Monopoli News 2 posts today...I am trying to catch up! Well our first week is half way through it is hard to believe Wednesday is here and almost gone. We had a full morning at the school, lunch in a bar at the Piazza Vittorio Emmanuelle – the main town meeting area – and interesting and enlightening conversations with our tutees. Today, the volunteers focused on music, the main interest of... Sylvia, the youngest and least experienced English speaker in the group. She basked in the attention and appears to be making progress. She sings in a group called Brothers & Sisters and brought in their CD to play.
One of the volunteers is trying to make an ancestry connection with her mother’s home town in Puglia, called Rodi Garganico. It is quite a distance from Monopoli and she plans to travel there on Saturday to visit the birthplace of her ancestors. Her surname is quite unusual, so perhaps she will be able to locate some descendants. Rita, who is one of the Italian teachers, is trying to make some connection in the town, so the volunteer will be able to speak with someone on Saturday. For one who is interested in genealogy, this is a fascinating opportunity. Just visiting and examining the cemeteries in Italy can yield a wealth of information about one’s past – providing you are Italian, of course.
After a much needed break, we sat for dinner at 8:00 PM. We would prefer dining earlier, however, in Italy, it is virtually impossible. No one eats before eight and most eat well after that. We are always the first in the dining room. Tonight, for two of us, the pasta of choice was served with pomodoro sauce and one volunteer opted for a sauce with squid – not because he ordered it – but because he got the wrong order. What a gentleman – no complaints – very flexible. ‘Flexible’ is our key word when we are in Italy. One needs to sway with the breezes, whichever way they blow. As for me, the breezes always blow in the right direction. Everyday life is less complicated here – slower, more relaxed and there are lots of roses to smell; so one must stop and smell them. Now back to dinner, our secondi was a choice of grilled sea bass or braised veal with a brown sauce. Dessert – no panna cotta, but tiramisu and ice cream cake roll. We took piccolo portions. Well I forgot the antipasti bar, but we will discuss in detail next time.
Ciao
- Phyllis
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