Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted an update (are we sensing a pattern here?), and, after a not too subtle request from mom, I’m amending that situation.Here we go!
- After some terrifying juggling with the contract (which necessitated two trips to terrifying Italian government agencies, but which resulted in my convincing the bureaucrat to give me a codice fiscale (like a social security number, but not so official) so that I could sign the contract. Unless I win a Nobel Prize, this feat may remain my proudest moment.), we are finally offically digging into month two of living in our apartment on V. Parigi. We’ve now made two trips to Ikea to furnish the kitchen (which had nothing useful like, say, pots or plates.) and other nesting necessities. We’re also pretty excited to put up mirrors (another luxury the apartment lacked- so Anna and I have been using a tiny standing mirror and the reflection of the windows for the last month or so… dark dark days).The weather has stayed relatively mild and temperate, so we haven’t needed to turn on the radiators yet, which is good for our budgets!
- We just finished our first full week with all of our new classes at the school- at this point, I teach two private lessons and ten classes (ranging from a very very very Introduction class to an Advanced class), which is a pretty heavy load. I also teach for about 4.5 hours on Saturday mornings (those of you who have had the pleasure to interact with me on Saturday mornings before 10:00 AM are aware of my feelings about this situation). So I’m keeping busy, which is always nice, but I fear that I’ll never learn the names of all my students! I’m enjoying teaching- preparing for lessons is always a fun exercise in discovery with my own language (“Ohh! That’s why we do that! That makes sense…”), but the downside is that I’ve taken to teaching in my sleep (seriously, I taught an entire lesson about non-action verbs in my sleep. Not even a weird dream-teaching thing where the classroom was filled with fish or something random- a legitimate lesson with homework and everything. It’s a little weird, but I’m assured that this, too shall pass.). I’ve also noticed that many conversations now revolve around the funny thing our students did, or how great it was when the little boy finally remebered the word for “purple,” or the frustration when someone doesn’t return a book to the teachers’ room… it’s as if I have ten classes of my own children- I’m very attached to them already! But, that being said, we’re looking forward to payday in the coming week, as well as All Saints, a holiday which falls on next Saturday… meaning no morning class!
- A couple weeks ago, Riccardo and Anna kindly accomopanied me to Rome while I took the LSAT- it was a delightful trip and, while I love Rome tremendously, I realized even more what a good idea it was to stay in Bologna this year (for apartment rental prices, if nothing else!). I just got my score and am happily putting the whole test thing behind me and am moving on to the next part of the process… anybody have any pointers for personal statement writing?
- Last weekend, Anna visited her mother who was in England, and returned with great bounty in the shape of a huge jar of peanut butter, boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (which satisfactorly horrifies the Italians, and, quite franky, I’d forgotten how ORANGE it is!), and some good English cheddar cheese, which has been making some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Ahh… the simple pleasures in life make it worth living, no?
- And, on a totally unrelated note, Ray LaMontagne’s new album is great- I reccomend it!
So that’s a quick and dirty cliff notes version of the last month or so of my life here in Bologna, I’ll try to be better in the future (but always feel free to send reminders- it’s always good to hear from everyone back stateside!)!
