Sunday 10/30 554pm Sora, Italia
Here I am, sitting at the Moglie in the pitch black, with my computer and my headlamp, of course. With the time change, it starts getting dark around 5pm and by 530, it's completely dark. Which means we either have to go back earlier than usual, or walk back in the dark. I took a ninja shower (aka an "illegal" shower at the house) and left as quickly as possible, but it pretty much got dark as I was walking. There really is no upside to the time change. Light starts hitting our tents around 6am, so after that we are pretty much up. And at night, we usually eat dinner and head to bed soon after because it's dark, so now we will probably be going to sleep at like 9pm. It's horrible because it's so early lol.
This is the third day of olive picking, but only my second day. Gavin and I showed up at the farm on the first day, ready to go, and Antonello sent me to Via Piana because there were too many people picking olives. It was pretty much a ploy to get rid of me for the day, because when I finished work at Via Piana and showed back up at the house, there were 3 more people working than when he sent me away. Antonello pretty much hates me, because as Gavin said, I'm the only volunteer who will argue with him. I just figure it's because I don't take his bullshit so he just sends me away. Well, when I saw that other people ended up helping, I decided I wasn't going to start, so I went to Sora to enjoy myself. I pretty much ran there because I wanted pizza (which we never get) and Carmela's closes at 1230pm every day. Carmela's is the best in Sora and she loves us because we are probably the only sweet teenagers and 20-somethings that come in (Italian teenagers are pretty much full of themselves and not polite). So, I got some pizza and put it in my bag because I wanted to eat it at the house and I headed to the gelateria. Well, the lady there loves us because we are her only customers even when it's cold, so she gave me a huge smile and attempted to communicate, even though she knows I don't speak a lot of italian. Then, I headed to the supermarket to get a sewing kit and then to Dico for some discount food. WEEELL, I was walking down the aisle and the girl that works there gave me a HUGE smile and waved and that's when I realized that tooooo many people in Sora know me. But it was a good day, and by the time I got back to the house, it was only 2pm.
But, I wasn't about to let Antonello keep me from picking olives the next day and sure enough, at 830am, I was ready to pick olives and I did. And I love it! It is so much more fun than picking grapes because you actually have to pay attention to what you are doing and even though we do about 5 trees a day, it seems like we will never get done because I'm sure Giuseppe has like 70 trees over all tree properties. Yesterday (which was my first day), I pretty much spent the whole time in a tree or on a ladder, except Giuseppe picked me out to feed olive branches to the horses and Leia. All the volunteers were helping out too, which is great because usually we don't all work at the same time and in the same place. Today though, was a little different, but I enjoyed it just the same. All the volunteers from the farm and the Moglie when to the National park to plant trees, but I decided to stay behind and pick olives because I like it so much. So I joined Anna, who runs Via Piana, and her two volunteers Andre and John, and we picked olives for several hours. Anna is pretty close to my age and even though she works here, she is kind of shy. When I first met her, I thought she just wasn't friendly, but after I got to know her a bit better, I realized she is just shy. Working with her is fun though, because know that we are friends, she is pretty funny. At 11am, she and her volunteers left, so for the next 2 hours, it was just Giuseppe and I. Italian is the only language spoken, but I seem to understand him just fine. And he gives out fruit like it's candy, so working with him is actually rewarding lol. He gave me my own treet to work on and I spent those two hours climbing around like a monkey and having a great time. Even though there was one else there, olive picking is still my favorite job.
After work and lunch (which I get at the house if I work 2 extra hours), I went to hang out with Leia, which is a daily thing. I sit on the gate and give her a head rub and she just loves it because otherwise, the only thing she gets are kicks from Stella. What was funny about today was that Sandra's mom had just shown up to visit and start her italian tour with her daughter. Sandra had told her there was a girl from Texas, but the first time she actually met me, I was sitting in the horse pen, petting the donkey. Sounds 'bout right. A few minutes later, Anna comes by with her two volunteers and I think they were just in awe that the Texas girl is spending her free time petting the donkey. Then, another new guest came by and introduced herself. All in all, today, I lived up to my Texas nationality. I just wish I had a pet donkey.
Another good part about today was on who liked my facebook status! I know that it seems silly, but I posted about spending all day yesterday in an olive tree, and they lady whose house I am volunteering at in a few weeks liked it and commented that she is excited about me coming. I realize it is just a comment, but after being with Antonello for so long and my little adventure to Romania, it will be nice to be somewhere where I will be appreciated and that has a pleasent atmosphere. Maybe my last volunteer month will be the exact place I need to be. And, since I now love horse and donkeys, that is a plus.
Also, about a week ago, I was looking online at the Traveling Aggies website and realized that at the same time I will be in Rome in November, there will be a Traveling Aggies group there at the same time. I was so excited that I might get to see Aggies that I emailed the coordinator and asked if it was possible that I meet up with the group one day or night just to see people from "home". Of course, I forgot who I was emailing... no Aggie would have ever turned down that request (which is why I am so thankful to be an Aggie). I got an email back that on November 17th, I have a spot with them for dinner. She also said that she couldn't imagine that the group wouldn't be excited to have dinner with someone who has been volunteering for several months and knows Italian (which after working with Giuseppe, I know a lot of commands and a lot of names of animals and fruit).
Last but not least.... Gavin made an excellent point today that I thought I would share. I was commenting about how Facebook is blowing up with people's Halloween costumes and Gavin was just like "well, we live in a haunted ruin that was build 200 years ago".... I'm definitely not so jealous about Halloween anymore. And tomorrow, Gavin and I might put sheets over our heads and run around the Moglie screaming anyways, so it will be a Halloween celebration that no one else in the world will be a part of and certainly one I won't forget.
