Let the fun continue

 Okay, so I am switching things up a little bit...I am posting a blog about more recent events here in Italy. I skipped the weekend where I traveled to Brussels, Belgium and the week of our second long travel break, but promise to come back and blog about those. Instead, this one covers the past two weekends and the past week here in Paderno. I'm SO sorry for the switch, my euro life can get a little disorganized some
times, haha so here goes nothing...

Finally, it is starting to feel more and more like summer over here in Paderno! The weather has been perfect: sun shining with not a cloud in the sky literally the entire day. The only downside is the difficulty of paying attention in class. This past Thursday and Friday were probably two of the best weekdays here at CIMBA, especially considering we didn’t have class Thursday. Instead, I felt like I was thirteen again and back at summer camp. We slept in, ate lunch outside, and filled the rest of the day with music, kickball, Frisbee, and soccer. It was such a relaxing day that temporarily distracted us from the reality of our school and the pending final days of our program. Friday was similar until a large part of CIMBA getting ready to leave later that night for Cinque Terre. We organized two buses to take our group, which was extremely more efficient than having to figure out trains to get there. We loaded up at about 5pm and prepared for an unforgettable weekend.

After five hours on the bus, our anxiousness was at an all-time high. The smaller of the two busses contained all guys and the rest of us knew that this was not the best idea. We stepped off the bus at the train station and immediately heard the yells of the guys on the small “party” bus. As the guys huddled together and sung at the top of the lungs some Kid Rock songs, we all knew it was going to be an exciting weekend! We made our way through a small train station, avoiding the homeless people scattered on the floor. Luckily for our group, we all booked hostels within walking distance of one another so it definitely made it easier to find our way when there was so many of us. After dropping our bags in our room, we decided to walk and explore the small, quaint town of Monterosso. We ended up sitting on the rocks on the beach since none of us wanted to spend even more money at the local bar. 

Monterosso beach

The next morning we indulged in the complementary breakfast, which compared to the CIMBA breakfast, was a breakfast fit for kings. After finally feeling full, we ventured down the main street to see more of the city. The town we stayed in was called Monterosso and it is the last of the 5 towns of Cinque Terre. There was one main street, with the beach on one side and hotels and shops on the other. Fortunately for us, Monterosso is one of the most touristy towns thanks to the beach, so of course there was plenty of souvenir shopping. My roommate and I made a smart investment of sun oil, while other kids bought visors, beach balls, and towels. As we were waiting for people to check out, my roommate and I stood near the rail overlooking the beach. Strangely, we got approached in two separate instances, not in a dangerous way, just creepy. Maybe they realized we were tourists? First, a kid our age came up and kept asking if we remembered him from the bar last night, which we responded no we weren’t at the bar. He then advised us to not drink as much and continued to ask if we remembered him..it was a little annoying. Then, 5 minutes later, an old man walks up to us and starts speaking Italian. We shook our head and said “no capito” (I don’t understand), yet he continued to speak in Italian. Then out of the blue, we motioned to his lips and took a step forward, like he was asking for a kiss! Needless to say my roommate and I quickly walked away and started cracking up laughing.  

We then set up camp on the beach and waited for the rest of the Cimbites (people from CIMBA) to join. Within an hour, there was literally about 40 of us from CIMBA, out on the beach, listening to music, and enjoying the incredible weather. The boys had wrestling tournaments while us girls laid out and soaked up the sun, all with the Jimmy Buffet playlist on repeat. Looking back, I can easily say that it was my favorite day while being abroad. It was so much fun to have our huge group together and just hang out with no worries whatsoever. I think we were on the beach the entire day from 11am to when the sun started going down at 6pm. We definitely made some unforgettable memories throughout the day such as moving the playground slide out into the shallow water. We also buried one of the guys and competed in numerous dance competitions. Another kid from Kansas bought a golf club while in Itally and ended up constructing a baseball bat. On the bus ride there he broke off the club and wrapped the end with a towel and duck tape. We decided it was one of most innovative ideas and really came in handy out on the beach. Some of us even got bold enough to swim out in the water, me included!

CIMBA in Cinque Terre!

When the sun started going down, we made our way back to the hotel to freshen up for the nighttime. A bunch of us ended up at this restaurant which we thought was going to be a local pizzeria. Sadly we were mistaken when the waiter told us that they stopped serving pizza for dinner and instead gave us a menu with all seafood dished. We should have immediately left after he told us this because we ended up getting terrible, terrible service. First, the waiter wanted us all to order the same thing that way it would be easier on the cooks.  Of course, this didn’t happen so we each tried to pick an easy dish. A friend and I split mixed seafood plates only after waiting at least an hour and a half for our food. Granted, we did have a large group and we were being pretty impatient. Some of the guys were still feeling it from the beach and started getting roudy but the waitresses loved it. It was pretty funny though because none of them spoke any English but just smiled and laughed when the guys would try to talk to them. Thank goodness we were all together and in a good mood, or else the awful service and mediocre food would have made for one of the worst meals yet. We didn’t end up leaving dinner until midnight, and after such a long day on the beach it felt so nice to fall asleep.

