Plane Ride

2:59 Paduan time, 8:59 at HOME! – Hey all! Here is one more update from the air over Greenland. I’m about halfway through my trip, I still have about 4:30 hours to go and it’s -74 ℉ up here!
The past week has been full of paper writing for me… I had two due: The first I wrote about the architecture of the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale) in Venice. The second I wrote about Totalitarianism in Fascist Italy, exciting! I finally finished at 3 o’clock in the morning the day before I left and sent it out – I really don’t remember what day it was it was so darn long ago it feels like. Anyways I woke up shortly thereafter and made my way to the Venice airport with Catherine and Christina only to find our flight postponed. After a short 7 hour delay where they felt it necessary for us to re-check our baggage we made it to London where we ventured to the house of a friend of ours, Sajni, where she was waiting with homemade burritos and showers and beds. It was a really nice of her to put us up for the night – we felt like we were the Royalty, move over Harry.
Anyways we didn’t get much sleep again last night as were up and on our way to the London Heathrow airport by 5:30. We lucked out today as our flight was one of the few not cancelled due to the heavy fog covering the city – it was pretty nasty.
All in all this plane ride has been pretty uneventful, I have started several movies and gotten bored with every one of them. I just want to be home I can’t wait to see everyone. I don’t know if I will update this while I am home, but I can’t wait to see everyone this break and if I don’t get to: Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year!

Uncle Bob and Dan the Man (In-Explicit Content)

1:44 PM, Padova - So for my birthday Uncle Bob and Dan the Man decided to send me a package with a handful of "useful" items and list of clues in which I need to match them.
Now as a rule of thumb, I usually do not post/discuss anything that Uncle Bob has been involved with out of respect for the innocence of others, but since they have given me the rules and told me if I matched them up correctly they would send me more... I feel obligated. And I just want to.
Ok so here are The Clues:

A. Stress reliever - This was kind of dificult, right off the bat. I had to choose between a popular "American" magazine and a little squishy toy from the cemetary Uncle Bob works at. I choose the squishy light-bulb.
B. Pumba's actual edible snack - Easy. A box of bugs. (Fruit snacks)
C. If you share a bathroom, your roommates will appreciate this - A scented banana muffin candle. Mmmm. I will, too.
D. Sticks to the roof of your mouth (double dose) - Two HUGE barrels of peanut butter. I can eat for the rest of the year now!
E. Danny loves to make/eat this - Puppy chow. Steve loves that stuff, too.
F. Limits time on the shtooper - This has got to be my lactose pills. Thanks guys!
G. What Dad wants/reads - Log Homes Illustrated. I am still debating on which on is my favorite. I need more time.
H. Never Happened - This one stumped me. But after process of elimination I came to the conclusion it was the World Series ticket. At first I thought 'real funny guys' but then I looked at it and saw it was from Game 6 - which never happened. Well now I can say I have a ticket for game 6 of the 2006 World Series!
I. Considered an airline weapon - Pocket knife. I can't tell you how much this would've came in handy this year. Thanks.
J. What America reads - Thanks to Hugh.
K. Don't let Kristy see an opened box when you come home for Christmas! - In Italiano, preservativi.
L. Good party munchie--tradition at Tiger's games - Planter's nuts. Score.
M. Jot a few things down here - A notepad in the shape of a coffin that says "Last Writes" at the top. Haha.
N. A World Series giveaway (that you weren't able to receive) - Tiger Towel! Go Tigs!
O. Just in case you forgot where you were born – They sent me two bookmarks with American flags and the Pledge of Allegiance on them. God Bless America. Though Dan, I still am not sure where I was born. – I think it was Southfield…

And that’s the end of the game. Thanks for alllll the stuff you guys sent. It was hilarious opening it all up in the Study Center with Dave & Co. I can’t wait to get home for Christmas and see everyone, - Not too much longer! But I reallllly have to get back to work. K ciao.

Roman Holiday

10:25 AM Padova – Happy Holidays everyone! Greetings from a chilly (46 degrees) Padova. I am currently in my room procrastinating, delaying going to the library to study for the rest of the day so I thought I’d update the story of my life for the past week. Last week started birthday season as 6 people here have birthdays in December. I was the one who was lucky enough to be able celebrate it in ROME :-P
We had a class in Rome on Sunday so we all took the train down Friday night to get a little extra time in the Eternal City. We arrived Friday night, checked into our hostel and went straight to the Spanish steps for a pub crawl to help bring in my 22nd year of life.
Let me say this, pub crawls = American crawl. There were about 50 people who went on the pub crawl with us and most of them were from the States. However we did manage to meet a handful of Canadians, and this one kid named Barry from South Africa. All and all it was a good time.
Saturday: Birthday in Rome. Grace and I made our way to the Vatican early in the morning to catch up with the rest of the group who stayed in a different hostel. Met up with Dave and Catherine there and the 4 of us wandered Rome with no place in particular to go. We had all been to Rome and had seen many of the main things so we decided to just do what we want and wander where we wanted. It was great, we ate near the Pantheon, walked through the Roman Forum and saw the Trevi fountain along the way.
During the entire day there was a big protest against the current Italian government – we saw thousands of people in the streets (the news said 2 million) waving flags of their respective parties and many supporting the old Prime Minister, Silvio Burlusconi . After seeing a bunch of people standing outside a building we found out he was going to be leaving from there shortly. Even though we were the obvious foreigners, Grace and I decided to stay and wait for him. We waited for 20 minutes with some guys with Uzis and another guy taken straight out of the Godfather and then he came out and gave a little wave. It was pretty cool to be that close to a former member of the G-8 who is still such a powerful man.
After that my awesome friends took me out to a great dinner in Trestevere and then we went to a couple other bars. It was a great time.
Sunday: Class. Went to a bunch of churches, saw the “cambia della guardia” (changing of the guard) at the President’s house as we were walking by, went to church (In Spanish) at the Gesú (out of which the Jesuit order was founded) and got home late Sunday night.
All in all it was a great weekend – Thanks to everyone, and Happy Birthday Kristy!

New Post

5:19 PM, Padova - Hey all! Thought I'd change the site a little bit, I was getting bored with the old one. I don't know what I'm going to do with the rest but I'll figure something out. It doesn't loook as smooth but oh well. Pictures from last week with Kristy are up here.
Kristy made it home safe, I got a ride home with a soldier (Greg) from Tennessee, and last night was Christina's birthday so we had a pre-dinner spritz for her, and that's about it that's new. I REALLY need to do some work soo... Catch you later.

