My Other Self

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 22:33:17 GMT

Over my three day weekend I went to Budapest which is in Hungary. We left thursday evening to drive to Bologna where we were to fly out from. It is about 3 hours southish of here. We arrived there with lots of time to waste only to find out that the flight was cancelled. Some sort of technical error. So the airline put us up in a hotel about 20 minutes from the airport. There is an EU law that requires an airline to pay for food, transport and lodging if the cancel a flight. We were rescheduled for a 10am flight the next day. There was me, jakub and Laura going plus 7 other kids who were on the same flight as us but doing their own thing when they got there.

It was about 8:30 when we got to the hotel and then got food there. Everyone decided to go out because that's what they do. I tagged along for once. Well jakub and Laura got in a fight and Laura got mad at me since I unwittenly caused it. So laura spent the rest of the night trying to get jakub to not be mad and I got ignored. i didn't really care for the rest of the people there so it was a long craptastic night because I wasn't drinking and was just sitting there waiting till we got a taxi to the hotel.

So didn't go to sleep till about 3 and had to get up at like 7 so we could catch the bus to the airport. So we get there to wait our twoish hours to find out it's delayed. It gets delayed about 3 times till we actual get on it at one pm. Well while waiting the other kids travelling with us from the program that were still kinda drunk from the night before start drinking again at about nine am. So the more I got to know these people the less I was liking. Just couldn't wait to actually get there and be rid of them. I have never been a big drinker and don't care for people whose lives center around drinking....which is unfortunately how most of the kids are here. I had hoped that since the program was upper class men that they would have worked a lot of it out of their system but I have been proven horribly wrong.

Well finally got on the plane and to the city. Caught a train to our apartment we were staying at. We went out and got food before doing some site seeing since our time there had been cut in half almost since we had to leave early sunday cause it was the only flight going back so we had to be on it. We ate at this great little restaurant down the street from us and then Laura took us around since she had been there before. We hiked up this very large hill that had lots of statues and monuments. Took forever cause of me and cause it had snowed recently so the steps were all slushy and icy. After that we wandered back to the apt cause it was getting late by that point. Jakub and laura went out. I refused after the last night and I was so exhausted. Was also not feeling well. My food allergies had been acting up and I had been feeling sick all day.

Saturday we got up and went shopping. Lots of shopping. Started dressing Jakub cause he just didn't wear clothes that suited him. Now he has a better wardrobe that a lot of the girls here approve of as well as his mom. Then we went to the Turkish bathes which were like giant heated outdoor pools. Yeah was freezing outside which made getting in the warm water even better. After a few hours we headed back for food at the same place cause we didn't really see anything else on the way home. And then got up the next day and flew back to Bologna and then drove back to school. And that was Budapest.

Saturday was my favorite day cause I was feeling okay and having fun. The rest of it kinda sucked cause of the people I got stuck with and the allergy thing.

about time right?

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:29:10 GMT

Okay so woke up way to early to catch a train out to the airport to catch our flight to London. Everything went off smoothly, had some very amusing flight attendents who had wonderful little bits such as "please put smaller items under the seat in front of you to save the overhead bins for larger items such as mother-in-laws and children." Just randomly would drop amusing comments into their little speeches they give. Londonites definitely have a great sense of humor. Flight was a little rocky but we made it. Landed and then caught a train to a central station where we found a bus to out near Jo and Mikes. Mike is my mom's cousin who was wonderful enough to let us stay with him and he wasn't even there so it was Jo who was great and took us in. I love family.

Eventually found our way to near their house and then got lost and had to call Jo who came and met us at the tube to take us back to the house. We got to the house and were shown around by Jacob who was home sick while Jo went to get the other kids from school. The house is narrow but five stories high. Was the kitchen on the bottom, then living room and study, then master bedroom and the bathroom (which is huge), then the three kids rooms, and finally the attic which is a playroom/guest room. So anytime needed to go somewhere in the house had to plan the order so didn't have to go up and down extra times. Me and Laura kept joking that everytime we went up to the attic we would be back in an hour.

