Language barrier fiascos

Between househunting, meeting planning from home in the evenings, and taking trips (and I mean journeys considering the time it takes us to leave the base to get anywhere via public transportation) out into town our schedules have been quite full. We find ourselves exhausted at the end of each day and each night I am greeted with "What's for dinner tonight?" just as I have semi-passed out on the couch. Nevertheless, I love all of it and for those of you who know that I absolutely cannot sit still then you know that I am in my element keeping busy.

During the past week and a half or so, I have gone to Pompeii, celebrated Easter with new friends, gone to see 10 apartments, had gelato, tried to "explore" the area- and gotten on the wrong train going in the opposite direction not knowing how to ask for help in Italian (that's always fun), experienced my first Italian market on a day trip, experienced my first Italian shopping mall, test driven two cars, went to Sorrento, found an apartment that we love, and probably made 20 round trips to and from the Commissary on base so that when I'm greeted with "What's for dinner?", I actually have something on hand. Whew! It is so funny that when one of Ben's friends took us out for the day we actually showed him how to get around downtown, that goes to show how many times we've been there in the past several weeks!
Our new home- if all goes well with the processing:
The pictures are of the entryway, the nice high ceilings, the view (the water from one side, the courtyard and square "piazza" on the other, and the enormous rooftop terrace attached to the apartment!

I think the most amusing experiences over the past few weeks have been my encounters with the language barriers. For instance, when my friend Darlene and I went to the Carrefour (large supermarket) at the Italian mall last week, we stood in line at the checkout to be told that we were the last people in line before the cashier was going close down her aisle. Simple, right? Not here! As we were standing in line about 30 people, no joke, came up behind us at different times to queue and we had to look helplessly at the lady standing in line ahead of us to explain to them that the line was closing because our charades game where we were trying to explain "CLOSED" did not seem to work at all. We even tried to say "Chiuso" several times, which means closed in Italian, but they still didn't get it. It's humorous that when they know you're American and speak English, children look at you like you're from another planet. They smile at you (and Italian children are absolutely gorgeous and better dressed than Ben and I put together) but stare while you're speaking as if it's some kind of entertainment because they're not used to it. Anyway, long story short the woman ended up having to open her aisle back up because no one would listen to us or understand what we were telling them. Obviously, we felt very, very bad but at the same time think they need to invest in some chains or obstructions to close down the grocery line like normal people do!! Apparently, Italy is still behind when it comes to certain things:)

Last week when Ben and I thought we knew it all, we hopped on the train to go downtown. I realized immediately that we were going the opposite way. We looked at each other, clueless as to what we should do because we didn't know how to ask for help and when we did ask for help no one could tell us what to do- where to get off and switch trains, etc. So we went about forty minutes out of our way, but I guess that's what we get for assuming that we had it all down this soon!

How about the fact that it took me a week and a half to do laundry because I can't figure out how to use the washer and dryer since it's all in Italian?! Or that I have to use Google translate to leave notes for the cleaning ladies otherwise we'll end up with no toilet paper?!

Did you know that the "funicolare" is actually a real word? I didn't! I was asking for directions from a (bar aka in the US, cafe) waiter the other day and he told me to go to the funicolare down the street. When I looked at him, confused, he said, you know, funicolare! And started to sing the "funicoli, funicola, la, la, la" song that I thought was a kid's nonsense song. It all made sense once he started singing! So now I know that "Funicola" means cable car or trolley in Italian and every time I see the sign for it I get the song stuck in my head.

Another funny experience is when we would be speaking with several landlords or other people and they would keep making the same gesture with their eyes. Where they would pull the bottom of their eyelid down in an "I'm watching out" kind of way. It was actually kind of a creepy thing but I waved it off as some kind of new expression or something. Funny enough, when I went in to sign up for Italian class with my teacher Giuseppe, he gave me a book of Naples hand gestures, which contained the weird gesture as, sure enough "I'm watching you or I'm watching out for you!" as an actual Neapolitan hand gesture. Not only do they really talk with their hands here but there is actually a class offered to teach "Naples hand gestures." Ben and I were laughing as we read through the booklet and were able to identify some of the non verbal "statements" we've seen people make.

