An Ice Sculpture of My Dog In An Air Conditioned Room Would Be Lovely

Ok, so I had my first breakdown of the trip the other day.  Luckily Rita helped me through.  Basically, on Monday I got demoted from level 2 to level 1 and in Marcie ears, I heard “You failed.  You’re a failing faily failer.”  Keep in mind that Sanchit and Slava also got moved with me, so I wasn’t even alone, I had my new best friends with me.  But after talking it out and calming down, I decided I needed to make the best of it.  I needed to give it a try without just being pissed all the time.  This lasted all of two hours, but after spending a class doing colors and clothes for the nth time, I was over it again.  Today (Friday) was really good though, and I actually learned a lot of new words but I still feel like I want to make a list of the things I miss about being in the States.

1. Not being 1,000 degrees always.  Here’s the thing… I actually hate the heat. I hate being hot.  I really didn’t think this through when I was like “Oh yea, I should go to Italy this summer.”  It’s only supposed to get hotter, too.  Luckily it has not been completely awful in the shade, and there is even usually some wind.  However, I still feel like Frosty the Snowman trying to walk through the desert at times.  The other day I actually had lunch in a place that had A/C and I didn’t even realize it until I was almost done eating.  That’s how close it was set to the temperature outside.  Also, being in Venice and surrounded by water, it is so humid.  I will never take my pool for granted again. I would give anything for a quick dip most days.

2. I miss my dog.  When I was in college, I would say this too. I can always call home and talk to my family, but I waited 17 years to get a dog and I can’t talk to her (Believe me, I tried in college).  Here there are dogs EVERYWHERE.  Seriously, I don’t know how these people train them, but even Cesar Millan could learn a thing or two.  These dogs walk the streets without leashes and somehow never get lost.  The owners also never seem concerned that the dog will run away!  If Lady was here, I would not only have her on a leash at all times, I would constantly be checking that she was okay.  It’s like dogs here know that if they don’t watch their owners they could be lost forever.

3. Screens.  Here the windows don’t have screens, so when you open your window to get some air into the room, you also are susceptible to any outside intruders.  This leads me to number 4…

4. Bug spray.  I have mosquito bites everywhere.  It’s like I have spent two weeks in the woods covered in sugar water.  I get bit a lot as it is, but I haven’t bought bug spray here yet so it is worse.  The lack of screens is not helping.  I feel like I am an open target when I sleep.

5. Dryers.  Here when you do laundry, there is no dryer.  You can hang your clothes outside the window, or you can use a drying rack.  The first few loads of laundry took days to dry.  This last load only took one day though because of the heat. So, Silver Lining’s Playbook, I guess.

6. My car.  Ok, I admit it.  I am almost tired of there being no cars around.  Not because I actually need to drive anywhere I go (except maybe that one night to Mestre when we got stuck there after the buses stopped running), but because I actually really love driving and I miss it.  Even when we leave Venice though, I think I would be too terrified to drive in Italy.  I will wait until I get home.

7.  Dishwashers.  If you thought I missed dryers, I FOR SURE miss dishwashers.  I don’t even like doing dishes when I have one of those, but I have barely cooked anything here because I refuse to hand wash pots and pans. In fact, the extent of my cooking has been putting food on aluminum foil and heating in the oven.  So actually not much different than when I cook at home.

8.  Soft drinks that don’t cost as much as wine.  Really, I miss fountain drinks.  With free refills.  Everything is sold by the can or bottle here, usually for at least 2.50 or 3 euro.  I also want ice in my drink.  The other day Sanchit got a glass of ice from a cafe for us and I had never been more excited about frozen water in my life.  This includes going to hockey games.

[[EDIT: 9. Free WiFi or Data.  I am a little tired of having to go search for WiFi.]]

Even as I am writing this, the only thing that is still upsetting is the weather being super hot.  I just felt it was only fair to mention that it's not all sunshine and rainbows here.  Basically it's just sunshine...as in I have a ridiculous tan line across my chest from my purse kind of sunshine.