Things I'm good at here, or not so much...

I'm pretty confident that I've already been able to perfect the following "talents" at home: spilling wine/food, falling, being directionally challenged, and just generally being able to get myself in jam. Italy it seems, has brought out even more of these types of fine qualities in me...

First, lets talk about phones. I cannot seem to use a payphone. One wouldn't think that a payphone is complicated....but apparently it is for me. Maybe this is the kind of stuff that should have been covered in college because while I'd like to think I'm mildly intelligent...I don't get them!!! I have found that I have the chronic good luck of using the payphone that is broken. However, (with my limited capacity) I'm not realizing they are broken until after I've wasted a couple dollars and hung up the phone at least a dozen times.

Besides not getting the basic operation or understanding of the payphones, when to use the country code, area code, etc...I also don't understand how to use the phone cards I buy, like the $36 Euro one I bought at the airport and apparently already used up?!?!? (I just checked my bank online and that purchase ended up being $47.73 after conversion, DANG!) Or the $5 Euro one that I just got an hour ago. I just want to call my bank so I can get my debit card to work...but the phone tells me the number is invalid. "PLEASE", I yell at the phone. I just want to call my bank... I don't want much!!! :<

My second greatest "talent" here is operating keys/doors. I seem to have a talent for locking myself both in and out. The first time was inside of a tiny cafe in Roma. Barry and I stopped in so I could buy a cappuccino and use the restroom. The restroom locked on the inside using a key that was probably made during WWI. I couldn't seem to open the door no matter what I did. Barry said the cafe staff locked horrified as I wiggled the doorknob/pounded on door...but then starting laughing when he laughed and told them not to worry.

At Spencer's house in Napoli...I decided to go for a run but knowing my history with keys-was smart enough to put $20 and his number in my sports bra. Of course, I walked out of his apartment, tried to immediately see how the key worked...and what do you know-- I couldn't get it!! I wondered down into his town (he lives in a suburb of Napoli), experienced more problems with payphones, felt embarrassed as I was being starred and pointed at---because it's January and I'm in running shorts. Even after I managed to call Spencer and have him explain the door operation (put key in and turn--duh!) and find my way back to his place... I still couldn't get myself back in. At that point, I started knocking on all of his neighbors doors until an old Italian man across the street agreed to come open it for me. This happened on Monday.

On Tuesday, I never even left his apartment because it was pouring out and I was afraid I'd get trapped again and that the old man wouldn't be home!!! LOL

I'm out of time at the internet cafe :<

I'll update you on all my other adventures (like Pompei yesterday), who Spencer is, and what all I've been doing in Naples later...

Ciao!