Idea Verona: Is This Real Life?

Now I know that I have dedicated a large portion of this blog to my travels around Europe but I just want to take a moment (a pausa if you will) to talk about Verona and why I have absolutely zero regrets for studying abroad in this wonderful little bubble right smack dab between Milano and Venezia. These are the top 5 reasons why after each day here, I think to myself "This is not real life."

1. Idea Verona. My friends ask me is this a university? My answer is I have no fucking clue. I guess it is a language arts and cultural school? I don't know, I'm just here to hang out in Europe for 4 months, that's all I know.

2. My classes are a JOKE. Test? NO. Homework? NO. I have had one test since I got here in Italian 1, everyone got A's or A+'s. For my business class, we go on field trips to different factories. Our first trip was to a shoe factory right outside of Verona. I got a free pair of 200 euro suede boots as a gift from the owner. For going to class. If teachers used this kind of incentive instead of I-Clickers, class attendance would sky rocket. Then went to a winery and got a private wine testing. I got drunk with my business teacher and received class credit for it. This does not happen in America. My Italian teacher likes to learn English as we learn Italian. She taught us that in New York, they call hangovers "driving the bus" because they hug the toilet as they get sick and we taught her "Peace out" and who Mario Lopez is. She is going to pass all of us, I guarantee it. For photography class last week, we watched One Hour Photo and went home. This week we went to a park nearby and I got to take pictures just hanging out with my friends playing on a jungle gym. Not real life.

3. Claudio trips. Who is Claudio? Kill yourself.
Haha I'm just playing, but seriously kill yourself. Claudio is the shit. He is my 54 year old program director, business teacher and unofficial mayor of Verona. He is basically our babysitter and he takes us on 4 big group trips during our time here. So far we have gone to Montava and Soave, Lake Garda, Venice and Murano, and in a couple of weeks, we are going to Asiago. Claudio trips are fun for several reasons but the 2 main ones: the FOOD and WINE which are included in every meal we have on our trips. He is a true Italian because he can't stand it when our plates or wine glass are empty and because of this, I usually have trouble standing after the meal. Sometimes, we get lucky and he brings his lovely wife Rita and adorable 9 year old son Pedro with on trips and they keep us entertained for hours. Claudio is worth the extra $1,000 excursion fee I spent on this program just to hang out with him.

4. The people on my program. Shout out to Locatelli where family dinners and drunken pregames are the norm until the threat of deportation is thrown out there (seriously that happened lol). My program consists of 38 of the craziest fuckers I have ever had the pleasure to party with. All so different yet we're all the same. The bad news: I only have a little over a month left with them. The good news: they all go to U of I. Now that is not real life.

5. You can get drunk, get lost, and get a ride home with a random Italian man at 3 in the morning and live to tell about it. Not saying that this happened to me but I have a friend...


