I never like admitting this, but I'm not perfect. While I've only been in Italy for 5 and a half weeks, I've still managed to make a few mistakes and I really need to clear my conscience.
- The first week I came home to an empty (and locked) apartment with nowhere to go. I was out with Runa and didn't call before coming home. In America I have my own set of keys and can pretty much come/go as I please so I didn't think anything of it. To get inside the apartment in Italy, you have to be buzzed in and then the door of the apartment has to be opened. It's not as simple as you'd think. The first obstacle, the getting buzzed in part, was terrifying. I pressed random people's apartments until a really old Italian man who spoke no English let me in. He asked me what I was doing there. I tried to explain that I lived in the building and needed to call my host mom ASAP (my phone was dead omg it was horrible). He didn't get it but he didn't call the police, so that was good. Then I knocked on the door of the apartment next to ours. This woman doesn't speak any English either, but she understood that I needed to use a phone. I called my host mom and they spoke in Italian while I teared up in the hall. Not my finest hour. Anyway, the woman let me sit in her kitchen for the next 45 minutes while she ironed and watched Italian game shows. We were both completely silent. It was hilarious and terrible at the same time.
- I shut the power in the apartment off. Twice. The first time was during my baking phase week - more specifically, while I was making chocolate chip cookies. After mixing the dough, I turned on the oven and boom the lights went out. Little did I know that the dishwasher was already running. The oven and the dishwasher can't be on at the same time. Silly me. Luckily Ludovica was home. She got on the phone with her mother, went downstairs to the basement, and flipped some switches. The power came back. Yay. No problem.
- The second time I shut the power off - Monday - was horrible. I was home alone, sitting in the kitchen when my computer died. Ok - I thought to myself - I will just go get my charger and plug it in. No. Big mistake. Somehow in the process of transporting my power adapter from the bedroom to the kitchen something got messed up and the lights went out. It was horrible. Not only was there no electricity - but also something electrical near the TV kept beeping at my every 5 seconds and I couldn't figure out how to make it stop. I dealt with this by taking a nap and waiting for my family to come home.
- Two weeks ago I was unloading the dishwasher and broke a glass with my bare hands. I don't know my own strength. Also I clearly have a lot of built up tension as a result of not exercising ever.
- Two Sundays ago I left the house with wet hair. I don't know why, but this is a huge deal in Italy. Not only do people think you're poor and potentially a prostitute/coke dealer, they also believe that wet hair in the cold leads to sickness. IT SO DOESN'T. But from now on, I will humor them.
- Last Friday morning, as I was taking my coat out of the closet, I knocked over a wooden duck. Then I did the mature, responsible thing and hid the duck under some papers. When Ludovica discovered the duck, I lied about it. They still don't know. Duckgate 2013.
- The reason I lied about the duck may have had something to do with the fact that also last Friday I left school 30 minutes early and it was a shitshow. Sorry Mom, but there's no other way to describe what happened. Let me explain. On Friday, my German teacher didn't come to school. When teachers don't come to school, that class because a free period. They don't send subs. Anyway, I have German the last class of the day and I knew my host mom was coming for Ludovica at 1pm. The original plan was for me to take the bus at 1:30 but "why would I take the bus at 1:30 when my host mom could take me home at 1?" - That was my logic. Huge mistake. Huge. When my host mom saw me coming out of the school with Ludovica, I could immediately see it in her face that this wasn't going to go down well. They spoke rapidly in Italian. I have no idea what was said. Next thing I know we're sitting in the principal's office and my classmates are getting blamed for me leaving early. The principal goes down to 4B to yell at them for letting me leave at 1. I felt so terrible. It wasn't their fault!! I tried to explain but the more I tried to explain the guiltier I looked so I just dealt with everyone's anger and we drove home. Of course when we arrived home, Ludovica went to hang up her coat, she saw the broken duck and, well, I couldn't handle it so I lied.
- Yesterday I used Ludovica's nail polish without asking. I desperately need a manicure.
- Today I had to go to TIM - it's a phone company - to pay for my Italian SIM card. My host mother told me to bring a copy of my passport with me. I vaguely remember her giving me a copy of my passport but I had no idea where I put it. Don't worry, American mom came through and emailed me a copy to print.
- After TIM, we stopped to buy notebooks and bread. In the process, I dropped my wallet. I discovered this after arriving home. We circled back and I found it in a puddle. Grazie Dio. The first thing I said when I got back in the car was, "I have to blog about this" and my host mother laughed so at least she gets me. Then she said, "you're an adventure." I take it as a compliment. Love you, Ma.
My new folders
AMERICAN THEMED - in case you didn't notice
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