A typical Florence day :)

I am very tired. I caught the cold that has been going around all the students at Gonzaga. It started out with a mild sore throat and stuffy nose and now I have a cough, runny and stuffy nose and a sore throat. Not to mention my energy is completely drained. Yesh! Not really what I need right now, but when do colds ever come at a good time?

Today was another beast day of classes but at least I didn't have my three hour econ class again. That is so brutal. Its hard to pay attention for that long! Today I had classes straight from 8:30-12:45 and then lunch is at one. Me and everyone else are like STARVING by the time lunch rolls around. For those who are curious, my pensione provides our meals mon-thurs and then we have thurs dinner on our own and the rest of the weekend we have to get out own meals. This is because most of the students travel on the weekends. The food is pretty good. I love the pasta but the meat can be sketch. Today we had pasta with an arrabiata (spicy tomato sauce) and eggplant. For the main course, we had sausage and beans. It was pretty good. Usually for desert (which is only during lunch) we have fruit. Today we had peaches... yum!

After lunch me and Lillian ran a few errands. We first went over to 85 Cavour where Giuseppe is, but he wasn't there when we got there. He is the one we go to for all our room problems. He owns three pensiones in this area. We ended up just writing him a note asking for another desk, and better lighting (one of the main bulbs in our room is out). Haha hopefully this time he actually brings us a real desk and not our patio furniture. Other than those two things, me and Lillian are very satisfied with our new room. Its a big step up from where we were before if you have been keeping up with my blog!

Once I finished writing the note, we went to try to find this old fashioned record store that Lillian is interested in. We ended up not being able to find it so she will prob go back sometime on her own and check it out. We also tried to go back to the electronic store that I got my straightener/blow dryer last week but I must've mixed up the streets because I couldn't find that place either. I am looking for a little video camera that I can attach through the USB drive. For those who have skype, I have heard it is really fun to be able to video chat with your friends/family. Hint hint to mom and dad! :) We ended up stumbling across this really fun store (much like H and M) which is called Promod. I ended up getting a charcoal cardigan, a turqoise long sleeve shirt, and a cute purple tee. Yay! I love new clothes. Our last stop was at Sephora, which is where I got some eyeliner. Very exciting day I know...

So right now I am relaxing while Lillian is at her three hour history class. I'm glad I'm not her right now! I am exhausted... tomorrow we are going to be having a walking tour of Florence with my Introduction to Florence class. It should be pretty fun!

Well I'm off for now.

Ciao ragazzi!

*note* the palm tree photo was taken in Elba. I loved the beachy atmosphere of the Island!

A weekend in Elba and a new room!

I hate to admit it, but I have been having blogger withdrawals! I have constantly been thinking about all the things I want to blog about, but I have just been so busy that I haven't had a chance to just sit down and write about all the fun things that I experienced over the past weekend.

As most of you know, me and most of the Gonzaga crew went to Elba Island. Let me tell you, it is so beautiful! The weather was gorgeous the entire short trip. We thought it was going to be in the low 60's, and it ended up being way warmer so we were able to sit out and catch some sun rays at the beach.

I ended up ditching the tours/hike that Gonzaga offered on Saturday. Me and my friend Cierra wanted to do our own thing on Saturday so we went down and talked to the hotel receptionist and she gave us a map and suggested several places to see on our own self-created walking tour. We decided to go on a little trek to a pretty large beach. The hike was pretty much all up hill by stairs and then it coasted off for awhile. The views from the top were so pretty! We then went down the hill and ended up at a breath-taking beach. We sat out and talked for a few hours and then were so hot that we decided to just jump in the water! It was so refreshing.

After awhile my friend Katie met us down at the beach and we hung out for a little while longer and had some pasta at a local restaurant. Once we had enough sun, we walked back and went shopping at the local stores. Elba is famous for turquoise, so I got a pretty wrap-around bracelet, and a simple necklace. Oh! And I got some really cute earings :)

The one bummer part of Elba was the night life was totally lacking. Even at the bars there was like no one... and there were no clubs of course. We just ended up making our own fun. On Saturday it was my friend Emma's 21st Birthday, so we had a nice Italian dinner and then my other friend Annie coordinated cake and champagne at a local bar called "Las Vegas". It was pretty fun, but the music could've been better. They were playing slow ballads that practically made us fall asleep..

On Sunday morning I woke up with a bad sore throat and stuffy nose so that wasn't so great. This has been going around though for quite some time so I was bound to get it. One of my room mates in Elba had a terrible cough, and I was also hanging out with Cierra who was recovering from a really bad cold. After I described my symptoms to her she said that is exactly what she started off having. She then added, "just wait till the nasty cough!" Oh boy...

