I’m living in Padova, Italy, with some other British and American teachers in a really nice apartment. It’s a bit expensive considering we’re all starting off with really low hours at the school; I wouldn’t be surprised if some of us can’t pay rent in the next month or two, and we get booted out. Oh well, there’s always Plan B—Estonia—for October or even January. (It’s ass-cold in Estonia in winter though, something like 20 below).

Work aside, Italy is a wonderful place—the food is cheap and good (things like fresh mozzarella, good cheeses, wine, pesto, real gelato, and fresh bread are staples of life here, and a hell of a lot cheaper and better than in the States). For about $2 I got a bag full of fresh mushrooms (yellow ones, perhaps chanterelles?), pear, and nectarines. Wow! So good…

The clothes are really nice too. Relatively inexpensive, and really cool. Except that tight clothing is popular with men and women. In SF, it's generally gay men who wear tight, tight shirts and very colorful clothing, especially shirts; I don't know why, it's just the fashion I guess (whereas straight men tend to favor sloppy-ass t-shirts). But here, snug, pec and bicep-hugging shirts are the norm for Italian men, at least the younger ones.

I’ve tried tracking down some Lindy Hop, and although I haven’t seen anything in person, it turns out that there’s actually a smallish crowd of dancers in Italy! They have a website: oldwoogies.com. Don’t ask me where they got the name. But judging by the pictures they are into vintage clothing/dressing up for dancing (suits for guys, Hollywoodish look for the women—but did you expect anything less stylish from Italians?)

I’ve looked for dance studios here in town,but eveything’s been shut down until recently for the regular summer holiday/it’s-too-damn-hot-let’s-flee-this-place-for-a-month escape to the mountains.