A visit from mom

May 31, 2007

Our travels continued when my mom and Walter, her husband, came to visit last week. We spent 2 days in Milan and then went to Cinque Terre, a group of towns on the Mediterranean. It was really beautiful there and we had such a fun time exploring all the little towns and eating really good food. We even hiked from one town to another and loved seeing the ocean and the cliffs. After that, we went to Bellagio on Lake Como. It rained a lot while we were there, but our stay at Hotel Belvedere was wonderful. It is so fun to share our Italian life with friends and family from home. My mom and Walter really got to see what it was like to be here and deal with the quirky Italian ways. And as with all our visitors, Ben and I are so grateful that they came to see us, it really makes us happy.

Now, we have one month left of being here and are deciding what are next steps will be. Hopefully, we will be coming through New York, Washington, and Memphis/Pickwick during July while Ben continues to look for a job. I have realized in the last month that Milan has become a home for us, even though it's not the best. And while, i don't think i'll be very sad to leave it, we've made a life for ourselves here and I feel proud that we've accomplished that. This next transition to wherever we end up seems even scarier than the one we made moving here. But we're praying that the next place we move is full of friends and opportunity for both of us.

Ben is very busy right now with school and I am not doing much. There's always possible performances for me, but one never knows with this group. Happy June to Everyone.

I love Paris in the Springtime?

May 21, 2007

Paris Trip: May 16-19, 2007

High Points: Riding bikes through the city, Wandering through St. Germain, St. Michel and Monmartre, Yummy Coffees, French Onion Soup, Crepes, Sunny afternoon in the Luxembourg Gardens, Watching Spiderman 3 in English, Stores on the Champs Elysee, Seeing famous art at the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay.

Low Points: Freezing Temps, Constant Rain, Disgusting Hotel in shady area, Overcrowded sights like Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and Versailles, the very long bus rides to and from both airports.

Odd Points: The sun didn't set until after 10pm, we heard more americans speaking english than we'd heard all year and food and drinks are way more expensive in Paris than in Milan. We also saw men dressed as strawberries, a lot of steller mullets, Santa, in disguise walking through Versailles, and kids giving away free hugs under the Eiffel Tower.

French it Up!

May 14, 2007

I know it's been a long time since our last blog, but there wasn't anything really exciting to report. Ben's been working hard at school and we've been hanging out with friends. My dance company has been wishy washy about things, but I have a show tomorrow with them and maybe one in early June.
We went to Southern France this past weekend, be the real fun began the day before, when Ben was given free tickets to Beyonce's concert here in Milan. It turns out his school gave Beyonce on honorary masters. Why?? We don't know, but her dad came to ben's school to talk to the students and gave them all free tickets. The show was great and it was fun to go with all of Ben's classmates.

So, the next day we rented a car and drove to France. We stopped by San Remo for a little while and then got really lost. There were a lot of tolls and 124 (we counted) tunnels between Milan and Nice. But we finally got to our bed and breakfast in a town called Ventabrens, outside of Aix-en-Provence. It was a beautiful house and the hosts were really friendly and helpful. We went in to Aix for dinner and had an elaborate meal. The weird part about the town was that, walking down the street, there were so many americans speaking english. We guessed that since it has a big university there, they were studying abroad or something.

The next day we drove to the Luberon Valley and to a town called Gordes. This town is really spectacular and unique. It is built into a giant rock and the buildings are the same color as the rock. It was really pretty and overlooked the whole valley with vineyards, lavender fields, poppy fields and more. This land was really amazing and we were blown away by the beauty. We then drove to Rousillion, which is a town that is built on these bright red and yellow rocks. A lot of pigment for paints are harvested from these rocks.

After that we decided to take the scenic route to our next town which was Nice. That turned out to be a bad idea, as it took us through the French Alps and took forever. The drive was really fantastic, scenery-wise, but it was very tiresome.
We got to Nice and had a great dinner on these picnic tables in a little square. I had Moules Frites (mussels and fries) and a local dish called socca which is chickpea flour and olive oil tortillas. Nice also has a lot of tourists, but it was still fun because the night life is really exciting.

The next day we spent on the beach, which is so beautiful. It has no sand, just rocks, which is pretty uncomfortable. And there were a lot of topless ladies! The water is so blue and clear and wasn't that cold for so early in the year.

All in all, it was great. We really liked Provence and the Riviera and they are places we hope to come back to. We could really tell a change when we got into France. It felt less hectic, more calm and relaxed. Apparently, France and Italy have the same population, but 
France has double the land. I am really glad we got to see the country side and get a good rest from the cities.

Up next, we go to Paris. Au revoir!

