Give Me Your Skis...

Wow has it been an interesting weekend! Thursday night about 8 of us went to a Mexican restaurant called Mexi which was about a 10-15 minute cab ride. It was completely worth it since we got great margs and pina coladas and were able to eat something that wasn't Italian food! I ended up getting a quesadilla which was just what I was craving. Even though it was Thursday we were all tired so most of us just went back home after that to sleep. We're lame, I know haha. Friday we had class and then a few of us ventured to the ski shop to get all geared up for Saturdays adventure. Since we had to be up at 7 the next day we all just hung out and planned trips and such (which is getting easier!)

Saturday was quite the adventure. We all met at school at 8 am to get on the bus to go to the Alps for skiing. It wasn't quite the Alps, it was like the outskirts of the Alps but we're just gonna say the Alps anyway :-). Now let me just start from the beginning with my outfit. I wore tights, leggings, little boys running spandex, and my only pair of sweatpants on the bottom along with mens thick ski socks. On the top I had on just a tshirt, hoodie, and coat so not that bad. We get there after being scared shitless of falling off the road and tumbling down into the mountain below. After getting our ski boots and skis we get sent to our groups, neon orange for those who have skied before and neon yellow for those who have not. I was neon yellow. The first time up the bunny hill and right when I got off the lift I fell into the instructors arms and made him hold onto me for at least 5 minutes because I was so frightened. After about 5 or so falls I finally made it down and decided to try again. This time I didn't fall at all so I was thinking I was getting the hang of it. We took a break for lunch (pasta and patatas fritas) and went back out on the slopes. I went down the bunny hill a few more times and thought that it was pretty easy and that I could do something maybe a little more advanced. I found Kaitlin (also in the awful group) and we ran away from our instructors because they didn't want us leaving the bunny hill. There was probably a reason for this. We meet up with a few other girls who have skied before and Paula their instructor. She agrees to let us go and try a slope. When we get to the top of the mountain I realize that I am completely fucked and that I shouldn't have done this but now I am stuck and have to. I made it about 5 feet before wiping out. Joanna helped me down part of the mountain and I was actually getting the hang of it until I had my last fall and gave up. So I took my skis off and thought, hey, it's not that far down to walk. WRONG. Kaitlin was in front of me walking too so at least we were in it together. Paula rushes over to me and says "Give me your skis now and hurry down the mountain. Bus is coming." She then skis away with my skis and meets up with the rest of the group. While down there she looks at everybody and says "Are you ready?" then looks at Kaitlin and says "This will be dangerous for you." So Kaitlin had to take off her skis too and walk down. Some random man ended up grabbing Kaitlin's skis for her and it took forever to get down. So I pretty much walked down a mountain in the Alps. Awesome. Oh and there were 8 year olds going down the hill I went down without falling and weaving in and out and being great. I was so jealous. When I finally got down I went to take off my ski boots and my sweatpants--only pair--had frozen to them. I had to rip my pants to get them off. Liz is sending more haha.

After the bus ride home we went out for Leahs birthday. We had a typical bottle of wine per person pregame and then decided to try out a new bar. It was called City Bar (formerly Fuse) and we were not welcome at all. Everyone in the bar just completely stared at all the Americans walking in. People know us in Verona as "The 37" haha. After realizing that we needed to leave, we chugged our drinks and ventured all the way to Campus. Campus was fun like always, and after a few of us decided to go to another bar that was open until 4 am. When we got there it was pretty calm and chill, and Mia and I were expecting a rage so we left with Joanna and Amelia. This was only after Joanna decided to get the free snacks that you usually get with a drink and have the waiter stare her down. So we ran out and got kebobs instead. The kebob place was closed but they let us come in and order anyway, even though we had to wait outside for the actual kebob?

Sunday was really nice because we were able to sleep in! Mia ended up sleeping until 3 pm! The roomies and I just hung out and studied for a little, and then started watching Dexter from the beginning. It seems to be a fad on our trip! Monday began the 3rd week of classes, and we have our test next Friday! Ahhh! Last night was really fun, a few of us went out to happy hour by one of the girls apartments. All you do at this bar is buy one drink and you get so much snack food haha. And the woman who owns the bar really likes Meg and Lily since they go there all the time and apparently makes them sandwiches and stuff too. After that bar we went to KB which was a German bar for some beer and pretzels. Oh and shots. So much for a chill night. It was really funny because the two women working there were playing music into the speakers from a computer on you tube. They let us request songs so we had a blast!

