Projected

Thursday, June 12th

Today started 9:15, which was a pleasant surprise because I was expecting to wake up at 8 every morning. We had a really nice tour of Arezzo with Charlotte that ended at this nice bar (which actually is just a place that sells coffee, pastries, and other drinks) called Bar Steffano. After a little break we went to the OU in Arezzo building and had our orientation where we talked about pickpockets and health stuff and you know, the usual things you would expect from an orientation, but we also talked about some fun Italian phrases and hand signs (some we could use and some that we probably shouldn’t).

Lunch was what I’ve been looking forward to on this trip: pasta! We pici pasta which was kinda like really fat spaghetti, and it was out of this world. And then for desert we got gelato which I just cant even describe how much in love with this stuff I am. It’s basically ice cream but for some reason it’s better. If I don’t get fat from this trip, first thing I’m doing when I go home is going to a doctor.

When lunch was over we went over to the train station to scope out what we had to work with for the art project we’re doing. Once we finally got through all the projector problems and design issues, we began sketching the OU seal and that was done relatively quickly. Although there wasn’t much to do and a few people had to sit around, it was good that we were all there together. It’s important that everyone was physically present so they were on the same page about what we were doing and felt apart of the team.

Walking around Arezzo and working in the train station, I noticed two types of Italians: really nice and welcoming ones, and ones that hate you for blocking off a staircase. The more I walk around here, the more surreal this experience gets, it’s only the second day and I’m already in love with this town and I’m not even phased by the Italians that hate me and stare at me as I walk by.