Forewarning: This post contains a lot of randomness and a moment of TMI.
My second week in Lucca, and working at the camp went by pretty quickly. Again with long days of trying to wrangle children without speaking their language, covered in dirt and battling mutant mosquitos.
Some things I've learned this week:
-Riding a bike to and from work is great..until you have to ride in an all out thunderstorm and dodge streaks of lighting.
-Calling a mosquito an asshole does not, in fact, make it stop bothering you.
-Being talked about is not fun, especially when it's in another language, it's children doing it, and you have no idea what they're saying.
-Italians (and probably others) think that bbq-ing is the "American Identity card" according to the school gardener, Emilio.
-Mostly everyone here thinks I speak Italian until they try to speak to me.
-Rat tails still exist:
In other developments, I have a stalker.
Don't get too excited. It's a cat.
For the past week, everyday, the same cat is there when I come back to the apartment after work, and sometimes later at night too. He follows me around when I'm trying to lock up the bike, and looks like he's up to something. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm not a huge fan of cats. They're sneaky, and like to hide and jump out and scare people. I told him to scram the first day, after I jumped about a mile when he appeared out of nowhere. The next day I ignored him. The day after that I said Ciao because he is an Italian cat after all. The day after that I figured I might as well name him Carlo.
Chef has been slipping, and the lunches this week were mostly rice, rice, and more rice. Virtually no veggies. Between traveling, the food, and stress, I haven't (apologizing ahead of time for TMI) gone to the bathroom in a week. It's so bad actually, that the school nurse/teacher actually asked me if I might be pregnant. No, no I said.. that would have to be some sort of miracle. It's just a food baby. I've had to take matters into my own hands and have added a new side dish to every meal:
I'd have to cool it with the bread and cheese for a while too.
But first, a sandwich. This was one of the best sandwiches ever. It was warm, the bread was crusty, and the ingredients fresh. I had read about this place, and ridden past many people eating the crusty goodness on the steps of the piazza St. Michele and decided it was time to try one myself. A tiny little place, La Tana del Boia was super cute. I ordered the "toscanoccia," butchering the name of the sandwich to the amusement of the guy taking orders. He smiled. It was kind of funny I suppose. I then took my little plastic cup of the house red wine outside on the steps to wait for my sandwich. The guy delivered my salami and soft goat's cheese sandwich to me and said, "I wish you a good appetite." Oh, that wouldn't be a problem.
One week left of camp, and the theme is America. I should have this one in the bag, you'd think. Here's some more moments from camp that I captured this past week in the garden:
I also have one week left with this bike and have to find a dog to take a picture with in the basket before I leave Lucca. If not, I'll have to get my hands on a bike as well as a dog wherever I go next. In the words of my friends..I'm gonna have to be bold.
My second week in Lucca, and working at the camp went by pretty quickly. Again with long days of trying to wrangle children without speaking their language, covered in dirt and battling mutant mosquitos.
Some things I've learned this week:
-Riding a bike to and from work is great..until you have to ride in an all out thunderstorm and dodge streaks of lighting.
-Calling a mosquito an asshole does not, in fact, make it stop bothering you.
-Being talked about is not fun, especially when it's in another language, it's children doing it, and you have no idea what they're saying.
-Italians (and probably others) think that bbq-ing is the "American Identity card" according to the school gardener, Emilio.
-Mostly everyone here thinks I speak Italian until they try to speak to me.
-Rat tails still exist:
 |
| RAT TAIL- spotted on the streets of Lucca. |
In other developments, I have a stalker.
Don't get too excited. It's a cat.
For the past week, everyday, the same cat is there when I come back to the apartment after work, and sometimes later at night too. He follows me around when I'm trying to lock up the bike, and looks like he's up to something. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm not a huge fan of cats. They're sneaky, and like to hide and jump out and scare people. I told him to scram the first day, after I jumped about a mile when he appeared out of nowhere. The next day I ignored him. The day after that I said Ciao because he is an Italian cat after all. The day after that I figured I might as well name him Carlo.
 |
| Carlo poses for a photo |
Chef has been slipping, and the lunches this week were mostly rice, rice, and more rice. Virtually no veggies. Between traveling, the food, and stress, I haven't (apologizing ahead of time for TMI) gone to the bathroom in a week. It's so bad actually, that the school nurse/teacher actually asked me if I might be pregnant. No, no I said.. that would have to be some sort of miracle. It's just a food baby. I've had to take matters into my own hands and have added a new side dish to every meal:
I'd have to cool it with the bread and cheese for a while too.
But first, a sandwich. This was one of the best sandwiches ever. It was warm, the bread was crusty, and the ingredients fresh. I had read about this place, and ridden past many people eating the crusty goodness on the steps of the piazza St. Michele and decided it was time to try one myself. A tiny little place, La Tana del Boia was super cute. I ordered the "toscanoccia," butchering the name of the sandwich to the amusement of the guy taking orders. He smiled. It was kind of funny I suppose. I then took my little plastic cup of the house red wine outside on the steps to wait for my sandwich. The guy delivered my salami and soft goat's cheese sandwich to me and said, "I wish you a good appetite." Oh, that wouldn't be a problem.
One week left of camp, and the theme is America. I should have this one in the bag, you'd think. Here's some more moments from camp that I captured this past week in the garden:
 |
| having a rest in the tree |
 |
| walking the line |
 |
| playing in the mud |
I also have one week left with this bike and have to find a dog to take a picture with in the basket before I leave Lucca. If not, I'll have to get my hands on a bike as well as a dog wherever I go next. In the words of my friends..I'm gonna have to be bold.