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