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this weekend

well i got wto bologna and made my way to federicos. i had to wake him up cos being italian and a 23yr old male there wasnt much chance of him being up by 9.30am on a sunday.  i wasnt so sure about going to bologna cos the last time i was there i didnt really want to spend all that much time with him, i wantedto see my other friends and shop! but this weekend was heaps better. 

sunday afternoon we went to christinas house for lunch, and i once again spent the afternoon listening to conversation i dont understand. then by the time we left it was dark so federico and i went into town and walked around.  the shops were still open so the city was still bustling with people, the streets are lined with really pretty christmas lights - stars and snowflakes and lots of pretty things.  we walked through some markets, visted the main cathederal and another little old church then thorugh some other markets.  id been telling him how good my italian had been in sicily so he was making me speak italian then we worked on adding a few more words to my vocab then we finally made it back to his where we had dinner and watched muppets christmas carol.  we finished off the night with a really good converstaiton where we reminissed back on the old days back in cavalese when we first me and it made me realise how lucky i am to have a guy like him.  he really is one of the nicest, sweetest guys ive met who totally respects me and my opinions.  i actually also got to see some photos of him and his ex girlfirend, which has quite disturbed me cos they actually look really good together and i find myself thinking that he should be back with her cos she looks like a really nice sweet girl too.  im not jealous or thinking that im not good enough they just simply look really good together, i kinda have to keep reminding myself that hes actually with someone at the moment so that wont happen. 

the next day - monday - he had class so i decided to make the most of the day and went to rimini, a seaside city that is really popular in summer for the beaches.  of course though the weather over here has been really crap and momnday was no exception.  i started a bit late, getting there at around 12.30, a pretty stupid time to arrive anywhere over here cos all the shops shut between 12.30 and 3 so all the streets empty out round then and make a place feel totally dead.  its also when all the historic sights usually close so you cant actually get in anywhere to see anything.  so i just ended up wandering around looking at the outside of the few old buildings and churches, bridges and arches they have.  rimini is quite a pretty city in the centre but its really yuck anywhere outside of the centre.  there was a really nice big park just near the centre that had green green grass and all the trees had shed their leaves and there was a mist hanging round so i sat there for a little while then made my way to the beach. 

there is apparently only one public beach in rimini which i couldnt see.  the rest are all private so i was lucky it was winter and there were no tourists and i could sneak through the private area bits -not that they were all that private, i just mean that there were lots of sections with change rooms and big fences up so it youre using it theres one particular area you stick to and get to the beach through.  it was actually quite a bit flat beach with no waves but it was still nice to be on a beach again.  of course once i got there it started raining.  i stayed there for a bit then headed back, the umbrella i had grabed turned out to be broken so it was essentially only half an umbrella so it didnt do much good.  i went back to one of the churches so i could actually go check out the insides and then caught the train back to bologna. 

that night i attempted to go to a jazzercise class but unfortunately the address on the internet was wrong and the number didnt work so that didnt happen, we just had another quiet night in. 

so today federico left around lunch time to go to his exam and im quite sad to not be seeing him for 4 weeks but thats ok i guess. 

oh and my camera has finally arrived back in trento, only it got there about 4 hours too late so the irish girls couldnt pick it up for me and i now have to spend the next 4 weeks in ireland and englands without my camera.  im really upset about it all as ive had to buy a few disposable cameras already for sicily which i still have to pay to get developed and now cos of the stupid camera people i have to spend more money on buying more cameras only cos it was a few hours too late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  arrrrrrrrggggghhhhh.  i did yell at the guy earlier today cos he said it was gonna be in on time and when it wasnt i kinda figured i was entilted to get upset, the only thing was i think he got a bit defensive and he couldnt speak that quickly in english so he started speaking italian and i missed most of what he was saying.  i got a msg saying it had arrived tonight so a friends gonna go in tomorrow and pay the 150euros it cost - yes i still have to pay that much even though its a month and a half late.

