- K and I have found a pretty good balance. It no longer feels like "The K Show" and I've learned how to take some things with a grain of salt. Part of that was thinking a little more about her perspective, which gave me, I think, more understanding. It's still a challenge sometimes, but that comes with spending a lot of time with a person. Aside from the challenges, she's also taught me a lot about different ways to approach life, and my own outlook. Healthy.
- I'm starting to think I don't like teaching. Part of the problem is that the teaching schedule in this environment is inherently chaotic. They don't know until a few days before that some classes will occur, then they have to scramble for teachers. The classes are all over town, so I'm regularly scrambling to learn how to get there. (Tonight's is over an hour away - two buses and a train ride, plus 20-30 minutes of walking. Not fun.) I prefer a regular schedule with easily anticipated expectations for curriculum, location, etc.
- Commuting is a bitch. It rains here all the time, and I spend about 3 hours of my day walking to the bus, standing on a smelly, crowded bus (with a heavy bag of books breaking my back), or standing in the pouring rain waiting for the bus. Not my ideal Italy.
- Once you set aside the language and wonky store hours, Genova is actually a lot like DC. Lots of commerce, somewhat stylish, people in a hurry, commuters, etc. Only here it seems to be grey most of the time. Boo.
- I'm speaking English all the time. Duh, I'm teaching it, but I didn't think about what kind of impact that would have on my "Italian experience" I didn't know I was gunning for. And it's making me a little resentful.
So I like a lot of the people here, but am not getting what I think I wanted out of the experience. Last weekend K and I went to Assisi, where my family lived in 2006/07. It is a beautiful area full of real Italian culture. It is strong and moving. I was overwhelmed with emotion the whole time I was there, and K fell in love with it, not surprisingly.
Result? We're moving! This weekend we visit Venice (Venezia in italiano), and next weekend we move to Assisi. The more I contemplate, the more I don't want my Italian experience to include too much traditional work. That cuts my trip short big time. I probably won't be able to come back after Christmas. But frankly I think I'll better relish in and value one phenomenal month in Assisi than I will a longer experience in Genova with strained, minimal pleasure.
Selfish? Whimsical? Maybe. But I'm probably only going to live in this country once. It'll be on my terms.
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