Life in Italy2

In the house in Vado, there is a cuckoo clock upstairs which Flavio turns off frequently because it annoys him. My father-in-law comes in and turns it on again but doesn't set it so it never keeps proper time. There is a grandfather clock downstairs that rings on the hour and on the half-hour, and the town clock bells and the church bells carry up the hill from the village. Flavio says the town priest has always been overzealous with the bells and rings them all the time, for any excuse. Consequently, I hear bells and chimes all day long, but I never know what time it is.

I don't start working until the 15th, so until then I don't really need to keep track except to remember that around one o'clock every day, four important events occur. First, the shops close for about three hours every day at this time for lunch. Second, the first bottle of vino for the day gets opened, third, for those who have gotten an early start on vino, naptime commences. The fourth thing to remember about one o'clock is that the tiger mosquitos start gearing up for the day and so we have to bring out all the defenses. Citronella spray, candles, insense, etc.
Tiger mosquitos started to arrive from Africa this year due to the Italian climate changing and becoming warmer. Nasty little buggers! I hate them and am looking forward to fall which should arrive any day now!

Another reason I am looking forward to fall is that this October, I get to participate in the wine making. I am so excited! When the time comes I will write all about it.

Oh yes, my job. I am starting at the aeronautic high school Flavio went to as an english teacher. It's only three hours a day for now, but I think it's a good start. The school is located smack downtown Bologna, on Via Santa Stefano, which is the road Flavio grew up on. Flavio's friend Patrick works there and pulled some strings for me to get an interview. Apparently there are three other english teachers there but they are all italian and the principal has been looking for a native english teacher who can teach the students proper accents and the nuances of the language. It sounds like it will be right up my alley. Also, Nicholas will be in school everyday until at least 4, so after my work in the morning I can spend my afternoons exploring Bologna.

I have a theory about italian coffee that it doesn't actually have any caffeine in it. How else could a culture drink an espresso after every meal and snack, and still take a nap in the afternoon? Yesterday we took a drive up to a ski resort about an hour away from the house. We took a hike in the mountain in the morning, then stopped at an 'osteria' (rustic restaurant) for a lunch of wild boar, cheese and red wine. Follow up with an espresso and we were ready for a nap after! I had plans to stop in the resort town for some shopping after lunch, but of course, everything was closed for the afterlunch 'sonolino' (nap). What a culture! Americans work way too much!