My Classes

So we have been in class for 2 and 1/2 weeks now and I am still in vacation mode!  Of course I am doing my readings and my homework, but it takes a lot to want to sit down and do when there is a city asking to be explored.  My classes are very interesting and all of my professors are extremely qualified.  My international business professor studied corporate law  here at the University of Bologna and then went to Harvard and publishes an annual article in prominent law journal in Italy.  My art history professor acquired her PhD at the University of Bologna in the History of Art.  She is currently the assistant curator of Harvard's gallery in Florence and has published many articles and one book.  Her love for art always is gleaming as she teaches, her class might be the most difficult this semester, but it will be one of the most rewarding experiences.  For this class we actually spend one day a week in lecture, then the second day visiting museums and churches.  This week we are  actually going to Florence!  My next class is Italiano!  It is by far my favorite class!   We have two instructors, and they are such a pair.  I love being in there around them and they are always so encouraging.  I always heard horror stories of taking a foreign language in college, but it is nothing like that!  Si, noi parliamo solo italiano in classe.   But, how else are we supposed to learn?  


So to clarify many misconceptions about this trip, yes I am studying abroad.  My classes are intriguing and will require studying, but the knowledge I will gain from them is invaluable.  This is only the start of my third week here and I am already falling in love with this place. So thank you Spring Hill, especially our director Todd, and my parents of course.




Ciao!
J

This is the wrong Train, RUN!

This past Sunday a group of us took a day trip to Verona.  We got up early Sunday morning and walked down to the train station.  We were all so excited because they had automatic ticket machines that were in English.    We bought our ticket there to Verona for 7.20 euro.  This was going to be an easy, inexpensive trip.  Some of us were really hungry, so we ran to the nearby McDonald's and grabbed a quick snack.  We came back and started looking around to see what platform we were departing from, but we saw the rest of the group standing at 3 so we went to meet them over there.   We stood around as the clock ticked down to our time to departure and there was a train near our platform, but still not one at ours.  I started questioning everyone to see if we were sure this was the right one.  One of the girls started asking around to see if we were at the right platform, then all of the sudden she says "Run, that's our train!" and points to the one on the other side.  In stampede form, we all dart off running, literally skipping 4 to 5 steps at a time down the stairs.  We all run on the train, and someone asks if this is the right train, and next thing I hear, "This is the wrong train, Run, get off!"  We run back to the door and it shuts in our faces.  We keep pressing buttons trying to open the door and before we knew it the train started moving.  We are now officially going wherever this train takes us.  Fortunately, the train was going to Verona.  Unfortunately, it was a EuroTrain or the "fast train" which cost us all 21.50 euros more!  We all scraped up our change to pay the extra fee.  Yes, it was a pain to pay the extra, but thankfully it was going the right way and we got there in less than an hour!


However, Verona was amazing!  We split up into smaller groups and just explored the town.  For a Sunday it was very packed.  But we didn't let the crowd stop us, we explored everything.  Took hundreds of photos and ate at this adorable cafe.  We went on to Juliet's balcony and wrote her a letter and signed our wall.  We had to make the most of our experience, so we even touched her left breast for good luck. We continued walking around just enjoying every step that we took.  The typical girl day: posing for funny pictures, laughing hysterically, and wishing for love.  Unfortunately, we did not find our Romeo.  It was so sweet to see all the couples around the city.  It truly is a city of love, even the birds flying around flew  in pairs.  Maybe, the good luck of Juliet will bless us with our Romeos.  


It was time to go back to the train station.  We bought our tickets and double checked for the right platform.  Thankfully we got it right this time.  This train took over an hour to get to Bologna, so we all napped on the back.  It was such an eventful day, but completely worth it!  I am loving the European life of traveling.   Still more to explore and learn.  We are going to Malta in two weeks!   So more post to come!


Ciao!

Gia, Me, Julian, Stacey, and Victoria at Casa de Giulette.

Beautiful Verona

My First Week

So I safely arrived in Italy last Friday night!  I had no delays in the airport or any mishaps.  The flight over from Chicago to Copenhagen went by pretty fast, I took a Tylenol PM and slept most of the flight.  We had a little layover in Copenhagen, but it was the perfect amount of time to get something to eat and walk around.  Around 7:00 PM we finally landed in Bologna.  The only thing I was nervous about was if our luggage made it or not. I have never been so happy to see my massive blue suitcases on the carousel.  One of the bags is on its last handle, so it will be retired after this semester.  We caught a taxi and he took us to Hotel Aemilia where we stayed because the dorm (Collegio Alma Mater) was not open until Saturday.  Thanks to the multilingual staff, check in went smoothly.  The hotel was wonderful.  It was clean, safe, and really affordable for a 4 star hotel.  The jet lag caused us to sleep later than planned and we missed check out, but the staff understood and did not charge us for an extra night.  We were now off to Collegio Alma Mater!


