A slight break in the action

I found out Sunday I am not willing to take the risk with certain foods. Today there was this type of cooked fruit that I have never see before served with this cake. I gladly took a slice of the cake, since there wasn't anything "suspicious" about it, but refused to touch the fruit. Don Luigi ensured me that since it was that there shouldn't be any problems with me eating it. I still chose to follow my gut instinct which was telling me not to eat the fruit. There's no telling what could have happened, considering I haven't had fruit in awhile. Plus I am sure there are other types of fruits that I am not aware of right now that I could be allergic to. Don Luigi simply said that I do not have courage to try fruit. He then asked if I were afraid to die. I of course said yes. But I did say that before I leave I will try to eat a piece of fruit. I want to test to see if anything happens. I acquired the allergy suddenly, so maybe the allergy might disappear suddenly and I will once again be able to enjoy the fruits of my childhood. 

Other than being tempted into trying to challenge death to a game of chicken, it was a pretty normal day. I once again was left alone in the shop to tend to all the customers. I guess  the monastery is being to trust me and figures that I should be able to manage the shop along with all the Italians who come in. I actually did manage to convince a group of girls studying in Roma that I was Italian due to how well I spoke. Yeah I know I am shocked too. I didn't think my Italian was getting that good, but apparently others can see the improvement. I guess it also helps when someone else doesn't know quite as much as you. It was a good way to boost my confidence. Just in time for my lesson tomorrow with Anna-Lisa.

Miciotto is a little attention hog, even though he runs away from people. Monday afternoon when I opened the shop, Miciotto followed me inside. I did not notice it at the time until I turned around and saw him staring at me looking for food. I figured I would let him stay in the shop, because it would be more difficult to try and catch him and put him outside. I also couldn't feed him yet since no one else was in the shop, so I decided not to pay any attention to him. Well that didn't stop him from meowing at me and then spreading all his fur on my pants. A few minutes later a couple came into the shop and noticed him walking around. Of course these people were fascinated by Miciotto and tried to get him to come closer. Being the clever little cat he is, he played hard to get, which made the couple try even harder to pet him. They finally managed to pet him and the woman was able to make him purr. I guess she was pleased with making him purr because she was excited about it and started to rub it in the guy's face. 

When they left I had to replace this little model of Sacro Speco on the counter since they decided to buy the one that was sitting there. I didn't see Miciotto below me and when I unwrapped the plastic, all of this glitter from the model fell covering Miciotto. I tried my hardest to get it all off him, but he apparently liked it, because he kept pawing at me every time I reached for him. I guess he likes to feel pretty every once in awhile.

I guess when there is little activity or excitement inside the shop, you are willing to do anything. Today I did more cleaning inside the monastery. Just make my assignment longer, I decided to clean other things that weren't even asked of me. I still managed to finish within an hour and headed back to the shop. I guess you could say it was perfect timing, since a large group of children showed up. I think Clara feels the same as I do about groups of children, because she rolled her eyes and was happy she couldn't give the tour. They still didn't stop the children from rushing the store and causing chaos. I am lucky that a couple walked into the shop asking for a tour in English. I looked at Clara and she gave me the ok to give the tour. It has been quite some time since the last tour I gave. I felt a little rusty, but the tour went fine.

Tuesday is a perfect example of what happens when there is nothing else to do. Clara asked me if I knew who the teletubbies were. Yeah the little weird things on TV, which I never watched. She started to name them and even expected me to knew them. I don't know how we even got on this subject, but lucky for me she changed it quickly. She wanted a history lesson on the flag of the USA. I broke it down for her describing what the stripes mean and what the stars mean. For once I was the teacher and she was the student. Finally the roles have switched.

As a little side note, this will be my last journal for awhile. I am heading to Greece tomorrow and will not be taking my laptop. I will make sure that there are lots of pictures to make up for it though. Expect something spectacular on Sunday night.

It's never too early for spring cleaning

When it rains it pours. It stormed really badly last night and I guess it wasn't finished, because Tuesday morning when I was heading to the church to do some cleaning, the power went out. Don Ignacio knew it would be a pretty slow day today due to the weather, so he had me clean around the monastery. The only problem is that when the lights are off, it is very difficult to see inside the church. I took this as a sign that I probably shouldn't be cleaning the church now and went to go clean the TV room along with the stairs leading to the rooms. The power was still working in that part of the monastery, which I found a little strange, but apparently they get electricity from different places. So I spent a good part of the morning cleaning in those areas while I waiting for the power to come back on. 

The power wasn't the only thing that was out of whack today. Lat night when I tried to close to large gate leading to the monastery, for some reason it decided not to close. I thought the remote was broken and went inside the Sacrestia to close it from there, but the little light indicating that the gate is closed wouldn't turn off. I went outside to check again to see if the light was broken and found the gate still open. It just seems like every time there are major storms, things start to fall apart. I thought I would be done with storm related problems having left MN, but now instead of snow I have to worry about lighting. 

The power managed to come back on before I finished cleaning the stairs and TV room, so I made my way to the church. That's when I ran into a couple with their little boy named Benedict visiting from Washington D.C. They told me an interesting story of how they decided on the name Benedict for their child. They had visited the monastery years before and were inside Saint Benedict's crave praying. Something told them that they should name their child after Saint Benedict and 4 or 5 months later they did just that. The father told me that this place is very special to them and I really do feel the same way. It is almost as if a sea of peace and calmness rushes over me whenever I just stand outside and listen to nature. Who knows, maybe I will find what I have been looking for here; that is if I ever realize what I am looking for.

