Una Storia Italiana. Part One.

Hello my darlings!

Good gracious it's been WAY too long since I updated this. I'm SO sorry. In my defense, I've been out and about doing anything and everything.

I'm going to fast forward to my most recent trip to ITALIA and then I'll go back and catch you up on my Polish happenings.

So,

Italia...

It was Wednesday morning and I was being SUPER productive getting stuff done before I left for Italy. I was running around getting my temporary residency stuff figured out, exchanging money, and printing off ALLLLL of my tickets for my trip as well as my absentee ballot (YAY FIRST ELECTION!).So, it was around 15:30 when I finished printing off my tickets at the Ksero below my dorm and my plan was to take a shower, finish packing, and then head to the airport to catch my 19:35 flight.

As I entered the stairwell I decided to double check my ticket and make sure I had the time of my flight right.

"Gate closes 17:55, Flight departs 18:25"

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O_O

WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT!??!?!?!?!!?


I whisper-yelled in the stairwell. "I'mGonnaMissMyFlight. I'mGonnaMissMyFlight. I'mGonnaMissMyFlight"

I threw myself into my room and, thank the lawwwwd, while I was on top of things that morning, I had laid everything out that I need to pack on my bed. So I just kind threw it all in my backpack and went through the frantic mental checklist in my head. Repeating everything at least 5 times out loud, "Undies, clothes, cameras, chargers, documents, money, passport. [repeat]"At 16:10 I called the taxi service. No answer (aaaaahhhhhhhhh) call again. Busy still. One more time. "RING RING," cried the telecommunication angels! At 16:23 my ride was here. I sprinted downstairs and into the cab. The cab driver was SO nice and played lovely classical music. I was on my way!! He told me he was studying English and asked if I could help him with some word pronunciations: Rarely and Thief.
I got to the airport, ate some croissant thing with chocolate in it (I hadn't had anything since breakfast that morning) and then I was off!
I arrived in Roma with no problem, found the Ryanair bus with the help of the ticket man at the airport and was on my way to the train station. I played some rad music and just stared out the window in awe. IMHEREIMHEREIMHERE!!!!! There were mopeds and pizzerias EVERYWHERE.

So, there I was, in Roma, alone, but alive. :D

Arrived at hostel. Checked in. Went upstairs to discover lots of boy stuffs everywhere. I saw one purse so I figured there must be one girl. "Food. I need sustenance," I thought. so I went across the street to a little cafe and got two paninis...and then went to some weird hallway in a wall store and bought some shampoo. Returned, met my roommates who were all in their undies. (HOtt aussies and two american boys I might add) "Err, Hi. I think I'm your new roommate...Sylvia, from Tennessee." The redheaded Aussie burst out laughing and I just kinda stood awkwardly, smiling. And then I heard him say, "Well, you're the only ten I see!" I burst out laughing. He told me how JUST the night before he was talking with the other dudes about if he EVER met a girl from Tennessee he'd use that pick-up line and she how she responded. He said he was very pleased. I wAs ToO. They left to go do some stuff and then returned that night when I got out of the shower. Wow that sentence sounds weird. Anyway... One was in his swimming trunks on the bed, the other in a lion onesie (the Ten-I-See-er soul mate of mine), and the other one was naked under the sheets...or a least I'm 99% sure he was. Then I fell asleep...kinda.

I was lying in my bed and turned to my left only to find Seattle-Swimming-Trunks (His official name since I can't remember what his real name was) with his right arm extended towards my bed. I had to bite my tongue from laughing, mainly because I totes wanted to just place my finger in his palm, ya know, poke it or something. I don't know why this idea popped into my head, but it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

So here I am chuckling at this idea, roll over to my right, and then roll back over to my left and, what do ya know, I accidentally (no really and truly, accidentally) gently whack him in the hand. And THEN if that wasn't bad enough, my nighttime whisper voice decided to be really creepy that night and I said, "SoRry" like a deep-voiced hyperventilating man. I shut my eyes (pretending to hide or something). I don't know if he heard me, but when I opened my eyes he had retracted his arm.

I eventually fell asleep.

I woke up at 5:20 grabbed my things and was off to the train station to catch my 6:13 train to Firenze (Florence). I looked at the timetable and saw Platform 1E. 1E? What's 1E? I spotted some girls with backpacks and asked if they understood the platform system. Turns out they were from the States as well and were going to be on the same train as me. I spotted a train conductor and asked him where I should go and he pointed to the far away train outside the station. We boarded, slept for the first 2 hours and then arrived in Firence at 9:45.

Part two coming tomorrow!

Always,
S

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What's in a Name?

So apparently I can't pronounce my own name.

98% of the time when I introduce myself as "Hi, Sylvia, USA, Tennessee" I either get "Sofia?" or with confidence "Ah, Sofia [nice to meet you]." Oh and "Kristina" too, but I'll tell that story in a second.

I can literally count the number of times someone has correctly repeated "Sylvia?" or "Ah, Sylvia [nice to meet you]" on one hand. 

Thrice.

I now have to say my name with an Italian accent for people to understand what I'm saying...and then they get confused when I immediately switch accents back and say I'm from Tennessee.

I'm starting to wonder if this whole being called Sofia thing is some kind of sign...or like a hint that I'm actually about to have to change identities...which is even funnier when you consider all of my little faces that I had to cut out last week:

Prepping for the transition. Lil Sofia's everywhere. I don't know why this rotated funnily.