 so now im in milan staying with clios sister.  steph and clio are here too as we are all catching the same flight to ireland tomorrow.  i cant wait. 

last day in sicily

i had intentions to go somewhere for the day to make the most of my last day in sicily but after such a late night packing i got up a bit later than i had wanted, then it turned out that raquel had a pretty sore throat so she didnt really wanna do much and then this other english guy wed met the night before had massively swolen glands (we think it might have been mumps) so i ended up spending the day mosying around catania with them.  raquel has italian heritage and works in the hospitality industry and ross the english guy had a thing for food too so they ended up going to the markets for the morning.  i joined them but spent the whole time looking at the ground.  it was uite funny actually they spent a lot of time laughing at me.  on this one particular occasion this little old italian lady wanted some meat off one of the 1/2 lamb carcases so we stood there watching her and the butcher cut it up, my back was to the carcas cos i couldnt watch but i did watch the little old lady who was trying her hardest not to flinch as she knew we were watching her!  after that it bought a bit of steak, which turned out to weigh 800grams, then we went back a cooked up a nice lunch. . . well the others had a nice lunch i just had 800grams of steak! 

raquel went off to catch her bus to palermo, we have arranged to meet up in london, i might go stay with her there, and ross settled in to read a book so i went for one last walk and once again got chatted up by and old sicilian guy then headed off to the train station to catch my 5.30pm train to bologna arriving at 9am the next morning.  it was actually quite a comfy trip.  i was the only person in the 3 bed compartment and the beds were actually comfier that the hostel!

palermo

friday i decided to visit palermo.  now the sensible person would go to palermo overnight because its the capital of the region and the bigest city there with plenty of things to see and heaps of other places close by.  of course im not really a sensible person and id made enough friends in the catanian hostel that i really didnt want to go elsewhere and make new friends when id only be there for a night so i chose to visit palermo for 1 day.

jessica had to go to palermo to catch a ferry so i waited for her which was probably a stupid move cos we didnt get the bus till 10.30am.  it took 3hrs to get there and by the time we found our way to the ferry to dump her bags and buy her ticket i only had 3hrs till i had to catch the bus back!  it was probably enough time though cos ive been getting really use to these tiny little towns and all that hustle and bustle of the big city kinda overwhelmed me a bit.  it was very much like rome, lots of big tall buildings, small sidewalks and no real centre, just lots of main streets with shops and markets.  there were a few good, impressive bits like this one inersection that had these pretty impressive foundtain things on the walls of each of the 4 corners.  there was a nice theatre there but that was about it so jessica and i said our goodbyes and  i caught the bus back to my hostel where i met up raquel to hear about her day.

she had originally planned to go to syracusa but there were public transport strikes that day and it had upset alot of the local areas transport so she didnt end up getting there.  instead she went to acheriales and was propositioned by two grandpas!  so she had a pretty interesting day, but it didnt end there. . . the day before she had been up mt etna and had really bad weather so she spent most of her time in a souvenir shop with some other old men also who she got along with quite well who invited her out for dinner, so this night they were coming to take her and me out for dinner (i was only going because the other girl that was suppose to go changed her mind at the last minute).  so we ended up going out with these other 2 grandpas who took us to a seafood restaurant.  i tried to explain to them i dont eat seafood but they still ordered me seafood pasta, i picked out the seafood.  i was the most bilingual person there so i spent most of the night trying to translate, it was quite fun actually and it made me realise i know quite a bit of italian-enough to get by.  anyway the grandpas paid for dinner then stopped off at the beach on the way back so we could see catania by night.  now im not an idiot so i kept my distance from the men just making sure i still got to see the sights and i think by this stage raquel realised that one of these particular men had taken a bit of a fancy to her.  so when we got back to the hostel her and i made a quick exit, both of us having had enough of being hit on by old sicilian men.  we went upstairs to our room and packed.  our room was for 8 ppl but we were the only 2 there so we had a pretty good night joking and laughing. 

