Temple Bar......filled with Irish pubs!

Guiness Storehouse....at the very top you receive your free Guiness and a panoramic view of the city.

Thanksgiving Day at an Irish Pub.....the food was delish.







Trinity College

Little America

Yesterday I had a couple of hours of "American Life". One of my parents (one of my student's parents) is affiliated with the military and took my self and two other teachers on a field trip. About two hours away.Delving back into American life for a few hours definitely reminded me of how different my life style is right now. I mean I know I work at an American School but work is different from your personal life. The minute I leave work every day...............it's all Italian. I hop on one bus, take a train, hop onto another bus and I am in the heartland of pure Italy............rarely do I hear anyone speaking English. So yesterday was quite eye opening. First of all , I understood conversations around me. I have found on the bus, I have to pop my ipod in. I get quite frustratedas I hear this constant murmur of language and I understand about 1 out of every 30 words.I know I am learning more all the time but it is still frustrating. My brain is constatntly thinking and working. So yesterday my mind felt a bit more relaxed. I could read signs...Americans were all around me and there was even a food court with American food! I ate at Taco Bell!!!!

I didn't think I was really missing food from back home but let me tell you I when I walked into the commisary..I felt like a kid in the candy store. Here's what I got so excited about and bought:
Peanut Butter
whole wheat bread
swiss miss hot cocoa
corn chips
salsa
ketchup
cheddar cheese for my nachos
guacamole seasonings
My organic pumpkin cereal
more salsa
more blue corn chips
Oregon Chai Tea
Brown rice
Black beans
MAGAZINES!!!!

You dont realize you miss the food but really when you go shopping in Italy honestly your choices are fresh fruits and veggieslots of meats,any type of pasta imaginable, any type of cheese imaginable, any type of pastry ,white bread imaginable..............and honestly different variationsof that.

Odd notes:

I can't believe I sleep in a twin size bed!!!!!

I fly home for a FULLLLLL month!

Joined an Italian gym.......hopefully will lose the 5extra pounds. I joined with two other girls from work. It is right next to the big castle next to the Duomo...so it's in a really cool area of the city. It's an all girl's gym. I know weird.....but I figure I joined for four months and then maybe I will go to coed.............the men stare here and I don't want to be stared at while I am trying to work out

the running has slowed way down because it gets dark so early...I miss it

going to Dublin, Ireland for the Thanksgiving Break

I am meeting some very cool people. Having lots of fun getting out at night,etc. I love that I am not just meeting Americans and Italians but people from all over the world. The other day I met a group from London. They are actually originally from New Zealand and then moved to London. I LOVED the accents :)They were in Milan for a Rugby game. I LOVE the diversity.

I am now up to 16 students. The last three I have gotten do not speak a word of English! The most recent speaks Arabic. I feel so bad she is soo immersed. Just finished up my parent teacher conferences. I got such wonderful feedback from parents. They are all so amazingly supportive of school. It was funny having translators involved. I even had one of the Italian teachers come up to me and say gosh Laura all of your students parents speak so highly of you. So I guess the 10 years of teaching has really helped me. Really I cannot explaing how fortunate I am to have an assistant, so much planning time in my day, supportive parents, super students,etc.

I am now the high school cheer advisor for the basketball season. I will travel with the Basketball teams all over to various military bases in Germany, Rome, Florence, Switzerland all over..........funny huh? I wasn't even a chherleader and now I am their advisor:) I figure it is only for a couple of months and I will get a nice chunk of money that I can use to travel with.

Really I am very happy and content right now. I am really starting to make some really cool diverse friends. The only thing that would maybe make me a little more content would be having my own place........and having internet consistently.