Today's lunch was another interesting one. I walked into the kitchen to get a sneak peek at what was for lunch and found Italia stirring this large pot filled with what looked like pudding. The dish was called Polenta, which is some type of porridge made from cornmeal. She then asked me if I would eat it and I always like trying new things, so I was up for the challenge. The only problem was that I had no idea how much she was going to give us. I saw Don Ignacio come out of the kitchen with this small wooden tray filled with polenta which was covered in tomato sauce. I thought he was going to split that with everyone, but apparently that dish was meant for one person. I already knew what would come out of that door next and had to brace myself for a huge meal today. Sure enough Mattia placed a little wooden tray filled with polenta in front of me topped with cheese, sausage, and tomato sauce. I think this meal can go down as another difficult meal to swallow. It was way too much for me to eat and I can put away a lot of food. I was so stuffed afterwards that I didn't even eat anything else they brought out. And yes there was a second dish on top of the first huge tray of polenta. I wasn't the only one who thought it was a lot of food, because Don Ignacio told me later that he even had trouble eating the second course. 

I spent the rest of my afternoon working on my Italian again while helping Clara cut out little labels for the chocolates in the store. We didn't have a lot of visitors Tuesday afternoon so I could get a lot of my questions answered. Clara will only speak to me in Italian and continues to insist that I know quite a bit. I of course have different feelings on this matter. I do know a good number of words, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that I don't really know how to string the words together to form sentences yet without having to pause and think about it first. But I guess with practice I will manage to get the hang of it in no time.

I guess I really never do learn my lesson. Wednesday morning the barber showed up to cut hair for the monastery. He only comes every 6 weeks or so, which means we have to make an appointment or let our hair grow wild. I opted not to get the hair cut the first time, because I figured he wouldn't know how to even approach my hair. This time I decided I would take the chance and let him trim the back of my neck along with the sides. Well let's just say that it was another failed attempt at explaining how to cut my hair. I somehow wound up with no sideburns. It wasn't a total loss though, because the back of my neck is now smooth as ever. I just have to wait until I get to Greece and can finally buy my own trimmer to shape myself up. I have confidence that I will do a better job than anyone else here could.

Again today I filled in as an extra pair of hands for Pinnucia while she cooked in the kitchen. This time I did more than just cut the bread. I prepared some garlic bread, the salad, and of course cut the bread for lunch. I also did practice some of my Italian with Pinnucia, since she only speaks Italian. While we were cooking I did manage to learn a few new words from her so I could be more familiar with the kitchen. Maybe one day I will learn how to cook from her and become this master chef, but only time will tell.

I spent my afternoon in the shop only to be visited by four people. It was another very slow afternoon, since the temperature dropped quite a bit. Since there were few people in the shop, I decided to play with Miciotte; that just tells you how bored I really was. While I was playing with him, Don Ignacio decided to scare me by knocking on the glass door. Both Miciotto and I jumped up and stared at the door. Don Ignacio usually does try to scare me every once in awhile by opening the door swiftly, but never has been able to do it until today. I guess there's a first time for everything.

Dinner tonight started off with a laugh. I went to grab this white wine that everyone drank for lunch while I only drank water. I rarely drink wine for lunch and save it for dinner, because I feel it's a little early in the day to begin drinking. But when I went to get the bottle, Don Carlo walked in and made this ridiculous facial expression. I immediately started to laugh and Mattia of course wanted in on the joke. He said, "Che coos", which means what is it. Both Don Carlo and I said that it was nothing. Don Carlo decided to further explain by saying that it was only a joke between us two and that Mattia needs to stop poking his nose into every one's business. Don Carlo strikes again. Another one of Don Carlo's crowd-pleasing comments.

The laughs didn't stop there though. While Matt, Don Heriberto, and I were drying the dishes, Don Heriberto began to read Matt's shirt. His shirt was in English and in huge print it said Rock. Don Heriberto said the word Rock and then said it was a type of music in English. Matt and I both congratulated him being able to say it in English, since Don Heriberto doesn't know many English words. What happened next had both Matt and I rolling on the floor. For whatever reason Don Heriberto started to sway back and forth almost like he was dancing to some beat in his head. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen Don Heriberto do. I nearly dropped a plate because it was that unexpected. I have to say that mean times here will go down in history as my favorite memories.

What!? Today was Thanksgiving? Truth be told it really didn't even feel like it. Here in Italy, there is no huge celebration or even a dinner with a turkey. It is just another normal day during the week. Maybe there will be something tomorrow, but I kind of doubt it. 

Apparently there is no such thing as starting early for spring cleaning, because for the past coupe of days I have been cleaning inside the church. Today I went down to one of the chapels, moved out all the chairs, swept and mopped the floor, and then polished all the wooden furniture. Once I finished there, Don Ignacio decided to call it quits for the day and planned for us to return tomorrow to clean other areas of the church. We really don't have many guess during the winter, since it gets dark quickly and it is very cold outside. Coming to the mountains during the winter has no appeal to people here. That's why we spend most of our time cleaning.

Don Heriberto is on a joking spree. Today while I was walking through the Sacrestia carrying a bottle of wood cleaner, he pointed at the bottle and made a gesture suggesting that he wanted to chug the bottle. Once again this came completely out of left field. The thing is Don Heriberto is pretty quiet most of the time and only really speaks when he has to say something important. The fact that he has now two days in a row done something out of the ordinary is already strange. Having both occurrences be outrageously funny is just icing on the cake. 

