Already?....Not Ready

Christmas is upon us, and so is our departure.  How can I express the joy of one, and the dread for the other?  The last weeks since Thanksgiving, I have been feeling out of the holiday spirit.  There was no crazy Black Friday experience here in Italy.  Not too many holiday commercials on the tv, displaying consumerism to its fullest.  No one even had Christmas lights out until this week.  Well, this week the real Christmas feelings started to arrive, and I feel ready for Christmas now.  This week I found Francesco had a fake tree in his basement, so Ava and I acted as Santas Elves and set up his tree while he was at work one evening.  What a fun surprise!  We also set up his "presepio" that night (not sure of that spelling, but it is a nativity) complete with "carte stelle" (shiny blue paper with silver stars as a background), and a big glittery gold star pointing to the baby Jesus.  He even added moss around their feet and made sure the Magi were not too close to arriving to the baby Jesus.  Apparently the Magi arrive on January 6th and this is another day that Italians have a national holiday and give presents to children!  It is fun seeing and hearing how they celebrate Christmas a little differently than we do.  More people are putting up Christmas lights now, and driving around the city at night is absolutely beautiful, particularly in the old center where strings of lights hang between many buildings, covering the streets with canopies of light.  With the Christmas feelings more subdued around here, I really get the impression that the focus of the holiday is a little less "uncluttered" and it doesnt give the impression of excess like I have often felt in the States.  But who knows...it is just my outsider impression so far!

So onto the not-so-happy evaluation of this time period:  I can not believe it is already our last week here in Firenze.  The three months leading up to our arrival in September seemed to drag on, day after day, making weeks feel like years.  And now that we have been here almost 3 months now, I can not think of where the time went!  To be perfectly honest, I am rather upset that the time has seemed to fly by so quickly.  Why are there moments in our lives that we want to pass so quickly, and the days drag on just to spite us?  This is how I felt when I was pregnant with Ava.  Each day, each month, never seemed to end.  I just wanted to hold her in my arms (and allow my body to feel normal again!) and see my little girls face for the first time.  But noooo...the 9 months were an eternity for me.  And boom, three years later here we are in a foreign country.  I wanted nothing more than for these three months to go slowly.  I hoped the time would feel like those pregnant months where I could count the hours until the end of the day....yet be completely happy that time had slowed, instead of feeling anxious and frustrated that Father time decided to slow his clock for us. 

Well, I have to admit I am proud of being able to do practically nothing for three months, and yet feel so contented and happy with how we spent our time.  We allowed our days to be leisurely...we had many, many evenings with friends and food....and if we did not get to do something one day, we always had the next day or the day after to do it (weather permitting, of course!).  These last three months I have slept more, and more peacefully, than I have in the last 3 year.  I have read a total of 5 classic books here.  I have sat for multiple hours, on multiple days, playing with my little girl without feeling like I had something else I just HAD to do instead!  After 3 long years I was able to sit down and finally finish sewing Ava's needlepoint stocking so she can use it this Christmas!!!  Heck, I was even able to hold some small conversations with Italians since I have learned to understand so many more nuances of the Italian language simply by watching TV in English with Italian subtitles! 

Some could say we came here to waste time, have fun, and have a vacation.  That's true.  But we also did so much that enriched our lives, and made the bond between me and Ava grow in a different way.  Some days all we had was eachother as companions.  Other days we were surrounded by people who came to love us, and we learned how to love them.  We both had days that we cried because we couldn't speak Italian.  We both had days where we just wanted a good dose of American food, so we went to McDonalds!  We both loved to look at the beauty in this country and practically every day Ava would point out some lovely hillside or a funny dog, or a great gelateria!  We have kept our eyes open these three months as well as our hearts.  Firenze entered into both, and will stay with us forever through photos and friendships!  Now, we come back to the beginning...figuring how to pack 3 months worth of things back into our suitcases...but we'll get to that tomorrow...weather permitting, of course.

Going to School

From the eyes of Ava, interpreted by her mommy...

Some mornings my mom comes into my room, opens up the windows and sings our morning song.  She says it is time to wake up so I can go to school.  Some mornings I do not really wanna wake up.  But my mom pulls my legs out from my blankets, and starts putting on my socks.  My clothes are always chilly in the morning and I do not like it.  Most days I do not really like the clothes my mom puts on.  I want to wear my ballerina dresses and jelly shoes to school every day.  But mom always says it is too cold to wear my dresses.  Ugh.  Then my mom asks me what I want my hair to do today...lately I always want two braids.  Sometimes I like a high bun.  I do not like her to brush my long hair...it always hurts to get the knots out.  But mom says she will cut off all my long hair if I do not let her brush it.