Tonight I need to get some studying done, that is after I make some dinner. I'm thinking pasta with chicken and cheese, and maybe some bruschetta. A bunch of us are going to Florence this weekend! Yay!

CHUG CHUG CHUG SMASH!

I can't believe it's been a week since I've written in here! I feel like I have so much that I need to talk about and so much that I've done so I'm sure that this will be a long one! Be prepared!

Thursday night we went to Maggie's apartment to pregame, and then out to Campus for Erasmus night. It was so crowded! Campus was fun like always, we ended up meeting more people and just hanging out with everyone and making new friends. On the way home Mia stole two Hoegaarden mugs (they are half liter mugs) and put them under her shirt. We have quite a collection of cups forming.

Class was a little rough on Friday, but not as bad as it was Thursday. At least our whole class (and the other Italian 101 class) all are hungover together. It makes it interesting and the teacher actually slows things down for us and teaches us easier things when we're all feeling a little rough. After class Friday we walked around for a little and went to the hippo to eat. I really want to be done eating there, our group feels too comfortable there. Then it was time to go home and take a long, much needed nap. I really didn't want to wake up but we had Courtney's "surprise" party to attend! Courtney, Erin, and Kaitlin all live together, and they live with this hispanic/asian woman named Betty (pronounced Bet-TEA) who doesn't speak much English so it's really hard for them to communicate. They always have great Betty stories. Anyway, Betty wanted to throw a surprise party for Courtney's Birthday which was on Sunday, so she let everyone come over. We all just had a chill night over there, drank some wine, and played some catch phrase. There's a rule in Italy where you can't be having a party past midnight (it's an anti-terrorism law) so we left around midnight which was ok because we had a Claudio trip in the morning!

Saturday morning the bus picked us up from the apartment. Claudio's wife (Rita) and son (Pedro) were on the trip too, so there was nowhere for me to sit besides this fold down seat that was pretty much right next to the bus driver and about 6 inches away from the windshield. That was a great wake up call. We went to Mantova and waited in a little coffee shop for a while before taking the tour. Some of us decided to get cioccolata caldo (hot chocolate), but wanted a little something extra. So Claudio spiked me, Lo, and Kalyns with some rum and cold milk so we could chug it. Thank you for encouraging us Claudio. We took a tour of the Palazzo Te which was a palace that was built by the Gonzaga family. It was really interesting going through the palace because there was an amazing love story that went along with it. Well actually it was kind of tragic but still interesting! After that we went to lunch. We had two kinds of pasta, salad, cheese, bread, grilled vegetables, and some almond cookies. When lunch was done we went to Palazzo Ducale which was also built and owned by the Gonzaga family. It was huge and beautiful! We had to pretend we were British students though because Americans had to pay and Claudio wasn't having any of that. We were all exhausted after all of these tours but we still had the factory outlet to go to. I ended up getting a shirt (of course, it's black) for 10 euro. None of us were really in the shopping mood that day. When we got back to Verona everyone just went home and relaxed because Sunday we had to be up early again!

Sunday Claudio picked us up from the apartment, and luckily I had a seat on this bus this time! We went to Bevilacqua and had a day filled with medieval activities. First we took a tour of the castle in the town, and then split into two groups. We first learned gothic writing, which I'm not too bad at. The next part though was awful. We did archery. I am TERRIBLE!!! It was really fun though, but I only hit the target once. Oh well, I can say I've done it now! We had lunch upstairs and it was amazing. They have weddings at this castle (Claudio got married here) so it was absolutely beautiful. The meal was the best we have had so far! For antipasto we had prosciutto crudo, and this quiche like thing with egg, potatoes, and cheese. The second plate had beef and potatoes, and the desert was a mini molten lava cake. After dinner a few of us got cioccalate caldo again. It was so thick, kind of like watered down pudding. I am in love with it and really want to find a way to make it! Our table also got cut off of wine haha. We went to Soave afterwards which had a huge open air market. Kalyn made some drunk purchases (.50 euro cent books) and we went to a cafe with Claudio where he got us hot wine. It was amazing. Claudio knew the people that owned the cafe. He knows everybody! When we got home we went to the hippo for a quick meal for Courtney's birthday, and we wanted to go out for a little but everyone was tired so we went home.