Kristy was/is here

12:49 AM - Padova - Hey all! Kristy and Steve here drinking a glass of wine and recalling our fabulous week together. We have had a wonderful time together and so we would like to share with you some of what we've done. Recap:
Saturday - Steve made a check list of things to do before Kristy arrived. He ended up checking all of them off (with the help of the girls studying here with him) most importantly the item "Go Get Kristy." Kristy was proud that the remembered that, if nothing else.
Trips to and from Venice were rather uneventful - Steve was able to watch the entire 1997 Michigan - ohiostate while on the train and we made it back in time for Davide to cook us a lovely pasta with his own version of ragu sauce. Then we prepared for The Game. After some minor techincal difficulties with the ESPN gameplan we were successfully off and running as were the Wolverines and we were able to watch the first Touchdown. Go Blue. Enough said.
Sunday - We slept. Pizza with Danielle and Angela. Basta.
Monday - We left on an early train to Florence where Kristy was able to experience her first taste of true Italian culture... Everything was closed. For future reference: Don't go to Italy on a Monday.
Florence was still a great time even if we were forbidden entrance to practically everything we wanted to see - we were able to see the Duomo (by Brunelleschi) and the 700 year old Ponte Vecchio.
After that we hopped a 5 HOUR train to Rome. Ugh. It takes 5 hours to get from Rome to Padova, not Florence which is halfway in between the two. In Rome we checked into the Freedom Traveller hostel (highly recommended) and went out for a classy night in the eternal city.
Tuesday - We did Rome in a day. St. Peter's, Vatican City, Colisseum, Roman Ruins, Pantheon, the Prison of Paul and Peter (wicked cool), and we even tried for a pub crawl on the spanish steps but we were too late (even for Italian standards apparently) so we went across the street to Mickey D's for a not-so-classy dinner and some beer. On our way back, we bought a bottle of wine and drank it as we were caught in the rain and thunderstorm. Good times.
Wednesday - Early train. Back to Padova. Study. Test. Italians made us a Thanksgiving dinner which they slaved over for hours. They did their best with the turkey which they bought Monday and had killed Tuesday. Basta.
Thursday in Padova - Happy Thanksgiving! Woke up and went to the Duomo which happens to be around the corner from Steve's apartment. We saw the art in the baptistry which neither of us had ever seen before - pretty nifty. And then we walked to Prato where we got a phone call from the early morning crew at America's Thanksgiving Day parade. (Aka - Dan the man, Slick, Poppa Schrags, JD, Uncle Bruin) after an intense game of 2 on 2 football on Woodward. Proceeded to the Basilica where we were able to enter however for the 1 hour that we were there everything (including access to the Saint's tongue) was closed. Naturally. We took a picture because it was literally closed for the one hour that we were there. Appointment, panino, class, Thanksgiving dinner with the Boston Paduan program and the UC program in Bologna. We took over Vecchia Padova, a local restaurant, and had our pot luck. We brought limoncello, stuffed our face and had a great time.
Friday - Verona. After class on this rainy day we hopped the next train to Verona where we saw a bunch of old, artsy things. Started off at the Mantegna exhibit, Arena, Juliet's balcony (where we touched her BOOB for good luck), and then we saw the Roman Theatre built in the first century B.C. Had a nice little dinner, took the train back and now we are writing to you. I just opened some birthday presents, too. Ho-Ho's and Tiger gear from the famb and tickets to White Christmas at the Fox over break from the Garvey's :-)
Tomorrow it's off to Venice and Sunday the girl half leaves :-( It has been a fun trip and we are both looking forward to seeing everyone over Christmas. Peace and Love
- Us.

PS. Pictures will be up probably Sunday. It's Home Alone 2 time. Night ya'll/y'all.

Hype

OK so this morning all I have been doing is watching hype videos on youtube for THE GAME. I don't know how anyone is getting anything done in Ann Arbor or Columbus right now. Here are some of the best I've found:

The Daily Show: In Columbus
I am pumped.

Calcio, presentazioni, esami, football (ancora)

10:45 AM Padova - Hey home! As always I have much to say so I'll get right down to it.
Having the Internet at my house has been great. I am able to talk to whoever I want using skype and I have a webcam so we can see each other. I'd love to talk to you, too - Add me as a skype buddy my name is "schragoo".
Well last weekend I went to Milan to go to the Roma - AC Milan game. As Dario pointed out, it has been 20 years since Roma has won in Milan at San Siro and they took the game 2-1 thanks to two goals by Francesco Totti a true hero according to the Romans. The game itself was great even though were on the third ring of the stadium in the last row haha. It was kind of cold we had to bundle up, but I'm sure it wasn't as bad as what ya'll get to experience in the great state of MEEECHIGAN right now. For the Californians, however, it was something new and exciting! Speaking of Meeechigan, I hear there is a football game this weekend. Can I get a line?
Back to Milan. After the game we rushed to the train station to try and catch the last train back to Padova or Venice. Surprisingly (actually nothing surprises me much anymore) it left earlier than 11:00. We had no hope catching that one so we were in a bit of a predicerment: Do we try to find a hostel and sleep for the night or do we see what the Milan nightlife has to offer? We opted for the latter and went to a disco si chiama "Rolling Stone" where it was Erasmus and foreign exchange student night. Perfetto. They kicked us out just before 6:00 so we went to the train station and slept a little on the uncomfortable church benches. We caught the 7:15 train arriving at 10:30 in Venice where we had our architecture field trip all day. We slept on the train a little, but needless to say we were quite exhausted when we got home around 7:30 at night. Fortunately for me I had time to prepare for the presentation and the exam I had on Monday. AHH!
Didn't sleep much that night either.
Monday: Presentation on the Midterm Elections at 10:30. We went to the study center around 9:00 to go over what we were going to say. The three of us presenting had each prepared a quick 5 minute piece and were a little nervous about actually doing this. We get to class thinking "well, maybe the Prof will forget." No such luck. Right away we were asked to come up and he sat us down in chairs in front of everyone. This is a two story lecture hall, mind you, and here are three foreigners who can barely understand the language let alone speak it well in front of them all. We each presented our piece and were done within 10 minutes or so.
At least we thought.
Nope. Professor Mascia decided to turn this into a Q and A session with the Americans! We were up there for almost an hour and a half (I think Melanie clocked it at 1:24) going back and forth with the prof and the students. We held our own I must say. They fired some good questions at us and we understood most of them and were able to respond to all. It really is interesting to talk about politics with Italians because they love to talk about it and they have different views than we do in America. Per esempio, there is a documentary which they love to play on the TV here (I've seen it once) about September 11th. This documentary paints a pretty convincing story about the Bush Administration's active involvement in the events that occured. Convincing enough that many of these Italian students actually believe that the Administration helped them carry it out. Naturally we were asked our opinions on that conspiracy and questions of that sort. I think that one of the main differences between Americans and Italians is that we have a certain faith in our government which they can't comprehend here because they have had a (recent) history of corruption and ineptitude with their government. But those are my thoughts, not yours.
Anyway we held our own in the presentation -I think we represented l'Usa well.
The test I had to take... well it went. Basta.
Other than that classes are going well, Kristy comes Saturday and the football game is Saturday night. Since I have the Internet now we should be able to watch it at my place. Woohoo! I will be posting pictures from this weekend soon but I'd love to hear from you all. Skype me!
Off to eat and then class -
Stevo

I'm alive, I promise

11:31 AM Padova, 5:31 AM Detroit - Hey all! Wow it has been a long time since I have updated this site. Actually a ton has happened since that I don’t know where to start. I guess we can start on sports since that seems to be where I left off.
We all know the Tigers ended up losing in the WORLD SERIES. I’m still amazed they made it that far and am proud to say I’m a Tiger’s fan. Apparently my love for the Tigers was interesting enough for people to read about. If you haven’t seen or heard of it you can read it Here.
A very special Thank-you to Neal Rubin of the Detroit News for letting me talk baseball with him and giving me a play-by-play up until the last pitch of the season.
Well since then I have been busy. I have had classes, Halloween parties, and field trips. Last Sunday I went to Verona with my history of architecture class. We saw the Chiesa di San Zeno, the Arena and the Teatro and then we went to see Juliet’s balcony. It was a really nice day-trip, just me and the girls (see above).
Then two days ago (Tuesday) some of us decided to go to Milan to try and get tickets to the upcoming soccer match: AC Milan vs Roma. They were all sold out online but we heard we could get them maybe in Milan. After trying three different places we finally found an AC Milan super-fan store that was able to sell us tickets on the third ring! So I am going to the game, I am so excited. I told me roommates and they expressed genuine concern for my well-being. They say they are absolutely nuts. Just makes it better. That game is at 8:00 on Saturday night so we are going to go in the morning-after noon and watch all the crazies and then try and catch a train back. The last train to Padova leaves at 11:30 or something so I don’t know if we are going to make it, however the following day we have a field trip in Venice all day so we might be able to just head straight there and sleep in the train. Who knows, I’m not worried all I know is that I’m going to be at the game! The girls are excited to see Totti and I’m excited to be in the sports atmosphere.
Speaking of sports, I am tempted to write David Stern a letter about this new ‘Sheed Rule. I don’t think that rule is fair at all, he is taking away the Constitutional Right of Freedom of Speech from the players. They aren’t allowed to complain, talk bad about the refs, pretty much they aren’t allowed to show emotion. I can’t get down with that. That is what sports (especially basketball) is all about. I’m glad I don’t have to watch it.
Anyway back to Padova. Yesterday my professor, Professor Mascia, decided to single out the Americans and ask us to present on the midterm elections on Monday IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE 150 STUDENT LECTURE HALL. You can’t just say no to a prof so now we have to give a presentation in lecture on Monday. In a language we don’t speak. However he did say that if we wanted to use English a little bit we could because many of the kids will understand that anyway. That is going to be an experience. I have a test that day, too. So today and tomorrow I am going to be busy researching and studying for my tests that start next week. Actually it’s after 12 now, I should probably get going on that. I’d love to hear from ya’ll, thanks for stoppin’ by!