Then we go into the kitchen and I ask to have chocolate for breakfast.  It never works.  Mom gives me cereal, but all I want to do is drink the milk.  Mom goes to get her clothes on, and I sit in the kitchen and play (even though I should be eating my cereal).  Sometimes the cats come into the kitchen and want food.  Sometimes they want to go outside.  It is hard to open the door to the garden, but I try to turn the key so the cats can go outside.  Gordi is the fat cat.  Trillo is the skinny cat.  Bella Trilly is the mommy cat.  Junior is the crying cat who lives outside.  I really like all of our cats.

Mom comes to tell me it is time for shoes and jackets.  She gets out my stroller and I make her get me a sippy cup of juice and my blankie for the ride to school.  She tells me to hold my sleeves to put on my sweater and fuzzy vest.  I hate when my sleeves get all bunched up in my sweater!  I ask for my scarf my Auntie Laura made me and I put on my bear gloves and my fingers always go in the wrong holes.  Ugh.  Then mommy buckles me in the stroller and we are ready to walk to school.

Most mornings there are lots and lots of cars on our street.  I yell at them when they get too close.  I like to say the Italian names of the colors for all the cars parked on the street.  Sometimes I forget the color green, so I have to ask my mom.  There are a lot of blu cars...and a lot of rosso cars...and I like to say their colors.  We go on the really bumpy sidewalk.  Sometimes there is lots of dog poo on the sidewalk, and one time my mom rolled over it with my stroller.  That was really stinky.  I like to put my hands out and touch the light poles when we go close to them.  Sometimes I try to pull the tall plants by the sidewalk that get in my face and I yell at them "Vai!" and "Basta!"

We go by the big bus stop.  Sometimes there is a bus sitting there, sometimes there is not.  But then I know the big dog is coming.  At the gas station by the bus stop, the big black dog is there with the lady.  Sometimes other grown ups are there talking with the lady, but I just like to see the big black dog.  I yell when I see the black dog, and he always looks at me!  Mommy pushes the stroller past the big dog, but always slows down.  One time he tried to sniff my hand.  We always say "Buongiorno!  Ciao cane!" and the lady says "Buongiorno" too.

After the big dog, I look for the two green bottles of water.  For some reason people leave two big plastic bottles of water outside their door of their house.  I always ask my mom why they do that.  She does not know, she says.  I think it is funny to keep water outside in those two green bottles.  Then we keep walking and I drink my juice from my sippy.  Mom only lets me use sippys when I am going to school.  Then we see the old lady standing in her door way.  I am not sure if she likes me.  She always stands by her door, looking for someone.  I do not know who she is waiting for.  But my mom says "Buongiorno" to her, and she looks at me and says something in Italian.  My mom says she told me I was beautiful.  But I do not know if I like her. 

We keep going on the bumpy sidewalk.  Sometimes there are old ladies who are still in their pajamas who are walking too slow on the sidewalk.  They have bags of trash in their hands.  Mom goes around them.  Then we go by the car shop.  Sometimes it is really loud, and mom says they are fixing cars there.  Lots of guys are standing on the sidewalk and move out of the way when they see me.  Mom pushes me faster.  Then we come to the really small road.  Sometimes the cars drive on the sidewalk, and I yell at them to move!  We go by the store with the computers and look for the brown dog.  I think sometimes he stands in the doorway, and sometimes he is sleeping in the store.  I say "Ciao cane!" to him too.  He always looks tired. 

There is a lady who walks by me every day.  She looks serious, and does not smile at me.  Then we see the old man with a green bag.  He has legs like the old man in the bank at the end of Mary Poppins.  He stops so we can go around him...and I think he smiles at me.  I do not like the old man in Mary Poppins, but I like this old man with the green bag.  When we are almost to my school, my mom crosses the street with lots of cars.  We get to my school and I take one more sip of juice.  My mom takes me out of the stroller, and rings the bell for the door.  I like to hop up the 8 steps and the old lady in the office always says "Ciao bellissima!"  She wears a funny black dress and a big black hat that goes over her shoulders. 

Then my mom takes me to my classroom.  We go to my cubby and take off my coat, gloves, scarf and sweater.  I go into my classroom and my teachers say "Good morning, Ava!"  I give my mom a big hug and a kiss on both her cheeks.  I ask if I can stay with the kids for lunch.  Most of the time my mom says yes.  I give her another big hug and say "Ciao mama, I will be a good girl to stay at school with my teachers!" and then my mom says she loves me and goes away.  I do not know how to speak Italian, but my mom says I am learning.  All the other kids speak Italian.  My teachers speak a little English.  But I like going to school.  I will ask my mom if I can go to school tomorrow.

Tacchino, per favore?

