Summertime Diversions 8000 miles apart - June

Life in the US
Johnnie left for the US on June 12. He is making the rounds of our friends and neighbors getting caught up on things and sharing meals. He got to visit our church last Sunday as well.

In the forefront is the appointments with the dentist and the radiology department in preparation for his surgery. That all went fine and he is on the road to recovery.

And of course, he cleaned up his truck, helped Mike get the boat ready for fishing, and made the trip to the new Cabela's where he felt obliged to help spur on the local economy!

Now, he has found bliss on a riding mower keeping Shawn's lawn cut.

Shawn's Italian Gardener

He performed his duty as Mike's best man in his wedding last weekend. Susan tried to get him in a tux, and then a suit, and finally had to settle for Johnnie in a nice pair of jeans and a shirt. The next time we get Johnnie in a suit will be for his funeral.

Fourth of July Johnnie celebrated twice: once at noon at Mike and Susan's house for a hamburger cookout with Susan's children and grandchildren, and then later with Shawn and Debbie in the evening for yummy baby back ribs.

No more photos from Johnnie so you will have to use your imagination!

Life in Italy
Work is work and keeps on going. We are very busy and putting in some long days. The temperature has climbed into the high 90's and 100's and pretty humid as well. The garden and flowers are all requiring water almost daily to withstand the heat and wind we have in the mountain area. I am musing over a drip system that will simplify the watering and provide a more consistent moisture to the plants.

First fruits of the garden

Enjoying the small things
I have been taking advantage of the evenings after work as the temp begins to cool just to sit at an outdoor cafe and unwind with my girlfriend. Sipping on a prosecco and munching on appetizers, it is great people watching and a time of conversation and reflection about things. Since I have no one to rush home to at the moment, I am enjoying the leisurely time. Businesses are open late here so I still have time to go by the Dry Cleaners or the Tabacci shop if I need something.

Relaxing in the cool evening along the main street. We can actually make a meal out of the little appetizers they bring.

I started water aerobics again and then had to stop until I get my knees sorted out. It seems like it was actually making things worse. I have the Dr.'s blessing to swim or just do water walking, so I am thinking I will try that, if I can find a time the pool is not crowded.I have had two rounds of cortisone shots in my knees, and I am waiting for those to do their "magic". Then I start something called Tecaterapia, which is for pain and healing.

We were so focused on getting moved and settled and dealing with those issues for several months, that now it is almost challenging to shift gears toward just living and enjoying being here.

Simple pleasures of Mercogliano
Saturday mornings are delightful walking in the little town of Mercogliano. I park at the Funiculare which operating now that summer is here. From there I visit the parucchiere (hair dresser), newsstand for a paper or magazine, bar for a coffee, walk along the city park, stop by the Tabacci shop if I have any bills to pay, then sometimes get a pedicure or manicure, or window shop at any number of other little shops along the street.

Later in the day I stop by the lavanderia to leave off my clothes, farmacia for meds if needed, and the fruit and vegetable stand. This fellow has produce a lot fresher than the grocery and less expensive as well. The nice thing is that the people in these shops are beginning to know me and it feels good to be greeted by name. Even though my Italian is not good enough to carry on long conversations, we still can exchange greetings and discuss the weather and the latest news.

Pizzeria with a view

The best news is, I have found a place to get massages, pedicures and waxing. All the important things a woman needs, especially in the summertime! The proprietors of this establishment are Cinese (Chinese) and their Italian is as bad as mine! Ha! So I don't feel too bad when I talk with them. After all, how much talking do you need to get a message or a pedicure?

Language Blunders in Italian

Laugh at yourself
Just last night I told the waiter "saporo buono" which means nothing in Italian. I meant to say "ha un buon sapore" meaning "It has a good flavor". Sigh! I was thinking sapore (the noun for flavor) could also be a verb so I tried to be clever and conjugate the word as a verb and ended up with nothing. He smiled and had the grace to overlook my blunder, and I think figured out what I was trying to say.

Thanks to all those Italians who give me grace for my poor language skills! 99% will smile and take the most favorable interpretation of what I am trying to say. The other one percent are stinkers -- every culture and country has them -- and we aren't going to talk about them!

