My Volunteer program begins

I met up with Lettica in Rome. She is from Fl. who used to have a restaurant in Charleston, but now is a full time RVer, traveling all over the country. My kind of deal. She is also Italian, with her grandparents living near Cisternino, but this is her first trip to Italy. I bought a ES bullet train ticket from Rome to Brindisi, a 5.5 hour ride, so on Sat. morning, we walked to the train terminal. The train was suppose to be on track 6, but as 8 am rolled around, we saw no train. So then we began checking the other tracks, finding our train about on track 8 intead. Then it was a mild panic program to catch the train before it left.

Aboard, we easily found our seats. The train looked very new and clean. It only stopped about 10 times and kept on schedule the whole time, so it was quite relaxing. The scenery along the way was rolling hills, some country farms, and small villages. In Brindisi, we deboarded and looked for the shuttle bus to the airport. Someone directed us "down two blocks, then turn left". We did that but didn't see any bus stop. A Nigerian man tried to help us, explaining we would have to wait 3 hours for a bus. I knew that wasn't right, so I around until I noticed a bus coming that said "airport", which I flagged down. Now Brindisi is not like Rome. It is a much quieter city, with little or no traffic, at least it was on Sat. afternoon. Once on the bus, I asked the driver about the bus fare. She said "no charge, it is my last trip". Great. I saved 1.5 euro.

At the airport, we were to meet up with other volunteers and then take a van to the hotel, about an hour away. The airport is small, but nice. It was about a 4 hour wait, so I thought maybe we could get a taxi. I found out the taxi fare would be 120 euros-Too rich for my blood. But then 6 other volunteers arrived, and we piled in the van with Rocco.

Rocco was a good speedy driver. The road was like a divided two lane freeway, with few exits. Drivers here drive like they are all race car drivers, especially the motorcycle drivers. Maybe it is in their genes. At the hotel, we all informally met, 14 other volunteers from various states. My roommate is Bill from So. Carolina.

Today, during the first meeting, we told more about ourselves. This is an impressive group of volunteers. For example, on 82 year old man is a gov't lawyer. Another woman is a retired Standford U. professor. At least 8 have never volunteered with GV before. But everyone is very friendly and helpful. I think this will be a good group.

A teacher from the high school came during the meeting to give us a better idea of what me will be doing in the classroom. I know from experience, this can all change by tomorrow. We also got a quick lesson in Italian. There are lots of Italian words that are similar to Spanish words, so that helps me. Actually, I should be quite the lingusist now because I have had lessons in Swahili, Indian, Spanish, Vietnam and now Italian. It would be nice to learn one. Ha!!

Tonight we are going out to have pizza. So far, the food has been great. We had some kind of pasta with mussels and shrimp for lunch today. Breakfast was a buffet with lots of fruit, bread, and Desserts!! This will be no weight-lost program. Ha!

Hope all is well with you...(did not proof read-my disclaimer)