On My Own (For a Few Weeks)

Two somewhat significant events occured for me today. First, my boyfriend left for two and a half weeks at home with his family. This leaves me to fend for myself for awhile. It may not seem like a big deal (especially for someone who lived on her own in DC for 5 years), but for a person living in a foreign country who has a relatively small network of acquaintances, believe me, it is significant. Although I am naturally sad and a bit nervous, I am trying to be optimistic about the next 18 days. I have a list of things I'd like to work on, including continuing to search out job prospects, work on my Italian and a variety of other personal projects.

Thankfully (point number 2), I started work this evening at a hostel in Naples (the one where Mohamed also works). I will be working a lot (especially in Mohamed's absence), so that will keep me busy and occuppied. Also, I'll have good internet access to keep in touch and (hopefully) blog regularly, so stay tuned!

Progress . . . Finally

I've now been back in Naples almost 3 weeks and am finally beginning to feel more comfortable in this crazy, crowded, unpredictable town. As many of you know, I struggled a bit with culture shock when I was here in the spring. Moving to another country is a lot to get used to, especially when you don't speak the language or understand the culture. Not only did the way of life feel very foreign to me, the way Naples operates is much different than the approach I was used to. If you always feel you need to have things organized, have a plan for each day or if you feel out-of-place in such a vocal, in-your-face society, Naples is not necessarily the place you'd feel comfortable living.

Well, the above would describe the Andrea of, say, one year to a tee! Some could argue I was too organized and efficient, forever a slave to my calendar and commitments. One year later, I can proudly say that I've made definite progress towards breaking that mold and learning to survive in a completely new environment. In the past week especially, I finally feel like I have come to feel more "at home" (as much as possible, I suppose!) here in Italy. I am slowly learning to appreciate the Naples and its culture for all it offers, I feel I can better communicate with the people, and I realize I can operate without things perfectly planned out and packaged. Let's face it, Naples is a different world from Washington, D.C. (or even Oklahoma), so I need to learn to deal with it or leave!

Part of this progress is due (finally!) to some career opportunities coming into view. As many of you know, my boyfriend works at a hostel in Naples (where I stayed when I was travelling last fall). I am now the newest staff member! I have been training over the past week and will start work on Sunday. Another very promising turn of events: I did my first tour of Naples today for a group of Americans. It seems that there is a lot of opportunity for private English-speaking tours, especially with all the cruise ships docking at the port. I am looking into how I can try to make this into a business. I think it could provide pretty decent money and it has been fun to learn more about the city and its history! And in the fall, I can always return wholly or partially to teaching English, if I choose.

I know it has been an extremely long time since I have blogged. I can only apologize and move on. So here it goes. . .

I spent a wonderful two months (May and June) back in Oklahoma with my family. We spent the majority of the first month preparing for my sister's wedding in early June. The wedding went off beautifully, and I gladly welcome a new brother-in-law! After the wedding, I spent several more weeks at home, hanging out with my family and planning out the next few months.

I returned to Naples on July 6th, exactly two weeks ago. I am relieved to be back with my boyfriend and am working on job prospects. There is no work as an English teacher in the summer, so I need to get a bit more creative. I will work at the hostel, where my boyfriend also works, at least for the month of August. I am also setting up some private tours for people coming to Naples, for example, on cruises. I have several ideas for businesses here as well that I am exploring. Last but certainly not least, I am desperately trying to improve my Italian. Even after not speaking it for two months, I see some improvement already!