Ballare!

Ciao babies! What an awesome night last night. It was our first Friday night in Perugia and seeing everyone out and about was so exhilarating. We went to Celebrate, the pub that Alexandra owns. She had a DJ there, and the only people there were us (7 of us American girls) and Tiziana, Alexandra, and their friends. Most of them didn't speak English so it was really fun/challenging to use Italian all night but I loved it. I had a couple full conversations in Italian! Basically, we danced. All. Night. It's what I've been waiting to do since I've been here and it felt fantastic. It was to introduce the girls I've been hanging with here to my unstoppable side: music + an open space = I never get off of my feet. Even taught some guys how to salsa! Conversed with some more locals, and we are meeting them for coffee again at the Fashion Bar & Coffee. yay. The picture is me & Alexandra. What a fun girl, full of spunk!

There are so many things I like about Perugia. a) It is full of students from all over the world. Umbra is just an institute for American students, but the University around the corner is an international school where people from all over come to learn Italian and about the culture. So, there are curious people everywhere. So many people want to learn and are so eager to explore things and meet others who share the same passions. Here's an example- yesterday at an internet cafe (the very same one from which I am writing now, actually), the young guy sitting next to me, who inevitably heard me speaking English and knew I was on skype because I was talking with Melissa and Steph, tapped me on the shoulder and asked me for my Skype name. I was confused but I didn't get any kind of strange vibe, so I gave it to him and, as he sat right next to me, he sent me a link and a message that read "this may not be funny to me as it is to you, but watch" through his Skype name to a funny American youtube video. It was one of those silly videos in which some guy is rapping to make complete fun of American rap culture. I laughed and asked him jokingly if this is how he learned English. It was a strange gesture and it sounds so out of place and weird, but I was totally okay with it. We introduced ourselves and I found out that he and the girl he was sitting with are from Switzerland, here for a month studying Italian at the other University. He's also working on his English. We spent the next half an hour speaking to each other and typing on Skype in half English / half Italian- a good way to understand the languages by reading them. He asked where I was from, what I was studying, etc. Anyways, he gave me his information and I said that it would be fun if we met up sometime (don't worry, mom, in a public place with my friends with me) to get a gelato and practice our language skills. Again, it sounds ridiculous but it was a really interesting way to meet someone. But it's what I really love about here- a lot of us are in the same place (literally and figuratively), learning the ropes around the language and the culture. I don't think I could ask for a better atmosphere to be spending my semester.
and b) (who else forgot that this was a list? I did) I am really fascinated and enchanted by the Italian culture all together. Everyone is so relaxed. My Italian professor reminded us that "Italians are NEVER in a hurry"- such a contrast to America. And it makes so much sense! Such a better way to live! I love that Italians take 3 hour lunch breaks every day. And everything shuts down on Sundays. They actually invest in REAL free time, and don't spend their lunch breaks or vacations working or thinking about work. It's sad that I'm so amazed by this. It should be natural that people live like this, shouldn't it? I love that I can go out at night, have a drink or two, and just hang. No one makes a big deal about drinking here- just because it's a part of everything. No one really goes out solely to "GET WASTED!!" like in America. It's typical to get a beer and sit out on the steps and watch everyone out and about. I feel so much more... real here. Like I'm not wasting space being a confused, curious, and terrified girl. I am still all those things, but it makes more sense here. I could get used to this.

Anyways, I have been in this cafe for way too long. Like, I came in here with a fully charged computer battery and it is now almost running on empty. I gotta get out of here. Off to meet Flavia, Tiziana, Sem, Alexandra, Jess, Carly, and E at Fashion for a pre-dinner coffee!