January 31, 2011
I love waking up to snow- and to a million shots of Italian espresso. ‘Tis could not be truer. The espresso warms me while the snow chills me (and to a certain degree numbs me from my fingertips to my toes).
After a sweet night’s slumber of some five hours I woke and unconsciously slid the unfashionable navy/teal curtain to the side. I slid it back as the sight seemed as always- some green life, our outdoor refrigerated goods and Hilary’s bricked and metal encaged window. I stretched and yawned- Chelsea jumped out of bed and squealed. SNOW! What!?! I peered out the window, this time being more observant, being more awake. ‘Tis could not be truer! Snow sweetly sang from the heavens down to our window! Chelsea and I- without thinking, obviously- ran out in our pajamas and rain boots and out into the snow. It was soft, and I pushed my hands through the snow cloud…and tasted it too (as well as attempting at making a snowball and plummeting it to Chelsea’s behind, but she got me first). We ran to the playground near campus- a playground indeed- for two southern gals who treat snow like an Italian would treat a hot day at the beach in January. (one is more usual than the other)
We “made” a snowman. More like we made a snow mush and called him a man. He sported my pink gloves, which I could no longer put on because they were wet and frosted. Like my naked hands. And my toes. And my nose. My pink pajama pants were wet as I slid down a snow-covered slide- and turned my butt a shocking pink. We ran back into the lobby and I sat my butt on the heater for fifteen minutes as I trembled- and the Italians trembled in laughter- at me and probably my childish stupidity. They sat in the lobby in t-shirts and watched the snowfall from indoors- I laughed as soon as I got feeling back, and they called me Miami.
….
From hot to cold in 20 minutes. Icy Hot Baby. This morning was just a test-, which I could not tell you if I passed or failed. The snowman was definitely a fail. A fun fail.
I was tested once again this afternoon and this time I could tell you I passed- Mark, Chelsea, Gia and I all passed. I put on my Roma jersey (with the warmest cashmere sweater underneath of course), wool socks, gloves, headband warmer, coat, jeans and rain boots. I was ready- so I thought, for the Bologna vs. Roma partido de futbol! Mark, Chelsea and I trotted through the snow all the way to the bus station, where we ran into Domenico and his friend who are on the junior soccer league for Bologna. They nicely, and as best as they could in their English, told us where to get off at the stadium and we went all the way to the stadium with them and then departed as we went to the curbside and they went to the locker room of the players. The second they left, we were lost. It took us about three attempts to find the correct entrance- the curbside where Todd testifies is the “rowdier” section. Snow was still falling and my toes were numbing.
The second we entered the stadium and found seats- God blessingly under a partial roof- I ran to get some coffee. Something warm. Once back at my seat, I could not feel my toes- but that was partially because the beauty of this stadium distracted me. It was not a beautiful stadium- well to Mark it was probably the most beautiful thing he has seen in all of Italy. Fine, I must say this stadium had a beautiful bell tower. But besides that, the red and blue fans, waving their scarves in the falling snow, singing chants, and popping alarming smoke bombs made the stadium ignite in a beautiful light. I could not believe I was at an Italian soccer game, the snow falling, the players warming up (in snow!) and I was just sitting there, sipping on coffee, tapping my feet to not loose feeling, and taking it all in. Several times I felt like I could not make it, it was way to cold! I couldn’t feel my feet, seriously. I was going to do it, I was going to make it. Woooo! The game started!...and then fifteen minutes later and no goals made later the game was cancelled due to unplayable conditions because of the snow! I’ll still tell you this was the best game I have ever been too! All the Italians sarcastically asked if I had fun and I non-sarcastically replied that I had the time of my life! Because I did.
…and poor Gia had arrived at the 14th minute of the game after spending 20 euros on a taxi to get there and slipped on her way to the taxi. Now with the additional friend in tow, we trucked back to the bus station. I danced while waiting for the bus to arrive. I danced with snow- but with the reason being I had to keep my body in motion before I turned into an ice sculpture.
The lobby of the Collegio Alma Mater and the bus rides seem to be the best classrooms. I met an older Italian man named Ricardo who spoke no English and next to him I met a sixteen your old Italian Bologna fan named Carlo who spoke four languages. I learned from the both of them, one I learned by talking to him and the other I learned by observing him. The older man was retired but he used to be a mechanic for tutti- for everything- he reminded me a lot of my grandfather Ito. Retired and enjoying his life, not letting age matter. Carlo was studying languages and he was as brilliant as his grey eyes. He taught me about Malta being another country! A fact I was not aware of but glad to learn- and they speak English there! Carlo also informed me that we could get refunded for our bigliettes (tickets) for the next Bologna game in a couple days. Bring it on! That referring to the futbol teams and the weather- cus now I know to dress warmer!
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