 So for those who have not seen all my bragging on my Facebook page, here I can gloat again about my fantastic attempt at making a Thanksgiving meal in Italy, with only 4 days to organize, prepare, and cook it all!  At first, I thought of inviting maybe 4 to 6 of our closest friends to the little get-together.  I nice sit-down dinner for 6 to 8 people seemed manageable, considering this would be a first attempt, and who knows what ingredients I would be able to find.  But of course, when in this country, nothing can be small, quiet, and simple.  So before I knew it, we had at least 9 people to invite, with 2 others on the waiting list!  First, I thought of the "table-scape", as Sandra Lee calls it, because at least if the food didn't taste good, we could all be sitting around a lovely table with some good wine and conversation!  I found a great little craft from the Family Fun magazine online and made Indian head dresses and Pilgrim hats as napkin rings to add a little bit of whimsy to the table.  Thankfully I had been saving old cereal boxes, knowing at some point I would use them for something!  Ava helped by coloring some cardboard for the feathers and giving me encouragement by saying "ooooh, ahhh...good job, mommy" while I made 10 total!  They also had some great little print outs for place settings, and some Thanksgiving themed leaves, pumpkins, etc that I placed on the table to make sure everyone knew it was Thanksgiving!

I found some good, simple recipes online, and made sure that the ingredients included would be easily accessible here in Italy.  Or that I could at least find something similar in the markets here.  Most of the morning on Tuesday and Wednesday I was in the supermarket, searching for just the right ingredients.  One good thing about making a Thanksgiving meal here in Italy, is that there isn't all the crazy-mad-pre-Thanksgiving rush that you get in the States.  By Wednesday we decided to go on the "turkey hunt" and if we found one, we'd try to cook a real, honest-to-goodness American turkey.  If we couldn't find one, we would buy a little turkey roll to serve as the "honorary turkey" and then make some roast beef, etc.  Well, after searching several machellerias in the area, we figured we would only find a turkey at the Mercato Centrale...the main, big, fresh food market of Firenze.  But passing by our neighborhood mercatino (a small open air market in a little square near the house), we stopped to ask a butcher if he could give us any leads on a place selling whole turkeys.  He promptly replied that he had one!  In fact, believe it or not, "some American woman ordered 2 turkeys, picked one up yesterday, and will pick up the other one on Thursday...you can have her extra one today, and we'll order another one for that lady for tomorrow!"  I couldn't believe our luck.  What made it even more unbelievable was that it was the perfect, 15lb (almost 8kg) turkey we needed to serve about 10 people!  Coming from a girl who doesn't handle raw poulty except to put a boneless, skinless chickenbreast in the pan, I surprised myself when I found I was admiring and loving that huge turkey with more pride and excitement than I have ever felt for a piece of food!  I literally was beaming as they chopped off the ends of the legs and part of the wings so the big bird could fit in our tiny oven!

With the turkey found, we went on to find sweet potatoes (patate americana, I think they are called here) at Mercato Centrale for a ridiculous price, and I even found some cranberry preserves (mirtilli rossi) at the Esselunga near the jelly section!  So, after much planning, organizing, and preparing, I set to work cooking my first big meal!  Wednesday night I made the stuffing (completely from scratch!), the artichoke dip appetizer, and chopped all the veggies I would be using the next day.  Thursday afternoon I picked up my pie and was so grateful that all the stores were open on Thanksgiving for those last minute purchases I needed to make.  I promptly prepared my beautiful turkey and had it in the oven at 4:30pm.  Ava eventually went down for a nap around that time because I knew we would be up late with our friends, since dinner was scheduled for 8:30pm.  In a mad rush we were able to borrow a lovely tablecloth from our neighbor, and I finished setting the table.  At 7pm I started the side dishes of fresh greenbeans with onions, sweet potato cubes with honey, reheated the stuffing, and kept an eye on my turkey!  Our friends began arriving at 8:00, the turkey was browned and ready to sit at 8:30 and we enjoyed snacks and drinks until pictures were taken of my pride and joy, as well as all our other guests at the table!

 

So, amazingly with the help of our neighbor's oven, all my careful planning with timing, and my close attention to the recipes I was following, the dinner was ready for us to eat!  I loved how American my table looked, with my familiar foods and silly historical refrences to the first Thanksgiving...yet it was still Italian, too.  There were at least 4 bottles of wine on the table.  There was a beautiful mixture of Italian and English being spoken around the table.  And a friend of mine asked as we were ready to dig in, "What do you eat first?" since in Italy there always seems to be a "first" and "second" to a meal...and I just replied "You just eat it all!" like a typical American.  I sat with anticipation to see if people were actually eating the food I prepared.  I tasted everything on my plate quickly to make sure all the dishes were somewhat edible.  The carved turkey arrived, and everyone was so excited to use the "Alaskan Smoked Salt" that my mother had sent to me.

Well, at this point I'm not sure if my friends were just being kind, but they all said it was good eating. Some even went as far to say I'm a natural cook, since this was my first dinner I ever really prepared all by myself!  I think several had tasted other versions of Thanksgiving meals in their past, but said my interpretation was rather good!  Regardless of all the work I did, the saving grace to the evening was the moist turkey, the pre-bought pumpkin pie that was perfection, and the wonderful company who have made me so thankful to be here in Italy! 

Yes, it's true.

