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| This is Natalie by the way, my new friend from Tulsa, OK |
So
many things about today were just that, they were new…started classes today so
that was all new…new school, new language, new classes…but goodness it was fun….i
know my dad will get a snicker out of this but I think it is true for most of us
here on the trip…I totally forgot that we actually had to go to school…I
mean, I knew that I was studying
abroad but I guess I just kind of forgot…thankfully I am only doing the Italian
studies (and yes dad I am not the only one, there are more like me)…but today
we started school, with our language classes….
…as
a requirement, (and because we all have to figure out how to live and function
here) every student in USAC is required to take at least 6 weeks of the intense
Italian courses…so a 4 credit Italian course according to your proficiency in 6
weeks….basically 3 hours per day everyday next week and then 3 hours a day, 3
times a week after that….and then you can choose to either continue in the next
4 credit section for the remainder of the semester or do something else….needless
to say I am doing both J and oh goodness class was so much fun….when I took
the language through Rosetta Stone in high school for 2.5 years, it was taught
by immersion…so a picture of a ball and the word “palle” and you had to put two
and two together to figure it out….but this class was so cool because it
actually was like learning English where we learned the sounds the vowels make
and how words in Italian are all broken apart so that each syllable ends in a
vowel and that is how you actually read the pronunciation….Fun Fact: If a word in Italy doesn’t end in a vowel, it is foreign J….maybe
this is how all foreign language classes are or I just find it intriguing
because I think the whole language is delicious but seriously the class is so
much fun!...in todays class we learned how to ask and answer: our name, age,
where we are from, why we are here, what we study, where we live, and if we
like Torino…J
all very practical but fun! J
After
class, some people I hadn’t ever really hung out with went to the post office
to complete one of the, what seems like, 52 steps for our permits of stay
(since we have visas but aren’t citizens but reside in apartments here we have
to get permits from the police to be here…if we don’t we can be seen as
illegals…my host family even had to go to the police and report to them that I
would be staying also in the apartment)…J
and boy do I love supermarkets abroad! I love going into them and playing the “what do you think this is game?” or finding really cool things that I never knew existed…like a literally giant can of beer, or mcdonalds ketchup in a bottle…
…afterwards
I went home to see my family while the rest of the girls took naps and such
before myself and two others went out for the night….we went to a great pizzeria
(which I am taking you to mom and dad when you get here!) right in my
neighborhood….i got a really great ravioli of which I am not sure what kind of
meat was in it but Im not sure if I want to know, in a delicious white sauce
(it was kind of a I have no idea what this says, lets point and hope)…the other
two girls got pizzas that ended up being bigger than we expected, so we spent a
good 2 or 2.5 hours trying to finish and got pretty close! (in Italy there are
no “to-go” boxes, they take it as an offense if you don’t finish your meal, as
if something is wrong with it) afterwards when we asked for the check, the
waiter (Francesco, who I think is the owner) brought us over a bottle of
limoncello and glasses…and let me tell you, it was THE BEST limoncello
probably ever…it was soooooo good J loved it….we ended our
girls night at the group’s pub and sat talking for another two hours or so! J
it was a fantastic day of new experiences and new friends….tomorrow morning we
take on the largest open market in Europe, which is held right here in
Turin!...until then Buona Notte Tutti! (Goodnight Everyone!)
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