What a month it was!

I had such a good month for many reasons, all which I am about to share with you. The first one is that today marked the last day of my classes. Now to be honest, this was a mixed blessing (as you all know) as I did not do very well with my Italian classes but loved my photo classes. A smart friend of mine once told me (Thanks Devin for these words of wisdom) ;) that once you get a little older you start to realize what your strengths and weaknesses are. Not all of us are good at the things we wish we could be. This month has taught me many things.

For one, I have learned that photography really is my passion. I may not have been very good at it in the past and still may not the best at it now, but taking this class brought back so many great memories of taking my b&w film class at the UofS. I learned so much during that class and was so sad when it ended. I felt the same way about this class. I have learned about photoshop (just a little but still). I learned more regarding how to use my camera to the best that I can. I also learned through different workshops that we did that when I have my camera on manual I do take some really good pictures. Setting it on Automatic is great for taking tonnes of shots hoping that one will be the best, but when you set your camera on Manual you just know that the shot you are taking you are taking for a reason. You have a goal, a purpose and when it turns out I feel very satisfied. So, with photography on my mind, I think I would really like to try to pursue something along these lines when I get home.

So because I am right brained I had a hell of a time with my language class. I didn't hate the class I just didn't enjoy being in the classroom learning and being criticized when I did it wrong. There has to be another way for me to learn Italian and I am trying to figure that out. Learning a new language... definitely a weakness. I took the recommendation of Mario's gf and I went and bought a book. She thought it was great and it helped her out a lot when she was learning. cross your fingers. :)

This month has also taught me that we as Canadians take for granted what a wonderful place we live in. Like I mentioned before, I am loving being here right now, but boy am I already looking forward to going home (except maybe for the insanely cold winters). lol We take for granted our homes, our food and all of the luxuries that we have everyday. Mario and I were talking the other day about my house and we looked it up on Google Earth so he could see it. BTW, google earth really is one of the coolest inventions... Anyway, I told him what my house looked like, that it was 900sq ft and he got to see the yard. It was funny because to us my house is actually pretty small. A 900sq ft house to us is a "starter home", only good if you only have one kid. lol He thought it was huge! LOL that's right, my little home was a compared to a mansion. I now understand why though. There is just no room here. Only the rich people have living rooms in there apartments/houses.

I have also noticed a HUGE difference with the food. Now, granted I noticed this on day one but in the last few weeks I have been really taking it all in. They don't have much for prepackaged food here. Last week I was trying to find some soup and I couldn't find any. They do not have cans of soup here. I then tried to find some jello (or something similar) and nothing. And really, the list goes on. I still haven't really had any real meats. I eat it on occasion but for the most part I stay clear. There is so much fat on it and everything just looks really weird. Like the fish... they actually just take a fish (skin, head and all) and just slice it up and stick it on a tray that way to sell it. So if I were to buy this fish I would have to skin it, (is that the right terminology? you know, for all the times I have seen it done in my life you think I would know the terminology by now....sorry dad) take out the bones, eyes and everything else before I could cook it. Not really my idea of a fun time. :-0

As for the luxuries, even little things like warm water is sometimes a struggle. Every morning, I hop in the shower and in total I get about 3min of warm water in my luke warm/cold shower. And, this is how it is everywhere here I guess. Mario was telling me that even now down south, when there is a water shortage the city turns off the water and only turns it on for an hour or so each day. So sometimes people have to get up in the middle of the night just to get their water for the day. Isn't that crazy? The water heater for our apartment is actually in our kitchen. You can actually see the bottom of it if you go back to my July 12th post. It is hanging above the tv. There isn't much water in there which is why we have cold showers and wash the dishes in cold water. We also try to wash clothes late at night as to not waste all the hot water.

So this afternoon I experienced another first here in Italy. I went for a hair cut. :-0 Now, although this month has made me a firm believer in the fact that I should never get a perm when I am trying to grow my hair out, it also made me a realize that I needed to get some of the frizz cut off. I had my appointment at 4:30 and I was right on time (the hairdresser's is literally 10steps from my apartment). One of the ladies washed my hair, which wasn't anything to different then home. The sinks were way higher up though so the water ran right down my back and it was huge mess. I went and sat in the chair and none of the ladies spoke any English so it was really hard to figure out what she was asking me. She finally just turned around and asked out loud to everyone in there if anyone spoke any english. This nice lady who was getting her hair colored spoke english very well and turned out to be a life savor as the hair dresser was planning on only cutting the bottom inch of my hair off! lol Could you imagine?!? Anyway, the trim took all of 5min. I understood when she told me my hair was a mess (seriously lady, tell me something I don't already know) and then I couldn't understand what she was asking me next. The nice english speaking lady came to our rescue though and we figured out that she was asking me what I did with my hair for styling. She decided to put some product in it and instead of using a frizz serum of some sort she coated my hair in mousse. The interesting thing though was that she never shook the can of mousse. She just sprayed it out onto her hands and then drenched my hair in it. I just stood up, said thanks, payed and walked out. I was going to go and do some running around but had to go back home just so that I could see what was happening with my hair. I looked at the clock when I got home and it read 4:53. lol My whole trim, trying to figure out what we were talking about and the "style" at the end took ony 23min. quickest haircut ever! Once home I tried to run my fingers through it but it was so sticky with wet mousse that I had no other option but to wet my hair down again. I wish I was kidding but there was so much mousse that it was actually lathered just like shampoo...really very funny.

July, all in all, was a great month to be here. I am looking forward to what August will bring. I have so much planned and it will be so fun to experience everything.

Temp high: 34
Gelato: n/a

Permesso di Soggiorno

I finally had my appointment today for my Permesso di Soggiorno (Resident Permit). My appointment was for 12:01pm. I was told to make sure I go a bit early just to make sure that I get there and find my way around ok with time to spare. So I ended up at the Congress Office at 11:00am. I talked to the police guard that was guarding the door and he gave me a number and pointed to me to go into this huge waiting area. I should make a side note here that everywhere you go in Italy they make you take tickets. Post office, at the market, any appointment place... Its a little weird but it works. Instead of lines that we have, you just take a number and then you can go and have a seat wherever until they call you.

