so, so much going on. (ps- i’m alive)
I feel bad that my posts keep getting shorter, but I don’t have time to give abbreviated updates anymore. We’ve moved from posts to abbreviated posts, and now we’ve arrived at the extremely abridged versions:
- I went to Verona with my friend Marco. We did an aperitivo for dinner, went drinking and dancing, and crashed at his friend’s apartment. The next day we did a brief walking tour of Verona, had lunch, and headed home. We went to a mineral bath on the Garda Lake, overlooking the Italian Alps.
Mineral baths are more or less a spa. There are a few swimming pools of varying temperatures and each one has different types massage jets. One was a series of ramps that took you from heated water to really cold water. We went around it 10 times because it’s supposed to be really good for your circulation.
The biggest pool is outside and overlooks the lake and the mountains. It started raining which might have been one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. The hot mineral bath, the cold rain, and the Italian Alps. It was surreal. - One day my friends and I drank too much wine at lunch and decided to go to Barcelona. We booked the tickets on the spot. We stayed in a cute (see: tiny) apartment in Barceloneta, which is a beach neighborhood. The whole neighborhood reminded me of Coney Island, which ruled because I love Coney Island.
As for tourist stuff, we saw the Picasso museum and a random technology/design museum, ate paella, drank sangria, visited a Labyrinth near the University of Barcelona, ate bombas, visited Gaudi’s Park Güell, and went to the beach! I’ll try and post some photos but I’m supposed to be writing a term paper so those might have to wait. Or friend me on Facebook, they’re all up there. - Classes are finishing! My useless linguistics class finishes on Wednesday, Translation next week, and Italian the following week.
In between going to classes, I’m furiously reading books and writing papers. I’ve loved everything about this semester, except I’ve never taken more useless classes in my college career. I’m rushing to finish because I want to get them over with. If I pass all my exams the first time, I’ll be done the 19th of June and back in America in July.
- The 6.0 earthquake originated in the province of Modena, but it was about 30 km away from us so my city was ‘spared’. The more rural towns got it a lot worse than we did. Some buildings collapsed, six people died, and there’s some pretty serious damage all over. We’re all safe, but admittedly a little shaken up. AU sent us an email to check in and Angela texted me to make sure we’re fine. Everything’s okay, but we keep feeling the aftershocks which isn’t very comforting. I keep telling my friends that I can’t wait to go home because the ground doesn’t move in New York.
So, all in all, I have about 7 weeks left in Italy. The time’s flown by and I can’t believe how much has happened since I arrived in January. I’m feeling at home here. It’s going to be a shame to leave, but I’m not worried. I’ll return to Modena.