Back to the Italy: 08/10/07

Dear friends,

Yes, I know. It has been a horribly long time since I last wrote, but with family in town, you know how it goes. Yes, that is right, family was still in town all this time until last night. Not to say it was not great, but I really hadn't a moment to myself or with just Alex for a couple of weeks. We spent our days at work and then evening with the fam making huge!!!! dinners. The cool thing was that I was able to try some typical Iraqi food. Alex made something called Biryani one night. It is traditionally an Indian dish, but in Iraq they make their own version. Essentially you cook chicken and shred it then mix it with peas and potatoes. Then you add special seasonings to it. You put all of this over a bed of basmati rice and these tiny tiny noodles. Last you add 4 fried hard boiled eggs (I know that sounds funny) and some beef. As if all of this doesn't sound like a lot of food, we accompanied the dinner with salad that I made and everyone loved, fruit, tea, and dessert. It is customary for them to eat mass quantities of fruit after dinner. Most common is Watermelon which you can get here at the store in huge quantities. The other night we were having them all for dinner and I bought a HUGE bag of grapes since we couldn't take the watermelon on the scooter. Alex looked at me like I was crazy and was a little perturbed at spending 4 euro on grapes. I said, ''Dude. I have seen how much fruit your family sits and eats after dinner. Don't worry. They will all be eaten.'' And they were. Another Iraqi dish I got to try is called Kope (spelling??). It is sort of like a pancake made of flour and another grain (kind of like Malt-0-meal). Inside this malt-o-mealish pancake is ground beef, raisins, onions, almonds, and spices. Honestly, it tastes like you are eating Christmas. It is quite tasty. I equate it to the pasty. Again, this is a heavy meal. Most nights I ended up in the bed or on the couch after eating since it was too painful to sit or stand. They all just kept trying to feed me, feed me, feed me. ''Eat this, Michelle. Have more of this Michelle. You didn't have any Nectarine with your grapes, apricot, and cantaloupe, Michelle. Have some more hazelnut chocolate, Michelle!'' Ahhhhhhh. When I get home in about a week, I will not eat a thing!

The shop has been great. One day we had these two couples in from Philly. Let's just say one of them owned a ''concrete'' business and bought about 4 jackets for various people at home. They were really nice, but they seriously just walked out of a Scorsese film. They has nicknames like Little Jerry and Micky Big Nose. They assured me that if I ever came to Philly, I could call and they'd show me a really good time. I told them I had always wanted a Philly Cheese Steak. I love meeting such a wide array of folks in the shop.

The weather has been nuts. Last week I left the house and it was really cloudy. I had on a tank top and light colored linen pants. About a minute after I left the house, I heard holy thunder and the sky unleashed it's furry on me. It was raining so hard. I raced back to the apartment and realized I forgot my keys inside! I had to get onto the bus soaking wet, dripping wet. Everyone could like see through my pants as I walked like a drowned rat to the shop. ''Why didn't you stay home, honey?'' Alex asks as I look at him with a not so happy look. Although being wet was no fun, the thunder and lightening were worth it. Once the rain stopped, the sun came out and it was clean and beautiful. We had another freak storm the other day. Luckily I was already in town. But let me tell you. I have NEVER seen anything like this. It was raining so hard and thick, it was like ocean spray. When we looked out the window of the shop, rain was sweeping over and puring off the Bargello museum like a waterfall. Chunks of the buildings were flying off and landing in the street. Water flooded into the shop through the bottom of the door. It was truly amazing to see this as thunder and lightening struck. If I had been out in that, I would have been afraid. It was incredible, but the cleanup was a bummer. We mopped most of the day.

Crazy weather makes people crazy. That night we went to Alex's uncle's house for dinner. We were eating and we hear a man screaming and then a large thunk outside the window. Some guys had run into Alex's scooter and knocked it down. I guess this guy is nutso. He broke Alex's windshield and banged up the bike. They annoying thing is that they did nothing about it. In Italy, bumpers are for bumping into and when people knock over a scooter, you deal with it. I told him that in the states, you call the cops or something. Now he has to pay to fix everything!

