Exchangie party,

021007 klo 20:28
(english below)

Puoli tuntia aikaa ja lähden kohti Prato della Vallea. Sen keskellä on iso vesiputous, jonka lähellä näen Simonan. Mennään jonkun englantilaisen tytön luo, joka asuu yksin ja järjestää illanistujaiset. Kivaa, vihdoin italialais-ulkopuolistettuja kontakteja (lue: joitain muita kuin italialaisia). Istuin tänään Simonan kanssa pari tuntia juttelemassa jätskien äärellä. (Jätski on täällä ihan SIKAhyvää, kuten ehkä arvata saattoi! Ja yksi pallo maksaa EURON! Hah. Lisäks, Suomessa en tykkää lakritsijäätelöstä yhtään, mutta täällä se on taivaallista.) Oli ihana päästä purkamaan tuntoja ja ihmettelemään italialaisten tapoja yms. Ollaan Simonan kanssa sinänsä erilaisissa tilanteissa, että Simona asuu muiden vaihtareitten keskellä asuntolassa ja hänellä on paljon koulua, joka on alkanut jo viime viikolla. Minä asun italialaisten kanssa ja mulla on vähän koulua.

Olin niin turhautunut näiden italiattarien keskellä viimeiset päivät, että oli aivan ihana jutella jonkun kanssa kunnon englanniksi. Italia on ollut ihan pakkopullaa jo muutenkin, niin kun sitä kuulee kokoajan ja nuo tytöt kuitenkin juttelee keskenään paljon italiaksi, niin on hankala päästä mukaan. Huomattiin myös tykkäävämme samanlaisista jutuista ja mietittiin jo jotain reissuja, jos ESN ei järjestä niitä - esimerkiksi Dolomiiteille trekkaamaan ja telttailemaan jonnekin <3




Nautin myös bileistä paljon. Simona tuli ja Pratto della Vallella odotti myös kaksi muuta vaihtaria häntä ja Hollya joka tuli hänen kanssaan residenssiltä. Jokainen odotettiin omassa nurkassamme. Portugalilaiseen tyttöön en saanut oikein otetta, enkä tiedä nimeäkään, mutta juttelin Philipin kanssa. Hän on saksalainen, asunut Hannoverissa ja opiskelee nykyään Munchenissä. Todella kohtelias. Kiinnitin häneen huomiota odottaessa, koska hän kävi pyytämässä tulta ja kävi makaamaan aukion reunuksilla olevalle penkille poltellen tupakkaansa samalla tavalla mietiskellen kuin Nils. :) Opiskelee liiketaloutta (tietenkin).
Prato della Vallen keskus.The centre of Prato della Valle.

Bileisiin päästyämme pitkän kävelyn jälkeen juttelin slovakialaisen Tatianan kanssa. Hän oli kovin puhelias. Kävi ilmi, että hänellä on italialainen poikaystävä ja siksi hän puhuu todella hyvää italiaa jo. Philipin mielestä se on todella oiva tapa oppia italiaa ja miettikin, että tarvitsisi varmasti hankkia jostain italialainen tyttö :) Puhuin myös englantilaisen Cindyn kanssa, joka ei osaa italiaa juuri ollenkaan. Hauska englannin aksenttinen tyttö oli samaa mieltä, kun puhuttiin, että Padova on lopulta todella hiljainen opiskelijakaupunki. Manchesterissa, jossa hän opiskelee, tapahtuu aina. Minä taas kaipaan Helsingin klubien meininkiä. Tultiin siihen tulokseen, että italialaisten päivälliselle kokoontumismeininki on mukavaa, mutta aina välillä on mukavaa mennä klubeille.

Pitkät pätkät juttelin myös aussi-Shanen kanssa. Tosi hyvä tyyppi! Sanoin hänellekin, että on ihana puhua jonkun kanssa englantia ja jonkun sellaisen kenellä on kunnon huumorintaju! Oi nautin ihan hirveästi. Nää italialaiset tytöt, joiden kanssa asun on todella mukavia, mutta ne eivät ymmärrä mun jokseenkin sarkastista huumorintajua ja usein päädyn selittämään kaikkia letkautuksia.. tai no nykyään en jaksa enää edes selitellä. Oli aivan ihanaa jutella jonkun kanssa ketä oli samalla aaltopituudella :)

Shane asui viime vuoden Pariisissa. Tämän vuoden Padovassa. Suorittaa masterin papereita. Näkee vanhempansa ekaan kertaa jouluna Padovassa sitten puolentoista vuoden.
Oon todella helpottunu. En ole enää niin ahdistunut ja yksinäinen. Nyt voin jakaa vaihtoajan ajatuksia jonkun kanssa.

Lisäks pyöräilin yksin kaupungin muurin viertä kotiin ja löysin vaikka kuinka helpostia. Tykkään pyöräilystä tässä säässä. Loppukesän yö. Tarvii jo kaulaliinan mutta on kivan hiljasta ja viileetä. Ajatukset tuulettuu. Pyöräilin auringon sädettä pitkin (via Raggio di Sole).

