I LOVE LONDON!

I LOVE LONDON! I am in complete and utter euphoria here. It’s like the first stage of culture shock but I won’t go through any of the other stages! When I met Emma, the girl who so generously let us stay in her apartment and is a high school friend of my traveling buddy, she made the remark that “London is a cleaner version of New York”. I immediately dismissed this comment because New York is my favorite city in the world and I don’t think any other city is even comparable. How could London be as fabulous, crazy, cultured, stylish, expensive (well maybe that) as New York? But getting to know the city in the three brief days I realized how many similarities there were. Namely, the diversity (of people, places, and things to do); fantastic public transit system (the tube); friendly, smart, stylish people; and even a variety of good restaurants (in England of all places). Okay, so the restaurants were definitely not like New York City but the British stereotype of terrible food was definitely ended for me. There was tons of culture, almost everywhere I went there were three languages being spoken. The tube made it so easy to get around and everywhere I went was so different. Where we stayed in Finsbury Park was like Brooklyn but where my friend Sam lived in South Kensington was more comparable to the Upper East Side. Oh and style wise, it's all about the British coat. It is freezing here so everyone has to have a cute coat! Even then men dress well! I guess it's only in America that they don't...

Family and Friends, you might have to say goodbye to me again—because I can definitely see myself living in London for a year after college. From this experience so far, I don’t think I could leave my family, friends, and good ole’ America for any more than a year.

London loved me too. I mean it really does. The firs time we rode the tube, also the only time I ever needed to ask a question (because it really only took one time to figure it out), the first woman I asked explained to me very clearly and even corrected my pronunciation (FINS-berry, not FINES-berry). At every stop, the nice British man on the loudspeaker says “Mind the Gap”—in American meaning watch out for the step. It was so nice of the loudspeaker to warn me (and I guess the other passengers too) about the space between the train and the tracks—the tube really cares about my well being. Also, when there had to be maintenance on the tube they would tell the Londoners months in advance and have replacement bus routes. Maybe I have just been stuck in Italy too long when public transit and Italian trains are mostly known for weekly strikes and doing their best to inconvenience people. Or maybe London just really cares for its citizens! Also, on all the street corners with pedestrian crosses there were signs that said “look right” or “look left” in case I forgot that Brits drive on the opposite side of the road. Thank you again London for saving me from a pedestrian car accident.

When I was walking to the station from my friend Sam’s apartment I ran into a nice old British man who started talking to me and then he confirmed I was indeed going in the right direction of the station (of course I was, I couldn’t get lost in London—London loved me too much). A man next to us overheard and said he was going to the station as well and offered to walk with me. We walked and chatted he was a director of theater company, just got back from a seven city tour in America, spoke English, French, and Farsi). Everyone in London is so nice.

By day 3 in England, I had even given someone (with a British accent) directions.

So for my actual trip, I saw a lot of the sights: Big Ben, Parliamentary Square, Westminster Abbey, King’s Cross (and Platform 9 ¾), Westminster Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, the Boardwalk, London Eye area, and Harrod’s. Now keep in mind, I have never heard of Harrod’s before so I had no idea what was instore. One of the things I really wanted to do in England was have high tea. So I asked a fellow Whittie David Deming—I always trust whittie’s judgment more than the average bloke and we also share a last name, where he suggested I go. He said Harrod’s at Knightsbridge was great so I was picturing a little tea room run by an old British lady—but oh I could not have been more wrong. Now Harrods is technically a “Department store” but it is so much more than that. It is more like an exhibit of culture. It is huge (5 stories maybe?) and filled with fabulous boutiques, fashion, art, food, and restaurants. While trying to figure out which of the many places available for high tea in Harrod’s to go to I walked by a beautiful glass sculpture and tray. I looked at the price tag and it cost 115,000 pounds—now when is the last time you saw a $200,000 glass sculpture at your local department store just sitting out unprotected. The next room had Bob Dylan’s collection of art on loan. It was the most fabulous little gallery—and still inside a department store! I am not really a fan of contemporary art, and I started to realize through this exhibit is I wasn’t a fand merely because I hadn’t seen enough! I loved all this art work!! There were also beautiful vintage prints of movie posters and photos of American and British music and movie stars. Then I saw a sign for “Christmas World”. Oh no, it’s like Love Actually coming real. Christmas is what I love. Christmas in London is my dream. I ran to try and find this “Christmas World” and nothing could stop me. I walked in and there was an explosion of red and green. It was massive the size of a normal department store’s kid’s section. There were trees, ornaments, Christmas cards, everything. The place was so lavishly decorated I felt like I was in a different store. They also hired gorgeous people just to stand there, wear black, wear “Christmas World” sashes, and look beautiful. This place put Macy’s little display in the Tacoma mall to shame. I was so happy that I was sad because I knew that I would have to leave eventually. I had to buy something—and wanted something London like. I bought a beautiful glass Big Ben ornament (unfortunately, it didn’t even make it to Barcelona). We finally slowly drew ourselves away from Christmas World and had high tea at the Harrod’s café. It was delicious! I ate five minute finger sandwiches with scones served with clotted cream and jam. Oh, and of course, tea! This entire Harrod’s journey occurred within 2 ½ hours on one floor. I could have spent all day here but it would have been somewhat torturous because I couldn’t afford anything (especially when I doubled the prices to put it in American dollars).

