A weird day

Being under the influence of a cold is in some ways like being under the influence of other mind-altering things; my brain has been acting in a very strange way the last couple of days and it was all building up to a head full of cotton wool and some sneezing fits. So I write this in a semi-aware state and hope it makes sense. The last couple of nights' dreams have been a germ-induced muddle of strange images: rhinos, sharks (marine life, always marine life), gypsy children and general angst. And yesterday's trip out was also heavily influenced by the germ, I am sure, as neither of us could think straight and seemed lost in a world of vagueness. It wasn't a usual trip, I can tell you.

It started off with a visit to a spring at Bratton, for moss collection - a different venture to normal but one that was necessary. Bratton church had a (later) carved font which was tastefully decorated for harvest festival. Turns out the area is known for big cat (or dog) sightings, and the way the day developed the only surprise is that we didn't see one.

Onwards to Devizes, for a long awaited trip to the Italian cafe, Dolcipani. If you haven't been, then you must go, and you will never look back. I just wanted a decent espresso.  It was, as always, very busy. We both had a "Sicilian sunshine" ciabatta (enough for 2 meals) and I noticed, for the first time, that there were lots of references to Sicily. So when we finally dragged ourselves away, I asked (not in Italian, to my shame) the guy where he was from. "Sicily," he said. "Where in Sicily?" "Catania!" came the reply. No way! I could not believe it, having spent the last year in the very same place. The guy seemed less surprised by this coincidence and of course asked me how I'd liked it, etc. I said I missed granita and arancini, which he, of course, understood.  It was too busy to stand chatting to him, so I couldn't even get on to Etna.

A bit surprised by this coincidence the pair of us went on to our next stop, one of the churches in the centre of Devizes. Apparently we've been before, but I don't remember what was inside. Sadly it was shut this time, but I don't mind as it's a good excuse to go back to Dolcipani. We went on to a village just outside Devizes, except I wasn't looking at the map (there are too many in the car, I can never find the right one) and my sister got confused and took a road in the wrong direction. So after going in a big circle we ended up in Etchilhampton, a very quiet little spot. Outside the car, hundreds of bees were busy going in and out of holes in the bank. Further investigation is required as to what sort they were. Etchilhampton was a small church with a nice, simple font, with a band of carved semi circles. It was noticeably wonky and the design sloped down a little to one side.

We drove next to a place that was circled on the map, called Patney - not a place of note in Pevsner, but one that supposedly had had something of interest about it online. My sister could not remember what so we thought we would just turn up and see. As she went through the gate, I noticed it said "Private" but ignored this as we both headed up the path. Both of us were thinking the same thing, that they'd made a real effort with the flower beds as there were lots of flowers. A glance into the window of the building and R saw a standard lamp, I saw a sofa.  It was a house.  A church converted into a house. We beat a hasty retreat. I bet others have made the same mistake.

The day did not seem to be going to plan and we both felt a bit vague. So we decided to head back. The route home went near Old Dilton, where there is a disused church which is kept up by the The Churches Conservation Trust.  It was quite interesting as it was full of large box pews, where a whole family could sit together. It had escaped all the heavy Victorian features so it was quite plain. We had to get the key from a nearby house and it always makes it more fun when you have to unlock these heavy oak doors yourself.

We headed back via Upton Scudamore, where we have been before but then it was locked. This time we were in luck as a woman had gone in just as we were arriving. Except when we got out, two rather large dogs that were with her were guarding the gateway and barking at us. I was still feeling a bit weird and I did not like the look of this dog; its owner was too far away to call and the way the day had been going instinct was telling me it would probably take my leg off if I opened the gate. Probably it would have been fine, but I didn't like to risk it and so we gave it a miss. Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts, even if it means missing out on interesting Norman things.

