My third post of the day... sigh.
We had a gondola ride!! The house paid for all the students, our professor, our student assistant, all our house staff and any members of their family they want to bring to go on a gondola ride on Wednesday night following our weekly house dinner. It was lovely. I ended up in the second boat (of four) with Eugene, Chris, Elizabeth, Kayla, Jenny, and our gondolier. We rode down the typical tourist route toward the S Marco area, but it was still lovely. Very beautiful. It was dark out and the air was still and cool. One of the boats had an accordian and a singer. Luckily, they didn't play the entire ride. I find them slightly annoying. We got to spend about 45 minutes on the water. I didn't want the ride to end, but we saw Casa Artom's facade in the distance and knew the ride was over. I think if we got everyone who has stayed at Casa Artom in the past 10 years to donate 5 or 10 dollars, we could get a house gondola. That would be pretty sweet...
10.17.2008
More Opera Crumbs
So we went to see a Cavalli opera the other night. This one is called (in Italian) The Virtue and Strength of Cupid's Arrows. We were running late and had to practically sprint to the opera, a decent 30 minute walk away. We got there and got our tickets and they made no sense. There were two different letters and a seat number. But we just showed our tickets to the usher and he found our seats for us. We were on the very side and could only see half the stage. But I followed along with the summary we were given as best I could. We moved seats a bunch during intermissions, trying to get a better view. But by the end we just gave up and tried our best to watch the half of the stage we could see. Everytime we switched seats, though, this one usher would flirt with us... "Buena sera, signora." "Ti piace l'opera?" It was funny... and kind of creepy.
Now I have to write a paper on the opera for my music class. It should be interesting...
Now I have to write a paper on the opera for my music class. It should be interesting...
Finnish Crumbs (or Swedish ones?)
So it's been a while. Things got busy with midterms (still going on) and my second break. But now it's time to update you all on my life abroad. We get two ten-day breaks while we're here, one in October and one in November. The first one was just a week ago. This time last week, I was stuck in an airport. But that will come later.
For my first break, I decided to go to Finland to visit one of my best friends, Robert. I got there at like 11pm and it was dark and the tiny airport in Turku, Finland was practically deserted. When everyone who had arrived on my flight left, it was me and a cab driver waiting for his client. It felt very strange. But after only about five minutes of waiting, Robert walked through the doors. I gave him a hug, to which he awkwardly responded by not hugging back and sort of muttering "hey". He's shy. It was kinda cute. We walked outside with my luggage and apparently Robert hadn't thought this far in advance. I said, "Do you know where we're going?" And he sort of muttered that he didn't have a clue. And he explained that it had taken a ridiculous amount of time to walk to the airport from my hotel, so we got a cab. I got into my hotel alright and Robert and I talked for a while before we parted ways for the night. I tried desperately to get internet so I could tell my parents I was safe, but the mobile broadband I spent a fortune on in England apparently won't work now. Anywhere. (I'm having a fit.) And the hotel didn't have wireless. So I just took a shower and went to bed.
In the morning, I got my stuff and checked out of my room. And then Robert picked me up in the lobby. It was freezing outside as we walked to his apartment. The walk took like 45 minutes, but it was nice. Finland is very pretty in the fall, if you can ignore the weather. There are a lot of trees in Turku and a river and such. But the city is sort of industrial. Definitely not what I'm used to from back home and from the Wake campus and from Venice. Attention to beauty doesn't seem to be a concern in Turku. But the natural landscape is still stunning. After settling in at Robert's place, we went to the grocery store and computer classroom so I could message my parents. I sent my mom a quick email to say I'm fine. But somehow, later that day or maybe the next day, my parents called Robert's cell phone, needing me to confirm that it was me who sent the email and that I wasn't under duress. Robert kept laughing at me. I can imagine why. My parents made me say some ridiculous phrase to let them know I wasn't being forced into responding to them or something.
Anyway... I spent the week in the rain and freezing cold, venturing out only for groceries (alright, mostly chocolate) and access to the internet. I had such a great time though! Robert is so much fun even when we're just sitting around his apartment. I had a really great time and when I had to leave on Friday morning, I really didn't want to go.
