Living overseas has been an enriching experience, but I’m sorry, it’s not all that bed of roses like what most people think!

In case you’re wondering where this picture originated from …

And here’s what I’ve been up to … *drum rolls* I’m now a nursery English Teacher.

Haha, what a choice huh?

To be honest, prior to living in Rome, I thought that it was kind of like a step down (if you know what I mean) having paper qualifications and years of teaching experience in a Secondary school and then now I teach mainly 3 – 5 year olds.

But then again, I do enjoy it for most part as I love kids. And how can you not just melt when you see cute and adorable children with those big eyes and thick lashes and those rosy cheeks, that you can’t help to pick them up to cuddle them. And they seem to have a sense of curiosity around them, chattering about in their little voices, “Teacher! Lo sai che bla bla bla?”

So sometimes I think I’m really lucky. I get to play with kids, masquerading as an English teacher.

Don’t get me wrong though, while it’s fun, it’s also hard work as keeping them focused is very challenging. And sometimes they tend to fight with each other and then obviously they cry. Can you imagine how chaotic a room of crying children is? More even so that, because I’m not that fluent in Italian, trying to explain certain things (like why you should be kind with others) is very challenging. I’ve learnt to be extremely patient and calm.

Sometimes I wish I could somehow reverse time back to when I first started teaching in Singapore, and changed my psychology. Rather than being easily annoyed, being patient would have rendered me a more effective educator.

So all in all, I’ve learnt not to look down or think that I’m downgrading myself. After all, if I enjoy what I’m doing, it’s not so bad isn’t it?

Moreover, it pays quite well enough for me to to buy nice crap for myself every now and then rather than having to depend on Cart all the time.

My nice new charm bracelet I bought with my own money!

And who knows in the future, I could even save up and afford to buy on my own, a new scooter or even a car!

And that made me realize quite recently on how autonomous that I finally am becoming – after living here in Rome for some years, I’ve gotten a driver’s license, my own vehicle, I can speak basic Italian, and now that I’ve finally have my own banking account I actually feel like I’m quite up to the same level as I was in Singapore. My independence.

Guess it’s just a matter of time that everything fits in.

The story goes like this :

Wednesday evening at my workplace, Sam the scooter decided to just stop working. When I pressed the ignition, nothing happened. Not even the lights switched on. Which led me to believe that it was a battery failure. So I called Cart up for help and he arrived later in the evening to attach his cable from his battery to mine to temporarily give life to Sam and accompanied me in his car as I rode to my regular mechanic.

The only issue was that because it was late in the evening, and the mechanic needed time to diagnose the issue. I still needed to go to work the next day. No problem … I’ll just take the public transportation. I can deal with this. I’ll just have to get out of the house earlier.

Just to let you know, to get to my workplace, I’d have to take the bus and travel about 3km. Then take the subway, change to a connecting line, and then take a train. After that, walk another 3km from the train station to my workplace. If all goes well, I could reach my workplace in about an hour and a half.

But unbeknownst to me, as I took the bus, I realised that there was a transport strike going on. The bus and subway started their strike at 8.30am so I (along with a whole mass of people) had to rush. But growing up in a cosmopolitan country like Singapore, the crowd wasn’t such a big deal. The train left a few minutes after I boarded, and I ended reaching work rather early.

By the way, transport strikes are pretty frequent in Italy. Sometimes even twice a month. But it’s normally held on Fridays.

But it was after work when the nightmare really started.

As I had to cover another teacher during the weekend, I decided to carry some substantial amount of children books and materials. It was probably about 10kg or so. And I tell you, lugging that amount on a 3km distance (there were no bus services) nearly made me cry. On top of that, I had to rush over as the train strike starts at 2pm. I was half dead when I finally reached the train station.

The train didn’t arrive on time. In fact, it was an hour late. And when it finally arrived, the entire situation was chaotic. There were so many people and I felt like a sardine.

It felt kind of like this :

Being poked and hit (accidentally or not) was no fun. And then I still had to take the subway. By the time I reached my neighbourhood, it was already time to head to where I teach private tuition. Not even time for a proper lunch.

