Little observations

Now it's time to fill in with some random stuff:

One day some people came into Antontio and I could understand that they were farmers and that they were talking about their grapes. I asked Antonio if they wanted to sell their grapes to him. He said that they were only asking his opinion on whether or not to harvest their grapes yet. He told them to wait a couple more weeks because of their type of grape wasn't supposed to be harvested just quite yet. I thought it was pretty cool that random people just come to him for advice like that. I saw it happen again with another person as well.

I went grocery shopping with Sarah one day. I wanted to buy one package of fruity gum and one package of minty gum, and I thought I did. When I went to open what I thought was blackberry gum, I ended up with anise flavored gummy candy. No big deal, I would just open my minty gum...no, it was a package of mint candy. I'm learning every day. Sarah ended up giving me a package of her gum.

Most Italian children live with their parents until they are married. This is much like it is in Mexico. I came on my own to Italy and I have lived on outside of my parent's house since I was 19. It's hard to imagine still living and depending completely Mom and Dad (don't get me wrong, I know they would let me in a heartbeat and I know they are always there if I need them, but where's the independence of being a grown up?). But at least now I understand how many of the Italians from the disco the other night could afford all their Prada and Gucchi clothing and extremely expensive shoes, they don't have rent bills or phone bills and any money they work for is all for play! It all makes sense now.

Also from listening to converstions between my friends I've realized that divorce is on the rise in Italy. Most of my Italian friend's parents are divorced. It's sad to think that the divorce epidemic is spreading all over the world.

Politics/ religion are both very strong subjects in Italy. Best to steer clear of them...just stay neutral, smile, and nod.

Doors in Italy are Push to go in and Pull to go out. This must be the opposite way as many of the doors in the US because my instinct tells me to Pull to go in and Push to come out...I've ran into a lot of doors lately.

The salutaion of kisses on the cheek. Two in Latin America, Three in Italy. Also be very clear as to which side you choose to go to first. Most Italians go towards the right first, but some of them will choose the left and if they do you're stuck in an awkward dance of back and forth with someone you are just meeting for the first time. Also a problem I had when I came back to the US from Mexcio is that I would meet someone or see a friend or family memeber and go to kiss their cheek and get a strange look from them as if they were saying "why are you in my bubble?" So consider this your warning for when I return home!

Okay, that's all for now. Sorry to bombard you all with 4 posts in one day. It might always have to be like this though, so maybe if you read a post a day I'll have more for you by the time you're ready for a new one. This coming week should be pretty exciting. In the catina we're switching from Pinot Grigio grapes to Chardonnay. Thursday I have plans to go to Verona, and Saturday I have plans to go to Venice. We'll see how it all plays out! Check the albums for new pictures! :)