A dopo, Sansepolcro!

Please forgive the delay in my posting. Last week was a difficult one for me and many loved ones back home, but God is still good and He has been abundantly faithful through this past storm. My friend Luke is with Him now, free from pain and relishing the presence of his King. It has been very hard to be away from my family, friends, and church body during this time, and then this past weekend I missed out on what sounded like a magnificent celebration of his life, which was equally hard. At this point, none of it feels real.

However, more than anything else I am simply thankful to have known Luke during his time on earth – and rejoicing in the knowledge that I will see him again in the next! Please keep praying for his family, friends, and our church family as they all continue to adjust to the gaping hole Luke has left behind.

Well tomorrow I have to bite the bullet and say goodbye to Sara, Patrizio, Leonardo, Ginevra, Veronica, and Sansepolcro – for the present, at least. It is bittersweet because the idea of Siena, including all its unknowns and the adventures that lie ahead, is very exciting – and yet, I know that I will miss the family (which I now regard as my own) quite terribly, and also that adjusting to the fast paced demands of academic life will be hard at first. Thankfully, Sansepolcro is just an hour’s bus ride away, so, assuming my homework load is manageable, I will be able to visit my “home away from home” on a regular basis! I keep telling Sara and Patrizio how much I am going to miss all the little things that we find trying, like Ginevra’s “NOOOOO!”’s and Leonardo’s under-the-table kicks, etc. Sara laughed and said, “Well if you are really missing them that much, we can just send you one while you are in Siena, no problem!”

Tomorrow morning Sara and Patrizio are taking me to Arezzo where I will be catching a train to Firenze and then another on to the Pisa airport where I will be meeting up with the other students. I have to leave pretty early in the morning, but what a blessing to not be jet-lagged like the rest! I will have to be extra nice to the ones that are. From there we will be staying in Pisa (or nearby anyway) for a couple days of orientation before heading on to Siena, on Saturday I believe. Then classes start on Monday – yikes!

I am not sure what my internet availability will be like for the next few days, but I will post again in Siena if not before. I would really appreciate your prayers as I move into this next phase of my time in Italy. Grazie mille! I have been so very blessed by my time in Sansepolcro, and while life in Siena will be far more demanding, I know God has great plans for my days there as well.

Thank you for listening, as always. Until Siena – arrivederci!

Bekah

Luke

Please be praying for my friend, Luke Johnston. I found out yesterday that he suffered a spinal injury and remains in critical condition at Duke. Here is more information, taken from his carepage:

"The Johnstons were at a picnic at the lake and Luke and Brock (age 9) were playing Frisbee. As Brock threw the Frisbee, it went over the water and Luke dove for it. Luke is a competitive swimmer and a lifeguard so Brock was not too worried when he did not immediately resurface. When a few minutes had passed, Brock went out to find him and pulled him to the shore where a bystander began doing CPR and Brock ran to the shelter to get his dad. Dave and another bystander (an ER nurse) took turns doing CPR for the 10 minutes it took for EMS to arrive. Luke was taken to Duke and placed on life support. He has sustained a significant brain injury and has dislocated the vertebrae between C2-C4. "

According to my mom, the doctors have said that if Luke survives, he will be a quadriplegic on a ventilator for life. His brain was also very oxygen deprived, and so they don't know yet if there is any hope of anything less than severe brain damage.

Right now I am praising God because Luke is still alive as of the last update (6 hours ago). The doctors didn't think he would live through Saturday night.

Please be in prayer particularly for his parents and his siblings - he is the oldest - as well as for my entire church body as they seek to support the family and glorify God through this. I would also appreciate your prayers as I struggle through it from a distance. Right now I am trying to rest in the knowledge of God's power and omniscience.


Many thanks,

Bekah

Packages, thunderclaps, too much espresso e un molto buono compleanno

And then another week went zooming by … ciao family, friends, and kindred spirits! I suddenly find myself a mere ten days away from leaving Sansepolcro – for another adventure in Italy, yes, but nonetheless, I am beginning to feel the pang. Thankfully, it looks like there will be rather frequent visits back, assuming that I can keep up with homework and such while doing so.

My morning view ...



I tried to explain to Sara and Patrizio just how much I was going to miss the everyday chaos that comes like clockwork at mealtimes (and pops up all over the place in between), but in the end, they will never really know just how much I love every minute with them and the kids – even the crazy ones. I just love these kids!

It has been another busy week, but a happy one. On lunedi I finally got my long-awaited package from home, full of things (books in particular) that had been left behind in deference to weight limitations. My poor parents had quite the time getting it to me! The customs form required every last detail of the contents, there was a huge list of no-nos (including shoes and perfume, two things in particular I had counted on being mailable), and then charges on both the sending and receiving ends. Crazy. I was particularly sad about the shoes, because my Birkenstocks were one of the pairs that got left, and they are pretty much all I wear in cooler weather. Guess I will have to buy another pair while I am over here – quite a shame, yes?

Anyway, back to the package. I think I scared the poor delivery woman with my excitement. See, I was home alone that morning because everyone else was out running errands and such, but I was napping, so when the buzzer rang, I didn’t react the first time. Then came a second buzz, and I stumbled out of bed to the door to see who was there. Once I saw the delivery truck, I about fell down the stairs in my haste to get to the gate! She needed ID, and there was a ten euro charge for delivery (which, thankfully, I had in cash!), so I ran back up the stairs to grab my wallet. But eventually, the heavy box was in my possession and I was running upstairs for the last time to unearth my treasures. It felt like my birthday! You know it’s bad when you are giggling ridiculously while all alone, just you and a box. But I was just so excited!

Inside were basic things like extra toothpaste, sweet things like Mentos, useful things like my external hardrive, fun things like toys for the kids, and things that make your heart skip a beat, like books and a beautiful new watch set in EST (which, I still haven’t changed, by the way). I think I was most excited about the books, with the watch being a very close second.

The enclosed titles included: Cyrano de Bergerac, The Man Who Was Thursday, A Room with a View (which I devoured in about a day), and a guide to Tuscany and Umbria. Inside I also found Orgoglio e Pregiudizio (which Patrizio is now reading), and For Women Only (which Sara is now reading).

For Women Only is basically a guidebook to the male mind written in a language women can understand. I wish you could have seen Patrizio’s face when he picked it up and read the cover. “What is this?” he said, laughing because he had a pretty good idea of its contents based on the subtitle (“What you need to know about the inner lives of men”). When Sara and I explained it further to him, he smirked and said, “But why do you need to read this? You can just ask me!” You can imagine our mutual response to this suggestion … yeah right!

Oh, and one more happy note about the package – for some reason they were not supposed to include personal letters inside, which made me sad. However, unbeknownst to my family (at least, I think it was unbeknownst), I had slipped a couple early birthday cards I received before I left inside a couple of the books. So I got some momentos after all!

On giovedi Sara and I started watching The Holiday while the kids napped. We were able to finish it on venerdi afternoon and she absolutely loved it! I think it was a lot easier for her to follow than Pride and Prejudice. I mean, not only were the conversations slower, but there were far fewer multisyllabic words and only a handful of British dialects to decipher! We are going to watch Jane Eyre next.

The other day Sara made my day by revealing that she was just as sad about me leaving as I am. We were in the kitchen talking as Veronica finished up the last of her morning latte while Leonardo and Ginevra were out biking with Patrizio. Both of us were relishing the quiet, commenting on how peaceful it was, and she brought up the fact that school would be starting shortly after I leave and then it would just be her and Veronica most mornings – soon every morning would be quiet like this one! She said she had been thinking about it one morning, and then she was hit with just how much she was going to miss having me here to keep her company. That blessed me to hear! I mean, it is one thing to assume another person is enjoying your company and quite another to be told how much they will miss you!