They are going to have drag me out of this city, I'm not kidding.
Allora...
Mia

Prague: Me Confused

Prague was the last stop on my little three week trek across Europe also known as the month of February. This trip was a little different from the others because we had a group of only 7 of us unlike the 14+ we usually roll with freshmen year style. Every time we travel we have to fly out of Milan which is a 2 hour train ride followed by anywhere from a 10 min to 1 1/2 hour bus ride depending on the airport. Well we booked our flight to Prague within the first couple weeks we were here and did not realize all this and we booked the flight for so early on Friday that there is no train early enough to get us to the airport on time. Whooops. Solution: take a train on Thursday night and spend the night in the airport. Easier said than done my friend. Especially considering I don't like airports, or laying tile floors, or the cold, or being herded around the airport like cattle by airport security. Considered spooning with a random stranger who lay down next to me for warmth but decided against it. You can't go into the terminal until 2 hours before your flight so we got to sleep in 4 different places by the main doors. When we finally were able to check in and go to our gate, we saw that the terminal has plush couches and soft floors and free Dance Dance Revolution. You know your life has hit a low point when you look at a couch in a McDonald's and think "Man, I would have given anything to have been able to have slept here last night."
The Sights: We got to Prague plenty early on Friday and took a walking tour around the city. The city is beautiful but it is so unbelievably fucking cold. I had no idea, it was the kind of cold that really made me think I might lose a foot or a couple toes to frostbite by the end of this tour. Bought a pair of wool socks for 20 Crowns which is the equivalent of 1 Euro, best Euro I ever spent seriously. We met up with Morgan, the friend of one of the girls on our trip who was studying in Prague and she showed us all around the city. Found a bagel place called Bohemian Bagel that Morgan told us was a destination spot for homesick Americans. We ate breakfast there twice. Saturday, we saw the famous John Lennon wall which was beautiful. It was a wall that students created after Lennon died, the Russian communists would come and paint over it everyday. After the fall of Communism in 1989, they made it legal to graffiti on the wall and it changes everyday covered with spiritual and inspirational sayings. On Sunday we went to the famous Jewish district including a 600 year old Jewish cemetary and an ancient synagoge. The synagoge was painted with the names of 77,000 Czech Jews who were killed in Hitler's concentration camps. It also contains several painting done by children who were in the camps. The story behind the paintings is that an art teacher smuggled art supplies into the camp when she was transported there. She used to let the children come and create paintings that depicted how they were feeling and after she died, they found 2 of her suitcases filled with hundreds of paintings. It was really incredible to be able to go see these artworks by these kids who had no other outlet to express themselves through. Prague was a really cheap city too compared to Italy and the US even. I ate nice steak dinners for 180 Crowns aka 9 Euro aka 10 American dollars. Very nice. Again, I took advantage of the English movie theaters and we saw Alice in Wonderland with Czech subtitles. Castles, bridges, pretty views of the city, etc.
Nightlife: The first night we went out to a club that played 80's and 90's music complete with huge screens playing the video. We drank Absinthe from a bottle we bought at the grocery store for like 10 American dollars and sand along to old N'SYNC and Grease songs. Great night. The next night, we went to a five story dance club where each floor had a different theme. It was very cool and the equivalent of 5 different clubs in one. Afterwards, I had one of Prague's famous fried cheeses rapidly folowed by a second of Prague's fried cheeses. Who knew fried cheese on a bun with mustard and ketchup could be so delicious. Not me.
Funny things that happened on the trip: Well this isn't really that funny but it kind of is. When we first got there, we had to buy a metro pass to get around the city and we were told that you must have your pass with you at all times because if you get stopped and you dont have it, you have to pay 700 KC (35 Euro), Well on the first night, our friend Kaitlin lost hers and so of course, Murphy's Law, we got stopped. We thought we would be cute and try to do a pass back with one of our passes but the Metro Gustapo was smarter than the doorman at Kams and we got caught. Lesson learned, do not try to fool a middle aged Czech man cause they get pisssssed. In my drunken stupor, I texted Morgan to meet us at the club on Saturday and instead of saying We are confused, I shortened it to "We are line, me confused." I'm blaming it on T9 and my already disabled texting skills. It was an instant inside joke. There is this famous bridge in Prague called Charles Bridge. For some odd reason, we kept calling it St. Charles Bridge. I think that after living in Italy, I will attach Saint on to everything. Morgan kept correcting us but 20 minutes later we were asked directions to the club we were just at and Kaitlin told them it was right by St. Charles bridge. Fail. Oh well. Ciao, Mia

"If you can't find your fetish in Amsterdam, then you are one sick bastard."- Amsterdam tour guide