Well, I suppose that is about it. We are gearing up for my last week. We are planning a day to the Cinque Terre and a dinner at Aqua al Due. We have not been for weeks! I am amazed at how quickly my time here has passed. Part of me is sad to go and part is excited to come home. I do look forward to returning to my work, friends, and family. I hope all are well. Let me know what is going on. Talk to you soon.

Tanti Bacci

Back to the Italy: 08/01/07

Dear Friends,

Well, I officially lag on this trip as far as sending my emails. In all honestly, we have been so busy with daily life here. The shop os doing well and I am learning more and more each day about leather. I am learning how to do measurements for custom made leather jackets and pants, so if anyone is interested, Alex and I would love to work with you when I get home. The quality is amazing.

Time with the family continues. Alex's aunt, Andrea from Austria, left on monday night, leaving her 11 year old son, Roman behind for a while. His dad, Alex's favorite uncle will be here on Saturday. Andrea is a crack up. She is a big Austrian woman who never misses a chance to tell you how wonderful Austria is. I believe it too. Apparently Austria is the new ''it'' country in Europe. It is cheap, clean, and very efficient. Things in Italia are different. I am amazed everyday at how much Alex and I end up spending on a daily basis and it is only for simple things. Florence is also terribly dirty. When I studied here 6 years ago, it was dirty, but it is worse now. Everywhere you walk smells like hore or dog poo and human urine. Everyday when I come home, I have to wash my feet and legs. The other day it started to rain and I was wearing flipflops. As the water splashed on my feet from the ground, I worried about what might start growing on my feet. It is really sad that such a rich city lacks cleaniliness and a normal bus schedule. The other day I had to wait for the bus for 40 minutes and it is supposed to come every 15 minutes. In Austria, the busses come every 10 minutes like clockwork. What makes all of this even more sad is the amount of taxes the people who live and work in Florence pay. For every jacket the Bargello Leather Factory sells, they have to pay 37% of the profit in VATax. They also pay income taxes. I would think that in a city full of such history and tourism, they could come up with the funds and time to make a clean place for visitors and locals alike. All of this shows a sad trend in Italy. It is very expensive to live here for the normal tax paying individual, especially when they have a family. Due to this, the Italian birthrate is negative and the non-existent baby's places are being taken by immigrants from China, Senegal, Albania, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of immigrants are forced to work under the table jobs since it takes so long to get permission to work in Italy. Alex's friend was a Gastrointestinal Sergion in Baghdad, but is forced to work in a leather store until his papers clear. Alex is lucky. he moved here at a young age, so he has always had his papers. At this rate, it won't be long until there are no true Italians. It is amazing to think of that.

Anywho, it is not all serious politics here in Florence. Andrea and I went to St. Mark's church the other night to see an abriged version of the opera, La Boheme. I saw the same show last time I was in Italy, but there was a different cast this time. It was really nice, and Andrea seemed to enjoy it. She comes from a place with some of the best opera in the world. She promised me that when I make it to Austria, she will treat me to a great show.

Alex had his birthday on Friday! He is very different than I am when it comes to birthdays. I get all excited and must plan something fun, and he is humble and shy about it. It was like pulling teeth to get people to commit to going to dinner and Alex would not pick a place. It was so frustrating, but one of those little cultural differences I have to get used to. In the end we had a great dinner. Apparently in italy it is customary for the birthday person to bring the cake, so before dinner Alex bought two little cakes and we had a little party in the shop (he was too shy to bring them to the restaurant). I have some great pictures. I have decided that when I get home I will put all of my pics on shutterfly and send you all the link to the slideshow. That way you can see hem if you'd like. There are some really fun ones. One is so fun that I had to include it in this email. I hope you all like it.

Well, that is really about it. With Alex's fam in town, we have not really been able to get away for our days off. We had Sunday off so they could all watch the BIG soccer game between iraq and Saudi Arabia. If yall did not know, Iraq won the Asian cup and let's just say there was A LOT of excitement around here. I may have some funny dancing pics! On Monday, Alex's uncle gave us another day off to take Roman to the pool. It was fun, but it was no beach. I think next day we will take Roman and his dad, Jamal to the beach. Can't wait.

Hope all is well. Talk to you soon. Miss ya!