Kim: Age 21. New Jersey. (roommate)
Really nice! First person I met and hung out with. We both like to cook so that's fun. She knows a lot about a lot of things so it's good if you need some quick info on something. Kind of like Wikipedia.
Anna Lee: Age 21. California. (roommate)
How to describe Anna Lee... I don't think there are words other than awesome. She's super nice and easy to talk to. She has very good taste in music. Surfs, plays guitar, marches flute at her college. She's also hilarious. I've listened to more Beatles during this trip than I have my entire life. I like it.
At our first ISA (International Studies Abroad for those of you wondering) meeting we were all very tired because of the jet lag and it was still about 2-5 in the morning according to us and we had just spent the last 13+ hours traveling. Apparently Anna Lee is a very funny tired person because when we were writing down our email adresses she meant to end hers with yahoo.com but instead put hood.com.
Katie: Age 22. California (roommate)
Mama Duck. Very nice and caring. Compliments a lot. Currently being considered for Berkley for law school. Hufflepuff. Epitome of a Hufflepuff actually.
Alex: Age 19. Arkansas (neighbor)
We both have similar backgrounds and family. She's quite funny and I like talking and hanging out with her a lot.
Michelle: Age 21. Pennsylvania (neighbor)
Seemed shy and quiet at first. Not shy or quiet. Awesome and hilarious. She likes to say things like "yeeeaahh, giirrll as a joke. I'm so glad she's living right next door.
Lauren: Age 21. Wisconsin (neighbor)
Very easy to get a long with and nice. Also very pretty so she looks good in everything (damn her). Good for me to hang out with because I can be a bit quiet and if the conversation were left up to me... well... there wouldn't be any. She keeps the conversation going and brings up things to talk about which is good for me because I like to listen. She seems kind of intimidating at first because she is so pretty so you think she might not like you but she really is very nice. She also laughs at my jokes which makes me feel not so much like a dork all the time. She was actually the first ISA person I met (mentioned briefly in the last post).
Kristen: Age 21. Indiana (friend)
She kind of just happened. I think she started talking to Anna Lee and Katie in Rome and we were all about to go explore after the Vatican and she said she wanted to go with us. So glad she did. She turned out to be really awesome. She's nice and pretty and tall and likes to talk about cars with me. Definitely on the approval list.
That's pretty much the main character list. More will be added later (maybe within this post. It really depends on how much I feel like writing). So now it is Monday and it has been 3 weeks since the Great Heathrow Adventure. I am laying on my bed after having the bagel that I purchased on my way home. We will call this place the Snack Bar Anna Di Lomartire Anna Maria (Snack Bar for short) since that is what it is called. Logical, no? That's what I thought... Anyway, I've been craving bagels pretty much since I've been in Florence. What can I say? I freaking love bagels. I should re-title this blog to Wanderings of a Bagel Fiend. It's pretty serious. And none of those crazy bagels either. Plain bagel with plain cream cheese. On a scale of one to 10 I give this particular bagel from the Snack Bar a 5. It was nothing special. I should explain this rating system. 1 is the lowest and is the sweet bagel. Who the hell makes sugary bagels? It's not a doughnut. It's a bagel. Bagels should not be sweet (unless they are under the sweet bagel variety, i.e. cinnamon crunch). But if you are going to have a plain or onion or sesame seed bagel with cream cheese it should not be sweet. It should be crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside with a slight saltiness that you can't really notice unless you really think about it slash look for it. I realise I'm no pro on bagels and that people from New York slash New Jersey would probably call me a stupid Texan and think that I have no idea what I'm talking about (that's more or less what Kim said to me). But hey, I have an opinion just like anyone else. If you like your plain bagels to be sweet (then you're a FREAK!) more power to you. Just know that I take your bagel boutique recommendations with a grain of salt (no pun intended. OK, maybe it was intended). So anyway, this particular bagel wasn't that impressive. The bread was too light. It wasn't chewy enough. Not the right consistency slash texture at all. And not much flavour. 5 may be too generous of a rating. After that bagel experience I looked at my map for the other marked bagel shops. Kim and I are going to Mama's Bakery across the Arno tomorrow morning in search of a proper bagel. I also looked at bagel recipes online. I figure if I can't find one that is suitable I will just have to make my own! I wish I was Jewish. I would be a bagel making pro! I wonder if my Jewish relatives in the Netherlands make bagels. Is it rude to ask them? Perslaps if I phrase it differently...
Time for a new subject...