One particularly happy piece of news has to do with the weather, which I find kind of humorous since the weather is generally thought of as a dull topic people turn to when they can’t think of anything else to say (not at all the case here!). We got quite a bit of rain on venerdi throughout the day and again at night, and to our delight, the temperature has dropped significantly as a result. We were all relieved: Sara and I because of the likelihood that our battle with the zarzare might be lessened, and Patrizio because his guardino has been dying a slow, painful death due to the lack of rain (it seems his indigenous rain dances finally did the trick). So in the end, all parties were satisfied by the glorious rainfall (except, momentarily, the kids, because they were frightened out of the senses during naptime when a huge clap of thunder woke them up and caused a minor scene of hysteria).

That night we watched Ratatouille, in italiano of course, because it is one of Patrizio’s favorites (those of you who have seen it will know why). When I went to bed that night, the temperature had dropped to the point that I needed to sleep in sweats and a long sleeve shirt to be comfortable – I loved it! I kept one of my windows open, so when it started raining in the middle of the night I fell back to sleep with the sound of rain lulling me to dreamland. It was just fantastic after weeks of hot nights, something you can’t truly appreciate until you have been without AC for a month!

Check out this picture: Patrizio cooked a marvelous turkey earlier this week, and they had quite the time with the drumsticks afterwards! You can’t really tell, but Ginevra is actually about to brain Leonardo with hers …

(You would never guess that behind that innocent little face lies the plotting capabilities of an impish genius, now would you?!)

However I did not sleep that well last night, not due to the weather, which was still cool and delicious, but because I had a small cup of espresso after cena (dinner), which was pretty stupid of me. Usually I just have one after pranzo (lunch), but the rain has brought in some nice cool weather so it sounded really good last night when Patrizio made some. The result? Not tired at all when I was trying to fall asleep last night. Oops. So I exercised, thinking that might make me tired. Again, stupid Bekah, just not thinking (Dad, I forgot to take my stupid pill yesterday morning – and I am running low, so please send more via airmail). My little workout gave me more energy and I was less tired than ever. Perfetto. I am not sure when I fell asleep, but I ended up waking up multiple times through the night and for good around 6 this morning. That’s the last time I enjoy an after dinner coffee!

I meandered in bed until 7:45 or so, then made my way to the kitchen where the happy noises of hungry little Falaschis were erupting. And what did I find? Everyone (minus Patrizio, who was wrapping up a night shift at the hospital) gathered around the table (which is never the case at breakfast) as Leonardo shouted “Buon compleanno!” and shoved a big birthday bag in my face as Sara scolded him in Italian and told him to let me sit down first. It melted my heart! Meanwhile, Ginevra had started wailing at the top of her lungs because she wanted a biscotto, Leonardo was still demanding that the present be opened (as he began pulling out the contents himself), and Veronica started singing in baby talk (high pitched squeals). Poor Sara! Between the two of us we put out all fires, pacified all whims, and settled down to eat and enjoy the beginning of my birthday. They gave me a beautiful scarf and Le pagine della nostra vita (literally translated: “The pages of our life,” which is the Italian version of Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook), which should be considerably easier than my first attempt – trying to read Jane Austen in italiano! Another present (which they had already given me) was a bottle of my favorite perfume, which had been left behind because of weight and then not permitted in the package my parents sent. I have already been putting that gift to use on a daily basis!

Later this morning we all went to church, which turned out to be quite the trial for me (in the best of senses and not in any way you might suppose). See, one major difference in Italian churches (at least, in the ones I have visited) is that there are no nursery services – all the children are in the sanctuary with the adults. Now, knowing that, and adding to it what I have told you about my little comrades, can you guess how I was tried?

Think about all the times you have had to fight to maintain composure – either in a church service, at a funeral, wedding, whatever – and you will have a pretty good idea of how badly I wanted to laugh at loud, but couldn’t. Ginevra sat in her stroller for about ten minutes (which amazed me), and then Leonardo started talking to her and it was all over – she leaned back to look at me and started squealing my name (as it echoed throughout the highly echoey cathedral), then started saying “Ciao!” to the old man across the aisle from her. She also walked over to him and started digging in his pants, searching for his keys, and squealed again when she found them.

Meanwhile, Leonardo, bored of crawling in and out of the pews and asking impertinent questions in normal volume (versus the whispers his nonna replied with), decided to seek amusement and answers elsewhere. He stepped out of our row, walked up to the man behind us and asked, “Finito?” I about died! It was just too funny, and I was already tired, which was not a good combination. Thankfully, I was not the only one who found them amusing, and to my relief I also succeeded in making it through the service without snorting (as is my propensity when I am very tickled by something). I think what saved me what the thought of a snort echoing through the service and everyone turning to stare and frown in astonished disapproval before kicking out the irreverent snorter and returning to the service. At such times, an overactive imagination like mine really comes in handy!

After the service we strolled down to Sansepolcro, Sara trying to keep Leonardo off various walls and fences, Patrizio trying to pacify Ginevra as she rode on the back of his bike, and me happily pushing an equally happy Veronica as she cooed in the stroller below me. Despite the predictions of rain, it turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day, complete with Carolina blue skies, warm rays of sunlight, fresh summer breezes, and full cotton candy clouds. It was a nice way to stretch our legs after the service – just a brief little interlude around the town before heading back up to the house for pranzo.

And what a pranzo it was! Patrizio went all out for my birthday, serving us a knockout plate of four-cheese gnocchi that was easily one of the best pasta plates I have had in my entire life. This was followed by corn on the cob North Carolina style, something they had gotten special for my birthday (Italians don’t really eat corn that much, and pretty much never on the cob). And then came the grand finale: freshly cut pineapple rings swimming in homemade sweet cream coupled with a delightful little cream pastries that Patrizio had picked up at the local pastry shop earlier that morning (followed by a cup of espresso for the adults, of course!). I was positively stuffed, but oh so happy. I wish I could send each of you a plate of his gnocchi – there really is no comparison, and I am afraid our version of the dish pales shamefully to this homemade goodness.

Lunch pretty much did us all in – Ginevra and Veronica went down for naps, Sara read to Leonardo before adding him to the company of sleepers, Patrizio picked up the newspaper, and I came to compose this little love letter to you all. The house is relishing one of those rare moments when all is very, very quiet!

Now technically, I am not officially twenty-one yet. In fact, I still have a couple hours to go because I was born at 2:22 p.m. EST – which translates to 8:22 this evening. But technicalities aside, I have had a very happy first day being ventuno. Oh, and Michael Phelps went and rewrote history when he won an eighth gold medal in honor of my special day … how cool is that? Thanks, Mike!

And now I am off to enjoy what is sure to be an absolutely extraordinary birthday dinner with the fam. Have a wonderful week and enjoy the rest of the Olympics!

A dopo,

Bekah

Pools, lakes, rains, pizzas e Olympics!

We have had another happy week here in Sansepolcro. Un giorno alla piscina (a day at the pool), una sera al lagho (an evening at the lake), Orgoglio e Pregiudizio (Pride and Prejudice in Italian), i gioci olimpici (the Olympic games!), pioggia (rain), and as always, lots of really good food.

Lunedi was a longer day, or afternoon really, because it was one of those days when Patrizio worked a post-lunch to evening shift. Before he left, he told Sara and me that all he wanted to do when he got home was put the kids in bed and finish watching Orgoglio e Pregiudizio, a sentiment Sara and I couldn’t have agreed with more. It was a long afternoon and evening, but we survived! Sara’s parents joined us for dinner and helped with the kids a bit, but we were still pretty much spent by the time Patrizio got home. But then at long last the kids were asleep and the film was resumed and loved by all (okay, I don’t think it is fair to say that Patrizio loved it, but he certainly didn’t detest it either).