So, my number was 806 and was stamped at 11:05am. I walked into this huge area that had 18 booths and hundreds of people waiting. I took a seat and noticed that they were only working on number 744 when I sat down. I only sat there for a few minutes though because I very soon noticed a not so nice odor. Some people sitting close to me starting laughing and I thought I better get out of there before it happened again. :( I went closer to the booths that were dealing with the resident permits and took a seat. I read some of my book that I had brought with me and just people watched. At about 1:15 I was starting to get a little antsy. I was surrounded by people from all backgrounds that were there for various reasons. Trust me when I say that the people and the smells didn't dissipate when I moved. There was no air conditioning and it wasn't very pleasant. It also seemed that everyone had brought along their whole families. I guess they probably had to (and as you all know I love kids) but it was so loud and the kids (many of them) wouldn't stop crying. It was about 1:30 when I finally decided to put my Ipod on and drown out the noise. I have to admit, that it did help. I cranked up my tunes and just settled in for the long wait that was still to come. At 2pm they hit number 788 and I was sooo excited. Less then 20 people to go. I was pretty sure I was going to be out of there by 3 and thought for sure I could make it to my photo class that was from 2-5. Well then just my luck the girls (there was only the 2 booths that were helping us) closed up for lunch. At this point, I wasn't sure what I should do. I thought about going home for a bit (as it was only 5min away from my apartment) but thought that what if I go home and end up missing my appointment. I had already sat there for 3 hours and the lunch break was only 30min so I just hung out. The girls showed up again at about 2:40 so I knew I wasn't making it to class anytime soon.

Finally at 3:50pm my number was called. YEAH! I couldn't have been happier. I went up to the booth and handed the lady all of the paperwork that I had. I should also add in here that I never actually ended up getting all of the paperwork that I needed. They (I still don't really know who "they" really is) were supposed to mail my documents back to me that I filled out and mailed away on June 26th so I wasn't sure if this appointment was going to be all for nothing or not. It turned out ok though. They have this cool machine that I had to get my fingerprints electronically printed on and I had to sign a few documents. Then she handed me a new piece of paper and told me to come back on that day to pick up my card! YEAH! I got it! Italy wants me! Not that they would have any reason not to want me, come on, I'm Canadian and such a good little citizen, what country wouldn't want me. ;)

So my appointment is August 30 to go and pick up my card. I won't be in Italy that day (I'll be in the UK) but the lady told me just to come back any day after that and pick it up. I know now though that appointment times really don't mean anything and to be at the office by 8am when it opens. I've learned my lesson on appointment times in Italy, that's for sure!

Needless to say that it was after 4pm when I finally walked out of the office. 5hours I waited there today. It was long, boring and smelly but I survived. I didn't however make it to my class which really annoyed me. My last class in photography is tomorrow. I'm sad but have learned so much and feel it was well worth it. Does anyone need pictures taken? I'm good now...really. :)

Temp high: 31
Gelato: Moro(dark choc)/Yogurt Bosco(yogurt with berries) I have to say though, that although I love both of these flavours, I really shouldn't have had them both at the same time. They don't really mix well.

Upcoming trips...

My weekend was very uneventful but very fulfilling none the less. I was able to talk to 4 of the people I love on Skype this weekend for about an hour each. I spent the rest of the time watching movies, episodes of friends and just relaxing as I am trying to heal everything from my buggered up ankle to my sunburn. The cold is still hanging on, but really, I think I have talked that one to death already so I'll try not to mention it again. :)

Today after class I went out and explored another market that I hadn't been to before. I found the prettiest pashmina today. Its blue and brown and I couldn't resist. That and it was only 5euros! What a great find. I can't wait to wear it!

So, I finally was able to put my deposit down for my Great Britain/Southern Ireland trip today. I am soooooo excited. I leave Aug 27, which means that one month from today I will be in London already starting my trip. How crazy. I also am planning a trip for mid next week to the south of Italy. I have 4 days of travel on my eurorail pass to use up before the 18th of August and I want to make it worth my while, so I am heading south! I talked it over with Mario and he actually picked out the places that I should go. Because he is from the south of Italy and has been pretty much everywhere he pointed to the best 4 places and told me that I have to go there. I need to do a bit more research but my plan is to leave around Tuesday maybe and head straight for Sicily. A town called Taormina in Sicily is supposedly one the nicest places there so I think I am going there first. After that I am going to take the train to Lecce and I want to get to Bari as well as I heard from Lily (my Italian instructor back in Stoon) that it is very beautiful and definitely worth seeing. From there I want to take the train to Amalfi, Sorrento and then over to the island of Capri. I will then take the ferry to Naples and then back home. All in all I hope to be gone about a week or maybe a little more.

Can anyone suggest any other places that they have been to south of Florence that I should try to get to? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Temp High: 31
Gelato: n/a (its funny, I actually eat gelato on the days that I don't post so it looks like I am not eating any at all. Good trick huh?) :)

The Day of Mixed Emotions

Today actually started out a little rough. After only sleeping from 3:30am until 6am I had to get up to go on my photo class field trip. Our meeting time was 8:30 so I made sure I was there early enough I could grab a pastry from the McCafe. :) By 9am we were still waiting for one of the girls to show up even though we had a strict need to be on time rule today. I have to say that it made me a little grumpy (that and the major lack of sleep) but I tried to stay positive. Once inside the car I was the lucky one that got to sit in the front seat instead of crammed in the back of his pretty small Fiat with 3 people. He then put a cassette (yup totally still was playing cassettes, lol) and we were on our way. We stopped at a couple of places along the way to the beach, which in total was over a 2 hour car ride.

By 1:00 I was nicely settled on my beach blanket and ready to enjoy the water and soak up the sun. I even got up the nerve to put my bathing suit on. I went into the water a few times which was gorgeous. It was a little murky but all in all it was great! We did end up having a bit of situation though. We were all in the water hanging out and all of sudden I felt a tingle across my foot. It didn't hurt, it just tingled. I mentioned to everyone that I think a jellyfish may have come close to me. Right then, the jellyfish (which we actually couldn't see for the murky water) stung one of the guys in class. He had a red line down his arm and said it hurt really bad. He was fine in the end (just washed it off and he was good to go) but I think it was totally cool that I kinda, sorta, almost got stung by a jellyfish myself. ;)

Well we ended up staying on the beach until about 3pm and then decided to go have some lunch and then head home. Ok, so this is the part where I have to admit my sheer stupidity and ask for your guidance, if you have any. I put on sunscreen once at the beach, however I have to admit that it was about 45min after we got there and I only put it on my face and chest. (I know I know) Needless to say (I know you all know where this is going), I am a lobster. Not even joking. My legs (which by definition were a pale chicken white before) are now a tomato red. they are burning (really really bad) and its from my feet all the way up. My back is also really bad. My face and chest (because I actually thought to protect them) are only minorly red. They still hurt a little but nothing to the agony of my legs. As soon as I got home I ran a room temperature bath and sat in that which actually seemed to help while I was in there. I Also bought Aloe Vera gel while at the beach still because I could already feel my legs hurting. So my question to all of you is...is there anything else I can do? All suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)

We then headed for home and had a very quite yet painful ride. I did make Diego stop at a field of sunflowers though so that I could take some pictures.

