So today I completely forgot that I had a class at 8, because we only have that on Tuesdays, but I can't just show up two hours late, because thats kindof rude, so I thought I would actually write in my blog, because I haven't done that in quite a while.
My French Communist roommate is gone (I found out her real name is Audrey), and today I get a new one. Hopefully she's... nice. Yesterday my landlady came and cleaned the apartment!! Its really nice and clean. And she put a ridiculously bright pink blanket over the couch, haha. I bought new Birkenstocks yesterday. They're the thong kind, very european. I was going to buy black ones, not shiny, but they were too bold for me, so I got light green. They were needed because my other ones were worn down to the cork on the outside of my heels (and totally fine everywhere else, so I think I must walk weird).
Harinder leaves this week (the program director) and our second program director, Claudia is already here. We're having a transition dinner tonight and this really good ristorante called La Lanterna. I guess we're having pasta with Wild Boar sauce. According to Harinder, the cook said its really good.
Yesterday I turned in my final version of my term project! I'm really glad that that and my two tests are all over. Some friends of mine made a ten minute video of things in Perugia, so I'm going to post that sometime this week, along with my video from Gubbio. I think I've got some time tomorrow, so maybe then.
Oh, I'll write about Gubbio while I've got some time. About 12 of us went and Luke (assistant program director) was our tour guide, or something to that effect. It was nice because its not a very touristy town, which was a good change. Gubbio is a midevil city, and has a Roman ampitheatre and old churches. We took this crazy 'death cage' up the mountain, which is basically like an old chairlift, but you stand in these crazy cages. It doesn't slow down for you, so you have to run along side of it and jump in. Its in the video, so you'll be able to see it soon. At the top is the church of San Ubaldus. He died in the 12th century, and his body preserved itself naturally, without any sort of mumification or embalment or anything. Supposedly its a miracle, so his really old corpse is up on this altar in a class case/coffin that is addorned with gold. Personally, I think its creepy, and I don't think I will ever understand Catholosism's worship, or something to that effect, of dead men. After that, we summited Gubbio! We took a short walk up the rest of the hill, and at the top there was a cool tower that we could all go on top of. The view was amazing, and you could see in every direction. My digital camera had run out of batteries, and I was out of real film, but I'm actually kindof glad, because there is no way I would have been able to capture that moment photographically. After a few minutes, everyone stopped takling for about ten minutes, and it was really comfortable and awesome. The silence didn't even need to be broken awkwardly, it was so cool.
OK I need to go to class now. Ciao!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
lunedì, 30 luglio, 2007
We went to Gubbio on Saturday and it was really fun! I made a video from the trip, and hopefully I'll be able to post it soon :)
Thursday, July 26, 2007
giovedì, 26 luglio, 2007
I'm ready for this week to be over. We've had a crapload of class. For example, today: NINE HOURS.
Thats all. Ciao.
Thats all. Ciao.
Monday, July 23, 2007
martedi, 23 luglio, 2007
Yikes bikes! What a weekend! Here's the rundown:
I got up at 5:00am on Saturday and the met at Palazza Galenga at 6:00. The bus ride to Napoli took about five hours with a break at the half way point for breakfast. I slept pretty much the whole time. I tried to stay awake because the country is all so beautful, but I haven't gotten much sleep this week, so I suppose it was a good chance to catch up. Napoli was...OK. Its got some really great things to see and do, but we got there right before siesta began, and left just a little while after it ended, so everything was closed while we were there. I spent the day with Tony, Satoshi, Jordan, Winter, and Phil. We had Margherita Pizza and I finished an entire one by myself. Winter and Jordan have managed to rename everyone from our program, which is really hilarious. Some of the names include Will (winter), Gordon (jordan), Patrick (phillip), Tommy (tony), Elizabeth (me), Brad (brenton), and Logan (luke).
After Napoli, we took the bus to Pompei, which was totally awesome! I really enjoyed it. The ruins are all really amazing and the city is a lot bigger than I had expected. Its really impressive that so much has remained for 2,000 years. Our hotel was really nice, and was a good break from my apartment. I even had air conditioning!!! I had a roommate named Brixa (silent x) from India. She was really nice, which was also a nice break from my apartment in Perugia.
