I'm going to Padua.

Venera and Ani were at the apartment when Milena and I arrived. They helped me with my suitcases, but the atmosphere was somewhat tense. The apartment was in the historic center of the city, an 8-minute walk from the sites. And we would walk and come back together, even if it was still in the middle of the night. What a blessing! The streets and buildings were exactly the same, I couldn't tell them apart from a shop on the corner of the street and the nameplates, of course. From the street to the wall of the house there was some kind of arch, above the sidewalk itself, very convenient when it rains.

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 1 – I'm going abroad

You enter into an inner courtyard, but we didn't use the premises of the main house, but some kind of annex. We had a room, a kitchen and a bathroom with a toilet and a washing machine. In the bathroom - an obligatory bidet. In the kitchen - a bed, a stove, a refrigerator and a table, and in the narrow bedroom - two beds and some kind of battered wardrobe. The furniture was in the style of the Soca, but quite worn from use. I immediately asked how things were with the food and the internet.

At Milena's I had paid my fair share of the internet fee for the month, it didn't matter that I used it for 10-11 days. Venera - a middle-aged woman explained to me that they went to the supermarket on the outskirts together, that it was cheaper, but each of them bought for themselves. I said about the internet that I would immediately give them money for a third for the month. Neither they nor Milena said anything about the fact that with this move I was actually paying double. Ani - a young girl, younger than me tried to hint at it, but Venera said that it would be difficult for them to count and divide now... The internet was valuable to me for connecting to home, and I wasn't going to be poor with one fee, even though it wasn't cheap. At some point Milena left us, and I settled in with Ani in the bedroom; Venera insisted on sleeping in the kitchen because she would get up in the middle of the night to smoke and not bother us...

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 2 – I got lost

We left earlier than usual to take me for a walk around part of the city center. Padua or Padua is 40 km west of Venice. The city's population was 213,259 as of 2010. Padua claims to be the oldest city in Northern Italy, founded around 1183 BC by the Trojan prince Antenor. Over the years, it suffered from Hunnic raids, and fell under Byzantine, Roman, Venetian and Austrian rule. The modern city is extremely picturesque; with a dense network of arcaded streets and many bridges that cross the branches of the Bacchione River. The city is full of sights. The Scrovegni Chapel (Cappella degli Scrovegni) possesses a cycle of frescoes depicting the life of the Virgin Mary, which were completed in 1305 by Giotto (Giotto di Bondone). Palace of Reason – has the largest roof in Europe that is not supported by columns. The walls of the palace are covered with allegorical frescoes. The most famous Paduan church is Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua (Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova) or is also known as Il Santo. It houses the relics of St. Anthony, and the chapel in which they are placed is the work of many different artists. Here is located The University of Padua. It is the oldest university in Italy after the University of Bologna. It was founded in 1222 by a large group of students and professors who left Bologna in search of greater academic freedom. Petrarch and Galileo taught there, and figures such as Dante and Copernicus received their education.

One of the most famous symbols of Padua is Prato della Valle (The Meadow of the Saints), an elliptical square of 90,000 sq.m. One of the largest in Europe, in its center there is a wide garden surrounded by a moat, which is lined with 78 statues depicting famous citizens. It was created by Andrea Memmo at the end of the 18th century. The Basilica and the Prato were shown to me by Ani, on one of our days off we both went for a walk - ice cream, beer, sandwiches and sweet stories. Another interesting landmark is The town hall, called Palazzo Moroni, whose wall is covered with the names of the dead Paduans in the various wars of Italy.

And of course  Caffe Pedrocchi , built in 1831 by architect Giuseppe Jappelli in a neoclassical style with Egyptian influences. This café has been in operation for almost two centuries. It houses the museum Risorgimento. The Center The city is surrounded by an 11-kilometer city wall, built in the early 16th century. Currently, there are only a few ruins, along with two gates, of the smaller and inner walls from the 13th century. And like any ancient city, there are castle, whose main tower was converted between 1767 and 1777 into an astronomical observatory known asabout Specola . The remaining buildings, however, were used as prisons in the 19th and 20th centuries. They are now being restored. I visited all these sights in stages in the following days. The heat was still crushing me, but I had already gotten used to the climate, the pace and rhythm of work and rest, and I had more desire to explore and walk.

