Ringraziamento e piu

Well, I have officially celebrated my first (and possibly only?) expat Thanksgiving ever. I am happy with the amount of celebrating I got to do here, but I did feel nostalgic for Thanksgiving a la Connecticut and look forward to doing that again starting next year!

My first Thanksgiving dinner was Wednesday night, at Georgetown's Villa le Balze, where they run a semester abroad program for Georgetown students. I am sure I've mentioned Bridie and the villa before... if I haven't let me know. Anyway, both my Italian family and Lucia were invited as well. I went up to the villa with Lucia in her car, as the family's night was a bit more hectic and with Lucia I wouldn't have to wait as much. We got there during the cocktail hour so I chatted with Bridie and a few of the Georgetown students I know. Also, a man from Georgetown (not sure exactly who he was) announced that he had brought some Georgetown basketball T-shirts for us. For those of you who are not Hoyas, every year basketball season ticket holders get a gray T-shirt, which we wear to every game. It is almost the same each year except the saying changes. The man said there were enough shirts for all the students and faculty at the villa, which I realized would not technically include me, but I went ahead and took a shirt anyway since it seemed appropriate. All the while I knew Kristen would be really jealous, because she is way more of a rabid fan than I am and has been feeling more deprived missing the basketball season. The happy ending is, at the end of the night there were more shirts left, and I intuitively knew the right thing to do was to grab another shirt for Kristen. So as she knows, I have it ready for the next time I see her!

As for the rest of the night, once the cocktail hour was over we all went to be seated. This dinner was huge - about 60 people! There are 23 students at the villa this semester, but when you add me, family, friends, staff, and faculty, that is what you get. Everything was very elegant and impressive, and by the time we were sitting down Cristina, Federico, and Lisa had made it up to the villa. I sat next to Lucia and Bridie, and just on the other side of Bridie were Lisa, Cristina, and Federico. Three of the Georgetown students were there at the table with us too, but over dinner it was hard to keep them included in conversation a lot, since we were mostly speaking Italian. Bridie and Lucia hadn't seen each other yet this year so it seemed like it was nice for them to catch up.

The dinner started with a pretty good salad, I think it may have had pomegranate seeds or something. Lucia asked me if that was a typical Thanksgiving thing but I had to be honest and shrug - "I've never seen it before, but sure." For the main meal, there was stuffing (with chestnuts), turkey, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. It was alright, but honestly not up to normal Thanksgiving standards. I couldn't really quarrel with it though, making dinner for 60 people is not easy at all. Plus the fact that you couldn't really get seconds took away from the Thanksgiving effect, ha. Also, there was only one small dish of cranberry sauce, and it was clearly more of a condiment than anything else. I had to refrain from taking a lot in order to be polite, and so I really wasn't able to enjoy it as much as usual.

In any case, I very much enjoyed the conversation and the company. And then dessert! We were served pumpkin pie AND pecan pie with whipped cream. It was definitely the best part of the meal. After dinner we got up to get some coffee, and then me, the family, Lucia, and Bridie ended up talking with one of the Italian professors in a room with a grand piano, about Italy and academics and the such. At first Lisa was playing around on the piano with Federico, but when she got bored the Italian professor went and played a few songs - he was really good! Lisa seemed quite enamored of his playing as well, which was cute. After a while talking, it was definitely getting late and Lisa was tired so we headed out. I went back in the car with the family, and I had this sudden, very, well, familial feeling. I had only ever been in the car with Federico before (and briefly) but this was instead us returning home after a night out, with Lisa sitting next to me falling asleep. It was just sort of nice to be part of the family group for the evening. I was also just really glad in general to have shared the dinner with my Italian family.

The next night, last night, on actual Thanksgiving, I went over to the house of Lucia's friend Lynette, who is American and moved to Florence recently I think. Everyone else at the party was Italian, mostly people Lucia knew. It was a little bit awkward to meet everyone and be so new, but they were all very nice. There were a total of 11 of us there. I definitely enjoyed the food Lynette prepared, there was turkey, and stuffing (with spinach and corn in it), delicious mashed potatoes, green beans with garlic, some good bread. She forgot to put the cranberry sauce out but we had it as an interlude between dinner and dessert. Like I said I enjoy cranberry sauce by itself, so it was no problem for me. All the Italians there really liked it - they don't have cranberries here so it was very new to them. Cranberries are so foreign that there isn't really even a translation in Italian (as there is for strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc). Then for dessert there was an apple cake, pumpkin pie, AND tiramisu! We were definitely not short on dessert. The conversation about the pie struck me as funny though - Lynette showed everyone the can of pumpkin pie mix she used to make the pie filling, and the one man who was there was like, "Oh, I could make pie out of a real pumpkin, it would be so easy!" I was thinking to myself, oh Italians, they want to make everything from fresh ingredients, but they just don't understand that that's the way it's DONE - you buy the can of Libby's, put in all the spices and the condensed milk, and voila, delicious pie. :-)

One of the most interesting things about last night's dinner was how I could sort of see Thanksgiving from the outside perspective - much like how I have been seeing the US ever since I got here. I found myself explaining the original legend of the Pilgrims to them, as they were wondering where the holiday came from. Before dinner I was also explaining the concept of stuffing to one of Lucia's friends.

