La Dolce Vita

When you find yourself unemployed in August in Italy - head to Sardegna with the bestest of hosts the Cadonis

The many grottos of Sardegna

The boat crew and also Paola's family's neighbors and lifelong friends. Thank you to Daniele for shepherding us around

The landscape of Sardegna is a bit of California but more rugged and with turquoiser waters

 

I'm on a boat off the coast of Sardegna, eating paninis with old people - am I in heaven???? Just to add to the heaven factor, Gianetto (Paola's dad) was ready for a panini at 10:30am, a man after my own heart. So while everyone else went snorkeling, I stayed on the boat with these dudes and enjoyed a delicious mortadella panini followed by a nap from the boat rocking me to sleep

Yes I am in fact in heaven

Paola's dad Gianetto with "Silvio" his name for the roasting pork

The eating was soooooo good with the Cadonis on Sardegna that I could barely contain myself

Grazie ancora Cadonis!!!!! (Grazia, Paola, e Gianetto)

I was so happy to return to Italy after Sierra Leone and take advantage of the best month of summer, and also have a bit of down time from the constant working in Sierra Leone. I didn't realize quite how well my wishes would be granted until August 1st when my contract ran out and I still didn't have a new one. The short story is that my bosses have filed the paperwork to renew me until December but HR is saying they've now changed the rules and can only offer me 70% of what I was making before - effective retroactively for my pay for June and July. So yes a big thank you present for working every weekend, sacrificing 5 weeks of summer, and risking my health in Sierra Leone. The only thing I could do was laugh. With no time to spare and my contract expiring, I rushed to have some medical treatments taken care of while I still had insurance and then started thinking about what I should do.......The only dilemma I have is there is still work to be done, so I've decided to work part-time (unpaid) and bank vacation days, and use the rest of my 50% to soak up summer.......and the Cadonis nicely agreed to host me, and oh did they host me.

I've been wanting to get to Sardegna since I arrived in Italy but hadn't managed it yet and then I met Paola who just happens to have parents from Sardegna and a house on the beach. In addition to her other awesome traits, this was seriously pushing her over the edge in terms of best Italian I know, and that was even before I met her family and fell in love. They are both adorable and wouldn't stop trying to feed me more. If I can take a few moments for the food on Sardegna, where do I begin, I think I'm still in a food coma - the desserts are mostly made with cheese (heaven again) and when I asked how to make this one ridiculous thing that is like a thin pancake stuffed with pecorino and fried and then topped with honey - you have to make the cheese! But I will figure out a way to at least try to replicate some of these things, otherwise I'm going to have to go back to Sardegna once a month for a fix -or maybe not since Paola's parents stocked me up with a kilo of pane al sardo (Sardinian bread) desserts, sausage, cheese, honey, and Mirto (the liquor of the Gods). Mirto is made from a berry that grows wild on Sardegna and is basically an after dinner liquor, but so much better than limoncello or grappa. I'm also trying to figure out how to make it........if only those wild berries were easier to hunt down in Rome. I basically spent the whole weekend eating, swimming, sunning, napping, chatting, and plotting how I could convince Paola to marry me or at least her parents to adopt me.

So while I've got some time on my hands, I've also now got time to fill you in on some of my latest cultural exploits and plans -

The bidet:  I have a confession. Even though I've lived here a year and a half now, I've never confronted it (other than that unforgettable night where an unnamed American friend confronted it in Venice years agoooo), nor felt comfortable enough (or remembered) to ask an Italian about it. Well, I've finally conducted a bit of research and can now shed a bit of light that maybe you already know but aren't talking about. First, most Italian homes have soap next to the bidet so it's not just a rinse, it's a wash. Second, almost all Italian homes have bidet towels next to the bidet for you to use after you wash. When I think about this now and how many times I've used the 'hand towel' hanging by the bidet cause I didn't see any others, it's no wonder I have a high tolerance for bacteria in Africa.
And now, I'm also left to think about what everyone was using when they came into my house and I only have 'hand towels' hanging..........And just in case you were wondering, I haven't conducted my own experiment yet on the merits of the bidet, but I will keep you posted as I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat

Laughter:  When I mentioned earlier that the only thing I could do was laugh after being offered 30% than I currently make, while you make think laughter is universal in all languages, it is not.  For example, in English what do we say - ha ha ha. Well in Italian it's ah ah ah, and in Spanish it's je je je, and in French it's hi hi hi. Sooooo ha ah, je hi and repeat

Mind games: As you know, I've now been gone 2.5 years and always been straddling two worlds between where I am and the U.S., because I've always thought the move was temporary.  Living in a constant state of temporary is not only exhausting but a bit limiting. While I'm keeping one foot in the U.S. and one foot here, it's no wonder I'm off balance. And of course as soon as I start to think one way or the other (staying or coming home), I think the other way.......so after saying this many times, I am going to use this extra time off to really think about these things - while on the beach or even better, conducting further research at a dangerous lake