Monday began our second week of classes. Class is going a lot better! Out teacher is amazing, especially for putting up with about 12 Americans that are bad at Italian! Monday night a bunch of us went to Lo and Kalyns to start planning trips. Can you say stressful?! Things just keep changing around and there are so many of us so it makes it a little harder. But we're slowly getting there! Tuesday after school and tutoring we tried the same thing but at Katies apartment. Mia and I ended up leaving and Mia, Maura, and I just sat at the kitchen table and bonded over bottles of wine. We think Niko and Martha think we're alcoholics because we literally come home almost every day or every other day with a new bottle of wine, and when we go pregame we all bring our own. We did go to a supermarket that night which was really cheap and amazing! They had so much good food so I bought quite a bit. Oh and I fell in love with Nutella, finally. Yesterday we actually made some solid plans! We booked our hostel for Florence next weekend, and we also booked our entire trip to Prague for Valentines weekend. I want to get Vienna out of the way soon too, since the plane tickets are going up. We also have to get a hostel for a night for Carnival, but that's easy so after that we will already have 4 trips planned!

Last night we decided that we all needed a break from planning and since we hadn't been out in a while we decided that it was the right time to try a new bar. Mia, Maura, and I made dinner first, which was bruschetta for an appetizer, and then I made spinach pasta with a meat sauce. Absolutely amazing. We are all becoming great chefs! We pregamed at Maggie's again, and then went to Camelot. It is a medieval Irish pub. It was really fun and even though it was smaller it was cool to be hanging out with our group. Let's just say that Lo wins the award for being the drunkest. Joanna ended up giving me a huge wine glass she took from there, so I added another glass to my collection. When we got home I devoured pringles and passed out. Class this morning was pretty good, actually we didn't even really do anything. Gaia just let us ask her questions and so that was a nice break. After class the roomies and I went to this little store to buy wine (surprise surprise) and then to a bread shop where I got this amazing pastry. Well I haven't had it yet, but it looks amazing.

Tonight we're going to a mexican restaurant and then out for the evening! I am absolutely loving it here and can't believe I've already been here for two weeks. It is going by fast already!

Is he gay? No I like girls.

The first week of classes is almost over! And by classes I mean 3 hours of Italian a day followed by 2 hours of tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday. All of this while running on about 4-5 hours of sleep a night.

Lunedi was the first day of Italian class. Everyone in 101 was in the same room the first day, and this led to quite the packed space. Our teacher on Monday was Enriqa, and she refused to speak any English to us. We've actually learned a lot in the past 4 days and it's really helpful that the teachers don't speak in English. We go to school in Idea Verona, which is connected to Don Bosco which is one of the high schools here. Class lasted for 3 1/2 hours, with a half hour break in between. After class Lauren, Kalyn, Alex and I went to the hippo (our new favorite spot) to get some lunch. Matt also met us there by coincidence. He went there by himself and the hostess just brought him right up to us! After having a veggie sandwich Kalyn and I had to go to the postoffice to declare that we were living in the city. This took forever because they went by last names and we were the cutoff. The rest of the group waited for us at the hippo while we were there, and about 15 of us went to Vodafone to get our new sim cards and a cheap plan. We ended up being there for 2 1/2 hours! It was awful, but we now can all text each other for free which is great. Of course on the way to the grocery store we had to get some gelato (I had mint) which I had never had before! It was so amazing. Finally, a grocery store! I only got a few things (and of course a 3 euro bottle of wine) to last me for a few days. They go shopping all the time in Italy because their food is so fresh! That night a group of girls went over to an apartment to get to know each other and hang out which was really fun. We all brought over a bottle of wine to drink and got pretty wasted playing never have I ever. On the walk home (at 3 am) Kalyn, Lauren, Mia, Maura and I stopped at this huge gate to climb it and take pictures with it. Mia and Maura still hadn't finished their bottles so we drank those there too. When we finally got home I passed out!

Martedi the Italian 101 class got split into two classrooms. After learning some more great words and phrases, Mia, Maura and I went to the bank to take out money and then to a little cafe to grab a sandwich before heading back to Idea Verona for tutoring. I was so stressed after tutoring because I felt like I couldn't say anything! Afterwards we stayed at the school until 6 using the internet, and then I went back to Lauren and Kaylns apartment to see it. We wanted to watch a movie before eating dinner with their roommates so we turned on Mama Mia and all ended up falling asleep. I walked home from their apartment around 9:30 and found out that it's only a 10 minute or so walk which is really nice! I finally got to unpack after that and I found my iPhone (which I thought I lost. Huge fiasco. Bruce had to turn it off for me and everything)! I went to bed a little earlier than usual which was nice because I felt a lot more rested for class in the morning.

