sorry this has taken so long...

Hey Everyone…I know its been FOREVER since I’ve written but using a computer when you don’t have one is a lot tougher here than back in the states. They don’t have the concept here of 24-hour anything, let alone university computer labs…or having their computer labs open on weekends or after 6pm on weekdays …so on the rare occasions I am able to use the computer, it’s usually for something like doing research or writing a paper.

But…I digress…I left off when I took a trip to Perugia and Assisi with Kristi, Kirsten (Keester), and Raff the weekend of March 19th. After running to the train station, we found that there were no seats left so we had to pull out these bench things in the aisles and sit on those. Not only were they uncomfortably low to the ground and too close to the compartments to stretch one’s legs, but every time someone had to go down the aisle we had to stand up and let them pass. Still…I prefer train travel to having to drive here or pay for a plane ticket.
By the time we got to Perugia it was almost dark so we set off to find our hostel. On google maps it seemed quite simple, but in reality a bit more complicated. We had to ask 4 or 5 people for directions but finally made it. After settling into my first hostel room, we decided to head to the center of town, taking my new favourite means of transportation and one which I think we should adopt in Pittsburgh. I give you, the mini metro. It is this beautiful red car (actually a few of them) which runs along a track like a roller coaster, is completely automated, and only costs a euro for a ticket which lasts a few hours. It would be PERFECT for getting from downtown to Oakland, to Southside, and maybe even to the strip. Anyway…made it into the center and had dinner at an American restaurant which reminded me of Quaker Steak. We ended our night in the piazza where everyone seemed to hang out, and all took flaming shots at a bar nearby then took our ‘pesquitos’ (limonata and peach vodka) out to drink on the cathedral steps.
The next day we went to Assisi and it was such a nice quaint little town. We walked all the way from the train station to the top of the hill (which is a LONG walk…about 45 minutes just to get to the bottom of the hill). We visited some churches, ate some delicious oven-baked pizza, then climbed all the way up to the Rocca Maggiore and took a bunch of jumping pictures. The view from there was breathtaking and you could see for miles in any direction. The fortress itself was very cool too, and had this crazy passageway from the main body to the lookout tower which made me feel like I was in the Goosebumps book, Tower of Terror. After the Rocca Maggiore we went to get gelato then to St. Francis’s basilica. The entire inside was painted in frescoes by Giotto and it was even more impressive than the Sistine chapel (so I think). St Francis’s tomb was this weird separate room that was underground and there were other bodies there too…I really don’t understand the whole relics thing and it kind of grosses me out but there’s no escaping it here. We tried to watch the sunset from St. Francis’s but it wasn’t time yet and we were tired and wanted to go back. We took the bus this time though and killed time at the McDonalds at the train station before taking our train. At the station we met a guy from Australia and ended up talking with him the whole way back to the hostel (since he was staying at the same one). We planned to freshen up and head in to the center to get dinner together.
And that’s when bad news struck. We were waiting (as usual) for Raff to get out of the bathroom when I got a call from Teresa. Her first question to me was “Do you have your computer with you” and then when I told her I did not, she told me it was gone, as was hers, and most of our host mom’s gold and furs. Our host house had been robbed while everyone was out and they had torn the place apart. It was really fortunate that Teresa and Clara arrived home at the same time (which NEVER happens) because the robber(s) were still there when they got home. Teresa and Clara went around the back, but saw that there was a window pane broken and a light put out, so they went around the front, and at that point the robber(s) must have snuck out the back and jumped the fence. They were real amateurs because they put everything in my pillowcase, but knew enough to take our internet sticks out of the computers (because then can be tracked, we think). They called the police who showed up pretty quickly and Paolo (who had gone to get pizza) came home soon too. I wasn’t there to see the mess left, but everyone was still really shook-up by the time I got back and now Clara keeps doors and windows locked all the time. But no one was hurt, and that’s the most important part.
