oh, plumbing.

Tonight Franca explained to me that she was going to need to use my shower tomorrow morning. It'd been a long day, and my brain was a tad exhausted, so when she kept motioning toward my bathroom while furrowing her brows, I misunderstood and thought she was telling me that I was not allowed to shower tomorrow. I was very confused by this. I quickly figured out my mistake, though, and then she began giving me a grand tour of every nook and cranny of the apartment that was being affected by some sort of plumbing-system damage caused by the transgressions of a "new pipe." This was about all I got. I don't understand the ins and outs of pipe systems (or household utilities in general) in English, much less in Italian, so when Franca was going on and on about leakage and such in Italian, I had to do my best to understand only through her gesticulating, her facial expressions, and her occasional use of expressions of general frustration. Midway through her explanation of a leak in the laundry room, she began dramatically throwing her arms in the air, then pulling imaginary weight toward her as she described the indoor "waterfall" with which the upstairs portion of the apartment is apparently plagued. And then I did the most inconsiderate thing. I laughed. Continuously. I couldn't stop it or control it in any way. I felt terrible, but Franca was just cracking me up. All these giant gestures and loud exclamations were coming from this small, sweet woman, and she was cursing the apartment and the system, yes, I got that much, but I really couldn't comprehend these details she was trying to get across. Barely able to speak, I breathily apologized for laughing, but before I could complete my sentence, Franca was already laughing and throwing her hands up as if to say, "Oh well, what can you do?" Such a universal sentiment. We cracked up for a good minute together before Franca finally caught her breath and then reiterated that she would need to use my shower tomorrow.

In short, I love everything about my homestay, plumbing disasters and all.