Ireland

Hello, I've got a break between exams (almost the end of midterms! two left!) and I thought I'd give a quick update about my trip to Ireland last weekend. It was amazing. I'm going to post pictures at some point on facebook, so Alissa or Andy can show you. They should already be doing that. I'm not putting albums up for my health, you know! But anyway, I flew out Friday morning. I was very stressed about the whole thing because I got to the airport with only about 1.5 hours to spare. Then I got in the wrong checkin line, and then when I found the right one, it moved excessively slow. There was a big group of nuns in front of me taking forever. They had like 12 bags. How many bags do nuns need? They were nice nuns, though. I talked to them outside the gate. But anyway, I finally got through checkin and then came security. The line looked really long, but went pretty quickly. Though I had a moment of panic when I remembered the whole no-liquids-allowed thing. But the only thing they took was my hair gel, which, though annoying, was better than losing $50 worth of makeup and toiletries. The flight was nice. For the first time ever, I slept through a flight. Just conked out and woke up a half hour before landing. It was great. And I understood most of the Italian being spoken around me! Then we got to Dublin. The airport was nice, and it was great to hear English and not feel bad about not being able to understand the language. I actually found that my cover-up had come open inside my make-up bag, so now I'm almost out and my hello kitty washclothe is permanently stained from cleaning it up, but worse things have happened. Then we had to take a 3 hour bus ride, because apparently Galway is completely across the country from Dublin. Funny story, I held my €15 out to the driver, but he told me to sit and he'd find me. Well, he never did. Laura (Sara's friend, on my flight) and I had a lovely ride, which was free for me! We had the whole back of the bus to ourselves, and Laura slept across the back 5 seats while I read in my own two seats. At Galway I met Sara and her friend Allison, who was really nice. We all hung out for a while, and then went to dinner at a genuine Irish pub. I had fish and chips. It was greasy and fantastic! I always eat so healthily in Italy... Then we went out to dance, and at this pub I discovered Irish guys. They are pushy, worse even than Italians. One guy grabbed my arm when I was trying to excuse myself from him and said he wouldn't take no for an answer. He didn't even ask a question! My response: "You need to stop touching me." The pushy guys (who weren't even all my AGE, thank you) kind of put a damper on the evening, at least for me, but it was still fun.

The next day Allison, Sara and I took a bus tour of north-western Ireland, and it was lovely. Just mostly countryside and old towers and ruins from the ancient people. I've not heard a lot about Irish history, so it was a very informative afternoon. Strange, though, because we drove through a valley that had lost its population during the famine, and the guide was saying that the country went from 8 million to 2 million over the course of 60 years, from emigration and starvation. I know my great-great-grandparents immigrated to the USA about that time, so they probably left relatives who died and were buried in one of these valleys...Strange, huh? But despite that little realization, it was great. We saw an old manor house, more like a castle, that is now a convent and boarding school. Then that night we went out again for dinner, where I had bangers and mash, also Irish! I was really lame Saturday night and went to bed while everyone else went out. We had to be at the bus station for the 6.30 AM bus to make our 12.30 flight. That was actually bearable, because Sara and I had the back of the bus again! I slept the entire way to Dublin, and then we had Starbucks. Yum. The flight was really nice, since we had a seat open between us and I got to sit comfortably and read my art history. I took pictures of the Irish coast and of France from the window. It was really strange flying into Rome. We were flying over this really picturesque countryside, and for the first time, it wasn't new. I appreciated the loveliness, but it wasn't new, it was just the area north of Rome, where I lived. I was coming home, but home was this completely different place; not commonplace, but not really new either.

Well, I'm going to finish my Italian so I can leave the book here tonight. Tomorrow I leave for Switzerland! I haven't packed at all, lol. I'm so excited, though. I never thought I would make it to Germany or Switzerland, for some reason. Anyway, hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Provolone!

Ciao, only a few more weeks til Halloween! Or fall break, or whatever... I think I'm about over my cold! Kelsey and I spent the weekend inside watching movies and laying low, and I'm happy to say it's about gone. So back to the outside world! Yay!

Anyway, this weekend I'm finally going somewhere. I'm leaving Friday morning for Dublin, and returning Sunday evening. I'm meeting Sara there, who's flying out Thursday night. I had an unfortunate exam issue in which I had to change my ticket, for a rather exorbitant fee...but I'm over that now. Mostly. But I'm so excited, not because I'm going somewhere new, but it's Ireland! I've always wanted to go. Apparently Dublin isn't exactly the prettiest part of the country, but we're going to Sara's friend outside of the city, so I'm hoping. And I'm sure it'll be fantastic, whatever the case. It's Ireland! Go Irish people!

Today I had some exciting news. The lady conducting the communications between us and the city hall in Mompantero (where my Italian family is from) received a letter, with the birth certificate of my great-great-grandfather. Gioanni Pietro Alpe, born 24 October, 1872, died in Collinsville, IL, 14 November (I think , I don't have the paper with me), 1938. It's really thrilling, and apparently now we're just waiting for a list of possible living relatives that I can get in contact with. Better brush up on my Italian! Lol.

Oh, this weekend Kelsey and I met some new Italians. We were at a free concert in a piazza near our homestay, and we were about to leave out of boredom when some guys came up to us. They claimed to want to learn English (lines! all lines!) and we all ended up hanging out (in a PUBLIC place, mother). Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I got to practice my Italian! And I learned a new word. Provolone. Besides being a type of cheese, it's a guy in Rome who goes after as many girls as possible to see what he can get. Sounds like every guy to me...

Anyway, got to go work on my Italian oral presentation before dinner! Ciao tutti!

The bad part about the change of seasons...

Hey everyone! No major news, just thought it had been a while. I'm actually nursing a cold at the moment, and hoping it'll go away quickly, within the next couple of days! I've been kind of low key this last week or so. Over the weekend Kelsey and I stayed in town and went to Piazza Altieri, an old Renaissance noble residence. It was absolutely gorgeous, though I wasn't allowed to take any pictures. Oh, and I bought boots! They're gorgeous, and not TOO expensive...lol. No, they honestly are necessary. I didn't realize how cold it would get so quickly! They're amazingly warm and comfortable and go with everything. So you can't go wrong, right?

I'm fully into my internship now! I just helped with a proposal for a project in Egypt to create programs that will assist youths in Cairo slums to rehabilitate themselves for the future and take advantage of job opportunities. Whew. But anyway, it's interesting work, though a little tedious sometimes. It just involves a lot of writing of sections for applications and proofreading my colleagues' portions. I'm glad to be of help, but I'm glad it's finished now because it's been kind of stressful. There's an awesome kitten at the office though. She's so cute! Her name is Frattini (named after a government official, lol. I guess kind of an insult), and they call her Fratt or Fratti. She's the friskiest cat I've ever seen, without a doubt. She never stops moving! Today she was playing with her own shadow. It was hilarious, the kitten jumping twice her height and pouncing on nothing. But anyway, enough about the cat.

As much as I've been complaining about not going anywhere yet, I'm about to be busy! Next weekend I'm going to Ireland with Sara and then the weekend after is fall break. Kelsey and I are flying to Geneva, Switzerland, going to a few towns there, and going to Germany and flying out of Munich! I'm so excited. Germany! I never thought I'd go there. I'll be gone for a week, and then a week after we get back, I'm supposed to go to Florence, and then to Naples the week after that. So I think I'll try my best to relax and enjoy the weekend...

Well, I'm off to bed! Trying to beat this cold, you know. Stay bundled up, everyone! Stupid fall colds...