Monthly Archives: January 2012

MORE PICTURES TO COME WHEN WE ACTUALLY START TAKING PICTURES. We just haven’t.  It’s annoying to take pictures when I’m out and struggling to keep track of my stuff and having fun, and we’ve just done casual overviews of most of the sights, of which I already have a million pictures from past vacations.  We will take more pictures though, I promise.

At 10:00am two days ago (but we went to bed at 5, so that was really early) the bed and breakfast owner came into our room to announce that we now have internet and “Stephania” should  go e-mail her mom.  Thanks…  He then came back unannounced an hour later to say “I’m going to give you fresh towels” then he left and returned with them.  It was so bizarre. Luckily he doesn’t know my name, so both times he asked for “Stephania”.

Thoughts on the clubs here:  Italian men are aggressive.  More aggressive than I imagined they could possibly be.  Drinks are so much cheaper than in Ithaca and NY.  It’s extremely easy to get them for even cheaper, as bartenders seem to enjoy slashing prices. Going out is the sceniest scene I’ve ever seen, and I love it.

Two nights ago after we left Space we were treated to our first light show.  Well first let’s discuss the club.  I don’t know why it’s called Space, when that seems to be the one major thing it lacks, well at least of the personal kind.   Everyone is packed like sardines in there, but it was so much fun.  Back to the light show.  Omg, I cannot even explain it, it was the most bizarre experience ever.  We were in this guy’s apartment who I’m not quite sure how people knew and all of a sudden the lights were off and he was wearing white gloves with light up tips that flashed different colors when moving.  He put on house music and performed some intricate hand dance two inches in front of each of our faces, and then we had to put on these 3-D light-separating glasses. Here’s a link to a video so you get the idea. Except imagine it IN YOUR FACE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bt7UoauA8E&feature=related.  The glasses made everything SO trippy.  I started crying because I was trying so hard to suppress my laughter.  He asked for song requests, and after I saw what this “light show” was I suggested he do it to All of the Lights, but he responded “no.  I only do it to house music.”  We’re still trying to wrap our heads around how and why this happened.

We met Massimo and got our leather jackets yesterday.  He’s a character.  He made two Monica Lewinsky jokes which I found particularly funny, and he correctly guessed that I was from Long Island when I walked in.  I wasn’t sure if I should have been proud or embarrassed about that part, my gut instinct is embarrassment.  My phone had no service, so I used his phone to call my mom and ask if she agreed I should get grey (she did).  A little while later the phone rang so he picked it up, said “sure, one second.  Alyssa, your mom is on the phone.”  I guess she thought it was my hotel room or something.

Florence summer 2010. Hot and Dangerous. I miss this weather.

Speaking of hotel, we’re stuck here indefinitely.  It’s kind of frustrating at this point because we’re living out of suitcases that were packed to transport 4 months worth of stuff.  We are also in Guam.  If it weren’t for the fact that we are in effing Florence and having so much fun, this situation would be terrible.

We discovered a music video channel on our TV, and it’s the only English channel(edit: Steph read this and informed me that it’s actually mTV).  It’s really great because they play American music videos and some of them have the karaoke words at the bottom, which is convenient for impromptu concerts.  I’ve also got to watch the Love on Top Bejonce video on a big TV now, so I’m really happy. I miss Bejonc.  (yes, I pronounce it with a hard J sound to make myself sound pretentious).  They also play scenes from musicals.  You’re the One that I Want is currently on and I’m so happy its unbelieveable.

Florence now. Not as Hot, not as Dangerous. Still taking solo shots.

It’s also colder here than it is in Ithaca.  I don’t understand.  I went out with wet hair today, and that was a terrible decision.  My lips are also so chapped from the cold air that they are perpetually stinging.  In the words of the wise sage, Napoleon Dynamite: “my lips hurt real bad.” Why is it so cold?!  I’m used to Italy being hot.  I froze to death today when we took the long trek to Santa Croce.

Fun difference I’ve noticed:  The recommended time you brush your teeth for in Italy is one minute.  In America, it’s two.

QUOTES FROM STEPHYPOO:

“Compared to Ithaca, it’s like a shopping heaven here”

“I can just sense a body of water”  just like Karen can sense when it rains? Is there a 30% chance we are currently on the Ponte Vecchio?

