Adventures

Things are looking up in Perugia (besides the fact that it’s on a mountain)! Mary and I went on an adventure to the Coop, the grocery store that’s not supersmall, and we were successful! It might not seem like a big deal but we had to take the mini metro to get there and everything is still in Italian. We were both sick the day that our Italian classes took a field trip there. Dumb.
I got a super lot of good stuff to eat and I thought it would be mad expensive but it wasn’t. That was a nice surprise. The trip was largely uneventful and easy, with Mary and I figuring out each leg of the trip as we went (like where to buy a metro card, which mini car we had to get on, where the Coop was when we got to that stop etc…) with little to no difficulty. I did get onto a mini metro car and the doors shut behind me before Mary got on, but that was about as dangerous as it got. Don’t worry; we met up at the next stop, so it was no big deal. Afterwards we felt really successful and accomplished, and it made me feel a whole lot better about living in Perugia. I guess being able to get your own food and figure out everything on the way gives you some confidence. Cool.
I’m excited to start classes, except my Italian class is at 9:00 AM. Blehhhhh. My next class on Monday and Wednesday isn’t until 1:45, so I suspect I will nap. A lot. On Tuesday and Thursday my next class is at 12 so I think I’ll hang around school and get lunch around there and stuff. We’ll see how many times I want to walk up the hill to school before my legs just quit on me. One of the workers at school said that you never get used to the hills. I hope he’s wrong.
Mary and I made pasta together and it was delicious.

I’m also really excited to start traveling. I love Perugia and will definitely be spending a lot of time here (at least 4 days a week!) but there’s lots of Italy to explore. Not to mention the rest of Europe. Oy. Trying to figure everything out and what trips I want to plan makes me nervous and freak out a little bit because there’s so much that I want to do. Guess I’ll just have to do the best I can to see as much as I can!
On Sunday we went to a lunch set up by the Umbra Institute. I can’t remember what the place was called but it was a little ways away between Perugia and Assisi. We got there around 1 and didn’t leave until 4:30 and most of that time was spent eating. It was delicious but there was so much food. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to so many courses and such big meals! There was a plate full of mini appetizers (about 10 I think), rice and cabbage in a red wine sauce and ravioli for the second course, some type of meat that I’m gonna go with was pork and fried potatoes for the third part, tiramisu for dessert, and espresso if we wanted it. After each course we kept saying there was no way we would be able to eat the next one, but there was enough time in between courses to allow us to eat each one. It was amazing, but it took most of the day.
I feel like I’m always tired from such packed days. I’ve only been here a little over a week but it feels like so much longer. It feels weird to not talk to Tina every day. I can’t even text her or get on facebook to chat whenever I want to. And I want to skype with my mom but it’s really hard with the time difference and my lack of readily available internet. It sucks but I think we’ll get through it.

Not looking forward to a 9 am class in another language. Hopefully I get into a rhythm once classes start. I also have to try and figure out the laundry machine, which is all in Italian and takes an hour and a half to do a load of laundry. And then I have to hang it to dry. I’m gonna feel like a little old Italian lady.
On a last note, the gelato here is literally to die for. I would murder people to eat the pistachio kind I had the other day.