Week in review

It has been a week, with hardly any update. I spare you my stress and anguish in the present tense in favor of the past tense. It makes it easier to accept, and not so awkward to read :).

My first day in Bologna made me wonder why I didn't choose to stay in London. It is frustrating to feel defeated by something that you have wanted for so long, but the circumstance seemed overwhelming and certainly not worth the angst. Ha, that certainly sounds more dramatic than it actually is, but that is how life is. Speaking Italian was and still is difficult, and I hadn't really learned how to get around the city by speaking. Language barriers are terrible. It is the same as trying to tell a story by playing scrabble. Or at least, that is the sort of barrier that my Italian skills create. In addition to that and grammer homework (which is never consoling) the appartment search was on and furious. Each appartment was buried in a maze of crooked streets with changing names and incomprehensible directions. It was a great chance to walk a ton and learn the city, despite the dificulties. Now, I am happy that I had to, if only for the experience it gave me with the city and being persistent. Instead of an appartment, I have found a place with a family. My room would be free, in exchange for my english speaking. They have two children with whom I willspeak to in english part of the time. It could be a great chance for us all to learn from eachother. I really hope it works out in the long run! Tomorrow I move in, and it all begins. My hope is for my stress to go down and my intrigue to only increase. Every day I see something I didn't expect. Bologna is an incredibly dynamic city with plenty to experience. One day at a time :)

I will post the London pictures once my internet stops being glitchy, but there should be videos on youtube too. I think if you search jwaldsm2 in the searchbar, you will find my videos.