The First Few Days

I'm all moved into my apartment. It's not too fancy, but it's cozy and wonderful. We have a washing machine and even better, we have wireless internet! We got so lucky!

The Kitchen

The apartment has two singles and a double room. Since Lauren and Melissa were already friends they were gracious enough to volunteer to take the double. The two singles vary quite vastly in size. One is pretty much a closet and the other one is bigger than the living room. Kylie and I flipped a euro for the bigger room and I won. It's pretty sweet, but Kylie's room is connected to Lauren and Melissa's so I feel somewhat secluded. Luckily the apartment is so small that we can all sit in our own rooms and have a conversation. The woman who lives below us is 90 years old and mostly deaf. we've decided to befriend her in the hopes she'll teach us how to cook authentic Italian meals. Or just cook them for us. This morning she was watching mass on her television so loudly that we could hear it in our apartment.

My Bed

My Closet and Desk

After we moved in we went to grab a bite before our placement tests. As we walked to the school we realized that the town seemed really quiet for the middle of the day. We realized that it was pausa. Pretty much all the stores close from about 1:00 - 4:00 so everyone can go home and eat a big lunch and take a siesta. I knew this already, but I don't think I realized how serious they were about their naps. Three hours of the day devoted to eating and rest? Yes, please.

The Italian Countryside from Perugia.

The walk to school is about 5 minutes, entirely uphill. After we arrived at the school I realized how horribly out of shape I am. Since the first day I've walked up this hill an average of 5-7 times a day. If I don't have buns of steel when I leave, I'll be pissed.

Buns-O-Steel!

The placement test wasn't too bad. There was a written exam and an oral exam. I managed to cobble together some broken Italian sentences for my oral exam. It worked because I placed into the class I need for credit.

After the placement test was finished we had another meeting for orientation and afterward we had the night to do what we pleased. I bought towels so that I could shower and we went to the grocery store to stock up on some food. Then I went to dinner with my friends from Villanova, Laura and Kelly. We went to a Pizzeria. We somehow managed to order and successfully ask for the check.

After that my roommates went out and I decided to stay in and fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. I'm pretty jet lagged. Unfortunately I woke up at 5am so it wasn't as good a night's sleep as I had hoped for.

I went on a walking tour of the city at 12:30 and then had an orientation meeting at 2pm where they went over the basics of the program and answered questions. Afterward my roommates and I walked around the city for a while. I got some gelato and we walked through old Perugia. Old Perugia is actually a giant fortress where they used to hide the Pope during the 1300s. It's pretty much an underground city. It's crazy and kind of creepy. Around 4 we headed back to school for an open house-type thing. I entered a raffle to win a free trip to Morocco. We'll see what happens.

Pope Fortress!

Tomorrow I being my week of intensive Italian classes. Hopefully after the week is over I'll feel more confident in my Italian and have learned more about the city.

That's all for now.

Ciao!