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Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Still luggage-less...
Unfortunately, after a 3 hour trek to the airport, we were still unable to find my luggage. Apparently AirFrance is having a lot of problems with lost luggage and are currently bussing misplaced bags to Florence, so I should be receiving mine sometime within the next year. Seriously though, the lady said it shouldn't be much longer now, although she did say it would come today, and it's almost 6:30 pm here and still no luggage. If I don't get it soon I think AirFrance is going to reimburse me for at least part of it. It's starting to get pretty frustrating, but I guess the life abroad can't always be glamorous.
On a positive note, I had a really nice afternoon. I needed to buy my book for my language class, so I headed off by myself, and after I bought it I didn't really feel like going back to my apartment. Feeling adventurous, I decided to go for a meander around the city today (I can't really call it a walk because I had no destination...I simply wanted to explore and let my feet take me where they may, thus I meandered.) I walked through the markets, hoping to practice some Italian. Even when the vendors spoke to me in English, I answered them right back in Italian, and I found that when I did that a couple of them actually spoke in Italian. One lady even mistook me for an Italian, which was definitely my proudest moment of the day.
Being as directionally disastrous as I am, I'm happy I was able to wander and then find my way back to my apartment on my own. Luckily for me, Florence is pretty easy to navigate. I was in a very artsy mood, so I took some pictures of what I thought were interesting things. Ask me what they are if you don't know, and I'll explain!
Probably should get off my computer for now...our program director is going to come to our apartment tonight and teach us how to make gnocchi before we go out tonight. Che delicioso!
Vi voglio bene, ciao per addesso!
Love, Caity
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Saluti a tutti!
So I"m using an Italian keyboard in an Internet cafe to type this, and I can"t seem to find the apostrophe key. Thus, I will be using very little contractions and the quotation key in place of an apostrophe. Just wanted to give you an explanation as to why this entry might sound very formal.
Everything is going really well so far! Yesterday we went shopping for awhile (realized I am going to have to budget my money verrrrry carefully...shopping in Italy can be incredibly dangerous!!!) and wandered around the city. It was raining for awhile, but luckily I had my handy-dandy purse umbrella. Che fortuna! (What luck!)
Later that night we went to this nice little pub called Noir during happy hour when appetizers were free. Maybe it"s the 20-year-old in me, but I"m not going to lie...I felt ultra cool legally ordering a drink. (Don"t worry parents and grandparents, it was a Shirley Temple, I swear!) But the appetizers were really good and we filled up on dinner there. We get really hungry here because we are constantly walking around, so it was nice to have a really filling dinner.
This morning I had my first day of class, and I guess I didn"t do as poorly on the placement exam as I thought. I was placed in the intermediate, which is a huge relief! (Yayyy that means I"m gonna get credits when I transfer schools next year!) None of the other girls from my program are in the class with me so I was a little nervous, but I met some really nice kids in class today. They"re from all over the world; Japan, Russia, Denmark, Canada, Spain, U.S...it is going to be really fun getting to know all these people from different countries! And I think we all had at least one thing in common--the fact that we nearly fell out of our seats when our teacher told us we were having an oral exam. But it wasn"t as bad as we thought; we just had to introduce ourselves to the class and talk about where we were from and all that easy stuff. When I said I was from California, a collective "ooooh" reverberated throughout the room. I"m debating whether or not I"m going to tell the truth when they ask me if I surf and live next door to a movie star. Don"t want to lower my coolness factor too soon!
After class we dropped off our laptops at this place where they are going to hook us up with wireless Internet so we do not have to keep trekking to Internet cafes. Then we grabbed these DELICIOUS paninis and some gelato (I thought gelato would not be edible at such cold temperatures, but somehow I managed to power through and eat it. It was delicious.) I know I"m a nerd, but I"m having a blast speaking Italian to all the vendors! Hopefully by the end of the trip my Italian will be good enough that they don"t respond to me in English...
Now we"re just hanging out to the Internet cafe until we pick up our computers in about 15 minutes. After that, it"s off to the airport to track down my luggage...wish me luck!!!
Oh, and Mom and Dad: turns out it is free for me if you call my cell phone. If you dial 10-15-200, then 01139 before my Italian cell phone number, it is a lot cheaper for you. Everyone else, if you ever need to contact me, my Italian cell phone number is 335-714-6057. I get texts for free, so if you ever get the urge I would love messages from people at home :) You don"t have to dial 01139 before texts, though. Just keep the time difference in mind!!! (I am 9 hours ahead of you, so subtract 3 hours from whatever time it is in the U.S., then change the AM or PM accordingly. See Auntie Erin, me not so dumb!)
Okay everyone, vi voglio bene! Ciao per adesso! (Bye for now)
Love, Caity
So I"m using an Italian keyboard in an Internet cafe to type this, and I can"t seem to find the apostrophe key. Thus, I will be using very little contractions and the quotation key in place of an apostrophe. Just wanted to give you an explanation as to why this entry might sound very formal.
Everything is going really well so far! Yesterday we went shopping for awhile (realized I am going to have to budget my money verrrrry carefully...shopping in Italy can be incredibly dangerous!!!) and wandered around the city. It was raining for awhile, but luckily I had my handy-dandy purse umbrella. Che fortuna! (What luck!)
