These days, we’re in the middle of an Indigenous People’s Summer, l’Italiano l’estate or a Tuscan Autumn, whatever you call it here. It is mostly sunny to partly cloudy and reasonably warm which means it’s 15 to 23 most days. I’m really enjoying it. We’ll have a couple days of wind and rain to make you lose your mind but soon enough the sun is back. Nothing like what it should be or what Portland is normally like this time of year. I’ve heard it’s not typical and I’m being spoiled, but I deserve it. And with the office hours we keep, 9am to 6pm, it’s at least bright when I walk to the office and I have a window so I’m not stuck in the perpetual night of this time of year.
On Saturday I met my co-workers Lothar and Shazia in the morning down in the main piazza. They live about 15 kilometers out of town (Ancona’s Hillsboro?) and had come in to do a bit of shopping. The weather was again perfect and it seemed like everyone from town as well as the surrounding areas was in the square doing what Italians love to do. Namely, stroll up and down the street, shop, talk and drink coffee. Quite a sight to see a few thousand people all out and about for no specific event or reason. I would call it impromptu but since it happens all the time that doesn’t really fit. It’s really what I love best about being here – the constant gathering of people just to walk and talk and see each other. It’s so cliché but there is such a strong sense of community. The kids always gather in the same couple of places. The old folks have their benches and cafes and everyone else just strolls around stopping to talk to everyone they know and getting caught up on the latest.
I was meeting some friends later that night for dinner and on my way to catch the bus (yes, I have figured out how to use the local bus system) to meet them I passed a woman playing a violin. She was really quite good too. There was a light fog in the air, and she was standing in front of an old building along one of the main shopping streets. People were stopping to listen and if it hadn’t been such a beautiful moment I would have laughed at how much of a postcard moment it was. I half expected Mickey Mouse or some other fictional creature to pop out and lead us all to Paris-land or something. It was as if someone had been told to describe their idea of the typical evening in a small Italian town and it had magically come to life.
Dinner was good. It was three couples and me so I felt like a bit of a gate crasher which is not a new feeling since arriving. I’ve realized I’m becoming a terrible listener. When everyone starts to speak Italian I tune out and my mind starts wandering. It’s almost automatic. Sometimes I don’t even notice right away when it has switched back to English and I’m being asked a question.
I’m still not used to the way dinner is served here. The antipasti/appetizer section I get although would it be so hard to offer some wings or a plate of nachos. The appetizer concept has been perfected by Americans. But then comes pasta, which in a decent portion, could be dinner. After the pasta comes meat and just meat. If you want anything with it you order separately like it’s a fancy steak house, but this is everywhere. Who wants to eat just meat? Put a couple beans on the plate and call it good. And after that comes salad. The meal is just organized wrong but it works for them and they’re a country and I’m a foreigner so I’ll keep my criticism to myself and this post. And at this point I would kill for a good blue cheese dressing on my salad. I have to admit that it’s nice not to have to listen to the cameriere (waiter) list off the 9 dressings since all salads only come dressed with oil and vinegar. Oh but then there is the prosciutto. All sins are forgiven when they serve me the prosciutto plate.
I’m starting to get a little bored with life here which perversely, I’m a little excited about. A month or so ago I never would have thought that was possible. I was in such a complete state of shock and bewilderment over it all. Everything was either an adventure or a trial and it felt like so much work to accomplish even little chores that I was too pre-occupied to be bored. But now life has settled into a bit of a routine around going to work, doing things in the evening, going out on the weekend. I am impatient to learn the language better to make getting around easier and to help with making more friends but that will come. What used to feel like a 30 foot wall with no way over now feels like a 15 foot wall with a chance to climb it somehow. We’re studying prepositions right now and they are a beast. There aren’t rules for when to use certain ones and why, you just have to learn it. Anyway, with the boredom comes the desire to start exploring a bit. Between buses and trains I think once I have a few things figured out I should be able to be fairly mobile. There are a lot of towns within a few hours of Ancona for good weekend and day trips. Even Rome is just three hours away. Breakfast in Ancona, lunch at the Vatican, dinner back in Ancona. Doesn’t sound too bad.
I wonder what Eric is doing right now?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment