Monday, April 20, 2009
Back Home!
Friday, April 10, 2009
We will be waiting for you
This may not be a surprise to you, but I am going to let you in on a little secret.
I don't speak Italian.
I know, I know....for those of you who know me in real life, this isn't going to be a surprise at all. However, in the midst of getting medical records, international driving permits, sending off for passports for our offspring, and many other things; there has been one bit of advice that has been universal. After hearing that, yes, we are moving to Italy and then all the bla bla bla how long, why, where etc. we eventually come to the part of the discussion where I say, "well I do speak Spanish".
At this point, everyone says a variation of this:
"Oh! In that case you will pick it up so fast! Italian and Spanish are so similar. " Then follows an example of how their great grandpa Mario fell in love with great grandma Lupe and all they could speak was Italian and Spanish to one another and the rest was history...or something like that.
Well, I fear it has gone to my head.
I have been listening to Mossimo and Jane on my ipod and have memorized many phases and conversations. One big check in the 'trying' column. I did note, that indeed, Spanish and Italian are similar.
I have been reading an Italian phrase book. Second check.
Today I was all "Whatever, I speak Italian. I'm calling the hotel to see if they have a gym and if it is included in the room".
And this is what transpired:
Italian Guy: blabity bla bla bla bla bla golden hotel?
(long pause)
Me: ....Se Inglese?
Italian guy: oh no bla bla bla bla ba? Signora?
(long pause)
Me:......Se, Spagnolo?
Italian guy: ah...no bla bla bla blabitty bla bla bla? bla bla bla
(pause)
Me: (laughter....)"Oh crap..I totally do not speak Italian" (As if this is the first time I realized that)
Italian guy: bla bla bla? bla bla bla signora!
Me: thank you?....grazie
(cue pause music)
Other Italian guy: bla bla bla blabitty blabitty bla bla?!
Me: Se Inglese?
Other Italian guy: Oh jesssss, How can I help you?
Me: I was wondering if there are gym facilities at the hotel and if they are included in the room price, or are they extra?
Other Italian guy: They are included. We also have a wellness spa.
Me: Thank you very much. I look forward to our stay and also learning Italian. Grazie.
Other Italian guy: We will be waiting for you.
We will be waiting for you.
That seems somewhat ominous, amusing, and flirtatious all at once.
We have no idea what we are in for, but I can tell you this, Spanish is totally not helping me right now.
At least I know to pack my gym bag and bathing suit!
Oh, by the way, Instead of asking "do you speak English? Do you speak Spanish?" I was asking, "Are you English? Are you Spanish?"
Feel free to point and laugh now.
I don't speak Italian.
I know, I know....for those of you who know me in real life, this isn't going to be a surprise at all. However, in the midst of getting medical records, international driving permits, sending off for passports for our offspring, and many other things; there has been one bit of advice that has been universal. After hearing that, yes, we are moving to Italy and then all the bla bla bla how long, why, where etc. we eventually come to the part of the discussion where I say, "well I do speak Spanish".
At this point, everyone says a variation of this:
"Oh! In that case you will pick it up so fast! Italian and Spanish are so similar. " Then follows an example of how their great grandpa Mario fell in love with great grandma Lupe and all they could speak was Italian and Spanish to one another and the rest was history...or something like that.
Well, I fear it has gone to my head.
I have been listening to Mossimo and Jane on my ipod and have memorized many phases and conversations. One big check in the 'trying' column. I did note, that indeed, Spanish and Italian are similar.
I have been reading an Italian phrase book. Second check.
Today I was all "Whatever, I speak Italian. I'm calling the hotel to see if they have a gym and if it is included in the room".
And this is what transpired:
Italian Guy: blabity bla bla bla bla bla golden hotel?
(long pause)
Me: ....Se Inglese?
Italian guy: oh no bla bla bla bla ba? Signora?
(long pause)
Me:......Se, Spagnolo?
Italian guy: ah...no bla bla bla blabitty bla bla bla? bla bla bla
(pause)
Me: (laughter....)"Oh crap..I totally do not speak Italian" (As if this is the first time I realized that)
Italian guy: bla bla bla? bla bla bla signora!
