I can’t believe next month makes one year in Italy.  Despite one really horrible, depressing, poor month in December, I am extremely content and I love my new home.  I haven’t written much in the past month, only because I have been busy.  No, it’s not with a fabulous new job, but I have students this month and I am really happy about this.  One in particular has required a bit of work on my part as he is a university student who has to pass an oral exam in English…about the Federalist Papers and the American  Constitution.  As I’m relearning a topic I haven’t thought about in years, I keep thinking what a cattiva professoressa that assigned such difficult material to a non native speaker.  To his credit, he has grasped a lot of the nuances of the documents and now we are just working on his presentation in English. I am determined that he not only pass, but pass with flying colors!

The end of February passed in a blur.  I went to Montepulciano’s annual Vino Nobile wine tasting with Antonella, and I sampled some of the cellars that I’d never tried.  Anna and Federico were there representing Villa St. Anna and Poliziano so I asked them for advice on which places to try.  I limited myself to six since I wanted to be able to walk home.  That and I realized after we got inside that Antonella doesn’t drink and she’d just come along to keep me company.

I gave notice to my landlord Giuliana this month and I found another apartment on my street that is less money.  It’s not as cute as this place, but the price is right and it actually feels more like a house because there is as separate kitchen, etc.  Because it’s so close, I can just carry all my stuff over and should be able to do it a few trips.  The good news for anyone coming to visit this year is that the living room is also separate so there is a little more privacy for guests.  Not that I’ve had any yet….hint hint.

I’ve been pursued by another married man in recent weeks and this one, despite my telling him no with the full extent of my growing vocabulary, still isn’t getting the message.  Not sure how men manage to have affairs here since I can’t even have a friend to dinner without the whole town knowing.

It’s felt like spring over the past week.  We even had one day of sunshine and sixty degrees.  Cinder and I spent the whole day outside at Angela’s bar, begging for scraps and writing, respectively.

Antonella, Caterina and crew have invited me along for my first La Festa delle Donne, which is March 8th and is to celebrate women.  I think it’s origins have to do with women’s independence, but it seems to have evolved into a commerical holiday and opportunity for a girls’ night out.  My comprehension still isn’t a hundred percent, but the place Antonella described sounds like a male strip club.  Should be interesting.  I’ll try to post about that on Tuesday.

Antonella and her husband, Cesare. He watched the store so Antonella could come with me to the wine tasting.

The view from the kitchen of my new apartment