At the beginning of our programme and while we were still getting to know each other there were several planned events for us mostly by the programme but some by the school FUA (Florence University of the Arts). The first of these planned events was a "cocktail party". I put quotes around "cocktail party" because it sounds like a classy sort of thing, no? It was something I was looking forward to. I thought of cute but classy little cocktail dresses and white wine and aperitivo. This was a gross misunderstanding of what it actually was. It was at a club called Space Club which I thought was very odd and should have been the first clue that my expectations were not to be met. Still, there was free food so we were all excited about that and decided to not have dinner when we usually would have so that we could enjoy the free meal. The Space Club ended up being in a dodgy part of town so that was kind of uncomfortable. We went in, checked our coats, went upstairs and found a place to sit. It was kind of crazy how many people showed up. There were tons of people and it was packed. They made some announcements that we didn't really pay attention to and told us that there would be 2 free drinks and that was what the ticket that we were handed at the beginning was for. I didn't really care because I don't drink. I've had a couple sips of my mum or dad's wine on occasion but I'm still learning to like it (I think I'm OK though. Kelsey said she didn't start liking wine until she went to Paris). I started looking around at the people to try and find John (I don't know if I've mentioned before, but John is a boy that goes to my school and decided to study abroad at FUA under a different programme) but I couldn't because there were just so many people. I did keep seeing a tall, very muscular guy though. It wasn't a pretty muscular either. It was the kind where it is very apparent that they spend an absurd amount of time at the gym and care way too much what they look like. And he was wearing a very tight shirt. Like I don't even know how he got his massive arms through it. Maybe very stretchy? I don't know. Anyhow, I was sitting by Anna Lee and I looked at her and said, "I spy a frat douche." "Really? Where? Wait, I love this game. Um... *looks around* That guy." Correct on the first try. He definitely stood out. So then we played with other people and they all got it right too. Fun game. Finally the food was served on a long table which was pushed up against a wall at the back so naturally everyone hoarded that part of the room. I decided to get food with Alex and we went up there and stood behind some people for about 20 minutes before getting really pissed that we weren't moving at all. I inched my way closer to the table only to see that people were just standing and eating off the buffet instead of getting a plate and moving back to there seats. Intelligent. Then I saw frat douch head into the insanity and emerge with a plate loaded with food and heard someone say, "dude, that's like your third plate" to which he replied by smiling like a buffoon and nodding stupidly. Third time? Third time and we are still standing there not getting any food? What the hell? Stupid frat douche! I was hungry and wanted to punch him in the face. Alex and I thought maybe the throng of people would be weak at its side so we decided to battle to the corner of the table. No dice. There was still a thick crowd of people trying the same thing we were. We did manage to find Katie, Anna Lee, and Kristen though. They said the wine was gross. We started talking about how disorganised the whole event was to some people from another group and talked about leaving. One girl was totally down for leaving. When I mentioned that I thought we might peace out soon she looked at me with huge eyes and said she wanted to come. I was kind of taken aback by her forwardness but I definitely understood. We were all hungry and were being denied food by our own kind. Kristen managed to get a plate of food with her long arms and offered us some of the food. I snatched a piece of bread and gave half to Anna Lee. We were both very excited and took a bite. Then we slowed our chewing and looked at each other. The bread had no flavour. Actually it was like a flavour destroyer. All previous flavour you may have had in your mouth was obliterated with one bite of the bread. I looked around and saw similar expressions to my own. The food was horrible. "Alright, I'm done. Who wants to leave?" I asked. Everyone raised their hands. We decided we would rather leave and pay to eat rather than maybe get to eat the gross food. So we got our coats and I gave some guy my free drink card and he was happy and then we peaced out.
The girl who was so adamant to go with us turned out to be called Brittany from New Jersey. She seemed friendly enough and led us on a 40 minute quest to find a very elusive restaurant of hers. I'm easily distracted from hunger if I'm doing something interesting so this didn't bother me too much but everyone else was getting really annoyed. She kept saying, "Oh it's just over there" but we just kept walking. Over the Arno, down some streets, made random turns. It was like a walking tour of the city. Except more brisk and it lacked history and information. Finally Anna Lee, Kristen, Michelle, and Alex all stopped at a restaurant with a decently priced menu and said point blank that we were eating there. I had a very good pasta dish and talked to Brittany a little more and it turns out that we are both into Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and Torchwood. Needless to say I was excited that I had found another nerd to relate to. We went home at around 11 and Katie and I were both excited that we had made a new friend.
That's all for now, I'm afraid. I'm tired and have to be well rested for the bagel hunt tomorrow morning. Also, this post is long enough. Sorry for being so detailed. I jotted down so much every day and planned to have a kind of B.E.D.W.I.I. (Blog Every Day While In Italy) but that hasn't happened. It doesn't really matter. Mainly it was just pointless detail that you didn't need and would probably find boring. Let me know if you do. Or I suppose if you don't read/ comment at all that will just be a hint that I did bore you. I'll try and make it more interesting and if you have any tips on how to do so then they would be appreciated. : )
Gelato count: 8
Favourite Beatles song: Please Please Me
I'm glad you are having fun in Italy, I am extremely jealous! =]
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