It's January. It seems way too early to be thinking about the summer, but if it were you who were facing the prospect of 3 months with no pay over the summer, and you saw that applications for several summer camps are open NOW, you'd be worried too!

Yeah...the joys of being an EFL teacher. Contracts go from October-June, which means those lovely three months - July, August, September - with no work and no pay. The no work bit sounds blissful, but if there is rent to pay... 

DECISION NUMBER ONE
To work or not to work?
Wouldn't it be lovely just to have a few months with no job. I've got lots of other things I would like to do. Things I plan to do (time spent at home; last week of July and first week of August in Taizé, for instance). Realistically, I could probably put aside enough to see me through those summer months if it were just a question of living costs (not rent), but that would mean definitely coming home for the whole time, and really I'd like to do like last year and be in Italy for at least some of the time. But that's where the problem lies... if I want to stay in Italy, I need to pay rent on my flat, which would be near impossible with no money coming in. OR, I put all my stuff in storage (maybe even with a friend) and go off and do residential Italian summer camps. Last year it was easier to decide. I finished work at the end of May, I was able to afford the (cheaper) rent over the summer, so I went gallivanting off doing a month at Italian summer camps, went home for a bit, went to Taizé for a week, came back and did another 2 week summer camp, had a few weeks off and then started this new job. 
Actually, I'd much RATHER work...not only from a financial point of view.  What a shame there aren't really summer schools in Friuli! I did enjoy the Trentino camps last summer, although I have to say I preferred the latter one which was teaching only (no trying to teach 8-12 year old Italians how to play rounders in blazing hot sunshine!)

DECISION NUMBER TWO
Italy or England?
If I decided to do summer school again, I might just as well go back and do them in the UK - much better paid, good set-up in many cases (teaching mornings only with separate staff leading the afternoon activities etc etc). Good for professional development and experience (more experience with kids, multilingual classes, exam teaching at some etc). I've got my eye on one or two good ones, not a million miles away from home either. They totally ruin my 2 weeks in Taizé plan though, and would mean I couldn't really spend any time in Italy as they cross over July-August (half way through each), so it's not like I could say "ok, I'll spend July in Italy and then work in England in August" or vice versa. I suppose I could do July/August in England then come back for September. Hmm.

DECISION NUMBER THREE
To move or not to move?
Once I've decided whether I'm spending the summer in England or in Italy, working or not working, I need to decide about my room and whether to keep it over the summer or not. I'm assuming that's even an option. Of course at the present time I have no idea whether I will actually be able to stay in my current job next year or not. Can't count any chickens, who knows what the situation will be. If I were thinking along the lines of being back here in the same situation in October (which would be my ideal), then I'd need to decide whether to stay in this school flat, or whether to try and get a place on my own. Location wise, the flat is ideal, and I absolutely love it, and it's so much easier just having the rent taken out of my pay etc. The downsides are that it's not exactly cheap (50% more than what I was paying last year) and I'm sharing with 2 students, which isn't what I want to be doing at the grand old age of (nearly) 26 (not that they aren't nice, just that it's time I had my own space!!).  But, I really can't worry about that aspect until I know whether I even have a job here next year. But I won't find that out for ages! 
Of course, if I DON'T have a job here next year then I'll be looking for one elsewhere in Italy! Perhaps I'll have to go back to one of the now THREE schools who have contacted me in January asking if I might be available now! That would mean another big move though, which I would do anything to avoid. I just want to be in the same place for at least 2 years running for once. I really like it here. So, fingers crossed everyone!

Anyway, back to the summer...the trouble is, all the decisions merge into each other a bit. If I do X, I might be able to do Y or Z, but if I do Y I might be able to do Z or even X. Argh! But, if I decide to do UK summer camps, I need to apply NOW! The one I've got my eye on most of all looks a bit scary though - classroom observations etc. Being observed is horrible at the best of times - being observed during a 6 week summer camp, with children...well, what a nightmare! But, it would be very good for me. Of course competition will be strong for that one (and others) anyway, so can't count chickens there either. Maybe I should just apply and see what happens and then worry. At least the Italian camps won't be organised until much nearer the time  

I've had a really very nice weekend indeed. A good way to end the first week back at work, which hasn't been too traumatic at all! No new students yet, so there weren't any surprises and it's been a good week. 

