Fail Break

Most of the Americans went on Fall break this week. I went on Fail Break.

I struggled to go to class, I barely slept and I complained a lot. I also went out most nights. All these activities = cranky Louisa.

Now that I have slept more, life has improved immensely! Just in time for everyone to come back to town :) I was supposed to go to Pisa yesterday... but I overslept. I think it was a better decision to stay here anyway. I would have been a terrible monster had I not slept.

Chocolate fest's last day is today. I will get my city center back! I admit, I benefited from the food products available. Yesterday I had churros with nutella drizzled on top. Oh my goodness. Unfortunately, they desperately lacked cinnamon. I was so excited to have something that reminded me in some distant way to Southwestern Mexican food that I was quite overjoyed regardless. Whew. they were sooo sweet though. I couldn't handle it.

I'm trying to not eat ham, cheese and bread at every meal so I'm forcing myself to be more creative with vegetables. Normally, I sauté zucchini and whatever vegetables I have in olive oil and garlic. Sometimes when they are done, I crack a few eggs on top and have a little omelet. Yet there was an "incident" that scarred me a little bit. So I have this thing about shrimp. I LOVE fresh shrimp. But I am terribly picky about seafood, especially frozen seafood. Especially the tiny kind. I barf a little bit just thinking about it. So in our protein deprived country, Suzanne found frozen mini shrimp and was thrilled. I turned a little green but hey, as long as I don't eat it, no harm done.

So... one night, after Suzanne has made shrimp... I am making my vegetable and egg combo... I used very clean looking pan and spoon.. but suddenly my food starts to smell shrimpy. Suzanne cleans dishes excellently so I thought it was my overactive imagination. Nope. My first bite of eggs... fishy... my third bite of eggs... MORE fishy. Then I threw it all away. Fail.

So today, my cooking solution is baking zucchini, peppers, garlic and olive oil in the my oven for a nice little roast! Hopefully, it'll turn out well. Suzanne and I have been learning how to cook via experiment. So far, so good.

Eurochocolate 2012: I'm Buying Chocolate In Bulk Because I Want to Support Local Perugian Businesses

I need to go grocery shopping. I'm munching on chocolate like it's carrots. But hey, it's Eurochocolate, or as I call it without even realizing it, CHOCOLATE FEST.

My barely week old cheese got moldy in my fridge. A WEEK? I feel like that's gotta be illegal. Or Suzanne is mad at me and painted blue spots on my cheese. How else is that even possible? It's provolone for heavens sake.

Do you know what Italians love?

Karaoke.

I went to this Italian pub by my house with my American friends Connor and Maura and my Italian friends Valerio e Chiara. So there's probably 30 people in a tiny room. The DJ claims he can't find ANY of the songs he requested. It's soooo hot. The mics don't work. But it don' mattah! Because as soon as a song and lyrics start playing, EVERYONE begins to screech heartily. Some of the lyrics might be wrong on the screen. But it's ok. Everyone makes up their own anyway.

My English is going. Please forgive all the typeos I'm making and not noticing.

My favorite part of the evening: Everyone knows all the words to Don't Look Back In Anger. Oasis <3

A General Catch Up/I'm Not Going to Sicily

Hello, world! It's been awhile.

I took a break for your own good. Besides complaining and being bored, there was nothing going on in my life to recount! But good news, more things happened in my life!

First, I got invited to a Bible study. It was reallllly great. It's funny how easily it all happened... I got invited when I should have gone home to sleep early but I was lured in by the promise of cookies. I downloaded an Ignatius Bible on my phone in like 45 seconds. It was a small group of Christians who I'm pretty sure all attend different churches back home. Suddenly, I found myself in this deep discussion about prayer, conversion stories, St. Augustine, the progression of human knowledge towards the Divine Being, etc. It was quite wonderful. I was the only Catholic there and suddenly I was asked sincere questions about Catholicism, which I LOVE. It makes me realize how much I learned at TAC. I found myself confidently answering questions after simple reflection. Also, unlike most Bible studies, it was really comfortable because we were all friends beforehand. Some people said some beautiful things that were great to hear.

