il ventiquattro di agosto

Ciao, all!
We just had our most awkward dinner yet. When Raffaella and I came home wayyy too late last night we were really hungry and Maria Pia wasn't here, so we snuck into the fridge and ate some cheese. Only an Italian mother would be able to tell the next day that someone had eaten some of a block of cheese... but she was really upset with us today and I feel terrible. Getting guilt tripped is even worse when you have to make up half of what's being said to you. I probably made it much more dramatic than it needed to be, but food is not just food to these people. And I have now learned that you do not mess with "la cucina"--even at 3 AM when the master is away... Mental note: made.
This weekend was pretty low key. Except Friday night when we went to this outrageous super-Euro club called Central Park. Nothing really of note there except that it was full of creepy Italian dudes and hilarious foreign teenagers..oh, and this old woman who was by herself in a VIP area with a bottle of Grey Goose. Casual. But this picture of Spencer trying to steal a street sign is from the walk to the club is worth sharing. And the fact that his liquor store has a student discount...
School is still miserable, except that our Italian literature teacher is absolutely hilarious. He's super fancy and has a huge nose and big fluffy hair. I'm quite sure his name is Marco, and he reminds me of a cartoon on Nickelodeon. If there were a snobby Italian character on Doug, they would model him after Marco. And he was really on his game today, making fun of these three girls from Cyprus in my class. So that was actually pretty hilarious. Today we read the "Cantico di Frate Sole" http://www.liberliber.it/biblioteca/f/francesco_d_assisi/il_cantico_di_frate_sole/html/cantico.htm which is one of the first poems written in common Italian by St. Francis, and I really enjoyed it. Other languages tend to sound much prettier than English.. PS, I can actually understand that (or most of it, anyways) so I must have learned something in the last month. I can follow along pretty well in Mass, too! Which also sounds considerably more pretty than in English.
The past few days have just been my typical routine of going to school, napping all afternoon, and anxiously awaiting dinner.
I'm still wondering if it's possible to get sick of this food. And tonight, since I felt guilty, I ate extra. Because I'm quite sure it's the only way to ensure that an Italian mother likes you. It was like piling food on my plate was a form of penance. Much more enjoyable than 10 Hail Marys.. I'm convinced that's why she doesn't like Raffaella, who leaves on Saturday (SCORE!)
Spencer, my German friend Anna, and I are going to a coastal town called La Spezia this weekend because Anna has always wanted to go. But when I told Maria Pia we were going there she looked at me like I was nuts and asked why. Then I Googled it and there's literally nothing to do there. So...that's sweet. I hope it's more fun than it sounds like tripadvisor.com thinks it's going to be. The girl from Holy Cross who's living with me gets here on Sunday, and I'm pumped for that. Mostly because I'm definitely going to enjoy living with her more than Raffa.
Today's sandwich (#9) was tuna and parsley sauce-- serious bummer. But look at the man in front of us with a velvet scrunchie in his hair. Really, sir? There's nothing okay about that. And I don't think that the guys working at this panini shop have caught on to Spencer and me yet--even though they're the same two people every day.
I think I'm getting sick :( so I'm going to read some HP7, pretend to study some grammar, and probably hit the hay.
Amore per tutti! Va bene.
Oh! I can't believe I forgot to share this hilarious video of Spencer from the Palio. He gets horrible hiccups when he drinks sometimes...and I think he has potential to become a YouTube sensation that rivals the sneezing baby panda. Thoughts? Okay, maybe I think it's funnier than it is. But I think it's pretty damn funny.