Yes, we have already confirmed that I am crazy.  Sì, we already know I'm up for a challenge.  Oui, I seem to have totally lost my mind.  And what has spurred on all these strange affirmations?  I have made a ridiculous decision: to make a Thanksgiving meal in Italy.  First off, I've never been a huge fan of Thanksgiving.  Everyone in my family will tell you my favorite part of the day is watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Everyone in my family will tell you the only part of the Thanksgiving meal that I really enjoy are the rolls and the cranberry jelly that comes out of a can.  So why should I make this attempt?  Because it's true...I'm crazy.  Ciao, mi chiamo Carol e io sono pazzo!

The best part of this whole situation is three-fold.  Uno--I have never made a Thanksgiving meal.  Due--I really don't know how to cook.  Tre--Even if I were to attempt a Thanksgiving meal in America, it would be with cans of pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce from a jar, rolls from Pillsbury, pigs-in-a-blanket for hors d'oeuvres, and a turkey that I would insist someone else cooked.....all of which are impossible to find in Italy.  Well, there is heresay on my favorite Expat blog (Expats in Italy: the best place to find out everything you want to know about the realities of living in Italy!) that many items can be found around the city, but I only have 3 days until Turkey day and haven't been scouring the local supermarkets for any of these kinds of items!  I only made this irrational decision on Saturday night when I realized Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and I hadn't made any plans.

Well, at least I have one main item taken care of so far.  I found an American bakery in the center and ordered a pumpkin pie!  (Seen above from the Sugar and Spice bakery webpage)  I don't know about you, but in my opinion, it's not really Thanksgiving if there isn't at least a pumpkin pie...and I didn't want to mess that part up!  I've found recipies and advice on how to make your own pie from real pumpkins, but the Italian pumpkins aren't even the same as American pumpkins!  Additionally, all the spices required in such recipes are apparently very difficult to find in Italy and most Americans celebrating over here have brought Libbys Pumpkin pie filling and all-spice over here months before! 

So, my next task is to figure out what staples of the meal I want to attempt, and then improvise like crazy.  I realize now that this is something I've learned to do very well while living abroad.  You kinda learn that nothing you would love to do, or love to have, or try to attempt will be the same in Italy.  It takes a certain mindset to realize "Yeah, this is what I would do in America, and it would be so easy to do blah, blah, blah, but here.....hmmm....how can I make this work?"  As long as I remember that my experience here is not supposed to be like living in America, then I can just brace myself for the reality that most things here will have to be a challenge.  Thankfully I'm surrounded by people who have lived here their whole lives, so they can point me in reasonable directions and give me a hand.  Thankfully I still can get around the city with my broken Italian and a feel for the layout of the streets.  Thankfully I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to planning a holiday meal for my Italian friends who hopefully don't know any better!!!!

In the next few days my brain will be planning this little feast and we'll see if anyone even shows up!  If nothing else, I'll buy a turkey roll from the nearest Macelleria (butcher shop), roast some potatoes with rosemary, cook some green beans with butter and garlic, pick up my pie from the bakery, and call it my very own American/Italian Thanksgiving Day Feast!  Then I will set the table, force Ava to eat some turkey, and ask her what we are thankful for...and remember what she says!

Keepin Up

It's so sad to realize it's been almost a month since I last blogged!  It's really true that time flies when you're having fun...and on the run...and eating a ton....and enjoying the Autumn sun....and ok I'll stop.  On one hand it feels like we're always doing something, meeting new people, trying new things.  On the other hand we have lots of time lounging around at home, spending time with friends or family, and enjoying a nice routine here.  Sometimes it seems like we are living in a stolen reality...that this really can't all be happening.  Other times it seems that this is the way a happy life could be...and it truely is la dolce vita!

Since I last blogged about Ava going to school now, we've fallen into a really nice schedule and routine.  Monday through Friday we get up at 8am, have a quick breakfast, and I walk Ava in her stroller about 1km to her school.  Some mornings that kilometer feels like 10, but Ava is always so happy and excited to arrive to school and greet her teachers and her new friends.  There are a couple of little girls in particular who always run up to her, touch her hair and admire her like she is a foreign Princess who has arrived in their little world.  Ava quickly dismisses me, (her humble servant) with the wave of her hand, a kiss on both cheeks and always a very loud "CIAO MAMA, Ciao!  Bye...I'll see ya later...CIAO!!!"  I crack up every morning she does this.

Lately she's been insisting on eating lunch with her classmates in school.  This has it's benefits in that it gives her more time with the kids, and I hear she actually eats all her lunch (probably for fear that the poor peasants in her class will attempt to steal her food before she has finished and she will be left without any cake)!  I am just happy I don't have to make her lunch and sit with her for an hour, pleading her to eat her veggies.  And I also get an extra hour of freedom from her royal highness...hehe!  I pick her up promptly at 1pm and she is escorted back home by carriage where we arrive to our house for a leisurely nap!  Life is good. 

