Erin Miller

Buona Sera!
Italians say buon giorno (good day) until about 6 in the evening when it
becomes buona sera (good evening) it remains good evening until midnight or 1
am when it changes to buona notte (good night). The entire day is shifted
later here. People finish dinner around 11, families perhaps closer to 9 or
10, but kids my age finish around 11. Classes start and stores open at 8 so
the entire country is rather dependent on the pausa (Italian siesta). Good
luck trying to buy shoes here between noon and 4. It is snowing in Perugia (nevica). It has been snowing in flurries for the
past couple of days and it is pretty darn cold, but at least our apartment,
unlike so many others, still has heat. The drifts sometimes reach depths of a
half inch, and everyone from high school kids to the bread delivery men and
construction workers are throwing snowballs, racing to gather the three
possible snow balls in each parking lot. Everyone would be smiling if you
could see their faces buried under their scarves and coats. Most Italians wear
these winter coats that look like sleeping bags covering from their head to
their knees, but they still manage to look stylish.
I read the newspaper this morning at the cafe that I always stop at for my
morning cappuccino. I arrive at the cafe every morning around 8, so that I can
be at my 8 o’clock class on time, just alittle before my professoressa, at
8:20. From my reading of the Italian paper, (which was less than precise, I’m
sure) several schools in the area were cancelled and traffic was a mess all
over Umbra due to this winter blizzard.
My big adventure for this week was a trip to Florence with my roommates. We
hit all of the major attractions: the Uffizi, which houses some of the best art
in the world, the Botecellis are particularly well noted, and the Academia
Gallery, which houses the David, which is big. We also
toured the Duomo, which was impressive, but like many things it was under
construction during the off-season. We also payed 6 euro to climb the 414 steps
to the top of the clock tower for a view of Florence — money well spent. We
all stayed in Florence Saturday night. Sunday night one of my roommates and I
went to the soccer game (partita del calcio) between Roma and Firenze. It was
some crazy fun despite the rain and cold, but from what I hear, the Perugia
fans are even crazier. Firenze managed to hold their own for the first half,
but in the second they went down 2-3 and pretty much gave up. They seemed to
have been surprised that they managed to last that long. The fans sensed the
lack of enthusiasm in the players and sat down or left. The final score was 2-
3, but it didn’t seem that close. My roommate and I spent the night enjoying
Florence, because the first train, after the end of the game, was not until 5
am. Luckily, the hostel we had stayed at was going to be renovated and they
allowed us to store our luggage in the hallway and sleep for a few hours Sunday night for free (without heat and on the floor.) I hope that you are all enjoying the weather wherever you are.