Fall Foliage?

I miss fall in New England! Within the space of a few weeks, Bologna got chilly and sunny, just like home in the fall. And every time I step on a leaf and hear it crunch, I get a pang of homesickness. I realized that despite all this Italy traveling, I've never missed a fall on the East Coast. Oh, apple picking . . . pumpkin carving . . . hot cider.



No complaints about Italy, though. A fourth addition to our house just arrived: Francesca, from Puglia. She studies international marketing and is finishing her thesis. I'd forgotten what it was like to live with three other people in my house - I've gotten too accustomed to Massimo's tortured love life. But now it looks like the various players at Via Avesella are in place. Somehow, after seeing 14 apartments last November in search of a normal, clean, non-smoking place, I have ended up as the only non-smoker in my house. How did that happen? I'm prepared to wage war, though. Here is my question: why do smokers think that non-smokers can't smell the remnants of their surreptitious smoking? I always know when someone has been sneaking around.

Next week I'm going with some coworkers to the Abruzzo, a region a few hours south. It's very rural. I'm really excited, actually. This article helped me. There are various political work-related motivations behind this trip, which for me translates (among other things) into lots and lots of photos. But I think it'll be fun, too, since 5 people under the age of 30, with a car and a credit card . . . well, we can't go wrong.



My choir has re-started with a bang. We have about 5 concerts this month. The nicest moment, though, was the reappearance of a beloved tenor, Elio. He's known for his eccentricity (he frequently fixes my bike during rehearsal, so that I begin my journey home and find out that my tires have been pumped) and his penchant for throwing hard candy at us while we're singing (the sopranos sit right in front of him). We appreciate it, since it's good candy. Anyway, he was hospitalized in late July for an aortic aneurysm, and it was extremely extremely serious. He was back and healthy yesterday, though - even if he's moving a little bit slower. We gave him a deafening round of applause, and he responded by throwing a whole bag of candy at our conductor. I knew he was himself when he offered me a perfectly yellow banana in a shoebox lid (being used as a tray, I think) at the end of practice. "Are you hungry?" I was! It was a good banana - I ate it during work today.