For Grandpa

Italians singing Johnny Cash?!

I am declaring myself productive

I am so glad this week is almost over. I had an essay due Monday - check. I had an essay due Wednesday, which I only started Monday - check. I just finished my presentation on Wuthering Heights for tomorrow, which I only finished the book Wednesday - check! Plus I read a book for Scottish Lit, started and finished yesterday in time for tutorial today - check!!

In the midst of doing all that school work, I was also socially productive! Let's see...I uploaded all my Italy pictures to facebook and wrote a blog w/pics about Italy. I participated in pancake day and multiple tea breaks. Yesterday was a terrible procrastination day all around. I knew I needed to work on my presentation, and I needed to read my scot lit book. But after dinner, which I had tried to eat in my room so I wouldn't get stuck talking to someone in the kitchen, I felt brain dead. So I went to the kitchen, where it turned out Debbie, Paula, Emma, Becca and Becks were all sitting making a task list of things they wanted to do (yeah, everyone is a procrastinator). I made myself some apple pie and custard (<--my new favorite that has replaced cheesecake since I can't find any here) and sat down, again I was being all assertive and just sat down, didn't say much but at least I was there. Next thing I know its 9pm. I sat in the Kitchen with Emma and Debbie and we decided we want to go to this one club next wednesday (they say its really good and won't tell me about it) but they want to play some game b4 we go, then they want to come up w/tasks for everyone that night (ex: Debbie has to kiss a guy). So we made a sign to hang in the kitchen to say what we want to do. It looks like a ransom sign. Debbie and I cut letters out of magazines and Emma glued them on.

Becca wanted to go out to the clubs, and no one else would go cuz they had essays, except Paula, and they kept bugging me to go, and I was like no I really gotta finish this presentation. Of course it doesn't take much convincing of me to do something sociable. So I said yes lol. We left at 11pm. Paula of course disappeared within 5 mins. to find Fabian, so it was just Becca and I. Standing in line, Becca was talking to a girl in front of us from CX who said she had forgot her ID and had to go back for it, 5 mins. later Becca realizes she forgot her ID. (this is typical Becca.) We had been talking to these 3 guys behind us and they asked to ride along in the taxi with us...it was a little odd, but we agreed. We finally made it back to the club, where it was headphone night and everyone got their own headphones and could listen to whatever music they wanted so everyone danced to their own beat. If u took of the headphones, it was hilarious to hear everyone singing to their song! Becca is highly entertaining, and the rest of the night was crazy on her part. Needless to say, we got back around 3:30am. Luckily we had missed a fire drill at 2am, Debbie said they stood outside for 45mins. apparently there was actually a fire this time! Debbie and Emma heard us come back last night, and they of course wanted me to catch them up on everything that happened.

I of course woke up around 8am (and i thought I had lecture at 11, but apparently not...I was mad) cuz I needed to finish reading my scot lit book, and I did! But I've been exhausted all day and still managed to attend lecture, seminar and a film screening, then finished writing my presentation, which turned out to be 1000+ words! I feel so productive! However, I realize I have very little food and clothing...guess tomorrow will be grocery and laundry day.

It's 11:30pm, I think I'm going to go sleep now...

Pancake Day and Tea Breaks!!

Today was Pancake Day!! We had pancakes for dinner! We made pancakes, but they were really watery, or i guess milky, and were as flat as tortilla bread! They put lemon juice and sugar on them, and had this really good toffee sauce that was really sweet. They put it on the pancake, then rolled it up like a tortilla or fajita...and they made me eat like 8 of them! Apparently Paula likes to cook and she just kept making more and more and they wanted me to keep eating them since it was my first British Pancake Day!
I finally finished my 2000 word essay for Film and TV studies today, and I'm almost done with my book that I have to make a 10 min. presentation on on Friday. I've been going to the library, but I really hate going there, there are a million ppl, never any computers and I haven't a clue as to how things work...yesterday I got my ID card stuck in the photocopy machine...don't ask.
Emma knocked on my door today and asked if i wanted to have tea with her, Becca and Debbie...this is the first time they've invited me without Paula being here!!! I'm really glad cuz last night I knew they were in the kitchen and i just kinda went in and made some hot chocolate and sat with them, of course I'm not very talkative, so i felt awkward but I stayed. So today reaffirmed that they actually like me lol. We had 2 cups of tea each and sat in the Kitchen for an hour...procrastinating on all the work we know we have to do. Then I had another cup of tea with them after pancakes...I fear I am becoming addicted, I actually really like it!
I have kitchen duty this week. All I really have to do is take out the rubbish (trash), but I find that disgusting, since I am quite a germophobe...

ITALY!!!

"Conversion of St. Peter"(?) Carvaggio

We climbed the spanish steps to the Medici Villa in Rome

A fountain that supposedly if u throw in a coin backwards and make a wish you will be destined to return to Rome one day.

The first Hostel. I broke the top bunk on the left

Vieew from the Vatican

Climbing down the Vatican

Our first Pizza's

Sistine Chapel

Top of the Vatican

Climbing up the Vatican, very narrow

Top of the Vatican

Hole in the Pantheon

Next to the Vatican, this is where Tom Cruise ran in Mission Impossible

our tour guide pushing the world

The Forum in Rome

Arcs, and Colosseum in background

The track where the Romans had Chariot race, Circus Maximus.

The Pantheon

This was Benito Mussolini's palace.

Orange trees!!

Gellato!!

