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.