First week of the new term

This is what Rome feels like in September. The city practically empties of its inhabitants for the month of August and they all reconverge in September to compare tans, sing the praises of this year's chosen holiday coastline and make the most of the last of the good weather by fitting in as many gelatos as possible.

This week was also literally the first week of the new term for me at the language school where I work. Since I've been doing nothing but working, eating gelato and explaining to hoards of mahogany Italians that I am naturally pale and actually for me this is a tan thank-you-very-much, I thought I'd share with you some snippets of my day yesterday.

This was an 'Only in Italy' moment: On the bus going to work I was gazing out of the the window absent-mindedly as we pulled up to a set of traffic lights. In the lane next to us a little Panda full of nuns pulled up. I heard a tapping in front of me, and on shifting my gaze saw a teenage boy with a pierced ear tapping on the window to get the nun's attention. The nun in the front seat saw him and waved, and he waved back happily. The traffic lights changed and off we went, the nun giving the boy one last wave as they pulled out infront.

Arriving at work I started preparing a lesson for a new student, a fashion stylist who needs to learn English for international fashion work. Since the closest I ever get to fashion are the 2-month old glossy magazines that my friends bring me over from England, I really don't know why I was seen as the ideal candidate for this job, but I give it my best shot, my only fumble yesterday being when I was asked about the names of different types of pockets (who knew there were different types?).

I hobbled from work to the station. It's a tiring 10/15 minute walk but I've chosen to do it twice a day because the more I walk the more my bone will heal. My operation is going to be in about 3 weeks, and if the bone's not healed enough they're threatening to give me a cast, which would seem like a huge step backwards when I'm walking so well now. It's a challenge with the heat, the slow speed and all the steps it involves, but it seems like a natural progression.

I then went to the pizzeria, where as an official hanger-on I can enjoy all the benefits of the first week of term atmosphere without any of the work. I sat myself outside and soon enough along came various people with holiday stories to tell. Later on the in the evening, I was sitting with the family of E's friend Giorgio when a friend of theirs with a young baby arrived. Sure enough, Giorgio's father started admiring how big she was, the mother started baby-talking at her and Giorgio started taking photos of her on his phone. E and his colleague were equally enchanted and started pinching her chubby legs and trying to make her talk. Giorgio, who is well versed in my strange, cold English ways, was sitting with her on his lap when an evil glint came into his eye. 'Take her, Fra' he said, and before I'd had the chance to protest had plonked the baby onto me. I sat there mute and awkward. 'Er, what do I do with her?' (Thank goodness in Italian you always have to specify gender, or I probably would have said 'it'). The assembled crowed stared in amusement and horror (for the greater part horror) as I begged Giorgio to take her away, scared that I would drop her.

'Oh my God, you hate babies' said E to me later. 'I don't hate them I just don't like them. I'm indifferent towards them', but he was still shaking his head in confusion so I gave up trying to explain. Great, so now not only am I suspected to be a sub-woman species by Albanian parents of boyfriend, I have also confirmed their suspicions to Italian friends of boyfriend.

And that was my day. How was your Friday?