So we arrived at JFK at around 2:00pm for a 5:30 flight.  We were struggle central.  I don’t know why or how Steph and I had so much more stuff than everyone else, but we did.  She somehow got away with every single one of her bags being overweight.  I have a huge camping backpack that weighed probably about the same as I do and was just as tall.  Bringing that and my longchamp through the airport was a sight.

Once we got to the terminal, things were great.  It kind of felt like we were shooting the breeze at Statler, there were so many Cornellians.  We were easily 1/8 of the flight.  This was both incredibly comforting and also disorienting because it made it hard to actually get it into my head that we’re going abroad and not just on a Cornell field trip.  On the flight we didn’t have TV’s!! That was rough.  Good thing I had Mean Girls.  Steph slept like an infant in one position the entire trip (this flight sponsored in part by Nyquil).

it's like The Shining for canines

We landed in Rome and walked what felt like an eternity to the terminal for our flight to Florence.  What a scene we were.  I was hunched over with my backpack and my bag on my shoulder, clumping around in my rainboots.  As soon as we finally saw our gate, a man came up to Steph and asked where she was going.  When she said Firenze he just said “no no no too big” and made us follow him so she could check her carryon.  It was creepy. He said his name was Marco, but it wasn’t because I read his nametage so that was sketchtastic.  We were convinced Steph wasn’t getting her bag when we landed.  He tried to take mine but I fought it like a pro and won.

Both of my suitcases were amongst he first on the carousel when we arrived and things seemed good.  So what if our cab driver hit a man on a bicycle on our way to check-in, no big deal.  Things were fine!  We got checked in, got our phones (which were iffy) and went to our apartment.

What to say about the apartment?  I will leave you with a series of facts.

– It was subterrain.  The windows were right under the ceiling and lead directly into some family’s courtyard.  Saddam Hussein’s hideout was nicer than this

– The family had two dogs and two cats (which would be cute if we weren’t allergic).  When we opened our windows

Hey, cat. Fancy meeting you here.

(which had no glass on them)  their faces were TWO INCHES from ours and they could have jumped in if they wanted to.  This was the case with 3/4 windows.  I apologize to my mom, for I laughed at her when she suggested I write I’m allergic to cats on my housing form.  I replied “why would there be cats in my apartment.  That’s unnecessary.”  I deserved this

-The 4th window led to a creepy courtyard filled with chopped wood.  The man whose courtyard we lived in was a woodcutter of some kind

– He was holding an ax (as in a hatchet) when he told us that the cats who lived in our hallway were “free”.  Oh.  Kay.  Strays and hatchets.  So comforting.

-We were a isolated from everyone

– There were bug zappers and spray everywhere.  We encountered 2 spiders and a daddy long legs

– There was so much dust that within three seconds I had an allergy attack and couldn’t breathe

-Because of the windows location, whenever the man walked by he was basically in our apartment.  With no glass.  If we wanted light or to air things out we were basically inviting him and his zoo into our humble dungeon

Wwe freaked out and ended up spending our first night in Florence in a hotel while simultaneously contacting everyone in SAI who could help, and our concerned mothers.  I know this makes us sound really jappy and high maintenance, but it was really necessary. The hotel was great, and we had a continental breakfast!! Amazing.  Showering never felt so good.

Amy's just happy she has someone who will talk to her, even if from across the fireplace.

The next day we met with the Vice President (yea we network like that).  He was shocked at our living conditions.  So now we’re at a bed and breakfast (A GLUTEN FREE bed and breakfast) across the hall from the VP until Monday!! He is great.  We spent the afternoon with him as we figured things out.  We have a bathtub AND a shower!! High class.  But we have literally been running around nonstop since we got here.  Full disclosure: I’m wearing the same underwear and sweatshirt I wore on the plane two days ago.  I forgot to bring to the hotel last night and we literally were not alone the ENTIRE afternoon since we were figuring out the living and then had to go to a welcome dinner (which was delicious) so I have had ZERO opportunities to remedy the situation.  You’re all welcome for the information.  Steph really wanted me to share it.