Me: thank you?....grazie
(cue pause music)
Other Italian guy: bla bla bla blabitty blabitty bla bla?!
Me: Se Inglese?
Other Italian guy: Oh jesssss, How can I help you?
Me: I was wondering if there are gym facilities at the hotel and if they are included in the room price, or are they extra?
Other Italian guy: They are included. We also have a wellness spa.
Me: Thank you very much. I look forward to our stay and also learning Italian. Grazie.
Other Italian guy: We will be waiting for you.
We will be waiting for you.
That seems somewhat ominous, amusing, and flirtatious all at once.
We have no idea what we are in for, but I can tell you this, Spanish is totally not helping me right now.
At least I know to pack my gym bag and bathing suit!
Oh, by the way, Instead of asking "do you speak English? Do you speak Spanish?" I was asking, "Are you English? Are you Spanish?"
Feel free to point and laugh now.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Off to find housing!
Big Daddy J and I are getting ready to celebrate Easter and then head off to Torino on a house hunting/school finding mission.
It seems like we have so much to do between now and just this trip, not to mention June when the movers come! So far we have appointments at 2-4 schools, one of which I am very optimistic about. I have no idea what to expect from the apartment search. Please give me your best ideas in the comments about city living apartment choosing tips! So far I have been told to stay away from ground floor flats. I hope we can find a place that has a nice balcony that I can also keep the children securely locked away from, as they are both dare devil climbers. I am also hoping for sunny so I can have a terrace garden. I have butterflies thinking about it!
We are going to have a lot of time to leisurely explore our soon-to-be home city. I really can't wait. It will be a nice chance for BDJ and I to reconnect and enjoy uninterrupted conversations.
It seems like we have so much to do between now and just this trip, not to mention June when the movers come! So far we have appointments at 2-4 schools, one of which I am very optimistic about. I have no idea what to expect from the apartment search. Please give me your best ideas in the comments about city living apartment choosing tips! So far I have been told to stay away from ground floor flats. I hope we can find a place that has a nice balcony that I can also keep the children securely locked away from, as they are both dare devil climbers. I am also hoping for sunny so I can have a terrace garden. I have butterflies thinking about it!
We are going to have a lot of time to leisurely explore our soon-to-be home city. I really can't wait. It will be a nice chance for BDJ and I to reconnect and enjoy uninterrupted conversations.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The bittersweet realization of a dream
I am a traveler at heart. I love to go to new places and take everything in; the food, the clothing, the language, the mannerisms.
My love of travel started when I was 17 and failing high school Spanish. I went to a very small high school and had a teacher who scared the crap out of me for 3 years. Needless to say, I didn't exactly flourish under her guidance. A family friend from Spain helped me muddle through my last year of high school Spanish class and then invited me to spend several weeks with her family in Northern Spain.
I was hooked.
A year later I ended up in Costa Rica as an exchange student living with a beautiful family who showed me the ropes of all things Tico. In 6 months time I was thinking and dreaming in Spanish. What a long way I had come from daily tension headaches at the start of Spanish class! This experience profoundly shaped my world view and only further encouraged my love of language and world cultures.
16 years later I find myself at the start of a brand new adventure. One of the only regrets that I have had up to this point of my life is my lack of European travel. I had always wanted to backpack in Europe as a young 20-something but the timing never felt right. I did do a fair amount of travel in my college years, but never to Europe. Work, school, marriage and then babies have taken priority.
My husband has been offered a job for 3 years in Torino, Italy. I have always wanted to go to Italy, and now we get to LIVE there! It is one of those opportunities in life that is perfect and terrifying all at once. And yet, if one does not take the chance it would be one of those profound moments that you always look back upon and wonder, "what if...".
Of course nothing this good comes without a price. My days are currently spent as a stay-at-home mama juggling a massage and birth doula practice. Being a bit 'Crunchy' for a conservative New England town, it has taken me time to find fantastic mama friends. I have two children Diva Child (almost 5) and Man Puppy (almost 3) and my husband of 8 years Big Daddy J. We have made a really nice little life where we are, but it is clear that it is time for a change.