Aside from the non verbal communication, when they do communicate verbally, they are LOUD! They speak loudly, passionately, and it's great. Except when you can't tell whether they are yelling at you or trying to explain something. We haven't had too many run ins so, so far so good!

We love Italians and their crazy ways.
I'm probably going to hear, "What's for dinner" in about ten minutes so I better run. I'm going to start pretending that I don't speak English and stare at him when he asks. Hehehe. We will post pictures of our day trips asap to make all of you jealous:)

Shopping in Italian markets!

Italian apartment hunting

Today Ben and I went apartment hunting for the first time. We will have a million more appointments this week (each day this week, in fact) but it was a fun and educational experience!

We went on our Intercultural field trip last Friday (more to come on that) and absolutely fell in love with a town called Vomero! The town is lined with cobblestone streets and apartments that look like they are right out of an Italian history book. Ornate sculptures on the outside, plantation shutters with potted plants on the balconies, the works. It's also walking distance to the metro- a metro station that actually does not feel seedy at that- and stores like Versace and Gucci on the street. You can now understand why I fell in love with it! I'm only kidding, I think Ben would have a cow if I spent too much time in there.

We absolutely love this area so we decided to target finding an apartment in Vomero. After going to housing and looking at available apartments online, we heard that it's very limited and were told by realtor after realtor that this area is extremely expensive, the places are very small, blah, blah, blah. I made sure to tell them that anything would be larger than where we came from when you take into account the shoebox that we lived in! Let's face it, the best part of living in a 602 square foot apartment is that it can only get better from there!

We had to list other areas on our apartment request list, simply because it is required by housing so we also included other areas in downtown Naples as well as an area called Pozzuoli. Today, when the housing representative came to pick us up he informed us that we would only be seeing two places and neither of them are in Vomero. Ben and I were definitely disappointed but knew that we really have to get a lay of the land and be open minded about it before we make any final decisions.

On the way there Roberto, our housing rep (when I say housing rep, I am referring to representatives appointed in the housing office of the Navy to show off base living accomodations to military members) told us about Naples, where he lives, places to go, etc. It was interesting because he shared fun facts with us like Naples was the first Italian city, named Naples because it means "New town," that it was originally dominated by the Greeks and then the Spaniards, many details that we had never heard before.

We stopped at the first apartment, in Posillippo, which is an area close to, if not considered part of, downtown Naples. Roberto was your usual Italian driver and parked his car ON the curb with the passenger side elevated and the driver side on the concrete. It amuses us but does not shock us anymore. :)

We went into an apartment that was on the corner of a fairly busy street with low expectations. We were pleased to see that the front door to the building required a key- so Joe Schmo off the street cannot simply walk in- and walked through a somewhat unimpressive, maybe even a bit dirty, lobby to get upstairs to the 2nd level. As soon as we walked through the front door and then another metal (and I'm talking steel, it almost feels like a vault) door we emerged into a lovely apartment. The place was spread out into a series of rooms and the ceilings were extremely tall, to give the effect of an even larger space. What took our breath away was when we walked to the living room area and out onto the Juliet balcony, to see full views of the water, sailboats, and downtown Naples. It was unbelievable! Thinking that we may quite possibly be spending time in a room with such an amazing viewswas wonderful. In fact, I even like the traffic noise because it makes us feel like we are in the midst of the hustle and bustle and back in San Diego. The picture above is not the exact view from the apartment, but meant to give you an idea of what the waterfront views look like. This picture below is the front of the building, it's the building on the left.

