Travel Bug Chronicles

The mis-adventures of those living abroad who sometimes wish they weren't

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

It Burns. It BURNS!!

Aaaaah! The sun! It has been so long since I've seen a proper sunny sky, that I have forgotten how to react. All I can say is:


"Bright light! Bright light!"


*shields eyes from burning rays*


*scuttles back into dark cave of school building*

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Venice at Midnight


Lapping waters
Silent streets

Shadows falling
Gazes meet

Winding passageways
Distant laughter

The way out
Sought after

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

What Goes Up Must Come Down

Damn Newton and his new-fangled "gravity" idea. If it hadn't been for him, we could have all gone around in a perpetual state of happiness, oblivious to the invisible force trying to drag things down.

But no.

Some apple had to get the bright idea of falling off a tree right onto his head and BAM! Hello gravity.

And as we all know, you can only resist the laws of physics for so long. They will catch up with you eventually. Well, it seems as if they have finally caught up with me.

The euphoric high I had been riding on for the last week began its slow descent Monday at around 8:30 in the morning, and the downward trend has continued. The gravity in this case happened to be teacher absences, rainy days, indoor playtimes, and hyper kids, not to mention parent meetings (they are next week but the ones who can't make it are starting to come in now), a class assembly to prepare, and the final assignment of my (waste of money) on-line course due in a week.

*sigh*

But that's ok, because Travel Bug has her own axiom:

What Comes Down Must Go Up.

It's just a matter of time.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

I Hate Incompetence!

I have just finished a scathing letter to the editors of a well known travel guide*:

Dear Customer Service,

I have been a XXXXXX guide loyalist for the last 6 years, and own 7 XXXXXX guides for various countries. I have always considered the XXXXXX guides to be the most reliable and comprehensive travel guide on the market. For me, it is not even a matter of comparing guides to see which one is better before I buy. I always purchase XXXXXX.

I own XXXXXX Europe 2005, and my roommate owns XXXXXX Europe 2006. Both guides state in the "Red Tape and Visas" section that "Canadains need visas to visit Poland and Turkey." I have just been to the Polish Embassy website: http://www.polishembassy.ca/faqs.asp#english and found that Canadians DO NOT need a visa to visit Poland. "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Do Canadians require visa to enter Poland?No, if they enter Poland as tourists for not longer than 90 days."

I am shocked and surprised that the XXXXXX guide contains misinformation on such an important topic as visa entry requirements. I can understand if the price of a hotel or attraction is different than something stated in the book, but a visa requirement??? Yes, visa requirements do change, but isn't it the job of the editors/writers to verify information when publishing the newest edition???

As a user of your travel guides, I would assume that your staff had done their job and verified the information provided. I should not have to search out every embassy website for every country I plan to visit in order to assure myself that the information supplied by your travel guide is correct. That is why I buy the guide, and indeed why the travel guides exist in the first place.

Luckily this gross error did not result in the loss of my airline ticket, or cost me any vacation time. But because of this incident, I will certainly purchase a different travel guide next time I am in need of one.

Sincerely,
Travel Bug

I think that about says it all. GRRR!!!

*XXXXXX has been inserted to protect the anonymity of the travel guide to which I am referrning, and "different travel guide" has been inserted in place of the names of other travel guides I will be buying.*

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Small World

So I went to the gym this morning for my Saturday workout. I love Saturdays at the gym because there is barely anyone there so I can stay on the cross-training machine for 30 minutes without having to worry about hogging it. There is normally a 10 minute limit for each cardio machine during busy hours.

On my way out I said goodbye to one of the owners. It's a small gym, so the owners double as free personal trainers. They know all the members, and help design personal workouts for them. Anyways, Larry (his name is actually Stefano but everyone calls him Larry for some reason) said that he would give me some exercises for other body parts next time I was there. Today we worked on butt and thighs.

Larry uses me as an opportunity to practice his English. When the girl next to him heard us speaking English, she asked where I was from. When I said Toronto, Canada, Larry said he had been there ten years ago. I asked him if he liked Toronto, and he smiled and said "Dutch Dreams!"

I couldn't believe it! I told him that in Toronto I live 5 minutes away from Dutch Dreams and go there all the time in the summer. He said it was his favourite place in Toronto and that he went every day while he was there.

