steve!

Steve arrived this morning!!!! I have been very excited about this all week and he finally arrived. We have had a great afternoon, not doing much, went to the supermarket and bought some food for the next week, came back mooched around the town centre. We had a coffee in Piazza Prampolini and people watched as the sun went down. I cooked dinner, a small tomato and mozzarella salad followed by mushroom orriechette and then out for gelati and a stroll. Piazza Vittorio has outdoor sofas clustered around the fountain, that reflects the lights from the theatre. We sat and watched the water dance for a long time. I'm really glad he's here and I hope he has a fantastic time.

L'autunno

The light here has shifted, the warm, resonant summer has ebbed away leaving room for the clear Autumn light to pick out the blue tinges on the fading paintwork of the Vescovile. People are reluctantly putting Summer into the past and the perceptible move from warmth to cold is underway. Jackets are on, scarves are around and the Gelateria stands empty on a Sunday afternoon, when only a fortnight ago it was filled with people, spilling out in to the street. La Passagiata is fading quickly and the fog is beginning to creep through the city, like an unwelcome stranger, in the middle of the night.

New Teachers

So first there was Luke who has now gone back to blighty ill, poor lamb and now we have Syl and Michael. Syl and i went to the giant suermarket on Saturday and had a look around followed by Gelati and we also went to view an appartment for her it's lovely and i'm kind of wishing we hd a living room now but i cant do much about that! Michael is from birkenhead and yes he has the accent he also has the kind of CV that makes you want to give up and go home!
Yesterday Syl, sammie, nick, giulia and i all went off to verona for the day- our first official outing! It's a beautiful city only about and hour and a half from Reggio., We saw juilet's balcony, of 'where fore art thou?' fame. Between Nick and Guilia, who actually are loves young dream, and the balcony I was left feeling, perhaps unsurprisingly, a little disppondent. Still, a girl can't have everything can she?

Marriage and cutlery.

My hours at work have taken a great upsurge this week i'm doing 5 or 6 a day now which is great (especially on payday) so yesterday in between lessons i nipped out with Sil (short for Silvana but too Italian sounding apparently) for a bite to eat in a nearby cafe. I had a trancio di pizza, a big fat slice to you and me. When i came out of the oven the waitress asked me a question, I didnt understand, sounded distinctly like it contained the 'sposi' which is basically marriage. A) a very personal question, does a girl really need total strangers passing judgement on her single status these days? B) I was sitting with Sil, does this make me a lesbian? I asked her to repeat the question- (it was the only safe option) turns out she actually said 'posati'= cutlery! Now there are two italian words I won't forget in a hurry.

KiDS

The kids classes began this week and it has been exhausting! I have enjoyed the challenge and will hopefully continue to improve/inform my practice over the coming months.
I also met up with a guy tonight! It was a very enjoyable evening and i'd like to met up with him again but i think i may have blown it at the end i'm not sure. We had aglass of wine and chatted for a couple of hours and it was very nice, then we met up with a some friends of his, by accident and people wanted to go for food, all good except that it's midnight and i'm half asleep after said mental week at work. I explained this and said my goodbyes however..... not sure if it didnt come across badly, i guess i'll find out in due course.
My confidence has been giving me jip this week, all that self imposed pressure about children and teaching and past experience, but i think it may be ok with time and if i'm mindful of it- don't let it get the better of me- perspective and all that jazzzzz