It was definitely a different Thanksgiving from any I have ever had before, in part because I went to class yesterday! But at the end of the day, I enjoyed the company of friends and adopted family, and was able to connect to people at home as well. Yesterday I Skyped with Dave and his extended family at his grandma's house in Western CT, which was definitely nice and funny (hearing the typical family banter via Skype). It is really a wonder of technology that I got to sort of "hang out" in the living room there for a little while. Both his grandma and grandpa (after arriving) asked, "Is Kate live on the computer?" upon learning that I was on Skype. After I got home from dinner, I Skyped with my parents as well, which was very important considering I would have been home with them if I were in the US right now. So right, by way of conclusion, I am glad I found ways to celebrate over here, and ways to share Thanksgiving traditions and joy with the Italians I know, but I am really looking forward to being home next year for the holiday, and re-commencing my yearly rituals of cranberry sauce from the can (copious amounts), Pepperidge Farm stuffing that is pretty simple but delicious and disappears quickly, and most importantly, time with family.

There were lots of birthdays this past week. Bridie's birthday was actually last Thursday, I wrote about Lisa's which was last week, and I also have to share that David (my boyfriend, in case anyone doesn't know) turned 21 on Monday, November 24! I was fortunate enough to be able to talk to him even though he had a lot of schoolwork to do, and it was good to share a small part of the special day with him.

Having another mild case of academic maneuvering issues this week. I need to register online to get the official grade for the exam I already took, and to take the exam for my other Scienze Politiche class. However, I have not succeeded at finding the site on the website so I am trying various channels of help and advice to try to solve the problem... I'll keep you updated on how that goes. I am also trying to really dig into the small research project I have to do for that upcoming exam - an overview/analysis of American diplomacy at the Paris Peace Conference (post WWI). I have tried to ascertain from my professor through e-mail exactly what his expectations are for my written piece resulting from the research, but I haven't exactly gotten that yet... guess I'll have to keep trying as the process continues.

Today in Firenze, it is raining, which got me thinking about how maneuvering yourself when getting around here can be a bit of an art form. The first example is the bus, which I take almost every day getting from one place to another. There are three doors on the bus: front, middle, back. The ideal situation is that passengers board the bus in the front and back and get off in the middle. This means that when the bus is at all crowded, you need to try to get toward the middle of the bus as your stop approaches, otherwise people might be in your way and you run the risk of not having enough time to push past them all before the door shuts. You can often get away with getting on in the middle or off in the front or back, but if the driver knows that people are either only getting on or only getting off, he might not open the door. Basically that means that you can be in for a rude awakening if you are waiting to get off in the back and he only opens the center door. It's very interesting that way. Also, generally it's not a problem, but when the bus approaches a stop where you're waiting, it's safer to extend your arm out as a way of signaling that you want the bus to stop. If no one is getting off and no one else signals, the bus driver technically might not stop. Maybe this isn't very interesting to all of you, but these are the trivial realities of my every day life.

The other art form is getting around on the sidewalks. Since many sidewalks in Firenze are little more than glorified curbs, it is hard enough getting around on your average day (getting past people coming in the other direction, going around people who are walking too slowly, dodging out of the way of motorinos, taxis, bicycles, and buses), but a rainy day adds a very interesting variable to the equation - umbrellas (ella ellas, Dave and Kristen). On my way here I had to be constantly aware of the people walking in my direction, so I could either move to the side, where there was space, elevate my umbrella above theirs so they wouldn't hit each other, or something of that sort. Then when the bus went by (the street is JUST wide enough for the bus to hit) I became acutely aware that the side mirror on the bus was probably closer to my umbrella than I might have expected. Like I said, you have to be on your toes. There is just not enough space for two directions of foot traffic, umbrellas included. So we all end up doing this little dance to avoid hitting each other, and it partly annoys me and partly amuses me.