That night we ended up just staying in and chatting with everyone and getting a great home cooked meal of lasagna and salad with real salad dressing. We just stayed in for the night as well chatting more and downloading pics off cameras. (exciting folk we are). We crashed lateish and then slept half the day before coming down for lunch. Finally made ourselves leave and actually do something at about oneish. Wandered around making our way to a bus tour that is about a 30 min direct walk but took us an hour because we side tracked through parks.

We got on a bus tour that takes you through all the major touristy spots. Comes with headsets that you plug into a jack and get to listen to an audio tour as well. It is a hop on hop off tour where your pass is good for 24 hours and you just get off go take pictures and then get on the next bus and continue on. There are also four(?) different routes around the city to different stuff. We took the longest one that hit all the big stuff.

After that we headed back to the house because it was dinner time and there was pot roast to be had. We arrived there to a spread of pot roast, mashed potatoes, corn and bread. Me and Laura just kept eating and eating because it was sooooooo good. All the kids didn't really want much and we were like just pass it this way. There was even chocolate chip cookies for dessert with a little bit of cookie dough saved to eat.

After dinner we sat in front of this stove thing called an aga which is on all the time and is wonderfully warm. It really relaxed muscles to lean up against it. We were listening to Laura's ipod and a song from her favorite movie came on and she started talking about it and Sara piped up that her parents had that movie so when Jo came down from putting the boys to bed we asked her for it and she got it and put it in and even made us microwave popcorn. So we curled up on the couch and watched "love actually" which is a very good movie. And it was set in London so it was fun to watch a movie set in the town we were currently in.

The next day we had to get up at a reasonable hour and go meet one of our professors for this accounting thing we were going to...the whole reason we were in London and all. We had lunch with him, his wife and her helper because she is wheel chair bound. Her helper, Jamie, is a college student who we hang out with when she is free. Dan is always offereing her up wanting her to have fun while she is here. So we went to the meeting and then out to dinner afterwards. Had an amazing meal and an awesome time. Was about a three hour meal by the time we actually parted ways.

We went to the house and had to pack and stuff because our flight left at 6am so had to leave at 3ish to catch a bus to the airport. Got a 3 hour nap or so before leaving. Caught our plane to Paris and landed about 8ish. Was an hour change in time zones so flight was only really and hourish or so. We then had to catch a train in and then the metro to our hostel. This was my first hostel to stay in. Wasn't too bad. We were nicely located near the metro, an internet cafe, an atm, and a grocery store.

That day we hit the town hard wanting to get in lots of sight seeing. Went to the top of the eiffel tower and saw Notre dame. Also the arc di triumph and some other things I don't know the names of. All the photos kept looking like we had been photo shopped in. That night we made an early night of it because we were exhausted. We were in a three person room so had a random person with us in there. A guy from new york on travel for a week visiting friends. We chatted with him before crashing.

Was going to get up early but that didn't happen. Dragged our butts out of bed fairly late and ended up spending the afternoon shopping. Found a really cute skirt and can't wait for it to warm up. That night we went and saw the eiffel and some other things at night because the are all lit up. Then went back and crashed earlyish again. Wanted to get up and have time to see lots of the Lourve. Well as is usual with us we slept in and didn't have much time at the Lourve. So glad i'm going back so I can see more. Saw mona lisa and venus which are the two big things. The only thing that sucks is that there was no english at all on descriptions. Most places in Europe have english and the native language since it is becoming the universal language. It's not much fun seeing a museum if you can't read about the stuff. So I bought a book that I am going to at least skim through or carry with me next time so I can actually find out stuff about what I'm seeing.

We caught an evening flight back to a small airport not far from school and had this guy who has a car at school pick us up. Europeans are crazy drivers and he is no exception. He is Polish and is insane on the road. I have to stare at the floor or out a side window because looking foward just about gives me a heart attack.

I have to say that I liked Paris and London. Didn't see much of actual London but luckily going back when mom comes in May so get to see it then. Is really an expensive place. They are nice towns. Though unfortunately both have indoor smoking still. I love Italy because it is banned for all indoor places. It's the only place as of yet that has that law.

