Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes...

     April 28, 2012 I always look forward to the mercatinos and this morning there was one near my Zia Giovanna's house. I finally started buying some gifts today and was definitely excited to start tackling my list. After the mercatino we had to go pick up my cousin from school. Since the kids only go to school here from 8am to 1pm they also have to attend school on saturday, which in my opinion sucks. I would much rather go to school for the full day Monday through Friday than have to go to school on Saturdays. While we were waiting for her to get out of class I ran into a little Tabacchi bar and bought some lotto tickets. I thought I was only going to get the for 1 Euro instead when she told me the total it ended  up being 10 Euros for two tickets. Luckily I won the full 10 Euros back and then didn't buy any more after that.

     Before Claudia took Silvia and I to Catanzaro Lido to have lunch at my cousin Nico's house we stopped at a cafè bar and grabbed a frozen coffee. When you say bar here you are reffering to a cafè bar or a tobacco bar    where they sell coffee and tobacco. They also sell alcohol, but coffee and tobacco are the main items purchased in these bars. Unlike our Starbucks most of these bars do not have a place to sit. You order your coffee which is the size of a shot glass or smaller and drink it standing at the bar.

 

     Finally when we were on the way to Nico's for lunch I took some pictures because I absolutely love the scenery and the bridge that goes from one side of my moms city to the other. My mom and Zia Pupa decided not to go to the ocean, so Nico gave Silvia and I directions and instead her and I walked down to the ocean by our selves. We walked along what we in America would refer to as the board walk and looked at what the people were selling. After we reached the end of all the tables we went down the stairs to the ocean. I wanted to walk in the water and see how cold it was. It actually was still to cold to actually go swimming in, but the weather is finally getting warmer and warmer each day, so there is still hope that I will actually get to go swimming before we leave and hopefully not return as white as I was when I left. I was wearing my flip flops when we were walking along the water and this beach unlike ours instead of sand is a bunch of tiny rocks. When we were walking in the water my foot sank in the rocks and my flip flop got stuck and came off. I quickly reached down to grab it before the ocean took off with it and luckily got it back. Not thinking my camera was in the hand I reached down to grab the flip flop with and got wet, but fortunately the case that I have for my camera is neoprene and the water did not go through. While Sivlia and I were sitting on the beach talking she was telling me that for school she has to learn the parts of the body in English and she wants me to teach her the words in English. While teaching her parts of the body I ended up remembering the song that we teach the little kids in preschool or kindergarten. Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes...(please ignore the horrible singing)

 

After a couple of hours Silvia and I returned back to Nico's and her mom came to pick us up. With her she had my two of my other cousins Gaetano and Giacomo. Gaetano is always shy and wants nothing to do with me. Giacomo is completely the opposite and is always hugging and kissing me.On our way to meet my cousin Antonio and his wife Simona (their parents) Giacomo was sitting on my lap and as usual kept kissing me and hugging me. Towards the end of the night when we were finishing our walk on the boardwalk Gaetano finally started holding my hand. He took a picture with me and after he was done ran to his mom and said " did you see how good I was?" she then asked him "did you give her a kiss?" She asks him this because here it is tradition to salute your family and friends with a kiss on both cheeks. Later when I noticed that Gaetano was finally talking to me more I told him to take a picture with me and kiss me on the cheek and then we will show his mom how good he was. After we left the boardwalk we all went out for dinner. I don't think I have ever waited so long for my food to arrive. This resteraunt was so busy on a Saturday night it was crazy. When we got to the table Gaetano said that he was sitting by me. I was so hungry when we got there and by the time they brought  my panini they thought it was made wrong and I told them " give it to me, give it to me i'll still eat it" Of course they all started laughing, but my panini ended up being made correctly. While we were waiting for our food my cousin who is 6 years old leaned over and whispered in my ear "vero chè tu non vuoi Giacomo ancora?" (tanslation- "you don't want Giacomo anymore right?") I told him " Io voglio tutti due i miei cugini." (translation- "I want both of my cousins.") Funny how he got jealous so quickly, and a couple hours before wanted nothing to do with me. On our way out the door my cousin Antonio and Vicenzo asked if I wanted a

