January 16, 2009

            I could not sleep last night. I put my ear plugs in and an eye mask over my eyes, but I could not shut my eyes. I felt them open under the eye mask. My eyes were burning they were so tired, but they would not close. This is scaring me because I want to sleep, but I have not been able to these past two nights living here. The bed is very hard and it hurts my back. I guess I will just get used to this kind of lifestyle, minus the loss of sleep. I have to go to class today from 10-4p.m. I will try to walk there this time without getting lost. My host mother said that she wants to walk with me on the bus, but I am trying to tell her that I want to walk. The neighbor said she does not have time and can not walk because it hurts her to walk far. Today I will walk with her to the bus if she insists on coming, but tomorrow I am walking by myself! I told her that I already got lost, so now I will probably find my way back.

            When I took a shower at 7:00a.m., I did not know how to use the bath/shower. There is no hook to make it a shower; there is just a hand wash sprayer and a metal cord. I turned on the water and it sprayed me. Then I found out how to make it a bath by pressing a knob downward. I then took a bath with the sprayer to wash my hair. I looked around and saw no soap. I saw a bottle of something but I could not read it! It said “Dove” on it, which was the brand, but I could not make out if it was shampoo or body wash…I just put it in my hair. I am going to see today where there is a store so I can buy some shampoo and conditioner. Oh and when I got out of the bathtub, I used their towels and they are very small and hard. I wonder how they wash their clothes because the fabric was very crunchy and stiff. Okay, it is 8:00a.m., I am going to go eat breakfast with my Italian mother.

            I just finished eating my second breakfast. When I sat down I saw wet mushy eggs that were scrambled, but not all the way. I did not want to eat them because then she would think that I liked them like that, but I do not. So I tried to tell her to cook more, and she understood, but they came back almost the same. I told her again that when she cooks them later I would like them cooked a lot. I think she understood. I ate a biscotti piece that tasted so good like cinnamon and chocolate! She poured me café con latte which is coffee and milk. I put a little bit of sugar in it and made it a cappuccino. I also ate two oranges, two little pieces of toast, and milk with corn flakes. It seams like a lot, but I did not eat the eggs, and the items are much smaller in Italy than in America. I also told her I was too full to finish the orange and that I will have it later. I showed her that I will keep it in the fridge for when I go to school. I think she understands…