Primo di Maggio

Sandro, Lucia, Louisa, Vincenzo, and I woke up this morning at 8am and were out of the house by 9. We walked for two and a half hours down the mountain from Bardellone where Sandro's house sits on the top of a mountain. Now I am in Levanto and will soon meet the others by the sea. It is primo di maggio and there is a festival to celebrate. No work and all play today. Exactly what we are celebrating is unclear to me. Apparently it is unclear to everyone else here too; no one can explain it to me. Sandro hypothesized that it marks the beginning of summer: certainly a time for celebration.

I have now spent 4 nights in the beautiful, isolated Bardellone. On the night I arrived, I was sitting in the kitchen and looking out of the window to the east when Sandro came in and told me I should go watch the sunset. He said slowly and in careful english, "The sun has good energy. And there is no sign of humans to the west." Of course, he was right. I watched the wonderous crimson sun sink behind the mountains and knew that I was where I should be.

Sandro speaks enough english to communicate with me adaquately, but not enough for me to truly express myself in english. I have been spending hours and hours and hours studying italian in the past days. Sandro is a good teacher and has been patiently teaching me how to conjugate verbs. In the past 4 days, I have gone from understanding 10-20% of what they say, to 25%-60% (depending on the topic of discussion. Lucia is reading about yoga and meditation and, because Sandro is a yoga master, she asks him a lot of questions about Buddhism).

I have been thinking in italian (piano, piano, piano = slowly, slowly, slowly). I have been constantly trying to form simple sentences in my head and, because this takes me so long, I had to explain the meaning of the phrase 'non sequitor' yesterday. The explanation took at least five minutes of their attention, but they finally understood. It takes patience from both me and my listener to communicate. Luckily I am with people that, for the most part, will give me the time I need.

Much of my time here has been spent studying italian (conjugating verbs, building vocabulary), but I have also been 'making yoga' (Sandro's english), working in the garden (planting potatoes, basil, tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini), and playing a lot of music. Sandro also has a guitar and is eager for me to learn italian songs. We usually play for an hour or two after dinner. The nights have frequently ended with me turning down Sandro's offering of the guitar with "no, no, no. io sono molto stanca, sandro. vorrei dormire!" (no, no, no. i am very tired, sandro. I want to sleep!"

A Typical Day: I usually wake up around 8am, go downstairs and have an espresso with Lucia (Sandro is already working in the garden) and eat a piece of sweet bread, or a biscuit, or a piece of toast with marmalade. I will go to the garden and work for a couple of hours, or study italian, or meditate with Sandro and Lucia. We eat lunch at 1pm which consists usually of vegetable soup or pasta with salad, bread, and some zucchini in garlic or carfalla (i think that's what it's called...). We eat and then we rest. The early afternoon is spent napping or talking or playing music or, for me, studying italian. Then, usually around 4pm, we'll do whatever it is we are to do in the afternoon: maybe make yoga, or walk to Levanto, or meditate, or study, study, study. We eat dinner at around 8pm which is similar fare to lunch. We'll have soup or pasta with salad, bread, and other vegetables from the garden. Sometimes, when there are most guests (like Louisa and Vince), we will put some wine on the table. After dinner, we have fruit and tea and then sing the night away. I am usually ready for bed around 10pm or 11pm, but have successfully made it past midnight once or twice.

I am learning so much here that I can't really imagine leaving. I want to stay with Sandro until I have a better grasp on the italian language. This might mean that I stay here until I go to Paris on the 31st, or it might mean that I am here only until the 20th. I am not sure how long it will take me to become comfortable with the language. Because I am just beginning, I can see rapid improvement in my comprehension. I suspect that however that, as I continue learning, the rate of my progress (or at least observable improvement) will slow.

Not only do I want to stay here because Sandro is a good teacher and the lifestyle is both relaxing and inspiring, but the climate is perfect and waking up in the mountains is inexplicably wonderful. I might stay here for a while. I suppose it is possible that I could stay here for the duration of my time in Italy. I will probably change locations after I return from Paris. Only time (and my mind) will tell.

As always, I hope that all is well in the united states of america and I wish that everyone I love could feel this beauty. Goodness, gracious it is miraculously beautiful here by the sea. I dont't think I will be able to upload my pictures until I get back to the states. Io sono aspettavo; I will wait (...I think. Any italian-speakers out there?)

Baci e abbraci (kisses and hugs)