The experience in London streets, stores, transit, and restaurants is a stark foil to Italy. The first place Sonia and I ate outside of Italy was an Indian restaurant in Sotto. The wait staff was extremely friendly as we walked in and they took our coats. The restaurant was packed but they came by to ask how we were every five minutes anyway (I probably would have though that this was overbearing if I hadn’t been in Italy for the past two months but instead I was grateful/exuberant). There were obviously many business people taking there lunch break here and every single one ordered beer—not just a little bottle of corona but like 40 ounces of ale. The Brits start early. Oh and the Indian food was fantastic!

Hanging out with Sam, one of my friends from Whitman, was also a highlight of the trip. Sam lives in South Kensington so showed me around that and in Leicester Square. It was so nice to be with some one from Whitman again—we probably reminisced and caught up for most of the night—I pitied Sonia for being stuck with us alone until her friend Emma joined us. It was also nice to see what a way different experience Sam was having studying abroad. I think we had a normal night for him but definitely one of the craziest/longest I have had in Europe. We had dinner—asian food (I was taking a complete fast from Italian) and then we hit the Leicester Square Clubs. They were big and crazy—nothing like anything in Florence.

On Saturday night, I walked around the boardwalk area. I went to the Tate Modern museum for a little bit right before it closed and then walked down at sunset near the London Bridge (it’s not falling down…sorry, I couldn’t help myself). I was meeting my friend Kelsey on Saturday night for dinner and drinks. Kelsey is a fellow Kappa sister who graduated last May and is living in London for a year with her sister. Kelsey was the best slice of home/Whitman I ask for (somehow she just reminded me more of Whitman than Sam—probably because we talked about Kappa and our friends for so long). Hanging out with Kelsey it seemed like I had just seen her last week when it was actually almost six months ago. We just chatted and were sharing and comparing our experiences abroad. I got to bed early at midnight to prepare for the 9:30 flight to Dublin the next day.

In front of Buckingham Palace

Me with Big Ben

A brief glimpse of Harrod's "Christmas World"

High Tea at Harrod's

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross (duh)

With my friend Kelsey at a pub in Camden

Journey Begins!

Journey Begins!

So let me first apologize for the lack of blog posts and extreme lateness of these blog posts. There are many reasons that can be listed but I’ll just say its mostly because of procrastination. I kept a journal for the past two weeks when I was away from a computer, so many of these blog posts are just my journal entries typed. I also plan to lie on the dates the blogs were posted so there is a clear chronological order.

Today I had to run and catch my first moving train today! It was just like the movies: a young girl with a gigantic backpack so large it looks like she has a hunchback, running for a train beside her friend at dawn in Santa Maria Novella. I actually climbed on the train while it was moving (granted it was moving very slowly) and Sonia had to pull me in because my center of gravity was off due to my 10 kg pack. Of course, there are four trains to Pisa every hour, but we wanted to catch this train (it went straight to the airport)! We left Florence at 6:37 am catching the bus from my home at 6:05. Of course, my Australian friend Nigel said he was going to be back in Florence on Wednesday for one night—so I spent the night before with him at my (and now our) favorite pizza and didn’t end up going to bed until 2 am—because of course I had to pack and update my ipod before I went to bed. This should have proved to be a long, tiring travel day.

