il dieciotto di septiembre

Holy hell I can't believe it's already the 18th of September. Where is time going?! I've almost been here for two months. That's outrageous. I mean, in a way it feels like I just got here, but I guess it also seems like I've been here forever. Wow, really articulate, Lauren. Don't quit your day job.
Things are still great. The "quiet/detox" week didn't work out as planned (obviously). I'm wondering whether or not I ever believed that it would. haha. Monday was Kristen's host father's birthday party. He was turning 46. Sounds like a nice, quiet night, right? Except that he might actually be the most insane man I've ever met. His name is Paolo, and he came to raaaaaage. It was hilarious! Her house is full of exchange students from all over, and he asked them to invite all of their friends. There was a lot of free alcohol and a lot of American 20-year-olds. I'll let you take it from here. Basically, before we left the house Paolo had both Spencer and myself under each arm and we were screaming the song "We Are the Champions". (Side note: Paolo doesn't speak a word of English. The only phrase he knows is "Don't worry. Be happy." So, his interpretation of Queen lyrics was preeeeeeety stellar). He also knows how to get down, funky man. As you can see. The rest of that night was hilarious--we proceeded to a place called the Shot Cafe where Paolo bought rounds of shots that were on fire...then to a creepy club, where I'm pretty sure we were the only patrons. It was, after all, a Monday. Spencer was grinding on Paolo's wife. Tutto va bene.
Tuesday and Wednesday were super boring because we were trying to behave ourselves. I went on some solid runs. (Please note: this doesn't mean I'm not still gaining weight at an alarming rate). But we were literally going stir crazy by Thursday, so we decided to go out to dinner together. There's this pizza place across the river called Dante's Pizzeria and wine is free for students. So...it's obviously our favorite. It was a fun night. Last night was pretty standard. Buuuut detox week actually just became detox Tuesday and Wednesday. Level of surprise: low.
University starts next Monday. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I'm taking museologia--yes, the study of museums. What? I doubt I could understand most of this course in English. Trying to decipher lectures in Italian is going to be a blast. Ha! Which reminds me: we took a test yesterday in language class and out of 30 points I received an "insufficient". While she was grading the tests our sassy ass teacher Maria Cristiana took off her glasses, set down her pen and said "How does anyone miss 16 out of 21 questions in one section? I don't understand. Go get coffee I need time to think." I'll give you two guesses as to who in our class missed 16/21. You probably don't need 2. I'm a ra-tard. But my speaking is actually getting a lot better. Grammar just isn't my thing I guess... woops.
I wish I had more pictures to share. This week wasn't much of a funny picture week. I wanted to take a picture of my miserably failed test, but we had to turn it back in... Have I ever discussed Maria Cristiana? I don't think I have. She's out of control; she's like 65. She only wears Dolce and Gabana pants and belly shirts, and she has white hair down to her butt and she wears outrageously huge diamond rings and has SO MUCH ATTITUDE. However, she also strongly resembles Dobby the House Elf. This was brought to my attention by two of the HC kids who were here last year, but now that I've been enlightened I can't get over it. I drew a picture of her in class on Friday. It's not a bad representation if I do say so myself.
I miss and love you all! Va bene!