Since my last post Halloween came and went.  It's not very popular here in Italy, but we were invited by our neighbor to a little party at her house.  Our neighbor had lived in America for several years, and loved the holiday, so she was happy to have some Americans to share it with and she pulled out all the stops with carved pumpkins, candy, decorations, and wonderful fall food.  The little girl had two options for dressing up for Halloween mainly because I didn't want to buy or make a costume and decided to improvise with the clothes we had brought here with us.  So she could have been a black cat, or a ballerina.  After much deliberation, she natrually chose to be a ballerina for the night.  Below is Ava with our neighbor, Miss Carla, who was a great hostess for a truely American Halloween party!

So week after week we've been keeping busy with school, going to our Saturday lunches with the family, and having "Aunties" pick Ava up for some play time at least once a week.  We also have been able to bring Ava out some nights to hear Francesco play with his Cuban music group.  She absolutely is enthralled to watch the musicians, hear the live music, watch all the other adult Italians who smile and dote on her, and of course....dance!  This past week we brought Ava to the tango night again.  It was the same place we visited when we first arrived here to the city and it was wonderful to watch all the couples tango, hear the unique music, and stay up WAY past bedtime!  Another night we went to a tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurant where she received many admiring smiles and encouraging "Brava"s as she danced and sang her heart out! 

It's strange to think that in less than 4 weeks we'll be flying back to America.  Things will certainly be different going back to the states, but for the moment I hope we can keep enjoying the uniqueness of our experience here.  I hope to keep more up to date with the blog now we have a nice routine, and would love to write more from Ava's perspective on this adventure!  As Ava says everyday when we leave her school with a smile and a wave..."A domani!"

Pisa and Preschool!

Well, this past week has been rather exciting!  Fall is in full swing here, and the crisp cool weather is wonderful, though a little bit inhibiting.  When having to walk places with Ava in her stroller, the brisk temperature is lovely for about 5 minutes, and then our fingers and noses begin to freeze.  So, we've been trying to have fun indoors when possible, and keeping bundled when we go out.  I think Saturday was the last day of "sweater warmth" (when it's just warm enough to wear a sweater and feel lovely without being too chilly).  We went to our usual family lunch and afterwards the Aunties insisted I go walk in the center of the city while they played with Ava.  So I went shopping and Ava had a blast with her friends.  Sunday was sunny but with lots and lots of strong winds.  We went to an antique fair in the Fortezza park where there were many overly-priced old items.  I found a cute fedora for only 5€ but besides that, there wasn't too much that caught my eye.  While looking around, we got very hungry and Ava began whining for some food.  We found a near-by food stand and we ate a hotdog that was prepared in the most interesting way....with nothing on it, but mayonnaise!  I figured ordering a hot dog was a safe bet for Ava, and then here it came with a nice crispy bun, and tons of mayo!  Surprisingly, it was super tasty.  Ava loved it and made a mess.  The rest of the afternoon we spent at home, trying to keep warm from any drafts blowing in the house. 

Monday was a busy, wonderful day.  In the morning we went to the near-by preschool (called an Asilo, here) to see if Ava could enter for the remaining 2 months we will be here.  We had planned on taking her to an english-speaking school on Saturdays for 4 hours, but it turned out to be too much trouble, too far away, and too much money.  So, in a 15 minute walk, Ava can go to a school run by Italian Nuns with lots of Italian children who speak Italian!  They had no problem with her staying only 2 months, and she is able to go to school every Monday to Friday from 9am to 12pm!  We met the teachers, one of whom speaks English, and saw that all the kids looked happy and were having fun.  So, we decided to let her try the school on Tuesday morning and see how she liked it! 

Later on Monday afternoon we finally ventured to Pisa!  We planned this trip several weeks ago, but had to delay it several times for various reasons.  But Monday we drove about an hour to the city.  We parked outside of the center and took the bus to the main piazza where that famous tower is leaning.  Ava was mostly excited to run around in the grass with her cousin, Martina!  We went into the cemetary and the church and saw many beautiful pieces of art.  Ava attempted to push the tower back up.  She kept on saying "But mom!  We have to make it better!  The tower is going to fall on all the people!"  Then, exhausted by this attempt, we certainly needed some gelato and hot chocolate.  We left as the sun was setting over the piazza and arrived home chilly, hungry, and ready for bed since Ava was going to start school in the morning!

We woke up at 8am...very early for us since our normal wake-up times are between 9 and 10am in this house.  But when I went to wake up Ava, and I told her "Today you can go to school!" she jumped right up and got dressed!  She insisted on wearing her black pants with pink hearts, and her pink shirt with hearts because she thought the Nuns would like to see all the "happy hearts"!  Haha!  It was strange to realize this was Ava's first day of "school".  I hadn't planned on trying to place her in a school here, but she honestly kept on insisting that she wanted to go, and to play with other kids, and to see her teachers.  Funny enough, the minute we arrived at school she said "No, mom, I don't want to go to school now!"  But once we arranged the paperwork, and we met her teachers and other children, she felt a little better.  I was certain she would cry when I left her.  She was acting clingy and uncertain.  But she did not shed a tear.  After some encouragement from the teachers, she slowly walked over to the table where other kids were playing after I gave her a hug and kiss, and I slipped out quickly.