We flew out of Pisa which is actually a one hour and twenty minute train ride away from Florence because we were flying via Ryan Air—one of Europe’s budget airlines that everyone raves about. It only cost 35 euro to fly to London Stanstead. We had plenty of time at the airport and I experience my first plane ride without assigned seats. We waited in line prior in order to get a better selection. But wait, we are in Italy so the real question is what line? Italians don’t really wait in line. It’s more about being constantly vigilant in a waiting blob and pushing yourself forward. I got an aisle seat and no one sat next to me! Yes! I felt something unexpected today while I was leaving Florence. It was a sense of sadness from leaving Florence. I can’t believe it, I am actually homesick for Florence! Although, I think it may be more about missing the people and not the city itself...

Mid Terms are OVER!

It has been a while! And I apologize. My excuse is mid-terms, internship applications, and preparation for big travel trip coming up—I knew I would just be another excuse for procrastination if I wrote in my blog. Oh, and yes, I am still planning on working on Wall Street this summer…and I just finished one of my applications today!

Anyway, I just finished mid-terms! Hooray! Mid term week was comparable to a normal week at Whitman stress and work wise. On Monday, I gave a presentation with my friend Rebecca bout Italian Fashion in the 16th Century shown through Italian Portraits, we did E! Style Red Carpet commentary but instead used portraits instead of our favorite American celebs. The class and professor pretty much ate it up (my professor actually said “bravo”) as we talked about the It girls wearing expensive brocaded velvets and voluminous sleeves and the sumptuary laws limited the amount of jewelry in an outfit. We also had to turn in a four page paper summarizing our research. On accident, mine turned out to be an 8 page research paper (which was an alternative to doing a presentation and a shorter summary of research paper). I blame Whitman College. They have turned me into an overachiever. Anyway, if anyone would like a copy of my paper or presentation (slightly more entertaining) I would happy to provide you with an electronic copy.

I had Italian oral and written today. Italian oral went quite well as she had to tell me to stop talking because we were about to go over time (sound familiar…just like when I am taking in English)! The Italian written might have gone even better as it was like I was filling out a worksheet in English. Its not that I am great at Italian we just seem to be going at a pace of a regular Italian 101 class in college…but we are in Italy and have this class every day for two hours so I wish we would move a little faster.

Architecture was yesterday and went okay.

Anyway, so now I am done and preparing for my crazy, long fall break trip that I leave for tomorrow! Here is a brief overview…and I know it’s a lot but I have never been to Europe before and don’t know when I’ll return…therefore I am getting it all in. haha.

Thursday, October 23—I leave for Pisa (an hour train ride) to fly to London (2 hour flight)! I will be in London until Sunday. Hopefully I will get a chance to see at least some of the many friends I have studying/living in London. From Charles Wright: Ryan, Andrew Wark, and Courtney and from Whitman Kelsey and Farris.

Sunday, October 26- Tuesday, October 28—Dublin

Wednesday, October 29—Paris

Thursday, October 30—Sunday, November 2—Barcelona

I am looking forward to starting off back in English speaking countries! I also am really looking forward to Barcelona. I am going to Paris for three days in November, but my friend who I am traveling with really wanted to go there so we will just be there for one full day. If anyone has any suggestions for any of the places I will gladly take them! Because, this is a very poorly researched trip. I just plan on taking Rick Steve’s Europe Through the Back Door on the planes and trains and going from there.

Volterra--Tuscan Hill Town

Okay..so I am posting some a few weeks late...but I have been busy and had an exciting past two weeks so I want to re-live it! The weekend before mid-terms I went to Volterra on Friday and Perugia (again) on Saturday. Just to point out that mid-terms were stressful…but not that stressful.

So anyway, my friend Chelsea and I met at 10:00 at the train/bus station to go to Volterra. Volterra is one of the Tuscan hill towns and is about 80 kilometers southwest of Florence (closer to Siena). It is a ninety minute drive or a two hour bus drive. We had no idea really what the bus schedule was like we just knew we had to go to Colle di Val d’Elsa and then change buses to go to Volterra. So we took the 10:30 bus to Seattle and got off at Colle di Val d’Elsa and checked the bus schedule to Siena…8:45, 9:45, 10:45, 14:45. Great. So we had about two and a half hours to kill in Colle di Val d’Elsa. But we were hungry and the town was kind of cool so we kept fully entertained!

