I Love Saturdays

Hello all you folks out there in Hollywood land! (That was for you, Mom.)

It's Saturday morning here in Bologna, and the weather couldn't be better. Well, actually, I wouldn't mind if it was a little cooler... but check back with me in January.

We've finished the first week of our pre-session class. Thursday was mostly uneventful; I spent a lot of time doing homework. One nice thing about the Italian university system is that there really isn't daily homework for the classes, just reading. But this class is just for Americans, and we all know how Americans love their homework!

I still don't have the book I need for the pre-session class because every time I go to a store to ask for it, they say they won't have it for a couple days. I tried again on Thursday afternoon, and was unsuccessful. But as I turned away from the store, I saw the giant church across the street. San Paolo Maggiore. And there was a poster announcing Eucharistic Adoration on Thursdays at 5pm. Checked the time, 4:43. Perfect! The entire curved ceiling of the church was covered with elaborate paintings, some of the life of St. Paul, some with angels that looked like they could have been in the court of Marie Antoinette, and of course, the classic naked cherub babies. Well, at 5:20, it became apparent that eucharistic adoration was not happening. I paused at the side chapel for Our Lady of Lourdes, which reminded me of the grotto at Notre Dame, and then headed home. This little old Italian lady was at the door, and as I passed, she spoke of her frustration with the situation. "It's not right," she said, "that we don't have eucharistic adoration, that the priest didn't show up." I agree. Maybe next week.

But I did get gelato before I got back to my apartment because I prayed, and praying makes you hungry. That's really why we say grace before meals. It's like an appetite booster.

I would say the best part of Thursday would be that I got to talk to my brother, Luke, who's in Iraq. We were on Skype at the same time because we're only an hour apart in time zones. He's doing well, and just got back a week ago from a four-day leave in Qatar, filled with crazy sand dunes, swimming, and camel riding. Just thought I'd give the update.

Friday, yesterday, we had class with Professoressa Clara, and then a few of us--Erin, Rodolfo, Clara, Anna, and I--went to Ikea (pronounced ee-kay-ah by the Italians). This store is so huge that it has its own shuttle service. And it's so huge that it take about two hours just to walk through. A successful trip, we found everything we needed, and probably a bit more.

Last night, Alexandra, Julia, Megan, Robert, Francesco (a real Italian) and I made dinner together at Julia's apartment, which is very close to mine. We're practically neighbors! Then I went over to Erin's apartment and hung out with her, Rodolfo, Michelle, Clara, Max, and Gabriele (another real Italian). We wanted to go to a discoteca, but they were mostly closed on account of it still being summer holiday over here, so we contented ourselves with walking around a lot, and eventually found an Irish bar (they're very popular in Italy).

This morning I'm working on organizing and cleaning things, which takes much longer that I thought, because the washing machine's been averaging an hour and a half per load. Three times as long as what I'm used to.

Signed, the Sengenblogger