I did it!!!! : ))

I passed the exam! I am soooo elated! Well, it wasn't as difficult as it could be but anyway the Sundays spent at home paid off well : ) It was a multiple choice test with 100 questions and 4 answers for each question. At the end they released a paper on which it's stated I passed and on which they inform that I cannot expect an ufficial certificate from the University before 5 months after the exam... This is the Italian red tape. Anyway, just after the exam we went to do some promised shopping in the Catania city center. I didn't buy much, just received a simple pair of shorts and a top from Tezenis , both in orchid lilac colour:



Not much as you see, but that's ok. We were wandering in the center with my bf, took some pictures which I wanted to share with you.


First some funny things...

1. Can you imagine this guy being in charge of any regional institution? Can you imagine him governing sth bigger than his own life? Being in charge of anything at all? Well, fortunately he wasn't elected but not so long ago the city was flooded with these images...

2. Italy... Fashion and style? I thought so too, but with time I started to have some doubts... Do they really wear those, you ask... Well, unfortunately yes...



And then some pics of the beautiful center of Catania. isn't it marvellous?












In the end we meet some friends and went to this typical Sicilian restaurant, where in the menu you could read (in English and Sicilian):


Everyone took pizzas...


apart from me... I had pasta with fiori di zucca (pumpkin):



...and that's me at the end of the looong day with Flo : )

Must say it was strange to have the whole Sunday free : ) So we went to the cinema to see La Matassa, an Italian comedy with 2 famous comedians: Ficarra & Picone. It was ok. And today back at work again...

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Exam.

So the day is finally coming... Tomorrow at 3.00 p.m. I'll sit another exam in my life. I feel weird, the last time I took an exam was... hm... 2 years ago? Sth like that. I'm not used to all this fuss about it anymore. It doesn't mean I'm getting nervous (at least not yet), but I know that I have worked hard for the last 4 months (dedicating almost every Sunday to study) and I would hate to think it was wasted time and that I could have gone for a walk or met my friends instead of sitting at home and swotting.

The good thing about this exam is that my bf took a half a day off for me, so he's accompanying me to Catania and then we can stay the whole afternoon together wandering aimlessly and maybe doing some little shopping ; ) And then.. (if I'm not too angry, depressed, disillusioned, etc.) we could drop in on a quiet restaurant or a fancy pizzeria : ) Yoghi e BooBoo is my favourite :)

And even if I leave the exam room completely dissatisfied, the day after I'll start thinking about organizing our weekend trip to Milan and I won't think about the exam for at least one week. The next exam date is scheduled for June so I have time...

OK, wish me good luck, I go to watch Everwood. I'm starting the second season now (I know I know I'm late!) and I can officially declare, I'm addicted : ) I got hooked just like I got hooked on Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters and Prison Break ... : ) Oh, talking of which, when are they going to show the 17th episode?

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Easter Monday.

So today it's Monday. Fortunately not this kind of Monday you hate. This Monday is nice.. in Italy you can either spend it with your friends on "scampagnata", which stands for a picnic in the countryside (which today is hardly possible as it is raining cats and dogs here) or you can stay at home and do nothing. I opted for the latter and so I stayed in my pyjamas the whole day today (apart from a short walk to the harbour with my bf since the rain decided to stop just for 30 mins), and I revised for the exam... The Doomsday is on Friday this week!! I start to panic but I keep telling myself that I can treat it as a try, not the final exam. Nevertheless it would be a failure for me. I don't remember failing an exam since I was at the university. Of course there were also C's and D's but never E or F. At least I don't remember any. Of course it's my first exam in Italy, I don't have much experience about how I should approach it, etc... Well, we'll see. Too early to be worried. Instead take a look at the pics taken on the Easter Sunday on one of my bf's family's properties dated back to 1905. It was fun, we had a big family lunch, we opened the chocolate eggs which contained some toys and games and then we played Cluedo with my bf's little cousins. Three times. I won once! I liked it : )

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Preparations.

Well, I feel much better today. Not perfect well, but I'm recovering step by step. The good news is that I have finally bought the plane tickets for my parents to come to Sicily and we've also decided to go to Rome! So today I've booked the hotel in Rome! It looks cool, very stylish : ) Just take a look! Hope my parents will like it. I want this holiday to be unforgettable for them, really. I love booking the hotels. I think with time I became very picky and choosyand there are more and more things which I consider important in a hotel. One the other hand, with time I also gained some experience. It should be close to a metro station or a bus stop, there should be a good cleaning service and breakfast. It should be in a quiet surrounding so that after the whole day of sightseeing it is possible to sleep and rest during the night (which is sometimes difficult to find in the the city centre), the technical problems (air conditoning, heating, etc) should be resolved immediately, etc...

Today in the evening there will be the second meeting of the "condominio" in my appartment to decide about "the future of our building entrance"... We'll see...

This week the University in Rome confirmed that my final exam will take place in Catania in the end (there's sufficient number of students who declared they wanted to sit the exam there). I feel relieved, no need to book tickets, going to Rome, finding the right bus, etc. But... it's in... 8 days now! I start to panic! The Easter weekend will be soooo tiring! Fortunately according to the weather forcast there is suppose to be the rain and the temperature will drop significantly (it already has, I think).

Ok, it's quite quiet in the office at this time of the day so i think I'm going to revise for the exam now.

Have a nice evening! Jo.

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