Firsts: Part 1

First FAIL as an Italian school mom:  Yesterday (Tuesday the 8th) was a busy day.  It was Fat Tuesday, meaning the last day of Carnivale had arrived.  I think I need a lesson on how/when/why Carnivale exisists because it seemed like it was going on for weeks!  I also needed a good lesson about this tradition because I definitely was clueless about what Italian kids do on Fat Tuesday.  Apparently, you have a half-day of school, and the 3 hours of school you DO have are celebrated as a big costume party with snacks, and popcorn, and candy and lots of playing outside!  Did anyone think to inform me of this???  That would be a big Fat NO. 

So I take Ava to school yesterday, thinking it'll be like any other day, until I see a child entering school wearing a hoop-skirt Princess dress.  No kidding, she even had that big kind of cone hat with the fabric flowing out the top.  Hmmm..that's odd..she must be in a little school play in another class room.  We enter Ava's cubby area and encounter a small boy with a Zorro mask and red and black cape!  Then another girl comes around the corner with a lavish fairy costume complete with gauzy wings!  Ohhhh man, I see Ava's eyes growing bigger with each costume she sees. 

"Mom!  Why are they all wearing costumes???"
I stutter, I try to brush it off.  "Uhm...maybe they're having a party today for some reason?"
"But mom!  I don't have a costume!  What am I gonna do???" 
And her eyes start welling up.  Kill me now.  I'm the worst mother in Italy right now. 
"Eh...don't worry about it.  I'm sure they are in a different classroom than you."

And I walk her into her normal classroom, and FAIL again.  Every kid is dressed to the 9's.  I'm not positive, but since this is a private, Catholic asilo (preschool) it's kinda expensive.  So the parents who send their kids there have the dough to dish out a great Carnivale costume apparently!  Ava walks in clutching my hand, still on the verge of tears, her little lips trembling with each princess and butterfly she sees...but trying to be brave and not cry.  Her teacher comes up and says in Italian, something to the effect of "But Ava!  Where is your costume?  Did you not bring one?" And I decide not to translate that for Ava to understand.  I give her the normal hugs and kisses, and say in her ear before I leave "I'm so sorry baby...no one told me it was a costume party today.  We can have our own party when we get home later, ok?"  Like the amazing little girl she is, she just nods with some confusion and says "bye, mom". 

I know how badly she wants to fit in at school, to be able to talk to the kids, and today didn't help achieve those goals very well.  As I walked home a few minutes later, I had such a sinking feeling of how this is just one of those little things that makes living in a different country difficult.  But I also hope that it can help her see that deep down, we're still American, and still have a lot to learn about Italy and their traditions.  I prayed she would be confident in school, understanding that it's okay if we're different from other people, cause we can only be ourselves in the long run.  Maybe it's too much to expect learning such an important life-lesson at the age of 4...but having self-confidence is a necessary key to trying new things and going new places...something we're continually confronting in this kind of lifestyle!

Later on I picked up Ava from school and the kids were all outside on the playground.  I waited a minute to see how she was interacting with the other kids, or if she was just sitting in the corner feeling sorry about not having a costume.  To my surprise, there she was, hangin around with 4 little boys who all were fixed on her.  She stood before them, smiling coquettishly, and swingin her little scarf around her hand.  Who knows what they were trying to say to her, but it was clear: my little girl doesn't need any costume to get people's attention!  Her smile and sweet demeanor are more beautiful than any outfit she could ever wear! 
 
Coming up next:
First SUCCESS as an Ava-toting bicyclst:
First VISITORS from the States:

Clasping Comfort

As most parents will tell you, there is nothing like having a little child stand beside you and reach up their little hand, searching to find comfort in yours.  Ava and I have been back in Italy 2 weeks now, and I find we are doing so much better than when we first came here together over a year ago.  There is a familiarity, an understanding, a habit of doing things around our house.  This means we feel much more comfortable and at ease in such a short amount of time.

