Briefly, my life in Scafati so far...
- First time in my life that I've been greeted at the airport with a sign. How cool did I feel? Lol.
- Ate a ginormous pistachio, nutella and strawberry gelato within hours of arriving.
- Stayed the first night at the house of the organiser of the language camp.
- Next morning, I found myself in the house with the organiser's mother and the maid, neither of whom spoke English. Thank you, thank you, for gestures and the fact that I speak some French and Spanish.
- Met Amalia, another volunteer on the programme, and a friend took us out for coffee. I don't drink coffee, but I did make an exception. Here, it comes with sparkling mineral water, to cleanse your palate before taking on the coffee taste sensation...
- Also tried sfogliatella, a kind of pastry specialty.
- Got a tour of a sign shop, as I discovered that this friend, Enzo, is a signwriter like my dad!
- Went out for a Margherita pizza. Pizza was invented in Naples, and we're not far away, so that was pretty choice.
- Had some limoncello liqueur after the pizza.
- Went off to the English language camp. Noisiest room ever, filled with 20 kids. Go figure. Met Olivia, the other volunteer.
- Met my host family here, and had a nice dinner of spaghetti with oil, garlic and peppers. And then the limoncello appeared again! Although this stuff was almost creamier than the earlier one, and not so strong.
- Went for a walk to Pompei. That's right; it's within walking distance. Madness. Saw the really famous church (Santuario de la Madonna del Rosario di Pompei).
- Had a late lunch and went 'back to school' for a rather chaotic 3 hours.
- Went to a pizza party in one of the town squares, and tried a Napolitan pizza.
- Spoke Spanish with my host mother's mother. Good times, as I don't speak Italian and she doesn't speak English.
- Discovered that, if the kids could do some kind of game that involved running, they were generally a lot more pleasant to be around.
- My host family went to get their new car blessed.
- Went out to Jamaica Inn (on Vesuvius) to dance some salsa, with the other English-speaking volunteers. Met a self-confessed Italian Stallion (check my fb pix).
- Had a brilliant view from above nightclub.
- Visited the ruins of Pompei in the afternoon heat. It was better to stay in the shade, but it was definitely fascinating to check out this place. (Photos also on facebook).
- Went to a fashion parade. There were pretty cool ballet dancers. There were clothes by Alviero Martini. And, Gilda Sansone, winner of the first cycle of Italy's Next Top Model (and hailing from Pompei) was strutting her stuff.
- Visited Naples with my host family (photos on facebook). Checked out the Castel dell'Ovo and one point with amazing views... don't know what it was called, but think it could have been Marechiaro.
- Had hours of fun trying to help put together a foldable bed that the family got from IKEA.
- Was entertained by a night of YouTube videos: Tranne Te, post-goal celebrations, and Jovanotti (bonus of learning how to say 'kiss me again' in Italian), and Napolitan dialects.
