Day 3 – Thursday, August 31

Today started with a roar. A loud roar, when Matt woke up and yelled something at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason. We didn’t really know what to say to him, so we just went back to sleep. Ahhh… the awkwardness of new friendships forged not by the burning desire to know one another, but the lack of space at Santa Chiara. Truly a sight to behold.
You’ll have to excuse my sarcastic banter today. I want things to be better and I keep telling myself they will be at some point, but I want it to happen now, not a month from now.
You see, to understand my entirely awkward situation, you have to know who I generally hang out with. I enjoy the company of real people who care more about the people around them than they do themselves. The majority of the people here, in fact all of them save the non-architecture majors, are already the best of friends from semesters past. They all sit together during lectures and often ate together back at the Station of College. And over here, naturally, they are the same way. This clique of people is damn near impenetrable. I’ve introduced myself tons of times, I’ve tried my stupid humor, I’ve laughed at their ridiculously unfunny jokes, all in an attempt to gain myself one foothold of respect and, much more importantly, friendship around here.
But everyone is friends with everyone else already. They don’t need me to come with them or do anything with really. I’m just the guy that came to Italy and doesn’t really know anybody, which is precisely what I didn’t want happening.
The one exception is Rachel, and I see her as my little step into this fortress of friends. Although I still hardly know her, but desperately want to, she talks with me and actually gives me the time of day. The trouble is that she, as you may have guessed, is a girl, which means she lives way away from me and has 20 other girls to talk to, again eliminating the need for me. Her best friend Mattie, also of the fairer sex, stays with her constantly, which is cool because, even though I know nothing more than the name of this girl, she seems to be really nice and actually not as much a part of the Fellowship. So maybe if I can get to both of them, and maybe if they both enjoy hanging out with me, I can crack the group down and get in there.
As far as the country I’m in, we didn’t really do tons of stuff today. We got up early, thanks to the snoring and roaring, and I went for a walk, something my legs are regretting. Honestly, some of the hills around here are almost 45 degree inclines, which is ridiculous for a street where people walk. 12 to 1 ratio my butt.
Anyway, the walk was really nice and it was interesting to see the area in a different light, as well as finding places on my own. The town is truly beautiful but it is going to take quite a while to understand the layout. I got lost today for about an hour and a half. But it was kinda fun.
We then had a “class” where we learned about the center and stuff like that, and then off to “studio” where I met up with the famous Peter Lang and fell back into that old routine. That class should be the “moneymaker” so to speak, as studios throw people together and make them work, no matter what social standing. Another reason I think I’m “shunned” is due to the age difference between us. I’m 22 whereas the majority of people here are just turning 20. That’s not much, but it’s enough to throw things off a bit. Why am I still here? Am I stupid and failed so many classes that I’m 2 years behind? Rather than ask questions, people make judgments, another harsh reality of the schooling community.
Lunch followed and no progress was made, except a conversation with John all about the pros and cons of online poker playing, which is his chosen profession.
The afternoon brought droughts of loneliness and sleepiness, combining to form blog-writing moods. There was another class, just about Italian culture and stuff, that was quite interesting, and I sat with Rachel then, which made the day seem a lot better. The day wandered off into dinner, which was delicious again, but I sat next to Mark, a guy “in the circle”, and he sat with a bunch of his “in the circle” friends, so I just kinda sat there and pretended to know about all the inside jokes that they were talking about. Ha! Green potatoes! Hilarious!
We watched a very dull and uninspired movie shortly after dinner, all about the jousting to take place in Arezzo over the weekend. I wasn’t too interested and neither was the entire class, as nearly everyone was awakened by the turning on of the lights.
And then came the night, a fearful time for mice and unsure 22-year-olds. A party was going on over at The Garden Underground, a bar just around the corner from the center we’re staying at. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go, but everyone else was, so I did. I got there and kinda hung around with Matt, just because I know him and he knows me. We ended up getting pineapples filled with something or another, but they were pretty good. As I was drinking it, a lot of the girls from the center came up and were asking how it was and just joking around and stuff, which is great because I want to get to know everyone. I guess alcohol makes you cooler or something. Anyway, I spent the night talking with Jenny and Kendra about everything and anything, and we’re supposed to go eat breakfast in the morning, which should be fun.
So today had it’s ups and downs. It’s only the second day, and I keep telling myself that, but it’s hard sometimes. I wish that at least one of my close friends would have come. That would have made this so much easier. I think I’ll ask Rachel if she wants to be in a group with me for studio tomorrow. She’s nice.