Hannah Lou and Dylan too

4-15-2009

Wednesday in Rome. I went to school this morning and worked this afternoon. There are new students entering my class all the time. It's very small, but I've stopped trying to keep track of everyone. I returned to the house at 2:20 p.m. It's difficult to get to the home from school by 2 p.m. unless I leave class early. I don't think Camilla minds the minor tardiness. When she tells me she needs me at a certain time, I am always there.

I had a bit of a difficult day. I was depressed this morning. Can't really say why exactly. When I arrived home from school, Elena was just leaving. Everyone is sitting around the table and Ludovica spouts, "Elena! Io voglio Elena, solo Elena." This hurt my feelings. Elena speaks Italian and has been with the family for almost two years now, but ....

Camilla went to play tennis and I helped Ludovica and Anna with their homework. Ludovica would not do the homework. Every five minutes I ask her, "Ludovica, fai competi porfavore. PREGO PREGO fai competi!!!!" She looks at me like I'm nuts. When Camilla returns she is upset because they haven't finished. She tells me that I need to get them to do the homework within a reasonable time frame. JESUS!!!! I cannot MAKE them do the homework.

We went to a park later in the afternoon. I had not yet been to this park, the jungle gym was great, but the park itself ... not so pretty. I followed Peter around and tried to entertain him while Camilla chatted with her friends. Her sister-in-law, Cecilia, was there with her baby, Ottavia. Cecilia is pregnant with her second child. She smoked a cigarette with Camilla. I wonder if something happened to her pregnancy, or if she was smoking while carrying her baby. This is the first time I have EVER seen Camilla smoke. She rarely even drinks wine. I was actually glad to see her indulge. However, SHE WOULD NEVER SMOKE WHILE PREGNANT. I bet she even hates to smoke in front of her babies.

A lot of Ludovica and Anna's friends were at the park. When we arrived, Anna saw her favorite friend, Francesca. She screams. "Francesca!!!" with such enthusiasm, runs to her, throws her arms around her and kisses her several times. This put a big smile on my face. Anna can be a handful, but she has some special charm and it's easy to adore her (when she's adorable that is).

After the park, we went home. I gave the babies a bath, put them in their pajamas and it was time for dinner. The dinner has been so good the past few nights. When the dinner is delicious the babies LOVE to eat, Ludovica especially. I have to make them stop eating or there won't be anything left for Camilla and Federico. They have to eat minestrone and vegetable/lentil soup so often, they devour a delicious meal.

Then, I got a message from a fellow American au pair that I had contacted a while back asking if I wanted to meet of for a drink. THANK GOD! I soooooo need a fun night out. This girl is from Arkansas and her name is Hannah. She told me her family is friends with Bill Clinton!! We met at Piazza del Popolo and walked around Rome drinking beer and talking. I really like her a lot. She's also from the south and our hometowns sound very similar. We went into a bar for a drink and she points out her favorite Italian beer. It is Nastro Azzurro. She tells me her favorite beer back home is Pabts Blue Ribbon (PBR), and that she recently discovered that Nastro Azzurro literally translates as blue ribbon. I thought this was a funny coincidence.

We end up drinking our beers on the staircase of Piazza di Spagna. Some Italian guys were near playing the guitar and chatting. They came over to us, introduced themselves and ask us several times to join them. Finally we did and we ended up listening to them sing The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Who .... Hannah knows the lyrics and title of every single song. By now it's pretty late and everyone decides to leave. We all part ways and this one dude tells us he has a studio apartment just steps away from the staircase and invites us up for pasta. We really needed a bathroom, so we excepted his offer.

The apartment was pretty cool and apparently this guy is a painter/sculptor. I think this Italian guy and Hannah really hit it off. His work was really good and I especially liked his sculptors. He made us spaghetti with pesto and fed us red wine from Montepulciano. FANTASTIC!!! The conversation was phenomenal. I seriously had a fun/interesting history lesson on all the Roman Emperors post Julius Caesar. Hannah's favorite Emperor is Nero, and I must say, I like him too. He is the Emperor who played the fiddle while Rome burned. He was seriously deranged, but everything about him sounds so fantastically comical and extraordinarily interesting.

We ended up leaving at 3 a.m. We walked to the Colosseum because Hannah knew her way home from there. She is new to Rome, but not to Italy. She lived in Milan for a while before accepting a job in Rome. I took a taxi from Piazza Venezia and arrived home at 4 a.m. Ugh! Probably a bad idea considering I have to work in the morning.

Hannah and I planned to see a Bob Dylan concert on Friday. I have to travel to Tuscany this weekend and take care of the babies while Camilla and Federico attend a wedding. So, the next morning I ask Camilla when she plans to leave for Bibbiano. She says she wants to leave Friday afternoon. MAN! I ask if I can take a bus to Bibbiano early Saturday morning. It just doesn't seem possible. Actually, she just doesn't want to pick me up from the bus station Saturday morning before she heads to Venice. Of course the one Friday I want to go out, it isn't possible. SO BUMMED! :'( She tells me, "Sorry this is the one weekend I need you." I dislike this comment immensely, because a.) it is a lie and b.) I feel the same way in reverse. Just an ugly comment in general.