My massage and doula work has been so rewarding and humbling. I may end up doing some of that work in Italia, but I may not. Part of why I became a massage therapist and doula was to allow me the flexibility to increase and decrease my work as family needs arose.
Big Daddy J's company approached him in October of 2008 about this position. We have been living in limbo of 'are we going/aren't we going' for 6 months. Two weeks ago we got a deluge of information, a contract, and a big ass to do list that makes me want to take to my bed for a week.
We have been talking to our kids about Italy as a big macro level concept since October. Around in the last few months we have started our family PR campaign about how great it is going to be to live in Italy. One of the main conversations about living in Italy has been about learning Italian. The name of the blog is from a conversation I had with my Diva Child in which she reassured me, "Don't worry Mama, I'll teach you Italian!".
She has no idea just how right she is!
Next week Big Daddy J and I leave to find an apartment and tour schools for our kids. It is the first time we have ever been away for so much as an overnight from our kiddos. I am horrified and elated to go all at once. We are generally 'lonely planet' types of travelers who prefer the dives to the 5 star hotels. Because Big Giant Aerospace company is footing the bill, we will be staying in probably the nicest hotel I will have ever set foot in.
So I sit with the Cinderella type excitement of this opportunity while I also feel afraid, sad, and apprehensive of how this experience will shape and change me and my family forever.
My love of travel started when I was 17 and failing high school Spanish. I went to a very small high school and had a teacher who scared the crap out of me for 3 years. Needless to say, I didn't exactly flourish under her guidance. A family friend from Spain helped me muddle through my last year of high school Spanish class and then invited me to spend several weeks with her family in Northern Spain.
I was hooked.
A year later I ended up in Costa Rica as an exchange student living with a beautiful family who showed me the ropes of all things Tico. In 6 months time I was thinking and dreaming in Spanish. What a long way I had come from daily tension headaches at the start of Spanish class! This experience profoundly shaped my world view and only further encouraged my love of language and world cultures.
16 years later I find myself at the start of a brand new adventure. One of the only regrets that I have had up to this point of my life is my lack of European travel. I had always wanted to backpack in Europe as a young 20-something but the timing never felt right. I did do a fair amount of travel in my college years, but never to Europe. Work, school, marriage and then babies have taken priority.
My husband has been offered a job for 3 years in Torino, Italy. I have always wanted to go to Italy, and now we get to LIVE there! It is one of those opportunities in life that is perfect and terrifying all at once. And yet, if one does not take the chance it would be one of those profound moments that you always look back upon and wonder, "what if...".
Of course nothing this good comes without a price. My days are currently spent as a stay-at-home mama juggling a massage and birth doula practice. Being a bit 'Crunchy' for a conservative New England town, it has taken me time to find fantastic mama friends. I have two children Diva Child (almost 5) and Man Puppy (almost 3) and my husband of 8 years Big Daddy J. We have made a really nice little life where we are, but it is clear that it is time for a change.
My massage and doula work has been so rewarding and humbling. I may end up doing some of that work in Italia, but I may not. Part of why I became a massage therapist and doula was to allow me the flexibility to increase and decrease my work as family needs arose.
Big Daddy J's company approached him in October of 2008 about this position. We have been living in limbo of 'are we going/aren't we going' for 6 months. Two weeks ago we got a deluge of information, a contract, and a big ass to do list that makes me want to take to my bed for a week.
We have been talking to our kids about Italy as a big macro level concept since October. Around in the last few months we have started our family PR campaign about how great it is going to be to live in Italy. One of the main conversations about living in Italy has been about learning Italian. The name of the blog is from a conversation I had with my Diva Child in which she reassured me, "Don't worry Mama, I'll teach you Italian!".
She has no idea just how right she is!
Next week Big Daddy J and I leave to find an apartment and tour schools for our kids. It is the first time we have ever been away for so much as an overnight from our kiddos. I am horrified and elated to go all at once. We are generally 'lonely planet' types of travelers who prefer the dives to the 5 star hotels. Because Big Giant Aerospace company is footing the bill, we will be staying in probably the nicest hotel I will have ever set foot in.
So I sit with the Cinderella type excitement of this opportunity while I also feel afraid, sad, and apprehensive of how this experience will shape and change me and my family forever.
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