Of Roman holidays

Well first let me wish all of you (which in reality is very few of you) HAPPY HOLIDAYS or MERRY CHRISTMAS (depending on your leanings). I hope it (replace "it" with the workd holiday or christmas as need be) was full of fun, relaxing, memorable times.

Being in Rome, we of course have the day off, 25 and 26. The 25th for Christmas, and the 26th for St. Stefano's day... this kind of threw me off, what day has an equal footing with Christmas? Whereby people stop wishing wach other Merry Christmas, but Happy St Stefano's day. I was too bothered to google it, but hear he was the first martyr in Christianity (wouldnt that be Jesus??? - I mean is Christianity really Christinianity before Jesus was crucified?). However, you can verify it if you wish.

So having a few days off is nice.........aahhhh, first I can ctach up on my wash. Now I can guess some of you reading this would think, what a slob. But I dare anyone to catch up on wash here in Italy. It really is a problem. First, no dryers! Yep, none. They dont even have a WORD for a dryer. Not a readily recognizable one at least. When I didnt believe my husband, he actually took me to an appliance store. I toured- yes, no dryer in eyesight.

Which means, yes, left at mercy of the line drying. In a city, or better yet, apartment building. In winter. So really, it takes a few days to finish one load of wash. Not to mention that for some reason I can not fathom, washing machines here suck. I mean really suck. Mine takes hours to finish one load. I have already been here 1.5 years now, and still anytime I do a load of washing I am amazed. So yes, the first thing I think of when I have 2 days off (which happens to also hit a weekend :)) is, ah, I can catch up on wash. So sad, isnt it.

But staying at home also puts me in more contact with my neighbors. Now dont get me wrong, we dont have any "conversations"... they know I have limited Italian language skills, which to an Italian translates into "mentally handicapped - steer clear".

It is amazing to me what seems to me what I sheltered life Italians seem to have. I mean, I am in ROME... conjures up international city, doesnt it? Few cities have the same resonance, New York, London, Paris... am I off here??? Are you with me?? Yet it seems to me, other than in tourist attraction, your average Roman has never met a foreigner. Like I am an anomoly. And boy am I tired of being an anomoly.

So far, I have come across two main reactions to my presence at a dinner table or "participant" (used very lightly" in a conversation. 1. Ignored: by this I mean 100% ignored, as if non-existant. I may as well be see-through; or 2. Talked to in very fast loud and complicated Italian. No, its not a matter of perspective, usually I can follow any conversation on TV (if its not about Italian politics, which I dont think even Italians understand). I have watched and followed movies in Italian. But for some reason, Italians, when talking to non-Italians, dont know how. I mean they will say things like "You know, its like when Rossi went to the parliament," and I am like "HUH???" They dont know how to "talk" to someone who does not have all the cultural and historical references that they do. Seriously. So I nod. My neck has gotten wonderful excersize since moving here.

So today, being St. Stefano day and all, we are invited to my husbands cousin house in a small village 1.5 hours away from Rome. I am already warming up my neck.