I don't usually update this blog so often, in fact I leave it to once a week but this last week and the things I've been thinking about seem to have a need to escape, at least for today.
Lately, I've been thinking about the people back home, the ones I'm still friends with, the people who've been in and out of my life, people from high school that I may not have been friends with, just people. I've lost touch with a lot of good people after high school and I'm starting to settle on it. They're still good people but the connection is kind of lost and that's actually really sad. I can't bother myself with those kinds of thoughts though. What has been has been and what will be, will be. I always talk about how New Paltz is a vortex for people and it's true. If you never leave that town, you're doomed to stay there and probably become some kind of addict, usually pot or something and alcohol. Too many good people I know have become those townies, those people who never left; or if they did leave they took the essence of the town with them and still became that addict. I do have a love/hate relationship with that town. When I'm away long enough, I do miss it but then I do home and it's dead; just nothing is left for me there except for my family and the few friends I still have there. If I could completely detach, I would and I'm starting to get to that point but I need more money, a better job to be able to detach and be free from the bondage of that vortex. I've also realized that, if you have lived in New Paltz you're entire life, it seems like that the right of passage is to move to Manhattan. Not that I have a problem with that, I love it down there and well that's where my family is from and where I am from too, but it does something to people who aren't from there. There's a change that I guess I'm not used to. I know people grow up and that's wonderful but I've been somewhat grownup a good portion of my life. It's just really sad to not be able to connect with my friends like I used to and it kills me. I lost a lot of good connections because I don't drink or do those things anymore. Growing up is hard to do and we all have to do it. I missed out on my adolescence and I guess part of me wants it back but I can never have it back. It's funny, I'm here in Italy enjoying the time that I have here (although recently I can't seem to get myself motivated to get out and go places and I'm malnourished at the moment) and I miss home so much but going home is going to be hard. I know what's at home waiting: my family, my boyfriend, my minimum wage job, and some friends. The first two I miss terribly, I need a better job but I'm thankful that they keep rehiring me every summer and during winter break, and I do miss my friends. My thoughts are all over the place and I can't concentrate on anything that I should be. I've become a recluse in Italy and that's not what I want the rest of this experience to be. I just can't seem to figure it out right now and that worries me.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
About Halfway
Six weeks in, and I feel like I'm breaking down. There was some apartment drama that went down but it seems like it been progressing toward being better. Who knows though, right. Friday starts Spring Break for us and everyone will be going away for the week so we'll have to see how it all pans out.
I didn't really leave the apartment this weekend. I have a lot of school stuff to do for midterms week and also I've been really depressed lately. It's been to the point where I don't want to get out of bed or leave the apartment at all. It kind of feels like when I just got here but worse. I can't really explain it. It's like I don't have the energy anymore to go out and do things, even if it's just going to walk around downtown. I don't really know what's wrong and that bothers me too. If I keep feeling like this, I might change my spring break plans. I'll still go places but I might have to do it by myself. Sometimes that's all it takes, just me to be by myself and recollect myself. My mom told me that she was actually going to come out here for my spring break but when I told her what my plans were, she decided to just split the money between my sister and I. I told her I could change my plans and she could still come out here but she said it's fine and would rather me have a good time and experience here. I just don't know what to do. I can't get the help that I know I need here, all my friends are at home not here, and communication is kind of difficult because of the time difference and stuff. Plus, I'm also slightly sick again. It's just been a really difficult week and weekend and I just feel lost. There's no other way to explain it except for a lost type of feeling. I don't know what to do. Hopefully I can get it together and really enjoy spring break and everything else.
Other than all that, this weekend one housemate went to Rome for the weekend to visit a friend, one housemate left for the weekend with her boyfriend to the Almalfi coast, and the other two and myself were here all weekend. They went out and stuff but they didn't like go somewhere for the weekend. I still have studio hours I need to put in this week which is also going to be difficult. I kind of have an idea for sculpture but it changes every time I start to put it together. Hopefully I'll have a final project from it. I also was able to pack, yes PACK, some of my clothing away. I packed up the heacy sweaters that I don't ware and some shirts that I seriously have not worn since being here. It's actually kind of nice to be like 'hey, I can pack that away'.