Friday night, I made dinner with some people. Good news, you really can't go wrong with salt, vegetables, olive oil, garlic, tomato sauce and herbs. Better news, if you fry enough garlic with confidence and people are really hungry, they might think you are a good cook. Huzzzahhh! After dinner, we went to meet up with my friend Effie for aperitivo because her American boyfriend Nate was in town.  Afterwards, we went to a few bars because Effie wanted to show Nate our ridiculous Perugia nightlife. We had sooo much fun. I was in such a good mood that Suzanne asked me if I was drunk (false).

Can I just give out a shout out to American men? I MISS YOU. I've talked to other American girls about this. I truly realize how amazing my guy friends are. Italian men can be such dogs. I can think of one or two Italian men who aren't skeeze bags. Ok, that might not be fair to Italian men in general. But in Perugia where foreign girls come and go, (ok, SOME OF) these Italian guys totally take advantage. I'm sure there are nice Italian men somewhere studying in a library and don't go on patrol in the downtown center to pick up girls... but I doubt I will meet any of them hahaha. I would probably get lost trying to find this hypothetical library full of Italian nerds (swoon). It's probably for the best because I would never leave if I actually found it.

So I'm contemplating dying my hair brown. For my pronunciation class, I have this Italian professor who might be barely 5'1. He is missing teeth. He's in his 50s and very funny. Of course, his class is a waste of time because we never learn anything. My friend Sigrid from Norway (aka beautiful blonde girl) and I sat in the back of the class, bored and talking to each other instead of paying much attention. We are the only blondes in the class. I don't really remember how this came up, but suddenly our professor tells us that in Sicily, men think blondes are easy. Hence they harass them very much. After laughing, I turned to Sigrid and said "Wow, that explains a lot..." And she's like YEAH and then goes on to tell me this story where these two old Italian  men fought over her once and she had no idea what was going on hahahah. Oh great.

So on Sunday, Sigrid and I went to San Marino and San Leo. Both are famous for their rock castles. We loved the towns more than the castles because they were so charming. Unfortunately, San Marino was full of creepy staring men. One old guy literally watched me eat lunch and tried to catch my eye for about 20-30 minutes AT 1 IN THE AFTERNOON. What the heck. I also wanted to stand up and go over to him and say, "REALLY? I'm probably 4 inches taller and 20 years younger than you. In what world? You disgust me. Go awaaaaayyyyyyy!"

Otherwise, San Marino was a beautiful little country. Go visit it.

Saturday, Suzanne, Sigrid, Kim and I hit up Eurochocolate, the chocolate festival that goes on in downtown Perugia for 10 days. It sounds fun! It was... a zoo. Sooo many people. Overpriced chocolate and lines everywhere you looked. I hate crowds but we managed to escape eventually and have some chill time. I'm currently scared to go to the supermarket because I don't want to brave the chaos... But I'm hungry. Louisa cannot live on saltines, Nutella and jam alone! At least I have coffee :D

November is going to be full of visits! I'm so excited. Suzanne and I are going to hit up Barcelona for a weekend. After that, Anna will come visit me in Perugia. I'm going to try to swing a day trip to Florence which would be lovely indeed. Then at the end of November, Anna and I will be meeting up with Cathleen, Jenny and Annie in Scotland. AH!! I hope it all works out. I'm so excited... and a little sick of Perugia on the weekends. I'm also trying to visit my family in Trieste and I want to hit up Venice.

I'm thinking of going to a different Italian city next semester because I think I'm going to be so so so sick of Perugia by January and I'll have to meet all new people anyway since all of my good peeps are here for only a semester. But that sounds like sooo much work... and I think B2 will be so much better class wise too here in Perugia.

I'm currently playing hooky. Can you tell I'm a little over life right now? Haha.

Why I Got Waaayy Too Excited about the Possibility of Purchasing A Snuggie...

My German friend Kim is really annoying. (See, Kim? This time I made it real clear if I was saying terrible things about you.)