And when that was over, I walked another 3km all the way home.

As you can imagine, by the time I reached home, I was so exhausted, I slept as soon as my head hit the sofa. Completely dressed and all. I was that tired. Even if I were in my teens or early twenties, my body probably cannot take this physical punishment.

I don’t think anyone should experience what I experienced. Ever.

Which makes me wonder, maybe getting a foldable bicycle could be a good investment. As a back up plan in case these sort of things happen again.

Or even better … When will teleportation be invented already?!

But don’t worry. You’re not forgotten! I’ve also not forgotten about the caption this contest! It’s just that I’ve been really really busy these several weeks and then I’ve been sick … Maybe as a compromise, I could have done more short ala posterous posts instead?

Anyway, to make it up to you, I’d like to share with you a beautiful thing that happened in Rome this weekend.

It snowed!

It probably isn’t a big deal to a lot of European countries, but for Rome, it’s very rare for her to have snow, so when there is one, it’s a big deal. It snowed a little, back in 2010 but this time round, the snow was predicted to be much stronger that the mayor of Rome declared schools and public offices to be closed on Friday and Saturday.

Coincidentally, I had Fridays off from work, so I stayed at home and rested and spent time on the computer and slowly saw friends updating their facebook with pictures of how they’ve already had snow. I was feeling rather jealous because at my side, it didn’t snow at all! But the sky looked depressingly dark and it was just raining very badly.

And it kept on that way till Cart came back from work. Thus we both had a rather uneventful day, and got tired of waiting … but rousing up at 2am, this was what I saw :

How beautiful! And with the snow being white, it illuminated the neighbourhood and it didn’t look like night time at all! I went to bed all excited, and when I woke up properly at 7 am, I was greeted with this :

Wow, how magical! And with the snow thicker than the last time, it really looked like a winter wonderland … I didn’t feel like I was in Rome at all! 

Everything was blanketed with a coat of soft, cold, white dust. As if a giant sprinkled the whole neighbourhood with icing sugar.

I was so excited that despite the fact that I was still recovering from my flu, I decided to take a walk and explore the area by myself. Cart’s fast asleep and I really didn’t want to wait.

Gosh, my scooter’s all covered with snow. It looks pretty, but I’m kind of worried if it’ll be damaged and will be fine for travelling next week. It’ll be such a hassle if I had to take public transportation. I’ve never experienced having a scooter in cold countries before.

Cart’s car on the other hand seems to be better equipped for this, with the snow tires and all.

Anyway, I went ahead and took my first few steps in the snow …

Walk … walk … walk …

Now that I think back, what a missed opportunity! Why didn’t I think of putting on some syrup on top and make ais kacang? Look at all the snow! I could have fed the whole of Singapore with this!

Nevertheless, thank goodness that this time round, I had proper snow boots to use! The last time I used my ugg boots, but the snow seeped in and melted, making it very uncomfortably cold and squishy!

My purple snow boots on the other hand, were very comfortable for me!

First I explored the park which was near the house …

Everything looked so magical and romantic … and of course rather cold … that I had to put my hands in my pockets ever so often … if not, it was easy to get frost bites.

I don’t know a bout you, but the entire scene just reminds me completely of a snow-sim in Secondlife. The only difference is that I cannot hit on page up to fly or teleport

So much snow that you can’t even read what’s on the signs!

To let you know how deep the snow was, it reached aproximately around my knuckle. It was really deep!

And here I am completamente naturale, no mekap at all! Not even bb cream nor brow powder. I really couldn’t wait to be out of the house to explore.

I just realised that I’m wearing exactly the same thing I wore the last time it snowed … LOL, maybe I’ve accidentally started a sort of tradition!

At this point of time, I thought to myself, why just explore the neighbourhood? Since it rarely snows in Rome, why not explore a little bit more.

And so  I decided to walk to EUR, as how I normally would do when I used to go for my driving lessons.