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I have half an hour before I leave for Prato della Valle. In the middle of it there is a fountain, where I meet Simona. We are going to some girl's (from Great Britain) place, who lives alone and is arranging a get-together. Nice to finally meet people outside of italians. I met Simona today to talk and eat an icecream. (The icecream here is deadly good, like you might have guessed! One ball costs A EURO! Hah. Adding that in Finland, I don't like liquoirize icecream at all, but here it's heavenly.) It was wonderful to discharge and wonder funny things of italians like habits and such. We're in kind of a different situations with Simona. She lives with other exchange students in a residence and she has a lot of school, which started already last week. I'm living with italians and I have just a little bit of school.

I was already so frustrated with these italians the last few days and it was so relieving to talk to someone with proper english. Italian has felt like forced anyway and when you hear it all the time. After all, it's just fair that they get to talk with their mother tongue around here, but it's also hard for me to get into the action because of the same fact. Simona and I also noticed that we like same kind of things and started thinking of going for trips together, if ESN doesn't arrange them - for example to Dolomits trekking and camping somewhere <3

Simona gave me a lot of valuable info about ESN, school and Padova. I haven't gone to Prato della Valle yet, which is a central sight in Padova. She told me that there's a big outdoor market on Saturdays when you can find a lot very cheap. I've searched for warmer shoes and there I heard, I can find shoes for 5 euros. It's strange to realize there is not shoeshops priced like Dinsko in here. You can easily pay 35 euros for ballerinas. Next Sat before going to the Tour of Padova, I will go there!!

Today was also the starting exam of italian. I don't think I shined in the exam, but it's not a problem. I just wish I will get a place from the course. It costs 150 euros about, but I think it's worth it. I get to meet other exchangies and I finally get to a class for italian. In the exam, I saw Silje, who was suppose to live with me and Anna. I was also sure I heard finnish names, when the man was calling people in, but I'm didn't get to talk to them. I'm sure I'll find out about them sooner or later.

Yesterday my lessons began. Photography. The whole lesson I sat and tried and tried. My gosh, I was tired.. and I cannot honestly say that I understood absolutely anything. Even context was hard to figure out sometimes, but today there was 3 short films about anamorphic pictures. So I guess I should find out something about anamorphic pictures in english. Professor promissed to figure out more easy books for me to read and that I can make the exam as written. In here all the exams are ALWAYS oral but as balance people are seldom interested in what you answer. I just have to hope that the professor of tomorrow's cinematografia is also as nice. The first exams in italian should be taken easy anyway.

In the class I got to know an italian girl called Angelika. Well, I asked her things about the class in english and she said she either didn't understand or answered me in italian. Very nice girl anyway even though we didn't get to know any better. Now she says hi everytime she sees me and sits next to me. We've talked very little anyway. Today when I again asked something, she turned to me: "Dimmi!" (Tell me!)

Now everything is getting better already. I might have spoken myself into the party this evening, but I was starting to be so frustrated that I even scared myself. This should start to get better when I get my own friends too and I don't have to hang out at the apartment all the time miserable.

At the foodstore I noticed that for the first time I was feeling brave. I wasn't scared for someone asking or saying something to me. Now I go and aim to the darkness. Wish me luck!

at 01:26

Oh I was in my first exchangie party. At some point I came back down to Earth and realized that I'm not a tutor anymore but I'm an exchangie also.

Simona was almost an hour late. I had a lot in my mind and Pratto della Valle was very beautiful, so time went by fast. How nice can it be to sit in a park which smells like the late night of the end of the summer. I enjoyed it a lot.

As well as I did enjoy the party. Simona and Holly (a girl from her residence) came and there was two other exchangies waiting at the Pratto della Valle. We all waited in our corners. The portuguese girl I didn't get a hold of, not even a name, but I talked to Philip. He's german, has lived in Hannover and studies in Munich right now. Very polite. He paid my attention at the square, because he went to ask for light and then went lying down on the bench, smoking with the same sense of thought as Nils did :) He studies economics (of course).

When we got to the party after a long walk I talked to a slovakian Tatiana. She's very talkative. Turned out that she has an italian boyfriend and that is why she speaks so good italian already. Philip thinks it's a great way of getting to know italian and thought of finding an italian girl for himself :) I also talked to Cindy from England, who doesn't know any italian yet. Funny english accenty girl agreed with me on Padova being a very quiet city for being a student city. She studies in Manchester where there's always something happening. I again miss Helsinki's clubs. We came to a conclusion that as nice as the dinner-meetings italians have are, it's nice to go to a club every now and then.

I talked for a long time with an Australian Shane. Such a nice guy! I told him how lovely it is to talk english to someone and when someone has actually a proper sense of humour! I enjoyed everything so much. The girls I live with are really nice, but I don't think they understand my sarcastic sense of humour and quite often I end of explaining myself... or these days I don't even bother to explain anymore. Anyway, it was great to talk to someone on the same wavelength :)
Shane lived in Paris last year. This year in Padova. He's completing his masters and sees his parents for the first time in 1,5 years in Padova this Christmas.
I'm very relieved. I'm not so anxious and lonely anymore. I can share my exchange-thoughts with someone.

I biked home along the wall that surrounds part of the city and found my way quite easily. I like biking in this weather. The night of the end of the summer. You need a scarf already but it's nicely quiet and breezy. Thoughts get air. I biked along the ray of sun (Via Raggio di Sole).