Well that's all for those cities that I can remember as of now.

and then...

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 23:36:46 GMT

So we got on our train and settled in for the 2 hour ride to Torino. Ended up with an American couple in our section who were going to the games as well. They had some maps and stuff that helped us get a sense of the town. Just chatted with them for most of the trip and ate our lovely provisions of cheese, crackers and salami. We arrived at one (which is when our event was starting) and spent time trying to figure out how to get there. Finally found out it was only a 20 minutes walk and headed out. Was raining so we got drenched. At about 1:45 we finally found the ticket place and then had to stand in line forever and were afraid we wouldn't be able to pick up our tickets because you only had up to an hour after the start of the event to pick them up and by the time we got to the front it was after 2. But luckily they did and Laura and I looked at each other and then just sprinted off to the gates to get to the game. Once through security we had to go halfway around the building to get to our section and ran most of the way. Yeah lungs really didn't agree with this but I got to sit for and hour and a half there after so was alright. Somehow the asthmatic got paired up with the track star...ironic.

So finally got into the game and settled down. Was only half way through the second period so got to see half the game even though it was theoretically to end at 3 and it was 2:30ish at that point. Game just kinda sped by but was fun to watch the fans. They were crazy. Some of the Latvians had drums and this huge flag that they held up at one point. The Russians were equally crazy. Game just kinda flew by. If we had really had the time we wanted to make a sign that said something like "we're not in Kansas anymore Toto." Something that would have got us on tv and would have been caught by local stations back home I bet since it referenced KS. But sadly just didn't happen.

After the game we went in search of souvenirs. Wandered around till we finally found the gigantic tent that they had set up. Line was long but moved quickly. Spent way too much money there but was worth it. Wished I had gotten more because I think I came up short on stuff for people. Oh well. Think I'm going to get my ticket framed or something. Just be cool to have around. Oh yeah and it was snowing when we got out of the game and they were the melting type of flakes so continued to get soaked.

At one point we stopped at a cafe to get something warm and when we got up my right foot started hurting to walk on. This unfortunately continued on and off all week to the point that I was having to walk on the ball of my foot because it was something with the outer edge that was hurting. It finally seems better but I have no idea what caused it and if it will stay away. As usual I am just one injury or sickness after another. First my cough and then my foot. Have to wonder what's next.

Alright so finally wandered back to the train station and caught a train back to Milano where we were staying. Got to our hotel and I took a really long hot shower since I was soaked to the bone and felt frozen. Then just watched some olympic events on the tv and went to sleep. Ended up sleeping till noonish and then were just so exhausted that we didn't drag ourselves out of bed till near five solely because of hunger. Hadn't eaten anything besides the crackers, salami and cheese at lunch the day before and then crackers since then and some chocolate. Really healthy I promise. We found some food and then found a tabacchi and stocked up on snacks to have so we wouldn't be left with just crackers. Then it came time to sleep and I was really tired but Laura couldn't sleep and so we ended up staying up till 2ish and had to be up at 6ish so that we could get going and catch our 11 flight to London.

Okay so really should go to bed so will have to add to this later.

"Leave the storage bins above for larger items such as mother in-laws and children"

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 22:29:52 GMT

Alright so updaty time. After Venice not much happened at school so that's why I haven't updated about the going ons. The only interesting things were that we had our advisory dinners which is where a teacher and 7-8 students get to go out to an activity like food, bowling, wine tour, etc. My group went to a mexican restaurant which was very interesting. They have no real sense of spice over here so the regular salsa was like marinara and the "spicy" one was like a really really mild one for us. Also in their nachos and enchiladas they had peas, carrots, mushrooms and celery. You couldn't taste it but just seeing it was a little unsettling. Overall the food was good and it was a fun time.

