ah yes. I finally made it to Orvieto after my arduous train battle (it truly wasn't even that bad I slept for most of it and almost prevented my seatmate from leaving on her stop bc she was too nice to wake me up.
But Poderi Mansete, the place that will be my home for the next 5 days. I couldn't see anything on the long windy drive up, but it felt like Colorado and Nepal roads, with tight turns, steep drops, and nothing but darkness save for the beams of brights cutting through the steady rain. The car hummed as it changed gears - when I first got in the car I thought there was classical music playing but nope, just the car singing up the mountain.
Gretel is a gem. Someone I want to be like growing up, she commented as we turned in for the night that it wasn't our first time meeting, was it. We had met before, somewhere, somehow, in another existence. And I believe it. She is kind and gratuitous, she is curious and affable. She asked me a lot about my life and my relations and I learned of hers. She dries orange peels to burn as kindling in her fireplace, and feeds the local "semi-free" cat who drops by for pets and purrs - he even came to say hi to me! Her home is a haven, for art, for cooking, for storing, for growing, for hosting, for hygge - or maybe there's an Italian word for it! Her neighbor chops her wood for her and is bringing us fresh ricotta cheese tomorrow, made from the milk of his flock of sheep grazing on the best of winter grass. She does yoga and paints and draws and embroiders and hosts other engineers like me apparently, all looking for an escape from our dreary jobs, and I think she mentioned something about being a literary publisher, where she joined someone for a wine tasting and agreed that it was pretty superfluous but that that was the best wine that she had ever had - reminded her of her grandpa's briefcase. We talked about exes and crushes, kids and grandkids, and she encouraged me to invite the guy I have a crush on to the next singles night. All in all, the warmest, coziest evening I could ask for. It was everything I expected yet more than I had hoped for. It's exactly what I want to create for my future.
So I was way too tired to write yesterday... I woke up at 5 am (jetlag) and went to go pee and tried to go back to sleep and was so confused when it was still bright after I turned off the lamp. Was it my phone still? A mysterious glow from somewhere in this room? Ah, sunlight. Coming through my window. I felt like that one orphan who goes to live at her uncle's home in the mountains and sleeps in the hay bales in the loft. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?
call me by your name vibes (is that racist of me)
Spurred by the sun, I went downstairs to start making
cha and getting my tasks assigned as my first full day as wwoofer! If I didn't explain wwoofing, it's like workaway where you work for your keep (as I wish it still was normally sigh) but specifically through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Huh. They coulda capitalized that middle o and made it WWOOOF. My best friend likes to call me a wolfer hehe.
First task of the day: break down all the boxes and take off the tape and stickers so that they could be used for either fireplace or compost. I was pleasantly distract, nay, aided in my task by the lovely Secondo (Italian for second, as he is the second) semi-free cat that roams the land but always drops by morning and night for pets. Look at that BELLY
After that, I was tasked with cutting down all the reeds in the garden, intermittently stopped by squalls throughout the afternoon but if it weren't for Gretel calling me back in I wouldn't have minded. I've missed the rain and the comfort of a simple, satisfying job. Snip snop snip snop.
Eventually though the rain wouldn't let up and I was started to freeze so I retired inside to the roaring fireplace (ugh. I love wood fireplaces) and soon got changed to go to Orvieto the main city while Gretel went to her yoga class (67 and still doing yoga and running a whole ass farm this absolute matriach). I climbed I kid you not at least 500 steps (good Annapurna training) and walked the whole of this incredibly gorgeous walled city.
I was doing my usual meandering without direction when I stumbled into two tourists who asked me for directions...in Italian. Stuttering, I said something along the lines of "scusa, no parlo italiano, io sono turista" and then a quick realization of ah! I have a map (god bless eSIMs) and quickly searching for the Duomo di Orvieto. Pretty quickly the woman then asked if I spoke English, at which point we both realized that we did, then I asked if I could lead their way to the duomo since I wanted to see it too. We asked the usual where are you from questions, where I learned her, her partner, and their two Yorkies were Italian-Brazilian!!! so grew up visiting Italy but speaking mainly Portuguese, and eventually that she went to University of Michigan dental school. what the heck. I'm realizing that the chances of meeting another Wolverine/adjacent are really not low at all, considering I've met one at least once a day since I landed, from Buddhist monks to owners of the cutest golden retriever who loves pets and fetch. But y'all, that church. was. gorgeous
It was also PERFECT weather. Sunny and warm the whole afternoon that I was there, and I ordered myself a cute cornetto and bought a dispo, both times using only the Italian I knew. I love saying quanto costa? I will say though every time I try to speak, all the other snippets of the languages I partially know come flying into my brain instead. Terrible.
After getting back home, I finished my work cutting down the reeds and drying them out in the remaining sunlight for use in the fireplace for the rest of the cold while Gretel made pesto pasta, with pesto from her garden and pasta from the spelt grain she grows over 10 hectares. Ah and don't forget the homemade sourdough bread and the fresh buffalo milk mozzarella! Literally insane the quality of food and freshness. We had an incredibly insightful conversation about childhood attachment styles and lingering trauma and wanting to fill feelings of hopelessness with other people's approval. Which is, of course, impossible, and we talked about the joy of being alone and giving that validation to ourselves, with our inner voices. It's crazy the things that we can connect so deeply about, after only knowing each other for two days if that even. As my little sister in Wisconsin says, quite healing.
It's almost midnight again so I'll beg off for now. Oh! I've also been getting further into Pride and Prejudice (thank you for the book my lovely) and having a lot of fun deciphering all the old English and customs of that era. Watch it start to bleed into my writing a bit - might be good to have a little bit more distinction actually. Tata for now loves. See ya later.
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