Alright, considering I've reached the point in the blog where I am analyzing how I walk on the sidewalk, I think I'll close for now. Weirdly enough, I only have one week of philosophy class left, a week of nothing (except working on my own) and then that exam I mentioned before. The weekend after that exam it will be almost Christmas, and Dave will be arriving in Italy! I can't believe my halfway point is already almost here... and yet I also can believe it. Obviously I am really excited for his visit, but I have a lot of things on my to do list first, including organizing my itinerary for my trip to Cagliari, which is rapidly approaching (Dec 5-8) and finishing my preparations for that exam.

I hope you all had a very happy and relaxing Thanksgiving - I was thinking of you all and looking forward to quality time to be spent together in the future. Til next time!

Inverno Inizia...

My title means "Winter is Starting" and that's because for the first time here it has started to feel legitimately cold. Honestly, I kind of like it since it makes me feel a little bit more at home. Yet still, we continue to have some days that are beautiful - I am looking out my window at a blue sky right now, even though I think it is quite chilly outside.

There's quite a few things to update on... I think starting with Wednesday night. After tossing around a bunch of possibilities for movies to see, I met up with Cindy and Laura (both Swiss girls from my orientation school) to go see the movie "Changeling" - the new one with Angelina Jolie directed by Clint Eastwood. It was a little too exciting getting there, because Cristina had to make dinner for me fast (I had warned her in advance), then I had to rush out to try to make the bus, which was then late. What's more, at an intermediate stop, it basically stopped working, or at least the doors did, so we all had to get off and get in the bus right behind us (which had a similar route). To add insult to injury, I get out on the sidewalk to change buses and this guy sitting along the sidewalk in front of me just like... pukes onto the ground. What?!?! So I tried to erase my memories of that and hoped the bus would be on time. I got to the theater right before it was supposed to start but had no idea if Cindy and Laura were there. I tried to ask the woman taking tickets if she had seen people with their descriptions, and she didn't know, but she was nice enough to let me check the theater and then come back to buy a ticket. Luckily the girls were near the front, so I rushed back out to get the ticket and came back.

I enjoyed the movie, it was well done and I understood the Italian dubbing. I may watch it in English sometime though just to get the full audio performances. As much bad luck as I had with the bus getting to the theater, I had great luck getting back - I managed to find the stop I needed (which I had never been to before and only seen on the map), AND only a minute or two after I got there, the bus came - which was good because I was either going to get the 12:04 or the 12:29 and I wasn't too keen on standing out there for a good 25 minutes waiting for a bus. So in the end that worked out well.

Toward the end of this week I managed to find a couple new lunch options, which was nice. I found a sushi place, where it is a little expensive and not the best sushi ever (pre-made in those plastic containers) but after so long without sushi it is still a refreshing change. I also went back to a place I had been once with Lucia, and the woman there was so nice to me, which I always enjoy. And on Friday I went to a Mexican place I had read about online and had a burrito... yum. It was nice after so long without a quesadilla or a burrito or nachos! Those of you who know me well at all know that I very much enjoy all of those foods!

So yes, it's true, you CAN get a little sick of Italian food. Not that it's not great, and I especially am spoiled by dinners at home made by Cristina, but when you are used to pizza one meal, then Thai, then sushi, then Mexican, you sort of end up missing variety. So I am glad I have found some ways to mix it up at lunchtime.

Also on Friday afternoon, I went out looking for a gift for Lisa's birthday (which is today, Sunday). Since she likes Hello Kitty I went to a couple stores where I'd noticed various Hello Kitty products. For the most part anything cool is actually quite expensive, so I ended up buying a tin box thing with candy inside, decorated with Hello Kitty and "Happy Birthday" written on the outside. I had been wondering where I would find wrapping paper and supplies, but luckily enough the woman taking care of my purchase offered to do the wrapping, with Hello Kitty paper, and even put a nice pink ribbon on the outside. I double checked to be sure the price was the same, and she said "Oh, of course!" She seemed to think it was so quaint and unassuming of me, because she told her daughter (who also worked there) that I thought it might be extra. Her daughter replied with "Yes, but that's how they do it abroad" - obviously aware that it might be the norm to pay extra for wrapping wherever I was from. She was right, of course. So that was just a pleasant and humorous little interaction and I very much appreciated getting the gift all wrapped up for me!

I didn't end up going to Arezzo last night because I needed to sleep in and just couldn't get myself moving, but it's still there and I can go another time. I am even pondering going tomorrow, since I don't have class. Who knows, we'll see. I did make a short trip to a park I'd been to with my orientation class, and got to enjoy the river in the slightly crisp fall weather, but with the sun shining in the late afternoon, which was really nice. I also let myself indulge in some French fries from a snack stand in the park.