The other big thing was our first gourmet dinner. This is where all of the students and faculty go out to a really nice restaurant and have a five course meal. It is a chance to experience high quality food, practice our etiquette we learned and just to get all spiffy. The food was amazing and I was so full at the end that I thought I might explode. I wore a skirt and borrowed a shirt from my friend laura because the ones I had just didn't seem quite fancy enough. We also curled my hair because something needed to be done with it and everything else I tried just wasn't really doing it for the outfit. And you've all seen the pictures by now so you can see how the night was.

Okay so now onto all the craziness that has been the first half of my trip. So friday night we decided that the cafeteria just didn't sound appealing and went out for pizza. Mmmmm Italian pizza. Just had fun relaxing with no thoughts on school and drinking some wine. There was this big group of italians there who at one point were throwing this little ball with toothpicks at balloons to pop them. Never did figure out why. Some of my group got in on it. Was very amusing since we had had enough wine to be feeling good at this point. Eventually meandered back to campus to pack for our departure. Checked stuff online and finally just crashed from exhaustion at about midnight or so and then woke up at 5:30 so that could get ready and make sure everything was packed and bags didn't weigh too much.

Took a train to Verona where we figured out that the first train out to Torino the next day was not till 9 and would put us there at 1pm which was when our event started. So we thought if we caught an earlier one to Milano than there would probably be tons going from there to Torino. So got tickets and then at some oh so yummy mcdonalds because it was the only food nearby and we were starving. Then started out for our hotel which was 3K away. Didn't sound so bad to walk it...didn't think it would take too long. Yeah so an hour later we arrive at the hotel. Ended up crashing hard and I slept for about 2 or so hours and Laura slept for 5. Finally got motivated and went in search of food. We were in a kinda sketch part of town and then on one of the main roads where you wouldn't really expect it this guy yelled something at us then turned the corner and drove up a ways and pulled over. So when we saw him stop we turned around and quickly got to where we were out of sight and eventually he pulled away before we continued on our way. Found a pizza restaurant where I accidently ordered pizza with salmon when I meant to get salami (kinda like pepperoni). It was actually pretty good. Yeah you can get just about anything on a pizza here. So we went back to the hotel and watched some tv and crashed I crashed about 2am. Well people decided to text Laura and so her phone went off several times throughout the very short night we had waking me up. We had to get up at 5:30 to get back to our train.

Somehow dragged our butts out of bed and got ready went downstairs and found they served breakfast and stopped to eat something. We had thought that our trek back to the train station would be faster since we knew the way and would be hustling. Well it was faster but not fast enough. Missed the first train we planned on but luckily there was one leaving a half hour later. It ended up leaving abour twenty minutes late for some reason but we finally got under way. Laura passed out while I kinda dozed and read a book. Got to milan and found out that the first train for Torino was the one we would have caught if we had taken the one from Verona. So yeah that was not happy. We stored our bags so that we wouldn;t have to deal with them and then went through a convienence store to get food cause we wouldn't really have time to eat after that and neither of us was horribly hungry at the moment.

Okay so pictures are finally done uploading and we're off to bed so I will finish my tale another time.

HOLY COW!

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 16:31:54 GMT

I WENT TO THE OLYMPICS!!!! I still can't believe it. Crazy, amazing, insane. I will do a full update when I have time later. Just doing an email check at a cafe right now. Just had to get that out there.

Plans

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 20:56:27 GMT

So the plan for my next travel break is: Verona, Milan, Torino (where the olympics are), London and then Paris.

Sun, 12 Feb 2006 20:54:03 GMT

I'M GOING TO THE OLYMPICS!!!!!!!!!!!! Just bought tickets to watch the Russians play Lativa in ice hockey. hehe yay!

First travel weekend

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 16:06:47 GMT

I left friday morning at the crack of dawn (8) for the train station that would take us to Venice. I went with Haley, Jess and Isaiah. It took a little over an hour on the train to get to the Island part of Venice where we stayed. We had somehow found this apt online that could be rented for 17 euros per person (which is what you pay for a hostel) so first thing we did was find it and drop our stuff. Had to take a water taxi to get there. Was pretty fun to ride on and a good way to see Venice also met a kid from California who was backpacking Europe. The apt was a really nice place. I have pictures which will be posted soon.