I also found out that my dad is legit thinking about opening his own deli! I knew something was going on because he kept asking me if I had a job when I got back and he asked me if I considered working in a deli/bakery. I told him I would if they paid me more than minimum wage. Then I talked to my mom and she told me that my dad was really considering open a deli/bakery and would need counter help. If he actually gets it up and running by the time I get home, I will gladly go help my dad out. That's not a problem. All he had to do was ask I mean come on dad, really. Also it turns out that the day after I come home from Italy, a family friend is getting married! My mom told me not to worry about it and I didn't have to go because I'll be sleeping due to jet lag. I feel bad about not going to it but that's going to be tough. I'll really have to see how bad my jet lag it before I really do anything about it.
Non lo so
I didn't really leave the apartment this weekend. I have a lot of school stuff to do for midterms week and also I've been really depressed lately. It's been to the point where I don't want to get out of bed or leave the apartment at all. It kind of feels like when I just got here but worse. I can't really explain it. It's like I don't have the energy anymore to go out and do things, even if it's just going to walk around downtown. I don't really know what's wrong and that bothers me too. If I keep feeling like this, I might change my spring break plans. I'll still go places but I might have to do it by myself. Sometimes that's all it takes, just me to be by myself and recollect myself. My mom told me that she was actually going to come out here for my spring break but when I told her what my plans were, she decided to just split the money between my sister and I. I told her I could change my plans and she could still come out here but she said it's fine and would rather me have a good time and experience here. I just don't know what to do. I can't get the help that I know I need here, all my friends are at home not here, and communication is kind of difficult because of the time difference and stuff. Plus, I'm also slightly sick again. It's just been a really difficult week and weekend and I just feel lost. There's no other way to explain it except for a lost type of feeling. I don't know what to do. Hopefully I can get it together and really enjoy spring break and everything else.
Other than all that, this weekend one housemate went to Rome for the weekend to visit a friend, one housemate left for the weekend with her boyfriend to the Almalfi coast, and the other two and myself were here all weekend. They went out and stuff but they didn't like go somewhere for the weekend. I still have studio hours I need to put in this week which is also going to be difficult. I kind of have an idea for sculpture but it changes every time I start to put it together. Hopefully I'll have a final project from it. I also was able to pack, yes PACK, some of my clothing away. I packed up the heacy sweaters that I don't ware and some shirts that I seriously have not worn since being here. It's actually kind of nice to be like 'hey, I can pack that away'.
I also found out that my dad is legit thinking about opening his own deli! I knew something was going on because he kept asking me if I had a job when I got back and he asked me if I considered working in a deli/bakery. I told him I would if they paid me more than minimum wage. Then I talked to my mom and she told me that my dad was really considering open a deli/bakery and would need counter help. If he actually gets it up and running by the time I get home, I will gladly go help my dad out. That's not a problem. All he had to do was ask I mean come on dad, really. Also it turns out that the day after I come home from Italy, a family friend is getting married! My mom told me not to worry about it and I didn't have to go because I'll be sleeping due to jet lag. I feel bad about not going to it but that's going to be tough. I'll really have to see how bad my jet lag it before I really do anything about it.
Non lo so
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Week 5 and Holding Strong
It's been a pretty rough week for me. Aside from the housemate issues, which my mom has helped in making a contract that we will all go over tomorrow when I can print it out and everyone will be home, it's been a lot harder this week to be here. Yesterday, I got to skype with my entire family. They were all at my grandparents house to celebrate PeePa's 70th birthday. It was really awesome to say hello to everyone and get to see and talk to everyone but it was really sad for me not to be there with them. Toni-Ann "fed" me meatloaf through skype (and it was delicious!). It was just really hard to not be there. There's rarely been a family event that I have missed and it really sucks that I'll be missing a whole bunch of birthdays and holidays while I'm here. I'm grateful that I'm here and I'm lucky that I'm here, I just miss home so much.
