My Life in Assisi...A Three Day Story

Il 14 ottobre

Assisi

I completed two weeks of my Italian course today; I can hardly believe it's the half-way point with only two weeks to go. It's a terrific class; we all get along, we have fun together, and we're all serious about learning Italian. Carla, la nostra professoressa, is a delightful charming woman, very poised, with a beautiful smile, and with lots of stories; the funny ones are about how none of the women in her family cook well and Carla is continually encouraging her mother to read some cookbooks and vary her pasta recipe! This morning we talked about the serious earthquake that hit Umbria in 1997; Carla was in bed as the first quake was during the night. With not enough time to do anything, she stayed where she was and prayed that the very heavy religious painting above her wouldn't fall and cut her in two. I know that, at the time, it was a frightening experience for her, but, hearing the story this morning with Carla's facial expressions and hand gestures, plus her colorful Italian, all of us had a good laugh.

I woke up about six this morning and, as I was wide-awake, I decided to wash the laundry, change the sheets, and sweep the floors of my apartment. Living here is, for me, like anywhere else...there is cleaning to do and there are groceries to buy. The difference is that I have had to figure out how to use an Italian washing machine (lots of dials) and need to hang up the laundry to dry; neither of which is truly a hardship. I love going grocery shopping. There are plenty of small mercados in Assisi, but no big markets, so each day or so, I visit one or two of my favorite places to shop, and buy a bit of this and that. As I love to eat, buying groceries is one of the day's highlights since there are so many things to try. Just yesterday I noticed, next to the yogurt, containers of Panna cotta al caramello (rather like Crème Caramel.) I think I've found the perfect substitute for gelato since it's getting too cold to go out at night for a frozen dessert, but I can certainly eat a Panna cotta a casa...and at only 174 calories per container, I can even have two!

Il 15 ottobre

Assisi

It's a sunny Saturday, although the wind is brisk and cold. Il vento in Umbria, when it wants to, can be “brutto” as it takes you in its grasp and enters every exposed nook and cranny of your body. I came prepared with a warm wool scarf, although I've been gazing at some of the shop windows here and just might have to buy something more to keep me warm.

My friends, Margie and Joan, told me about a wonderful butcher's shop (la marcelleria) a few minutes from the Piazza Commune. Yesterday afternoon, as I had a craving for la carne, I walked over and bought a veal chop. Later on in the evening, I sauteed it briefly in olive oil with a little salt and pepper, and with some left-over pasta, had a wonderful dinner. Unfortunately, the cork in my bottle of Chianti was dry and started to crumble, rather than come out of the bottle so I was “forced” to drink some Peroni with my dinner instead of il vino. This morning I walked over to the market where I had purchased the wine and had the bottle opened without a problem; a good lesson in the need for a quality cork-screw!

Living in Assisi is, for me, living in the “moment”...every new experience is a bit of time out of the ordinary. In a way, it's “life in suspension”...or maybe it's a lesson about turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Maybe that's what living in the “now” is all about; respecting and loving the moment. Certainly, there are moments we don't “love” because they're not fun, maybe downright unpleasant, but maybe if we looked at the moment differently, changed our perspective, the view just might be different.

Il 16 ottobre

Assisi

It's been a lovely weekend-lots of studying, eating a few good home-cooked meals, reading, relaxing, and the discovery of “Sacchetti Trasparenti Cubetti Ghiaccio” or, in other words, plastic bags divided into sections that just need to be filled with water and frozen; the end product being ice cubes. A wonderful invention for those who need “cubes on the go” or don't have trays in their freezers, these bags are “igienic e pratici” (hygienic and practical) and “proteggono I tuoi cubetti” (protect your cubes)...my life is now one step closer to being complete.

Yesterday afternoon I went to the hairdresser. Needing color and a cut, but not knowing which of the several salons in Assisi I wanted to go to, I walked into one on Thursday and immediately knew that I had found the right place so an appointment was made. Olimpia, a lovely woman who has had this particular salon for the past eight years, understood just what I wanted and, two hours after arriving, I walked out with my hair freshly styled and my hands manicured.

Assisi is, from my vantage point, a city of contrasts. This is, after all, a religious and very spiritual place, but it's also home to many local residents who just happen to live in houses, most of which were built in the 12^th century. The streets are narrow, designed long before the invention of the automobile, but there are plenty of cars here and I am constantly amazed at how drivers navigate the streets when there are tourists galore who often have to stop walking and get close to the buildings so that there's enough room for a car to pass. I wake up in the morning to the ringing of church bells whose majestic sounds resonate throughout the day. The frati and sorelle who come here from all over the world to study, work, and pray walk in the streets just like everyone else-the foreign tour groups, the Italians who come here to spend a day taking in the ambience, the teenagers with piercings and colored hair, the students who, like me, are here to learn the language and experience life in a much simpler way than at home, and the locals who call Assisi their home; I am enriched daily by everything around me.

I watch the news everyday for two reasons: The first is that I want to know what's happening in the world and the second is that listening to Italian TV helps my language skills. That being said, I am well-aware of the demonstrations at home and try to keep up

with what's happening in the USA. This afternoon I saw the coverage of Times Square; this peaceful and lively show of opinion and opposition was in stark constrast to Roma where “la violenza” and “la distruzione” that occurred during “i manifestazioni” were brutal and out-of-control. Seeing the burned cars and broken shop windows was looking at a war zone; one million Euros in damages (and that's not the private property) and for what...violence is an outlet for those who are selfish, irresponsible, and do not respect the law...it is not a means to an end and it's the innocent who pay the biggest price for the recklessness of others.