catania and syracusa

ok so lets go back to the first day i arrived in catania.  like i said the travelling part was pretty smooth sailing, i managed to get the bus to the city but then i hit the awful food markets! not  sure if i mentioned them earlier but they are aparently one of the most famous food markets in italy.  theyre quiet big and have an amazing selection of seafood, meat, fruit and vegies.  unfortunately its all so fresh the caracases are still hanging from the stalls, the most common thing is a skinned lamb cut in half from head to tail, eeeeewwww.  other than that there are pigs heads, skinned bunnies-but they still have their little fluffy tails, sword fish with their heads cut off and displayed.  i had to keep my eyes on the ground when i walked through these, looking at the disgusting water that you also have to walk through, knowing that there was blood and guts mixed into it somewhere somehow.  it turned out that the hostel was just behind these markets so i had to walk through them everyday! 

anyway i found the hostel, it wasnt all that great, then headed out to walk through the city.  i didnt find it all that pretty, just like a normal city.  i walked for ages, then it started raining so i tried to head back only to actually head further away from the hostel - i dont have a very good sense of direction anymore.  the rain let up a bit so i tried to go visit the castle but it was closed so instead i just went back to the hostel and had a nap.  when i woke up i met this american girl who then later introduced me to the aussie jessica who i hung out with a few other times. 

on thursday the rain came back but i still stuck with my plans to go visit syracusa.  fortunately jessica had been feeling a bit too sick the day before when she was originally gonna go to syracusa (i was up etna) so she came with me.  we caught the bus and arrived in the old part of town.  we tried to find the tourist info but were directed in three totally different directions.  in the end some tourist shop gave us a couple of maps and set us on our way, turned out that wed already visited 3 of the sights whilst trying to located the information office.  we walked around for a bit - its such a pretty city.  probably prettier than most of the cities ive visited so far.  lots of old buildings with peeling paint but it seems in italy the older the building the more character it has and anything with a balcony is automatically italian and syracusa was filled with lots of buildings like this.  its also set on cliff face so a lot of the walking we did was along the road that ran right along the cliff watching the waves crash up against the wall.  there was also a castle but it was under repair, jessica and i kinda ignored the signs and walked in a little bit to get a view of the castle, you couldnt see it any other way cos it sat out on a knobby bit and was surrounded on 3 sides by water.  it was so gorgeous on the overcast day to watch the waves crashing up against the castle walls.  later that afternoon we walked into the new part of town to visit the archaelogial site and amphitheatre only to find we were to late and the ticket office had closed.  the amphitheatre part was still open so they let us duck in to take a photo but that was it so we trudged back into the centre of the old town.  half way back it started pouring so we decided to catch the next bus home, it was getting dark anyway.  once back jessica and i went into the bar with raquel, another aussie, 35yrs from sydney living in london, for a drink before bed.  

 

taormina

so yesterday another aussie girl-jessica, from melbourne decided to head to taormina.  id heard so much about it from alfio when he was over here earlier in the year i just had to go. 

taormina is a little town on the cliffs with a beautiful view of the coastline and mt etna.  apparently its where a lot of famous people spend their summer and according to federico theres a bit of mafia action there too. we got there around lunch time and walked around for a bit.  thankfully the weather had cleared up since the day before and was quite warm.  i hadnt been this warm since summer in the mountains actually so i was loving it!  i was such a pretty town with lots of small alleyways and little staircases.  not much to do but walk around and enjoy the view.  there was a catsle positioned at the edge of another cliff higher up but the other jessica didnt have the shoes on to get up that steep windy little path.  so we had a coffe at a cafe and people watch- a pass time that is so common over here.  then walked up to the old theatre where we got the best views - looking from right too loeft you could see rolling green mountains, the castle perched on top, the snow covered mt etna, the little costal villages, the blue ocean. it was breathtaking.   anyway we walked around for a bit more then caught the bus home.  unfortunatley the bus we caught too ages to get back and once we got back we took the wrong road home and actually ended up going further away from the hostel rather than getting closer.  finally we made it back. i was dead tired.  had an early night. 

