THE SAINTS

Well really I could just write about the SAINTS!!! Miami bound!!!! I definitely stayed up until 5 am to watch the game. I called my sister on skype and she put the computer in front of the tv so I could watch it. I think it is still sinking in that we actually won and that we are actually going to the super bowl. I really would have loved to watch that game with my dad. But more so, in two weeks I bet it will be amusing to watch him watching the super bowl. Bottom line.... SAINTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!! I really love Louisiana.

But I love Italy too!

Today I saw a guy with green spikey hair. Which is not best described in words, and I didn't take a picture, therefore you really can't picture it how I saw it. But just trust me, it was funny.

I cooked fajitas for dinner, and ate a whole thing of greek yogurt with my fajita. Greek yogurt is Italy's take on sour cream, I guess. It tastes the same, so I guess it doesn't matter where it's from or what they call it. All I know is that I ate yummy food tonight. I cooked a little too much though. O well!

Music makes me happy

So I'm discovering how fast my days go by. I feel like I never get done what I plan to get done. Only about 40 % of what I plan actually gets done. It's because I plan on American time, but I live in Italy.

Yesterday I went out to see some friends I made about a week ago. I went to where they normally stand, but they weren't there. Meanwhile I get stopped by some guy who asks me to donate money to a hospital. So I give him my money, and then he stops a guy with a guitar. I hear the guy say that he has class and doesn't have time to stop. There is a music conservatory a couple of blocks from my apartment, so I wondered if he was heading that way. Mind you, I really want to get in to this conservatory. So what do I do?? I definitely follow the guy to see if he goes to the conservatory, and he does! Except I didn't talk to him, because then that would be creepy since I followed him. But I see a sign posted for some guitar thing happening in the Galleria today. It made me happy, so I planned to go.

Well of course I didn't wake up on time to be there for 10 this morning. That is when the poster said it started. I got there at 10:40. Did I miss anything? Nope, because it hadn't started. It finally started at around 11. I ventured off because I heard some other music playing and I heard drums. It was ghetto though. Truly ghetto. Like, not St. Martinville ghetto, more like Breaux Bridge ghetto. I wanted to go play with them, but I restrained myself.

Anyway, the guitar thing started and it ended up being this get together of 20 men or so, with guitars and mandolins. They did all these Napoletano songs, that everyone around knew, which turned in to a whole bunch of people singing. It was fun, but I couldn't understand anything because no one speaks Italian.

Then I remembered I had other things planned and I was already an hour behind what I thought I would be. So I left, and so you see, that life in Italy is never on time. BUT music makes me happy!

Living downtown...

Well last week I moved in to the new apartment and took the week to get settled, and maybe be lazy (just a little). But this week is a fresh start in the new neighborhood. I've been getting out a little to just walk around, find everything, and get acquainted. I've put some pictures up; these are all from the the two piazzas next to the apartment. Sometimes it's nice to live in Italy. haha Sunday afternoon was beautiful, so I ran out for a little and got a few pictures. Maybe one day I'll get around the rest of the city to take some pictures.

This week I'm busy working on a promo video for the team. This would be one of the many reasons why I love my job! I love getting to do things that I love, and in the process meeting new people. Yesterday I went around the city shooting some video footage. Along the way I met about 5 new people, that I was able to stop for 10 minutes or so and talk with them. It was a good chance to practice some Italian.

So, I'll be busy shooting video and editing video the rest of this week. Pray that my computer holds up. It is on it's last leg. Poor little blackie.

Anyway enjoy the pictures, and disregard my lack of photography skills...

Weird things that happen...

So we just moved to our new apartment this week, you know this already. But, we have no grocery store close by. At least not one that has a huge range of stuff inside. There are lots of fruit stands, or vegetable stands, or stores with just food, etc etc. But I needed fabric softener and have been looking for a store that had that kind of stuff. A side note..... I've also been looking for some red jewelry....back to story. So I went out just now looking for fabric softener and I walked by a shop that had a red necklace I wanted. I was looking in the window, and the man called me inside. So I buy the necklace, that he let me choose the price and then changed it. Anyway, he was muslim and started asking me why I was here. He talked to me for 30 minutes about my work and life and religion and everything else that had anything to do with that. Then he walked me to a store to buy fabric softener. The best part..... his name was Ali Ababwa. Yep. Ali Ababwa. Yes I laughed when he told me. Whoops. But I got fabric softener and a new necklace. Now for that I will treat myself to Gay Odin gelato! Sweet Jesus!

This is an old, Christmas post, I tried to post it during Christmas but I had internet issues.

So we spent Christmas Eve with Peppe and his family. We had a huge feast of fish. It was a ton, and all kinds. Octopus, shrimp, eel, squid, bacala, oysters, etc. I got to help cook some of it, as you can see. We had a great time with them and really got to see the tradition of a Napoletano Christmas.

We started eating at around 8, and were still not finished at 11:30 when we left to go to midnight mass with Peppe's sister, Anna. We missed dessert, but here is a picture of Assunta's struffoli. I'm not sure how to spell that. Anyway, it's a traditional Christmas dessert. I like it homemade better than store bought. It's kinda of like crunchy fried dough, then tossed in honey, sprinkles, and candy fruit.

My favorite picture is the eel. All down the streets, the week of Christmas, the fish stands have little boats set up outside full of live eel. When you go to buy it the chop it up right in front of you, then you take it home and fry it. Now, don't you all wish you were here to eat that????

New year's was crazy insane. I guess because the buildings are so close together and tall, fireworks seem much louder here. They blow some stuff up, with stronger things than we have in the States. But they also shoot pistols off of the balconies. Needless to say, it was really loud and slightly dangerous to walk around at midnight. But it was fun to experience. Next year will be even crazier, because now I live downtown.

Speaking of.... we moved into our new apartment Monday. I love it! It's great, and I love this part of the city. I will post a blog and pictures of it soon.