Friday, January 18

 
i know i said i would have more time to blog today, but i am a liar. i have exactly 10 minutes, 49 seconds right now on this internet card. hmm, what to talk about?

tomorrow is my two week anniversary in florence. at first i could not believe how slowly the days were passing, and now i cannot believe i am saying that i have been here for two weeks. i think for the whole time there are going to be some slow spots, but things really seem to be picking up. my italian is improving immensely and i am very proud of the level i am at, especially compared to the other americans i meet here, even the ones in my own advanced option II group. but i still have a long way to go. i want to get out and speak more. starting next tuesday we will have 'casa italiana' every tuesday evening, an optional program that brings together italian and american students for conversation. i cannot wait to speak some more.

most days i have found that i am really happy here. once in a while something happens that sort of sinks me into homesickness, but it happens less frequently and less severly now, and i work hard against it. though it is not easy when i have such wonderful friends and family waiting for me at home. still, there were some scary times in the beginning when i just wished i could be back in l.a., but that is not the case anymore. i am happy to be here and am happy to think about making the most out of this temporary situation before coming home for a long time to the perfection that is my life in the united states.

sometimes i have these extremely great moments here. like last weekend, when our family took us out on a long cold walk and then to this cute restaurant for hot chocolate, which is really thick here - like they literally just melted a chocolate bar. but we were sitting in front of this huge fireplace, drinking hot cocoa with tons of whipped cream, talking really quickly and animatedly in italian, and it was just great. it's little stuff like that that can make my day. or care packages from two of the best friends i will ever have in my whole life, complete with letters and mix cd's. so i love that i can have these two worlds. i will talk more about a normal day for me later, in case you guys are curious just what it is i actually do here, other than drink hot cocoa and go rat-spotting.

until then...
posted by from shannon at 8:20 AM

Thursday, January 17

 
geez, i never thought it'd be so hard for a girl to find some time to blog. for anyone who was under the misconception (like me) that i am here on a four-month-long vacation, let me tell you right now that you are SO WRONG. i spend more time in classrooms here than i do at school, plus there is substantially more commuting time, AND homework on top of all of that. luckily the majority of my classes are pretty rockin', so i am willing to put up with this tyranny (i don't know that that word really applies, i just liked the look of it.)

i have so much to say! but so little time. i should be back tomorrow (hopefully) for some more serious blogging, but here are some highlights to tide over my many (four?) adoring fans:

so the euro is a laughable matter here. actually, not the euro so much as the bafflement of an entire continent over some simple bills and coins. maybe that sounds like an arrogant american thing to say, but come on - everybody knows how to count, so this really shouldn't be a big deal. i only lived in italy for two months and i learned how to carry hundreds of thousands of lira in my wallet. this is not a big deal. at least the italians are hanging in there - the finns have already thrown out all of the one- and two-cent coins. are you kidding me? the whole country gave this thing a two week trial period and already decided that their simple finnish minds can't grasp the concept of a penny. so they just threw them away. too difficult, they say. a country full of idiots, i say.

it still remains bitterly cold here. dikla and i went on a walk with our family this past weekend and we saw that the banks of the arno (florence's big river) are frozen in spots. my italian sister, laura, was shocked - she says that never happens. great. despite the frigidness, i was about to (begrudgingly) admit that the icy river was kind of a pretty sight, when we suddenly spot this huge beast lumbering out onto the ice.

"is that a cat?" my roommate asked.

"no, it's a rat," laura replied.

did you catch that? we thought this thing was a cat because of its size, but it was actually a big rat. ugh. (in all fairness to the beast, we later discovered that laura's english may have momentarily failed her, and it was probaby a muskrat - but still.)

and finally, for anyone who was closely following the cutthroat herrick-parker-mchugh 'survivor' bet (even if you were ashamed of me for taking part), i just want to announce that i was TRIUMPHANT! haha! right from the beginning i had hot professional soccer player ethan pegged as the most survivingest rascal in africa. the one disappointment: having to share my victory with parker, who, like me, just got lucky by picking the prettiest boy. wat makes it worth it: having kicked herrick's ass so thoroughly. ha!

so that is all for today. must now run for yet another SCRUMPTIOUS, many-coursed meal with my family. then out tonight with the girls - to a shot bar, i believe? although i am not at all one for shots, i do enjoy going out with my girls. maybe i can just get a kool-aid or something.

cheers!
posted by from shannon at 8:52 AM

Monday, January 14

 
i am very happy because i have been in an especially good mood - maybe even a little elated - since saturday. it all started with a bunch of phone calls from family and friends (three in one night! EEK!). it is amazing how well some people know you. after talking to my mom and dad and brother, and two of my best friends in the whole world, i was just flying. also i got a wonderful letter from another of my bestest friends who has studied abroad before, and he just made me feel so much better about everything. it is such a wonderful feeling to know that i can be having this time here in italy, but that when i go home i'm going to be equally or even MORE happy because i have the friends i've been waiting my whole life to have.

okay, so sappy. but i just miss everyone! in a good way. as opposed to an evil way, i guess.

and maybe i feel better because i'm just settling in? whatever it is, i hope this feeling stays around.

last night my family ordered pizza. like takeout. isn't that sacreligious here?

watching movies here is educational. they are all dubbed in italian, so if you are familiar with the movie you know how to say stuff. like "breast implants" (american beauty) and "booger flavored" (harry potter).
that is all for now!
posted by from shannon at 8:31 AM