Wednesday started off with my solo lesson with Anna-Lisa. Matt didn't attend the lesson because he was going to clean up the leaves in front of the shop with Don Ignacio. I felt like the pressure was on in the lesson today, since it was just me. So there was no looking to someone else to answer the questions she posed. The lesson actually went a lot smoother than the others. I was starting to understand everything that she was telling me. I actually felt pretty good in this session considering I only had done the homework 15 minutes before the lesson and didn't have any mistakes. I think I now starting to understand Italian a little better everyday. My next homework assignment, however, will be a good test of what I can remember. I have to write down what I did in a day, from the moment I woke up to the minute I decide to go to sleep. I just hope that it is a typical day and not something of base, because then I will include and find all new words to describe the day.
Once the lesson was finished, I walked to the shop to find it completely empty. There was no visitors today except a couple who bought some coffee from the vending machine, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to take some new photos. It was a beautiful day and you can now see the trees changing colors.
In the afternoon I was left alone in the shop while both Cecilia and Matt drove down to Roma to pick up Don Heriberto. He was given a clean bill of health and could finally return to the monastery. Everyone thought since the morning was slow, the afternoon would be about the same. They were somewhat right on that subject. There were about 20 people total that had come to visit, but nothing I couldn't handle on my own. Plus Don Ignacio was in the Sacrestia if any problems came up. I really don't like being left alone in the shop, because it seems that every time that I am, things get hectic and out of control. Plus since my Italian isn't that great and I have to answer the phone, its difficult to answer questions about things I have no idea of in a different language no less. I would always tell them to wait one minute while I transferred them to the Sacrestia. I guess I could see this as a good opportunity to practice my Italian and see how much I improved, but I rather have someone else there just in case I don't understand.
While Cecilia and Matt were out, the Abbot apparently wanted to treat us to dinner, so when they would get back to the monastery, we would all head out to dinner. See the Abbot's birthday was tomorrow and I guess he wanted to celebrate early with us. We all piled into Cecilia's car and started to make our way. The first place they chose to eat at had closed early for the night so we drove a little further to their back-up. Both restaurants were outside of Subiaco, so it felt like we drove for at least 45 minutes. And the way Cecilia drives, that's a very long time. Once we finally got to the place the Abbot was treated like royalty. I guess those are some of the perks of being Abbot. The food was delicious of course, but always too much. It was as if the dishes never ended. Just when I thought that we would finally move onto the main course, there was another appetizer that I had to eat because the Abbot insisted. He told me that I am young so I should not worry about eating. Well I have seen some very fat young people, so I think I will continue to watch how much I eat. That is why once the main dish came out and I finished it, I said that was full. Matt and Cecilia dared to continue with the dessert, wine, and a small steak. I thought the monastery had some large meals, but I have never seen anything like this before.
During dinner we somehow got onto the discussion of movies. The Abbot was asking us what movies we have seen and he also began to list some of his favorites. He said that he was a Star Wars fan and spent the rest of the night trying to figure out the order in which the movies where released. He got stumped at one point and asked to use Cecilia's phone to go onto the Internet. There was no Internet access where we were so to pass the time, he started to sing the theme song for Darth Vaider. This is what we heard most of the way home until Matt distracted him. He wanted to test how well the Abbot's English was coming. He told him words in Italian and asked the Abbot how to say them in English. The Abbot did surprisingly well for someone who hasn't taken any English lessons. I guess he picks up a little from the volunteers, Cecilia, and Don Luigi. If he keeps up this pace I expect that he will be better at English than I will be at Italian.
Thursday makers Clara's return to the shop along with Don Luigi's departure. Clara was moving into a new house, which she describes is twice the size of her previous one. Don Luigi will be gone for almost a month staying in VeneziaMattia is just not capable of taking care of others, let alone himself. So of course the logical choice would be Don Ignacio. I think I will enjoy this because out of all the monks here I talk with Don Ignacio the most. He is just simply hilarious with the way he explains things and is always talking about Spagna. That wasn't the only major change in today's schedule. We would also be having lunch down at Santa Scholastica with the Abbot for his birthday. I was excited it about it since it isn't everyday that we get to eat somewhere different.
We had all just sat down and patiently waiting for the lunch to start when one of the monks went to the Abbot and said that there would be two more guests joining us for lunch. It was some officer and his wife, who was gorgeous. I wasn't the only one who thought so either, because after the lunch the Abbot walked up to Matt and I and said that our nostrils had flared up when she walked through the door. The strange thing was that instead of sitting next to her husband, she was placed right next to Matt and I. Before we all headed out into the hallway, I noticed that one of the workers had this look on his face. Basically if I were to describe it, I would say that his mouth dropped to the floor, just like in the cartoons, because the woman was so beautiful to him. I just had to laugh at that along with what the Abbot said. But that wasn't the only laugh that I had during lunch.