alcohol before we left. I had said no, but then noticed my cousin was drinking some Limoncello...now that I could not pass up. So they got me a shot of Limoncello, and it caught me off guard. It burned on the way down and made me cough a couple of times. It was definitely some stronger alcohol than my mom and her friend make at home. Regardless it still tasted good. One little shot and I had to roll down the car window on the way home because I was burning up. My cousin Claudia said that my cheeks were rosy too.

     I am going to be going to Naples this coming  week. I have always wanted to go, but my mom was always afraid to send me because they rob people a lot there and it is not a very safe place. I am going this week with my Zia Giovanna and my cousin Claudia, but it is not going to be for fun. We are going up there to be with my cousin Gaetanno and his family. When Gaetanno was born, he was born with heart problems and he has been through several heart surgeries to fix the valves in his heart. This week he will be having another open heart surgery to fix his valves again since he is getting bigger. Please keep him and my family (especially his parents and brother) in your prayers this week as he goes through this ivasive operation. The hospitals are very different here, so we will probably not be able to be by his side24/7. I know there will be some time where I will get to see a little of Naples, but that is the least of our worries. I am not sure when I will be able to get to a computer after tomorrow, but I will try to keep everyone updated as much as possible, and if not I will definitely be posting about our trip and his operations once we return. Thank you ahead of time for all of your prayers!

Twilight

     April 27, 2012 This morning my mom and I went down the hill to the pharmacy to get some medicine for my aunt. On the way there we stopped in a couple of stores. One of them was a magazine/bookstore. I have been wanting to find some books in Italian that are for younger kids, so that I can practice reading better in Italian. I also wanted to find an adult reading level book that I already know the story too or have already read, such as Nicholas Sparks. While we were in this store I found the first twilight book in Italian!!! It couldn't be more perfect for practice.
     Veruska picked me up in the afternoon and we took her son Karol to the park that is nearby. It is a giant and beautiful park for spending the day. I wish we had a place like this at home to go to for the day just to sit and relax and enjoy the weather and being outside. We rode on the train that circles around the park and while on the train my cousin Karol was wanting to learn more English. He kept asking me what certain things were and I would give him the word in English, then he would turn and tell me what it was called in Italian. At least he is teaching me actual words because his mom is known throughout our family as the one who keeps teaching me all of the Italian bad words. Everytime we run into one of her friends she introduces me and then says " tell them what your favorite word is that you learned." I tell them a word that she taught me and they laugh and then she says "and" and makes me go down the list of words she has taught me. My family thinks its funny, but sometimes I still don't understand the complete meaning of the word I just know its bad. After the train ride we took Karol down to the big play ground for the kids. Of course when we get to the play ground we run into some friends that they know and of course Veruska makes me run through my list of vocabulary. I guess its a similar test to the one I have my momdo saying the word "beach" becasue I think its cute and hilarious at the same time. Looks like its my turn to put on the show now. At one point this slide was filled with kids climbing up and going down. I started laughing out loud and my cousin and her friends looked at me and asked what was  so funny. I told her that the kids sliding down the slide are weaving in an out of the kids climbing up the slide and it looks the same as everyones driving here. I couldn't believe the parent's were letting this little two year old climb up the slide by himself with all of the big kids around, but after two or three times of him climbing up I noticed he was actually getting up the slide a lot easier than the big kids.  