Second order of business was food as we hadn't grabbed breakfast and it was now lunch time. They grabbed burger king and I grabbed fast food pizza. Then we just got lost in Venice which is the best way to see it. Just start wandering around and eventually you'll figure a way back to where your staying. Carnavale is coming up in a few weeks and Venice is the major hub for it so most of the shops were selling masks for it. Carnavale is equivalent to Mardi gras. There is also major production of murano glass which is all the little glass figurines and jewelry. So most of the shops had these two things for sale. So shopping was okay but was just a lot of the same stuff.

We ended up in San marco which is saint mark's square where there is a cathedral. The square is known for all these pigeons that are there and if you stick your arm out they will just hop up on you. Have some pictures with them on my group members. So we meandered around this area for most of the afternoon and ended up running into the guy from california again that we had met on the boat earlier. He had just graduated in december from UCLA and was doing a two month backpacking trip around Europe. He had started out with some friends but they had to go back to school so he was on his own for the last month of it. He ended up hanging out with us for the rest of the day instead of just being alone. He was pretty cool and told us about all his travels in Europe.

There is no night life in Venice so we just hung out at the apartment after dinner and ended up going to bed at llish. We all slept for about 11 hours which was really nice after all the stuff we'd been through since arriving that deprived us of sleep. So on Saturday we headed the opposite way of where we were friday to see what was over there. Pretty much the same for shops and food. We went into this one restaurant where they seated us but then just ignored us and we finally left and went elsewhere. It was either because we are americans or because Haley had been kinda rude to them in the beginning....won't ever know really. Ended up getting a gigantice pizza for 8 Euros that fed us all easily. Was the size of a papa kenos pizza if I remember there pizzas right. Was really good too. Definitely like Italian pizza. Then lots more shopping and browsing occured. We were all kinda tired still so went back and everyone else took naps while I just watched tv and relaxed. Body's been sore so all the walking is not terribly pleasant some days.

Once they woke up we went to dinner at this place that some of the other kids from the program had recommended when we ran into them at the train station. It was a jazz place that was a bar and restaurant. Pretty nice little place but really expensive so we ended up sharing food (I didn't really want to eat there because it was expensive but everyone else wanted to since the people had recommended it so highly). I was luckily still fairly full from our huge lunch and didn't feel like eating much anyways. Was disapointed in the lasagna I had. Hopefully other places do it different cause I really like lasagna usually. It was the hang out for all the British people too cause everyone there was speaking english it seemed like.

We ended up just going back to the apartment cause there wasn't really anything else to do. They went out later to get more food but I was really hurting at that point and not hungry so I got to enjoy the peace and quiet of an empty place. Watched some tv...they were showing MIB which was really weird to watch in Italian and not the same cause they had been dubbed over and you lose some of the effect when losing the actors voices. At least I understood it just cause I had seen the movie enough to know it fairly well.

On sunday we got up and picked up our last few souveniours that we wanted and then grabbed a train back to Bassano and then a taxi to the school. We're home about sixish. On my way home in the taxi I got a call from some girls stuck in florence because they were at the wrong train station and missed their train. My number is on an emergency card cause that's part of my job is to help them locally. But not on travel time cause I can't really do anything. Redirected them to the emergency phone where one of the boys in the office was able to get them where they needed to be. Also another group was stuck in Brussels. They still aren't back yet...something about their flight being cancelled. Don't really know. Unfortunately two of them are RI's. I heard they might be back tomorrow. Really sucks because they have such a strong attendance policy for class here and I don't know what's going to happen to them.

On my travel week I might be going to london for part of it and also Turin where the olympics are. Still working on the details and figuring out what Laura wants to do. Would love to go to London and meet my 2nd cousin. They seem nice. If not I will be staying there when mom comes over. Well that's all

Thu, 02 Feb 2006 13:08:11 GMT

Classes have finally started. Giving me something to fill time with. Have homework pretty much everyday because these classes are more intense since they are compacted. The teachers also expect a lot out of us. Looking foward to a good semester. It's interesting to have so much time to do homework and study. Very weird to not have a job that I work at however many hours a week. The RI thing is a job but not much time is devoted to it. A lot of it is just observing the kids to make sure they are behaving and enforcing rules when needed.