So far she and I have ventured into the Centro two times, just making our way and finding new things to see.  I'm glad when she doesn't mind waiting 15 minutes for the bus, because we just missed it pulling away from our stop!  She finds flowers to pick, or dances to create, or songs to sing.  She carries her own little bookbag on her back, asking for water or snacks when she needs them.  There is usually a game she wants to play with words and she does little half-skips down the sidewalk.  Of course, she's always on the lookout for dogs; she adores seeing them walking all around the city with their owners!  For the most part, she is a happy little companion, forever asking questions about the things we are discovering together hand-in-hand.  It's usually apparent after 2 hours of walking that she will get a little grumpy and tuckered out, but hey...most adults can't walk for 2 hours without needing at least a coffee break!

In a strange way I find it is easier for me to explore new places with Ava by my side, maybe even more so than if I was with another adult.  As a college student after the first few weeks of always walking around with one of my roomates, I started to venture around the city by myself...yet I never felt very safe or certain of straying from the main roads.  Guys would harass me, or workers would stop to stare.  But it's totally different walking around with Ava because no one really bothers me.  If anything we just get a nice smile or a "Ciao"!  Actually, it is rather strange for me to see many other mothers around my age who are out in the city with a child Ava's age.  I'm not sure of actual statistics, but it seems as though the average age of first-time mothers in Italy is somewhere around the mid-30s.  Seeing me and Ava walking down the street, might be a bit of an odd sight for the Italians, but certainly a welcome one from their kinda gazes.  As she and I clasp hands, we find comfort in each other while we explore this special city.

A Little Bit o' Bliss

Here are a few bullets of bliss I've found this Sunday...it's hard to believe these can occur on just one given day, but they are totally recognized and appreciated.

• Stayin in bed with cats, kittens, Ava and lots of cuddles until 11am.
• Opening the windows to find sunshine and a warm breeze.
• Having my first coffee in the garden, all by myself, while hearing the neighborly rooster crow, bells tolling nearby, birds chirping and our waterfall flowing



My favorite garden chair

• Drinking fresh squeezed blood orange juice that reminds me that God was so good to have created many delicious things in their most pure form.
• Wearing a hot pink sweater, bright blue scarf, and green leather jacket because sometimes we need a little more color in Italian fashion!!
• Watching Sissi's belly grow chubby because in about 20 days we might have kittens!
• Going into the center with Ava just for the purpose of riding the carousel two times.



Palazzo Vecchio and a perfectly blue sky

• Buying Ava the smallest gelato (she chose fragola--strawberry) and enjoying the 45 minutes it took her to eat it, without trying to rush her along.
• Listening to street musicians down tiny alleys where there were no tourists, Ava gave them a few coins, and did a little dance for one special guitarist.
• Taking a rest on a bench on the back side of the Duomo where it was strangely quiet and peaceful, and we could point out our favorite pieces of marble architecture.
• All the Italians are saying Spring will really start on Monday...somehow they just seem to know these things!

The first blossoms in our garden today

Waves, Bubbles and Raindrops

Waves of contentment are flowing over me these days.

Bubbles of happiness rise up in my heart and make me giggle.

Raindrops of springtime are fluttering on my eyelashes but I don't bat an eye.

On the steps of the Duomo

Our life in Italy is so unlike our lives in the States.  Not necessarily a far departure from our normal activities, but certainly different.  I think there are amazing kinds of "different" and difficult kinds of "different" and I find Italy holds both together, but not automatically in conflict.  This past week I've been reminded of how flexible one must be in this country.  Plans change, places are inevitably closed at an inconvenient time, but happy surprises appear around unexpected corners.


Ava started school this week and she is doing fantastically well, considering the challenge that looms over her being surrounded by 20 bambini who speak only Italian and are so curious about her.  Thankfully her teachers remember her, and were so happy to welcome her back into their little herd.  I'm not sure how much she's actually learning in the 4 hours she's at school each day, but I have a feeling it's a great kind of "different" education.  Still, we've been trying to do some "American" school work each day so she doesn't forget how fun it is to read in English!


