ps

PS Marzia dragged me into the bathroom yesterday and told me that I can't shave my legs in the shower any more. I didn't really understand what she was saying, something about skin and the drain, blah blah. Who knows. Now I have to somehow shave on the bidet. Where am I? haha, Bratislava?? Oooh, this is quite an experience.

il mio amore

I am the most popular girl in the world. I got TWO whole pieces of mail today! One from my daddy, and one from Kristin. It was Amazing. And yesterday, I got mom's package of red pens and post-its (life's little necessities). Naturally, I am feeling very good about myself, having so many people who love me. It is a good day for postal services around the world, because mom got my package yesterday too! Finally. After a month and two weeks. Ha ha. Oh well. So that was fun, getting a lovely postcard from Hawaii and a card of my house. Good stuff.
Tonight, I think some of us are going to see Cinderella Man at the Odeon. I've heard good things, and Russell Crowe is an amazing actor. In 20th Century Europe today, we started watching The Pianist, which seems really good. I won't be in class on Thursday, but I want to see the rest when I get home. I'll put that on a to do/rent list. A list that keeps growing by the second, might I add. I have SO much to do/buy when I get back. A new computer because my old one broke, get a free new cell from Verizon because I've had this one two years, get a bed, etc. etc. First on the list, therefore, is: Get a Job!
As it turns out, I may be meeting up with Dad in Paris after the program for two days, because I get out on Dec. 15th, and leave Paris on the 17th. So hopefully we'll get a chance to meet up.
All right, enough for now, I blab on too much. Jeff comes in approximately 25 hours! Yay.
Ciao

con crema al latte

Wine Tasting at the Castle was really fun, as was the school trip yesterday to Ravenna. I even saw Dante's tomb! (I guess his body isn't in there, though) The only downside of everything is, I have 12 bug bites on my feet, so it sucks walking. C'est la vie... or should I say C'e la vita? Who knows... :)
Also, Jonathan and I are meeting up in Barcelona! And maybe John Ryan too. I already have flight reservations for November 18th-20th, so if anyone else would like to join, email me! I would love to meet up with anyone.
Ciao

awesome

So, today is amazing. I don't even know why, I'm just in a good mood.

• Today we're going to a castle to tour vineyards and wine cellars and to have a wine tasting
• Last night I went to a MOVIE in ENGLISH. We saw The Island, it was really fun. Slightly pro-life, but still a good movie :)
• Got to sleep in today
• Found my amazing cookies yesterday that are my favorite in the world
• Saw Becky, Sal, and Christi, all in the Gonzaga program, yesterday!
• Grandma Jeanne sent me a letter! (And Kristen and Lauren both sent me something a while ago) I love getting mail.. That made my day.
• I just had a Tina sighting! She's sitting next to me... I hadn't seen her in days. She disappears, I think, to who knows where
• Jonathan is hopefully coming to visit me in Florence
• Ames, Tina and I are meeting up in Europe somewhere, at some point
• I booked tickets to Barcelona with Ashley and Kristen
• Most importantaly, Jeffrey Joseph Young, aka Jeb, gets here in 4:12:15:20.
• I got a text message from Jeff this morning that made my day

Okay, and let me just relate the most hilarious slash terrible moment ever: This morning, Marzia (hostmom) was in the shower. My door was open, because I was waiting for her to be done so I could brush my teeth. The phone starts ringing and she comes out BUCK NAKED to get the phone. I was like OH MY GOD. WHAT IS GOING ON?! Who am I living with?! HA HA HA HA HA. Oh man. Horrible. :) Ha, I'm still laughing.

caramelle colate

+ it is finally sunny and hot again!
-the mosquitos are consequently on the rampage again (I have two new bites)
-people on bikes ring their bells at me when they're driving on the sidewalk...it's called a sidewalk for a reason, people
+Jeff comes in 6 days!
-I have to wait 6 days to see Jeff
+I'm going to a castle and vineyard tomorrow
+I'm going to Ravenna on Saturday
+I talked to Becky yesterday, and we're going to meet up sooooon
+I finally found all my jewelry! (and by all, I mean some earrings and a necklace)
+Amy emailed me today
-I have a ton of reading for next week
-my poems are terrible
+the mosquito bites from when I first got here are finally fading away
+my hostmom told me a loooong story today, and I understood the majority of it