id also decided that rather that heading to napoli as i had planned with my friend connor, i wanted to stay in sicily for the rest of the week and check out some other places.  so after etna im heading to syracuse for a day then palermo i think before the loooooong overnight train up to bologna to see the boy.  its a little inconvenient, i could probably get a cheaper flight direct to milan where i catch  my flight to ireland from but i think i should see him before i take off for 4 weeks. 

i must say though that im having a fantastic time.  i realised that its the first time ive done a big city in italy by myself without staying with anyone and im loving it.  im not really alone cos there are so many people here to talk to, and they just so happen to be australian!  and im actually enjoying the here and now.  mt etna today was fantastic. i never thought id be so excited to look over flat black plains of rock butit was incredible to be standing on an active volcano, i knew they existed but they just didnt seem real until today.  i must say also that im loving the small little towns round italy the best.  i think they have the most character and they really are something you feel like you are discovering and it just seems more personal.  i think it goes for all the small towns round italy.  unfortunately i dont know if ill get to do anything like taormina again down here but thats ok. 

i hope everyones well back home. hopefully tomorrow i can update you on syracuse and catania, which i did on monday but it wasnt all that exciting.

mt etna

yeah thats right - thats what i did today, visit the most active volcano in the world!  and mum and dad were worried about me walking home at 3 in the morning!!!

well i got up at 6.45am quickly rushed to get ready and have breaky and got to the bus stop to catch the 8.15am bus up the mountain as its the only one that goes up there at this time of year, i think in summer there are more tour groups but not now.  i went with two other girls from my hostel, sisters from sydney and we ran into another aussie from adelaide!  we got on the bus and started chatting away to some older italian men, old enough to be grandparents and it was quite an amusing conversation.  the girl from adelaide, julie, spoke quite good italian so i was listening in as she was doing the talking.  after about an hour on the bus the man decided that hed taken a liking to me so he used his extensive english vocabulary to say "me like you" (i was being sarcastic before if you couldnt tell) and he wouldnt leave me alone for the rest of the trip.  we had a discussion about federico who then conveniently messaged me but that didnt stop the man.  turns out he used to work at one of the restaurants up the mountain and now every wednesday him and his buddies go up the mountain for the day and sit in the restaurant and play poker.  it was quite handy cos on the way up he was pointing out all the interesting bits and explaining which lava flows were from which year.

it was quite amazing, there were just these fields that looked like ploughed dirt but were actually solidified lava.  there was a house that was half burried and the old guy told us that quite a few of the restaurants have been destroyed and rebuilt over the years.  anyway we finally got to the top of the road and julie and i decided to take the cable car up a bit further where it had been snowing.  we got up there to find snow everywhere- my first time in serious snow over here! and guess what, i was dressed properly for it!!!  there was a walk we could do to get a bit futher up the mountain so off we went.  we didnt have the best shoes on but we didnt care.  we walked for 1 1/2 hrs to get as far as we could.  1/2 way up we tured around to see this spectacular view of a mountain with a crater in the top_just like how youd picture a typical volcano, surounded by nothing but cloud (we were that high that we were above the clouds) it had been behind us for ages but it took us that long before we turned around.  at the higest point we were at the base of the most active part that was spewing out brown smoke and steam was coming out of cracks everywhere.  it was amazing.  the snow all around up there was the colour of sand as there was a layer of ash over everything and at times we were walking over solidified lava. 

we then made our way back down, i was famished so i bought luch that cost me 10.20!!!  for a panini, water and a sweet thing!  the most expensive, overpriced lunch ever.

then we walked to the craters, 2 in total.  followed by a stray dog, the walk wasnt all that hard and there were awesome views of just fields and fields of black rock.  after that we met back up with the other 2 aussie sisters and headed up to the restaurant with the old guys.  they gave us a shot of some stiff drink to warm us up and we stayed there for 2 hours till it was time for all of us to get back on the bus. 