What a small world indeed.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

It's Not Easy Being Grown Up

"Don't grow up to fast" my parents always used to tell me. Twenty years ago that seemed like banal advice; something grown-ups said, time having faded the agonies of youth from their memories. Twenty years ago, being older looked like a lot of fun: staying up late, watching anything you wanted on TV, no one telling you when to do what (like homework, brushing teeth, eating dinner, going to bed, waking up), no one knowing what is "best for you." Complete and utter freedom.

If only I had known then!

What I wouldn't give to be a kid for just one day and have someone make my decisions for me! But no such luck. That's my job now. And it isn't always an easy one.

As some of you may know, I had a bit of a rough time adjusting to Italy after life in the Caribbean. Who wouldn't, I guess, but for some reason it totally caught me off guard (although some of that may have had to do with the broken thumb three weeks after I got here). It caught me so off guard, in fact, that I had decided to head back to Toronto after this school year was over, leaving Travel Bug to do her thing during designated school holidays.

My mini-trip around Europe this Christmas changed all that. My eyes were suddenly opened to the fantastic opportunities that were surrounding me. "You're living in Europe!!!" a voice shouted out to me, forcing me into awareness. Yes, it was true. Here I was living in Europe, and being a spoiled brat about the whole thing because I didn't have a clothes dryer, and I couldn't buy bagels anywhere. It was then that I realized that I had spent two years in the Dominican Republic doing the exact same thing. Now that I am away from the DR, I realize what I missed while I was there. I decided that if I didn't change my attitude, it wouldn't matter where I lived. I would always be looking for ways to escape without stopping to appreciate my life as it was happening.

So when my principal asked me what my plans for next year were, I really started to think about staying in Europe for another year. I know I am not done with this continent yet. There are still so many things left to see, and I want to make sure that I fully enjoy my time here. In addition to that, my job, while not ideal, is really not intolerable. The amount of work I do outside of school is minimal. I plan one-third of the weekly lessons. No one is breathing down my neck every second of the day. And, the best part, my kids are fabulous. Staying an additional year would mean a significant raise, and keeping my students. Moving with my class to year three is even better than the monetary raise. It means the first term will not be wraught with "breaking in" a new class. What's more, I can start to lay down some framework for next year to make September even easier.

It was not an easy decision for me to make, in part because I *do* want to go home on some level. I miss home. I miss being "normal." Going to a store and asking for lightbulbs at home is not an ordeal. In a foreign country, everything is an ordeal. Especially the first time. I also am not too fond of the damp, penetrating cold that is Padova in winter. And, I was hoping something might come through with a job in another country here in Europe. But when I had to make a decision, I could only go with the facts: I have a job in Italy. My choices were to keep it or not.

After some thought, I decided to accept a position with my school for a second year. So I will be staying in Italy next year too. And while it isn't perfect, nowhere is, you can be sure I am going to make the best of it.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Curiosity Didn't Kill the Cat (This Time)

There are these two wires hanging out of a socket in the wall of my room. They used to be behind my bed until I rearranged things. Now they just hang there, looking ugly. Until recently, I had no idea what they were for or what they did since I was afraid of electrocuting myself if I touched them.



However, the other day, curiosity got the better of me and I picked the darker one up, noticing that it had a button on the end. I pressed the button, and lo and behold! My ceiling light went out! How cool is that? I don't have to get out of bed to turn off the light anymore! YAY!!!

The lighter cord rings the buzzer/doorbell. I guess it is for when I am incapacitated and need a drink of water or something. Then supposedly the maid can bring it to me I guess. Italians are big on the buzzers. There is a switch in the kitchen, and one in my bathroom, that when pressed ring the buzzer/doorbell. Now, my only question is this: How do you know if someone is at the downstairs gate, front door, incapacitated in bed, floundering in the kitchen, or dying in the bathroom if they all ring the same buzzer???

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Being Busy --> Blog Backlog

Is it even possible to catch up now? I'm not sure, but I will try my best.

Below you will find backdated posts for the last two weeks.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Bit the Bullet

I finally bit the bullet and joined a gym here in Italy. I had to. I have been feeling so blah these past few months. Anyways, some other teachers from my school go to this gym too, so that should be good.

I went for my first workout yesterday, and I feel pretty good. We will see how I do.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

You Know You're in Italy When...

The school uniform comes in fashion seasons. There was a notice on the front door today announcing that the Spring/Summer line of uniforms had now arrived.