FG Coop, YOU KNOW!

My first week of work at FG.

I actually started late last week. I met my boss Franco last Tuesday with Danilo to discuss details of what time I will work, when my lunch is, how I will get there, who I will be teaching, etc.

We drove out to Belpasso and it takes about 20 minutes by car. The office is a two-story building with 3 offices upstairs and 2 downstairs. FG Coop is owned and operated by the family Failla. Giovanni Failla started the company (thus “FG”). Giovanni is still present everyday but I am not entirely sure what he does besides stand around with a cigarette in his mouth all the time. He's a nice man, or at least I think he is because he hasn't said much so I really don't know. The next in command is Franco, who is a bit intimidating when you first meet him. He is very “siciliano”. His 2 younger brothers have the other 2 offices upstairs, their names are Massimo and Salvatore. Then there is also Zio Angelo, Giovanni's brother. I am not sure how many other Faillas there are, but I'm sure there are some working out in the yard somewhere.

What I saw when I first entered FG Coop were mountains of old refrigerators and ovens piled high on top of each other. FG specializes in taking old appliances and electronics and removing reusable parts, draining out liquids, and taking them apart to be recycled properly. They also have storage for hazardous wastes. They receive and transport these items from all over Italy. The reason why they wanted to learn English is so that they can expand into foreign markets, primarily Greece and Tunisia I believe.

There are four girls downstairs: Desiree, Laura, Guisi, and Ester. I teach the first 3 because Ester speaks English since she went to school in England for some time. These girls crack me up. They are all young and looove to talk about boys, music, and having fun. They love American culture, so they have lots of questions. They love to go to Sigonella, which is the American Naval Base, to hang out the American boys. We have lunch together everyday, which by the way, is from 1-2:30pm. Once you finish with lunch the day is practically over.

I have to take the subway, then the train to Belpasso. I want to the subway station which takes 15 minutes, then the subway takes about 3 minutes, then I get on the train which takes about 25-30 minutes to get to my stop nearest FG. From there, Desiree picks me up and drives me to the office, which is about 5 minutes away by car. So all in all it takes me about an hour. I leave the house around 7:10 AM and arrive there by 8:30 AM. The other day I actually missed my train and the next one left an hour and half later, oooops! I was there waiting for the train to come on the track that I always take but apparently it used a different track that day so I watched my train leave without knowing that it was mine.

But the lessons are going OK. They are all roughly beginners with the exception of Desiree who is slightly more advanced.

My time is limited on the internet right now so I am going to go!! By they way, is anyone reading this because I don't see any comments!!

Teatro Greco, Valverde, Acireale...

Last week I went to a concert in Taormina at the Greek Theatre that I just went to with Auntie Shaula, Liz and Nick the weekend before. Seeing a concert there is AWESOME. The lighting behind the stage makes the pillars glow. It's incredible. The acoustics are pretty good too. I saw Mario Venuti. He has some popular songs in Italy, and whenever one came on the entire crowd would sing along. Italians like to sing I have found. Instead of listening the radio in the car they just sing to themselves.


Friday night I went to a private party a little outside the city with Carla and some of her coworkers. They didn't pick us up until 1230am, so I caught some z's until they arrived. We got there and this place was pretty cool. I think it was abandoned because they were operating off of generators, there was no running water, and the pool looked like it had not been cleaned in months. They had a great DJ who played everything from top 40 to techno. We stayed until about 4 or so and then of course it took a half hour to get everyone to go, then another half hour to get to the car, then a half hour to get home. Almost got breakfast but then I realized it wouldn't be bacon and eggs like I'm used to, so I opted for just going to home to bed.
Earlier in the day I decided to do some sightseeing and walked to the Centro and saw the Giardini Bellini, the Bellini Gardens. I was only slightly impressed. Every day they put new plants in for the current date. After that I checked out the Anfiteatro Romano, a Roman theatre ruin right in the middle of the city. It looks like just a hole in the ground.


On Saturday I spent a few hours at our “beach”. The good news is that it is only ten minutes walking distance (Karen Speed). Unfortunately it's just a boardwalk with stairs that go down to rocky and choppy water. There was a red flag warning out that day so I opted to use the showers as my “dip” and laid out in the sun. I like the beach, even if there isn't sand. I think there are some black sand beaches somewhere nearby, I will have to find them.
That night I went to dinner with Danilo and Claudia and had my first real Italian 5 course meal. We actually only ordered for 2 and just shared. It was a lot of food, and because we got the fish instead of the meat, everything had fish in it. The appetizers, the pasta, and the main dish were all seafood. I had octopus, calamari, swordfish, mussels, little shrimp, big shrimp, and some other fish that I don't know what they were. Needless to say I was full at the end. Afterwards we went to a beer festival in Valverde, a little town outside Catania. There was live music and cheap beer. I met some more people. One of which named Roberto, had just returned from India after doing a short traineeship there. He had all sorts of stories.