On Sunday we went to Capri. Our wake up was at 6:00, and we left at 7:00. We got to Capri at about 10:00, which included the ferry trip. We then took a boat tour around the island, which was beautiful and only took about an hour. For part of the tour we stopped at the Blue Grotto. It was soo beautiful inside! We took small boats into the cave through this tiny opening that was so small we had to lay down to go through it. The inside of the cave is light only by the light that comes through the water from the outside of the cave, which is what makes the cave blue. The ride was oly a few minutes, but definitely worth it.
We spent the rest of the day at the beach! It was wonderful and really felt like summertime! The weather was perfect, and so was the water. I forgot it was going to be salty when I got in because it was so clear, so it suprised me when I got water in my mouth. Haha. We swam for a really long time, and then layed on the beach, and then swam some more, and then layed on the beach for a little while longer. It was a really wonderful break from school. I'm definitely a bit sunburned, but not too bad. A little bit on my face, and then my lower back where Kathy seemed to forget to put any sunscreen. Whoops I guess?
This week is going to be really hectic. In fact, I need to go do some homework right now.
Oh, and the police busted a huge al-Qaeda training post right outside of Perugia. I heard about it earlier today, but because I don't read or watch Italian news, I'm not sure exactly how Italy is responding to it. I'll read some later this week, cause it will take me a while. But here's a bit about it from the BBC... ciao...
''
Italy police raid 'terror school'
Italian policemen involved in the Perugia raid
Italian police put a laptop seized in the raid on display
Police in central Italy say they have uncovered a bomb school for Islamist militants after raiding a mosque in Perugia and making three arrests.
Evidence of training in explosives and poisons, and instructions on flying a Boeing 747 were reportedly found.
Police said the suspected cell had links to a group associated with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
They seized the imam and two other men, all Moroccans, and have a warrant for a fourth man believed to be abroad.
We have discovered and neutralised a real 'terror school'
Carlo De Stefano
anti-terrorism police head
The three detainees refused to reply to questions when they were brought before a local magistrate.
Twenty foreign students were also arrested in a related dawn raid and police said that those without residence permits would be deported.
Perugia, a popular tourist destination because of its medieval and Renaissance palaces, is home to Italy's University for Foreigners, where hundreds of students from the Middle East are enrolled in university courses in Italian and other subjects.
The discovery of the alleged terrorist training centre is a matter for serious concern to the Italian authorities, the BBC's David Willey reports from Rome.
Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said it was now necessary to pay close attention to mosques being used for activities unrelated to religion.
Chemicals
The suspects were running an "in-depth operation of instruction and training in the use of weapons and combat techniques suitable for terrorist acts", police said.
Police cars stand outside the Ponte Felcino mosque
The Ponte Felcino mosque is located in a suburb of Perugia
Chemicals - including acids and cyanide - were found in the mosque's cellar and equipment for remote detonation of explosives was also discovered, they added.
"The investigation has shown that... there was a continued training for terrorist activity," anti-terrorism police head Carlo De Stefano said.
"We have discovered and neutralised a real 'terror school,' which was part of a widespread terrorism system made up of small cells that act on their own."
According to the police, the Perugia cell had contacts with two members of the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group arrested around two years ago in Belgium.
The group is believed to have ties to al-Qaeda and has been linked to the 2004 Madrid bombings and 2003 attacks in Casablanca.
The detained men were named as imam Korchi el Moustapha, 41, Mohamed el Jari, 47, and Driss Safika, 46.
'Quiet community'
Officers are reported to have spent two years investigating activities at the mosque.
Between daily prayers, the small mosque at Ponte Felcino doubled as a training camp, a police statement said.
The imam allegedly held courses, showed propaganda messages and made fiery sermons inciting a small group of disciples, some of them children, to join a Holy War.
Map of Italy showing Perugia
The director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community, Sheikh Abdul Adid Palazzi, told BBC News that he was not surprised to hear of the arrests.
"It is the top of the iceberg in our country - like in the rest of Western Europe. Most mosques are controlled by extremist pro-terror organisations - 90% of mosques," he said.
"And I think the percentage is more or less the same in Italy, Britain, France and Germany."
However the imam at the central mosque in Perugia, which has a 10,000-strong Muslim community, said the Ponte Felcino group had not appeared dangerous.
