Gennaio 13, 2010

Today I was our last day of orientation and first day to meet our teachers. As I mentioned before I live only a block from school. For some reason our alarm never went off so we woke up at 10am, the time we were supposed to be at school, whoops! Luckily I had my outfit laid out the night before. I rushed over to school by 10:15 only to remember that Italians are always fashionably late and class didn't start for another 5 minutes. I think I can get used to this. We talked about all of the various events the office has planned for us and how to buy tickets for an Italian soccer game (!!!). Then afterward our teachers came in and gave course presentations. The professors seemed extremely intelligent and I feel like they have lots and lots to offer us. I am excited to start classes besides the having to attend part. And today I hate my first vending machine coffee, which is by far better than any coffee that I've had in the US. Later on we walked around our area of town and found a lot of quaint bakeries and shops. We went into a shoe store where everything was only 15 euro. I only restrained myself with the constant reminder of “don't worry this shop isn't going anywhere”. We then stopped in a little paneteria and bought biscotti and a liter box of white wine. Perfecto! It's been a calm night and I plan on getting some sleep so tomorrow I can go grocery shopping for the first time. I am excited to see how different it is from an American grocery store. And tomorrow I'm trying out Intermediate Italian to see if I can take on the challenge. And btw wine in a box is even good in Italy :)

Here's my bucket list for my time here in Italy:

Visit an open air market at eat fresh fruit

Cook an authentic Italian meal

Buy a beautiful Italian leather bag (and maybe boots)

Go to Milan Fashion Week

Eat procuitto and cheese in Parma

Ride a gondola in Venice

Go to a Juventus & AC Milan Game

Go to a Serie A Championship game

Eat a nutella crepe

Have a shot of Limoncello

Visit Alba and drink lots of wine from Piemonte

Walk along the River Po

Go to Paris, Barcelona, and Prague

Take a zillion pictures

Sit in a cafe and have conversations with Italians

Speak Italian fairly fluently

Transform my style into something sophisticated

Dress nice everyday

Get asked directions from an Italian

Find a perfect souvenir for each special person in my life

Go to a discoteca and dance the night away

Read a book in a piazza

Visit Connie in Rome, Lauren in Florence, Naomi in Barcelona and Leigh in Marseille.

Meet George Clooney at a bar on Lake Como

Buy unique pieces of jewelry from the open air markets or the piazzas

Go to the Alps

Go to the Opera in Torino

Buy something Hello Kitty

Go to the Almalfi Coast and get a tan

Only speak Italian for 1 day start to finish

Eat authentic Torino hazelnut chocolate

Visit Lavazza coffee plant

Shop on Via Garibaldi

Visit Sephora Italia

Make friends with our Italian neighbors

Eat a picnic in the park across from school

Throw an orange at the Carnival di Ivrea

Go to Venice during Carnival

Buy a piece of beautifully made clothing

Subtly stand out with impeccable style and HAVE FUN!