Bobo has been having difficulty this semester. His work load is a lot more intense and he also decided that he doesn't want to do research anymore. So he's also having a crisis of career. He said he's been considering becoming a high school physics professor and I'll support him in whatever his decision is (as long as it's healthy, just to clarify). We've also been having some communication difficulties which makes things somewhat tense between us. After we had down the two days a week we would talk/skype, I thought it would be cute to email him daily about my day and what was going on since there's no privacy to talk here, I'd let him know what was on my mind and stuff. It was working well for like a week and then he just stopped checking his email. Then we talked about it and he said that he's always on skype so I can send him skype messages. I did that and he was on skype once. I really thought he was avoiding me and didn't want to talk to me. Turns out he was avoiding other people online and he's actually become somewhat fearful of being online. I can understand him not checking his email because RPI sends him a lot of emails about physics research and he doesn't want to do that anymore. On skype, he was avoiding someone he was fighting with and then he was avoiding other people as well. He forgot to at least give me a text letting me know this so I thought he was avoiding me too. Well he's not and he's been so depressed and he's not getting enough sleep either. We talked about it tonight and we came up with a new plan (although I really have my doubts about it) that we will talk Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. We really miss each other and I guess I never realized how, dependent, we are of each other. It's more like dependent emotionally and things like that. It's just really hard not being home or around him to do anything. There's no comfort if we're not around each other. I'll be home soon enough though.
Saturday, Dominique and I went to this really cool antique fair in Florence near the train station. I swear, had my mom been here, should would have bought so much furniture! It got really weird and creepy when we came upon World War II Nazi memorabilia. They had Nazi helmets, gas masks, some one's passport thing; it was kind of creepy and sad too.
So today, I went to Venice for Carnevale. Holy shit it was PACKED! I mean it was worse than Manhattan during Christmas. On the flip side, the costumes were amazing and the atmosphere there was incredible. It wasn't so much like a drunken party as it was more like a Renaissance festival but much larger. I think I might go back there before I go just to explore the city when it's much less crowded. It was really nice though. I had a good time there. I think Gina would have made a killing there with her face-painting. There were so many people lined up to get their faces painted for Carnevale. I think if I ever get the chance to come back here, I would dress up for Carnevale. It seems like it would be a lot of fun to do that. Yes, I did buy masks but I bought one for Danielle and one for Jessica.
I still need to get stuff for my parents, Bobo's parents, Ra, Sid, and Bobo. I have yet to actually buy myself anything. I'm trying not to spend all my money at once. I know I have enough and my mom send me like $50 a week for groceries but I just worry about trips and buying myself well really anything. I can't fit into the clothes here so I'm kind of limited as to what I can get myself (or at least I'm limiting myself about that). If I can find a really good pair of leather shoes, I'll buy them and I know I am definitely getting myself a nice leather bag. I'm just always concerned about money, how much things cost and stuff like that.
I'm playing the rest of my weekends by ear. I don't really do the whole planning thing unless I need to but I want to enjoy Florence and Italy itself. I go want to go to Bologna, Volterra, Perugia, and Pompeii but those are really the only things I would kind of plan besides spring break. I'm pretty sure I have enough time to see all those things and the museums I've missed here in Florence.
Bobo has been having difficulty this semester. His work load is a lot more intense and he also decided that he doesn't want to do research anymore. So he's also having a crisis of career. He said he's been considering becoming a high school physics professor and I'll support him in whatever his decision is (as long as it's healthy, just to clarify). We've also been having some communication difficulties which makes things somewhat tense between us. After we had down the two days a week we would talk/skype, I thought it would be cute to email him daily about my day and what was going on since there's no privacy to talk here, I'd let him know what was on my mind and stuff. It was working well for like a week and then he just stopped checking his email. Then we talked about it and he said that he's always on skype so I can send him skype messages. I did that and he was on skype once. I really thought he was avoiding me and didn't want to talk to me. Turns out he was avoiding other people online and he's actually become somewhat fearful of being online. I can understand him not checking his email because RPI sends him a lot of emails about physics research and he doesn't want to do that anymore. On skype, he was avoiding someone he was fighting with and then he was avoiding other people as well. He forgot to at least give me a text letting me know this so I thought he was avoiding me too. Well he's not and he's been so depressed and he's not getting enough sleep either. We talked about it tonight and we came up with a new plan (although I really have my doubts about it) that we will talk Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. We really miss each other and I guess I never realized how, dependent, we are of each other. It's more like dependent emotionally and things like that. It's just really hard not being home or around him to do anything. There's no comfort if we're not around each other. I'll be home soon enough though.