"Generally it's a quiet community," Abdel Qader told Italian news agency Ansa.
"A few made some noise over the international situation but those were just words. We trust justice... and if any [of the suspects] has made a mistake, he will have to pay."
'' -BBC
I got up at 5:00am on Saturday and the met at Palazza Galenga at 6:00. The bus ride to Napoli took about five hours with a break at the half way point for breakfast. I slept pretty much the whole time. I tried to stay awake because the country is all so beautful, but I haven't gotten much sleep this week, so I suppose it was a good chance to catch up. Napoli was...OK. Its got some really great things to see and do, but we got there right before siesta began, and left just a little while after it ended, so everything was closed while we were there. I spent the day with Tony, Satoshi, Jordan, Winter, and Phil. We had Margherita Pizza and I finished an entire one by myself. Winter and Jordan have managed to rename everyone from our program, which is really hilarious. Some of the names include Will (winter), Gordon (jordan), Patrick (phillip), Tommy (tony), Elizabeth (me), Brad (brenton), and Logan (luke).
After Napoli, we took the bus to Pompei, which was totally awesome! I really enjoyed it. The ruins are all really amazing and the city is a lot bigger than I had expected. Its really impressive that so much has remained for 2,000 years. Our hotel was really nice, and was a good break from my apartment. I even had air conditioning!!! I had a roommate named Brixa (silent x) from India. She was really nice, which was also a nice break from my apartment in Perugia.
On Sunday we went to Capri. Our wake up was at 6:00, and we left at 7:00. We got to Capri at about 10:00, which included the ferry trip. We then took a boat tour around the island, which was beautiful and only took about an hour. For part of the tour we stopped at the Blue Grotto. It was soo beautiful inside! We took small boats into the cave through this tiny opening that was so small we had to lay down to go through it. The inside of the cave is light only by the light that comes through the water from the outside of the cave, which is what makes the cave blue. The ride was oly a few minutes, but definitely worth it.
We spent the rest of the day at the beach! It was wonderful and really felt like summertime! The weather was perfect, and so was the water. I forgot it was going to be salty when I got in because it was so clear, so it suprised me when I got water in my mouth. Haha. We swam for a really long time, and then layed on the beach, and then swam some more, and then layed on the beach for a little while longer. It was a really wonderful break from school. I'm definitely a bit sunburned, but not too bad. A little bit on my face, and then my lower back where Kathy seemed to forget to put any sunscreen. Whoops I guess?
This week is going to be really hectic. In fact, I need to go do some homework right now.
Oh, and the police busted a huge al-Qaeda training post right outside of Perugia. I heard about it earlier today, but because I don't read or watch Italian news, I'm not sure exactly how Italy is responding to it. I'll read some later this week, cause it will take me a while. But here's a bit about it from the BBC... ciao...
''
Italy police raid 'terror school'
Italian policemen involved in the Perugia raid
Italian police put a laptop seized in the raid on display
Police in central Italy say they have uncovered a bomb school for Islamist militants after raiding a mosque in Perugia and making three arrests.
Evidence of training in explosives and poisons, and instructions on flying a Boeing 747 were reportedly found.
Police said the suspected cell had links to a group associated with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
They seized the imam and two other men, all Moroccans, and have a warrant for a fourth man believed to be abroad.
We have discovered and neutralised a real 'terror school'
Carlo De Stefano
anti-terrorism police head
The three detainees refused to reply to questions when they were brought before a local magistrate.
Twenty foreign students were also arrested in a related dawn raid and police said that those without residence permits would be deported.
Perugia, a popular tourist destination because of its medieval and Renaissance palaces, is home to Italy's University for Foreigners, where hundreds of students from the Middle East are enrolled in university courses in Italian and other subjects.
The discovery of the alleged terrorist training centre is a matter for serious concern to the Italian authorities, the BBC's David Willey reports from Rome.
Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said it was now necessary to pay close attention to mosques being used for activities unrelated to religion.
Chemicals
The suspects were running an "in-depth operation of instruction and training in the use of weapons and combat techniques suitable for terrorist acts", police said.
