Ohhhhhhh Italy

Things I've learned while living in Italy:

1. Have patience.
-This is especially important when you wait for 8 hours to take an exam or when you're freezing because it's cold outside and your heater doesn't work.

2. Accept the unexpected; expect the unexpected, too. Actually, don't have expectations.
-Nothing will ever go as planned, anyways. If it does, then it's a treasured, rare and lucky occurrence.

3. A mass of people is considered a "line."
-Sometimes, though, especially when time is short, it is okay to shove and push to what appears to be the "front." It's okay to flash a mean face when someone bluntly cuts in front of you.

4. Have the correct change.
-If you don't, you will get a mean look even if you honestly don't have that random 17 cents.

5. It's okay to be mean and brutal when needed.
-Especially to boys who don't listen when you tell them to bug off five times in a row, every day.

6. Go along with the flow.
-If your group orders three large servings of french fries, water, and desserts that weren't split evenly and they want to split the check, don't say anything. Just go with the flow and pay the extra 6 euro.

7. Always bring a distraction along.
-This is especially helpful when you end up waiting half a day to get your promesso di soggiorno.

8. Realize that no one ever really knows what they're doing.
-Except that lady in the Stato di Esami Office (or whatever it's called). She's the only one in Urbino who knows what's going on, so go to her first.

9. Time is NOT important.
-Think of the maximum time it would take to do something, then multiply that time by 3 and that's maybe around the time it will get done. Classes start late and lunch breaks last long.

10. Stores close from 1 to 4:30 every day, so don't go out then; Sundays mean dead quietness.
-There are still stores here that are closed for Christmas and won't open back up again until mid-February.

11. Rules don't really matter, except the ones that don't need to be followed.
-Everyone smokes inside, even sometimes directly under the sign that says "smoking forbidden." Speed limits are just an idea.

12. The older women and men are the people who keep Italy going.
-Some of my fondest memories and conversations are with older women who took an interest in me. They're the ones who keep me thinking positively about the treasured Italian culture, and make me see the beauty of it.

13. If you need to print something, then you're out of luck if you don't remember on a weekday morning before 1pm.
-This is especially important if you have a RyanAir flight.

14. Hot showers are magical.
-This is especially true when you're absolutely freezing and don't want to go to bed shivering.

15. Realize that NO WHERE will be quiet.
-Even in libraries it's the librarians who talk the loudest. I woke up late today because my blocc-mates didn't eat loudly this morning.

16. Look both ways before you cross the street, and then do it again before you actually walk.
-This is especially true if no cars are in sight because one soon will be and it will be going very fast. :)

17. Know what you're eating, and make sure to get specifics.
-This is especially true when all you're told is that it's "carne" of some sort.

18. Really, it's okay if you don't chug the wine.
-It's not made to be chugged.

Declarations

I figured I should tell the world know my reasoning.

I have reasons. And they make sense. So here they are.

First of all, I need to just say it out-loud: I am only staying in Italy for one semester. I will only be here for 7 months and not 10 like I originally planned. Why? you ask. Let me tell you; let me explain everything here and help you understand.

Don't get me wrong, I love it here. I am proud of my life that I have created from scratch without the help of parents or someone more knowledgeable. Everything around me is a product of me, and I can say in true honesty that I trust and am more sure of myself because of my time here. I am proud that I have not only gotten by, but succeeded. Italy has shown me more about my strength than anything else ever has, and I respect what I have found. I would love to see what else I can learn about myself, but, in honesty, I'll do that no matter where I am.

I came here as a student. Yes, a student that pays tuition and wants to make something of herself; a student that had the exhilarating opportunity to study abroad in Italy. Yet, I am also more than just a student. If my life was based on only going to classes and only doing homework and staying in one place, then I wouldn't be me anymore. I'm so much more than a student. I'm a daughter. I'm a sister. A friend. A crush.

That's how I like it and want it to be; my life is nearly perfect.

So, then, when I had to decide if I should stay and do another semester of classes in Italy, the answer eventually became clear: it doesn't make sense for me to take classes that I don't need to take, especially when it costs thousands of dollars. Why wait around and go to classes that won't help my future? I didn't see the point. I still don't.

There's my answer. And my reasoning. I'm putting away the "student" label and really figuring things out from a different perspective. It would just feel like a waste of money to me.

Will I regret it? I still don't know. I don't know how I will feel being back in Utah when I knew I could have been in Italy. But on the other hand, I don't know how I would have felt staying in Italy for another semester knowing that I wasn't doing anything beneficial to my future.

I'm going to miss Italy. I'm going to miss my life. I'm happy here.
But it just doesn't make sense.

A work in progress

So. I'm keeping a list of places I've been and what my highlights of each city is :)

Assisi:
Basilica di San Franceso
Knowing that Urbino's market is better than Assisi's

Florence (Firenze):
Michelangelo's "David"
Leonardo da Vinci's "The Annunciation"
Michelangelo's "Primavera" and "Birth of Venus"
The Ponte Vecchio
The Duomo and the view from the top!
The American Diner and Mexican restaurant :)

Venice:
Basilica di San Marco
Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man"

Padova:
Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel
The University of Padova

Verona:
The Roman Arena
The Ancient Roman Bridge

Varenna and Bellagio:
The moutains, lake, and views!!
The nice lady who laughed and talked with me on the train
The pitch-blackness of the train when we went through tunnels

Milan:
Michelangelo's final "Pieta"
Going to the top of the Duomo
The giant mistletoe, spinning on the bull's balls
Seeing inside the Opera house!
The built 3-D Leonardo da Vinci inventions
Using the Metro

