Well, the good news is that it is immensely cooler here in Florence so far this week. It makes my day much more enjoyable. The bad news is that we are still having bed bug issues. Our apartment got fumigated Monday. We had been informed that it was already fumigated right before we got here. Anddd we are still finding bed bugs, so its getting fumigated again tomorrow. We have reason to believe the fumigators are not really doing their job. Personally, while I am not necessarily a FAN of bugs, I dont particularly get freaked out by them. Also, My room is the only bedroom without actual bed bugs. So, I only have one small bite. I might feel more strongly about it if circumstances were different ha. But I have much sympathy for my poor roommates who are being eaten alive by these "little beasties" as our Brittish land lord likes to call them. They are not happy. Say a prayer that tomorrow's fumigation does the trick.
Yesterday I was really not feeling well. Vicky has had a sore throat and after our weekend together I definitely picked it up. I had strep throat the week before I came, so its nothing compared to that, but it was enough to make me go to bed at 8:30 last night, ha. After a niiice 12 hours of sleep, I felt a lot better today. Hopefully Ill be back to 100% soon enough.
Today was interesting. There is an outdoor clothing market thats only open on Tuesday's that I wanted to go to. Two of my roommates went but since I wasnt feeling well the night before they assumed I wouldn't want to go, so they left before me, which was fine. I called and told them Id meet them there. I had a vague idea of where it was on the map but wasnt sure. I was looking at the map in the stairway of my apartment and a woman that spoke English asked if I needed help. I told her where I was going, and she told me to just hop on the number 17 bus. I hadn't used the bus yet, but in my semi-ill state, figuring out the bus sounded better than a 30+ minute walk. So I go to the train station and wait about 15 minutes for a bus that just says "17" on the side. I get on, and asked a girl next to me who spoke english if I was headed the right way. She informed me that I was on the right bus that was heading the wrong direction. I was on 17B, I needed to be on 17C. So by this point Im on the other side of town from where I need to be. So I get off and wait for the 17C bus. Get on that, but Im still confused. I guess they expect no tourists on the city buses because NOTHING is in English. And there is nothing that tells you what stop you are at, which made things difficult seeing as how I had no idea what this place looked like. Also, my international phone decided to stop working at this point, even though its been fine for the whole trip. The only people on the bus that spoke any english on the bus were just as comfused as I was. I ended up sitting next to a lady who spoke absolutely no english, but was still nice enough to want to help. So I was speaking to her in english and she was speaking to me in italian but we somehow communicated somewhat. What (I think) I got from her was that I was headed the right way, it would just take a while to get there. I would need to get off two stops past the train station. Well, by this time I had given up on the market because class was in about an hour and the market was on the other side of town from the school. So I waited until I got to a street that I recognized and got off. Unfortunately I was on a completely different part of that street than I was used to, so I ended up getting lost on my way to class as well. I got to the school about 10 minutes before my class. I was lost for a total of 3 hours. Somehow it didn't put me in a bad mood. All I could do was laugh about it.
Oh, also, I didn't know if you had to pay for the bus or not. Some people got on and did nothing, and only a few had a card that they punched. I found out afterwards, the card is for frequent bus riders, and you are supposed to buy a one time ticket to ride. Some buses check and some dont. Thankfully, I illegally got onto two that did not check tickets :) oops?
Class was better today. Now that I understand the assignment better, I can actually do it. He really liked my stuff today. Hopefully Ill be able to put it up soon.
Due to all the chaos before class I didn't get to eat so when I got out at 2:30 I was STARVING. Also due to my chaotic morning, I was a tad frustrated with the fact that, as amazing as Italy is, it can be exhausting to be completely out of my comfort zone. SO, me and Alyssa went to an American diner and got cheese burgers, fries, and milkshakes, a meal a rarely eat at home but I promise, a burger had never tasted so good, haha.
Afterwards, I admitted to Alyssa that I secretly wanted to go to the Serial Killer Museum that we passed on the way to class every day, and she confessed that she really did too, so we went haha. Call me crazy but it was so interesting. You get a headset that tells you the story of the specific serial killer at every station. Serial killers from past and present, and from all over the world; complete with Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, and Charles Manson, and some I'd never heard of, even back to the first documented serial killer. Creepy music and blood and guts included. Haha but hey, at least I learned a lot, about something? ha. It was fun.
It is so funny to me some of the little things that are SO different here than in America. Here are a few that I've noticed:
1. They are so much more green than us. Everyone everywhere recycles. No where has air conditioning, and if they do, its not like America's air conditioning. The toilets have about a quarter of the water in them as american toilets.
2. The doors and the water faucets are backwards here. Like nearly all of their doors you push to enter and pull to exit. Their water faucets, the left is hot and right is cold.
3. Waitors here are paid a normal wage, so you aren't expected to tip. This can produce a few outcomes. A. the service is not as good some places because they're getting paid either way, or B. you can sit there for hours talking and they dont rush you out for a new table of tipping customers.
