excitement!!!

so first and foremost, i already knew that there was going to be another harry potter movie, the watchmen movie, and the wolverine x-men origins movie this year, and i was ALREADY painfully excited, but i did NOT know that there's going to be another transformers movie and movie versions of fantastic mr. fox and where the wild things are. i am excited about my cinematic future.

secondly, I FOUND AN APARTMENT. furthermore, it is the greatest apartment ever. i will have a big single room in an apartment owned by two middle-aged gay men, gilberto and romano. to be fair i just assumed they were a gay couple because they share a room and are well dressed artists, so i could be wrong. the walls are a rather bright orange, which is intense but actually really intriguing, and there are paintings and sculptures everywhere that the two guys made. there's a nice bathroom and washing machine, a kitchen i can use (only after 8pm, not sure why), and a balcony covered in plants and flowers. the building is right next to the university and the italian literature building is right there, and there's a nice sturdy gate keeping non-residents out. i said i was a celiac and gilberto said there's a pizzeria nearby that makes wheat-free stuff. there are a couple gardens nearby i can run in. and italian copy of the little prince was sitting on the table near the door and i was like no way that's my favorite book, and gilberto was like no way that's my favorite book, so we should get along. gilberto's italian was really clear and he spoke a little english, and was very patient if i got stuck on a question and thought it was amusing (rather than frustrating) when i messed up or couldn't understand. my room has a bed, bookshelves, desk, chair, lamp, closet, coat rack, and a big window.

i'll stop there for now, and i'll take pictures once i move in. i'm moving in saturday night!

contact info!

so i now have an address to receive mail at and a phone number!

my address is:

Morgan Coffey
c/o IU - Bologna Consortial Studies Program
Via Malcontenti 3
Bologna, Italy
40121

if you send packages, do NOT insure it, write "VALORE $3" or some other small number under 5 to say it isn't valuable, and write "USED OBJECTS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY". otherwise i just won't get it and the post office won't care. :P

my cell phone number is (+39) 347.391.2105. it's free for me to receive your call, but it would be really expensive for you to call my cell phone, so i guess i'm putting it up just in case of emergency.

i am locked out of my room. :( my roommate and i share a key, and we agreed to leave it at the desk whenever we left, but this morning she forgot to. sigh. i'd wander around outside more, but it is FREEZING here. another girl was really sweet and is letting me use her computer while she goes to check out an apartment, so here i am!

this morning i got up at 8am, which is 2am back at home, and it definitely felt like i was waking up at 2am. i've managed to stay up all day so far, so i think i'm doing pretty well battling the jet lag.
we had a four hour lecture this morning from the program directors, which was...extensive. they told us everything there is to know about finding an apartment, which is helpful. i'm actually looking for apartments right now! exclamation point!

success!

i made it! got here about nine hours later than planned. flew to venice, couldn't get on the bus to bologna because of space issues, waited around to take a van to bologna airport, then took a taxi to the hotel. good times.

i'm going to go get some food, and then hopefully pass out in a serious way. i have been up for quite a long time.

my hotel room is pretty okay! small, but it gets the job done. nice bathroom. my bed is an inch from my roommate's, i guess that's pretty standard in italy.

more interesting things to come after i get some sleep.

france

i'm in paris! there's a bright pink sunrise and snow on the ground, but i'm just not as chipper as i could be. this airport is about the longest airport i have ever been in, and unsurprisingly i had to run from one end to the other with all my stuff. customs was a nightmare and everyone was very pushy. i finally got to the right terminal, where i found out my flight had been cancelled. hilaaarious. then i went to four different desks to try and find a new flight, and i eventually found a flight that will be leaving in an hour. the problem is it's going to VENICE and then i'm taking a bus to bologna. the bus ride should be two or three hours long at best. i should be getting into bologna about five or six hours late, i think.

not. amused.

they also ended up going through absolutely everything in my carry-ons when i went through security again, which was fun. thank goodness i have all this extra time now to repack. -.-

i really hope my luggage ends up in the right country. it might be too much to ask for it to go to the right city.

fun things:
-i've actually spoken a little bit in french! i knew enough to say "what number is my gate?" and "i need to go to bologna", among other things.
-i successfully interpreted english/french to italian for this guy who's also trying to get to bologna.
-if there were a zombie apocalypse, this airport would be the worst place to be. it is ALL glass and escalators. there are a bunch of soldiers around with really terrifying guns though, so i guess that would help.

well i should probably go, i only paid for half an hour of precious internet. hopefully i'll be updating soon about my successful arrival in bologna!

leaving on a jet plane (again)

i'm all packed and ready to go! i've got two fat suitcases that i remarkably managed to keep within the airline's weight limit, and i'm taking a backpack and my laptop case onto the plane, both of which are full of gadgets and books to keep me entertained. ideally i'll be sleeping for the whole flight so i'll arrive in bologna fresh as a daisy monday morning.

i will miss you all terribly, but i'm a great letter writer so you'll be hearing from me (whether you want to or not i suppose) once i get some stamps. in theory, the hotel i'm staying in for two weeks will have wi-fi, so i'll definitely be around on the internet.

kisses, arrivederci!

well i'm finally home! thanks to lufthansa i almost didn't make it, but after arguing with associates in germany, italy, and switzerland, i managed to get home on the planned day.

i guess that's the end of this blog until next spring! thank you for reading and commenting and staying in touch :)