Inspiration!

Reading President Obama's inaugural address has filled me with hope and inspiration for the coming of a new time here on the planet. It is amazing to me to see the transcendence of traditional dualism throughout his speech. His words reflect a depth and wisdom that could not be produced by the best of speech writers. I truly believe that we have before us, a rare and highly evolved person, someone that may actually have what it takes to lead us through this turbulent transition. I know that I am finally feeling engaged again in politics. I no longer feel the heavy sigh of cynism about the predictable route of politics, corruption and war. Each moment could offer a surprise, a resolution of peace, a movement towards righting an imbalance, or changes that reflect integrity and ethics above greed. Perhaps it seems naive to put all of this hope on the back of a President. Yet, I think we have all been asleep under the assumption that there is nothing higher to expect of those in power. And how amazing is it that we have someone, who on their first day in office, is already risking his position and alliances in order to do what is right (i.e. salary freezes in the White House of anyone who is making above $100,000)?

Slideshow: Presidential Inauguration
Play Video Barack Obama Video: Obama's move from celebrations to business AP
Play Video Barack Obama Video: Auto workers: 'ready for change' AP
AP – Barack Obama takes the oath of office to become the 44th president of the United States in Washington, …
Text of President Barack Obama's inaugural address on Tuesday, as delivered.
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My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Italy Phase II: Gratitude

It has been too long since I have written. We are now deep into the season of artichokes and raddicio. Alas, raddico from Treviso (the famous labor intensive and delicious variety) is no longer available. But we have Italian clementines!!! This blog is now part of what I think of as Italy Phase II. Returning to Italy after savoring a bit of home in Minnesota. I realized when I got home (to MN)that I had been starving on some level for the nourishment of friends and family and the general familiarity of being in my own language and culture. It was like being in comforable pajamas curled up in front of a fire with loved ones and hot chocolate. I can't express how much I received and how much stronger and more positive I feel now. I can say that October was probably the height of my challenge adjusting here in Italy. But light emerges from the dark and I definitely benefited from hitting a low and getting clear about what I really want from life. So........since I last wrote, I put in my two month notice at my job (which makes yesterday my official last day), decided that I really do know what I want to do as a vocation, and began the process of applying to graduate schools! I found a graduate institute with a Somatic Psychology program in California that has a distance program. Basically this would allow me to study here in Italy and attend the week long courses once per semester in San Francisco. My goal is to combine Shiatsu and healing work with Therapy and also work to create more research that examines the effectiveness of approaching healing through the mind body and spirit. If I am accepted, I would begin studying in September. It feels like all of these seemingly random roads that I have been travelling down are finally converging beneath my feet.

My very dear friend Dian, who has been a mentor and an amazing source of inspiration for me, died on the Winter Solstice. She lived with the intention of healing her ovarian cancer for the past five years. She was extremely couragious and tried to find a balance of following many aggressive chemotherapies as well as complimentary therapies like acupuncture, nutrition, and qigong. She lived way beyond what she was told and she lived with presence and positivity. She practiced being present and grateful for all of the beauty still in her life, the trees, the sky, her dogs, the excitement of Obama's election, the presence of her loved ones, the blessing of a good laugh, the silence in the night sky......and the many other things she revered that I have not mentioned. She also stayed present for the pain, the extreme hunger when one cannot eat, the fatigue and weakness and the frustration this causes. Someone wisely told me that she healed completely even if her body never recovered. She took the higher road and did her work spiritually to be awake even in the most unbearable of circumstances. One month before her death, she called me several times in Italy because she could hear from my voicemail that I was struggling. Again, she was so present. And like always, she offered me the deep listening and the loving challenges that only a true friend can offer. I have since learned from her family that she suffered a lot during her final two months. I realize even more now how loving she was to find the energy to put aside her own suffering and reach out to me at a time when it was difficult for her to walk across the room. I am so grateful that I was able to come home and be a part of her memorial service in MN. Once in awhile, I have an incredible wave of grief that comes over me. I miss her presence in my life. Yet there are days like yesterday, when the sky opens and suddenly it becomes possible to create a Shiatsu studio here in the house. I cannot help but wonder if she is helping to orchestrate some things for me from the other side. I acknowledge the mystery, the fact that we can only imagine where she is now and where we go when we die. What I do know for sure is that she has moved mountains in my heart and from here, her power and love still works its magic. I also know that if our loved ones can give alittle guidance from beyond, all of her family and friends and dogs can relax knowing they have a powerful ally working for their benefit.

