Whew, it's the weekend

Ciao everyone!

The internet has returned, and Craig feels like a million bucks. My midterms are over now (and thank God they are), I'm going to Egypt in a week, Munich in two, and Istanbul in a month, and I am going to have a really great weekend I have the feeling. How do I know?

One: I have internet and in theory, it's totally fixed. They had the guy come out twice and it's been totally rectified. The internet really is my main connection to home, and without it, I feel almost naked. I've really wanted to blog these past few days, but it's been really tough to do so. I have a few pictures to upload, but I just want to make sure the internet holds out for long enough to blog before I go that crazy.

Two: I have a lot of really cool things I can do this weekend, and I have so many invitations of places to go and people to hang out with it's crazy. I'm not used to having to pick between three invitations, and feeling like the two groups I'm having to say no to are really going to be disappointed. It's really cool to feel like I'm making friends in several groups, and that I feel like I could hang out with any number of people and have a really great time.

Three: Midterms are finished and although I have a lot of work to do this weekend, the in-class pieces are finished. Woohoo.

And finally, four: I'm going to Celano tomorrow, this really supposedly awesome and cute town in the middle of nowhere, Italy. I can't wait. I've really enjoyed seeing the not-touristy places of Italy, and supposedly (according to my professor), one of the areas we visit tomorrow as a class gets only two groups of visitors per year, and they're from this program when our professor brings them. Cool stuff. Plus, there's all you can eat food and desserts and whatnot, and I'm really just excited in general for that.

This week was so crazy that I wouldn't have had too much time to blog, even if I had internet. I had about 20 pages worth of writing for my two midterms yesterday, and they were really, really long and trying to finish. However, that being said, I feel like I probably did a pretty fair job all things considered, and so far I know I'm doing ok in my classes as I got my first Italian Midterm back today and I got a 92%, which was 9 percent above the average, which makes me feel pretty good.

Yesterday was all midterms in general, with a site visit in the morning. We saw two really interesting churches, but we really didn't get much time at the second one due to having to be back for our midterm at 11:30, or 30 minutes after. Santa Maria Prassede was beautiful, simply awesome inside, and you would never know it from the street. I love when that happens, it's like you have to be looking for it. The Apse was beautiful and intricately designed in mosaic fashion, complete with ridiculously intricate Biblical imagery of the 6 lambs from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the phoenix as the symbol of the resurrection, Peter and Paul, etc. It was pretty beautiful, as everything tends to be here, and considering it's about 1200 years old, not really sure how it's possible that it could be this amazingly old and inspiring in it's intricacy and portrayals, pretty cool stuff.

In this church, to the right of the picture above, there is a chapel, also mosaic worked, with a roundel of Jesus being lifted by four angels and if you can see each individual tile piece in the work, it's amazing to think of just how accurate all of this stuff is, you know? I wish there were ways of showing it to you, but I hope these pictures do it some justice of showing just how cool it looks.

I went back to class with about 4 other people who needed to be back for Culture and Identity's midterm, and we were really far away. We took a taxi and it was like 7 Euro total to get back, so it was less than 2 euro a piece and it took hardly any time at all. I hadn't been in a car in over a month, and THAT was a little bit weird to think about. When in Rome, do as the Romans do: don't drive. I guess.

My midterm wasn't too bad, all things considered. Tough? Sure. Horrible? Not at all. After it was over, I went and got this really awesome salad with Marcela, Emily, and Phil (a guy who lives next door to us in the program and is in Science and Religion with me) all studied over lunch for the next midterm just a few hours later. The salad was the first at a restaurant I'd eaten since I've been here, and it wasn't toooooo expensive, like 8 euro for water and the salad and bread. And 8 euro is no longer like 12 bucks, it's more like 10.25. Why, you ask? Because the exchange rate is at its best point in over 2 years. Woohoo!

We went back to the study center and I had a little more study time, and it was off to the test. It was really, really long; in fact, it may have been one of the longest tests I've ever taken in a 2 hour period and DEFINITELY the longest midterm ever. It took everyone the full two hours, and my hand was dead. I never really write on paper anymore, it's so often on computer when I do write that my hand just goes kaput after a while.

I came back here and chatted with everyone for a while, taking it easy and just relaxing. It's been a busy, stressful week. My mind liked the slight break. I had a bunch of Italian homework, which I did finish, and got some good rest before class this morning. Today was all tandem exchange with Italian students from the Sapienza, or the University here in Roma. It's about 500 years old or so, and it makes me laugh to think it's been around 10 times longer than UCSD. Weird.

The students were great, and my Italian has improved, I know so. They wanted to speak English, too, so I tried to speak in Italian as much as I could while they spoke a lot of English. But when they spoke Italian, I felt pretty confident I was understanding what they were saying, which signifies MAJOR progress on my part.

But yup, that's about it. I am trying not to think about Kirsten being gone to Egypt, as she and her family are at the airport heading for Cairo as we speak. I am really, really jealous, but I just have to wait about a week from right now and I'll be there too. I'll have her in my thoughts a lot as I just worry about her in such a foreign place, but she'll be in good hands. I can't wait to experience Africa (whoa!) in just a few days! YIKES!

But that's about it, everyone. I hope your Thursday goes well and do email or check in, and until next time,

Ciao.