As I headed home, the chaos of Lisa's birthday party was imminent. She was having a sleepover with 6 friends, which isn't huge until you consider that this apartment is not that large. Chaos was pretty much inevitable. It all went pretty much par for the course - they were really loud and drove Cristina crazy, and every time she told them to be quiet it started right up again 2 seconds later. The issue is that groups that size of 9-year-old girls don't take turns talking - they talk all at the same time, and therefore the decibel level is quite impressive. For the first part of the night, I was in my room online, then I went to eat dinner (the girls all had McDonald's first then went up to watch a movie while Federico, Cristina and I had risotto that Cristina made). Actually I should pause a moment on the risotto - gorgonzola with pear! All of Cristina's risottos are good and this was no exception! Then we did the whole cake and candle thing and of course all the girls were adorable - Cristina took some pictures of all 7 of them with the cake and candles burning.

I was lucky that I had more or less the same sleeping schedule as the girls last night, otherwise I wouldn't really have been able to sleep. They woke up a couple hours before me this morning and were pretty loud, but I just laid around hiding basically, not ready to go out there and negotiate the chaos. By the time I finally emerged, some of them had left so it was less overwhelming. Also last night I started watching a movie I'd borrowed from the library - an Officer and a Gentleman, which I have never seen before. I was going to play it on my computer but wasn't sure if it would work since DVDs are coded for different regions, but finally realized, oh duh, my TV has a DVD player... so that worked out really well. I only got through part of the movie though, since it was late and I was falling asleep. I'm sure I can finish it by Friday, which is when it's due.

As chaotic as the house was when Lisa was having her party, now I'm alone since the family went out, I assume to celebrate with family. This afternoon I'll have to get lunch at some point, and I may try to go take some pictures of Florence, but after that I am going to make cookies again, since I have ingredients to use up from last time and Lisa really liked the cookies. So that should be fun!

I think that's all. I can't believe it's already almost Thanksgiving. It will be strange having class, not being with my parents, and all of that, but on Wednesday night I am going up to the villa, and my Italian family is coming (even the dog I think!), along with Lucia, so that should be fun. I'm glad I'm celebrating somehow. And starting next year it will be back to American Thanksgivings!
I should also really start getting down to business on some more academic work... we'll see how the self motivation on that goes, I'll let you know!

All the Latest News

So this post will be somewhat miscellaneous, but there are things to write about... and so write I shall.

This morning I met my philosophy tutor, Nicola, for the first time. He is in his early 40's and apparently has a wife and 10-year-old son. He's originally from Switzerland but Swiss of Italian origin... not sure if I should explain more but I am not even sure I can. Anyway, meeting him was nice because of the way it laid out more or less what is going to happen with this course and the work for it... something I have become unaccustomed to since I started Italian classes. It seems as though I'll be able to do the exam in January, and Nicola proposed doing 12 hours of tutoring, 3 on each text, 2 on things in general, and 1 of a mock exam basically. It's so... organized and thorough! We will probably be doing most of this in January, during the weeks leading up to the exam. It makes me feel so much better to know I will have some structure when it comes to studying for this exam. Also, I gave Nicola his copies of all my readings, so we will both be reading about them and then discussing them.

Also it made me smile that my professor ended up talking about the US in philosophy class today. We were talking about the theme of community, and how the US is an example of a form of community outside natural, clan-type ties, and really it is a type of associational community (basically she meant civil society). She said Americans associate themselves for tons of reasons and named off a few examples, and I smiled because I suppose it's true in relation to Europe - I found myself thinking of the PTA, Lion's Clubs, and so on and so forth. I haven't heard about many organizations like that here, but it was never something I'd really thought about. Then later someone asked about the European Union in terms of community and she was talking about how it's kind of a weak example, and usually she feels "European" in contrast to something else... namely the America of Bush apparently. Then later she went on to say that America showed itself capable of basically re-birth, renewal, that Europe isn't capable of, referring to the election of Obama (and also the WAY in which he won the election). It was just a particularly interesting class for me because it was another opportunity to see the US as it is seen from the outside. I am really going to come back to the US with a much clearer idea of its place in the world, from all of the observations I have made here.

Lisa's birthday is this weekend, she is turning 9. I have been saying all this time that she's 9, I think because of what it said in the information I first received about the family. But alas, she was born Nov. 23, 1999 and that would make her 8/almost 9. I am planning on buying her a gift sometime this week - something Hello Kitty since she likes the brand and I've seen it in many stores. We'll see what exactly I can find. She is having a slumber party Saturday night with about 5 friends so that could be a little crazy. I think she'll have fun though.

