buon week-end!

evviva! school is over for the week. just had a quiz and did well, turned in a monstrous amount of homework. now i've got a couple hours to myself and the internet before i meet morena, one of my italian teachers from mount holyoke, for a coffee. :)

did i mention that italians think my last name is HILARIOUS? my friend antonio also knows a little german, and knows that morgan means morning. ha ha. :P

i think i am the only redhead in padova. possibly in the whole veneto region. i saw one redhead in verona and that's been IT. in theory there are redheads in northern italy, but where are they?

this weekend everybody's going everywhere. one girl is going to paris to meet a friend, a big group of girls are going to amalfi/pompeii/naples, some are going to verona and bologna. i decided to stay in padova, because i haven't really sat still for a second yet. i've either been working my bum off or exploring and having fun.

while i do intend to spend most of my time reading outside a cafe or taking walks while listening to my music, i think i might head to venice for an afternoon by myself. this way, i can take plenty of time to set up the pictures i take, instead of snapping them as my group walks away, i can take longer to wander around the places that particularly interest me (san marco :D), and i can go into all the museums the other girls would find boring. i'll eat a nice lunch by the main canal, and buy some super touristy souvenirs. well gee i'm getting pretty excited about this actually, maybe i'll do this tomorrow!

god i love italy. i love italy. even the more boring places like verona are magical towns like no other i've ever experienced. the overall carbon footprint here seems to be a lot less, architecture is considered an art form, history is venerated, people are naturally polite, naps, coffee breaks, and wine are insisted upon, there's a strong sense of community, religion is still alive, fashion is imperative and fantastic, grown men compliment your blue satin ballet flat shoes and wear gucci sunglasses, guys in general are intensely flattering, chivalrous, and respectful (not anywhere near as sketchy as i was led to believe), and most nights there are people dancing/singing/talking/playing instruments in the piazzas. oh yeah, and the food.