It was absolutely hysterical to note the differences in their responses and reactions throughout the film in comparison to the first viewing. They both laughed a lot more, Sara sighed and “awwwed” a lot more, and Patrizio kept making noises of realization and comprehension (“ohhhhh” or “ha senso!”). It was interesting to watch a favorite movie with different voices too, and to my surprise (and theirs) the subtitles didn’t match up with the dialogue much of the time. Sara and I agreed that the original voices (particularly of Lizzie and Darcy) were infinitely superior, but were impressed by the voices of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, which were cast quite well indeed.

On martedi (Tuesday), Sara e io took the kids – minus Veronica – to the local piscine (pool). As we walked through the front gate, Sara immediately began forewarning me that it wasn’t a very good pool, but as you probably know from experience, “good” is a very subjective word. So there I was expecting something close to dreadful, and I walk in and see a very large and well-kept outdoor facility, not unlike many pools I have seen back home. There were two huge slides (and I mean huge – think water park size), a diving well with two large boards, a nice baby pool (which is where Sara and I spent much of the time chasing Ginevra), and a large, shaded area reserved for tables and chairs.

All in all, it seemed much like American swim clubs, but there was one major difference that was impossible to overlook – and that was the amount of skin displayed by its inhabitants, both male and female! It was very distracting at first, and the funny thing was that my own considerably more conservative swimwear seemed equally novel to them. Thankfully, I had plenty of distraction from said distraction in the form of little Gigia because she was all over the place – in and out, here and there, running away one minute and then crying for me the next. I am never ever bored by Ginevra!

That evening we had another amazing dinner of pollo, zucchine, pane di Toscana, vino ... and it was just wonderful! Patrizio had an old friend over to join us, a guy named Alessio that Leonardo just adored. After dinner I fed Veronica her evening latte and was thrilled to discover she was in a particularly cuddly mood that night. She is the sweetest little thing! Here's a picture of her getting a bath in the sink earlier this week:

The next day (mercoledi), we made another excursion to a large body of water, this time minus Veronica and Ginevra. Sara, Patrizio, Leonardo e io met up with couple friends at a nearby lake to picnic, swim, and enjoy the gorgeous views at hand.

Of course, as it would happen, after over a month of no rain, the night we chose to visit il lagho happened to be the evening a thunderstorm erupted (only thirty minutes after we arrived too!). Patrizio and his friends went swimming despite the foreboding sky and were able to get in a decent swim before we had to make a run for the van.

The picnic, however, was nixed and moved to a different location – Sara e Patrizio’s backyard, under the protection of the canopy. On the way to the house, Sara brought up the question of gelato, which, though it meant an extra trip, was deemed necessary by the females in the car, so Patrizio graciously complied (as he jokingly chanted “Mrs. Darcy” at us). The twenty-first century "As you wish," if you will.

A lovely non-picnic of sorts ensued, with good food, plenty of gelato, and lots of laughter (accompanied by funny stories in both italiano and inglese. I had met both of the friends before at other dinners hosted by Sara and Patrizio, and they both happened to speak English fluently, which was nice. I know it must be a relief to Sara to have extra translators every now and then!

Giovedi evening was one of my favorites so far. It was just the six of us, and we ordered pizza then ate out in the back yard. Italian pizza really is the best! Then, after we were all stuffed with the wonderfulness that is pizza in Tuscany, we all walked down to the center of Sansepolcro and participated in the local passeggiata, an evening walk and social time Italians often take advantage of in the evenings. Leonardo of course rode around the piazza on his bike, Ginevra ran around talking to herself as Patrizio chased her, and Sara and I strolled around leisurely with Veronica tucked away in the stroller. Then to top it off, we also bought gelato and ate it on the front steps of the cattedrale.

Afterwards, I stayed in town and went to a jazz concert being held outdoors in one of the piazzas. The music was just wonderful because they played beautifully together - sax, trumpet, pianoforte, bass, and drums. It was late evening so the temperature was cool and the air breezy, plus, the sound carried nicely through the cobblestone streets. I loved it!

The rest of the week has been equally enjoyable, though less eventful. The usual everyday chaos that I love. Check out the decor on the entryway mirror ...

We’ve been playing around the house, watching the Olympics, battling zanzare, enjoying the cooler weather brought about by an all out storm we had on Friday afternoon, and of course, eating more excellent food and enjoying the company of more friends. Friday night I was plagued by a loud, green bug that decided to join me for bed, but of course this happened right after Sara e Patrizio had gone to bed so I was on my own. After three futile attempts at smashing the brute with my book, I gave up – climbed in bed, turned out the light, and pulled the covers over me with my eyes tightly shut. When I checked on his whereabouts the next day, I discovered – to my horror – not the probably harmless green bug (which had since disappeared), but a huge, brown spider. The next word out of my mouth? “PATRIZIO!” Not knowing the word for spider, I had to run to Sara and find out in order to describe my attacker. Il ragno. A spider is un ragno in italiano. So then I was equipped to run around yelling, "Io detesto i ragni!"

I really have loved watching the Olympics here, even though the majority of the events I have seen have involved Italians and not always Americans. I also can’t understand a lot of what they say, but that has provided valuable learning opportunities, so I’m not complaining! For example, the afternoon of the opening ceremony, Sara was busy tutoring a high schooler in the kitchen and the kids were asleep, so it was up to Patrizio to explain a lot of what was being said. We each had an italiano-inglese dictionary in hand and the globe pulled out in front of us for frequent reference. It was hilarious!

I hope you all are doing well and that it is not too hot. We were pretty miserable until the rain came, but now the weather is perfetto.

Well, that’s all I have for now! Much love and molti baci.

A dopo,

Bekah

Still loving every minute ...

Ciao! Here is this week's update:

Giovedi pomeriggio e sera, we got some rain. Mere sprinkles, really. Sara and Patrizio told me that it rained a lot when the Meredith students were here from mid-May to mid-June, but that it really hasn’t pioveva since.

Patrizio has been bemoaning the slow death of his guardino, and the rest of us are longing for the cooler temperatures a good, hard rain would bring. Sfortunatamente, all the little sprinkle brought us was more humidity than we had previously – granted, it is nothing like the humidity we face on a regular basis in North Carolina, but when one becomes accustomed to the lack of it, an increase is quite noticeable!

When I got back from the internet point that afternoon, I had the house to myself for a while because Sara was still out with Leo and Gigia visiting the great aunt and Patrizio was biking or something. I enjoy the stillness, though I prefer it in small doses because, in the end, I love the bustle and energy that comes when the kids are home. Patrizio got back first, so I sat in the kitchen while he started dinner and we tried our best to talk in our respective second languages without the help of Sara, which was good, but hard – she helps so much! As a result, we had to break into the Italiano-Inglese dictionario quite frequently. Then, before long, the rest of the family was back and the dull roar of “LO-LO!” and “basta!” returned. I wish I could film one of our dinners and post it for you to witness, because it really is one of the most entertaining ordeals sometimes!

After dinner the noisy pair went on a bike ride with their babbo, so Sara and I had little Veronica and a quiet house. The rest of the quiet period consisted of bathing and changing the bambina, putting her to bed, starting the laundry, folding the laundry, straightening up, etc. And then when Patrizio returned with Leonardo and Ginevra and the bedtime rituals of bathing, reading, buona notte-ing, and so on took place, along with the usual exclamations of “No, no, NO!” and unintelligible Italian squawking from Ginevra. So as you see, bedtime can be highly amusing too (well, for me anyway … I can tell it gets old sometimes for Sara and Patrizio!).