I definitely like not having to drive. Over the last year I have just liked it less and less especially with my accident. I know I'm not the best of drivers and don't really want to be out on the road often if possible. I always make Steven drive when we go places together...partially cause he doesn't like my driving *grin*.

Just bumming around for the rest of today. Not leaving till the morning for Venice since it is so close it won't take long to get there so saving a night of having to pay for a place to stay. My cough is getting better. Went to the nurse the other night and got some stuff that appears to be helping. Hopefully before long it will be gone. Though I think it is partially an issue with climate and my asthma.

I am eating healthier and walking a ton. Thinking about using the gym we have access to. I know I could be in a lot better shape. Would probably help with my health stuff too. Have to see about that.

Working on planning some of my other trips as well. Trying to get in touch with family that is in Europe to go visit if I can. Would be a better way to see things from a non tourist point of view. Next week I am going to have dinner with an Italian family so that I can work on my italian and just meet some of them and learn customs and culture. Also once a week we are going to have sessions with the italian students and they are going to tutor us in italian and we will tutor them in english. Should be fun and a good way to meet people.

Well that's it for now. Oh yeah and the weather is finally getting nice instead of being freezing cold. Go figure that they have the coldest weather in 20 years when I'm here.

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 13:07:48 GMT

So changes of ideas for the weekend. I am now going to go to Venice instead. Everyone pretty much is going to Florence so it will be over crowded and harder to do things plus a lot of them will want to go out in big groups which makes getting things done impossible. So four of us are going to go to Venice and do our own thing.

Will be good because so far most of the kids here are the typical lets got out and drink all the time types and the few I am going with to Venice are not that type. I don't like drinking much so I haven't gotten to know many of the kids as well as some since I actually go to bed at a decent hour and god forbid act responsibly. Did all the staying up late and not sleeping stuff in my first two years of college and now I'm done with it. Just part of growing up. Wish more people here were that way. I really wish I wasn't in such a minority in that aspect because them I would probably make a lot more friends. So far most of these people are just like acquaintances. Oh well that's how it's always been...getting along with people older than me.

Okay enough ranting for now. Need to do some homework.

Do dee do

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 09:31:57 GMT

Currently my class schedule is as follows:
10:40-2:20 MWF
8-11:50 TR

Not too bad at all. Get to sleep in three days a week which is nice. So yeah if you want to call me don't call during these times and also remember I am seven hours ahead and that I like my sleep very much.

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 17:11:34 GMT

So student arrival wasn't to terrible. Just did a lot of talking which did nothing good for my cough I've had. After checking in people I wandered around and got to know a few and answered lots of questions. Most everyone went out that night and drank a lot. I went to bed but not as early as I would have liked so on tuesday I was incredibly tired. And it didn't help that I was doing this Kepner Tregoe (KT) thing about decision making that is incredibly boring. I know it will be useful but doesn't make it any more exciting.

After doing KT tuesday and wednesday I started rapport leadership breakthrough one (LB1) wednesday night. Did that till friday evening. It was the most intense and rewarding thing I have ever done. It is designed to break down barriers and bring out confidence, honesty and commitment in people. And to develop leadership skills that people already have. It really helped me to break down some walls I have and really look at myself clearer and be honest with myself. I wish I could explain it more but it's one of those things you have to experience to really understand. But i can definitely see why companies pay a lot of money to send employees to it.

Part of LB1 was not getting much sleep because when you are tired it is easier to break down barriers. And I don't cope well with no sleep. So during the training I did okay because of what we did created energy in me. But now I am still incredibly exhausted even after a lot of sleep. Didn't help that saturday I did a low ropes challenge course which used up all my physical energy. So LB1 to all my mental and then the ropes course took my physical and my body just can't cope well anymore. Hopefully tomorrow i will start feeling more up to speed. Just makes me feel so incredibly old to watch all the people around me recover so easily with less sleep and lots of drinking. Guess it just shows the impact of what asthma and allergies can do to a person.

