Thursday, January 21, 2010

21 gennaio

I've had a pretty low-key week with getting adjusted to classes and everything. Monday I had Italian class once again and I am struggling but trying really hard to get the hang of it. Elementary would have been too easy so I'll stick with this one and study more. I had my first survey of art class Monday evening which was fun. The teacher is very kooky like a typical art teacher and she seems to be very knowledgeable so far. My friend Kyle made dinner that night which was penne in a very very good homemade marinara sauce. Its fun how people take turns cooking dinner. It's a nice way to get to know everyone.

Tuesday I finally fought the urge to oversleep and I went downtown Torino all by myself. I got on the correct bus (both times!) and I was even asked for directions from 2 different groups of people. I could only help out one person though but I was proud of myself for appearing as a local! I walked around Via Roma which is well know for ritzy shopping. I didn't go in to too many shops but I did do a lot of drooling while window shopping. I found this one bracelet I want to go back for which was silver with bronze charms. Each little charm was a different type of pasta. It was very very cute! Then I went to class and Italian tutoring. I did all of my homework and then ran into some friends in the cafe.

Some girls who live in Midtown invited me ice skating. We went to the ice skating rink where the figure skating competition was for the 2006 Winter Olympics. It was soooo exciting and surreal. I was a little rusty from not ice skating for years at first but I got the hang of it and sped around the rink (jk but it was fun). A ton of people from school went so it was fun to socialize and meet new people from different areas of town. I was exhausted after that so I headed to bed with bruised shins and sore legs.

The next day I had to be at school at 11am to receive my permit of stay from the police. So now I am officially here in Italy legally. After that I did a little more tutoring and then off for my first grocery shopping experience at Pam. It was so much smaller than an American grocery store and had a lot fewer options but also a lot of things I've never had. Everything seemed fresh which was really interesting and clearly not always the cause at home. I bought some proscuitto, breakfast cakes, yogurt and gelato. So far I haven't tasted anything here that I haven't liked. After Italian class I went to the Lingotto with Brianna and Drew. I fell in love with a million pairs of shoes as usually but didn't buy any. I really didn't want to go into Zara here since they have it at home too buy the sales drew me in. I found a very very cute dress for 10 euro so I bought it. After shopping we went home and made tortellini.

Today I slept in. Mainly because I had to wait for the construction workers to go to lunch so that they couldn't see me when I showered. I went to class and reviewed for my big test tomorrow. After class I went to the carteleria to buy notebooks and came home with 2 Hello Kitty notebooks. I don't know the obsession with HK here is all about but I am all about it! Later on we went to a bar for appertivo. Lots of places here in Italy have appertivo. Basically, you pay for a drink (rum and coke please!) and then you sit and eat little appetizers that they have out on the bar. It costs 5 euro on weekdays and since its mostly carbs it fills you up nicely for dinner. I think its a pretty genius idea that might do well in the states. The rest of the night I spent studying Italian in the USAC lounge at school. Learning Italian is nerve racking for sure but sooner or later I'll get the hang of it.

This weekends plans are up in the air for now. I think we're going to explore the sites of Torino and maybe Genoa. I will keep my blog up to date for sure.Let me know if theres anything you're dying to know about! xox

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