Back again

It hasn't seemed worth blogging until now about being back in the UK, but here I am again. It's been 6 weeks and the things I miss most are the coffee, sunshine and Jo. And nice looking ragazzi. And some of my students. And the food. But at the moment, mostly the sunshine and coffee, it being cold and rainy here. A day of ceaseless rain on Friday is enough to make anyone head to the easyjet website.

However, I don't think that is the answer right now. A recent birthday was my annual time for reflection (maybe I should have these more often) and perhaps I should think about what I want from life a bit more and actually take action to get nearer that. Running back to Italy is tempting (especially when Jo has been talking about returning to exotic locations), but there are things here that I could be focussing on. We will see.

I've been in touch with some of my students and occasionally heard from the nice floppy haired Back to the Future fan, so I have some sort of connection with the land of lovely Etna. (I failed to say I miss her but I do, very much). It is currently pushing 37 degrees there, which is too hot even for them, what a shame, but I dare say they prefer it to what we have at the moment.

Here I am experiencing a new part time summer job at a small international school which prepares students for UK boarding schools. They are mostly from China, Russia and Japan, with a sole Italian boy who I make read in class so I can hear the lovely accent. It is different to what I was doing in Italy and I hope to learn a few things about teaching while I am there. The teachers are all nice and supportive and the kids are pleasant enough, very polite and really just typical teenagers, who'd rather be sleeping sometimes than working. But what's new. I have enjoyed working with one smaller child and encouraging him with his spelling and reading. Another bonus is having tea breaks and a hot lunch all together. But boarding school life with its regulations and so on is quite a different thing but I think I've got used to it now and the children seem happy there. It's nice that everyone knows each other by name and they all look after each other.

Aside from that, it will be back to the job hunting again and also thinking of long term plans; where do I want to be, who do I want to be there with, etc etc. Meanwhile work and feeling generally knackered seem to get in the way of more exciting things like Fonting and writing and finding a way out of having to work.  But some fonts have been visited (yey!) which was a great relief and helped establish equilibrium again. More on those to come. And if it is all too much here, then I know Etna is only a 3 hour plane trip away, even for a quick burst of sunshine and a much-needed caffè.

Castello Ursino

Castello Ursino in Catania is a thirteenth century castle that once stood by the sea, but since the eruption of 1693, it is now inland, as lava surrounded it. It is a solid looking thing and still in good repair, with four round towers at each corner. Not far from the centre, it now houses some modern art and some ancient artefacts.

I thought it was a pleasing space to walk around, as the conversion to an art gallery has been sympathetically done and so you can still get a feeling for the castle building itself, whilst looking at the paintings and sculptures in a light and airy setting. There are three floors; the top one being an exhibition space.

The art was mostly twentieth century Sicilian artists, alongside some ancient Roman or Greek carvings, statues and some display cabinets with urns and other bits and pieces. I wasn't particularly blown away by much of the art - perhaps I was not in a very receptive mood that day - but I kept an eye out for an artist my mother had asked me to look for, namely Renato Gattuso.  His were the best thing in there, in my opinion.

I also liked a figure of a sheep with curly wool (headless).

And these octopuses reminded me of some certain squid.

End of term fatigue

I was so tired today during my last lesson of the week, I could have cried, and I nearly went to sleep when I shut my eyes to act out "nap". Making us work until 23rd feels a little extreme. The students are knackered too, and in last Thursday's upper intermediate lesson, we were laughing because the first few answers the students gave were all wrong, so everyone came across as needing a holiday. It was quite a nice class, actually; we'd all been for a pizza on Tuesday (a special Sicilian type called a pizzolo) and they were a bit chattier than last time. We stopped off for a traditional selz as well on the way home. So in the class, I gave them a Christmas quiz, which was fun because they did not know about some of our traditions, and then they had fun inventing some questions for me on a Sicilian Christmas, most of which I had to guess.