Luckily besides this cough that I have nothing has really affected me over here. Just hope this cough doesn't decide to hang around for much longer.

One of the other nice things that happened friday night was me getting an adopted older brother. one of the office MBA guys gave me the third degree about steven and our engagement. It felt like being home with Jason. I told him that he was now my brother for the rest of my stay and he agreed to it. Helps with the homesickness to have somethings like they are at home. The four guys who help run the program definitely give off the older brother vibe so I like being around them. And cause they aren't "the let's go out and get drunk everynight" type of people either. Or else they have gotten beyond it since they are older. Definitely can't wait to be done with college just because I am tired of being around college students. Never have really gotten along with people my own age. Suppose it is partially from always being around older kids and also all the adults I spent lots of time around with Mom when volunteering.

Friday night I was awakened by about 10 loud drunk kids in the room above me. One had been jumping up and down which is what jolted me out of sleep. I went up and told them to be quiet cause it was quiet hours time. Went back to my room and they just carried on loudly. So I grabbed the other RA in my dorm and had him go back with me because I was just so drained and because I was so out numbered. Finally got them to go to bed. Makes me remember one of the reasons I hated living in the dorms.

And today i went to the market again. Bought a really cute purse. Will get a picture of it and post it when I next post pics. Haven't taken many since I haven't done anything much this week that called for picture taking.

Well that seems to be everything I can think of at the moment so Ciao!

Photos

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 17:42:24 GMT

I have a yahoo photo site now. so I will be emailing out the album. If you did not recieve the one I have sent out than leave me your email here or email me if you have it and I will add you to the list.

"That's Riduculous"

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 14:58:29 GMT

Been a fun past few days. Dinner with the teachers was fun. Learned italian etiquete. Was a full dinner from appetizers to dessert. Got to know a few of the teachers.

On Saturday we went to Asolo which is the town where the graduate campus is. Did a "scavenger hunt" there too. We were to eat gelato, go by anna's mom's bakery and by the campus. Gelato is the best thing ever. Had a tour of the campus which is really nice. It's mostly just a few buildings since all the students don't live there, they have apartments around the area. Waited forever for the bus while freezing because the temperature just kinda dropped in the evening.

Last night we went up to Crespano which is a 15 minute walk and went to guiseppe verde which is a bar/dance place. Had beer for the third time in my life. Still tastes disgusting but doesn't hurt me like wine does. Actually went out and danced for the third or so time in my life. Kaces you should have been there. They were playing old school stuff like ymca, and we will rock you. Even played cotton eyed joe. One of the guys doesn't even remember anything that happened cause he had to much. They even had the token old creepy guy like we do at home.

This morning we went to Crespano again because they have a huge market every week. Can buy just about anything there and pretty cheap to. Got some cute black pants for 5€. The boys bought a grill and when we got back we had some hot dogs and burgers. Was very interesting cooking on it. I ended up becoming the cook since I had let slip about my history with meat. Turns out that a phone card can also be used as a knife for buns and a spatula. Oh and at the market we got french fries and they give you this little pitchfork looking thing to eat it with because Italians don't touch food at all. Even when shopping for produce you wear plastic gloves to touch it.

A few students have arrived and are staying at the hotel across the way. They wandered on to campus and ended up hanging out with us for a while.

Well tomorrow craziness will begin with student arrival. So probably won't have much time to update this week because we have a packed schedule. Then classes begin on the 30th.

Ciao
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Fri, 20 Jan 2006 17:18:08 GMT

Okay time for a real update.

Learning my way around and picking up bits of Italian already. Somehow my body doesn't mind only a few hours of sleep a night for now. Been only getting about five currently after my first night. Just can't fall asleep. Probably my body still trying to be on home time. Oh well it'll get over eventually and demand sleep again.

