The Italian Job

Well, I guess it's been awhile since I've updated this... oops. A few things have happened since then: I finished up my year in Korea, took a vacation trip to Thailand, went home to Michigan for a few weeks, and then moved to Naples, Italy to be an au pair.

I'll start now by writing about Italy and then backtrack to wrap up my Korean adventures and maybe write a little about Thailand.

Okay so first of all, I wanted to talk about my preconceptions of Italy and Naples in particular. Before I left, I definitely thought I was going to see a number of things:

• People talking with their hands
• Lots of smoking
• Romance/public displays of affection
• PIZZA AND PASTA AND WINE
• Beautiful landscapes and seaside views
• Rollings hills dotted with stucco buildings almost on top of each other

Despite expecting these things, I was still surprised by how completely accurate my preconceived notions were. Within my first 24 hours, I was treated to close encounters with (almost) all of these things -- I haven't had any wine or pizza yet. Yes, everyone talks with their hands. It is so entertaining to watch people talk. Yes, it seems like everyone smokes. Yes, I have seen multiple couples, mostly young, making out in public places. Yes, I have been eating amazing food. And holy shit yes, the views are amazing.

So that's my first impression of Italy in general. 

The family I am living with has a great apartment with a terrace that is probably about the same square footage as the inside area. The mom is a (divorce?) lawyer and the dad owns an electrical and/or security company and also maybe just bought an online newspaper. I'm a little fuzzy on those details, but I know they must have the euros rolling in because they have had American au pairs for 6 years and also employ a full-time housekeeper.

Let's talk about the joys of having a housekeeper because frankly, I don't know how I survived without one before. Her name is Patrizia and she comes  to the apartment with fresh groceries every morning. She cleans the entire apartment (I don't know why you would have to mop every single day, but whatever) and also cooks lunch and dinner for all of us. Which means I get to eat homemade authentic Italian food twice a day, every day. It's unbelievably good. I don't know how picky the previous au pairs were, because they keep telling me I don't have to eat something if I don't like it, but everything is so delicious. Let's just go ahead and add housekeeper to the list of things I would like to have when I grow up.

The awesome view from the terrace -- you can see the sea on the left and a hill covered in houses to the right. It's even more breathtaking at night, but impossible to capture.

Here's the old palace we walked by quickly in the city center.

I guess now I should talk about what I'm actually doing here -- taking care of Chiara (key-are-uh), who is seven AND A HALF, and Vittoria (emphasis on the second syllable, kinda roll the r), who is 6. They were all over me the second I walked in the door, which might be a sign of some kind of attachment disorder, but maybe it's okay because we Skyped before but I don't know... Regardless, they're very affectionate, but also very temperamental. Almost every activity we do ends in tears (sometimes they're even real tears), but we had a talk about expectations and rules today and I think that will help. I'm sure it's difficult adapting to a new caretaker every year or so. 

This week and next, they're still on summer vacation so I'm taking care of them all day which means a little overtime pay, but it's also a little tough to start out with them all day. The family is also renovating their apartment, which means a lot of toys and games are packed up. Sometime this month, we'll all move into a temporary apartment while workers invade the current apartment in order to join it with the newly redone apartment next door. In the meantime, I went from a studio apartment to sharing a room with a 6 and 7 year old. The transition has its downfalls, but overall, I'm enjoying myself and keep smiling to myself about how happy I am to be doing this.

Today, the mom took me down to the city center and we had some gelato and walked along the sea. This weekend, they invited me to come along with them to their beach house, but I'm considering staying behind so I can explore a bit on a my own. But we'll see.

I won't have much free time until the girls return to school, but I'll try to keep you guys updated as best I can! Ciao!