Later that night we went to this nice little pub called Noir during happy hour when appetizers were free. Maybe it"s the 20-year-old in me, but I"m not going to lie...I felt ultra cool legally ordering a drink. (Don"t worry parents and grandparents, it was a Shirley Temple, I swear!) But the appetizers were really good and we filled up on dinner there. We get really hungry here because we are constantly walking around, so it was nice to have a really filling dinner.
This morning I had my first day of class, and I guess I didn"t do as poorly on the placement exam as I thought. I was placed in the intermediate, which is a huge relief! (Yayyy that means I"m gonna get credits when I transfer schools next year!) None of the other girls from my program are in the class with me so I was a little nervous, but I met some really nice kids in class today. They"re from all over the world; Japan, Russia, Denmark, Canada, Spain, U.S...it is going to be really fun getting to know all these people from different countries! And I think we all had at least one thing in common--the fact that we nearly fell out of our seats when our teacher told us we were having an oral exam. But it wasn"t as bad as we thought; we just had to introduce ourselves to the class and talk about where we were from and all that easy stuff. When I said I was from California, a collective "ooooh" reverberated throughout the room. I"m debating whether or not I"m going to tell the truth when they ask me if I surf and live next door to a movie star. Don"t want to lower my coolness factor too soon!
After class we dropped off our laptops at this place where they are going to hook us up with wireless Internet so we do not have to keep trekking to Internet cafes. Then we grabbed these DELICIOUS paninis and some gelato (I thought gelato would not be edible at such cold temperatures, but somehow I managed to power through and eat it. It was delicious.) I know I"m a nerd, but I"m having a blast speaking Italian to all the vendors! Hopefully by the end of the trip my Italian will be good enough that they don"t respond to me in English...
Now we"re just hanging out to the Internet cafe until we pick up our computers in about 15 minutes. After that, it"s off to the airport to track down my luggage...wish me luck!!!
Oh, and Mom and Dad: turns out it is free for me if you call my cell phone. If you dial 10-15-200, then 01139 before my Italian cell phone number, it is a lot cheaper for you. Everyone else, if you ever need to contact me, my Italian cell phone number is 335-714-6057. I get texts for free, so if you ever get the urge I would love messages from people at home :) You don"t have to dial 01139 before texts, though. Just keep the time difference in mind!!! (I am 9 hours ahead of you, so subtract 3 hours from whatever time it is in the U.S., then change the AM or PM accordingly. See Auntie Erin, me not so dumb!)
Okay everyone, vi voglio bene! Ciao per adesso! (Bye for now)
Love, Caity
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Saluti a tutti! So I've been in Florence for a half a week now, and it has definitely been an adventure so far. For those of you who haven't heard, I still haven't received my luggage, so I've reached the point of re-wearing my clothes. Don't worry, I haven't let people get close enough to smell me. :) But if I don't get my luggage today, the Italian program director, Chiara, said she'd take me to the aiport tomorrow to wrangle it from them somehow.
Today we took the placement test for our language course. I took the Intermediate level exam, and it went okay. I couldn't remember how to conjugate some of the different types of verbs, such as the past perfect and subjunctive tenses. But I wrote them a note saying that I know how to conjugate all those verbs, but I just haven't done it in a year so I'm a little rusty. As I was taking the test, I was amazed at how much came back to me. Excuse the cliche, but learning a new language is kind of like riding a bike. It just comes back to you, and it's impossible to forget how to do it completely!
Yesterday we took a walking tour of Florence, which was really great. Florence is so rich in history, and most of the buildings are from the 1200-1300s, which I didn't know. Our tour guide pointed out a bunch of places for us to go, so we're off to explore right now. More updates soon, I promise!
Vi voglio bene e auguri e cent'anni!
Love, Caity
Today we took the placement test for our language course. I took the Intermediate level exam, and it went okay. I couldn't remember how to conjugate some of the different types of verbs, such as the past perfect and subjunctive tenses. But I wrote them a note saying that I know how to conjugate all those verbs, but I just haven't done it in a year so I'm a little rusty. As I was taking the test, I was amazed at how much came back to me. Excuse the cliche, but learning a new language is kind of like riding a bike. It just comes back to you, and it's impossible to forget how to do it completely!
Yesterday we took a walking tour of Florence, which was really great. Florence is so rich in history, and most of the buildings are from the 1200-1300s, which I didn't know. Our tour guide pointed out a bunch of places for us to go, so we're off to explore right now. More updates soon, I promise!
Vi voglio bene e auguri e cent'anni!
Love, Caity
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Saluti a tutti! I am at a very expensive Internet cafe so this blog has to be short and sweet. But I arrived in Florence safe and sound and we are all settled in. Tomorrow or Thursday I should be getting cheaper Internet so I will be able to write all kinds of detailed entries. But for now, I have to keep you on the edge of your seats by promising exciting entries to come. I miss you all and just wanted to let you all know I arrived and I will talk more soon!
Vi voglio bene e auguri e cent anni! (I love you all and blessings for a hundred years!)
Love, Caity
Vi voglio bene e auguri e cent anni! (I love you all and blessings for a hundred years!)
Love, Caity
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