So at the end of the day, this is how I am feeling. Totally happy that I was able to go on this trip today. I Still have no voice and now I have a crazy ass sunburn but I am still happy that I was able to see all that I saw today. I also realized how much Tuscany makes me feel like home. I new it would from all of the pictures I have seen but actually being able to go out again into Tuscany today and see the farmers hard at work and all of the swathed, cultivated and some still blooming fields (like the sunflowers), it really made me think of my home. The only real difference I seen today was the fact that there were WAY more hills than you would even see in Sask.

Temp high: Way to hot for my pasty white skin. :(
Gelato: None, can you believe it? At the beach and I didn't even get ice cream.

I think Florence has a curse on me...

Wow, I can't believe that I went 2 whole days without blogging. I do have reasons though. First off, really nothing has gone on that was worth blogging about and 2, this cold has literally kicked my ass! I am still sick. You know how on Monday I made the comment that my voice was gone? Well yep, its Thursday night and I still don't have a voice. I also now have a nice chest cough so that is always awesome. The bright side though is that I actually don't feel horrible. I don't have a sort throat and my head doesn't hurt, its just this darn dry cough and the no voice thing. So needless to say I haven't really done much since the weekend.

So ya, classes, not going the greatest. I went on Tuesday skipped on Wednesday (because Tuesday she kept making me try to talk). Really? what part of literally no voice didn't she get? anyway, stayed home from both my classes on Wednesday hoping I cold just veg out and get over this thing and then today I went to half of my Italian class, which I was again made to talk. My photo class got cancelled for today which was nice. I love going but just wasn't up to it still today. Tomorrow though should be great. My photo class is meeting at 8:30 to take a day trip to a lake about an hour away to take pictures all day. I am super excited about that. Voice or no voice it will be great! Oh, forgot to mention that my super hot photo teacher has a gf... :( oh well. lol

As for this curse that I think Florence has on me right now. I'm not sure if I mentioned in previous posts or not, but I was able to get a new to me bike. The girl that was living in this room prior to me was here until a couple of days ago staying elsewhere in Florence. When she left though she said that I could have her bike for free because she no longer needed it. Yeah! Well I finally went today to pick up the bike and I went to get on and fell off! lol that's right, I looked like a totally dweeb! so I ended up walking it home. I need to fix it however because I noticed that the handle bars are not straight. They are at a 45degree angle to the tires and the seat is to tall for me to get on. Not sure why I didn't notice all of this before I got on and then fell off, but oh well. lol Anyway, Mario said he could help me fix it, so hopefully this weekend if he has time we will get it working. I am starting to think though that there is something here telling me not to ride a bike during my stay. Maybe I'm just being paranoid but I don't think so... We'll see though.

I ended up throwing a couple more pics in here today to show you. One was from the Cinque terre trip and the other was a really hot Ferrari I saw on the street on Wednesday. :) now I have no idea who was driving this car but the funny thing was that as I was standing there taking the picture, 2 boys (about 10 or 11) ran up to the car and leaned in as if to look at it. They then decided that they would look way cooler if they hopped inside the car, which is exactly what they did. lol

Temp high: 37
Gelato: n/a

The Cinque Terre

Sunday morning I was up by 5:30am and was on the train to the Cinque Terre by 7:30. We arrived around 10am and what we thought was going to be some looking around and relaxing was anything but! We got off the train and immediately were told to follow the tour guide. There was 4 of them to make sure none of got left behind (there were about 60 of us). We started walking down a bunch of steps and saw the most beautiful view. We stopped for about 2min (not even kidding and then walked up the other side of the hill right back to wear we started so we could catch the train again to the next town.

I guess I should say before I go to far that the Cinque Terre is 5 small towns that are built into the side of the mountain along the East side of Italy that is up against the Mediterranean Sea. You can walk to each town along the side of the mountain but it is all carved walking steps and takes a whole day to do the whole walk.

So, we got back on the train and went to the second town. We got off the train and by this point I was exhausted, had to go to the bathroom and my knees and ankles were killing me already. We ended up walking around the whole town (at least 200 steps up and down). About half way around the town I was able to stop for about 5min so that I could go to the bathroom and just my luck I finally ran into the squat toilet. ;) Now seriously, why do people think that this is a good idea? As a guy, sure. The world is your urinal anyway... but as a woman, come on! So if you have never seen one before I'm sure you can just imagine. For those of you that have seen or experienced them before, you totally understand what I am talking about. So ya, I was so worried about trying not to pee on myself that the whole process made me get a bad case of stage fright and to make matters worse, some random dude was trying to pull my door open cause he needed in there! sigh... I made it out though and we headed back down to the train again.

We ended up at the third town on our visit which was actually town number 4. We didn't get to see town 3 as she told us that there was over 380 stairs just to get up to the town and then the same back. I was happy to skip it this time. :) So town number 4 was great because we had 3 hours to hang out and wander around by ourselves. I ended up having lunch with 3 other ladies and we splurged a bit. The view from our restaurant was so beautiful, you could pretty much see the whole town. At lunch I ended up having penne with Scampi (which I thought was shrimp but it was actually crab). It ended up tasting pretty good but I really don't get why they give you the whole crab when you can only eat chunks of its tail and legs. Oh well... I also tried some Squid that another girl had ordered. It was ok. We shared a bottle of the Cinque Terre white wine and 3 desserts. I ended up wandering around the town a bit looking at the shops and just took some pictures.

The last and final town was the biggest and by far the beach was the nicest. I did take the long walk into the town to look around but in the end didn't purchase anything. I took some gorgeous pictures and then just sat and relaxed for a bit. I didn't end up going into the water at all but I'm ok with that. It was so crowed anyway that it would have been hard to find a spot to sit on the beach and they make you rent the chairs.

I will definitely go back before my time in Italy is done. I will however, stay for more than one day and relax and enjoy the view a bit more.

Today was a good day, except for the fact that my cold has finally won! I have no voice...literally. Sat and yesterday at the Cinque Terre my voice was pretty "man" sounding but today when I woke up, it was gone. So frustrating. I made it to my photo class though because you don't need to talk to take pictures and that is exactly what we did today. We went in groups of 2 (my group was photographing Architecture) and so we chose to take some pictures of some sculptures. I have included one of my pics here to show you. I quite like it.

Temp High: 33
Gelato: n/a

One Month Already???

