First day

So I survived my first day in Italy. Well, it isn't totally over yet, but close enough. It is about 5:40PM here which means back at home it is 10:40AM.
Last night I finally got some sleep...but woke up at 8:45AM super tired! My bed is hard as a rock! I am so glad I snuck my pillow into my suitcase but let me tell you, I am missing my stuffed dog I sleep with like crazy!!

 My day started with a weird shower haha. It is so small and the shower head isn't at the top, it is one of the movable ones and I am not used to that, but at least the water was warm! Then for breakfast our landlord bought us chocolate croissants and orange juice, milk, water, yogurt, and eggs to get us started. They are so nice and such a cute little couple!! The wife even offered to drive us to school on rainy days if she is at home!! They showed us how to use the washer and the dishwasher and how to open windows and all that jazz. We do not have a dryer, you have to hang all of your clothes on a clothes line off of the balcony! How freakin cute is that?!

I met my other two roommates. Their names are Jenny (from Pittsburgh) and Sara (pronounced sar-uh from New York). They seem really nice and down to earth and are both wanting to go travel places which is awesome! That way I don't have to go by myself!! yay! When we got up Sara was already at the school cause she had to take a placement test for which Italian language class to be in since she knows some already. Jenny walked us to school which was only like a 7 or 8 minute walk. Not bad.
The school is only one building. It is absolutely gorgeous! the building is old looking from the outside then you go inside and it has beautiful frosted glass walls and stainless steel lights and fixtures and it also has some of the old time brick walls mixed in.

We sat through a 2 hour orientation. Mei (one of our advisors) talked to us for a while about things around town and all the deals that she can hook us up with like restaurants and travel plans. Massimo (another advisor) talked to us about the academic portions of our stay and then we had a tour of the building.
Then it was exploring time! Caroline and I were starving since we hadn't eaten much since we left the states and we needed food for our apartment. Mei took us out to eat at this small restaurant 1 block from school and we got pasta. It was so delicious!! The best pasta I have ever had! The chef also came out and gave us free cake afterwards! The chef was so nice and also gave us a discount on the food so it was only 5 euros instead of 9. The restaurant was like a scene from a movie or a story book. It was amazing!
Mei then took us around town to show us things like where to get fresh pastries and the best and cheapest cappuccinos and little shops around town. The town is just beautiful! Everything is shades of peach and orange and yellow and tons of flowers everywhere. It really is like it is in the movies! I couldn't believe it. Before I left to come here I would sit and dream about what the town would look like and where I would live but my dreams never live up to reality, but this is waaaaaaay beyond my dreams! Everything about this place is amazing. All of the people are so nice and friendly. Everywhere you look it looks like a postcard or a scene out of a movie. My pictures don't even do it justice! Absolutely gorgeous! I am loving it here already!!

After a small tour we went to the market. Just us roomies. We each bought our own food and then split some money to buy stuff to make our own dinner tonight. Not sure what it's called that we are making but Sara recommended it, so we are just going with it. After dinner I am just going to relax, maybe watch a movie or something, then it is bright and early tomorrow morning for a walking tour of the rest of town through the school.

Absolutely loving this so far! I wish you all could be here with me to experience this!

Caio!