Besides all of that, things are great.  Yesterday we spent the whole day really upset because of the apartment, but Zoe’s mom was there to comfort us (and by that I mean save us), but now that we know we’re being taken care of and everyone knows us (so embarrassing) we’re really happy.  We keep getting free stuff.  We got free chocolates from shmoozing the man at the wine store, and after our first dinner the owner took lemoncelli shots with us.  Steph used hand gestures to ask if you take it like a shot or sip it, and he responded “No, honey.  It’s not tequila”. We love the area we’re currently in, and hope that wherever we move is just as great.  And we’re branching out (HA.  We have 1.5 non-Cornell friends).    And we’re in effing Florence.  Even when living in a bunker next to a potential ax-murderer and his guard dogs, how bad can it be?

"If that fell on you, it would really suck"

And now… QUOTES FROM STEPHYPOO:

“Are you going to use this bidet? If not, can I put my toiletries in it?” 1. umm, no.  2. even if I were to, I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive.

“Shit I need some mini perfumes!” I think you will survive without mini perfumes. Especially since I have the entire Marc Jacobs collection travel kit (except Oh, Lola!).

“You want to make a good impression.  And that shirt is not it”

“I am feeling very unsettled”

First off, we now have 55 new baby phis in the house, and they are adorable.  I literally cannot wait to meet them. Aly: time to begin the little hunt!  My little-little better be spectacular.  No pressure.

I leave for Florence in less than 24 hours.  Right now I am sitting on my bed making last minute iTunes purchases (bought the Mean Girls and Clueless bundle pack!  So much bang for my buck!) while my parents go through all of my abroad paperwork and lecture me.  This is just a sampling of the advice and the comments I’ve had to deal with from my mother, who in all other areas is relatively sane and very smart:

“If there’s no seat in front of you, how are you going to watch TV?” (in reference to our plane seats being the first row of our section.)

“If you don’t think Europe is scary, maybe I should make you watch Taken before you go.”

“Don’t exchange American dollars for Euros on the street from a random person”

“You’re not going to take this pajama shirt?  It’s nice because it’s short sleeves but a little warmer than your other ones” (KK mom.  Perfect for that in between weather?  I think I’ll survive)

“You’re not bringing a towel with you?  What if theres a mistake when you get there and there are none and you want to shower before you go to the store?”

I promise she’s not insane in real life.

I don't know why this is so appetizing to me, but it is and I cannot contain my excitement.

My bags are packed, and that process was relatively pain-free.  Everything I had laid out fit well and was under 50lb in each suitcase so that was cause for celebration.  I secretly love airplanes and flying, so I’m really excited for this.  I can sleep on anything that moves so I treasure long flights and I’m obsessed with airplane food.  Something about individually packaged meals makes me salivate.

So now we’re at the end of my pre-departure rambling posts.  The next post will be from Firenze where you can keep up with things that are actually exciting and not snapshots from my mundane pre-departure existence.  See you there!

On an unrelated note: The company that owns Hostess, Wonderbread, Drake’s, and Little Debbie’s declared bankruptcy.  This saddened me since when I was little, picky, and obnoxious my diet consisted solely of PB&J made on wonderbread and Hostess chocolate cupcakes (oh and pudding. lot’s and lot’s of pudding).  Even though we haven’t purchased ANY products from these companies since like 2000 when white-refined flours and trans fats were banished from our house, we ran out and stocked up on Hostess snacks like no one’s business.  mmm mmm good.  I forgot how delicious sugary, edible, food-like products can taste.

This is the only picture I can find of the aforementioned army pants. Don't they make you want to run out and buy a pair? Oh, and there's Kristina. Hi, Kristina. Aren't you lucky to be photographed with me in these pants?

This is a very emotionally arduous week for me.  First of all, it’s currently pre-Rush up at Cornell and I would give anything to be there.  I am somewhat obsessed with Rush and have been harassing my little for details since she got there (sorry, yittle Aly.  Good luck in the skit!  Make me proud.  Fun fact: I have saved a pair of abercrombie army pants since 9th grade just in case I needed to wear them as a costume.  And only for that reason.)  I hate being home while this is going on, and wish I could be vidchatted into the entire thing…or there.

