brief update

Where does time go, I feel like it was just a short time since I was last writing my blog but I realise now that it has been almost two weeks! That is the problem with not having the internet at home...

So, what has been happening in my life these last two weeks? Not too much really, I have been working, enjoying my classes loads actually, all of my students are so nice, even the crazy children! My kids classes over the last two weeks have been a bit mad as I have been giving them tests, but then I feel bad so the next lesson we play games and then they get too noisey so I think next time I will give them a test, and so on! They seem to be understanding me more which is a bonus! And, I am starting to understand them more too, my Italian is still terrible but now when people speak I can often understand what they mean or at least some of what was said, but I still can't answer them or join in!

I have a new flatmate, she is also Italian and we can't communicate with each other but she is very loud, together with my other housemates she is helping me understand Italian while I try to sleep! Her sister came to visit today and I had just had a shower, my door started rattling and I went to see if I was needed but there were about five Italians staring at me and then they all laughed and were embarassed as they were just trying all of the doors, I quickly got ready (had been in my towel) and then went to see who they were and the sister spoke to me in English which was good, wish she was living with me!!! My Romanian flatmate is still very odd, she opens her door and peers out when I walk past and she talks to me all the time about her illnesses and has kissed me twice since last time I wrote, once on my shoulder randomly after we had a long but barely understood conversation when I was trying to go to bed, the second when she shouted at me for walking around in bare feet when it was 'cold' so I put some shoes on and she was really happy!

Well, going now, we are off for a chinese meal tonight, should be nice. A change from pizza and pasta, though I have been eating some different things recently, including horse meat, which got a big reaction on Facebook. It was actually nice, sweet and sort of juicy, nothing like any other meat, it is a local speciality so I had to try it! I also ate a delicious meal last weekend of swordfish and prawns, the seafood season is here and everywhere is serving fish dishes, which I love! mmmmm hungry....

a midpoint update

So, I have now been in Catania for 10 weeks and in 10 weeks time it will be my last Sunday here, I have reched the halfway point of my stay here!

I a feeling kind of pleased about it, because that means in only 10 weeks I can go on my exciting trip with Stephanie, to Rome, Florence and Venice, and in 11 weeks I will be back home in Winlaton and will get to see everyone who I am missing.

I am also happy because the next 10 weeks are going to be great, I have had such fun here and am looking forward to having even more good times with my friends here, and the weather is improving all the time so now I can spend my free time sunbathing!

Last weekend was Easter so we had some time off work which was great, I needed a break as had been sick and still wasn't feeling my best. I went to a gorgeous beach on Thursday, a place called Gardini Naxos and relaxed all day in the sun, it was really hot, the only problem was that I have not got a bikini, my mam has sent me a parcel now with some more suitable beach clothing. When I got there and it was really hot I just took off my jeans and sunbathed in my vest and knickers! Well, nobody knew me there! I tried to shop for a bikini here but the weather isn't quite hot enough for the shops to be full of summer clothes and there were none in the shops I went to that fit...
I also went to Siracusa, a town not far from Catania and went to some Roman and Greek ruins, the wather was fantastic again and I was really sad that I didn't have my camera to take lots of pictures of me doing things that did not involve gin! I also took a little detour off the marked path and stole and orange and a lemon from the massive garden near the ruins! I didn't realise, however, that orange trees have thorns!!! I got a huge thorn stuck in my arm and still have a big mark on my arm from it!
I spend the next 2 days eating! On Easter Sunday (Pasqua) I went to my boss' house and had lots of lovely food and on Easter Monday (Pasquetta) I went to an agroturismo, a diversified farm, we ate for hours and dranks some delicious limoncello and then I watched the others ride horses (I don't really like horses) and we went shooting - however, we were the last group of the day and there were only 15 pellets left for us to use, so we had 3 shots each. I managed to hit 2 out of 3 so was pretty pleased with that! Then we played football but I had to sit out in the end as had totally innappropriate shoes on (pretty, silver shoes)and every time I kicked the ball my shoe flew off! I did score a few goals, with the ball and the shoe! All in all a very enjoyable day, and a really relaxing and lovely holiday.