Wow, it's crazy to think that I have been here one month already. However today is exactly that day. I have done so much and yet so little in this month. I have made some new friends, started some classes and learned the bus system a little bit better. I have not left the city yet, gone to any museums or went inside any of the really fancy stores. That will all happen in the days to come. In month two, I am going to go to Venice and Milan and am really excited about that. I also hope to get to Pisa as well as many other places around Tuscany.

Tomorrow is a big day for me as I am finally going to the Cinque Terre with the school. There are about 40-50 people going so it will be a fairly big crowd. I have to be up at about 5am so I am keeping my post short and sweet for tonight.

I just want to let everyone know that I miss you all and I think about you all regularly. 5 Months to go!

Temp High: 32
Gelato: Yogurt Bosco

Yeah it's Friday!

Class this morning wasn't to bad at all. yesterday was a bit of a shit show as she singled me out and I looked like a complete moron. Today though, I made a minor come back and only looked minorly stupid... so I will take it! lol After class I headed home and had about a 2 hour nap. Between the crazy hot weather and me not feeling well a nap was in order.

Headed out though at 6 for a wine tasting with about 8 others from my school. I didn't know anyone but still had a really good time. We tried 3 different wines (one white, two reds) as well as an oil and 2 balsamic vinegars. We also had some cheese, bread and a few meats to try with each wine. Very tasty and I learned quite a bit. 3 glasses of wine later, 3 hours and some food, I ended up buying a crazy expensive bottle of the 12 yr old bottle of balsamic vinegar that we tried (damn was it good) and then a few girls and I went out for a coffee. Ended up on my way about 10pm.

I passed by this place which used to be an old Military barracks which they now have converted in a place where they hold entertainment, events, markets and other randoms. Until August 1st they are having music and other entertainment there. I stopped in to take a look as it is on my way home. It actually reminded me of a mini folk fest. It was a huge area (about the size of Prarieland) and it had booths selling things, games to play, many restaurants and food booths set up and about 6 different stages with many types of music playing. The dance music stage was actually teaching people to dance which was cool to see. I also really enjoyed the reggae band that was playing. There was a main stage that had some heavy rock playing but you had to buy tickets to go in and I wasn't willing to do that. Anyway, I hung around for only about an hour and then came home.

Temp high: 37
Gelato: Cicco Kinder (I bet you can guess what this one tasted like) Mmmmm :)

And the shopping continues...

Well I made the decision to sleep in this morning and not go to my Italian class. I am still fighting this cold and am trying to sleep as much as possible. Also, I think the NyQuil really kicked my butt as I didn't even hear the alarm go until I was already late. ;) Tomorrow is a new day though and I won't take the drugs tonight so I should have no problems making it to class on time. I did make it to my afternoon photo class though. We did still art and portraits today. It was pretty interesting. From now on I guess we are going out and taking pictures of how we see Italy so I am pretty excited about that.

I think I am getting the hang of this shopping thing. On my way home from school I stopped at Coin again (and yes, it is identical to a sears/bay). I ended up finding a top and it was on sale for 11euros! It's a fairly plain pink tank top but still, I was happy with my purchase. I then ended up going back to the Disney store and I bought myself something there that was also on sale. Look at me find the deals?!? lol

I will explain the 3 pics I have displayed today. 1st one, was our class project today. We were taking pictures of still life and figured we would use an eaten apple. lol Pic 2 is of this chic that was dancing on the street corner. She had guards and everything around her. She looked really cool and I just had to take her picture. The third one is of my Disney store purchase. I justified this one for 3 reasons. 1, it was half price. 2, it had Florence on it so it is a keep sake from my trip and 3, he was just super cuddly and I couldn't not get him. ;) hahaha

Temp High: 39
Gelato: n/a

Starting my italian card collection

Well today was definitely a better day. I had about 10 hours of sleep, woke up and made it to class early. I was the first one there! :) I only had my one class today which was nice. After class I met Leana at our meeting spot and we headed off. Stopped for a quick sandwich and then we went to find the Paperback Exchange book store that I wanted to find. I searched online the other day to see if anywhere in Florence had a used book store. This was only one and is specially designed for English books which is great! We found it with no problem. I was able to give my two books to them and got credit for them for new books. I ended up getting 3 more and with my credit I only ended up paying about 12euros, which I thought was pretty good. They also gave me a frequent shopper card. This allows me to get free books (or credit towards books) once I fill it up.

We then ended up just walking around for a bit. I found a department store called Coin that I am going to go back to. It had everything and reminded me of a Sears or the Bay type of store. We went for some gelato and then parted ways. I walked around for a bit more and then figured my head was getting pretty fuzzy so I headed home. Yup, still sick. :( On the way home however I ended up going into a Bata shoe store (they have these everywhere I guess) and found a super comfy pair of sandals.

Once home I was going to go to the store, do some work on the computer and get some stuff done. Instead I napped for 2 hours and then went to the store around 8. :) Found some great deals and learned what conditioner is in Italian. Would you believe that shampoo is the same? huh. I also received my second frequent shopper card today. The supermarket lets you take this card that you can use to get points as well as stuff on sale at special prices (basically like a safeway card). Once I get enough points, I can get money off of my groceries. I thought it was a pretty good deal.

I got my first postcard yesterday! Thanks to Susan and the PTS crew, I recieved my first postcard. It is now hanging on my cork board with all my pics. Its nice to look at the picture of Stoon on the front and think of home. The coolest part was that it only took 1 week to get here. So please, keep the mail coming, I love it! I also will be starting to send out some postcards soon. I just havn't found the right ones yet. I have sent 2 out so far but don't think they have arrived at there destinations yet.

Temp high: 40 (its supposed to be crazy hot all week)
Gelato: chocolate

It's called Monday for a reason...

Is it just me or did I just have one of those day???

