learn Archives - Laura Cerrone

June 5, 2014

What day is it now?

We’re at the tail-end of my second week here, and this week has been very consistent. I’ve fallen into a light routine of wake-up, make breakfast for myself, study italian for a few hours, eat lunch, and then help with some of the chores. Today I was supposed to go for a walk with one of the neighbors but she never showed up. That’s fine with me, it’ll happen eventually. I was able to help my aunt in their little farm, I watered rows and rows of vegetables (vedura) and helped remove rocks from a planter. There were so many ants (formiche) in that planter I thought I was going to be eaten alive by them.

I washed up a bit before dinner and lounged for an hour or so then helped with dinner preparation. We don’t eat until almost 8 or 9 o’clock every night which is much later than I’m used to. But I enjoy it all the same.

I help clean up after dinner and enjoy my twice, sometimes thrice daily espresso.

I never understood the delight (delizia) of espressos until drinking them here. It’s not even a thought to have one or not because you’re never in a state where it’s a bad time for one.

All aside I mentioned yesterday that my italian is starting to string along. I’m able to reciprocate in mini-conversations with my aunt which is great for us bonding. I spend a lot of time helping her so it’s nice to have a little chat.

The wonderful (meraviglioso) thing about learning a new language is it forces you to think differently. Creatively. I can’t form all the sentences in the way I would normally do I have to find some interesting ways to construct them. The best way to describe it is viewing the world as a child again. Of course, a child would have a better grasp of the language them me, but some of the phrases that have spewed from my mouth have resulted in pretty poetic pairings.

In addition to the child-like wonderment of learning a new language, I’ve been trying to force myself to think in italian. It isn’t going so bad but it does take up a lot of energy. I think that’s why I’m so tired at times.

I can expect tomorrow to be pretty much the same, but we shall see. No pictures today, unless you want another version of the sunset (tramonto) I take a picture of every night.

June 4, 2014June 4, 2014

Paradiso

Nothing out of the ordinary I’ve come to known for the time being occurred yesterday. I woke up early, 8:30 am, lounged around for a bit. There’s plenty of sunshine to soak in and fresh air to breathe. In the afternoon I helped with the chores (lavoretti) and helped my aunt bake a cake (which I wrote down the recipe). As I was helping my aunt prepare the cake I watched my uncle go into the barn empty-handed, and come back out with a less than alive chicken, he then proceeded to pluck the feathers in the backyard. All the cats and kittens were crying like crazy at his feet for a piece. He gave them the innards.

We had the cake after dinner when a neighbor came over to chat. It’s an apple-lemon cake and i was delicious. Watching my aunt cook is magical. The way she sweeps over the kitchen, nothing boils over, nothing burns, everything is cooked to perfection. She could lave a pot heating up on the stove and go run an errand in the backyard and come back with time to spare before the flame (fiamma) would need to be lowered. She doesn’t need to exactly measure ingredients. Everything comes together so naturally, and the food is delicious. The neighbor and I made plans to go for a walk tomorrow, which will be really nice because I need the exercise from having carbs three meals a day.

I'm completely enchanted by the sunset here. — I’m completely enchanted by the sunset here.

Today was spent similarly. I took my shower in the morning and spent several hours refining my italian. In the afternoon I once again aided with the chores. Their neighbor that lives in the house behind there’s came over and me and her went on a bike ride. We stopped at her house on the way and she gave me a slice of fresh, still warm, oozy-gooey delicious pizza rustica. Mouth-wateringly good.

It was so nice to bike around. The breeze in my hair, getting to look at the mountainside at a slow pace. I also got to practice some of my italian with her. When we got back to the house she made a fishtail braid in my hair and then we all went out to run a couple errands for my aunt. I then spent the next hour outside writing in my notebook and watching the sunset. The scribbles (scarabocchi) in my book you might get to see in the next couple of days if I decide to upload them.

We also looked at the weather forecast (previsione) and this weekend it is supposed to be almost 90 degrees. My cousin informed me on Sunday we are going to the beach. ANDIAMO!

May 31, 2014

The Crazy Day.

Yesterday (Friday 5/30) I was supposed to start my WWOOF. And you even got a sneak peak of my experience there with my last post, which is now completely irrelevant. And here’s the story (il racconto) of what happened soon after I wrote that and why I’m not at that farm anymore.

After my cousin left my host showed me my room and then we went to eat lunch. We chatted a bit about who we were and she ate quickly and then apologized. She’s an older lady and explained she needed to take a nap because she wasn’t feeling well and that she would be back in two hours. Before going to take a nap (fare a pisolino), she helped me set up my room and gave me the device to connect my laptop to the internet (which I was told only to use briefly).

I checked in with my family and told my mom how nervous I was to be here, because it felt strange. The lady was the only one at the farm. I had expected more people to be there and working, but there was absolutely no one. I couldn’t imagine this elderly lady doing all the work.

I explored the place a little bit, not straying too far in case she woke up early and needed me. I took a few pictures, played with the cats, and sat down in the shade to attempt some creative writing.

Three hours pass by and I felt something really wrong was happening. My host woke up and the first thing she says to me is that she needs to go to the hospital and that I need to leave. So we call my cousin and make plans for him to pick me up at a train station in Rome. I felt so bad for this, but what was I to do? My host explains she has a heart condition and she asked me what I would do if she were to die. It was a bit surreal. She brought me to the train station in town, bought me a ticket, and explained when my train would come and when it would arrive in Rome and where I would meet back up with my cousin. Then she left for the hospital.

A little over two hours I was back in Rome and then we drove the hour back to their house. When I walked in the door, my family could tell I felt bad and they reassured me that I shouldn’t worry about it.

I ate dinner, showered, and checked in again with my family back at home to let them know I was safe and sound.

The host contacted us again to tell us that she was back from the hospital and if I wanted to I could spend a week there. But I’m not so sure, what if she gets sick again?

I woke up pretty late today, and felt bad for it, but sometimes a long sleep is all you ned to feel like yourself again. After my very late breakfast I helped out at my cousins farm with watering vegetables. I collected the eggs from the chickens after lunch, just in time because the clouds rolled in and the sound of tuono heralded a hail storm.

Oh, I forgot to mentioned what we did Thursday night, the night before we trekked to Viterbo and that fiasco. On Thursday night we visited the medieval town of Boville Ernica. We gazed at the overlook as it is one of the highest villages in the area. At first I thought I saw a shooting star, but it’s erratic flight pattern had me guess again. I pipistrelli, bats! Very cool. We walked around a little bit admiring the medieval walls and buildings before returning to Frosinone to drive around the downtown area and sit at a salsa bar and enjoy cocktails and music. I didn’t take any pictures of Boville Ernica because it’s a memory I wanted to preserve in my mind. Taking too many pictures ruins your visual memory, so I have to remember not to be such a shutterbug all the time.