Cappuccino

You start to recognize your life routine has changed a bit. Days during my last spring semester at Duke included Venti Starbucks coffees with Skim milk, tequila shots at Shooters, lots of Mexican food, over-loaded semesters, and frozen yogurt.

My new days include croissants, 4+ cappuccinos, Italian conversations that only include my mood, name, and the weather, and gelato. Lots and lots of gelato. I've discovered my two favorite flavors are Dark Chocolate and Coffee... Sometimes I could also go for yogurt flavored gelato too! I'm learning to love this life style just as much as the last one. I still really do miss America's Mexian food though...

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I went to class. There are no classes on Fridays, this is Italia. I met my friends at Malva, our favorite cafe, before school each day. I would quickly do enough homework questions to make it look like I tried. I started to go out with friends, mostly to Scholars, an irish pub that quickly fills up with American and English study abroad students, and bars in Campo dei Fiori, a rectangular piazza with lots of fun bars and crazy Italian men. Of course my 11pm curfew at the convent created quite the problem. Italians and people in Italia (like me) don't even eat dinner until 9 or 10pm! Luckily, my new friends were more than willing to let me crash on their couch. Unfortunately in Italia it is very customary for Italian men to have a wife AND "a girlfriend" on the side. Jill informed me that the nuns probably think I am an Italian man's "girlfriend." I tried my best to explain to my favorite nun, Amelia, that this was not the case! It's debatable whether or not she understood.

I interviewed Father Davis this week who is from India. It was great speaking with him because I will be going to India later this summer. We had a mini debate about the current crisis in the church regarding child abuse and the pope's reaction. I probably came across a little rebellious. At the end of our conversation he asked to bless me.. Of course I said yes! This was in a very public touristy area in the middle of a cafe. Just embrace it, I told myself.