14 hours of Italian in three days

Everyday is a gift...thats why they call it the present.

Ciao! I'm exausted. Wednesday nights in Ferrera are the Thursday nights of college students in the U.S. We had a blast last night (and also met some english speaking Dutch students!). All the young people come out on the piazza for drinks. And the best part...it all happens on cobble stone streets right in front of the huge cathedral. Needless to say, I was trying to blog every Wednesday and Saturday, but that may not happen with such a busy schedule. Well, busy may be an understatement. In these first two weeks I have to have 50 contact hours of Italian. This means I have 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of of conversation every day. This is a solid program. I love my classes because it is like being in kindergarden all over again. Taking a foreign language in it's orgin country is nothing like learning it in the states; I am learning how to read, spell, do math, and tell time...ALL in Italain. But, besides the four straight hours of Italian each day, I have to spend 10 hours in the lab (signed and recorded) within the first two weeks completeing a 20 or so page assignment. Then I'm expected to finish my homework and be ready to go the next day. Wow! My 1:30am bed time and 7:30 am wake time are catching up to me fast.
But, it has helped to have a bike. Kate (from Michigan), Ellie (from Florida), and I got our bikes on Tuesday. The University is about a 15 minute ride from my apartment. Mom keeps telling me things she is woried about and after discovering that the cars, bikes and walkers all share the same 10 foot (wide) road, she added this to her list.
"Are bikes and cars sharing the road? Do Italians wear helmets? Be careful...add it to your list...the gypsies, the men, and now the bike!"
And no Mom, we don't where helmets. In fact, most of the Italian women where their stelletos and heels on there bikes fashionable clothes. Last night we got dolled up and road to the piazza on our bikes. Lets just say that wrap dresses and tight leggings cause a little crack action on the bike. Kate was a little worried that we may expose our "goods" if we weren't careful. P.S. Did you know you can get a B.W.I here? Yep. Ride your bike after too much to drink and you could get in a trouble with the Italian law enforcement. It is more commen to get a B.W.I than a D.W.I.!

To learn our numbers in Italian, my friends and I have come up with a rating system for the Italian men. You have to be atleast decently attractive to even hit the scale. With uno (1) being the lowest and dieche (10) being the highest, I haven't seen many men that are at least a cinque (5). It is true; everyone is just generally beautiful here. In class yesturday we were talking about Nel tiempo libro in Ferrera (what you do in your free time in Ferrera). So, when Ana got to me, being sassy, I responded, "Bevo un caffe e guardo regazzi italiani, nel tiempo libro a Ferrera." In english: In my free time in Ferrera, I drink coffee and look at Italian boys. Hey, she told us to be honest! Afterwards, I had to ask..."Come se diche dreamy". I think this is a word I will need frequently to describe what I see! If I could just learn how to say, Dr. McDreamy in Italian, then I would be set. I met the most attractive man I have ever seen the other day. By met I mean, We exchanged "ciao" in front of his apartment! Haha. My friends giggled like little girls and Kate teases that "Nicole is going to back peddle everytime she rides past there" It's true. I'm back peddling!
I have a new phrase for my girlfriends who have boyfriends back in America. Posso Guardo ma non posso tocco. : You can look, but you can't touch! Forturnatly, I am not in this predicament. "Ana Como se diche Single?"