Life goes on as it always does. I am trying to honor Dian by living my life with more presence and more gratitude. I am also writing more because this is something she has been riding me to do for the past few years. I secretly want to anyway, I just have to push past my habitual excuses.... And then there is Shiatsu which I really want to begin doing here. Dian was my Shiatsu mentor.....Today I spoke with an Italian woman who does Energetic Massage and lives 40 minutes away. I will take the train to try one of her massages in a couple of weeks and maybe I will study with her. This feels like an important connection that occurred after flipping through the yellow pages checking out the Shiatsu scene.

I am also in the process of studying and becoming certified to teach english. On Monday, I start my new job teaching english to adults at the Wall Street School in Mestre. It is very organized and corporate and sincerely, I can't wait to have a bit more structure and support in a job. I will only teach 16 hours and I hope to fill the rest with private lessons and Shiatsu. Things feel completely different now. Everything seems brighter, more possible, even living with my in- laws. This is the nature of how our ourlook (and reaction to our circumstances) affect our reality. There is no solid reality. We definitely affect what is possible. What have I learned from all of this? (1) Ask for help, don't try to survive when you are in over your head. (2) Take a risk if you know that your well-being depends on it - solutions will arrive once you take the leap of faith. (3) Be really honest with yourself, if you have a negative attitude even if it seems justified, push yourself to stretch more (like giving birth ladies) and find a way to act positive (even if it feels fake at first), (4) Remind yourself often, that this too will pass. (5) Make sure you nourish yourself with quality time with loved ones or solitude or whatever recharges you. (6) Practice random acts of Gratitude (kindness will follow).

I feel so grateful to have an amazing husband and a delightful son. I am also grateful to have such nurturing in laws (who are probably more patient and tolerant than I will ever know). I am thankful for having a fantastic family - incredibly large and truly unique - (including lots of special aunts, uncles and cousins). And also I feel so grateful for my dear friends, who are my spiritual family and have stuck with me through thick and thin.

Sending lots of love to all of you. Wishing you to realize the secret joy and passion in your heart!

Diane (Dy)

Wherever you go, there you are

So I really wanted to describe the fruit and post it since my last draft sat as a draft for nearly one month. Now I would like to describe a bit of the more personal aspects of our life here in Italy. I have been teaching for over a month now and it has been a bit of a roller coaster. I teach a combined class of second and third graders with two to three very disruptive kids (there is always at least one) and then 8 hours a week, I teach a great group of fourth and fifth graders. My biggest struggle with the younger ones has been classroom management since I regularly have the kids who stand on their desk, kick their twin sister, and run out of class or even attempt to run home. I have been told that this is a chronic problem. Everytime things have gotten totally chaotic to the point where I need someone from the main office to take one of the disruptive kids, mysteriously there is no one there and I am trying to be in two places at once - in the classroom which is getting progressively more chaotic or outside where the child is hiding under a table refusing to come out (or worse trying to leave the school). So to make a long story short, I have tried several approaches and I am now making progress handing out stars for good behavior which can be used to get candy (my mom's brilliant idea). Hmmmmm....... not exactly how I imagined spending my days in Italy but at least I can say that I am teaching them rather than being a referee. They are also very sweet and affectionate and hug me regularly. Even with the candy, things can get out of hand in a matter of minutes so it keeps me on my toes. I long for relaxing and rewarding time spent giving Shiatsus and I have found someone who would like me to work for her one half day a week. I am hoping that this may work out but this depends on how things go with Matteo.

