This morning we went to the open market. Marcato de San Lorenzo. We were doing pretty well on groceries so we only bought a couple oranges but at least we saw what was available and how to buy it. Fun! And it’s true, they’re the best prices around, and fresh of course!
We did some other orientation business today for our permit of stay. It was a little complicated filling out the forms, but we were all going through it together. Then suddenly Cody and I were singled out with all eyes on us when we had to fill out something different because, “Hey, wait! There are two students here who are married, yes?” We raise our hands. Yikes. Well, now everyone knows.
It’s been interesting trying to meet other students as a married couple. We must be intimidating standing together because no one walks up and introduces themselves, and as soon as they find out we’re married they automatically throw up this barrier of, “Oh, you’re married we’re in different stage of life.” Which is kinda true, I guess. Most people “go out” at night and we update our blog. haha. Despite the obstacle we’ve made friends with a few people. Josh we met while waiting at the airport. We quite often group up with him because we’ve already talked to him longer than anyone else. The other people we like to hang out with is a group of girls who came together from WA. We met them coming early to an event, feeling lost and trying to figure out if we were in the right place. Megan, Carmelle, and Bree.
Tonight we went to this fantastic party. Woo woo!! haha. It was an all school event. Another meet-and-greet type of thing. It was in this sort of out door garden/court yard, and again we were served by uniformed people numerous Italian appetizers and later dessert shooters. We spent a lot of time talking with our 4 friends mentioned above. THEN! there was this raffle we entered and I won Cody and me some vouchers at the student café and event center. Nice.
Culture Clues:
= Internet is a bit taken for granted back in the States. At least we are used to having it more available to us than it is here. It’s just tough because we can only use it for free after a 25 minute walk and only for a certain range of hours. Beyond that it’s a luxury, for sure, because we could get our own but it’s incredibly expensive. This idea leads us to our next point
= Cell phones usage and smart phone activity definitely not as common a sight here. You don’t see many people walking around texting or walking around with their Black berries. We could be wrong, but this is what we’ve seen (or haven’t seen). I wonder if some of this stuff is true simply because of what’s available in this historical district. As we’ve mentioned before the rest of the city is more modern and commercial, and we wondered today if that’s where one could find a Walmart. Not that I intend to shop at one.
= We miss the laws in IA about smoking in certain public places. Everyone smokes. All the time. Riding bikes. Walking. Talking on phones. Eating. Drinking. We are power-walking to school and get hit with a cloud of smoke thick enough to slow us down for the next few blocks. Just kidding it’s not that bad, but we’re not used to it. There’s no smoking in the school buildings or apartments so we’ll survive.
= You may find this shocking considering it should suit me (Kait), but nearly every event/meeting has started 15 to 30 minutes late. For a couple of things there were only a few students there when the event was about to start, plus they never seem to post signs or have someone there to greet you and tell you you are in the right place, leaving us to wander around aimlessly. (This is how we met our WA friends). Today we were frustrated because they never communicated with us about what we were supposed to have prepared for our permit meeting. So we get there and we’re expected to each have 75 euros and we didn’t know that. ugh. So now we’re wondering, can we be late for classes??
Buonanotte,
Kait & Cody
Really beautiful party venue.
Delicious aperitivos.
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