Well I probably should be going to bed. I talked to my mom via skype messenger and she used the phrase "G2B" haha which means GO TO BED! Me and Lillian are all moved into our new room. It is great! It is much more spacious and the toliet doesnt growl! The only bizzare thing is our shower; it pretty much takes up the whole bathroom! I guess it is an Italian style where the drain is in the middle of the room. I wonder if the whole bathroom floor will be soaked after we take a shower. We will soon find out! The drain is slightly slanted downwards so perhaps it seperates part of the floor from getting wet. All we need now is a little more lighting, and a second desk. We are definitely way more happy with our living situation now though, and the best part is NO MOLD!

Well I will try and post tomorrow. I have lots of journal entries to make up for classes but I will keep you posted! Feel free to call my skype! It is up and running even though the internet is super slow :)

Love you all!

*Note* The first picture is of me and Cierra on the beach in Elba and the second is a scenic view from our little hike to the beach! :)

Off to Elba tommorow!

Well it is very late here right now. 1:10 AM to be exact. I should be off somewhere in snooze land, but I took a two hour nap earlier today so I am not quite sleepy. I haven't been able to post the past couple days because our internet has been down yet again. It is so annoying how it never seems to be consistent. Hopefully they will get it squared away by the time I get home later this weekend.

Tomorrow morning I am having a quick Breakfast at my pensione around 6:45 with Annie and then we are heading to meet the rest of the Gonzaga gang and we will be well on our way to the island of Elba around 7:30 AM! I am not looking forward to waking up that early; hopefully I will be able to take a nap on the bus. This weekend is the first optional trip that Gonzaga is hosting and only about twenty out of the 120 students are not going. I am super excited. The intinerary looks like it will be pretty interesting. There are a few hikes that we can go on (short and long) and I am choosing to visit the Napoleon museum as one of the optional tours. I heard the beach is absoloutely gorgeous; I am bringing my swimsuit just in case it is warm enough to swim. The weather report says it will be around 60-65 so that is a bit too cold for swimming. I will definately take some pictures so feel free to check them out on facebook as usual. I will not be bringing my laptop on this trip because I doubt our hotel/hostel has it offered, and even if they do, I am not sure how safe it is to leave it in the room. Maybe I will embark on an internet cafe. I always seem to have a knack for finding those on trips.

Anyways, I know this post is very short but I really should finish up some last minute packing and try to get at least a few hours of sleep before my big travel day tommorow.

I will try and post an entry on Sunday with my reflections of the weekend!

Arrivederci!

Note: The picture above is taken outside the archaelogical museum that I went to with my Introduction to Florence class. Pretty huh?

A beautiful Tuesday afternoon

Hello all!

Today has been a fabulous day. The weather outside is absolutely gorgeous and classes weren't too bad. I had four classes today; similar to my schedule yesterday without the three hour Global Economics class. Today we had a great lunch; it was some sort of vegetable pasta soup (kind of like minestrone) and bread. I loved it! It was a nice alternative to the pasta that we are usually served before our main course. The main course I wasn't fond of because it was pork chops. I never touch it, as my grandma says. I ended up just having some of the potatoes on the side. It was definitely enough though because I got seconds on the soup. For desert we had really ripe peaches which were amazing! I guess you can just say the food in our pensione is either a hit or miss.

Today I followed up with Dean Burke and he agreed that Il Paligio is a disaster. He evaluated the pensione with Giuseppe and he shared his concerns about the rooms. Come to find out me and Lillian's room is the smallest one in the entire program! That includes all the pensiones that Gonzaga is renting out. Boy, aren't we lucky! Haha. Anyways, Dr. Burke said that we have the option to move to another room if we so choose. Now, this would be a hassle and a half but we are truly unhappy with our living conditions as you may know after keeping up with my blog. We talked to Shelly (another Student Life employee at Gonzaga) and we told her that if there is space available, we would like to switch rooms and pronto! Hopefully everything works out... another thing that has increased rapidness of changing rooms is the fact that there is mold growing in our room. Gross I know, but apparently Lillian is very allergic to it. She has been coughing, sneezing, and wheezing for days and she is always exhausted. Poor thing! We alerted the pensione owner and he cleaned it himself, but there is still some remnants of mold throughout the room. Either we get a humidifier or we are out! Haha.

Today seems like it is going to be a pretty chill evening. I have a marketing assignment to do, and some reading for economics that I can get a head start in, but other than that I am golden. I guess I could brush up on my prepositions for my Italian class because we are playing a little game tomorrow in class. Tomorrow my Introduction to Florence group is meeting at the school at 8:30 am and we are heading over to the Archaeological Museum and getting a tour by either our teacher or one of her assistants. I love this class! We have lectures about the history of Florence twice a week (which is very interesting by the way), and then on Wednesdays every week we go to a different museum to look at the artwork that we have been studying in class. In addition to our tours, we are to write two journal entries a week. One entry must talk about our experience and thoughts about the tour from that week and the other entry talks about our experience going abroad on the weekends. Most students will be going on the first six weekend trips Gonzaga offers, but she would like us to journal about any particular place we go to on the weekends if we decide not to join the Gonzaga group. I am actually excited about this assignment; it will be fun to talk about my thoughts about all the tours I am going on and adding postcards and pictures will make it unique. I think it will be a great memoir of my studying abroad experience after I leave.

