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.