Now put your chairs in a semi-circle

America?

2008-06-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

If anyone is still reading this, I'm home!

We went to visit Cinque Terre and this is the only picture I took... And you can't even really tell what it is. If anyone is interested in what it looks like you should definitely talk to people who are good with a camera.

This is how my grandmother felt about Italy. She means business, especially when sporting those jeans.

This was my going away party with Katelynn and Catmo and the band in Erbe. It was really sweet for the city to celebrate our departure and Theresa's birthday! OK, maybe they didn't. It was a beautiful night.

Here is Matteo rockin' his new Braves hat. He's preparing for his trip to Atlanta in the future.

My families! The Mercanti clan as well as my family from the States.

Now a solo shot with the Mercanti family.

This is my student Veronica, her boyfriend David, and the beautiful gifts they bought us. Also, this picture is blog approved.

These are my favorites! Included in the picture is their brand new Atlanta snow globe. It's a beautiful thing.

This was right before my last spritz in Verona. It's amazing that people were embarrassed to be seen with me...

My last spritz!

And now I'm here! So I guess, sadly, this is the end of this blog, I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm back in the States, so drop on by and hang out with me!

Team Verona

2008-06-03T05:30:00.001-07:00

Team Verona has arrived and life is beautiful. Katelynn and Catmo have jetted off to Rome and Granny, my mom and I are holding it down in fair Verona. Tomorrow we are going to meet up in Cinque Terre.

So I've said a lot of goodbyes recently, mostly to my meat packing company students. This is my student Enrico's artwork in his office. He gave me a smaller piece as a present to take home with me. He definitely has an artist's mind, he is so talented.

This is THE Veronesi class, complete with Laura. Mario was absent, but hopefully we will pizziamo so I can get a picture with him. This was the class that I taught a little bit of ebonics. They loved it.

For those of you blessed enough to have been to Salvatore's you'll recognize these people. We had to get a family photo, Ivan included. I think they are really going to miss our business.

This is Catmo and Granny walking to our apartment. What's the most beautiful about this picture is that they are in Verona. I'm pretty pumped to have them here, it's making leaving a little easier.

We went to Mantova. This is a shot from the cafe where we sat for coffee.

This is how Fran felt about Mantova.

This is how much Fran loves cats, especially in Mantova.

Here's the new Tezenis ad for my father.

Mantova!

This was how we felt about Piazza Te. Disappointed.

OK, off to prepare for Cinque Terre and enjoy the beautiful weather. Can't wait to see you all!

_____issimo!

2008-05-25T00:09:00.000-07:00

My family comes in just a few days! Oh, and remember that goal I set so many months ago to run 150 miles? Well after my whole calf injury thing I didn't think I'd make it, but as of today I've made it 144.75 miles! I'm going to make it!

Still life is boring. This is from Elena's birthday dinner. This is Leo, Alice, and the small one is Andrea, our neighbor. He did what they call his "sexy dance" for us.

I found the church of scientology. Phew.

We went to a bar that has board games. We played Cluedo. This is Theresa and I before Cluedo.

This is Fran and Theresa during Cluedo. Intense.

This is me, Alice and Andrea.

This is how I feel about life. It's fun.

I come home June 10th!!! Are you ready for me??

Wanna Rock & Roll All Night...

2008-05-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

So I never thought I'd keep up with this. Pretty amazing that I have though! Again, this is going to be a lame post because not much is happening in my life.

So it's been a bit crazy here in Verona. On May 1st a kid was asked for a cigarette by 5 other kids. He said he didn't have one and then they beat him to death. This is a picture of the start of the memorial built up for Nicola. Yesterday there was a manifestation in the city against this violence, and it was really violent. Verona is a pretty tense place right now.

This is a bananito.

KISS came to perform and it was a beautiful time. They played in the Arena and the KISS fans were amazing. Here is a picture of some of them.

This is my imitation of Fran with Fran's imitation of Jordan.

This is Fran and Jordan in the 'hood.

I come home in 3 weeks! Are you ready for me?

Picnic-ing on Garda, oh la vita.

2008-05-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

I have pink leggings!

Verona has been beautiful. Example above.

Wow, what a busy time. We met a couple of Nigerians, both named Kinglsey and within 24 hours of knowing each other they proposed to both Fran and I. We got married. Awkward? OK, maybe we didn't. But here they are, Kinglsey One and Kingsley Due.

We met them after a protest in the city center. Here is a picture of the protest. It was against racism. There were police everywhere and it was scary.

After we went for Indian food with Ettore and Franco, this is how Fran and I feel about it. Obviously excited. It was goooooooood.

This is our favorite street artist. He has recently gone a bit more couture. Classy.

This was Fran and I having another dance party. This is more of a breakdown. It is beautiful.

There was some sort of festival on our street that resembled a Renaissance festival. It was beautiful.

We went to Padova when Melissa came to visit and we went to the church of San Antonio. In this church is his tongue. I tried to take a picture of it (not legal) but was not able. I'm sorry to disappoint. This is the only thing I was able to capture. Trust me though, the tongue was pretty gross.

We went to Hollywood to see a band called L'or (Like Outside Rain) play. It was very classy.

This is me and my student Veronica at Hollywood. She is my favorite and always does entirely too much homework. She is awesome.

This was Fran before our picnic standing in front of "breakss". There's no typo, it's honestly breakss.

This was our picnic on Garda with Melissa and Franco. It was hot.

This was me on the picnic. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and wine. It was beautiful.

This was Fran before Mexican food on Saturday night. She bought some beautiful suspenders in Padova many weeks ago.

This is us at Mexican food with Melena. It was gooooooood.

This is Flavio, Roberto, Franco and Melissa at Mexican food. Roberto is the dog.

This is how Fran feels about Roberto the dog. I think he would get along well with Marcello and Paolo.

Happy belated Cinco de Mayo! I will be home soon! Miss you all!

Vitamin C O.D.!

2008-04-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Comic Life returned!!! Matteo loved it and made a beautiful comic.

This is how Francesco, Matteo and Alberto feel about Comic Life and Macintosh. It's love.

Here's another bimbo for my father.

Fran's Grandmother, Aunt, and Cousin came to visit. I enjoyed them thoroughly.

We went for drinks with one of my favorite students, Veronica and our friend Anna. It was a beautiful night. And really that's all there is to say... Awkward.

We rode our bikes to Veronesi (the meat company). Trust me, this is worth writing about because it is very far. Here is Fran, and in the background is a beautiful day.

Here is me. This is my bus stop that I sit at 10 times a week. It is like my best friend.

There were random fireworks last night in Piazza Bra. We went crazy. Here is Fran going crazy with a surprising lack of fireworks in the background. Darn flashes...

There was a motorcycle meeting in Piazza Bra today and I took a picture for my father. I think there might be a Harley in there somewhere...

OK, that's all for now! More updates later! I miss you all and will be home soon!

Kayaking is a boring sport to watch....

2008-04-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

Nothing really amazing has happened in the last few weeks, but this picture describes our feelings recently. We did discover some vegan pastry-esque things! And I am still comic life and iLife-less for the moment... Hopefully it will change soon.

With spring comes a great deal of energy and happiness. Fran and I use this energy to have dance parties. This is an example of a dance party. We really love spring.

This is Fran during a dance party.

This is a gold shirt. It is 265 Euros. Fran obviously wants it very much.

Fran had a small rat tail for a few minutes. I am still confused as to why she made me cut it off. It's so European.

Here's another bimbo for my father.

This is a painting in an office building. This painting is of our apartment. Life is hard.

Nothing really interesting has happened recently! We have lilacs on our balcony. That is interesting. Here is a picture that doesn't do them justice. I hopefully will have more interesting things to talk about next time. Miss you all!

"It was a good peanut butter sandwich, but a BAD peanut butter and jelly sandwich"

2008-03-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

OK, so I don't have comic life, so this is what I have resorted to, Papa John, I am so sorry, it is VERY obvious that I didn't receive any of your talent. And also I can't figure out how to flip the pictures without iPhoto. Life is terrible without iLife.

Nate is back! But he's Comic Life-less for the moment, so you will have to deal with my terrible artwork!

Here's what happened in my life. I pizziamo-ed with some students with Francesca. They were all over excited. Just look at the passion for pizza in their eyes. We are going to repeat this experience soon.

This is the new Tezenis ad. She's wearing goggles on her head. I'm not quite sure how one is supposed to take this... But as usual, it is everywhere.

March 8th was women's day! Basically you were supposed to be a woman, and I participated! These are the flowers that my magister brought us.

This is how I feel about the flowers. They were very soft.

I am teaching one of my classes at Veronesi some very important slang. Mario's favorite was "ghetto booty". They have a friend in NYC and they want to improve their English in a way to impress their friends. I am the perfect teacher for them.

My student gave me a decorative plate from Naples! She is very cute!

Here's another bimbo for my father. This one is obviously riding a snail. Normal.