We walked through the rest of the apartment and loved the white, pristine walls, the fact that there was a/c and heating even more (hey those things are not easy to come by here!), the fact that it was maybe three times the size of our apartment in San Diego and therefore a mansion, and the detail that there is a pizzeria below us. Which could be a good or a not so good thing:) The landlord was a full-on Italian mama. And I mean, gray haired, bifocals, orthopedic shoes, the works. Of course, she does not speak a lick of English (at this point, who does anymore) and proceeded to give me a hug and kiss me on both cheeks when she greeted me. Now where are you going to get a greeting from a potential landlord like that in the States? I wanted to tak a picture with her but she'd proably have thought that I was a weirdo so I didn't ask. She was so warm and friendly and kept talking to me in rapid Italian so I just gave up and smiled and nodded like I knew exactly what she was saying.

The only downside to the apartment is the size of the kitchen which is big enough for one person only. Which is not a problem considering I'm the one who mainly spends time in there. With the exception of Ben's dishwashing skills, of course:) But, get this, the apartment even has a dishwasher (siiiiiigh) so we no longer have to hand wash our dishes. For those of you who who do not have dishwashers you are crazy. Ben is happy to hand his duty off to the machine.

After spending forever oohing and ahhing in the apartment and asking question after question we realized we should probably go to the next one. Thank God for our friends Cyndi and Dave as they put a list of questions together for us based on what we need to be asking. We'd be in big trouble as we don't know anything about the Italian standard of living! We love you Cyndi and Dave!!!

On to the next apartment. We drove through downtown Posillippo and made our way to Pozzuoli. We know that Pozzuoli is very popular as it is more "beachyish" but it's out in the boondocks. After meeting us and understanding what our standards where Robertoo turned around a blatantly stated "You won't like this apartment and area, it's not for you." Boy was he right! We drove through the boonies of Pozzuoli to see a home, gated complex which was nice, and walked into the apt on the first floor. The first thing you see is a tablefor twelve. Twelve! Like they feed twelve for each meal daily. And apparently the table comes with the house. No thanks! It was very gloomy and cavernous so we were in and out in ten minutes.

With that said, Ben had been complaining that I don't let him cook in my kitchen. I am embarassed to say that I've never made pancakes before. Mr. Macho takes over and makes our banana pancakes in fragments. Though they were not the perfect result he gets a big hug and kiss for trying! Then tonight I decided to make sweet and sour chicken- I told you I would end up learning to cook more Asian food than Italian food-and he demanded on making the brownies. These were our brownies:

I told him to try again next time and he gets an A for effort!!

With that, we are going to bed!

Good food, good wine!

Ben and I were finally blessed to have the opportunity of exploring the real Napoli this past weekend!

We woke up on Saturday morning, determined to learn the ins and the outs of the public transportation system to navigate our way into town. After speaking with the Italian clerk at the front desk of the Navy lodge, he gave us the brief synopsis and sent us on our merry way. We had one problem: we were only able to withraw euros from the ATM in increments of either 20 or 50 and the three convenience stores/cafes we ran to in order to make it to our bus in time could not break the change. (?!). Note to self: things that seem very easy and convenient in other countries, specifically the US, are not possible in Naples.

Ben and I ran across the "street" which is basically a freeway exit (if you know me well then you know that I have a serious problem crossing streets, you can only imagine what it's like here) to get to the bus stop and figured that we'd finagle our way on to that bus somehow. We were approached by a military guy, also brand new to Naples, who wanted to know if we knew of the best way to get into town. We said we didn't and I knew that this experience was going to end up in a scenario of the blind leading the blind. It was our lucky day, though, because another military guy showed up at the bus stop and he seemed to know where he was going. We asked him several questions about the area and though he seemed quite shy at first, he finally opened up and made conversation with us. His answers led to conversations and pretty soon we ended up crashing his party and following him all the way to town. T63 bus to Aversa d'Gricignano transfer to Naples Garibaldi transfer to Cavour station. We never would have made it without the help of our new friend, Lorenzo! Along the way he pointed out sights, not your usual sights- the areas where the Camorra mafia base their "business"-you know, all the important stuff. He told us about his Italian girlfriend and how he's learned much about the culture from her and her family, about his experiences in Naples throughout he past year and a half since he's been here, etc. After three transfers, we finally parted ways at the last stop and Ben, Pat (that first military guy) and I decided that if none of us know where we were going we might as well be together so we went on our way in search of Neapolitan pizza.