Yesterday the repairman called me on my cell phone at work. He was fixing some of our furniture damaged in the move and wanted to set up a time to deliver it to the house. It is always harder to understand someone over the phone even though my knowledge of the Italian words for dates, time and calendars is decent.  I understood he wanted to come tomorrow at 9 in the morning. I said "sta bene" which means "you are good" (like your health) instead of "va bene" which means "that is fine" or "it's ok". Close but no cigar!

But he understood my intent and brought the furniture this morning as we agreed. His niece comes with him all the time to translate as she lived in NYC for many years and speaks English fluently. She asked Antonio this morning, "how did you speak to Jenny on the phone yesterday with no English?" and he shrugged and said "we understood each other". Bless him!

Knowing some Spanish can be good in some ways, and a disadvantage in others when it comes to learning Italian. Many of the words are very close so it is confusing to remember which is which. Since I spoke Spanish since I was a child, I tend to revert to the Spanish. Here are some examples:

Spanish: Como esta?
Italian: Come sta?
English: How are you?

Spanish: simpatico
Italian: simpatico
English: friendly, nice, charming (sympathetic but not like "to have sympathy" in the event of an accident or death)

An Italian friend told me that after he and his colleagues finished a stint of work in Wichita, they wanted to give their English language instructor a card by way of letting her know how much they appreciated and liked her. So they went to the store and found a "sympathy" card because she was simpatico. Ha!

Spanish: alguno

Italian: alcuno

English: some

Spanish: vidrio

Italian: vetro

English: glass

Spanish: bueno
Italian: buono
English: good

Spanish: bien
Italian: bene
English: fine, good, ok

Spanish: pan
Italian: pane
English: bread

Spanish: biblioteca

Italian: biblioteca

English: library

Spanish: libreria

Italian: libreria

English: bookstore

Spanish: lavar

Italian: lavare

English: to wash

So some of these things are very close. Then there are the words that are similar and the meanings that are different. For example,  in Spanish paper is papel. In Italian it is carta. But in Spanish carta is a letter, and Italian letter is lettera.

Ok, are you confused? Me too!

I throw in a Spanish word here and there when I don't know the Italian one. I can always hope it will work! My friend Rosa chides me. She says "Jenny, that is Spanish". Caught again!

For online language studies here are my recommendations to date:

For the tourist the Berlitz 5 minute Italian. It tells you all the basics you need to know and has a cd for the car.

Rosetta Stone used to be considered the premier online teaching program. It is still very good and toward the top of the list, however, it is better if you already have a second language and understand a bit how grammar in a foreign language works. It does not explicitly tell you different verb forms but expects you to pick it up through usage.

The newest one I am trying is Fluenz. It is now the highest rated online language program because of the multi-method teaching approach that addresses those who learn by reading, listening, and by hearing.

Nothing beats living in the culture and speaking with people constantly in your new language. It is painful at times, and can be frustrating, but will definitely get you their the fastest.

There are immersion programs for a weekend, week, or even month. Depending on how much time you have and how much money, these would be great.

The home stretch of domestications

Entering a new phase

It has been two and a half months since we started moving in, not counting the time we had to go to the US for my brother's funeral. I am not sure we could have done it much quicker in the US, except perhaps for the fact that we know better where to look for things and how to ask for what you want. Still we have had lots of help from our Italian friends and could not have done this without them. 

So my deepest gratitude and thanks go to Rosa and Gennaro who are patient and persistent helping us get the good "stuff", and who are great moral support when things don't happen like they are supposed to (which is almost always in Italy).  Many thanks to Dino who toured us tirelessly to find the right villa in the first place, helped with the stairlift approval process, set up Johnnie with a vehicle, got us introduced to Mercogliano, and worked to get us setup and moved in. Also thanks to Carlo who made many calls to repair people and our landlady to get the services in the house working.

Also Elena and Francesco were so great advising us in our search and helping us to make wise choices. Then Michelle was a big help with arranging furniture, shopping and ideas on decorating. Kandy was also another great source of encouragement and ideas as she had already gone through setting up their house a few months earlier. Then there are our long distance advisors via email and FB who have reviewed the photos and made suggestions. Lynda, my friend from Bainbridge Island, and my sister, the Tres Amiche and my daughter Connie. There are too many other friends to name who have helped with one thing or another during this process.

