Ciao!

Nostre famiglia e gli amici,

Finalmente! We've settled in in Bologna & have finally found the time to post our blog. Thank you for all the emails. What did people do before the interwebs to stay in touch ;) ?!

Here's a quick recap of week 1:
8/25: Arrived in Bologna.
8/26: Found apartment on Via Solferino. Key features: Combo living room/kitchen/guest room; backyard with patio & grill. There are several other SAIS student apartments on our block, which has been nice for grabbing drinks with people, doing pot-lucks, etc.

Appartamento

8/27: Ian attended orientation at SAIS Bologna Center (http://www.jhubc.it/HOME/saisBC.cfm).
8/29: Went to Venice to meet Rob & Lindsay (Ian's cousin & his wife). We had a great time & recommend going early or late at night when the tourists thin out (see pics). We also recommend double & triple checking the train schedules, as we ended up on an extremely slow night train & didn't get home til 2:45 am. oof.

8/30: Buskers Festival in Ferrera. Very interesting street festival with street performers from all over Europe. They seemed to be organized into sections of the city by content of music/performances: American folk songs, traditional Italian music, one-man-bands, magicians & mimes.

Ferrara

This week:
Laura:
-Started an intensive Italian course in the mornings at La Cultura Italiana. Classmates include 8 Japanese girls in early 20s, 1 German guy, a Korean couple & a Swedish guy. My vocabulary is growing daily & I can form a few sentences, slightly reducing my appearance as un'idiota in il supermercado, ristorante, gelateria, etc. :)
-Started a part-time babysitting job 2 days/week for a family that lives near SAIS. They have a 4 year old daughter that they would like to learn English. I spend a few hours talking English at her, while she plays (read: barks orders at me) in Italian. I think she's going through a bit of a "thing" being the boss because she has a new 3 week-old baby sister.

Ian:
- Started classes full time-microeconomics 2 days a week and survival Italian every morning.
- Found a running group & is desperately seeking other soccer players to start playing some pick up games in the park near our apartment.
- Continues to be our social coordinator & hosted a few classmates for dinner.

Upcoming events:
- We are hoping to christen our patio this weekend with a BBQ.
- Laura has an informational interview with an international school around the corner from the apartment.
- Visit Cait & Joe in Barcelona in less than 2 weeks!!!
- Continue to miss you all & enjoy reading update emails :)

Hope everyone is well & will talk to you later!

Laura & Ian