I woke up this morning with a really sore throat. I could sort of feel it last night before I went to bed but hoped it was nothing. Well, it wasn't nothing. My throat has been getting worse as the day goes on. I popped multiple Advil this morning trying to get rid of my headache and drank a bunch of OJ and water. I then finished getting ready for school, hopped on my bike and away I went. I noticed as soon as I got on it though that the one break wasn't working but chalked it up to just another "quirk" of the bike. I made it a whopping 10blocks and my chain decided to fall off again. I was so pissed, you have no idea! So there I am, 10 blocks from home, about 20 blocks from school and it is 8:40 already. I locked up the bike (even though know one would have stole it anyway) and quickly walked to the bus station that was about 3 blocks away. Hopped on the dreaded bus that took me to the Duomo. Hopped off their because I was smart enough to know this time that it wasn't going to get me anywhere close to the school. I then walked the rest of the way to school. I was only about 5min late today so I thought I was doing pretty good. :D

Made it through my Italian class ok today, had a quick lunch and then went to my photo class where we were having a short test today to see if we remembered anything or not. Apparently my brain wasn't working the best (I'm blaming it on the 2 extra strength Advil) because I didn't seem to remember a darn thing. On a happy note though, the others remembered slightly less so I guess that's a good thing. ;) lol

After class I took the bus back to my bike and started walking it back to the place that I bought it from. By the time I got there I was so mad because I looked like a real winner walking my bike 20 blocks. I decided that I wasn't going to keep the bike. It has caused me nothing but grief in the 4 days that I have had it. I ended up having to argue with this old Italian man. He couldn't speak English, I couldn't speak Italian and we were getting nowhere. I tried to tell him about the bell, the brake and the chain but he wasn't going to give me any money back for this thing because he had to fix it. SERIOUSLY???? Obviously he didn't know who he was talking to. I don't normally back down from a challenge. So I argued for a bit and he finally gave me 20euros back (which was half of what a paid 4 days ago). Another girl during this time also was trying to get her bike fixed. She spoke English so we started talking. I guess I should also add that by this time, I was crying. lol yup! Those of you that know me know that when I am pissed off or am just defeated that's when I cry. At that moment I felt both defeated and pissed off. Anyway, it turns out that this girl (Leana[sp?] from Germany) has had the same problem with her bike that she bought 5 days ago. She has had it fixed from him twice. She ended up taking a different bike but he still was trying to charge her to fix her broken one. Something must be really wrong in this guys head. Where we come from, people wouldn't get away with stuff like that. I guess here you can. :( So we both hassled the guy for a bit and he ended up giving me another 5euros because I tried to explain that I only had it for 4 days and it has broken twice now. She took her new to her bike and we got out of there before he could yell at us in Italian anymore. The best part of my day would have to be meeting her. We are meeting tomorrow after school and going to hang out for a bit. I'm looking forward to it and glad that something good came out of this horrible bike experience.

Ok, I should say that I am planning on getting a different bike. I have been told by a few people now that there is a shop that sells new bikes (or gently used) and does the same sort of buy back program when I am done. They seem pretty good from what I have been told so one day this week I will check them out. They also speak English as that is great! Obviously in my case above, I got what I paid for so this time I will consider spending a bit more for slightly better bike.

It's only about 8:15pm here but I am going to read a little and then go to bed. I am wiped.

Temp High:38
Gelato: n/a (but I did treat myself to McD's if you can call that a treat.) I did also go to the gelateria but it was closed for some reason. sigh... oh well, there is always tomorrow. ;)

Dogs, shopping and wacky hair-dos

Well, my weekend was pretty uneventful. I really wanted to go to the Cinque Terre (google it.... it is supposed be one of the most beautiful spots in Italy) but it turns out that the trains decided to have a strike last night until today. Its weird, both the trains and the buses have one day strikes every month or so. Kinda makes it hard for people like to me go anywhere. Oh well, I have my bike now, so nothing is stopping me... right?

I did end up going to the centre yesterday and doing some shopping. Went out around 4. I knew that I needed two things for sure and then I was just going to look around after that. Well I ended up finding everything on my list! I went into this one store called laRinascente which I think carries a bit of everything. I went in for an umbrella and found one that I thought was super cute that is pink. They also have purses, makeup, underwear, and I think a few other randoms. I didn't see any actual clothing but oh well. I then headed out to look for a wallet. I ended up finding one in an outdoor market area. It is purple and leather (of course). I then ended up going back to the laRinascente store because when I was there the first time, there was a really pretty perfume that I liked. I ended up buying it. Its Gucci and its awesome! I then just kept wandering around. I found some really cool stores and I even went into some clothing stores, but unless I have shrunk to medium in the last 3 weeks (which did not happen) then there was no way I was fitting into any of the clothes. Oh well... I also came across a Disney store that I went into and wanted to by myself a stuffed Minnie or Mickey mouse but refrained. I figured a stuffed animal on my bed at age 30 wouldn't look so hot. I really thought about it though before I left the store having bought nothing. :(

Well the only real things I did today were clean my room so I could post a few pics for you guys to see and road my bike to the supermarket only to find out they are closed. ugh! Guess I got to go back tomorrow. Sharisse, is it possible for you to send me that gel seat for my bike that you suggested in my last post?!? lol Does anyone have any big tips for how to keep a bike seat from getting shoved up your ass? I am definitely not a bike person anymore. I much prefer the bus knowing full well that I could get somewhere quicker if I road my bike. Don't worry though, I am going to keep riding it. Maybe if I am lucky my butt will get used to it... ;)

Tried to blow dry my hair straight today. LOL It looked like I stuck my finger in a light socket and it came out fried, poofy and straight. It was horrible! Guess I am stuck with curly hair for a little while longer. Seriously, who let me get this perm anyway?!? ;) Just kidding, I still like it most days. It has just been getting pretty frizzy lately.

Dogs - So, there are dogs everywhere around here. Its crazy! About every 5th person I see has a dog with them. They also are never on leashes. I think out of about 100 dogs that I have seen being 'walked', only about 10 of them are on leashes. Also, they seem to think that the world is there urinal as they just pee and poop everywhere and no one cleans it up. There is dog crap everywhere! I have heard the locals even make comments about it. I guess it is a law that they should clean it up, but no one follows it and no one ever gets caught.

Temp today: 27ish
Gelato yesterday: Yogurt Bacca (yogurt with berries)

Photoshop anyone?

Does anyone know how to use photoshop? I need help! I downloaded the free 30 day trial for my class but it won't recognize any of my .nef (raw) files. My teacher also couldn't figure it out. So, if anyone can help me that would be great, I would really appreciate it. Just shoot me an email.

Can anyone also tell me what happened here? lol is that right that it took literally one week to kill my sunflower? Poor poor sunny. Sometimes its hard to believe that I can keep cats alive. :)

Last night ended up being pretty uneventful. Ended up in the general location to where we were going and ended up meeting up with my friend. However we couldn't find the place where my teacher was playing. We ended up grabbing a beer (aren't you proud of me, I actually drank a beer) and just walked around. The cool thing is, you can take alcohol out wherever you want around here. there are no rules. Drinking age: 16 Now you know why every high school student and especially the americans want to come here on school trips away from there parents. Dangerous? I think so!

