Cominciamo

I left for Newark Airport around 3:00 on Sunday, and spent my time there hoping that I wouldn't have to sit next to the man dressed as a cat who was on line for security inspection at the same time.  The plane to Brussels left on time, and because there were empty seats the man next to me, who was not dressed as a cat, went to sit with his wife and I got some extra legroom.  During the flight I ended up meeting a classmate Alex from last spring on the plane, who was taking the same flight to Bologna from Brussels as me.  The flight went smoothly and I got some rest.  At Brussels, I found myself standing in line for customs with one of my classmates from high school on his way to Seychelles- how unlikely is that?  Our plane to Brussels, scheduled for 9:40, didn't leave until 11:30, our expected arrival time.  That flight went smoothly otherwise, and we got a glorious view of the Alps as we flew south.

(My camera works!)

We reached Bologna around noon local time (6am NJ time, 15 hours after coming to Newark Airport, for those keeping score).  Alex, who has Italian citizenship and plenty of friends and relatives everywhere, called up his Bolognese friend and we got a ride to the hotel at no cost.  Even at today's exchange rate, that's still $0.00.  The ride was fun in a death-defying sort of way; we cruised down tight alleys and dodged pedestrians, me wearing no seatbelt thanks to my massive luggage, at speeds we typically reserve for highways and NASCAR back home.  We made it to the hotel in one piece and Alex and I are sharing a room.  Apparently we have the tiniest bathroom out of all the BCSP students, with a shower floorspace about the area of this laptop.  I recall from my 2001 trip to Italy that there are 500 ways to flush a toilet here and true to form our bathroom has two different buttons, offering a flushing experience personalized to my preferences like I've never experienced.

I avoided napping and explored the local streets a bit.  There's graffiti everywhere decrying every ideology from capitalism to communism to socialism to Buddhism.  For whatever reason there's a mural of the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory across from the hotel.  There's no order to the streets or the stores; you'll find eateries tucked away in nooks and crannies that are completely invisible from the main roads, as any cars that can fit drive through the alleys with the aforementioned urgency.  Every purchase in a store is a language test.  I've successfully negotiated a Chapstick and two meals without incident, but when I went for a cell phone I stuck with the default package for the basic phone because the technical stuff went over my head, even with Alex's assistance.  The phone rings when someone calls, so I'm not worried about it.

Orientation was this morning, after ten hours of necessary sleep.  The two staff here are friendly and nice, and the other students seem fun.  I'm looking into housing now, and already have an appointment tomorrow to see a place along the southwest edge of the center-city.  (Central Bologna is surrounded by a border of roads where the walls used to be, everything within them is central-city.)  Dinner is on BCSP tonight at a nearby pizzeria.

Things are pretty crazy right now, but I figure once we've all negotiated apartment rental and filled out all the government forms, all other conversations and requirements will seem easy.