My last 2 weekends

Wow. I don't even know where to begin. I guess I'll just go in chronological order.

Last weekend my classmates and I went through a program here called LIFE (Leadership Initiative For Excellence). I'm not going to write about it here because it wouldn't do it justice. I will say that it was life-changing (no pun intended) and that the group of people I will be with for the next ten months now is more bonded than I ever thought we would be. These people are great and I am so happy that we went through this experience together. One last thing about LIFE is that everyone came out of it with a hoarse voice, and hurting hands. The voice was gone from all of the yelling we did, and the hands hurt from hours and hours straight of clapping for each other.

This past weekend was spent in Slovenia. At Adrenalinski Park, to be exact. This was more bonding for the group. It was a low and high ropes course. I've done low ropes before in elementary school and through girl scouts, but never high ropes. The high ropes were amazing. First of all, I will be sending pictures out (if my connection ever actually lasts long enough for my pictures to upload (I'm trying for the 5th time right now)). If you are interested in getting these pictures, and you don't already, send me an email and I'll add your name to the list.

OK, the first element I did on high ropes was climbing a pole, basically a telephone pole, that was 8 meters high (about 26 feet). By the way, during all of the high ropes elements I was harnessed in and attached to a rope that would save my life if I fell. Once on top of the pole, we had to stand up on it, turn about half way around, and then jump off. I don't really have a fear of heights, but I do hate, with a passion, the feeling of my stomach dropping. As I was standing on the top of this pole, which was furiously shaking, thanks to my trembling legs, I had to convince myself to jump off. So there I am, standing 8 meters in the air, on the top of a pole that is not even big enough for both of my shoes. And, I'm shaking because I realize the only way for me to come down is by jumping off. I don't even remember if I counted to myself, but somehow I found the strength to do it. I free-fell for about one second and then my the rope tightened and caught me. What a rush that was. And that was the first of about 5 million rushes for that day. The next event was something called the "Career Ladder". This was a bunch of wooden slabs that were hanging by ropes. I think there were maybe 8 or 9 in a row. The object was to get on one step (slab), have your teammates raise you to the next one (only one meter at a time was allowed), and work your way up to a platform so you can ring a bell. I was elected stunt-woman for this element. I believe it's because I was one of the smaller ones of the group, and not scared of heights. This was a very taxing element. We did it over and over and over (I think I did it 4 times) so that we could try to beat the other teams record. Our best time, which did beat the other team, was 57 seconds.

At the career ladder, I had a high ropes instructor belaying me the entire time. The first time I got to the platform, he instructed me to turn with my back towards the open air, and just sit down into nothing-ness. He then lowered me down very quickly. Too quickly. And I yelled at him for it. He basically called me a wimp, but I told him how much I hated when my stomach dropped. The next time around, he lowered me insanely slowly, so I told him he could go a bit faster, and of course it scared the hell out of me. After the second time, he introduced himself to me. His name is Marko, and I kind of fell in love with him. (Probably just because my life was in his beautiful hands for about half a day, but still.) Throughout the day he basically just enjoyed torturing me. I think the best thing he made me do was what I'm about to explain.

The second to last activity we did for the day was climb up to the top of the high ropes and do as many elements (walk across a log that is 8 meters high, cross tires that are just a bit too far apart, walk a tight rope etc.) as we wanted to (or could) do. I walked across the log, then crossed some ropes that were hanging so you could step into them, walked on a tight rope (with ropes to hold onto), did the tires, and crossed three logs that were suspended separately. The tires completely wore me out. It took me awhile to figure out how to do it, and with a little coaching from Marko, I finally made it across. Basically, you had to get one foot in the tire, swing a little bit so that you could grab the next hanging tire with your hand and then stick your free foot in it. The point is to keep two feet in two separate tires at all times. This keeps you from spinning in circles on one tire. It was insanely hard, and when I finished I realized how exhausted I was.

