Back to reality.

So as you can tell, there hasn't been any posting since the family arrived. This is because we had little time to breath, let alone write in a silly little blog. But here we are, three people short of a full tenement apartment, and things are starting to seem really empty.

It's time to swing back into things after missing tons of class and work. New things going on... I go a job! Thank God! I work at a restaurant across the street from the Colosseo and it has been great so far. I am only supposed to be working lunch, but last night I worked until 1 while the scum of Rome danced and drank all night. I was severely grossed out by bronzed, boozed party promoters with their slicked back hair and white smile, schmoozing with drunk girls and bossing me around. Never again, says I.

Anyway, lunch is so nice to work, because it is busy with lost of tourists that are excited to be sitting across from the most recognizable monument in the world. Everyone is so nice, and I love meeting all new people. Salvatore is the host, and he is this wonderful older guy that was born in Mondello... paesano! So was stand around and talk about Palermo all day... what more could I ask for? And it is a healthy blend of speaking English to customers and only in Italian to everyone I work with. Life is good.

I have really been missing out on the school part of life, and I may or may not have a paper due tomorrow.

Things are busy, but eventually everything will even out. Look out for emails from my mommy with all of the pictures from their stay here.

Forza Palermo!

Adventures in Eco-plumbing

Our drain has been rather sluggish since we've arrived and it's finally reached the breaking point. So what are two environmentally concerned girlies to do when faced with shelves and shelves of Mr. Muscolo?

Remember making volcanoes in 2nd grade science class?

Yeah. Something like that:



SO MUCH MORE FUN THAN DRAIN-O! And...it works better, too! For best results, as I've found, in an empty sink dump a bunch of baking soda and a bunch of salt down the drain in alternating layers so that they mix up all nice and whatnot. Leave the mess for a couple hours to settle into the clog (I mixed it all up right before leaving for a class) and after, pour a good load of hot-but-not-boiling vinegar down. ENJOY THE SHOW! A chaser of hot water and a couple of plunges later and my drain was practically sucking water down. A quick baking soda/vinegar flush once a week will keep drains clear and fresh smelling (so I've heard and will make sure to try out).

On an Italian note -- baking soda here is found in the drink aisle of a grocery store. The equivalent to the soda and juice aisle of American stores. Um...why?

Also, sidenote, do you know how difficult it is to explain the concept of "unless"? "The pasta will be bland unless I add salt to the water" was what I ended up going with to explain the whole thing. It's just strange...things and concepts you use every day become these weirdo things when you have to parse and explain them. So "unless" is a "fate-changer" You state the expected path of an event and "unless" is the event that will change the inevidable course. What? Yes. ARGH.