In ferie

Well, actually, I'm tornando-ing dalle ferie. (You know you've reached a certain level of comfort with a language when you can mix it in with your first one and double conjugate the verbs, right? Just, uh, don't mistake "certain level of comfort" for "anything near proficiency", at least in my case.)

Anyway. Vacation. Were you picturing me lounging on the beach, getting a stellar tan and... I don't know... doing beach-type things? That's nice. Because, actually, I was working at the daycare from my previous stint in the childcare-world and generally wearing a lot more baby spit-up and bleach than sunscreen.

I sound bitter, don't I? But actually, I'm completely not. I am a big fan of working there, in fact. It's just kind of more interesting to write about your life if you're either bitter or having adventures that make you seem completely retarded. Don't worry, though - I generally do plenty of the latter, so probably things will be up and running (read: puttering along) at their usual speed shortly.

So, to recap this summer since that last post: there was one more week after that of working in the ridiculous heat of Reggio in July. (Actually, remind me never to work full time at a job that requires me to look halfway decent through the middle of July in Reggio again: brutal. Particularly when showing up for lessons at companies that are thoroughly air conditioned, looking all disheveled when the employees have been hanging out in the subarctic temperatures all day and look at you like you're from a different planet for even considering short sleeves. Sigh.)

Then, in a colossal bout of over-ambitiousness regarding scheduling, managed to book a flight (from Milan) a mere six or so hours after the end of my last lesson (in Reggio), which somewhat compressed the activities of finishing packing/taking out the garbage/remembering to lock my apartment/calling a taxi/buying train ticket/taking navetta from Milano Centrale to Malpensa/actually boarding plane, etc. but I made it. Subsequently arrival in Paris in the dead of night, merciful picking up by mother at airport (yay! mother is awesome!). Next day spent traipsing around Paris at breakneck pace, determined to enjoy all of favorite haunts and also company of aforementioned awesome mother in just one day. Day after, return to airport and oh-so-fun flight back to Newark. Newark (and NJ in general) very humid and sticky. Highly reminiscent of Reggio, except with bigger and slower highways, more ethnic food, and crappier pizza.

Sleep it all off and return to work at daycare the next morning (because am valiant! and tireless! and maybe slightly less than sane!), marvel at growth of children cared for during previous stint at daycare, marvel at ridiculous turnover rate of staff, get assigned a classroom and offered yet another uniform polo (wrong size, do not take for fear of always looking like some sort of crazy Tent Monster; better to stick with own, bleach-stained uniform polos). Spend six weeks caring for mildly psychotic but highly entertaining 18-month-olds, while occasionally sneaking to classroom of 12-month-olds (more familiar territory - class from last time), and classroom of infants (where things are peaceful and calm and filled with cooing babies... okay, maybe sometimes they teethe and cry hysterically and frequently they spit up on you, but this is still peaceful and calm compared to the psychosis of the toddlers).

Overall, six weeks of familiar, satisfying work in familiar, pleasant workplace. Six weeks of family and friends and familiar surroundings. Many evenings spent filling up on food that Italy does not seem to have: Indian and Thai and Mexican, oh my. (Italy, don't get me wrong: I love your food. It is probably among the most excellent in the world, but... have you tried food from other countries? It also can be excellent.) Also iced coffee (I know, it is wimpy and watery and frequently unnecessarily sweet, but I have a serious weakness for iced coffee). Six weeks of coming home from work and sinking pleasantly into piles of books borrowed from the library, the words like a deliciously warm bath. (Uh-oh, now I am becoming gooey.)

Then, after quasi-tearfully hugging my little monsters and tickling all my favorite babies under the chin one more time and hearing their little giggles, loaded self back onto plane (sat next to cheerful and overly talkative couple that wanted to know whether I was leaving home or going home... surprisingly difficult question to answer), ate goopy rice under some dish that was apparently masquerading as chicken teriyaki, and then managed to sleep on plane (unprecedented!) before arriving back in Paris.

Here it is grey and slightly gloomy, but armed with a sweater and a scarf, it is a rather pleasant sort of grey. Am eating ridiculous amounts of yummy stuff that they only have in Paris, and continuing to gorge myself on books until return to Reggio the day after tomorrow. And now I think it is sufficiently late to trick myself into sleeping, since I bravely fought the jet lag upon arriving yesterday and managing not to nap in the daytime. Huzzah!

Right. Anyway, a good night to all!