In Italia!

I have been in Italy for less than 12 hours but I’ve already learned quite a bit:

1.     Make sure you get on a long flight before the person next to you does. Because they will be overweight and they will have the armrest up.

2.     You shouldn’t wear heeled boots to travel in. Really? I had to come all the way here to learn that one the hard way.

3.     I should have done some serious upper body workouts pre-departure. I think my arms will be sore for a week from carrying luggage.

4.     Your Eurostar ticket does in fact have a seat number, contrary to what I thought apparently.

5.     When you sit in the wrong seat, someone will (kindly) kick you out saying it is his seat. You will then have to carry all your luggage through four carriages as they call them because you will have arrived too late to walk outside the train to get to your correct carriage. Dripping. Sweat.

6.     Fifty degrees and raining? Tropical weather to me. Doesn’t seem that way for Italians. Floor length fur coats.

7.     Old-fashioned elevators do not open the doors themselves.  You must do this. And when you don’t get out at your floor, it will go back down to the first floor where you will see the man who helped you get on the elevator in the first place. You will then have to say, “Oh, I must have forgotten to get off.” And press floor 3 again, this time opening the doors when you get there.

8.     A “double bed” really means two twin beds pushed together. You will notice this when laying in the center and the beds separating and you falling between.

9.     Mineral water is not spring water.  

Okay, so it hasn’t exactly been the easiest travel day.  But I’ve also learned how willing people are to help.  I met the nicest brother and sister at the end of my flight into Rome who I followed to get the train to get to Termini (the main train station in Rome).  They were so kind of helpful; I’d probably still be in Rome if it weren’t for them.  The little bit of Italy I have seen is beautiful (bet you haven’t heard that one).  One of the girls in my program is staying at the same hotel as me, so we went to dinner, and by dinner I mean the first place that we could find that served any sort of food.  Actually, we passed McDonalds and Best Chinese Ristorante, so it wasn’t exactly the first, but close.  I think I had a ham sandwich. I won’t start bragging about the food yet, I could have eaten anything at that point and thought it was delicious.  When I have more sensitive taste buds I’ll let you know how the food really is.  We’re headed to the villa in the morning, which is when I’ll be posting this since I don’t have Internet here.  I’ll update after orientation!

Ciao!