This could not be more true. The minute I stepped off the tram into Amsterdam's city square, I knew I was in a different world. The smell of pot wafted out of every "coffee shop" as I made my way to my hostel. My hostel, Shelter City, looked out of place smack dab in the middle of the infamous Red Light District while also trying to rock a "Jesus Loves You" sign above the door. Ironic because literally 10 feet away, there were windows with hookers who clearly did not have Jesus on their minds at that moment or let's be honest, probably ever. Hmm what have I gotten myself into here. I met up with one of my best friends and roommmate from U Of I who was studying abroad in Norway and decided last minute to jump on the Amsterdam train with me and together we found this hostel the day before we were suppossed to leave. Spontaneity, gotta love it. We dropped our stuff off in the room and instantly went to explore the city. We were busy filling each other in on our travels when all of sudden I was startled by one of the girls in the window looking directly at me. She saw me startle back and decided it would be funny to tap on the window to freak me out even more. Thanks, bitch- and that was the first hooker I met in Amsterdam.
We randomly ran into some of my friends and we decided to head out to the one of the citiest busiest (and safest) tourist attractions- the Anne Frank House. It was really interesting becasue her book is one of my favorites and it was crazy to be in the place she lived while she wrote it.
Saurday, we went on a free walking tour of the city and our tour guide explained that there was much more to Amsterdam than just weed and hookers. And I must say that I agree with this statment. The city of Amsterdam is actually really pretty, especially once you get away form the Red Light district. The tour guide was hilarious and gave us the quote that I used to title this post.He was English and said that he came to Amsterdam on a trip one time and the beauty of the city made him stay (Yea, I'm sure "the beauty" of the city is what made him stay). We also learned that there are more bikes than people in the city, there are more canals than Venice, and there are more bikes in the canals than any where else (25,000 to be exact). Apparently a favorite Dutch past time is to find bikes that are not tied up and toss them in the canals. Hey whatever, everyone has to get their kicks somewhere right? We decided to stop off at a famous coffeehouse wheere a scene from Ocean's 12 is filmed. We ordered muffins. The muffins were good. You can fill in the blank with how special these particular muffins were. We then planned to go to the Van Gogh museum and the Heinekin factory and then we learned that the phrase "Let's eath these muffins and then go to (insert the blank)" is truly an oxymoron becasue I did not want to go anywhere. I don't know how the Dutch get anything done in life knowing these space cakes exist. Well, we ended up making in to the Heinekin Factory after getting lost for a good 45 min. The Heinekin factory was actually really cool but a waste of 15 bucks because other than the room that had comfortable couches and played Heinekin ads on a big screen for an hour straight, I couldn't tell you anything else that I saw there. Oh well.... That night we decided to lay low and go to a few cafes around Amsterdam. I did my first shot of Absinthe which not gonna lie, did not live up to my expectations but I guess it was only one shot. The next day Sarah and I hit up the Rembrandt house which is the house he used to live and work in. Honestly, it sucked. It cost me 6 euros and I think that was 5.50 euros too much. Everything in the house was a recreation and other than the fact that he once lived at that address, it was not his house. Then we went to a cafe before we left for the airport, I ate another really good muffin, and airport security will never be the same to me ever again. I was in the perfect state of mind for leaving Amsterdam and it couldn't have been a better weekend.

Update next week on Prague this weekend

Ciao for now
Mia

Ireland: Shower Me in Guiness

Dear Mom,
I am moving to Ireland.
See you at Christmas!
Amelia

WARNING: This post is disgustingly long and sorry I'm not sorry.

