{"id":2788,"date":"2025-03-19T15:11:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T13:11:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magicart-delta.com\/?p=2788"},"modified":"2025-03-19T16:03:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T14:03:11","slug":"%d0%bf%d1%8a%d1%80%d0%b2%d0%b8-%d0%b4%d0%be%d1%81%d0%b5%d0%b3-%d1%81-%d0%b8%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%bb%d0%b8%d1%8f-%d1%87%d0%b0%d1%81%d1%82-6-%d1%81%d0%b0%d0%b1%d0%be%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%b6%d1%8a%d1%82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magicart-delta.com\/en\/2025\/03\/19\/\u043f\u044a\u0440\u0432\u0438-\u0434\u043e\u0441\u0435\u0433-\u0441-\u0438\u0442\u0430\u043b\u0438\u044f-\u0447\u0430\u0441\u0442-6-\u0441\u0430\u0431\u043e\u0442\u0430\u0436\u044a\u0442\/","title":{"rendered":"FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY \u2013 part 6 \u2013 The Sabotage"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sabotage<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Padua I had a second cousin. Iveto. Like me, she graduated from the Russian School in Varna with Italian, she studied here at the university and lived in a neighborhood in the city with her boyfriend, in a small, neat apartment. She worked part-time, in the summer she sold ice cream near my apartment. When I was walking during the day, I often stopped by to see her and ate delicious gelato. The first few days after I arrived, she came by on her bike, we had coffee in the center and gave me her address with the agreement that if I needed anything, I should call her. Iveto's gelateria was easy to get to and the walk was pleasant. Up my street to the T-intersection of Giovanni Battista Street. Turn left, the street wound past beautiful houses, shops and restaurants until you reached some huge flower pots that marked the end of the pedestrian area. From there, turn right, another hundred meters and you find yourself next to a long line for ice cream. From there, through the square, it was easy to reach the Basilica, and two more blocks separated it from the Prato.<\/p>\n

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY \u2013 part 1 \u2013 I'm going abroad<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Already used to the regime, I went out somewhere every day \u2013 alone or with the girls. They showed me where the train station was, I had planned to jump to Venice (something I couldn\u2019t do for a number of reasons), we also went to a Chinese store, like our \u201cEverything for 1 lv.\u201d Another thing that impressed me was that there were a lot of African Americans and Arabs selling all kinds of junk right on the ground, stretching sheets in the square. Every now and then the police would come to chase them away, their activity was still illegal, but they would soon return and spend a few days there until the next eviction. They were very impudent. They literally pulled people by the arms and insisted on buying from them. Bags, watches, slippers\u2026 whatever you can think of, they had it.<\/p>\n

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY \u2013 part 2 \u2013 I got lost<\/a><\/p>\n

We would walk during the day, drink coffee in a garden in the evening, then on the "reeds" and return home around 4-5 in the morning. By the time we had eaten and lined up in the bathroom, then the laundry, another two hours would pass. We would go to bed when the rest of the world was waking up for a new day. In the neighboring house on the second floor there were some Chinese people. Apparently they were expatriates like us, because we would come home at the same time. However, they were very noisy. They often argued and shouted as if they were at the 1994 World Cup and watching Kostadinov's goal. One evening we couldn't stand them and we shouted too. They had turned up the TV (did they have the strength to watch TV!?) and to hear each other, they shouted at each other. I shouted in Italian, Ani shouted at them in English, and Venera chimed in in Bulgarian. They answered us appropriately in a mixture of Chinese and English. The result was a wonderful neighborly scandal with an international flavor.<\/p>\n

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY \u2013 part 3 \u2013 The Pursuit<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Piazza
Piazza Garibaldi \u2013 Padua<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taxis in Italy are white. And very expensive, as my colleagues warned me. But there was regular public transport in the city, 1.60 euros for a 75-minute journey. Tickets were sold in machines at the stops. A similar payment system was introduced in Varna years later, of course it did not function the same way as in Italy. In the center, right next to our facilities, there was a local supermarket "PAM", but we went to some huge one on the edge of the city that was half the price.<\/p>\n

The Pedroki Cafe was right across from one of the stores where we cleaned, but we didn't have the money to go in there. I only went in once for 2 minutes to look around. I felt like I was entering the lobby of an old nobleman's house from the Middle Ages. But at least I got a picture of myself riding a lion in front of the cafe. One evening there was a concert by some band, it was free. A huge crowd gathered, we were just going to work. We sat for a while to listen, there was no sound inside. But soon we had to go in and throw it away. They were waiting for us - the dust, the stains on the windows and all the dirt left from the day. At some point we crouched down in the corridor of the toilets - we were underground, but we opened the windows and the music could be heard. I was exhausted. I felt lonely. People outside were having fun, they were with family and friends, and I was off to my own devices, dusting away from my family. I wish they were with me right now. I sighed sadly for a moment and went back upstairs to the store. Time was running out and we had to hurry.<\/p>\n