Because I only have philosophy Tuesday through Thursday, I have been wanting to take advantage of the four-day weekend to go somewhere, so I finally booked a trip to Cagliari, Sardegna! (Sardinia in English.) In case you are unaware, Sardegna is a large Mediterranean island south of Corsica. Corsica belongs to France while Sardegna belongs to Italy, though throughout history I believe it was also Spanish, and there were Phoenicians and others there as well, so apparently the local culture/architecture has a mix of influences. Cagliari is the capital of Sardegna. I'm flying there from Pisa on Dec. 5, and staying three nights at a small hostel/B&B. I found a single for under 30 euros a night which all things considered isn't too shabby! I booked the flight and hotel at an uncharacteristically fast and spontaneous pace, so now I am figuring out, okay, I am going on this trip... what will I do when I'm there! But I think it should be fun, especially if there is decent weather. I am not sure if the water will be warm enough for swimming, but it'd be nice even just to take a nice walk along the beach! Mostly I am just happy with myself for booking a trip as I have all this free time and wanted to do something a little more exciting in the next few weeks.

In other news, the TV channel I watch most regularly with the family seems to be on a stint of younger generation oriented movies... first they showed High School Musical 1 and 2 (I won't lie, I watched HSM1), then a movie with Hilary Duff (apparently called Raise Your Voice), then Freaky Friday, which I also watched because I'd never seen it before and wanted to. It's fun, the channel shows movies quite often, usually after "La Ruota della Fortuna" (see post below) and they are pretty good. Also for the most part American... as Dave likes to say "our culture is aggressive". I also sometimes watch shows like CSI and Cold Case, dubbed in Italian, on that channel. Oh! And last night on another channel, I turned on the TV and there was Law & Order. No matter where you are, it's always on. ;-)

This Saturday I am thinking of going to Arezzo, which is a short train ride from Firenze. Apparently it is the hometown of Roberto Benigni (of Life is Beautiful fame) and parts of the movie were filmed in Arezzo and the surrounding countryside... fun Arezzo trivia!

While I feel like June is still a very long way away, Christmas is definitely in the air (more accurately the shop windows) here and that is kind of crazy... While I will have class next week on Thanksgiving, I am going to Georgetown's villa for dinner, and my family and Lucia are also coming! I don't know if I have written about Bridie, but she is a Georgetown '08 grad who stayed with my same family 2 years ago. She has come over for dinner a couple times and I have been to the villa for lunch a couple times, so that is a nice connection to have. Last time she was over at the house we made dinner, and I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (biscotti americani). I asked Lisa if she wanted me to make them again on her birthday with the leftover ingredients and the response was enthusiastically affirmative!

Alright, I think that is good for now... this post jumped around a lot but hopefully it was enjoyable nonetheless!

Finalmente!

Okay time to do this thing, and by this thing, I mean update my blog which I have been neglecting! Oops!

Okay so I am going to go a bit backwards - I will write about the last week and a half before I write about my amazing weekend with Kristen!

The big event of last week was my first exam in Italian, which also happened to be a final for my class, History of Italian Foreign Relations. We had the option to do the exam either in written or oral format (the majority of exams here are oral). I chose written, since at least I would have time to compose my answers and review them instead of just having to speak sensically. The exam was Thursday, Nov. 6. I had tried to up my work ethic in the weeks prior, but it hadn't happened like I hoped it would. It took the time pressure of the week of to really kick me into gear - and studying consisted of reviewing my notes, filling out basic background info using Wikipedia (okay, this guy, how many times was he prime minister and how many times was he foreign minister, and what party is he from? What exactly were the terms of the Treaty of Brussels?) along with finishing the book we had for the class. In lecture, my professor started with the post-war era (1945 basically) but she had told us that if we hadn't done a presentation (which I didn't), the exam would also cover the first part of the book - Italian unity (1860) to WWII. During the first part of last week, I had to finish the book by completing that first part. I ended up getting to WWI, and on the morning of the test I tried to fill in the gaps by reading a bit about Mussolini's foreign policy during Fascism.

But, all studying aside, I had no clue what to expect. I didn't know how general or specific the questions would be, or what was expected of me, or how easily I'd be able to write. You could definitely say I was nervous going in. The test was at 2:00 pm, and only one other student (a French girl, Muriel) was doing the written format - the other 6 students who were there that day did oral exams in the same room during the class period - talking with the professor in a hushed voice. It actually wasn't as distracting as you might think.

But before administering the oral exams, the professor wrote two questions on the board for Muriel and I. Roughly translated - 1) Foreign policy of Liberal Italy and Fascist Italy - continuities and discontinuities, and 2) Italy and the first detente (prima distensione).

My reactions were 1) Good thing I read about Mussolini's foreign policy, 2) Prima distensione.... uh.... hmmm... breathe. Luckily my professor specified that the first detente started in 1953. I remembered talk of it, but the whole sequence of Cold War events from the Italian perspective was, to be honest, a bit fuzzy. It didn't help that the early 50s were a time period we covered early on in the course - ie, my comprehension and note-taking were still on the spotty side.