Ireland is one of my favorite places in the whole world. I had never been before but it felt like home. We caught a flight early on Friday morning and flew into Dublin then a 3 hour bus to Galway We flew in to Dublin and then took a 3 hour bus straight to Galway. It was love at first site. Galway was so quaint and beautiful and is a college town so the nightlife was all pubs and live music. The first night we went to a pub that was right across the street from our hostel and saw a band who played a mix of new and traditional Irish music. They even played Galway girl (from P.S. I Love You).
On Saturday, we took a tour of the Irish countryside which is just as gorgeous (if not more) than it is depicted in pictures and movies. It literally took my breathe away. The first place went to was the Ailwee Caves. They are estimated to be a few million of years old and we took a tour through them. Ofcourse, it was pitch black and I managed to wander off the path and into a puddle a foot deep. Even in the pitch black, after hearing the splash, someone went "That has got to be Amelia". Haha, it's so hard to be me sometimes. The next thing we went to was the Cliffs of Moher which is the most incredible thing I have ever seen. They are the number one tourist attraction in Ireland for a reason. There were gates up but you could have easily climbed over and gone to the edge which was very dangerous because it is easy to slip and fall. Of course, I had to cross the barricade and get a little closer, I am a risk taker after all.It was windy and muddy, don't worry though, if the fear of falling to my death didn't stop me from getting any closer to the edge, the fear of ruining my favorite pair of boots stopped me dead in my tracks After stopping in the gift shop, which strangely enough was designed by the same person who designed the Telletubbie house (random usless fact), we headed back on to the bus and saw some other really cool sites including a magic fertility well (keep me far away from that please), an old Irish Castle, and some limestone over 40,00 years old. We climbed down between the crevasses of the limestone and took some incredible pictures.
That night we got all dressed up and went out to a few local pubs. The first one was really crowded and I met some Irish guys who were out for their buddy's bachelor party. They were nice enough until the guy I was talking to stopped and out of nowhere said "I'm sorry I don't usually say this but you have really nice boobies. You should be on the Hills." Are you serious dude? That's your best pick up line? I guess I made a face that showed what I was thinking because my friend Lisa who overheard laughed so hard that she sprayed an entire mouthful of Guiness all over my fucking face. There was a good 10 seconds where no one involved said anything until Alex, one of the boys on the program, turned around to see what happened and the look on his face literally made me laugh until I had tears. We then made an immediate decision to leave the bar and surprisingly the guy who made the boobie comment tried to stop me from leaving even as I had second hand Guiness dripping down my face. We made it outside and Alex took his shirt and cleaned me up a bit before we made our way to the next pub. Lisa then gave me a beer to make up for the whole spit-beer-in-my-face-thing. Little did I know that the beer she handed me she had actually snuck in in her purse and was contraband in the the bar. I did not realize this until a bouncer came up and tried to kick me out. The first and only time I have ever been asked to leave a bar and it's in Ireland. Ain't that just fan-fucking-tastic. Well I was able to talk my way out of it and he allowed me to stay. Thanks Lisa, this girl spit beer in my face in one bar and almost got me kicked out of the other one all in the span of like 15 min. Haha, I still love her though. She apologized and bought me a beer or two so it was all good (although I did make her stay at least 5 feet away from me for the rest of the night- just to be safe).
Sunday, we took the bus back to Dublin and took a bus tour around the city and the Guiness factory. The Guiness factory was alright but the coolest thing by far was the 360 degree view of Dublin you got at the top of the factory in their Gravity Bar. We enjoyed our free pint of beer and meet some Irish/English/Dutch guys who like to hang around the bar there and finish up pints of Guiness left behind by tourists who like the view more than the beer. Gross but they reassured us that they critique the person very closely before deciding to finish their leftovers. Good to know, I guess. They reminded me a lot of my friends back in the States and it was refreshing because unlike the Italian men, they were not trying to make out with me before they even knew my name. We exchanged numbers and met up later at a local bar for some where we listened to traditional live Irish music. I learned that the Irish and English sense of humor is very sarcastic and witty and they had me laughing the whole night. The next day the group departed and Britta and I were left on our own because we didn't leave until Tuesday. We milled around the city, saw an old historic prison, and caught a movie (in ENGLISH-yes!). The best part of the day by far was going back to the hostel because we met a guy from Maine trying to go pro in soccer in Irlenad, a Hungarian who has every season of Friends on DVD, and 2 Norweigan guys who looked unnaturally tan considering it is 20 degrees in their country at the moment. Britta was finally able to forge some solid ground between the different cultures and we were all able to agree on 2 things: 1.) Friends is hilarious and 2.) The 1996 Bulls were awesome. I don't think anyone can argue with these facts of life. Then we headed to the airport and spent the night sleeping on couches in the airport McDonalds before our early morning flight left and I made it on time to my 2 o'clock class that same day. Ahhh, I love my life.