Colin Penley says this post has 1,186 words in it. You have been second-handedly warned.

It's a Tuesday afternoon, and I'm on my computer in the school library. Figured I would do some blogging, not really knowing where this post is going. Let's see... what has been going on lately? Well, I've planned my trip down to Calabria. I booked a hostel in Praja and a hotel in Riace, and I should really go buy train tickets soon. The hotel in Riace is the same hotel that I had booked for me and Dan last April that we never ended up reaching. Being an asshole, I never called them to let them know. So this time, I called and told them the dates I wanted and the type of room I wanted. They asked for my phone number, but not my name. They called me later, and I told them again what type of room I wanted and this time they asked for my name. Then they asked me if I didn't already try to book one of their rooms last April... um, yeah, sorry about that. They asked me to send them a fax with the dates and the type of room that I wanted (wait, haven't we been over this? twice?), so the next day I was able to do that at the super-cheep internet place on Via Garibaldi. Hopefully that all went through and they don't hate me!
I don't exactly have much of a plan for when I get there. Hopefully I'll make it to the Museum in Reggio di Calabria where the Bronzi di Riace are kept. They're two big bronze statues from the fifth century BCE that were found in the waters near Riace in the seventies. The hostel said that it can find things for you to do in the National Park, so I hope to spend a day or two hiking. With any luck, I will remember my camera and y'all can see pretty, pretty pictures!
What else is new? I finally took an exam! Linguistics. I took the written at 9:00am, then came back at noon to wait for the oral portion. We didn't get through everybody during that time slot, so I had to come back at 4:30. I was out by 5:30. So, that's eight and a half hours to take an exam, only about seventy-five minutes of which were spent actually taking the exam. My efforts on the written part earned me 27 out of 30 points, and then with the oral I recovered the last three for a perfect 30! *pats self on back* For the oral, you had to prepare a topic and then be ready to answer a few questions that the Professor asks you at random. The topic I chose was Sign Languages, and how they are actual "storico-naturali" languages, not just purely iconic mimicry. I had a lot of information to relate and did so not exactly eloquently - I basically blurted out all my points in random order without connecting one to the other, or making any transitions whatsoever - but the professor seemed impressed anyway. Hopefully I can do as well on the next three! Although I'm possibly going to have some problems with my theatre exam, since the book that I chose to read for it still hasn't arrived. I ordered it on May 3. Yeah, a month. Yesterday, I sent a stern e-mail to the bookstore ("Melbookstore" - I kid you not) asking if they could give me an exact date of arrival, or could direct me to a place or phone number so that I could go get the book myself, and that if the book didn't arrive in due time, I would be asking for my deposit back. (It was three euros, but it's the principle of the thing, man!) So, if I don't get that book I'm going to have to pick a new one that's actually in the school library and get it photocopied so I can read it by next week. Erp. Cutting it close, I know, I know! But y'all know me - I live dangerously!
Speaking of dangerous living, I found theatre people! One night last week I went to use the internet at the location that's further from my house, but has a slightly better signal, since I was so pissed off about constantly losing signal the night before. Anywho, as I was arriving, I noticed that the door to the CTU (University's theatre center) was open, and the light was on. I poked my head in the door, which lead me to a courtyard. Inside the building itself, there was music, and people shouting and moving. Clearly, theatre was a-foot! I lingered in the courtyard until a girl came out of the building. I promptly accosted her, asking what was going on here at this hour (getting close to midnight). She said that their rehearsal had just ended, and so I wouldn't be disturbing if I went in. So, nervously, I did. I introduced myself to the people who were milling around, including the director, who told me that they were putting on an Aristophanes play (Thesmophoriazousai, I think, but they were using a different title - women at the Senate, or something like that? Anna, help me out here). Then I awkwardly stood in a corner while everyone else was gathered back together by the director so that he could give a little talk and set the time for the next rehearsal. They all bickered and teased, and it made me smile to know that theatre people in Italy really aren't much different from theatre people in the USA.
Then after people really started to get going, one of the guys, Nicola, asked me if I wanted to come out with a group of them - they wanted to get a bite to eat, and since it was Wednesday, the "going out" night for Ferrara, they figured they'd make a night of it. So, I tagged along! We first went to this place that I had heard of, but had never been able to find before, where you can play cards and board games while you eat. Apparently they had run out of food, so we decided to find another place. We ended up at a piadina stand near the walls, and then worked our way towards Da Settimo, but never actually made it inside, since one of the girls decided to park herself on the ground a few meters away. So, we just stood there, talking and joking until we decided it was time for bed. Nicola and I exchanged phone numbers, and he walked me part of the way back home. He said he would call me for an aperitivo with the group on Sunday, but that never ended up happening, so he said he'd call me the next time.
Being aware of the fact that I'm leaving in a month, I still think that it's worthwhile to develop these friendships, even if they might not last. I don't want to give up before I've crossed the finish line. I mean, isn't this all part of the journey?