90 days

 Today marks the beginning of 90 days to wait in the Alaskan winter until our 90 days of Italian Spring!  Three months till our next three months!  And what better way to celebrate than having a Christmas-movie-hot-chocolate-pajama day at home!  Well, Ava's school is closed today and tomorrow because of dangerous ice conditions here...something that apparently never happens.  I mean, they allow Ava to play outside for recess until -20 degrees, and would never think of canceling school!  But I guess it's so dangerous outside, they don't want anyone on the roads.

I feel confident that the next 90 days will move along quickly.  This week is Thanksgiving, soon it will be the Winter Solstice (I think we get about 4 hours of daylight at that point) and before we know it, Christmas will be here!  Quickly the New Year will be upon us, Ava will finish up her school in February, and on Valentine's Day we'll be in Seattle!  One week there, then we're off to Italy!  I don't know about you...but it seems like Spring is just around the corner!

Driving through Glitter

Two interesting things I noted today.

1.  It was -8 when I drove Ava to school this morning (that would be -22 celcius).  Brrrr and more brrrr.  I'm quickly realizing I need a full-fledged face-mask if I need to be outside more than 2 minutes.  But that's not the main thing I noticed this morning.  Recently I've heard some newly initiated Alaskans talking about how sparkly the snow is here, compared to other places.  I didn't really believe it...snow is snow right?  And after an additional 4 inches of snow the other day, we're just happy when it's out of our way so we can get where we gotta go!  But while I was driving, at 8:30am with darkness all around, I saw that it was snowing very lightly.  So lightly, that you could only see it falling in front of the car headlights and under the still-shining street lamps.  And it looked like minuscule diamonds.  It looked like we were driving through silver glitter.  Now, I'm not thrilled to be here in Alaska for the next 3 months, but if that's the beauty I get to see every morning, I don't really mind at all.  I will never doubt or forget how the snow really does sparkle here.

2. And then, funny enough, my Italian Rosetta Stone lesson was 'Caldo e Freddo' today...hot and cold.  Perfetto! Just what I needed to be reminded about: how cold I was, and how warm I wish I was!  hehehe!  Now I can confidently proclaim "Fa freddo in inverno!"  It's cold in the winter! and "Fa freddo e questa gente porta cappelli e sciarpe"  It's cold and these people wear hats and scarves! and "La gente gioco nella neve quando fa freddo"  The people play in the snow when it is cold!  Like I said...perfect lesson for today!

Tippity tapping to Tango



Painting by Andre Kohn

 So for anyone who hasn't seen all my updates on FB, yes...the somewhat repetitive videos of tango dancing and music, it's safe to say that I'm quickly becoming a serious, full-fledged tanguera.  My little fingers have been tippity-tapping all over the internet, looking for inspiring and educational information about this new obsession of mine.  But where did this new love, or rather...love affair, come from so suddenly? 

I've begun dancing ballet again, and it feels great (and terribly painful at the same time!) to get back into the studio and do something I've always loved.  But I couldn't help but jump for joy when I saw there were going to be Argentine tango lessons for 4 weeks this month!  I had always been intruiged about tango and when I went to my first milonga (meeting of tango dancers) when I was in Italy, I knew I had to learn this form of dancing.  There is just something so different about tango that I wanted to understand, to feel, to experience.  I've never done any form of partner dancing like salsa, so this whole idea of dancing with another person and having to be led by my partner is totally foreign to me.  I'm used to standing on my own two feet in ballet, going where I like, when I want, how I feel like moving! 

Well, I am in no way going to be a tango expert anytime soon, but I have a feeling all my years of ballet will help me progress quickly.  Some say tango just looks like walking, yet it takes years to become a great tanguera.   I really hope to continue learning this art form in any way possible.  One encouragement will be getting out of Alaska and finding another place to learn tango, of which I'm confident I'll be able to find in Firenze.  There seems to be a rather active tango life in Italy, and I'd love to learn from teachers who actually have studied proper Argentine tango in Buenos Aires.  Just today I found this on-line and again I had to jump for joy:

                                           You better believe I'll be there!!!

E' Ufficiale!!!

Tira Via!!!  Gnamo!!!  Ancoraaaaaaaa!  3 in Italy is happening again!  We have just bought tickets to return to Italy for another 3 months, and I couldn't be more happy.  It will have been over a year since Ava and I first traveled to Firenze together, and now we're headed back.  And this time we'll have the opportunity to experience the city in the Spring.  Yeah, it will probably be rainy and chilly, but hey...it won't be -20 and snowing non-stop like it will be in Alaska!  Well, I can handle rain with the right outfit, and it's just about time I find a cute pair of Italian-chic-rainboots.  (But seriously, do I ever really need an excuse to buy another pair of shoes?  Uhm...not at all.)

While the climate and weather will be different from our last experience, I'm thinking many things will be somewhat the same.  That's a comfort for anyone with a kid in a new place...some familiarity and routine always help get things settled!  I'm hoping there will be an open place for Ava at the same school she attended last year.  And then while she is at school, I'm hoping to finally take some formal Italian lessons!  For the past year I've been fiddling around with Rosetta Stone, a version that is at least 10 years old.  It's helped me learn a lot of great nouns and verbs, but I still don't feel like I can form my own sentences correctly without taking 10 minutes to translate a phrase in my head!  Maybe if I have a real instructor, I'll finally get on my way to starting the long journey towards my most difficult hurddle of learning a second language. 

And so what's with the pig statue above?  It's the famous porcellino  in Firenze's Mercato Nuovo.  Many travelers go up to this wild boar and rub his nose to ensure they will return to Firenze again.  Hence the nice, shiny snout!  So the question is: was I ever superstitious enough to rub his little nose in the past times I've visited?  How have I had the good fortune of returning to such an amazing place where I've met incredible people and had indescribable experiences?  Hmm...maybe like the porcellino, I'll just sit here and smile and contemplate luck...and...what I'm going to pack!

Sweet life?

After indulging on yummy Halloween candy over the weekend, I'm not really looking for anything sweet for the next few days!  But I heard an interesting bit today on PRI while driving around.  They were talking about the iconic film "La Dolce Vita" and the face-lift it has recieved after 50 years.  The image of the sweet life in Italy still lives in the hearts of foreigners everywhere, exemplified in this artfully eccentric film that continued to open the eyes of Americans to 'the sweet life' the Italians claim.  And I think we, as Americans, commonly idolize the Italian ability to enjoy life, wine, food, and art.  To acknowledge simplicity with passion.  To combine family and tradition with a side of modernity.  But how true is it all for Italians today?  With reports of the current Italian economy and politics swimming in my head, I'm curious how the image inside as well as outside of Italy has changed over the years.  Check out this link, clicking on the small play button (next to the tweets tag) to listen to the report... here.