Venerdi brought August along, and with it another molto caldo giorno. That morning Ginevra got her haircut (although, both Sara and I commented that it looked like they hardly took any off at all – probably because she was squirming), and I played with Leonardo and Veronica in the backyard while Sara made a quick run to the supermercato. Leonardo brought a cd player outside and played the same song over and over and over until I at long last truly empathized with my parents (I did the same as a child … and preteen … and teenager). Sometimes it takes firsthand experience to truly bring about heart change!

After about ten o’clock or so the heat really set in and so Sara and I kept the kids indoors and tried to keep them happily engaged until Patrizio came home around 13:00. To our relief, Patrizio made us more delicious panesanella – a cold salad-like dish (refer back to my first Italy post for a picture), which was followed by full, juicy uve verde (green grapes) and then sliced formaggio with honey drizzled on top. Perfetto.

After Sara and I had cleaned up and the kids were all sleeping, Patrizio took me over to visit the Bankers (Maureen and Jim), particularly so I could see their delightful house and yard. The Bankers live in what was Sara and Patrizio’s first house, so there are a lot of memories in that place for the two of them. It was probably the sweetest little home I have ever seen. Here is how I described it in a recent email:

“[The house is settled] among the Tuscan hills with a cows and horses for neighbors – and all I can say is, [the Bankers] live as I live in my happiest dreams! Their house is made up of three small rooms (it used to be a barn), and was actually the house that Patrizio and Sara lived in when they were first married. Before the wedding, Patrizio and his father worked to convert the barn into a home, and his uncle helped build the indoor cabinetry, etc. The result of their labor is the loveliest little house, the kind that makes you feel you are at home the moment you walk through the door. And, to add to its overall appeal, the surrounding land is equally enchanting. During the preparation of the house, Patrizio also cultivated the outdoors into a garden … and what a garden it is! There are all sorts of fruit trees (cherry, plum, nectarine, persimmon, pear), walnut trees (two of them support a hammock in between), vegetables like squash, eggplant, tomatoes (and more) that grow on the side of a sloping hill out back, and a view that rivaled all I have ever thought beautiful [… b]asically it seemed an embodiment of absolute perfection!”

When Leo was about a year old, Sara e Patrizio had to leave it and move into their current house because they knew they wanted to expand their family – and expanding a structure of any kind in Tuscany is about as complicated as getting a visa to live there. All I could think about as Maureen showed me around was how idyllic it all was, and how much I wanted to live in a place like it someday. It was like something out of a novel, but so down to earth and modest at the same time – no “marble halls” or anything of extreme monetary value. Just life. It was so full of life, life and beauty. And, of course, Jim, Patrizio, Maureen, and I had a wonderful time talking as well, all the while eating walnuts and plums from the trees outside. I loved it!

Sabato, ieri, was another hot day, but a nice, slow one. Patrizio had worked a night shift and wasn’t coming back until mid-morning, so Sara and I took the kids to il parco around 9:30 or so to enjoy the outdoors while it was still bearable.

On the way to the park Sara stopped in to buy bread at a local bakery, so I waited outside on the cobblestone streets with two strollers and an antsy little Leo wanting to take off on his bike. While we waited, and older Italian woman came up to me and started rattling off in italiano, which took me by surprise, but thankfully I was still able to respond with a laugh and say, “Sono americana – io parlo inglese!” (“I’m an American – I speak English!”). I wish I could proudly tell you that I answered her in flawless Italian, but I am not quite there yet! However, I was immensely flattered that she had mistaken me for a native. That means I’m not sticking out like an awkward foreigner anymore!

Later that afternoon I went out on my own to make a few necessary purchases, mainly the long elusive stamps and some more tank tops to defy the incredibly hot weather. As I was walking around Sansepolcro, I couldn’t help but notice (and laugh) at the difference among the response to me when I am out with Sara and the kids versus when I am out by myself. See, before leaving I thought dyeing my hair brown would be the best way to avoid calling unnecessary attention to my person, but this has not proved as affective a technique as that of the stroller and/or baby-on-the-hip method. When I am pushing a stroller I can tell that I am practically nonexistent/invisible to the opposite sex, but when I am both stroller- and child-less, the response is quite the opposite. It seems I misjudged when it came to what changing my hair color would be good for, because while I undoubted blend in better, it seems that attention from the male sex is generated not by the color of my hair or my country of origin but rather from my status as a living, breathing female. However, the good news is that my “don’t even think about messing with me” facial expression has so far proved unilingual and extremely affective – it seems to work every bit as well in Italia as in the States. And honestly, while Italian men in general may be more blatant with their eyes, they are not aggressive (here, anyway) and I never feel in any way threatened – just annoyed.

In other news, life without AC has been interesting for me, but for the most part I appear to have adjusted quite well. I had a dizzy spell after dinner last night, but after drinking more water and laying down for a while felt just fine. Sara and Patrizio think it was probably just a mix of being in sun a lot that day, still getting used to not having AC, and general tiredness – and the wine at dinner didn’t help either. They were telling me that if you are already dehydrated, hot, or tired even a half glass of wine (which is about all I had) can make you dizzy.

Mom and Dad, you will like this: now that they know I need to drink more water, Sara and Patrizio are both always asking if I need more water (and I am consistently accepting the offers, so I should be good now). They said it is even very hot for them right now, and they aren’t used to AC, so they are being so considerate of me and trying to make my survival of the heat minus the luxury I am used to as easy as possible. I can’t stop saying how wonderful they are!

Today I met one of their neighbors that had been on vacanze, and yet again the lovely sensation of being told that I looked so much younger than my age. Now, this is a frequent enough occurence in the U.S., so being confused for a younger girl is nothing new to me, but the number of times it has happened over here has surprised me. "Almost twenty-one? Miseracordia ("mercy!"), I thought you were much younger than that. No, really, I thought you were considerably younger." Hmmmmm ... grazie? I can't quite figure it out - I mean, it could be considered more of a compliment here, or maybe I just look younger than most 20-somethings here. Who knows?

Tonight we are all heading over to Sara’s parents’ house to celebrate her mother’s birthday. I am very excited about going because I love being around that entire family and, to top it off, I know that there will be loads of amazing food involved as well! Talk about a winning combination, right?

Then, to close off the evening, Sara, Patrizio, and I decided that we would put the kids to bed early tonight (early for them being 21:30 – 9:30 p.m.!) and then start watching Orgoglio e Pregiudizio, the Italian-dubbed version of the one we just watched in English. So now the roles are to be reversed, and I will be relying on quick listening and/or subtitles. I might even just ask them to put on Italiano subtitles, because I know the movie so well and, being a visual learner, I think it would help me to see the sentences written out. I think it’s going to be terrific – great for my Italian and fun for them to watch it in their language!

That’s all I have for now. From here on out I will be posting on Sunday afternoons (midday-ish for you) only to cut down on Internet point costs … so I am afraid they will be both infrequent and long, like the last one. Bear with me until Siena – I think I will be able to post more often and in smaller chunks then.

Until next Sunday! Have a wonderful week wherever you are and whatever you are doing, and never hesitate to email me if you get the chance because I can check my email daily on Sara’s home computer.

Ciao!

