End of Week the First

Today was a great day!

Well, actually today was pretty rough. (Stick with me here).

I wrote down all the reasons that I was having a bad day to remind myself that they were all temporary:

- I was missing my family and friends because I had no internet access.

- It’s rained every day since I’ve gotten to Italy. (Not only have the gray days had an adverse effect on my mood, but they’ve kept me from exploring Sala Baganza, or taking Fillipo to the park, or being warm…ever.)

- I haven’t had a hairdryer. (Silly this might seem, but it’s no fun looking like I just had a run-in with a violent curling iron.)

Then, this evening Pamela took me out to Collechio (a tiny town of 5,000 that still manages to out-populate Sala Baganza), and I bought a cord with an Italian plug for my laptop, a hairdryer, and a mobile phone. This one:

So I have internet access now! Huzzah! I only made it though the last few internet-less days knowing that the end was near. Indeed, the only reason you’re reading these words right now, oh two readers, is because of said internet access! And though my hair will still look like devastasione because of the miserable weather, I’m one step closer to fitting through doorways. I bought the phone at the request of my host family – with the exception of Charlotte(!!), there is no one for me to call except the family. I might be able to use an international calling card to call my family, but I could do that on a landline just as easily. However, I like to think that when I make buttloads of friends in Italy, I’ll need the mobile phone to keep up with my active social life.

Alas! The internet has only brought me pain and suffering! Not only is NO ONE online, but my access to my favorite tv shows is unavailable to those outside the U.S.! What misery these poor Europeans much experience every day! Oh, Lost and 30 Rock … don’t miss me too much – I will return to you one day. Maybe not for a while, or maybe via illegal downloading routes, but I swear I will return! [In fairness, Charlotte had warned me about Hulu.com not being accessible from outside the U.S., but my mind protected me from the horrible truth as long as possible. Thank you, mind.]

So, check this out: I just got internet and have a lot of back blogs to post. I’m going to post them under the date they were originally posted, so check back and scroll down or you will miss a good chunk of my adventures thus far. I posted this current one because it’s important to me that you know what I’m doing right now and that I’m happy.