A new friend

Thursday started off with sleep, not having class until three forty is truly a blessing. I woke up at nine, and cleaned up my room, had breakfast, and organized files on my computer. Becca was gone this morning, she was at the airport picking up her roommate from home. They didn't get back to the apartment for three hours, I certainly hope it doesn't take that long to pick up Stu, because I have a busy Sunday planned for him. It's interesting to have Jessica (Becca's roommate) around. I can't decide if her volume level is more intense than the average person, or if the rest of us have quieted to adjust to the social expectations of Italians. In America we have a stereotype of Italians being a loud group of people. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For the size of Rome, it is an incredibly quiet city. The only noise you typically hear is from the cars on the road. I've been on many a packed tram, there must be over a hundred people on a full tram, and they are eerily silent. No one speaks on public transportation unless they are on their cell phone, or American. Americans are very easy to spot in Italy for multiple reasons, but one is because we as a group of people are incredibly loud. In addition to that Italian apartments have paper thin walls, ceilings, floors, you name it, which make them wonderful amplifiers of sound (in addition to being harder to burn down) All the girls I live with have adjusted to softer tones, and living more quietly than we would have to in America, which Jessica's visit has made blatantly apparent. It reminds me of a toilet paper commercial that used to play, the one where everybody whispers, and there's one person who talks in a normal tone of voice that is identified as the 'new guy'. Becca is overjoyed to have her visitor, and for good reason she brought her candy bars, and two fully jars of peanut butter. They've been extremely chatty, jokingly insulting each other, taking hours to get ready to go out, and checking their outfits with each other. It's clear to see that they are close friends, and have missed each others presence in their lives. It makes me excited for Stu's visit, and then Becca and Kelsey's as well as Jessica's. In Italian class we received our second quiz back and I got a ninety two, even better than the first one. Not too shabby. We spent the rest of the class period talking about food again, and the various roman dishes that can be ordered at a restaurant. Making me once again, excited for Stu to be here so we can go out and explore the roman cuisine. After class I was planning on walking around for a bit in a park right across from the school, but it was chilly and raining so I decided to pass. I came home and made pasta with red sauce and mushrooms for supper, and read for my art gallery management class. I was fairly productive, but not nearly as much as I need to be. I have a lot of planning and preparing to do in the next week, with midterms and spring break right around the corner. I got to see Stu before I went to bed, and I didn't even bother to set an alarm for Friday.