I cannot tell you how many people I've heard from that have said that Naples is a dirty,crime ridden place that one must stay away from. I was extremely surprised to emerge from the train station into a lovely, historic city center, with people speaking Italian loudly with their hands and beautiful piazzas (city squares) and buildings that have been there for hundreds and hundreds of years. We visited the Castel d'Uovo, Galleria Umberto, and walked down a really long street that I cannot seem to remember the name of. We found a restaurant finally and experienced our first "Neapolitan pizza." I am not the biggest pizza fan in the world, or really Italian food fan for that matter (I know, what am I doing here) but I must say that the food was pretty darn good. They have a special kind of cheese here, Mozzarella di Bufala, which is like a ping pong ball made of amazing mozzarella. They scatter them throughout pizza, on a thin crust which is doughy yet thin and crunchy at the same time, and have a variety of toppings. The craziest part is that they serve these pies individually. When I saw the size of it I said no way Jose, I am not eating that entire thing. We proceeded to share our selections- Pat with an amazing calzone with marinara, me with toppings of mozzarella di bufala, prosciutto, and fresh tomatoes, and Ben with a greenish pesto looking (although it was not pesto) pizza with zucchini and ricotta cheese. His definitely did not win the prize but the other selections were YUMMY! And no, I did not eat the whole thing. I refuse to turn into an Italian mama.

After a long day of walking around, getting lost in the city, and seeing absolutely gorgeous piazzas (piazza, not pizza), I was thrilled that Ben had his first day in the "real" Europe and loved it! We found our way back to the metro (thank God for Iphones, and for Pat) and made it home in one piece..

The next day we met with our friends Dave, Cyndi, and their three boys. Ben went on his first deployment with Dave so Cyndi and I had gotten to know each other a few years ago. Their boys are darling and whenever they came to introduce themselves to me they would say "Mi chiamo Zachary" or "Mi chiamo Logan" etc... The best story is their youngest, Jake, whom I adore and was attached to me all day, who goes to a school where the teacher doesn't speak a lick of English. Apparently he has made two American friends who speak Italian fluently, also Navy children, who are his "interpreters" amongst the other kids and the teacher. What a fun way to spend kindergarten! He's having a blast. Anyway, they took us to Arbustum which is what they call an Agroturismo. It is a farm, but let's keep in mind that this is an "Italian farm" so picture the "farmers" wearing designer clothes and serving homemade Prosecco and red/white wine from their own vineyards. None of this overalls and tractors business. They literally grow and make everything they serve right onsite. And WOW was it a meal, or rather more of a production. It is a gorgeous converted house in the countryside where you can view their crops, vines, and yes, even their animals. Picture the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun"-that was the feel of this place. This was our meal:

-Aperitifs with a wonderful sparkling wine. Champagne is very me:)
-First course with bruschette, fragiole (ground beef with beans, absolutely deee-lish), dish with prosciutto, salami etc (and this is the real deal), grilled eggplant, croquettes, and cheese platter. It was ridiculously large.
-Second course with grilled pork cutlets and a side of mashed potatoes
-Dessert with a slice of lemon cake and a slice of chocolate cake
-Limoncello and espresso for an after lunch refreshment

Can you even believe it? I don't know where they put all of this food! The lunch lasted 5 hours!!! The best part is that it's all a surprise. They don't tell you what they're serving because it's all seasonal. If you ever have the opportunity to go to an Agroturismo, please please please do! Needless to say we did not have dinner that night.

Enough about food. The rest of the meals we've had since we've been here have been all my cooking which even I'm starting to get sick of. Although I must say that for those of you who have tried to take one of Athena's bones away from her, you'll notice that taking prosciutto away from Ben is eerily similiar.

On that note, we have a 7 AM field trip, so ladies and gentlemen, Buona Notte!