Sunday was a lazy day. I did get out of the house and walked down to the centro again, taking a different way to see how it would work out. No one is open on Sundays by the way, only a few shops or restaurants here and there. I was sitting off the sidewalk eating some gelato, minding my own business when this creepy guy came by on a bike and looks at me and first says in Italian “Di Dove sei?” then in English “where are you from?” How did he know I wasn't from around there? I hadn't said one word. I actually ignored him as he asked “English? Dutch?” then he went away. I must have Foreigner written on my forehead. I find it easier to play dumb and pretend like I don't understand them rather than trying to talk them away from me.
That night we (Carla, Danilo, Claudia, Davide, and Roselda) went to Acireale, another small town outside of Catania. We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant where I had some cous cous. It was tasty. Then we strolled around their piazza until midnight and returned home.

I am still trying to figure what I should be doing during the day. I start work on Tuesday the 19th. I was originally planning on going there on the 18th, but apparently my boss was not going to be in the office until the 19th. I will be glad to start work, I am a bit stir crazy here. I don't know what people do from about 5-9pm if they don't eat dinner. Since I don't have a TV I am left with the options of sleep, shower, reading, or walking around outside during rush hour which is not fun.

Just a few things to note....

Hello all again!

First of all, I bought a new alarm clock so I would actually know what time it was instead of having to turn on my computer and adding 9 hours. But apparently I miscalculated the first time I set the time. So I was an hour ahead for everything. I was just assuming that everyone was late as they tend to be here in Italy. My bad!

After finally obtaining my Permesso di Sorgiorno, I feel better about roaming about. Not having it was kind of like driving when you forgot your license at home. I am finally starting to feel more comfortable here. For those of you who know me, I don't like to be out of my element for very long. I am a creature of habit. I am getting to know the streets although they all look alike, believe me, it's true. Once you calm down a bit from all the excitement and confusion of the city you start to notice things. These are some things I have noticed about Catania, or perhaps Italy, in general.

1.Parking.
If you think it's difficult to find parking in downtown San Francisco or Portland, you should try to find parking in Downtown Catania at night. Luckily all the cars are small. They have the Smart cars here, you know the 2 seaters that are about the size of a golf cart. I also have noticed that parking on the sidewalk is not an option, it's a necessity.
2.Stray animals.
There are tons of stray dogs and cats here. I have seen more stray cats than dogs though. The dogs tend to travel in packs of 3 or more. Usually one male and his bitches, as if to say: aw yeeeah, that's how I roll!
The kitties are a different story. My heart goes out to them because they look so sad. They are all so skinny. Danilo laughed when I said “tutti i gatti sono snelli”, all the cats are skinny. I think it might translate better to “all the cats are slim/fit”, which of course sounds funny to them. I just want to take them all home with me and snuggle!
3.Driving.
I didn't know if Danilo was just a bad driver or if this is the way that Italians drive. Turns out it is both. After being in the car with both Danilo and his girlfriend Claudia in the front seat screaming at him to be careful, I realize that he's a little crazy on the road. But I asked him if he ever had an accident, and he replied “not yet!” I have been in other peoples' cars and felt slightly more safe.
But no, really, Italians do drive a little crazy. Although there are markings that mean there are lanes, doesn't necessarily mean they will be used. Since the Smart cars are so tiny, one lane can consist of 2 or 3 cars, maybe mix in a little scooter here and there. Apparently a red light is like a yield sign to scooters and motorcycles, but cars have to stop.

4.Crossing the street.
They do have crosswalks here, and they do have crossing signals, although not at all the crossings. I find it is easiest to start crossing the street and watch the cars coming toward you. As they approach pretend like you are still just thinking of crossing and hesitating to do so. They usually will slow down and let you go. But you have to be careful of the motocicleta that whips in and out of traffic. They tend to just go around you instead of stopping.
When you are at a busy street and walking across the crosswalk because you have an ok to walk sign, the traffic waits right at the line, grunting like wolves ready to pounce as soon as the light turns green for them. It can be a little intimidating. If your ok to walk signal turns yellow, you better run to the other side quickly. Because as soon as that light turns green, they are off.
5.Poop.
There is poop everywhere. The dogs and cats here just go on the sidewalk and the only thing that washes it away is the rain. The Italian word for poop is “caca”.