She certainly has learned this past week what it's like to have a more active lifestyle in Italy. Walking from here, to there, to everywhere, her little legs are learning how to really walk and enjoy the exercise.  I find she is eating more, and trying new things more willingly.  Her ears are learning to decipher beautiful sounds from annoying noise.  She's presently sitting at our dining room table while Francesco and Gianni practice their Cuban music, and she's longing to sing along!  Last night she even accompanied us to a tango lesson where she was able to see me attempting to learn something new in Italian too! 
 
One thing I'm loving more and more is that the Florentines accept her presence in any place, without any problem!  In fact, she is usually the center of attention rather than being placed in the corner and expected to keep quiet.  The Italians coddle and admire her, encouraging her participation no matter the activity!  What a welcome difference!  She still feins shyness for the first 5 minutes of encountering a new face, but after that she is the silly little actress who loves the attention.  
 

 
Spring is just around the corner, and I feel so many fresh and new experiences coming into our surroundings.  Even our little black cat, Sissy, has a belly full of new life and we hope to welcome some baby kittens in April!!!  Waves of contentment, bubbles of happiness, raindrops of newness...

Dreaming of Speaking

Typical view of the table after a dinner party

So this weekend we also had a rather large party at our house, partly as another birthday celebration as well as a sort of "we're baaaaaaack" get-together so I could see many more friends and aquaintences (though in all honesty, we really don't need any excuse to throw a party around here!).  I also met some awesome new friends that Francesco has welcomed into his fold, and I can't wait to get to know them all better!  But while at this party, I suddenly found myself holding REAL conversations with people!  And some of these conversations were actually in ITALIAN!  Well, obviously we weren't delving into politics or metaphysics, but I was able to truly converse without needing a translator.  Jokingly I always say that my Italian speaking abilities improve substantially after several glasses of spumante, but I really don't think this was the case the other night.  My aural comprehension seems to have picked up where it last left off when I was here in October for 10 days.  And although I haven't been studying my Rosetta Stone in the last few months, I seem to just have soaked in a little more understanding of verbs and phrases that are important in daily use.  Maybe I've finally been able to shake off most of my embarrassment for not forming a sentence correctly?  Maybe in the week we've been here, I've conciously made an effort to be responding more in Italian instead of just listening?  Maybe after all the months of loneliness in Alaska inspired me to be more socially open?  Who knows what equasion needed to be sorted out, but at our party, I felt totally at ease walking around, attempting to talk to new people and not feeling one bit of bashfullness when someone else had to help me finish what I was trying to say!  What I found so wonderful were the people who encouraged me to keep going on with my comments in Italian instead of instantly trying to switch back to English.  I've been thinking about this so much, that last night I actually had my first dream in Italian!  People were speaking to me, I was understanding, and then I was translating in my head what I needed to say in Italian...it actually was really fascinating to remember such a dream.

Ava's practicing the all-important hand gestures in Italian!

I know without a doubt that it helps having Ava around because I can try to teach her words in Italian, and it just cements the words deeper in my own brain.  This week she is starting school, so I've been trying to help her with some simple phrases in case she really needs to communicate if something is wrong (ho freddo! il bagno?).  Not many of the teachers or other children in her class will speak much English, if any, and with her being such a vocal little girl, I hope she will adjust quickly without getting frustrated!  When I've been letting her watch a little TV the past few days, most of the time we have the option to watch in either language, and thankfully she's been asking to watch in Italian so she can learn more!  Several times I've asked her a question to which she has responded "Sì!" and I can't help but feel confident that she'll learn faster than I will, and soon she'll be dreaming in Italian too!    

Celebrate Good Times!

We are alive and well in Italy, as this amazing little picture proves, although the last few days have been overwhelming and I hardly know where to begin..so beware: this is a long post!  Well, most of the hullabaloo was centered around the fact that we are back again in Firenze, and also that it was my birthday on the 25th.  I basically had 3 parties in 2 days...so we're still somewhat recovering from the eventful weekend.