But on thing that I didn’t realise about walking in snow was how tiring it was. With each step, you had to dig deep to make sure you had a grip and it took more effort than walking normally. Before I even left the main street, I was already feeling tired … LOL!

Here’s an idea of how it’s like, walking in the snow :

Nevertheless, I trudged on and enjoyed the beauty in front of me.

I really find the white snow on the trees, extremely, extremely charming.

And at length, and probably about 40 minutes later, I eventually reached EUR and walked to the little lake.

Poor ducks! They are probably really cold and hungry and was begging and quacking about when I approached them.

The sad thing was that there was a little toddler boy who started to throw a snowball at them. He was scolded by his mother BUT THEN an adult man comes up and threw snowballs at the ducks. Why?!

I continued walking … My gosh, how breathtaking this is! Is this really Rome? Doesn’t look like it at all! By the way, even in Napoli (which is warmer than Rome) had snow too!

But one of the dangers about snow is that when it accumulates, it gets heavier and I saw loads of branches and trees broken under the heavy weight. Thank goodness there isn’t prickly fruits like durians growing in Europe. What an unpleasant way to expire …

At this point of time, I was really taken by the magic and the beauty and the charm … that I really wished that I could make out like this couple below too.

Too bad someone was still asleep … bah! But that’s the trouble with a couple with different different sleep timings. I’m a morning person, while he’s a night owl!

Anyway, while halfway to the middle of the path, there was a locked gate not letting us pass through, so I had to retrace my steps back.

I really liked this shot, hand imprints probably made by a mother and her son (or daughter) … it was so heartwarming

And here I am, about 3/4 on the way back home … by this time, my butt was feeling really sore from crunching in the snow all these while. I’m really working parts of the body that I’ve never worked before!

And eventually, I reached home at about half past 10 and by this time, there were loads of people outside, playing in the snow, throwing snowballs and building snowmen … It’s such a heartwarming and delightful scene seeing so many people, with their loved ones having fun together.

It’s all so freaking charming!

Could you just imagine the conversation?

Man : Hey babe, check out what I have for you!

*whips out … an anchovy sandwich!*

Woman all dramatic like : Oooh! Yes! Fernando! You know what I like! Give it to me!

*poses all seductively almost eroticly*

Man : Hmm! Now after you eat this, go on and breathe on my face again. It’s sexeh!

And the funny part about this, the tagline reads, “When you start, you’ll never stop“. Never stop what? Convulsion for anchovies?

Sidenote : If you think this was strange, you should check this out too.

Normally I’d spend New Year’s eve sleeping in bed and then waking up to a new year. Yes, I’m very dull. But of course this time round , for the first time since we’re not in Singapore, we did things a little differently this year.

In the morning, we were in Circo Massimo to support my friend Claire who was doing the inaugural Nike We run Rome 10km run that day.

I’ve always wanted to run a 10k event but I was really worried that I couldn’t cope in the coldness of winter. The first time I tried to run back in January, I literally couldn’t breathe after 5 minutes which really frightened me. But I think I’ve acclimatised myself and on the day itself, while was still cold in the beginning, it turned out to actually be a lovely sunny day.

There were so many people crowing around the start point and the feeling was extremely festive. I was extremely jealous and wishing that I participated too! Claire on the other hand, was nervous for her first 10k run. Said that she didn’t sleep much the night before and before this, had to pee 8 times. Hahaha!

But I knew she’ll do fine. She’s been training for a while, so it’s going to be a piece of cake for her

Anyway, while she’s running, Cart and I decided to go walk around the area. We remembered seeing a pastry shop while on our way to the farmer’s market (which was closed on that day) and thought of trying out some cakes.

The place is called Cristalli di Zucchero by the way, and oh gosh, all the cakes there looked so orgasmic. The pastries were divided into macaroons, cakes and mignons and I had a hard time trying to choose which one to try.

In the end, Cart chose Mont-Blanc for himself which is a type of cream cake that has chestnut purèe on top.

