As I have mentioned before, Britt and I have meals included in the cost of us renting our rooms on the top of the rehab facility (I go to sleep and wake up hearing patients groaning and yelling). We eat in a lower part of the facility with the long-term residents. The food is questionable at best...we are pleasantly surprised when we get something we actually like! Our breakfast every morning consists of a cappuccino, a croissant, and mini toast-like crackers. We usually don't eat those unless the croissants aren't finished baking. We start work at 8 am and we get to breakfast at 7:30. Several residents are always waiting outside the doors. Every morning we say our usual greetings, "Buongiorno! Ciao!" The menu for lunch and dinner is always posted at the entrance of the dinning room, but we can't understand 3/4 of the words! The staff will attempt to ask us what we want, and if we can't give them a straight answer they just take our plates and surprise us. One day we had soup that was basically scrambled eggs in broth. Not too bad actually. Dinner one night was cooked spinach, ricotta cheese, and tomato slices. It was the most random plate of food. Last night we were served zucchini that was drenched in oil, salad with tomatoes, olives and tuna, and some kind of quiche. I have no idea what was in the quiche, but I took one bite and that was it. All Britt had to do was look at my face to decide she wasn't eating it. Today, we had a bread and tomato soup...topped with some parmesan cheese it wasn't that bad! We rely on the bread basket and our fruit they always serve for dessert. And what's interesting about the Italian lunch and dinner is that they always have 2 or 3 courses. So we always are given a soup or pasta before the main meal. This is usually the best part of the meal. It is the second part that we never know about. Last night we had pizza! Not as good as our Siena pizzeria pizza, but it was welcomed after the mystery meat we were served the night before!
We walk into lunch and dinner when they've already started. We wave and say our "Ciao" to our friends :) and the staff. We know where to get the water and napkins and extra silverware to help out the staff, and when we are finished, we take our plates into the back. We've gotten a nice routine going! When we were gone this past weekend and came back for our meals Monday, one man came over and asked where we were and then proceeded to ask us how long we are staying and do we have boyfriends? Haha, when I said no, he grabbed my hand and started saying, "Bella, Bella!" and asked why couldn't we stay 4 or 5 or 6 months instead of just 2? (This whole conversation, by the way, was completed with assistance from one of the few staff who can speak a little English and our growing ability to recognize the few key words we know.) The funny thing about this whole interaction is that this man always had a scowl on his face when he looked at us, but we always smiled back at him and I guess we finally broke him! And now he's in love with us. I really feel like a celebrity around here. As we walk around the facility, the patients and residents call out to us and we wave and speak to some here and there. One man knows exactly 5 words in English and uses a different one every time he sees us.
Britt and I are developing great relationships with our patients. One man who Britt has specifically been working with told us he would be our "dad" at the facility. Awwww!!! Today after Britt finished working her manual magic on him, he told us he wanted to buy us a caffe downstairs! He showed us where his room was so he could get his money and then we had a little coffee break and chatted with him for a bit. Such a sweet man, he always has a smile on his face. Another man we worked with today, well Britt did all the work (a lot of work, let's just say she was "glistening" after finishing his treatment). I assisted. When we got him up to walk, he immediately grabbed my hand in a death grip and as we all walked across the hall to the other gym, he and I walked in first and then he started to close the door behind us! I said, "Oh, no, no, no!" (This statement is universal.) and he laughed and I led him back out of the room and he said "Questa mi bamba", which means "This is my baby!" Britt did all the work and then he hits on me. Oh these old Italian men...Anyway, our days are never dull at the facility! I am sure there will be many more stories to come.
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