It was strange to be going out and about without her with me.  No little feet bopping my chair as we drove in the car.  We went to a huge grocery store and strolled the aisles without Ava in the cart.  I went to an amazing little wine store and leisurely waited for other customers to finish without a little person bopping around by my ankles.  It was such a strange feeling to not have my sidekick with me!  But soon enough, it was noon, and we went to pick her up.  I was so curious to see what she thought, and if she liked going to school.  It was evident when I told her it was time to go home: she started crying because she didn't want to go!  She wanted to stay with the other kids and eat lunch!  I promised we could come back again in the morning.

She told me all about her day, and I kept on telling her how proud I was that she was such a brave little girl.  Imagine going to a strange place, without your parents, with adults and children who all speak a foreign language!  All at 3 years old!  But she loved it, and was certain she wanted to return.  So this morning I woke up early again, got her ready for school, we walked the 15 minutes in the cold weather, and she went into her classroom again without any tears!  I really hope she will continue to like this arrangement...it gives us both some time apart to enjoy ourselves, and learn some new things.  There is nothing like a new adventure to experience, both in Pisa and in Preschool!   

Week's worth of Activites

Another week has passed, all too quickly for my taste!  I can't believe we've been here a month.  On one hand it has seemed like a long time, full of ups and downs, full of adjustments.  And on the other hand I think, I'm only here for 2 more months!  I gotta get rolling and do everything I want to do!  I think our pace has been going well, considering the many complications that have arisen.  But now I should have no excuses for getting out in the city and doing what I want to do with Ava.  Well, there is one new factor: the cold weather has finally arrived!  When I posted my last blog, about a week ago, it was just starting to cool down...the weather was in the mid-to-upper 70's all week.  And then bam, it's plain old chilly outside.  This happened in the course of 1 day, in my opinion.  I started feeling sick last Saturday at our weekly family dinner.  The runny nose, sore throat, fatigued feeling kind of sick.  Sunday it was worse, with a yucky cough.  Yet, that didn't stop us from having a party at our house with about 45 people.  Well, Francesco said he would have canceled since I was sick, but he had invited so many people, he couldn't call them all back!  So the doctor ordered I stay in bed all day until the party.

Poor Ava sat in front of the tv all day, periodically bringing me up little cups of "medicine" and "snacks" to help me feel better.  Well, I think she loved watching TV all day, since I only let her watch a little in the mornings most days.  So she was in bliss, watching Diego, Dora, Backyardigans, Wonder Pets, Kai-lan, etc.  Sometimes we can get the shows in English, and other times they are dubbed in Italian.  But she loves it regardless of the language!  The other day I had to laugh because I realized Ava was watching a show that teaches Chinese, but it was in Italian.  So here is my 3 year old, repeating Chinese words, and talking in her "imaginary Italian" (Ava's new form of thinking she is speaking Italian, when she's really just saying gibberish with an Italian accent!) to herself.  And the same thing happens with Dora and Diego who are teaching Spanish, to my English-speaking daughter, while it is dubbed in Italian.  So strange!  Anyways, she loved having an excuse to watch TV all day while I was in bed, and I hope her brain gleaned some sort of helpful information from all the exposure!  haha!

So from Sunday to Monday my sickness worsened, and that's when I'm sure the weather changed too.  I spent another whole day in bed on Monday, but thankfully one of Ava's Aunties came to play with her for a couple hours, and they switched off the TV and went running outside in the garden!  We were supposed to head to Pisa that Monday with the Aunties, but it was downpouring all day long besides the fact I couldn't sit up more than 15 minutes without be exhausted.  But as the rainclouds parted, so did the worst part of my sickness and by Tuesday morning I was feeling much better.  So what did we do?  Go to another party of course!

Ava was allowed to come with us to the birthday party of one of our friends.  There were a couple other little kids there, and Ava tried to say "Ciao" and play with them.  But mostly Ava just likes hanging out with the adults who all swoon over her and give her all the attention (and sweets!) they could possibly possess.  Before coming to Italy with Ava, I always had the impression that kids were usually excluded from many "adult" activities.  If there was a party, or get-together, kids were not usually included.  The parents found a babysitter, and stayed out as late as they wanted.  I was afraid that I would constantly be needing a babysitter if I ever wanted to get out of the house!  But I am pleasantly surprised to see how much our friends dote on Ava and insist she is not a problem to have around.  In fact, she is almost like the entertainment of the party now.  Everyone sits around and instead of watching TV, we all watch the "Ava channel".  And she totally loves it.  Well, there are still times we need a babysitter, particularly if it will be a late night, and I'm so thankful to have a young lady who Ava considers to be her best friend!  Ava will actually prefer to have her babysitter come over, rather than go out with me to hear music, go to dinner, etc!  It's wonderful.