Mercoledi class was the same, and after we decided to buy a ticket to have lunch at the school. For 4 euro we got a lunch of pasta with ragu, spinach (which I decided not to try) a yogurt, and fruit. A deal if I say so myself! Maura had to go to the postoffice after that, so I went to PAM and then walked back to the apartment by myself. Around 5:30 I went to Kalyn and Laurens so we could walk together to cooking class. We signed up for cooking class and got split into smaller groups because it is at a woman named Francescas house. Our group was Kalyn, Lauren, Lily, Megan, Alyse and I. Francesca would make the food in front of us and then we were able to watch her cook it and then we ate! We made spaghetti first. Francesca cut up tomatoes and added olio (olive oil), l'agilo (garlic), parsley, and peppers. This was the spaghetti sauce. After that we made chicken which was cut into small pieces and then cooked with olio, zenzero (ginger), walnuts, rosemary, olives, a little bit of honey, and raisins. We also made a cipola (onions) and pepper mix which was amazing! Oh and we had this pizza dough that was made into this puff bread things (we learn pizza next time, and the dough). SO GOOD! After hanging out there for a while we walked to Leah and Brittas apartment for a pregame. There were so many of us! We finally got to Campus around 11:30 for what we thought were going to be these amazing 50 euro cent shots. Turns out they set up a card table in the back corner which was packed and then gave these mini shots of random alcohol. But we knocked back about 4 each anyway. Lauren and I walked up to the bar and all of a sudden these guys handed me an empty glass for beer and Lauren got one too. We made friends with them and sat and hung out (and drank) for the rest of the night. They were out celebrating a birthday and they spoke Spanish so we were able to bust out our Spanish speaking skills which was nice for a change. We even taught them how we do "social!!" before we drink. After a lovely 40 minute walk home once the bar closed I decided to make this tiny frozen pizza that I bought. Both Maura and I made drunk food and then when I went to bed Maura left the oven on all night! We are so lucky this place didn't burn down. It was however nice and warm in the apartment when we woke up!

After a lovely 4 hours of sleep Italian class was calling. Being up and having to actually participate and attend (sorry Mom and Dad--sometimes I don't go to class at home) class is a new change. The teacher called on me and asked what time I went to bed. I responded with quattro (4) and she was very confused. Oh her name is Gaia. But anyway Gaia asked if I meant 16:00 and I said si at first because then I was confused. But then I finally figured it out and she was shocked haha. The two other girls that went after me said 3:30 and anch'io (the same) so she asked if we had been to a discoteca. We yelled no, Campus! Apparently the other teacher had to wake Lauren up (by petting her, you know totally normal) and then also found out that we went out. Our teachers love us. After class Lauren, Kalyn, Courtney, Mia, Maura, and I went to a pizza place. I got a gorgonzola pizza which was extremely good! Then off to tutoring we went. It went a lot better today because our teacher for tutoring (Enriqa) spoke un po d'ingles (a little bit of English) to us and just reviewed what we learned in class.

Now it's time to make some dinner (I'm thinking poached eggs?) and then get ready to go out! We're pregaming and then going to Campus for Erasmus night, which is international students night. Oh Campus, you are becoming my Kams!! Love it!

Oh one more thing...we're starting to plan our trips!! This weekend we have a planned trip with Claudio to Mantova, Soave, and Montagnana. It's also one of our friends Birthdays so we'll be celebrating that. But anyway, the weekend after we are going skiing in the Alps for a day, then I have a free weekend (but I really want to fill it with something great). After that we are going to Milan for a Friday and Saturday because we have a Claudio trip on Sunday, and then the weekend right after my birthday we are going to Venice for Carnival!!! And I already know that we are going to Greece for a little during Easter break for Kalyns birthday. I can't wait to travel everywhere!

30 Glasses of Wine Down...

I've survived my first weekend in Italy! It is completely beautiful here too; I can't believe where I'm living! The flight wasn't bad at all, we did however lose some of our baggage, or in my case all of the bags. I ended up only having my carry on for the next night and day but it worked out in the end.

