i miei primi giorni a lecce (my first days in Lecce)

So I have tried to sit down and write this post multiple times. It got aggravating because I never had enough time or motivation or energy. But seriously, here is what I did my first couple days in Lecce (and then I promise I will post about what happened this week):

Saturday: One of my flatmates, Luciana came with Marika (Lecce's program director) to pick us up at the train station. Luciana is a language major so she speaks some English, which has come in handy. She's also very nice - twice now she's invited me to go out with her (once to the beach and the other time to go drinking) but I haven't been able to for various reasons. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her. It's very funny, though - she listens to Limp Bisket and Nirvana, which you would never expect of this tiny Italian girl. I'm going to play Finch for her sometime soon.

I dropped off my stuff in my room (which is very nice - I'll post pictures another time) and went out to dinner at a restaraunt called L'Obelisco with Stephanie, Valeria, and Marika. I ate a pizza "con panna" (with cream) - it sounds disgusting, but it was totally delicious. Here's a picture:



Yazzu (a friend of Markia and Valerie) came to join us for dinner a little later. He just ate from all of our plates - which was totally fine because the portions were HUGE. I really like Yazzu - he's Japanese - taking classes for Italian and teaching classes for Japanese. After dinner, we went for a walk in the square and ate gelato from Natale (Christmas) which is an uppity gelateria. After that it was, without a doubt, bedtime.

Sunday: Sunday almost everything is closed. In the morning Stephanie and I went to the Di Per Di (a mini-supermarket) to buy some staples, though. Nutella was one of my staples. Let me tell you something about Nutella: It is the most glorious thing on the planet. I've already eaten a jar and am working on my second. The two main components of Sunday (and of every day, actually) were walking and cooking. Sunday was when Stephanie taught me how to cook pasta with zucchini. I'm only just now starting to get sick of it. We took a mini-tour with Yazzu and Valerie around the historical center of Lecce.

The most important thing to know about Sunday is that I had my first crepe ever and almost died with happiness.

Monday: Monday we had our placement exam. I got up, had a coffee (which is actually a shot of espresso), and took my placement exam. Monday's theme was cheap stores - we went to a place called Eurospin where you can buy 2 liters of water for 19 euro cents. Sweet. Other than that, we went to the three bookstores on one of the main roads. I now have a favorite.

Tuesday: Tuesday was a national holiday. They celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic. If I were in Rome, this would mean that there would be grand parades and parties and festivals. However, I'm in Lecce, and it meant everything was closed. Boo.

Anyway, Tuesday Stephanie and I re-explored Lecce and practiced our knowledge of the place. We did fairly well - found the two parks, San Oronzo (the city's Patron Saint - I like him), the market, and La Pucia ("The Belly" - a sandwich place where you design your own sandwich). We parted for the siesta.

Then Yazzu came over to give me a towel (I had not showered for 6 days - new record!). We sat around and tried to talk to each other, which was difficult but not impossible. Then Stephanie came over and brought her computer because I have internet and she doesn't. I made dinner, we hung out,I talked to Bonnie, and then all my plans for the night got ruined because it started to rain.

Although I had plans with Yazzu and Luciana, they both cancelled on me. I'm convinced Italians are scared of the rain. Stephanie and I, as the brave Americans we are, walked through the rain to get our first gelato of Lecce. We've now gone to this place, like, a million times because it's the best deal - 1.5 euro for 3 flavors, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. So. Good.

Here's a picture of one of the many views from my large balcony:


I tend to stay in the historical center of Lecce, so I need to be reminded of just how big this city is.

Hey, I actually finished this post!