On Travel

It is my second day in Italy, and life is wonderful! I'm having trouble nailing down a specific subject for this post, so it is going to be very scattered. Just a warning.

My suitcase decided that it would much prefer to stay in Cleveland. It was supposedly put on the next flight, but so far, no news.

My layover in Heathrow was supposed to be just under 2 hours. I was nervous as it was. When we got there our stand was "utterly occupied" (not just a little bit occupied...) but another plane. Once we got to the stand, we learned the reason it was being called a "stand" and not a "gate"- it wasn't anywhere near the terminal. SO we had to take busses. I was five rows from the back, so that took a LONG time! LUCKILY, I didn't have to change terminals... but I still had to go through security (for the THIRD time), and the lines were VERY long. My flight was at 9:10- I made it to my gate at 9:00 after running to the bathroom as fast as I could.

I was 3/3 on window seats (YAY!) and 2/3 on having an empty seat in my row. Can't complain.

On the trans-atlantic flight, there was a video screen in the back of every seat, and you could pick your own movie! I watched Star Trek: Into Darkness, and it was just as amazing as when I saw it in the theatre. Actually, I think it was even more amazing, because I've actually seen Wrath of Khan now so I got all of the references.

When we left the airport, we went straight to the other side of Milan for the Color Run! Most of that trip was on the metro. It was a while until the run actually started, but it was nice to have a little break and start to get to know the family I am staying with. We stopped to see a giant statue of a horse that was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci, though the actual statue was built by an American. I have learned that I talk way too fast (who would've guessed, right? ha) and if I listen very closely, I can identify more Italian words than I thought I would be able to- lots more from music than from anything else. One example that I was surprised by was "senza"- I recognized it immediately from seeing and hearing "senza sordino!" There are many words that I have recognized from Spanish, too. However, no matter how many individual words I recognize, I can't construct my own sentences. I've had my nose buried in my dictionary all day today, but that doesn't help at all with grammar and syntax.

The Color Run itself was very, very fun! I didn't have my phone with me to take pictures, but the people I was with took plenty, so hopefully I'll get my hands on them soon to share. I didn't actually get that much powder on me during the actual race- I have a talent for staying out of the way- but when everyone threw their packets at the end, we all would up covered head to toe. Most of us still have a little bit that we couldn't get off in the shower!

I have only eaten one actual meal here, but it was so, so delicious. Pasta, salad, and a meat I couldn't identify, but was very, very good. Late this morning, we went to the grocery store, which was a strange experience. The grocery store is in the mall, right along with H&M, other stores that I've never heard of, and one called Stradivarius that, although the logo contained a treble clef, was a clothing store and had nothing to do with music. Since this IS the guy's birthplace, I guess they're allowed to do that =) Also, the carts (which are like Aldi's, with the lock that you need a quarter to release) are found in the parking garage underneath the mall, and aren't just for the grocery store- they go to the whole mall. The Entire front of the store opens out into the mall, and is completely lined with checkouts. And they all have someone working at it. And the cashiers have comfy-looking chairs. There is a kid's playplace in the mall, which is a jungle gym like they would have at a McDonalds, only GIANT. Marco and Greta stayed there while we went to the grocery store. Shopping was a bit of a culture shock, even though I was just following around- I knew I wouldn't be able to read most of the food names, but even a lot of the packaging is different, so most of the time I had no idea what I was looking at! I found a few words I could identify, mostly among the meat. I recognized "pollo" from spanish, so we were good to go there... and then I recognized "equina," and got a little weirded out. Luckily, Elena and Gianluca passed right by that section, though not without laughing at my expression. I think the biggest difference in food, though, is that seafood is a big part of their meals... I told them I'm up for trying just about anything, but couldn't make any promises. I've never been able to eat seafood. I mean, I spit out shrimp once when I was talked into trying it. So that will be interesting. Maybe it will be an acquired taste... but I'm skeptical.

Sadly, though I have more to say, my computer is about to die. While I have my charging cord, my adapter and converter is in my suitcase, so I have to wait for that before I can use any plugs. Ciao for now!