Police cars stand outside the Ponte Felcino mosque
The Ponte Felcino mosque is located in a suburb of Perugia
Chemicals - including acids and cyanide - were found in the mosque's cellar and equipment for remote detonation of explosives was also discovered, they added.
"The investigation has shown that... there was a continued training for terrorist activity," anti-terrorism police head Carlo De Stefano said.
"We have discovered and neutralised a real 'terror school,' which was part of a widespread terrorism system made up of small cells that act on their own."
According to the police, the Perugia cell had contacts with two members of the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group arrested around two years ago in Belgium.
The group is believed to have ties to al-Qaeda and has been linked to the 2004 Madrid bombings and 2003 attacks in Casablanca.
The detained men were named as imam Korchi el Moustapha, 41, Mohamed el Jari, 47, and Driss Safika, 46.
'Quiet community'
Officers are reported to have spent two years investigating activities at the mosque.
Between daily prayers, the small mosque at Ponte Felcino doubled as a training camp, a police statement said.
The imam allegedly held courses, showed propaganda messages and made fiery sermons inciting a small group of disciples, some of them children, to join a Holy War.
Map of Italy showing Perugia
The director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community, Sheikh Abdul Adid Palazzi, told BBC News that he was not surprised to hear of the arrests.
"It is the top of the iceberg in our country - like in the rest of Western Europe. Most mosques are controlled by extremist pro-terror organisations - 90% of mosques," he said.
"And I think the percentage is more or less the same in Italy, Britain, France and Germany."
However the imam at the central mosque in Perugia, which has a 10,000-strong Muslim community, said the Ponte Felcino group had not appeared dangerous.
"Generally it's a quiet community," Abdel Qader told Italian news agency Ansa.
"A few made some noise over the international situation but those were just words. We trust justice... and if any [of the suspects] has made a mistake, he will have to pay."
'' -BBC
Friday, July 20, 2007
venerdi, 20 luglio, 2007
Yay! School is done for the week! I really need a break. Its been ridiculously hot, and most of our classrooms don't have air conditioning. And today we had six hours of class because we had to make up class that our teacher couldn't come to last week. I'm going to Napoli, Pompei, and Capri tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have lots to write about when I get back. But for now, here's a video I made really quickly of my apartment:
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
martedi, 17 luglio, 2007
I ate McDonalds today. Hahahahaha. It was actually molto delizioso, I was really suprised. It was definitely better here than in the US, although not much. We rode the bus there during our two hour break from class.
Hmmm, I can't think of anything exciting to update my blog-readers on... oh, I bought a dress yesterday! Its really cute, its kindof gray.
I'm going on a trip this weekend! But I think that I already mentioned that. Oh! I saw Harry Potter last night!!! It was really good! Too bad I couldn't understand a lick of it. It was in Italian, and first of all it was kind of funny because its been dubbed over, but they speak so quickly that I couln't understand what anyone was saying. I went with Tony and Brenton, which... could have been a bad choice, because Tony didn't know anything about Harry Potter at all, so he was asking a lot of questions, which I didn't mind at all, because I couldn't understand anyway, but Brenton, who was sitting on the other side of me, would interupt my answers for Tony's questions and talk really loudly across my lap. I finally put my hand up and told him to top because he was really loud, and he got all defensive for a second but stopped. So then I quietly answered Tony's questions after that. I hate it when people are loud in theatres, and its probably more annoying that we were speaking English. But I really want to see Harry Potter in English now, and I also want to read the book, but I think I should read 5 and 6 again, for review.
I bought Harry Potter 1 in Italian yesterday, and Ty has the audio version, so I'm going to put that on my Ipod and listen and read at the same time! Yay for learning!!!
OK, basta, caio.
Hmmm, I can't think of anything exciting to update my blog-readers on... oh, I bought a dress yesterday! Its really cute, its kindof gray.
I'm going on a trip this weekend! But I think that I already mentioned that. Oh! I saw Harry Potter last night!!! It was really good! Too bad I couldn't understand a lick of it. It was in Italian, and first of all it was kind of funny because its been dubbed over, but they speak so quickly that I couln't understand what anyone was saying. I went with Tony and Brenton, which... could have been a bad choice, because Tony didn't know anything about Harry Potter at all, so he was asking a lot of questions, which I didn't mind at all, because I couldn't understand anyway, but Brenton, who was sitting on the other side of me, would interupt my answers for Tony's questions and talk really loudly across my lap. I finally put my hand up and told him to top because he was really loud, and he got all defensive for a second but stopped. So then I quietly answered Tony's questions after that. I hate it when people are loud in theatres, and its probably more annoying that we were speaking English. But I really want to see Harry Potter in English now, and I also want to read the book, but I think I should read 5 and 6 again, for review.