The funniest/most interesting part of Colle di Val d’Elsa is when we had lunch. There are all these random people in Italy who sell the most random collection of stuff outside of grocery stores or sell trinkets and knick-knacks on the street. So this random guy, comes over to me and Chelsea while we are eating at a café outside and then just sits down and puts all his stuff down like he knows up. Then he lights up a cigarette and offers us coffee. And then he seemed pretty harmless so we just talk to him for like twenty minutes in mostly Italian with some English. I love practicing Italian with random people especially if Italian is their second language because they are much easier to understand! He was kind of strange but was telling us how he lives in Pisa and sells things there and in Bologna but he is going back to Senegal in Novemeber. Anyway, he gave me his number and made me promise to call him if I ever go to Pisa (not likely) and then he gave me one of the things he was selling haha. It is pictured below. Interesting interaction but that is my favorite part of traveling, meeting random people and hearing their stories!

My Present (Madre con bambino)

Colle di Val d’Elsa

At 2:45 we got on the bus to Volterra. The two euro bus ticket was one of the best purchases I have made to date on this trip. The bus ride through the tuscan hills was BEAUTIFUL! Everything looked like it was straight out of a movie or postcard. It reminded me of Walla Walla a little bit but pretter and with less people. The lands were so beautiful they seemed like they were landscaped to appear a certain way. I took many pictures from the bus that did not truly encapsulate the beauty. I already know I want to return and I asked Alti if he has been here and he says he loves it and asked me if I wanted to go some weekend! So I will definitely be coming again. Here are a few of those pictures:

Anyway, Volterra was absolutely beautiful and old (like EVERYWHERE in Italy). We were guided by Rick Steves’ excellent eight page guide of the city. But the real reason I went there was because it is the home to the ancient royal Vampire family the Volutri. No, I haven’t become a goth since I have been in Italy—I just have become a Twilight nerd. The Twilight series has filled the void in my heart left by Harry Potter. Chelsea is also a twilight nerd—hence our perfect travel compatibility on this outing. We took pictures next to the clock tower and the alleyway facing the clock tower (where the climax of the second book takes place—I won’t give anything away). So these pictures are for people who will appreciate them. I wore black on purpose and tried to look like a vampire. We also went to this strange, strange wine bar that Rick Steves suggested. Its run by these two guys and has a lot of great wine and is decorated with bras. There is also a dentist chair in the wine cellar. Oh Rick Steves.

The Clock Tower

The Alleyway Facing the Clock Tower

Boar is the Local Delicacy

Wine Bar

We took the bus back and we were the only TWO people on the huge charter bus. We sat in the front (I have been getting car sick so I always sit in the front now) and then talked to the driver for the most time. Also, the drive complemented my Italian!! He said I spoke Italian very well! And he didn’t speak any English so we had to speak Italian. He was from Volterra, of course. Italians always ask you where you are from and then when you ask them the same question it is whatever city you are in. Almost always. People don’t leave their hometowns here. I have met Italians in Volterra, Perugia, Lake Como, and Milan—and they are all from where I met them! And they answer you like oh well I am from Perugia, Certo (of course)! Just one cultural difference I noted.

Anyway, I was home in time for dinner. And then did not go out, but instead worked on my Architecture study guide (I am such a nerd).

John, Barack--Send me to Jerusalem, I'm Ready.

Other Possible Titles for this Blog Entry:

Despite all that...I still had fun
I didn't even know you could argue over that!
Well, I'm leaving a lousy tip...oh wait its Italy
Yes, I did find George Clooney's House
Travel Lesson 1: Don't Go on Vacation with People Who Don't like Each Other
Beautiful Bellagio

My chosen title refers to my ability after spending one long weekend as a mediator between two twenty-something randomly assigned roommates. The closest comparison I can find is the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (except in that case there is actually something to argue about). I also have a hypothesis why this conflict hasn't been solved...who are these mediators? I can guess that many of them have never (or its been a long time) since they were a middle school girl which is where all the cattiness, stubbornness, and the arguing begins. Fortunately for me, it ended in college at Whitman--but I guess it doesn't end for everyone at college. I was surrounded by one of the most beautiful places in Italy, yet there was a constant background of arguing which made it hard to reach peace. Arguing over everything. What we did during the day, how we decided what to do, where to go, what to order, how to order, how to pay, which room, what time to leave. Mostly things that were not important at all. And pretty much all the arguments involved two out of the four in our party.

