11-Feb-2006

Holy wow the Olympics are here. Yesterday I did the last part of my volunteering. It wasn’t anything overly exciting, we got to start packing up the whole team processing center. There were a lot of people so I got to leave early and I made it home just in time to try and get on the Today Show which is going to be in Torino everyday for the next two weeks. My friends from the UP, Anna and Mandy, made a sign that said, “Say ya to da UP eh!?” and they definitely made it on TV. Not only once, but twice! It was pretty exciting to see the stage set up for the show and hear everything in English.

Right as that was getting done, everyone lined up for the torch! So I got to see that too! Didn’t get as many good pictures as I would have liked, but definitely got to see it and have proof. There were tons of people milling around and trying to get as close as possible, so it was a pretty tight packed operation.

While all this was going on I found out that they needed someone to help out at the Canada house for the party that evening. My friends had all done it and gotten about 80 euro each time so I was more than willing to get a piece of the pie. Seth and I both decided to do it and made our plans to head over around 7pm. The party they were throwing was for the opening ceremony and they had humungous big screen TVs set up so in addition to working, we got to see the ceremony in English! I am quite amazed by this English translation since we’ve only seen things in Italian up until now.

We worked all night, and I had blisters on my feet because I borrowed some shoes L but it was a good time. When the end of the night came, the people we were working with hooked us up with some tickets to come back but didn’t make any movement toward getting us money. I asked them when we would get paid and they acted surprised! Like they had never even heard of that notion. So I’m not thinking this is a super shady deal and I’m getting less and less happy by the second. But they gave us a phone number of a lady to call and they were supposed to tell her what was going on. Fast forward, I called the number and it doesn’t work. So, I’m going to talk to my friends who have been working closely with them and get to the bottom of this.

On the up and up, Al arrives today! I have to pick him up from the airport at 2:15pm. How exactly this whole process is going to work, I have yet to figure out, but I think I have a pretty good idea. I think he’s pretty nervous about getting here and having people speak in another language. So I’m really going to torment him and take him to the market where he’ll have no idea what is going on. Yay for me! J Nah, we’ll have a good time and I hope we figure out some sort of travel plans so I don’t feel like the loser who didn’t travel. That would be no good. So I’m off to think about going for a run, notice I said think J

Non fare cosi! (You don’t have to worry, also another favorite slogan)

09-Feb-2006

Well, today was a pretty exciting day. I finished Italian I and now I have Italian II to look forward to after the Olympics. I feel the test went pretty well and have little concern about passing the class.

As for the rest of the day, we tried endlessly to see the torch. My mom so politely informed me that she had already seen it while I was chasing it around Torino. The problem is that our school put up a list of all the streets that it would be on, but apparently it doesn’t go down a street, it may only cross it or just be on a small segment. Trying to figure out which segment or where the path to cross is can be an adventure in itself. Unfortunately, this adventure has yet to be completed. Hopefully we’ll have another shot tomorrow.

Torino is really undergoing some transformations. As far as projects not being completed; our Italian Culture teacher told us at the beginning of the week “not to worry, they still have three days.” So that’s what my new slogan is. I didn’t really take this too seriously, but the Italians have been doing a lot to complete their projects. I’ve seen them roll out grass, put up banners to hide undesirables and wash a lot of graffiti off the walls. I’m impressed.

The amount of people in Torino continues to rise. The buses can’t even go on their normal routes because of the additional people, and probably the torch. Most noticeably, there are helicopters everywhere. If I think it’s kind of scary and I’ve only been here a month, I wonder what the Italians are thinking…

On that note, I’m off to slumberland. Tomorrow, I volunteer, if I can get up early enough.

Ci a domain! (see you tomorrow – figuratively)

07-Feb-2006

Yay, I’m not destined for chickenpox or being quarantined. However, I believe the doctor was as puzzled as I was about the illness. He said it looked like a child’s disease and that it just needs to run its course. He asked me about any contact with animals or children and asked if I had ever had allergies, all of these I answered no to. He still prescribed Claritin for me. I’m not so sure if I like that. Isn’t Claritin the one with the goofy side effects? Well, I guess we’ll be figuring that one out shortly. Among that I have some talc powder, which Casey informed me was ruled outdated in medicinal history and a pill that I take half of after every meal. Now I have a real sense of what my dog is going through. I wonder if this is some weird coincidence.

Today I did the class thing; we have our last day of class and our final exam on Thursday. I’ve been trying to study tonight, but instead I took a bath and finished my book. It was horrible, the dog died. There is no worse ending to a story than a dog dying.

I realized today that when we have our break for the Olympics that I will have a hard time accessing the internet. I’ll more than likely have to pay for my time and it will more than likely create some sort of inconvenience. Plus, if Al and I are traveling, I might not bring my laptop with me, just because it’s so heavy. That could put my journaling in a world of hurt. Ok, maybe not a world’s worth, but a little but regardless. I should probably work on writing another article for the student abroad thing. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with it when Monday got here. Plus, I still haven’t really sketched out a plan for the journey that Al and I are going to take. I’m trying to work it out so that we can do some riding and then do some traveling, but I don’t want to haul all the snow stuff around, so we’ll have to make a trip back to Torino just to ditch some stuff.

06-Feb-2006

Wouldn’t ya know I’m going to die in Italy because of chickenpox and not by being hit by a Fiat? Okay, maybe my death isn’t that impending, but these things on my arms have taken on lives of their own and it’s time to take some action. I went to the pharmacy to nurse my sickness, but the pills they gave me don’t seem to be working and in fact, my disease appears to be spreading. Tonight someone pointed out that it looked like chickenpox when low and behold, I remembered that I haven’t really had chickenpox. However I was vaccinated for it. So maybe that’s what I’ve got. Regardless, I get to miss some of class tomorrow to go to the doctor’s. In the meantime, I’m trying SO hard not to scratch my arms, legs, or stomach that it is ridiculous. I’m doing my homework and reading a book so I don’t even have time to think about it. Oy vey.

Well, back to the great art of distracting myself. Ciao!

more pictures

new pictures posted here.