This morning I shoveled more shit onto the potatoes. I know I should be grateful to be here and be doing this work, but I really am not. And I don't want to do the same thing every day. It is just so boring. And I don't like working alone. Where is the sense of community? Where is the conversation? Blah. It makes it feel like work. I came in a few hours later and freshened up. Then I went with Fiona again to the university. On the drive there we pass St Frances of Assis's monestary. It's actually kind of strange looking. It sort of juts out of the side of a mountain, and at night there is a light that shines up from below. It looks like it probably used to be flush with the mountain but bits have crumbled away since it's, I don't know, a fucking thousand years old and Italy is so goddamn seismic.
Fiona was talking about Italian beurocracy and how hard it is to get anything done in terms of building. She said that just to turn their garage into a living space they had to have a surveyor come out and they had to pay a bunch of money and make up this big proposal. And it took forever. And especially in the smaller villages they want to keep everything looking the same. So new houses have to be made out of stone and basically made out of all the same materials that every other ancient house is made out of. Fiona has a friend who is trying to build an eco village and make houses out of wood. She thinks wood is a good idea because "it can move, instead of just collapsing and crumbling...and if it does collapse on you, it is lighter..." and she's totally serious. I almost laughed out loud.
We also talked about the schools in the smaller villages. Her girls go to a school where 3rd, 4th and 5th year students are combined because the number of students is so low. And there is a woman in Corezzo (where the closest school is) who has a restaurant that is only open for dinner. So at lunch time she comes over to the school and cooks for the students and faculty. Can you imagine that? Fiona also said that a lot of bigger towns are starting to do 6 day school weeks, but have shorter days. So like 8:30 to 1:30, but 6 days a week. This isn't feasible for their school because for most of the kids it is quite a hike to get to the school so making that hike for a shorter day just doesn't make sense.
I had already seen most of San Sepolcro last week and it didn't excite me. I figured I'd just grab gelato and some fruit for dinner and head back to use the internet. But it was siesta and everything was closed. I tell you - it's almost the best time to see a town. It's like a ghost town and you have the whole place to yourself. Where do all these people go during siesta? Do they go home? Do they hide out in their shops with the shades drawn? Who knows. Even the church doors were locked. Eventually I got my chocolate gelato and it was damn good. Even better with alternating bites of my banana.
I used the computer for a few hours until Fiona was done teaching. She comes in after and says she doesn't understand how I can be on the computer for so long. Oh really? Well I don't understand how you can live in such a bull shit town without going fucking crazy. So I guess we're even.
The drive home was hilar. These fucking little back roads on the mountains are ridiculous. There are no lane lines and I would swear there was not room for two fucking smart cars to pass each other. But there is. My asshole puckers though whenever Fiona is like cruising along fast and then all of the sudden breaks and swerves for an animal. If it is like a fucking moose, then ok. But a goddamn little bunny? I love animals just as much as the next PETA protester, but I'm sorry....I'd rather have that furry carcas smeared on my tires rather then drive off the fucking mountain and plumet to my death. Wouldn't that be a funny way to go though...."Katie went to Italy for a summer of change and adventure....and her WWOOF host drove her off a cliff. The end."
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