It's a Hard Knock Life... For Me.

I lead a terribly difficult life here. Poor, poor me. (I do feel badly writing about how awesome stuff is here when I know stuff sucks and is very difficult in Portland for some of you. I'm sorry. I'm always reachable if you want to whine, you know I love all you academes.)

Yesterday we had a test, which was not super easy, but really nothing to complain about given the amount of homework we've had/have overall. And I did well enough on it - I was thrown by the fact that the teacher wanted us to use formal once or twice, and a number of us were told that Tuscans don't use the formal ever, and none of us have been using it with our families. But truly. No whining.

However, I did forget my lunch. I was putzing around in the morning, not paying attention and then had to go very suddenly. So I didn't get my coffee and both my Nonna and I forgot all about my lunch in the frigorifero. Allora, I went to school without it. Which was fine, I bought a panino and a croissant at the bar next door (remember: bar = cafe) for less than 3 € which is pretty impressive. But man, was I scolded when I got home. Not particularly harshly or anything, it was just a much bigger deal than I expected. If I'd left my lunch at home in Canada, my mum wouldn't have cared. It wouldn't have been her problem, or her fault. But Maura was much more concerned. As if I 1. couldn't feed myself and 2. might be seriously injured by going hungry for a day. Food is the most serious business here. Speaking of which, I'm supposed to tell my family that I am eating lots, and Maura is very happy about it. Those were her exact orders. Operation Get Fat will please at least two people, I know, but I'm not so sure how happy I'll be when none of my clothes fit anymore. But I can't seem to help it... I packed away a huge amount of tortellini yesterday, half a big frittata (like an omelet but with potatoes and way better), two mandarine oranges, and two desert pastry sticks. What the heck.

On the topic of Maura, however, I am also under very strict orders to buy a new coat, because we're going to the Alps in two weeks. Kate, my friend across the courtyard, has been equally chastised. Only she found a coat today. See, the style here is (for some unfathomable reason) extraordinarily puffy. In a country generally known for it's style, this seems like a very very strange choice. Many of these coats are also eerily shiny and glossy. Some are alright, but a huge number make every other person walking the streets look like a lacquered version of the Michelin Man from the waist up. Oh, and in addition, fur is also very popular here. Meaning some old ladies have full length fur coats, but also that these puffy jackets quite often have fur lining the hood. Now, I'm not sure how I feel about fur on an ethical basis. But on an aesthetic basis, it just kinda weirds me out. Like... I'm touching hair but it's not connected to a living thing, like it feels like it should be. And in the arctic, I know fur was used to do scientific anti-cold things to the air in front of your face so your face didn't (literally) fall off. So that always throws me off - "It's not that cold here, your face isn't in danger of falling off, why the fur?"

But I figured I may as well look anyway. Today was Wednesday, which means the day of the Mercato which is the big market that the Sienese all go to. It's cheaper than the stores in the city centre... and has pretty much everything in varying levels of quality. Panties. You can buy panties. And knives. Don't ask why those two things stuck out in my mind. Anyway, most of the coats were either of inferior quality to the lovely wool one I left at home, or puffy and fur filled. So no. I did get a little black cardigan for 10 € ($13), so more layering yay. Today I decided to wear two pairs of socks - my leggings which I've been wearing every day for too long and normal socks. Poor choice - my toes were very smushed in my shoes. Which was no good especially because we had to go on a weird scavenger hunt all over the city. I didn't mind the walking, because the city is beautiful, but some people in our group were too excited. It was supposed to be for speaking Italian, but it was kinda dominated by those who cared too much.

Although we did run into this awesome old man who not only answered our question (the synagogue we were looking for was right beside us) but also explained that apparently we aren't to supposed to say mi piace (lit. it pleases me) for things we wouldn't eat. What we're supposed to use (and WordReference tells me this is a Tuscan thing) is garbare or io garbo (I like) for things that we see - like this girl, he says, pointing at Heather (with her curly hair and sweet face). Because, he explains, you don't eat her (ahem), you look at her with your eyes. I swear this was a lot less creepy than it sounds.

After such an exciting adventure, meandering around shopping was extraordinarily tame. Although there was some beer and pizza and a lot of drooling over fire-engine red vespas. Which is a colour very near and dear my heart, as many of you know. As a celebration, however, for Kate finding a coat and Robin (who you can find at robinboedecker.blogspot.com) finding an awesome bag and Simon a lovely new wallet (hooray for shopping therapy) we went to a really lovely little bar and shared a bottle of wine. It was so nice to just sit and chat and spend some time super relaxed time together when we were all in a particularly good mood. And the wine certainly helped, especially with my homework when I got home.

Allora, the plan this weekend is to go to Pisa and see the leaning tower, and whatever else is there, which I'm told is some awesome art. I look forward to Karen (our program leader) and Kate's lectures on why this art is awesome. I should mention that when I was a kid, I used to be really confused by the leaning tower. I was convinced, since it was in Italy, it was the Leaning Tower of Pizza. Which made perfect sense, in my head.

<3

ps. I have lovely internet capable of Skype, and a pretty open schedule in my mornings and evenings (Between 12 and 3 and then 9 and 10:30 pm West Coast time). So if that's something that sounds appealing to you, let me know.