Monday, December 04, 2006

Week 2.

hiya, chums and loved ones.
i arrived here one week ago yesterday, but it already feels like it's been much longer. i spent most of last week exploring town and trying to get into a normal schedule. i finally woke up this morning without hitting the snooze button 20 times! it's difficult getting used to things closing early in the evening, and for pausa pranzo--an extended lunch hour.
we started classes on monday. i'm taking advanced italian and fashion photography for this first session. the advanced class is definitely challenging...it's through an international program, so there is absolutely no english spoken...if we need something to be explained further, we get it in italian. my teacher, steffano, seems quite nice, though. sort of goofy, which i think is good in a language class.
fashion photography is interesting. some students are fairly experienced, and others didn't know what the term "ISO" refers to. we are starting out photographing our peers. the second-to-last week, we get to go into a professional studio to use lights and nice cameras.
i have found my true love over here. its name is...nutella. i simply can't get enough of it! i'm also quite fond of a flavor of gelato called nocciola fantasia. it's a combination of hazelnut and caramel popcorn. it sounds strange, but it really is quite delicious, and, lucky for me, they serve it at the gelateria down the street from my apartment.
the mosquitoes over here are rabid. my legs look like they've been through a war zone!
last night i finally indulged in my first glass of legal wine! (they don't have a drinking age here...italians serve watered-down wine to their seven-year-olds.)
i have to admit that i'm pretty proud of the fact that i seem to blend in here rather well. other tourists will often speak to me in italian. one day i was walking up around the hills north of town, and two elderly ladies stopped me for directions and asked if i spoke italian. i responded that i spoke a little...then they asked if i was french. they were very surprised when i said that i was american. it really is amazing how much americans stick out here. they tend to walk around much more slowly than everyone else, and usually wear flip flops--according to my italian teacher at home, this is a huge fashion faux pas in italy.
i haven't made too many friends just yet, but i'm keeping my fingers crossed. i'm trying to decide if i want to head out on a couple of day field trips this weekend by myself, or just stay in town a while more.
sorry this is so brief...and i apologize if i don't get back to your emails promptly. i've decided i'd rather not pay the absurd prices for internet usage at the cafes, so i just have access to the school computers during the day.
please do write, though! i'm eager to hear from all of you.


xo,
grace

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