There is no doubt that I have become a casalinga (Italian housewife). Here is a typical day in my week: 6:30- alarm goes off
7:00- actually up, get kids out of bed
7-7:30- pilates or shower
7:30- Italian breakfast: kids have hot chocolate and biscotti (basic Italian breakfast cookies), plus yogurt (sometimes) or homemade brioche, I have a soy/orzo cappuccino (here decaf is relatively unheard-of, instead, people who don’t care about the caffeine or who prefer something more gentle drink toasted barley- it’s delicious with soymilk and one sugar cube :)
7:50- 7:55 must be out the door for school, hop in blue Fiat and run down the hill
8:00- arrive at school, goodbye bacini (little kisses) in car (my kids don’t do mom-kissing in public, most Italian Moms insist…)
8:00-8:20- catch other Mamme and chat, topics include last night’s homework, any interesting personal events, weather predictions, occasionally school politics, today’s chores… we leave when invitations for coffee start to go around, either you’re in, or you have other plans and will see everyone again when school is out. I usually say I’ll head over to the bar (read: coffee shop) after a couple of errands.
8:20-8:25- stop in bakery just a block from school, pick up two small ‘ciabatte’ and usually one ‘pane arabo’.
8:25-8:30- drive to end of town to get milk from organic raw milk machine- 1€ per liter
8:30-8:40- stop in at green grocer, where I pick up 2 big bags full of fresh (all Italian) produce for about 10€, it lasts most of the week and I always forget something critical…
8:40- arrive at Lelli (the bar, coffee shop, bakery, salami shop, convenience store), make eye contact with barista, say hi, find friends. After a couple of minutes I hear my name and pick up my soy cappuccino. Chatting at Lelli is my favorite way to start the day. The mamme and I check in, console anyone who’s not having a good day, hear about people’s upcoming plans, discuss the kids and school, or make moms-only plans for our emotional or physical health.
9:15- morning coffee breaks-up and I pay my €1,30, goodbyes in the parking lot.
9:10-12:30- this part varies, but a completely typical way for me to spend this time it processing laundry. Everything here is line-dried which means you have to plan carefully 2 days ahead in the winter if you want clean clothes. I have a drying rack in the house set up next to the wood-burning stove- things take a good 24 hours to dry. Once they are dry many things require ironing. I don’t mind the chore, it’s satisfying and reminds me of my grandma who taught me to iron using handkerchiefs. The down side is it dries your hands out terribly. I sometimes watch Italian daytime TV while I iron, mostly talk shows, some news, and soaps. Other things I might do during this time include running with my Bellarussian friend, taking a walk, running other errands (like Ipercoop), or baking.
Around 12:30- take out leftovers and heat up a civilized pranzo for me and Gibbs.
photos above: some of the mamme at Lelli (just after Obama's Inauguration Day), the ironing, ironing and Italian daytime TV.
to be continued...
How terribly exotic! It is a lot of fun to be a voyeuse from Syracuse. Do tell me more. I sometimes think I would love to be a housewife, but have no clue how to do that in another culture.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I even know how to be a housewife in the US, but you get in a good community, or at least with a friend or two and it's do-able and sometimes fun. We also talk about housewife's insanity- the job is not without its hazards and down side... Funny, but it's a similar colleague group to the one I had as a teacher- we were alone in our classrooms, but together in the venture- in both we support each other, swap ideas, vent, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy mother ALWAYS forgets somthing at the food store, your not the only one Tina.
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