All week I have been doing Christmas themed classes, which sounds more fun that it probably was because I don't know that I chose the most exciting things to do - but I tried to get everyone to learn some basic facts about what we do in the UK. It certainly makes you see things from a new perspective when you are explaining them to someone else, such as why any of us continue to eat Christmas pudding, cake and mince pies when not many people like them, and I explained that although the Queen makes a speech we do not all listen to it. It's the same for them as the head of the country speaks on 1st January but no one listens. They do not seem to have one meal they have for Christmas Day. No one knew what a parsnip was, even when I showed them a photograph. Children get their presents at midnight on Christmas Eve, I think, and then on 6 January a witch figure brings sweets (or coal).

We have covered many confusing words this week: bough, although, enough (same spellings, different sounds), sleigh and mistletoe.

I managed not to use glitter in this week's kids' class, but instead we seemed to mess around for the entire 90 minutes. The school provided sweets and drinks, which you can imagine fuelled their hyper-activity.  They wanted to play bingo over and over again which was fine. Apparently the adults play cards or bingo over the festive period.

I was too tired this week really to want to deal with all the challenges that the various classes throw at me - but only one more day to go on Monday and then freedom. I can't say I'm looking forward to the travelling but I can't wait to get home for a bit.

I feel less and less sociable and also less and less part of things as a result - but I don't want to spend my entire time out late drinking, it's not for me. Instead I will have to concentrate on speaking Italian and finding new people to hang out with. One nice student who is around my age or a bit younger, she has said she would like to meet up to talk Italian/English in the New Year which will be nice.

I dare say it all sounds exotic and exciting here because I save the best bits for the blog but in fact it's a real mixture of ups and downs and I don't or can't say all the things which are negative. It is quite a tiring experience, it is a real challenge, it seems impossible to rest fully even though I sleep well, the language is still a struggle, and I am struggling with some other things. Catania is tiring, dirty and smelly, and covered everywhere with graffiti and dog mess, although perversely it's grown on me. Etna is still beautiful, when I get to see her. My student said it snowed in his village on Etna the other day. It's gone much colder here. All of 6 whole degrees.  I don't know how I feel about it all right now, I feel it is good to keep experiencing a different place, the students are nice, but I could be happier about a whole load of things. But I feel it exerting a strange pull on me so I guess I will be back in January - I realise it takes time to adjust to a new culture and this was interesting reading. I have realised I like the challenge of teaching and I am glad to have this, even if it is tiring. Some other challenges I could do without, but it is "an experience".  Some of my students have been very nice about my teaching so that is encouraging - I know I am just a beginner and have much to learn. I know I'm not a loud and dynamic teacher like some and have lots of tricks to pick up to improve how I am, but I am glad that they seem to like me as I am.

Oh and the worst thing, the worst thing about being here is that I have already missed Still Game live and now I have to miss Burnistoun live in March, because I am here, and cannot go. Only the two comedies I love the most. Being in the same room as Iain Connell and Robert Florence is only an unthinkable dream and now I will have to be in this place instead. It is seriously galling.

So Buon Natale as they say here, Auguri. Eat lots of panettone and pandoro, they are both very nice.

Action packed 24 hours

Since the last blog post yesterday I've had a pretty action packed 24 hours. Christmas has definitely come to Catania hoorah! I was in town earlier today and the shops were open, even though it is Sunday, and people were shopping - plus there were proper Christmassy lights everywhere in the streets, etc. Fab. The Christmas tunes are now on whenever possible. The Christmas present dilemma remains the same here, as it is in the UK, ie I see something I think someone might like, I don't buy it straight away, and then I forget where it is.

ravioloni

chocolate mmm

Anyway - since yesterday: last night some of us went to a nice restaurant in the centre for Deanna's last night. Once we had all figured out what was on the menu (some of us are still learning Italian), I went for a ravioli which was based on the traditional Sicilian "pasta alla norma" which means it has aubergines, tomato and ricotta salata cheese. The aubergines tasted amazing. The other dishes were kind of the things you get on Masterchef with pieces of meat or fish with strange accompaniments - Darcy had pork with chocolate sauce and pears and everyone pulled a very impressed face when they tasted it. A student had recommended the place and also the four chocolate dessert - we shared it - there were four little puddings each with an increasing amount of cocoa in, so the first was white chocolate and cinnamon (mmm), the second had cardamom (mmm), the third was like a brownie (mmmm) and the last one was a rich what-d-y-ma-call it that they make on the tv where the middle is all gooey. I literally can't remember. But they were goooood!