Fran and I have a new theory, that if we both agree on something that 100% of people in the room agree, so it is true. Case and point? That I'm a babe.

Berlusconi said earlier this month that women who have problems of poverty should just marry his son, he is still single. Oh, Italian politics!

This is the sign by the elevator at one of the office buildings we work in. What does it mean? It confuses me greatly.

Drew came from Venice to come visit! It was beautiful. Also, Frans brother and her friend Andrea came to visit also. It was all very beautiful and wonderful. You should all follow them and come visit ASAP.

They had the motorcycle of Rossi (maybe?) at the Veronesi office and they were so excited about it that they demanded I take a picture with it. They then proceeded to take 4 different angles. It was a bit awkward.

Fran brought me a present from Milan. It was a beautiful swan made of some vegetables. The swan began to fall after a few days. Here is Fran looking sad about it.

Violet gave me a Hannah Montana valentine. In the middle of March. I can teach her English but I can't teach her how to read a calendar I guess.

We went to the cat farm where Fran and I made friends. It's not exactly a cat farm, one can't be really sure what it is, but there are a lot of very friendly cats just hanging around. This is my friend, Wendy.

This is Fran's friend, Peter. After that we couldn't remember any other Peter Pan character names, so we called the rest "the boys". It was beautiful.

Wow, I really thought I'd have more to write, I guess life has been pretty normal! I miss you all molto!!

Yikes

2008-03-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

So Nate (my computer) temporarily died on me. He's currently in the Mac people's hands (thanks to my INCREDIBLE magister! Grazie mille Pietro!) and I will hopefully have him back in a week, so I will be M.I.A. for a bit!

Miss you all molto!

Happy Leap Year!

2008-03-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

So I somehow managed to injure my calf (how does one do that?) so I haven't been running recently. But I will get to that 150 before I leave! The pushups are going well, I can do about a million now. OK, maybe that's an exaggeration.

We had Mexican food last night, and it was extremely delicious. I forgot how much I missed it. This is Francesca with our food. It was beautiful.

These were the chips. It was a joke because they were so tiny.

Fran and I got stuck in the elevator last week. Awkward.

This was the fog last week. It was almost impossible to see a person 15 feet in front of you. It was so creepy and depressing. It has gotten better as spring is on its way!

Another sign spring is on its way? We live next to the kayakers club and usually there are one or two kayakers on the river, but today? Like a million. It is overrun by them, it's finally spring!!

Here's a shout out to my magister (is that even how you spell it?) who will be reading my blog and judging my terrible Italian. Awesome.

So all of the cigarette packages say something along the lines of "If you smoke this you will die", and really optimistic things like this. This is a package that was on the street the other day. I have no idea what it says. Someone brought the package a long way....

I've pretty much finished my country book. Now I know everything there is possible to know. I'm so smart.

This is how Fran and I celebrate the leap year, by leaping. We love February 29th.

Fran also really loves peanut butter. We have almost finished our collection. This is Fran praising the peanut butter. Very important.

We also had a dance party. This is how Fran dances. It's beautiful.

Today is the 100 day mark until we return home. Yikes! But I'm excited about seeing all of your beautiful faces again! Miss you all molto! Ciao ciao ciao!

Per Lin

2008-02-26T23:02:00.001-08:00

I wish I could be there!!

Also, R.I.P. Tre... Such a good macchina! You will be missed.

I love puppy

2008-02-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

I got a valentine's present. It's a pen that has a puppy café and many different colors. Fran is so thoughtful.

We went to a concert with Elena for Valentine's Day. It was a mix of Arabic and Spanish music and it was fun.

I have run 100.84 miles, and one of my classes ended recently. My students decided to give me something practical being a heating collar. This is for running, or so Francesco told me. This is how I use it. Francesco told me it matches my eyes.

We got a postcard from Athens, Georgia from Stephen. It was classy, just like Athens.

I also got the most amazing Valentine's card ever written. Doogs, it made my life. I love Jamie Lynn.

Before valentine's I got the most amazing package, it included fantastic kitten stationary and "Eat, Pray, Love" complete with a bookmark. It was the perfect package on a really difficult homesick day. Kristen, you rock my world, thank you, thank you, thank you.

We have a student that invited us to her boyfriends bar, El Cube. This happened to be the night they were throwing the Hello Kitty party. Before we got very excited and our expectations were high. They quickly came crashing down as this was really the only Hello Kitty object in the bar. How sad.

OK, off to plan our own Hello Kitty party with Hello Kitty costumes. Hopefully our dreams will come true. Miss you all!

Verona In Love

2008-02-10T04:24:00.000-08:00

After I wrote my last blog the fog came out, just as I promised.

Fran and I tried on glasses. We look so European.

Fran got a hair cut. Here she is trying to look emo.

I have run 88.6 miles. I am well on my way to 150.

So it's close to Valentine's Day and Verona is in love. This is the party we plan on going to. It's going to be colorful! OK, maybe we won't go.

Here are the hearts that are all over the city. They look like children's paper cut outs, and they are beautiful.

Speaking of love, there has been a "baby gang" scandal here, and when the newspaper wrote about it they wrote that it was two Italians and three North Africans born in Italy. It sure does take a lot to be called an Italian here...

Last week was carnival. A big parade went through the city and there were tons of children dressed in costumes throughout the city. This float was my favorite. It was insane.

OK, miss you all a ton! Ciao ciao ciao.

The sun!

2008-01-29T11:56:00.000-08:00

So after my last posting the sun has been out in full force. The cartoon is the sunset a few days ago. It is starting to feel like spring already! But then again, by saying that it's going to be foggy and terrible again soon, but c'est la vie!

My mile count is up to 66.8. I'm well on my way to 150.

The star in Piazza Bra is gone... It means the holidays really are over. So soon... But then again, spring is coming!

They have this car from one of the trains that transported Jews to concentration camps in Piazza Bra. It was here when I arrived in 2005 also. It is interesting, and scary all at the same time...

I've become obsessed with podcasts recently. I can watch Anderson Cooper's 360 for free! It is a beautiful thing.

Speaking of news, the Italian government fell last week. It is an interesting time to listen to the opinions of the people. The general feeling is that they are all relieved.

And in other news, The Backstreet Boys are coming to Padova. They are Kevin-less. Also, the tickets are around 50 Euros. I can't afford it, so I'm starting a fund. I might do some street artist-ing. Anything for BSB. Backstreet's Back, alright.

Speaking of good music, I have Mtv playing in the background and the Italian band Two Fingerz is speaking right now. This is the second time I've heard them. Italian music is so interesting.

I got a beautiful card from the amazing Doogs. He rocks my world. Also, Jesse, you must listen to the Timbaland and She Wants Revenge song, "Time". I'm pretty obsessed with it.

We've found a store that sells tofu and we've been going on a weekly basis to buy it. It makes us very happy.

Speaking of being very happy, we received a package from Rachael. She mailed it in November and it just arrived. It was two cookies. Instead of worrying about it, we just dug in. Here is a picture of the cookies... Oh wait. I wasn't quick enough. Even three months later these vegan cookies were amazing. Rachael, you also rock my world. Please come visit!

Also, J. Hart taught us this word that they use in India that means yes, no, maybe... Nothing in particular. It sounds like "atcha" and you must make the motion with your head as if you are a bobble head. I am obsessed with it. I've taught it to two of my classes.

OK, I am off to run! Miss you guys!

I can touch my toes!

2008-01-20T06:39:00.000-08:00

OK, here's a longer one. First things first. My uncle, aunt and I took a trip to Padova and it was really beautiful This is the church of San Antonio, one of the first monks and one of the best friends of San Francesco. Apparently in the Chapel of Relics there is Antonio's tongue. We missed out on it when my aunt and uncle were here because there was a line about a mile long and a church service was happening. I'm definitely going back to see it.

Speaking of church services, I went to two with my aunt and uncle and decided to go this morning. Catholics here are very serious. We were in and out in less than 45 minutes. It was a speedy service.

I also went to Lugano with Uncle Dave and Aunt Annette, and here is my uncle Dave in a fallen statue in the middle of Lugano. It was fun.

And here are some cows in Lugano. The one at the end is a swiss army knife cow.

This is the tower from the church in Lugano where my Uncle and Aunt and I went to a service on New Years eve. It was beautiful.

This is a three wheeled motorcycle that my Uncle liked. It makes little sense to me, which makes it fun.

I have been reading Stephen Colbert's book (thanks Granny!) and it is amazing. It almost makes me want to convert with Catholicism, as Stephen tells me it's the correct religion. I miss Colbert and Stewart... This is my life at the moment, trying to get back into studying. I miss school. This is my Italian homework, Colbert's book, and Foreign Affairs. In the forefront is Fran doing Sudoku. She obviously misses the days of classes also.

My uncle suggested that if you have a throat ache to put some rock salt in your lip over night and it works. I have a lot of salt (it was only 14 cents) so I hope I have a lot of sore throats.

