I have an aversion to being productive during the summer...

I have been far too lazy over the past few days - laying around the house while the 20 or so boxes and suitcases I have from moving back to San Diego for the summer sit, unpacked, in my room.

But instead of achieving productivity through unpacking, I have decided to focus on my upcoming trip to Italy. Which brings me to the main point of this post:I need to start learning some Italian.

You know, just a few key words to get me around the airport and the bus station before I get to Tuscany in a few months. While the whole point of my studying abroad is to learn the language, I am still a bit apprehensive about dropping myself in the middle of a foreign country without knowing how to say anything aside from "Ciao!".

I have an interactive Italian language CD/DVD (something similar to Rosetta Stone) that has been sitting on my desk since Christmas time. Every time I look at it, the linguist in me wakes up and I get a rush of excitement at the thought of learning Italian, but then comes this feeling of extreme guilt because in all honesty I know I probably won't ever break from my lazy summer routine to use the CD...

Oh well, even if I don't start learning the language now, I'll just have to use the country of Italy as my classroom - which is really one of the best ways to learn a language.

Alright, the sun is shining outside and I best go enjoy it.

Ciao!

Don't question my drinking habits (or lack thereof...)

I haven't posted a new blog in a while, and I have a very good reason: school and study abroad forms are slowly sucking my soul right out of me.

Aside from running around trying to get all my school work done, I've been frantically trying to turn in all necessary paper work to my Education Abroad Program (EAP) office. I will be studying abroad in Siena (Tuscany) in Italy for the entire next school year. As excited as I am to go, I am not excited by the crazy amounts of paper work I have to do.

Today I had to go into the doctor's office on campus to get my health clearance. Basically I just had to fill out a health questionnaire and have them take my vital signs so they can make sure I'm healthy enough to travel.

I didn't think this would be a problem at all, but upon filling out the questionnaire, I came across the question "How many alcoholic beverages do you consume on average per week?" I answered zero.

Now this is a completely honest answer. I may go to the biggest party school in southern California, but I do not drink. There are multiple reasons as to why I don't, but the main reason is that I suspect I have an allergy to alcohol. I get sick almost every time I try to drink any sort of alcoholic beverage. So i tend to avoid the stuff.

But, this being Santa Barbara, the nurse takes one look at my questionnaire and says to me "and you're sure you filled out everything truthfully?" ...like its not obvious what she's hinting at.

"Yes, I'm sure," I say. Do they want me to say I drink copious amounts of alcohol? I would imagine that would create more problems for them.

She looks at my paper again and says "so, you haven't suffered any severe illnesses in the past year?"
"No."
"And you drink...how many drinks per week?"
"None."
"...Alright. Lets go take your vitals then."

I know this isn't a huge problem, but its just so disheartening that due to my surroundings, people don't believe me when I say I don't drink.

Anyways, my new camera finally got to see some daylight today! I'll post some pictures soon! :)