One Day of Sunshine.

The Yorkshire Dales are a beautiful and some what mythical place.  They remind me of some where that tales of creators never to be discovered were thought of and told around fires.  I walked through Dry Valley on my way back from Malham Tarn(Lake) yesterday.  It was a shallow valley of green and rock surrounded by and submerged in fog.  A rock wall split the small valley in half and several other rock walls cut in and out as I walk along.  About a quarter of the way down I found a sheep that was dead; its back right leg had been eaten and some of the intestines were strewn about.  The night before I slept just above the Tarn in a field.  During the night I heard sheep grassing by my tent.  The dense fog that rolled in about seven that evening didn't let up the next morning as I packed my tent and sleeping bag.  I started down the valley about mid-day; past Malham Tarn, through Dry Valley, and over Malham Cove to Malham- where I spent the night drying out in a B and B.
Malham Cove was at one time a massive water fall.  The melting water from the glacier ran through the valley and over the falls.  Water still runs through there but not over the falls- it runs under it.  Just above Dry Valley, run off water from Malham Tarn disappears.  It flows underground for about three miles and re-appears underneath Malham Cove to continue though the Southern Dales as a stream for animals to bathe and drink from.
Walking through the Yorkshire Dales I got some funny looks from the locals- the sheep and cows.  A few of them stomped their feet as a warning.  I was hauling about thirty-seven pounds so I was in no position to just up and run for it.  (I don't think fighting sheep and/or cows with horns is a good idea with or without a pack on, thus running was my option.)
My final words for this subject are these.  The Yorkshire Dales is a wet and beautiful land- the order is important.  It is extremely wet.  Moisture comes from all angles, there was no way to get away from it.  In the same respect, beauty is in everything.  There is no escaping the green and lush hills dotted with animals and lined rock walls.  I thought I'd seen what heaven will look like so many other places but if heaven had to choose its face, this would be it.

Its been awhile!

So much to say!!  Enjoyed hanging out with my dad and sister, (road tripped it)!  Siena is the best!  Snowboarding was great!  Christmas was fun! (But I missed my family.)  New Years was really REALLY loud!!  I was sick for about a week- from New Years on.  (That wasn't fun, btw.)  I just started Italian classes again!  I'm understanding Italian alot better now!  AND I leave in two weeks.
I'm kind of excited to continue on my journey but at the same time, I will really miss it here.  I have made quite a few friends- quality friends.  Also, I'm just starting to get ahold of the language.  There are many words and phrases I've been able to pick up that I wouldn't have otherwise if I wasn't in here.  I'm so greatful for this oppertunity.  I love Italy and I will be back some day.
Working in la cucina has been really good for me.  No one in the kitchen can speak English fluently.  This makes it nice for me because everyone is constantly telling me things in Italian!  Some of the others can speak some English so we work together some times to figure out words.  I'm always asking, 'Come si dice?', again and again.
There is a lady here that always talks to me about her teeth.  I don't understand all of what she's saying but she just comes up to me and starts talking and talking.  I understand that her teeth hurt and she can't eat very well.  But pretty much everything else is lost on me.  Everyday she has a little different story about how, today here teeth are this or that and she can or can't eat this or that.  I think that's what she's saying.. haha.
Mario is a bipolar.  (That's my own diagnosis.)  He is seventy-five years old and works here at the nursing home part time.  He opens and closes the gates every morning and evening and sets the table per pranzo e cena.  He is a character some times.  One day he will be happy and joking around and the next day he won't talk at all or mumble about things all day.  Some times he sings while setting the tables.  One morning he came in with his head down and looking very depressed.  He mumbled things for awhile and we couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.  Eventually we figured out that he had left him brief case on the bus and it had forty euros in it.  I felt a little bad for him... but it was kinda funny.  (Not that he lost the money or brief case just the way he was acting.)  Him and this other lady that works part time as well have at it some times-  thats kinda funny too.
It's been a fun time here!  I'll miss it.

Olives

Olive Oil. It is used for everything in the kitchen. I love it. It makes everything taste better, and work better. When our meat slicer was a bit stiff, the chief just poured a little olive oil over the runners and it worked beautifully.  The weather here has been searching for snow but apparently not able to pull it down yet.  It has been cold most nights and rainy on occasion.  Today, the Sabbath, greeted me with a smile of sunshine and blue sky.  I look forward to snow, though.  I miss it.  Last year I went from summer to summer to summer and miss out on winter altogether.  This year I hope to go up north toward Austria and the Alps to find snow.  Snowboarding in Italy- this will be a brandnew experience for me.  I am a bit jealous of myself!
I look forward to my dad and sister coming a few days.  We will meet in Florence and then go on a road trip through the northern part of the country- La Spezia, Milano, Verona, Venezia, Bologna.  These plans are quite likely to change though in the last minute.  I do know this- it's going to be an adventure!  I am excited to see them.  I love road trips.

Recent Happenings

I have been in Forli for three weeks now and I love it here. The language is challenging but I'm catching on quickly.  I am taking Italian lessons on Monday and Wednesday. The teacher doesn't know any English so it will force me learn Italian even quicker. I understand a lot more than I can speak so it is difficult during conversations because I can't always add my two cents. It teaches me patience and how to choose my words and think before I speak.

Forli

I ride my bike from Casa Mia down the main street for about seven blocks.  The street Ts and I take a left.  From there I ride about a mile heading out of town.  I find a road that looks like it might lead to some where interesting and follow it.  There is a vinard on my right surrounding a large brick house.  I start up the narrow road.  It bends and twists and climbs for more miles than my legs care to recount.  When I reach the top this scene awaits me.  Hills.  Colline.  They stretch before me as far as the sea.  A soft fog holds them together and the cows graze on their grass.