Friday night when we arrived and had to deal with the baggage we got to our apartment. Our fourth roommate Martha was already there. Marta is the owner of the buildings sons girlfriend. She's also Polish. We just found out that the awesome room that she took with the great balcony was really supposed to be a living room. Bitch. Niko (the owners son) drove us to dinner the first night to meet up with our group. We went to dinner at Casa e Vino. Our table scarfed down so much food and apparently we drank the most wine out of everybody, which was about 7 bottles. After an amazing dinner we went to Oktoberfest Stube. I didn't realize how loud Americans really are until we all walked in! Claudio bought us some brews, and then Kalyn, Lauren and I found some nice Albanian boys to buy us shots. I ended up stumbling home with my roommates Maura and Mia, and we couldn't figure out our door! We felt so bad because Martha had to wake up at 3 am to get the door open for all of us.

Saturday morning we had to be at breakfast at 9:30 am at a place called Ippopotamo. After breakfast we had a walking tour of the city which would have been amazing if it wasn't freezing and raining outside. One of the boys on the trip lost his luggage too and only had basketball shorts and his winter coat to wear. He was getting a lot of random looks. Claudio took us around to all the the different places in the city and then took us to lunch at Osteria Dogana Vecia. We drank more wine and had another 4+ course meal. It's crazy here because they drink wine all the time with every meal and eating isn't quick. We have spent so much time eating! Meals have been lasting at least 1 1/2 hours or so. After lunch Claudio made a scavenger hunt for us to do. A few of us gave up on that however. When we got back to the apartment mine and Mias luggage had arrived so we went and picked it up. By that time it was dinner so we walked to San Matteo for some amazing pizza. The restaurant is actually in a church which was beautiful. The whole group headed over to Campus (pronounced Campoos) after dinner with Claudio. After drinking wine at dinner I thought it was a great idea to drink a rum and diet with 3/4 rum, do a blowjob shot, have a half liter of beer called Hoegarden, and then have another drink of vodka limon. The boys from the night before who were buying us shots were at the bar too so we hung out with them for a while. Then I started talking to a boy named Luca. He was extremely tall and didn't know much English but was trying to communicate. Him and his friend Leonardo walked my roommates and I part of the way home. On the way home we almost got attacked by a French man who looked like Johnny Depp but was on heroine. Luca and I were trying to discuss if the heroine Johnny Depp was "drunk" or on "drugs" which was hilarious because he couldn't understand the difference and my explanations at this point in the night were awful. After our escape from near death (haha he didn't almost kill us, we just don't understand French so we were scared) we finally made it home (it took us almost an hour to walk home which I don't think it should have), couldn't open the door again and had to wake Martha up. She probably hates us.

This morning we had to be at school at 9:30 for orientation and such. The classes I'm going to be taking are painting, photography, and opera (Yes Jess I am you). After a few hours of orientation, Claudio took us out for the last organized activity of the weekend which was lunch at Il Cenacolo. We had a huge lunch of about 6 courses and of course wine. Claudio drinks so fast too. We stayed at lunch for three hours and then we were left to fend for ourselves. My roommates and I went back to the apartment and then out with Niko. He took us around Verona to the top of this huge hill which is beautiful! I am truly amazed by all the buildings and scenery. We then went for a walk through the city center and met up with one of his friends. We kept walking around and they told us all these random but interesting facts. We then went to a bar that was inside of a church to have some wine, and then to another bar in the city center to have a few more glasses of wine. Niko drove us home after that and now I'm exhausted. I've walked so much and gotten zero sleep on top of having jet lag. And I still have to unpack!!

We start school tomorrow at 9:30 am--Italian!!

About to Leave!

So I'm sitting here about to leave for the airport in about 4 hours! I'm really nervous because it's been snowing a lot so hopefully nothing happens and I'm able to take off safely and on time! I'm a little nervous about everything (especially making friends for some reason) but I'm starting to get a little more excited as the day goes on. Liz and Bruce said goodbye to me yesterday when I flew from St. Louis to Chicago, and Liz was a mess. She kept crying and telling me that she was going to "really miss the texting" so make sure if you're still in the states and have her number to text her from time to time. She would love that. Well I'll write again when I have internet (since I won't for a few days) and I'm in Italy!!!