Mercatino e Mare

 

 April 26, 2012 Today me, my mom, my cousin Claudia, and my Zia Giovanna all went to the mercatino (giant flea market) at Catanzaro Lido which is near the ocean. Today was the first day we were actually at the beach and I was able to touch the water for the first time since we have been here. It wasn't too cold, but it is still not warm enough here to go swimming in. I love going to the mercatino, because you can buy a lot of things for cheap and then barter/argue with them to lower the price and get what you want for even cheaper. Then when you tell them no the price is to much and walk away they will sometimes come after you with the item you want wrapped in a bag for the price you want to pay. That's how I got my bracelet :-) Of course I have my cousin argue price since they are pros, and if I try to barter they will be able to tell with my broken Italian I am not from here and then take advantage of me. However, last time I was here 6 years ago in Rome with my cousin I did barter by myself and get what I wanted for the price I wanted, so I guess I could practice some more here. The thing that is different here from our flea markets is that here in Italy they sell all kinds of food. They have a mobile meat truck that you walk in side of to purchase meats, there is a fish truck where you can go purchase different types of fish...they even had 2 stingrays available for purchase EWE!! They also have stands to sell fruits, nuts,  cookies, vegetables and more. They are definitely larger markets than what we have at home.                    

Here... Lizzard, Lizzard, Lizzard

April 25, 2012 Today everything was closed because it was a holiday. Today is Italy's independence day from when Mussolini died. Today we were at Zia Giovanna's house for lunch. Before lunch my Zio Gaetano asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. (note to self...a walk here is considered exercise with all these hills) It was windy and a little cold, but had I known the path we were taking as well as the distance I would have left my bulky jacket at home because I was already hot ten minutes into our walk. I am not complaining because it was a beautiful walk and something I wish we had closer to home. My cousin Vicenzo and I even talked about going to run down this path again a couple times before I leave. (I can't wait to go with him to run on the beach!) We saw a sign on a store that they are having a marathon here but it is only 7.5km I think that is probably 5 miles and it's free, so we might be doing that too. Hopefully if we start running all these hills will be getting me ready for the NIKE marathon in San Fransisco if I get selected.

I don't know what my fascination is with lizzards everytime I come to Italy, but I think it's because when I was 7 years old and my family and I were here my cousins talk my brother and I how to catch lizzards with strips of bamboo. Now everytime I come to visit I always look for lizzards and want to catch them. Yesterday on our walk I saw one sitting on a rock, so I tried to get as close as I could to take a picture since I only had my small camera with me. I screamed like a girl because that sucker moved so fast I thought it was coming at me instead it was chasing another lizzard off the rock and around the dirt path. That was the first time I screamed. The second we were still walking down the path on our way home and I thought I saw a lizzard or the shadow run by my feet. Not only did I scream, but I jumped and made my poor uncle stop and jump as well. we didn't manage to find anything to make our
lizzard catchers today, but I did try to catch one by hand and failed. Those little things run away fast. I remember not having any problems trying to catch them when we were younger. Good thing I have plenty of time left to try again!

     After our little walk that ended up being two miles of mountain we returned to my Zia Giovanna's house for lunch, and all of her kids and grankids came over. These houses are so small here I wasn't exactly sure how we were going to fit everyone in such a tiny kitchen and around the small table, but by a little improvising and adding an ironing board under the table cloth made more room. I actually didn't even notice until later that evening when my mom had told me what they did. I thought they just added another leaf in the table. I know everyone knows that I do not have an inside voice...I can tell you now for sure that definitely comes from this side of the family. My little cousin Gaetano is shy and never wants to give me a hug, but his younger brother Giacomo wouldn't stop hugging and kissing me. To bad I can't just put all my family in my luggages and bring them home with me.

I guess no matter where you go the younger brothers will always continue to pick on the older sisters. Must be a never ending story!