The next morning we took advantage of our breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Since our bus didn’t leave till later, we decided to explore the other towns. As we were waiting in line to buy our ticket, we realized there was only one train to catch that came at a reasonable time. We ended up having to get on the train without having time to get a ticket so we were all on edge on the train, praying the conductor wouldn’t come through and ask to see our tickets. Luckily, all the cities in Cinque Terre are extremely close so we didn’t have to spend much time on the train. We got off at Manarola, the second town, and explored the coast. The view of the city was incredible and looked just like it does in postcards. I really enjoyed this area because there were so many old couples and families hiking the cities. Everywhere you looked you could find a person with a large backpack, lots of water, and hiking poles. I decided that actually hiking and exploring the five towns was something I needed to add to my bucket list.

Here are some of the pictures taken on one of the hiking trails:

Manarola, Cinque Terre

Part of the hiking trail

More of Manarola

Me and my retirement location...

Next, some of us found a small, quaint restaurant to hang out in before we had to catch our next train. Again, the service was not the greatest, this time entirely due to the language barrier. My roommate didn’t even get her food! We ended up having to rush to the train station to catch the train back to La Spezia, the main train station that connects Cinque Terre to the rest of Italy. When we reunited with the rest of the CIMBA group, it was unbelievable how many people were so sun burnt! I had forgotten that none of us used sun screen the day before and for a majority of the group, the day before had been the first time they had actually been out in the sun while over here. However, everyone agreed the pain and the peeling was definitely worth it after how much fun we had. It’s always so funny to reminisce with the entire group and hear stories of the stupid stuff we all did haha. We all agreed that it was one of those days you want to relive over and over again. I think if the bus hadn’t been on time, we would have given in and just stayed in Cinque Terre for the rest of the semester. And of course, the bus ride home seemed to take a lot longer than the drive there, but made for some quality sleep and reading time. 

Now, time for the week and weekend here in Paderno! Again, we were blessed by the weather during the week and spent almost every day studying, working, playing, and eating outside. The only thing somewhat negative during the week was the talk of the semester coming to an end. Finally, people are starting to count down the limited number of days and how we only have one last weekend here in Italy. My roommate and I decided we wanted to save a little money so we chose to stay in Paderno over our 3-day weekend. 

We woke up Friday morning (after sleeping in of course) and tried to decide what we wanted to do. Some of us talked the day before of hiking Mt. Grappa, but after feeling how hot it was outside decided to just stay around campus. I put in a good 30 minutes of hard work on my homework and found that it was just too nice outside to being doing any homework. We ended up hanging out at our sportsbar and enjoyed the day filled with music and all types of games. There were at least 20 of us who decided to stay here, and it turned out to be one of my favorite days here in Paderno. Again, it is so hard to put into words the memories we made during the day and just the overall care-free atmosphere. I again started to realize how close our entire group has gotten and how I am not prepared to leave them yet. We ended up getting kicked out of the sports bar for being too “American” in front of the local gym, so we were forced to move camp to our other hangout spot: the stoop next to the tabacchi. I don’t think I’ve mentioned our love for the tabacchi and the tradition some of the CIMBA guys have started. Well, they began hanging out on the stoop of the tabacchi (the local store) which is directly across the street from campus. Technically, since it is not a part of campus it is okay for us to drink there so a group of guys started what they call “TBC” which stands for the “Tabacchi beer club”. The most important requirement of the TBC is that members must drink a certain type of local beer called a Splugen. So now during the week one of most spoken phrases in the afternoon, say around 5 or 530 is “You wanna spluge?” (sploog) Anyways, the stoop has become a favorite hangout spot and today it was just barely big enough for our whole group to sit down and continue the festivities. 

We sat and sang-a-long while two guys played guitar, which I guess ended up drawing a small local crowd, including an older Italian lady who graced us with her dance moves. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed so many card games nor laughed so hard in my life than in those couple of hours spent at the sports bar and stoop.

CIMBA splugers! Cheers!

We decided that we wanted to all venture to Bassano, a larger town than Paderno, and eat at a Chinese restaurant. Since there were so many of us, we ended up having to split up and take three different taxis into the city. Somehow, I ended up in the taxi with people that never planned on eating at the Chinese restaurant so instead a majority of us ended up at a local pub that overlook one of the main rivers in Bassano. Again, we played more card games as we waited for our food and talked about our plans for the rest of the weekend. Actually, one of the guys from Iowa and I made our dinner more exciting by looking at the menu, pointing to a random spot and ordered whatever our finger was touching. We were both pretty anxious but I lucked out when the waiter brought me a club sandwich with some sort of mushrooms and peppers. My friend on the other hand, got stuck with a plate of cheese, mayonnaise, radish, and slices of raw meat. Oops! 