Then we went to a little bar where there is a darts board and although none of us can play, we all had really good fun having a go. I think that although British/American/English teachers' nights out are well oiled by local wine or overly strong cocktails, and shots that Nesh brings out of nowhere, it was the darts that were fun and we agreed that Sicilians seem to take things a bit seriously - naturally the noise we were making attracted a few onlookers (one of whom kindly said he thought I was 25, hahah, he did have glasses). But they all looked quite serious. Anyway - we had fun. Ella, who genuinely didn't seem to know anything about darts, was a natural - isn't it always the way! But I actually fluked a treble 20 too, when no one was really looking.

180!

Apparently not many clubs were open and Darcy's husband wanted to go to a club where some friends were, which was a hip-hop/rap place. None of us are into that but it was quite an experience. I am seeing new bits of Catania and it feels good. There were a load of kids, mostly boys, in the club, well they all looked young to me! - but not your usual chicly dressed lot - these lot were in normal clothes and I actually felt my leggings/skirt/hooded top fitted in ok. There were two rappers rapping away in - presumably Sicilian? - or Italian - but actually although I couldn't really get any of it, it sounded good - Italian is a great language for that - and the kid clearly had something to say - the audience knew it all and loved it, there was passion and authenticity. Unexpectedly, I enjoyed it. Jo somehow got herself a job behind the bar, or what I mean was, she was there giving out drinks, I have no idea why. The boys of Catania really are a nice looking lot. It's not even the pretty boy, well groomed model look that you might associate with Italian men. It is a certain look, they definitely have - is it a Sicilian or a Catanese look? - and although maybe you would not say, "wow he's stunning" about many, they have a good look going on. I don't see the same in the UK. Not that it matters :)

flea market

This morning I decided to go into town to find the flea market that Deanna had mentioned. Luckily I chanced upon it as I didn't understand the map, and it was quite big. I was hoping I would find some Faberge, you can never give up hope, but it was generally full of tat, like the car boots and markets in England. But with a few more pictures of Jesus and religious things thrown in. Everything was a bit pricey too. So I didn't find anything.

duomo and elephant

After that I thought it was high time I went into the cathedral, to say hello to my Aussie pal's namesake, St Agata. You can't see her (there's a highly jewelled version) until her feast day in February, which apparently is a real spectacle in the city. Can't wait, we get the day off. I happened to go into the cathedral, which by the way is disappointingly plain inside, when the mass was on. Oh hooray. But I needed a sit down so I took a side pew, and took an anthropological look at what was going on. The priest was droning on about Jesus, and Salvatore - ah, no he wasn't talking about my student friend but his name means Saviour :)  All the Sicilians were doing the whole crossing yourself bit, even the pretty boys, and I looked on with a feeling of relief that I am totally free from all that stuff. It was a nice five minutes to think about things though (NB NOT RELIGIOUS THINGS). Tomorrow is the feast of the immaculate conception. Which is fine if it means the day off.

I enjoyed an espresso shot (they are so good) and a lovely croissant in the cafe in the square with the elephant. It's a statue in the main piazza that is the symbol of Catania. It was a lovely day and quite hot in the sun - the sky was very blue! I had to take my hooded top off so I was in a t-shirt. Sorry I know it's cold in the UK. But the Sicilians think it's cold, they're all in their coats and stare at me for taking off my jacket.