I ate some Risotto made by the Risotto King, Pietro. My life is really eventful.

I also have eaten a lot of Kiwis. Apparently they are only grown here and in New Zealand. They are good.

It has been raining a ton recently, which has been really depressing. Then we had one day of sun, and now the fog. It's impossible to see across the river. Here's a picture from last night.

Have you seen the new MacBook Air?? It's so thin and pretty! And impractical, especially in wireless-less Italy. But at least it looks good.

This picture is an example of the satellites that ruin pictures (see the buildings in the background) and the graffiti in monuments (see the forefront) and the palm trees in Verona. They are the only two.

This is Fran making graffiti. She is so bad.

Here is an example of all of the cranes all over the city and the depressing weather. They put up cranes for any type of construction, it's not important how small the job. They're serious about their construction.

This is our street artist boyfriend. He's been gone for a while, but he's made a big comeback. This woman is terrified of him. If you notice in the comic, our street artist boyfriend left his post for a while and Fran and I took advantage of it. We did our best impersonations of him. It was wonderful.

This is the man at the skate park. I love his hair. Can you tell which one I'm talking about?

This is a motorcycle in Verona. Go!!!!!!!!!!!

They painted over the walls by Juliet's balcony, so Fran and I reaffirmed our love. Sempre.

I have decided I'm going to run 150 miles before I come home. I've got 44 behind me, it's going to be a while.

These are blankets and backpacks all rolled into one. We really wanted them. See the look on our faces?

OK! I am off to study some more. I miss you all a ton!

Oy with the poodles already!

2008-01-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

OK, this is going to be a quick one, sorry I haven't written in a while, it's been a little slow.

We have TONS of peanut butter. Life couldn't be more beautiful.

It snowed! Forever ago, but it did! Here is a picture!

J. Hart came to visit. So did Abby and Laura. It was beautiful and awesome all wrapped up in one.

These are flowers that my student Betta gave me on our last day of class. One for each of my students in the class. I felt like a real teacher.

OK, more later. Sorry for so little info! More later. Miss you all molto!

Pick-pocketing again! Oh my!

2007-12-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

So today I was hanging out with my aunt and uncle around Verona getting over my parents leaving, and when on the bus these three men freaked out and pushed out of the bus. Come the next stop my uncle realized his camera was gone. Just a mere three months and already two pick-pocketing incidents! My uncle though is one of the most amazingly patient and calm people I have ever met and he is taking it wonderfly.

So it's been a while since I last updated. So there's a lot to update. Here's the Fortuna family Christmas card picture. The visit with my family was beautiful, and having my aunt and uncle here is awesome! This was the perfect Christmas gift!

Here is the one picture that I took at the Christmas dinner with Inlingua. I think it pretty much describes the night.

This was Chris, our Christmas tree full of presents.

This was my wrapping paper. It said "Merry Christmas Little Penguin". It was beautiful.

This was the calendar Fran and I bought each other for Christmas. We are leaving it on March until we have to practically use it because March is our favorite month.

Here are our stockings. My mom had them made and they were amazing.

Here are the stockings for my parents. And Chris.

This is a cool picture of Verona my dad took. Since my dad came I realized the insane amount of satellite dishes on top of apartments here. They really ruin cool pictures.

This is a picture of my brother by the sporty smart car. It looks good by him.

We went to Lugano, this is what my brother and I look like in Switzerland.

My mother bought a watch in Lugano. It is very pretty. She bought the watch from Christ. Not even kidding. There is a watch store in Lugano called Christ.

We also went to Venice with Fran on Christmas Eve. This is what we look like on a bridge in Venice.

This is what we look like in front of a glass Christmas tree.

Here are pictures of bottles of wine from Venice. They include a selection of Che, Hilter, Mussolini and Bob Marley. Normal.

We were in the train alone on the way home so my brother ran in the aisles. Normal.

This is Fran on the train. Also normal.

This is my dad sleeping on the train. Also normal.

This was our Christmas. Full stockings from my mom! Christmas was spent in the Residence. I didn't realize how many memories I had in this place. It is beautiful. Right now I am sitting in my aunt and uncles room stealing the internet. Life could not be more beautiful.

I got a card from Heather!!! H-Dook is awesome! It was beautiful.

My brother got a French Fry pizza. It was a beautiful experience.

The day after Christmas is a holiday here in Italy. It is called San Stefano. The day before Christmas isn't a holiday. The more you know.

We also went out for drinks with my students and this is how my brother and I feel about it. Also, I chopped off my hair.

This is how my students, Massimo and Francesco felt about it. This is beautiful.

Here's something. The word for dwarf in Italian is nano. The more you know.

This is my aunt, uncle, mom and dad on the train on the way to Florence. They were sleepy. We left at 5:30 AM. It was a tiring day.

This is a peacock dove in Florence. Apparently they occur in nature. Crazy...

It snowed in Verona! Here is a picture of some of it. I saw two flakes. It was basically the worst storm in years.

Carrie sent us a package! It had amazing things in it, but I am away from the apartment so I can't post the amazing pictures. Next blog. Along with the pictures of our current insane collection of peanut butter. No more peanut butter depravity!

I just heard about "don't tase me bro". I feel so out of the loop.

OK, so now I am going to go back to being social. I miss you all. You should come visit- just ask my parents! I miss them already! And I miss you all a ton!

And so this is Christmas....

2007-12-15T09:51:00.000-08:00

Santa Lucia came to bring the children candy and she certainly didn't miss the two girls I teach. They were hyper all week and it was impossible. Here is a picture of the market in full swing.

So yesterday when we were shopping we came across a neo-fascist demonstration. It's a group called the Tricolor Flame. A section of this party is actually called the skinheads. There weren't any women and all the men had shaved heads. My heart is still beating a bit faster. This is a picture of the end with the Forza Nouva flag.

I finally finished reading Atlas Shrugged, so I am so ready for some light reading once my parents come!

I received this in the mail yesterday. It was beautiful and made me happy. The greeting card industry just isn't the same here. Thanks for the cards Papa Giovanni!

This is for my father. A bimbo is on board this card. There is also one in the comic. Unfortunately I've been unable to find a sticker like this for my father's car.

This is our Christmas tree, Chris.

Not to be confused with my beautiful computer, Nate.

We had a a dinner for our "college" classes, and this is how Fran and I feel about it. We also had a Christmas dinner with Santa hats, but I didn't take any pictures, so once I am able to steal pictures I will post them.

After the "college" dinner we went to Piazza Bra and got to play on the star, and this is how we felt about it.

My parents come SO soon!!! I miss you all!!

Santa Lucia. And I'm alive.

2007-12-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

I am alive. I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted, it's just that not much exciting has happened in my life. But here I am with exciting things!

My brother sent me a card! It was beautiful. I still laugh a little inside when I think about it. I love mail, and my brother.

We went to the gem fair. They had gems, beads, and dead bugs. It was strange. This is what people looked like at the gem fair. They were very excited, and so was Fran.

I had to wear my power suit to a meeting with a woman that works for the city. I also work for the city because I teach a lesson for a certain student and the city pays. Don't I look powerful?

These are the pictures in Fran's room.

I got jealous. So Wendy drew me pictures. This is one. It is of a heart, with black colors. She labeled the colors "black colors".

This is the other. It's Micky. Wendy is one of my children students that is named after Wendy from Peter Pan. But in Italian it's Guendalina. She is the cutest.

I was running the other day and the Italians wouldn't get out of my way, even after turning around and looking at me, so when this woman started to move to the side I had to squeeze past her and ended up hitting a pole with my armband. I broke my ipod! It was horrible! And now I can't see what's playing... It's so depressing. My life is SO hard. My biggest problem in life is I can't see the songs playing on my ipod.

This is the star in Piazza Bra for Christmas. Apparently they have put it up for like 30 years, but there is no real story behind it. Many children climb on the star, so it is basically like a playground.

This is the tree that is decorated for Christmas and the candy shops that are set up in the city center for Santa Lucia. Santa Lucia is the city saint and the children get presents from her. Here is the best part. She was blind, and the if the children wait up to try and see her leaving presents she throws sand in their eyes to blind them. How terrifying!

This is how Fran feels about Santa Lucia. And candied nuts.

This is Fran's new boyfriend. He is a one man band and was performing for the children today.

They also have these things called Fritelle for Santa Lucia. Basically it is this fried bread thing and they put stuff like Nutella in it. This is how I felt about it. It was yummy, but I had it once and it made me slightly sick.

This store is ballin'.

These are some more Christmas decorations. Verona feels like small town USA.

This is a random building in the middle of Verona that was used to store food to keep it out of the humidity. Now it's just vacant. And random. (It's on stilts if you can't see....)

This was a live mannequin. I thought mannequins were creepy, but this was worse. She would look at people and then write something on her paper. Also, she wouldn't stop moving. It was so strange!!