So I went back to the initial platform and told Marko I was done. He smiled and said that he was going to let me get down from the top of the high ropes in a fun way. I asked him how, and after he told me I told him I hated him. Marko wanted me to stand a few feet back from the edge of the platform, get a running start, and jump off of the platform into nothing-ness. I could tell that he was not going to go easy on me, and to be completely honest, I kind of liked being pushed to my limits. So, there I was, standing 26 feet up in the air, trying to make myself jump off of the platform. After some encouragement, Marko decided to count to 3. Once he got to 3, I don't know where I found the courage, but I did it. And it was awesome. I free-fell again, but this time for a bit longer. Probably twice as far as when I jumped off the pole. What a rush.

The last element was something called the "Giant Swing". This works by you being strapped into a lot of ropes, having your teammates run holding one of the ropes that hoists you up into the air, probably right around 30 feet. Once at the top, the instructor (in this case Marko again) tells you to pull the cord that will release you and let you fall into a giant pendulum motion. Once again there is a horrible free fall, but then it is awesome. I actually let go, but did not lean back like they told me to. Maybe next time I'll be brave enough for that. Needless to say, it was an amazing weekend.

*The picture I've included shows the platform that I jumped off of (the one with the people standing on it on the left). It also shows on the lower right corner, the Career Ladder. About halfway up the picture on the right is the other platform that I was supposed to be raised to during the Career Ladder. You can also see the 3 suspended logs that I crossed, but not the log, or the tight rope, or the tires.

Cimba Place?

As I was walking from one side of the courtyard to the other tonight, I had a strange feeling that I was on a t.v. show. And not just any t.v. show, but Melrose Place. I never really watched it when I was younger, but do remember that a lot of the show focused on this nice apartment complex, where everyone seemed to always be hanging out in the center of all the buildings. That's similar to how Cimba is. There is a courtyard where (after class today, for example) many of us were hanging out and talking, with others coming and going. Some of the guys were playing with a soccer ball, some others were smoking, some of us were just talking, but we were all in the courtyard. What makes it even more like Melrose Place is that many of the bedroom windows/balconies look down onto the courtyard, so those in their rooms can come hang out and participate from the 2nd level. This is not the best picture (it was raining when I took it), but you can get the idea:




Alright, I must go back to my primetime soap opera life.

Grocery shopping

Today we had a group meeting (those of us living on campus) about group dinners. The past few nights we have just been going out to eat because we haven't really had groceries, nor have been brave enough to use the industrial kitchen that we have at our disposal. We decided to split up into 3 groups of 6; plan our meals for the week, go shopping, split the cost, some of us cook and some of us clean. My group is 3 Italians (Gianluigi, Tomasso, Alessandro) and 3 Americans (Josh, Claire and me).

After we broke off into our small groups, we made a shopping list, made our meal plan and decided to go shopping. Well, I decided I definitely wanted to go because it would mean leaving Asolo, in a car, with Italians who knew where they were going. It was pretty uneventful, but I had a lot of fun. I got to speak tons of Italian, and listen to even more. They speak really fast and with some slang that I don't get. Also, they have some different ways of saying things that people in Florence don't say.

Anyway, we drove about fifteen minutes from Asolo to the cheapest grocery store they knew of. I basically let the guys take control, since they are more familiar with brands etc. It turned out to be really funny watching the guys discuss whether they should get the extra virgin olive oil, or just the regular one or which gnocchi has the best flavor.

Overall, it's experiences like those that I want to have here. I want to feel like this is my home, like jumping into a car with a few Italians and going to a grocery store is completely normal for me. It seems like I'm on my way, now all I have to do is stay on course.

Weekend update

Yesterday we had a class about the neuroscience of many different things. It was very interesting. I'm not going to try to describe it for you, because I think I would butcher it. After class we grabbed something to eat and then went to the mall in Castelfranco, which is about a 30 minute bus ride away. They have the equivalent of a Target there, so all of us stocked up on some bare necessities (toilet paper, school supplies, some food, etc.). After that, we came back to CIMBA and relaxed until dinner. We had decided to all go out (minus the Italians, since most of them aren't actually staying with us yet). We ended up at a restaurant (1 of the 5 restaurants in Asolo) that was very yummy. The owner and one of the guys in the program (the Brazilian) have already become friends, so he was bringing us all sorts of drinks. We all got a little drunk because we knew it was one of our last nights for awhile to do so. Ended up having a great time.