I managed to think of a few good points for comparing Mussolini to what had come after the war, and wrote what I thought was a pretty good mini-essay. Oh yeah, the prof. said we had a length limit of two sides of one piece of paper, and we could divide it however we wanted. Since the first question seemed more complex, I was aiming for writing a bit more on that than the other topic. So I spent the first part of the time writing that, feeling pretty good about it. At the halfway point though, we had the "pausa" or a 15-minute break that we usually have in class (for people to get espresso and smoke basically) and Muriel said to me, by liberal Italy, she means before the war, right? And I thought about it for a second... looked at the question... and said in my head, "oh, [expletive]... she's right." So I told her yes, and panicked a bit. You see, what I should have realized from the outset was that Liberal Italy is pre-Fascist Italy, and post-Fascist Italy would be called Republican Italy. I had judged the question much too quickly, and had to pretty much do the whole thing over. I tried to remind myself to stay calm, confirmed with the professor that Liberal Italy was in fact pre-Fascist, and when she said yes I had to take another sheet of paper in order to start over. Luckily, I had plenty of time especially considering the short length limit, and I managed to pound out a decent answer to the ACTUAL meaning of question 1, and finish an adequate response for question 2. The question 2 wasn't incredibly coherent, as I tried to remember everything I knew from the time period, ended up writing a bit past it, and tried to sum up the overall big picture changes, with maybe partial success. Either way the whole thing was quite nervewracking.

Leaving, I wasn't feeling great, but I was at least relieved it was over. Overall it had gone worse than I thought it would, and I had no idea how harshly it would be graded. What I should also say here is that really all I needed to do was pass - the exact scores I get here will not enter into my GPA numerically, partially because the numbers are on different scales. They grade here up to 30, and passing is 18, so that is what I had to get. I really didn't know what the consequences would be if I failed - for instance if I could have a "do over" by doing an oral exam. (I know that would never happen in America but I could see it happening here.) I found out I would have to wait til Tuesday morning to get my grade, so I had to resolve not to think about it too much til then.

What made Thursday after the test worse was that I was coming down with a cold and not feeling great at all, and just tired and worn out from all the studying and nerves. It was a crazy experience mostly because of the uncertainty - I wouldn't have thought it would throw me off so much, but it did. Sure the subject was hard (esp without the background knowledge Italian students have and with the language barrier) but above all the uncertainty factor was making me nervous. What do they expect? What was the deal with having to sign up to officially get the grade later? Is my written Italian good enough? And so on and so forth.

Last weekend I did almost nothing. Literally. I was supposed to go on a daytrip with Lucia Saturday, but her mom had an operation on Friday and she thought it'd be better to be around in case there were complications, which I agreed with. I was enjoying taking it easy anyway, with my cold and all. I did buy some clothes on Saturday which was good, as I know have more long-sleeve options.

Monday I started in on academics again, including a small research project I have for my other political science course - History of European Identity. I am reading about the Paris Peace Conference at the end of WWI, specifically from the American perspective (my professor tailored the topics to each of us individually but they all relate to Versailles somehow). It is nice to have that to do over a period of weeks at my own pace (though who knows what I'll be saying when it is almost due...)

Yesterday was Tuesday, so I went to the Scienze Politiche "campus" in the morning. When Muriel and I saw the professor at 11, she said to come up to her office at 12 instead - though I am pretty sure last Thursday she said 11. I was nervous enough already and then we had to wait ANOTHER hour. Muriel was pretty pessimistic in that she was like, I wouldn't be surprised if I failed, and I was implicated in that since we were pretty much level in terms of how we felt about it. I had decided though that I showed that I studied and showed some knowledge, and in the US I would have passed - I just had NO CLUE about here! Muriel thought that there could be a "do-over" option, but I was still just like... ugh I really hope I passed. As it turned out, Professor Bagnato had forgotten the actual tests at home, but she remembered our grades, which let's face it, was what mattered to us. The moment of truth was fleeting - she looked at Muriel and said "25" and at me and said "27". YES! We passed! And with better grades than we might have thought. Despite the fact that yesterday was rainy and my cold was (is) still lingering... that made yesterday a good day and I feel a huge weight off my shoulders. It is a nice confidence boost that I was able to pass my first Italian exam!

