My Italian Summer

In June I had been told that July would be hot, but August would be worse.

During the month of July I learned that I could sweat.  In the USA I would only sweat if I was working out for more than an hour at a time.  Then it was only in the 'normal' places people sweat.  So, I was so surprised that after a ten minute walk to catch the train my back and shoulders would be soaked from my backpack.  Those morning and afternoon jaunts in the beating sun found me thankful for my sunglasses, which in the states I would use when driving into the sun.  Then I found that wasn't enough.  I bought a hat, a big floppy hat.  My head is large so I was thrilled when I found one that would fit.  I didn't care that my hair would not look nice, it wasn't going to look nice anyway with the heat, I put the hat on my head, sunglasses on my face, and left in plenty of time to make it to the caffè bar to buy a bottle of water, even though I always was carrying one or two bottles of water with me.  It would give me time to be inside for a minute, to buy and drink a cold bottle of water.

When I got home in the afternoon I would just sitting in my living room doing absolutely nothing and the beads of sweat would drip off my arms and forehead.  I had my ceiling fans going to keep the air moving, but it was hot inside my place.  It was hard to concentrate on anything.  When I checked my thermometer I was greeted with 29 - 33 degrees Celsius.  So, I would flip the switch to see the numbers I really understood:  84 - 91 degrees.  This was in my kitchen, with lights off, fans running, windows open and nothing cooking.  It was so much cooler than outside.  Then as I would fix supper my thermometer would quickly get to 40 C (104 F) or more.  

In July all I could think of was 'this is July, August will be worse.'

Fortunately, August came and it did not get worse.  It was still hot, but my kitchen thermometer dropped and held at 29 C (84) for most of the month.  It was amazing to think that felt so much more comfortable.  I continued to don the hat and the sunglasses, but would be satisfied with my own water.

To think clearly in those temperatures is difficult.  It was laborious to do anything.  I could not study with understanding.  I could not work on my finances correctly.  Listening to Italian TV was challenging unless it was a subject I could understand (thanks MasterChef Italia!)

Then there was an opportunity to go to southern Italy for a week for a convention.  This sounded great.  Surely we would be inside air conditioned rooms for workshops during the heat of the day, right?  As I looked at the schedule and realized that the only thing scheduled from 10 to 6 every day was free time: to go to the beach, to go to the pool, to explore the city, to take a nap, etc.  I'm so glad I was encouraged to head to the beach in the mornings and get in the water.  (The pool or a nap was my choice for my afternoons.)

Side note about the beach:  toddlers without suits, little girls with only bathing suit bottoms, men with speedos or boxers, and ladies with two piece suits were the norm.  Now the men and the ladies were of all sizes.   In those two piece suits would be what you would expect when you think of thin Italian women, to the extra, extra, extra large.  Just so you know, I have a one piece suit, one of the only ones on the beach that week.  But, no one cared what you looked like.  We were on the beach together, to experience the sun, sand, and sea.  What a pleasant experience it was!

I love my jeans.  (They are cotton you know!)  I really do not feel comfortable in shorts.  This summer I would wear shorts if I was not leaving my apartment.  Even after my time on the beach.

So my first Italian summer is in the books.  I made it through the heat, I drank a lot of water, I sweated more than I ever had before.  As September began and the temperatures plunged  to a 'chilly' but very comfortable 23 C (73 F) for a few days, I found out that this summer had been the hottest in 150 years!

It is now mid September and the temperature is to reach 30 C (86) today.  This reminds me of a wonderful Indiana summer day!

Pictures of the Bathroom - Bagno

The apartment came with a tub, toilet and bidet.

This was my way to wash vegetables and dishes for a while.

Cabinets and a sink were added.

Still waiting on the mirror and light to be added, but very functional.

Pictures of my bedroom - Camera da Letto

When I first looked at the place the walls were pink with gold sponged on them.

After painting (lavender) and the furniture arrived - the first night was on the floor.

 There are still many extras in this room, too.  The first mattress on the bed was broken down on the edge, and since I had two others to chose from, I now have a very comfortable bed.

Pictures of my Kitchen - Cucina

When I looked at the apartment this was the kitchen.

Cabinets, stoves, etc. from 2 kitchens were in the kitchen and on the terrace.

Created a table from a countertop.  Refrigerator was working, but I had use of a hot plate to cook.

Little by little the kitchen transformed from a mess to a beautiful functional kitchen!

The under cabinet guard was added and an extra cabinet piece was put to good use!

The kitchen is quite functional now, but not quite done, it still needs the trim work.

It's fun to be able to cook again, especially for others!

Pictures of my living room

My living room - Soggiorno

 When I first looked at the apartment

We had to ready the walls by sanding the old, gold sponged 2nd coat off the walls.  Then painting them was a new challenge!

My furniture arrived when I was not home.  Since all of this came from one main family and parts from two other families - it was a puzzle to see what I actually had, where it would fit, to find parts to put things together, and what was extra. 

There are still extra things I need to find other families to be able to use them, but the majority in the living room is where I believe it works well.

My own apartment

I've not posted since February!  So much has happened in those four months!  I will write more about it and post some pictures here, but to start let me list some things.

1 - My very good friends, who were like parents to me, were killed in a car accident.  I was able to go home for their funeral.

2 - I found an apartment that would be really good to live and for ministry.  Another couple wanted it and offered to do the painting.  I offered to do the painting.  I got the apartment.

3 - We worked on getting the apartment ready in our 'free time'.  It took six weeks!

4 - I went on a cultural experience trip to see Venice and Florence.  My sisters and 2 cousins were also on this trip.  I was afraid I forgot all that I had learned.  I had not, in fact, I feel more confident having the month off from school.

5 - My furniture arrived from Verona.

6 - I moved into my apartment, that looked like a storage shed.

Goodbyes

Language School is interesting.  The courses are taught in four week segments and you progress through the school as your ability improves.  My first class was a group of 13 people ranging in age from 15 to 60.  We were all pretty comparable with our place in understanding the grammar, but several had the pronunciation and fluidity of the language flow from their lips.  I was not one of them. 

However, early on I realised not everyone comes for a year of study.  The 15 year old was there just the first week of the class!  Most come for a few months, or at least a month.  Others may join us a week after class begins.  One gal comes for two weeks at a time a couple months apart.  

This week there were 10 in the class.  Today one of them said goodbye to us.  He was from Brazil and he could speak Italian well, but he struggled with understanding the differences in the grammar.

The class members are from all over the world.  There are three from Vietnam, two from China, three from the United States, and one from Switzerland.  I've been in class with Germans, people from Poland, Turkey, Egypt, Mexico, and Venezuela.  They have all touched my heart while trying to learn this beautiful language with them. 

However, today was one of those days, we were again saying good-bye to one of the class mates.  This one I am sad to see him go.  He was an encourager.  He would take time to talk with people.  He did not know English, and I do not know Portuguese, so our common language was Italian.  We were able to communicate our thoughts.

As I am learning all the different tenses, I have them all rolling around in my head, and it seems to me that I chose the wrong tense of the verb many times.  I do believe I will learn to use them correctly.  Because not too long ago I didn't even use verbs in my 'sentences'! 

Tomorrow will be a day of study and review.  Most of it will be in airports or on airplanes.  I'm heading home to say a final goodbye to a couple who were like parents to me.  This will be a hard goodbye, but this time it will be like a 'see you later'.  They lived their faith in God.