It's that time again.

There is always an odd in-between time in my days here from about 6-8pm, or as we say here 18-20. Now that I think about it, there is also an odd in-between time from 1-4 (13-16) too because everything is closed for the afternoon siesta except the bars (which is Italian for café). Then there is also the time when I have classes, which is more an abstract time than anything concrete. That's sort of in-between too. The most certain, best time though is clearly from dinner onward.

Dinner is usually around 8 (20) with Taylor, my new friend from Villanova, and sometimes others like the French brigade or the other American girls from Villanova. After dinner we sit and talk about stupid things that the French won't understand and I'm quite sure they're doing the same.

Which reminds me of a conversation I had today about how we English speakers have a disadvantage. While we are understood everywhere and everyone speaks some English all over the world, we lose out on the secret code ability of other native tongues. If you speak Hungarian, for instance, you can talk openly with another Hungarian speaker about someone standing right in front of you and with almost complete certainty, you will not be understood.

Comunque... now is one of those inbetween times. It's 7:31 (19:31) so I have 30 minutes until people show up at Mensa. After dinner I think some people and I will have some digestifs and go to the bars in town. That's generally how the night goes. We dance and sing with all of the stupid 80's pop music until 2 or 3 (2 or 3). I wish I could understand Italian better. That would really help to solidify my time here.

I went grocery shopping today. It was incredibly cheap to by food and cooking utensils and pots and pans and laundry detergent and everything I need to make staying in my room a little more doable. Only 67 Euro ($5,067). What a beautiful day it was today. It was about 60 degrees (15 gradi) and sunny with a little breeze. I wish I could capture what I see and feel here for everyone at home but pictures of this place are not close to enough. Everything relies on having the full panorama.

Another quirk of being in Italy is that everything is adapted to the Italian life style and most profoundly: technology. I'm pretty sure that my cell phone provider, TIM, has a slogan that roughly translates to "You want to make a call? Send a text? Well, it'll get there when it gets there." Every text takes about 15 minutes. It's a strange catch 22 with making plans. No one shows up on time for anything if you plan ahead, and if you try to catch someone right away using some piece of technology, it won't get there until it's too late. In a way, it's nice. As Scott, the only other ISEP student here, explained it, it forces human contact. You have to make an effort to see people. It's sort of like what happens in apartment buildings when the power goes out. Everyone comes into the halls and realizes that they live near other people.

I think I'll go sit outside of Mensa and wait for people to come. Romain said something about him going to restaurant with some people because one of the ERASMUS students is leaving tomorrow so I hope not everyone is going to that.

Well that's the end of this stream of consciousness. I'll think at you again soon.
Until then,
Ci sentiamo e buona giornata (buona serata)

I Lezioni...non ho capito nient!

So I thought I’d try class. While this may sound a bit slackerish, in Italy, class is completely optional. On Tuesday, I thought I’d try going to a class on the history and institutions of Latin America. I got to the building early and asked where Aula 6 was. Turns out, that “Aula 6” was actually a “G” on the handwritten schedule. G stands for Facoltà Giuspredenza, which is on the other side of town. I walked over to the Facoltà and looked for the class. I asked about it at the desk and, after calling the person at the desk in the Political Science Facoltà, it turns out that class, although written on the board, is not in session yet. Now I had an hour to kill before the next class, one about the Politics of Agrarian Economy in the European Union (Hey. I think it’s interesting). I checked with the woman at the desk to confirm the time and she said it was at 14:00 so I waited. At 14:00 no one was in the classroom so I asked again and the woman at the desk now had a different schedule that said it was over. The two women scrambled to figure out what was going on. They sent me to the Professoressa’s office. She explained to me that the class exists, but no one goes so she doesn’t have it. After a conversation (I understood most of it I think) we arranged for an independent study and I’m going to attend a seminar on the topic. That should be good.

Today, I woke up and went to another class: this one an analysis of the language of politics (Again, sounds good to me). Low and behold this class exists! I sat down and waited for other students. In the end, only 3 others showed up. The professor got there and noticed that I was obviously new and asked me questions about where I was from and then broke into a 40-minute lecture about, from what I could gather, Rome and the similarities between the current economic crisis and Rome. He moved on to the books for the class. It was so hard to pay close enough attention to pick up what he was saying. After those hours of torture, I went back to my room and took a nap. It was only supposed to be 30 minutes. 3 hours later, I woke up and felt groggy. I went to town to get my kit for my “permesso di sogiorno” from the post office and had an espresso. Now I’m in the bar area of the dinning hall, Mensa.

Tomorrow I will try another class, hopefully one with a lot of people and a slow, English speaking professor.

Finally, Internet!