OK, so speaking of strange, this week this guy told me that he was married, but he isn't speaking to his best friend because he hasn't introduced him to his wife (of 7 years) and then asked me to go to a party with him and pretend to be his wife. I think I was so flustered, so in true Laura fashion, I wiped out. Here is a picture of the place it happened and my battle wound. Oh, Italian men!

So I teach a lesson for Comfoter, which I learned recently means Comando Forze Operative Terresta. Basically they are the ground forces. It was interesting for me, guess you had to be there...

So my students taught me that men who don't really work and have a reputation for being fat are called "Foca" meaning seal. My students just kept saying this about one of my students who didn't come to class. I was very confused. I feel better now that they have explained it to me.

This is Fran showing you where our apartment is from a point at the top of the city.

Fran made a scarf. This is her modeling it, as well as looking pensive.

Here is some of Verona

This is also Verona. It has a reputation for being a bit racist.

I don't know what this means?

This says "we aren't like you. power to the people". True, power to the people.

This is a "Spicy Necklace". It is literally spices wrapped up in cellophane and put on a necklace.

This is how much Fran wants it.

This is how much Elena is into Christmas.

Fran's student went to Chicago and brought back things for her, including peanut butter. He also managed to find Marshmallow popcorn. I mean, what??

This is a magazine I have been reading to try and learn Italian. I actually had a dream the other night in Italian, but the dream I had last night was about working at Target and trying to hire A.C. Slater but he was too old. So, I'm not entirely sure it was progress.

We ordered pizza and ate in tonight. That is most certainly progress. It was yummy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA! Only 10 days until my family is here!!! I miss you all!

Life being legal

2007-11-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

So yes, it's true. I'm legal. I dealt with all of the permesso stuff and it's finally done, I'm legal! Life is pretty beautiful.

Life is also beautiful because I received another amazing thanksgiving card courtesy of Heather. It was beautiful and even made up for the fact that I didn't have Tofurkey. Heather, you are amazing.

This was my thanksgiving. I sat at the table with my family via Skype. It was beautiful, I even had my own glass of wine. It was good to get to see everyone. The countdown has begun, a mere 23 days until my family arrives!!

See, I wasn't lying. There is a Roadhouse Grill here. They even have a sign that says "Siamo Aperti" which is funny to me. Why Roadhouse Grill? So interesting....

So here in Italy when they have one advertisement for a company it is EVERYWHERE. I'm not even exaggerating, there is a bus stop here with 4 of this ad on it, and it's half a block from the billboard with the exact same ad. This girl is everywhere... It's insane.

So the other day I ended up walking around Verona for around 4 hours. This was for various reasons, one being that I lost my mind and thought one of my lessons started at 5:30 when it started at 6:30. And to make it worse it was raining and I was basically wet from the knees down all day. So, to celebrate the end to this day Fran and I did it. We got pizzas with French Fries on top. It was intense, and a necessary experience. For my hearts sake it will probably never happen again, but it was just too beautiful not to try.

So this past week was really rainy and gross towards the end and we finally got sunshine today!! But the Adige looks like one big mud river now. And the clouds have come back. This is our view out of our windows.

So when I was walking to the grocery store today I passed by this. It was a demonstration for road safety and had crosses for people who have died on the roads. Now is just a depressing time here in Verona.

I must be off, but first I want to give a shout out to Ellie. My heart is with you, I'm sorry I can't be there. I miss you all!

It's Snowing!

2007-11-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

So the picture on the right is of a gift my student gave me because I told my students I missed pretzels. He is a teacher's pet. I have no problem with this. The picture on the left is me. Frowning. I am using the technique Patterson taught me. I am frowning because I have no tofurkey and no Thanksgiving. When am I going to be thankful??

OK, so maybe it's not snowing. But, there was some snow in Verona this weekend, in the form of a pile. I'm not entirely sure what it was for, I think it was for winter sports, but it was very interesting. Here is a picture of the pile of snow. It is supposed to rain at the end of the week and be close to freezing temperatures so alas, no snow and miserable weather. AND no thanksgiving. Ah, Italy.

I went to the Questura to get my Permesso di Soggiorno and it didn't end up working out yet. Basically it was like waiting at the DMV but worse because I don't really speak the language and people were just telling me things in a frustrated manner very quickly. It was frustrating, and I have to do it again later on this week. Ah!

Jesse is the most amazing person alive. We got thanksgiving cards! And they are amazing! We put them up! Thanks Jesse, I LOVE them!! You are the best!

I am still slowly reading Atlas Shrugged. It has gotten slower since I got the magazines from the states (thanks Aimes!!). But I do now know a lot about Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, which I think is just as important as Ayn Rand, let's be honest.

These are our new slippers! We went slipper shopping and came across these in a store where everything is 50% off. Can you imagine why these might be on sale?? Neither can I.

So I've been teaching at the military and my student has a collection of Mussolini calendars on the wall. It is very interesting, apparently there are still very many Mussolini supporters around. This is something I was not aware of and it continues to throw me off.

This is my new warm blanket. It is fabulous and has a hint of gold velvet around the outside. I could not be happier, or warmer.

The girls that I am teaching (7 and 9) came in on Saturday with Christmas decorations! Basically they were saying they loved me, and they love me more because I'm not Jewish. They were so cute about giving them to me, and now I am in the spirit! Who needs a tree when you have a poinsettia?

OK, I am off to sleep in preparation of dealing with my Permesso di Soggiorno stuff again in the morning. I miss you all!

This one goes out to Emily

2007-11-16T23:44:00.001-08:00

Life has been really insane lately. I have been working a lot more and have kept myself fairly busy!

We went to the horse fair last sunday! It was super crowded. It's one of the most famous horse fairs in the world and the biggest in Europe from what I understand. There were things like this that happened from out of no where:

Also, it was not the most amazing smell. But it was all very interesting!

There were also a lot of these. There were places to buy things and many had a Native American theme or a cowboy theme. It was very interesting to see these things so out of place.

So on my way to one of my lessons that I have every day I've been passing the new Roadhouse Grill they've been building. Yes that's right, a true American Roadhouse Grill in Italy. Why?? Isn't that the chain that you can throw the peanuts on the floor? Hopefully I'll not only be able to update you on the building process, but to let you know how a meal is there. Ha!

Chris came to visit!! This is from dinner (at Sal's, where else?). It was so awesome to reunite in Verona after two and a half years. I can think of a lot of other people it'd be awesome to see... hint hint.

The UGA kids left for good yesterday. This is how Fran felt about it. We've lost our American friends. Now we might be forced to speak Italian...

My family comes in one month!! And my Uncle Dave and Aunt Annette are coming too!! I'm SO excited!!

We also met Alice's friend Eugenio's dog! His name is Jet and he has one eye. But it's his good one. Being around an animal broke my heart because it really made me miss these fools:

But I also miss all of you! I promise to update more. I'm finally getting into a routine! Hope la vita è bella!

Love from home!

2007-11-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

So tonight we just got back from going grocery shopping and there was a Native American band playing in Piazza Bra. I had forgotten my camera, so alas, there is no picture. Fran justified it by saying that I wasn't stealing their souls. I guess I can sleep tonight. Seriously though, Native Americans in Italy? So interesting.

We got a package!!! Amy Ellis is the most amazing person alive. here are the things she sent us.

Fran loves the Olsen twins. Amy knows. This is how excited Fran is about these magazines.

There are also many pictures in the comic about it as well. This is a magazine Amy sent me with Ryan Gosling on the cover. She knows I love Ryan. She also didn't know how much she was really giving me because this is what was inside:

Beautiful. Yes. Also, here's a shout out to H-Dook! you are my favorit-est Dook ever. You should recover quickly and come to Italy, it would be thebomb.com.

I also got a package from my amazing mother!! She is the best ever.

This is the jacket she sent me. It's extremely warm. It's also fuzzy and beautiful.

This is everything else she sent me. Nature's Seasons, Crystal Light, and Splenda! Things I didn't think I missed, but I missed an insane amount and having been consuming in great quantities. My mother is the best!

So in class the other day I told my students about my bike and they were worried about me riding home. They are like my Italian parents (I have about 20 of them). So, long story short one of my students told me she'd let me have her scooter for the next 7 months. So, I might be a scooter driver! It would make me feel better and would be so very Italian! I'll keep you updated.

Tomorrow we go to the fiera cavalli, which is the horse fair that is at the same place we went to the art show. It should be interesting! We're going with Elena, so it should be fun! I will keep you updated! Ciao ciao ciao!

Lions, Tigers and Mannequins, oh my!

2007-11-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

As I promised, this is the store with all of the mannequins. Terrifying? Yes.

We went to the freestyling competition and it ended up costing money. We didn't go in. Instead I stood outside and took pictures while pretending to show Fran pictures on my camera. We were as sketchy as the people there.

We went to some sketchy concert with Elena's kids and their friend Eugenio. It was horrible, they played Linkin Park covers (which weren't horrible). We stood outside most of the time. Then we went to Lake Guarda at like 4 AM. It was all around a beautiful night, Eugenio, Alice and Leo were tons of fun.