Bekah

La mia settimana in review

Ciao! I am very behind so I will try to catch you up as quickly as I can. We’ll see how far I get this time …

Last venerdi (Friday), Sara e Patrizio had some friends over for dinner – a thirty-something couple with a little boy Leonardo’s age. The husband spoke perfect inglese, with hardly any accent, and the wife could talk with me just fine in her less-perfect English. We all ate outside (Sara and I got more mosquito bites) and once again, I tried new foods and loved them. My parents will be shaking their heads as they read this because I was a notoriously picky eater as a child – and have continued to snub certain foods as a young adult too! Well, what can I say? I have at long last seen the light! That night, Patrizio made another salad for us – cured prociutto lined the bottom of the plate, with little funghi, green olives, greens, and olive oil on top (yes, mia famiglia, I ate mushrooms and green olives!). On a separate plate were patate fritte e zucchini, which I also enjoyed. The whole time we ate, Ginevra – who was sitting at my right – kept reaching over and picking the little mushrooms off of my plate and popping them in her mouth like they were rightfully hers!

After trying a new type of vino rosso and my first sampling of limoncello (which was so strong that I felt the warmth in my nose, ears, and sinuses!), we had gelato … which was, amazingly enough, my first gelato since I have been here. It was so delicious: swirls of white and regular chocolate gelati with curls of shaved cioccolato sprinkled on and throughout the mix. And, to my delight, Sara e Patrizio serve gelato the way that I do – in grande portions (molto grande!). They also eat with their elbows on the table, a habit I have always enjoyed very much but consciously avoided in the United States for obvious reasons.

After dinner, the men took the kids to the front yard and played kickball. I took Veronica from Sara to give her the chance to talk with her friend without the little squirmer in her lap, then proceeded to bounce la bellina on my hip as I walked around the yard, through the house, etc. It’s so funny, because every time I take Veronica from Sara or Patrizio to hold her or feed her (or whatever), they thank me like I am performing some incredible sacrifice, or doing them a huge favor, when really I am being as selfish as can be – because getting time to hold and play with Veronica is such a joy for me!

I also got to meet Sara’s parents, whom I had met before when I was in Sansepolcro with Meredith (although they did not remember me since I was with twenty-odd girls that time!). They were both so kind to me, and I look forward to spending more time with them too.

Once the guests had left, Leonardo wanted to play me a song (he kept saying, “Conosci!” – “You know!”). After Patrizio found the right disc and pressed play, Queen’s We Will Rock You came on and “Nardo” started dancing – it was so cute! Later that night, I took him into my room and played him the same song on my iTunes, which made him laugh.

Sabato was a nice, quiet sort of day. I spent the morning coloring and playing calcio with Leonardo, chasing and tumbling with Ginevra, and cuddling and cooing at Veronica. Nardo helped me feed Veronica after pranzo, and it ended with much of the food going down her front and all over her clothes – Sara and I couldn’t help but laugh at the state of her afterwards! She was quite the sight! There she was, happy as could be, even with green baby food and applesauce everywhere.

That afternoon, la mia amica, Sam Cibelli, made her way to Sansepolcro after spending a month of study in Siena and a few days of sight-seeing in Firenze. I walked down to the bus station to meet her, but of course, her bus came later than expected so there were about three false alarms (other buses that I thought were hers) before I actually saw her smiling face through the tinted window. She was very tired, not only from the long rides on i treni e l’autobus, but from the go go go of the past month, so a couple days in Sansepolcro was exactly what she needed.

As I walked her back up the hillside to Sara e Patrizio’s house, we began the long process of catching one another up on all the happenings that had taken place between our last good talk (the night before she left for Italy) and the present. It was very hot, and carrying her smaller (but still surprisingly heavy) backpack carried my mind to memories of last summer when it seemed like I had one on more than off!

We came back home to Sara enjoying a nice, quiet house – Leo and Gigia were with i nonni (grandparents) for the afternoon and Veronica was still sleeping. Sam and I disposed of her bags, then joined Sara in the kitchen pulling out food for Sam (who, of course, said she was fine and just needed water, so I jumped in and informed Sara that she was in fact quite hungry and needed a snack!). A few minutes later, the three of us were chatting in the kitchen when Patrizio came in from biking, dancing into the house with his helmet and all his biking gear still on, and singing “Carolina Girls” (the song performed annually by Meredith students for the Italian host families at the closing dinner in June). Sara laughingly shushed Patrizio and chased him back outside with a wave of rapid fire Italian and a playful near-kick in the pants. Sam and I were laughing all the while at their antics, trying not to choke on our drinks or wake Veronica with the noise.

When she did wake up, Sam and I were still visiting with Sara and Patrizio in the kitchen over drinks and fruit, so I ran in and picked up the little bambina so that she could join in the fun too. One of the sweetest things about Veronica is her winning smile (that consistently appears mere moments after waking up, which is more than I can say for myself), and the glowing look she bestowed on Sam was every bit as lovely as always.

Thus began Sam’s happy but all-too-brief stay in Sansepolcro. She got to stay through Monday morning, but of course the days flew by in the busyness of talking with Sara about all things Italy, eating Patrizio’s excellent dishes, playing with the kids in the house and yard, laughing at Ginevra’s table manners (the best free entertainment – every night!), and of course, talking late into the night about her time in Italy and trying very hard to catch up on absolutely everything before our time ran out and it was time for her to leave.

Domenica began with Sam sleeping far later than anticipated (she woke up around the time that the family got back in from church and took off for la casa dei nonni). Then, having the house to ourselves for the afternoon, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, took our own sweet time getting ready, and then took off down one of my favorite haunts outside the city walls. The weather was absolutely perfetto, and made for some beautiful pictures of the Tuscan landscape around us, but it was also quite hot.

By the time we made it to the river and back, we were parched and slightly baked (though thankfully, not burned!), so there was nothing left for us to do but crash on the couch, pull out my laptop, and watch Pride and Prejudice. Best way to spend a hot afternoon really – we had Patrizio’s leftover panesanella to fill our tummies, the shutters closed to block out the caldo sun, and handsome characters with British accents and dashing blue coats to make us (or in reality, mainly me) sigh on occasion.

Then the viewing took a humorous turn, because Patrizio dropped by to pick up his bike (he is currently training for an event in agosto). The movie had just started, and so Sam and I tried to explain what we were watching and the main storyline as the action unfolded. Since our vocabulary is still rather limited, and the fast pace English – Briton-style – too hard for him to follow, we resorted to the following sort of explanations: “Il uomo rosso piace sorella bionda e la sorella bruna non piace il uomo bruno,” which translates roughly to “the red (haired) man likes the blonde sister and the brunette sister does not like the brown (haired) man.” He only had time for about the first ten minutes or so, but his face was priceless! It was clear that the facial expressions and tones (as well as the reactions Sam and I produced) were getting across the main idea, but, true to form, Patrizio was also trying to grasp what they were actually saying too, and the result was lots of furrowing of the brows and confused looks in our direction. After about fifteen minutes he called it quits (for now) and went biking. I think that it might go over better next time if we make sure Sara is around to help out a bit. Then, about halfway through the movie, Sam had also deserted me by falling asleep on the spot, so I ended up watching a good forty-five minutes or so by myself. Thankfully, she woke up in time to enjoy the happy ending. So all in all, we had a perfectly wonderful day.

The next morning she had to make an 8:46 bus to Arezzo, and owing to two realities (her procrastination in packing and my lack of directional capabilities) she almost missed it! Her last minute packing had us out the door at 8:36 (instead of the 8:25 departure I suggested) and then, because I only know the straightforward but long way down to the center of town (i.e., it contains one turn, not four or five), we had to run most of the way there (with backpacks on, mind you!). We ended up at the stazione right at 8:36 and no bus was in sight. Sam pronounced that we must have missed it, but I assured her that this was not the case.

And I was right.

At 8:37 the Arezzo bus turned the corner and opened its doors to take my Cibelli away, off to southern Italy and the relatives that waited. We gave each other quick bear hugs and then she was on her way. I was sad to see her go, but was still so grateful that I got to see her at all that the sadness of saying goodbye was almost niente to bear. All semester long we had talked and talked about seeing each other in Italy when we figured out our visits would overlap, but never actually thought it would work!