Mattia was sitting across from Matt and I acting foolish again. Today he decided that he was a ninja or someone practicing karate, because when Matt and I shook our heads at what he was doing, he karate-chopped the air while looking at us. I guess he was saying that was meant for the both of us. So once again I almost choked because of his craziness. He wasn't done though, because once lunch was over, he karate-chopped a monk he was sitting next to for no reason. He is just out of control.
In the hallway there is a coffee machine that Matt and Don Ignacio love. They of course could not leave until they had had their fill of caffeine, so the had a cup each. Mattia came over and saw Matt drinking something. Matt, being the trusting person he is, handed his cup to Mattia so that he could see what it was. I am pretty sure you already know where this story is leading to. Mattia put the cup to his nose and then proceeded to take a sip…FROM THE SAME CUP. So again Mattia drinks from Matt's cup. At least this time Matt was paying attention and went to get another. I said to Mattia that he did it again and he should never do something like that. For some reason he congratulated me on my Italian, but I asked him did he understand what he did. He laughed and started to make his way towards me. I backed up from him and simple said "enough"! Let us see if he gets the message this time, but I highly doubt it.
There wasn't anything special to mention about Friday. It was your standard Friday at Subiaco. In the morning I had my lesson with Anna-Lisa. Matt has not been coming to the lesson, because he said the Abbot does not believe the lessons are benefiting him. The reason why Anna-Lisa gives me lessons is because everyone believes that I am not learning the language fast enough. I guess I am ok with their conclusion, but would rather have lessons with someone who can actually understand English. It is difficult at times when I do not understand something and she can only explain it in either German or Italian, neither which I understand perfectly. I am grateful for her willingness to help me learn the language, but sometimes it gets a little frustrating when we cannot understand one another. I guess you could say that this is a good method for me to speak more Italian. At least I won't have to struggle much more because the lessons will end at the end of December. Let us hope that I make a good enough improvement from when I first arrived so the Abbot doesn't suggests another 3 months of lessons.
In other news, I somehow have managed to get Miciotto to trust me. He now listens when I call for him during the slow times. I can also pick him up without he fighting me to get down. Maybe it's because for the week that Cecilia was gone, I was the one who fed him. I just now need to get on Piccolo's good side. That cat will not hold still for anyone but Cecilia. I still haven't managed to actually pet him because he runs away every time I get close. The only good sign I get from him is when I am leaving from mass and he meows when he sees me. He must think that I will feed him like I did last week.
I have been planning some future trips to see some friends. My main goal is to head to Greece before the study abroad group heads back to the states. I hope that I can go before the end of November, because I did manage to miss them by a few hours when I first arrived in Italy. The good news is that since the have split the study aboard experience, I have a chance to see the second group when they come tomorrow. I don't think I will know anyone in the group, but there is a chance. The school is only so big and you run into the same people every once in awhile, so you never know. I also have been speaking to one of my friends in Japan. I have always wanted to go and if I can afford the trip, I will be heading there in the spring. It's good to have friends who also have interests in living abroad.
So Saturday was the big day. The Saint John's group showed up to the monastery. Before they showed up, I had to give a tour to another group of Koreans, who would have rather had a Korean give them the tour. I tried calling Mattia, but of course he was nowhere to be found, so I stepped up and gave the tour in English. Once again I was stuck with a translator and had to stop and every fresco and wait for him to translate. He also did steal a little of my thunder when I was going to explain the fresco depicting the last meeting between Santa Scholastica and Saint Benedict. He took it upon himself just to explain the entire back story before I could even say anything. Once he finished, all I could say was, "Yeah; what he said".
The SJU group showed up right on time. Matt was the one who would giving the tour, because the other group that showed up an hour early would have been around the same time as the SJU group. Even though I did not have a tour when they arrived, I still wound up showing up late to the tour because some guy from Texas decided to talk to me. He was so excited when he heard English voices that he ran over and started to have a conversation with me. After 30 minutes or so, I finally was able to join the group. I did manage to see one person that I knew before they went on tour, but I was surprised when I ran into another tour guide from the admissions office. I thought that I wouldn't know anyone in the group, but I recognized three. It's always nice to see familiar faces. It was also kind of weird because I was in their shoes only two years ago when I had visited the monastery. The only difference was that we did not have Johnnies giving us a tour.
After the tour was done, we decided to walk them down to Santa Scholastica so that they could see the library there and afterwards have lunch. Matt and I wound up staying down there until 1 or so, making us late for lunch back up at Sacro Speco. Before we headed back, we did get a sneak-peek of what they were eating for lunch. I remember our lunch here at Santa Scholastica two years ago and it was nothing compared to theirs. I was a little jealous of what they were eating, but I guess I can't complain now, because I have amazing lunches all the time. The walk back was again brutal; especially since the sun was beating down on us. For whatever reason today had to be the one of the hottest day we have seen in awhile.