Hey- here's a shout out for Kev-o. HEY!

And here's one for Roscoe. I'm glad you've finally started to speak Italian, the correct language. Also, I miss your mom.

This is a sticker for the Hellas fans (they are the Verona team). We have heard they are fascist. Doesn't this sticker make you feel warm and fuzzy inside?

OK, that is all for now, off to lots of lessons! We've been able to steal the internet a lot today which has been beautiful. Hopefully it will continue. I miss you all!!!

I got a bike!!!

2007-11-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

YES!!!

I'm on a holiday!

2007-11-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend (starting thursday) is a holiday for Italy, being All Saints day, and then the 'bridge" day as they call it, of friday. So basically, I have no lessons and everything is closed, so here I am with nothing to do!

I got some more letters! Thanks Luke and K-Rad! I love real mail... Letters make me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

There are crazy statues all throughout the city and I have no idea why. And they are the most random places too, like on the walking bridge where I run... It's so insane! Here is Fran and a cat and me and a... I don't even know.

I'm going to get to teach some of the army people! They'll be individual lessons which are must more frustrating, but c'est la vie!

Oh, and I also get to teach the little girls that live in the same building as the school! They even bought books just for them since our classes are geared towards adults. It's going to be fun, I'll be a REAL teacher!

Franny and I are going to a freestyle competition, you know, to show off our mad skills. I wish I had mad skills so I could show them off. Here is the poster for the event, and Franny demonstrating her mad skills. You guys should come too! You know you want too... Just hop on a plane!

I'm officially fed up with Vodafone. We had to break it off with Vodafone boyfriend, his head was getting a little too big. I have a new Vodafone boyfriend, and he is amazing. All except that he hasn't been able to really help me with my modem problems... But still, he's pretty obsessed with me, he even wanted to meet Nate. It's a big step to take, but I had to do it. But the moral of the story is that my modem is still not working, and I'm so insanely frustrated.

These were our Halloween costumes!!!

Franny was spring. She sprung.

I was fall. I fell.

We went to a party with all of the teachers. It was a blast.

So this is a store for watches that just has Neil Armstrong's flight suit from Apollo 11. It says it's real. I can't believe it. Neither can Fran, just look at her face.

Soo I've decided I'm meteopatica (which is Italians favorite word, especially when it's raining). When it's raining I am sadder. I've been extremely homesick, but I've come to the realization I'm letting myself get a little too down recently and looking to the future to make everything better. So, in the words of Mr. Walker I'm going to "take tomorrow one day at a time" and start the day with a much more positive outlook on life. I feel pretty good about it. How about you? This is how I look when I am optimistic.

We have to go get health insurance soon. I really don't want to...

This is Dietor. This is the Italian version of Equal. I love saying it, it's like a monster. DIETOR!

This is what you get when you order coffee from McDonald's here. So piccolo!

This is outside of the local department store. What??

This is a statue of Paolo Veronese. He was a painter. He is fabulous.

This is a portion of my running route. It's pretty ugly, isn't it? Fall has arrived!

Yay fall! Franny and I spent all day outside today because it was so insanely beautiful. This is what happens to me when it's beautiful.

Hope all is well! I miss you all!

Charlie! We're going to Candy Mountain!

2007-10-28T04:46:00.000-07:00

So Frannie and I went to a used bookstore to buy some books and as we were walking through this old man was watching us. It was mildly creepy. Then, as we were leaving, he asked us if we were foreign (in Italian). I said yes and then he asked if we were German. I said no, American, and he almost started crying. He's 85 and from South Carolina. During WWII he was here and met a woman, got married and has been here ever since (1945). He is getting incredibly homesick and was extremely excited to meet us. I had a class so we had to leave, but we've decided he's going to be our new best friend, so we are going to go talk to him on a regular basis. Expect many Charlie stories (that's his name). He is going to be amazing.

This is a picture of me attempting to do a real pushup and failing. I've decided I'm going to do them and get better at it, so the other day I started. I attempted one full one and collapsed. I then did 6 girly ones and now am still incredibly sore. I have a long way to go...

This is a picture of the creepy fake dogs in the window. They move. I went to take a picture of them, and then realized that it was even creepier because there were children's fur coats in the window. What?? It's too crazy.

These are my books that I carry with me. The bottom right is my incredible agenda that I have to try and look professional when carrying. The bottom left is my exercise and food journal. The top right is my blog notebook, made even funnier by the fact that it's Che and it's a quote about how you must be hard, without losing the sweetness. Oh, killing lots of people! And then the top left is my journal (which Beth, you might recognize as you gave it to me before my first trip to Verona and I've just now gotten around to actually writing in it, it is beautiful). I just have notes spilling out of my ears!

Oh, so last night we went out for an apertivo with a real Italian! We made a friend! Her name is Alexandra and she wants to hang out with us to practice her English (ugh, still no Italian practice) but she's really nice and her parents were from Sri Lanka. She has an interesting story, we are going to hang out with her soon.

These are the jackets I am in love with. They would match my silver shoes my mom hates so much. They are beautifully tacky, like most Italian style.

So today we went to the grocery store and walked back to find some random game being played in the piazza here. It had something to do with hitting a wooden peg thing with a stick. It looked interesting, but not at the same time... Here are the rules:

So Frannie got a package from her parents which included an adapter so she can use her computer now. We are both obsessed with card games on our computers so this is what we look like most of the time (when everything in Verona is closed, which is most of the hours of the day). It is beautiful.

OK, I'm off to have a lazy Sunday of studying for classes! I hope life is beautiful for all!

Coffee! And pickpocketing....

2007-10-24T03:54:00.000-07:00

Fran and I got a coffee maker! This is a Moka, and it makes the greatest coffee EVER. Really espresso, but coffee here. It is tasty. Also, I used up all of my internet for the month so I am now at the bio-bar that has free WiFi. the problem being that it is free if you buy something, and things cost money... C'est la vie!

OK, so the other day I was on the bus coming home from teaching (out at the sketchy bus stop place) and I went to check the pockets on my bag (which I do ALL the time, just a habit...) and there was another hand in my pocket. Yes, the man behind me was trying to pickpocket. So, because I don't speak Italian very well, I froze. I had no idea what to say. This is a re-enactment of the face I made at him. This was all I did. I have been replaying this in my mind and am extremely frustrated that I didn't do more... But again, c'est la vie. You win some you lose some...

And this is a re-enactment of a story Elena told us. Here's how it goes. She had a dog that had 8 puppies, and she couldn't find anyone to take the 8 puppies and didn't want to take them to the humane society because they would be euthanized. So her plan? She and her maid at the time took the puppies, washed them, put a bow on them, put them in a big basket and set it outside of an elementary school and then watched from the bushes nearby. All of the dogs were taken. It was a beautfiul story!

OK, off to teach for the day! I will have the internet again on Friday! Miss you all!

Arte

2007-10-21T04:38:00.000-07:00

So first off, I got mail. It was one of the happiest things ever. Thanks Doogs!!! Here is it on my shelf. Oh, and just a reminder:

Ha! I love mail.

So Franny and I went to an art show, it was a big festival here. They have this place called the Fiere in which they have a good deal of exhibits, like VinItaly the huge wine fair, and some other Fair to do with horses. Elena somehow got us free tickets and it was fun! Here were some of the highlights for me:

This is a replica of that famous painting done entirely in dirt. It was amazing.

This is a statue of a man coming out of a wall. I wanted to jump in his arms, but I think the art people would have hated me. I also wish I had photoshop so I could have pretended that I did and trick you all, but alas, I can't always get what I want.

This is a pig. It is interesting. It has many teats.

This is a man with a horse coming out of his head. Think about it.

Marx Attacks!

This was a cool painting, with a terrifying statue beside it. These people thought the statues were worth buying. I don't know if they did, but I'd like to think they are the type that would like a human-esque monkey statue in their house.

This is a whole bunch of mannequins. Basically, my worst nightmare. AHHHHHH!! Also, there is an army supply type store here in Verona that has a bunch of mannequins. I hope to one day feel amazing enough to take a picture for your viewing displeasure.

This is a sumo wrestler statue. Again, I wanted to walk up and wrestle with him, but I think the gallery owners would have judged. They don't know me!

This is a statue that makes me feel happy. Mostly because it is warm and inviting, but also because it reminds me of my favorite picture of Amy in which she is wearing her fleece coverall and is very happy about it.

There is nothing in life that can make me smile like when I look at this picture.

That is all for now! Ciao ciao ciao!

I got a picture!!!

2007-10-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is the sketchy bus stop.

I've learned a lot from my classes. One thing I've been taught by my students over and over again? That people who do not pay that ride on the bus are called Portuguese. No one knows why. It is amazing.

Another thing? That no one in Verona reads Romeo and Juliet and they all HATE the story. They also hate that tourists go to "Juliet's balcony" that is fake. But I mean, how could you resist getting a snapshot like this one?

