Random Stuff

There are a lot of little things that I have noticed/learned about Italy and Europe in general that I thought I would dedicate a post to.

• One thing that shocked me the most coming to Italy is that Italians are actually very rude.  I had heard that they are really nice but they are very aggressive.  For example, we were buying train tickets at the counter and as the guy was printing our tickets these Italians came up and started yelling  (like actually yelling) at us that we were taking too long and to hurry up.  Imagine standing in a grocery store line and being yelled at for being in line.  Even the French were WAY nicer than the Italians.  Luckily the people in Paderno are really nice.  It seems like most of the rude ones are in the bigger towns and cities.
• Lines don't exist in Italy.
• You pay to use the restroom everywhere you go/the bathrooms are really weird.
• McDonald's in Europe are like palaces.
• I have never been to more truck stops than I have in Italy and they are really fancy.
• Americans are annoying.
• In every other country they learn to speak another language.  It is kind of embarrassing and I feel like we should learn another language starting in Kindergarten just like everyone else does.
• Eating pasta twice a day is terrible for your hair and nails (and your waistline).
• In America people think that everyone will take dollars (think Mexico) but in Europe nobody even thinks about the dollar (obviously).
• Most Italians never go more than 30 minutes from where they are born.
• Most Italians own their own homes and keep them for an average of 50 years.
• Italian parents are financially responsible for their children for life!! (Hear that mom and dad?)
• Italians consume the most amount of bottled water per person in the world even though the water is safe to drink and tastes good in the majority of the country.
• I was kind of surprised to learn that Europeans can't tell the difference between a British accent, American accent or Australian accent.  I guess it makes sense.  I can tell the difference between a Costa Rican accent, a Mexican accent, and a Spanish accent but would never know between a Venezuelan and Argentinian accent.
• Italian grocery stores sell "American" bread and it is the whitest, most processed bread I have ever seen which is kind of funny.
• I haven't seen one fat Italian but they eat SO much...I don't get it.
• It is normal for a bus or train to be 45 minutes late.
• Wine comes from the tap like beer.
• There are palm trees next to evergreen trees in the mountains.
• When a plane lands or takes off they cheer.
• Life is much slower here which is probably why they live longer.
• It is considered rude for a waiter to bring you the check.  You have to ask for it and once you sit down at a table, that table is pretty much considered yours for the night.

Halloween in Paderno

That's all I can think of for now.  Yesterday for Halloween we all dressed up which was really fun!  I am surprised of how good everyone's costumes came out for being so last minute.  My friends Megan, Paige and I were "Furman Girls."  There are 9 girls in our program from Furman University which none of us had ever heard of before coming here.  They are very southern and proper so we thought it would be funny to be them.  They lent us all their clothes and it was really funny.

My mom, Susan and Zoe come on Friday which I am SO excited for.  I have a ton of stuff to get done before then though which is kind of stressing me out.  We are going to Venice, Trento, Florence, Siena, and Rome.  Tomorrow I get to go olive picking so that will be a fun Italian experience.

Bassano

     For the past few weekends when we haven't been traveling, my friends and I have been going to Bassano del Grappa.  Bassano is the closest city to us and is about a 15 minute taxi ride.  It is a really cool place because it is a fun Italian city without all the tourist traps.  We are always the only Americans there.  The Veneto region (where I am) is known as being a very wealthy area and that is definitely noticeable in Bassano.  All of the people are dressed so well and there are some really nice stores.  They also have an amazing chinese restaurant.  When I first told people about it, they thought it was weird that we would spend our time and money getting chinese food.  But think about it, in America we wouldn't want to eat cheeseburgers every night so why would Italians eat Italian food every night.  The chinese restaurants here are exactly like chinese restaurants in America which is kind of funny.  Anyway, Bassano is a really fun place and I am really glad I am getting to see these Italian towns and cities that most tourists don't normally go to.

Paris

Me and Olivia in Paris

     Last weekend we had our first extended travel weekend.  Two of my friends and I decided we wanted to go to Paris.  At the time of booking our trip, the whole thing sounded like a good idea.  It wasn't until a few days before we were supposed to leave that Bin Laden sent a message threatening Paris and therefore raising travel alerts.  In addition to the terrorist threats, the French government also decided to change the retirement age and riots broke out.  One of my friend's parents didn't want her to go and everyone else was pretty skeptical about the whole thing.  Luckily my parents told me it would be fine (they know I worry too much) and I made my dad promise that if he had any weird feelings about me going, he would say something.