The Colosseum!

I wish we were in that tour group

Our first Gellato!

Romans loved to drive their scooter/motorcycles

Big Statue Foot

Heads...plus Katie

"The fallen Gaul" (?)

Florence!

Looks just like my cat!

Actually backpacking in Florence!

Lemon Tree!!

Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Katie is holding it up.

Under the Tuscan Sun.

Mary Magdelene...had alot of hair.

The David...was HUGE!!!

Venice costumes!

Helioball!!

Me, Derek and Katie in our masks

Drag queen beauty pageant...bizarre.

San Marco Island in Venice was packed

Venice!

Katie and Derek

There was an entire island for a cemetary.

Mask Vendor

Gondola!

Another cat that looks like my cat!

Italy was amazing!

We actually got lost trying to get to the train station in Glasgow, but that was my fault, I thought I could get us there taking a different road. The first few days were hard, for some reason I was, i guess just uncomfortable with the language difference and no one in the world is as nice as the Scots, so I was kinda homesick for Scotland. The hostels weren't that great. The first night, we got off the bus and a man w/an information badge on came over to us and was like do u need a hostel? here I can take u to ur hostel. We told him we could do it ourselves, but he insisted and I thought everyone in the world was kind and wanted to help us, but he took us the opposite direction and then left us on a dark street and said just 2 blocks that way, I don't have time to go all the way. Then he demanded 5 euros from us. We gave it to him cuz we were scared. We were then lost, cuz we had the wrong address, for 4 hours and didnt find our hostel until midnight. Then we finally get there and we have to sleep on top bunks of a 4 bunk room. I get up and the bunk breaks and I fall on the girl under me, who was asleep. I was like, I am so sorry...nice to meet u by the way. it was horrible. Rome was great tho, we saw the Colosseum, the ruins of the Forum and the Vatican and Sistine chapel.

Next we went to Tuscany. Our first stop was Florence. Again we had the wrong address and got lost for a while, but called the hostel and ended up staying at a decent, almost hotel like hostel. We had our own room, which was great. But the shower was in the only bathroom of the place and it had no curtain so the water sprayed all over the bathroom everytime we took a shower. Florence was just like the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. We went to museums and saw The David, which was HUGE!! Katie tried to take a pic, but she got yelled at. Luckily I got a couple pics lol. We also went to a street market and bought scarves, which was good cuz it was freezing in Venice. We took a day trip by train to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa...and it was leaning! It was crazy! We ate at a small family owned restaurant just cuz we saw an old guy all by himself and felt bad that he had no customers...we were the only ones there the whole time, and his family kept coming in and they kept talking about someone named Fabio, but we couldn't understand the Italian. I'm pretty sure they were either mad at Fabio and wanted to kill him or Fabio did something really bad... The old guy kept telling katie to eat, but she was waiting for my pasta to come. He told her 4 times, but he only spoke Italian, and I kept telling katie to just freakin' eat it b4 he kills us, but she was being stubborn and waited.

Finally we made it to Venice. We got off the train and had to catch bus #11, but there were two bus #11's and we couldn't figure out how to buy a bus ticket.

ENTER DEREK.

We were freaking out when Derek comes up to us and explains everything. He was staying at the same place we were, so he got us to the Camping place we were staying. He was by himself and asked to hang out w/us, so we said yes and he stayed w/us all 3 days, and even walked us to get on our train when we had to leave. We stayed at a camping place in a cabin/camper, our neighbours were 2 old guys from Holland who loved to watch for us to come back and then we'd get stuck talking to them for 10 mins. They were so nice tho! Venice was beautiful! Islands and water and gondola's and ferries and masks! We went to the Island called Murano, where everyone makes glass, its known for glass making, so I of course had to buy some lol! Then we made our way to the main Island by ferry. EVERYONE, adults and children, were dressed up. Most looked Victorian or Renaissancey (not sure, but spectacular costumes!!) and everyone was wearing masks and ppl would just stand there so u could take their pictures. I got a mask that I haggled for from a vendor, it was originally 18 euro and I got it down to 10 euro!! Someone actually stopped and took my pic and said thank you! As the sun went down, they had a helioball that was like a huge ball filled w/helium and a girl was attached to it and did flips and they played music while she kinda danced in the air. At night was weird, they had a drag queen beauty pageant, guys dressed elaborately as women. I have never felt so confused and just weird...so we left. It was Derek's 23rd bday, so we bought him a Gilatto (italian ice cream) and we made him a card, he was feeling homesick and lonely.

Italy was fun, I will die happy if I never have to stay at another hostel again. One bathroom just doesn't work for me, its disgusting, and we didn't have room to pack towels and there were none. I am pretty sure my immune system is great now. My back hurts so bad from carrying a backpack all the time. I only had 2 pairs of jeans and 5 shirts for the week. I have never felt so grungy, wearing the same clothes all the time. Altogether, Katie and I had 22 Gilatto's! I ♥ ice cream! Katie and I got along really well, I'm glad we did. I love just being able to turn off my cell phone for a week, I have been weened off being dependant on my phone and I love it! We left the hostel in the morning and wouldn't return until after 9 at night, so we would walk everyday all day. The pizza in Italy: they give you your own pizza to eat by urself! The pasta is fantastic!

Italian words:

Grazie: Thank you

Prego: Your welcome/May I help you/next in line (prego was used alot and we couldnt figure it out lol)

Uscita: Exit

Servici: Toilets