I woke up from another much needed 9-hour sleep with a huge pain in my stomach. Unfortunately, as I had already been getting used to, the breakfast in Italy leaves a lot to be desired. The small croissants or brioche, aren't quite as filling as the eggs and toast with cereal I have become accustomed to at home. I woke up, not needing to go to work until 11, and went down to a pasticciera to grab something quickly before returning to get ready for work. As I walked down the cobblestone street to the shop, I couldn't help but take in all of the beauty around me. What have I done to possibly deserve this blessing? I am taking in the beauty with every waking moment...as I think back about my summer on Mackinac, I remember sitting and writing knowing that it would all soon be over, as it was. Now time has flown 8 months and I sit here thinking that one day I may read this in forty years and wonder where the time went. I don't want to have any regrets...that's why, for now, sleep is secondary.
Anyway, I arrived at the pasticciera and they only had one brioche left. Only silly a
Americas wait until 10 in the morning to eat breakfast. What was I thinking? I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, when I found the custard filled center. Yum.
An hour later, I was on my way to my first day of work. I didn't feel at all nervous, because my friend Elisa had taken a job there a month previously, and we would be working together there as well as my roommate Maria. I felt comfortable going in, and I think my confidence showed. By the end of the day, I was helping scan guests passports, becoming familiar with the check-in process, and escorting guests to their rooms by myself. Every time I would begin walking down the stairs from dropping off a guest, I would look around me, seeing the unimaginable beauty of the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, and close my eyes and thank God he didn't listen to my plan. However badly I wanted to work at the world's number one hotel, the Villa D'Este, I now know why I am here. This hotel fits me perfectly, and I am eternally thankful that I have a dean at my school who understands me more than I do. I love it here, and I love my job.
Heads up, I am probably never coming home.
After work, met up wit the other American students and our Italian friend, Dani, at the sporting club for a drink, followed by a trip to the wine bar, and then the beach bar (where I drank water, for good measure). Afterwards, I got to go to the Hotel DuLac to skype with my parents for the first time since I've been here, although, due to a huge storm here, we had a lot of technical difficulties. I will say one thing; I don't think Mazie (my dog) misses me. :-(
Martedi, Tuesday, 27 Maggio 2014
Today I woke up and met Elisa for breakfast down by the water. We met when she came with the Italian students this fall to Niagara University, my school, for the exchange semester for our summer here in Italy. She told me the first thing she did when she got back from America was "drop off my bags and then go to get a cup of coffee." ...It's really not the same. I'm not quite sure what it is that we drink in the US, but there is no way Maxwell House is real!
Later on Elisa and I were talking in Italian, and then I told her how to pronounce someone's last name in Italian. She looked at me and said, "Oh. I forgot you are American!" - Goal accomplished!
In general, work has been wonderful. I hope for days that drag, so the summer won't fly by too fast, but I know my hopes are in vain. In the meantime, if there is something you've been waiting to vicariously do through me, let me know! Days off are Thursday and Sunday this week, and I can't wait.
What more could I possibly ask for out of a summer? Well, maybe just to be surrounded by a little less gelato. I'll be coming home twice my original size, and, as my dad would say, "there will be a lot more Lizzy to bring home."
No comments:
Post a Comment