At ease fellas

Okay so as I was writing the last post I found a job at a new school that had just started up a contract with a Carabinieri school, which would be the American equivalent of a police academy. Let me tell you what, it is a trip! I had all these preconceived notions about what it would be like before I started. I was picturing a sort of compound with squads of police marching to and fro, with people training and doing drills everywhere, with a bunch of dudes in funny hats. I couldn't have had it more right, that is exactly how it is. And maybe I watched  Police Academy too much growing up but I keep waiting for the same kind of practical jokes from a random group of misfits.

Furthermore, I have a class of 25 students, in uniform, all the time (apparently the Carabinieri uniforms were designed by Armani!). And get this, they stand at attention and salute me every morning when I enter and every evening when I leave. I wish someone could have taken a picture of my face (or maybe I'm glad that no one did) on the first day; 30 minutes late because my train was delayed, not even sure that I had the right classroom and once I had a foot in the door they all stood and stomped their feet and presented their company of troops to me. Yikes. My face turned as red as a chili pepper as they stood there staring at me, waiting for me to say something like "at ease" which of course took me several minutes to realize.

This one is just so classic Italian to me. Like I'm not givin' you a break even if you are a priest! Now let's go get a coffee.

First day aside, everyone has really begun to relax and open up and I now consider them to be some of the best students I've had so far. I really feel respected right off the bat. Only this week have they been getting a little rowdy during discussions, and even that has been easily taken care of with my yellow card- red card policy like they have in soccer. If I give them two yellow cards in one lesson they automatically get a red card and have to sit at the back of the class until I decide they can come back. They all get into it and they love soccer anyway so it's a great way to lay down the law.

I do wish there were more women in the class, I only have three in mine and some classes have none. It's a lot of guys. Being one of few women that they see each day out of uniform creates a lot of undue attention, but luckily, nothing inappropriate. Just from walking through the halls at break time I'm starting to get whip lash from turning in all directions to answer all of the "good morning's" thrown my way, and sometimes even the random foot stomp and salute. Oh the power.

I'm always confused by this one. He's so smooth and debonair and she is just really unsure of him and maybe like she's been wronged by him....

So needless to say the best part of my job is the students. The worst part about the job is the commute. I wake up at 5 a.m. every morning, I'm out of the house by 6 a.m. to catch the bus to the train station and then it's an hour train ride, a 15 minute walk up hill and finally by 8:30 a.m., I'm there. But the classes are broken up into 3 week segments with breaks in between which makes the idea of waking up at that ungodly hour a lot more manageable.

I wish I could post pictures of my wonderful class but it's strictly forbidden until they graduate so instead I've posted some of the many hilarious pictures from the building in which I work. They are all carabinieri-themed and most of are intended to be funny, but it's the ones that aren't really intended to be funny are those that make me laugh the most.

I'm back!

I'm finally back in Rome and settled in more or less. It was funny, walking back to the apartment after more than 24 hours of traveling, it felt like we had gone home for a weekend trip only hours away, not at all like we had spent months on the other side of the ocean. Rome is as beautiful as ever and especially when it's sunny it feels like what anyone in Michigan would call a spring day, although everyone is still wearing huge overcoats, boots, and hats. Michiganders would be out in shorts and sandals in this kind of weather. It makes me chuckle everyday.

Although I love being here and being abroad in general, I have to say that living here presents its own challenges. I was just reading an article on how social networks such as Facebook (and I imagine things like blogs) distort the perception we have of people's lives and create a sense of disillusionment. I was just talking about this very thing with friends and family when I was home because many people have this notion that since I am in Italy, my life over here is like a really long vacation. The reality is that the stresses of daily life catch up with you no matter where you are in the world and you have to with the same struggles even if the backdrop is different. You know, a "wherever you go, there you are" kind of thing. The truth is that when we look at someone's Facebook pictures or posts, we are looking into the very best of their lives. The happiest of times. People generally aren't going to show pictures of themselves hyperventilating in the bathroom at work, or writing posts about how hard it was to get out of bed this morning, because that isn't what it's for. It's like watching sound-less home movies from the 1950s or 1960s, everything seems so easy so much simpler but you don't realize that Uncle Joe is drunk again and complaining that the Beatles need to get a haircut and Aunt Mary's on her third pack of cigarettes and its only noon.

Don't get me wrong, when I first moved here I thought everyone was going to think I was crazy and instead I've received such an incredible amount of support from everyone and I can't even express how much I appreciate that people care what I'm doing here. I just mean to say that it's not always sunshine and roses. So, an update:

The good: I had such a wonderful time being home and being constantly around family and friends (and also my cat).  I didn't get pictures with everyone but I got to see my wonderful aunts and uncles and cousins from both sides of the family at anniversaries, housewarmings, and christmas functions. It was great to see those I'd gone so long without seeing. Also, one of the best things about coming back to Rome is that this time around is that I already have some good friends here. When I came last time, it was just me and Erich bumming around day after day. Another great thing as been that we got the same apartment back. These things have made life so much easier.

The fam at Mario's

The best of the best

Spittin' image

The bad: My job. I went into work just a few days after being back and although was told there would be ample work for me when I returned, this turned out not to be the case. So this hiccup has sent me into a tizzy for the past few weeks looking for other jobs and generally questioning all of my life decisions thus far. Now things have started to turn around and I am finding more teaching positions. But it is tough. I'm also still trying to get into one of the NGOs here so that I can use my degree, but I'm finding that to be the most difficult thing. Something else that is difficult is that I miss everyone so much more now that I've been home.

So, I've slowly just been trying to build things back up here. Meanwhile Erich, knowing that his work would be slow right now, has left to travel in Turkey. Originally he wanted to go to Egypt and Tunisia, but in lieu of recent events, that is no longer a feasible option. So, he'll be traveling for the next month or so, but I remain here in Rome enjoying a bit more independence and have the opportunity to do the things that Erich normally does, of which cooking is the first. I told him one of three things was going to happen while he was gone: 1.) I would become an amazing cook, 2.) I would lose 10 lbs., or 3.) I would go broke eating out all of the time. So far, I'm somewhere between numbers 2 and 3. Last night, for example, I had a bowl of yogurt and 4 pieces of brocolli for dinner. Yikes. Luckily, a good friend of mine has taken it upon herself to help me cook and to keep me fed. Coming up: stuffed peppers!

Tilly :)