so.

i arrived in sircusa yesterday. i can't breathe half the time because it is just. so. god. damn. beautiful. white lights strung in the streets, plazas so clean you can eat off then, the ocean everywhere you look, ancient architecture, lots of stray puppies to play with. the only words i can attempt to describe this place is fucking incredible.

i met some people at the airport and we took a taxi van to the city, and then to the school. upon getting out of the taxi and being introduced to ramzi, the actually crazy resident director who seems to know everyone on the island, i am told that everyone else can get their stuff out of the taxi but i have to leave mine in. everyone looks at me concerned, like i am being deported. i then squeeze into the front middle seat of the taxi between colermo, the driver, and ramzi, shouting over me in italian. and then this happened next:

ramzi: (huge grin, to me): you know we get you your own flat, ya?
me: SHUT UP.
(realizing i just told my resident director to shut up, and this is the first conversation i'm having with him, i try again)
me: um...what?
ramzi (still thrilled): si, si! zat was what you wanted, ya?
me:





.....


ramzi: you put on form you want single, no?
(note: i did, in fact, put that i preferred a single room on the housing form. but not, you know, a SINGLE APARTMENT.)
me:.........sssssssssi.....?
ramzi: so i get you what you want! zis is nice, you know, when you get drunk, nobody has to see you! you by yourself!
(yes, ramzi, that was my first thought, too! i am really glad that i will be drunk and ALONE in the very near future. grazi mille!)
me:




.....si.
ramzi: your form, i could tell you were most mature.
(um...no.)
ramzi: i give you single room, because i know you are like me. sometimes we don't like people, no?
me (instantly horrified): i...like...people...
ramzi (undeterred):...so...maybe i read your request wrong?
me (god, i am sometimes so accomodating): no, no! i mean, si. it's fine.

and it was. well, is. the apartment is the farthest from the school (like 8 minutes walking, nbd), but about 10 feet from the water. once i did some rearranging (for instance, moving the bed from the foyer) it actually is really nice. the only thing i still don't know how to work is the hot water heater, which i can see causing some problems down the road (by which i mean, in about ten minutes when i walk back to take a shower) but you know, de puta madre. it's all good.

and besides, there are plenty of things keeping me out of the apartment. the kids on my program are awesome. honestly, it's cliche, but we were all talking about how we lucked out. there's 8 kids from bates, and then the rest are from all over the country. i really like all of them. seriously.

and there's so many connections. a girl i partied with a few new years ago in connecticut is now in my program, and another girl went to camp jewell for a long time. another girl's cousin goes to wooster, a guy has a summer house in a girl's hometown and they know the same people, etc. while a group of americans with all these connections might sound stifling, it's the opposite--watching all of us explore and (try to) interact with the locals is awesome.

i don't even know how to describe this place. i guess it is like a seaside town, and right now is the off-season, so its pretty much just us and the locals. the buildings are old and white and stone and fucking beautiful, everything is so clean and charming, there are balconies, wrought-iron that have been around for centuries, there's an open-air market. the market is the shit. there are no preservatives in sicily, so, unlike in america, organic, local, fresh food is the norm. and it's cheap! (a kilo of oranges for a euro). so for breakfast i had these huge grapes and a slice of just-made mozzerella and orange juice that was squeezed right in front of me. the entire thing is like one big dream sequence.

i don't get wireless in my apartment, so uploading pictures is gonna be a little difficult, but i'll get on that. oh and, they have these sick old-fashioned bikes with big baskets you can rent, um, to ride one of these has been a long-term goal of mine and will soon come to fruition. and i wasn't sure about the running community, but BAM within five seconds of arrival on the island i see three different groups of runners along the shore. which means i should maybe start thinking about maybe being motivated to start jogging for this half marathon in april..but we'll see. for now it's just amazing food and cool people in a ridiculously beautiful place.

ciao!
miss you all and love you