Saturday, Dominique and I went to this really cool antique fair in Florence near the train station. I swear, had my mom been here, should would have bought so much furniture! It got really weird and creepy when we came upon World War II Nazi memorabilia. They had Nazi helmets, gas masks, some one's passport thing; it was kind of creepy and sad too.
So today, I went to Venice for Carnevale. Holy shit it was PACKED! I mean it was worse than Manhattan during Christmas. On the flip side, the costumes were amazing and the atmosphere there was incredible. It wasn't so much like a drunken party as it was more like a Renaissance festival but much larger. I think I might go back there before I go just to explore the city when it's much less crowded. It was really nice though. I had a good time there. I think Gina would have made a killing there with her face-painting. There were so many people lined up to get their faces painted for Carnevale. I think if I ever get the chance to come back here, I would dress up for Carnevale. It seems like it would be a lot of fun to do that. Yes, I did buy masks but I bought one for Danielle and one for Jessica.
I still need to get stuff for my parents, Bobo's parents, Ra, Sid, and Bobo. I have yet to actually buy myself anything. I'm trying not to spend all my money at once. I know I have enough and my mom send me like $50 a week for groceries but I just worry about trips and buying myself well really anything. I can't fit into the clothes here so I'm kind of limited as to what I can get myself (or at least I'm limiting myself about that). If I can find a really good pair of leather shoes, I'll buy them and I know I am definitely getting myself a nice leather bag. I'm just always concerned about money, how much things cost and stuff like that.
I'm playing the rest of my weekends by ear. I don't really do the whole planning thing unless I need to but I want to enjoy Florence and Italy itself. I go want to go to Bologna, Volterra, Perugia, and Pompeii but those are really the only things I would kind of plan besides spring break. I'm pretty sure I have enough time to see all those things and the museums I've missed here in Florence.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Hostile
This apartment has become filled with passive aggressive bullshit! Beth and Alex have been bitch and complaining about how the apartment isn't clean and so on. First of all Alyssum, Dominique, Cullen (when he's here), and myself ALWAYS clean the apartment. We do THEIR dishes and our own, we sweep and clean the kitchen, the smaller bathroom because they have claimed the larger one, and the hallways and our respective rooms. The only thing they have contributed to the household is toilet paper and only twice. They've only taken the garbage out once and they didn't even finish doing it. I had to finish taking out the rest of the garbage. They use all the stuff in the kitchen that WE have bought, not them. I'm going to try and talk to them tonight about it all (if they actually come back home tonight). If this shit doesn't change, I will tell CAPA that they need to move me into a different apartment or pay for a hotel for the rest of the time I'm here. I will not deal with this adolescent bullshit. I don't give a fuck if you are in a sorority where everything is done for you. I don't care if you're a spoiled little bitch who's parents take care of everything for you. Pick up a fucking broom, mop, sponge and get to fucking work. I'm not your maid or house cleaner. Start contributing to the house as a whole and clean up no matter what. It's already mid February, we don't have a whole lot of time left here so lets just make it as easy as possible.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
4th Down
A month down of living in Firenze and it's been pretty awesome so far. There's really not a whole lot to report on about school. School is school and it has its ups and downs just like as if I were at Oswego. In my psych class, we did have locals that were our age come in and speak to us. Three of them were half Italian and half American but were born and raise in Italy and the one guy was actually the boyfriend of the girl who came to speak to us. They bascially just told us about living in Italy and American and how they perceive the study abroad students. In my art classes, I'm still working on what I want to do for the art show. For sculpture I was going to do song interpretation. I was going to use Our Lady of Sorrows by My Chemical Romance and Razor by Foo Fighters. I'm still working on that one. For watercolor, I'm kind of at a loss. I have this great idea for a photo and I can watercolor over parts of it but all the people I use for models are at home. I had Ra send me my portfolio so I can still kind of do something, maybe with that stuff. Who knows. Something will come to me in time. I still need to put in studio hours too. I'll probably dedicate Monday's and Wednesday's after class to do that. At least 4 hours a week should be good as long as I start doing that like tomorrow.