la finestra di fronte

So, we watched this ridiculous movie in LAC today, all in Italian of course. It was really weird and confusing... Is it strange that I liked it? The main woman character in it made all these pastries, and it made me sooo hungry. It also made me want to bake. I can't wait to get home and do some cooking. And baking... I miss the days of making ice-cream at Todds at 1 in the morning. I can't believe grocery stores aren't open there.. :) Ha ha. Ahh, good times. Anyway, so classes are going well, although I'm having some problems with Creative Writing; all my poems are depressing and sad. I wrote a sestina, but it's awful, and I believe you can get a grasp of the tone of the poem by my lovely end words: blood, glass, rain, ribbons, time, and dust. Uplifting, no? Jeff gets here in one week. Let's just say that I'm a teensy bit excited.
Ciao!
PS my hands have lost all circulation again. I thought it was getting better, but no... my fingernails are blue as I type, and they are sluggish. C'mon fingers! WORK

weather

What happened, Florence? It was so nice and hot (well, not always nice, but it was hot), and now it got all freezing. Last night, as I lay in my little Italian bed in my boxers and tee-shirt, I had to curl up into a ball in one corner, and had to literally wrap myself in the blankets. It was freezing. What is going on?? Where is the sunshine? I actually kind of like the coldness though, it reminds me of Seattle in the fall. I miss that, with the leaves all turning to rust and a nip in the air, the expectation of snow. Love it. Plus, I think the mosquitos are dying off.... knock on wood.
Ciao

Ben Harper

Not talking 'bout a year, no not three or four,
I don't want that kind of forever in my life anymore.
Forever always seems to be around when it begins,
but forever never seems to be around when it ends,
so give me your forever, please your forever,
not a day less will do, from you.

People spend so much time every single day
runnin' round all over town giving their forever away,
but no not me I won't let my forever roam,
and now I hope I can find my forever a home,
so give me your forever, please your forever,
not a day less will do, from you.

Like a handless clock with numbers, an infinite of time,
no not the forever found only in the mind,
forever always seems to be around when things begin,
but forever never seems to be around when things end,
so give me your forever, please your forever,
not a day less will do, from you.

Creative Writing Submission

Sun-Bleached Cobbles

(or, First Impressions of Florence)

9/7/2005

Sun beats on naked shoulders, fries,
White-hot pokers as I close my eyes.
Frying-pan skull, scrambled-egg brain,
Sport an unruly lioness mane.
Molten gold dripping down my spine,
Twisting, dull, almost serpentine.
The air hangs black, I can’t fill my lungs,
Coated with a funeral shroud haphazardly flung.
Hot clammy pelt, a sweaty back,
T-shirt clings and jeans hang slack.
War paint on face and arms appear,
Overhead, a mottled sky, not clear.
Tourists jostle, I flinch away,
On every corner, the scene replays.

I wade upstream, treading concrete,
Try to stay invisible, eyes down, discreet.
“Ciao, bella,” slithers over the din,
Red-handed I’m caught, but what is my sin?
No fault of my own, keep walking, stand straight;
His lips speak the words, it’s myself I hate.
A bubbling disgust, boiling, is felt,
Under the sun, self-control seems to melt.
Plodding steps that should be pointed Home
Instead tirelessly up sun-bleached cobbles roam.
A piazza is found, rather stumbled into,
Towering statues, one or two.
A mass of people, sardines, packed tight,
From the heat there is no respite.
Fathers and grandmothers, faces unknown;
Surrounded by people, I feel so alone.

Cavo, Elba

Elba was amazing! Although it took us 7 hours to get there, with some minor mishaps on the way, it was definately worth it. The town we stayed in, Cavo, was amazing. It is teensy-tiny, though, consisting of a few bars (cafes), restaurants, and hotels. There was a huge castle there, which I guess was a private residence, and some amazing, huge villas right on the water. Gorgeous. The island itself was huge, a lot bigger than I had imagined. I guess I was thinking that Napoleon was exiled to a tiny little rock in the middle of the Mediterannean, but it was so beautiful and awesome. There were tons of little towns that we passed through, and lots of orchards and vineyards. Cavo, and I guess the rest of the island, was overrun with tons of ferral cats. We came across tons of little kittens, which were SO cute. I loved them, and wanted to take them home. It reminded me of when Claire and I used to "socialize" the kittens at mom's vet. clinic.
While we were sitting on the beach, enjoying the sun and atmosphere, an old man came up and started talking to us, first in Italian, and then in French! I was so excited to have a language that I actually understood, and could speak in. We talked for a while, I guess he was from Cavo, and then moved to France when he was little. He was telling me all about what he did, etc., and although he was kind of creepy, it was so nice to speak French again. He was taking a walk that night, as we were eating dinner, and kind of stalked us, waiting until we finished dinner so that he could sit down with us. He was just a nice old man, but it creeped us out, so we had to slink back to the hotel, in covert-op. style, of course, to get our wine, and then back along the pier. We just sat and talked on the pier that night, and there were so many stars overhead. It was perfect. It was so nice to get away from the big, dirty city of Florence... Very refreshing...
Ciao!
Galen

