Detail Reprise

To make up for my terrible past few blogs, I will make this one quite a little bit lengthier, with another edition of Details! at the bottom.

Today, I woke up far earlier than I would have liked. I did wake up Daniel, which almost never happens. Since my face is all healed up, I take my first *real* shower this morning - and I shaved. Novus Hominus if you will.

We visited the famous big synagogue in Rome and it was interesting, but for security reasons, pictures weren't allowed, same policy as the Jimmy Choo store. There were two women who sered as tour guides, and they basically told us the same thing. Both were really hard to understand. Divorce and/or separation is apparently legal in Jewish faith. (marriage is like a contract to god, which can be broken) That was interesting to know.

For lunch, I eat some of my cheap apricot jam, Despar bread, and two of Brandon's almost expired eggs. Yummy. Interesting.

Resat's class in the afternoon was interesting as well. An interesting fact that arose in is what happened when the printing press was invented, and how Muslims didn't really use the printing press (out of fear in error) until the 18th century.

We also talked a lot of identity, and what happens when someone comes into a new environment or a foreign place. We also sort of focused on Muslim culture. Muslim culture is surprisingly tolerant of other faiths.

I really like Resat's class.

Tonight, there's suppose to be a lecture series by Resat. Nice!

Without further ado, it's time for more useless details! Remember, these aren't only about Europe, but include interesting aspects from my own personal experiences too.

1. The toilette paper here is not quite as square. IT's actually really rectangular, which really threw me off at the beginning.
2. Ray-Bans are synonymous here when you hear the word sunglasses. Even old ladies wear them. I feel like a huge loser with my fake wayfarers.
3. Toilettes don't flush normally. There's always a huge plastic white button on an wall adjacent to the toilette.
4. The toilettes are oddly shaped and hold very little water.
5. There's a lot of geckos around. There's a small one living in my room and a giant one (nearly 8 inches) living in Katie's.
6. Bell peppers are HUMONGOUS. They are simply massive and for the most part multi-colored. They also taste stunning.
7. In Italy, all stores are required by law to have exactly two sales per year. These sales are very, very good.
8. Mopeds are ubiquitous. There more mopeds than bikes and more mopeds than cars.
9. Some buses are really really small, like the size of Chevy Suburbans.
10. There aren't very many plants here. It's odd to see grass and trees. This may be why there are huge bay windows in every building. There's just not that many bugs that can get in.
11. Those cars that have the bristles in the front and wash the streets are commonplace here. In the compo we literally have those trunks come in and wash the cobblestones literally every single day (when the markets clear out).
12. Power outlets are strange. There are two slightly different sizes. One of them is slightly wider and a little thicker. These two are impossible to distinguish. Getting your laptop charged then becomes a puzzle where you try combinations of transformers/connectors until you can fit your charger into the wall.
13. In case it wasn't clear before, traffic laws here mean nothing. The road literally a moshpit of jay-walkers, mopeds, tiny buses, normal buses, and cars.
14. For Italy, there has been a suspicious absence of nicer Italian bikes. I've seen 1 Pinarello, 1 Coppi, and 1 Rossin (!), but most of the bikes are terrible mountain bikes or female bikes with cruiser bars. I may have to venture out of the cobblestone to see them I suppose.
15. My hair is incredibly dry. This is not really an interesting detail I suppose.This is probably due to that fact that I've been using cheaper shampoo and that sun burns my hair for about 10 hours a day.
16. Erik and Roman hasn't worn shorts yet. These are men that I cannot possibly comprehend.
17. I'm constantly sweaty and/or sticky. This is absolutely unavoidable.
18. Our drier leaks water. Irony.

That's all I can think of for now.