Today, end of another week already!

Today it rained the hardest I have seen it rain in Firenze so far. In fact, it was a thunderstorm with hail! It started during the second half of my class this afternoon. It is only the second time I have seen it rain at all here. Luckily, I escaped the worst of it by lingering a bit after class – I went on the computer to check e-mail/facebook. Before I left it got a bit lighter and stopped raining so much. On my way home there was a slight drizzle, but nothing too bad. Thank goodness I didn’t have to go out in the downpour though – no layers, no umbrella, nothing to keep me from getting soaked!

This afternoon in class, after our weekly test, we played the Italian version of Scrabble! It’s called “Scrabeo.” Some of the rules are slightly different but it is more or less the same game. It was pretty fun and also interesting to use my Italian knowledge that way. One thing that made it a lot easier was we were allowed to use dictionaries to find words, instead of only to check if words existed. We could also use acronyms if we wanted. In the end, out of all the students, I won! It helped a lot that I had barely any letters left and only got two points subtracted. Certainly our teacher had the most points out of anyone, but she said it didn’t count because she is Italian. Today was the last day in class for Franz, the Swissman who has been here for six weeks total, including my two weeks so far, and Philip, the Irishman who decided to come to Firenze just for a week off of work to brush up on his Italian.

An example of how class tends to go. Today we read a brief excerpt in our book of an Italian book. We read little bits, and then Trinita asks if there are words we have never seen before or are new to us. Today I took the opportunity to ask about a word I’d been curious about, because I had heard it plenty of times here – “schifo.” Trinita said it was a great question, and then we spent maybe 5 minutes or so covering all the different forms of schifo. There is the substantive, adjective, verb, reflexive verb, idiomatic form, and so on. Basically it is a strong form of “disgust” more or less. You can say “Mi fa schifo” which means “it disgusts me.” You can say “Mi fai schifo” which means “you disgust me.” You can say it was disgusting, you can say you were disgusted, there is quite the variety. You can even say something was “schifosamente” good – disgustingly good. Trinita said it is kind of a vulgar expression, but everyone uses it. Certainly I have heard it a few times already. She said to be more elegant but say that same thing, you can use “disgusto.”

Another language thing we talked about today – which I knew already but love… so I thought I would share it. There are many ways to say you love something in Italian, but you have to use the right form. To say I like, you use “mi piace” and that goes mostly with things. You can also said you adore something – “adoro” which you also usually use with things or in a religious context. To say “I love you” to your friends and family, you say “ti voglio bene.” The verb amare is reserved only for the person you love in a romantic way. It is a big deal to say it to someone, and in the true sense, you only use it with one person. So, “ti amo” is something reserved for boyfriends/girlfriends and spouses, partners, etc. I really kind of like the nuances there.

Tonight I am going out with some of the people from school for Franz’ last night. Then plan all week has been to go to Bologna tomorrow, but I don’t know if I can get up early enough. Briefly today I was thinking of changing it to Sunday instead, but I really think it is better to go tomorrow. So I will probably just suck it up and be tired tomorrow night… it is what it is.

It’s kind of funny, part of the attraction to Bologna is the fact that there is an H&M there. I need clothes, I like H&M, and it has good prices. With my situation and the exchange rate, I can NOT just spend and spend… but I really do need clothes. I am also going to use the day to see a couple of the sights in Bologna and have a nice lunch I hope. It is only an hour away by train, so I can come back when it is light, so I won’t feel weird about traveling alone. Yes don’t worry everyone, I am paying attention to these kinds of things!

I have some things in mind for Sunday but just locally in Firenze. I might try to go to mass on Sunday at the church nearby the house. There is also going to be a market full of natural products both days this weekend, or I could also go up to one of the other little villages just outside of Firenze. So many possibilities, it’s lovely! But hopefully in all of this I will also have a chance to rest up a little bit – I go back to morning classes next weekend.

I still don’t know much more about university classes… which supposedly start on Monday. At this point it is legitimately frustrating. Lucia said she will talk to someone she knows who might have advice this weekend, and everything will work out in the end. I mean I do believe that everything will work out in the end… but I don’t understand why it is so hard to see course listings the Friday before classes start on Monday. Oh, Italy. But that is part of this year… being outside the US gives me the chance to see it in a new light, for better or for worse. I am finding out more about Italy, the US, and other countries (especially in Europe). I think I am starting to hear myself speak a little bit faster too… though I always still make plenty of mistakes and I have plenty left to learn.

I think I shared the most notable things from today. At this point I am hoping I can mix fun and sleep in the right quantities for the weekend to be all set to go on Monday!