Laborious Start

My first day of classes started on Labor Day, a holiday which many Italians celebrate everyday and which my fellow Davidson students are forced to not observe.  Before class, Keena, JD, Caroline, and I went to the fresh market as well as two different grocery stores to buy meats, cheese, bread, and other goodies for the week.  Among other things, I came home with piave, cheddar, salami, a loaf of Toscana bread (for 1 Euro!).  After a quiet lunch in our apartment, Caroline and I headed to Piazza Strozzi for our first Italian class.  Everyone said that having taken Spanish in high school and college will help me in Italian and while many words are very similar, it can just add to my confusion. (However, I did start going off in Spanish the other night to some Italian man and convinced my fellow students on the program that I was fluent... thanks Davidson).  I unfortunately had World Religions after Italian, a class that stretches for 2 and half long hours from 3-530 on Mondays.  Makes for a long day.

After class, I went back to the boys' apartment and from there they escorted me to Via Faenza to grab Caroline for a double date of sorts.  We ate a restaurant called ZaZa's. I went with my favorite, penne bolognese.  We drank acqua, no gas, and ate the basket of bread without thinking twice. 2.50 for the water, 10 euro for the bread. No thank you.

The boys found that the supermercado across the street sells the cheapest Peroni beer by the case, so they each grabbed a box and lugged it across the city.  The sight of these two Kappa Sigs carrying cases of beer as they passed by the Duomo must've just screamed "party" judging by the number of Italians that asked where we were headed.  We had a quiet night at their place, listening, singing, and dancing to country music over a bottle of wine with my Southern friends.  Later, we went for a walk and gelato across the ponte vecchio.  Even on a Monday night, the city was bustling.  In one of the piazzas, they were playing what I call "dancing music", inviting everyone to grab a partner and hit the dance floor. JD and I sprinted to the middle of the floor where we shagged to "Me and Mrs. Jones", by far the most energetic pair in the crowd.

Today, I THOUGHT I had Art History at 9 AM.  I thought wrong.  I got up and walked to class only to discover that I did not in fact have class.  No big deal.  A few hours of free time to do some reading never killed anyone.  That is, IF I hadn't have left my purse in my apartment with my keys, phone, wallet.  So, how does a 20 year old American girl fill her time with no money, no way to call to be let in, and no way to break into her apartment?  She waits outside her door for an hour and a half until one of her roommates walks out.  Productive.  Needless to say, the locals must think I'm casing an apartment for a robbery.  I've learned a valuable lesson early on in the semester.  But, some time to myself for people watching didn't disturb my morning too terribly, as compared to an hour and a half of wasted time would have at Davidson.  Accidental, it may have been, but forcing myself to take a break is sometimes just what everyone needs. Ciao!