midterm break

so for the week i have off in the end of october-- i should do something right? right?

well i have a few ideas... so far- my idea would be to go to edinburgh for the weekend, of the 26-30th- see some castles and misty scotland- and maybe a pint with melissa k-p...? Then to dublin for a couple days.

... but a couple of things bother me.

1) traveling alone scares me
2) will i be able to occupy myself? and have fun alone? as much fun as with friends...?

well saying that no one wants to go with me- i kinda have to hope that i do, but traveling is also expensive- so far with planes and hostels it would be probably around 700 dollars- without food or entrance to museums etc.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Adv Graphic Design

So, some of you might already know... but the reason i am here at an art school is because I need a portfolio for applying to grad school, and wanted the resources that an art institute has to create it, with still graduating with my liberal arts degree in the spring.

I am in the adv. graphic design studio and we have just finished our first project, just an introductory thing to get to know our skill level etc.

Our class has started a blog as well, in order to keep a posting of all of our works and so we can continue to give comments to our classmates about projects throughout the semester...

the blog site is http://sacidesign.blogspot.com

- so take a look at my first project: I am near the bottom of the page. And i'll let you know when we update the site, so you can follow along with my graphic design portfolio.

more photos

so that you all know-

I went to Vinci and a couple Medici Villas the other day-- and there are photos of Vinci and the Leonardo museums we saw there on the picasa sight. Enjoy!

Blech. Being Sick in Italy.

EH.
So it seems i have contracted some awful virus/infection that has completely made me unable to hear, talk normally, or breath without wanting to cough or blow my nose. My apartmentmate Jamie i believe is the one i got it from, and since it took her about 4 days to get better, well shouldn't i feel great by now? This nyquill thing is truly getting on my nerves, however the good part to that would be the way that finally me, Meg, I am the one to get a good nights rest. or sleep. from the alcohol or whatever is in nyquill that lets you pass out for 8 hours. A flip side to the situation, but the snoring situation has not changed. When i am better i will find the energy to find some earplugs.

Being sick in italy is so different, than say when you are in the US. This also is partly dependent on the school... grr. In the us, say when I was at wheeler, if i felt sick and could barely keep my eyes open at school then i could go take a nap, talk to a teacher, and make up the work. Go home, get better. At rice, hey... you're in college now, you are a responsible adult. If you miss class. You're fault, get the lecture notes, and make sure you catch up with the professor. Here at saci, there is the most strict attendance policy. No unexcused absences, and if you are skipping for a medical reason, it has to be one that needs a doctor. So, the flu and a fever doesnt cut it. You still sit through your lectures for the week. One kid tried to go to the doctor when he had a fever earlier this week, and the guy said- haven't you heard of advil? and the poor student was just like, yeah, and i need to go rest so could you sign this and let me get some SLEEP??? So weird. I understand that studying in Italy is not a vacation, but still- if they fail their classes... it's their fault and that if a student taking say their friday classes pass/fail- I truly feel that they should be able to skip one friday in order to take a trip to Venice or Milan or Munich or Paris etc. to experience the whole studying in europe.

Ok. back to being sick.

In the US. The brands of soups vary extremely from can to carton and condensed to ready made, to add water to soup in a cup. And the price is cheap cheap cheap. Here, soup gosh darnit is expensive, and the choices range from... potato soup, ribolleta or minestrone. Not that they aren't fantastic.

And the Ribolleta is not AMAZING (florentine soup made over 3 days with bread and veggies)

but... dude. i just want some turkey or chicken soup. Some cheap BROTHY soup. How hard is that??? They don't even sell broth. So i'd have to go to the market and find scraps and boil them myself to get broth... not something i would ever do when sick.

What do the italians eat when sick you say? I am convinced that they too love brothy soup, however because they have the comfort of usually not living too far away from family, whether extended family or your parents, your relatives would be more than generous in boiling up some scraps from the smelly meat market for your sore throat and fever.

One more comment on being sick in Italia. WHERE ARE THE TISSUES???? Seriously. I was told to cross town over the bridge to find the american store- which i will NEVER go to while here to find them. So, i felt like asking this nice chinese girl working in the supermarket- so where do you buy your hankercheifs, and is there a pocket protector for the hanky from my snot?? - i know rude right...

I think a nice glass of chianti and some pasta i have in the fridge with some minestrone i bought will be a nice touch- then a movie, some reading and some nyquill. OH italy. What have you brought me. LET ME GET WELL, so I can experience the entirety of VINCI- the Home of Leonardo DiVinci (of Vinci- get it? get it?) -This weekend.

Ciao for Now...

A few things I have noticed about Italy.

Peeing. It is totally cool for guys to pee in certain alley ways. Yup, usually you will find these alley ways by noticing that you can't see the other end when looking down. These, dont even think of walking down- even without tredding down the cobblestones you can see needles lying there waiting for some other druggie to use them and contract some bad disease. But back to men, this rule especially applies at night- go ahead, gotta piss, be my guest. The idea of this is like the middle ages, but instead of throwing the bed chambers out the widow, the whole idea of the bed chamber was tossed out and peeing freely became ok.

Also, while on the topic of men, if they gotta scratch, go ahead, hold on to your... and scratch a way! OF COURSE WE DONT MIND! -- The ammount of revolting men scratching or just holding on to their privates in the street is so wrong.

BUT- to top off this topic, i then go to harassment. It's one thing if they are just annoying everyone by what they are doing, but it's completely another if they start grabbing at you instead. And what i mean by this is the ass-grabing, boob- grabbing, hair touching men that wander this city. For example, elli and I were going out to dinner, we looked nice, but not dressy- and i had to turn fast in order to get away from a guy who was trying to grab my boob! WHAT THE HELL! You would go to jail and end up with a bruised face if you did that in texas! Then we get to the restaurant, and while the waiter is showing us to our table- YIKES! Elli gets a full on butt pinch. Whatever Italian women are not completely sapping a guy for doing that and now made it possible to happen, should be ASHAMED.

That is all, I just wanted to get that out. GRR.

Photos Posted!

For those of you without the infamous facebook, i have started posting photos with picasa through my google email account...

http://picasaweb.google.com/meg.sheeley

go to the link above to check out the photos i have taken of firenze so far!

apartment pictures