Despite that I still had fun. Between all the fighting were moments of carefree bliss--however short they were. Lake Como is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The Lake juxtaposed with the Mountains is such an amazing sight. I enjoyed our two hour ferry ride from where we were staying in Bellagio to Como. We went and took a tour of this beautiful villa and gardens in Lenno where scenes from Attack of the Clones and Casino Royale were filmed. We had a fabulous dinner with probably the worst service yet...and that is saying a lot because I am in Italy. (I won't give you my argument about competition and capitalism but the service in Italy is a clear example..waiters are not working for a tip and therefore do not serve quickly or politely). But the bad service waiter was kind of funny...even though I did get my pasta when everyone was finishing theirs and he told me I drank too much. He obviously had a crush on me ;).


The train home was quite an experience...feel free to laugh at my ignorance...I have only ridden the train twice (in my defense)...and it had never been a problem to get tickets before...well, you see where I am going. Once we got to Milan, we just expected to hop on the next train to Florence but the next one leaving was filled and then the next one after that had one seat. So Chelsea got the last seat on that train and then Sonia, Katie, and I headed to Bologna which is about an hour away from Florence. Then we had like a one hour layover in Bologna where we drank beer (and got free sandwiches) to pass the time. Anyway, I was finally back in Florence at 8:00 (left the hotel at 9:45...ferry left at 10...left como at 2...) Although the train experience was kind of long it was still fun and I definitely learned something! I also had my first ride in a train with a carriage where Katie and I met this guy Neville from Morocco. We spoke mostly italian with some french, spanish, and english too and he pretty much thought I was the hilarious, typical american girl (which I kind of am). Also, I was grateful for my last minute purchase of my Rick Steves' silk money belt--because as it was hectic running around to catch trains and buy tickets at least I didn't have to worry about my money being stolen!

Anyway, its nice to be back in Florence.

Here are some pictures of Como! They do a much better job of describing the place!

View from the Hotel

Chelsea and I with Bellagio (the city we stayed) in the Background

Villa Balbianello in Lenno--taken from the Water
(This is the pretty villa/garden we visited that had scenes from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Ocean's Twelve, and Casino Royale were filmed here)

George Clooney's Villa taken from the water (I had to include one..)

Highlights from Week Four!

Dinners have been pretty good and really busy this week. Fiamma has been giving lessons every day! I like having lessons because dinner is usually more extensive and we eat with an additional three people. This makes dinner way less awkward even though we have a large language barrier. The Japanese-Italian translator seems to have taken a liking to me. I think she is mostly entertained by my general Americaness and my special affinity for wine and my excitement for food. She also exclaims “SARAH” when the food comes out (especially the dessert) and insists that I take the first helping. The Japanese students also love me too. Its nice being the favorite :). I love them too its especially nice having some company while drinking wine.

On Tuesday night, I’m not sure how it happened but I ended up on a blind double date with a Slovenian? Let me explain, my friend Darcy (who I went to Perugia with) met some Italian guy at Palazzo Signoria and asked me if I would come with her to meet him at the duomo (safety first). Of course I complied, and shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was to see he brought a friend. What an evil trap! Anyway, we went to a bar with them and I had a mojito, which was fabulous. The “date” actually didn’t turn out being that bad because Darcy liked her guy and I definitely was not interested so it was that beautiful point of a blind date when it just doesn’t matter and I was completely myself--well actually myself at my craziest. I think I charmed them a little too much though as it was hard to get rid of them especially the Slovenian (I don't even remember his name) after the bar. Of course I succeeded, and met up with two friends at my favorite place Be-Bop where the Beatles cover band was playing. Then I danced and drank another mojito. Fabulous.

On Wednesday I saw Michelangelo’s David at the Academia with my art history class. He was much bigger than I expected! Our teaching assistant Sean taught our class because our professor was presenting his paper in New York. It was actually very nice having a TA for a class (something I never had experienced at Whitman). But it’s a good break from the arrogance and self-importance of professors and he is super knowledgeable about the subject but presents it in a much more down-to-earth way. About 14 feet…or 2 Yao Ming’s. He was really beautiful but mostly massive in person. Did you know he was originally commissioned to stand on the top of the duomo (cathedral), which is about five floors up? That may explain why his hands and feet are so big.