On the other hand I have taught my students very many things. Recently I taught one class what a fanny pack was. I also taught them what Eurotrash means. And that most Italians would appear to be gay if they were in the US. Today in class I taught my students "George Foreman Grill". They loved it.

FRAN AND I HAD TOFU! It was our one month celebration of being in Italy! This is what we look like when we are excited for tofu.

I like you all a lot!

Busy Busy

2007-10-17T02:57:00.000-07:00

Life has picked up a bit, I've got many more classes and have somehow managed to get a little sick. It always happens around this time when the weather is changing, it just is not good timing because I'm losing my voice and I have to speak to my students. I sound a lot worse than I actually am, but my students might be scared off!

This is what I look like in my power suit. I was going to wear it to my class yesterday, but then decided I might overpower my students (who all work at a local bank and all rock the power suit). Maybe one day I will have the courage to pull it off.

One of my students at the paper plant told me he'd rather live in the country than the city because it meant he wouldn't have to work. I can respect this point of view, but I feel like I might go insane if I had nothing to do. It might be that one of my biggest role models is my mother who managed to conquer the world, retire, and then conquer it again. I think this feeling of stagnancy is a feeling that many Italians have, and coming from the US I feel a bit different. I don't know if I could handle living here long term (mostly because I'd miss you all too much) because I'd like to feel like I'm affecting people in every way possible through work. Ah, what can you do?

This is a design my dad made with some of our motorcycle pictures! Thunder Englightenin' is Amy's roller derby name. I wish I could be in the states to get a T-shirt made of this and wear it to all of her matches. You all should go see her, she's going to be awesome!

For all of those who came to Verona with me in 2005, Elena (the lady we are living with) as well as almost all of my students have said the ONLY place to get pizza that is decent in Verona is Sal's. Oh, the days of being obnoxious Americans in Sal's! It was one of the first places Fran and I went when we got here, and we have frequented it often. I love it! If you come visit me Sal's will be the first place I take you! This picture is the UGA kids at Sal's.

I've been seeing the Italian versions of people everywhere. The other night Fran and I saw the Italian version of Mike Williams, a week ago I saw Matt Maxwell and yesterday I saw Luke's dad. It is so insane! Seriously, these people must have sent clones over.

I now have class 4 days a week from 17.30-18.30 (have to use the military time!) out at the bank's main offices which only have one bus that makes it's way out there. I was going to take a picture last night to demonstrate how sketchy the stop is, but alas, there was some sketchy man waiting for the bus with me. The bus is supposed to come every 30 minutes, but the other night Fran and I ended up waiting almost an hour. I don't think there really is a schedule out there, it's a VERY industrial part of town and I now have to wait alone every night for the bus as it starts to get dark... This picture is of the hotel across from the bus stop. At night it looks like it might rent by the hour... Oh, the perks of being an English teacher! It's a good thing I practiced my karate before I came. And those roller blading skills will come in handy too.

I was getting on the bus last night and the girl in front of me leaned down to pick something up. The doors promptly closed ON me. I was at a loss for what to say- this language barrier is so insane! All I could say was scusa in the loudest voice I could muster, but the girl in front of me thought I was saying it to her! Oh, it was a nightmare. Finally the bus driver saw what was happening and I was saved... But jeeze.

This is the card I have proudly displayed from my parents that they packed in my suitcase. I knew I would get homesick, but I'm REALLY homesick. I want some visitors ASAP! Tomorrow Fran and I have officially been here for one month. We are celebrating by hitting up the vegan restaurant that is literally a block from out apartment! Yes! Tofu at last! But all that means is I only have 2 more months until I get to see my little bro and my parents!

I've been telling my students that my last name is Fortuna and they all think it is funny and hope that I can bring them luck! My meat packing group (next week is their last lesson and I'm going to miss them!) called me luck for just one class, but now they are too distracted by my American accent. As are many of my students, I never thought it was that bad!

OK, I must go, I have to study up for my lessons. I miss you all molto!

The kayakers are out tonight!

2007-10-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

It is a lovely night in Verona and the kayaking club that meets next door is out tonight. I hear voices in my room and they sound like they are coming from the next room, but they are coming from the Adige. It's crazy.

This is the garden under our balcony. You walk down a few steps, and there it is. Elena said in the spring we will eat down there. It's like our own little secret garden.

I have to study really hard tonight for my lesson tomorrow because it's the girl that doesn't talk at all. I really have no idea how to deal with this situation, I feel like a veteran teacher might have a clue, but me? I can't even get her to speak two words. But tomorrow night we have a work party with everyone because one of the girls from the office fell in love and is moving to NYC in a couple of days. It's her final goodbye and should be pretty sad.

We went to the peace march for Burma the other day, and it was really interesting. Not in the interesting kind of way, just interesting in the way that it was bizarre. Everyone just walked around the park by the arena then stopped, held hands while a monk rang a bell, and then left. There was no talking or explanation. Strange. But Fran and I sat on a park bench and took pictures of them. So maybe we were a little bizarre.

Elena might take us to a supermarket because apparently they have really cheap bikes there. I'm not sure yet if I want to be a biker. I guess I'll see how cheap it is and that will make the decision easier. I can walk most places, so getting a bike might be a little to dangerous without having insurance yet.

I have new glasses and have decided to wear them more and more in order to conserve the contacts I have left since I am off my parents insurance and will have to figure out how to get them on my own, and seeing as I have many medical problems with my eyes and it could get pricey. But I like my glasses! The only thing that is a problem is that they stop me from wearing my wonderful Dolces. But the Italians love their glasses over here, sun or regular, so either way I'm hip and with it.

I think I might go to church on sunday. I'm really interested to experience a REAL catholic service, but I just have to get over the intimidation to walk into any of the churches. We shall see.

The other night Fran and I were walking through the city on our way home and seriously a crowd of roller bladers came skating towards us. It was so insane. I had to take a picture of it. There were like a million more before these that had already passed us. I want to join their gang and roller blade around the city! First step: learn how to roller blade. Second step: be awesome.

So I counted at lunch today and I have over 20 bug bites all over my arms and shoulders. I have no idea what they are from but for some reason I've convinced myself it's bed bugs. I haven't fully convinced myself of that yet, so I'm waiting to see if they multiply. Regardless, it should make for a cool story to tell people later? Yeah, I really had to rough it in Verona. I had bed bugs.

This is me running over the bridge that our apartment looks over. Fran got a shot of me in action dodging all of the Veronese people who don't care if someone is coming up behind them and just prefer that you run them over. My favorite phrase while running? Permesso.

My lesson at the meat place is going extremely well and I REALLY enjoy my students. We talk about everything, including American weddings. One of the female students is good friends with a family in NYC and she said she went to the wedding and was shocked at how many people stand on the altar. Apparently the Italians only have one testimone on each side and none of the brides maids or groomsmen. But they all the students are really awesome. They call each other by their english translation of their last name. One is Big House, the other is Verona people, and me? Luck. They've decided to drop that name and instead make fun of my American accent and call me Looooooora.

The UGA kids got back and have cured our boredom! We went to Camelot, a local pub here, and tried to meet some people. But alas, it was sunday night and apparently no one goes out. Regardless, we took a million pictures of ourselves. This is how we cure boredom.

This is a store by our apartment that sells bedding. This is their display. We want these sheets. More than the Dolce sweater. Start a new fund, it might be cheaper! Thanks!

I got to talk to my little bro the other day and it was awesome. It made me pretty homesick because he's got all of the freshman stuff going on and I really want to be there to tell him exactly how to do everything the right way (like I did it). Ha! I am getting a little homesick. Fran and I have had problems finding soysage and I'm really having withdrawals. It's not easy to find tofu over here, and if you find it, it's expensive. I miss the Grit.

As promised: the video of me singing in the streets of Verona. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xBxwz6hqaI

And on that note, I must go study for my lesson, but I miss you all a lot!

I just ate your love vomit

2007-10-07T02:09:00.000-07:00

Life has been incredibly slow lately... We finally had a meeting in which we got more teaching hours, but most of those don't start until the 15th of October, so we've basically had nothing to do. Yesterday was a rainy day which kept us in our beautiful apartment watching "Bring It On: All or Nothing" dubbed over in Italian. It was beautiful.

This city is filled with graffiti. It is everywhere! So, right by the arena they have a lot talking about "Tokio Hotel" which I just assumed was a local band because it is everywhere around Verona. Turns out they're this famous manufactured punk band from Germany. So sometimes we just leave Mtv on as background music while getting ready or doing other things, and one day we saw a Tokio Hotel video. It took us a great deal of time to figure out whether the lead singer was male or female, and apparently that's what he is known for. It's a pair of twins in the band and they both look like girls! It's even worse than Hanson, you should wikipedia the band and look at pictures of the twins, it's crazy!