Because there was nothing I could do from Assisi, I decided to live in my blissful-holiday state for as long as possible. We all went out to the center to find dinner, and ironically enough a pigeon pooped on my head as we were walking. Good luck? Hah. Gross is what that was. We finally found a pizzeria but had to stand outside and wait. The waitress totally skipped our number and let in a bunch of Italian customers ahead of us, but a couple nearby saw what had happened and let us go in ahead of them. The pizza was delicious and it was nice to sit down after waiting outside for at least an hour. Plus we were starving. By the time we got kicked out, it was really late and we were exhausted so we walked back to the hostel (because the mini metros stopped running at 8, their main flaw). We spent the next day in Perugia on the steps at the piazza for the most part, but earlier in the day we did walk around the town a bit and tried to see some of the monasteries and main sights. We were in this weird tunnel thing between the escalators and there was a market going on so we had lots of delicious free samples. I love free samples. While we were at the piazza, Kristi ran into some friends studying in Perugia, Nathan (our new Australian friend) ran into some Australians who lived in his neighbourhood in Australia, and Raff ran into a friend from school. It was bizarre. We walked back to the train station and made it home by evening. When I got home, poor Clara was a wreck. She is usually the most put-together woman I know, but that night she was wearing sweats, her hair was a mess, and she just looked so mentally-beaten and depressed. She had cleaned the house from top to bottom so I never got to see how it looked after the burglary, but my pillowcase was still gone and there was a big empty spot on my desk where my computer should have been. It seems as though they got to my room last, because Teresa’s room and the rest of the house were ransacked and they said mine just had a few drawers and the wardrobe open. They really had the worst of it, and I feel fortunate to have not seen the wreckage and to only have my computer taken.
The next day Teresa and I went to CIEE to talk about our options and we decided to try to rent a joint computer for the rest of the semester. Everyone was asking us about what happened and so I got to hear even more of the story from Teresa’s end. When I got home that day it was so depressing to have everything shut and locked. I loved the fact that the house was so open and sunny, but now its dark and we feel like prisoners. Fortunately by now (April 22nd) that’s eased up a little bit, but it’s never going to be really back to normal.
The rest of the week was ok…it was really strange not having a computer because usually after dinner we all would go upstairs and Teresa and I would do our work or check our email for the rest of the night. But that wasn’t an option anymore. Classes were fine, and that Friday we went to a children’s book fair in Bologna. The book fair was pretty good…I got a few free books and we got to see the inner workings of publishing houses. Afterwards a few of us went shopping around then went back to Ferrara. Teresa and I were supposed to go to Bassano del Grappa the next day, but due to circumstances I had no control over, that didn’t happen. Instead I spent a beautiful Saturday sitting outside in the sun, reading and chatting with Sylvia (technically my host-sister, but she lives by Milan and this was the first time we’d met). In the afternoon, Teresa and I went shopping and hung out with Olivia and Keester.
On Sunday I spent the day outside again, then in the evening we went to a club called Sinatra as a group. It was SOOOOOO much fun. There was this weird hip-hop competition (imagine Jenny from the Block meets Fabio…seriously Italy, leave the gangsta’ look to the Americans) and we ate dinner at a buffet then got drinks and danced the rest of the night. It was a pretty high-class club and there weren’t many creepers. I call that a win.
Classes the rest of the week…still without a computer and learning how spoiled we are in the states with campus labs open till late or even 24 hours and living close to them. The people in the apartments always say we’re welcome to use their computers, but they’re always using them! I cant’ blame them…I would be using my computer all the time too if I had one. Ricardo and Yasmine (one of the program directors and his wife who is my conversation partner) brought us their old laptop to use since they weren’t having much luck finding one to rent. Although I was leaving for spring break the next day, itis really coming in handy now that Teresa and I have to write all of our papers. Therefore, you should be expecting my 'spring break 2010' post soon since I have three papers to write and will need to be prokristenating to keep sane. Talk to you soon!