On top of the Eiffel Tower

     So, even with the probability of our flight being cancelled, we headed to Treviso on Friday after classes.  We had to take a bus to the airport which ended up being an adventure in itself.  We basically got on a school bus with 30 kids who had assigned seats and a supervisor onboard.  The bus ride should have only been an hour but was actually 2 hours and 45 minutes long.  Luckily we had left ourselves plenty of time and got to the airport in time.  Flying to Paris was my first Ryanair experience.  Ryanair is the budget airline of Europe.  It is kind of like Southwest where there are no assigned seats but instead of having a number, it is a mad dash to the plane.  Once the plane takes off they turn the lights on really bright and advertise to you the entire time.  It was fine but you get what you pay for (I just booked a 6 Euro flight to Barcelona).  Once we got to Paris it was another hour and half bus ride into the city.  It was pretty late so we just found our hotel and crashed.
     On Saturday we got up and it was raining.  We grabbed some croissants at this little pastry shop and headed to the Arc de Triomphe.  It was really cool to see all the landmarks that are in so many movies.  I couldn't stop thinking about Madeline and the Mary-Kate and Ashley movie Passport to Paris (haha).  It started pouring so we decided shopping would be a good activity.  We walked down Champs-Elysees and went into all the stores.  Once again, we spent a ton of time at H & M and I had to get a coat, hat, and mittens because it was freezing!  After shopping we got some lunch at a little cafe.  Afterwards we went to Notre Dame and walked around for awhile.  It was really cool to see all the gargoyles.
     On Sunday we started out at the Lourve.  The outside is gorgeous.  I couldn't believe how big it was. We saw all the important paintings and sculptures like the Mona Lisa but it got a little overwhelming.  After the Lourve we went and saw the gardens and walked around some more.  It started raining again so we decided to go back to the hotel and rest up for the night.  That night we got dinner and then went to see the Eiffel Tower at night.  It was so beautiful.  We spent a lot of time taking pictures and stuff.  We tried to take a river boat cruise but ended up being too late.
     On Monday morning we went straight to the Eiffel Tower to try to beat the lines.  It wasn't too crowded so we decided to go all the way to the top.  When you look at the Eiffel Tower from far away it doesn't look that tall but the closer you get, the more gigantic it looks.  As you go up the elevator though, it feels even higher.  It reminded me a lot of going up the Empire State Building or something.  We got out at the midway point and it was so cold and windy.  We quickly took our pictures and got in line to go to the top.  When we got to the top it was amazing.  You could see so far and we really lucked out with the weather.    We took some more pictures, walked around, and then headed back down.  Because we had a flight to catch we quickly grabbed some lunch and did some shopping.  I'm really glad we got to go to one of the famous department stores because that was neat to see.  It was so packed but so beautifully decorated that can't imagine what it would be like during Christmas!  After shopping we went back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and made our way back to the airport.  Our trip home went smoothly but we were exhausted when we got back to Paderno.
     Paris is one of my favorite cities so far.  The only problem was that it is really, really expensive!  A mini bottle of water is 5 Euro.  We luckily didn't have any problems with terrorists or riots.  In fact, we didn't see or hear of a single riot while we were there.  The only real problem we had was that not one of us knew a single word of French but we figured it out.  What I really like about Paris was that it had the excitement of a big city like New York but it also felt small in some areas and there were gardens and trees everywhere which made it feel less city-like.  I can't wait to go back to Paris again someday.

Date with a Professor, Italian vs. American Soccer Game, Formal Dinner 2

     A few weeks ago we had our first date with a professor night where we are split up into groups with professors that we don't have for a class.  My group went to an agriturismo which is a farm turned restaurant and 80% of the food comes from the farm.  We started with bread, red and white wine, and water.  They had oil and white vinegar for the bread.  I had never had white balsamic but it was really good.  We were served pumpkin gnocchi that was to die for and then really good mushroom risotto.  After, they brought out a ton of vegetables and grilled meats including steak!, sausage, and grilled polenta.  For dessert we had tiramisu with chocolate frosting and some apple pie type of thing.  The owner also brought out grappa and lemon cello.  The meal was so good and everything tasted so fresh.  It was a huge, much needed change from the cafeteria.  We have one more date with a professor nights after the second travel week.  Our professor's wife is going to make us mexican food which is really exciting because that is one of the things I miss the most!

Second Formal Dinner
Liz, Mollie, Paige, Me, and Sarah

     Last week we also had the Italian vs. American soccer game where the Italian students played the CIMBA students.  It is a pretty big deal every semester and the Americans ended up winning.  This is the first time we have won for two consecutive semesters.  It was a really fun game to watch despite my hatred for soccer.  The best part was that there were real tacos for sale!  It really helped solve my mexican craving.

     Last week we also had our second formal dinner.  It was at hotel nearby and it was fun but not as good as the first one.  Still, it is always good to get out of the cafeteria.