For the past couple of weeks my friends have been slowly leaving to go to their respective schools or abroad locations, leaving me all alone.  This has propelled me into what I like to think is the abroad girl’s equivalent of nesting.  (I bet no one understands that reference.  Nesting is when you’re pregnant and you get an urge to buy things for the baby and become super prepared for its imminent arrival.  I don’t know why I know this, but I do.)  My idea of nesting has been doing a more thorough stalking of everyone’s abroad pictures looking for certain things.  What are they wearing?  What kind of boots?  Do they seem to own many types of boots or am I basically only seeing one pair?  Cute shirt.  How many times do I even see shirts?  If I’m going to be wearing a jacket all the time, can I just not wear shirts for the winter to save outfits?

But since I have my cousins Bar Mitzvah next weekend and will be gone all weekend, this is my last weekend home and that means packing and errands time.  We have been in a packing haze of laying out outfits, realizing I don’t have what I want, going out to find it, trying things on, finding excuses to leave the room and let Mom and Carly take over.  It has been exhausting and overwhelming.  I don’t think I’m going to be able to take enough stuff.  THE HORROR.  My two biggest issues have been shoes and jackets.  I just can’t bring enough to span the entirety of weather and social situations I may encounter. PANIC MODE.

DERE IT IS! Look at that soccer field, perfect for watching, but not actually playing, soccer!

I also received my living assignment.  Steph and I have our own apartment which is near the Boboli Gardens, and I am so excited.  There is a park nearby which is 1 part amazing and 1 part scary because it has been engrained into my psyche that parks = rape dens.  God, I need to get out more.  I promise I won’t walk home alone, Mom.

So that’s what this week is going to consist of.  Rushing to be packed and ready to go in time, and missing Rush.  God, I feel like Carrie Bradshaw with all of these word tie-ins.  It’ll be a cashmere-icle if you’re not all nauseated by this.  Carrie’s the worst.

1. Lacie-Loo.  My puppy.  Oh my god will I miss that ball of mush.  I pretty much talk about her every day as if she’s some hysterical comedic genius.  Maybe being away will improve my social skills. Don’t be alarmed when I post the color and patterns of Lacie’s bows everytime she gets a haircut.  I will absolutely be asking my parents for these updates and it is absolutely necessary that I share it with the entire world (and by that I mean my readers, and by that I mean my parents and the Zaretskys).  Her bows are currently blue and a Hanukkah pattern and I think its the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, thank you very much.

2. My television shows.  Good thing I have a hulu plus subscription, but not all shows are available in all countries and if I can’t watch 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, The Office, Modern Family, Raising Hope, How I Met Your Mother, Dance Moms, and Glee (well maybe not that show has sucked recently) I will lose it.

3. Broadway.  I usually see a show on every break that I am home and it will kill me to go so long without one when so many good shows are opening.  I will be forced to compulsively contact Tobey and Sheryl and annoy them with questions and comments.  They will either love me or hate me for it.

4. My iPhone.  What a tease.  I got her (I have the white one, so clearly its feminized) on Christmas Eve which means I have exactly 1 month’s use before I return to the caveman era and use my antiquated blackberry.  This is sad because I am losing instigram which made all of the pictures I take of Lacie really artistic and special.  Also blackberries suck and everyone knows that bbm was the only reason anyone ever bought one.  Sorry RIM.

5. My family. Hi Mom, Dad, and Carly.  I didn’t leave yet, but I am still alive!

this is me on slope day freshman year. please note that my camera was attached to my person by a necklace. i guess you weren't aware that muggings are RAMPANT at Cornell on slope day and that putting my money and ID card in my underwear was necessary.

6. Communication.  I’m a poor communicator.  I word things weirdly and have weird thoughts that I can’t put into words sometimes.  The language barrier will not help.

7. The carefree mentality that comes with not being constantly afraid of getting mugged.  I blame my family for this one.  They have me thinking that everyone in Europe is out to mug me and steal my stuff.  I am going to be walking around as if I am trekking through the war-torn Saharan desert with 6kilos of cocaine and 5 gold bars.  I don’t really know if 6kilos of cocaine is a lot or a little, but it sounds about right (edit: I googled.  6kilos is A LOT.  Woah).  My mom has always trained me to keep a water bottle and nut mix with me “just in case”.  Let’s hope I don’t find out what she means by that.

