Senzatetto

I have been unable to write down everything I’ve wanted to say for the past few weeks since I have been stressed beyond belief. All of that stress has now turned into an overwhelming sense of calm because I am no longer a senzatetto (homeless)!

My apartment is just outside the walls of the city center (centro), which means it is fuori porta (outside the porte, the large archways that surround the city, leftover from the Middle Ages). I have three flatmates. Ilaria and Raffaela are sisters from Foggia, which is a town in Puglia. My grandfather was born in Accadia, a tiny village near Foggia. So we are all pugliesi! The third inhabitant is a rabbit named Pimpa. He was frightened at first, but last night he ventured into my room to say hello. I think we will get along just fine.

I left Eli’s apartment yesterday, and he said we would see each other again. He is a very sweet guy, so I think he is right. When I arrived at my new home, Ilaria helped me lug my two suitcases up the two flights of stairs. Afterward, she and I went to IKEA. I bought two sets of sheets, one knitted blanket, one fleece/polyester blanket, and a rug to brighten up the room (some flowers, maybe daisies?). I have a lot of space in the closets, so right now everything is very neat and tidy. My mother will probably be the most skeptical as to how long this will last.

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I started this blog post on Sunday, and it is now Wednesday. I haven’t had internet in the apartment, but I went to the WIND store (another internet/cell company) to buy a chiavetta. It’s basically a modem that you plug into the USB drive. Unfortunately, I only get 10GB a month (which I believe is actually quite a lot, but I’m still wary). This means that my blog will have a separate page for photos from now on. Whenever I have WIFI, I will post my photos.

Saturday night, I went over to where Grace was staying. She is living with a friend from our program, but she moves into her new apartment tomorrow! I am thrilled for her, especially since I know exactly how it feels to be without a secure home. We finished watching a British movie called The Decoy Bride with David Tennant. Hilarious, a bit overdone, but definitely a good movie for a not so good mood.

Sunday, Ilaria and I went to the grocery store PAM, where I bought basic Italian staples: pasta and coffee. Monday, we were supposed to go to Santo Stefano, where the remains of Bologna’s patron saint San Petronio are. Our visit was cancelled, however, due to poor weather. Well, when we went to Santo Stefano yesterday (Tuesday), there was a downpour! Fortunately, the church had porticos, just like every other building in Bologna. Monday night I went back to Cecily’s (our friend from the program) to have dinner with her and Grace. I was having so much fun that I didn’t want to leave, but the best part about my apartment is my flatmates. When I came back home around 9:45-10ish, Ilaria and I talked for another hour and a half, at least. It’s so wonderful that I can go from being happy with my UC friends to being happy with my Italian flatmates. It’s a welcome change from UCLA.

Last night the three of us – Ilaria, Raffaela, and I – had dinner together. They are very patient with my Italian. Ilaria is very eager to relearn English, but she told me that I can’t laugh at her accent. I’m sure my Italian accent is not very pretty either.

Anyway, my life went from being miserable to wonderful in the course of a day. I am so at ease in my new apartment, and I cannot wait for my friends and family at home to visit me. I am starting to become more familiar with the city. Bologna has been inhabited from the time of the Etruscans to the present, without pause. I am happy to become a part of that vast history of population.