PB&J tastes like America!

So first, you don't have to write it down or anything, just think about it, and I'll explain at the end.....1- If you were an animal what animal would you be?2-Whats your favorite animal?3-Whats your least favorite animal?4-When you look at the Sea, how do you feel? Maybe think about this one a little.

by the way, I'm watching The Holiday right now dubbed in Italian....haha

Milano
I went to Milan to see Leigh and it was great! We had a lot of fun and I really feel like I got to know Milan some in my short visit. Its a pretty big city with a faster pace. Leigh has to take the subway to class, which I kind of was getting the hang of. It was my first solo travel excursion though and I think that was good for me. There are about 100 people in her program so we had a large group to go out with and on Sat. we went to Lake Como which even in the rain was gorgeous. I didn't find George Clooney though. We ate Chinese one night which was great and I also had several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches b/c Leigh found inexpensive PB in an international food store in Milan. Coming home to Siena was good too, I'm starting to subconsciously call Siena home, which is a good sign I think that I feel comfortable here. Oh and I saw a white German shepherd as I was leaving Milan! A good sign I think.

Pictures- http://picasaweb.google.com/melaniebeth.martin

Other News-
I have midterms next week which I don't think will be too awful, the most difficult will probably be Italian, but our professor is pretty great. We have fun in class just talking, it Italian of course. Two hour classes are still killing me, but oh well- I may be volunteering at a children's hospital Thurs. and I found some dance classes, but I haven't been able to try that out yet either. I have taken to reading the international news a lot which I wonder if I can get that paper at home? Probably-I read the newspaper for like an hour today, I'm probably way more informed than I usually am at home even. I also like BBC -I feel like its just less bias generally on everything. I read about candidates not disclosing medical information, which I am surprised people in the US aren't all that worried about because McCain is old, and evidently hasn't had the best health history, there is a lot of stress involved in being president and thats not so good for your health...I mean he could die, its somthing we should think about, and Biden too even, he doesn't have the best medical record- so I guess Nancy Pelosi is a possibility, if I have my line of office correct. I hope nothing happens to them, I mean its highly unlikely they have the best medical care I'm sure, but its just somthing to think about.

EU class animal game!
Did you answer the questions at the top?
Today before EU class, we were being silly and playing the whole choose what animal people would be and why game, and the professor walks in and is like what are you doing? So we finally succeed in explaining the game to her (she doesn't speak English well) and I guess b/c we had time today b/c we were reviewing for the midterm, she took the game really seriously and thought about it then said what animals each of us would be. She said I would be a soft house cat with long hair...haha, there was a deer (she didn't now the word in English so she described as Bambi), a koala, a Bermese mountain dog(which they call st. Bernard, but its not-it took us awhile to figure out what she meant), a panther, and my favorite, she said one of the boys reminded her of the lemurs that dance on the film Madagascar. We then talked about astrology because she had taken a class about it and she thought that our game was good b/c maybe there was more to it than just being silly. She said she took a psych quiz once and it asked the questions listed above among other things. It was supposed to be, whatever animal you choose for yourself, contains characteristics that you would like other people to see in you. Your favorite animal's characteristics are your favorite characteristics in people and same with the least favorite. What ever it is you feel about the sea, is how you feel about love. I thought it was interesting. Its just a game obviously, but it kind of works.

Italian Government
We also talked at the end of class about government and she asked us about some things she didn't get about the US. We tried to explain electoral college to her, which was kind of a disaster, seeing as how its tough to explain to Americans in English even. We stayed away from politics mostly b/c our class is pretty mixed and I think it was best...but it was interesting to just even hear her questions. Italians evidently think that its strange that we put so much weight on the moral integrity of politicians, she didn't understand why in the world we all cared so much about the whole Monica and Clinton fiasco. Then she went on to tell us about how Berlusconi has all kinds of mistresses and everyone knows about it. His wife also has a lover who is the mayor of Venice or something and everyone knows...haha. She thought it was a good thing though that we cared at all and that you'd be hard pressed to find any moral person at all in Italian government. She also thought it was cool that we knew so much about it and said she didn't think young Italians cared enough about politics, which is interesting b/c currently there is an intense protest going on in Siena and at other schools in Italy b/c they are thinking of making some public schools private because the government doesn't have the money to properly fund schools. University of Siena also particularly has quite a lot of debt right now because of tax fraud, its a big mess. The students are obviousl angry b/c if they make schools private, much fewer students would be able to afford an education, which a smaller population of educated people is not what Italy needs in this tight economic time I don't think. Students are all about protesting here. Most young people I have talked to hate berlusconi at least and know about the US election even. I think I said it before but I can't stress it enough, EVERYONE in the World is watching the US right now on the edge of their seats. We don't realize how much influence we have on the tone of world politics. It still surprises me every time. Its so hard to see that everyone is staring at you when your on the inside going about your business. Just keep that in mind when you vote please....
ciao ciao!

Silly questions-
1- I probably would have choosen cat for myself too- curious, inteligent (unless their names are Tess) independent, but in the end, if I feel like it I like to cuddly up somewhere soft- plus I mean I need a lot of sleep
2- I don't have a favorite, but I love the loyalty of dogs and their simple happiness I think, I appreciate the inteligence of an animal at the same time though
3- Probably some sort of scavenger or violent animal
4- The sea to me is calm and tranquil but at the same time it reminds me how small and insignificant I am and it is exciting and terrifying and relieving at the same time to feel so powerless. The sea is so vast and everchanging, moving and living, yet its so solid and steadfast in its existance. Looking at the Sea makes me feel like I'm one with somthing much bigger than myself.