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 3 – The Pursuit

Venera was something of a foreman of our little group. A single woman, short, with short hair, she was divorced, I think, and had a daughter in Bulgaria. She was from western Bulgaria, somewhere between a shopkeeper and a Macedonian. Crooked up to her neck, as it turned out later. She had lost her home and was here alone, looking for a living. Ani had simply come to work for variety, she was a very nice girl from Dobrich. One Anelia (the tall one) – a Sofia woman, with two little boys, left them with her husband and went abroad to cover loans; the other Anelia, a short, pretty girl, always smiling, was also alone, had no family. The other Dobrich woman, Dora, the colleague I was replacing, turned out to be a nice and gentle woman (we met her for three days) who left her boys, 11 and 7 years old, alone in Bulgaria, her husband a trafficker, traveling around Europe all year round. The children were looked after by a grandmother, but they lived mostly alone while they and their father, mired in debt, tried to survive. Colorful people with colorful destinies.

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 4 – Moroccan Honor

Here the stores weren't in malls, but on the streets themselves. Again, Zara, Massimo Dutti, and all those shiny brands. Five stores in total. Right across from Pedrochi's Cafe. Venus assigned me to the shop windows and mirrors in the fitting rooms – 70 in total, I counted them one evening. Later, when I got home, I didn't touch any glass for a year (guess who cleans them). I also had to dust the shelves along with them, but the shop windows were my main job. She and Ani also vacuumed, emptied the bins, and cleaned the toilets. The work was divided fairly, in my opinion. Since Venus was a heavy smoker, she had permission from the Rat to take more frequent breaks, as long as we didn't exceed the hours set for cleaning. So, along with her, we also rested more often.

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 6 – The Sabotage

At first, things went well, of course, although there was a sense of alienation on Venera's part, but overall, the three of us got along well. Especially when they had to go to institutions a few times and I had to get up early with them to translate for them, because in all that time they hadn't learned at least a little of the language. Not that I was obligated to be their translator, but that's what we're humans for. However, it was clear that Venera became much nicer at such moments.

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 7 – Expelled

Here I remember two curiosities. One evening Milena called and said that we had an urgent order to clean another site, one time, but during the day. This meant that after the night shift, we would sleep for maybe two hours, work, come home, have another two or three hours of rest and back to the night shift. But we would receive satisfactory pay for the overtime. In the morning they loaded us onto the bus, and both Anelias were there. The rat was in a good mood and decided to buy us coffee. He stopped on the way at a restaurant and we, in typical Bulgarian style, sat down at the tables, lit a cigarette, while the Boss ordered coffee and croissants for everyone. He brought the coffees, the size of a thimble, in typical Italian style. We – again I emphasize in typical Bulgarian style, lit a second cigarette with the intention of drinking coffee for at least half an hour. The rat, in typical Italian fashion, swallowed his food and said "Andiamo", meaning "let's go". The five of us burst out laughing. In the end, we convinced him to do things our way with the promise that we would be quick afterwards.

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 8 – A Night Under the Stars and Three Days on Camels

The second incident was with the children. My husband and I talked to each other almost every day on Skype, but the children kept avoiding me. They would pass by the monitor, say hello to me, and rush about their own children's things. Denichka always had important work to do with Yoanka and Gabito or was playing computer games when she managed to get hold of her brother's computer. There was no time for Skype with my mother. They generally only called me when they had arguments with their father about something: how late they should come home or go somewhere alone. I realized that they didn't miss me, which actually calmed me down. Apparently, they only felt good with their father, and we talked to each other often. If I had sensed nostalgia and sadness from them, I would certainly have been more uncomfortable. I had warned them not to call me before 11 a.m. their time.

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY – part 9 – Subsequent revelations

One morning, my laptop was sitting on a shelf right above my head, I could hear the sound of Skype. And it was early for me to get up. I turned it off, but the sound intrusively appeared after a few minutes. I got up and realized with annoyance that it was only 8 o'clock where I was, so it was nine in Bulgaria. Along with the anger that they were waking me up, it crossed my mind that it might be important, urgent... if they were ringing so insistently. I pressed the green receiver. It was Pavcho.

• Momoooo – he started in a commanding tone, it was clear that he was angry. Tell my father (!?!? ) to let me go fishing with Uncle Angel and Dancho, because… it was not clear what the consequences would be for dad.

It made me laugh. I teased the kid and told him that I didn't care why his father didn't let him go fishing. Since I'm gone, their father is responsible for them, so he decides, and no matter how much I want to, I quote Pavel, "your son should learn to be independent and be able to catch a fish so he doesn't die of hunger"... end of quote, I can't make such a decision. The kid grunted something and hung up. And so did they. The kids were fine.

© 2025 Iliana Dechkova