The evolution of my life

I was thinking just the other day about how my life here has evolved.  I never would have imagined that a life in a small town in Italy could possibly evolve, but it has.  My perceptions of things has obviously changed.  When you first visit a new country you are wearing what my mom likes to refer to as "rose colored glasses".  Everything is wonderful and fantastic and sooooo romantic.  I see it when I read other people's blogs about Italy or read books about tourists in Italy and when I think back on how I too first saw Italy.  While some of the romantic parts have faded away, and real life has sunk in, I do have to say that I am truly happy.  There are things here that drive me crazy, but I somehow always seem to see the good, beautiful wonderful things, just in a more realistic way now.

I've never asked my mom, but I don't think I refer to Italy as a total paradise where things are all wonderful and fantastic (as I used to do, which I know drove her crazy), but I do really like living here.  I love the quirks and fanatical things just as much as the natural beauty and the food.  Doing this blog has really showed me the good things in my life

When I go back to the States, there are obviously things that I miss and spend loads of time doing while I'm there.  I miss the atmosphere of Seattle, the smell of the Puget Sound, the feel of Seattle when you walk down its streets.  It is something so completely different.  Feeling like a true American!  It is part of me and I miss it.

I am so lucky to be able to visit as much as I do.  

I have always said that I keep my sanity by going back to the States every so often.  But looking at that statement now, I don't know if it is for my sanity.  I'm not sure what it is exactly.  I need my family, I miss them dearly and I don't know if I could go much longer than a year without seeing them.  I have never been away from the States for more than ten months at a time since I first started coming to Italy eleven years ago.  I feel fortunate for this, but I am sure that in the future things will change, hopefully not too much, but it would be silly to think otherwise.  So I am going to enjoy every moment that I have in America. 

Talking with a friend of mine today, she told me that she hates it when I go away so long in the summer, because we don't get to spend very much time together doing fun things, like going to the beach.  I told her that I didn't think I would be going to America all summer every year, although I'd be doing it until I could, until my parents are able and willing to have us with them all summer.  If I had been faced with this reality a few years ago, I may have gone into complete panic mode, but there are times now that I am at peace with it.

I think the longer you stay in a place, the more it becomes a part of who you are.  As I've said before, I am a bit of a hyphen, not truly American or Italian.  That said however, I am part of both, and maybe that's even better!  I notice it in how I behave, what I say and how I think.  (and I'm sure my family notices it too).  I suppose I am truly a blend of the two now.  One third Italian and two thirds American (that's exactly how much of my life I've spent in both places).  Now I wonder if in the future it will be truly 50/50.

Summer Trip

Every year since my daughter was born we've gone back to Seattle for the summer.  When I first moved visits to Seattle were generally for Christmas, but that is hard to do when you have a little one in the mix, not totally fair to keep the baby away from her daddy and Italian grandparents every Christmas, so now we go every summer.  I am also quite happy about this since Italy is inundated with tourists all summer and the weather is unbearably hot!!  I don't think I'd mind the heat too much if things were air conditioned like they are in the states, but unfortunately they aren't.  This also means that you need to sleep with the windows open, which of course means LOTS and LOTS of bugs!! YUCK!  I'm not sure if it's the climate but it seems like there are an awful lot of them here compared to Seattle.
Of course like every year, I am getting ready for the annual trip back to my homeland.  And just like every year all of the locals are asking me when I'm leaving, how long I'm staying and if I'm happy about it.  Some people don't totally understand how I can be away from my husband for the summer, others can.  Some don't understand the opposite, How can I live so far from my parents, and therefore understand why I go away for such a long visit. But the answer to their final question is always this: "I am always torn, I am really happy to go home and see my family and visit my country, but I am sad to leave my husband here at work.  Then I am always excited to come back home to be with him, but sad I have to leave my family once again."  And it's true.  On one hand it is really hard but as the local bakery owner said to me, "at least you are always 50% happy about it!"  (Most people come home from vacation and are NOT happy, because it is back to the routine and back to work!)
So yet again this year, I am a bit melancholy, I am really looking forward to my summer with my family and all of the things I have planned, but I am also sad to leave my friends and family here, my daily routine and my life.

Sheep sheering

When I first moved here there were so many things that I had never experienced living in Seattle, as one might expect. I moved from a fairly big American city to a very small Italian village, pretty much everything is different. One of the things that I had never imagined I would take part in was the annual sheering of sheep. Now it is part of our family's routine in June. The weather gets hot and those poor animals need a trim!

Today was our turn. I say our turn because we don't actually do the sheering. My husband and brother in law are able to sheer, along with all of their peccorari friends. The problem is that they aren't so fast, and they don't have the proper equipment. So every year Italy like many other countries around the world are visited by some of the worlds best sheep sheerers in the world. Many of them come from New Zealand and the Falkland Islands in the South Pacific. This year we had three guys that we've had in the past, all from the Falklands, one of whom is the world champion sheerer.

The local sheep farmers are all mostly friends and are always willing to lend a hand. There is a real sense of community when it comes to these guys. There are two brothers and another guy who have always come to help out with the sheering. You may ask why all of the extra hands, well I'll tell you why. Today there were 11 guys there to get the job done, the three sheerers, my husband and his brother, my father-in-law, and four friends. Todays work consisted of sheering 500 sheep in two different locations, and the bailing of the wool.

The process works like this: All of the sheep are herded into a fenced area attached to the milking trailer.

The sheep are then herded into the trailer and out the back door onto the sheering trailer and then pulled out one by one and sheered by our professional sheerers.

The wool is then gathered and put into large sacks to be then sold. (mind you not for much since our sheep are Sardinian and bred for their milk not their wool).

The main problem is that sheep are extremely stubborn. In order to get them into the trailer you need many men. two or three in the flock then two or three in the trailer to move them down the line. Then you need one or two more people who are constantly filling the bails with the sheered wool.

The sheerers are incredible. They work with such ease and speed. They are truly amazing to watch. It must be an extremely difficult job to do, not only for the physical strain but also for the type of lifestyle they have to lead. They are away from home travelling around the world sheering for up to 10 months a year!

Another interesting thing about the sheerers is that they have very specific clothing that they wear. Since the sheep's wool is very oily and sticky (just think about getting a short hair cut and the hair that sticks to your neck then multiply it by 100) they have to wear particular shoes and pants. The shoes are hand made and keep the wool from getting into them, the pants are very long and overlap the shoes (which look a bit like moccasins). The wool when sheered can be very irritating to the skin. Of course with our hot weather they don't wear shirts.

At the end of the job everyone is then taken back to the house of the herd's owners for either lunch or dinner. In our case this year (as has always been) the guys all came back to my mother-in-law's house for lunch. I am her helper if you like and also act as somewhat of a translator, although the group that came this year has come many times in the past, so they were di casa (part of the family) and have picked up some Italian over the years.

In the end the bells need to be put back on the sheep, but that takes place in the evening when the milking is done. It is still incredible to me that my husband and his brother are able to recognize each of their 500 sheep one by one! Amazing!