This weekend was the handmade chocolate festival! It was amazing! There were so many vendors and so many things to sample. They were all different kinds of hot chocolate (white, dark, and a variety of milk chocolate), tons of candied chocolate covered fruits, chocolate animals and a variety of objects, and just tons and tons of solid chocolate bars. It was an amazing experience to be there. I didn't buy anything but it is going on next weekend and then that's it. Maybe I'll buy some stuff to take home and freeze it. Maybe though. It might not make it back to the apartment ha ha!
Spring break is looking interesting. Since I was the only one not going to the Prague castle tour, the current prince takes you on a tour of his castle, everyone else also decided not to do it to. My dad knows someone who lives there and speaks english that can give us a tour of the city. I think that's really awesome because I don't know or speak the language and it's a completely new country that I haven't been adapted to. I kind of feel like I'm deviating from the group a little bit. They all seem to live by this guy Rick Steves who apparently is this travel writer. I thought the point was to creat your own adventure not follow someone else. Alyssum and Cullen have already planned out the rest of their weekend's here. I'm totally not that kind of person. I wing it. If I want to go somewhere, I'll hop on a train and go or plan out at least the times for the train and just go. We'll see what happens.
So the other day, I was looking at flights for Bobo to come out here for his spring break. I found flights that were about the same as my flight out here (just around $870 for a round trip ticket). The only thing about the flight home was that he needed to stay overnight in Paris but he would still be back in time for classes to start again. It made me really sad because I know it will never happen and I think he might be getting an electric drum kit. He told me to talk to him parents about it but I wont. Well I can't anyway because I don't have their numbers anymore because I had to replace my SIM card and I lost all my numbers. Yes, I can just ask him for his parents numbers but I wont. Not until I come home at least so I'm not tempted to call and ask and see if there is a possibility. I just made me really sad. I miss him a lot. I miss being with him. I miss my family a lot too. I miss my parents, my sisters, my nephew. I miss seeing my nephew on the weekends or sometimes picking him up after school.
I've been having really bad days of depression and I don't know how to handle it here. At home it was different cause I was getting some help from the school but here, I haven't actually called the counseling place yet. It just seems a little weird for me to do while I'm here but I know I need to. Yesterday, after the chocolate festival, we all walked around and went into some clothing and shoe stores. I was so uncomfortable because I kind of knew what my size was in Italy and it's MUCH BIGGER than the girls here. The same thing happens to me at home when I go shopping with almost anyone except like Ra and that's really it. I'll need to just take a day by myself and just go get some stuff. I want to bring back at least one nice outfit from here. I'm not saying I'm going into designer stores and buying stuff. I'm sticking with more local shops and such to find things. Although I did go into the La Perla store. Holy shit that place is expensive. Some of the stuff there was nice but I can find the same things for WAY cheaper and probably nicer too. I just I'm not really a fashion person except that I really like retro/pin-up clothing.
A presto!
This weekend was the handmade chocolate festival! It was amazing! There were so many vendors and so many things to sample. They were all different kinds of hot chocolate (white, dark, and a variety of milk chocolate), tons of candied chocolate covered fruits, chocolate animals and a variety of objects, and just tons and tons of solid chocolate bars. It was an amazing experience to be there. I didn't buy anything but it is going on next weekend and then that's it. Maybe I'll buy some stuff to take home and freeze it. Maybe though. It might not make it back to the apartment ha ha!