Went out for a walk tonight. Took a few pictures. Weather was gorgeous. There was a bit of a breeze thought that actually made it chilly at times. tomorrow on my agenda will be shopping and cleaning my room. Yup, some things never change. The nice thing here thought is that it isn't that big so it can't get to messy.

Temp high: 30
Gelato: Moro (dark chocolate) and Creme di Miechi (creme with cookie bits)

Here is my bike. Please note the dents in the fenders as well as the bits of rust all over. lol I know its not that clear but I will put one up on Flicker as well so you can take a look. Enjoy!

So, I got up this morning and decided that I was taking the bus! lol That's right people, my butt hurt and I didn't feel like riding the bike because I had 8 hours of classes today and I knew I was going to be tired. I did however bus a 10 token bus pass so if I do get stopped I can show them my card (even though I haven't activated it yet) :) I was at the main bus terminal by about 8:20 this morning and figured that would give me lots of time to catch the right bus. Well I got on the wrong bus..... again! now I know what you all are thinking..."How can I mess this up so many times right"? Well I will tell you. Like I mentioned before there are 3 bus 14's, an A,B & C. Well about every 6 stops of so they change the letter of the bus (just to piss me off I think). Anyway, I was on the bus and a lady asked me a question that I actually kinda halfass'd understood. We then were talking about the buses and she informed me that because they are doing some construction work around the Duomo, they have changed the bus routes. Seriously, why wouldn't they tell you these things? Anyway, so I ended up walking again for about 20 min and still was the second one in class so that was good. We had yet another new student today so that was annoying. However in a away, I don't mind the review. I am still not getting it yet as fast as the others, but I'm trying.

My Photography was great today. It was just myself, Kat (my new photo friend) and Diego our teacher). We had class for 4 hours and it was great! Because it is just the two of us, it is really hands on and we can ask so many questions. I learned some cool things and stuff that I need to work on.

I think I am heading out tonight. Diego also drums in a reggae band so Kat and I are planning to check it out (at least thats the plan as of now). Ok, I am just going to put this out there.... I totally have a teacher crush. ;) He is a photographer, plays drums in a reggae band and is super cute. Whats there not to like? If anyone knows me they know that I love reggae, I want to learn the drums and love photography. ;p

Temp high: 33
Gelato: n/a

Gong show of day...

Well, I guess it all began to me sleeping through my alarm. lol boy somethings just never change do they?!? I woke up at about 10 to 8, jumped out of bed and had no time for a shower (which believe me, I should have just taken the time) :0 I got on the bus at 8:20 looking not the best (hair looked like I stuck my finger in a light socket) but I did manage to throw on some makeup. :) Got on the bus illegally again and headed downtown. I went to catch the good old 14C and what did I do??? Jump on the wrong friggin bus..... again! I did however figure it out before the bus had taken me really far away from the main stop. I hopped off and started walking. It was crazy hot out today and I was pissed off and tired but I walked for about 20min before I got to school. In the end I was only about 10min late for class but I was sweating like nobodies business and I was grumpy. We had a new person in class this morning also so we had to review for the first 2 hours. then after the break we had another new person so we reviewed....again! Everyone kept looking at there watches. Its funny though because my teacher also about every 20min or so would ask us the time. Obviously she didn't want to be there anymore than we did today.

Got through class and met up with a couple of girls from my photo class. We found a little cafe to have lunch at. We were going to sit outside but would you believe they charge you more to sit outside? 3euro more per item. Seriously! So we sat inside and just hung out. Photo class today was great. Although the actual info is a review right now, I learned some really neat stuff today and am really enjoying it. I cant wait for my next class! I just love taking pics so much. It may sound wierd but I find so much joy in it. I feel so relaxed and although the ideas don't always come natually to me, I still get so much enjoyment from practising. And just think, you all are my guinny pigs. :)

So, I did the unthinkable (and if McGettigan is reading this he will laugh I am sure), I bought a bike. It was time. I couldn't take the bus illegally anymore knowing that I could risk getting a 100euro fine, so I sucked it up and bought a bike. About 5:00 today I ended up at the bike shop near my school. He is a really old dude that repairs cars and bikes. Before the actual purchase of this said bike though, I needed to go by a lock. To make a long story short, I couldn't find the place to buy the lock and was sent on a wild goose chase for about 20min by the post office lady. I was about to give up (as I was standing at the bus stop to go home) and looked across the street. There it was! The lock store. It was there all along. I purchased my lock and headed back to pick up my bike. He sold me great bike for the low cost of 40euros. The cool part is though that when I am done with it, I can sell it back to him for 20euros! How cool! Well, don't get to excited.... my wonderful new to me bike is a huge P.O.S. LOL I picked the cheaper of the two (which may have been my problem) but I just assumed it would work ok. It is blue right now and can tell that it used to be about 1o other colors as well. :) It is old and rusty and I was freaking out about riding it. I walked it for the first block until I found a really quiet street. I got on and it didn't work. lol The chain was off of it! lol well I tried to fix it myself but couldn't so I had to walk the bike back to the bike shop and he fixed it for me. By this time it is well after 6, I am sweaty, tired and now have dirt/grease all over my feet/legs and hands. I am a real catch here today. ;) So once the bike was fixed I headed back to my quiet street, got on, and started going. I have to admit that it took me a little while to get home (about 1/2 hour). I was exhausted and my butt and legs hurt but I am determined to make this cheesy bike work. Once home I unloaded my school books and headed back out to go to the supermarket. I was about 50 feet from my place and all of a sudden the bell on my bike fell off. Yup, just flew off and rolled down the street. Some guy walking by grabbed it and brought it to me. I jammed it back on and I was on my way again. ;)

Temp high: 37
Gelato: n/a

Pictures, Flags & Salt... Can you make the connection?

Class was good today. I learned a few more words, which is always good. I decided to go straight home after class because I was exhausted and figured I would take a short nap. :) Instead I watched a few episodes of Friends and just rested. Went out again around 4pm and my plan was to go to the school and sign up for a dinner they were doing tonight. Well my trip was a huge gong show. I thought I had taken the correct bus but there are 3 different bus 14's (a,b,c) and I took the b instead of the c which took me about a 30min walk from the school. So I walked and ended up at the school around 5:30. Once I got there though and heard all about the dinner I decided against it. To much money for just a supper I thought. I had brought my camera with me though and I wanted to take a couple of pictures for my class. We were asked to put our camera totally on manual settings. I managed to take a few that I really liked. I will post 3 here. They may not be of anything worth looking at, but I really liked the compostition of them.