Song of the Moment:
That Girl, Marques Houston

Longchamps

So, I finally got a tote! Yay, my life is now better... Just in time for Elba. Perfect
Ciao

zanzani

So, the mosquitos have not died off from winter weather yet. It's still sweltering here, and the computer lab has become a cesspool of malaria. (We just read Daisy Miller in creative writing, so I'm freaking about this "Roman Fever" that you can get from mosquito bites... great.) I still have golf-ball sized lumps on my arms, and they've attacked the same spots numerous times. Although it is hard to find any where that they hadn't gotten before. I even have them on my toes and the bottom of my feet. Awesome.
On a happier note, a few of us are going to Elba this weekend, a little island off the Western coast of Italy. The pictures online look beautiful... I know, everyone's jealous... :) And Jeff gets here in less than two weeks, so of course, I'm excited. Classes are done for the week, thank God. I've just been exhausted lately for some reason. A nice relaxing weekend on a Mediterranean island should do the trick...

pictures

Well, I just put up some new pictures from Europe on my website. I didn't get all of them up, just because this computer is so darn slow, but feel free to check them out. :)
http://galendenali.shutterfly.com
Ciao!

ibook

Well, the computer saga really is a pain in the butt. I have a headache as I type, although that could just be from some weird disease acquired by my mosquito bites. Italian customs, if I get it sent here, could potentially be brutal, and I would prefer not to pay anything to the Italian people, especially exorbitant sums solely for a freaking computer. But I really do need a computer here. There is no doubt in my mind about that.
I just don't know what else to do. This is such a hassle. Darn technology.
Ciao

bites

Okay, what the heck. I am COVERED in mosquito bites. And not just normal mosquito bites, these suckers are HUGE. They are ALL OVER... my arms, my legs, my HANDS... they all have these fatty red spots the size of a silver dollar. I think I may be allergic. My host mom says I have sugar blood, and I think I believe her. I mean, I always get bitten a lot, and they are usually pretty big, but I have SO MANY! On my palms and ankles! WTF mate? So we went to the Pharmacia and got some cream that I have no idea what it is, but I guess it will help, and some bug spray. Ugh.
On the plus side, it is thundering and lightning out, and raining. So hopefully it won't be so hot today. Because earlier it was swealtering.
Last night, Marzia made us some real minestrone soup. It was amazing. I really miss everyone, you should all write me letters! Yay, I love getting mail.
Ciao

pancakes

Well, yesterday we got our housing assignments. I am with Marzia Cimbri, who is a single woman, 47, who is a hairdresser. Well, sort of. From what I understood of what she was saying, she only does that for her friends, or good acquaintances, or something, because she does it in her apartment! She lives on the top floor of her building, and we had to lug our suitcases up a million flights of stairs, because there was no elevator. It was very tough, especially in Florence's stiffling heat. I think I sweated about 8 tons of water. Is sweated even a word? I Sweat 8 tons? I don't know. Anyway, so we got up there, and the apartment is nice, but Tiny. Orsejda, my roommate from Albania (but who goes to Northwestern) and I are crammed into a small room, with one small closet and one small set of drawers. And let me tell you, she brought SO MUCH STUFF. I think she brought Guess' entire line of spring and fall clothing.
We had a nice dinner at 7:30. I didn't want to be the picky brat from America who doesn't eat anything, so I went into the kitchen with the list they gave us of foods to work out with our moms, and was like, (in Italian of course) the only thing I won't eat is veal. She lifts up her pot and says, This veal? I was like, uuuuh... But she had made spaghetti too, so I just ate that. Ha ha oh well. It was really good, and after, she went out to a movie with some friends, which I thought was kind of weird, but Orsejda and I went to get gelato at this AMAZING gelateria. Very good, I must say. I couldn't really sleep last night, because our room was SO HOT, and we were on the street side of a Busy street, so it was really loud. And this morning I woke up with around 8 mosquito bites. But it's okay, because I registered for all my classes and got all the ones I want, and we finally got computer access here.
But I'm headed downtown with Ashley, Ashley, and Kristen to get owned buying books. I just heard that the gas prices are INSANE in the states because of the New Orleans ports flooding. $3 as the national average?! Is this true? Anyone?
Ciao
ps I really want pancakes right now. I am craving them. Although Italian food is amazing