Another thing we've seen a bit around the city is this L over F which Fran and I jokingly called our gang. So we saw their symbol yesterday on some door and above it it said something along the lines of "Free the animals" (in Italian of course). Turns out Fran vaguely remembers reading about them being a really militant animal rights group over here. I'm sure the people from my lesson love that group! Ha!

The UGA kids come back tonight! So we'll have people to save us from our boredom that we've had the past few days. We've discovered random parts of the city in very interesting ways recently. We've been told to go to many different places to get different things, like a place to get a bike, where we should buy vegetables, and other stuff, so yesterday we walked up to the area of where we heard the bike store would be and actually found it! Trust me, with all the directions we've been given, it was quite impressive. Then we needed some vegetables. We realized we had no idea where the vegetable stand was, so we decided to follow a woman who looked like the was going to the grocery store. We got lucky! She led us to a Migross on north side of town. So basically, we stalked her to find groceries.

We got bags from the school! They are really nice and are waterproof. It's a good thing I didn't buy that Timbuk2 bag before I left. It is a good thing I bought the large silver bag from express before I left, because now Fran and I are able to shop for groceries in style. Everyone here loves silver. Mostly my shoes, but they really like the bag too.

I had the hardest time shopping for a planner that started now and went through 2008. Most only started in January, and I need one now, so this was the only one I could find. Makes me feel real professional to pull this out in front of my students, but c'est la vie! What can you do?

I finished Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead before we left and have started Atlas Shrugged and it is quite the task. Her style of writing is very intense and takes a great deal of concentration, but I will finish it soon. We went book shopping, and they have some books in Italian that I would like to read, like "A Long Way Gone" which I think would be easy to read in Italian because his style of writing in English is very simple. I read this book in the US and it was a very interesting story about a boy soldier in Sierra Leone. I think I'd need a book to read in which I already know what is happening to help me learn more Italian and not get too confused. It'll probably be Christmas before I finish with Atlas Shrugged though.

I've been running some more and have managed to pace myself enough to not hurt my knee! So I'm finally getting some exercise and am feeling much better. It's starting to get cold here, it's really fall time! I know it's only been a couple of weeks, but I'm starting to feel a little homesick. I just miss the ease with which I was able to keep in touch with everyone while in the states. Basically, I just want all of you guys to come here! You know you want to...

OK! I am off to run along the Adige, but our lives should pick up some more so I might have interesting things to write soon! I miss you all!!

Unmentionables

2007-10-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Fran and I went to Milan today, and on the way back I decided to write down everything I wanted to write in my blog, so this will probably be a long one!

On our way to Milan this guy came on the train only speaking in English to Italian people, and he was being so ridiculous. We couldn't keep our faces still and were smirking a bit in reaction to him, and then later he whips out his phone and starts speaking perfect Italian. It was insane. About 5 minutes later he turned to me and asked if we spoke English because he noticed our smirking. They were a couple from Charlotte that were traveling for his work, and the crazy part is that they started talking to Fran and I about home schooling, the crazy liberals in North Carolina, and talking about crazy pink haired people at the Duke graduation. They really didn't even realize, even with Fran's lip ring, who they were talking to. It was so awkward!

So we went to Milan to shop, seeing as the only light jackets I have are track jackets (puma, so I can't complain) but I need a more professional look. I ended up buying a sweater which I hope will do, but the highlight of the trip was the Puma store. They had 3 jackets that would have been perfect, but alas, they were too expensive.

Speaking of money, this whole job thing is crazy. I feel like there was a lot our boss could have told us before we came, like how we wouldn't really start teaching until mid-October, and then wouldn't get paid for that half month until Mid-November. My first big paycheck will be Mid-December, and I'm already really low on dough. The school seems to be a little unorganized. We were called in for meetings and really not told much about how our schedules will be, but c'est la vie!

Another thing I'm dealing with is this fear that people will think I'm American, but I think once I become (hopefully) fluent in Italian I will want to make it a point that I am not Italian. It's a crazy feeling. And sometimes when I hear people talking about how much the US does things wrong it makes me actually feel patriotic, which is not a feeling I'm used to. Amazing that it takes living in Italy for two weeks to make me realize there are some things we do right in the US, you know, like speaking English. But the couple today also made me realize that Americans can be extremely obnoxious as well. But, just as there are many different kinds of Americans, there are also many different kinds of Italians, and I shouldn't generalize. It's just so insane.

Fran and I are going to a peace rally tomorrow! It's for Burma, so it should be interesting. I will tell you more later!

Before we left for Milan Elena told me that she loved my ridiculous silver shoes that everyone at home hated after I bought them. The Italians love the puma silver "Princess Leah" (as my mom calls them) shoes! Ha!

Elena also did our laundry while we were gone for the day, including our unmentionables. She seriously just took our bags full of clothes and washed them and hung them out to dry on our balcony. Much appreciated, she's starting to feel like a second mother. She also came out with the fact that she owns the pizzeria that we love so much that is downstairs. So much new stuff has come out in hanging out with her, she has such an interesting story! It will be a fun 9 months. For those that we had Italian with her attitude about things very much reminds me of Pizzuti. She in fact has made fun of me on a couple of occasions, but in a very loving way.

Something I love about Verona is almost every place I go I hear a Mika or Robbie Williams song. The Americans may have the language right, but the Italians have their music right (in the English language).

Fran and I sat in bed the other night and just watched "First Daughter". It was seriously on TV here dubbed over in Italian. It was beautiful. Back when Katie Holmes wasn't corrupted. Those were the days.

We also decided to go to a local bar to meet some people and de-bunk the rumor that Veronese people are closed and don't like newcomers, but we just ended up sitting at the bar alone for a couple of hours. But, we left by 9:45. Those couple of hours were for the early birds, and there aren't many of those.

Long story short, we are missing our new friends, the UGA kids. They left for Rome last Friday and we've been a little friend-less without them. At least we have Elena. Basically, UGA kids if you are reading this, come back now. We need friends.

So we have this on-going relationship with "Vodafone boyfriend" as we call him. He works at the smaller Vodafone by Piazza Bra and he is insanely cute. He wears one diamond stud earring. So, my internet wasn't working so I had to visit him on a couple of occasions. He speaks very leetle English, but I think he likes to think he speaks more. The first time to tell us he didn't have any more modems he said "I am finished". And that was that. Then I started to joke with him, in hopes he would learn to love us and marry Fran. So after we finally got the modem working we went back in to recharge my phone and told him it wasn't working. Then I laughed and said it was. His reply? "Very fun". And every time we have seen him recently his friend has been visiting him. His friend wears rhinestone t-shirts and carries a pink man purse. He might be gay. We will be best friends with Vodafone boyfriend soon. Expect a January wedding.

I am missing my boys like crazy. Marcello and Paolo would love it here and have many Italian gatti friends. Maybe one day, maybe.

I might buy a bike soon, but these classes are in the most random area sand I might actually have to figure out the public transportation. Ah!

I had my second lesson on Tuesday and it went SO much better. The people were some of the nicest people and they just wanted to talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. I had some difficulty getting out there, as it is about a half hour outside of the city. The lesson went well, but I did have one major dilemma. The company is a meat company. They make feed for animals and then slaughter them. They gave me their annual report to keep, and I don't even know how to feel about it. I really enjoy the people I am teaching, it's just weird to think that this company actually kills the animals. Boh!

Today Fran and I saw a group of street sellers (you know the one with fake designer purses and such) running from what seemed to be a cop. Apparently there was a bust. There has been a big crackdown on that sort of thing in Verona.

We have also noticed a good deal of fascist architecture. It's interesting. It's funny to see it against such mundane things as our grocery store, Pam. Milan seemed very industrial and seemed to have more of this architecture than Verona.

I have been running a little along the Adige, but I think the marble has been hurting my knees a great deal. I need to pace myself to build up my knee strength again, but it's just such beautiful scenery that I get lost in the running process. Luke also made me a wonderful podcast to listen to on my ipod which has helped with the homesickness.

Something else making me miss home is the new season of America's Next Top Model. Fran and I don't get to see it! But, as Ben Lee asks, "What would Jay-Z do?". FYI, anyone who likes Ben Lee, get the new CD. It is amazing.

This is what I look like as a teacher. Now put your chairs in a semi-circle.

OK, that was a ton! I miss you all a lot!!!!!! BACI!!!!!!!

MOLTO AMORE!!!

la vita e bella!

2007-09-30T12:21:00.001-07:00

So my dad insisted on more pictures and writing in Italian. This is how Fran and I decided to make his dream a reality.

We’ve moved in!!! Life is so much more normal now. We’re feeling out the living arrangement with Elena. Thus far we have hidden in our bedrooms in fear of having to speak Italian. We asked Elena to only speak to us in Italian, so therefore it is totally our fault. We hope that pretty soon we will be drinking vino chillin on the Adige hearing her life story. She REALLY would love being our friend.

