in case you wanted to know

why i don't like watching television or movies: what i always wanted to say but never knew how to say it well. thanks to someone else for writing it.

"Much of today's television entertainment shows an unhealthy preoccupation with sex, coarse humor and foul language. Essentially lazy and indulgent entertainment does nothing for our society and will never nourish great minds. Parents who are casual about their viewing habits ought not to be surprised if teaching moral choices and civic values to their children becomes harder as a result."

i'm pretty funny.

i was all alone this morning eating breakfast and i thought of something that made me laugh out loud for about eight minutes. not really that long, but i did laugh out loud.

this one time, i was out to dinner at the bombay house. we were a huge group, and i only knew about half of the people because it was friends of friends of friends. we were having a great time. at one point i was thirsty, so i reached for the water pitcher and poured the rest of the water into my glass. in a few seconds i realize that the water pitcher is still in front of me, and i am holding my friend ryan's glass. i had dumped ryan's water into my own glass, and all he did was watch me.

i laughed pretty hard then. how embarrassing. and i laugh out loud every time i think of it.

the end.

buon primo giorno di primavera!

my life is amazing. ha.

friday. train station. cremona. i see this kid with an old-man hat on. a paperboy hat. i find him reasonably adorable, minus the horrible backpack, and when he walks by me i look right at him instead of looking away. that's my new favorite game: italians stare, i stare right back. he seemed interesting and i really wanted to talk to him, but, ya know. then we are waiting for the same transfer at the fidenza station. he looks at me as i walk past and i don't look back, i just laugh. he's standing near me and i am trying so hard to not just laugh out loud. then i'm behind him as we're getting on the train, and he has trouble opening the door. i say: "sei capace?" (are you capable of opening the door?) then walk past him and choose a seat hoping he'll sit near me, but his friend has already gone ahead and scelto a seat. but as he walks past he looks at me again and i say "chi sei che mi guardi così?" who are you to be looking at me like that? he responds "sei tu che mi stai guardando!" it's YOU who's looking at ME! and i object, and he introduces himself as emanuele and calls his friend alessio over to sit with us. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. i'm a clever sly figliola. and the mission was worth it, he was one of the most interesting and spiritoso (witty/clever) and adorable italians i've met. instacrush. a few minutes later i pulled out the secret to my most recent social success: the old man hat ("coppola," after francis ford) that i'd stolen from shawna that morning. it looked like his. "ecco perché mi stavi guardando!" oh, so that's why you were watching me. the friendship begins. this kid is SO funny, he uses the latin word "ergo" in place of the italian word "quindi" (so, therefore) and anyway was just entertaining. then he tried to exchange coppolas with me--oh would i have wanted to if mine weren't actually shawna's. his argument: look, would you rather have this "made in sri lanka" one or this one, "originale italiano." he took mine and wore it, and put his on me, and announced that he would wear mine until they got off the train. shawna was glad i didn't trade. his friend studies in crema so guess what, i have new friends. they invited me to go to lecce, in puglia, the very heel of the italian boot, so i will probably go when alessio goes does to vote election weekend, 12 hours by night train, april 7-10. i LOVE southern italians. they are enchanting. there's a certain italian racism here... the northern italians, proud of their industrialized, wealthier society, call the southerners by the derogative "terrone", land worker with negative implications. it really frustrates me because all my favorite italians have been from the south. they're so friendly, funny, generous--and they have this rich accent and speak using the passato remoto (which until speaking with alessio i had only read in the libro di mormon, never heard someone use it in conversation).

i had a really good weekend. starting with above account. shawna went to vienna and i couldn't bear the thought of being in that one-room apartment alone, so i went to rimini, san marino, and ravenna. rimini is the legendary summer dirty beach getaway... the italians think i went during the wrong season but it was perfect for me--a dock, a place to sleep before going to the republic of san marino. san marino is, evidently, a separate country. you can get a passport stamp and visitor visas but i forgot because i was too busy climbing towers and exploring castles. and i met some guy who lives in taormina, one of the most coveted vacation destinations in italy--sicily--so shawna and i will probably go back to catania in may.

i'm coming into this whole speaking italian thing. i feel comfortable speaking and listening in casual conversation. especially when i am not with the drunk boys.

okay so my life isn't as amazing as i had hoped. last night new friend alessio (sadly emanuele stays at home to study) and his bergamasco friend angelo took me and shawna to a concert in milano. before meeting angelo's other friends, they pulled out--guess what--a little drug we call marijuana. so apparently i have to choose between drinking boys and pot-smoking boys. it was pretty weird. i didn't know people did that after the age of 15. i wanted to click my heels and say "there's no place like provo." i'm pretty sure my friends at byu don't smoke weed :) people are pretty respectful though, i think if i ask them not to they won't when i'm around. it really annoys me when smart, interesting people do stupid things and then use "we are young, we need to have fun" as their excuse. i think my life would be ruined if they got caught while i am with them... police...