For something completely different, I feel more comfortable all the time with my Italian family. It really is a blessing. I am not sure how to even describe it specifically, but the more time I am there the easier and more comfortable it is. Lately it's funny, there is this commercial for a service called "Sky" (I think it may be a premium TV channel package) and it consists of a series of people singing "Se mi lasci non vale" which means something like "If you leave me it's not worth it," but the funny thing is EVERY time it comes on Lisa (the 9-year-old) says to us, "Zitti zitti!" which means "be quiet!" because she LOVES the voice or the way this one woman toward the end of the commercial sings the line. It is sort of a deep and velvety voice, and the woman is a young woman standing out in the rain or something. It cracks the rest of us up, because every time we see it Lisa just gets this huge smile on her face and it is the cutest thing ever. Her birthday is at the end of November (Nov. 23, the day before another special birthday!) and I have been thinking of getting her something Hello Kitty, because she likes Hello Kitty. Luckily, Hello Kitty is popular here. I have been scoping out stores looking for Hello Kitty products and I have seen at least 4 or 5.

The weather finally seems to be changing to something resembling fall. After some periods of rain, last week there were also BEAUTIFUL days with blue skies and temperatures that were around 70. Even so I always wear jeans and at least a layer, because people here always overdress. It can be sunny and 70 and you will still see people in peacoats and leather jackets. It is weird, but I have adopted the mindset somewhat and dress that way too. It's almost like, well, it is fall, so we are dressing like this on principle.

To rewind, Kristen (my friend from Georgetown and likely roommate next year for those of you who don't know her!) got here on Thursday, October 30 in the afternoon. I was so excited for her trip here, and it was so fun! First thing we took the bus back to the house so she could drop her stuff, and she got to meet Federico, who was playing a videogame when we arrived. :-) As you will read in her blog, one of the first things he said was "wow, you're tall" and subsequently, Cristina (when she met Kristen) and a random security guy at the Accademia Gallery also said Kristen was tall. In case she wasn't sure, now she knows! (For reference she is 6'0" which IS tall, but Italians seem truly in awe or something.) After dropping her things, we took a loop bus ride to Piazzale Michelangelo, which is the first place Lucia took me in Florence when I got here - even before I got to the house and met Cristina for the first time. It has a gorgeous view of the city and is good to use for orientation type purposes. It didn't really turn out like I'd envisioned, as it was rainy and cloudy and rapidly getting dark (much earlier than my August visit), but Kristen enjoyed the night view. We took some pictures and took it all in, and then went home for dinner. Cristina made a yummy vegetable soup (which I'd had before) and these fried balls of dough, that I forget what they're called... something like chioccioli I think... We had them with cheese and also meat, and then also with dessert toppings like Nutella. Yum! They were addictive, but as Cristina said, something to have only once in a while since they are so heavy and fattening.

Dinner also provided the opportunity for me to share what has become a nightly routine for me with Kristen - La Ruota della Fortuna. It is a TV show which is the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune. I like it for a number of reasons. One is that it is good Italian practice. Obviously playing along and seeing all the answers and thinking about the words gets me thinking in Italian, and I learn new vocabulary because I ask Cristina and Federico what things mean when I don't understand. A couple times I have gotten the solutions before even the contestants, and I feel quite proud when that happens! Another reason I enjoy "La Ruota" is that it is sooo amusing to to watch. Above all, their "Vanna" is named Victoria, and she is Swedish, and apparently has worked in America. Her Italian is good enough, but she is always mispronouncing things and the host corrects her. I really think that sometimes she plays stupid on purpose. Also, he'll ask her questions and she just smiles and goes "uh huh..." or "siiii..." even if it isn't a yes or no question. She also wears ridiculously skimpy clothing, predictably low cut and with lots of thigh, has blown out blonde hair, big blue eyes with lots of mascara, and puffed out, glossed up lips. There are random dance breaks, usually featuring her, and camera angles from above (cleavage) and below (when she twirls around after crossing in front of the puzzle, causing her dress to flare out... yeahh). She winks and makes faces at the camera. It all sounds like SUCH a stereotype, but it's true! And I know you wouldn't believe it, but now I have Kristen's testimony to prove it! Ohhhh boy. But it is too amusing, I always wait to see what Victoria is wearing and we always laugh over the hilarity of whatever occurs on the show...

Well that was a big digression. On Friday, I had to go to class in the afternoon, so Kristen and I first stopped at my favorite sandwich shop to get some food, but to get to the bus on time (to get to school on time) we had to go RIGHT when it opened so we were hovering there, oh well. Luckily she liked her sandwich, and then when we got to school I set her up in the library to do some reading while I had class. After, in the late afternoon, we went back downtown, went inside the Duomo, and explored downtown a bit, including Via Tornabuoi, which is a who's who of expensive designers (most of them Italian). Of course I would never go into a store there, but it was fun to see all the windows. We also went to the Ponte Vecchio, which I don't see much anymore now that I don't go to my orientation school (which is across the river from downtown Firenze).