On Friday night, after finishing with the teens and UCAS form amendments (helping out with a personal statement took me back a few years...gosh, to think we had to do it on paper not electronically!), I went with a group to Medeuzza, near San Giovanni al Natisone, to the monthly Taizé prayer there. It was really really nice... especially nice to be able to go - it's the first one I've been able to, as usually on Fridays we have choir and so can't. The fact that choir hasn't started up again yet meant we could go. I would actually go occasionally (missing choir) if I had any way to get there...or rather to get home. Trains go to San Giovanni al Natisone at about the right time, but there aren't any coming back late enough after so I'd be stranded. 

Another Rotterdam photo, while I'm talking about Taizé things for a change... (oops, sorry!)

Then, on Saturday afternoon I went, with the same lovely people, to the post Rotterdam meeting. The groups from San Giovanni al Natisone and from Gemona talked about their experiences and showed some photos and video clips. I was the only one who had been hosted in a family in Rotterdam and do feel quite glad that I was! But, of course everyone had had a great time, and it was interesting to hear different perspectives. I chickened out of telling them my experiences which I really regret now, I should have just been brave! But there were about 30 people there and I froze! That said, I did talk a bit about going to Taizé at Easter a bit later on... and could really have just talked about Rotterdam. One day I will have enough confidence to speak Italian in front of lots of people!! Or even in front of just a few people!!! 

Afterwards I was invited to Francesco's house for pizza and fun. Bit of a saga getting there... the Taizé meeting was on one side of town, and I thought "ok, I'll get the bus back to the station and then get the bus from there to San Gottardo". Well, I was already late and a bit stressed, and then the bus I was on (which should have gone to the station) ended its course and threw me off...in the middle of nowhere... I had no idea where I was, or where to go, and luckily have very kind friends here who came and rescued me! The evening was really nice. Actually, it was the first time I have really had a really relaxed evening of good fun (I mean in a smaller gathering with select people, rather than with a lot of people in a more chaotic atmosphere) and I REALLY enjoyed it. The game of choice was Monopoly, or should I say "Monopoli".

Now, I might be a bit biased, but the Italian version isn't a patch on the original! I didn't actually play but it was good fun watching... the boys reminded me so much of playing with my older brother (competitive etc!!). Left about midnight and got a lift home. It does feel strange to have gone from being the one to give people lifts home (in Bristol, for example) to being always reliant on other people to collect me, take me home etc. Buses stop quite early on which is a real pain. I feel like I have lost a bit of independence because of that, and I do hope I'll be able to get a car or some form of transport out here at some point... (but if I stay in this flat next year there's nowhere to put a car as the school car is in the garage...). Ideally I'll be living on my own next year anyway, but that poses problems of its own. Lots to think about for next year! Got to sort out the summer first, as potentially working in the UK might affect what I can do out here (as the plan is NOT to have to take all my stuff back and forth...I've accumulated far too much for that to be practical). 

Today I woke up really late in the morning. Then I decided I'd better do something with my afternoon, and when I looked out of the window it looked like a gorgeous blue sky day, so I decided to make the most of it and go to Gorizia, a town I've been meaning to visit. It's right on the Slovenian border and has a fantastic castle.

I got on the train and then realised the sky had turned really grey. When I first got into the town centre (about a 20 minute walk from the station) the sky had actually gone back to being blue, as in this picture:

While I was up at the castle, a dense fog started falling. The views are supposed to be stupendous back over the old city and over the whole surrounding area,  but I unfortunately couldn't see a thing! I'll have to go back! Still, what I did see was impressive, especially before the fog fell

Porta Leopoldina  

The castle before the fog fell

Looking across to Slovenia

Cappella di Santo Spirito by the castle

The church of San Ignazio seen through the fog from the castle
 

 Influences of Slovenian and Germanic cultures...

 I also took a detour to visit the Methodist Church.  
It's linked to the one in Udine (which I didn't get on with).
A far more impressive church though, this one...

I also bought myself a book in UBIK. There was a 30% off sale and I couldn't resist when I walked in and saw a book by one of my favourite authors, which I had meant to buy last year but then bought something else instead. The author is the  Norwegian, Jostein Gaarder, author of Sophie's World. I have all of his books in English, but last year I noticed this one in Italian which I didn't recognise, and then discovered it hadn't yet been translated into English (but strangely had into Italian...). I had forgotten all about it until now. I see that it did come out in hardback last year in English, but isn't due out in paperback until May. So, I'll give it a go in Italian...hope my philosophical Italian is up to it! It's called The Castle in the Pyrenees.