So what I am going to do if I can't seem to get pictures on the blog itself, is post them on a picasa web page. Once I have the link I will post it and you can look at all my pics. I also found that if you click on my individual post instead of just the front page, you can see photos there.

Catania e pazza!!

Alrighty, where to start. Well, I got in ok obviously! There were 3 that met me at the airport, Gabriele, Genny, and Davide. They are all sooo nice and helpful. They speak some English so when I cant really understand them it helps.


My apartment is interesting. I live with 4 other girls, one that I just met today. Their names are Sofia, Maria, Carla and Sylvia. Carla is another Aiesecer from Switzerland, very nice girl, she speaks French, English and Italian fluently. Sofia speaks only Italian and does so very fast. When I try to speak to her she always looks at me as if she is extremely confused. I cant figure out if she likes me or not, and also if she is a gossipy girl. She sure does talk on the phone a lot. I heard her talking on the phone and sounded like she was arguing with someone then 2 seconds later she goes "perfetto" which means perfect, like everything is ok. I think that is just the way they talk here. Maria speaks a little english. She was telling me about an American friend she had that she has kept in touch for over 17 years, but after 9/11 she hasnt heard one word from her.

My room is big but i have a very small and rather uncomfortable bed that I can feel the springs in. I have double doors that open to a small balcony overlooking other apartments. At night it is loud, so I have to close my window, but its so stinkin hot that I cant at times. I also think that some of my neighbors are potheads because I can smell it late at night every once in a while.


The city itself is just crazy. There are cars everywhere, and you have to be careful crossing the street.

Thursday night I walked around the centro with some of the Aiesecers. Friday I went grocery shopping and tried to get a phone but apparently Cingular has locked my phone so I had to call them. On Saturday I went to Taormina to meet up with Aunt Shaula and the kids, had a blast. Auntie Shaula looked quite excited to see me, so I took a picture of it. I ended up staying at a Hostel for 2 nights there but it was a good deal for a single room with a private bathroom. Taormina is very beautiful. We went to the beach 2 days and then the last day we went to the Teatro Greco. I found out I am going back there tomorrow night for a concert at the Greek Theatre which should be pretty cool. Dont ask me who is performing, I just go with the flow.


On Tuesday I went with Danilo to the Police Station so I can get my Permit to Stay. When you stay longer than a certain time, you have to get this within 8 days of your arrival. We got there at 6AM where you write your name on a piece of paper on the door. Then when they open at 9, they call your name and give you a number. When your number is called you get helped. Its an interesting way of doing things thats for sure! Today I had to get fingerprints done just in case I commit a crime--haha!



I start at FG Coop next Monday. I am excited to see how this is going to work out.

I tried to put some photos on here, we will see if they come out ok!

Arrivo a Catania!

Hooooly cow! I am here finally. Let me tell you that being awake for 27 hours is not much fun, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do!

So I left Chicago at about 6pm becuase my flight was delayed an hour and a half. We arrived in London at about 8 am. I got maybe 3 hours of sleep on the plane after watching a silly Lindsey Lohan movie. The German girl next to me liked it though!

They herded us into the passport area like cattle. Luckily I got through as a Student. The girl at the counter grilled me a bit about my "studies", but she let me through ok. I got my luggage and sprinted to the Alitalia line where I met another long line. Apparently their system was down and they couldnt print any boarding passes or bag tags. I missed my 930am flight and was put on the 1215pm flight. Got to Roma and had to sprint to my connecting flight and made it just in time. Got here at about 7pm, I was met at the airport by Gabriele, Genny, and Davide. They were wonderful and helpful. They took me immediately to my apartment where I was met by Sofia, who gave me my keys and talked a mile a minute.

So my apartment is ok, I have pictures to put up next time hopefully. I live with 4 other girls: Carla (another AIESEC trainee), Sofia, Maria, and Sylvia (who I havent met yet). My room is big and has a balcony. It is sooooo stinkin hot here its unreal. Everyone is sweaty, and has a natural, well lets be optimistic and call it a "glow". The city itself is quite crazy (patzi!), people just drive like maniacs and park on the sidewalk.

I still dont really know my address and I am working on getting my phone to work here. I will have that info for you shortly. They dont have Wifi readily available so I am writing from the AIESEC office right now.

Well, I have to go have some lunch now, I miss everyone already!!

Baci!!