For whatever reason today at lunch we stumbled on a discussion of the differences between the French, Italians, and Germans. I think it was something Mattia brought up and of course everyone wanted to chime in. Well the only comment that is worth mentioning to you is the one said by Don Ignacio. He said the only difference between Italians and Germans is that the Germans have square heads. Once again it was another comment that I could not predict, but once I review the conversation, I could only imagine Don Ignacio saying something like that.

We have a mystery here at the monastery. Apparently someone "stole" all the gum from the storage closet where we stock the merchandise that we sell in the vending machines. Both Clara and I remember seeing them inside, because Don Ignacio had asked for a pack and I noticed there were at least six packs left. Well this morning when Clara went to find another pack, they had all disappeared. Clara and I looked everywhere, but with no luck. I think this is will be another unsolved mystery just like the time that Matt and I locked the shop only to find it completely open in the morning with no one inside and the keys in the drawer. Still haven't found the answer to that one yet, so my hopes for finding the culprit here are very low.

I think I am becoming envious of the wind. Just watching how it can move things around it with what seems like almost no effort mesmerizes me. Friday was a very windy day. The winds were so strong that they were able to continually close the large gate leading to the parking lot. When I walked outside this morning I saw the gate was shut and appeared like it was still locked. I walked up to it and unlocked the lock only to find out that the gate had already been opened. I pushed the gate back open and headed back inside the shop only to hear a few seconds later the gate slamming shut. Luckily there wasn't a car or someone coming through because they would have been crushed. Don Ignacio and I looked for some string to tie the gate back so that it couldn't be blown closed again, but found nothing inside the shop. Don Ignacio got the brilliant idea that we should use one of the necklaces in the shop only worth 1 euro to tie the gate back. I am not too sure how Clara will feel about that in the morning when she gets here, but I think it works as a quick fix until the gate starts working again.

In the afternoon Don Ignacio came back into the shop. He picked up one of these prayer cards that have been translated into Spanish. All he could say was "Orribile", because the translation was horrific. They had spelling errors and half the time the sentences didn't make sense. Well the same can be said about the tour guides that have also been translated in both English and Spanish. He took the time to go through the prayer card telling us what the word or phrase actually should be like we were the ones responsible for translating it. I do agree with him that this is horrible. If your ever happen to come to Sacro Speco and walk through the church, you will notice these signs placed in various areas describing frescoes in English and Italian. I am pretty sure the Italian explanation is correct, but the English one is filled with mistakes. I haven't heard anyone complain about it yet, but there will always be that one person who will say something as if your responsible for it. 

Well it has been quite some time since Mattia has done something ridiculous so it figures he would do something at dinner. Don Ignacio was talking about how he was scared this one time in someone's house because a door had slammed shut and all the other windows and doors   were closed. He said that he felt this tiny gust of wind on the back of his neck, almost like someone blowing on it. Well I am pretty sure you have figured out what Mattia did. He got up, stood behind Matt, and then blew on the back of his neck. I didn't see this once again because I focused on eating my meal, but knew Mattia was up to something. I asked Matt what happened and he said that Mattia just blew on his neck because of Don Ignacio's story. Were Mattia gets the ideas to do such things is way beyond me.

Old people are just hilarious. I don't think I can ever say that enough. Saturday morning, Don Carlo made his way into the shop. He didn't say anything to me, but walked behind me to grab a plastic bag. The next thing I know he is filling the bag with all type of items from the shop. He only seems to come around when he knows Clara isn't there. Even though we can take whatever we want from the shop, we do have to let Clara know what we want. Don Carlo of course follows his own rules, so that means what he wants he takes. I guess you can kind of say that Don Carlo is a shoplifter with some crafty tricks and distractions allowing him a clean getaway.

Today was a test of my knowledge of the Italian language. For practically most of the day I was in the shop by myself speaking Italian. I guess you can say that I have become accustomed to being left alone in the shop and having to fend for myself. During the down times, I just pick up my notebook and continue flipping through the pages until my mind feels like it will explode and then I take a break. At this point a person would walk into the shop asking some questions, so perfect timing I guess. While in the shop today, a couple somehow came to the conclusion that I was a priest and asked for a blessing on their items that they purchased. I can understand when someone calls me father on the phone, but to make a mistake like that when you are standing right in front of me surprised me. I just tole them that I am not a not and I would call for one so that they could get their blessing. 

Apparently all languages sound the same to Don Ignacio. Today he was telling me a story from when he was back at his monastery in Spain. He was talking about some Germans that were complaining that he was Spanish and he described them speaking as if they were Asian. Matt asked if they were Germans or Koreans. Apparently whenever someone here is mocking another language it always comes out as some type of Asian. I somehow think Mattia is to blame for this.

Technical Difficulties are the worst

I was making my way to the shop when I ran into Anna-Lisa. I had completely forgot that we had another lesson scheduled for today rather than yesterday. At least I can say that I did do the homework before hand and didn't have to worry about that. Before we headed to our "classroom" I asked her if someone had opened the shop. Of course there was no one there and I had to go open it. Not only that, but I had to wait until someone else showed up so I could continue my lesson. Anna-Lisa and I sat in the shop in the back going over the homework until Don Antonio showed up and kicked us out.

Since it was pretty cold again today we decided to change locations. We had our lesson in the same room where we had Andy's farewell dinner. I think I like the change because not a lot of people come walking through interrupting the lesson. It finally gives me a chance to focus completely. Anna-Lisa had a little surprise for me towards the end of the lesson. She told me that their would be a test next session, Thursday, to see how well I am progressing. It's one thing to speak the language and a completely different thing to write it out and read it. I have to really buckle down and hit the books these two nights or I might have lessons until the day I leave.