Anyways, I am rambling but I just wanted to jot down my thoughts for the day. I do not have much else planned for the day except my homework and dinner is at seven as usual. Hopefully tomorrow I can finally get another straightener! I have been going through withdrawals as sad and pathetic as that may sound.

Well I will post again tomorrow!

Arrivederci!

Note: Above is a picture of me and my room mate Lillian in Prague!

Second day of classes

YAY! I now have internet in my pensione. Its been long enough! Its been so annoying to have to schlep all my stuff to campus every time I have wanted to check my email or skype. The only bummer is there is no internet in our room at the moment but at least we can get it in the lobby! I will look forward to having it my room so that I can skype without everyone hearing my conversations. That has been kind of awkward.

Today was the second day of classes. It was so intense! Mondays are my hard days so I had like seven hours of classes. I had four classes in a row this morning; ethics, principles of marketing, Italian 102, and introduction to Florence. I was originally in the second section of the intro to Florence class, but after talking to all my friends it sounded like they were in the first section, so I asked the teacher if I could switch into the other section and she had no problem with it so that was nice. After my 4 classes I walked back in a hurry for lunch at my pensione. We had penne pasta with tomato sauce. It was so yummy! And then after the antipasti we had these kabobs that were described as "three meats" and mexican vegetables. I liked the vegetables, but the meat was kinda sketch. I guess it was turkey, sausage, and chicken. Lets just say my chicken had a gristly texture, and the sausage tasted like cinnamon (reminds me of my brother-- Chris I hope your reading this!) and the turkey was just dry. Me and my other friends weren't fans of this dish. We have noticed that our pensione has been known for the crappy food. We all love the pasta but the main course tends to be pretty gross. So we are now learning to stuff our faces with pasta before the meal comes and then just pick at the main course because its pretty nast haha. Like last week for example we had this breaded "turkey" meal that was extremely dark meat. I was thinking in my head, "My mom would never eat this!" Anywho, come to find out it was VEAL and not turkey. Why did the owner say it was turkey? Haha probably because she knew no one would eat it. It definitely did NOT taste like turkey though. Other than the food at my pensione, Italian food on the streets and at the restaurants is amazing! I love the authentic Italian food. Its my favorite food. I don't think I will get sick of it, even though I am here for almost nine months. Its just so good, and there are so many varieties!

After lunch, I came back to my room and just relaxed for awhile. Around three ish me and my roomie walked to a local Tabacchi and got some more stamps and postcards to send to our friends and family back home. Now all I have to do is relocate the post office! If you want a postcard, feel free to email me your address at lmaher@gonzaga.edu. I would love cards and things back from the US too so let me know if you want my address too! After the little stop, I walked to campus and sat down for my three hour econ class. It was so long! At least the teacher has a lot of energy; but my attention span is short as it is. The class seems like it will be pretty interesting though; it is global economy. I have already taken macro and micro economics. This section seems like it is completely different than those so that is pretty cool I guess. I will really miss my econ teacher back at the GU campus! His name is Kevin Henrickson and he is my favorite teacher at school! I had him for both sections of econ and he is the coolest guy. Me and my friend Kate liked him so much that we often dropped by cupcakes and cookies during his office hour. Wow, I got on quite a tangent!

Once class was over, I went upstairs to check my email and such because I had no idea that internet was up and running in my pensione! I found out at dinner and me and everyone else were ecstatic. Dinner was really good tonight-- we had a vinaigrette salad again and amazing pesto spiral pasta! It was so good. Pesto pasta is my favorite pasta, so that just made my day. Its interesting that we have our big meal of the day during lunch. For dinner we usually just have salad and an antipasti. I don't mind; usually I'm starving by one and not so hungry at seven when we have our dinners. Pretty much from dinner on I have been checking email, skyping my bf and family, and writing this entry! I need to get to my homework pretty soon though. I have some ethics reading, a couple journal entries to write, and maybe I'll brush up on my Italian.

Well not much else to talk about-- my mom asked me to explain the pictures that I'm posting. Thats probably a good idea. The one I just posted is in the main piazza right by our pensione. There are lots of yummy little cafes around the circle. You gotta watch out for those vespas (Italian mopeds) though! They come flying out of no where! The last one is of me and some friends at a local bar from this past weekend. Its great being able to socialize at bars and not even being carded!

