...So I'm in Italy

I mentioned briefly in the last post that I've been in Italy. I was hoping I could just leave it at that and just go right back to normal, but my conscience won't let me. I've abandoned this blog and I must answer for it. So, here are the answers! Brace yourself, there's a lot of ground to cover here.

1. How Do You Like Italy?

Italy is great! Well, now it is. We didn't get on so much when I first arrived, but I've ironed out the kinks since then. My plane arrived in Florence and all was just dandy until I realized my luggage didn't make it. Then after checking in and getting my keys I got lost trying to find my apartment. I know a little bit of Italian so I was able to ask for directions without too much trouble, but it was hot and I'd been traveling for a day and a half--not a happy camper. I trudged along the tricky cobbled streets of Florence with my I-can't-believe-they-let-me-take-this-on-the-plane-it's-so-large carry on. After a nap and a shower I felt much better.

The food in Italy is, of course, amazing. My roommates and I (lovely girls) ate out a lot in the first week before we realized how much money we were burning through. Now we're limiting ourselves to dinner out about every other week, sometimes more frequently. Dinner have been nice, but what I've really been enjoying are the lunches. There are lots of cheap places to grab paninis or pizzas nearby and everything is delicious. One of my favorite places is I'Panaio in the local market. They sell a large assortment of pastries as well as lunch foods and the staff is super friendly.

I haven't experienced too much of a culture shock yet, even though I've been here 7 weeks already. The only thing that bugs me is how slow the Italians walk down the street. I enjoy a reasonably brisk pace, so when a man darts out in front of me and proceeds to toddle along I get a little titchy.

2. Have You Traveled?

Plenty of places! I'm practically a world traveller! Okay, so I haven't been all around yet, but I still have time! So far I have been to Florence (obviously), Viareggio, Verona, Siena, Cinque Terre, Montepulciano, Montalcino, and Rome. So far my favorite has been Cinque Terre, which I went to on a trip with Bus2Alps. The hike was difficult (we did the hike to the fifth city) because it was uphill for the first 20 minutes, but the views were well worth it. Plus we got to chill on the beach with mojitos afterwards.

3. Where's The Best Place To Get Gelato?

Oh boy. OHHHHH BOY. I know gelato. I haven't gone out to eat yet, but I've sampled almost every gelateria within walking distance. My roommates and I even went gelateria hopping for dinner one night. We walked from gelateria to gelateria, getting one flavor at each for a total of five gelaterias and the best 10 euro ever spent.

My favorite so far has been B Ice. It's a family run place and has the best apple-cinnamon gelato I have ever tasted. Sure it's the only apple-cinnamon gelato I've ever tasted, but it's dang good. Melt in your mouth fuck me sally good. The only problem is that B Ice is a good 20 minute walk from the touristy portion of town, well worth it but not exactly good for a spontaneous trip if you're on a time schedule.

Another great place that is closer to town is Venchi. They've been in the chocolate business since 1878 and makes some really great, rich chocolate gelato. They're fancy, but not nearly as expensive as you would think. A generous small I think cost no more than 2.50 euro. It's also right by the duomo so it's easy to pop in.

4. What Classes Are You Taking?

I am taking Philosophy 101, Age of Heroes: the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, 14th Century Italian Literature, Advanced Italian Language, and Food of Itlay. In case it isn't obvious, Food of Italy is my favorite. We cook every class, which not only saves me money from buying lunch once a week, but also means I get to pig out on authentic Italian food practically all the time now that I have the recipes. Yummmm

5. How Did Midterms Go?

Why thank you for asking. I just had my last two midterms today and I think they went reasonably well. I'm not used to having to handwrite my exams, usually my english professors just ask for typed papers to be handed in on the exam dates, so my writing hand is cramping from lack of exercise. First world problems.

6. So...Why Haven't You Posted In Over A Month?

Funny story. You see, my laptop was stolen by these Italian Mafia gang members. They were huge and had slicked back hair and cigars dangling precariously from their snarling mouths. Oh, Why did they want my laptop? Ummm...Revenge. I'm pretty sure it was for revenge. You see, when I arrived I witnessed this murder--really gruesome thing. It was a double murder, actually, and I was the only witness! Blood everywhere. I thought they didn't see me but it turns out they did and they came after me for revenge. Except they didn't kill me because I ran away. Really quickly. And then moved so they couldn't find me again. I'm actually in the witness protection program right now--shhhhh!! 

