Don Luigi finally returned to the monastery this morning. It was nice that he finally got back because things haven't been the same. Don Carlo really likes to take control of everything that we do here and I believe having Don Luigi back will limit his hand in everything. Just to provide another example, Don Carlo has to inspect the food before we can buy it and it needs to meet his approval. He really likes to have some kind of input into everything that is done here. I am not complaining because he really doesn't both me much, unless I am setting up the table for breakfast, but others sometimes find it a little much.
It seems this week will be a very busy one even though it just started. This Tuesday was another usually crazy busy day for us. Working in the shop started off just fine until we had several groups show up and crowd us trying to buy things. This time they were Germans who tried to ask questions in German. Unfortunately Anna-Lisa wasn't here to translate this time so there wasn't much we could do but interpret what they were saying. The store didn't really die down until we were about to close. Just before we were about to close a small group of Australians showed up out of breath. They were looking to just see the cave inside, but there was little time left for them to go inside. Matt and I decided to let them go in anyway since they made it up all this way. We also said that we could give them a tour once we open again at three. They said that they would wait around until we opened back up, but I was a little skeptical that they would actually still be waiting there.
When I went to open the shop, sure enough they were still here. I said that I would return shortly to give them a tour. Mattia had told me that some group wanted a English tour, but he ran off somewhere and never told me who it was. I decided to go out with my small group and if anyone wanted to tag along, it would be fine with me. Right at the beginning of the tour, a couple asked me if they could listen in on my explanation. I guess Mattia failed to find them and it was lucky I had been there. I finished the tour and got a generous 25 euro tip for going out of my way. I was happy to do it because it's practice for me to improve my tour. I had to leave the group quickly because I knew Matt was the only one in the shop.
When I was walking to the store, I saw Matt closing the door. He told me that there had been another tour that Mattia supposedly heard wanted a English speaking guide. Of course he was wrong again. Matt returned shortly after saying there was no group. Mattia came into the shop a few minutes after and said that I had to give a tour to 60 Koreans now. I looked at his in confused because in the book it said that he was to give the tour. I wouldn't mind if he had something else important to do, but he was just standing outside of the shop doing nothing. I said to Matt that if I had to give this tour and saw Mattia off somewhere doing nothing I would have to have a little chat with him. It's almost as if when he actually has a tour he doesn't want to give it, but when he isn't scheduled for one and a group of Koreans show up, he jumps right to the task of giving a tour even though they never asked. I just can't wont be able to understand how that man thinks. Matt told Don Luigi what happened when Mattia tried to pass his tour to me and even he was upset about it.
The rest of the afternoon Matt and I tried to find the scrabble game, but Cecilia hide it somewhere. We both thought she didn't take it out of the shop, but apparently she did because we both searched all over. The only thing is that her office is locked and she is the only one who has a key. I wound up staying in the shop and helping Clara clean up. The rest of the night was pretty calm and relaxing. I expect tomorrow also to be a very hectic day, because we have our lesson, a tour, and lunch down at Santa Scholastica.
Yesterday was a pretty slow day. Not much happened in the shop worth mentioning. We had another lesson with Anna-Lisa which again was difficult, but I am progressing. She assigned us more homework to do again. I guess you are never done with little assignments that have a dead line. Luckily our next lesson isn't until Monday, so plenty of time for me to procrastinate and wait until the last minute. The major excitement starts in the afternoon going down to Santa Scholastica for lunch.
The lunch was more than I expected. We had two main dishes; I guess that's what you would call them, and a appetizer and dessert. It was much more food than we ever had for lunch at Sacro Speco. Matt told me before hand that I shouldn't expect much for lunch because the last time they ate there, they barely got any food. Good thing I brought my appetite with me, because I wouldn't have been able to finish. After lunch we had very long conversations with some of the other monks. The Abbot asked Mattia about his driving lessons and how they were going. Mattia responded and of course Don Carlo had to step in to correct him. But that wasn't what made me laugh. One of the monks asked Don Luigi when Mattia would be ready to drive and Don Luigi responded "MAI!", which means never. I don't think Mattia heard this, but Matt and I did and immediately started to laugh uncontrollably. We stayed so long down at Santa Scholastica that I wasn't even able to get my hour nap in the middle of the day. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but it makes a difference when there are few people.
Once we got back, we just opened the shop and sat there. It looked like it was going to be another slow day so I decided to get my camera and take some photos. When I walked outside, there was a man asking me for a light. I went to go get one for him not realizing he would keep there for and hour and thirty minutes chatting about his life. I didn't mind because I wasn't really busy with anything else, but Cecilia and Matt were very curious as to where I was and what happened to me. The man had gotten into a accident about two years ago which caused him to loose his job. He was at this crossroads in his life where he didn't know what to do. He just wanted someone to talk to and happened to find me. After our chat, I introduced him to Don Luigi, who he only talked to for about 15 minutes. I guess he vented all his frustration when talking with me. I viewed this as good practice for when I might become some type of psychologist. So sorry if you were looking for photos in this entry. I kind of got held up.
Later that night Don Luigi asked Matt and I if we wanted to go down to Santa Scholastica and pray the rosary. I decided to join them, even though I am not Catholic. I figured it's a great way for me to learn and understand the religion. It was an interesting service and I did enjoy it. I think I will go again if Don Luigi invites us. After the service, one of the monks there took us to where St. Chelidonia is buried. It was an amazing sight because you can actually see her body we preserved. I wish I had my camera to take photos, but I felt it inappropriate for attending church.
Today again started off pretty busy with two English tours for Matt and I and a bunch of Germans walking into the shop. My tour was a group of high school students from Finland. I really don't like giving a tour to high school students because most of them have very short attention spans. I had to show 25 of them around the monastery. The other thing that Cecilia told me the other day also made me believe that this group would be dull. They didn't know much about the Christian faith, so at times I felt like I was just talking to myself. I probably could have made up stuff and they wouldn't even know the difference. However, I didn't do that. I just gave the same tour I would normally give. I saw it as good practice. At the end of the tour, I got a 30 euro tip. I guess I did well even though there were no questions and they seemed bored. Once I got back from the tour, I was so bored that I asked Clara for something to do, no matter what it was. I spent the rest of the afternoon placing labels on jars of jelly.
In the afternoon I was going to spend my time studying until Cecilia called me and took me with here to do errands. We first stopped by this other part of the monastery where we picked up some supplies. After that we were going to head back to the monastery, but Cecilia wanted to show me around the library of Santa Scholastica. I must admit that it was very impressive. I also managed to get a private tour in a section of the library that's closed to the public. Now Cecilia told me not to mention this to anyone, but I figured I would say something in my journal. I mean who would you tell anyway. One the monks showed us some of the books that dated back to the 14th, 12th, and even the 10th centuries. It was amazing how much detail was put into the pages. And all of these books that I saw were written by hand with beautiful color and print. It reminded of the St. John's bible.
Once we got back to the shop I convinced Cecilia to get the scrabble game so we cold play one game before dinner. Apparently she hid it in her office. I guess she doesn't want us to get better without her help. We didn't even get to finish the game today, because we had to keep referring to the dictionary to see if what we wanted to place was a word or not, but I think I was ahead again. I guess we could say that I one that game because I had only two letters left.
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