What a productive day!

hi everyone!

I am sitting in an empty classroom right now at the Gonzaga campus and I'd thought I'd just share whats been going on the past few days. The room situation is getting a little better because they fixed the door and brought in a little mini trashcan for our bathroom. But our shower still leaks (even after Giuseppe said he fixed it) and our "desk" that he brought in is a small end table that barely holds our books. I think me and Lillian are going to take turns using the big desk for schoolwork. Next week is my week to use it, and then we will alternate and she will have it the following week. Whatever works, right? I think we are both going to be doing most of our homework in the library or at little cafes around because the lighting in our room is terrible. There is just one small dangling lamp from the ceiling and it is super dark at night. Hopefully they can add more light to it, because it kind of feels like a jail cell at the moment... haha

Today was a pretty productive day for the most part. I slept in until around 10:30 and then me and Lillian got an early lunch at this little cafe in the city square. We had gnocchi with tomato sauce and a coke light. Super yummy! After that we walked around and got some money from an atm and went to this little store that had cute shoes, scarves, headbands, purses, etc. Everything was really cheap too! I got these little cute black flats, an umbrella, and a black headband for only 15 euro. What a deal! After that we went to the 99 cent euro store for like the 4th time. The guy that works there chuckles whenever we come in because we go there so often. Finally he asked, "Studi a Firenze?" "Si! Studiamo a Gonzaga University." Its nice being able to use some of my Italian. I hope I can continue to pick the language up quicker just being around everyone who speaks it fluently! I was telling my mom earlier today on the phone that its kinda a tricky situation using the Italian because if you greet someone and start speaking Italian, they will start speaking really fast and I cant keep up. So then I usually have to switch to English, which makes me feel dumb haha. Oh well, at least I'm trying, right?

After lunch we got our dirty clothes and took it to a local laundromat. I was able to get some of my ethics reading out of the way while blasting enya. We were there for a little over an hour because the washer and dryer each take about half an hour. There were so many GU students there with the same idea! Its a bummer not having a laundry machine in our pensiones, but that doesnt really surprise me... we have like nothing there to begin with haha. After our laundry was taken care of, we came back to our room and for like two hours I unpacked, organized, and cleaned up our room. For the past few days I have been living out of a suitcase because I didnt have anywhere to put my stuff! Luckily we were able to go to IKEA yesterday and get storage stuff and hangers. It was such a hassle getting to IKEA though! We had to walk about a mile and a half at least to the train station, and then take a bus from there. It was really hard walking back with a huge storage bin, hangers, a towel, comforter, and pillow. Whew! I am definitely sore today after schleping all that stuff.

Now that everything is unpacked and settled I immediately feel better. We are planning on doing more decorating in our room, but its getting there!

Well I have more Aristotle to read so I best be going, but I will try and post tommorow!

Arrivederci!

The stress of sending the consulate letter

This is going to be a super quick post but I just wanted to say hello! I am just waiting in the computer lab at the Gonzaga campus until 11, and then me and all the other students are going to venture down to Alexandro's (a staff member on campus) office to get a reciept that indicates that our consulate letter was sent. This morning I tried to get up around 8 am, but me and the roomie were just not wanting to get up. We are so sleep deprived! We hit the snooze button a couple times and then decided right then and there that we would get up at 8:30 instead. At that point we were pretty pressed for time so we got quickly out of bed and got ready in about fifteen minutes. We then went to the little cafe next to our pensione for a quick breakfast. We both got chocolate crossiants and then booked it to the Gonzaga Campus where we all were going to gather and pick up our packets and then walk together to the post office. As we were approaching the entrance, two of my frazzled peers told us that they had to go back to their pensione to collect their passports. I thought we had taken care of all the passport stuff, so I didn't have mine at the time as well. Soo basically I had to run back to my pensione and I luckily met two other students that forgot their passports as well. Who knew we needed them a second time?! Anyways, I hate the feeling of being rushed and plus it was rainy which was not pleasant.

We quickly walked back and met up with the other students to get our packets to send off to the consulate. This was an exhausting process because there are about 120 students and each person got a number from the post office that indicated where we stood in line. I was 62, so I had a good 45 minutes of just standing in the rain before I could drop off my letter. They have to stamp your letter and envelope several times and check your passport just to make sure its you that is sending the packet. I didn't realize everything was so official!

I only have a few minutes until I have to go downstairs but just wanted to drop a line in to all those back home!! Im not sure what my plans are the rest of the day. Its so nice having Fridays off though, I cant tell you enough! I am excited for my traveling starting next weekend. We are going to Elba, which is a volcano off Florence. Sounds super fun! Well keep in touch everyone. I will try to check my skype today, so feel free to leave voicemails!

Arrivederci!