink our cappuccini, eat the pastry, stand up and casually walk away. After Andrew closely watched the waiter and what street we should take, I quickly finished my cappuccino and off we went! Trying to act normally we went down the fullest street hoping no one would come running and shouting after us. It worked! Actually, I can't imagine what I'd do if there was someone chasing us. Even though I did like the Caffe Biondi, I'm never going there again.

The day wasn't over just yet. As we were waiting for the train at the train station, suddenly, a bride and groom came. With a photographer and a camera-man. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved weddings, looking at wedding dresses, bouquets, browsing wedding magazines and weddings make me a bit emotional, so I was more or less speechless seeing that happy newly weds. They wanted some of their wedding photos taken at the train station and it was such a coincidence Andrew and me were there at the same time. The bride's dress looked like whipped cream and the roses in her bouquet matched the roses she was wearing in her hair. Then, trying to find a perfect pose for the photographer one of the roses from her bouquet broke and fell down, so she picked it up and threw it to me! What a joy!

Today, I really have to study for the TOEFL exam. I have to. I have it on July 23^rd, so, yeah, I still have a month time to fully prepare myself, but I'm working for more than two weeks starting on June 25^th, so I should make the best of the free time I have. Therefore, I have to share some, for you, disappointing, news: the next post is coming up only after my first two work camps – after July 9^th. So, till then, enjoy the hot summer days!

M.