I arrived last Wednesday for a two month stay, keeping below my three-month non-visa allowance so that if I need further non-visa-allowance time I have it. Not long after my first visit in July I decided, spur-of-the-moment, to return for two months in order to take advantage of the fact that I have an apartment there, and that there’s no reason not to take advantage of that fact as much as I can until I get my visa.
On the Sunday after arrival I received my visa.
I was more emotional that one should have been for such a bureaucratic achievement, but there have been only a few tasks on which I spent such extended amount of time, and none were generally aligned with escaping fascism (though the story of those troublemaking kids’ narrow escape from Kronenfeld was certainly about fleeing a potential despot…).
My week has been less carefree and adventurous than the previous weeklong trip. My work day is from 12 to generally after 22.00 and yet so far 2nd shift has not been painful. I break up the day going to Il forno di via Rimassa two doors down for caffè and the Best Focaccia in Genova (my landlord’s assessment and I understand why) or to stock up on €2 bottles of wine or walk the Corso Italia along the coast just two blocks away. Weather has been as perfect as it was during my visit in July. One day it rained a little and the laundry had to come inside to be hung up in front of fans–there is one in several of the rooms–but otherwise I look out every day to see the yellow buildings with dark green shutters and a vibrant blue sky. And even after the rain, I’m still oddly in love with hanging out to dry off the kitchen balcony.
I worried beforehand that I wouldn’t get as immersed in exercising my Italian as I hoped because interactions would only be: restaurants, shops, and grocery stores. It was a valid concern. It’s somewhat compounded by the fact that most of those interactions are, if not rushed, somewhat hasty because there are other customers ordering focaccia or looking for housewares or at the checkout line. Although, I had to go to the hardware store to get items to cover the router cords running along the hallway and some felt pads for the living room chairs, and the person at the counter took time out to help me find what I needed. Even as I tried to be brief (re those other customers in line) he paused to walk me through the aisles and point out where those items were. This is normal hardware-store-hospitality, but still unexpected.
Because of this general lack of immersion I came up with a rule: I must interact at least once a day even though it is just superficial interaction. There’s a temptation both for budget reasons and convenience to stay inside. After all, there’s work to do and when not working I’m often still on the computer (what am I doing right now?). That rule has been helpful and also forced me to do what I’d intended to during my life here: get to know the city. Friday morning I impulse-visited the Genoa aquarium to satisfy that rule, become familiar with the city, and because–contrary to what I said about my comfort with working 2nd shift–having to start work at 12 makes me feel like I can’t have excursions except for on the weekends. I still get up at 6 and that’s still a lot of free time.
My new guilty pleasure is watching Star Trek TOS in Italian on PlutoTV. I’m not sure why I didn’t expect this but Pluto has all different programming here. Uh-doy. Knowing the stories helps me to both better understand the Italian and to get my ears more comfortable absorbing spoken Italian (some of the simplest words trip me up at the grocery store checkout). I’m not sure if the all three Star Trek seasons are being broadcast but it seems that every time I turn it on they’re always showing one of the best episodes: Khan, Spock Amok, the Gorn, the salt vampire! Although, I did also see one of the worst: the planet with kids who say “bonk bonk on the head”. Ugh.
Inexpensive wine and working until 22.00 or 23.00 makes it tempting, and yes inevitable, to have wine every night. Combine that with just not having my grocery game on point and there’s no wonder why my gut is unhappy and my sleep irregular. Well, the irregular sleep is maybe because of the somewhat firm mattress and the precautions I take to not have hypnagogic hallucinations while I’m alone. These visual ephemera that pop up when I’m aaaaalmost asleep but then my eyes open for some reason used to be entertaining and harmless–glowing shapes and threads hovering over the floor or even the bed–but have turned into dark, shadowy people hovering over the floor or, unfortunately, over the bed. Not. Good. I don’t scream per se, and anyone who says I do is a liar, but when I become fully awake and they’re still there I’m not happy.
The only letdown is that I’m not doing much composing. It’s too early in the process of living remote and working odd hours to see how this shakes out. Composing has been particularly difficult recently and so could be nothing but more of the same.
I have time.