As I wrote in an earlier blog, he started daycare at the school where I work, but after two weeks, it became clear that he was becoming more and more anxious with the situation. We discovered that he was with a large group of kids ranging from 2-6 years old and there were often not enough teachers for the 25 children. We found an amazing daycare where he is only with one and two year olds and he has the most wonderful teachers. They do alot of art, music and even work with an herb garden! He completed two weeks of the orientation and stayed two hours without Luciana and did not cry! But alas, he is home with a fever this week. Luciana has missed over a month of work since I began working because she is helping Matteo transition into daycare. Hopefully he will be ready after the next two weeks to stay an entire day by himself. I don't know if they do this slow of a transition in America but it is quite common here that you gradually move them from being home into daycare. I have Thursdays off so right now I spend it with Matteo. I miss him alot so I am grateful to have an extra day during the week to be with him but eventually he will go to daycare also on Thursday and I will have it free for doing Shiatsu and also for a little time to myself.

I am craving to take a yoga class and also to learn how to do mosaics. I have not met anyone with whom I really connect with or have more than very light conversations with and this is a source of sadness for me. It is the first time in my life where I really do not have friends near to me. I am grateful for the closeness I have with Giovanni and of course Matteo and Luciana and Gianny but I long to have another person outside of my family with whom I could confide or laugh with. It makes me really see how blessed I am to have the amazing friendships and family relationships I have back home. Sometimes, I feel OK not having friends here but that is usually after I have connected with one of you. So it is clear that it would benefit me greatly to email or call you all more often. I am also aware of the old habits and patterns of mine which would benefit me greatly to shift out of. One of those is some kind of barrier to pursuing the activities that bring me great joy such as yoga or art or exploring. Across so many different circumstances, I see how I have found excuses such as not enough time or other people's needs to explain why I am not doing the things I really deeply desire to do. Now stripped of my usual comforts and distractions, this has become much more obvious mainly because my overall well-being requires that I do something to center and nourish myself. Living with Giovanni's parents is a big gift, they are giving us so much and yet I find it to be one of the most difficult aspects of living here. I think because we are receiving so much and I have a hard time with that especially if I sense any resentment or judgement. There is still so much I do not understand in the language and even the way people express themselves here triggers me because to me I read it as anger. Giovanni told me that I really need to see a venetian comedy where everyone is yelling and complaining to each other to understand how to read the situation. I guess I never really identified with Minnesota nice but maybe it could be material for a play - minnesota nice meets venetian ranting and raving! There is actually a specific tone to Luciana's voice which makes me sit up in bed and strain my ears to hear whether she is complaining about me. Call it codependent paranoia or call it cultural misperceptions, but it seems to happen the most right around my period and then we have a very predictable encounter where we have to clear up the issue. Last period it was around placemats on the table for breakfast. She made a comment that it is very poor manners to not put a place mat down when you eat your breakfast. I was offended and I challenged her that this is a cultural perspective and that not everyone would agree and in fact, I didn't. In the end, we resolved everything and ironically later that day while shopping, I found (without looking for one) a placemat with little colored fish on it for Matteo. We both laughed and to this day, I use the placemats for breakfast even though I still don't think it is necessarily a superior practice. Other than this dynamic which I imagine stems mostly from me and maybe partly from Luciana doing too much for everyone else (but she gets to have her resentment right?), we get along really well. I still long for our own place but I know that I will miss the amazing meals she cooks for us, the cleaning she does and all the laundry she washes and irons. And of course, just having the chance to spend so many nice moments together cooking, or sipping expresso by the fire. Matteo adores her and he is usually quite content to stay with her when I leave in the morning. She sings to him, involves him in the cooking and plays all his favorite games. I can say that I do not worry at all when I go to work. We have all been sick for nearly a month with various manifestations of cold, cough, sore throat, ear infections, stomach issues etc. We are all hoping for a healthier November.

Giovanni is doing fantastic. He really likes his job and they already have entrusted him to go to Russia for a couple weeks to set up and work on some big machines. He is excited because they do not usually ask someone to go abroad until after one year of working for them and he will receive alot of extra money for being abroad. He is in the middle of the firefighting course and he has to wear a firefighting uniform to class which both he and Matteo enjoy immensely. Also his father bought him a wood lathe so he is now able to pursue his passion for wood turning.

Matteo is now speaking alot of Italian and still a good amount of english. He has even learned a bit of Venetian dialect. He loves to talk to strangers and regularly visits the neighbors for some good conversation and maybe a piece of fruit from their trees. I am hoping that he will soon be back to his full health.

