Well, first I would just like to say "grazie mille" (which literally means thanks a million, but it translates as thank you very much) to all of you who have been reading my blog! Your compliments and messages on how much you enjoy reading it everyday means a lot to me. It has only been two weeks and I already have over 1,000 page views. For those of you that have passed the link on to other people you know, whether I know them or not, that is awesome! (Feel free to keep doing so.) So, thanks again!
With that being said, on to today!
Today I got up and got ready for my long day of classes. On Wednesdays (mercoledi) I have 5 straight hours of class, which makes planning your lunch/snacks for the day a bit difficult.
Being that I was in class all day, I do not have any pictures that are actually from today. Tomorrow there should be plenty of pictures again, as I have my Art History class.
Last night we had the two girls over for dinner, and despite there being 6 of us, there were still cookies left over! (Yay for me!) I will admit, that after I finished my cereal this morning, I put a few cookies in my leftover milk. I'm in Italy. There are no rules!
Today I slept in until 9 so I didn't have breakfast until 10 and my first class started at 1, so I wasn't hungry enough to get lunch around 12 before my classes. I did however bring a couple snacks. I brought a croissant that was filled with chocolate crème. (It literally was like rich chocolate pudding! Yum!) I had my croissant during my first class. I also brought a banana, which I had during my second class. Thus, no awesome picture of a yummy lunch.
Today in my cultural psychology class we were talking about development and differences between cultures and how those differences affect development and family roles. One thing we touched upon was divorce, and specifically divorce in Italy. I found this particularly interesting. For those of you that do not know, divorce was not legal in Italy until 1970. (Obviously, the head of the Roman Catholic Church is in Italy.) When divorce was instituted, it came with some pretty strict rules. In order to get divorced, you had to be separated from your spouse for a MINIMUM of 5 (FIVE) years. Yes, years. Continuously. If you spent even one night together under the same roof, you have to go back to day #1! This is a legal separation, one that you have to apply for with the government. (The separation can be mutually agreed on, or judicially sanctioned if one party asks for it, at which point fault must be determined.) Then, after your 5 years of legal separation are over, you may THEN apply for a divorce. You are not automatically divorced. You do not have to apply to get divorced after the separation, but if you want to get re-married you have to. The 5 year rule, has since been reduced to 3 years (as it is now), and our professor said that they are talking about reducing it to 2 years and then possibly 1 in the future.
Apparently some Catholics that no longer wish to be married obtain a legal separation, but do not apply to be divorced. Just an FYI they divorce rate in Italy is about 30%.
I can tell this class will be interesting, to look at the differences between the U.S. and Italy.
Today I also learned how to use the washing machine! (Lavatrice) Our washing machine is on our balcony off of the kitchen. The washing machines in Italy are much smaller then the ones in the U.S. and they have different buttons and settings as well. (Not to mention that the temperature settings are in Celsius!) Most homes have a washing machine, but not many people have dryers. (Some people still use towel lines, others have drying racks. I'm happy my family uses a drying rack so my neighbors don't get to see all of my undergarments!) My host mother did mention to me that she really wants to buy a dryer, but the problem is she does not have space for it.
Tonight I had another wonderful dinner. We had a penne pasta with a little bit of Italian sausage in it. Then we had what was probably the best hamburger I've had in a long time! (You don't eat them with a bun. You just eat the meat.) The hamburgers were cooked in a red sauce, which was delicious, and then a slice of cheese was put on top. (This cheese called "original" is made my Kraft.) It was delicious! I couldn't get enough!! Also, I had a very large scoop of fennel! I couldn't believe it myself, either, but it was good! My host mother did tell me before hand that she makes good fennel, and it turned out to be true! Something that I find interesting is that usually during the school year I can't wait for the weekend. This semester, I can't wait for it to be the week, so I get my delicious dinners!! :)
Well that is all for today!
Here are a few pictures of Stella. She loves to come sit on my lap the minute I get home. She definitely has bonded with me already. Today she leaned up against my side vertically and wrapped her paw around my stomach. It was like she was giving me a hug! She's so cute. :) Sometimes I don't let her sit on me though, especially when she decides to push buttons on my keyboard. At those moments she resorts to these other options.
Here she is monopolizing my chair at the kitchen table.
And here she has knocked over my backpack to use as her bed.
Ÿour cat is monopolizing your space! Also it looks like she's waving at you!
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