Benvenuto!

Hello Family and Friends!

Welcome to my little spot on the web! As promised, I will try and keep everyone updated here with photos and posts about my Italian adventures and discoveries. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for all of the well wishes and support! I have the best friends and family in the world!

So here I am, a week and a half into my three month long journey living here in Rome. As I write this, it is Sunday evening and it's a relatively quiet one. Sundays in Rome are quiet, as a rule. Though some will open, many of the shops, restaurants, and cafes remain closed on Sunday. I spent most of the afternoon today nursing a massive, simmering pot of homemade meat sauce, so we've just finished a big pasta meal and are settling in for the night.

Speaking of settling, I am settling in very well here. I love our flat, which is huge, open, sunny and cozy. The flat takes up half of the third floor of a really pretty building in Garbatella - which is about a 15 minute journey south of the center of Rome. I'm gradually taking everything in and becoming accustomed to all that is new and different here in Italy, which I plan to talk lots more about as time goes on. This first week has brought a few little victories for me as I conquered some household battles - namely, the coffeepot, the washing machine, and the cleaning products. Exciting, no??

Let me explain. As an example, take our little Italian coffee pot:

Looks harmless, right?? The first morning I woke up in Rome, blurry eyed with jet lag, desperate for some caffiene, and turned to my little friend here. The previous evening, Roland had given me a simple explanation for its use. I did as told. Screw apart pieces, fill bottom half with water,fill little metal filter full of coffee, screw back together, put on stove.

The little pot in all its pieces

So far, so good! Next, I was instructed to let it heat until the pot was loud and simmering and sounded like it was boiling...then turn off heat, wait 2 minutes, and enjoy. Easy enough, no? Finally, I reached the moment of truth. I tipped over the little metal pot, anticipating my first delicious, sanity enducing, jet lag destroying sip and...nothing. Not a single drop! Utterly confused, I unscrewed all the pieces to find something similar to muddy water sitting in the bottom...and gave up. I think I muttered something about silly Italians and their stingy coffeepots, chalked it up a loss, and went back to bed. (turned out to simply be I had turned off the burner too quickly. I have since become a master of the coffeepot, which makes delicious, strong, espresso-like coffee, multiple times per day).

A similar battle was waged with the little Italian washing machine - who, I was informed by Roland upon my arrival, has an affinity for dying its contents all the same color. Determined not to give up any sacrifices to the little machine in the name of experimentation, I spent one full morning dutifully tracking down the users manual in the closet and translating every word and symbol inside from Italian to English. So far, I've had semi-success. I've had a few things come out slightly "tinted"...but no major losses. Little Italian Washing Machine: 0, Amy: 1.

My current ongoing battle is with cleaning supplies - what is to be used where? What should be mixed with water? What's the difference between this liquid and this powder? And what in God's name am I supposed to do with this little mop that seems to have the distinct ability to make any surface seem dirtier after an hours cleaning than when it started? Time to do some more translating. And buy a new mop.

This upcoming week will be one for a lot of exploration and fun stuff, as Roland is off all week and we'll get to spend a bunch of time out and about. So I should have some stories and photos more exciting than household products for you soon, I promise.

Ciao!