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!