    Today there was another soccer game and I really wanted to go, but my cousin Veruska had to take her son to his soccer tournament and then my other cousin Alfredo was going with his friends. After we were talking at the table about me wanting to go, but that I still did not have a ticket my cousin Antonio speaks up and says he is going to the game also. Vicenzo was going to go and I could have sat in the Curva with him, but I want to save that for the last game plus I like being able to watch the game and from there you can't really see what is going on. Finally after about 10 minutes of talking about getting me a ticket my cousin says that he could probably get me in for free! (he is a police officer here and has conncetions) Not only was he able to get me into the game he also was able to get me out on the field before the game while the team was practicing and after the game for pictures. I wanted pictures with the guys in their uniforms, but here once the game is done they all run into the shower and change their clothes, so we waited  for about 20-30 minutes for Mariotti to come out. He is an amazing player and when my cousin asked who I wanted to take a picture with I said #2. It was funny because we had been waiting a while and a couple people went looking for him specifically to tell him we wanted a picture. He ended up being very nice, and while we were waiting I was also able to get pictures with the goalie and  some other players.

 










     After  the game and getting all of our pictures Anotnio,Vicenzo, and I returned home to Zia Giovanna's house. After being home for a little and I found out that my cousin Massimiliano wanted to take me out for dinner, so I went with Claudia, Vicenzo, and Silvia to the park near my aunts house where they were going to pick up my cousin Alfredo. It is a huge and gorgeous park. They have animals, basketball courts, a bar (coffee)/resteraunt, giant play house for the little kids, and open grass areas and pathways for people to walk around and enjoy the day. Massy met us here at this park to pick me up. After I left with him we went to pick up my cousin Ivan. These two together means a lot of fun. Massy always jokes around and very rarely is serious...he always picks on my cousin Ivan too, but it is so funny because Ivan is so calm and doesn't care. The first two resteraunts he tried to take me to were both closed. We were in La Mezia, another city,so he had to call a friend to see what other good resteraunts were in the area. We found one and I finally got a real Italian pizza.

Buon Appetito!

Food Poisoning

     April 24,2012 Today we went to find the make-up we liked from the other night. We have Loreal at home but I wasn't sure if we had this exact kind, so I guess we'll see when I get home. It's definitely cheaper at home, but I am trying to find something cheaper than MAC even though I absolutely love it! After that little bit of shopping I went with my cousins husband to pick up the kids Silvia and Alfredo from school and surprise them. Then I went with them to eat at their house while my mom and aunt returned to where we are eating to have lunch. Once we were finished eating my cousin Claudia called her mom (my aunt) and told her we were going to go to Catanzaro Lido which is by the ocean. My mom and aunt decided they wanted to go so they came over and met us at Claudias house. Well before we left (luckily we were still at home) me, my mom, zia Giovanna, and Silvia took a short nap. Once my cousin Claudia came in to wake us all up to get ready leave my mom instead got up and ran to the bathroom. She ended up vomiting 4 or 5 times. My aunt also said that she wasn't feeling good either. We decided that since my mom was sick to just come home. Poor her...she had to climb up 4 flights of stairs (because there are not very many elevators here) with a plastic bag in front of her face heaving all the way up. When we got inside we found out that my other aunt wasn't feeling well either. All three of them started taking turns running to the bathroom, but it was funny because they were all laughing about it in between purging. Later we found out my uncle who also ate here got sick on the street when he was walking in public. There was only one other uncle  of mine who was here that day that did not get sick. By process of elimination we found out that he was the only one that did not eat the same vegetable all the others ate. Luckily the food poisioning only lasted 4 hours at the most and no one needed and IV or medicine, it just eventually passed. I did walk to the store on my own and bought some sprite for their stomachs....I feel like a big girl when I can communicate on my own here LOL My zia Giovanna was on the phone with someone...I think it was my cousin and they said "oh you should have Sabrina take a picture" if you know me, then you know you don't have to tell me twice!

Cafè Shakerato

     April 22-23,2012 Last night I finally figured out what the name of the coffee was I liked here 6 years ago thanks to the help of my cousins friend. It has coffee, gelato, and Baileys inside and it is mmm mmm good! My cousin Claudio was working in Rome, so we had to wait until he came home and this was the first time I got to see him and his family since we have been here. His daughter is so cute and she even was singing someone like you by Adele for me the other night when we were at her house for dinner. Their friend Fabio who was here visiting from Torino also taught me a song that I have been practicing for when I go to sit in La Curva for the last game. It goes like this: 

Oooo Catanzaro
Non Mallare
Facci un gol
Quando dalla curva 
Questo corso si alzerà
Forza Catanzaro 
Non ti lasceremo mai
I still don't understand all of what it means, but that doesn't matter as long as I have the song down haha. I definitely have it memorized all ready and think I will be ready for the black hole of soccer!




