Thursday, January 31

 
there is dog poop all over the city, but the bus drivers wear suits and gucci sunglasses.

i think i have lost a few pounds since i got here, but that could just be wishful thinking, or the fact that since there are no dryers here all of my clothes are bigger than they were in america.

we will pretend it is just me being skinnier.

i have a cold. you know how when you are sick at college, you wish your mom was there to take care of you? now i just wish she was in the same country. aww. but it's okay. it's just a runny nose. it's not like it's scurvy or anything.

homelife is still good but my host mom can be a little frustrating sometimes. i swear to god sometimes we are speaking two different languages - even though we are both speaking italian. she just doesn't listen well. here is an english translation of the conversation we had this morning as she was coming out of the bathroom and i was trying to go in to take a shower:

shannon: can i?
mimosa: no.
s: no?
m: yeah, no.
s: why, do you need it?
m: no, go ahead.
s: oh, i thought you said no.
m: yeah, no.
s: no, but i said, can i, and you said, no.
m: yeah, i said, no.
s: so you need the bathroom?
m: no.

and so on and so on, until we figure out tha no, she really doesn't need the bathroom and yes, i can shower. and if you are thinking my italian might be faulty, shut up, because you are dead wrong. it is far from perfect, but trust me, i know how to say "can i" and "do you need the bathroom". i felt like we were abbott and costello doing the "who's on first" bit.

must go buy plane tickets to scotland so will talk more later...



posted by from shannon at 9:37 AM

Wednesday, January 30

 
11:00a.m. or 12:00p.m., depending on the day of the week since there are no rules in Italy and everything is all willy-nilly
forty-five minute bus ride from the centro to the villa rosa, this old (huge, beautiful) house that is the home of syracuse university here.

11:45a.m. or 12:45p.m. (are you following me here?)
lunch at il masaccio, the best sandwich place of my life. stracchino, melanzane e prusciutto crudo - cheese, eggplant and raw ham - oh man, that's where it's at.

then usually some interneting.

1:10p.m., monday-wednesday, approximately
classes. on monday and wednesday i have the coolest english/writing class ("italy and italians in english literature") where we read things like hemingway's farewell to arms and do a lot of writing that we critique in class. i also have a not nearly as cool class on mass communications in italy, taught in italian, but it is at least funny because italian newspapers are so dumb. not a day goes by where there is not a story about either prostitutes or farm animals on the front page.

and probably the coolest class is on tuesday: michelangelo. the best part is that in two weeks as a part of this class we take a weekend trip to rome and my class, just me and 20 other people, get to hang out in the sistine chapel, alone, for two hours and have a lecture. i am going to get to lie on my back on the floor of the sistine chapel. can you believe that? oh man. it is going to be great.

dikla calleth me. farewell, for now.
posted by from shannon at 8:40 AM

 
yes! new link day. my good friend lindy parker, quite possibly the funniest girl i know and also one-third of my heart, has joined the ranks of geekdom and started her own blog, paper circus. except that she has an excuse - she has to do it for a comm class. check it out - her opening blog is one of the best things i have ever read in my life.

i am liking language class at the centro more and more. i sort of have friends now - a german girl named katri and a swede named gustav - though i hope to make them better more going-out type friends. today the swede (as i like to call him) sat by me in class and we even joked around some, though it is still hard for me to be funny in italian.

other good things about language class:
1) the professor often refers to be as "signorina shannon" (pronounced seen-yore-een-a shahn-no-n) which i think is cute
2) today he had to give an example and he referred to me as "la rossa" (redhead) of the class. sometimes i still forget that my hair is dyed red and when i am reminded it is always a pleasant surprise.

i feel like since i started that daily agenda blog i HAVE to finish it now, even though i have lost motivation. but i will not be a quitter. so i will continue. soon. haha.
posted by from shannon at 4:18 AM