hey all! ahhh i am really excited because i found a study lounge right across the street that is at least open til 8pm. no more sitting on the sidewalk!

feeling much better today. we are learning a lot of italian. it's a funny language.

our friend with appendicitis has to get surgery...eek. apparently she will be fine by monday though? gotta love modern medicine.

we are going to florence tomorrow so that i can BUY A NEW WARDROBE!yesss.we all need clothes actually, because it is like a cold spell here and we all only have summer clothes. in italy, you can't just throw on a sweatshirt and walk around, really. you have to look nice all the time, so we need to buy sweaters and boots.

another thing i learned: you can't drink cappuccino after lunch time. people laugh at you.

another thing i learned: they have cappuccino/hot chocolate machines in the school buildings here, and they are delicious.

another thing i learned: italians NEVER go barefoot. which is funny, because i always go barefoot and i have felt like i needed to wear shoes ever since i got here, even in my apartment.

we went grocery shopping yesterday. it was funny. we found a huge amazing grocery store that is really cheap (i got about $50 worth of stuff for 18 euro, which isn't very bad), and i finally found a store that sold hair conditioner. yesss.

tomorrow we are going to go find the track to run on. i tried going running on the streets here, but imagine if you tried to run up the side of the steepest mountain on earth, and everyone was staring at you wondering why you were doing that, since italians don't exercise, and cars were trying to run over you at every single second, and then you pulled a muscle in your knee. that's what it was like. so maybe i'll try the track?

also, okay. the international chocolate festival is the week of october 14. if anyone would like to come.

there are fountains made of chocolate, i hear.

also, the pictures are up, but not on webshots, since i can't figure them out.

here are the links to the facebook ones though:

rome part 1 - http://northeastern.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2123453&l=07dc2&id=1805358

rome part 2 - http://northeastern.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2123635&l=5126c&id=1805358

venice - http://northeastern.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124298&l=21ca1&id=1805358

athens and ios, greece - http://northeastern.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124299&l=b5380&id=1805358

i swear, it looks like we drank more wine than we actually did. so no making fun of us. :)