Home sweet home.... for now.

So, it being nearly impossible to find apartments in Legnano since I was living too far way and had no transportation except for Carla or Marco or Mago, I now finally live in Legnano...with the vice principal. For now. Hehe.

About 3 weeks ago, I moved into my new apartment. Carla was so incredibly helpful in assisting me with apartment hunting via colleagues and friends, but no such luck has arisen (I don't even know if that's correct English-- when you teach English, you forget the English language completely. Ask any ESL teacher. Fact.) from any potential landlords. One day there was a 3 hour long teacher conference in which the principal spoke about all things new and old and announced my pathetic homeless situation. In front of 180 teachers. Great. Afterwards, the vice principal offered me free housing for a month in her house. How could a cheap-ass like me say no? Now, you're thinking "Christ, you're living with the VP?" Not quite. Most Italian households are structured like small apartment complexes, where each family lives in their own apartment (generally 1 apartment per floor.) Nicoletta (the VP) lives on the first floor (which is the 2nd floor for us Americans, since 1st floors in Italy are actually "ground floor" symbolized by a zero, etc....), while her cousin's family live on the 2nd floor and the 3rd floor are two studio attic apartments. I live in one of the studio apartments. They're actually not for rent and never have been, as they don't have a the Italian equivalent for the Certificate of Occupancy for the place. I don't really have a closet, I have a very small bed, a stove but no oven and no washer/dryer. But shit, it's free! And it's actually really pretty. I'd love to post pics of it and will do so immediately when my digital camera battery charger arrives from Berlin. :)

Anyway, it's literally in the center of the city, a 25 second walk to the main piazza, 10 minutes from the train station, 2 minutes to the supermarket... you get the picture. Only problem is is these damn churches, always ringing their bells at every hour and half hour! And then it's like they want to wake up the whole damn city at 8am with some Jesus, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace semi-synchronized jingle. Ugh. So. damn. LOUD.

Anyway, I did entertain the thought of getting an apartment in Milan instead of living my days in Legnano (jeez, that sounds so terminal..), especially since there's no transportation between Milan and Legnano between the house of midnight and 6am...But, in search for an authentic Italian experience, I decided living it up in a big city wouldn't exactly provide me with such, it being all metropolitan and whatnot (read: Milan is way too expensive and as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm a cheapass-- but not by nature.)

Ok so put on your imagination caps everybody, and I'll take your for a imaginary tour of my Swiss chalet...

As you walk into the apartment and tilt your head upward, you will notice a gorgeous, sealed wooden beam ceiling with two skylights, one in the living room/bedroom and one in the bathroom. To your right is the kitchen, complete with wooden shelves, countertop, funky silver fridge and navy blue cabinets. Across from the kitchen is a very large window and glass balcony door, leading to the luxurious, trapezoid-shaped private terrace, complete with basic outdoor furniture, and of course, fully-functioning dragon-head water fountain (which delivers cool, refreshing water that I use everyday to fill up my nalgene.) To the left of the terrace is extra-large glass sliding door that leads into the bedroom/living room. Entering back into the apartment this way, you will see three medium-sized round windows (think cruise ship) around the perimeter of the living room/bedroom. To the far left is my full-size wooden table with benches (very comunal and cute), with my bed next to it on the right, large couch to the right of the bed, and loveseat on the right side wall along with TV. (Couches are extra comfy-- in fact, sometimes I decide to sleep on them instead of the bed.)

Last, but certainly not least is the bathroom. Highlights include skylight and wooden beam ceiling, which, after a hot, steamy shower, smells and feels like a sauna. Who can ask for more?

*Watch this Space. Pictures to follow.*

So, it's pretty spoiling to say the least.

The bad part is, how the hell am I ever gonna leave my temporary home?! I'm actually secretly praying that the VP will actually ask me if I want to stay here, to which I'll respond with a resounding "Ma, Sìììì!!!!"

After these messages, School Days will be coming up next, so stay tuned!