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY \u2013 part 4 \u2013 Moroccan Honor<\/a><\/p>\n

At some point, Venus started to make remarks to me often. In the apartment, she behaved normally during the day, but in the evenings at work, she turned into a Cerberus. She always didn't like something, she was always finding dust, I left stains on the mirrors... I stood on guard. One morning, the Rat rang early. He was furious. Then Milena joined in and said that the owner of a store had complained that one corner of the men's section was covered in dust, that it hadn't been cleaned at all. We looked at each other. Venus immediately said that I had cleaned the men's section. But I reminded her that she had interrupted me and sent me somewhere else, saying that she would finish the three shelves of shoes. The Rat, of course, didn't want to listen to explanations, she shouted that we had exposed him, that he would cut our salaries...<\/p>\n

We didn't talk much until the end of the day. Annie was like a buffer between us, but the atmosphere was heavy. In the evening, the tension had subsided and we were able to have a normal conversation. However, I noticed that Venus was hovering around me like never before. Before, we were supposedly in each other's way - I was cleaning the shelves, she was vacuuming, now she was just about to climb on top of me. I got busy with the display cases, but I was secretly watching her. I said I was going to the bathroom, but I hid in one of the fitting rooms. And what did I see! Venus walks past the mirror that I had just polished to a shine and somehow accidentally touches it. I didn't say anything, but I went to check all the display cases and mirrors that I had already cleaned. There were fingerprints on several of them, small but visible. I got mad, but I decided that we would play. If I had accused her, it would have been my word against hers. I just wondered why she was doing it. She really had no reason to be mean to me. Later I found out that she had no reason, but she had an order.<\/p>\n

FIRST CONTACT WITH ITALY \u2013 part 5 \u2013 I'm going to Padua<\/a><\/p>\n

I cleaned up after her, but I realized that this would be every day and that I couldn't follow her everywhere. I decided to wait for another complaint from the client about fingers on the windows. And it wasn't long in coming. At the same time, Milena blossomed one day and started asking me how I was feeling, if I liked the job... finally she started muttering that Dora was coming back early and they had to send me back to San Martino. Venera's behavior had become unbearable. She was already nagging me in the apartment, about the washing machine, about how wet it was in the bathroom... about my breathing. I had told her that I had seen her make a mess after me, she categorically denied that it was on purpose, insisted that it was unintentional. But we had a strained relationship. And when Milena started muttering, I told her that I didn't care about the contract, I was leaving at the end of the month and wanted all the money I had earned. She said she would discuss it with the Rat, but she looked relieved... and kind of embarrassed.<\/p>\n

I called home and told him everything: my husband wasn't at all impressed with the biker and my midnight strolls through the cemetery, now he was completely angry. After his initial rage at Venus and the Rat, he laughed at me in a "what the hell are you doing there" style and insisted I go home. But in the end, we decided that it would be better if I found another job for the remaining two months. I had left with 350 euros. True, I wouldn't be able to send money home, but I wanted to at least make up for the money I left with and come back with something on top. I started looking for ads in local newspapers and websites, and I called Iveto. Venus seemed to be smelling better and the spots on the mirrors stopped appearing "without her wanting to."<\/p>\n

At the same time, at the end of July, Iveto was graduating from university and there was a ball. Her parents came too. A breath of fresh air for me. They brought me lyutenitsa and our cheese, I had ordered them in advance. On the day of graduation, we could attend her exam. She had already presented her master's thesis, she had to defend it orally. We entered the large auditorium and the exam began. It was her turn, they also asked questions about the topic, Iveto was studying law. Then they asked general questions. More or less like here. Finally, they congratulated her for her excellent performance and awarded her the title of "dottoressa". They have a very interesting tradition. The graduates walk in groups through the streets, in togas, decorated with flowers, laurel wreaths, and their friends and relatives throw all kinds of things at them, spray them with water or champagne and sing them this song: "Doctor, doctor, doctor of the asshole, fuck you, fuck you.\u00bb The translation is not very decent: "Doctor, doctor, doctor of the asshole, fuck you, fuck you."<\/strong><\/em> This is a message to the new graduates to take off their rose-colored glasses and not think that from now on it will be easy for them; a message that they may have a title, but they are still nobody and have yet to prove themselves. We had a party at a restaurant. I ate bruschetta for the first time. I also drank some delicious cocktails. But then I had to leave. I had an appointment at a job agency, and they continued the celebration at home.<\/p>\n