giorno uno
it took a total of 24 hours to get from LAX to our final destination in Bolzano, Italy
i couldnt imagine doing it alone -_- so thank you so much to my international counselor who introduced me to Kaitlin before we left. 2 CPP students [=
**i’ve posted all pictures on my facebook**
9am flight from LAX to Detriot, MI
landed about 430pmCST (1230pmPST) and raced to my next flight
this airport wasnt really that big.. not like LAX but it was ONE LONG strip of walking before i got to the next terminal
i sat next to a gay couple, Randy and Gerado (it was a row for 4, so we had an empty seat b/w us)
i had so much fun w/ them for the next ~6 hours. they shared their snacks w/ me and Randy was so funny w/ his comments about everything. they were on their way to a 20 day cruise that would circle the Mediterranean and go trans-Atlantic to Florida. Randy told me that they’ve been going to Europe every year for the past 15 years of their relationship and this year they wanted to do something different, so they opted for a cruise. i told them my family has land (literally land.. no house.. just land) somewhere in florida, but ive never been there. by the end of the trip, he gave me their business card (they own a hair salon together) so i can look them up if im ever in florida
each seat had its own monitor to watch movies and such, so i watched ghosts of girlfriends past, the hangover, i love you man, and part of 17 again. i finally understood all of the jokes everyone was saying from those movies (i hadn’t watched a movie since yes man during holiday break). and i got to read all the messages from the ug kids <3
landed in Amsterdam and before we parted ways, Randy made sure to tell me that it is legal to smoke weed in the cafes. hahaha
next was a flight at 940amCET (1240amPST) into Milan. i was finally a foreigner and definitely stood out like one. i felt like this airport had me going in circles forever and ever -_-
i landed in Milan at 1125amCET(225amPST), got my luggage, met up with Kaitlin at their food court, and bought our bus tickets to the train. it was about a 40 minute bus ride from the airport to the train station. then almost a 5-6 hour train ride?? ughh we had to pull around our luggage from the front of the station to the entrance which was in the back since there was construction. then our ticket was for 135pmCET(435amPST) but we missed it so Kaitlin had to exchange them for the 235pmCET(535amPST) train. we got on the wrong train, but a nice man was able to translate that to us (at least someone spoke english…) then we were finally on our way. had a connection train in Verona to Bolzano and from there, it felt like forever. we both fell asleep, but woke up just in time to hear the conductor announce our arrival.
got off the train, wandered through the Piazza Walthers, met some tourists that showed us to our hostel. by the time we made it to our rooms, it was past 6pmCET, almost 7ish (8-9amPST)
so in total, my trip lasted 24 hours… and i dont have to repeat that again until i leave… hahaha
my room:
on the 9th floor (top floor)
im right next to Kaitlin. they’ve kept us together as much as possible here haha its really nice though. we share our fridge and pantry in the common kitchen
address:
Kolpinghaus Bozen
Largo Adolph Kolping 3
39100 Bolzano
Italy
i guess if you wanted to send me something, you’d just write my name and Room #513
everything here is technologically advanced (or i think so)
their room keys/card are inserted into this holder whenever you enter the room in order to turn on the lights. [= and the lights automatically turn off once you take your room key out and exit
first thing i thought of was ikea when i stepped in… very ikea-esque in the look and smell
my own bathroom
of course God is present [= haha
my desk/workspace
my closet
my bed
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giorno due
Kaitlin and i decided to walk around to get more of a feel of the city
asians in bolzano: population 2 hahaha or at least that’s what it felt like there…
we went into 2 churches and there’s a gothic cathedral here too but its under construction. however, apparently the bells still work cuz they go off every hour
finally got a map and were on our way to the daily market
we stopped at a restaurant in behind this stand. the flies here are ginormous! they must have mutated or something… or if they originated from here, then the devolved into smaller creatures… lol
where we had our first meal
everyone around us was having beer for breakfast. and we noticed while walking around that they have alcohol at any time of the day. i guess they dont go by the saying “no alcohol before noon”
so if everyone was doing it… “do as the Romans do” i guess. and it was the “official beer of bolzano” haha
but it was past noon by the time i got it
kaitlin’s macchiato shot. it came with chocolate and sugar
hungarian goulash w/ assorted breads, bruschetta with tuna, tomatoes, and cheese
you could see the other side of kolpinghaus, the gothic cathedral (left tower) and church (right tower) from outside my window
the cobblestone streets are pretty narrow. people walk and bike basically everywhere and just cross streets whenever, even though there are crosswalks. i think i saw a total of 5 street lights around the city. this is a picture of typical parking in the street… err the sidewalk… wtvr…
dinner. apparently they like their water bottled and sparkling… i’ll never understand sparkling water…
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giorno tre
we went to the market and tried to buy stuff but everything was in italian LoL.. we were trying to decide if we wanted fresh cold cuts, but we didn’t know how to order, so we went with meats that were precut. maybe when we learn a few words, it’ll get easier. for once, i cant wait for school to start!
then we had orientation for school. it sucked that they didnt give us a campus map, so we basically wandered around the school building for an entrance. ran into a fellow exchange student, Aiste from Lithuania. and we found our way together.
if i only remember 1 thing from orientation, it would be that party life is important here… lol so i guess you go to school for the social aspect and you study in your spare time…
we walked around the city and decided to have a small snack/lunch
stopped at a restaurant on Kaitlin’s list of places (forgot what its called) and ordered pizza
i noticed that all of the restaurants here have open seating outside- makes me wonder what they’ll do when it rains. and you just seat yourself at an open table, no need to wait to be seated
in the condiment caddies, they had half filled with ketchup and mustard, the other half filled with mayonnaise
Aiste rolled her own cigarette which totally intrigued Kaitlin and myself. i’ve never seen anyone do that. is that common in the States?
she said it was cheaper to do this and its very common in England. and the tobacco smelled like grapes so it was like hookah (or a water pipe as they call it here)
the white label in front of the tobacco pack is translated to our equivalent of the Surgeon General’s warning. Aiste told us that in England, there would be pictures of people suffering from lung cancer or something next to the cigarette/tobacco products as a warning… interestingggg… haha
my drink. i forgot what it was called.. Spitz or something? its basically half Coke and half Lemonade, a common drink here
our pizza for 2, eaten by 3 people w/ leftovers still
it was actually really good. i loved the bread. definitely fancier than pizza hut or dominos [=
after our late lunch snack, we decide to walk around more. ended up at this cafe Aiste went to on her first day in Bolzano and had a cup of coffee “Latte Macchiato”- basically coffee w/ milk haha. talked a bit more about our countries, mostly about the difference in weather and how we traveled to Bolzano. then we parted ways.
im hoping to go to this pub right around the corner from where we stay. its supposedly an authentic irish pub (specializing in guiness). every night they have a band singing very loudly (or the past 2 nights they had a band) but we’ll see. im kinda hesitant to spend money here. whenever i do, i calculate the exchange rate and its like OMG! ive spent that much on a drink? haha
but i guess
“when in Rome…”
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hope this post holds you over until my real adventures begin [=
