Okay, so the rest of the day. This morning I did NOT want to get up. However, when I did, I turned on my computer and went to get some yogurt. I brought it back to my room (dont know if that's really okay or not, but no one else was awake) and ate it while I checked my email/facebook/blog. I was DRAGGING this morning. I was also sad that I would have to wear my rainboots. I also decided that I wasn't bothering with much make-up. SIgnora Gabriella offered me some tea, and this morning I decided to have some. I finished getting ready, grabbed some ziploc bags in case of rain, and I was out the door.
I only had to reference my map once this morning. YAY...progress!!! On my way, I stopped in a few "bars" and two "grocery stores" looking for something to have for a snack later so that I did not end up starving like yesterday. I finally just went into the "bar" from yesterday and bought a "fruitbar" and a "nestle fitness bar". Then, it was time for class. It was better today. I do okay with following her (most of the time), but have so much trouble forming thoughts. We spent the first part going over passato prossimo...reciting it...using it in worksheets...reading it outloud...but the good thing is that the sentence is already there...I'm good at the rote memory stuff...I can do that all day long. It's the forming of original thoughts...needing to know the vocabulary...etc. etc. that is KILLING me...and my nerves... We did have to write some sentences on our own, and I did well. Mine were very similar to Fiona's, and that made me feel better because she seems to be so good at speaking it and she's only been learning it for a month! However, it went well.
Our break was the best part. I was sitting down at a computer when I heard some music outside. I ran to the window and saw that the piazza was had "fences" around it and there was like a Military band marching in. So, I ran down the stairs and went to the fences. I started taking pictures because there were all of these different military groups and they were all marching in...and the police were saluting them. I could only stay a few minutes because our break would be over soon. However, when I got back up stairs I was pleased to see that everyone was out on a balcony watching the ceremony. Fiona said that she thought it was to celebrate the end World War I, which I later found out wasn't true. SO we watched for a little bit as they all marched in and then some guy was speaking in Italian. We couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from and we couldn't understand him, so we all went back inside. Maria explained that it was ceremony for the anniversary of a flood in Florence. Apparently on November 4, 1966 there was a huge flood. Follow the link to learn more about it: http://www.aboutflorence.com/florence-flood.html Of course, Maria taught us all about it in Italian. I understood most of it (thank goodness that the Italians use their hands a lot...helps me follow some of what she was saying). It was a good last half of the class. She told us about the flood and then we talked about weather things.
I told them about the tornado in Tuscaloosa/all of Alabama. It was really sad to have to tell them. I did an okay job of explaining it, I think. They seemed to understand and they seemed to get how tragic it was. The worst part was explaining to them that I was watching it on tv as it destroyed Tuscaloosa, and while it was only a few miles from where I was. Not that I wasn't ever sad about it, because I definitely was, but it was so sad to try and explain it to three people who dont experience tornadoes. However, the important thing was that I communicated, mostly in Italian. The last thing we did was go over a new verb conjugation (one I did with Maurizio...so I already knew it). I am hoping that studying this weekend will help me in the speaking department.When class was over, Fiona and I had to go to the art history class again. IT WAS SO BORING! It is boring because I have no idea what she is saying, and really, I could care less about art history...even if it is in English! I used this time to write down some of the words she said that I didn't know; I made mental notes of the ones that I did; and I also hand wrote the first part of my blog so that I wouldn't have to think about it so much later when I went to write. When it was FINALLY over I had about 15 minutes to check my email/fb and Fiona sat down at the computer next to me. It was SO nice to speak to someone in English!!! SHe told me that her and her roommate were going somewhere on Sunday if it didnt rain, and I was welcome to go with her. However, she wanted me to text her and my phone wont do ANYTHING!!! At this point I was also getting very hungry (I had eaten the fruit bar...AMAZING by the way. It was pineapple and mango...sooo good! and that "fitness bar" that I thought was like a special K bar...NOT AT ALL like a special k bar...yuck!!). Not only was I getting hungry, but I was getting nervous because I knew that my private lesson teacher (whose name I still do not know) was going to make me speak.
