My new home

Buongiorno a tutti,

they say The home is where the heart is. and after only three days in Prato I can say I've found my new home. I live in a newly decorated apartment in the centre of Prato, a lovely Tuscany town. As Florence attracts the majority of tourists, Prato is a very calm town that hasn't been spoiled by tourism. Yet.

My first days in Prato were, I have to admit, on the complete contrary to what I was expecting. When I arrived (on Wednesday, May 4th), Franco, the president of Legambiente Circolo di Prato, picked me up at the main train station. He got me a three-month bus ticket which is pretty much a necessity as some activities I will be involved into are in near-by villages for me accessible only by bus. Then we went to the apartment, which did, or actually still does a bit, lack of furniture! Unfortunately, as I found out later, things didn’t go as planned and the apartment wasn’t furnished prior the volunteers’ arrival, so we are all working on that now. We meaning myself and my flatmates plus Franco. With Franco doing most of the work, we try to help as much as possible. 

On Thursday afternoon I went to a horse farm with Léo and Kristiāna.  I met a few people that work on the farm and Léo and Kristiāna showed me around and explained what they usually do, so I could get an idea on what I will be doing there in a few days or weeks. Volunteers help with all kinds of activities - hippotherapy, children-groups visits, taking care of horses, so I'm really looking forward to spending mornings or afternoons outside (a great way to get sun-tanned!). 

Yesterday, Kristiāna and I joined Franco on a trip to Ikea to buy more furniture and kitchen-stuff. After a few hours of shopping I felt drained of energy, but there was almost no time to rest. We had a lovely lunch at the Ikea Restaurant, packed the car with four beds, a wardrobe, rubbish bins, tea cups, cereal bowls, bed lights, dressing tables … and drove home, where it all had to be carried up to our apartment in the second floor. I can’t wait till everything is put together and we can clean the apartment and get rid of all carton boxes and plastic wraps.

Now, as I mentioned, I don’t live by myself, but I have four lovely flatmates. Léo is French, Kristiāna is Latvian, Burccu is Turkish and Marta is Spanish. Léo and Kristiāna arrived to Prato already in March and they are staying till the end of December, while Burccu and Marta arrived yesterday afternoon/evening and are staying till January 6^th 2012 like I am.

One thing I can’t wait to start with is learning Italian. Not many people I know in Prato so far speak English, so knowing Italian is absolutely essential. I’m improving my Italian every day little by little as Franco speaks with me almost only in Italian, but I often I don’t have a clue what he’s saying, so he either repeats everything or switches to English. Italian English. 

At this very moment, I’m not exactly clear with what’s waiting for me next week, but it looks like I won’t be involved in any activities yet, but I’ll have time to get to know my flatmates, the town, the people … just somehow get used to my new home. I've already registered at the library and I've been shown the local supermarket and the best gelateria in Prato. It's a pretty good start, isn't it?

Greets from sunny and hot Prato,

M.