There goes another week...

Pardon the absence. See earlier reference to sweatshop-like work schedule. Also I caught some form of cold/cough/congestion business off the bimbi. Whether it was the asilo nido ones, the materna ones, or the scuola elementare ones is hard to say, but nonetheless...

Probably there are more interesting things to talk about than that, though. For instance, last weekend, on Sunday, I went to Venice for the day, to check out the carnevale business. That was interesting. There was un sacco di gente there. But seriously, a huge sacco. In fact, you know how people tell you Venice is sinking? I bet this is why. Because once a year, all these people come and stand on it all at once, for a whole week.

I don't recommend it if you're claustrophobic, because we squeezed through small alleys at times, completely squished up with the other people. But the interesting thing is that no one complained. Had it been in America, everyone would've been whining and being generally irritated/irritating. But here everyone was all laughing and jovial. This could have something to do with the fact even swearing sounds jovial to me, in Italian. (I giggle, without fail, every time one of my students mumbles the ca--- word in class. Then they turn red and apologize, sometimes, and I continue to giggle on the inside.)

Anyway, yeah. We squished through the alleys and over the bridges, had a cursory look at the Bridge of Sighs for those who hadn't seen it before (it's all surrounded by this wonky wrapping paper or something now, though; what's up with that?), ate a mediocre panino, waited half an hour in line for the use of a bathroom (okay, the people were a little less jovial there, but they were still amusing), tried fritelle (I'm confused, though - there they were some kind of pastry with raisins in it, but I'm almost positive I've had something here called that, but involving fried cheese), and generally absorbed the atmosphere of Venice in carnevale.

Then they brought out the riot police at the train station because everyone wanted to get on the regionale back to Bologna, and that was fun, too. Especially because, for an all too brief half hour, we thought we might have to call in at work tomorrow and inform them that their entire teaching staff was stuck in Venice. That would've been so incredibly satisfying (see earlier references to sweatshop-like work schedule, and, anyway, ogni scherzo vale, right?). But then we got on the next train and watched the riot police hold hands to keep the crowd from pushing each other onto (and then off of, perhaps) the platform, and that was vastly entertaining. As were the drummers that were strolling around during the whole thing, and the people who sprinted down the platform to get on the train, despite the cries of "piano! piano! fermi!!" We did a little sprinting of our own, just to get into the spirit of things and all.

Now I am back in Reggio. I ate pizza twice this weekend and decided I will really, REALLY miss the ritual of the Friday night pizza when I go home. I suppose I could learn how to make pizza... but I lack a wood-burning oven, and anyway, it just wouldn't be the same.