Today we all woke up late. I went for a jog and then did some of the really lame weight machines that are in our "exercise room". After that I kicked around the soccer ball with some of the guys and then got ready for dinner. Today was the birthday of one of the girls, so we all went out to a nice dinner. It was also very yummy. After that we came back to CIMBA, and now I'm going to bed. This is kind of a boring entry and I think it's because I'm tired, so please pardon me. More soon!

Orientation

Today was the first day where everyone was together. It seems that there are about 7 or 8 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Indian, 1 Brazilian and 8 or so Italians. I'm pretty sure there are 19 people in this program all together. When things get going, and I know everyone's name better, I will be able to give a more exact headcount of where people are from.

I was able to speak a ton of Italian today, which was awesome. Of course, none of the Italians are scared about speaking up when I say something wrong. This is definitely fine with me, because how else would I improve? I honestly don't know how much Italian I'm going to be able to speak because a lot of our classwork is as a team, and half of the people here don't speak Italian. Hopefully I'll get some one-on-one time so I can practice my Italian.

Orientation was intense. Doctor Al (the guy who created the program) seems incredibly intense and scary, but I suppose that's a good thing since this program is supposed to be demanding. Anyway, during orientation, the Doc said that in 11 months we are going to spend more time in a classroom than people who are in 2 year MBA programs do. EEK! He made a good point though, that this program is not for patient people. Perfect for me!

Tonight we all had a welcome dinner at a restaurant in town. It was good food, and a very good time getting to know everyone. I sat in front of the guy from India, the Brazilian was next to him, with an American on the other side, and next to me was an Italian. Great conversations. Interesting trying to translate the Italians' english for some of the Americans, and the Indian's english for the Italians. Reminds me of Stacie and Enrico. Sigh.

Tomorrow we are actually going to a store that has food and supplies! This town is teeny tiny with very limited shopping(food-wise). Will write more soon. Haven't taken any pictures yet, but hope to do so soon.

Sleeping with the window closed tonight

Was about to go to bed with my window open so I could get some fresh Dolomite air until I saw the praying mantis on the inside of what one might call a "screen". Yes, a praying mantis much like Zorak from Space Ghost Coast to Coast, only not animated. He would have been much cuter (maybe) if he had been. By the way, anyone know if they can hurt humans?

I'm here!

After 3 plane rides, 1 crazy car ride through winding backstreets (roads that look like they are only wide enough for 1 car, but surprisingly fit both a car and a truck, thank god), a small bout of illness (bad cold or flu or plane germs?), and a day of lugging my suitcases up a big hill (where am I, on KU's campus again?!), I am finally in my room! And I have wifi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't describe to you how happy I am to have internet. I mean, this tiny little town doesn't even have an internet cafe. In fact, I am pretty sure that the store where I bought my apple yesterday, the one that was 5' x 7', is probably the only grocery store in town.

Just wanted to give a quick update. I'll be taking pictures soon and will most likely be uploading them soon after that. Hope everyone is doing well!

In the words of one C.A.G. "Chow Mein!" (haha, get it?)

Losing my mind

First of all, it's 57 degrees outside. I really hate the whole 30-degree-drop-in-one-day thing that Kansas loves to do. Not quite ready for cold weather yet.

Second, this morning I went into the kitchen to enjoy a nice, yummy, bowl of cereal. I ripped the bag open (destroying the bag in the process), poured the banana-flax-almond cereal into a bowl, added some milk, grabbed a utensil and started eating. The first bite I didn't really pay attention to, but noticed that something wasn't quite right. The second bite caught my attention a little more, but still not enough. It was the third bite when I realized that I wasn't getting any milk and the utensil wasn't quite shaped like a spoon. That's right, I decided to try to eat my cereal with a fork. Sometimes I amaze myself.

Third, I leave in 4 days and I haven't started packing. Wish me luck.