Plaster, Plaster on The Wall (or rather, 'Roof')

Yesterday, I almost died! Crushed flat like a pancake, head popped! Or so you might think, to hear my host mom tell the story. 

What happened was this: I took a shower. And when I take showers, I must leave the window open, so as not to destroy the bathroom with steam. The window is right beside the shower, but it doesn't open very far because it hits the shower curtain rack thing. Yesterday was a particularly long shower to get extra clean for the opera on Saturday, and it was particularly warm and steamy. But I always leave the window open after I'm done to clear out the steam - my host mom shuts it before she goes to bed. So I got out, brushed my teeth, and puttered back to my room to finish listening to my podcast and prepare to do some work. 

I hadn't been out of the bathroom for 5 minutes when I heard this huge big crash. Oh shit, I thought, Something of mine has fallen over, the loose shower head has finally come out of the wall! Maybe I can just pretend I didn't hear it. Which, of course, I couldn't because it was flipping loud. I went to check out what the noise was, and a huge portion of plaster came off the roof just in front of the window, and there was plaster and dust all over the floor. My face... was a perfect caricature of shock. My nonna poped her head out of the kitchen and asked me what happened. I stammered that I don't know, I just finished showering, and I swear I had the window open just like always... She took one look, and told me it wasn't my fault, that I shouldn't have paura (fear), that it's the people upstairs' fault.

Two men come to look at the bathroom, and I eavesdropped trying to hear if it was in fact my fault. I think the first guy thought it was, but the second not. My nonna was very adamant that it wasn't my fault and that she just ho avuto paura per tua testa - had fear for my head. Because I had just left the bathroom! It could have been very serious! She wouldn't let me help her clean up, but I did anyway. I inhaled some plaster dust, which smelled like chalk but made me feel weird when I was trying to sleep. 

I don't really know what we're going to do - clearly I won't be having a shower tonight, and for who knows how long. And I now need to replace my toothbrush, because my toothbrush has plaster dust all over it. But, on the plus side: 1. I'm not dead and 2. she was so nice. I was terrified it'd be a repeat of the last host-mom, but it was not. 

So that was yesterday. Today is going awesome though! We went to Mike's house to do some planting in his garden - did I mention he has a garden? Libby and Maya tilled by hand with hoes, and I planted lemongrass, basil, and cilantro (coriander). Then we planted garlic, and I ate a part of a raw clove. It burns in a good way. It's gorgeous and sunny here, and I'm thinking of going back to work in the sun more before the opera tomorrow (Manon Lescaut). Tonight is a string quartet and then drinks with some friends. So life appears to be good!

Love and well wishes.

<3