7. No, But Really?

Okay. I'd like to say that my internet was down or that my laptop crashed but that's not true. It's been working perfectly fine. I've just been a combination of busy, exhausted, and lazy that doesn't bode well for blogging.

In my spare time since I've been here I've read a few books (Dreamcatcher by Stephen King and Shadowland by Peter Straub) but I've mainly been catching up on tv shows. As lame as that sounds. I've been watching:

• Downton Abbey Season Two
• Sekaiichi Hatsukoi
• Once Upon a Time Season Two
• Modern Family

Now I've just started BBC's Merlin (first episode last night) and I have a feeling this is going to be another one that I'll obsessively fangirl over like Sherlock and Downton. Oh, Britain, why are you so awesome? It probably wasn't a good idea to start Merlin now since I'm leaving for Paris and Barcelona in a few days.

You jealous? Yeah, you are.

What Have I Been Doing?

So, I've been in Virginia for a month now and I wanted to give a little update on what I've been doing. I started this whole blog with the intention and promise to Do Something--capital letters and all. I'm not sure how much progress I've made Doing Something in the manner I meant it when I made myself that promise. My main goal was to not waste so much time. Instead of re-watching my favorite videos on Youtube or stalking pregnant acquaintances I would be doing something more productive. I'd be learning a new skill or hobby, volunteering, reading, and ideally writing.

I'm an expert procrastinator, so I knew this would be a challenge--and it has. I still spend a lot of time on Youtube and I haven't read a book since my internship started. To be honest, I come home at the end of the day, help make dinner, and basically just collapse on my bed watching Youtube videos. And while part of me is like "It's okay, you've had a long day. Relax, don't worry about doing something right now. Have you watched that new Vlogbrothers video yet?" the other part of me is disappointed in myself.

That's not to say I've been completely lazy, and that's what I'd like to focus on today. Call it a self-given pep talk, if you will. I need some motivation right about now.

1) Internship: As I mentioned before, I've been interning with FEMA for the summer. So far the job is...well, pretty boring to be honest. I don't feel like I'm earning my keep because nobody ever has anything for me to do. Most of my day is spent secretly playing bejeweled on my ipod and hoping someone comes by with something (anything) for me to do. The problem is that the people I'm working with deal with a lot of classified material, and I have zero clearance. So I literally can't help out with much. But hey, if they're paying me to sit in my own office with my own bathroom and drink tea all day that's fine with me. Even if it is extremely boring.

There was one fun aspect of my internship this week. I got to go on a site visit! Basically, some of the roofs needed to be replaced throughout the facility. I got to go around with the contractors working on the roofs and inspect them. This means that I was climbing up and down ladders and traipsing across scorching hot roofs all morning with a bunch of old men in work boots. These were the good kind of old men. The kind that call you ma'am and say things like, "Don't be afraid of that ladder; you don't weigh enough to do anything to it," I just smiled sheepishly at that and tried not to think of the 4 sprinkle donuts I'd eaten that morning.

Other than that the internship has taught me about tea. I've always wanted to be a tea drinker. I can't stand the smell or taste of coffee, but I felt like I needed to be able to order something besides a smoothie or a cookies-n-cream milkshake at a coffee shop, and now I can order tea. My aunt is a tea fanatic and has a whole cupboard of different kinds of tea at work. I've been trying a new one each day to find out what kinds I like. So far chamomile, green tea, and blueberry-flavored green tea are my favorites. I know this doesn't sound like Doing Something, but I think it counts as expanding my horizons. Right?

2) Family Stuff: I've been spending a lot of time with my extended family since I came to VA. I hardly ever get to see them all, so I've really appreciated this opportunity. I spent a weekend with my aunt and uncle and their two little girls in Arlington, which was lovely. The girls are brats thought (don't tell them I said that!). I went to two separate Father's Day dinners with a father that wasn't my own. One was at the Peking Gourmet Inn where we all pigged out on delicious duck. I'd only been there once before and I was younger so it was lovely to go back and be able to really experience the new food. Also, they had Jasmine tea, which was wonderful.

