It's getting colder out here...

The weather I mean.

I haven't been on line for a week. Firstly because there was no itnernet and secondly because I was having fun! Even so I have been writing almost every day and I'll post everything at once.

Here we go...

8 November 2010

While the rain pours rhythmically on the roof of my wooden hut, I recall the day that finishes. Me and my best friends went to Viterbo. It was a cold rainy day and I dreaded the fact that we were going at the hot springs to have a bath. They were outdoors, inside a big field. That meant that we were going to strip down to nothing but our bathing suits in the cold. Where would we put our clothes? They would all get wet!

I decided to stop moaning in my head and see what would happen. I didn’t have to go in there if I didn’t want to… When we arrived there, we found a plastic chair and we could put our clothes under our umbrella. I took a deep breath… and run into the pool! And it was so hot! It was so soothing… for all our muscles which had been working so hard for the past three weeks… The sky was grey but we didn’t care. We wanted to stay in the hot water forever. We talked about nature and its amazing creations. No wander the Popes had taken this place for themselves… We stayed in the hot water for at least one hour. We were so hot when we got out, that we did not feel the cold anymore. It was actually nice to get out of there! What an experience… I exceeded myself by doing this. Now I know I am open to adventure…

And then we walked around the city of Viterbo. Another beautiful medieval city with tiny little roads and little surprises in every corner. Dark weather made everything look really authentic. It was a nice day out. It was sad to say goodbye to my best friends. They are continuing their trip until they go back to the States. I must say again that they are really charming and that I fell in love with them. Catherine and Rebecca, you will always be in my heart.

I took the bus back to town and now I am the only volunteer in the farm. Let’s see what happens from now on…

7 November 2010

I feel blessed. Maybe I’m repeating myself over and over again, but I do feel blessed tonight. Blessed to have met Rebecca and Catherine… Today it was Sunday and we didn’t pick up olives. We worked in the little shop that Lorenzo has in Tuscania. We canned the new oil, labeled it and wrapped it to be shipped. We spend a lot of time together with the girls. We walked around in town and had a gelato from heaven. And then we came back home and spend time sharing our stories. Singing little choir songs. Reading angel cards… Reading books and seeing photographs. They make me feel so alive and free to be myself!

Where was I hiding all these years? Where was the charming me I express these days? Meeting all these charming ladies and gentlemen make me realize that they mirror the charming lady I must be. My two friends wrote me a little letter saying that I inspire them. Isn’t that wonderful? And then they gave me a little – no. a BIG - gift. And Sarah from Canada left me her sweater. And Jennifer from Alaska gave me a card from her place and some chocolate. All these gifts from all these amazing, inspiring people… I don’t feel lonely. I just feel blessed. Because I was not scared of following my dream. Because I was not scared to dream.

Tomorrow is the last day I’m spending with my two new friends. We are going to explore a nearby city called Viterbo. We are hoping to have a bath in the hot springs. After all this hard work, we deserve a bath! We will sure have fun and I’ll tell you all about it when we get back!

6 November 2010

The olive trees are ruining the soles of my shoes. My rubber soles rub against the wood and they are slowly tearing apart. It could be more useful to climb the tree barefoot, but it’s either too wet, or too cold to take my shoes off. So I’m scattering pieces of my soles around the property. I could say I’m leaving pieces of my soul on the property. It is so contradictory to have so much fun and yet have all your muscles hurt every night… I guess when you’re doing what you want to, tiredness is not an issue.

The olive harvest will probably finish in a couple of weeks. I am now looking into the possibility of finding a paid job for a month, or even into Christmas. I have already started asking around for a job. I don’t want to leave Italy yet. I’d like to stay here for a little longer. I will definitely be here for my birthday on the 21^st of December. I might go to the South, where it’s probably warmer.

At the moment the weather is warmer than it was when I first got here. In the middle of the day the sun is burning. I love it. And my new friends… the girls… the stars on the sky every night… The pink sunrises and the red sunsets… the horses! We are currently picking olives in one of the horse fields. They are very curious and they come to see what we are doing. All the souls in the farm just live happily together. And we, the people are living together. Lorenzo’s home is always full of guests, interesting guests with interesting backgrounds. Conversation around the table is never boring…

When people ask me where I would like to go next, I say I don’t know. I’ll see where the flow takes me… Have a good night.

5 November 2010

Olives are hard work. But two friends are here. Katherine and Rebecca. All day we climb trees and sing and laugh hysterically. It’s like I’ve known them forever. They are my best friends at the moment. Wonderful, sweet, funny ladies. It’s the people that make life wonderful. We share our stories. And our music and cultures.  And then we eat. Hard work makes you hungry! One day it’s pizza. The next day it’s soup. And then there is pasta with mussels and shrimps. How can you resist a second and then a third serving? And these handmade potato buns from heaven… I might have had five. When I took the fifth, I had such a quilty face we just laughed hysterically! For about half an hour! Everybody just looked at us… We are such laughers….  The food is so good we can’t stop. No leftovers, that’s the rule!

Every day I just love to climb on trees! You can sit on their branches and they are all very welcoming. You clean the branches from the olives and then you climb higher. For more olives. When you are not using the “Dildos” you use hand rakes and you’re brushing the branches. And you can talk with your girlfriends!