Hooray!  I got internet access!  I will explain in a bit

Rome was awesome.  Not only because it is an amazingly interesting, and as I found out, traversable city, but because so many cool people stayed at the Hostel.  I met a French girl and a Colombian guy who were traveling Europe and an Argentine and a Danish girl.  For two nights, me and and French girl, Helene, and the Colombian guy, Sebastian, drank wine and played games.  It was a great time.  During the day I was mostly by myself.  I took a bus tour and walked around the Colosseum.  I went out to the Villa Borghese with Mia, my new Danish friend who is looking for an apartment in Rome.  I was proud of myself when I was able to buy my own cell phone, conducting myself in Italian the whole time!  What a great city Rome is.  You can find old and new back to back without realizing that to your left, is a 15 year old building, while to your right is a 2015 year old building.

I left Rome on Friday at 7:30.  Italy in amazing.  On the way from Rome to Urbino, I slept, but in a way, I regret it because there were so many incredible things to see.  The entire way, you could see distant mountains, nearby pastures and houses along the road that date back to the Renaissance.  When I got to Urbino, mamma mia!  The instructions from Urbino were not entirely clear and I figured, having looked at google.earth that it would not be that hard to find the Collegio Aquilone by walking down the main drag in town.  What google.earth neglects to mention is that Urbino is built on a mountain in an age before there were readily available earth-moving machines.  This being the case, the hills in Urbino can only compare to San Francisco.  So on I went with my bags (weight approx. 100lbs plus my camping backpack weight approx 35-40lbs) up the hills looking for the collegi.  I finally gave up and called the contact number.  I struggled on the phone and found out that I needed to head down the hills to the bus station and catch the bus to the collegi.  I waited there for about 20 minutes and then realized that the number 21 bus comes to the OTHER bus station and that I had probably missed 2 or 3 buses.  I caught the bus up the hill and got to the collegio.  I walked into the door and asked if they had a room for me.  "Questo collegio è Serpentine.  Vuoi Aquilone" ("This is the Collegio Serpentine.  You want Aquilone") So up another stair case I went to the collegio aquilone.  When I arrived at the desk, which is up a maze of stairs and what I can only compare to an M.C. Escher painting, I was told that I had been placed in the Collegio La Vela, which was up another steep hill.  I wandered the halls of yet another M.C. Escher Painting and eventually found the office...on the 7th floor.  A nice guy in the office named Pietro helped me find my room.  He gave me the keys and showed me in and then left.  

So...What now?  Friday and most of Saturday were filled with hiking to and from campus looking for open offices to find out exactly what my status is in the University.  See, in Italy, they don't believe in 9-5.  They believe in 9-12.  Having showed up at 12:30, all of the offices were closed for Saturday and Sunday.  After braving the cold and the steep hills several times, I gave up on finding an office and settled down into my on-going game of CityBloxx on my cellphone, interspersed with chess on my computer (I am yet to win).  I called my parents, and after they encouraged me, I went to town and got dinner.  I later, after another voyage to my room, found a bar.  I started a conversation with some German girls, then I heard someone speaking in English with an American accent.  I asked him where he was from and he said Tennessee.  This is how I met a group of exchange students with whom I spent the rest of the evening.  After some drinks and some dancing in a bar or two, here I am.  It's 3:13 here, evening for everyone at home.  I think I'll go to bed now.  

Fino quando c'è piu di tempo,

Arrivaderci

Hours left

It's Monday morning and I have hours remaining to be in this "sweet land of liberty." I'd be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly nervous but I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't optimistic about the whole thing.

Today I will be running a few errands before going to Gargiulos with my Dad and Grandpa. Then I will be speaking to myself in Italian so I can remember how to say things like, "Sarebbe possibile che lascio le mie cose qua prima controllo?"

I hope I'm not over my head.

Next post will be from Rome, I hope (that is, unless I get really bored in the airport.)

Buono semestre tutti!

It's a mad house

I've just been packing up my stuff to hit the road, or I guess you could say the sky, for New York and then Italy. I've been pretty stressed with the amount of stuff I need to do in so little time. My incredibly sympathetic and awesome boss James let me take a half day this Thursday, despite it being the busiest day of the year. That will be a big help.

I figured out how everyone in the US can call my phone while I'm away... But on second thought I think I will save that for people who ask me specifically. I'm trying to avoid 5am drunk dials from everyone back home.

My mother bought me a bunch of new clothes and a new suit case. That will come in...necessary. I still wear the jeans I was bought last time I went abroad to Germany sophomore year of high school so the clothes that I just bought will surely become my everyday repertoire, everyday for the next six-10 years.

Well writing this is no help in getting my things done so, so long.
-David

My first post

As I am about to go to Italy, I figured now would be a good time to start a blog so my friends can keep up with me throughout my adventures.

Unfortunately for you, since I have yet to begin my adventures, I don't really have much to say. I will say that I am living at home, I have two jobs for the next week or so and that...well that's actually it.

Don't let this first, boring post fool you though. Once things get started, they will get started indeed and I will need to vent my frustrations on this blog. Not being able to speak the language fluently is sure to make things difficult, so look forward to that.

Until I have more to say,
Ci vedremmo presto.
-David