An unexpected adventure...

This was typed last night (Sunday), but since there is limited internet, I am now sitting in a dark stairwell, two floors up, typing at midnight (Monday/Tuesday)…you’d better enjoy…

So as an end to our first weekend, the Florida Residency had a little soiree ala fresco…basically an ice cream social outside. Nothing fancy, but a fun chance to meet the neighbors. There were also quirky little door prizes, including cutlery and kitchen utensils courtesy of the “housing’s extra stash”, objects that were found through tedious dumpster dives, and random other goodies. I managed to get my hands on a doozie…a tube of white acrylic paint. Doesn’t sound useful to you?…well who won’t need to worry about investing in white toothpaste to patch wall holes in the spring? That’s right…score!

Meanwhile, while I was enjoying myself, across the street, I guess Kadie and Thuli were “studying”…I really have no idea what was going on…Anywho, it was late/dark, so they asked me when I was done to walk Kadie home (a 15 minute walk uphill through some crazy streets…). I agreed, but on our way, we bumped into this Italian student (who shall remain nameless, per his request). This is the kinda stuff that probably freaks out the parents…He has a car, and asked if we’d like a ride…of course, we were up for it (this sounds like we were kidnapped or something, but trust me, it was alright – we knew him well…don’t freak out…mom). Anyways, we got into his car, and he made the decision that we shouldn’t let this beautiful night go to waste, so he insisted to drive us up Mount Bre (if you aren’t familiar, google this thing – get the nighttime mental image). Keep in mind, too, that he’s Italian…a crazy “get outta my way” driver…it was insane! There was sort of that pre-vomiting feeling present…not that we were going to throw up, but the presence was definitely there. Curve after curve, old person after cat, we kept climbing and climbing…and then we got to this big neon sign that we could see from our school (looking a lot smaller from down there). It was about 2/3 up the mountain, but still served us one of the best, breathtaking views of the Lugano area. Tiny lights were all around this giant lake. He pointed out sights that we had previously heard about, and wanted to take us further up. We got back in, started climbing again, but much to our dismay, the road was closed. He explained that the owners of a restaurant at the top close this now at night due to some rambunctious (great word – everybody try using it today) college students coming up there and drugging it up…It is people like that (clearly from my school) that make a bad name for us in this city (see previous entry for more of an explanation). In any case, we saw some fantastic views on the way back down. He invited us on more of these outing, Thuli and he connected on a “spiritual” level, and Kadie and I rode in freight, nearly soiled, in the back. We finally came to our senses (aka the mound of reading that awaited us all) and headed back to earth.

It’s these types of instances, not all of the readings or lectures, which make for great college experiences. Anyone can get a college education, but incidents like this…not everyone can be so lucky. (sorry for getting all Disney Channel on you…it needs to be done once in a while!)

Phew…now that that’s down, its time for my reading… Sunday, 11:54pm…