Well, now that I'm over my sickness, Ava now has my cold.  Yesterday we unwisely walked to the park and froze off our little booties.  No other kids were at the park, and Ava's nose was running like a faucet.  But we still had a good time, running around and playing soccer to stay warm.  Thankfully we went to the outside market and found some cute little gloves for Ava and I got 2 sweaters for 10€.  Love that market that has the most random vendors, and each day there is something new to see.  I am hoping that Ava will not stay sick very long because we were hoping to start her in a new preschool on Monday.  But I will write more about that later, if it comes to pass.  I'll also write more later in my attempts to find a pumpkin in this city!  Now that it feels like Autumn, I'm hoping to have a Halloween party for Ava!  More later...so Ciao for now!

Autobus Success

It has been quite another long, interesting, and even-filled week that I have not blogged.  Mainly, we've all been a little under the weather around here.  I had the great joy of experiencing my first migraine, Ava had tummy troubles for a day, and our host was in the hospital all last Saturday!  But we've still been trying to have fun, do new things and go new places.  Since my last post, we have gone to the park 3 more times.  One day we made the mistake of bringing Ava's Buzz Lightyear toy...even with broken arms and legs, Ava was surrounded very quickly by 4 little Italian boys to snatched it out of her hands and proceeded to run Buzz around the park for 15 minutes.  I was a little affronted by such action, as if any toys at the park meant they belonged to anyone!  But the parents just watched, and would occassionally ask if it was Ava's toy.  I would say Si and attempted to take back the toy with the little Italian I could speak with the kids.  Finally I just had to grab it back from a snotty nosed boy when Ava was practically crying "Mom, just take it back from them!!"  I guess we won't do that again till I know how exactly to yell at the little boys to leave my daughter and her cool, broken toy alone! 

Anyways, that was one adventure on Sunday.  The day before we had our big family lunch per usual, and as Francesco went to the hospital, I was left as the hostess of the house with the rest of his family.  Thankfully I'm used to the routine of the lunch by now, so I knew when to clear the table, bring out the coffee, and wash the dishes.  The family loves so much to play with Ava, and she has a blast being the center of attention!   This pic is of Ava with her two favorite playmates, Zia Anna and her 'cousin' Martina.  The three of them play together for hours it seems and they are always happy to give me a break from Ava.  On Tuesday Anna picked us up and we attempted to install Ava's carseat into Anna's car for the first time.  It's an older kind of carseat, with an installation diagram that is half rubbed off.  I think it took us about 5 tries before we were confident Ava wouldn't tip over in the backseat!  But we must really try to make it more secure next time.  Anyways, we all got in the car and Ava played with Anna at her house for 3 hours so I could go around in the city and have some 'me' time.  Ahhh that was nice!  I did a little shopping and walked around the city I love.  There is just such a big difference between being in the city alone, and being in the city with Ava.  Not that one way is better than the other, but it's just different.

So today was a big step for me.  I finally worked up the nerve to try taking the bus into the city with Ava...alone...with only a faint idea of what I was doing.  Thankfully the bus stop near our house is the end of the line, so there was only one way to go!  I don't know what I was so afraid of, since I knew the stop we needed to get off of, and which bus to take back home.  But I guess I was terrified we would get on a bus that would take us far, far away from anyplace familiar, and we would be stranded in who knows where without knowing enough Italian to find our way back!  Nothing like that happened, though.  Ava loved riding the bumpy bus (as you can see from the blurry pic) and we proceeded to have a lovely 3 hours in the center of Firenze!

First we walked near the Duomo and Ava was more interested in the pigeons and horses everywhere, rather than the wonderfully constructed church, or the fascinating structure of the cuppola by Brunelleschi, or the bronze doors by Ghibertti.  So I admired those things for the both of us, and Ava stayed strapped in her stroller, afraid of all the masses of tourists all around. 

We then proceeded to Piazza Republica where she instantly spotted the old fashioned merry-go-round.  Of course we had to ride that!  Tears were shed when the ride was over, but I'm thinking this will be a good way to start initiating chorse and an allowance at home.  When she helps with chores around the house, she can use her little euros for rides on this merry-go-round, or at the 99cent store, or for her own little gelato treats!  Well, it's an idea.  So, after we walked around and saw Piazza Signorina and the replica of Michelangelo's 'David' we were both hungry.  We went to one of my favorite little restaurants near San Lorenzo market called Il Porcospino (the porcupine).  The same guys work there from when I was here 4 years ago, and they all loved to see Ava acting like a little lady as we sat on the sidewalk, watched the tourists walk by, and had our pizza! 

 

With tummies full, I figured this would be a good time to get back on the bus and try to find our way back home.  At least if we got lost, we wouldn't we hungry for a while!  At the crazy Piazza San Marco we waited a total of 2 minutes before our bus showed up and before you knew it, we were back at our bus stop and then back in our house!  Yay!  I feel much better now that I at least know how to get to the center of the city so we can walk around and find interesting things to do.  I have heard there is a free place for kids to play near the center, so maybe that will be our next adventure!

