School days, school days, happy old school days

I am now half way through my 6 week semester here in Bologna. At least, I think it's 6 weeks. You would think I would know when my classes are going to end, but I'm not actually sure. And it's not just me-- I've asked other people in my class and they don't know. It's not just because we haven't looked at the syllabus-- I have, it's not there. It's that the University system here is very different and confusing for someone who isn't used to it.
To give you an idea, in the Lettere department, you can take a class for either 6 units, and finish the class in 6 weeks (I think), or 12 units, and finish the class in 12 weeks (I think). How is it ok to take just half a class?? I don't really know, but that's what I'm doing!
And while it's true that I might be able to find out when my classes end, I definitely can't find out when my final exams are because they haven't been scheduled yet! (Coming from UCLA where you might not be able to take a class because you know months in advance that there might be a final conflict, I have a hard time grasping this concept.) I went into a Professor's office hours to ask if I could take the final exam before Christmas. I got the vague reply that he would probably schedule something Dec 16,17, or 18., or sometime that week. There seems to be a bit of a scheduling phobia here.
Then there is the aspect of punctuality. "Quarto d'ora acacdemico" is an italian term that means class starts 15 min after it's supposed to start. So if class is scheduled for 1, we start at 1:15. And the professor might even announce this at the beginning of the term: "We are going to observe the quarto d'ora accademico".  cool.
And then there is the fact that you don't always have to attend lecture. I'm not saying lazy students can get away with not going to class, I'm saying that it literally is not obligatory. The syllabus for one of my classes says. "For students attending lecture, do xyz. For students not attending lecture, do abc." But the lecture halls have been full. I don't get it.
My favorite class is by far my class on Dante! The odd thing is we are still on Canto 1 of Inferno. Half way through the semester, and we have done 1 canto. I'm interested to see how my prof. is going to play catch up...
This is just a small glimpse into the UNIBO world. In some ways, it's nice taking a break from the everything-scheduled college system of UCLA.
Just a few more non-academic things to add.
-I don't think I've said it (and if I have, I haven't said it enough) I love prosciutto!! And I can have it ever day here! What a wonderful thing! I rarely eat ham sandwiches in American because I find our  sandwich meat so repulsive. But if you can put prosciutto in your sandwich... with a piadina instead of bread!
-A few days ago, I heard the italian version of the song "I like to move it, move it" from Madagascar. I think I like it more than the American version! And speaking of songs-- I must live in a bubble because my roommates know way more American songs and movies than I do. It's a little embarrassing.
-A huge, wonderful shout out to my Daddy, my Grandmamama, and my Wee-oh! You made my week!