Italy!

I thought it would be good to get my Italy post up before I leave for Amsterdam in just over a week, so here I am, forcing myself to write despite the work I should be doing and the books I'd rather be reading. So here goes....

I left for Italy on October 3rd. My host family offered me a ride to the airport since they were also leaving that day, but I turned it down since they were leaving early in the morning and I wasn't scheduled to fly out until the afternoon. Unfortunately I forgot that the 3rd is a holiday in Germany and that the whole city basically ceases to function. I ended up getting to the airport 20 minutes before my gate closed. I think my nervousness was pretty perceptible because after standing in the security line for just a few minutes everyone was super nice and parted to let me through. I ran the entire length of the airport and made it to my gate just three minutes before they closed it. I have no idea what I would've done if I'd missed my flight, so thank goodness for those super amazing people who so nicely let me cut in line.

I spent my first day in Italy in Pisa, where Martina met me. It's a pretty enough city, and of course I had to see the Leaning Tower, but there's really just nothing else there. The tower is it. But hey, it really is leaning. Way more than I expected. So anyway we walked around, had some really awful pasta, ate some gelato, and then just chilled on the terrace at our hostel. Our hostel turned out to be super nice, one of the best I've stayed in to date. I only wish it had been in a bigger city so I could've justified spending more than one night there.

The next morning we intended to spend half the day walking through Pisa to the train station, where we would catch our train to Florence. But at 9:00am we found we had already walked the entire diameter of the city in less than an hour. It was a heck of a lot smaller than it looked on the map. We ended up sitting on some benches not too far from the train station to just talk and watch the people go by. But then this old Italian lady came out of nowhere and started freaking out at me. I had no idea what she was saying and Martina was able to piece together that she was worried about me being cold and getting sick because I was wearing shorts. Mind you, I was sweating. It was more than hot enough to be wearing shorts. Martina told the lady in Italian that we didn't speak any Italian, but she just kept going on and on. She even touched me. It was so strange. Eventually she wandered off, but it was definitely a weird encounter.

After the weird lady we got up to head to Florence. The train was nice and the ride was pretty short, about an hour I think. The only major complaint I had was the beggar ladies who wouldn't back off while we were trying to buy our tickets at the machine. They were pushy and I didn't like it. By far the worst beggars I've ever had to deal with. But we arrived in Florence, which ended up being my favorite city on the trip. It's much bigger than Pisa, though there's still not all that much to do. We walked a lot (all uphill of course). I took way too many pictures. We ate loads of gelato and fairly decent pasta. We also ate at the Hard Rock Cafe where we spent nearly three hours just hanging out and enjoying the food and the atmosphere. We climbed 463 steps to the top of the dome on Florence's major cathedral where we were rewarded with an amazing view. We went on the great canolli hunt. We saw statues and protestors and lots of mopeds. It really was a beautiful city. I can't say I'd go again though, as there's only so much to do there and we accomplished all of it in just two days.

When we left Florence on the 6th we took a train to Siena. Honestly, the thing that will forever stick in my mind about Siena is that it's on top of a huge hill and you have to take about 15 minutes worth of escalators to get from the train station at the bottom to the actual city at the top. Other than that, Siena just wasn't all that noteworthy. The thing about Tuscan cities is that once you've seen one of them you can basically imagine you've seen them all. They're pretty and old and all that, but they're all the same. So we spent most of that day just lounging in the Piazza del Campo. We also stumbled upon a Bentley enthusiasts car show and once again ate way too much gelato. Then to top the afternoon off we sat on one of the city walls and entertained each other by being strange. Because that's what we do.

That night we took a train (If you can call it that. It was only one car.) to Arezzo to meet Martina's host mom so she could drive us back to their villa. It ended up being quite the long night and we spent a good portion of it sitting on the steps of an old church in Arezzo drinking limoncello from a bottle. Maybe not my classiest moment, but definitely one of my favorite memories.

I spent the next two nights at the villa with Martina. There's really nothing to do there either so we walked around the vineyard while I took pictures and then we ended up just hanging out and watching movies. Not that I'm complaining. I definitely don't get enough hang out time with Martina anyway.

On the morning of the 8th Martina drove me to the train station in Cortona. I have to say, it was a beautiful drive, if nothing else. It was foggy out, but in a super surreal, beautiful sort of way. After a not so welcome goodbye, I took the train back to Florence and then had a three hour train ride from Florence to Venice.

Venice was, surprisingly, exactly the way you see it in pictures. It's a beautiful city and the canals do give it a really laid back vibe. Once again, I ended up taking way too many pictures. I walked all over the city for two days. I ate at the Hard Rock, again, where I made friends with a very gay waiter. I saw the Rialto Bridge and went to the Rialto Fish Market early in the morning, which was an interesting experience. I visited St Mark's Square and went through the Basilica. I actually went twice because as I was about to exit I heard a woman speaking English and I sneakily followed her back in to enjoy a free tour of the church. After seeing the Basilica I took a water bus out to Murano, an island famous for its hand blown glass. You may have heard of Venetian glass? It comes from there. When I'd had my fill of that island I took another water bus to Burano, which is famous only for the fact that all of the houses along the canal are painted in ridiculously bright colors. There wasn't much going on on either island. But my favorite story of the whole trip happened on Burano. I was actually lost. I had been wandering around for an hour trying to find my way back to the water bus stop so I could go back to Venice. I sat down on a bench to look at my map and this big cat with a collar on jumps out of nowhere and very insistently headbutts his way onto my lap. I scratched him a little and then expected him to take off. But no. He was there to sleep and that's what he did. He curled up right on my lap and passed out. If I stopped petting him he would meow the pushiest meow I'd ever heard. People came by and petted him. Lots of kids even. And he didn't care, not one bit. All the people asked if he was mine and were surprised when I told them what happened. After about half an hour I finally moved him off my lap so I could leave. He was not happy about that. Anyway, if you know me you know how much I love cats. And I haven't had any cats to love on since I left. So that totally made my trip.