We have exciting news. We bought tickets and are coming home on the 26th of December. We will be in Minnesota until January 7th. I am really excited to see everyone and have a dose of home. My aunt Joann and uncle Jeff just came and visited us for a couple days last week. They are travelling through Italy alone and with their gourmet cooking club. We really enjoyed having them here and sharing a bit of our life with them. Joann is a Parent and Child Educator and she gave me some very helpful tips for working with Matteo's growing temper tantrums and strong will. I have yet to discover an early child and family education class here in Italy so it was amazing to have personalized support around setting limits.

We are about to eat a fresh fish chowder and drink some wine. Ahhh the Italian life.... No it is true that there are many beautiful reasons to love Italy. Somedays, I really breathe in Italy and see the poignant beauty of the winding Roman streets and charming towns framed by fields. I pause and listen to the church bells and smile at the locals chatting outside of the Panificio or local cafe. Other days, I am drowning in my own struggles and long for some mother figure to recognize my suffering and give me a long knowing hug. These days, I listen to my ipod as I drive to work and let the music lift my perspective. I reassure myself that this moment too will pass and another one more, sweet and lovely will come. And it always does eventually.... In this way, I am growing up. I still have my tantrums in my head where I imagine insisting on returning home but I also really recognise the truth in the book title WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE (I think it is by John Kabbat Zinn). So I have the wonderful opportunity to really see which inner work I need to do and also I have the chance to really enjoy living in Italy.
Here when I am alone with my thoughts and struggles, I have had dark moments where I ask myself if there is something wrong with me since I am suffering in a situation that should be delightful and amazing.... I would like to send all the love and compassion that I have needed in those moments to all of you so that it is there awaiting you when you are sad or lonely or confused (or in whichever way you suffer). Here is a loving kindness blessing that we can say for ourselves and others.

May you be happy
May you be peaceful and at ease
May you accept yourself just as you are
May you be free to live and love fully.

This is my wish for all of us.

La Fruta!

The leaves are changing into brilliant shades of red and orange and finally the pomegranites are here! Our neighbor Hectore across the street has a tree that is bursting with fusia and you can buy them in all the local markets. Pomegranite is one of my favorite fruits as it reminds me of greek mythology and many special Winter Solstice rituals where we invite in our best intentions while eating pomegranite seeds. I definitely feel much more connected to fruit as a marker of seasonal time passing. Every two to three weeks, at least one new fruit appears on the trees and in the market stands. When we first arrived in July, we harvested wild blueberries and raspberries in the mountains and strawberries all over the yard. In August we discovered blackberries growing along a small winding street where we usually bike. Giovanni is passionate for fresh figs and we spent many August evenings biking with Matteo searching for fig trees where we might grab a couple. Giovanni warned that occasionally there are old men who sit with salt guns waiting to spray salt at you for stealing their fruit. This added a delightful element of danger but I never had the opportunity to dodge any salt! Septemeber means grape harvesting in Italy. We are fortunate to have abundant vines of concord style grapes growing high along the trelice above the garden. Once Matteo discovered the 'uva', he was constantly trying to move the ladder so that he could reach them. I was hoping to go to a local vineyard and do some grape stomping and wine tasting but the man at the local cantina informed us that the goverment prohibits the public from participating in the grape stomping since they cannot discern from the satelite pictures who is a person trying it out and who is an illegal worker. This sounded ridiculous to me but it is just another example of cultural differences in bureacracy. Either way, we have been drinking lots of fresh local wine from only 15 km away. Just last weekend, we ate the last bunch of grapes growing in our yard. And now, I must hurry and eat as many pomegranites as possible! More later....

Change

Nearly another month has passed. We have photos now which I am posting in prior blogs as well!