on the trip back it got dark pretty quickly and we could see the red glow from the mountains.  so awesome. 

so we got back here in one piece and lived to tell the story.

the only thing im annoyed about is that i forgot to take kebie.  the one place i was going to take her for a photo in sicily and i forgot cos i was up so early and rushed.  ill just have to hope its good weather tomorrow and i can take it from a distance.

my last week of work

well turns out that last week was my last week of work.  i got a message from elisabetta tuesday night asking me to bring my bike and stuff back to the house on wednesday.  unfortunately i was sick on wed-stupid tummy bug thing again!  anyway she asked me to come in at 8am to do the ironing that i would have usually done on the wednesday, so in to work i went nice and early, i was ironing away when i got a msg from her (she was only upstairs but i guess coming down was too much effort) asking me to go see mario when i had finished.  well he wasnt there when i finished so i went back at 3pm only for him to tell me that because i had broken the contract they werent going to pay me the 400euros to reimburse my travel insurance that was due after 6 months and that they werent going to pay out my week and 1 day of holidays i had owing so i had to take them now and not to bother coming back!  nice hey.  well technically i worked that thursday, really, i mean they could have told me before id done the ironing!!!!

im not too surprised tho its what id thought theyd do - get all catty.  what really upset me though is when i asked to  go back to the house to get the slippers my mum had knitted for me that i had used as house shoes elisabetta told me that they were irretrievable lost, no sorry or anything.  she didnt even say good bye, nor had the kids!

good news is that i finally got my package!  it was quite convenient because i was able to pick it up on saturday, so i got my jumper, some beanies and some bday cards and then after that i went to the thermal springs with some friends, i was actually suppose to go to these springs on my birthday back in september but the girls didnt know where to go back then. so it was almost how my birthday should have been 2 months ago!  the trip to the spring was a bit of an effort though.  this story can get a bit confusing so im just gonna do a quick time line:

8am: got up and started to get ready as i was suppose to meet my friends at 9

10am: eventually got in touch with friends and arranged to meet at 11

11:30am: located friends in trentos centre-there was a city wide market going on that no one knew about and what used to be a 5min trip now took 20mins

12:00noon: missed train, arranged to meet back at 12:50 to catch next one

12:50pm: missed second train - we were all there but couldnt find each other so none of us got on

1:30pm: finally caught train

3:00pm: arrived in merano

4:00pm: after 1hr of walking eventually located thermal springs only to find a huge line up. so amber and i left emma and abi in line and we went to look at these gorgeous little christmas markets.

5:00pm: went to see why we hadnt heard from emma and abi only to find they had hardly moved in line as the springs were full and they hadnt been selling tickets.  we swaped places so emma and abi could have a break and explore whilst amber and i lined up

6:00pm: finally got tickets to get in to the springs.  went to the change rooms but didnt realised the rooms were two sided and were you are supposed to go in 1 door and out the other side 3 of us came out the same side and then couldnt figure out how to get to the pool

6>:25pm finally got to the pool. they were gorgeous. nice and warm. and you could even go outside in the dark and see the steam coming off the water.  it was really nice.

7:50pm: got out of the pool

8:20pm: left the pool only to be charged for and extra hour as we werent out on time. headed to the markets to get some food

9:15pm: got to the train station only to find the last train left 1/2hr ago and there were no more trains. only 1 bus at 10:40. so we went to a ritzy hotel (the only thing open) and drank hot chocolate

10:40pm: caught the bus to bolzano

11.30pm: got off the bus a few stops early to pass the time util the 1.20am train. only problem was that the girl who said she new where she was going actually didnt and we got lost again.

