Allora, Aspetta!

Post Holiday Blues

Well, yesterday was the last holiday of the Christmas season. With Epiphany, the celebration of the 3 Kings' arrival in Bethlehem twelve days after Christmas, Italy's feast of winter holidays comes to a close. Antonello and I didn't attend the annual Befana launch in Piazza della Liberta' *(involving the sliding of the traditional Epiphany witch down a cord that stretches from the piazza's clock tower to the brick wall of the Comune), but we did witness the good witch's work: both of our stockings were filled when we woke up in the morning (Italians do the stocking tradition on Epiphany instead of Christmas day). It was a warm day, like we've been having lately, and the sun woke up a few hours before I did. Still, it was a good, long day, and we took naps in the afternoon. Ah, holidays.

While I've blogged about two of the most important events that have happened this December (Alessandro and Deborah's wedding and my parents' visit), I let another of the events slip away without even mentioning it until now. Here goes: I have a job. After having spent almost a year in this country and never quite securing any steady income, I finally found something in early December. I am a school teacher, or at least a school teacher's assistant, at the local middle school. It's a three month gig, and I started it about two weeks before the kids went on Christmas break. I'll start back up in three days (Tuesday). It's fun, and I enjoy working with the kids and teaching English. As happy as I am, I can't seem to shake the idea that, three months from now, I'll be back to job searches, no steady income, and sleeping in late (okay so it's not all bad), but as I always try to remember: in Italy people take things one step at a time.

In the meantime, I'm teaching private English lessons, eyeing graphic design possibilities, and waiting for a big break in the travel writing world. Days seem to go by so fast--it's sunset by four in the afternoon--and in just a few months I'll be back in the states again, spending another summer in Indianapolis. My life is moving by in shifts and splits, and I feel like I'm always on the verge of something new.

Hope your holidays were happy! Happy Epiphany! The next Italian holiday isn't for a while, so I'm letting these last days of Christmas break sink in the best they can.

-Jackie

posted by Corrie @ 7:34:00 PM