My big news is that I found a job teaching elementary children at an international school. It is ideal in the sense that they have a daycare/school for Matteo. We both started this Monday. Matteo went for just one hour and nonna Luciana and I were with him in the same room. He seemed to feel comfortable and had fun playing with all the new toys. He has a cold so he did not go on Tuesday or today. For me, it feels really strange to be back working full-time. This week consists of only half days and I have been tired after only four hours with the kids. Most of my classes will be teaching mathematics and english to second and third graders. I also will teach some theater. I teach the children in English and then have Italian teachers who teach the main subjects in Italian as well. My kids speak only the most basic english and they vary in their abilities. I have one new girl who does not speak any english. Almost all of the children are Italian and many of the parents run the school (it is an association/nonprofit) so I guess the kids sometimes threaten to have you fired. It is already quite a contrast to the American schools I have taught in with the children coming up and hugging and kissing the Italian teacher and sitting on her lap.

Tiramisu

It has been a really busy couple of weeks with my applying for jobs, finding a job!, and getting ready for the big transition from being mainly a stay at home mama to teaching elementary children english and math (more on that later). I had a lovely birthday. Luciana made me homemade Tiramisu (see the picture). We had a dinner with the entire family and I received some hot italian fashion (jeans with tight ankles, and shirts or dresses that are brown, gray, green, purple, or black). I'm curious if these fashion trends will reach MN. I also received calls and emails from many of you which always cheers me up. Giovanni organized a birthday celebration on the weekend with 20 of his friends and we drove to a beautiful villa in the wine country of Treviso and had a five course meal. Before arriving at the restaurant, we stopped at an outdoor wine bar where we drank local wine out of ceramic bowls. This place was quite particular in that it had an old amusement park of mechanical rides including a roller coaster. The rides were based on mechanical principals and did not use any electricity. There was no one supervising and all of us ran like wild children to try these thrilling and dangerous rides. This would be a huge liability suit in america. I have never seen anything so risky left to the amusement of wine imbibing adults. No one got hurt and I had so much fun. Unfortunately, the roller coaster was on the bottom of the curve and it looked unlikely that the pulley system was working. The guys spent quite a while competing at launching a heavy metal car around a circular track. Matteo was amused with the old military tank. After this episode, we spent the evening eating together. His friends surprised me with a fancy brief case for teaching and a beautiful shawl. They sung happy birthday passionately in italian and english throughout the evening. It was a warm birthday even though I missed being with my loved ones back home.

Chiuso per Ferie

I know that I promised photos and this is partly why I haven't been writing lately. The other reason is that everyone in Italy is on vacation during August and Giovanni even got one week off (even though he started his job only three weeks ago)! I am using one of the original digital cameras which means only 10 minutes of battery and a difficult downloading process so photos will appear asap. It is strange and liberating to see so many shops closed with a handwritten sign: chiuso per ferie (closed for vacation). Definitely not an American concept - we would only risk losing business for mandatory holidays like Christmas and Labor day. Giovanni's parents have three weeks off for vacation and are spending it in their house in the mountains. It is relaxing having our own space and cooking simpler meals.

I felt really satisfied with the vacation that we had. Everything happened in a delightfully unexpected way. Giovanni scheduled a paragliding flight for me on Monday so we drove up to the Mountains where he used to fly and ate lunch at a delicious restaurant along the way. I ate gnocci with wild boar and fresh porchini (wild mountain mushrooms), Giovanni ate a delicious second plate with rabbit and polenta and Matteo ate pasta and french fries (the best way to keep him occupied so we can enjoy a good meal). We drank a house cabarnet, followed by coffee and grappa. At the top of the mountain is a Refugio which is a basic hotel and restaurant. This Refugio is run by a young couple with three year old girl, Liu. They have a sandbox, a nursery full of toys, and even chickens, and donkeys. Matteo was thrilled to have other playmates and many new toys. I felt really nervous before my flight. It didn't help to see Felice (my copilot) having a drink with his buddies before our flight. I was also excited. I had dreamt many times about flying and this felt like the perfect moment to experience a different way of relating to the elements, to life in general. So by the time I had my harness on, I felt ready to let go. I was positioned in front and connected to Felice's harness and he instructed my in his broken english to just run when he commanded me. So, one two three, he pulled, I took two slow heavy steps forward and then began running as hard as I could feeling the weight of the paraglyde pull up just as I ran off the edge of the mountain and my legs were still running in mid air when Felice patted my shoulder, "you can relax now." I looked down and saw the specks of red tiled roofs below us, a huge silver lake in the distance, and the curve of piney mountains everywhere. I felt a sense of peace, a calm, a softness and I just kept reminding different parts of my body to relax. I felt the wind currents interacting with the paraglyde and Felice's skilled movements with the strings. He directed us over to the other side of the mountain where we could hopefully catch some thermal currents from the sun heated earth and gain height. We shot up slowly and I felt the thrill of working so naturally with wind and heat. Giovanni radioed us because I had the car key in my pocket and he needed it to pick us up at the landing spot in the valley. We flew over the refuge and I threw it down to Giovanni. Felice was definitely a pro. I could tell he had flown so many times by the way his "yahoo" sounded flat and unexcited. He would say "yahoo" in this really blah way every time he would do something exciting. I wondered if he still felt any thrill flying. This was how he made a living. He let me grab hold of the strings and practice turning, breaking, speeding up. It seemed so simple. I am sure it is completely different when you hit a cloud. When he announced that we would head down, I felt so disappointed. I found it so relaxing that I did not want to return to the heaviness of the earth. My fear returned when we got close to the land, I saw roofs and treetops and imagined my legs breaking. But actually, when we were almost on the ground, I straightened my body and began running again until my legs touched the ground and we came to a nice smooth stop. That was it, so peaceful and simple. I asked him after we landed if he often dreamed of flying. "Never" he said, "I always dream of falling." I found that fascinating.