Hallelujah!

Sunday was another beautiful day here.  We went to a antique market that is held the last Sunday of every month.  Ohhhh how I love antiques!  And especially the Italian antiques we saw spread out for several blocks!  I got a lovely bracelet that matches a Tibetan ring I already have.  Ava was treated to a precious pair of tiger slippers since all the Italians are telling me she must wear shoes in the house.  In the states we're accustomed to wall-to-wall carpet and here we have tile floor all throughout.  Since she has grown out of her little Crocs a while ago, I never bothered to get her any house shoes, and the floors really are hard and cold.  So, we gave in to some Italian hippies who hand-made these.  Ava also got a Buzz Lightyear figure with broken arms, legs, and wings for 1 euro (but she totally adores it anyways since she was on a Toy Story kick before we left the States) and a cute little bag to carry Buzz.  I thought of bringing the stroller, but then figured if it was a market it would be tight and crowded and more of a nuisance.  Well, I was wrong.  Ava's now at this point,understandably, that if she is around lots of people she hates to walk.  And she only wants Mommy to carry her.  So, for about 2 hours she was up and down and I got a good work-out for my arms!  I've now decided we must always bring the stroller in the car so in case the streets are wide enough, I won't have to throw out my back anytime we go antique hunting.

Today has been another wonderful day.  I finally decided to venture out of the house alone with Ava and far away from all things familiar.  No, still haven't attempted the bus, but once I find a place to buy tickets, we'll be on one!  But today Ava and I found a park!  A real, big, honest to goodness park for children!  It is about a mile away from the house, having to walk a long a very busy street with a sidewalk that is just wide enough for us to fit down it with the stroller.  But we made it there safely, and proceeded to have a blast for about 2 hours.  There were tons of moms, grandmas and grandpas there with kids mostly younger than Ava.  A couple kids tried to play with her, and she even played soccer for a bit with another little girl.  I am just soooo relieved to have found this place.  It was safe, clean, with fun things to climb around with lots of benches, shade, and picnic tables.  The mile walk helps me get some exercise, and the park will be great even when the weather begins to cool down.  Though it is quite obvious that we are American (since Ava talks so loudly in English!) maybe I can attempt to speak to some other moms once we get to recognize the kids and learn to play with them.  I was beginning to think there were no places for children in this city, but so grateful this park is close enough for us to walk to anytime we want.  We are definitely going back most mornings we are free...thank the Lord!

Tango at Three

Well I knew I would start slacking off with this blog once we got into the swing of things here!  But the truth is we haven't really been up to anything, so there wasn't much to write about!  Most of last week was spent in the sun in our garden.  We went for a couple walks, and played around the house.  The fun started picking up on Friday night when I took Ava to see her first Tango.  There is a very strange, hidden place in this city where only the locals could have heard of such an event taking place.  Thankfully Ava had taken a good 3 hour nap in the afternoon, so she wasn't very tired when we headed out of the house around 10:30pm!  When we arrived, no one was dancing but tango music was filling the air.  I had come to this place in June, but this time we went outside to a covered dance floor with a small stage with Christmas lights for decorations.  Ava of course could not help but want to dance to the music, even if there was only 1 other couple moving across the floor.  So I did what a good mommy must do...I took her to dance in front of all the other Italians who were eyeing me suspiciously for having a young child at a Tango event, and at such an hour!  But thankfully once we danced a bit, the older ladies all smiled and clapped for Ava when we had finished.

When others finally began dancing around 11:30pm, Ava was content to sit in my arms and watch everyone else and listening to the strange and beautiful music.  I tried not to look to touristy by pulling out my camera, and didn't dare use my flash, so that's why the pictures are so blurry...but that is somewhat how we felt as we sat and watched the couples.  What a strange, sad and serious kind of dance...but it is so compelling to watch and not feel moved.  I would love to learn how to Tango.  But by midnight Ava simply said "Mom, can we go home now?" and without any complaints or tears we quietly drove home and she went right to bed!

The next day was Saturday so we went to have our weekly 'Italian family' meal.  I really do love sitting around a big table with all those family members, attempting to translate in my head everything they are saying, whilst trying to eat all the food they place in front of me!  We stayed till about 5:30pm meaning we had a lunch that lasted about 5 hours!  But most of the time after we ate, Ava spent playing with her new family members and I sat with the adults who were playing a card game that is native to Southern Italy.  It was called something sounding like 'burrachio' and it was rather confusing.  But I think I got the gist of it even without having any sort of translation or explanation!  Mostly it was just really nice to get out of the house and see some smiling faces.  I feel like I am making some progress with the language and it is nice to practice speaking with people when they attempt to speak English, and I attempt to reply in Italian!  It was a lovely way to end a difficult week.