Roman theatre

Next I decided to continue the touristy theme and headed up to the Roman theatre that is near the elephant square. Usually it's 6€ but today by a stroke of good luck (maybe a gift from the elephant), it was free. It is quite large and very well preserved - it seated 1500 people for entertainment. It wasn't uncovered until the middle of the 20th century - they didn't realise it was there for ages as people had built houses on it - they only realised when they saw that the buildings were in a semi circle shape and asked why. 

blue sky and elephant

Some guy started talking to me on the way back up the main shopping street. I thought he was just being polite, but he tried to give me his phone number. That's not fine. He was not young. It's never the ones you like is it? :)

Catania looks nice in the sun. Said goodbye to Deanna yesterday and she urged me to do things for myself in Catania - so I have started today, as I mean to go on.  You may have picked up on it already, I think there was a bit of Pride & Prejudice going on with me, thinking I had not much in common with people - everyone is really sweet, and I am enjoying getting to know people better. 

To make weekends fun and something to look forward to, Jo and I are thinking of going to different places, now that we know where to catch the bus and where it goes to. We are hoping to go back to Siracusa and Ortigia in the daylight and also to go further north up the coast to Messina, Milazzo and even across to the not-so-far-away mainland (the toe of the boot).

On Friday evening we went into the centre for drinks. As it is still warm here, everyone just walks up and down outside all evening - some sit at tables outside bars and cafes but the streets of Catania were thronging with young people. It reminded me of Christmas shopping on Oxford street, it was that busy. It was quite alien to me and so I simply watched it all. I am not sure exactly how you're supposed to talk to new people when they're all going somewhere but I expect we will check it all out at some point. I am still trying to set up a daytime conversation exchange with someone so I can practise speaking Italian and also help them with their English, whilst drinking coffee and eating nice things.

On Saturday my Italian seemed to have deserted me (as my English is slowly doing as well) - but I managed to get some folders etc in a nearby stationers and finally get all my pieces of paper in order. This feels much better and so I hope that lessons will take less time to plan with each new week. Jo and I treated ourselves to ice cream and a couple of small cakes (pasticcini) at the local cafe. They had an amazing array of small choux pastries and other delights. We chose one with coffee icing and another shaped like a swan.  We were also quite excited to find a cheaper food shop. I was so excited to see frozen chips and sprouts (not for the same meal).

On Sunday we hopped on the Taormina bus again but this time got off one stop earlier at the coastal resort of Giardini Naxos. The beach here (or, at least the part we found) is shingle, tiny grey pebbles with some sparkly bits and to our amusement, some bits of old kitchen tiles perfectly rounded by the sea but with the design still visible on the back. The beach was not that busy but sometimes the loud conversations of Italians drifted over - they do nothing quietly. It was quite relaxing and the sea was still nice for a dip - it was very clear again.  A small plane or two flew over very low and the odd jet ski and boat sailed past further out to sea. Etna, to our right, was hidden by cloud. Here, like Isola Bella at Taormina, you are asked if you want to buy something every five minutes, by immigrants from African countries and China - they all speak Italian. Usually people think we are German or Scandinavian as many come on holiday to Sicily, but when they find out you are from England they always guess London. So we were pleased when one man, who had been to England, reeled off a whole load of place names, even Nottingham, when he was asking.

Towards the end of the afternoon the skies clouded over - at one point there were the strange clouds above - so we packed up and went to a cafe. This time I tried ice cream in a brioche, (pistachio and almond) an ice cream sandwich.

I am relieved to say the temperature seems to be going cooler this week. I have two new classes (both one-to-ones) - one of which is helping someone who is going to take an exam to be an English literature teacher in a school. I am helping her to analyse passages from books and other texts. It was a refreshing change from teaching grammar. The other new woman is taking a rather technical exam which students take to show their proficiency for universities or working abroad in an English speaking country. Meanwhile, one of my pre-intermediate adult classes asks lots of questions and so it is becoming clear to me that English is quite a confusing and complicated language - I really have to swallow a grammar book to understand it sufficiently. There are simply loads of resources online and in book form to help you but it is having the time to absorb them all and use the best ones for the class.