I get SO nervous when I have to speak in Italian. Writing...ok, conjugating verbs...ok, learning grammar...ok, doing worksheets...ok, BUT SPEAKING....the shy person that I truly am comes out and I get so nervous that I am saying it wrong or that I wont know all of the vocabulary that I need to complete my sentence, etc. etc. I know most people reading this do not believe that I am a shy person, but I truly am. It really shows in times like this. The lesson wasn't too bad though. I did okay speaking, if I would just muster up the confidence I think I'd be okay! We did a lot with verbs and that was good! SO now I just have to study and rewrite my notes so that I can get it together. Also, after all of this, I will have to find some way to continue practicing my Italian once I get back home. I suppose I can just talk to Fran on the phone! :) Then, when I move to New York I will have Fran, Nonna, and Anna to practice with! ;)
After my lesson I was STARVING!! I decided just to go to the restaurant where I have a voucher so that I didn't have to search for something I wanted (plus, it's already paid for!!!). I had a total "Eat, Pray, Love" moment at lunch. In the movie, she learns to say, "I am alone" or "sono da solo". I had to say this when I went to eat and you know what, it was great. I sat down, got out my notebook from class and my dictionary and while I waited, I studied; just like she does near the beginning of her time in Rome. It was perfect. I ordered one course only, which of course the waiter was confused about. I ordered the minestrone (which Fiona's roommate had the other day and it looked really good). I have included a picture of the soup because 95% of the recipes I looked up had tomato in them and this soup did not. It was more like a chicken broth base (though dont really know that for sure), spinach, some sort of white beans, zucchini, carrots, and other stuff. IT WAS AMAZING!! It was warm, which was good because there was a cool breeze, it was just sooooo soooooo good! It also wasn't too heavy, so I didn't leave there feeling stuffed. I sat for a little while and figured out where I wanted to go next. It was nice to just sit and enjoy my food. My private lesson teacher was confused on why I didn't mind doing things by myself. However, I explained that I think it comes from being an only child. Not that I dont want to be with people, I do, but I dont mind being alone. I also dont mind doing things alone if it means not doing something with people that I will not have fun with. For those who followed my New York life, you know that I never minded doing things in NYC alone. I do wish that I had someone to do things with. I enjoy being with the family, for many reasons, but it would be easier if I had a built-in friend! :) However, I enjoyed my lunch and time to sit and think!!!
I had decided to walk back to this street (Via Neri) where I had seen some stores I wanted to go in. I tried on a cute sweater thing at one store, but it was MUCH cuter on the hanger than actually on my body! Then I just walked and I took a picture of a sandwich place that I wanted to come back to. It was very small and sold so many things, but had a sign that said, "We sell sandwiches". I thought that if all of the ingredients looked that good, the sandwich had to be good as well!! Then I had to go to the bathroom (something that hasn't happened that often...THANK GOODNESS...and for those who know me well, you know this is a MIRACLE!). Luckily, I walked into a "bar" (not our kind of bar) and just asked where the nearest bathroom was, and he was so kind to let me use the bathroom there. There was a guy that was just finishing cleaning it, so I knew it was clean (a bonus!). I was so grateful to that man.
The next thing on my list was to go to a TIM (phone) store and see if I could figure out what the heck was going on with my phone. Of course, they couldn't tell me much of anything. THen I went into that store with the "push-up leggings" because curiosity had gotten the better of me. Sadly though, they didn't have any left. She offered me the "push-up tights", but said that they would have more leggings tomorrow. I decided just to leave and try again tomorrow. THen on my way home I stopped in a store to buy some snacks. I ended up buying a box of Italian granola like bars that had cranberries in them. THey looked good and were relatively cheap. I figured that this would be a help next week when I needed to take a snack with me. Then, I stopped in a little 99cents store and bought some more loose-leaf paper so that I could rewrite and organize my notes.
When i got back to the apartment I was able to get the door to work!!! YAY...success...FINALLY!!! Then, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Gabriella had changed the linens on the bed. These are actually kind of little girl looking, but so cute! :) I was EXHAUSTED when I got back. I was so exhausted that it was making me grumpy! I was so annoyed that the phone wasn't working, and that no one could seem to help me, and I just needed to sleep! I started writing my blog, and I talked to my daddy!!
Dinner was good! :) Just me, Signora Gabriella, Guenda, and Lorenzo. I asked Guenda about the phone and she started trying to help me. She called the TIM service line and spoke with them, because they definitely were not going to be speaking English. She thought she had it figured out, but it still didn't work. We tried it in Lorenzo's phone and it didn't work there either. However, at least she was helpful! Dinner was good. It started with tortellini filled with something green, and then I had the same meat with cheese from last night while they had yucky, huge liver and what I think was brussellsprouts (i don't even know how to spell this). I was so thankful for my meat and cheese! Then they had this really good dessert. I had a small slice (veeeerrryy small) and it was DELICIOUS!! It was like a crust, with some sort of fruit stuff and something on top. Great description, I know...but what can you do!?!?
Oooh and Signora Gabriella was so kind to offer to wash some of my clothes...Saved me some money!!! :) yay!!!! So sweet of her!!! After dinner I talked to April...because we had missed our regular fb chat!! ;) jk...but it was nice to talk to her...ok great to talk to her! She helped me see that God would not have allowed me to come here, if He didn't have a reason or a lesson for me. I can see where there are many lessons for me to learn here: patience, relying solely on Him, how to be alone in a strange place, patience with myself, realistic expectations of myself, and how to communicate with people who aren't like me or dont share the same lifestyle as me or dont even speak the same language as me. I'm sure there are many more lessons to learn, as there always seem to be!!!
While I was talking to April, firefox closed on me and deleted ALLLLL of the work I had done on this blog and I was SUPER frustrated. However, I think it just didn't help that I was so exhausted and everything was beginning to irritate me!! I talked to my daddy and then got ready for bed! I could barely hold my eyes open and my head up at this point. The weirdest thing happened though when I went to brush my teeth and use the bathroom. While I was brushing my teeth, the toilet started bubbling....I think it had something to do with the washing machine, but it was SO weird...
Anyway, tomorrow (Saturday) it is supposed to rain. If it does, I'll study and go get something for lunch, and then study/catch up on blogs, etc. etc. If not, i'll go explore!!!
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