At the dorm we were welcomed by our student life assistant Hillary.  She gave us our room keys and showed us up to our rooms.  We weren't quite ready to unpack so we put down our luggage and went to see our director Todd.  He greeted us with a warm welcome and then gave us some suggestions of places to go in town.  So we went back to the room unpacked then set off to explore the city.  We had a map, but we mainly just winged it and learned from our surroundings.  Todd suggested we go to a coffee bar and try a hot chocolate.  In Italy, they do not add any water, they simply melt a pure milk chocolate and serve it with a spoon.  We agreed that sounded delicious and tried one ourselves.  It was the perfect way to start off my Dolce Vita.


Sunday Hillary took us to the heart of Bologna, Piazza Maggiore.  We took a group photo and then split off to explore and then make it back to Collegio Alma Mater by 2:00 for our departure to Interlaken, Switzerland.  I was in desperate need of shampoo, so we went to the Farmacia and with the help of the bilingual pharmacist I found a shampoo that did not have weird chemicals.  Then we stopped at a pizza shop and all enjoyed a slice of margherita (cheese and tomato).  It was time to head back so we could pack for our  weekend in Interlaken.   We departed for Switzerland at 2:00 PM and did not make it until around 10:00 PM.  We stayed at Backpacker's Villa a youth hostel near the downtown of Interlaken.  A group of us grabbed dinner then walked around.  We eventually went back to the hostel and after being yelled at by our Asian neighbors, we finally went to sleep.  


Early the next morning we met for breakfast then went to the Alps.  Paulo our wonderful bus driver took the ones not skiing to the train station where we road an hour train ride to the top.  Switzerland has to be the most beautiful country I have ever seen.  Being from flat Mississippi, I really enjoyed seeing the mountains.  But these weren't any mountains, these were the Alps and they were spectacular.  On the top of the mountain, there were many restaurants as well as bars.  We went to the tepee bar and enjoyed some drinks and the view.  After a few hours we road the train back down and went and explored more of Interlaken.  That night we enjoyed a wonderful community dinner cooked by Todd and his wife.  It was the classic Italian experience (even though  we weren't in Italy), we enjoyed great food, wine, and the ones around us.  The room was full of smiles and laughter.  We finished the classic European experience at the local pub.


Today was the first day of classes.  Today I only had Italian 101.  We went over the syllabus in English, but then the rest of the class was in Italian.  Quite overwhelming, but I think it will be a great class.  I really want to leave this semester being confident in Italian.  This may have been my longest week ever.  We have done so much each day it is hard to remember everything I did.  I might be possibly traveling this weekend, too.  So more to come.  


Ciao! 

Less than 2 weeks!

I can't believe it.  Not this Thursday but next Thursday I will be on an airplane Italy bound.  First being accepted into the program, I told myself it was next year.  Then starting this fall semester I thought, "Oh it is next semester."  I moved back home after finals and people starting asking when do I leave and I replied, "Oh after the New Year!"  Well, it is now 2011 and 11 days until my departure.  This is unreal, time really does fly!  

When I first moved home from Spring Hill, I was nervous beyond belief.  However, now after a wonderful Christmas in Florida with the Byrne Family, I am ready to conquer the world (Well just Bologna for now).  The only thing I fret now is packing.  I am an awful packer, but I have to learn or it will literally cost me.  So, the plan is to only pack the necessities and shop over there.  Which Dad has already approved.  And of course I need to blend in, so wearing Italian clothes is the solution. 

So I have 11 days to say good-byes, and I am not sure how I feel about it.  It is kind of frightening for a particular loved one, but I have to stay strong and enjoy these 11 days I have left.  God is always there and I have to have faith that he will get me through whatever comes my way.  I am sure I will have a heart filled blog to come later.  

My Italian is slowly but surely progressing, I know key phrases and words.  Tomorrow my goal is to make labels for commonly used items and place them around the house.  We will see how that goes, I feel like I should have started this a long time ago. . .  

This is my last post until I am in Italy.  Wow, my life is unreal.  This is really the "Good Life."   

Buananotte!