Dear friends in the US,
Know how lucky you are for free water and wi-fi. I completely forgot those things were privileges and not essentials. Italy fun fact #1: Restaurants do not offer water for free, but they do set a complementary bottle of wine on the table. #Priorities.
Anyways, ciao! I've been meaning to blog for so long, to share and recall my experience, as well as respond to everyone's emails; but unfortunately, wi-fi is temporarily down in my apartment and public wi-fi is extremely hard to come across. The lack of wi-fi has also been a blessing, though. Conversations aren't interrupted with muffled "beep beeps" and "hold on, let me send this real quick." Everyone is focused on their food and the conversation with minimal distractions. It made me realize how often, in America, we are interrupted with things not of the moment. Not of the present. So in that way, the lack of wi-fi hasn't been too awful (minus the fact that I haven't been able to Instagram any food porn. It's like I didn't even eat them now. Just kidding.)
#FirstWorldProblems.
But this past weekend was orientation so we were on a tight itinerary. Kind of like Outdoor Ed. Remember that? Always traveling in obnoxiously massive groups, sharing meals family style, snapping photos with every square inch of movement, walking more than a person's legs were physically intended to, falling asleep in a stranger's wooden bed, and waking up the second you feel like you've closed your eyes.
It's only day three and I've already been exposed to so much of the beauty, culture, and history hidden in Verona. Besides eating, I've also been doing other things. I promise. And with my new Canon Rebel, I've been snapping shots like it’s my JOB. Slightly obnoxious and entirely touristy, but the the photo itself is worth it. Now, without further ado I can FINALLY share with you ITALY! Godere. (:
DAY ONE
Lisa, Hot Dog, and I all met together at O'hare airport ready to head out to Frankfurt, Germany! (:
^ My cute little passport holder Hot Dog gave me over the summer.
It was my first international flight so I've never been offered any meals on a plane. I was literally so happy when I woke up from my nap to find this on my desk. They also gave us a light snack later on in the flight.
On my left was this old man that seemed grumpy at first, but once I started to make small talk with him, we ended up in this really interesting conversation about his whole life and travels and when we told him we didn't have any euros yet, he gave us each a five euro. high-fives all around.
Holler! (: We were so mesmerized by how beautiful and color even their currency was. And it was money well spent, too. We had a layover at the airport in Frankfurt, so the three of us found a cute little cafe to rest at and bought ourselves our first European smoothies. And they were delicious. (: Cheers to you, Mr. Pleasant Man on Plane.
Once we got to Verona, the resident director, Claudio, picked us all up on this megabus and dropped us off at our respective homes. On each bus seat was a bottle of water, a map, random snacks, and a pay-as-you go phone.
Hot Dog and I are roommates and we are renting a room in this Italian woman's house, and our place is a little off the grid so Lorenza, the Italian woman, and her son, Marco, met us to walk us to her home. Lorenza and Marco are really such friendly, friendly people, but our living arrangement is a little bit strange. We're not necessary doing home stay, so are expected to purchase our own groceries and toiletries as well as cook, but we do share everything and she washes all our dishes. So boundaries are a little unclear as of now, but I'm sure as we keep living it'll start to feel more like home. Her house is so cute and quaint with all this mis-matching furniture and plate settings. When we arrived, she immediately offered us cappuccinos!!
We are currently staying in Marco's room, and he is sleeping in his mom's. That's why it kind of looks like a day-care.
We settled in, freshened up, and immediately got ready to head back out to meet the rest of the group for dinner. Claudio had planned all the weekend meals for us because they were pre-paid with the trip, which was nice to try out a bunch of authentic Italian food as well as get to know everyone.
^ The view from our neighborhood
^ We were surprised to find a McDonalds! It's on the main street right near our house, so we'll definitely be coming here when we start to feel homesick. We thought it was funny that the menu was hidden in like a royal, glass case.
The restaurant we ate at was called, Orologio, which means "clock" in Italian.
And the dessert. Oh my gosh. Can we just talk about how FREAKING BEAUTIFUL THIS PIECE OF SUGARY GOODNESS LOOKS?! I have never met a more handsome cake before. Ever. Until I saw the dessert for the next meal. And the meal after that.
Say ciao to the beautiful ladies of the table. Not to be mistaken for the ladies of the night which are commonly known to be whores or whatever. Fun fact: Italians hit on Americans a lot because they are seen as easy. Where would they get that idea from... (Jersey Shore, Real House Wives, Teen Mom, etc. etc. every other trashy US reality show) Like what?
Then the waiter who took this photo told us to say something while he snapped the shot. He was probably flirting because we're "easy" or whatever. Just kidding. The waiters were actually so cute and that's when we learned of the attractiveness of Italian men.
Moving on...
And of course, we have le cup of espresso. This was the beginning of many espressos to come. Can I just tell you that this was offered to us past 10 pm? Yeah. Espresso is offered to you at that hour. Also at breakfast, also at noon, also at 3pm, and 5pm, and for the rest of the day in half hour increments . You will be expected to partake in at least all of these opportunities. As you should. Drink up, because there's no free water.
Then we went to this cute little cafe and crashed our heads in our wittle daycare beds.
Ciao!
Know how lucky you are for free water and wi-fi. I completely forgot those things were privileges and not essentials. Italy fun fact #1: Restaurants do not offer water for free, but they do set a complementary bottle of wine on the table. #Priorities.