In other news...

I AM SO COLD. I didn't bring anything warm. Did you know it's illegal to turn on your heat before November 1st? Yeah... That's why I have a cold (bad pun unintended) right now. Because it's illegal to be warm! As I waited for my coffee to brew, instead of bothering with putting a sweatshirt on and more pajamas... I just got dressed. T shirt, jeans, socks, sweater hoodie... and then I put my coat on. At the kitchen table.

Mom, will you please send my extra pants, sweaters and scarf? I feel like this:

But I don't have an awesome library and magical dancing servants to serve me in fear. Or build a big legal fire. Or a bunch of fur, come to think of it...

I would like soup but I have no idea where to even begin looking for a can of soup. I feel like that is also illegal in Italy.

BUT, I did order a down puffy jacket online today because it sounded like the best idea in the world. I now don't have fear of visiting colder countries :D How practical I am!

I really really really want to go to Cathleen's graduation at St. Andrews next month. I'm saving my school absences in preparation. Of course, it's going to take me 6-14 hours to fly there, depending on what flight I get... But the good news is I HAVE BIG PUFFY COAT SO ALL IS POSSIBLE.

And possibly a snuggie...

This weekend I'm going to San Marino with a girl from my class! We leave at the butt crack of dawn, (actually before the sun comes up. grrr) at 6:30 am on Sunday and come back in the late evening.

I was going to plan a last minute trip to Paris (oh la la how glamorous!) but I'm not very good at last minute. Even if I don't go to Paris this week or the next, I will still be thrilled that I had the opportunity to scramble for a "last minute trip to Paris."

A Blonde in a Bright Green Coat Walks into a Bar, I mean, Church! and....

Remember when I talked about buying a bright kelly green coat this summer? Dear friend, WHERE WERE YOU TO COUNSEL ME? Because I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in Perugia who wears a bright coat AND has bright blonde hair. Awesome... I am a walking target.

In other news...

I found a parish! Chiesa San Filippo Neri here in Perugia.

Click on this to see the inside of the chiesa.

I've been really struggling with Italian mass. It's hard enough to be Catholic in the day to day, but it's way harder when no one around you gets Catholicism and then you can't even understand your own Sunday mass. These should be your people! Instead, everyone is mumbling incoherently and is 80 years old. Perhaps, you are blending in but forgetting to pray because you are (not really) translating. Perhaps you are distracted by the obvious bad behavior that Italians demonstrate in church... It's MADDENING.

So today I tried a new tactic. A certain someone hasn't sent me a magnificat (COUGH) and the magnificat crappy crappy website (that some homeschooler who is "good with computers" probably made) denies my request for a subscription because I want to send it to Italy. Commie bastards!

Oh yes, back to my new tactic... I downloaded a translation of the mass in Italian. I downloaded today's readings. I put them on my kindle. Then I went to a different church than usual (usually I go to Chiesa San Lorenzo which collects the most causal, rude Catholics. But it's pretty... wayyy less pretty than San Filippo Neri though. Chiesa San Lorenzo).

And it was fantastic! There were actual paper booklets with parts of the Mass and the readings in Italian. The church is overwhelmingly beautiful. Best of all, there is a young priest and very reverent altar (man?) man who served. No, wait, the best of all was I UNDERSTOOD SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE HOMILY!!!!!!!

That has never never never happened before. And it was a great homily. It was about what it meant for Christ to be the Word of God. I found myself listening for the first three minutes straight without realizing I was following an Italian homily. WAHOO. He concluded with a brief analysis on the story of the rich man who couldn't go to Heaven unless he sacrificed his wealth. His analysis was very good and he asked the congregation to mediate on it briefly before the profession of faith. I was very impressed.

I will not become a heathen after all. And I might be learning Italian :D

I am becoming a massive grump though. I am so sick of Italian food! I got a Turkish kabob wrap today and I almost cried with delight. I realized it also tastes a teeny bit like Taco Bell. Double score.

“It is fate that I am here,' George persisted, 'but you can call it Italy if it makes you less unhappy.”