We ended up spending the night at the Refugio because Felice offered to inspect Giovanni's paraglide and support him if he flew the next day. It was a wonderful evening. They prepared a candlelit dinner for all the guests in the nursery since most of us had children. We all ate together in one table. Matteo loved playing with the other children and when all the kids were in bed, we joined everyone downstairs for grappa and beer and talking late into the night. I especially enjoyed meeting a veteran paraglider who is in the Italian military. He spoke pretty good english having recently dated an american woman from Miami with very large breasts which she referred to as "the girls". He spent time in Afghanistan recently and shared some of his experiences. He also spoke about how certain he was that 911 was an inside job and that many people in Europe suspect this. It was interesting to me to have this military person who was serving in Afghanistan during the Bin Laden search and yet was critical of Bush and the entire 911 tradegy. He says that his military position lately involves sitting in an office waiting for the new computer system that he has been hired to set up. He has been waiting two years doing mostly nothing. He is bored and feels guilty that the Italian people are paying him to watch tv or try and find things to do.

Giovanni flew the next day successfully. I was more nervous during his flight than mine because he was alone and hadn't flown in over five years. When he landed, Mauro teased me, "he's alive!" While hanging out, I met an Italian woman from Italy who lived in California for six month and loves the Golden Girls. She spoke of how she appreciates the relationship between men and woman in America more and also likes the opportunities that are available if you have skills (whereas in Italy it depends more on connections). She does a type of Movement and positioning therapy and is opening a studio in Treviso (about 30 minutes from where we live). She is interested in possibly collaborating in the future. All of these little chance encounters are encouraging. We also met an older American woman who spends her summers in Tuscany making olive oil and invited us to stay at her house anytime. She wanted to show me her yoga swing which after hanging upside down, I held Matteo and suddenly it fell about three and half feet dumping me on the hard cement. I am still waiting to see if my backside heals well. Luckily Matteo, was held securely in my lap. The woman felt terrible. Not her fault. Perhaps this will get me to schedule some kind of bodywork for myself. We left happy, fulfilled and surprised at how little the lodging and food cost us. They were definitely generous with all the food they offered us. We spent a day relaxing at home and then drove with Giovanni's brother, Alberto, to some other Mountains to go rock climbing. Alberto has gotten really into climbing the past three years and I am so excited because this has always been a dream of mine to climb regularly. Alberto would go every weekend if he could. We brought Matteo and his cousin Davide and one of us watched the babies while the other ones climbed. This was my first time climbing in actual mountains and the vistas were beautiful! We headed the next day to Giovanni's house in the mountains where his parents are vacationing. We spent three relaxing days mostly in the forests hiking and hunting for mushrooms and raspberries. We discovered that Matteo can hike for hours and loves to walk on his own. I almost convinced Giovanni to try and hike with Matteo and I to the top of the Mountain. Maybe next time.