Vote!

I know I haven't written in a long time and I promise to update this soon, but I'm unfortunately ineligible to vote this midterm election and would like to encourage everyone else who can to do it!
As some may know, I support our current Governor, Jennifer Granholm, and am confident that she can continue to lead our state economically and politcally.
I have found this video of the first gubernatorial debate between Governor Granholm and Mr. DeVos here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4004584516966450316&q=devos+granholm+debate&hl=en
and I encourage everyone to take a look at it and make your own decision!

Allora...

11:08 PM Sunday in Padova – Hey all! Well it’s been a while since I have updated the site but nothing too exciting has been happening, I have had school (Boo) and lots to do around Padova. Six hours of lessons on Monday were spent thinking about the Tigers and than I quenched my Tiger’s thirst when I watched the last game of the ALCS. Tuesday… I think I went to the opera. Yeah, the study center bought us tickets for the dress rehersal because they were meno-costoso. I saw La Boheme which I knew going in that RENT was based off of this opera, but it was surprisingly similar. There were some of the exact same scenes. I must say though, I liked RENT better. That was my first opera and I don’t see the appeal of them. Normally I can appreciate most forms of art, but I just thought it was too much. Don’t get me wrong they had great voices and everything but it took way too long to say the same thing that RENT did in half the time. Maybe I just enjoyed the people I was with better when I saw RENT.
Poi… Thursday was my roommate Checca’s birthday so we had a nice little party for her and the roommates got her a blow up punch doll and we drew our faces for her to put on it when she wanted to punch us. It was pretty cool. Friday we watched the Simpsons in Italian to compare the voices and then I went and met Emma Perry (a friend from high school) in Venice. She is studying in Greece and was in Venice just for a night so I went to go eat dinner with her and her friends. I was pretty stoked to be able to go to Venice for about 5 euro roundtrip, until I got off at the wrong station and had to take a taxi to the other one. Not sweet. Dinner was really nice though I’m glad I went and now I know how to get to Venice.
Saturday I bummed hard and then threw and American party here. My friend Dean from Port Huron has been studying in Ferraram which is about an hour away by train, and he came for the party. It was pretty fun we made hamburgers and played American style games. I heard the Wolverines pulled through but the Tigs couldn’t get it goin. I’m not too worried seeing as they lost their first against the Yanks and they’ve had a week off. But I hope they can figure it out for tonight.
Well that’s all that’s happening here in Padova, let me know what’s happening in your neck of the woods!
Steve

Accepting donations

Steve needs to fly home for the World Series. Any contributions can be sent to my house in Grosse Pointe. I can pick it up next week. Thanks.
PS - I already downloaded the last ALCS game for the plane-ride.

Roma e scuola!

9:27 PM, Padua – Finalmente! I’m sorry I haven’t been writing much lately I just have been really busy and haven’t had much time to play around. School has started and is in full swing right now – which is cool at times but I realized I have a lot to do. Boo!
Alright so I guess I can bring you up to speed from last week. After my crazy Oktoberfest trip we started school the next day, however I had no classes because I didn’t know what I was taking just yet. After working out a couple schedules I figured out that I will be taking the two classes offered by the Californian Study Center (grammar and art history) and two classes at the university (Political System of the European Union and then a political parties class). The two at the University are going to be pretty tough I think, but they have a program here called Erasmus (which I believe was set up by the EU) and those kids take a separate test which should work out to my advantage. But I have also found out that the study center makes it so that we have to write a paper for each class, too. Boo!
Well as the story goes, I was only able to go to one class anyway last week. Only one of my classes ACTUALLY began last week and it only meets 3 times a week, I missed the first and than the third I couldn’t go to because I had to go to the Questura and let them know that I am there or something. I don’t know Italians are weird.
I was busy the rest of the week with silly things at the Study Center though and they close early so it wasn’t easy to get on the Internet. And then came Rome…
I left at on the midnight train to Rome (literally 12:45) but Italians like to be late and we didn’t leave until a little after 1 am. Worst. Ride. Ever. I had a stomach ache the entire ride and there was no chance of any sleep in such cramped spaces, however I arrived in Rome by about 7:00 just in time to see the sun rise over Piazza del Popolo which was way cool. I took a quick nap and walked around for a little and then made my way over to the Vatican where I bought a book (Harry Potter e il calice di fuoco) and read it in St. Peter’s Square for about two hours. I was really surprised at the lack of security in St. Peter’s – almost scared even because I was able to walk right up with my huge backpack of stuff and sit there all day reading. I didn’t get stopped or asked once what was inside of it - heck I didn’t even see any Swiss guards that first day. It was really kinda weird. Though I’m not complaining because I didn’t get stopped. Anyways the rest of the day I bummed and waited until I met up with the SJA crew around 4:00 at the hotel which was really close to the Vatican. We were all pretty exhausted from our travels but Mrs. Spath, Mrs. Hage, the Cornillies and the Ziolkowski’s treated me to a drink before dinner and then we went to a great dinner at one of Msgr. Mike’s favorite restaurants. After a lot of wine, good food, and someone getting locked in the bathroom we made it back to the hotel and I took off with the tour guide from Napoli for his place where I met some cool kids and had a place to crash. I had my own bed and everything it was great.
Then came Saturday and I found out early in the morning that the TIGERS WON and were up on the Yankees 2-1 in the series. Naturally I was pumped and then we had an early mass in St. Peter’s Basilica with Cardinal Shocka (sp?) and some dead popes. It was really cool. Then we got to spend some time in St. Peter’s and I just kinda walked around for a while by myself. I had lunch with the tour guide from Detroit (Bill) and he was really nice – a UofM alum and apparently he has a daughter there now and a son at ND. He has a pretty wicked job, too. I’m jealous.
At three we boarded a tour bus for the Coliseum and proceeded on a tour of ancient Rome. It was all really cool. At the Coliseum I saw a girl with a “St Mary’s College” shirt, so I asked where she was from and it turns out she was from Kalamazoo, went to Hackett and played soccer with Kristy! She also knew Catherine Solomon and some other girls from home. What a piccolo mondo.
Saturday night dinner was on our own but we went out and again Mrs. Spath and Mrs. Hage treated me to dinner, they really took care of me. Msgr. Mike was there and some others and then when I got back to hotel me, Jason Aubrey (the elder) and this girl from GPN (I’m sorry I forget her name, horrible) went out to the Campo dei Fiori and Piazza Navonna for some fun with the other youth of the city. It was awesome… I ended up crashing with some Americans studying at John Cabott University who lived pretty far from the center of town. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it back in time in the morning for the trip to the university where Msgr. Mike stayed for a while and I missed mass, but it’s ok I think because I was at mass in the Vatican the day before. I’m sure the Big Guy will forgive me. Sunday was spent waiting for my train. I got to the station in time for a 2:00 train only to find that all trains were booked until 6ish. Naturally that train was late but I made it out and was back in Padova a little after 10:15. The end of a great weekend.
Monday morning classes started hardcore. I had 6 hours of lessons on Monday and it was tough to understand pretty much all of it. I realized this week that I am going to have my work cut out for me. Now I know school is what I came here for, but I was thinking of it more as an excuse to go to Europe and try and learn a language – now it looks as if I am going to have to learn a language quick and take two exams in it in November! Papers are to be written, too, even if they aren’t assigned say the lovely people at the study center. Grr. If the Italians don’t do it why should I have to??
As it goes life in Padova is absolutely wonderful. My roommates have been taking care of me and making me some food and introducing me to their friends – though it is still hard for me to participate in conversations – by the time I register what they are talking about and formulate how to say what I want they are already on the next topic. Oh well it’s fun listening to them. This culture is really social and I dig that. Every night the students go out into the city and get a “spritz” before dinner and then they eat and then they all congregate in the piazzas afterwards. It’s really neat to see everyone outside and socializing – even if I still don’t know how.
Now to the important stuff – Tuesday night I watched the entire final Tigers - Yankees game. How exciting! They really took care of them and looked a lot stronger. Bonderman pitched one heck of a game (almost a full one) and they just looked like they wanted it a lot more. I was really excited to see the party after but they cut it short :-( I really just wanted to see the local news after. I missed Channel 4 and Channel 7 coverage of the craziness downtown. You think the Detroit News delivers internationally??! I have heard since that the Tigers are now up two games on the Athletics. My friend Angela here in Padova is a big Oakland A’s fan so it’s cool to have another baseball fan. We were going to try and watch a game live but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Hopefully we can finish it off before we get a chance. But the World Series?? Seriously, of all the years that I have been alive, Tigs, why this one?? I’ll figure something out to watch the games if we get that far. So exciting.
Well I guess that’s enough for now, thanks for stopping by.