Italy was an interesting trip. I mean, I had a great time, but mostly that was because I was with Martina and we have fun no matter what we're doing. Plus I'd just missed her a whole bunch. But the country itself was not my favorite. It was too quite, too slow. I like big cities. I like lots of activity and hustle and bustle. And Italy also just seemed a little derelict. There were several times where I couldn't help but think "Man, it looks like the zombie apocalypse already hit here." So I don't think I'd go again. At least not to Tuscany. I saw everything I needed to see and checked loads of things off my list. Maybe someday I'll hit southern Italy, which I'm sure is completely different. Until then, Berlin still holds the number one spot in my heart. And as excited as I am to be going home soon (two months from today to be exact!) for now I can't help but feel happy to be back in the land that has so assuredly stolen my heart.

And because it's stuck in my head and it makes me feel peaceful and happy, here's a song for you. It's called Helena Beat by Foster the People.

P.S. I just watched the video for the first time and it's not peaceful or happy. But that seems to be the case with all of Foster the People's music. It's a good thing I can't ever actually understand what they're saying. And it's still a good song. I still suggest you listen to it.

Commencing Countdown, Engines On

I'd like to apologize for being a liar. I know I said I'd write before I left for Italy, but life really got busy for awhile there and to be perfectly honest, I just didn't feel like doing it. Now I know it's been awhile since I wrote about what's going on, so I'll do my best to remember everything that's happened.

After I got back from Hannover I was treated to dinner by my host mother's mother. We went to Block House, which is a steak house in our neighborhood. It was the first steak I'd had in nine months and it was delicious. I had a great time with my host family and felt really honored that they invited me along to what was obviously a family dinner. And I think it was good timing because even though being an au pair can by super hard and my kids can sometimes drive me right up a wall, it's afternoons like that one that remind how me how lucky I am to be here. I really am grateful that I was placed with a family that I get along with so well. We don't agree on everything, but all the most important things are there, something I can't say I've seen in every au pair/host family relationship. And sometimes I even get days like yesterday, when both kids were so perfectly well behaved for me and I got to enjoy a fun afternoon teaching my four year old how to play War and Go Fish. As much as I've been suffering through homesickness and maybe not always seemed as grateful as I should these last few weeks, I do appreciate everything they've done for me and will miss them a lot when I go home.

Recently, there have been times where the homesickness has really threatened to overwhelm me. I think there are three major reasons for that. The first is the most obvious. I've been here almost ten months now. That's a long time to be away from everything and everyone that I love and that is so familiar and so easy. The second reason is that they've started putting out Christmas stuff here and in my head I equate Christmas this year with going home. And I won't really get Halloween or Thanksgiving, not like at home, so I don't even have those holidays to distract myself with. I know I've still got just over two months until I leave, but it's hard to remember that when all that holiday cheer is starting to pop up everywhere I turn. And the third reason is that I'm alone all of a sudden. Every friend that I've made here has suddenly up and left. I still know people of course and I go out from time to time and socialize, but all of the people that I really considered to be good friends have suddenly up and left. It's a little disheartening and has left me feeling a bit abandoned, to be honest.

My best friend though, I did get to see her a few weeks ago. She came to stay with me for two nights while she was in Berlin working out visa issues. It was so great and when she got here I realized that I hadn't really had a chance to just cut loose and laugh since she'd left over a month ago. I also got to spend the last week with her touring Italy, something I'll be sure to post about next. And now she'll be back in Berlin for a final time in just another two weeks. I seriously can't wait until she gets here. We might actually get to have a decent Halloween celebration AND we're going to Amsterdam for four days. It's my second to last trip and I'm really super excited about it.

So what other things have I done? I went to a going away party and an au pair dinner. I changed a record seven diapers in just 15 minutes at the Kita. My host mom has been working lots and therefore so have I. I've also been doing some side jobs to save up money for home. Speaking of money, I went to Italy and spent way too much. And tomorrow I'm going to an au pair meeting with girls from my agency. We're going to take a tour of the Berlin Festival of Lights. It should be super pretty and I'm excited to see it.

I guess I don't have much else to say. I think that's ok though, because I don't think any of you reading this are really interested in hearing my every day to day action. So I'm just posting to let you know I'm ok. I'm enjoying the rest of my time here, but also really looking forward to coming home. I can't wait to see everybody and to just be home again.

Here's today's song. Thanks to Ben for finally helping me get the Christmas music out of my head for a little while.  Space Oddity by David Bowie

P.S. I do love that Bowie. In all his androgynous wonder. We'll always have Berlin in common :)