The second Father's Day dinner was at my uncle's parents' house. They are from Switzerland and have the most incredible house there with an amazing view of the Matterhorn. They also have a ping-pong table in their basement, where my cousin Erich and I played before dinner.

The most exciting family event I've participated in was a bridal shower. The bride was already married by the time we through this shower (apparently I come from a whole family of procrastinators) and she wasn't even present. Instead we all filmed the shower and my uncle is going to edit the film and send it down to her. It was my first bridal shower ever, I didn't know the bride, and she wasn't even there. It was unusual, to say the least. 

What was so fun about the bridal shower was that it was thrown in a house just three doors down from where my Great Granny raised her thirteen children. That's right, 13 kids. And you should see this house! So small--and no air-conditioning! I don't know how she did it. We took a walk down to her old house and she told us stories and those of her children that were present reminisced. Being so far away from my family I don't get to hear many of these stories, so it was an experience I'm really grateful for.

3) Sandwiches: I helped make 1,780 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches today. I had to wear gloves and a hairnet and everything. A bicycle tour is coming through this middle-of-nowhere town in VA. It is a very scenic town, but I'm still surprised so many people are coming. Anyway, my uncle happens to be the mayor of this very small town and so is in charge of providing a snack of all these cyclists. My aunt, uncle, and I and about 10 other volunteers spent our Friday night making sandwiches, cutting up fruit, and probably wishing we lived somewhere else--but then again, maybe not. There was a great sense of community there. Or that could have just been peanut butter. Tomorrow is the day of the ride where we actually pass out the sandwiches. I have to wake up extra early for a Saturday. Wish me luck.

4) Italy: I bought my plane ticket to Italy. I'm officially broke, but hopefully I'll get paid soon. Buying the ticket kind of solidified how real this is in my mind. It's happening. I'm really going to Florence--for a whole semester no less. Crazy. My mind can't even process this right now.

Well, that's all I've been doing for now. My plan is to start writing for realz on Sunday--did I mention how good I am at procrastination.

Harry Potter World

So, this is a bit late. But only by a week! That's hardly anything, when you think about the whole scope of things. Really, how long is a week compared to the months I waited for each of the Harry Potter books to come out? Really?....It won't happen again. If only because I missed it.

The last you heard from me I was frolicking in Florida with my roommate, Julia. I have bunches to catch you up on, so here is a bulleted list of the major points that are going on in my life before the actual blog-content. I know, you're on pins and needles.

• Julia's family eats a ton. They go out to eat almost every day, and when they aren't eating out, her mom cooks amazing meals that could easily feed 10 people. I must have gained ten pounds in that little week I was there--I have no clue how Julia stayed skinny for the first 18 years of her life!
• I'm finally caught up on Once Upon a Time and WOW! Without any spoilers, I'll just say that there is so much going on and I can't wait until Sunday! On a side note, Julia knows the girl who plays young Snow White. How cool is that?
• I got sunburnt on my first day in Florida (I have very pale skin that resists sunscreen no matter how many times it's applied. It's like my superpower.) and spent the rest of the week under an umbrella with a towel draped over my legs while Julia had fun in the sun. Sadness.
• I GOT AN INTERNSHIP FOR THE SUMMER AND IT PAYS REAL MONEY
• I finally got my application for Italy, so now I just have to fill it out...I'll get right on that, I swear!
• I went to Harry Potter World!

It is this last bullet that I would like to expound upon. This was my first experience with Universal Studios ever. I'm a huge Disney World fan, so when I'm in Orlando I generally stay at Disney and don't move around much. But Julia and I (the huge potterheads we are) just had to see HP World, so we made the trip. It felt really weird to be in Orlando and see signs for Disney but not pull off, but I am glad I went--and both parks would have been too expensive for us broke college students.

Harry Potter World was amazing. We didn't even bother with the rest of the park at first, just headed straight for the castle and didn't look back until we'd done everything that we wanted to. 

We started with the castle ride because it had the longest wait and we knew it was a must see. We waited 90 minutes, and I'm not gonna lie, the outside portion of the line is brutal. However, it does move pretty regularly without long periods of standing still, which helps. I'd heard a lot about how the inside portion of the line was great, and for the most part it was. I really liked seeing the Mirror of Erised and Dumbledore's office and our little convo with the Golden Trio. My only problem was a plain door marked 'Kitchens'. Everyone knows that the entrance to the kitchens is behind the painting of a bowl of fruit, which would have been a great detail to add that wouldn't have been too hard. I also really would have liked to get a picture of me tickling the pear!