After the lesson I went back to the shop to see if Don Antonio would need any help, considering he always wants to do things himself. I got bored waiting around so I decided to take a walk around the church. I ran into a couple of Americans from California on tour with a guy who is a tour guide from the Vatican. I had nothing else to do so I went up to them and asked if they needed a tour guide. The guy said he knows the place pretty well and could handle things himself. He also pulled out his ID from the Vatican. He then quickly changed his mind and wanted to test my knowledge about the monastery. I took them through the church only pointing out some of the frescoes, basically wherever they wanted to stop, explaining what I could. The other tour guide would throw in his two cents about this and that whenever he could, but most of the time I was talking. I did manage to pick up some good information from him, so now my tours will be packed with more information. I think he was pleased with the tour because I did receive a 20 euro tip from him for the tour.

The afternoon was another slow one. I basically sat in the shop the entire time studying and daydreaming about nothing. When Cecilia did return to close, I stepped outside and just listened to the sounds of nature. I could feel myself in this peaceful state where nothing else mattered. I think it is important for everyone to just stop what they are doing, step outside, and just listen to the sounds of the world. I try to do this at least once a day. You really begin to appreciate the true beauty of the world once you make time for it. It was the most relaxed I have been in awhile, if only for a little period of time. I did want to stand there just a little longer, but Cecilia and everyone else wanted to head back inside. I hope tomorrow is a beautiful day so I can drift off again.

It seems like this monastery has a revolving door. Almost every week when someone leaves the monastery, another person comes in to replace them. In Wednesday's case, there were another two monks who sat at the table with us. The first monk got here about two days ago, but this other one I was surprised to see. He showed up for mass this morning and then appeared again at breakfast. Don Ignacio told me that he would be spending a little time here at the monastery. I did not know that it would only be for the day. I guess after breakfast he went to his room and slept, because I did not see him the rest of the day until lunch.

Most of my morning was spent cleaning one of the chapels in the lower church. Since this chapel holds our large groups that requests masses, you could imagine how long it took me to sweep the entire place. It would not have been so bad if I didn't have to sweep half and then move stuff around to sweep the other half. Even with all of this moving I managed to finish before lunch. I told Don Ignacio that I had swept the entire room and he gave me a pat on the back.

Don Carlo was gone for the past two days or so and returned just before lunch. Italia told me that if I wanted to get rid of some of those biscotti

At 3 I went to open the shop only to find Don Antonio arriving. I decided to head back to my room and do some studying. I got bored after about 20 minutes and went for a walk outside of the monastery. I managed to take some more photos of the monastery at that same angle, the night photos ones, to show a better picture up close. Hope you enjoy.

You know how sometimes you prepare yourself for something thinking that you did enough only to find yourself wishing that you spent a little more time on this or that? Well I had that same feeling Thursday when I was taking the test. The test was a mixture between written and verbal. Anna-Lisa even threw in some extra parts to test my knowledge further. The first half of the test went pretty well, since I have been able to practice that section more frequently, but the rest was a disaster. At the end of it, she kept encouraging me that I was improving and said it is difficult to learn the language, but I feel like I failed. I need to hit the books a lot harder than I have been or else I will not improve. I can manage to form some sentences and understand a lot more, but I am nowhere near being fluent. Now I am not trying to completely master the language before I leave, I only want to speak Italian as if it were my original language without having to think of what comes next or how to phrase the sentence. I know with Anna-Lisa's sessions, it will come in time.

Clara returned to the shop today after about a 5 day absence. Her brother-in-law passed away at the age of 47 I believe from a heart attack. When I found out where Clara was for the past few days, I would have never expected her to return to the shop this week, but to my surprise she was here. The shop had a different feel to it today.

Today's lunch had to have put the idea of Christmas into every one's mind. We were surprised with roasted chestnuts that Italia and Pinnucia had prepared for us. I did try a few and thought that they were good, but nothing I would crave, like gelato. When I saw the chestnuts coming out, I immediately thought of that song that starts off with "Chestnuts roasting on a open fire…" I guess time flies here at Sacro Speco even though most of the time it feels like it stopped. I cannot believe its almost been 2 months since I arrived. Before I know it it will be September and I will be heading back to the states moving forward with my life.

In the afternoon I did not feel productive at all. There were few people who came into the shop, so most of the time I spent wandering around again through the monastery. But before I could sit in the back room and study, Cecilia took me down to the entrance to wait for a delivery of chocolates. I know what some of you are thinking, how lucky is this guy. I would agree with you if I actually ate chocolate. Now if it were a delivery of gummy bears, it would be a completely different story. The Abbot showed up right as we parked and took Cecilia back up to the shop leaving me all alone with the car. The driver of course showed up right as they were making their way up the mountain. I helped him load the car up with all of the boxes, just barely fitting it all in, and then asked him if he could drive it up to the shop. Here all of the cars that the monastery have are all manuals and I don't know how to drive one yet. I have been trying to get someone to teach me, but without any luck. Maybe someone here will teach me and let me practice with that new golf they got. A man can only dream right?

