Robert DeNiro's Waiting

I had a few conversations on Friday. One in English with my new friend Cindy.
One in Engliano with my landlords Mario and Luisa.
Both were interesting, and not only because I got to speak to someone other than the kids and Brian. Cindy and I had made arrangements to check out the opening of a new store here in Rieti. She picked me up and we went over to see what the buzz was all about. It turned out to be a dollar (or in the case over here, the 1 euro) store. It was all the rage, and the parking lot was filled to capacity and then some, given the penchant for parking creatively by the Italians. She and I found a few things as there was a decent produce section to the store.
She filled me in on some Italian curiosities that I have noticed over the weeks. Stores not being open; crazy driving (a bus actually hit her while she was stopped at a red light); the willingness of the Italians to wait in line at the post office for an hour, but less than a nano-second at a red light just turning green. She enjoys living here now (for 10 years) but misses some things of home. Her boys (14 and 16) seem truly Italian to me but also seem reluctant to speak to us in
English. I hear from Mario and Luisa (who are also friends with Cindy and her boys) that they are on the shy side. After shopping, we went and had a cafe at my local internet bar. It was nice to enjoy a coffee *and* a conversation at the same time. Cindy ordered her cafe with ginseng - a drink that Brian gets at work too. Yes, Brian drinks coffee now. Italian coffee is *that* good. Except I don't think I'll swich to the ginseng kind.

Later that day, the kids and I took a walking tour of our town and with the help of the tourist office visitor's map, put names to buildings we have been walking past for weeks now. The very plain on the outside Basilica is 600-700 years old and is stunning on the inside. Included inside is a very large painting of Santa Barbara - patron saint of Rieti. Yeah, she was beheaded and the painting is very graphic. Gotta love church art. In order to get Edwin to come along (willingly)
on the walk, I told him I would pay him 5 cents for every lion he saw. He raked in 1.50 in less than an hour. We stopped counting at that point. He used his earnings to purchase bubble gum.
And very kindly treated all of his siblings to their own pieces.

That evening, after dinner, the caldaia stopped working. This necessitated a call to the landlords.
Of course, once we called them, it (hot water heater) started working again. So I went up the street to their house to catch Mario before he came down to look at it. I had brought some See's candy back with me to give to them, so I figured it was as good a time as any to do so. I spent an hour trying (fairly unsuccessfully) to talk with them when they invited me in to share the chocolate. They are really nice people. I still can't figure out what Mario does.
I believe it's something to do with construction and/or lots of money. They have a beach house, a boat, other rental properties and he drives a Mazeratti. Sadly, I look like I just rolled out of bed everytime I see them - no make-up, messy hair, rumpled clothes and flip flops. Every. time. Heaven knows
what they think about the American lady with all the kids. I definitly don't look Italian.
But they are my main Itaian teachers. I have learned a lot about the language from them -
especially since Luisa is intent on my learning by speaking ONLY Italian. Capito? punctuates most of her sentences.
So I had a Banarama day talking Italian with new friends. I didn't speak it well, but I tried.
Capito?