Getting Involved

I wrote the following a week or so ago. It is still current, except for the fact that Alan's team is no longer undefeated :(, I went on a Ceramics tour and discovered my inner artist :), and we just had a wonderful visit from Faye, my best British bud. :) :) :) More on that last one once I get my hands on some of her pictures!

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If I have been a little slow to update lately, it is because we've been busier! Transitioning to life in a new country takes a few months (at least), and I am finally starting to get my bearings. I am incorporating a few activites into my weekly routine and developing a network of new friends. For a few weeks after Italian school ended I found myself alone at home with little courage to go out if I didn't have a specific errand to run. Fortunately for the more timid among us, the base provides a fabulous array of ways for us to get involved:

-Pump Class: I had never lifted weights before attending this class. It's one hour of intense pumping iron to loud "umph-umph-umph" music and the accented encouragement of our adorable Italian instructor. I could barely walk for 2 weeks after my first lesson, but I keep going back for more. The regulars are super sweet and the post-exercise feeling is great.

On the topic of exercise, I also managed to get down to the Mergellina waterfront for a morning jog. I've done it only once, but plan to go back for the great view of the Posillipo hill on the return leg.



-Dessert Club: I take half credit for this one. I got the idea from my Jacksonville friend Janie, who, also new to the area, decided to start a monthly club to enjoy a few hours of sweets with other ladies. I proposed starting a similar group here in Naples and the idea really took off.

-Book Club: I've never joined one of these before, but a neighbor was kind enough to invite me to her group. The first book we read was Reading Lolita in Tehran: it's the bittersweet memoir of an Iranian professor of English literature who formed a clandestine book club for former students. Especially interesting was the juxtaposition of "risqué" stories in the banned books and tragic tales of the oppression suffered by members of the club.

-Voluteering at the Thrift Store: The thrift store on base is very popular with overseas spouses and local nationals alike. It brings in surprising amounts of money and donates a lot of it to the community it serves. With the high turnover of families on base, there is lots to sift through and price every day. I've met lots of nice volunteers at the store, but best of all I get to practice my Italian with the regular customers.

-Guided Day Trips into Town: I can't believe I haven't taken advantage of this until now. (No looking back: I'm going to make the most of it from now on!) All it takes is for me to get up really early with Alan so I can have la macchina for the day. Then I cart myself over to base and join an Italian-led tour group into town for some local culture. Today it was more like local flavor as the theme was Fresh Pasta. We watched a local Pastificio (pasta maker) make a ton of gnocchi (potato-based balls of deliciousness). The trip may have been with fellow Americans, but I still managed a lot of Italian with our pasta-making hosts. I joked with the main chef as he hoisted a huge pot of boiling water by saying this was his palestra (gym). He joked back and said since he took the job he had put on 20 kilos (more than 40 pounds...I think he was exaggerating). At the end we got to try the fresh pasta two ways (one with pesto and the other with a fresh tomato-basil sauce). The only thing I regretted was eating a cornetto con crema (cream croissant) an hour earlier at the bar (here, it's more of a cafe with a full-stock bar...most people go for the cappuccinos and lattes).







-Little League: Every weekend we head over to Carney Park to watch the "Mets" (the team Alan coaches). So far they have a 3-0 record...I attribute it to Alan's ingenious at-bat lineup strategy. :) The kids are cuties and it makes for a relaxing morning of taking in the sun and chatting with other wives.

In the midst of all this, little time remains for my current job! (read: laundry, cooking, cleaning, watering the plant and herbs...) It is really refreshing to get out and take so much in without even going too far. I don't want to sugarcoat it; there are definitely difficult situations. Yesterday on the bus I saw not one but two people blatantly throw their trash out the window. To the second offender I turned around and said: "Perchè?!" (Why) His unfortunately answer: "Perche non mi serve" (It's not useful to me anymore). That kind of attitude, compounded with the lawless--frankly, egotistical--driving, can really weigh on you. But every place has its good and its bad, and for the most part we try to focus on bella Napoli. So far it has treated us quite well!