So I'm really embarrassing. How embarrassing? I had been rereading quotes from Room with a View by E.M. Forster as I prepared (emotionally? physically? definitely embarrassingly) for my trip to Firenze.

If you are reading this and know positively nothing about the previously mentioned novel, you have two options: 1) Kill yourself or 2) Go find it and read it this moment! 3) Go watch the movie with Helen Bonham Carter. It's AMAZING. The film makes you want to escape immediately to the Italian countryside. The music is stunning. I am listening to it right now like a big big big sap the size of Texas.

I've decided Room with a View is exactly what I should be reading right now. It's about Victorian English people visiting Italy and what enfolds as their lives interact. It's very clever, funny and just... true. If you have read it before, you will understand.


One of the reasons I love Room with a View is the heroine.  Lucy thinks she needs some adventure but at the same time has a very organized (see "English") view of the world. Of course, she is very naive and is constantly shaken by what happens to her in her travels. What strikes you is that she is at the same time a very strong minded girl, not in the least cold, with a passion for Beethoven. She isn't your typical "impressionable young maiden" but a thoughtful, spirited girl who is expanding her understanding of the world day by day.

So I identify with Lucy very much. I did not realize how naive I was until a week or two ago. What a shocking revelation! I'm twenty two years old, I have my college degree, I've watched cable, traveled to different countries, read many books... and I am far more naive than I thought.

My main problem is I expect everyone to be a good person. Mature, friendly, appropriate, honest, trustworthy... Which is funny because I feel like I'm generally far more critical back home. It's probably because I really want to befriend everyone here so I'm not in my room crying and eating jars of Nutella.

I'm really dumb. Welcome to the real world, Louisa. Obviously, I didn't give my passport or wallet to a man on the streets of Napoli with a gold teeth. It's the subtle social things I miss. Suzanne likes to laugh at me but seriously scolds me, "Louisa, you have to stop being nice to people." I collect crazy people very easily because I assume everyone has boundaries... NOPE. They don't. Yay...

I'm sure any of you who know me well are laughing. "Louisa? Too nice to people? Bullshit." It's true, folks. It's a problem.

Back to Firenzzzzeeee, it was the first city I got lost in. The first city in which I went to no museums or exhibits. I went to the Duomo, ate THE BEST GELATO I'VE EVER HAD, and wandered around. Apparently, you have to pay to go to Santa Croce. I had no cash but I decided hey, next time!

I thought I'd hate Firenze... but I didn't at all. I think I've become a city girl. I walked for hours and hours each day we were there. I finally found face wash (!!!!).  People told me they hated how touristy it was and how everyone spoke English to them. Almost everyone spoke Italian with me and it was by far less touristy than Roma.

But holy smokes, Florentine men are bold. A crazy man on the street told me, "Ciao. I love you." Our waiter was suppperr flirty (naive Louisa only noticed after Suzanne pointed it out. "Duh.")

The best story I have, however, was when I was waiting for someone to buzz me into the hostel. It was still light out and I had been walking around for hours. I was returning from my personal adventure where I found the best extra dark chocolate gelato in the world which I ate leaning against a bridge over the river as the sun was that lovely orange color. It was soul reviving. (Very Room with a View!) I felt relaxed and happy. I wasn't even annoyed waiting to get into the hostel. I was standing and waiting for a few minutes when a group of people pass by.... I hear someone say "Do you need something?" in Italian. Finally, I realize this voice is talking to me. I turn to my left and who do I behold but

The most beautiful man I've ever seen.

No joke. So imagine this conversation in Italian.

"Ciao, want to get a drink?", winked the most beautiful Italian alive.

"Uhhhhhh", I stuttered like the mature, well-educated woman I am, "Sorry, I can't (insert here an awkward laugh because I am so uncool)... I have a boyfriend." (New instant response to all Italian men.)

"Oh, ok... want to go get a Coca Cola ;)," innocently suggested the most beautiful Italian alive.

