Today I woke up and took a shower. Since the Taddei family has started having fires at night, the shower has been significantly cooler and since they all take showers in the morning, they don’t even know. So I guess I’m going to be a morning shower-er for the rest of my time here.
After the shower I ate breakfast, got ready for work and walked to P. Gramsci like I always do. The bus today was weird. Even though it was labeled the 36, there was no one on it and the bus itself was really small. I know they change buses, but the 36 has never been one so small. So I checked the bus number about 3 times and even though I was really confused, it was right.
At work I did the usual translating and recording. They turned the heating on in the office and it felt so nice.
After work I went and bought some new headphones since my old pair are officially broke. They cost me 30 euro! I was seriously bummed because I normally wouldn’t pay that much, but I don’t really know what else to do and I cannot go 25 days without headphones. It would just be awful. When I got to the school I watched Downton Abbey obviously so I don’t get behind. There is serious drama, as always.
I looked at rain boots and chatted with Kenzie after that and at 6 walked home since the school closes then. Since we had daylight savings this past Saturday it’s been getting so much darker earlier. So when I walked home tonight it was completely dark outside instead of the nice evening light I used to get. I like the nighttime look and it’s pretty with all the lights, but I kind of miss the fall-ishness.
When I got home I realized I left my book at work which was a big bummer. Instead I played Sudoku and hearts until dinner. Oh, and chess. I am seriously bad at chess.
For dinner we had this delicious almost lasagna, but instead of noodles I think Fiorella said there was polenta? Weird, but delicious. And after we had a chicken cordon blue type thing. All in all it was delish and way too much food.
Monday, October 29, 2012: Siena, Italy
Today I woke up late because I was so exhausted after the trip back from Milan. I ate the usual breakfast of toasty things with Nutella dipped in milk, some cookies and delicious orange/carrot/lemon juice. I had two glasses of that. After breakfast I perused the internet since Amber wasn’t using it and then got ready for work. I feel like my hair is getting longer, but also more unattractive. I brush it twice in the morning and twice at night in the hopes of encouraging growth. The sides are officially past my ears, but there are still lots of short layers on the top making my hair look thin and pathetic. I also have a significant amount of length in the back making it all look mullet-y. I’m beginning to doubt if I can make it all the way to November 24th without a haircut.
After getting ready I walked to Piazza Gramsci, bought some bus tickets and rode the bus to Badesse. I just sat there and zoned out instead of reading or listening to music or playing Tetris. I was still pretty tired. On the way to work it was really cold. I looked out the window this morning and saw sun, but I guess that doesn’t necessarily mean warmth anymore, my usual, primitive form of meteorology. I was shivering and had goose bumps and because my jacket and scarf were still wet from walking home in the rain last night, they really didn’t help a whole lot. So I translated and recorded while trying to think warm thoughts.
After work I went back to Siena and bought a delicious sandwich type thing with mozzarella, spinach and focaccia. It was warm, salty and delicious so I was happy. I went to the school and looked through my email and Pinterest and then went home because Amber needed some milk and water and I wasn’t doing a whole lot at the school anyway. When I went to Conad to pick up the things I looked for gummi bears, but had no luck. I don’t know why I’m craving them so much right now.
After I got home I again pondered things on the internet, won a game of hearts, lost a couple games of solitaire, and then we started Baby Mama, a classic.
For dinner we had a mushroom risotto, roasted chicken and broccoli. I feel bad saying this, but I am really starting to not be able to handle the broccoli. For some reason strong tasting/smelling food has been making me nauseated lately and broccoli is just killing me. I hope they stop making it so much, but I kind of know they won’t. It’s okay though because everything else they make it delicious.
I decided not to take a shower because Amber said her's was cold and it’s just not really worth it to me right now to be cold and clean. I will wait until tomorrow morning and deal with it then. I did wash my face and brush my teeth, read my scriptures and am now writing here. On that note, my journal is currently MIA. I know I had it at the school on Friday, but now it’s missing. I hope no one has found it and is now reading all my top secret secrets. And as Amber just pointed out it’s already 12:40 am, so I should probably get some sleep. Ciao ciao, ciao ciao ciao.