I guess it "takes a village" to set up some poor, slightly passed middle aged Americans with a villa in Italy!

A new range

One of the final purchases is a new range since the one we had was impossible. The Landlady had it repaired once but the burners still were hard to light and you practically had to gas yourself before it would light. So, we now are the proud owners of a new range! It lights beautifully and is so nice. Since it takes so long to get the electrical technicians to come out, Johnnie decided to tackle the installation itself. Turned out to be an easy job as all the ranges come in three standard sizes and they all connect the same way. Easy to pull out one, drop in another.

Proud chef with the new range

Voila! No, that is French. How about Qui!

Backside of the old one

The rest of the curtains

Once again we are on Friday night night before a party on Saturday getting the rest of the curtains hung. The upstairs curtains turned out to be equally beautiful to the downstairs ones, although we went with simpler styles for the bedrooms. Now at least, no more sun in my eyes at 4:30am on a Saturday through our south-facing french doors! Here is the result of our last batch of tendre (curtains):

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom French Doors

Master Wardrobe

Guest Bedroom

Stairwell

An Unwelcome Guest

We were greeted by the "remains" of a rather unwelcome guest at our place. After consulting the neighbors and several other Italians, they have concluded that is a harmless "serpente" that is good for eating moles and mice and such. We should really like having him! Hm. I am not so sure about that but as long as he doesn't come in the house and I don't see him ever, I guess I'll let him live peacefully in my yard.

3ft long shed snake skin by our garden steps

The Garden
Johnnie's green thumb is paying off and the flowers are really beautiful. We have roses that were already here that just needed some TLC. He has weeded and pruned and they are blooming beautifully.

BBQ Party Kansas-Italian Style

This was the last big party before Johnnie leaves for the summer, and also the chance for me to invite my Italian friends. Three weeks ago we had the Boeing party which was primarily expats, so this was my time to welcome my Italian friends and neighbors.

The Night Before
Rosa and Gennaro helped us get ready for the party the night before. We tried to cook as much ahead as possible and get the house organized. Things went pretty smoothly and when we were finished, they prepared Lupini and pasta for us for dinner. Lupini are like small clams, very tasty and tender. Gennaro bought the lupini and soaked them in sea salt for an hour or so, then rinsed them. Then he put them in a deep skillet with olive oil and sautéed them, shells and all. He added some fresh parsley and a couple whole cloves of garlic. While they were cooking (maybe 10 minutes or so with the lid on), Rosa made spaghetti. At the end they tossed the drained spaghetti into the skillet with the lupini, added a little more fresh parsley and that was it. It was quite delicious!

Enjoying lupini Friday night

Lupini

Menu
Johnnie grilled hamburgers and chicken on his new grill. It took a while to find what we wanted but he likes his new grill and I will be able to use it while he is gone this summer.

Porch and the new grill

I made potato salad, deviled eggs, and baked beans. We purchased antipasti that included potato chips, olives, seafood salad (Italian style Insalata di Mare), pretzels, marinated mushrooms, celery and ranch dressing, and assorted other munchies.  Our guests brought lots of desserts that were amazing: incredible cakes, pies and other frozen delights. We had some prosecco, limonata, tea, and coca cola for beverages.

Buffet

Desserts

At first the Italians were leary of the deviled eggs as that is not anything they normally eat. But when I explained what is in them, they started trying it and they were all gone by the end of the evening. The baked beans were popular also. The potato salad was not as popular. I had a lot of it leftover. The chicken and hamburgers were gone too, and we could have cooked more hamburgers but Johnnie was tired of grilling so we just let it be.

Rosa and Giuliana

I was so happy for Johnnie to meet some of the people from the office that he hears me talk about. The Italians I work with are mostly engineers at Alenia, and then a few of the Boeing people who were not able to make the last party. We also had our neighbors Emmanuele and Giuliana, our estate agents Sabina and Mario, and surprise guests included Father Phil from the Navy base and two new expats to Italy, Jorge and Carlo who work for a  pharmaceutical company. Jorge just moved to an apartment and Carlo is still in a hotel . Then Mo brought a couple friends with him that are friends he made playing sports. They are from Brazil and spoke Italian with a strange accent that I had a difficult time understanding. I think in all we had about 30 people including quite a few children that played in the yard and buddied up together.