Welcome to my apartment!

Hey all! I don't have much time but these are the crazy kid's that I am living with right now! They are awesome and have been taking care of me like the awkward foreign exchange student that I am. I have much to say when I finally get a chance! Love you all, Stevo. PS - Click "welcome to my apartment" for pictures from Rome!

I DOWNLOADED THE YANKEES GAME!

4:42 PM Padua - MLB.COM has a free fan appreciation download of the game vs the Yankees!!!! I just downloaded it I can't wait to watch it. I don't have time to write a full one right now but I have had class for a week now and I DON'T UNDERSTAND A DARN THING! But today one of my profs decided to point me out to everyone and asked me where I was from, after a quick "Detroit, Michigan" he couldn't understand me and the whole lecture hall erupted into laughter. I don't know what he said afterwards but he decided to single me out again and call me Thomas. Whatever dude, he's still sweet. Anyway, I have to get going pretty soon but I wanted to say hi and let you know that I plan on posting some pictures tomorrow from ROMA! with the SJA group. Rome was beautiful. More on that later... LET'S GO TIGERS!

Country Roads Take Me Home

This is the Oktoberfest rendition.

Oktoberfest

See title.

La Guerra di Piero

This was the video that Dave and I did for our Italian song class. Enjoy.

Oktoberfest

11:00 PM in Padova Monday, October 2, 2006 – Hey world! As you have already found out I made it home to Padova safely after one heck of a time at Oktoberfest. Truly a great experience. I definitely recommend a trip to Munich for anyone who has a passing interest in the great taste of beer because those Germans certainly know how to do it right. We arrived in Munich about 1:00 on Saturday after leaving at 5:00 in the morning. It really shouldn’t have taken so long but we made a few stops and wound up in some traffic from an accident, but by the time we got there it was middle of the day and every tent was filled to capacity and they weren’t letting people in. It took us only an hour and a half in line to realize that they weren’t letting people in anymore so we took off to a sports bar down the street where a bunch of guys were watching German soccer. Naturally I needed my football fix so I sat at the bar and ordered some darn good beer and watched soccer with them. I think there was like 5 games going on, but it was fun cause you could tell some of the guys were from out of town and were cheering their team on while other guys were from Munich and were cheering their team on. It was just what I needed for a football Saturday, beer and men yelling. Except this beer was nothing like the beer I drink on a normal football Saturday. Thank God.
The girls that we went with to the bar were the only three girls in the entire bar save for one woman in the back but she looked like more of a man than Chuck Norris.
After the game we managed to find a great bar for dinner where I had the best food that I have eaten since I’ve been to Europe. No lie - Some hamburger meat, mashed potatoes, and green beans and a big ol’ liter of bier. They really don’t mess around. I’ll tell you what else they don’t mess around with – those dresses. Those skirts and shirts that the women wear are some of the best things to happen to mankind. I would’ve bought some of those leather trousers too with suspenders (I think they are called Lederhosen or something like that) if I didn’t spend all my money on beer. Some things are just more important. So we met some Germans at dinner that knew about the Lions (The Lions of all teams) the Red Wings and the Pistons, naturally. They knew some English words but after a few beers (or just one of those huge things with beer that is 10% alcoholic) it doesn’t matter what language you are speaking, the beer is doing the talking for you.
After dinner we were finally able to get into a tent (me and Laura snuck in with some Italian VIPs) and from there it was like beer heaven as you can see from the pictures.
EVERYONE HAS BEER and is standing on the table and singing these wonderful drinking songs and the best part about it is that everyone is having a good time! I didn’t see one person unhappy the entire weekend besides the people that couldn’t get in at first but even they had beer and were just happy to be there. I made a ton of new German friends even if I didn’t speak a lick of German. I knew how to say Prost! (or is it Brost?) I don’t know or care really but I really want to learn those songs.
I met someone who had spent a year in Detroit and declared himself the biggest Tigers’ fan in Europe (he was from Switzerland) and wanted to know if the Tigers’ had won that night. I was ashamed I couldn’t tell him, but how was I to know?? That night ended very well, we all made it back to the bus and to a very nice hotel about 35 km outside of the city.
Woke up Sunday pretty early had some great breakfast while some sort of a marching band/parade went by outside… kinda weird… and then we were at it again by noon. (Tents didn’t serve until noon) At that point we only had 3 and a half hours to get our fill in before the bus left to come home. And we managed. I think I better just leave it at that. Midnight last night I arrived back in Padova with a new t-shirt and a beer mug that I was able to yoink along with a handful of dirty clothes. Che festa!
I am about to go watch a movie with my roommates I think so I will get at you tomorrow after I go to my first day of classes. I am so nervous because I already missed a day, but that was because I didn’t know which classes I was taking. I know I’m gonna be the lost foreign exchange student without a clue. Oh well, that’s what I am. K bye.

Bier.

I just put some pictures up from Oktoberfest. They don't do it justice. I'll put some videos up and I'll write about it later but suffice it to say that I had enough beer for me, grandpa, and a small classroom of kids. I needed Danny as my chaperone.
Copy and paste this:
http://umichigan.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2118536&id=2207325&l=ccb31 for pictures or click on the title of the post (Bier.)

Wine festival and Munich!

4:09 PM in Italia~ - Hello all! I am writing a quick message from the study center to let you know I'm still alive. This week I have been living in my new apartment and it has been pretty cool. Not all of my roommates have moved in yet but the ones who have have been really nice to me. It's going to be a fun year I'm excited.
So this week I have been busy meeting new people and trying to learn how to make pasta. Dave's a pretty good cook he has been showing me how to put meat, sauce, etc. in a pan and cook it up. We'll see I havent tried by myself yet.
Last night I went to Bardolino to visit Giulia! There was a big wine festival in her city and she hooked me up with a place to stay in her hotel. I met her dad and her sister for the first time and we also saw her mom and her friends. Her friends are sweet we had a lot of fun. When I get a chance I will throw up some pictures. Hil-arious.
Tomorrow at 5 AM I am off to Munich. I still don't have classes for next week. But they haven't even posted some of them yet. Silly Italians. I'm not worried though. OK I must go. Hopefully I'll check in Monday with some good pictures. Ciao!

TIGERS IN! CHISOX OUT?!

Unreal. Congrats Tigs and Twins.

Moved.

