September 5

It's now been a little over 2 weeks since I've gotten here! It feels like it's been months.
There are some things that don't change. For example, the loudness of my voice. You would think that since I can't really speak Italian, I would shyly squeak out the few phrases that I know. But instead-- last night I was talking to one of my Italian roommates. One of her friends who was across the lawn and 3 stories below texted her and said she could hear us talking. Well that's embarrassing... In my defense, all the windows were open. :)
And then there are the everything elses that have changed. An early dinner in Bologna would be around 7. That's an EARLY dinner. It's usually more like 8! And when I went to friend's house for a dinner, the food wasn't served until 9:30!
Then there is the fact that everyone here smokes, and everyone is ok with it. (I've got to say, being in Bologna makes me wish I was a smoker because it's so social!)
And then there are the vespas. There might be just as many vespas as cars!
Even American songs are different! A bunch of my roommate's friends got together last night for a little jam session, and they were singing songs from around the world. When they got to America, they sang "You are my Sunshine" and "Pick a Bail of Cotton". And the best part was, I started singing it in their accent. Instead of "sister" we were saying "seester" and instead of "pick" it was "peek".
And then, there is the fact that I take the bus every day. This has been a very new experience for me. Once I got over the fear of dirty, unknown public transportation, I actually kind of liked taking the bus. It's just a little difficult and frustrating getting the timing down. My worst bus fear was realized the other night (I'm sure you all have your worse bus fears...). I was taking the bus back late at night and didn't want to have to sit around waiting for the bus at night by myself. But as I was walking to the stop, I saw my bus pull away. NNNNOOOO!! I was too far to chase after it. So I checked the schedule, and the next bus wouldn't come for another 30min. So I just had to stand at the bus stop waiting for my bus to come. I'm sure that won't be the only time that happens...