Don Carlo manages to crack me up every time. Friday he made a surprise visit to the shop with Mattia. I think they were cleaning something and they had to throw so stuff in the dumpster outside of the shop. Anyway, he came in to say hi to Don Antonio and Clara. I walked into the shop just as Don Carlo was sneaking a bag of candy under his jacket. The funny thing is that the monks along with the workers can take pretty much anything they want for free. He then proceeded to try and distract Don Antonio by asking all of these questions about things in the shop. I guess he thought no one saw him, but once again I was the only one to catch it. I had to run in the back because I was going to fall on the floor laughing. I guess you had to be there to see it, but trust me, if you were there you also would have started to laugh uncontrollably.

I was scheduled to do a tour at 12 that wound up arriving an hour late. I had to change up my schedule just so that I could still do the tour. This group was from the States for some school in Ohio. It was a group of older people, which meant that it would be a long tour even though I was going to cut out some of the frescoes. Before I headed out on tour, Clara told me to make it as long as I wanted, depending on how hungry I got during the tour. To tell you the truth I was hungry before the tour even started, but I gave them a 45 minute tour of what I could. I felt terrible for both the group and Don Antonio. The group didn't see everything that I normally show and Don Antonio had to wait around in the shop for the group to finish their mass. At least he managed to get Italia and Pinnucia to make him a small lunch before the group arrived. Don Antonio wound up not even heading down to Santa Scholastica until the shop closed. Even with the shortened tour the group was very pleased with me. I got another 50 euro tip.

Once the mass finished, I had to walk the group out and make sure no one else came into the church. Of course when I opened the door, there were three Italians waiting to go inside. I told them that we were closed, but that didn't stop them from walking in. One guy said they just wanted to look around. I told him to come back at 3, but they still were persistent and then started to walk in. I simply told them to get out and wait until 3 pm. Since they were hard-headed and refused to listen, I had to be a little more harsh. One of the guys in the group started to mock me and all I did was just close the door in his face. Sometimes people don't understand that things do not always revolve around them or operate on their schedule.

Mattia was at it again in the afternoon. When I walked into the Sacrestia he was conducting, or at least trying, to some classical music that was playing on his laptop. He called me over to show me more of his family photos along with his house in Korea. Afterwards, he asked me to type in my address so that he could see my house. I foolishly typed it in and now he has some idea of where I live. Knowing him he will somehow end up dropping by my house unannounced sometime in the future looking for me and a place to stay. I will of course be long gone from home, so he can feel free to stop by anytime he wants; sorry parents he's your problem now.

Pinnucia has now joined the group for encouraging me to finish what's left over. For dinner tonight there was this delicious potato soup and of course I was the last one to come up and get seconds. When I got there, there was enough for two bowls, but Pinnucia told me to finish it all. I told her that it was impossible and she kept telling me to finish it. I finally caved and said  that I would return for a third bowl of the soup to finish the pot. Since I had three bowls of soup, I opted not to eat anything else except the grapes already placed out for me.I have to stop being the last one to get seconds or my new name will be fat Matt.

Another uneventful day in the life of a volunteer. I basically sat in the back of the shop most of the day studying from my notebook and occasionally helping Don Antonio when larger groups came into the shop. There at least five tours today, but unfortunately no English groups. We had groups from Germany, Italy, even Poland, but no English tours today. I don't even have any commentary about what I saw or heard on Saturday. I guess you could say the monks were low key today. Maybe they have wised up and decided to be more careful what they saw and do around me because they know I will put it in the blog. So, all-in-all a pretty quiet day. 

I have come to a realization: old people just don't care anymore. Sunday morning when we were in morning prayer, Don Carlo let one loose; by that I mean he farted. I thought I was hearing things, because when I looked around no one else had reacted to the sound, but just before I walked out the door, I heard it again. It was during the Our Father and was very noticeable. I surprised no one else said anything about it. I guess they all know very well by now that Don Carlo doesn't care anymore. I can't wait until I get to that age because I already know I will get away with a lot of things.

When I made my way to the shop in the afternoon, I of course ran into Mattia in the Sacrestia. He was pointing at the video cameras babbling on and on about something. I told him to slow down because no one can understand him when he tries to speak quickly. He pointed at Cecilia on the monitor and told me that she is wonder women. Yeah the very same one from the comics. And hear I foolishly thought it would have been something important. I should have realized by now that anything that Mattia is going to say has nothing to do with anything and should just be ignored. I shook my head and walked to the shop. After a couple of hours of sitting there doing nothing, Don Antonio told me to go to my room. I guess he could see that I was somewhat bored and since there were very few people, he could handle things on his own. Plus if things did get out of hand, Cecilia would be done with her tour soon and could help him in the shop. I spent my free time going over my notes.

Once again I was put to the challenge at dinner. Pinnucia had forgotten about some potatoes inside the oven when I was helping her set up for dinner. These were the potatoes that we had for lunch that were left over. Since everyone had already eaten their fruit no one wanted the potatoes. I told Pinnucia to just put them all on a plate and I wold have to eat them all or else they would be thrown away. I always hate having to finish things others decide they don't want. And the weird thing is that others can refuse, but as for me, even if I do they still put it on my plate. Why do they keep trying to fatten me up?

  

Once again I was left with the feeling of helplessness after another lesson with Anna-Lisa. Every time I think I am making so progress, she knows exactly how to burst my bubble. I try to study as much as possible during the slow periods during the day, but it has become more difficult. I feel as if I am always running around without much of a break in between the chaos.