4. Water cost money here at restaurants, and it makes my meals much more expensive.
5. Homeless people here go about asking for money here in a totally different way. Instead of making signs, or getting in your face and begging, they sit or kneel, hiding their faces, I guess out of humbleness or shame, and simply leave a cup there for donations. Im not saying I think this way is better or worse, its just different and I found it interesting.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Ill see what else I come across.
Yesterday I was really not feeling well. Vicky has had a sore throat and after our weekend together I definitely picked it up. I had strep throat the week before I came, so its nothing compared to that, but it was enough to make me go to bed at 8:30 last night, ha. After a niiice 12 hours of sleep, I felt a lot better today. Hopefully Ill be back to 100% soon enough.
Today was interesting. There is an outdoor clothing market thats only open on Tuesday's that I wanted to go to. Two of my roommates went but since I wasnt feeling well the night before they assumed I wouldn't want to go, so they left before me, which was fine. I called and told them Id meet them there. I had a vague idea of where it was on the map but wasnt sure. I was looking at the map in the stairway of my apartment and a woman that spoke English asked if I needed help. I told her where I was going, and she told me to just hop on the number 17 bus. I hadn't used the bus yet, but in my semi-ill state, figuring out the bus sounded better than a 30+ minute walk. So I go to the train station and wait about 15 minutes for a bus that just says "17" on the side. I get on, and asked a girl next to me who spoke english if I was headed the right way. She informed me that I was on the right bus that was heading the wrong direction. I was on 17B, I needed to be on 17C. So by this point Im on the other side of town from where I need to be. So I get off and wait for the 17C bus. Get on that, but Im still confused. I guess they expect no tourists on the city buses because NOTHING is in English. And there is nothing that tells you what stop you are at, which made things difficult seeing as how I had no idea what this place looked like. Also, my international phone decided to stop working at this point, even though its been fine for the whole trip. The only people on the bus that spoke any english on the bus were just as comfused as I was. I ended up sitting next to a lady who spoke absolutely no english, but was still nice enough to want to help. So I was speaking to her in english and she was speaking to me in italian but we somehow communicated somewhat. What (I think) I got from her was that I was headed the right way, it would just take a while to get there. I would need to get off two stops past the train station. Well, by this time I had given up on the market because class was in about an hour and the market was on the other side of town from the school. So I waited until I got to a street that I recognized and got off. Unfortunately I was on a completely different part of that street than I was used to, so I ended up getting lost on my way to class as well. I got to the school about 10 minutes before my class. I was lost for a total of 3 hours. Somehow it didn't put me in a bad mood. All I could do was laugh about it.
Oh, also, I didn't know if you had to pay for the bus or not. Some people got on and did nothing, and only a few had a card that they punched. I found out afterwards, the card is for frequent bus riders, and you are supposed to buy a one time ticket to ride. Some buses check and some dont. Thankfully, I illegally got onto two that did not check tickets :) oops?
Class was better today. Now that I understand the assignment better, I can actually do it. He really liked my stuff today. Hopefully Ill be able to put it up soon.
Due to all the chaos before class I didn't get to eat so when I got out at 2:30 I was STARVING. Also due to my chaotic morning, I was a tad frustrated with the fact that, as amazing as Italy is, it can be exhausting to be completely out of my comfort zone. SO, me and Alyssa went to an American diner and got cheese burgers, fries, and milkshakes, a meal a rarely eat at home but I promise, a burger had never tasted so good, haha.
Afterwards, I admitted to Alyssa that I secretly wanted to go to the Serial Killer Museum that we passed on the way to class every day, and she confessed that she really did too, so we went haha. Call me crazy but it was so interesting. You get a headset that tells you the story of the specific serial killer at every station. Serial killers from past and present, and from all over the world; complete with Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, and Charles Manson, and some I'd never heard of, even back to the first documented serial killer. Creepy music and blood and guts included. Haha but hey, at least I learned a lot, about something? ha. It was fun.
It is so funny to me some of the little things that are SO different here than in America. Here are a few that I've noticed:
1. They are so much more green than us. Everyone everywhere recycles. No where has air conditioning, and if they do, its not like America's air conditioning. The toilets have about a quarter of the water in them as american toilets.
2. The doors and the water faucets are backwards here. Like nearly all of their doors you push to enter and pull to exit. Their water faucets, the left is hot and right is cold.
3. Waitors here are paid a normal wage, so you aren't expected to tip. This can produce a few outcomes. A. the service is not as good some places because they're getting paid either way, or B. you can sit there for hours talking and they dont rush you out for a new table of tipping customers.
4. Water cost money here at restaurants, and it makes my meals much more expensive.
5. Homeless people here go about asking for money here in a totally different way. Instead of making signs, or getting in your face and begging, they sit or kneel, hiding their faces, I guess out of humbleness or shame, and simply leave a cup there for donations. Im not saying I think this way is better or worse, its just different and I found it interesting.
That's all I can think of at the moment. Ill see what else I come across.
You better check you luggage for the trip back or you may have some bed bug hitch hikers to bring back with you!!!
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