In Cortona.

I've been here for 4 weeks. I enjoy it very much. I haven't been much elsewhere. (Elsewhere much? What?) I've mostly stayed here. There's quite a lot to see here. I don't even know how to go about explaining it, but basically, I'm living in a small medieval city whose roots go as far back as the Umbrians. It was taken over by the Etruscans, and then conquered by the Romans. Society built over top of another. In the basement of one of the Tabacchis is an Etruscan well, modernized with lights to showcase the goldfish living in it. Halfway up the hill to Cortona is an Etruscan tomb, basically just a pile of stones now. At the top of the hill is the Medici fortress; and throughout the town there are many churches. The streets are made of stones, and go either uphill or downhill. There is only one street that's flat, and it's the main street that all the tourists see when they visit.
There are 34 students in my program, and we are all from the U of A, so there's a comfort in talking with someone and them knowing exactly what you're talking about when you mention an Edmonton location. They're all younger than me, of course, but I enjoy hanging out with them. Most of us live in a hostel managed by a local, which is basically our dorms. Except for me and my roommate, everyone shares with 3 or 4 or 5 other people. The people with only one roommate, or with no roommates, live in a convent down the hill. The reason me and my one roommate are living in the hostel is that she couldn't afford the double occupancy rate, so they put us in the hostel where we share bathrooms with everyone, and pay the multiple occupancy fee. So, huzzah! Single or double occupancies get their own bathrooms, and something else I'm sure is awesome. But living in the hostel is nicer because it's where we gather for breakfast and supper, and the people from the convent end up coming to hang out here anyway. My roommate is nice. We get along fine.
I've taken to drinking tea. It warms me up when all else fails, as there is no central heating. I don't drink Pepsi anymore, it's all Coke here. After a few days I gave up on finding Pepsi to drink, and even walked past the bottles of Pepsi when I went to the Co-op down in Camucia last week. I drink Coke sometimes when we go out, but mostly it's water and juice and tea drinking for me. Who knows what it'll be like when I get home and can buy Pepsi from the corner store. We are fed breakfast and supper, and supper is always a delicious time. Olive oil is in everything and it's so yummy, I'm going to have to buy a few bottles to bring home with me. I don't know how I've gone so long without pesto in my life. Seriously guys. PESTO! It lives in my belly. Along with the roasted chicken we are fed once a week; it makes Swiss Chalet's roasted chicken taste like melted rubber covered in hot garbage.
Anyway. I keep getting asked about the men. To which I usually answer, "I dunno." Like, what else do I say? They're men. We have men back in Canada you know. I see the men here like I see the men back home, not until I walk into one of them. They're really not that different here, except that they're Italian and have dark hair and brownish complexions. Some are good looking, some are not. Some are old, some are young. Some dress well, some don't. There is one who's caught my eye, but my Italian is so bad (and who knows if he speaks English) that I do not hold any hope for contact beyond the furtive glances I give when I see him. Leave it to me to be awkward in any language.
We are starting midterms next week. I can't believe we are halfway through. I can't believe I get to go home in six weeks. I've bought gifts for my girls - matching pink Italia hoodies, and leather coin purses that are shaped like elephants; and a gift for my mom - a red leather purse made here in Tuscany. No idea what to buy my brothers. Belts and wallets maybe? I don't think they'd enjoy a sparkly scarf so much. (Do I have sparkly scarves from Florence? Yes!) And I owe my cousin something from Milan, preferably with an authentic Prada or Chanel or something logo on it. So I'll be going to Milan sometime while I'm here.
So... clearly I'm not so great at the blogging with photos part. But I'll get around to it sometime. Next up, Florence.