12:00 AM CEST, 6:00 PM EST - Hey all! Greetings from my new apartment. Since we don’t have the Internet just yet I won’t be able to send this out at least until tomorrow, maybe later, but I figured I’d write it anyway. This weekend was pretty fun we went to Portello both Friday and Saturday nights because this is the last weekend that it is open. Poretllo was a cool place near my old dorm right on a river where about 15 of the bars from town set up little outside bars right by a river and everyone just goes to socialize. It was really cool, but they are closing it now because it is the end of summer and now they are moving back into the city. This year they have implemented a new thing though in the city where the bars stop serving at 12:00 midnight and they have video cameras everywhere apparently in the city. I guess the kids were getting too rowdy or something, who knows?
Weekends in Padova, despite a lot of the students leaving to go home are actually really fun. Saturday is when the markets are all open. Pretty much every piazza has their own little market and then there is a BIG one at the Prato delle Valle. But there are so many people out and about on the weekends. Sunday is the same thing, everyone just goes out and there is always something to do. Today there was a theatre event celebrated 25 years of the national children’s theatre or something. But everyone comes out and brings the family and the city is just packed. People playing music, people eating, people just socializing. It’s really cool to see.
Friday at the mensa (cafeteria) we met some kids from the Boston program that are in Padova. They aren’t studying at the universita because they have their own program, but they have the option to if they want. Again, they are all girls, and 2 guys, but we didn’t get to meet the guys. Davide and I have been the dynamic duo this week just getting things together. I am hoping to find some kids to play some basketball with sometime soon because Dave claims that he is no good. I don’t believe him but whatever, we ended up going to the market at the Prato on Saturday and then we made – no, strike that – he made a real good meal and showed me how to make it. I am going to have to go do some shopping tomorrow so that I don’t have to keep eating out all the time. Though the mensa is usually pretty good and pretty cheap. Annnd then we went to a vineyard that the girls from the Boston program invited us to go to for a little wine-tasting. It was actually really cool, hopefully I’ll have some pictures from there because it was really neat, I just wish I knew more about wines and what to look for. This lady that showed us around couldn’t have been nicer and showed us through the vineyard in the beautiful Italian countryside and then we were able to taste some great wine and she fed us too. It was really really nice I’m glad I went.
After that I came back and met up with Francesca one of my roommates and the others should be arriving tomorrow. They all go home for the weekend, which is actually really nice for me. Dude, Europeans are weird, I am watching this really messed up video on MTV by Rammstien, a German band. Yeahhhhh… I hope I never see that again. Gross.
I was finally able to talk to my mom today, I haven’t talked to her in a while and she told me about the Michigan State – NS game. Typical MSU, just like the Lions. Speaking of the Lions I wonder how they did today. Kristy informed me yesterday that the Victors lived up to their name and my mom said the game was rather uneventful. I’ll have to ask Cody, he’ll bring me up to speed on the Wolverines position by position. Will someone please let me know how my Tigs are doin? And I heard the Wings started up too. Jgnaisjgas I MISS ESPN! You know? It’s times like this though, where all I have to do is sit back and be like “Steve, you just went wine-tasting at a beautiful little family-owned vineyard in the heart of Italy,” and then the scores of this weekend reallllly don’t matter much after that. I need to learn how to relax here. They have it down to a T. They don’t worry about anything until they absolutely need to and even then they just kind of talk it off and turn it into a social event. Nothing ever gets done, though. If I knew this darn language I’d fit right in. A huge cricket just rolled right by my foot and I didn’t even think to kill it. I just let it go on its merry way. Is that weird?
Anyway, this one is getting long and I am getting a little tired so I think I am going to call it a night. I hope all is good, Love from Italia
Stevo
PS - Just read your post Mike, sorry I couldn't get you the well you wanted.

Dottore! Dottore!

10:02 PM CEST, 4:02 PM EST - Hey all, hope you liked my previous post. I had a lot of fun doing it and it didn't take very long so I might do it again sometimes. If you're lucky. This picture is of a newly graduated student from l'Universtia di Padova. Poor girl, they were dousing her with flower and calling her bad names. I want to graduate from UM and here.
Sooo.... I've been packing all day, going to move tomorrow and then hopefully watch Michigan beat some Badger butt. Alright well that is all I have for now. Catch ya laaaater!

OSW: The First Podcast

I'm sorry I had to try. Forgive me.

It's about time.

7:14 PM CEST, 1:15 PM EST - Hey all, I think this one should be a long one as a lot has happened this week.
We have been going to a bunch of different places this week, a lot of history and a lot of school work. They have us going to school for about 6-7 hours each day and then about 3 hours of homework. It hasn't been much fun. However we have managed our own fun.
Monday we celebrated Melanie's 21st birthday American style. We bought some American adult beverages (including Coca-Cola) and we decked out my room for her with our American peace flag (thanks Aunt Chris) a Michigan flag and some surfing pictures out of Dave's calendar. It was awesome. Next day, not so much fun.
We have pretty much stayed in the last couple of days however I have gotten some stuff done. Firstly, I have keys to my new apartment! I am anxious to move in, I think I am going to move in tomorrow. I went out to have a spritz (a drink that originated in Padova) with my new roommates, they seem really cool. I am excited, however it is definately going to be an experience haha listen to this... They told me yesterday that I only have it until March so I'm going to need to try and find another apartment then. no big deal. Then they said that the landlady doesn't know I am going to be staying there because I am taking the place of a girl that is going to France for the year AND she thinks that one of their friends is living there and is a twin because the place is supposed to be rented to girls only apparently. haha but there are two guys in there as well so Mom don't worry. Oh, and Mom, yes I know I have grammar errors, and I'm sorry if they really bug you, but I am trying to make this as authentic as possible and this is who I am, soo... sorry? deal.
Oh and the quote of the week goes to Christina who actually said, and I quote, "I think I might be a little high-maintenance" end-quote, today. I got a kick out of it. Not that I think she is high maintenance or anything.
I have just been watching a bunch of highlights from last weeks football game vs Notre Dame (entitled "Brady Quinn for Heisman") and some clips from last year's Penn State game which Danny I'm sure remembers. Also they had this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkwiBWVryIw&NR
Which I am sure is going to make anyone who loves UM swell with pride and anyone who doesn't, puke.
This week in Padova has been the end of Finals for a bunch of students and so we have seen some kids graduate. And there has been a lot of graduation celebrations in the center this week. Graduation here is full of tradition so I'll share a little of what I thought was cool:
- Friends and family of the graduate take the graduate to the center of town and make the graduate do absurd things, singing, dancing, whipping them, and inbetween it all handing them drinks - BEVI!
- The friends make a poster for the graduate with ridiculous sayings that they have to read out loud in front of everyone. We saw a nun reading one of the posters today... I was REALLY interested as to what she thought of it.
- They sing a song to the graduate as well that is rather inappropriate, "Dottore! Dottore! Dottore del buco del culo" kids, please don't translate but in short it means: yeah you graduated but, so what, you're still an..."
I'll try to take a picture tomorrow if I see someone getting razzed.
Today we went to the observatory where some old men looked at the stars (I don't think Galileo got his hands on this stuff though). Then Dave and I got a haircut (looks decent) and then I payed for my Oktoberfest trip! Woohoo!
So as you can tell I am having no fun at all, and my next post should be from my new room! Hope all is well!
Love, Stevo
PS - I am a little jealous of my friends going to see DMB tomorrow in c-ville. just a little. oh and the Michigan Daily stinks. k bye.

In giro..

