Friday, May 15, 2009

Day 1 in Italy was incredible.



On our flight from Philly to Venice, they played “Yes Man,” which I had been dying to see, however, I fell asleep half way through the film. Given the time change and the fact that I did not have a reliable time source on or around me, I have absolutely no idea how long I slept.

As much as I’d love to enthrall you with how I spent the majority of the time on the plane reading Rick Steve’s “Europe Through the Back Door,” and Chelsea Handler’s, “My Horizontal Life,” let’s cut to the good stuff.

We had very specific, laid out instructions on how to get from Venice Marco Polo to the CIMBA campus in Paderno. Regardless, we got on the wrong bus from the airport.

But this is not bad:



Due to this happy mistake, we actually got to see Venice for a short period of time. Sure, we spend the majority of it sitting in the train station, but the thought of sitting at some sticky train station on the outskirts of Venice does not give me near as much satisfaction as this picture does.

Moving on, after a long day of planes, trains, and buses, we finally arrived in Paderno. By we, I mean the other two Resident Interns from KU, with whom I was traveling. This trip was Kara’s second summer with CIMBA, so she had a pretty good idea of what we were supposed to do and (BONUS) can actually speak some Italian. They’re both very nice, easy to get along with, and can at least kind of appreciate my sense of humor.

When we finally arrived in Paderno, we were greeted by Tommy, one of the Program Coordinators, who gave us our keys and showed us to our rooms.

<-- View from my window (can't really tell, but Mt. Grappa is in the background)

Leigh Ann, another Intern from KU, had arrived the day before, and, after dropping off our bags, we all went to lunch on campus and then down the street for espresso. By this point, I was so exhausted and cranky that coffee would have been a lost cause. So I passed on the espresso, went back to my room, and began unpacking. Still trying to shake my mood, I paused my packing and showered. This finally did the trick. I went downstairs (my room is on the second floor) and ran into Kara and Leigh Ann. Curious to see where we would be working, we walked over to the Undergraduate Office building, met some of the head CIMBA coordinators, and got to see our office.

The best part is that, in our office, there were three boxes full of hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, head sets for Skype (link), and electronic converter/adapters. Given that I did not bring any of these things (the adapters that I brought only work in Northern Europe), this was like Christmas morning. Any mood I had before was long gone. After meeting, Katie, another RI who had just arrived (with her parents in tow – weird), I headed back to my room with my goodies. I was told to meet down in the courtyard around 7 pm.

I finished unpacking, straightened my hair, and then fell asleep for an hour. I was awoken by a knock on my door around 6 pm. It was Kara and Ashli, asking if I wanted to join them down the street for a drink before dinner.

BINGO.

Within 10 minutes, I was dressed and ready to go. I went down to the courtyard, only to find Katie, Kara, Ashli, and Leigh Ann sitting there looking disappointed. They informed me that the bar down the street was closed. So we all sat there and talked for the next 45 minutes, waiting for 7 pm to roll around. Adam and Tommy, the two PCs, arrived in the courtyard and walked us to a family-owned Italian restaurant, called Al Sole, up the street from campus. We sat outside, ordered pizza and wine, and enjoyed a beautiful evening.

Following dinner, I was still rocking a pretty good buzz and was in no mood to go straight to bed. Tommy and Adam went back to their apartment, and the five of us girls headed back to campus. By now, the bar on campus was open. Ashli, Leigh Ann, Kara and I (we invited Katie, but she respectfully declined) made a beeline for it and planted ourselves out in front of the bar with another liter of wine. It was the cheapest option, €0.80 per glass or €5.00 for the liter. We continued to shoot the shit for over an hour, finished our wine, and then headed back to our rooms.

This trip is off to a great start and I cannot wait to see how the rest of it plays out. I hope you will continue to follow me through my adventures in Europe.

Arrivederci!

1 comment:

Rosie said...

Umm... IM DONE WITH HIGHSCHOOL!

That was my day.

BOOM.

Oh yea, and Happy Birthday!