The ride itself was great! I would compare it to a combination of Soarin' and Dinosaur in Disney World, because it is intense and simulation-y, but not a roller coaster. It's been a while, so I'll admit to not remembering every detail about the ride, but I remember specifically thinking that they did an excellent job blending simulation and video with real life...if that makes any sense to you.

From there I got my wand. I didn't wait in line for the show at Ollivander's because we had to leave by 4 and didn't arrive in Universal until 11ish, so we were in a bit of a hurry to get everything done. Instead I just went in through Dervish and Bangs. I ended up choosing Hermione's, and I'm really happy with it. I originally wanted Draco's, then I got in line with Luna's, then I got out of line and picked up Lucius', and then I finally decided on Hermione. I like to think that it was calling to me :)

Next was lunch at the Three Broomsticks where I got the shepherd's pie and Julia got fish and chips and we both tried butterbeer. Frozen is better than non-frozen, by the way. Lunch was a bit expensive, but what do you expect in a theme park, I guess. I do think it was more expensive than Disney though.

We did the Tri-Wizard Tournament ride twice so we could experience both sides. I prefer the red side and Julia liked the blue. The wait for this ride was really short, the first time being 25 minutes and the second only 10 minutes.

After that we headed over to the Hulk, which had a very short wait, and was awesome! I lovvee roller coasters, and that really satisfied my fix. The Hulk was probably the biggest roller coaster I have been on to date, but it wasn't that bad. I keep telling people that so they will agree to go back with me.

As amazing as I thought Harry Potter World was, Universal itself didn't impress me much. Parking was very unorganized, the staff nowhere near as friendly as in Disney, there wasn't a lot for littler children to do (even the carousal was intense), and I felt like the copied a lot from Disney, without any of the magic.

As fun as it was to go on the more 'grown up' rides at Universal, my heart remains with Disney.

Old People Are The Cutest

Recently, I have become obsessed with the utter balls of cuteness that are old people. It may seem a little weird to some of you. And it's true: old people are a little gross. They have lost most of their teeth and hair, their clothes smell like mothballs, they can't hear a thing you say, sometimes they can't talk much themselves, sometimes they're crazy, and they move pretty slowly. But...who cares? My roommate recently introduced me to the glory of old people, and I've procrastinated 4 days away googling them. Seriously, they are cuuuteee!! Who could resist or deny this face?

It's impossible. So, since I'm a bit pressed for time today, I decided to share some of the cutest old people with you. Enjoy!

This grandpa is so adorable! I want to adopt him and take him away form his current granddaughter who can't seem to stop poking his dangling ears. She obviously doesn't appreciate him as much as I would! I just love the fact that the grandpa is such a good sport for his granddaughters, So Cute!

And then there's this sweet little grandma! She's too cute! A fair warning though, inhaling helium can be dangerous, so watch out, peeps!

There are LOTS of cute old people on Betty White's Off Their Rockers. It's a show about old people pranking the younger generation. It's amazing what you can get away with when you're old! I will admit that I've only watched one episode and didn't bother continuing as it couldn't hold my interest too much, but the old people were so gosh-darned cute!

Now this couple is soooo adorable! I can only hope that someday I meet a man who plays piano and we can rock out little duets in our old age that will become Youtube Famous.

It just hurts, doesn't it? The cuteness, I mean. I think they old man shopping for a valentines day card is my favorite :)

And who could forget the King and Queen of Adorable Old People?

As the saying goes, Disney and Pixar told a better love story in 8 minutes without dialogue than Stephanie Meyer did in 500,000 words.

In other news, here's a quick, bulleted update on my life:

• Dance Marathon is next Friday....Nervous and Excited at the same time!
• Roomies and I meet a possible subleaser for next year tomorrow!
• I went home this weekend and it was lovely.
• My Italian is so awful I'm getting worried about studying in Italy next year.
• Rice Crispies were buy-one-get-one-free at the grocery store today! Oh, the little joys.