0:11 CEST, 6:11 PM EST - HELLO WORLD! Finally I am able to put some more stuff up. It has been a really long, fun week this week. We have had a ton of schoolwork to do which is really not cool at all, but they have taken us to a bunch of cool places for art and history. Yesterday during the day they took us to a city nearby, Vicenza. It is between here and Verona and we were able to check out an old theatre and some cool buildings and gardens. I posted some pictures from there, I didn't put them all because I feel like they can get boring and some of the cooler places you weren't allowed to take pictures. Or you were but SENZA FLASH! So they didn't come out that great.
It was really nice because the lady that we are with she is our art-history teacher and this girl knows her stuff. I just wish she didn't have to speak in Italian because she explained some really cool stuff that I only understood some of. And I had questions to ask her but I didn't know how to ask so I didn't ask them at all or I ended up butchering them. Oh well. I asked her if once I get better at the language we could do it again and she said yes, or she said I could ask questions in English if I wanted but only when the other teachers weren't looking. haha. This teacher though knows her stuff, the other Italians touring the places we were (and they were mostly Italian tourists because these are like little known hotspots that we have been going to) they would listen to her because she knew a lot. It's really cool to have such a great guide.
Mmm.... what else. Well on Friday we played some vino-pong outside. We had fun the Italians probably thought we were crazy but we didn't care. Saturday we were on a trip allll day from 9-7 at night and we came back and grabbed some food and then we prepared for the big football game. Dave and I listened to it on the radio online. We listened to the whole thing and Melanie and Christina were in and out but they knew whenever something good happened. Which much to everyone's surprise was a lot of times. I was really excited the entire day for the game, I called my buddies at the game and everyone I was really excited.
I hope my Tiger's are doin just as good. I think I read online today that they are about 2 games up. I'm hoping they can pick it up but save enough for TIGER PLAYOFFS! Mmm, that's all I got for now. Check out the new pictures. Check ya later ;-)
Stevo

Don't have time for a real post tonight...

23:41 CEST, 5:41 PM EST - Ho-k, so, I really don't have time to do a real post, but I'll give you a quick update and a movie that you might like. We saw a chapel last night (amazing) and went to the Basilica today. We have an amazing art history teacher that knows everything and she is awesome to have as a guide! But I have a test tomorrow and I have been screwing around all day so I need to be on my way, but here is a movie that we took yesterday from the window of our classroom. Hope you enjoy.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~schragoo/MOV00788.MPG
OK I'll write after the test tomorrow, it's supposed to be rainy here alll week. Boooo!

Special Guest Post!

22:33 CEST, 4:33 pm EST - Christina felt a little left out of my posts, so I decided to give her her own special post... Here goes:
Steve's my boy -
he knows my songz, he gives me my peanut buttah,
and he nos how 2 represent tha D.
But he leaves me out of all his posts,
Even tho he loves me most
Ok bye.

Thanks everyone!

0:05 CEST, 6:05 EST - Thank you everyone for visiting my site! I have had quite a few people tell me they like it so I guess I will keep on writing.
Today was another long day of classes, but me and Dave walked around and did some errands and then went to the gym. This is the third or fourth time I've been to the gym since I've been here and I honestly don't think I have been that many times since I've been to college, but it has felt real good. I think that I have lost a few pounds (or kilograms) since I got here, but I think I am starting to put it back on. We found a great little greasy place right down the street from us, "il Re di Kabob". We have eaten there pretty much every night. Yesterday our teacher told us that for the past 2 years someone has gotten sick from it. Dave and I are pressing our luck I think. They make a ton of different pizzas and they also make kabobs (just like meat and God knows what else is in those things). After I heard that I have only gotten the Pizza Margherita.
Other than that I found some laundry detergent, so I might attempt a laundry trip sometime this week, Dave was unsuccessful in his first attempt - a couple of shirts came out smaller than they should've. Fortunately now they are small enough that he will probably fit in with all the other guys here. Also, I talked to my friend Nora who is studying in Vienna and I think we might be able to meet up because she isn't far away at all! She might meet us in Munich the weekend before school starts. Should be a good time, it will be nice to see a familiar face.
Dave and I have managed to watch some Family Guy, and OH! I FORGOT! We were listening to the radio and we heard COUNTRY MUSIC! Rascal Flatts! Apparently there is an American military base near Venice so they broadcast their own radio station and we get it! Wait, strike that, I personally don't get it because my digital radio skips that station! It goes from 105.9 to 106.1 and the radio station is on 106.0. Stupid I know. I think I'll manage though. OK well it's getting late now I think I should go to bed and do some homework. Probably in that order. Gonna call sista-schrag, too. OK well thanks again everyone for coming to the site and keep on posting I wanna know what's new with you, too! How are the Tig's doin'? I was reppin' them hard today, I wore a Tiger shirt, jersey and hat and I wrote a poem about the D in Italian today. It was awesome. OK for real though, I'm going now. Ciao!
- Stevo

So I have a bike...

18:21 CEST, 12:21 EST - Haha this weekend was a pretty good story. So Friday I was a little homesick cause I realized that it was Friday and I didn't have any of my boys from home to go out with - that made me a little sad, but I got over it and had a great time at the bars with all the girls. David (the only other dude on the trip) got a job working at the bars so I couldn't go out with him but it was still fun we had a good time.
Then Saturday we fooled around... slept in late and grabbed some food and really did nothing for most of the day. Then, while Dave and Chamille were getting ready, I made a gametime decision to go with some of the girls out to a really fancy resaurant. The UM - Central game had been stopped and I was just like ok I'll go. I'm glad I did.
On the way to the place, I found out that the girls knew a guy that worked there and so him and some of his friends ended up meeting us up there. After a long (4 hours and realllly good) dinner, we ended up leaving the place at 12:30 and then we went to a disco after that until much later. Again another fun night. The next day these guys took us (the girls and me) to a pool where we swam and played some volleyball and soccer. These guys were from Morocco and they knew how to play, I felt like I was watching a pro team. They really were nice to me (maybe it was just because I was rolling with three good-looking American girls, but still) and they offered to help us find a bike.
Fast forward to today. After class some of us decided to buy tickets to Oktoberfest in two weeks! So I am stoked about that. It's only two days (one night) but it still should be a lot of fun.
After we did that a couple of our new Moroccan friends took us to a garden to get new bikes. We walked around the garden for a little while we saw some shady looking dudes riding bikes that they were more than willing to get off of their hands. After a little while 3 of us had bikes and we walked to a Sept. 11th memorial (one of the only ones in Italy) and it was pretty big. There was a huge piece of one of the buildings built into this memorial. It was very moving. As we were walking back, we were approached by the former owner of one of the bikes who apparently just had his bike stolen. Luckily our friends knew how to handle the situation and after a couple intense moments Dave was able to get his money back and the guy was able to get his bike back. No harm done. Apparently bike stealing happens a lot here, I guess I need to get a lock.
Anyway, David and I are now watching cnn.com's tribute to 9/11 and I think I'm going to take a nap soon. More to come later hopefully. Ciao!

Thoughts on Padova...

16:54 CEST, 10:54 EST - Well now that I am beginning to settle in I thought I'd share a few thoughts that I have had so far. At least the ones that I can remember.
1. Everything here is beautiful. I swear, they won't do it unless it looks good. It's really kinda neat but they like to put the extra time in to make whatever they are working on look good. Be it what they wear or their own store, everything looks good. I kinda felt like a bum today walking around the city, but you know what? maybe I am.
2. Their attitudes. A lot of stores are closed in the middle of the day here. It's kind of annoying because when we get out of class pretty much everything is shut down. I was thinking fine, then they won't get my money, but with their way of life, it just isn't worth it to them to remain open for those extra hours just to get a little more money. They'd rather be doing whatever else they have to do during that time. I like that.
3. Gelato. There are gelaterias EVERYWHERE. At least in Padova. Honestly, every street has its own gelateria sometimes more than one. It's crazy. But it's cool because a lot of them have ice cream that is "senza latte" (without milk) so I can eat, too!
4. I am American. There is no way for me to hide it, so I have decided that the best way is to embrace it and be proud because I love being American darnit.
5. People here are really nice once you break the ice. Really, you can ask someone how to get to a street and they will talk to you for a half hour or more if you let them. It's pretty nice because you don't feel bad taking up their time. If you are in a hurry it's tough to leave, but I love it.
6. They really need an American sports bar here.
7. Maybe I'll just quit school and open up an American sports bar here.
8. Maybe not.
Well that's about all I have that I can remember at least for now. Yesterday we had our test which I think went OK... neither bad nor good so we shall see. And then we went out to the bars again it was fun. It's easier to practice your Italian after you've had a beer or two because you don't care as much if you mess up. Today I woke up excited for football again, I am debating on whether to spend money for a day of football online. I could watch Michigan-Central (meh) but I really wanna see that OSU - TEXAS game and I want to watch Penn State - ND, too. Thanks for all the updates on gli sport americani. I hope those Tigs know what they are doin... I left so that they could win!
At the Prato della Valle today there was a flea market and I bought a Materazzi Italian National jersey and some scarpe (shoes). Overall I say it was a successful venture. You'll have to excuse me if these posts are all over the place, that seems to be where my mind is lately (all over the place) and people keep walking in and out everytime I write these so I always get distracted. I hope you are enjoying reading these as much as I am enjoying writing them, I love and I miss you all~!
-Stevo
PS. - More pictures are up - check 'em out!!