Every night so far we've been going out to the cafè's and hanging out after work. They are nice places that serve alcohol. I guess it's really a bar but nothing like ours so I don't think of it that way. Best thing is there is no smoking inside any places.

Tomorrow and Sunday we are doing scavenger hunts in two or three of the cities we will frequent to help us learn our way around. Did one here the other day. Helps a lot. Then all the other students arrive on monday afternoon and the peace and quiet will be gone.

Last night in we went to Bassano and at one point had a guy take a picture of us. Ended up going to bar and hanging out. Funny part is he works for deloitte and touche (forget the spelling) anyway giant accounting firm back home. We had a lot of fun. A few of the guys got grandè beers which is the equivalent of about three beers. Came in huge mugs. Suppose they are steins. I had my first italian wine too. Was a dry white wine. Not bad for a cheap basic wine.

Today Laura (another RA who was here last semester too) and I decorated bulletin boards. Ended up exploring parts of the dorms we hadn't seen yet. One has a beautiful view from the top floor that unfortunately we are not using. There is also a secret hallway of sorts on her floor. When the door is closed it looks like a normal room door, but for some reason it was open today and it was a hallway with several rooms. We assume it is where some of the brothers live. Don't remember if I have mentioned that this is a catholic boarding school for high schoolers and then us. There are monks that take care of it and live somewhere on it.

Tonight we are going out to dinner with the professors. They are in orientation right now so I'm wasting time playing on the comp. I know that once everyone else arrives I probably won't have as much easy access to the comps.

Have a fun little group here. Are 2 RI's (resident intern (my job)) 2 SRI's (senior RI) 1 computer tech guy and one random office worker guy. The six of us are the core group that I have been refering to when I say we. There are some program coordinators and then Anna the office manager and Italian.

Well have a call to make so off I go
oh yeah and it is cheaper for you guys all to call me because it doesn't cost me anything.
cell phone number: 011 39 347 543 0504
Will be posting my schedule when I get it so don't call then obviously. And it is seven hours ahead here.

Thu, 19 Jan 2006 16:14:07 GMT

'allo been keeping busy getting ready for student arrival and learning how things work around here. I love that it takes five minutes to get from one end of campus to another. Okay mind went blank. Just yeah campus and surrounding area is beautiful. Mountains are maybe 3-400 yards away.

'allo

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:13:21 GMT

Got a nice long sleep...12 hours so doing much better now. Not doing much really today just some office get ready for the students stuff. k gotta go do more stuff update later

Oyvey

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:02:13 GMT

Well I'm here. Survived it somehow....and with no sleep yet either...which puts me at being awake for more than 24 hours. Flights went great, no delays, no missed connections, luggage arrived in one piece. Made the bus, train, taxi trip to campus without to much difficulty. Helped that I met up with two guys also coming this way at the Venice airport. Was nice to have some company from my own school along. Going to eat dinner soon and then probably crash hard for the night. It's a seven hour difference so whatever my post times are subtract 7 hours from it and that's Kansas time. K well I'm getting farily brain dead so going to sign off for now.

Ciao

Yay

Mon, 16 Jan 2006 03:13:41 GMT

One piece of happiness before I leave. I am now an engaged woman.... k that's all.

Almost time

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:01:25 GMT

Well finally got all of my medication that I need so I can leave. And now it's almost Friday. Week flies by when your spending a lot of time dealing with stupid insurance people. For a while wasn't entirely sure I was going to get them which would have put an interesting hitch in my plans because i've been told we can't ship them so I really couldn't leave without them. Yeah lets say I'm more than thrilled that I finally got them. Have a feeling that this weekend will fly by because it's pretty full of stuff to do and time always flies by when i'm busy.

Merr

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 00:48:45 GMT

So I will be leaving on January 16th which is now less than a week away. Hard to believe, still a lot left to do it seems. Busy busy busy. Will start updating once I actually get there.

Yep

Sun, 08 Jan 2006 17:31:25 GMT

This is my journal for my semester in Italy. Really this entry is just so I can configure a design I like.