   

Soccer, Soccer, and more Soccer!!!

    April 22,2012 Last night my cousin Claudia called and wanted to know if I wanted to go watch her son Alfredo (my younger cousin) play soccer. He really wanted me to go watch him :-) At first we didn't think it was going to work out because later that day I was suppose to be going to the soccer stadium for the Catanzaro game, but after my mom being on two different phones with two different cousins we managed to make it work. Where we normally have a football field in the center of the track they have a soccer field. It felt like an actual stadium though having to walk up these giant cement steps to sit and watch the game.Toward the end of the game Alfredo was able to score a goal off of a corner kick, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to get them the win. They ended up losing 3-2. This is there last game that they will be playing here in Catanzaro, but they do have another game in Sicily...I would really like to go see that one, but I am not sure when or how much it will cost to go watch. I would love to go to Sicily and have another place I have visited in Italy added to my list. I will have to talk to his dad and see if we can go because all of the players are going by bus then fairy, and none of the parents are allowed to go with the players. Hopefully we will be going though!

After my cousins soccer game Alfredo, his dad, and I went to the soccer stadium and met up with my other cousins. It was my moms city Catanzaro vs. the city where my cousin lives La Mezia. If you think Raider games are bad they are nothing compared to an Italian soccer game. This was even crazier! 

     At the stadium they have something similar to the Black Hole at the  Raiders game called La Curva because it is also at the end of the field. This game was in a larger stadium. There were flags yellow and red everywhere (the colors of Catanzaro) in La Curva. Everyone in there was chanting songs cheering on our team. I was asking my cousin why there were firemen on the soccer field and they said it was for the fires. I was thinking what the heck catches on fire at a soccer game??? Let me tell you!!! Its because these crazier than Raider fans throw  down smoke bombs and what I call pipe bombs (because that is exactly what they sound like) on the asphalt down below. They  hold the firework in their had and once the fuse it almost completely lit they throw the bomb down. Talk about almost having a heart attack this being my first Italian soccer game and not expecting that at all. I thought a war was about ready to break out.    
     The Italians definitely play a dirty soccer game. My mom's city didn't play that bad today and actually played a clean game. However, La Mezia is a different story. In America when we play soccer players will fall down and pretend to be hurt so that the referee will blow the whistle. Once the whistle blows they are miraculously healed. Well here in Italy this player #3 from La Mezia fell down and pretended to be hurt. Once the whistle blew he continued to lay on the ground. They called out the medics and brought out the stretcher. After the medics carried him to the sidelines he jumped off the stretcher and ran back out to his position on the field!!! Who does that??? I came to watch a soccer game not a little boy cry wolf! I couldn't even believe that they didn't give him a yellow card or a red card for that kind of behavior.

     








      In total we scored 3 goals, but 2 were taken away for dumb reason. I still  don't know why. Everyone in the stadium was yelling VENDUTI! ( meaning the other team paid the ref) when the second one was taken away. Finally after the third goal was scored the striker took off his shirt, threw it on the ground, and ran around celebrating, but because of this behavior he ended up with a yellow card. Luckily for us the third goal  was good. Catanzaro won 1-0. After the final whistle blew the guys from the soccer team ran into La Curva and took off their short and threw them into the stands leaving them only in their speedos.
     During half time we went to use the restroom. If my bladder wasn't hurting so bad I would have passed and waited after what I saw, but we still had an hour left to go in the game. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will let you see for your self. I can't seem to find one word for this picture because I am speechless! There is another game here on Wednesday that I want to go see, but I will definitely be prepared and know what to expect now...bombs, bathrooms, and all!!!