Zinkwazi

April 16, 2007

Ben and I had a wonderful time on our trip to Zinkwazi Beach, South Africa. We flew from Milan-Lison-Maputo, Mozambique-Johanessburg-Durban. We joined my sister Fiona and her 4 kids (Mitchell, age 12, Lauren, age 10, Max, age 4 and Scott, age 3), plus another friend of Mitchell's, Alex, at their beach house. It is a spectacular house and has already won Best Home for it's region. It's on the beach, has two pools and is very peaceful and cool. The week before we arrived, there had been a mini tsunami that had washed out many decks and beachfronts in the area, but Fiona's deck and beach was fine. The beach there is so wild and rough. The waves were huge and beautiful.

We spent our days at the main beach, or right in front of the house, playing an insane amount of table tennis, watching kids movies, and hanging out with everyone. Mike, Fiona's husband is climbing Everest (again) right now and just got to base camp. Fiona is going to meet him at base camp on his way out in May.
We had dinner a couple times with their friends in the neighborhood and it was great to be with other english speakers and have a good time. One day we went into Durban to a water park/aquariam called uShaka. It was a lot of fun and beautiful too. The weather was perfect most of the time, except 2 days that were grey. The kids were lots of fun and it's neat to see them grow up. As we do not see them but every couple years, we can really tell how much they've grown. All in all, we had a very relaxing, luxurious time. We are so grateful to have gone there for a much needed Italy-free break.

A Performance to Remember

April 5, 2007

Hello All! It's been a busy couple of weeks for Ben and I. Ben's parents came through town on their fantastic European adventure and it was so great to see them and see how much they were enjoying Italy. When they left, I started my two week run at Teatro Out Off with my company, Corte Sconta. The shows were great and it was an all around good experience.
Ben had his final exams for his second term and started his third term where he will be specializing in marketing. He had his first week while our friend Heidi was visiting us from New York, with her friend Stephanie. It was terrific seeing them and getting to hang out. We showed them around Milan and went to Como for one of the days. It meant a lot to me that they could see my performance and see what I've been working on.
Tomorrow, we leave for South Africa for some relaxation and sun.

Happy Easter Everyone.

Busy Bees

March 19, 2007

Well, life is moving fast for us here in Milan. The weather has been warm and sunny (although not today) and I have been very busy with rehearsals. The situation with the company has become much better. After that first week, I haven't been very sore and I feel like I'm understanding the work better. Even so, being with these people 6 hours a day is stressful because I am trying to understand what they are saying and what is going on at all times and that takes a lot of energy. I now understand the ways they work and most of what is said, but there are still those cultural differences that I'm unsure of. Living in a foreign country makes you realize how disconcerting it is not knowing what to do in every situation, having to always be aware of what others are doing and try to figure out yourself.

I like my fellow dancers and they are being nice to me. Somedays they help me practice my Italian which I am getting much better at. This week is the last week of rehearsals and then we start performing March 27th until April 5.
After that, we are off to South Africa to visit my sister, Fiona at her beach house near Durban. Ben and I are so excited to go and relax with family (and people who speak english).

Last Saturday, we went to Bologna for the day. It was a great city and had a lot more interesting architecture and character than most other Italian cities we've been. We didn't do much that day, but sit in the main piazza and watch people and eat. But it was fun. After a while, doing the touristy things get old in these northern italian cities, so it was nice to just take it all in.
Being busy, for me, has really helped me be happier here, although sundays are the days that we miss home the most.

Marla and the New Job

March 3, 2007

Our friend, Marla, from New York came to visit us right as both Ben and I caught the terrible flu that is apparently going around the world. She was in town for Milan's fashion week and she walked the cat walk in about 12 shows while she was here. It was fun to get to see her when she returned from the shows, with crazy make up and hair. We loved having her here!
Ben and I recovered while she was still here and we got to spend time with her, including Carnivale. Her driver, Ricardo, took us to Varese, a town outside of Milan the day of Carnivale. All the children were dressed up in costumes and there was confetti and silly string littering all the streets. There were games and clowns in the streets and a parade here in Milan. Ricardo said that not a lot of people celebrate Carnivale anymore, except for kids.

After Marla left us, I started my new job dancing for Corte Sconta. It has been frustrating time so far. The language barrier is hard and it is just a different way of working than I'm used to. Everyone is allowed an opinion and I just want to go crazy when 5 people are telling me different things to do, most of them in Italian. And they talk so much and their concepts and ideas are sometimes impractical. The dancing itself is cool, but really hard on my body. I have been so sore this week, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. I think it's going to be a long, and confusing 3 weeks before the show.

It looks like spring has come to Milan and the weather is nice and warm. Ben's been riding his bike to school and continuing to work hard at his classes. Tonight he goes to the Milano Vipers hockey game to watch the league playoffs!