Still sick

Yup, the title says it all. Yesterday I sent my agent three different emails that said," I'm sick, I don't think I can do the audition", "Yeah, I'm still sick", and "Wait I feel better, don't cancel it yet" and he received all three before he woke up. So we chatted on the phone and he did a little shuffling and was able to schedule and audition in Genova today, which is only an hour and forty minutes from Torino, and reschedule the Venice audition for Friday. I really thought I would be able to do an audition today, but I woke up and my voice was very low, so I tried singing and discovered I really couldn't. I mean, I can sing, I don't have laryngitis or anything, but I can't sing well enough to make a good first impression, and other than that lady from Tulsa who makes you come in and sing all your arias for her once a year, I usually don't reaudition for people, so if I can't do well, I'd better not do it. I'm planning on going to Venice tomorrow and staying the night regardless of how I feel, and hopefully I'll be up for singing for them on Friday. But if not, I'll try not to be too disappointed. And at least I'll get to see Venice.

Yesterday I didn't leave the house, and my most exciting adventure was with the shower in Vincenzo's apartment. I vaguely recalled when I had visited Vincenzo before and washed my hands in the bathroom, that I had noted that his shower-head seemed to be resting on the edge of the bathtub and that there was no shower curtain, but my mind didn't process it fully until I had to use it yesterday. He has a full sized bath tub, but he has never mounted the shower head up high or put in a shower curtain, so when he and his brother shower, they just hold the shower-head above them to rinse off and basta. This is not a concept that is really feasible for me. First of all, I am an american glutton, and am quite used to standing under the hot water for some minutes just to wake up and relax. But this isn't possible when you have to hold the hot water above your head with one arm. Also, I don't know where exactly he puts the shower-head when he's shampooing, but I had the bright idea to try to hold it between my knees so I could use both my hands to lather. Sometimes I would try to sort of squat down and put the shower-head in my lap, but that also proved to be a difficult position. Also, remember, there is no shower curtain, so every time I tried to find a creative place to hold the shower-head, I would squirt the entire bathroom with water. I finally settled on putting it on the floor of the tub, and shivering while I washed or lathered, and picking it up again to rinse. The thing that baffles me is that he has lived here for 4 years and has been taking these short, water conserving showers all that time. And I've been in there after he has showered - there is no water on the floor! This shower experience, combined with the hole in the floor toilets that I have encountered at many restaurants and cafes, causes me to note that The Italian bathroom experience in general appears to be slightly different than from american one.

But shower disasters aside, Vincenzo is a fantastic cook, and has taken on the challenge of teaching me as many dishes as possible before I leave, while also feeding my hungry stomach. Yesterday he cooked lunch and dinner, both of which were delicious. Lunch was pasta with broccoli, the only other ingredients were oil, garlic, sardines, and sweet paprika (that his grandmother makes). For dinner he made two kinds of rice - risotto with mushrooms and riso nero (which is this black rice that isn't quite a rice or a risotto) with olives, rosemary, and a creamy sauce with shrimps and saffron. He could definitely be a chef if he didn't want to work in an opera theater! After dinner I watched the most bizarre Italian sketch comedy show on TV with Vincenzo and his adorable brother Marco, and then I went to sleep in Vincenzo's comfy bed, while he slept in this tiny bed in his brother's room. These southern Italian boys are taking such good care of me, I want to take them home in my suitcase.