Earthquake!

Our first REAL earthquake! Matt and I have been pretty sure that we have felt tremors before. But usually when we talk to the rest of the team they didn't feel them so then we ask ourselves...did that really happen? But Saturday morning we woke up to the house slightly shaking and something in our room making noise as it shook. It was one of those strange experiences when you are just waking up and you aren't sure what is going on. We were pretty sure it was an earthquake but then again was it really? Then a couple of hours later I felt it again but this time only slightly. I called Heidi and asked "Am I going crazy or is the earth moving today??!!!" She said the earth was moving and that they had felt them too at the same times we had. Crazy! Brian found this bit of news about it...
(AGI) Ancona, Italy, Oct 21 - An earth tremor of 4.2 on the Richter scale and around the third grade on the Percalli scale, was recorded just after 9 o'clock this morning between the provinces of Ancona and Pesaro-Urbino. The tremor was felt by the people living in the Metauro basin. According to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, the first tremor occurred at 36.8 km down and its epicentre was Castelleone di Suasa, in the Ancona province. (AGI)

I love Fall

Today is the perfect fall day. The weather is cold and kinda rainy. I know most people don't like days like today but I LOVE THEM!!! I got up this morning and the house was quiet and chilly. Perfect. I made some hot tea and did a little work on the computer. For lunch I decided to make potato soup. I turned on some Micheal Buble, lit a few candels and set out to make a big pot of potato soup. I even peeled with potatos with a knife instead of a potato peeler just because I wanted to. There was something so calming in that moment with the music, candles and the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board. It was a great little moment for me.

Indoor Plumbing

Yesterday about 11:30 I got ready to take a shower and when I tried to turn on the water in the bathroom the faucet just make a gurgeling noise and no water came out! My first thought was oh no did we pay the water bill???? Come to find out we had paid our water bill. The problem was that one of the major water lines in the city had broken and about 20,000 people in Ancona were without water! Crazy! You really don't notice how many times during the day that you use water until you don't have any. Especially when you are trying to get ready so you can go teach English in about an a couple of hours. Washing you hands, laundry, washing dishes and even cooking is difficult to do. You would laugh if you knew how many times I tried to turn on the water just out of habit. After, English Club I asked the Rotert's if they wouldn't mind having some house guests for dinner since I had planned on making pasta for dinner but no water....no pasta, well no soft pasta that is. Because by the way the Rotert's did have water. They were the only family on the team that did.
It was really interesting because you could go to several different places in the city and load up on water. The city had placed these huge tanks around and you could go and get water there. It was interesting being here, seeing how the city reacted and how I reacted to a small emergency situation. By the time we came home last night the magic of indoor plumbing had returned to our home. I know I am spoiled that I can turn on a faucet in three different rooms in my house and get water. There are so many places in the world that can't do that. But to me it was a difficult day. A day that once again I am reminded of how fortunate I really am.
On another note, fall weather has FINALLY arrived here in Ancona. I couldn't be happier about that!!! :)