anyway. paola's nice alice (say ah-LEE-chay) is active in volunteer/religious stuff so this weekend i might go with her to swim or play with disabled kids. yay, ha.

i don't have to teach today or tomorrow. i should do something fun. i had plans to shop for a friend's bday present and then read in the park until i woke up and it was raining. happy first day of spring.

io vado. ciao belli,
savanna

se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore

--that is the title of the next book i am going to read, and i'm really excited. i have found that it's really easy for me to read in italian, as long as it's not the newspaper. the author is italo calvino, and i have already read one of his books, albeit a very short one, because we had to read it in italian 201. so i already conosco his style. apparently each chapter of this book is a different opening to the same novel. or something. and each time it is in a different setting. how about i let you know.

today after lessons i am zooming over to the train station... i am going to sleep in rimini tonight, see san marino tomorrow (the world's oldest and smallest republic? a city composed of three castles on a cliff 1000 meters tall. population 26,000), and then go to ravenna, city of mosaics, saturday afternoon and sunday. it's pretty far away but i really need to get out this weekend and see the ocean. i realized that i am drawn to visit cities that are near to large bodies of water :)

yesterday i got a great email, the kind that should lift my spirits for at least a week. man that was a good email.

oh, and the byu travel office è riuscito a change my airplane ticket, so i won't be forced to come home at the end of march. june 6 is the official return date, which i assure you will not change again. i have so much to do before then! two and a half months. not much time.

by the way--if anyone is looking to sell a summer-only housing contract, i'm in the market. i want to pay around 150. i'm thinking condo row maybe, except for the parking problem there.

i just bought a one-way ticket to paris for the evening after the day i finish work. 36 euros. ryanair is incredible... as long as you don't have to bring anything with you.

io vado... tante cose da fare... lezioni da insegnare... città da vedere... treni da non perdere...

sava

i am angry right now so i am going to write an angry entry.

things i hate.

-NUMBER ONE: when people refuse to establish a system of what is right and wrong and instead make choices based on self-satisfaction and popular sentiment.
-lack of ambition
-depending on other people for things i need--ride to church, changing my plane ticket, money, changing my graduation date
-hearing people who know little about government talk about politics
-cynicism
-the practice of cigarette smoking: why??? because you like it?
-back to number one: choose some principles and live them!
-continuing above: so you advocate a system of individuality and "be yourself" and blah blah blah while at the same time you refuse to establish any principles that would set you apart as different from everyone else!?
-the criticism of another's tastes: if you don't like what i am making for myself for lunch, cosa ci entra?! it's not you who's going to eat it!
-the criticism of another's tastes: the only reason you say you don't like it is you are BORING and never try anything new.
-television. other forms of entertainment. most of the time, anyway. they don't do anything for you.
-when my friends don't write me back
-nostalgia attacks :)
-boring people
-the infamous lateness of the italian train system that causes problems bigger than itself
-being away from people i care about

one thing i love:
la conferenza nazionale dei giovani adulti non sposati, pescara, fine aprile.
national conference of young single adults... all the little italian mormons together for a few days in a city on the sea down south. can't wait.

things i would write about if i felt like writing

have gone on a few trips since last writing about vienna. i should write about them right now but i'm not moved by the idea. let's just say that every new italian city i see i declare is my favorite, but i guess that can't be true. except milan, i don't like milan.

catania (that's in sicily.)
torino (olympics. curling match.)
venice (carnevale. new boots. spent way too much money.)
bologna (oldest university in the world, a sweet tower.)

stupid exchange rates in europe trick you into thinking you are spending about 80% of what you really spend.

i decided, for the eighteenth time, what master's program i want to do. this time it's an international relations MA (this doesn't change that often) with johns hopkins. they have a center in bologna, and i absolutely love bologna, and if i study a lot for the GRE i might be able to get in. my GPA is high enough for sure but my economics experience is weak. i totally want to live in bologna for a year. i don't really like italian education and this program is american-style. yes! the problem is that johns hopkins is one of the best IR schools in the world and getting in would be tough, but i have promises from two professors for the kind of recommendation letters that would get me into a school like that.

tonight if i can get a ride from my argintine family or if i can take the bus i am going to milan for a fireside and games with the church kids. we'll see. if not it appears i will be staying here with the drunk boys. ooooooh fun...