Torino:
The Holy Shroud
The Symphony!!
Seeing the 2006 Winter Olympic Games torch

Bologna:
Seeing the city at night!
Lighting/donating a candle for Africa
Buying beautiful Italian boots for 1/2 price

Ravenna:
Masoleum of Galla Placidia mosaics
Basilica di San Vitale mosaics

Urbania:
The nice girls in the tourist office
The mummies and the nice guide who always stopped to ask if I understood what he was saying
The Mother Bufana celebrations!!
The cute little Palazzo Ducale

Stockholm:
The Vasa ship
Seeing Inger's apartment, meeting Magnus, and making pasta
Learning about all the food!!
Learning about all the drinks
Being included in Swedish Christmas traditions
Having a cat to sleep with
Getting to know everyone :)

Prague:

Budapest:

Vienna:
CATHY!!!!!!!

Roma:
Bernini :DDD

Civita' di Bagnoreggio:
Most AMAZING layout and architecture.

Siena:

San Gimignano:

The reason I came here was to find out more about myself, like I did at VVR. So far, I have. I've discovered that I can really be myself 24/7 and no one will think of me differently. I've discovered that I can navigate through town on my own and no one will ask me where I'm going or when I'll be back. I've discovered that my life here, when you get down to it, doesn't carry as many differences from my other life in Utah as I'd imagined. Sure, the part where I'm living in a foreign country is completely new, and the fact that my classes are in Italian is definitely new. But, when I start looking down through the cracks at the details, I can see more similarities than I'd been originally looking for. First of all, I've discovered that people are people no matter where you go--two eyes, two ears, etc. complete with beliefs, accents, sense of style, a way of making other people laugh or understand them. It's the small, individual differences that makes a person different from the one sitting across the table from them, though--the way their eyes scrunch up when they laugh, the way they wiggle their foot when they're comfortable, the way they sigh when they begrudgingly go to and sit through class. We're all the same, more or less, piu' o meno, except for these special characterizations about us. That's what I'm talking about. But, what I'm beginning to understand more and more, is that, even though it is gorgeous and brimming over with culture and love and every good thing I can think of here, it has it's downs just like any other place. It just happens to be Italy, Europe, the Worldy. People, on the outside, are all the same for the most part. So are countries....except for the glorious details that make it "it."

It's time for an official update. First of all, I'm in Italy!! I made it here safely and pretty much in one piece...my mind was scattered and not quite complete. I've been here for, oh, 7 weeks now?? Somewhere around there. And my classes have been going on for 4 weeks this week. One of my most favorite things to do is go running here because it gives me a chance to stare at the city sights for as long and as fully as I'd like. I also love going to other cities and seeing what it's like...to find the charms and non-charms of a spot. Like Assisi, for instance. RUDE! and Perugia--sweet. :) I also like sitting outside, slowly drink a cappuccino, and watch all the people walk by. SO FUN. Basically, my days are filled with figuring out the next place to sit and do nothing. We don't do much here...except live the Italian culture. I've already learned so much about myself and this country. I've already discovered so many things that I didn't know before. I've already had so many good adventures and lessons taught. How can it get better? Well, for one, visiting Florence would make it better. And Venice. And Portofino. And Croatia... For two, to have those I love coming and visiting me. It's not that I'm lonely here, because I'm not, it's just that I wouldn't mind seeing an old familiar face every now and again...you know? Someone that knows and loves the Lisa from before my Italian adventures; someone that I can talk about old adventures with and share all my new adventures and discoveries with. Luckily, I have that to look forward to. I have SO MUCH to look forward to.

Just out of sight

So. Can one get so scared that they can't be scared anymore? Can stress overcome fear? Can fear become excitement? It's all confusing.

I have my VISA. I have my luggage. I have my airplane, train, and bus tickets to Urbino. What's missing?? Well, for one, a way to transfer my money over to Italy. Another? A way to not fry all my electronics from the higher-voltage outlets. What else? Actually fashionable clothes and a sense of style? That'd be nice.... Oh, and a way for my scholarship to actually go towards my TUITION like it's supposed to? "There's no f&^$&# way" says the bitchy lady at the Scholarship Office. Alright then, hard cash it is (who's to complain?).

Mexican food. Yum. Indian food. Double yum. Italian food?....not so much right now. I'll get my share later.

Who will my friends be? What classes will I take? How much will I actually travel? Are there any good running/hiking trails for me to explore upon? Is it safe? So many questions.

:) Good thing I'm a good problem solver.

Summer

A summer list of things to do:

Go to the Rodeo in Ogden
Watch Movies at the Amphitheater
Run 5k's and 10k's
Stay Away from H1N1: check
Go to the Aquarium: check
Eat at Bella Citta: check
PRACTICE ITALIAN!: semi-check
Be Tan and Stay Fit
Save Save Save Money: check
Get A's (no A-'s allowed): check-ish
Finally Send That Package to Leslie
Get My VISA: check
Visit Grandma and Grandpa: check
Visit Vista Verde
Throw Away Everything I Don't Need so I Don't Have to Pack It: check
Go to Harry Potter #6 Opening Night: eh, I saw it.
Throw a PAR-TAY for Whitney: kind of?
Read at least 5 Fun Books: check
Buy a New Laptop and Camera: check
Have a BBQ: check-ish
Go To Wedding Receptions: check
Fight in a Water Fight
Go To the Beach