Father Phil

Joe, Rosa

L-R Angelo, Jenny

Angelo and Fabio in foreground

Dino on the right, Brian in the foyer, back of Sabina's head

Francesca and Giuliana

Antonio and AnaLesa

Ciro

Rosella entertaining us with jokes

Angelo and his daughter, Rosella

Joe and Johnnie and Gennaro

Jenn Anderson and Johnnie

Johnnie, Maria Teresa, Gianpiero

Gennaro

Fabio

Emmanuele (against the wall)

Spring in Mercogliano

Getting Mail
The first real mail we received in Italy was a momentous occasion! It took a couple of months for the landlady to get us a mailbox key and in the meantime we missed several utility bills and who knows what else! Once we got the mailbox open, we cleaned out months worth of rotting, wet ads and circulars. So the arrival of real mail was quite an occasion!

We are now "on the  map" with the post office and receiving regular mail. It costs $1 for a card or letter from the US. It costs us 1,60 Euro to send a letter to the US. That is about $2. Go figure.

First mail

Johnnie has a friend visit


The first part of May, Johnnie's fishing buddy Mike came from the US for a visit. They toured Rome together and then around the Naples area. Since both of them are walkers, they did quite a bit of exploring around Mercogliano. Mike had difficulty finding food he likes here but they did find a pizza place that became their regular spot. The owners got to know them and what they wanted every time. They also made the gelateria a regular stop as well.

L-R Mike, Johnnie in Rome at the Colliseum

 They did the hike to the top of Mt. Vesuvius to get a look inside the crater of the volcano. From the description of their trip, it was a pretty strenuous hike. They jeep/buses take you part way up narrow winding roads, then you hike the rest of the way.

Looking into the mouth of Mt. Vesuvius volcano

Another view of the volcano

Johnnie's Wheels


We leased a car for Johnnie so he has transportation. He is not a car kind of guy -- he is a truck guy. Don't think he ever had a car since he was a teenager. No sooner did he get the car home, it died on him and had to go into the shop to replace one of the injectors. It was in the shop about a week but seems to run fine now. It is a 2007 Audi A3 with about 100K kilometers on it. It was previously leased by another Boeing expat. As you all know my husband, he immediately started polishing and working on his "new" car. It has "Napoli kisses", so will never be the perfect shiny specimen like his truck in Everett, however, it drives and handles nicely and the price is right!

Johnnie's ride

Of course, he had to get a GPS as well, or be perpetually lost. He had two different TomToms before he got one that worked. Must have been a bad batch. He managed to navigate everywhere while Mike was here and only got lost a few times. All part of the driving experience in Italy!

More flowers
In the bed between the stairs we have more flowers planted. With all the nice rain we are having, things are looking very pretty.

Cinco de Mayo Party in Italy

Hosting a party at the Villa

I intended on having a housewarming party several months ago but that never happened, so then it was to be a Cinco de Mayo party but there was a conflict with a Boeing event in Grottaglie, so finally on May 19 is the party. It is still a Cinco de Mayo party, just delayed a bit. This was for the Boeing expats that live in the Naples areas and the Italians that work for Boeing here. We try to have monthly events so that the spouses and families are able to connect.

I have been hoarding Mexican food ingredients for months now, and having everyone who comes from the US stash a few ingredients in their bags for me. Things that are hard to get in Italy are cheddar cheese, sour cream, refried beans, corn tortillas, salsa, Mexican seasonings and limes. Some of these things you see occasionally and in small quantities, but not regularly.

So stayed with the tried and true menu of Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Nacho Cheese Dip, and cut up veggies for appetizers. Other people brought chips and salsa, a pot of chili, and beer.

Friends in the dining room

Hanging on the front porch

The most fun was the piñata we got for the kids. A friend at the Navy base was able to find one that looked like cowboy boot.

Our youngest competitor

The boot was swinging wildly

At last one of the older children got it down!