Italy Jot #3, mid August

In August, things shut down here. Last week 60 percent of the stores in my neighborhood were closed, this week it's about 99 percent. But the supermarket is open (and air conditioned!!!) and there's a series of free, outdoor concerts held in various attractive courtyards around town that I've been going to. And, my language school is open, so I'm surviving.

Language wise, I'm now chatting away in Italian. I still make lots of mistakes and supplement my sparse vocabulary with various charade like gestures but--I'm talking! My school, Il Centro di Lingua, is very nice and the teachers are good, so, hopefully, my progress will continue.

Friendship wise, I'm getting to know people in my language class so, I'm not feeling so friendless anymore. Of course, they're all foreigners like myself. What I'd really like is some Italian friends but, right now, with everybody on holiday, it's hard to make much progress in that area.

I'm going to have to give up this gorgeous apartment pretty soon. The owners are coming back from vacation at the end of August. But I've become so attached to it, and this neighborhood, that it's going to be hard to give it back and move out.

Although I've already got another apartment starting the month of October, I haven't yet found a place to stay in September, so I'm thinking about going on a road trip!