Spoiler alert! Month Four has been amazing.
After organising a few walks that people joined me on, there seemed to be a recurring theme of people craving community, especially people who have moved here from other places. That got me thinking about the communities I had enjoyed being part of in the UK – Project Awesome (an early morning free fitness workout group) and The YesTribe (getting people outdoors for walks, campouts and general adventures). Given that I had already organised a few things that seemed to fit The YesTribe vibe, I had a chat with Dave Cornthwaite, founder of The YesTribe, and asked if he thought there was any scope for a YesTribe in Italy. He was wonderfully supportive and encouraging, as he always is, so I had the go-ahead. I just needed a plan of action. So instead I went skiing in an amazing ski suit from the 80s.
Once I returned, however, I was ready for action. After another walk and another chat about what the YesTribe might offer that doesn’t already exist here, I took the plunge and made a Facebook page, cause everyone knows it’s serious when you got a Facebook page, right?!
I set up a few more walking events (we have our third tomorrow) and a first social evening, in which a lovely bunch of people who had been on one of the walks came along and we spent the evening discussing the beauty of Slovenia and teaching me Italian slang and swear words, both of which make for a lot of fun, especially when you add prosecco into the mix.
So The YesTribe Italia now exists and setting it up has been a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see what direction it will take.
In other news, my Italian is improving enough for me to follow most conversations in a general way, if not always specifics. And I can read most things now too, which is very exciting, and am becoming confident enough with writing to send text messages without double checking everything first. I am getting an Italian teacher imminently, I hope, to speed up this process.
That’s it for me this month. Work is good – I’m lucky enough to love what I do and the teaching is starting to come more naturally as time goes on. This city very much feels like home too. The streets and bus routes and focaccerias are familiar to me. The museums still amaze me every Wednesday when I go to a new one.
This month, I have four visitors from the UK so it will be action-packed until my next check in! Bye for now, ciao ciao!
lazylauramaisey 