Scuola... finalmente

Ciao ciao,

Well after a month and a half of galavanting around Europe, this week I started school.  And wow.  Let me tell you how different it is!  First of all, I go to a very prestigious private business school.  So it is much smaller (our classes are only in 2 buildings) and much richer (I know surprising cuz UT is so rich).  All of the girls walk around with their designer bags, expensive European clothes, and ALWAYS have a cig in their hand.  It wouldn't be so bad for the fact that the no smoking inside rule leads everyone to smoke 2 feet from the doorway.  They need to implement the 200 feet from the door rule!!  Ewwwww.  Oh Europeans... they love their tobacco.

All of my classes are in English, and my classes consist of 1/2 exchange students and 1/2 italians who want to earn their business degree in the English program.  Apparently the English program is easier than the Italian one... which I'm hoping is not just a myth.  I'm taking 4 classes: Corporate Finance (sucks), Comparative Law (where we compare American law to the rest of the world... interesting!), Management of Human Capital Services (where we discuss the importance of maintaining human capital through education, on the job training, and health care... SOOOOO AWESOME... definitely an Alli class), and Organizational Networks and Entrepreneurship (which is a great class where we discuss how important networking is in business as well as in life and the necessary things you need to think about when being an entrepreneur or investor).  It's definitely a heavy work load, but I only have to pass my classes so I'm hoping it wont' be too awful.

School environment is definitely different than what I'm used to.  All the Italians talk during class (like while the teacher is talking), they are loud and make fun of people who say dumb ideas, and they randomly come in and out of class.  It's very distracting.  I've found myself becoming the true nerd that I really am and sitting in the front of class just so I don't get distracted by all the chatter.  Our classes are also formatted extremely differently.  Besides one class, where the professor was inspired by doing her doctorate at Stanford, all of my classes have no homework and consist of either one midterm and one final or simply one final!  AHHHHHH 1 TEST FOR AN ENTIRE SEMESTER!  Good thing I only have to pass!  Italians are lucky though, they have 3 chances to pass a test.  Unfortunately for me, I can't stay around to take the 2nd and 3rd test (September 2008 and January 2009!!!)

Other than sticking out like a sore thumb (my Jansport backpack doesn't compare to the Louie Vuitton oversized shoulder bag, my red hair screams exchange student, and the fact that I have to ask where the new building is when I'm standing in it doesn't help either) school is going really well!  I can't believe I've only just started... I've been over here forever already!

This weekend I'm headed to Verona... should be a fun little day trip.  Hope all is well wherever you're reading this from.  MISS YOU!

Vi voglio bene!

Alli