Photography class is mostly a waste of time. When were in the computer lab, it is reminiscent of my ninth grade computer application class with Mr. White—but its twice as long, we move slower, and have less free time. And I get caught more often for being on the internet. When were shooting, she yells because half of us have “horrible, little” cameras. I really don’t think I need a $600 camera for a beginning photo class. But I really like the people in my class. It has nine other girls and we all seem to agree on the craziness of our professor. Speaking of girls, I didn’t realize how many are in the program but this class is all girls and my art history class is sixteen girls and one boy. Architecture helps a little because it is dominated by boys, but I still would estimate the ratio as about 6:1.

Last night (on Wednesday) I went to what may have been the worst lecture in the history of my academic career. It was sponsored by the school of architecture and was mandatory for my architecture class commemorating Pallido’s 500th birthday. For those of you who don’t know, Pallido was an Architect in Renaissance Italy about 420 years ago, that is pretty much all I know about him. An Italian scholar presented on Pallidos’s military architecture (he was not primarily a military architect), which as far as I could tell directly related to one sketch. Perhaps, I did not understand because I am not an architecture student? But, I doubt it because everyone in my class agreed that it was dreadful especially due to the lack of evidence. I left after the third “question” because I didn’t want to be late for dinner (or that was my excuse anyway). I use the word “question” liberally because the questions were like stream of consciousness/statements by the professors in the audience occasionally with a question tagged on at the end that received a one-word answer. I have no idea how my mother works with faculty members on a daily basis. Although, I did manage to write a one page composition about my family for Italian class during this time.

Speaking of Italian, the class is getting much better. We finally speak Italian the majority of the time and all the students in the class are starting to get comfortable with each other. We even had a fun project on our college! That was probably one of the more fun powerpoint presentations I have done which contained various hyperbole about Whitman and pictures of my friends (including of Jeff as Cupid at Beta Sweetheart haha).

I am headed to Lake Como this weekend (actually a small lake next to Lake Como) it should be beautiful and fun. I am hoping to see George Clooney. It’s a “girls weekend” and I am going with Chelsea my roommate from orientation, Sonia, and Katie (who are roommates). It should be interesting because Katie and Sonia hardly ever get along and Chelsea and I are thrown into the middle. I will not let this effect the weekend (the power of positive thinking). Ciao!

Calcio (soccer)

On Sunday afternoon, Alti, formally known as ragazzo italiano (will explain later), invited me to watch some soccer game with him on Sunday night. It was Milan versus some other team Inter or something, I don’t know one of the teams had blue/black stripes and the other had red/black stripes and Ronaldinho played for the red/black team. I am obviously very well informed about soccer in Europe. Anyway, I had heard so much about how crazy Europeans are about there soccer like maybe comparably to Americans with their football so I was curious to experience this phenomena first hand. I do plan to go to a Fiorentina game sometime while I’m here, but I thought I would learn just as much from this experience because it was on television and was not any of the home teams. I thought I could really gauge the intensity factor more so in this situation rather when it is obviously intensified while watching the home team play in the stadium. We went to this English Pub which was showing the game. The cover charge was six euro which covered your first beer—I thought this was weird because this is the first time I have had to pay a cover charge anywhere. But, it made more sense once we got inside…the bar is FULL with Italian men (maybe five other women). There is no place to sit and half the people are standing up with their eyes glued to the screen. And even though the bar is full it is almost silent. This is NOT like American men watching any old football game. This is more like a bar crowded with versions of my brother watching the Seahawks. In case you don’t know my brother Andrew, he is the definition of passion while watching his favorite football team. It is painful experience for him if they are not playing up to their potential and everyone knows in the family to give him some space after a bad game. The men are not concerned with chatting with friends or even with flirting with the (small amount) of women present, they are clearly here to watch the game. They are silent engulfed in their zeal only when there is a good shot or questionable tackle are there are uniform grunts or exclamations. When Ronaldino scores a beautiful goal (header to the top right corner), does it really go crazy. I guess there were a lot of Milan fans there because the majority of the group jumps up and just starts yelling. For about five minutes. Way longer than normal celebration time of goals. The game ends 1-0. I thought it was kind of boring—but I was entertained by watching the people.

Devastating news about mio ragazzo italiano, he is actually Albanian! He moved here when he was eighteen. He grew up in communist Albania which was his reason for not practicing a religion…haha but communist Albania is definitely interesting to hear about. He is still fluent in Italian so I will still call him mio ragazzo italiano. I was slightly disappointed that he is not Italian—but it actually makes sense because he has a job, car, and doesn’t live with his mom—and that is rarely accomplished by Italian men before the age of 40.