That night, we went to a vegetarian restaurant, which was confusing at first because you place your order, pay, go to a counter to get your food, and THEN sit down. Between trying to figure out if there was space, figuring out the procedure, and trying my best to translate the menu for Kristen, it was a bit hectic. But in the end it was good, we enjoyed our food and some apple cider, and it was fun. The annoying thing was that it was raining, and we had BOTH straightened our hair and decided to wear ballet flats - which seemed like a good idea at the times. I had been thinking for at least a month that I needed new flats, as the pair I brought to Italy had been wearing out since summer, but I had yet to find any that I liked at a good price. Well, that night out in the rain pretty much finished my flats, and both Kristen and I felt like we were walking around in squishy puddles most of the night (she also wore flats). After the restaurant, we went to a bar I have been to once before to get some cocktails and enjoy being 20 in a country where the official drinking age is 16 and the actual drinking age is you can buy wine at like 9 years old if you say it's for your mom...

Kristen's stomach wasn't feeling too well though, so we went home kind of early and enjoyed some more Gilmore Girls, which I have to say I didn't mind! Over the course of the weekend, as Kristen wrote, we probably got through about 8-9 episodes which was so fun. And like she wrote, I also got her addicted to the Daily Show! I have been watching it a lot online, especially with the recent election season. Let's be honest, Sarah Palin gave them LOTS of material!

Saturday was our full day of touristing. First we went to the Accademia Gallery, since Kristen remembered going to the Uffizi and the Uffizi is usually crazier on your average Saturday. We enjoyed the art, most of all seeing the real David, which I always find amazing! Well by always I mean the two times I've seen it now. After lunch we made our way downtown and wandered around in a bunch of the small streets near the Duomo. We found a cute place for lunch, with a nice ambience and seemingly good menu. We got some bruschetta, Kristen got pasta filled with cheese and pear (which is actually a pretty common combination here, it is really good - don't knock it til you've tried it!) and I got gnocchi with like a pepper sauce. It was pretty good but I had a little bit of "orderer's remorse" which I hate! Either way I very much enjoyed the lunch...

We continued to wander around after lunch and then got some gelato at Grom, which I had heard was really good and wanted to try. I was going to go with some sort of chocolate-y sweet combination of flavors, but then pear and apple sounded really good, so I got those two flavors. They were really good, especially the apple! It literally tasted like someone pureed an apple and mixed it right in - so fresh and delicious! Next time I go to Grom I will try some of their more chocolate-y flavors.

I can't really remember if we did anything else after that, I think we went home to relax before going out to dinner. And of course, watched more Gilmore Girls! Then we went out to dinner, at a place near Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria. I probably would have ordered Chianti, but I know Kristen likes white wine better and it seemed more fun to get a bottle and not be restricted to glasses. I chose the cheapest white there was, which also seemed to be fruity (another thing Kristen likes in wine). It was so cool - they brought the wine and did that thing where they show it to you and you taste it, and it was the first time I had ever done that! I don't know, I felt so grown up... Dinner was really enjoyable! I got pasta with lobster and it actually had real chunks of the meat, plus the sauce was really good. A very scrumptious meal. Kristen and I also split two desserts - an apple cake and a chocolate cake - also very yummy! We also just kept talking and talking... and since you have to ask for the bill, we ended up just talking and stayed in the restaurant for about 3 hours! The time seemed to fly though, and it was really nice. Much like my visit with Deneb (and possibly even more, this being a Georgetown friend) it was SO nice to talk to a close friend in person and just have that comfort level! To be honest with you all, I haven't really made any real, lasting connections here with peers, and I have my lonely moments. I didn't expect to be looking forward so much to the other Georgetown students arriving (in spring), but I am. I will be fine til then, but as it turns out being so independent sometimes has its down moments... ah well.

On Sunday, we (surprise) watched a little Gilmore Girls and then I had to take Kristen to the station... which was sad, but we had such a great time together and I'm so glad we had that visit! The other sad part about her leaving was that I had to start really studying for my test, and really, who would want to do that?

Alright, I think I will stop here. I got out most of the important stuff I had not written about, so hopefully I'll have a chance to write about other little things soon! I will really try to be better! Thanks for your patience everyone!

IOU

I hereby owe everyone out there a nice detailed post... after Thursday, which is when I have my first test here in Italy! It is a written final for one of my courses and I am trying to use most of my spare time to prepare! I can't wait to write about my weekend with Kristen and other things though.

Also, I am feeling election days nerves and excitement because I am going to go to bed and wake up about 6-7 am to see the results coming in! I can't believe tomorrow morning I will know who the next US President is!