First Day in Verona

After we checked in to the Residence, Tess and I began to unpack. Our room is super nice and has lots of storage for all of our clothes (or Tess's ha). We were so busy unpacking that we lost track of time and were late to our first meeting. We were only 15 minutes late and still got the information we needed. Martin, our trip coordinator, filled us in on the things we needed "to stay out of trouble" for the night and told us tomorrow (which is now today) that he would get us more situated in our neighborhood. We had a group meal that night and took the bus to get there. The bus system seems fairly easy to understand and I'm planning on exploring it more on Sunday. We ate at what is called a 'fast food' place. It was interesting. It was a little difficult to speak Italian and I keep forgetting to use basic things like pleases and thank yous in Italian. Dinner was good-I tried a lot of different things. My favorite was grilled zuchini. After dinner, Martin left us and told us (jokingly we think) to not go to Campus Bar. But, we all knew from others that had come to Verona, that this was THE place to be on Thursday nights. We asked some locals and wandered and wandered and finally found it. It was only 7:30 when we got there and they opened it up for us. Lily, Katie S., and I shared a bottle of wine and we joined some others at a table for some good story swapping and giggles. Katie S. and I got Jack 'n Cokes and laughed when she tried to order in Italian, "Jack and Coca-Cola Light." (Frances, you will appreciate that they came with lemons, a nice touch) We met some local people and Marco, who works at the Residence. We took a cab home. Martin said the cab companies know who we are and are very fair to us and know to always take us to the Residence. A few of us hung out last night when we got home. I had my first chance to email my parents and let them know I arrived safely. I was happy that Tess was still awake when I went up to the room. We shared some more giggles before completely passing out (an inch away from each other because of the way the beds are set up). Getting up this morning was rough. I was so tired. We all met Martin downstairs for some more information. He took us to the grocery store. Some of us weren't in the mood to stock up on grocerys so we got the essentials...bread, pasta, and wine. Tess and I attempted to make grilled cheese for lunch, but we lost the butter somewhere and had some charcoal bread. WHoops. Tonight we are trip planning in our room and staying in with our bottles of wine. So far, I haven't been able to explore because of the cold and rain today. But tomorrow, we are going downtown. When we went there for dinner it was beautiful. Lots of historic building. We are in more of the 'newer' part of town but with all old people. It is called the "explorer" part of town because all of the street names are of famous explorers. I'm really looking forward to seeing the town and learning my way around!