Sicilian Adventure

The Time Is Now will be taking a break from fonts and tympanums for a while, but instead reporting back on a new adventure in Sicily. While I will miss standing in cool churches (even more so while I battle with the heat here), my sister will still be visiting and finding new and fabulous designs to draw, so I will be keeping up by proxy, through her blog.

I have come to Catania on the east coast of Sicily, at the foot of the impressive Mount Etna, to try my hand at teaching English to Italians. After two and a bit weeks I have settled in and am getting used to preparing and giving lessons. I have one children's class, two teenagers' classes, and four adult classes. All except the children's class meet twice a week.

In addition to adjusting to a new job and a new challenge, I am getting used to Sicilian ways. At first the noise of the city overwhelmed me - it is not Taormina, the small and beautiful town where I spent June at Babilonia language school, a Sicilian paradise. I am sharing a flat with another new teacher, who is confident and positive and we are tackling the idiosyncrasies of Italian life together. We have had several things to work out including how to get internet, tax codes, the possibility of bank accounts and so on. Our flat is palatial and we have a living/dining room that reminds me of rooms in the books of Jane Austen. The flat is like all those around here: eight floors (we are on the third), with balconies. The main road is noisy and has a constant stream of traffic, including emergency vehicles, and Italians beeping their horns for the slightest reason. How they don't all crash into each other is a miracle as they have no road sense or sense of danger. Crossing proved traumatic for me to start off with, as I had no idea how you were supposed to get to the other side. But they do actually expect to stop at the crossings and wait for you to go over. You just have to be careful to remember to look both ways, for although it is a one way street, sometimes buses and taxis are coming from the other direction.

I have found a nice little cafe (pasticceria) on the corner between us and the language school (we are a few minutes away). It has the most enticing little cakes and pastries and the man behind the counter has helped me to learn what to ask for. Everyone knows you are English from the milky whiteness of your skin and the overall scruffy cut of even your best clothes; and of course the painful English accent when I attempt to speak Italian.

I am hoping to set up a conversation exchange with a handsome Italian boy (why not kill two birds with one stone, although I hate that phrase!) So far I have not met anyone but they are all keen to practise English, even by email. I have seen countless handsome men so that is one bonus of being here; it is visually very pleasing. But they do all seem to go for the blond look and while I am with my housemate all interest is directed towards her.

Our manager and her husband have been very hospitable and are keen for us to experience Sicily. The first weekend we went up to the lowest bit of Etna where we could see old craters and lava flows, which looked very weird like muddy rocks. Their little puppy provided loads of entertainment. We also sampled chestnuts, local wine and cheeses.

  

My housemate and I found the market in Catania which was very interesting: lots of fresh and large vegetables, with huge peppers, aubergines, etc. Again, local cheeses (the man on the cheese counter was very nice) and the usual market fare. It seems cheaper than shopping in the local food stores. You have to weigh your own vegetables which took me ages, because you need to identify them in order to print the price label. I was keen to try a prickly pear fruit (from the cacti) but forgot to weigh it so the guy put it to one side at the checkout.  My best buy was a mosquito plug in as they have been feasting on me in this continuing hot weather. It is crazy that it is still warm in October.

We have had a granita and brioche in a cafe in the centre of Catania and had a wander round. There does not seem to be lots to do (and no parks!) but there are a few things to explore at some stage like Roman ruins and the cathedral (home of Sant'Agata, the patron saint of Catania). I have been meaning to pop in but it was closed for the siesta time. There is an elephant statue in the main piazza that is rather nice and I have to find out the significance. The siesta lasts four hours here. Shops close at about 12 and reopen at about 4. This is the best time for crossing the road, as it is quiet!