La prima settimana

20:00 CEST, 2:00 PM EST - Hello again! Well I have officially been here for over a week now and the first week of classes is almost over. Tomorrow we have a test and I have actually done some work for it. But this week was full new things... I finally went to Prata della Valle (this beautiful circle with statues and a river around it - check out the link for a picture) and met up with Giulia! She came all the way (about a 45 minute drive)from Verona with her friend Francesca who has never driven outside of Verona. So I was happy they could make the trip. We went to a bar and I introduced them to some of my new Californian friends. It was really great to see her again.
Also this week I think I found an apartment that I will live in! After a few more phone calls I called a number and a girl picked up... after a few minutes of me trying to find where it is she finally said, "Would it be easier if I spoke English?" haha I said probably. So I went and I met up with her and she showed me the place... It is MUCH bigger than the other apartment and is in a great location. Plus I will be living with 4 Italians - two guys, two girls. Three of them speak only Italian, and the girl who I talked to (who oddly enough is also named Francesa) worked in New York this summer so she knows a good deal of English, It seems like a great living situation because I will be forced to learn the language and I will have a big room, even if I am sharing it with someone else.
It's not for sure yet that I have it, but they seem pretty stoked about it and they have to consult with the other girl who won't be in until Monday... I am going to meet her then.
Until then I need to worry about class. We had a professor from the Political Science department come in and speak to us yesterday. He was supposed to talk to 2 hours but he managed to stretch it into 2 and half (this was after a 4 hour class in the morning mind you) and I really think he was preaching to a bunch of ants because if we understood anything it sure wasn't much. I sure need to learn quickly or this semester is going to be really tough. Fortunately I think that the University of California offers two classes for us to take (one grammer and one art) hopefully they are both in the first semester.
Today I got a message slipped under my door telling me (in Italian) that if I didn't clean my room before the maids came to clean they were going to charge me money. At least I think that's what it said. Don't worry Mom, I wasn't the only one to get the letter. But I don't really want them to come clean my room anyways so why should it matter if I have clothes on the ground? Oh well I guess I just better comply... When in Rome...
A domani.

A scuola

22:39 CEST, 4:39PM EST - And so it begins. School started today and the classes are ok. Our teachers decided to give us a reading that is tough for any Italian, let alone foreigners trying to learn the darn language. Right now I am supposed to writing an essay for tomorrow but I decided to write this instead. Yesterday was a pretty good day, I was able to chill in my room and do some homework and I went and took a look at the dorm I was assigned to. It is definitely nowhere I want to live, so I need to step up my apartment search. I went and saw an apartment today and it looked pretty decent but it was kinda small and I would be sleeping in the family/kitchen. I don't think I'm feeling that so I am supposed to call another guy tomorrow and try to see another place. Otherwise I need to go back and find some more places to call!
Church at the Basilica di San Antonio was unbelievable. The Basilica was so big and it was covered in art from top to bottom. There was a mass pretty much every hour on the hour and people were just walking around the church like there wasn't a mass going on. It was different for us, but we moved up to the front of the Church and I didn't even notice the other people walking through there really. It was kind of cool because I know the Order of the Mass from home and it was pretty much the same style but in Italian so I think I picked up on a few words, I just need to learn the Our Father now and I'm set!
Well today was Labor Day for the US but there was no such luck here. Oh well. Tomorrow should be another good day, so far the weather here has been unbelievable... a perfect temperature and sunny. It's beautiful.
Thank you everyone who has commented and kept me updated about happenings at home. Keep them comin' (squi, uncle bruin, slick).
Well I should probably get goin on this paper I'm supposed to be writing, but I have uploaded some pictures (not many) but I think I am going to post them to this site so if I do I hope you enjoy! A domani!

Hail to the Victors!

12:39 CEST, 6:39 EST - Hey all! Yesterday was my first day where I got to spend some time by myself and start to figure things out. I woke up around 10:30 and IMMEDIATELY put my Stevie B Jersey on which I wore all day. I was so ready to go to a football game yesterday. I tried to watch it on my computer but every single program that is out there to watch football doesn't support a mac which is STUPID. grrr. Oh well I was able to listen to most of it and I "watched" it on gamecast. Everytime the Maize and Blue scored I played the fight song and when there was a key play I wagged my keys. I kept thinking about everyone there and what they were doing right then, I know that Cody was loving it, Kiko was... well being Kiko, and that Berman wanted to leave early in the 3rd but stuck it out because he'd get razzed if he didn't. Ahh I miss that. Well I was really excited just to be paying attention to football again even if I didn't get to see any big hits or anything.
So pretty much that was my day yesterday, the game didn't start until 6:00 here so I was just waiting and trying to get different things set up on my computer. I tried to do homework too but I couldn't concentrate so that's what Christina and I are going to do today. We want to look at our dorms, too, in case we want to live there and we also want to try and go to church (she said there is mass at 6:00). I'm excited to see what mass is like here. Well, I probably should get this day rollin'... talk to ya'll later!

Oh wait! I forgot.... I downloaded skype yesterday, too. (www.skype.com) and it would be a good way for anyone to call me if they want. My skype name is schragoo, call me up!

Schoolwork begins

18:36 CEST, 12:36 EST - Ciao Tutti! Today I had my first test in Italian to see which group of students I get placed with - The smart kids, or the not as smart kids. I'm thinking its going to be the not as smart. I don't mind, I need the extra attention. Today was my first day where I actually had a little time on my hands so I was able to set up the computer a little bit more and help other people set up theirs. I also made a few phone calls trying to find an appartment. Those calls are so scary because I have no idea what I'm saying!!!
It was a beautiful day today... the perfect temperature. And while I was studying, there was a guy playing the clarinet outside and he was playing some of the great ones - My Way (Frank Sinatra), Mack the Knife (Dean Martin), the theme from il Postino... Some beautiful music, he made my homework go a lot easier. Yesterday we saw an accordian player... he reminded me of my mom because she used to play accordian when she was younger (haha - I can just picture her). Anyway, the streets, the city, the music, the people, everything is just beautiful over here I wish that you all could see it!
I am going to be posting some pictures soon, though I don't have that many. Alright we are about to go to check out the cafeteria. Ciao!

I hope I was born in Southfield..

12:44AM CEST, 6:44PM EST -- ... cause that's what I put on my passport information today. Hey all! I finally figured out how to get some internet in my room! I'm stoked as the californians would call it. "that's gnarly". Though I haven't been able to get my AIM working yet. Anyway, thank you all for your postings it's great to hear from you all. Today was a good day we started off with some orientation business and then we were able to roam the streets of Padova for the day. It was very nice because I was able to get some numbers to call as potential roommates and I was able to pick up a new cell phone. If you want my number (I get free incoming calls) just e-mail me at schragoo@umich.edu and ill send it your way. Anyways it's getting late because I have to get up really early for a placement test tomorrow morning, but I just wanted to make a quick post and then tomorrow I'l try and upload some pictures so you can see where I'm living and some of the new people I have met. I love you and I miss you all!

