Well, I'm confined indoors today. Mostly because I had to wash my coat and it's freezing outside, so I am taking a day to rest and study some Italian. We don't have a dryer so it will take some time for my coat to dry, and I am kicking myself for not thinking of it last night. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow. I am reminded, though, of how we had to hand wash our clothes in Ghana, and I'm thankful (though there would be no need for a coat there, and if there were it would dry pretty quick in the heat!) Anyhow, I'm also trying to plan some weekend trips for us to stay in some hostels and monasteries around Italy.
This weekend we are planning to tour the Vatican museums, since they are free the last Sunday of the month. And visit a lunch fellowship on the outskirts of Rome which we were invited to. I have had lots of time for cooking, which I haven't done too much of in a while, and it's an adventure to come up with recipes and ways to cook things without my customary ingredients and utensils. Good thing my menu is generally Mediterranean anyways so it's not too much of a stretch.
We have a little tangerine tree on our balcony, and some herbs, and the courtyard of our building has lots of lemon trees.
Our neighborhood produce stand is run by a couple of Egyptians so I have been using my Arabic more than Italian (mostly because my Italian much more limited). In true Egyptian form, they are very pleased and gracious for my attempts to speak with them and always knock off the price of a few veggies in return. Seems like a reasonable exchange, don't you think? I'll pretend to say a few things in your language, and you give me things for free! Makes perfect sense. I love Arabs. Apparently Italians work this way too, I just haven't had enough relationship building opportunities to try it out. Maybe once I learn more than 5 phrases.
There is supposed to be a public transportation strike tomorrow, but we've heard various rumors about what hours it will be. Sometimes they just hold the strike during working hours so the commute isn't effected. The day we were moving into our apartment, last week, the taxis were striking (probably one of the only times we would take a taxi) so we had to bring our luggage over by metro. Strikes are quite common and we will start to get the hang of how they work soon.
I've been reading a bit about Paul's time in Rome, which is quite interesting and always takes on a different light when you are in the location.
Obviously, my life is pretty mellow right now, which I'm okay with. But I'll be sure to write more when things get a little more eventful.
Ciao!