Take Monday for example.  I of course had my usual scheduled lesson with Anna-Lisa which left me with more work to do before Wednesday. I figured I would be able to return to the shop, finish the homework, and get some solid studying time in. Not 5 minutes after I arrived in the shop did a English tour show up. Of course this wasn't on the schedule, but it was a relatively slow day so one of the volunteers could do the tour. Cecilia turned to me and said "John would be happy to give the tour". So off I went with the group looking to give a very brief tour. About an hour later the tour finally finished. The sad thing is that I didn't even show everything inside the church nor did I explain all of the frescoes and it still took me an hour to finish the tour. I need to figure out what I can cut and how much I can talk about. I think it is impossible to give a shortened tour because the group will always ask questions about this and that and you will find yourself backtracking to some earlier fresco that you skipped. It is either that or the group decides to take their time moving through the church leaving you with less and less time to explain. I have yet to find a good balance between explanation and useless facts. I guess with practice it will come. 

The group I gave a tour to were all from different countries. It was the most diverse group of individuals I have seen in awhile. The group was made of Australians, Austrians, a guy from the States, and one guy from Tanzania. Apparently they were all studying to become monks at the same seminary in Roma. I most have done a pretty good job because after the tour they all wanted to take photos with me (which I really don't like doing) and gave me a 15 euro tip. 

The afternoon was more tranquil which allowed me to get some much needed studying done. I am planning on getting even more work done tomorrow, because apparently the weather will be uninviting. Don Ignacio told me it will be cold and rainy all day. Sounds like perfect studying weather to me.

Kids, kids, and more kids. I think that is enough said about how my Tuesday morning went. Every time we have a group of school children, they seem to want to rush the store and create chaos. Tuesday we had a group of 120 screaming little children visit the monastery. I had seen on the schedule that there were supposed to be two groups visiting today, but had no idea that one of them was a group of kids. When I stepped outside to see if any of the groups had arrived, I heard a large group of children screaming. I walked back inside and paid it no mind, until I saw them. I simply looked at Clara and said "They're children". For once Clara agreed with me about how terrible children are when visiting the monastery because she was one of the lucky few to give them a tour. When she returned to the shop after the tour, she told me that she wanted two pistols, preferably colts, so she could shot the kids. I know how bad that sounds, but Clara is one of the nicest person here that you could meet. Hearing her say that means the group was just terrible. At this point I wishing for a very boring, uneventful day with hardly any visitors. I would welcome that peacefulness.

I wasn't the only one looking for a break today. Mattia actually spent most of the day down at Santa Scholastica to get away from Don Carlo. Mattia and Don Carlo are constantly arguing back and forth. Well, its more accurate to say that Don Carlo is always yelling at Mattia for small things and Mattia is always getting fed up with it. Finally he asked the Abbot if he could spend the day down at Santa Scholastica for some peace. Of course Don Carlo asked where Mattia was today during lunch. Don Ignacio told him that he was down at Santa Scholastica with the Abbot, but no one wanted to tell him the reason why. Maybe everyone is afraid of Don Carlo. When Mattia got back for dinner, I could definitely see that he was not his usual self. As weird as it may sound I hope that Mattia gets over this hurdle. He is kind of our source of entertainment in the monastery since there is never a dull moment with him.

I finally got my wish for peace and quiet in the afternoon. Only one person entered the shop in the afternoon. I spent my time with Clara in the back talking about my family and preparing honeys and jams. It was a great time for me to practice my italian because Clara knows a good amount of English, so if I ever did get stuck she could give me a hint. I managed to do pretty well without having to switch to English as often as I would before. We somehow got on the subject of the reindeers and Santa Claus. She was asking me the names of all the reindeer and I could only remember a few of them. She went online and printed a sheet with all of their names in both English and Italian. Along with that she printed out this Italian song describing each of the reindeer. We spent about 10 minutes translating that into English. Once again I was able to recognize some of the words and got the gist of what the song was saying, but I did have to ask Clara about a few of them. Who would have thought that I would be learning a Christmas song in Italian this afternoon, but that goes to show you anything can happen in the shop when we get bored. You always have to expect the unexpected.

Apparently silent reading for morning prayer is acceptable, because that is exactly how we carried out morning prayer on Wednesday. The reason why prayer that morning was a little different was because we were missing a few members. Both Don Heriberto and Mattia were not feeling well in the morning and did not attend morning prayer. I thought it was a little unusual that Don Ignacio was the only monk seated in the chapel and it was almost 7:30. Don Carlo strolled in a little after the bells began to ring and made his way to his set. He looked at Don Ignacio who told him that he could not lead the do the readings because his Italian isn't all that great. So we sat down and began reading the prayer to ourselves. One by one we got up to head to mass once we were finished reading. 

When I got to the shop in the morning, I went to feed Miciotto like I normally do every morning. I know what some of you most be thinking. At one point I despised that cat, but it has started to grow on me. I guess it is because whenever I am really bored, he is my entertainment. I pull out some string and start twirling it in front of his face and watch him try to grab it. That and I have learned how to get him on his back to rub his stomach. I blame Cecilia for all of this because she forced us to feed the thing when she was gone. Well this morning when I went to feed him, I saw Piccolo sneaking around and scared him off, but apparently I was a little too late. He had already attacked Miciotto, because he emerged from him hiding spot all wet and bleeding. Cecilia is usually the one who feeds both the cats in the morning before work, but she was not here today. So whenever that happens, Piccolo comes over to where Miciotto lives and takes out his frustration on him. Miciotto needs to learn how to defend himself, because that cat will eventually kill him and Cecilia would probably flip. She acts as if that cat is her child.