Today I noticed that all of the flags are at half mass. The Duomo was also restricted so that know one could even go near it. Police were everywhere. It was a strange feeling to know that something tragic had happened and not know what it was. I asked tonight and was told that 2 major things were going down today in Italy. First off there was an explosion on one of the railway systems that killed 22 and seriously injured many more. This was why the flags were flying low today. Also, the king of China (I think he is the king and not a PM but not totally sure) was here today so we think that is why the Duomo was closed. Anyway, I have decided that I am going to start watching the news here. I know I won't be able to understand it yet but hopefully one day soon.

I think I am being a clutz over here. I broke a glass the other day and today I decided that I would spill a whole container of salt everywhere in the kitchen. :( It was a huge mess as salt isn't the easiest thing to clean up. After supper and my salt clean up, I just hung out with the roomies and chatted about italian, life, classes and boys. It was fun but I need to get to bed somewhat early tonight (before midnight is my goal).

I have added my flicker site to my blog. To find it though, you have to go into my profile and scroll down to my Contacts. There should be an option to click on the My Web Page and I believe it takes you right to the site. I can only add so many pics a month to it but right now there is about 25ish and a funny video of my riding the vespa. Check them out if you wish. I also think that at the end of every post starting tonight, I am going to post the high temperature of the day and the gelato flavours that I tried. :) This is mostly just for random info that I can look back on to see the weather and if/when and what kinds of gelato I tried. Thought it might be kinda fun. lol Ciao!

Temp High: 30
Gelato: Crema/Dark chocolate

First day of school craziness

Well today was a crazy busy, exhausting day! I was at school by 9am (which is actually about 2 hours before my normal get up time nowadays lol) and was pushed into a really hot room filled with about 50 people. We were packed in like sardines. A few min later they starting calling everyone by name and took people to different classrooms. Mine ended up with 11 people in it which isn't so bad. Francesca, our teacher started talking in only Italian. Not a word of English. She would just repeat herself and use hand gestures to teach us what she was talking about. It was very exhausting. We had a 20min break in which one of the teachers (who is from Montreal and spends every summer in Italy) took me and a few of the newbies from Montreal on a quick tour of the neighbourhood and showed us the outdoor market. Super cool btw, I can't wait to go back there. Got back to class and had another almost 2 hours of learning. I now know that il libro e verde (the book is green) and that le matite e le penne sono gialle e il fiore rosso (the pencils and the pens are green and the flower is red). After class I had 2 hours to kill before my photography class started at 3 so a guy from my class and I went out for lunch.

I got back just before 3 and ended up waiting almost an hour for my class to start as the teacher was held up. Their is 8 people in the class but I think a couple are dropping out. One is a professional photographer from Brazil and just wanted to take the class for fun until she learned that we were all beginners (or almost beginners). The other one wanted her own private lessons because she to wanted professional training. This one chick though that I have to mention was really annoying. She was the typical old woman that was trying to learn a new thing and was annoying doing it. Every time the teacher said something she would say either "uh huh, Yes, or Mmmm" I think everyone was laughing at her by the end of class. I did meet a couple of girls though and we went for drink after class. I had a vodka, orange & 7 and after the exchange was only about $14. LOL I'll think twice before I do that again! I ended up changing my class from a 6 hours a week class to 10 hours so that I can learn more about the digital side of things. Should be good.

I should say that this was the first day that I have been in Italy that I have felt really old. I was in my language class and we were telling our age. I said I was 30 and everyone else was 18-23. My teacher said no worries and motioned that she was older. Then she wrote her age on the board. LOL she was only 31! seriously chick! Then when I was having the drink with the girls (who are 18 & 19) we mentioned our ages and they looked at me a bit funny, but not to bad. The one girl even made a nice comment... She said "Don't worry, there is that old lady in class that is a bit older then you I'm sure". OK, the lady they were refuring to was the one that wouldn't shut up in class and is for sure late 60's. lol oh well, I still think I look young for my age. They both seem really nice and I will hang out with them again I am sure.

I got home just before 8, talked to dad on Skype and made myself some mini wieners for supper. Actually tasted pretty good. I guess even in Europe, although small, wieners are still made of the same good stuff. ;)

Randoms for today

Road construction. Yup, they have it here. However, unlike ours that is named a season, there's is only a few hours. When I was in my last apartment I woke up at 10 one morning and seen that my road was being repainted for the lines. They started at about 10:30 and by 12pm they were gone. It was crazy to see city workers working so fast. I didn't really know what to think. :)

When I thought about Italy back home, I imagined windows open, fresh air, birds chirping and people singing. Well, that is exactly what is going on as I write this. I have my window open as soon as it gets dark to allow the fresh night air into my room. Well all I can hear right now is a family singing. They are listening to what I would call reggae italian music. I really don't what type it would be classed as but it sounds great. I would love to get my hands on some. Anyway, I can hear singing, laughing and I seen some kids running out on the balcony. Everyone is having so much fun and just made me smile so I thought I would share. However I also must say though that I think my neighbors across from me think I am a peeping tom. I really don't mean to, but once it is dark and my light is on, people can obviously see me, as I can see them. Well the other night, I was standing in my room and I happened to look out the window. There was guy standing in the apartment across from me (about 50 feet away) that walked by his open balcony door just in time to see me staring in there. I didn't mean to stare, really! Anyway the same thing just happened again about 5min ago. I was just glancing out the window as I type this, and some other dude in a different apartment glanced out at the same time, looked at me, and shut his window. lol oh well, whats a girl to do, right?!?

Walked downtown this afternoon after talking to mom and dad. It was only a short 10min walk. Very nice indeed. I went out in search of some thumb tacs which I found, so all of my family pics are now up and I am loving it. Makes this place seem more like home. While walking downtown though, I seen the "preganant" chick again. Guess what? NO BABY! What a hag!!! She was just walking along, not trying to haggle for money either, and she was actually wearing decent clothes. arrrr I don't know why I have let this lady get under my skin, but she's there. I also took a pic on my way downtown that I wanted to share because it was super cute!

As I was talking to mom and dad earlier I made a comment that I haven't seen any spiders yet. Possibly because I am so far up, or maybe I am just lucky. I'm really not sure but am greatful none the less. I also told them that because I commented on it, I was sure to see one. Well I didn't see a spider but I just seen a centipede looking thing crawling in my window! EWWWWWWW So I slammed on it a couple of times with my runner and squished its brains out. I feel a bit better but a now a little creeped out that there may be more. I won't think about that though... :{

Looking forward to starting class tomorrow morning. Got my bag all packed and everything. :) I love the first day of school! I know I know, such a dork! hahaha

Good ole Ikea!

Well I had an interesting day to say the least. I was downtown at the train station by 11:30 this morning hopeing to jump on the Ikea bus and I would be on my way. Well, I learned today that some things you have to work for...

