My Journey to Italia

Studying... Ugh.

September 28, 2006

I feel as if today was a pretty productive day. As usual I had class from 9 to 12. Class was actually ok today, I felt like I understood more than I usually do. Tomorrow we have a test though, ugh. I don’t feel like studying anymore! I’m not sure I’ve really studied that much but I’ve tried. I just can’t study for too long at one time… I just get bored and tired of it. It also seems like there is so much, at times I don’t even know where to start.

Anyhow, back to my day. Most of class was taken up with reviewing, which was good and made me feel as if I might actually know a little more about Italian than I thought. Although for a short period I was completely confused, as I think were most of the people in class. After class finally ended, I had five and a half hours until tutoring time. I used the Internet for a bit in the study center, sent a few quick messages, and then went to this café with Jessica to get some lunch. On the way we stopped at the Blue Store. I had no idea what this store was although we had been meeting in front of it for excursions for the past three weeks. Turns out it’s a big office supply store, so if I ever need pens or notebooks or whatnot I now know where to go. After that we went down to the Bus Station (to buy the tickets you go underground, then you are actually under the buses which stop above you) to get a schedule for the buses to San Giminogino.

Then it was off to the café. I spent a little more for lunch than I had planned but I had a really good pasta salad with pesto. Yummy. All the food here is yummy and that is really bad! I’ve totally gained weight! I eat so much for dinner that now I’m used to it and get hungry throughout the day. I think eating is also a comfort thing for me. Because when I get upset or lonely or bored I eat. I guess it just gives me something to do.

After lunch I wandered with Jessica a bit, we got some gelato (crème and almond – yum! And I hadn’t had any since Saturday!) and went to the tourist center in the Campo to see if they had free maps of Siena (they didn’t.) We split up at that point; she went to shop while I went to the library to study. Yesterday was my first day at the library. It’s really nice. Seems like any other typical library expect that its all stone and brick and the inside slopes downward so the farther you go in, the farther you go down. It’s a nice place though and I did get some studying done for a bit. Then I got tired of studying and started reading “Let’s Go Italy!” a travel book I’d borrowed from the Mini Residences. It was actually really interesting and I want to buy one of my own now. I found one in a bookstore later that day but it was 30 euros, which is almost 40 dollars, so I’m not sure if I’ll get it or not. But it gives detailed lists of nice hotels, hostels, restaurants and attractions to see in every major city in Italy.

After the library got old I used the Internet again at the study center before it closed and I headed over to my tutoring session. We went over prepositions. Yuck. Now I’m back in my room, waiting for dinner to arrive and putting off studying. DON’T WANT TO STUDY! But, I really probably should. I tell myself that AFTER dinner I’ll do so. And I probably will. I admit, I’ll be glad when I go back to Irvine and don’t have to talk a language anymore!

All in all, today was good though. I didn’t get too bored at anytime and felt pretty good the whole time. I’ve just got to boost myself into a GREAT mood! And I need to get excited about where I am and what I get to see! You think after all these years of imagining a foreign country now that I’m in one I’d be a little more excited… I wonder what’s wrong with me… just a little homesick I guess.

Well, that was probably a really boring read. I need to get better at telling stories. I feel like I haven’t written in so long and its really reflected in my writing. I always read back over my work and think it just sounds like a really boring recount of the day. I don’t need to be quite as exact as I am, more fluidity between parts of the day would be good, no? Ok, now I’m just rambling.

posted by Madeline Faye @ 5:00 PM