Lunedi was another nice day at home. I played with the kids outside in the morning, then helped get them out the door around 11. Sara had to take Veronica to the doctor for a checkup and Patrizio took Leo and Gigia out and then over to the grandparents for the afternoon. So while I had the house to myself I enjoyed a nice shower, straightened up, and then waited for lunchtime to roll around again. Veronica went down for a nap after her appointment, so Sara and I started getting the kitchen ready for Patrizio. When he arrived, preparation of an amazing lunch followed, as is the trend in this household.

One thing I especially like about the Italian lifestyle is their lunch hours – yes, hours. Plural. It allows people to actually go home and make, then enjoy a really nice lunch with friends or family, and I just love it. There is rarely any rush, and it even allows for a nap if you are prompt about eating.

Well, that particular lunchtime it just so happened that only Sara, Patrizio, and me were home to eat – no children (expecting little Veronica of course, who was sleeping)! What followed was yet another set of some of the most enjoyable hours I have had here. See, because I am still struggling to comprehend fast Italian dialogue, and Patrizio is the same with English, we try to meet in the middle sometimes when the three of us are talking: I talk in Italian as best I can, he in English, and Sara in both, helping the two of us out as needed. The result was probably the slowest and most relaxing lunch we have had so far, because so much thought was going into the talking that the eating had to take the backseat sometimes! Sara is always so patient with me, and offers gentle corrections without making me feel stupid or inarticulate. And there is so much good natured humor in these bilingual conversations too, because Patrizio and I are trying so hard, but still make all sorts of funny mistakes. They really do the most incredible job when it comes to making me feel like a part of the family and seeing to it that every possible need of mine is met above and beyond what I could want. I am so thankful for the chance to get immersed in Italian in the midst of such an amazing family!

That night, we had dinner guests again (as we more often do than do not!). Sara laughs and says that since Patrizio does the cooking, she can never say no when he wants to have people over for dinner. We have started calling him a “social butterfly,” a concept I had to explain since it doesn’t translate with the same meaning (Patrizio immediately wanted to know if it was a good thing in America for men to be “butterflies!”). Anyhow, this time around the visitors actually shared my native language, though they were also fluent in Italian too. Maureen Banker, a Meredith professor of art that has retired in Sansepolcro, came with her husband, Jim, to visit and eat with us. Over the years the Bankers have become very close with Sara, Patrizio, and the children, but they had been on vacation in Firenze for a month, so there was much catching up to do! I enjoyed the time with them as well, and it was fun to talk about Meredith again, and the mutual people that we knew from back home. I’ll never forget the change in look and tone when I told Maureen I was studying English at Meredith (“Ohhhhh, an English major,” she replied – in other words, “You’re one of those!”). Indeed. And rather proud of it too!

That night we enjoyed one of the most delectable dinners yet (see below). Oh, did I mention that Patrizio is a gourmet chef? Probably not. I didn’t want to let out all the amazing details of my life here all at once and risk of rampant cases of jealousy breaking out among my loved ones. I think it goes without saying that I am eating remarkably well every single day!

The dinner was accompanied by another happy surprise for me – a new vino dolce to try. Sara’s father had been given a bottle of sweet, white wine as a gift, but since he is not a fan of sweet wines, and knew that I very much am, he gave it to Patrizio and said it was especially for me! Can you see why I can’t stop talking about how wonderful my Italian family is? Sara’s parents come over on a regular (pretty much daily) basis, and I have become fast friends with both of them as well. Her mother is every bit as patient with my slow Italian as Sara is, and her father does the sweetest little things for me – he even tracked down some contact information regarding an evangelical church when he found out I was a Protestant!

Then, to top off my prima settimana in Italia, I got to spend the day in Assisi with (l-r) Chiara (Sara’s younger sister who lives in Milano), Sara, Leonardo, and Patrizio:

Assisi, home of the much revered saint, Francesco, is a hill town about an hour or so from Sansepolcro. We visited three belle chiese (churches), including the crypts below where we saw the remains of Santa Chiara and San Francesco himself.

The spectacular views of the Tuscan landscape went on and on, with the shadows of mountains looming in the distance. I tried to capture them on my camera, but I’m afraid my shots hardly do them justice.

As the day wore on, Nardo got tired and kept asking us to carry him. It was so hot that no one could oblige for very long, but you can see by the look on his face just how pleased he was when he finally got his way for a while.

We also got to see the college of culinary arts that Patrizio attended, walked around the beautiful city and took in the lovely architecture, then picnicked on the side of a mountain. Lunch was promptly followed by a universal nap – do they know how to live or what? Camping mats were rolled out on the happy slant of the hillside for the ladies and a not at all sleepy Leonardo, while Patrizio stretched out on the picnic table’s accompanying bench. The trees protected us from the heat of the day and the much needed rest was exactly what my body wanted.

After we all woke up (whereupon I discovered no fewer than four mosquito bites on me, one the side of a half dollar – yes, they love me here too!), we loaded back into the van and rambled through the beautiful hills until we came to another Francesco visiting area. It was a quiet, outdoor oasis intended for prayer and meditation, so most of the time was spent with we adults trying to take in the soft spoken beauty around us while constantly telling Leonardo zitto, zitto, zitto (“Zip it!”). The frequent signs reading “Silenzio” have absolutely no effect on nonreaders, who are usually the ones actually needing the admonition, yes?

The ride home was a relatively quiet one, so before long Leonardo and I were both asleep. When we got home Veronica was promptly picked up from one set of grandparents; picking up Ginevra from the other grandparents was put off until after dinner – and the house was much quieter as a result! However, we were very happy to have her back later that evening, and she provided no end of after dinner entertainment for the adults.

That night, Patrizio stuffed us with homemade gnocchi that was out of this world, and, as usual, he invited company over to enjoy it with us. His friend, named – ironically – Francesco, had lived in London for five years and spoke perfect English, but after we had gone through the preliminary questions that follow most introductions, the language of the evening was almost entirely Italian. I was actually surprised by how much I could follow though, and when Francesco talked to me in Italian (clearly and deliberately, but not what I would consider slowly), I actually grasped what he was saying with very little difficulty. I really enjoyed talking about London with him, and it was interesting to note the Briton slant to his accent. And then, of course, the four of us (Sara, Patrizio, Francesco, and I) ended the evening talking outside around the picnic table, with Ginevra and Veronica for entertainment (Leonardo was busy playing in the front yard with his friend, Ricardo, so he missed out). After Francesco left, I showed Sara and Patrizio the pictures I had taken at Assisi that day, as well as more pictures from home, a few from my younger years, and then snapshots of London and Ireland.

And that brings me to mercoledi – whew! I’m beginning to wonder how many of you are still with me! Yesterday we were mostly just in and about the house, playing with the kids, eating more good food of course, and trying to stay cool. Yet though Sara and I didn’t take them anywhere, by the end of the day we were both positively spent. Patrizio did not get off work until 8:30 or 9, and by the time he did, Sara and I were both on the verge of meltdown (the kind where one laughs uncontrollably out of pure exhaustion). He came in the door and started to tell us about his day (in English), saying that it had been a quiet day at the hospital, so he had done nothing but study English and practice past tense (which he then preceded to demonstrate for us), but try as we might, Sara and I could not listen with straight faces. I think it was because he used the phrase “I did nothing tonight,” which, of course, made us a little bit angry at him since we had been chasing down Ginevra, breaking up fights, getting spit up on, etc all day long!

