Italy Journal
Monday, March 11,
2013
Why should I be surprise to go to pay a bill, and I’m turned
away because the person who works the computer is not there this morning? Why
should I be surprised when I went to arrange to close my electric and gas
accounts for next week? The gas people said for us to email the number on the
gas meter to them next Monday morning early, then come over about 10, and the
bill will be waiting for us (very cooperative); HOWEVER, the electric people
said that their whole system is done electronically, so I will have to wait
until 2 weeks after we leave for them to send me a bill, then I will have to
wire money to them, and they are not even sure when the person will go to our house (what happened to “everything is
done electronically?” ) to turn off the electricity. Che Bello! I was with
Luca, our immobiliare (real estate) friend when all this happened, and he just
looked at me, smiled, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Boh! It’s Italy!” I
love that word “Boh.” It stands for anything unimaginable!
GRIMALDI’S FEAST
I expect another email from my brother Tom any day now,
reminding me that he now understands why people in Italy say, “Chow!Chow!” all
the time! Tonight we had another fantastic meal at the home of Mara and Valerio
Grimaldi (as in Grimaldi’s Pasta Shop!).
Of course, their sons Alberto and Giovani were there, too. We always
have a delightful time with all of them.
I was so proud of Alberto, their 8 year-old, who has been
struggling with learning English… until recently. At my suggestion (J), his mom started
making flash cards for him to practice in a fun, game way; and, today he made
the HIGHEST GRADE in his class on his English exam. It’s all about learning
styles! Way to go, Alberto, you’re my man!
Gio (only his parents and best friends call Giovani that)
was eager to tell Peter all about his upcoming 3 weeks intensive English class
in England. He went last year, too, and this year, the class is twice as long.
He will even have afternoon classes…you’ll be ok, Gio! I know you don’t prefer
afternoon classes, but you can do it!
After our silciccia di Bra (raw!) salad as an appetizer,
Valerio served THE BEST (why am I surprised?) pasta, and it was devoured in no
time…even Alberto, the “discriminating” eater, ate every bit of his! Then, we
had some cooked sausage with specially seasoned bell peppers…another delicious
dish! We finished up with desserts of fresh strawberries, boneta, and my pecan
pie! You can’t argue with that! It was a feast! I saw Valerio going out the
door after dinner with a big plate of pasta for Lela, their sweet and very
fortunate dog, who eagerly lapped it up. No wasting food at this house!
When we left, Mara told me to get all my crying about
leaving out before I come in her shop again. She doesn’t want me to get her
started crying in front of her customers. She and Valerio are really true
friends. I’m happy that we will be able to see them at least on a semi-regular
basis when our tours start, AND they are already talking about a family trip to
the U.S. in a few years! Won’t THAT be fun?!!!
We love you all, Valerio, Mara, Alberto and Gio,
Colleen
No comments:
Post a Comment