Spring break is looking interesting. Since I was the only one not going to the Prague castle tour, the current prince takes you on a tour of his castle, everyone else also decided not to do it to. My dad knows someone who lives there and speaks english that can give us a tour of the city. I think that's really awesome because I don't know or speak the language and it's a completely new country that I haven't been adapted to. I kind of feel like I'm deviating from the group a little bit. They all seem to live by this guy Rick Steves who apparently is this travel writer. I thought the point was to creat your own adventure not follow someone else. Alyssum and Cullen have already planned out the rest of their weekend's here. I'm totally not that kind of person. I wing it. If I want to go somewhere, I'll hop on a train and go or plan out at least the times for the train and just go. We'll see what happens.
So the other day, I was looking at flights for Bobo to come out here for his spring break. I found flights that were about the same as my flight out here (just around $870 for a round trip ticket). The only thing about the flight home was that he needed to stay overnight in Paris but he would still be back in time for classes to start again. It made me really sad because I know it will never happen and I think he might be getting an electric drum kit. He told me to talk to him parents about it but I wont. Well I can't anyway because I don't have their numbers anymore because I had to replace my SIM card and I lost all my numbers. Yes, I can just ask him for his parents numbers but I wont. Not until I come home at least so I'm not tempted to call and ask and see if there is a possibility. I just made me really sad. I miss him a lot. I miss being with him. I miss my family a lot too. I miss my parents, my sisters, my nephew. I miss seeing my nephew on the weekends or sometimes picking him up after school.
I've been having really bad days of depression and I don't know how to handle it here. At home it was different cause I was getting some help from the school but here, I haven't actually called the counseling place yet. It just seems a little weird for me to do while I'm here but I know I need to. Yesterday, after the chocolate festival, we all walked around and went into some clothing and shoe stores. I was so uncomfortable because I kind of knew what my size was in Italy and it's MUCH BIGGER than the girls here. The same thing happens to me at home when I go shopping with almost anyone except like Ra and that's really it. I'll need to just take a day by myself and just go get some stuff. I want to bring back at least one nice outfit from here. I'm not saying I'm going into designer stores and buying stuff. I'm sticking with more local shops and such to find things. Although I did go into the La Perla store. Holy shit that place is expensive. Some of the stuff there was nice but I can find the same things for WAY cheaper and probably nicer too. I just I'm not really a fashion person except that I really like retro/pin-up clothing.
A presto!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
3 Weeks In
It's been about 3 weeks since I've been living in Firenze. It's been really nice.....except for this crappy cold snap Europe has been having! It's been snowing, bellow freezing, and terrible winds. None of us left the apartment yesterday because it was just WAY to damn cold. It's actually the coldest it's been in like 30 years. I thought I was going to avoid all the snow and cold.
I almost freaked the fuck out on SUNY Oswego. They online service that they use almost everything for wasn't letting me apply for December 2012 graduation and apparently it was the last day to do it online. I called them and they did it for me manually. Even in another country, they still try and screw me. I've decided I'm getting a single next semester. I deserve it and I will make it happen. I just have to pay my housing deposit next week and then the housing selection starts. I swear if I have to make a trip to Oswego when I get back, someone is going to die! I might go back up to see some of my friends graduate but that's the only reason I will be making a trip back up there after Italy and then again when I have to go back in the fall.
Friday I went to Siena and San Gimignano. Both places were covered in snow and ice and both cities were completely hilly. Not exactly the best way to try and walk around a new city. Siena was gorgeous even covered in snow and ice. It was nice to be in more of a country side area than a city and much smaller than Firenze. We had a walking tour of Siena and then had some free time to explore on our own. It was way to cold to do any real exploring but we did explore some of the shops in the center of Siena where we ended the tour. San Gimignano on the other had is an extremely small village, you can walk it in 5 to 10 minutes, but so beautiful and also completely full of hills. It's nicknamed the city of beautiful towers which is true. There used to be 17 towers but now there are only 14 and I believe it has the tallest tower in Italy. The view from the top of one of the towers was so amazing! You could pretty much see the whole country side. I would love to go back there when the weather is much warmer and you could actually see all the vineyards and stuff. I saw some really nice looking olive trees too! Cullen, my one housemates boyfriend, thought olives grew on vines not trees. Friday was a nice all day outing.