Our first few days here were spent mostly lounging around, sleeping when we felt like it, and getting adjusted to being back in Italy.  Thursday I took Ava on a nice long (yet still kinda chilly) walk to her school to see how long it will take by foot.  Last time we were here, I walked her in a stroller the 1 mile to school and 1 mile back again cause her little legs couldn't make the journey!  But now, another year older, we were able to make the trip in 40 minutes roundtrip!  Today we took Francesco's old bikes to the shop to be cleaned up, and to add a child's seat on the back of one...so this way we can make the trip even shorter once I feel confident riding the bike down our tiny (but very busy) road to school.   

Friday was my actual birthday, and thankfully our jet-lag had worn off, so we woke up at a normal 8:30am local time.  Ava and I promptly dressed and headed down the road to find some bus tickets to buy.  We found a small tabacchi (kind of like a convenience store) and I was proud to get what we needed, all in my very simple Italian!  The shop owner even gave Ava a piece of "schiaciattina" (salty bread) for free, which I find is a very common occurance here, and which Ava loves!  We boarded the bus and headed to Piazza San Marco, bundled up cause it's still only in the mid-40s here.  In the sunshine it is lovely, but in the "center" (as they call downtown) it's much colder among the old stone buildings and narrow streets. 

First we headed to Piazza Repubblica where they have Ava's favorite merry-go-round and enjoyed two rides together.  Then we walked over to my favorite panini stand called "I Due Fratellini" (the two brothers) that is quite literally a hole-in-the-wall, only big enough for 2 men to work side-by-side making simple sandwiches.  Thankfully we were there before the lunch rush, so we grabbed our mozzarella e prosciutto panini and walked to Piazza Signoria to sit and watch the tourists while we ate.  Ava made some great observations regarding the many naked statues in the loggia, and I had the opportunity to tell her again the popular Bible story as we sat viewing the famous sculpture of David. 

After this I knew her little legs were starting to get tired, so we headed back towards the Duomo when she asked to go inside.  I actually think it was colder inside the church, but Ava had never seen the amazing paintings inside Brunelleschi's incredible cupola (the actual dome).  Upon leaving the church a few minutes later, we randomly found a few friends and stopped to chat a bit.  This is something I love about Firenze..it can seem like a big city, but you are still able to bump into friends randomly!  Ava was really getting sleepy, so we headed to an American pastry shop in search of some brownies to take home (hey, it was my birthday, right?)  Taking the bus ride home was warm and quick, and soon we were making my favorite birthday cake that I had brought from the States...chocolate with lemon frosting (and Ava added the gummy alligators for some extra yummyness!)

That night I had a lovely dinner party with some of my closest friends, and with the addition of some new friends, the evening was enchanting!  A mixture of Italian and English floated around the table while wine flowed and food was happily consumed!  As is typical in my Italian home, music soon began to play, and Ava and I danced of course!  I couldn't have asked for a better Birthday to share with so many special places and people!

Ups and Downs

After being here a couple of days I am reminded that life in Italy is incredible, but no where close to being perfect as some might imagine!  Just as some idealize 'Il Bel Paese' (the beautiful country) others criticize it's current state of affairs (pun intended...anyone heard of Ruby lately?).  Today was such a day of ups and downs, as I'm sure the rest of our stay will continue in such a manner. 

It started on a negative note: mostly because of my lack of sleep.  Everyone else in the house was sleeping soundly while I was wide awake from 4 to 8am.  Once I finally fell asleep, an hour later I was awoken by jackhammer sounds.  No, it wasn't Ava snoring...I really think it was a jackhammer in the apartment next to our house.  At least they waited until 9am, but still...not the most pleasant way to be awoken after sleeping only 4 hours! The construction continued all morning, and it was actually a welcome excuse to go to the supermercato to buy some food.  This is saying A LOT, especially for me to WANT to go to an Italian supermarket, seeing as I usually have to mentally prepare myself for the upcoming chaos I know I will confront!