I did the demo lesson in front of the veteran teachers and I just got up there with a bunch of attitude hoping that it would give me some courage. I did all right, but got nervous and forgot the “structure” I was teaching. Structure, unit, and key point are going to be my new favorite words. When we watched the video it was horrific hearing my own voice. My critiques had much to do with me getting nervous and forgetting to correct students if they weren’t using the structure I needed them to practice. The other teachers said I created a very friendly environment, which I think can be a fault of mine because I can be too nice and not authoritative enough. But it made me feel better about teaching.

Another thing that made me feel better is Fran. First off, we practiced together and studied the same amount (her maybe a bit more) for the demo and she rocked the demo lesson. And she also had her first lesson on Friday and it went swimmingly (pun intended). Her lady was talkative and very nice. I think my first private lesson being a shy girl may have intimidated me too much. Fran’s first lesson was a mess before it started as they had told her the woman was a 2A and it turns out she was a 2B (big deal. Trust me.). The woman was very nice and didn’t mind the confusion, so it really just depends on the student.

I am a little disappointed because I would have liked to teach some of the military classes, but the company has a contract with the military which is reconsidered each year, and they get more points in the reconsideration process the longer the teachers have been there. I’ve heard great things about the military classes. These classes are taught to the Italian army to help them understand orders. Most people have said these classes really just entail watching CNN and BBC to see their understanding of the news. I also think that spending time with an international armed force would have helped me with an internship at the UN. Ah, but c’est la vie.

Fran and I ate at one of our regular pizzerias today (we have 4) and just today we realized it was expensive. We now have 3. Awkward. At least one is right below our apartment. We hope they deliver.

This was us walking to our hostel (for Friday and Saturday nights). It was bella. It was also a crazy experience because it was a Franciscan hostel. They wouldn’t allow us to drink, and if they felt we were too dirty they would turn us away. It was an old villa with 241 beds. There were tons of people, but we were in an attached housing unit that was just two Argentinean women and us. On Saturday night we heard fireworks that sounded more like gunshots. No one understood why there were fireworks, many thought it was due to Italy’s win in the Rugby World cup, but alas. They lost.

Here is our apartment! And our views!

Fran might get a flikr account to upload all of our pictures. If so I will add the address!

Here’s the awesome part of life. Fran and I just finished spending 9 full days together, only really being apart for a totally of maybe 4 hours (for our lessons). Then, we move into our apartment with separate rooms and we can’t manage to be apart. She left to talk to her parents and I felt as though a part of me was missing.

We sat on our balcony and ate bread and jelly for dinner tonight…. Yummmmm. The good life.

Internet cafe.... Ugh

2007-09-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

So I hate vodafone. I bought a modem to get the internet on Nate (my computer, my beautiful computer) and it worked for two hours and now doesn't. It's not the modems fault, it's that the vodafone network isn't recognizing me. So here I am in an internet cafe to get my fix, which Fran can tell you is VERY necessary. I have been getting irritable if I haven't been able to get the internet because I really want to keep in contact with the world. I haven't checked Perez in like 4 days. Ah!

I had my first lesson yesterday morning! I think I might really be a horrible teacher. It was like pulling teeth to get the girl to say anything and I was trying to be VERY encouraging. Nothing really worked. I meet with my boss next week to start filling up my schedule with lessons, so hopefully once I dive in this process will get easier.

So Fran and I went to drop off our heavy luggage at Elenas and she made us coffee! Real Italian coffe. Meaning espresso. I love it. Long story short, we found out that she is job-less and used to be a costume designer for movies in Rome! She has an amazing life story, I think she's going to be amazing to live with.

We hung out with the UGA kids. They are all really awesome. Especially Jake because his favorite song of all time is "man in the mirror". We seriously walked down the streets of Verona with my ipod in our ears singing along to the song. Maybe if you're lucky I'll upload the video that Fran took. It is beautiful.

This is my Dolce & Gabbana sweater that I love and am going to buy soon. It is only €2.500. Not bad, right? Totally do-able. I mean, look at it.

This was Fran and me on the plane. We had some wine. We were starting to realize that we were moving to Italy.

This is me stealing the internet on the Adige river. I love my computer. And the internet. And my vest.

This is our apartment! The one with all the greenery! You'll see the inside when you come visit. Or when I upload pictures. Either way, soon. This is the view from a bridge over the Adige, just to give some perspective.

This is me NOT enjoying the beauty of Castel Vecchio, but trying to steal the internet.

These are small children eating in a pizzaria. They have pizza with French Fries as a topping. What a good diet for small children!

This is the wall by Juliet's balcony. This is also me being lame.

OK, I must go. I have a demo lesson that I have to teach in our method course tomorrow so I have to study for it. It is terrifying I have to pretend to teach in front of veteran teachers so they can critique me. Sooooo scary.

I MISS YOU ALL A TON!!!!

REAL updates!!

2007-09-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

So, I've gotten a modem and should get more internet but as of right now can't find out how to work it. it may be that they need more time to validate my SIM card, but I feel so lost without a steady form of internet that I'm getting impatient.

Right now I'm writing this at our hostel during our siesta time... I think we are the only ones here concerned with siestas, as the room (that has 11 beds) is from 9:00 to 21:00. Richard (our boss) told us to get used to military time, it's a good thing I had Luke to help me before moving! Ha! This hostel situation is so insane. This woman that has been here for 3 weeks is taking a CELTA certification course (which is like TEFL, basically getting certified to teach English to foreigners). The crazy thing is that it's a hostel for youth women and this woman is probably around 50 and from California. She came all the way over here to get certified... She's had such an interesting life, it's so amazing to hear her stories. She used to be a street merchant in San Francisco, and then a yoga instructor and then a nurse, and then was forced to retire because of arthritis so she decided to pack up and move to Italy for a month to get certified to teach English. She has a 24 year old daughter that she is going back to help start her career in the US. Other people have been in and out and not nearly as interested in telling us their life story, mostly because they don't speak English. Lame.

So, the woman we are living with, Elena, should provide many stories. She's 50 and lives alone in this HUGE apartment she inherited from her parents. She's recently divorced (from an American) and was wearing a shirt that said something along the lines of men being bad and "è meglio essere single" saying it's better to be single. She's got a fun personality and immediately reminded me of my Aunt Khaki (which means we should have lots of fun! Aunt Khaki, if you read this, you should come over ASAP, I think Elena would love our vodka diet!). She REALLY wants us to have friends over, but was really confused when we asked if we could have guests. She was offended at the idea that we might have people sleep on the floor. She has two children, one son who is 18 and a daughter who is 23 who come to visit her (from Milan) on the weekends, so it might help with our Italian! Plus our rooms are absolutely insane. They overlook the Adige river and are straight out of a postcard. Once we move in and I have the internet for real I'll post pictures.

Another beautiful thing about Italy is the INSANE amount of Dolce and Gabbana. I love it all and it's Eurotrashiness. Thats not a word, but I just made it one.

I have my first lesson on Thursday morning at 8:30. Apparently they passed this one on to me because the girl is REALLY shy and they think I'll be able to deal with it. They've only known me for about 3 hours and my bosses think I have a very outgoing. Hmmmmm. We start training tomorrow afternoon and it goes for four and a half hours for four days. It's out at the Residence, so I get to relive all of those memories. I walked into the Residence to meet one of the UGA kids I know thats on the program this semester and that smell brought me back to the spring of '05 and staying there. It was so crazy! I'm pretty scared to start teaching, I don't think I'll be good at it, but then again I might surprise myself. We'll see. Also, they gave us Inlingua messenger bags which means we are officially legit teachers. The bag will give me the power to be a good teacher, I'm sure.

Hey- sorry to all of you that have e-mailed me and I haven't replied. I've only been stealing the internet from random houses on the Adige for a few minutes a day as to not look incredibly sketchy (I already look insanely sketchy). As soon as I get this modem working I will be able to e-mail everyone back. I miss you all a lot and hope everything at home is going well!!!! Baci!!!

You should write me mail

2007-09-24T11:08:00.001-07:00

Because I have an address:

Like you all a lot! More updates when I get the real internet, which should be in the next few days.

2 New Updates

2007-09-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

1. I have a cell phone. The number is 346 8918701. If you want to call me, it would be really awesome. My phone is beautiful.

2. We have a new best friend. His name is Ben and he is a river rat. He hangs out by the Adige where we are stealing internet. Life is beautiful.

I'm Italian!

2007-09-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

We made it safely and are now stealing internet from some apartment in front of the Adige river. Oh, the life of Italians. More to come!

Too soon

2007-09-11T20:36:00.001-07:00

So, in true "poser" form (I will bring that word back) I've decided to follow Fran in her starting of a blog before our journeys over to Verona. I figure this makes things easier, rather than trying to send out mass e-mails and things of that nature, so if you would like to read about my life in Verona here is the place!

I leave in one week and will most likely have some stories to tell about my arrival, so hopefully I can keep this up and keep everyone posted. And hey, you should come visit me.