I first asked at the train station info booth and she pointed me to the McDonalds corner. So there I stood for about 20min with no bus before I went into the bus info place where I was standing to ask this person. They didn't understand a word I said but said yes, stand here. Ok, so I stood for about 15min more before I went into the travel agency by the bus info place. The lady spoke a bit of English (just about as much English as I know Italian) and said yes, here, Ikea. So I waited yet again. By this point it was well after 12 and I was getting very hot. It was high 30's today and no wind. decided to go back into the train station and ask the woman again that I first asked. She said yet again, go back there the bus will come! so there I stood, starting to get a little annoyed. I decided to just start randomly asking people on the street. Ok, so maybe this wasn't my best idea, but seriously... how hard could it be to find a bus that was going to Ikea? I asked about 4 ladies that were also waiting for buses. Some of them pointed for me to go to different places (which I had already been to earlier) and others just looked at me funny. I was about ready to give up when I thought to myself, "I'm just going to ask this last lady and then I will go home....defeated." So I said my usual "Parle inglese?"(do you speak English?) and she said YES! it was so great! She lives in Florence every summer so knows English and Italian pretty well. She actually had time to spare so she went around with me asking 3 more offices of people where to go. We figured out that the main Ikea bus that used to take people to and from was discontinued a couple of months ago. So I needed to take a regular city bus that comes and go every 10min or so. ugh! I thanked her muchly and headed on my way. I punched my ticket when I got on the bus and it was 1:25pm. lol I was searching for the stupid bus for almost 2 hours!

Made it to Ikea with no problems and looked around for about 2 hours. I also sat on a couch exhausted for about 20min on top of it all. I was so tired from my two hour wait in the sun. I ate some Ikea lunch which was nothing like our Ikea lunches. they had hotdogs and panini's so I chose one of them and continued on my way. By the time I was done, I walked out of there with a pillow for my head, and one for just lounging. A extra sheet for my bed, a pack of tealights (I actually felt weird buying them but really wanted to smell something nice in my room) and a holder for the tealight. I also bought a cork board for my family pics and a sunflower plant for my room with a pot. All together I was well under my 50 euro goal. I ended up spending 38euro! good deals or what?

I made it back home with not to much trouble and I have a bag of goodies, a beautiful sunflower plant and a sunburn to show for it! ;)

I have a Plan!

Boy do I like plans. :) I have tried not to be a planner, but man, after two weeks of being here it is sure nice to now have one. lol I know I know...

I headed out around 1 just to walk around my new neighbourhood and check things out. I ended up coming across the most lovely park area. It was so nice. I sat there for over an hour just hanging out, watching the water feature and random people walking by. There were also a few sun tanners which was nice to see. I like it most because it has grass, benches, water and the weather was beautiful. What wasn't there to like? I will definitely go back (maybe with a book next time). I then headed over to this Gelato store that Mario told me about. He was right... delicious gelato! I had the dark chocolate.... OMG! anyway, then headed home and talked to mom on Skype for about 1/2 hour.

I then phoned the Michelangelo Institute and talked to Paolo, this super nice man that works at the main desk. I ended up taking the bus down there and was there for over an hour talking with 3 different people about the courses. I ended up signing up for an Italian class that starts on Monday July 6th. It is 4hours/day, 5 days a week. I also signed up for a digital photography class that starts the same day. It runs 3 days a week for 2 hours/day. I am also looking into a cooking class because you all know how well I can cook. ;) That one runs 2 days a week for 2 hours a day. All of this is only for 4 weeks. I could have taken it way longer but feel 4 weeks should be enough that I can get by and start to learn more as I go.

After talking with my roomies last night, I was told that the best time to go travel to England, Ireland and France is July/August. So, because I am taking this class from July 6th until the 31st, I think I am going to sign up for touring around in August. I am looking into Contiki tours, which I think will be good. All in all, it was a good day of plan making.

Tomorrow I have big plans to get to Ikea if I know which bus to take. lol I'm going to make a day of it and my goal is to only spend 50 euros or less. We'll see though.... ;) lol

Happy Canada/Move Day!

Happy Canada Day everyone! If someone makes it to any festivities today, will you tell me about them? Not one person (that I saw) was celebrating Canada today. I also have to admit that my only ounce of Canada/red gear is my roots bunnyhug which would have totally worked today except that it was 35+ outside and the humidity was even worse. WOW you have no idea until you live it. The humidity and the heat make it hard to breath and when you do, it is smelly. :( oh well, they tell me it isn't always this way.

Well today was a very busy day for me. I was up by 9:30am (I know, crazy early huh?) and was packed and ready for my big move by 12pm. I couldn't believe that I had accumulated 3 more bags of stuff already since I arrived but I guess I did. I was at my new place by 1:30 and started unpacking. The two pictures are of my street. I am standing in the front entrance to my building. It is very nice to have a home that I can finally call my own for the next 6 months. At the same though, I think today was my first actual real day of being home sick. I knew it would happen sooner or later, and sure, I have had moments where I am really sad when I am talking to family and friends online but never have I had a day like today where I actually feel alone and home sick. Its weird because with my move brings on new challenges and new adventures, so how could I possibly be feeling homesick today right? I guess its just because this is my home now for awhile and it makes me think of my home. Anyway, enough sadness.....onto my new place.

I really like it here already. Everyone seems so nice. It is just me and two others and the apartment is small but cozy. My room (I'll post pics of my room once I take a few) is a decent size. There is a cabinet to hang/put my clothes and other shelves for all of my other goodies. I have a desk, a night stand and a window with a screen in it. I am excited about the screen because just tonight I was told that screens aren't allowed on windows that face the streets here in Florence because they look "ugly". Can you imagine any window in canada not having a screen on it. lol Anyway, luck be to me that my window faces a flower garden out the back and not the main street. So I have a decent view, no traffic and hopefully (cross your fimgers) no bugs!

I was eating supper around 9 (I have totally adopted the Italian eating times) and Mario came home from work. We all sat around the kitchen for the last few hours just talking which was really nice. My other roommate (I am sooo bad with names) is a total world traveler but comes from the states. She has an accent but not to bad. She is from Boston, but it sounds like she has a bit of a southern drawl when she speaks. She also speaks fluent German so I can see why her accent is not quite as Boston as it should be. She did make a comment though that she thinks that I have a very thick Canadian accent. What? Seriously? I don't have an accent. ;) lol

I think I am going to look into Italian classes. It is really important to me to be able to communicate with people and I can't right now, so something has to change! I will keep you posted though.