I bought Harry Potter 1 in Italian yesterday, and Ty has the audio version, so I'm going to put that on my Ipod and listen and read at the same time! Yay for learning!!!
OK, basta, caio.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
domenica, 15 luglio, 2007
Wow! We're already 1/4 of the way through our program!!! Thats so crazy! Its also kindof crazy that I'll be here for another month and a half. I can't really comprehend how much I'm going to learn, Italian and other things, in that time. I also can't comprehend how much homework I will have to do between now and then. I swear, the B1 students don't get any homework besides what Harinder (program director from UofO) gives them. And the B2 students have all this other crap that our teachers give us. Its so dumb. We shouldn't have to do both. Oh well I guess.
Tonight is the finale of Umbria Jazz, which is kindof sad, but... not really at all, because I am excited for the piazzas to be nice and calm, not that they'll really be that calm, but whatever.
We're going to go see Harry Potter tomorrow!! We were going to try to see it tonight, but because its the last night of Umbria Jazz, we figured we ought to hang out and enjoy it while its still here. Most of the showings are in Italian, but I heard a rumor that they show the films in English on Mondays... I suppose we'll find out tomorrow, but I think I want to see it in both languages, it doesn't really matter what order though.
We had a Bible study today! It was me and Tony, this kid Ty, who we asked because he has a tattoo of a cross on his forearm, and Kathy (who I travelled with from Rome to here) and Brenton, who is just a cool kid who we thought may be interested in coming and he was, and also Satoshi, but I don't think he knew was he was agreeing to come to. Haha. It was good though, we read Acts 1, and then just got into discussion about what to do with our lives, and how to live them and glorify God and minister to others all at the same time. It was a really good discussion. Ty is a leader at a youthgroup at a church in Eugene, and it sounds like he knows a lot about the Bible. And Kathy I think is semi-involved in church stuff, and Brenton said he's never been to a Bible study, and really appreciated this one. We're going to do Acts 2 sometime next week, and it sounds like we'll have at least one more person!
Its really amazing to see God bring together all these random people, who are from the same place but in a foreign country. Because I would probably never met any of them (besides Tony) if it weren't for this trip, and here we are sharing our walks and learning together. Yea, pretty much neato.
Ciao ciao.
Tonight is the finale of Umbria Jazz, which is kindof sad, but... not really at all, because I am excited for the piazzas to be nice and calm, not that they'll really be that calm, but whatever.
We're going to go see Harry Potter tomorrow!! We were going to try to see it tonight, but because its the last night of Umbria Jazz, we figured we ought to hang out and enjoy it while its still here. Most of the showings are in Italian, but I heard a rumor that they show the films in English on Mondays... I suppose we'll find out tomorrow, but I think I want to see it in both languages, it doesn't really matter what order though.
We had a Bible study today! It was me and Tony, this kid Ty, who we asked because he has a tattoo of a cross on his forearm, and Kathy (who I travelled with from Rome to here) and Brenton, who is just a cool kid who we thought may be interested in coming and he was, and also Satoshi, but I don't think he knew was he was agreeing to come to. Haha. It was good though, we read Acts 1, and then just got into discussion about what to do with our lives, and how to live them and glorify God and minister to others all at the same time. It was a really good discussion. Ty is a leader at a youthgroup at a church in Eugene, and it sounds like he knows a lot about the Bible. And Kathy I think is semi-involved in church stuff, and Brenton said he's never been to a Bible study, and really appreciated this one. We're going to do Acts 2 sometime next week, and it sounds like we'll have at least one more person!
Its really amazing to see God bring together all these random people, who are from the same place but in a foreign country. Because I would probably never met any of them (besides Tony) if it weren't for this trip, and here we are sharing our walks and learning together. Yea, pretty much neato.
Ciao ciao.
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