Tired Bekah? Si! :)

So there we were, bursting into giggle fits while poor Patrizio tries to tell us about his day with his newly refined past tense. Before long he started laughing too, thinking he had said something wrong and thus funny in English, and we had to keep telling him that we weren’t laughing at him – it was just that we were tired. So, considering our state of mental exhaustion, you can imagine how we reacted when he told us a few minutes later that he was taking Leonardo and Ginevra out for a bike ride about Sansepolcro … “GRAZIE, PATRIZIO!!!”

Later that night after the kids were in bed, Sara and I pulled out my laptop and started watching more of Pride and Prejudice (we had gotten about thirty minutes into it on Monday) while she was ironing. Before long, Patrizio came in and joined us under the pretense that he was eating and had nothing better to do (though, he stayed and watched it with us until we all turned in for the night). We had the subtitles on to make it easier for them to follow and made it up to the point where Lizzy gets the letter about Lydia and Mr. Wickham. Sara was saying that she really wanted to get an Italian version, which would be great practice for me too!

One thing that I found particularly interesting came up when we were talking about Donald Sutherland. They recognized his face, but Sara explained that this was the first time they had actually heard his voice because all the films she had ever seen with him had been dubbed. It is kind of amazing to think about really – that they know all these famous American and British faces in TV and movies, but have never heard their real voices? And the crazy thing is, there are many actors, like Sutherland for example, that I love specifically for their voices. And then there is the inverse for me – watching an American film that has been dubbed – which is also quite an experience. At the end of August, Prince Caspian is coming out in Sansepolcro and we are going to go see it! I can’t wait, and I am really hoping my listening comprehension will have improved significantly by then.

And that brings me to today: giovedi. Sara and I had another busy morning with the kids, but this afternoon is a quiet one for me because I now have the house to myself. Sara went with her dad and sister (with Leo and Gigia in tow) to visit a great-aunt that lives out of town and has wanted to meet Ginevra. I had Veronica for a while, but after Patrizio got back from the supermercato he took her over to Sara’s mother for the afternoon and then took off to bike and run. So here I am, typing up the last of this very long account, shaking my head at how much more I could tell you if there was time! Thus, as a parting gift, here are a few random sketches of happy and humorous moments that did not make it into the previous rant because I either forgot about or overlooked them during the first run through:

Feeding Veronica

This is a task that, despite its daily nature, never gets old for me – probably because my subject goes about the ordeal with such animation. One would think the bambina had not eaten in a few days instead of only a few hours! I have also fine-tuned the best method and can get her through one bowl in roughly five minutes. The key? Three simple steps: scoop, deliver, swipe. First, I scoop a smallish glob of baby food into the spoon. Then, the spoon is delivered with intention, carefully avoiding the grasping fingers when this proves a problem and lifting the spoon deftly upon delivery to insure that all of the gloop makes it into her mouth. But the job is only complete upon conclusion of the swipe. Think about a squeegee, and then imagine that the edge of the spoon is the instrument and Veronica’s mouth the glass surface. It works (almost) every time, and I can now complete all three actions in about 4.7 seconds. Prunes are more difficult because they lack a thicker consistency and Veronica has a propensity to splurt them everywhere, but for the most part, I am basically a pro.

Mosquito Magnet

Although I am not the only one that is adored by mosquitoes – Sara and I are the dynamic duo – I tend to attract them away from most everyone else. My theory is, they like foreign blood because it makes them feel exotic or something. The funny thing is that even when Sara and I take pains and wear long pants to avoid an itchy evening (as the kids run gleeful in shorts and Patrizio enjoys a cool, shirtless existence), the stupid pests still make a beeline for us! One evening in particular this point was markedly made, for, when the mosquitoes discovered my legs – and arms! – were protected by pants and long sleeves, they went straight for my forehead. Awesome. Sam swatted one away before it had done too much damage, but a few minutes later I felt the itch creep on and knew it was too late. I turned to Sara, mute but on the verge of erupting into laughter, and just pointed. At my head. And the bump. It was too much – she broke out into hysterical laughter and then pointed to Patrizio – still untouched despite wearing shorts and nothing else – and said, “It’s not fair, is it?”

Principe Leonardo

Leonardo is quite the talker, but a lot of the time I have absolutely no idea what he has just said. He goes off on tangents (happy ones) that generally end in a question, and then looks at me expectantly as Sara and Patrizio laugh at my helpless expression. So, in lieu of these tangents that I rarely understand, he has begun to frequent one-worded commands. His favorites? Vieni (“Come!”), tieni (“Hold [this]!”), and prendi (“Take [this]!”). As a result, I have taken to calling him Prince Leo. The little principe has also had to learn that per favore is a required add-on to his requests …

Basta!

Ginevra also has a list of frequently used words, “no” and “basta” (stop!) being among those primarily used. The funny thing is, the way that she says basta is with a bit of a lisp (bahth-duh!), and, to top it off, sounds a lot like her version of “Bekah.” So, half the time I can’t tell if she is yelling my name or telling someone to stop. Her name for Veronica is equally confusing: “Lo Lo.” No one is sure where that came from, since there is no “lo” sound in “Veronica,” or an “L” either for that matter (our best guess is that it came from sorella, which means “sister”). However, whenever she says “Low-LOH!” everyone knows exactly who is being referred to, so in the end, it works!

In other Ginvera news, I have discovered that she prefers being upside down more than right-side up, and have been promoted to a happy existence among the ranks of those lucky enough to receive morning kisses from “Gigia.”

Thus, my very happy life in Sansepolcro goes on with me continuing to love it more and more each day. I hope that all of you are well – many thanks to those who have emailed me! If you have not received a response yet, you should soon. Thank you for your patience! A dopo …

much love and molti baci – Bekah

Te amo, Sansepolcro!

Ciao everyone!

Mi dispiace that I have taken so long to post – it has been a busy week for me! Let me begin by trying to find a word that can possibly describe just how wonderful it is to be back in Sansepolcro … hmmm … nope … niente. I’m afraid no word exists yet! I will work on it.

Sara e Patrizio have been absolutely wonderful to me and i bambini are just adorably sweet. Leonardo is four years old and we are already good buddies. He wants me to do everything with him all the time!

Ginevra is two, into everything all the time, and likes to climb pretty much anything bigger than herself. She is trying very hard to add my name to her growing vocabulary list.

And then there is the baby, Veronica, who is one of the most happily-tempered babies I’ve ever known.

But before I go on and on about my felice life in Sansepolcro, I should debrief you on my trip. Overall, it was a very good one, though there were decided highs and lows, of course. The flight from RDU to Dulles was a warm one (the pilot said the air conditioner sometimes took a while to cool off the plane, and we were only in the air for 45 minutes or so), but thankfully I was in the very front row and thus, able to make a quick exit once we had landed.

In Dulles, after I had made my way to the proper gate, I saw a Starbucks nearby and went in for what might be my last chai frappecchino for a very long time – and left with possibly the worst frappecchino of all time (it looked like my cup was full of glaziers, not slush). When it was time to board, I chucked the cup and waved goodbye to Dulles with my numb fingers. My seat number was 23A, which meant I was in the Economy Plus section of the airplane; I later learned that this was because I originally bought a ticket for a Lufthansa plane (which is usually operated by United Airlines in the U.S.), so when they made the switch I was automatically placed in the roomier economy quarters. And, being in an “A” seat meant window – yes!

Anyway, I was thrilled to pieces about the arrangement, so the only trepidation that remained was in the identity of my seatmate. And, as it turned out, I was quite pleasantly surprised there as well. Lucius, a German student returning home to Munich after a year of community service in Savannah, was probably one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met on my travels. He walked up with a frappecchino in hand and almost immediately struck up a conversation with me (despite the fact that I had headphones on and was clearly engrossed in Wharton’s The Age of Innocence). Thus began a nearly nonstop conversation – by takeoff, we were already discussing the presidential election and comparing it with the structure of Germany’s political system.