So remember my friend who thought I spoke pretty good English? Well, it was our second weekend in Wroclaw and I decided to friend him on Facebook. I said "Why hello there!" I was expecting some kind of response but didn't get one. Later that day I went jogging with his roommate and the roommate asked me, "So why is your name different on Facebook?" Naturally I assumed he was talking about my last name on Facebook. As I was about to start explaining he asked, "Like, why does it say Sylvia?" "What do you Mean 'Why does it say Sylvia?'?" "Why does it not say Kristina?" "HUH? My name's not Kristina!" "Yes it is." "No it's not!" "But you said it was." "WHaaaa? When? No I didn't." "Yeah you did. ....So it's not Kristina?" "No, it's Sylvia!" "Oh, weird. Matteo thought your name was Kristina too." "HE DID?" "Yeah today he was like, "Why is this Sylvia girl from the USA saying 'Why hello there!"? What does that even mean? I don't understand."

So yes. My neighbors for a week (and I'd hung out with them several times) thought my name was Kristina. 

And even today in class my Polish teacher (who I assumed would understand me) called me Sofia all through class...she then also called a girl named Innes Sofia hahah.

Maybe Sofia is the new informal "you" Like "Hey you" except it's "Hey Sofia."

Love always,

Sylvia Sofia Kristina Zletters

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Get Off the Tram! and, Beacon in the Night Moments

Hello my darlings!

Sorry it's been a while...like, a long while.

Uwaga Uwaga: This entry is long

So, 1/3 of my first week in Wroclaw was spent being lost. How lost you ask? Each trip that was supposed to take 30 minutes max took me 2 hours to complete. EACH ONE. I often looked up at the sky and would ask, "Really? -_-...fine fine, ok, sorry." 

Here are some stories:

1) On the first day of classes I caught a tram, I can't remember if it was the #9 or #17, but it doesn't really matter since they both go to my school. I was proud of this accomplishment. Yay me, I know what tram takes me to school.
This pride was soon replaced with a "I shouldn't ride the tram every day. I should walk too. You know, be European and fit and stuffs."
So, after my second day of class I decided to walk home. "Just go the same way the tram goes." I told myself. Gosh, I'm good.

LOLZ. 

My tram takes one turn, ONE, at the end of the trip, otherwise it goes "prosto prosto prosto." So I was walking I couldn't remember which way the tram turned. So, I turned somewhere, I don't know where, and walked...and kept walking. As I was walking I had this really weird feeling, like I was too far off the map. No but really, there's this video game or something that I've played before where the player is on a platform and if he goes too far to one side of the platform it tilts and the player falls off. That's genuinely how I felt, like I was falling off this map I had in my head. So I turned to the right to stop the tilting. I felt balanced again... with good juju and whatnot. I kept walking and walking (geez oh man did I go too far left!) and walking and an hour and a half later, I saw it. Through the trees in some park that I ended up in, I saw Kredka (my dorm)! 

2)The next day I tried again. I rode the tram to school and told myself to pay attention and remember where the tram turns. I think I fell asleep because I totally missed it.
Nonetheless I tried walking home again. I thought I turned the right way. I did not. Again. I walked WAY off course again and I was well aware of it (tilting feeling). I was thirsty and starving and tired. So I found a nice lady and asked her where Kredka was...this of course was after 45 minutes of walking (I was stubborn and determined and dumb). "Take #O or #1 tram," she said. I was skeptical. I was only familiar with #9 and #17, so to take another one made me uneasy. But I decided to trust this native (duh it was a good idea. You must remember, the lack of food and drink in me was messing with my thinking). I hopped on the #O and rode staring intensely out the window trying to find something familiar. After 10 minutes I still supposedly had 3 stops before my stop and I was getting ready. And then, like a beacon in the night I saw Kredka! So I hopped off that tram 3 stops early and booked it to my home.


One time I took a tram with friends at 11pm or maybe it was 11:30 pm(before night buses start running)and while we didn't know it at the time, the last tram doesn't go to your destination. It goes to the tram house to hangout with its tram family and eat tram food and sleep and dream tram dreams until the next day.

So we're on this tram that we think is taking us home, right? And then 15 minutes pass and we're the only ones on the tram and the tram has stopped. "Must be a red light," we thought. And then we hear, "Koniec jazdy. Dobranoc." We don't react, at all. Zip, zero, nada reaction. I personally thought it was the radio or something. We stay seated. One second later: "KONIEC JAZDY. DOBRANOC." OH GAWD. We have to get off?? BUT THIS ISN'T HOME.

So we all file off onto the sidewalk as the tram driver smiles and waves bye-bye to us. We just stare at each other and start laughing like "Whaaaat?" and "What do we do now?" We were in the middle of bumble-doo-wop nowhere. Then like an angel from the sky (I've had several of these moments as well) we see two boys on bicycles and go ask for help. One minute later a bus comes by and the boys ask if the bus is going to our home. It was. We got on.

The Night bus:

You know how in Harry Potter the Night Bus key chain says, "It's gonna be a bumpy ride"? That's how the night buses are here. 

My gosh that was a long entry. I hope you liked it (and understood it) but if not, I'll tell you the stories in person :D

Love always,
S

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