While I had Rosa Del Libano which is a sponge cake with almonds, raspberry, white chocolate and rose tea mousse. Cart’s not too fond of this because it reminds him of Bandung. But I love it!

Oh so good! A little expensive at 3.50 euro each, but it’s worth to try at least once.

Since we had a bit more time to kill after that, I suggested that we go to La Bocca della Verità. Which is basically a white circular marble with a hole where you could put your hand in and it was supposed to be a lie detector. You’d get your hand chopped off if you’re guilty.

But gosh, it was super crowded with lines and lines of tourists and we gave up. So we went exploring the Santa Marina in Cosmedin church instead. The church looks so antique … I could totally imagine Thief the dark project in here.

Something interesting we found there :

Believe it or not, on the white sign there, says “Relics of Saint Valentine” Woah, really? I bet this church will be filled with flowers on the 14th of February.

We then headed back slowly to the finish area and were in time to see Claire running past the finishing line. Bloody hell she’s fast! She ran in an hour, 13 minutes! Faster than my timing! Haha!

She looked tired but exhilarated and pumped up. See, all that feeling of nervousness was for nothing! And I’m sure it will not be her last long distance run!

After we said our goodbyes, Cart and I headed to the supermarket to get some groceries as well as some food to prepare for the dinner later that night. We’ll be spending the evening with some friends.

Most importantly we grabbed loads of these :

In Italy there is a tradition of eating lenticchie (lentils) which is supposed to bring you fortune (on account of how it’s round and looks like coins) when you eat it during right during the new year’s day.

After the lentils are cooked, we then headed to Francesco’s house who was hosting tonight. And because it seemed like a special occasion to look hot, so I did just that

I’m absolutely hot right? *coughs* I’m shameless, I know

By the time we arrived, there were loads of food all ready on the table.

This is a lovely quiche like spinach and ricotta bundle.

And roasted prawns! So yummy! This was over in just a few minutes.

Squid ink pasta with mussels. This was nice, but by this time I was feeling very full.

And I could hardly take a bite out of the parmigiana melanzana which was just wonderful. Le sigh!

At about 11.30pm we walked to Gianicolo, to look at the fireworks. To me, it really felt like the second world war was going on here. It was night time and there were so many people all walking briskly and rushing and the sounds of the crackling of fireworks which reminds of me gun shots and the smoke in the air.

It was a little bit alarming for me. But at the same time, there were loads of people, children and adults alike playing with fireworks and sparklers and those were lovely to see.

If I imagined it well enough, it even felt a little like Chinese New year during the early 80′s when fireworks were still not banned in Singapore yet. It was still a little dangerous nevertheless, because if you’re not careful you could step into a firework thrown by a someone. In fact, the next day, there were reports of an increase in accidents by fireworks this year.

Anyhow, it was getting close to midnight and by this time, the amount of fireworks increased and people started to get more energetic. I wasn’t wearing a watch, so I’ve no idea if the countdown was accurate, because there will be someone popping their bottle of wine and then a few minutes later, someone else will be counting down. Hahaha!

Nevertheless, when we thought it was right, Cart and I kissed

We then headed back to Francesco’s house and we were feeling very lucky that we didn’t take the car because it was such a cacophony and confusion going on there with all the vehicles trying to escape the bottleneck. It’s kind of like a traffic jam times 10! So you could imagine all the horns blaring!

It was much faster to walk.

Anyway, when we reached his place, we ate our lentils! (among other desserts and sweet foods)

Here’s to love, peace, happiness and richness! Now that I’ve eaten my lentils. Gimme money

To end, here’s a video of our time in Gianicolo :

Haha, what a confusion!

(I see now how the term getting lucky for having sex started )

That’s why if you’re anywhere in Rome towards the end of the year, you’d see practically all lingerie shops selling red underwear.

And not only women’s underwear, men are not spared from it too!

In fact when Claire and I were going around on our weekly adventures, I saw men’s thong in the shape of a red elephant being sold at a bancarella. It was dangling around and so in your face! Double meaning much?!

I was so amused

Bye everyone! See you in the new year!