…and please feel free to come back in June! This past week has been pretty dreary here in Genova, except for Wednesday, it has rained non-stop almost everyday. The good thing is that the students days have been jammed packed with classes that there really hasn’t been an opportunity to get out and about much. We continue our daily Italian language classes with Barbara, but sadly she departs this Wednesday to head back to the States, so therefore there will be one less class for them to attend. This semester her class has been in the mornings, but once it ends there will be some more available free time. Cristina (our cook) even joined in on the fun the other day, as Barbara was teaching a lesson that involved a phone conversation. The funny thing about Italians is they are the only individuals who do not answer the phone stating “hello” or it’s equivalent in Italian. They say “pronto”, which means “I’m ready”, it’s really funny and I will have to admit every time the phone rang while I was home in the States at Christmas I found myself saying “pronto”!
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| Cristina and Barbara go over a telephone conversation in Italian |
On Friday Nick had a follow up visit appointment with his surgeon Dr. Calogera and then aquatherapy afterwards. We were late getting to his appointment as our usual ten minute commute via taxi to physiotherapy took thirty minutes, and on the way home it took forty-five. On the way home our taxi driver spoke some English and informed us that a tunnel in the city had flooded due to all the recent rain and so therefore the traffic was crazy. So our usual ten euro taxi ride cost us around twenty-one euro, and most of that was sitting.
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| With the rain and fog there is no Mediterranean to be seen |
Nick had not seen his surgeon since before we left for Christmas, as when we stopped in the hospital to see him after we returned from the States we were told by the nurses that he was not there. But come to find out he was actually there! I informed him that the nurses were non molto gentile (not very kind), as I am pretty sure that they didn’t even bother to locate him for us. We laugh every time we see Dr. Calogera now, as he has not spoken a word of English to us from day one, but right before we left for Christmas we saw him by ourselves (without Silvia to translate) and he spoke perfectly good English! What?!?!? Silvia then later told us that she had seen him over the holidays at a party and he informed her that he studied/worked in San Fransico for several years… He was very happy with Nick’s progress and even impressed that he was walking around the villa sans crutches. He requested that he continue with the aquatherapy for a couple more session.
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| Dr. Calogera |
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| The patient! |
As previously mentioned our taxi ride home was quite a lengthy ordeal, but we were happy that we made it home just in time for dinner! Cristina made lentil soup, which Nick absolutly loves, it was a good meal for a cold rainy night.
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| Traffic Jam in Genova |
Many of the students despite the rain decided to brave the conditions and go out to the clubs again on Friday night. Unfortunatly they found out that the government of Genova requested that due to the weather everyone stay in, so therefore they stated the clubs were very empty. We on the other hand opted to stay in and enjoy a nice bottle of wine and some pastries with Barbara. I will be very sad when she leaves us on Wednesday, as I thoroughly enjoy her company. I am however excited as her and Silvia have invited me to a girls night out on Monday evening. While it will be fun, it ought to be interesting as I will be the only one attending that doesn’t speak Italian! Eek!
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| Pigato & Pastries |