Yesterday was a holiday, the feast of the patron saint of Turin, St. John the Baptist. The day’s festivities were topped off by a fireworks display after dark along the Po River. As soon as the first explosions were heard, I found myself in a massive throng of people speed-walking the 3-blocks to the river. It was the most people I have ever seen at one time – moving faster than I have ever seen – during my stay thus far.

On my walk to work this morning, the city’s pace felt a little slower than usual. I think many people have taken the day off and given themselves a 4-day weekend. In the office, the atmosphere belies the holiday feel of the city outside. Rosanna is, as always, a flurry of activity. In the midst of it all, she received a phone call and an e-mail from 2 women in Nigeria thanking TAMPEP for helping them. It’s really nice to see tangible results come from the work that is done here.

I am still in the process of collecting information for the new web site. This has proved to be more difficult than I anticipated, because the information I need comes from multiple sources for any given project. It is also quite easy to get waylaid by other projects. While my Italian skills are of little use to anyone, my English is in demand for polishing documents and proposals.

But I am taking the advice of last year’s intern, Julie Lee, to heart. She recommended making the site a priority from day one. Everyone here wants it so I need to be flexible, but just persistent enough to keep asking for what I need when it would be easier to let it go.