8. Being able to text people to come play with me as I sit at my desk chair and watch Netflix.  Sedentary life is so easy when all of your friends live right by you.

9. Being in the same time zone as everyone I love.  I suck at figuring out time differences.  It confuses me and I never get it right.  I know that there’s an app for that, but READ #4, jerks.

10.  Having my own room.  Sorry, Steph.

11. My routine at Cornell.  I don’t take change very well (flashback to when I hid under a table when I heard I was moving in Kindergarten, or when I hid in the closet on move-out day.  Good plan, Alyssa.  Mom will never think of looking for you in your closet).  Over the past 2.5 years I have fallen in love with the school, the bars, the restaurants, the food, and the people and it will be weird to not have everyone around me and to return to a different place than I left.  I am going to miss the graduating seniors so much and it’s going to be weird to return to them gone and new little ones in the sorority.

12. Dr. Leon.  He’s my functional neurologist.  Those of you who know me already know that my family is obsessed with him and we will do anything he says.  I go for “tune-ups” at least 2x a semester usually, and I’m scared that I won’t be in tip-top shape without these visits.  He’s also great.  I’m probably to first person to list a functional neurologist on a “Things I Will Miss” list, and I’m totally okay with that.

I chose Florence as my locale for the semester the same way I make all of my decisions in life.  Rashly and for weird reasons.

Dat's my farm! My grandma is Luisa. Whenever I think of my farm I imagine myself lounging on the grass in a sundress while people take pictures of me, which is strange because I've never actually done that.

I’m 1/4 Italian and ridiculously proud of it.  My grandma is from a tiny town south of Rome called Vallecorsa, known for being the location where the rape scene in ‘Two Women” was filmed.  I was named after my great-grandma, Margherita, and have always been told I share her three most central traits: short stature, stubbornness, and cleverness.

We still own our farm in Vallecorsa (was a Nazi headquarters during WWII!!) and I have been there 3 times.  On each of those trips I also visited Venice, Florence, and Rome and fell in love with the Flo for strange reasons.  It was pretty, small, and home to my favorite gelateria.  I also was obsessed with the David and bought playing cards with him on it, but that’s an entirely different creepy story.

Other reasons I chose Florence: great food that I could never get sick of, trendiness, familiarity, and a sense of belonging.  I never put any thought into any other locations and am pretty content with that because I think that Italy is the superior country.

What do I expect?  Nothing.  I literally have zero expectations which is probably a good thing?  Unclear.  I have been stalking pictures of other people I know who went abroad for like 2 years now and I think the travelling aspect is what I’m most looking forward to.  I want to go everywhere and take pictures where I look ridiculously trendy and European.  I’ve been told I look Venezuelan (random) before.

I also really want to see all of my friends in our various home countries because I am going to miss them all and I have severe FOMO.  I won’t be able to go an entire semester without having weird catch-up sessions where we speak exclusively in inside jokes and say “I mean” and use airquotes while repeating things very slowly.

I tend to assume that everyone is on a best friend basis and no secrets should be held. This leads to oversharing.

no, really, do continue about what your favorite lunchable was as a child. 

   Somehow, I think that everyone is close enough with me to know everything about my life.  And that leads to me rambling on and on and on about various aspects of my life that probably shouldn’t be shared with anyone.  If I was really close with all of these captive audiences, they’d be able to tell me to shut up as I discuss the intricacies of my dogs wet food to dry food ratio, but unfortunately, those who aren’t really friends with me are forced to politely nod and pretend to pay attention as their eyes dart around the room looking for an object to jab into their eye or a person to save them.

This also manifests itself with food.  I recently learned that as a child a shockingly high percentage of my family friends would keep special snacks in their house just because I liked them.  I think this made me develop a complex.  I now have no qualms about going into people’s houses and eating their food without asking.  It’s really rude, but I’m not even cognizant of it, it has just become a reflex at this point.  And because I tend to assume that everyone is really close with me, I will do this to complete strangers.  In college I once demanded that someone make me a gluten free snack.  When he refused, I simply got pepperoni and pudding from his refrigerator and asked for a spoon.