On Being a Texan

hello there,
I woke up today and realized I had only been here a week. I am not sure how that is possible but the fact remains. It has been a bizarre week of difficult children, lost baggage, broken guitars, and very good coffee. I have to say that things are not what I thought they would be, but that doesn't mean they are bad.

Monday I visited my friends in Castiglion F.no for the day. It was wonderful to see the cooks at the school, to go have Ciaccia with Amanda in Cortona, and to walk in a place that felt familiar. Normally when I go to Italy, I am not that homesick, because Cast. F.no feels like home. It is a bit different this time around, in that I am a stranger in a strange land, so to speak. But it is becoming more familiar by the day, and everyone I work with is fantastic.

Everyone I work with is also British, Australian, or Italian. As a result, I have lost what little Texas accent I may have had. Whenever I meet a new guest at the hotel, the conversation starts with the same two sentences: "What's your name, where are you from?" When I say Texas, the reaction is the inevitable mix of curiosity and surprise, followed by the three sentences: "But you don't sound Texan at all! I thought you were British. How did you end up over here?" I am something of an anomaly, though I can't for the life of me figure out what is so strange about being a Texan in Umbria...as though a Briton or a New Yorker is that much more normal?

I have been very busy this week, between wrangling with the children, who have enormous lung capacity and ear-piercing shrieks, and working the kitchen with Honor or waiting tables with Marco the Roman, both of which I much prefer. The guests are kind of fun to wait on; and they are more fun to talk about in the kitchen. Mario Batali has actually been very nice and has taken to calling me Tex (again, the issue arises). He and his friends are here on some sort of recipe scouting mission - they have been eating out mostly, but they had a huge lunch here yesterday and couldn't stop praising it. There are also some loud, nouveau riche New Yorkers here that have provided for plenty of entertainment, as they are annoyed by bugs, flabbergasted by the unpaved driveway, upset when the side dishes come on the main plate (because then they can't share, and besides, what is this green sauce anyway?) and in general a bit discombobulated, all the while asking me nonstop what Texas is like. Is it all desert? Do I like Austin? They have a cousin who lives there. Someone's nephew took flying lessons in Tyler; do I know Tyler? How did a nice Texas girl like me lose her accent and end up over here? For the life of me, my answers only seem to generate more questions. It's all quite entertaining.

Also: words like charming, quite, rather, and wonky have all found their way into my vocabulary, unbidden by me.

Also: I now have an entire week of shows booked in the midwest in Indy, Chicago, Cincy, Louisville, Dayton, Canton, and soon to be Ann Arbor as well. I will keep you all posted and please, if you have friends up that way, tell them I am coming.

Also: Marco is taking me to Gubbio today to pick up the guitar...we shall see if Carlos is worth his salt or 110 Euro.

I shall keep you all posted; in the meantime, please post something on the website? Eric the Webmaster is feeling quite lonely.
love to you all,
vanessa