Italia 2006

2 weeks down...and I am still not homesick. These past 14 days have been unforgettable. When I last wrote I was about to begin my first day of classes after spending a weekend at the beautiful beaches near Tuscany. Since then, I have finished a week and a half of school and have had many adventures along the way. My first 2 days of school went by in a flash. I am taking one course in English and three courses in Italian. My Italian classes seem like they will be a bit challenging. One of them is a Mass Communications class in Italian and the teacher speaks so fast that I dont even think I would be able to understand her if she was speaking English! So basically...I am lost in that class...along with all the other students. I asked her if she would speek slower and since then it has been a little better, but usually I feel as if I am just taking bits and peices from a puzzle and putting it together into something I understand. The other Italian class that Im scared I am going to have trouble with is my Literature class...taught in Italian. That class is going to be a challenge, but hopefully...Ill survive.

After a week of school, I already notice my Italian is improving. I speak it all day at school and when I get home I can only speak Italian, by the end of the night my brain is exhausted. Although my Italian speaking skills are getting better, I have yet to improve my skills on public transportation. I think I have the worst luck ever when it comes to buses. My first bad bus experience happened last week on Friday. I was heading back on the 17 bus from the center, after I had a great lunch with Paolo (who came to visit me for the afternoon), when I realized the bus had driven right past my stop. I rang the bell for the next one, but the bus driver kept driving. Of course, all of the 10 people left on the bus were tourists and didnt speak a word of Italian so I ran to the front and asked him what was going on. All he said was "ho finito, ho finito!" which means IM FINISHED! I was so confused and when he made us get off on the very last stop in the middle of nowhere, my eyes began to water. Here I was lost in this small city, with a map that didnt even have the location where I was on it. I called my mom just and made her sick with worries. After 20 minutes, another bus came and brought me to my stop. Later that day I found out there was a strike and some buses were not in operation. My next bad experience was yesterday. I took the bus from center back home and noticed that the bus I was on was taking a completely different route. In fear that I had got on the wrong bus, I got off near my school. I went to my usual bus stop at school and waited for 5 minutes, when I was approached by a woman who told me that that stop was out of commission. I walked to the next stop, out of commission. I walked for 10 minutes and found one that was in order and waited. I waited there for 30 minutes and still no bus. I was ready to call a cab, when I saw that damn 17 heading to my stop. I got on and rode the crowded bus for 25 minutes on an alternate route to my house. I arrived home an hour and a half after I left the center. The trip usually takes me 20 minutes. Although at the time I was furious, I realize its times like these that make my abroad experience that much more entertaining.

This past weekend offered me a different kind of entertainment. I spent it with my friends in the pouring rain in Firenze. We went to The Uffizi because they wanted to see the statue of David. Their first mistake was to depend on me to know where the statue of David was. I automatically assumed it was in the Uffizi and so we headed there 1 hour before closing. We rushed through the museum looking at the main paintings but mainly trying to find our way to the David. At the end of the museum I was so confused why I had yet to see the statue of David. I asked one of the workers in the museum where I could find it, and the lady laughed. I then found out I was in the completely wrong musuem. Figures.

After a long weekend running into bars, stores, and restaurants, to avoid the rain, I was thrilled to see the sun on Monday morning. It is supposed to stay nice until next week, which is perfect because this coming weekend I head to the Amalfi coast. So far the forecast predicts 82 degrees and sunny. Our plan is to leave Friday morning and arrive in Sorrento at 12. All of Friday we will tour the Amalfi Coast spending the night in Positano. Saturday morning we will take the first boat out to Capri and stay the day and night on the island. I have yet to visit Capri, so I am so excited for this experience. After this weekend I am sure I will have a ton to write about, and you will have a much to be jealous of. haha. Just know that I wish I could be with any of you, getting kicked off of buses, making stupid mistakes, and having these amazing adventures. Until next week, arrividerci.