Well, this morning we hit the jackpot in the supermarket in more than one way.  First, it wasn't super crowded or noisy, and any pushy clientel and curt check-out ladies seemed to be missing today.  It was actually somewhat pleasant to hear Michael Buble crooning overhead while we decided what to cook for my birthday dinner!  On top of that, joy of all joys, I found peanut butter for the first time in an Esselunga!  The times are changing people!  Not only that, but I also found real, honest to goodness tortillas in the next aisle!  I was about to go into food shopping shock.  Then, to top it all off...just to make my negative feelings towards supermercatos flip into bliss, the check-out lady was actually smiling and laughing and joking with Ava!  Ahhh..I honestly thought I was nearing Nirvana.

A typical pasta aisle in Esselunga..a place close to Heaven, in my opinion

But the high couldn't last for long.  We arrived home and I realized Ava's bedroom was directly below all the jackhammering that was happening next door.  And her ceiling isn't made of plaster, but wooden beams that must be at least 600 years old, with bits of mud apparently holding it together.  There was dust and dirt ALL over her room.  Every nook and cranny was covered, as if Mt. Vesuvius personally erupted just in her room.  Awesome.  I started to clean it up after lunch, only to realize the construction would commence and more dust would cover her room.  I had to wait till 5pm when the workers left and it took almost 2 hours to get the dust contained and out of Ava's room so she could sleep without suffocating on ash all night!

How I felt after cleaning up all that dust!

Well, life in Italy can be wonderful, exciting, beautiful and I'm sure I will have so many wonderful moments here with Ava!  But it also has it's drawbacks, difficulties and distruptions, just like any other place in the world!  

Playing in Sunshine

We are here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Three in Italy has officially started again, and below is a pictorial representation offered by Ava with three flowers she picked in honor of the reunion!

Once we recover from the jet-lag and 10 hour time difference, I promise to write some more!  For now, I can say we are so happy to be back in Italy, enjoying some sunshine and temperatures that are actually above freezing!!  Spring is certainly just around the corner in Italy.  Today while Francesco was playing tennis, I took Ava to a park so she could get some wiggles out, and hopefully get to bed at a decent time!  Here's to hoping there won't be many more days of falling asleep at 9pm, waking up at 4am, falling back asleep at 5am, and sleeping until 10am!  A presto, amici!

Resting in Rain

Wow...just 3 days until we will be back in Firenze!  Can I just say I'm excited, thrilled, ecstatic, tickled, and enchanted to be flying back?  Ok...I said it.  But I'm also trying to conserve a bit of the delight so that we can rest up for the next week which will be crrrrazy.  We flew into Seattle this past Monday and spent the day with my sister and her kiddos.  How strange it is to be out of the Alaskan snow, and back into traffic jams!  So it's here Ava and I have been resting in the rain, watching movies, chillin out for the last few days in the States, enjoying all the joys that the 'lower 48' offers us.  We're also saying last goodbyes to our friends in the Pacific Northwest, getting to spend a little time with our favorite girl from Oregon, and heading up to Seattle to make some good memories together!   

new Kitty rain gear!

Sunday we depart for the non-stop 10 hour flight over to Paris, then we'll hop down to Firenze where the jetlag and 9 hour time adjustment will commence! I already know our first week back in Italy will be a busy but very fun one!  Besides the task of unpacking and settling in the first few days, we'll have a dinner party, lunch with my adopted Italian 'family', and my birthday party with dancing, music, and lots of fun!  Then, on top of the plans we've already made, I just realized there will be a Dance Fair in Firenze the first weekend we're around!  It's 4 days of workshops, performances and auditions for all kinds of dance in Italy...you can check it all out here!   Seriously, could a girl like me ask for anything more?  It makes one just want to faint with elation!  So I better go rest a little bit more before I overexert myself from the anticipation of it all...

A presto, Firenze!

Soon I'll be taking in this view, listening to these familiar sounds, feeling that I've come home again!