Greetings from Padova!

3:33 CEST, 9:33 EST - Ciao tutti! I am currently in an internet caffe on a lovely street in Padova not far from my dorm. I have met a few other kids from California who are doing the same program with us... Chamille and David. They are both going to be living next to me and they both seem like good people. I'm really excited about this year it should be fun. Let's see 3:33 here so that means its 11:30 EST. no wait... its 9:30 at home. I'll figure it out soon enough. I am trying to speak italian as much as i can but it is still very tough for me. Oh well. Everything is closed right now because italians like to take their nap or do whatever it is that Italians do right now. I reallllly think I am going to fit in here. Well, fitting in might be a stretch but at least i'll like it here.
Tonight we are going to eat pizza and meet the rest of the California Crew and then probably go out... last night with the grad students showed us a strip of like 9 or 10 outside bars. It was raining a little bit but that didn't stop us from having fun. There is a river that runs right on the other side of the street from these bars too... its really cool. I am going to try and get a phone soon so that anyone who wants to call me can 0:-) Well, I'm thinking that a nap does sound pretty good right now. I haven't really gotten much sleep... though when I did sleep i slept very well. It was nice and cold and... wow that bed is calling my name so I am going to take off but I'm glad I finally got on and was able to post all this stuff! Talk to you soon!

Arrivo in Padova!

- 5:41 AM EST - 11:41 AM CEST - Buona Mattina! Ciao tutti! Right now you all are sleeping, but Italia is hoppin! Everything is so new and different and exciting the group of us got up early this morning (7:00 early) and decided to go exploring for a little while. Everything is so much different, from the plugs in the wall to the stores on the corner. I am still looking for an internet connection because we don’t get one in my room, but I will find it soon. I think there is one in the center of town. We are going to go there later.
We arrived last night at Copernico (the dorm where I’m staying at) on Via Tiepolo at about 9:00 this time and it was already dark. We got ourselves checked in real quick and then we went out with some grad students that have been living here for a couple weeks. It’s nice to roll up with cute girls because all the people who live here and know what they are doing don’t mind to help them.
– Interuption - And I just met my suitemate, David. He’s from San Diego which I think is French for a whale’s –
He seems like a cool kid, I’m about to go eat with him and Camile and the girls… I’ll let you know when I get back!

My Stay in London

Hey all…. Comin at you again this time from the streets of London… word. We were just notified that our plane is not serviceable and they do not know what they are going to do now. Wonderful. That wasn’t the only mishap in London, while we were waiting for the Customs into the UK, we were greeted with a fire alarm and told to evacuate. We had been waiting in the line for a long time so we (and most everyone else) decided to stay in line despite the warnings to the contrary. The trip to this airport in London wasn’t too bad, about an hour in a bus, but it was probably the quietest bus ride I have ever been on. Maybe it was because it was freakishly early in the morning. I’ve decided that people here in London dress a lot better than people in the US. And my mom was right, I probably shouldve brought a sportcoat because I see people wearing them all over the place. Weird. So now Christina and I are sharing photos of the summer with each other while we wait. And wait. And wait….

Where the heck am I?

Hello everyone! This is your favorite friend/relative comin at you fast (558 MPH fast) from 35000 feet above Newfoundland about to roll over the Atlantic. Currently its 8:50 PM Eastern Standard Time and I am scheduled to arrive in London in 4 and a half hours. It’s a good thing that they have some pretty good movies that are on demand this flight. I just watched a movie called Thank You For Smoking which was pretty funny and now I just put on Jurassic Park – can never go wrong with that one.
This past week has been pretty bittersweet for me as I said some farewells and got ready for this trip. I was able to make it to East Lansing and Ann Arbor to say goodbye to a few people and my cousins and aunts and uncles have been in and out saying goodbye. It’s hard to believe that after all of this anticipation I am finally going. Though I still don’t know where quite yet. I suppose tonight I’ll have to sleep on the plane though I only have four more hours to do so and tomorrow night (or tonight?) I hope to have a real bed in Padua where I will be staying for the next month during my language-learning program. I am anxious to find out if I am going to have a roommate or not or where he will be from if I do.
But first I have to get through London. London airport is not going to be much fun at all I have to carry a year’s supply of stuff from one airport to another. I had a tough time trying to get all my bags checked in this afternoon – I had to take a few sweaters and shoes out in order to comply with the weight limit. Luckily Kristy was there to save the day and take my stuff home. I do not know where I would be without my mom or her this summer… probably not on this flight.
Hahaha I forgot that Samuel L. Jackson is in this movie – I hope there are no snakes on this plane. I also hope that I am able to connect to the internet when I get there so that I can update this. I am really going to miss everyone and I hope that you can keep up with me! I’ll write another one as soon as I can.
Love, Steve

Yes! There really is a Kalamazoo

So I'm stuck in Ann Arbor waiting for an advising appointment and I thought I'd update the blog after a great weekend. Kristy took me to Kalamazoo for the "Summer quarterly" where they celebrate all the family's summer birthdays. I don't remember how many there were exactly but there were quite a few. I found a new favorite member of Kristy's family in her cousin's son Shane (See Above). He's a player.

While we were there we visited her cottage an Gravel lake, spent some time in the newly installed hot tub at the Garvey house, and saw the boys on Western's campus for a night of... well let's just call it a night. And a good one at that.

I managed to beat Kristy in 1 on 1 bball finally, though she took me in pig. And I saw Berm last week and we watched Good Night and Good Luck when he had his wisdom teef out. He seems to think that I'll keep this up for 3 weeks and then call it quits. I'll prove him wrong. As long as people read this I'll keep posting. So until next week or so... Good night, and good luck.

Hello! This is the first of hopefully a string of blog entries to keep friends and family updated on my whereabouts and excursions in my life. Who knows what is in store for me this year, but I'm hoping to bring ya'll along with me through a blog such as this. I don't know how often I am going to be able to update it but I'm shooting for once a week.
I haven't played around with this site yet, but I'm pretty sure you will be able to post and give me suggestions, let me know what I'm doing wrong, etc.
Hopefully I'll figure out how to post pictures, too.
The main reason I am setting this up is so that I can stay in touch with everyone back home, but this isn't a one-way street. I really want to know what's going on in everyone else's life, too, so please post and let me know what the heck is new with you.
As for this entry, I'll bring you up to speed real quick with my life:
I just got back from up north with the whole Schrage famb and with special guest appearances by Kristy, Bryan, Alison and Andrew. We had fun and watched the canoe race... played some Euchre, ate a lot of food, and Kristy schooled all the boys in two games of 21. That girl can shoot the lights out.
I just finished up my job at the DYC docking boats for the summer, and I'm hoping to get Uncle Dave, Uncle Rick, and Aunt Betsy squared away with a new barcoding system at Legna before the end of this week. I have been pretty busy all summer working the two jobs, but I have most definately left time for myself and made it to a few concerts: Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews Band (2x), Randy Travis (with Poppa Schrags), Counting Crows and the Goo Goo Dolls. And Brooks and Dunn and the Beach Boys are still to come. ANNNNd I've managed to see some baseball... I've seen a couple of Tiger's games, though I believe I am below .500 with them so I don't know if I can go anymore. AND our parents took us to Chicago one weekend and we saw the White Sox @ the Cubbies. Overall I have been really busy but I have had a ton of fun.
I leave for Italia on the 28th of August so I hope to catch you before then. Of course the paperwork for travel abroad is ridiculous so who knows maybe I won't be going after all. As far as I know, all my stuff is in order and my plane leaves the 28th so give me a call or before then I would love to say goodbye. Ok I think this is good for my first entry. See ya next week!

Stevo
PS - That picture is at the end of the quarter game. Obviously.