I got back from my summer study in Italy. There was so much that happened that I'm not even sure where to begin...
I left my house Thursday June 11th at 7am and didn't arrive until Friday June 12th at 9pm (so 3pm East Coast Time). When I arrived, soaking wet from sweat, (the 5 hour train ride from Rome was in a train car without air conditioning, and it was at least 90 degrees outside) I was told that a room in the Bed and Breakfast I was supposed to be staying at was not available until Monday. I burst into tears and something was found in another establishment temporarily. When I was moved into where I was supposed to stay it was into the owner's childrens' room, at first sans children until one night when I was told and not asked to share a room with them. This situation in combination with being sexually harassed by the staff and owner's son made studying difficult. And so I left after being repeatedly told that I would get my own room and never being given one.
I went to my friend Chelsea's apartment (she was renting a room temporarily from an Italian woman). There the owner suggested that I stay with her, like Chelsea, temporarily. Being tired and always wanting what seems like the easiest situation, I agreed. This ended up being another bad decision, as it turned out the woman had no plans of welcoming Chelsea and I into her home, and instead desired to charge us as much money as possible, not give me a key, and then yell at Chelsea and another girl living there when I went out with them, saying that they were not allowed to associate with me unless they asked her permission first. I left for a friend's family apartment in La Spezia, and Chelsea decided to leave as well. This ended with the woman chasing Chelsea and her boyfriend and myself out of the apartment (even though we had paid in full, she wanted additional money from Chelsea), the only thing missing was a banjo playing in the background. She was able to hit, pinch, kick, and bite Chelsea's boyfriend when he went back for the rest of the suitcases.
Following these episodes I stayed with a friend in La Spezia, then family in France. I had to return to Pisa to continue my studies and so Chelsea and I ended up spending the last half of our studies in a campsite outside the city. There we met lots of other people and made lots of friends. At least the trip ended well. And I even found something from Holland...
Hopefully, it'll be able to make its way through customs to me. ; )