Yesterday, it was so cold and windy and just miserable out that none of use left the apartment unless we needed to go to the little market that's right by the apartment. It was just miserable out and just way to cold to even try and walking into the center of the city. We also started a cooking cycle in the apartment. We all take turns making dinner one day of the week to save money and also it just makes a hell of a lot more sense to do that since we all live in the same apartment. We had fish tacos last night and it was really good! Dominique made her own salsa cause well you can't find it here. Almost everything we've made has been some kind of Italian version of something we've tried to make. I've made risotto twice and I'm totally getting better at it. I need a bigger pan though to make it better. Our cooking system seems to work pretty well and we'll probably keep it going. Oh and out heat and hot water turned off last night. We had to call the CAPA emergency number and they had to call our landlord to come downstairs and fix it. I think all he did was restart the hot water maker but I don't really know. At least we know we can knock on their door if we need anything now.
I still have to figure out what I'm going to do for spring break here. We were all going to go to Greece but then it changed just because Greece is in a lot more financial crisis than Italy and getting there seemed to be a bit of a hassle. Instead, they're going to be doing like a European tour kind of thing. You pick 5 countries to visit and you get this train pass to use within like 2 months or something. I'm not quite clear on how it works but I really don't have the money for it. It's $1,000 to do that trip and that's something I can't afford and I know my parents can't really afford that either so I'm going to try and stay in Italy. Maybe I'll spend a week in Venice or try and get down to Sicily. I don't know just yet. I have to really think about it. I never really did anything for spring break at home so it's a little weird for me to try and plan one now. We'll see what happens.
I plan on going to Venice and Viareggio for Carnivale because it's going on all month long and I think up until Easter. I'm excited for it! I might go next weekend but we'll see. Classes are good. They're starting to pick up a little bit. I still don't feel like I can say anything in Italian except for what my name is and how old I am. I really am better at understanding another language than speaking it which really sucks if you think about it. I'm nervous for the oral part of the final we're going to have to do. I might say something in class about practicing more with actually speaking the language cause I really feel lost sometimes in that class.
I still miss home a lot. I miss my boyfriend a lot too. I email him pretty much everyday because there's no privacy so talking to him on the phone or through skype I can't always say what I want to so I email him and that seems to be working out. I get my little piece of home by talking to my family and I can stream WRRV and WPDH here in Italy so I can get my radio stations at least. It's just hard being here and hearing about stuff that's going on at home and not being able to be there. I almost considered trying to get home for spring break but that would make things so much worse when I have to come back to Firenze again. I wish there was a way for them to come out and visit me but it's so expensive to get out here. It just get really hard sometimes. I haven't even talked to CAPA about seeeing someone to talk to while I'm here. Apparently the only way to do that is to see an outside therapist and I don't know if the insurance I have from SUNY Oswego covers that and I don't know if my parents insurance will cover it either. I'll have to actually talk to someone tomorrow and see what can be done. I kind of feel ashamed to ask but it's something I feel that is good to have just in case.
Other than all that, it's been really amazing being here and living here. I hope someday I can come back here with my family and boyfriend.
I almost freaked the fuck out on SUNY Oswego. They online service that they use almost everything for wasn't letting me apply for December 2012 graduation and apparently it was the last day to do it online. I called them and they did it for me manually. Even in another country, they still try and screw me. I've decided I'm getting a single next semester. I deserve it and I will make it happen. I just have to pay my housing deposit next week and then the housing selection starts. I swear if I have to make a trip to Oswego when I get back, someone is going to die! I might go back up to see some of my friends graduate but that's the only reason I will be making a trip back up there after Italy and then again when I have to go back in the fall.
