Keepin' busy

This past week has been an eventful one. On wednesday I finished my Italian one lesson! And today I got the certificate for it and went through a maze of buildings to to find the one woman who has the stamp to make it official. Our teacher told us to go to cubo 17b, so we did. And the people in 17b said no go to 17a. Well we went outside saw 17c but no 17a. So we took the stairs 8 flights down, walked around the building and there was 17a! When I saw nothing here is in order, I mean absolutely nothing! Its amazing how students here can function with such an unorganized system!

On Thursday, my administrators and teacher from Fairmont State came to Cosenza for a presentation they would give on Friday. I met them at the bus station and could spot them driving instantly because they we driving slow, safe, and on the correct side of the road unlike the majority of Italian drivers! It was so great to see them and spend time with them! First we went to Cosenza to meet Rose's, my italian professor from FSU, uncle. He lives in a beautiful church with other monks. Then we drove to San Giovani in Fiore, a beautiful town on-top a large mountain. There we went to the immigration center where I found a book about how my grandpa's father came to West Virginia and his life. It also had my grandpa's name and my dad's name along with his brothers and sisters in it! I felt more connected to my roots after reading about all that my great grandpa went through to provide a good life for his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Then we went to a cafe to have some dinner! By this point I could of eaten a horse. It was a nice dinner with good pizza and after they all sang me happy birthday! It was a great day spent with some great people. The next day was the presentation and I think it went very well and it looks like there are some students interested in studying at Fairmont State! Including my housemate Tsveta! I really hope that she is able to come, it would be wonderful to have all the friends I've made here come home with me! It would be the best of both worlds. I was very happy that alot of students, including my Italian roommates Maria Carmella and Mariagrazia, were interested in coming because if they do come I will be able to continue my learning of Italian and practice it with them while they attended school. 

On Saturday, a group of us went by train to Pompei and Naples. Pompei was amazing! I was blow away by how large this town once was before Mount Vesuvius destroyed it! It once had a population of 20,000. I never thought it was so big and we didn't even get to see all of it! It was beautiful with frescos preserved on the walls, gardens and intricate fountains, and what once was amazing architecture. There were columns still standing, statues, even a colosseum (which we didn't know about until we left and saw the map outside of it). I was so glad I was able to see such an incredible sight. After pompei we went to naples. On the train ride there, the attendant writing tickets for the ride told me to watch the children because even they were pickpockets. The city itself was filled with trash and disgusting sights. The building were beautiful and the architecture was nice but it was a gross city that is not only dangerous but also dirty. I do not suggest anyone go there, it was a waste of time! While were were, Nicko stopped at a street vendor who was selling iPhones. He stayed there to talk to the man with his friends while the rest of us went to catch the bus to the center square. Nicko caught back up with us telling us about the deal he got, a 16G iphone for only  80 euro! He said he tried it out and everything worked, it was a great deal! He had the phone in a box and we telling us about how he even got the manual with it. I was excited and wanted to test out the phone so i asked him to open the box and when he did it was a bottle of water...Oh my gosh! we were all shocked! He jumped off the bus and the boys followed, of course the man was long gone by then. It was horrible. After this nightmare, we went to a castle that had rooms filled with religious type paintings. It wasn't the greatest thing but it was something to look at, then  we took the train home, 5 hours away! It was a nice trip, i enjoyed the first part more than the last. But now I've been to Naples and know for myself that it's not that great! 

Well today I'm going with Jesse shopping and maybe to look for a new camera. We'll see how that goes! I'll post some pictures soon of EVERYTHING i've seen lately!

Ciao for now! hehe