My living/work situation

Living situation: So, let me explain what's going on with my living situation. I live in the wealthiest part of town, a couple of blocks from the ocean. My apartment is on the top floor and I can see the ocean from my balconies (yes, there are more than one)! The family I'm working for have an apartment across the hall from mine. Their apartment is immaculate. There are the tapestries, large vases, paintings, piano, etc. It's gorgeous. I'm afraid I'll break something. My apartment is beautiful as well. There are three rooms: one is an office, one is my bedroom, and one is a living room. There is also a kitchen and a large bathroom. Btw, the bathrooms here have bidets but I haven't gone there yet. It's kinda weird and I don't know if I can do it. The ceilings are very, very high and there are cute chandeliers in every room. I'm definitely living in luxury. Unfortunately, I still don't have an internet connection. I didn't realize how addicted I was to the internet and my cell phone until I have been without it for a few weeks. I feel cutoff from the world. Hopefully, my internet problem will be fixed tomorrow.

Work situation: I'm finding my work situation a bit odd so far and I'm hoping to get more comfortable with it. I'm working for a family of four. The parents and their two children, who are 4 and 1. To take care of these four people, there are two full time employees. They cook, clean, and watch the children. The parents don't lift a finger. It's not even like the parents are gone to work all day either. Most days they're there at least half the day. Still, someone is there with them from 8 in the morning until 8 at night. So, I joined the crew last week. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what my role is. From what I understand, it is to speak English. I thought I was supposed to be teaching the children English but so far I've been helping the mother more than anyone. What I find to be most odd is our dinner situation. One of the "servants" cooks dinner, sets the table, and leaves. The children are fed before dinner (that way she doesn't have to feed them) and so it is me and the couple for dinner. Talk about weird. I'm like, don't you wanna spend some time alone? Apparently they don't. I feel like the third wheel. I'm being paid to be their friend. The food is good though and free. I feel a little awkward around the two girls who work for them. I'm sure they're wondering what I'm doing there too. I'm just someone else to cook for and clean up after. I try to help them as much as I can. I never would've thought that it would bother me so much to have hired help. I think what bothers me most though is the fact that these kids are being raised by someone other than their mother. She will sit in the other room while someone plays with her kids. I feel like they're aching for attention. I had only been there for two afternoons and was holding the youngest kid. I put her down and she starts crying and reaching for me. Likewise, the oldest said "don't go" when I was leaving the room. It's sad. I don't like it. There seems to be a lot of turnover in the house so I feel like these kids have people coming in out of their lives constantly. I don't know how long I'll be able to stay in this setting. Hopefully I can keep my big mouth shut too ;)

I'm at Annie's place right now, which is very cozy. She lives with three other people who are about our age. She lives in the "real Italy" as I call it. I much prefer it. There are no housekeepers or cooks. Everyone in the neigborhood seems friendly and we've already made friends with the waiter across the street, Luca (as mentioned in the previous blog). For lunch today, we are checking out her neighborhood pizzeria. We'll see if pizza in Genova can compare to the pizza in Napoli. Every city in Italy claims to have the best food in Italy. It's pretty funny. Tomorrow, we're going to meet with Frances who is the manager at the school where we'll be teaching English classes. My Italian classes start next week. I took a placement test and yeah, I'll be starting in the beginner class. K, time for pizza.