Living in Brescia, Italy

Hello!

I've finally cracked and started a blog because I feel like no one has a clue what's going on in my life anymore. I barely have time to email my mom, so that is in fact true. So I am now one of 'those people' who blogs about themselves in order to keep you people updated on the world of Caitlyn.

As you know (or may not?) I am currently living in Brescia, Italy working as a nanny and soaking in Italian culture. I arrived here on October 1st and work for a very interesting and somewhat wealthy Italian family with 2 children. Giorgio is 2.5 and Alessia just turned 5. We live in a Villa on a small mountain overlooking the city. We have a gorgeous view of il Castello di Brescia which sits on an adjacent hill. So far the castle is my favorite thing about Brescia. The whole town is built around it and it is an excellent reference point for when you have no idea where you're going.

Giorgio, the father of the kids, is an art dealer so the house looks very similar to a museum. There are giant canvases and statues everywhere, although he can't seem to decide if he likes contemporary or antique art better so there is a strange mix of both. Definitely not Feng Shui but it's free, or at least included in my pay. Valentina, the mother, is a little eccentric but very nice and puts up with my cultural hiccups. Like the time at the grocery store when I held up the line because I didn't know that you are supposed to print yourself a price tag for your vegetables in the produce department. Needless to say she had to go back and find prices for all our veggies. Ale is very intelligent and strong willed but doesn't like to hear the word no. Getting her to do things she doesn't want to takes a subtlety that I had to acquire quickly to avoid temper tantrums. She loves to read and sing, like me :) so we do a lot of both. Gigi is very sweet and very silly. He's also the biggest mama's boy I've ever met. He's nearly 3 and he still breast feeds because he's so attached. He likes to ride his collection of toy motorcycles and paint. Both of them love to bake and do crafts, so we make lots of messes together doing both.

My day-to-day includes teaching English, wiping noses, playing pony, giving baths, and breaking up toddler fights which are a little more vicious than I remember them.  And while living with an Italian family has helped me make great strides with learning the language, I live for my weekends off when I can have adventures that don't involve playing pretend with kids.

Places I've visited so far since I got here:
Milano
Padova
Rimini
Firenze
Amsterdam

Places I'm going in the near future:
England

Funny anecdotes I've collected so far:
Daylight Savings Time is on a different day here than in America, and no one happened to tell me when that day was. So the Monday following the fall back, I woke the whole family up an hour early in a panic thinking that we were running late for school. I was the only one amused, Giorgio told me to buy a new watch lol.

The "American Circus" came to Brescia and me and Valentina took the kids to see it. Somehow through unfortunately timed eye contact, I got called up with 5 guys to play a musical instrument in the clown act. Usually I'm terrified in front of crowds; I tremble at the thought of public speaking. But for some reason I was feeling strangely confident because I had actually showered, done my hair, and put on make-up and a decent outfit that day. I usually do the bare minimum because 2 year olds don't notice. So I strutted in front of a big top full of Italians and played my cowbell with distinction. I bowed and strolled back to my seat rather smugly until I looked at the pictures Vale had taken for me. My sweater was buttoned crooked. I had gone in front of a huge audience with my cardigan off by one button. Typical.

If I think of more, I'll let you know. That's all for now. I'll post some details and pictures of all of my outings as I go. As Valentina says, piano piano- which means slowly, slowly.