June 22, 2007

Well, I am having a bit of trouble with the mosquitos. Last night, while I was sleeping, they formed a squadron and invaded my room. These Italian mosquitos are quite deadly, as they are VERY quiet and almost impossible to hear. Anyways, they feasted their little hearts out on my left eyelid and this morning when I woke up, I could barely open my eye. When I looked in the mirror, I was beyond distraught....My eyelid had almost completely swolen over my eyeball....it was truly horrific to behold. I showed it to Grandma Rosa and she gave me some cream. However, it still looked just as gruesome when I got to the school. As I walked through the halls, children screamed, adults fainted, and even the bravest souls turned and bolted in the opposite direction. When I walked into my classroom, one of my dear little students, Martina, screamed "Mama Mia" and nearly started crying. I explained that it was only a mosquito bite and she sat stroking my arm and looking at me in pity for nearly five minutes. The camp director gave me a bottle of cream for bug bites and that has helped immensly. I can now see out of my eye, and it only looks ugly, rather than monsterous. I plan to sleep with a t-shirt wrapped around my eyes tonight, since this is the second time that the mosquitos have attacked my face.

On Sunday, I am going to Verona, with some friends. For those of you literature buffs, you will remember that Verona is the setting for Shakespears Romio and Juliet. The city is about 2 hours from Roccafranca, and we are planning to leave in the morning, so that we can spend the day sight seeing. Hopefully, both of my eyes will be fully functional by then and I will not scare the locals with my beastly eyeball.