I've Arrived!

I'm sorry I'm just now posting a blog. It turns out that I am going to have to buy and internet stick if I want to access the internet whenever I want to... and those are kind of expensive here. So--right now I am only able to access at an internet cafe or at the Institute. My life is crazy.... and I feel like I am in a program that is way over my head. We had an entrance exam last Tuesday and classes started last Thursday. I want to cry all the time, but I've told myself I'm a big girl and I'm not going to. There are 6 American students in the Full-Immersion Program and I live with one of them. Brooke (from Cali) and with a girl from Russia (Tatiana). Soon we'll also have an Italian roommate. Our common language is Italian, so it’s been an interesting experience to communicate daily in Italian. This semester is very different from my last semester--just like I thought it was going to be. Brooke and I go out almost every night and hang out with boys the majority of the time (which is almost the complete opposite of what I did last semester in Florence :) It’s been really hard to get time alone, and if you know me well, I'm a big alone time person or rather a quiet person. Normally I would spend most of the time reading, journaling, studying without much socializing… But since Brooke and I have all of the same classes (26 hrs a week), we wake up at the same time, eat at the same time, etc., which translates to: major withdrawals from not having seclusion.
My classes are at an Italian university, taught in Italian, but, they are all Italian Language classes so they aren't as hard as it would be if they were topic classes. Either way, I still have so much I need to learn. I am constantly opening up my Italian-English dictionary trying to figure out what the teacher is explaining. And when I speak Italian, I constantly make a fool of myself---which has made me even more insecure about speaking in Italian. I know that I will improve because I already have, but I constantly grow frustrated with myself because I WANT to be good at speaking the language.
To finish, I have a short story for you. In Perugia, there are a set of stairs that wind from the top of the hill down to the bottom. On one of the turns, there is a green door which looks totally forgotten, but the wall that the door is on has vines pouring over the top of it, partially covering the door (kinda like the secret garden door)---it's an absolutely beautiful picture and I haven't taken a picture of it yet, but I'm going to. Okay anyways, on with my story. I saw this door on our first day of arrival in Perugia when we were exploring on our own. And if you know me well, you might know my fascination with doors.... there's just a mystery about them which captivates me. Normally after I find a door that I like, I imagine what’s behind it and then continue on my way, eventually forgetting everything that just took place. And just like that, I imagined a beautiful, forgotten garden and vineyard, and we continued exploring. But the next day we had a group tour of Perugia. Our tour guide Zach took us all around the city and kept us entertained every step of the way. The last thing he took us to were the stairs. We walked down the stairs and stopped at the door. He starts to tell a story then pulls out a key, unlocks the door, and walks in. At that moment, I'm sure you can imagine my face--excitement, astonishment, etc. and like a child, I walked in first to see the garden. It turns out that our tour guide is the tenant because the owners live in another country. Zach is supposed to take care of the garden weekly, but it had definitely been neglected…
Anyways, I just wanted to share that with you guys because for the first time in my life I was able to enter a door that I admired. I think it was the perfect way to start off a semester.
Until next time,
Elizabeth