Vito

A little pressure........it seems anytime I receive an email from a loved one back home ..the first question is ..so how are the men. I know it's with 100% support but I feel pressure as though I need to meet someone.I am not getting asked out regularly. Therefore I am starting to feel as though I am losing my luster. The Northern Italian men are slightly different from the rest of Italian men. Northern Italians have a slight coldness to them. It's true...the people are veryyy nice but only if you want something you must go up and ask for it. People will not go out of their way for you and it's a bustling city community. A couple of the girls here whom have Italian boyfriends and husbands have fully admitted that if you travel down slightly South...the men will be all over you. The Northern Italians do not like the reputation of how they are perceived so they wont whistle,etc as much. So I do get the daily stares...which is acceptable here...and some whistles and comments..but I don't get asked out much. Although I guess I did get asked out recently by a Russian guy and most recently a Brittish guy...not Italians.
Last night I met up with a few teachers for an appertivo. I was a bit lost which is typical for me. There are so many different neighborhoods I am still figuring it all out. Anyway I was standing and looking at my map and this hot Italian man came up speaking English to me and asked if he could help me....that was nice. Then I got on the crowded tram and noticed this strikingly HOT Italian man standing next to me. I knew he kept staring at me. The next stop I sat down because there was finally an open seat and he came and sat next to me. I did not mind the staring one bit because he was that Italian hot look that you think of when you think of an Italian man. So we start talking.............he speaks limited English and we are playing the cherades game which happens a lot...fill in the blanks try and figure out the word. SO we start talking about where I am going and we look on the map and he says I am about four or five stops away. I am fully enjoying our conversation at this point. It turns out he is from Southern Italy..........Naples.......ah ha no wonder he approached me he is not from Milan!! Anyway the next thing we realize we have missed the stop. So suddenly he turns into super gentleman and is going to walk me back to the other stop. We keep talking and the next thing I know he says, Laura you are so beautiful...Then about two minutes later....ah Laura I can't explain how beautiful you are. Well ofcourse Istart laughing because I do not know what to say. So I said , "Oh I think I just have a look that you are not used to seeing here because I am American." Oh nohe goes on an on. The thing of it was though he wasn't being super aggressive he was very kind about it...........so then we get back on the tram and then he gets off at my stop and we start walking to where I am going...Then the next thing I know he says, " Laura I just. I just.I just love you!" At this point I start laughing because I don't think he realizes the context of how he is using I love you.........so I try to talk about other stuff...what do yo do, yada yada yada...........We were almost to the bar and he asks me for my number. I try to explain to him that I don't even have my own phone number memorized............I know pathetic. So he doesn't understand and he looks sad and is all oh ok you dont want me to call you. I am like no its not that I just don't know my phone number! Anyway I tried to figure out my number so I type something in his phone..that I thnk is my number but I think I may have given him the wrong number because we can't communicate . Then he walks me up to the restaurant...for some reason I am a bit embarassed that I show up to all of these coworkers with this hot Italian man...so without thinking I was like ok....thanks for all of your help have a good night and just leave him and go in the restaurant.................................................ahhh that was rude of me. I tell you I can act like such an idiot around guys...I get so shy which seems to come off so rude sometimes!! So that was Vito.......the Southern Italian man I met....so sweet..yet I don't think I will ever bump into him again....

A Typical Day

A golf course sits beside our school. There was in International Golf Tournament a couple of weeks ago. Above is the gate to our school.

This car sat outside my apt until yesterday....who knows what happened.

This is the subway.....I use this all of the time. It takes about three minutes from apartment.

A typical night near the Duomo

My shipment arrived close to two months after I had been here!!! Several boxes.

This is the tram. If yo read my earlier blog..you learned first I take a bus, hop on the tram , and then another bus to work. Look at all the litter.

This is the bus stop near my school.

People wait in huge lines for this delicacy...basically a fried sandwich.....ahhhhh so good.

I sometimes meet people at these steps at the Duomo...easy meeting spot.

Lots of grafiti throughout the city

That M stands for Metro..those are the subway steps near my apt.

Outside of my apt. Apparently I live in the ghetto ..however its's fine...

My neighborhood

My apartment building