Version 4.1 BETA • jaledwith.com
So yeah, that Art History test was tough. I could go into detail in how Mrs. Duckworth lowered her standing in the minds of everyone even further, but let’s just say she managed to take on a new low (she calls herself the Test Nazi, if that’s any indication).
I survived though, and in less than an hour I’ll be headed to the train station to go to southern Italy. I’ve got a bunch of homework to do this weekend though, lots of reading, but I won’t let it ruin my weekend. I’ll get it done somehow.
So here’s the crew, from left to right: me, Jessica, Chelsea, Angela, Paulo, Salita, and Brooke
Quote of the Day: “I’m not angry, I’m just very, very irritated you see.” — Professor Alistair Duckworth, on four people being absent today from his Grand Tour class.
So here’s the story. I’ve uploaded about 2 rolls of film, all of my pics from Paris. To view them, go to my homepage and click on the Photos link. I’ll be putting the rest up over the next couple of day.
As we speak I am uploading the first batch of photos onto my website. So check back periodically throughout the day and hopefully you’ll see something pretty.
On a sad note, Paulo moved out of my room yesterday. This was something that the program had wanted to do from the very beginning but there just wasn’t a room available. After all, he is 40 years old living with three guys who are 20, 20, and 21. But it was weird the way it happened because none of us were around when he moved his stuff out. We came back throughout the day to find that his stuff was all gone. We checked the safe and even his passport was gone. So we thought he had gone back to the States, like maybe something had happened to one of his daughters or something like that. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, but I am sad that he’s not my roommate anymore.
Now it’s just me and the frat boys. 
Strange Things About Europe, Volume 6
1) While riding a gondola our gondolier was singing a traditional Italian song. Then he broke into the chorus of Like A Virgin.
Quote of the Day: “It sounds like fun. I get to go to Quito and the Galapagos. And get high on whatever made Darwin think up evolution.” — My sister Alison, talking about her possible summer 2005 trip to Ecuador. She has officially been elevated to coolest person of the day.
So Venice… incredible. Beautiful. I’m speechless. But what would a blog be without a speech? 
You have no idea how bad my Art History class is. My professor makes all of these anti-Christianity comments in there. For example: “In the 15th century people believed that Jesus was the Savior of mankind. And there are even a few people who believe that today.” She claims to have read the Bible, but she didn’t know that Luke and Acts were written by the same guy. Now, I don’t expect people who haven’t read those books to know that, but if you’ve read them it’s pretty obvious (they’re both addressed to Theophilus). Hayley and I have been going bananas in there lately. She and I are pretty much the only ones outraged in there by what she says, though Paulo and Jessica tend to get a little mad as well. The whole class dislikes the disrespect she shows to other tour groups, and how she keeps us long after class should have ended.
The outrage continues.
Okay, so maybe outrage is the wrong word. I’m just frustrated with my inability to communicate effectively in this country. As I told you yesterday, there was a slight miscommunication between myself and the owner of a camera shop that I had turned my film into. I thought he had said, “Come back after 7 in the afternoon.” So I got there at 7:15 at they’re closed. So I’m thinking that what he meant to say was “Come back before 7 in the afternoon.” So I was annoyed, but I figured that after my first class today I would have something to look forward to. So I walk in today and give the guy my slips. He looks at my quizzically and says, “Five more days.”
Oh, now I get it. He meant to say, “Come back after 7 days, in the afternoon.”
You know what makes me mad? People in Italy who presume to have mastered the English language.
Now I know what you’re thinking. If I had taken the time to learn Italian and not be the stupid American that I am I wouldn’t have this complaint. That’s fair criticism, for sure.
And a lot of the time it isn’t a problem. Like when the lady at the hotel hears us making too much noise and asks us to talk slower. That’s not a big deal, because we can understand what she’s trying to tell us. But when the owner of a camera shop tells you to pick up your pictures after 7 PM, and you arrive only to find the shop closed, you begin to wish they would just write things down (i.e. 09:00 - 19:00) rather than try to communicate verbally.
And maybe there’s a translation issue here that I’m unaware of. Quite possibly the Italian word for before is the same as after, just as ciao means hello and goodbye.
Quote of the Day #1: “The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in the supposition that the gentle reader has not been abroad, and therefore is not already a consummate ass. If the case be otherwise, I beg his pardon and extend to him the cordial hand of fellowship and call him brother. I shall always delight to meet an ass after my own heart when I have finished my travels.” — Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad
Quote of the Day #2: “Very fetching.” — Professor Alistair Duckworth, my very British Grand Tour teacher, of my friend and his student Hayley. We went to Santa Croce today, and Hayley wore a shirt that bared her shoulders. She was asked to put on what resembled a disposable blue smock.
Wow. That was quite a weekend. I read over 300 pages of everything you can imagine that relates to Italy, not to mention I typed 3 pages for a take-home quiz. Yuck. At least it’s over now. But I’ve got a whole bunch more reading to do this week. Argh! Who am I kidding. It won’t end until I leave, and I don’t want that to come.
Strange Things About Europe, Volume 5
1) The most popular restaurant in Florence at lunch time is the local McDonald’s. That’s sad.
2) Every pay phone in Florence is on a major city street, and they all have next to no volume. So whenever a bus, car, motorcycle, bicycle, or medium-sized dog passes by you can’t hear who you’re talking to. Keep in mind that I wouldn’t have to know this if the phone in my hotel room worked.
Argh! I have to type up a take-home quiz for Modern Italy. Okay, so I don’t have to, but it’ll make a good impression. I still have a lot of reading left to do tonight too, so it’s going to be another boring day in paradise.