After dinner, none of us really knew where we were going nor had the energy or money to explore the city. Instead, we got the next taxi back to campus so we could go back to our local nighttime spots. Our poor taxi driver had to put up with our anxious group of guys and my roommate and I the ride there and the ride back. One of our friends pretended to be a horse race commentator by yelling out the window like an auctioneer, commentating on how fast our taxi driver was going through narrow streets and making sharp turns.

We ended up back at the local pizzeria and hung out with some of the local Italians. Some of the CIMBA guys kept picking on us girls by trying to introduce us to the local Italians who were loving every minute of it. At one point, some of the group started singing the “Star Spangled Banner” as a joke, but was hilarious when the Italians went back inside halfway through the song. We left the pizzeria and ended the night watching the Masters in our lounge room. 

The next morning, a couple of us made plans to head to the closest beach in Jesolo, only about an hour away. Two of our Italian friends packed eight of us into their two cars and stuffed their trunk with our bags of clothes, drinks, and food for the day. We planned to lay out on the beach all day and then change and go out to the local bars that night. 

Jesolo, Italy

We got there by 11:30 and went directly to the beach to enjoy the weather (close to 80 degrees mind you). So, if you think you’ve seen plenty of speedos in your life, that’s nothing compared to how many we saw in Jesolo. Literally in every direction, there was a man wearing a speedo; the guys I was with felt so uncomfortable it was hilarious. The next thing we noticed was actually the amount of topless girls. Yes, girls. Of course there were a few brave older women but more frequent were small little toddlers either completely naked or without a top. It was so odd and was hard for us to understand the concept that this was normal for the Italian culture. 

A very common sight on the Jesolo beach

Again, I’m sorry I keep repeating myself, but some of the best memories were made simply just sitting around and hanging out on the beach all day. We didn’t have any sort of Frisbee or ball, nor did we have music, but we ended up having an amazing time, just the eight of us. At one point, we all ended up standing in the water, taking pictures, and trying to avoid splashing each other.

Later that day, another car of with our Italian friends showed up bringing with them some more CIMBA kids. We invested in some beach chairs and stayed out there until the sun starting setting. Since we didn’t drive back to Paderno we were forced to change out of our swimsuits and into regular clothes in the car. Some of the guys even “showered” at the nearby plaza where water squirted up through the floor. My friend Lindsey and I luckily found a local hotel where the sweet old man let us use his bathroom to change. He was the cutest hold man ever and even thanked US when we left..I think he was just happy to see people come through the door. 

The CIMBA crew!

After that escapade, we rounded up the group and made our way to dinner. We ate at a seafood restaurant where I tasted some of the best calamari I’ve ever had in my life (better than Macado’s! haha). We then went back to the beach bar where we had hung out during the day. It was pretty neat to see the transformation from a beach bar serving lunch to families, to a beach bar night club with a DJ. Of course,  we danced all night long and frequently found ourselves dancing in a large circle with one brave dancer in the middle. My friend and I even pulled out the “line and fish hook” move! How embarrassing..hahah. 

Some of the group stayed longer than the rest but I ended up leaving at about 2:30 am and bonded with Alberto, one of the Italian friends who drove us, on the drive back. The next morning on Sunday I woke up and ventured to the local market in Crespano, about a 30 minute walk. It was so neat to see the variety of people exploring the market including small families, teenagers, and old women who looked like they just left church. After seeing the fresh fruit and vegetables, I decided that I want to live in a town with a local market. Like the Italian old women, I want to buy my fruit and vegetables for the week and enjoy the fresh taste of all the food. I ended up buying a shirt, some souvenirs, and some of the largest strawberries I’ve ever seen, it was heavenly!

On the walk back from the Crespano market

Candy heaven!

Now, it is time to study. I can easily say that this weekend in Paderno ranks as one of my top weekends and made it even that much harder to face the reality of all of this coming to an end. We have one more class period left and then we start finals on Wednesday. I don’t know how I’m going to have the attention to study when all I can think about is having to say goodbye to everyone! Probably the only thing getting me through this week is that it’s that much closer till when my parents fly over! First, I am traveling down to Greece for a week then meeting my parents back in Venice to travel a week with them through Italy. I’m so excited and cannot wait to share my experience in Italy with them seeing it first hand. 

I think that’s all for now! Now off to study…or attempt to!  One week left in Paderno :(