"(Awkward laugh) No, sorrrrryy, I can't," I responded, great amused by his innocent offering of a soda.

"Ah.... ok, see you later ;)."

Oh, Firenze.

First Day of School... Again

Last month's courses were lackluster. Two of my courses were drier than TAC cornbread. That's saying something.

I started a new three month semester today. I am taking the same level (B1) because I want confidence with the foundations of Italian. So today we got new professors, a new schedule, a new book and new classmates.

After being Germany for a weekend and being unable to speak Italian there, I was so excited to back in Italy. On my way home, I had conversations with my taxi driver and a lady on the train in Italian. I ordered properly (in Italian with the popular cultural customs!) at a cafe by myself. I am so pumped to give this language thing another go. Of course, I still got stressed out by these conversations because I understood sixty percent of the content. BUT I find myself UNDERSTANDING without concentrating. Obviously, it's simple things that I understand but it feels natural. FINALLY.

My new professors are really good. I LOVE my oral exercises teacher. I found myself doing really well in her class.  It felt like Berlitz again. I was expressing myself comfortably! Right now the teachers are very patient and clear because we have so many students that are way behind. I have no idea how some of them got into B1. But hey, if it helps me out, I'll take it.

Also, now that Suzanne and I aren't freshmen, we've made so many new friends. We showed two lost Europeans how to get to school and we befriended some of our classmates.

However, I REALLYYY miss my old classmates. They were mature, friendly and respectful. My current classmates are really rude and immature. My grammar teacher kept asking them to be quiet. She finally was staring at them silently... and they kept chatting. It was painful. I've never felt so silent in my life. Was I even breathing? I have no idea.

My schedule has class on Friday... but I got into the morning section so I get off at 12! Hurrah!

Germania: "You talk like the Movies!"

After a ridiculously fun birthday, I bought a plane ticket to visit Anna near Dusseldorf at her uncle's house.

It was the worst travel experience. Well, it was fun until I showed up at the airport. Hani and I took the train together and just chatted. It was great to travel with him because he knew exactly what we were doing, unlike myself...

At the airport, as I waited in the overheated gate for my plane, I realized I didn't have my headphones. I left them on the train to the airport. I couldn't get wifi at my gate. When I ordered a sandwich at the main terminal, my accent was so bad that the cash register answered me in English. I searched my bag for 40 minutes as I got super sweaty and self conscious as all these nosy Italians stared at me. I miss how Americans pretend to ignore you and politely sneak peeks. Rarely do people blatantly stare in the US. So, the gate is tiny, overpacked, and hot. No wifi is available. I stood for... over 40 minutes waiting, worrying that I was at the wrong place. My plane was late. I was dehydrated. While I waited, I stared at people (when in Roma, be a staring jackass. That's the saying, right?). I noticed this couple all over each other. The woman literally snarled playfully as she kissed her boyfriend. Vommmmmit.

They sat next to me on the plane. They made out during the majority of the flight.

I didn't have headphones.

I didn't have a magazine.

I sat there and tried to zone out. Obviously, I got a beer in flight. I needed SOMETHING. I didn't realize people could kiss so loudly in public without shame.

So when I landed in Germany, I freaked out seeing my beloved Anna. I talked so much in the car, I was so happy to see her! Her uncle's house is super cool; it's over 100 years old. But it also was very cold. I wore pretty much everything I brought everyday. I foolishly thought Germany wouldn't be so cold. It's freaking freezing. No wonder Germans are considered a cold people. They've been desensitized in order to survive.

The next day, we went to Cologne (Koln with a double dot over the o). We walked by the water and headed over to the chocolate museum. It smelled fantasticccc. We learned a bit about chocolate too, so it was a cultural experience ;) We walked around downtown Cologne and bought ice cream. Anna is obsessed with "spaghetti" ice cream so we got these huge bowls of ice cream. I couldn't handle it. Italy is ruining me. I'm losing my taste for sweets. We shopped a bit and got more fries. Curry ketchup? Where have you been all my life?