There were very few people in the shop today; a pretty slow day altogether. In the afternoon some lady tried to enter the shop, but both doors were closed. I like to close the doors when it's cold outside and turn on the heat. Having the doors open would just be a waste of energy and I figure that anyone could figure out how to get into the shop. Well, apparently it is a lot more difficult than I thought. One lady tried to come into the shop and noticed the door was closed. She peered through the glass and noticed me sitting inside. She pulled on the door and nothing happened. She looked confused and it proceeded to pull on the door. Now you would think that someone would try the opposite direction, but she didn't think that far ahead. She just looked at me helplessly and I had to get up and pull the door open for her. 

You can now call me chef John. I helped Pinnucia prepare dinner tonight. Well it's more accurate if I said that all I did was cut the loaf so we could have bread with our dinner. Pinnucia hasn't had the use of her left arm for some time now. The day that her daughter was leaving, they had gone to Roma and she fell and broke her arm. So every night before dinner, I walk down a little earlier to help set up. Tonight was the first night I got to cut the bread. The most I usually do is take things off the stove and place it on the table. I felt pretty proud of myself tonight having been the one who prepared the bread. I know it is something small, but it's the small things in life that bring the greatest pleasures.

Don Luigi has finally returned from his trip, but will be leaving again in about two days or so. This time it will only be for a week or so, then he will be back at the monastery, at least for a little while. He returned sometime last night, but by the time he got in, we had already eaten and were in our rooms. My room phone did ring once last night. Maybe that was his way of letting us know that he returned, but it is still a mystery. 

You never realize how small the world really is until you run into someone who lives in the same state and town as you. That's exactly what happened to me today. A couple of Americans came into the shop and the lady happened to ask me a question in a mixture of English and Italian. I responded in English and she was surprised. She asked where I was from and I was even more surprised by her response. She said that her and her husband both graduated from Columbia high school. And apparently they still live in Maplewood as well. I would have offered them a tour if there were someone else to cover the shop for about an hour. We had another tour group coming who requested an English tour, so I had to remain in the shop, even thought there were few visitors today. 

"CHICKEN NUGGETS"!!!! That's what I screamed when I entered the kitchen for dinner and found a plate of them sitting on the table. I was socked to find out that we were having chicken nuggets for dinner. I think this is the closest I have come to having something that resembles an American dinner. All the other dishes have been interestingly different from my normal dinners, which I do not mind at all. It is really nice to have a reminder ever once and awhile of what things used to be like.

Another surprise tour for me today. Seems like I am always getting the surprise visits here in English. Well, anyway, the group arrived a little earlier than what was scheduled. They were going to have their mass first and then have their visit with a tour guide they brought with them. Apparently while I was setting up the mass, the plans had changed. Clara told me that I would tag along with the group while the other tour guide gave the tour. Of course that's not at all how things went. I wound up giving the entire tour while the other tour guide wandered off somewhere. I suggested that she start the tour outside downstairs since the mass would finish in the lower church. I guess I can say that I wasn't surprised that she would point at me and say that John would add to what she said. The next thing I know I was the only one talking. The really sad thing is these people most likely paid her for a tour that she didn't even give. What could I possibly do in that situation; refuse to give the tour?  I had no other choice but to do the visit. And to top it off, before she decided not to speak anymore, she apparently gave the group some information that was way off base. She said that the statue of St. Benedict in the cave of actually Mary. When I heard this from some of the members in the group, my mouth dropped. How in the world could you possibly confuse St. Benedict and Mary? I mean this is the cave that Benedict stayed in, so I have no clue as to where she would get the idea that the statue was of Mary. Let us just say that she wasn't well prepared and should have let me give the tour by myself.

The tour wasn't a complete disaster though. I did manage to get a busy card from a woman who  is apparently the assistant dean of enrollment at Howard University School of Social Work. She told me to contact her if I was ever interested in doing social work after my volunteer year in Italy. I have no idea what the next year will hold, but I now have another option to consider after this. Who knows, maybe I will make a great social worker.

The one major downfall of having American tours is the fact that many Americans do not carry cash with them when going places abroad. All they ever have a credit cards. Well here at the monastery we do accept credit cards, but there are a few problems with that. Our phone system here is not the best and does tend to go out from time to time whenever there is a bad storm or it rains a lot. Well it just so happens that it did rain quiet a bit last night and caused havoc on our phones, so when the American group came in buying out the store and realized that our credit card machine wasn't working, some found it hard to believe. One lady even insisted that we let her take the stuff home and she would pay for it later. I don't care who you are, but that would never happen. She kept trying to find ways to pay with her card and just could not grasp the concept that the phone lines were down. We actually suggested that they pay in American cash and had to do the conversions. At the end of it all, we had about 350 dollars in the cash register. Let this be a lesson to all of you future travelers out there: ALWAYS CARRY CASH! Life would be a lot simpler, for you and the store you happen to visit.

I am being run ragged. I gave another tour Saturday to a group of American students along with some monks. Today was another packed day filled with tours. I was surprised because the weather wasn't the greatest today, and yet there were still several groups. I had to avoid three other tours while I was giving mine. During part of the tour, I was cut off because another group had arrived and where making their way inside. I had to move my group down the stairs and promise to finish the tour once the church clears out a little. We once I got down to the grotto, one of the monks recognized someone in one of the other groups. They were going to have a mass after their visit and since my group did not schedule a mass, they intended on joining the others. So not only did I have to backtrack to some of the frescoes, but I had to grab more chairs so everyone could fit in the chapel and rush through the rest of the tour. I luckily finished in time for them to join the other group for their Italian mass. Once the mass finished, I was able to fit in time to show the rest of the frescoes and get them to the shop to buy their souvenirs. I must have done a great job because they tipped me 20 euros and I also am able to get a free tour of Peter's Basilica in Roma if I ever decide to do a visit. So once again I manage to get some great contacts that I can use in the future.