I've discovered that there might be a way to get to Llubjana. The problem I had encountered when trying to find a way to get there before was that for some reason there's only one train a day, even though it's only about a 3 hour journey, which leaves at 11pm and gets there at 2am! Now the last thing I really want to be doing is arriving in a foreign city, in a country where I don't speak the language at all, at 2am. Plus it's difficult anyway as I would have to go on Saturday night, so I'd be arriving on a Sunday morning... not very practical, and getting home would be impossible in time for work on Monday. All very frustrating considering how near I am. But, today I have discovered that there are trains from Villach, in Austria... it takes 1.5 hours to get there, and 1.5 hours (on a fast, more expensive train) or longer on other trains to Llubjana. The timings still might not work, and probably not for a normal weekend, but if ever I have a Saturday off due to cancellations, or a long weekend, then I will look into it further! Would be silly not to take advantage of being so near a border! Then next stop Croatia!!  

Happy New Year!  2011 is here! That's twenty-eleven by the way, not two-thousand-and-eleven... anyway...

Yesterday I got back to Udine, after what has been a whirlwind of a holiday. After an enjoyable final week at school, I flew to London on the 23rd December. Unlike last year, the journey posed no problems. I had left plenty of contingency time which meant I had a long wait in the airport, but I'd much rather have it that way round! The flight was Easyjet Venice-London Gatwick, just like in the good old days when I was based in Trento... actually, it was slightly delayed, but not enough to have posed huge problems.  This year Mum and Dad were heading to Alex and Caroline's the same day as me and so were able to pick me up from the airport. In fact, I also had the very exciting experience of being met at the plane door by my cousin who works at Gatwick. I stepped out of the plane and there he was...obviously I wasn't expecting to see him in the slightest, so much so that I pretty much walked straight past him, before doing a double take when I realised! So that was fun anyway - got an escort through the airport out to arrivals where we met the parents.

Christmas was lovely as usual. On Christmas Eve we tried out a different church for midnight Mass - and hit right on the most Anglo-Catholic one you can get... as the usual laugh goes, it was almost more Catholic than a Catholic church. So much for my Anglican fix before heading back to Italy. Oh well!  But, it was a lovely service anyway with some excellent singing...I do like a good carol and I had certainly missed out on them this year! 
On Christmas Day we were joined by Caroline's brother and so were in six. Oh dear...saying "we're in six" is the Italian influence of "siamo in sei"... it does slip out occasionally! Anyway, had a lovely Christmas lunch and day, and the same on Boxing Day.

On the 27th we had the pleasure of watching the resident urban fox in the garden... particularly musing when it decided to chase a squirrel (spot them both in the picture sequence below!)

 
Then it was time to go to Rotterdam for the 33rd European Meeting of Young People held by the Taizé community. I set off with a small number of fellow pilgrims from the UK on the overnight Eurolines coach. The coach on the way there was interesting...the driver stopped the coach to come down and tell us that we "must close eyes", and then not long after that we arrived in Rotterdam, at 4.30am, 2 hours earlier than anticipated. With nowhere to go at that time of the morning we were forced to wait in Central Station, absolutely freezing, until we were able to travel to our welcome point. Things looked up from there though as we were hosted in a fantastic host church, by an amazing host family (a lovely couple aged 76 and 80) and the whole meeting was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, as is always the way with Taizé!  
This time I was working at the evening meal distribution - our task was to stop people coming in through the exit, and to stop people taking food out of the hall. Not always the easiest job, but a perfect vantage point for seeing familiar faces.  I was especially pleased to catch up with Ada from Brescia (she was in the group I went to Taizé with last Easter). 

Our London group made small inroads into the 30,000 total  number who attended

Without a doubt one of the best ways to spend New Year. Last year I went to the 32nd meeting in Poznan, Poland and next year it will be the 34th in Berlin. We'll see whether I end up there as well or not! The advantage of Poznan and Rotterdam were that they were both new cities for me too, and I enjoyed the opportunity to explore the surroundings whilst there. For example, on our 3rd day in Rotterdam we headed in and had a look round the town. Below is the Erasmus Bridge, the main symbol of Rotterdam. 

Then from Rotterdam it was back to London and on to Horsham for a family gathering. Lovely to be able to catch up with everyone whilst briefly back in the UK.  

After that I had a few relaxing days at home in Taunton, before flying back to Italy yesterday. First time on a new route: Ryanair Bristol to Treviso. Quite straightforward, but lots of hanging around time. We landed at 8.40pm and the first bus wasn't until 21.34. Was at station by 21.50 and train wasn't due til 22.35. It was then 30 minutes late, so didn't actually get home until 00.20. At least that's when living right opposite the station comes in handy!

Since being back I seem to have done nothing but sorting, washing, shopping and cleaning... from tomorrow things will be back to normal though. Then back to work on Monday - eek!