12:00midnight: found train station

1.20am: caught train

1:50am: arrived in trento, walked home

2:15am: arrived home FINALLY!!! (yes, and i did wake up at 8am to start this day!)

so all that happened just for 1.5hrs in a pool.  it was a very nice pool and one i want to go back to but i think i will arrange things a bit better next time! 

then i got up at 8am the next morning to pack up my room and cook for a dinner party that night, inspired by the taco seasoning i got in my package.  i cooked a tortilla stack and salsa rice, mmmmm. it was good and got to see a few of my friends before i took off.  oh yeah - im actually in sicily at the moment for those who didnt know yet.  after the dinner party i got 2 hrs sleep before i had to catch my train to get to my plane to get here.  that all went smoothly for a change and although it was crappy weather to start off with its now good and ive had a good couple of days.  it looks like im gonna stay here a bit longer though - maybe the whole week, then head to bologna then off to ireland for christmas.  anway ive had enough of writing for now but i will fill you in on whats been going on here in sicily tomorrow mayb? i arrived in catania yesterday to really crappy weather.  id only just left crappy weather in trento - which by the way is freezing at the moment.  the clouds cleared for a bit the day before i left to reveal every mountain surrounding trento has snow on it.  even the close ones!  its kinda exciting but ive realiased that im probably gonna miss the first snow of the season.  it will be weird returning to trento to find it covered in snow.  anyway id better go.  gonna go climb an active volcano tomorrow - im so excited.

 love you all xoxo 

what else . . . .

well on one of those weekends where not much is going on i went up to cavalese with katy and my housemate amber.  we went there expecting to be able to buy some food for a picnic and then catch the cable car across the river where we could walk along the river or up to the top of one of the mountains.  we got up nice and early to catch the bus and arrived there at 9 am only to find the cable car not working and the entire town was basically closed!!!!  we walked around one of parks for a bit then found a nice little cafe where we had a bite to eat, then luckily enough federico was around so he took us all to another mountain with absolutely spectactular views!!!  im mean like panoramic views of the snow capped dolomites and alps. it was breathtaking, it sounds cheesy  but i dont know how else to describe it, it was one of those places where you just walk round in awe of the scenery, views you wouldnt get back in australia thats for sure.  we found a tiny bit of snow and i used it to make a snowball which i threw at amber, unfortunatly my aim is pretty bad and although i aimed at her arm i got her in the head! after that we went back to the cafe and federico had to go have lunch with his gradparents and after getting some free chocolates from the guys at the cafe (i think they liked us) we went back to the park and found a little cliffy bit where we sat for a few hours and looked out over the valley. i really want to go back there again, i think its by far one of my favourite places here in italy.  they said it should snow in a few weeks, this time last year it was snowing, but this year has been unusually warm, good for me i guess but i just makes me anxious cos i think its cold now! and its still gotta get worse. the christmas makets here in trento have opened, not the greatest markets, a lot of junk i wouldnt want but its a great atmostphere.  the christmas decorations are up all round town - lights are hung across the streets thorughout the main part of town and theres a massive pine tree in one of the piazzas.  the town is more alive of the evenings that ive ever seen it - especially on the weekends.  it feels like all of trento had come out.  last saturday a few of my friends and i were hanging out by the tree and we found a few candy stalls, one with fairy floss, so we all stood around eating fairy floss.  then we headed over to the markets where you stand around drinking vin brule and eathing whatever free samples you can get! the people at the chocolate stall dont like us very much! i was in bologna this last weekend and although they have really nice decorations (lights hanging right from the top of their 2 towers) ours in trento are nicer and out tree is bigger.  i think its because trento is just a small little city type thing where as bologna is a proper city.  trento is much more quaint i think.  i guess thats about it for now, ive been on here for a while and should probably go do something else.  hopefully ill get on here a little bit more regularly seeing as a bit off the pressure has been taken off the money thing seeing as i will get a bit of money next year. bye