In the afternoon we had several groups, luckily all Italian, but the place was packed. It seemed like there was no end to the amount of people coming in and out of the shop. Cecilia had a very busy day because she was the only one here able to give the tours. As soon as she left with one another one would show up looking for their tour guide. I spent most of the afternoon working on my Italian by sitting in the back and listening to my lessons. If I ever did hear English, I would come out from the back to help Don Antonio, since he doesn't speak or understand any English. That might have happened once or twice, but I did manage to finish two lessons today. I plan on doing a few more tonight, since the Internet is out again. It seems like every time Don Luigi leaves, the Internet wants to act up. I should probably take advantage of this opportunity when I am not distracted by Facebook and TV shows.
Oh, and one more thing. Mattia did something foolish again today. Once the pray was done and we walked into the kitchen to get our food, Mattia decided to practice his juggling. He was flipping his bowl back and forth while I was getting soup. The next thing I know, he of course drops it, shattering it all over the place. He then proceed to try to pick it up with his bare hands. Of course he cut himself on one of the pieces. I am telling that man doesn't think things through. Don Carlo came into the kitchen and scolded Mattia for breaking the bowl and making a mess. Well one thing is for sure, Mattia would never make it in the circus, at least not as a juggler.
There isn't anything special to mention about Sunday. It was your typical weekend back full of tours, none of which were English. I spent most of my day in the back room again working through each of my lessons. I managed to get through 5 of them before I decided to call it quits for the day. I mean you can only study for so long before you get burnt out and tired. I even decided to stay awake after we had lunch during our siesta. For so reason I just wasn't feeling tired at the time. I would soon regret that decision later during the afternoon, because at times during my lessons I wanted to take a nap. Whenever that happened, which was about every 20 or 30 minutes, I would just head outside into the cold or walk around somewhere. Even Don Antonio told me to not worry about the shop today and go back to my studies.
On one of my breaks I went to the Sacrestia for awhile and found some type of insect crawling on the ground. It was pretty huge and looked something like a centipede. I pointed it out to Don Ignacio who grabbed some sheets of paper and tried to pick it up. After several attempts with no success, he then proceed to sweep it to the door leading to the terrace with the same pieces of paper. Since there is a small step before the door he had to somehow get it outside, so he decided to try and flick it outside. He somehow lost track of it and could not find it inside or outside. He looked everywhere, but it had disappeared. He started to take off his habit piece by piece searching all of his clothes. We still have no idea where it went, but he said that it would show up at dinner and we would see him twisting and turning as it would climb up and down his back. You will be glad to hear that it did not show up for dinner, but I am still curious as to where it disappeared to. I guess we will never know.
Oh and one more thing. Remember how I said that my lessons with Anna-Lisa would only go until December, well the Abbot has changed that. I will now have homework until MARCH!!!! Maybe if I somehow improve a great deal in the next few weeks he will chug his mind. I don't know how much more homework I can take.
Monday was another really slow day. I got another three lessons done sitting in the back room. I was so bored that I actually finished my homework instead of doing it in the morning before my session with Anna-Lisa. To top it off, the weather today was horrible. It rained all morning and was gloomy outside, not to mention freezing cold. At one point the power went out for about 5 minutes while I was in the shop. Don Antonio was ringing up a couple when the power went out along with the register. By the time he added up the total on paper, the power came back on. I was tempted again to go to sleep in the back. especially since it was dark. We closed the shop early again today since there was a total of maybe 15 people who showed up. I guess no one wanted to brave the weather today.
The funniest thing happened at lunch today and for once it has nothing to do with Mattia. Don Ignacio was once again talking about Spagna and how wonder it is there. If I haven't already told you, Don Ignacio is from Spagna and is very patriotic. He always somehow brings up a conversation about Spagna whenever he gets the chance. Well today he was talking about the Spanish flag and somehow got confused about how the flag looked. He was trying to figure which color came first, yellow or red. I chimed in and said the flag has yellow in the middle and red on the outside. It's ironic that someone so patriotic to Spagna doesn't remember the design of the flag. That is like me forgetting how many stars are on the US flag.
In the afternoon a small group of Polish men came to the shop out of breath. I thought it was hysterical how each and every one that came into the shop was panting and taking deep breathes to try and regain their energy. Once Don Antonio showed up to the shop, I decided to walk around for a little while. I ran into Mattia in the Sacrestia while he was listening to music. He called me over and started to show me some photos of his family in Korea. I had nothing else better to do so I sat there and asked questions practicing my Italian while viewing the photos. So all-in-all a pretty quiet day.
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