After being in Bologna for only three days, the best word that I could use to describe this situation is overwhelming. The flight to Europe was nine hours long. And of course I sat next to two screaming children. The moment that I arrive at the Hotel, I sat down with Danielle (our student services coordinator) and she described how to buy a Italian cell phone. In Italian. That same day I went to Vodafone and purchased my very own bright pink flip phone. I hate pink and I swear that I asked for red, but I guess pink will have to do. I probably couldn't explain to you what my plan entails, but I can make calls, so at least it works!
And it's a good thing too because Day 2, I started apartment hunting. One of the main reasons I chose this study abroad program is because the students are required to find their own apartment with Italian students during their first two weeks. I am now doubting my ability to make any practical decisions because this is by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I have never even found an apartment in English!
My process started with searching for "gli annunci". There are hundreds of annunci all over the city and they look like this:
So when I find something that looks interesting (after decoding everything with my trusty Italian dictionary and map) I make a phone call. The call kind of goes like this.
Potential roommate: Pronto!
Me: Ciao! Chiamo per l'appartamento. E ancora libero? (I'm calling for the apartment, is it still free?)
Potential roommate: asckadsjghv;dfhjg;adhfg;
Me: Come? (Excuse me?)
Potential roommate: ashfkj la stanza dklkjf vederla (room, see it)
Me: Mi scusi ma non parlo italiano molto bene (Excuse me but I don't speak Italian very well)
And so on....
During my first phone call, the man on the other end got fed up and hung up on me. Then his wife called me back and reassured me that I could still come see the apartment. When I got there, they were both waiting outside and he didn't say one word to me the whole time.
Usually after stumbling on the phone, I'm able to get an appointment time out of someone, usually for adesso (meaning now). I'm not really sure what Italians do during the day, but they are always available to show an apartment. I have seen 7 apartments in the past 2 days and it has been a very strenuous process. Some are complete dumps and others are nice, but way too far away. I always make a point to try and talk with the residents about more than just the apartment. I'm trying to look at it as a good way to improve my Italian and have good conversations with locals. I think I'm getting better! At least more confident, but I definitely still sound like a two-year-old.
Hopefully tomorrow's apartment visits will go well. I'll leave you with a picture of "la fontana nettuno." It's a popular meeting spot and Piazza Maggiore and I think it's just beautiful!
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