Basically the only times we weren’t talking were the handful hours that I tried very dutifully to fall asleep (and failed) or during the in-flight movie. I think we probably annoyed the people sitting in front of and behind us because we never shut up! Another thing I really enjoyed about him was that, even though he had flown this very route at least three or four times, he still expressed wonder and delight over things like the way the wing of the airplane worked, or the beauty of clouds when looking down at them from above. He had this wealth of knowledge, and yet, still possessed an innate pleasure in “little” things too.

Sleep proved elusive for me because it was absolutely bone-chilling on that plane. I had on two shirts (one of them long-sleeved) and blue jeans, and was swaddled in both mine and Lucius’ blankets – clutching both pillows as a shield of sorts to protect me from the AC. He had dressed more appropriately and, being at least 6’6” and on the husky side, apparently produced enough body heat to endure the frigid climate better than I. In light of this, he took special pains to make sure I was comfortable during the flight, yet never gave me a moment’s hesitation as to his character or intentions – he always polite, and his behavior always gentlemanly in nature. My only regret is that I never got the chance to tell him thank you at the end. As the plane emptied, there was a lot of confusion and we were separated. I looked for him again at customs, but never saw him again. I only hope that Lucius realized just how much his kindness was appreciated.

The flight from Munich to Piza was also pleasant, though by this time I had been awake for about 24 hours and was beginning to feel the effects of the intercontinental flight on my back. It began by being delayed, and then not so very delayed, and then ultimately, rather delayed. The plane was very small, which, for me, was not a problem (I like roller coasters). However, there were barfbags sticking out of the back of each seat, so the size of the plane clearly has not sat well with all! My companion for this flight was a 50-60 something Polish man, who wanted to make sure I knew he was from Poland, not Holland. His English was sometimes hard to understand, but we got along just fine and I enjoyed the company.

My only complaint with him is that when he heard how old I was, he said he thought I looked much younger than twenty – but, to his credit, he then when on to say that his daughter, now thirty-three, is mistaken for 25 all the time (“So, you will like it later!” he said). We had the sweetest little snack – peach-applesause, orange juice, tea cookies, and something else that I remember liking (but I can’t remember what exactly it was now).

Upon landing, we climbed down the steps to the runway (yes, it was that small) and were shuttled over to pickup our luggage. From there I said farewell to my Polish friend and made my way to the information desk to find out about train tickets. Those being bought, I made my way over to the proper binario and boarded. I stopped at one of the Firenze stations to catch another train before finally – FINALLY! – reaching Arezzo where Sara e Patrizio came to take me home to Sansepolcro.

And now I can rave about how fantastic my time here has been. After arriving martedi evening, which was the 22nd, I unpacked, played with the kids before dinner, then enjoyed a delicious meal of salmone e pomodori al forno, compliments of Patrizio. I had my first glass of red wine, which was, despite Sara’s and my asking Patrizio to give me a small taste, hard for me to finish, but not as bad as I anticipated. Then I was quizzed as to what kinds of flavors and types I preferred, both in foods and wines. I assured them I would try anything, but added that in the past, I had preferred sweeter, lighter wines (“Ah, dolce! Bianco? Ah, bianco e rosa, si.”).

After dinner, Leonardo wanted to watch La Bella e la Beastia with me, and I must say, the movie was better in Italian! I went to bed that night after being away for about 36 hours, probably the longest I have ever been awake. I think it took me about thirty seconds to fall asleep after the light went off!

Ieri, mercoledi, Sara and I took the kids out in the strollers (Leonardo rode his bike) so that I could learn how to get to the center of Sansepolcro from their house. As you will hear later, this lesson only partially stuck with me, but that is because of my directionally challengedness, not Sara’s lack of instruction!

After una buona cena, which consisted of pasta con pesto, pane, e frutte, Sara said that Patrizio was going to Montecasale (a monastery founded by St. Francis – San Francesco) and that he would be glad to take me too. So off I went, admittedly clutching onto the motorcycle for dear life at first, but after we had clearly survived a few turns, I relaxed a bit and started enjoying the sights around me. Riding a motorcycle up the winding hills of Tuscany is infinitely superior to that of an autobus. Protected by one of Sara’s sweaters, I was able to enjoy the cool breezes and glorious sights – and, of course, now I want a motorcycle more than ever :)

From Montecasale, all of Sansepolcro and Anghiari and beyond was in view! True to form, I took tons of pictures, where appropriate at least (i.e., not in the chapel). Patrizio showed me around inside first, then, while he attended an afternoon mass given by the monks that live there, I explored the outside grounds. I will try to post all my pictures of beautiful Montecasale very soon – they will be on the Picasa site though, because the blog takes a while to load pictures!

After about an hour or so at Montecasale, we started back down through the Tuscan mountains and countryside. Patrizio was going to drop me off at the local mercato to pick up things like bottles of shampoo and lotion that had been left behind to lower the weight of my suitcase. He let me off at the entrance, and was about to drive off, but then, unsure that I really knew the right places to turn on the walk home, had me get back on (“Two minutes!”) and drove me up the street to remind me where the turn was. Is this family attentive to my needs or what?! In another minute he had me back down at the grocery store and I, thanking him profusely for his help, walked in to make my purchases.

It took me a while to make sure I was buying what I thought I was buying, but before long I had found the things I needed, paid with my Euros, and was walking back up the mountain to Via Sbragi. So, through the combined efforts of Sara e Patrizio, I made it home on my own without getting lost!

That night, we ate dinner outside in the backyard. Patrizio had made a traditional insalata di Toscana (see picture below), and there was also Tuscan bread con prociutto and fresh pineapple. I couldn’t stop eating long enough to grab my camera during my first serving of the insalata, so I “had” to get some more :) According to Sara, the secret to the recipe is the Tuscan bread.

Mid-meal, Patrizio took my partially full glass of water, said “excuse me,” chucked its contents onto the grass below, filled it with a new sampling of wine, and then set it down for me to try. It was perfect! Very dolce vino bianco, light, and yet, very flavorful too. And, to top it off, I haven’t had any headaches so far!

Today Sara and I took the children to a park to play for a while, then we walked through Sansepolcro again before heading back home for another mouth-watering lunch. Afterwards, I fed Veronica while Sara washed the dishes; Patrizio had taken Leonardo e Ginevra outdoors to ride bikes and play, so it was nice to get the chance for the two of us to talk and visit in a quiet house for a while. I could tell she enjoyed the stillness very much!

After that I walked down to town for a while and dawdled around the streets I grew to love last summer. It’s been a lot like reencountering a brief but special friendship – reacquainting does not have the same ease as one with an old, lifelong companion, but then at the same time, discovering all the things you liked and loved before is easy. So yes, I have needed to reorient and remind myself directionally, but emotionally, all the old feelings are there – and so I appreciate Sansepolcro all the more this second time around.

I was thinking about how blessed I was to be back today, and I came up with this analogy: to visit Sansepolcro for a day is a delight, and to stay for a month, delightfully wonderful. But to come back again, for a second, third, or fourth extended stay, is truly a gift from above, and to live here, well, no that is a taste of heaven.

If you’ve never been, you may think these words are a bit of an exaggeration, but for those who have walked these streets and been greeted with “Ciao!” from the natives, you know that I am in no way exaggerating.

In other news, my Birkenstock sandals seem to be among the height of fashionable female footwear this season. I see them everywhere I go!

I will write more soon – please forgive the typos and other errors as this was written without any proofreading on my part. There is no time for that I’m afraid, so mi dispiace!

A dopo, famiglie e amici,

Bekah