Anyways, ciao! I've been meaning to blog for so long, to share and recall my experience, as well as respond to everyone's emails; but unfortunately, wi-fi is temporarily down in my apartment and public wi-fi is extremely hard to come across. The lack of wi-fi has also been a blessing, though. Conversations aren't interrupted with muffled "beep beeps" and "hold on, let me send this real quick." Everyone is focused on their food and the conversation with minimal distractions. It made me realize how often, in America, we are interrupted with things not of the moment. Not of the present. So in that way, the lack of wi-fi hasn't been too awful (minus the fact that I haven't been able to Instagram any food porn. It's like I didn't even eat them now. Just kidding.)
#FirstWorldProblems.
But this past weekend was orientation so we were on a tight itinerary. Kind of like Outdoor Ed. Remember that? Always traveling in obnoxiously massive groups, sharing meals family style, snapping photos with every square inch of movement, walking more than a person's legs were physically intended to, falling asleep in a stranger's wooden bed, and waking up the second you feel like you've closed your eyes.
It's only day three and I've already been exposed to so much of the beauty, culture, and history hidden in Verona. Besides eating, I've also been doing other things. I promise. And with my new Canon Rebel, I've been snapping shots like it’s my JOB. Slightly obnoxious and entirely touristy, but the the photo itself is worth it. Now, without further ado I can FINALLY share with you ITALY! Godere. (:
DAY ONE
Lisa, Hot Dog, and I all met together at O'hare airport ready to head out to Frankfurt, Germany! (:
^ My cute little passport holder Hot Dog gave me over the summer.
It was my first international flight so I've never been offered any meals on a plane. I was literally so happy when I woke up from my nap to find this on my desk. They also gave us a light snack later on in the flight.
On my left was this old man that seemed grumpy at first, but once I started to make small talk with him, we ended up in this really interesting conversation about his whole life and travels and when we told him we didn't have any euros yet, he gave us each a five euro. high-fives all around.
Holler! (: We were so mesmerized by how beautiful and color even their currency was. And it was money well spent, too. We had a layover at the airport in Frankfurt, so the three of us found a cute little cafe to rest at and bought ourselves our first European smoothies. And they were delicious. (: Cheers to you, Mr. Pleasant Man on Plane.
Once we got to Verona, the resident director, Claudio, picked us all up on this megabus and dropped us off at our respective homes. On each bus seat was a bottle of water, a map, random snacks, and a pay-as-you go phone.
Hot Dog and I are roommates and we are renting a room in this Italian woman's house, and our place is a little off the grid so Lorenza, the Italian woman, and her son, Marco, met us to walk us to her home. Lorenza and Marco are really such friendly, friendly people, but our living arrangement is a little bit strange. We're not necessary doing home stay, so are expected to purchase our own groceries and toiletries as well as cook, but we do share everything and she washes all our dishes. So boundaries are a little unclear as of now, but I'm sure as we keep living it'll start to feel more like home. Her house is so cute and quaint with all this mis-matching furniture and plate settings. When we arrived, she immediately offered us cappuccinos!!
We are currently staying in Marco's room, and he is sleeping in his mom's. That's why it kind of looks like a day-care.
We settled in, freshened up, and immediately got ready to head back out to meet the rest of the group for dinner. Claudio had planned all the weekend meals for us because they were pre-paid with the trip, which was nice to try out a bunch of authentic Italian food as well as get to know everyone.
^ The view from our neighborhood
^ We were surprised to find a McDonalds! It's on the main street right near our house, so we'll definitely be coming here when we start to feel homesick. We thought it was funny that the menu was hidden in like a royal, glass case.
The restaurant we ate at was called, Orologio, which means "clock" in Italian.
And the dessert. Oh my gosh. Can we just talk about how FREAKING BEAUTIFUL THIS PIECE OF SUGARY GOODNESS LOOKS?! I have never met a more handsome cake before. Ever. Until I saw the dessert for the next meal. And the meal after that.
Say ciao to the beautiful ladies of the table. Not to be mistaken for the ladies of the night which are commonly known to be whores or whatever. Fun fact: Italians hit on Americans a lot because they are seen as easy. Where would they get that idea from... (Jersey Shore, Real House Wives, Teen Mom, etc. etc. every other trashy US reality show) Like what?
Then the waiter who took this photo told us to say something while he snapped the shot. He was probably flirting because we're "easy" or whatever. Just kidding. The waiters were actually so cute and that's when we learned of the attractiveness of Italian men.
Moving on...
And of course, we have le cup of espresso. This was the beginning of many espressos to come. Can I just tell you that this was offered to us past 10 pm? Yeah. Espresso is offered to you at that hour. Also at breakfast, also at noon, also at 3pm, and 5pm, and for the rest of the day in half hour increments . You will be expected to partake in at least all of these opportunities. As you should. Drink up, because there's no free water.
Then we went to this cute little cafe and crashed our heads in our wittle daycare beds.
Ciao!
I love it all Jenny! You're making me so excited to study abroad. Can't wait to hear even more. Love you and miss you already!
ReplyDeleteLEESIE <3 I miss you so much. I have wi-fi at the apartment now so let's try to squeeze in a skype date.
ReplyDeletecan i come visit? hehe
ReplyDeleteUm, YES PLEASE.
ReplyDelete