Then we went to the big church in Cologne. Very Gothic and beautiful. My favorite church we visited was the next day. It was in this small town where there was where Mary appeared to a German. There was this beautiful little chapel and two huge churches next to them. My favorite was stunning. My jaw dropped.

I've been spoiled with all this fantastic European architecture so I've become harder to impress. I promise this church we saw (God knows where. I NEVER knew where the hell we were. I can't remember German names for the life of me. My brain only has room for Italian and English these days.)  It honestly made the basilica in Cologne just look pretty in comparison. This church combined Gothic, Baroque, and Eastern Catholic styles.

I could have cried, it was so beautiful. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdpicturesart/5861907985/

The funniest part of our weekend was when we were taking the train back from Cologne to Anna's uncle's house, Hans Willi. There were three guys next to us on the train speaking rather bad English with strong accents. Anna and I were trying to figure out where they were from- they had to be from different places. Why else would they be speaking English between them? We debated asking them where they were from but both were too chicken.

Suddenly, I find myself blurting out to them, "WHERE are you guys FROM?" I surprised myself how easily I said it. We spent the next 30-60 mins chatting with these guys on the train. Two were from Spain and one from Roma. The three of them are studying engineering and computer science via Erasmus in Holland. They were so funny. The guy from Roma tried to speak Italian with me but I refused. He got all pissy about it. Lame. The Spaniards were way awesome. They made Anna and I laugh so much.

Three highlights of that conversation: 1) The MASSIVE confusion that occurred when one of the guys said his name was Fernando, "Like the Abba song!" That made me love Fernando right away. Anna said, "Wait, like the bull?" Then we got into this huge explanation about Ferdinand the bull, using misleading hand gestures. It took five minutes to clear that up. 2) They told me that I was easy to understand because they watch a lot of American movies and television. "You talk like the movies!" 3) When you don't know what to say to a European under the age of 30, mention How I Met Your Mother. They follow it religiously.

The highlight of the trip was when Anna and I rode her family's ancient bicycles in the green fields at sunset. Poetic, yes? It was stunning.

The Birthday Bambina!

On the eve of my 22nd birthday, I was wondering about being in Italy. Perche? Why? What? Hum. Ho. Hee.

My birthday was wonderful.  Earlier this summer I worried: will my birthday suck and will I struggle to eat a whole cake in the dark in a moody music montage as I watched Glee reruns?

Answer: Nope! Instead I went to class. I showed up over an hour late. My teacher said, "How are you, Louisa?!" And I, with a big smile, announced that it was my birthday. Every time a teacher would ask me how old I was, they would throw their hands and eyes up and say "Oh, UNA BAMBINA!" To my professors and majority of classmates, I was a spring chicken. It was nice considering everyone in Umbra was teasing me I was an old lady haha.

Then the craziest thing happened to me, evvvverrr.  My friends and I were going to the cafeteria when my friend Abdu came up. Abdu works at Lunabar, this popular student bar which has themes every night. He's casually putting up posters when I realize MY FACE is on them.  Apparently, me and two other people had their birthday so he put all of our faces on the poster. He joked about doing it awhile ago but he did it! My face was pasted on public walls and printed on flyers that were all over Perugia.

WHEN DOES THIS EVER HAPPEN? I laughed so hard. So my birthday "party" was at Lunabar... in writing.

I skipped half of my afternoon shitty lesson and I went home to clean pots as I sang at the top of my voice with joy. It was my birthday! Those ridiculous flyers were hilarious! I had a new curling iron! I had dinner plans!

That evening, I sat at a table of five new friends from all different places. We drank wine, ate a bunch of food and had great conversation. I found five awesome people to share my birthday dinner with. Despite almost exploding, we went to get gelato after dinner. Then we went to Dempsey's and Lunabar where everyone bought me tequila (shots) and danced like crazy people.  We met up with a bunch of other great people at the bars and club.  They were so kind and generous to me! I don't remember laughing so much in such a long time.  As I started to fall asleep standing on the dance floor... I realized it was time to go home!

I'm pretty sure I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Maybe I'll stay after all :)