The afternoon was a lot slower, allowing me study time; that's if Cecilia would give me my books back. She had wanted to play scrabble with Matt and I, but I just wasn't in the mood. I had already prepared for a afternoon filled with listening to my lessons and studying. Cecilia got frustrated with me and took my books. She refused to give them back until I would talk to her in Italian and join them in the back room. Well being the stubborn person I am, I decided not to do either and went to the church to set up for mass tomorrow morning. By the time I got back, Cecilia was distracted and I managed to retrieve my books. The only bad part was that by the time I got them back, it was already time to close and head down to Santa Scholastica for dinner and a celebration for Francesco and Diego. They both have decided to join the monastery and are now novices.

Seems like this week is full of birthdays. Yesterday was Matt's birthday and Sunday was Don Heriberto's. So again today's lunch was a special one. Don Heriberto was turning 70 today and of course we had to pull out all the stops. Don Ignacio joked and said that we should let Don Heriberto eat whatever he pleases since it's his birthday, but that would not work in Don Heriberto's favor. Since he is on a strike diet, he is only allowed to eat certain things and a certain amount. When the dessert came out, Don Heriberto told everyone, "Mangia per me", which means eat for me. He is not allowed to eat sweets, so all he got was some plain gelato while we sliced into the cake. While eating the cake, Mattia got the idea that he should do something to stick out again. The topping on the cake was powdered sugar which Mattia pretended to sniff as if he were trying to do drugs. I didn't see it happen, but Matt filled me in a little after when everyone started to laugh. Only Mattia would do something as silly as that and I would not expect less from him. I thought that Mattia would be done acting foolish for the day, but I was wrong once again. On my way to open the shop, Mattia was poorly hiding behind the door and tried to scare me. Now normally I would have the reflex to hit whatever jumped out at me, but since I noticed him way before he had the chance to surprise me, Mattia lucked out. 

As soon as I opened the shop, Miciotto came wandering in looking for food. Throughout the afternoon people kept wandering in and noticing that cat. They all wanted to pet him and pick him up, but he is not really fond of people, so he would hiss and swipe the air. People would look at me as if I trained him to do that. All I would say is that cat lives here and we are responsible for feeding him and nothing more. He even hisses at me sometimes when I don't notice him and walk by him. Miciotto loves to bite the hands that feed him.

Even though the afternoon was not too busy, I still managed to somehow give a tour in English. The weird thing was that I actually gave the tour while in the shop. Two guys studying in Roma came in and asked if I spoke English. They then asked me what they should see in the church and opened up the tour book wanting me to explain everything. I was almost tempted to just offer them a tour instead of going through the book. I'm glad I didn't because I soon realized that when I was trying to explain some of the frescoes, one of the guys insisted on making little jokes and comments. I think my tour, if I actually gave one, would have lasted way too long. They came back about 45 minutes later asking more questions and wondering how they would get down to Santa Scholastica. Lucky for them that the Abbot happened to just arrive outside the shop. I suggested that they caught a ride with the Abbot, who would be heading down that way and wouldn't mind giving a ride. 

Later that night I managed to talk with one of my really good friends from college, Raiko. He was keeping me updated on what has been going on back in MN and suggested that we both head to Japan to see our other friend. I am of course up for it, because I have always wanted to go to Japan and I now have a friend who works there. So you can definitely put Japan down as one of the places I will visit before my time is up here.

Started my Monday morning in the worst possible way: being sick. The only thing that was bothering me was my stomach and I could not figure out why. I think it had to be something that I ate the other day. It could also be due to the fact that both Saturday and Sunday I was forced to eat sweets to celebrate birthday after birthday. I guess my stomach wanted to teach me a lesson for cramming it full of junk. I skipped breakfast thinking that the pain would go away after a little while, but I was wrong. My stomach was cringing in pain all morning during my lesson with Anna-Lisa. Even though I was not feeling myself, I did manage to enjoy this lesson. That is because today's lesson felt more like a conversation than anything else. We spent most of the time talking about this and that in Italian. I know what you must be thinking now, that I am a wiz at speaking Italian. Well I still have a long ways to go, but I am starting to get better and better at it. As long as we start every lesson like this one, I should be fluent in no time.

Since I was feeling sick and didn't eat anything all day, I went to tell Pinnucia and Italia. They have a cure for everything that ails you. When I got to the kitchen, I noticed something different about Pinnucia; she no longer had her brace on. She now has the use of both of her hands after her accident in Roma. I was shocked to see that she recovered so quickly, but she said that she will still take it slow. While all of this was going on, Italia was preparing something that would help my stomach. She took two lemons, peeled off the skin, and then boiled them in hot water. She told me to drink all of it because it would help me stomach. I have never seen this done before, but let me tell you that I have never felt better. I ate so much tonight for dinner to make up for not eating a lot during lunch. 

Speaking of dinner, tonight we somehow got into a discussion about bees; yeah, that's right bees. Don Carlo was educating us on how bees work while Don Ignacio was telling us stories of people he knew that got stung by bees. Don Carlo mentioned that if one bee was not doing their job, that the others would kick him out of the hive. While saying this he looked at Mattia. I guess Mattia got nervous, because he started to blabber and not make any sense, less than what he usually does. It was hilarious watching Mattia struggle to explain his worth to the monastery here.

Welcome back internet! You were truly missed.

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.