It's about time!

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to this, folks.

I feel I'm settling into a nice rhythm in life here in Italy and at the university.  Classes, coffee with friends, church, seeing new places, trying new things, you know.  La dolce vita.

I will tell you the thing that has made me the happiest in the past several days.  I was at a house party the other night and before I left I went around to the girls who were staying longer to make sure they were okay and could get home all right.  Some people at the party were a bit drunk.  One girl who I have a couple classes with but have never hung out with stopped me and said, "I want to tell you something.  I don't know what it is, but you have this light inside you.  I don't even really know you, but you're so full of light I feel like I just love you!"  And she gave me this big hug.  I'm so happy about that!  I have been praying specifically that I would be a light to the people around me, and was really encouraging to hear that exact word echoed back to me.

I got two new apartment-mates today!  Does it seem like I'm constantly talking about roommates coming or going?  It sure does to me.  Hopefully, this is the last change, and the four in the apartment now will stick it out together until the end of the semester.  The new girls just arrived from China and seem very nice but find it difficult to communicate too much in English.  I feel bad, I'm going to have to ask for their names at least one more time.  My ear is not at all used to picking up and remembering Chinese names!  One of the girls said that my pronunciation was really good, though.  Hooray!  I do love accents.

Remember the "never ending process" from an earlier blog?  I have to apply for a permit of stay, and it's a long and complicated process.  I went back again yesterday.  My appointment was at the police station for about 8:20, so I got there at 8:05, hoping to avoid having to wait for too many people, and found out that the office didn't open until 8:30.  Hmm...  After I got in and waited for a long time (but not as long as last time) I was called into the office.  The woman and I went through my paperwork, and I entered all my fingerprints into the computer.  Then her computer died or something so we waited for it to shut down all the way and power up all the way so she could pull up the program again and I could enter my fingerprints.  Since it was my first time applying for a permit of stay, I also had to enter my fingerprints into a different machine connected to a different computer.  Apparently they changed the password on that computer, and after a few failed attempts to log on, she got someone from a different office to tell her what it was.  Then she failed to log on again and we had to wait for the person from the other office to come enter it for her.  Then I could enter all my fingerprints--again--along with my entire handprints.  I amused myself through the process by replaying the scene in "Men in Black" when Will Smith becomes J and has to burn off his handprints and fingerprints.  I found out that I didn't have copies of everything I needed.  They told me to turn in the originals, so I brought the originals (of a letter from the school saying I'm a student, a receipt from the post office during an earlier step in the process, etc.).  Turns out I should have brought copies to turn in.  After we finished everything else, the woman told me where a copy place was so I went, made copies, and came back.  I waltzed through the waiting room and into her office, dropped off the paperwork, and tangoed out of the police station.  No, I didn't waltz or tango.  That would have been interesting, though.  I walked 20 minutes to the train station, got on the train back home and thought "Wow, I'm really glad I can go back to sleep now.  I wonder if Angela and Molly are still sleeping."  The party I mentioned earlier was the night before and some girls slept at my place instead of traveling all the way back to their apartments.  And I had gotten 4 hours of sleep, thanks to my morning appointment.  Before my station, I got a call on my phone.  It was the woman from the police station.  She had forgotten to have me sign something.  Could I please come back right now and sign it?  I sighed and told her I'd be back in about an hour, then made my way to my apartment.  I got the girls some breakfast, and then as we all waited together for the train to the station in Milan, I thought "Well, at least it's warmer now than it was at 7:15 this morning."  I made my way back to the police station, marched through the waiting room, and waited in the doorway of the woman's office until she was done with the person that was in there.  You know what I had to sign?  A printout of my fingerprints.  Yup.  At least now I think the process is almost over.  I only have to go back to the police station one more time, and it's just to pick up my permit.

Last night a couple girls came over and we made foccacia!  So fun and so delicious.  I need to make it every once in a while so that 1) I can enjoy eating it, and 2) so that I can engrave the recipe in my mind.  I want to be able to make it once I'm back in the good ol' US.