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!
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