2 weeks later

so its been about 2 weeks since my last update and quite a bit has happened- i gave my notice, found a new job, one of my friends has left and christmas has hit trento! so the quitting part - well i finally got my hands on a copy of my contract last tuesday (28/11) and found out that i actually had to give 1 months notice . . . i didnt have 1 month left between then and when i wanted to leave - only 3 weeks, so i had to bite the bullet and do it that night. not exactly the way i wanted to do it but i had no time.   i asked elisabetta to sit down with me after work that night but she was to curious and made me tell her then and there in the middle of my shift. i gave the reason that ive been a bit home sick lately and that i need to keep traveling to keep my mind busy - which is true. she didnt believe me at first and thought i could be talked out of it - she asked if there was something i could do in trento to keep me busy like another italian course, then she used the whole "so federico isnt all that important then" line.  then i was given the silent treatment for 2 hours before being asked to leave 1hr before my shift ended. since then work has been quite awkward as she wont talk to me unless its to ask me to do something.  i now have to get up the courage to ask them for my entitlements - like 1 weeks paid holiday that i havent taken, reimbursement for 1/2 my travel insurance that i get after 6months and when exactly it is that i leave and what i will get paid in that final month.  its a little had because i am leaving 3 days before they expected me to and theyre a little ticked off about that and im just worried theyll try and be all stingy with their money and try and get out of it. on top of all that ive managed to get another job and i was needing a place to stay - well really i was wanting to live with my friends and i had 2 different places that i was thinking about - 1 was with clio, shed been all enthusiastic for me to move in with them a few weeks ago but now when it finally came to the crunch she got really funny and it turned out that i couldnt move in with them cos the girl wanted to keep her room a single room (oh, its very common to share rooms over here - actually youre quite lucky if you have a single room) and then the other place i was looking at moving in to with katy, well it turned out the land lord wanted someone in there longer that 3 months so i was a bit upset. anyway it all worked out in the end with the new job cos i can live in with them. the new job i have is almost just over the river from where i live now.  its looking after 2 kids - elena, 7,  and gorgio, 4, 3hrs mon, tues and thurs and 7hrs on wed, i get fri, sat n sun off.  i live in with the family, eat their food and get paid 300 euros/month, so im happy about that- i have a place to stay, all food is paid for, a little bit of pocket money to keep me going and enough time off that i can get out there and do stuff. this all came about cos the mother of the family - rita- saw my housemate emma at the pool and they started chatting about work and elena and how they used to have a nanny from london. rita was looking for a new nanny, so i called her and we chatted for a while, then she offered me the room as payment for working  - i said no i need money as well so then we worked out the pay and the hours.  they seem like a really nice family - the kids are really well behaved.  emma is working for them 2 days a week at the moment, just taking elena out and playing with her and teaching her english and she said she is having loads of fun. i am a little worried about the live in thing, my room is really nice, less than half the size of what ive got at the moment so i dont know how i will fit all my stuff in there. i just have to start sending things home i guess. oh, the package im waiting for at them moment, that has been in milan since the 5th october is still sitting there.  i got federico to phone the post office for me (hes a good boy) and they said that theyre waiting for sanitary control, or something like that.  im a little worried that theyll realised that the doctors certificate they asked me to send in isnt actually for the vitamins in the package but at least i know where the package is and that it hasnt got lost in this crappy italian mail system yet.  my camera on the other hand still hasnt come back.  they apparently didnt have the part they needed to fix it so they were only just getting it in last week and it is suppose to be back this week.  i went in this morning tho and the guy in the shop said hell ring again to follow up. on the social front - one of my good friends from england left on the 23rd nov.  so that was a little sad.  we had a few good nights out with her though before she left and ive started getting along with my housemates a lot better - just in time for me to leave.  one of the girls, emma, is another church girl so we finally had a few good bonding sessions - one when we decided to bake a cake for grace in the shape of a g after grace had had a bad day at work.  its been really good though because weve both found that extra support weve needed and can have proper discussions about church and all that stuff that is hard to talk about with anyone else.  it all came just in time cos last week her best friend (whos living in dubai) dad died and she was pretty cut about it all.