Sunday, Oct. 28th, 2012
Okay, once again people were up until all hours of the morning making sounds. So this morning was not fabulous. Also, some stupid boys stole all the delicious bread the hostel offered as part of the breakfast. Meh…
Amber and I planned to go to church and we knew Sacrament meeting started at 11 and the next thing we realized it was 10:25 and we weren't even at the metro yet. We got to the stop we wanted to get off at, but didn't really know how to get to the address from there. We asked an old Italian man with a cute little French bulldog and he amazingly was helpful. I love him and his doggy. We literally ran to the building. It was awful. But we mad it just before they served sacrament and all was well.
After church we went back to the Duomo to go inside. We again got assaulted by men selling bracelets. Even though we insisted we didn’t need more, they put them around our wrists and then tried to give us handfuls of corn to feed the pigeons and offered to take our pictures. They then asked for 5 euro, which we never agreed to pay. I gave them 3 and stalked off.
We went to lunch at a place recommended by the lady at the hotel and I had some delicious spaghetti. By the time we had finished eating we realized it was around 3:05. We bought round trip tickets and our returning bus left at 4. If we missed it, we were out 36 euro. So we started running all over the place. We finally got off at the stop we needed and ran to the buses at maybe 3:58, but we didn’t see ours. We asked some people who didn't know and started to wonder if we had missed it or were just in the wrong place altogether. Amber went to ask a guy in a store. When she came back she had he told her all the buses meet where we already were. More confusion and anxiety ensued. So Amber went to ask a trash man who worked there. When she came back she said, kind of puzzled, “It’s 3:05…” and it immediately dawned on me: daylight savings. I had totally forgotten to change my watch (I’m so used to things changing automatically anyway) and we had been going off that time since lunch. So we were an hour early. I felt so dumb and so relieved at the same time. So we hung out at the station café until 4 and took the bus for 5 hours and walked home in the rain and then I took a lukewarm shower. Now I’m so ready to pass out in bed.
Saturday, Oct. 27th, 2012: Milan, Italy
Yesterday we got into Milan around
5-ish and after a talk with the lady at the hostel, we had reserved spots to go to see the Last Supper. The only spots we could get were for 8:30 am and
we needed to be there 20 minutes early. Basically what I’m trying to say is we
had to wake up early to get to the church on time (please refrain from singing My Fair Lady here).
I don’t know what it is about our
hostel, but whenever we’re in our room, any sound anyone makes seems like the
person is standing right by our bed doing it. So last night, when a couple a
stupid boys were listening to music and playing cards in the lounge room around 11,
I was a little frustrated. When girls showed up and the party continued until
around 1, I was pretty upset. And then some idiot was singing in the shower and
talking loudly at 4 in the morning. Stupid, rude people should not be allowed
to travel.
Anyway, despite the lack of sleep,
we made it see the Last Supper. Even though it was ridiculously early, it was
nice to not have such big crowds. The painting, even though it’s falling off the
wall, is beautiful still and I’m glad I was able to see such a significant work
of art.
After a really long nap at the
hostel, we went to go shopping, since Milan is a fashion capital. We started
with the generic things we could actually afford and after spending more money at H&M we decided to go to the designer part of town where all we can do is
ogle. It was fun and beautiful and I love clothes and how pretty
and big and clean and shiny all the stores seem (maybe I have a teeny bit of a
shopping problem?).
After shopping we found the Duomo
which is really cool. A man with bracelets came up and asked if I was from
Africa. Uh… nope? He then went on to pressure us to buy bracelets that are
supposed to bring good luck. He also said he would take me to Kenya. He also
kept saying “peace” and bumping fists. As we were walking down the stairs to
the metro he threw a bracelet down for each of us. It was all kind of
hilarious.
Lastly, on a random note, when we
went to McDonald’s for dinner (yep). I got a side salad and fresh fruit. They
gave me a tiny little bottle of olive oil for my salad and salt for my apples.
I loved the cute bottle of oil so much I kept it. Only in Italy…