The semester begins.

Today was decent. I give it a C+ for its ups and downs. Right now I'm listening to NPR on my computer - morning edition. I'm not sure what day it's from, probably yesterday, as its not morning here or in Indiana. It makes me feel a little bit comforted and a little more comfortable here.

We had our first day of real classes today. I wanted to leave a little early so I could eat a quick breakfast before class, so we left around 8 in order to get there at 8:45. Class started at 9 and we got to the IES center at 9:10, thanks to the rush hour traffic on the Metro. In fact, we tried twice on two separate trains to pack ourselves like sardines into the already overstuffed cars before finally forcing ourselves onto the third train as to not to be TOO late. Tomorrow, we leave earlier.

The first few hours of class were hectic for me. I started the day not really enrolled in any classes at all and just attending the ones I wanted to be in. My name wasn't on any of the lists so I was never actually called for attendance, and it made me uneasy. I'm not used to that sort of disorganization. I like knowing exactly what's going on and exactly how I'm going to approach it. I started in a history course called Italy in the 20th Century. My professor reminds me of my grandpa only Italian. He is nice, and he seems to harbor a lot of information in his head. I'm eager to learn about Italian history and culture. I'm taking another history course called The Roman Empire: history and myth. How enticing! I wandered into my art history class and found a seat, surprisingly. The room we were assigned to was one of the smallest in the building, and yet this particular class was one of the largest offered. So we were, again, packed like sardines. It seems like IES is just kind of winging it, since this is such a new building and a new way of going about things. I tried to stay calm, despite my growing urge to scream and/or have a nervous break down.

By noon, everything was worked out and I FINALLY had a schedule. Diane, a guidance counselor pulled some strings and got me enrolled in both history classes AND the art history class. I'm also enrolled in a political science class which I haven't been to yet. It starts tomorrow. I have two "field studies" this week. I'll tell you about them later.

I am still coughing, unfortunately. It's somewhere in my chest, this rattling.

It was chilly today. I wore my new jacket to the grocery. I miss having someone bag my groceries for me. How pathetic.

Between classes, I wandered down to the Nero Caffe and had a cappuccino and a panino. Then I realized they had pancakes and so I played the American role and ordered some. They were 4 euro and not very big, but there were three of them and they were delicious. Exactly what I needed after a stressful morning of travel and class. The cameriere (waiter) brought me this funny off brand American syrup, and on the front it said, "2% real maple syrup!" I laughed and tried in my broken Italian to explain it to him but he didn't get it so I giggled to myself over my delicious American breakfast. It's hard to go without a little bit of relief from the vague Italian breakfasts. I'm sick of cornetti (croissants). What I would do for a bagel...

Costa Rica wants to be carbon neutral by 2021. Wow. Nature air - the world first carbon neutral airline. Interesting. What if the entire country was carbon neutral? What if everything was carbon neutral? I love NPR.

I wish I could start in with my Cafe Abroad internship. I'm not sure where the group is, but the learder, Michelle, hasn't gotten in touch with me for a meeting. I'm eager to get started.

Well anyway, I think I'll go do some reading. Ciao!