Friday I went to Siena and San Gimignano. Both places were covered in snow and ice and both cities were completely hilly. Not exactly the best way to try and walk around a new city. Siena was gorgeous even covered in snow and ice. It was nice to be in more of a country side area than a city and much smaller than Firenze. We had a walking tour of Siena and then had some free time to explore on our own. It was way to cold to do any real exploring but we did explore some of the shops in the center of Siena where we ended the tour. San Gimignano on the other had is an extremely small village, you can walk it in 5 to 10 minutes, but so beautiful and also completely full of hills. It's nicknamed the city of beautiful towers which is true. There used to be 17 towers but now there are only 14 and I believe it has the tallest tower in Italy. The view from the top of one of the towers was so amazing! You could pretty much see the whole country side. I would love to go back there when the weather is much warmer and you could actually see all the vineyards and stuff. I saw some really nice looking olive trees too! Cullen, my one housemates boyfriend, thought olives grew on vines not trees. Friday was a nice all day outing.
Yesterday, it was so cold and windy and just miserable out that none of use left the apartment unless we needed to go to the little market that's right by the apartment. It was just miserable out and just way to cold to even try and walking into the center of the city. We also started a cooking cycle in the apartment. We all take turns making dinner one day of the week to save money and also it just makes a hell of a lot more sense to do that since we all live in the same apartment. We had fish tacos last night and it was really good! Dominique made her own salsa cause well you can't find it here. Almost everything we've made has been some kind of Italian version of something we've tried to make. I've made risotto twice and I'm totally getting better at it. I need a bigger pan though to make it better. Our cooking system seems to work pretty well and we'll probably keep it going. Oh and out heat and hot water turned off last night. We had to call the CAPA emergency number and they had to call our landlord to come downstairs and fix it. I think all he did was restart the hot water maker but I don't really know. At least we know we can knock on their door if we need anything now.
I still have to figure out what I'm going to do for spring break here. We were all going to go to Greece but then it changed just because Greece is in a lot more financial crisis than Italy and getting there seemed to be a bit of a hassle. Instead, they're going to be doing like a European tour kind of thing. You pick 5 countries to visit and you get this train pass to use within like 2 months or something. I'm not quite clear on how it works but I really don't have the money for it. It's $1,000 to do that trip and that's something I can't afford and I know my parents can't really afford that either so I'm going to try and stay in Italy. Maybe I'll spend a week in Venice or try and get down to Sicily. I don't know just yet. I have to really think about it. I never really did anything for spring break at home so it's a little weird for me to try and plan one now. We'll see what happens.
I plan on going to Venice and Viareggio for Carnivale because it's going on all month long and I think up until Easter. I'm excited for it! I might go next weekend but we'll see. Classes are good. They're starting to pick up a little bit. I still don't feel like I can say anything in Italian except for what my name is and how old I am. I really am better at understanding another language than speaking it which really sucks if you think about it. I'm nervous for the oral part of the final we're going to have to do. I might say something in class about practicing more with actually speaking the language cause I really feel lost sometimes in that class.
I still miss home a lot. I miss my boyfriend a lot too. I email him pretty much everyday because there's no privacy so talking to him on the phone or through skype I can't always say what I want to so I email him and that seems to be working out. I get my little piece of home by talking to my family and I can stream WRRV and WPDH here in Italy so I can get my radio stations at least. It's just hard being here and hearing about stuff that's going on at home and not being able to be there. I almost considered trying to get home for spring break but that would make things so much worse when I have to come back to Firenze again. I wish there was a way for them to come out and visit me but it's so expensive to get out here. It just get really hard sometimes. I haven't even talked to CAPA about seeeing someone to talk to while I'm here. Apparently the only way to do that is to see an outside therapist and I don't know if the insurance I have from SUNY Oswego covers that and I don't know if my parents insurance will cover it either. I'll have to actually talk to someone tomorrow and see what can be done. I kind of feel ashamed to ask but it's something I feel that is good to have just in case.
Other than all that, it's been really amazing being here and living here. I hope someday I can come back here with my family and boyfriend.
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