I should have listened to my instinct because when I got from Turku to Helsinki, the connection was too short and I missed my flight. So I had to run around the airport from counter to counter asking people where I needed to go to get a new flight. When I finally found a desk that could help me, she took like fifteen minutes after finding the only flight I could take to actually get me a ticket. And the flight was at 7 pm that night. It was early that morning. I spent nine hours in the Helsinki airport. Thank God I found free internet with the purchase of a water bottle and a croissant. I was able to talk to my best friend, Missy, who is in Australia for study. So that helped me calm down after I had spent twenty minutes in a bathroom stall crying. I was alone and stressed and everything was falling apart in a foreign country. But I felt better once I relaxed at my computer and checked email and stuff. And then I took my flight to Prague and had to wait 11 hours in the Prague airport, overnight, for my next flight. I wasn't able to check my bag in until two hours before departure, so I stayed up the whole night on the internet, for fear that my bags would be stolen and because I was worried I wouldn't wake for my flight. I made it through though, with the help of friends staying online with me. And when I finally arrived in Venice, I grinned uncontrollably at the thought of getting home. I took the vaporetto so I didn't have to hull my luggage over the bridges. Though I still had to take it up all the steps to my room. That's got to be some forty steps.... that was rough. But then I collapsed on my bed, sent an email to my parents that I was safe at home, and slept for like six hours before getting hungry enough to wake up and make food.
And that was my Finland trip.
For my first break, I decided to go to Finland to visit one of my best friends, Robert. I got there at like 11pm and it was dark and the tiny airport in Turku, Finland was practically deserted. When everyone who had arrived on my flight left, it was me and a cab driver waiting for his client. It felt very strange. But after only about five minutes of waiting, Robert walked through the doors. I gave him a hug, to which he awkwardly responded by not hugging back and sort of muttering "hey". He's shy. It was kinda cute. We walked outside with my luggage and apparently Robert hadn't thought this far in advance. I said, "Do you know where we're going?" And he sort of muttered that he didn't have a clue. And he explained that it had taken a ridiculous amount of time to walk to the airport from my hotel, so we got a cab. I got into my hotel alright and Robert and I talked for a while before we parted ways for the night. I tried desperately to get internet so I could tell my parents I was safe, but the mobile broadband I spent a fortune on in England apparently won't work now. Anywhere. (I'm having a fit.) And the hotel didn't have wireless. So I just took a shower and went to bed.
In the morning, I got my stuff and checked out of my room. And then Robert picked me up in the lobby. It was freezing outside as we walked to his apartment. The walk took like 45 minutes, but it was nice. Finland is very pretty in the fall, if you can ignore the weather. There are a lot of trees in Turku and a river and such. But the city is sort of industrial. Definitely not what I'm used to from back home and from the Wake campus and from Venice. Attention to beauty doesn't seem to be a concern in Turku. But the natural landscape is still stunning. After settling in at Robert's place, we went to the grocery store and computer classroom so I could message my parents. I sent my mom a quick email to say I'm fine. But somehow, later that day or maybe the next day, my parents called Robert's cell phone, needing me to confirm that it was me who sent the email and that I wasn't under duress. Robert kept laughing at me. I can imagine why. My parents made me say some ridiculous phrase to let them know I wasn't being forced into responding to them or something.
Anyway... I spent the week in the rain and freezing cold, venturing out only for groceries (alright, mostly chocolate) and access to the internet. I had such a great time though! Robert is so much fun even when we're just sitting around his apartment. I had a really great time and when I had to leave on Friday morning, I really didn't want to go.
I should have listened to my instinct because when I got from Turku to Helsinki, the connection was too short and I missed my flight. So I had to run around the airport from counter to counter asking people where I needed to go to get a new flight. When I finally found a desk that could help me, she took like fifteen minutes after finding the only flight I could take to actually get me a ticket. And the flight was at 7 pm that night. It was early that morning. I spent nine hours in the Helsinki airport. Thank God I found free internet with the purchase of a water bottle and a croissant. I was able to talk to my best friend, Missy, who is in Australia for study. So that helped me calm down after I had spent twenty minutes in a bathroom stall crying. I was alone and stressed and everything was falling apart in a foreign country. But I felt better once I relaxed at my computer and checked email and stuff. And then I took my flight to Prague and had to wait 11 hours in the Prague airport, overnight, for my next flight. I wasn't able to check my bag in until two hours before departure, so I stayed up the whole night on the internet, for fear that my bags would be stolen and because I was worried I wouldn't wake for my flight. I made it through though, with the help of friends staying online with me. And when I finally arrived in Venice, I grinned uncontrollably at the thought of getting home. I took the vaporetto so I didn't have to hull my luggage over the bridges. Though I still had to take it up all the steps to my room. That's got to be some forty steps.... that was rough. But then I collapsed on my bed, sent an email to my parents that I was safe at home, and slept for like six hours before getting hungry enough to wake up and make food.
And that was my Finland trip.
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