July 1st - Day 1 of classes

My roommate and I did not set alarm the night before both thinking we would wake up early or not sleep well. Drilling woke us up in the morning and we realized it was 8am! We had to be in class at 9am! Hurrying to shower and get ready for the day we headed down to breakfast in the hotel which was decent - cereal, sweet bread, and tea - and we had plenty of time.

We discussed the two Fellini films we watched - 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita and were given our first assignment. We got some travel tips from our Worldstrides coordinator and the faculty read some of their work.

With the morning complete, I went to lunch - the same café I went to on the first day for some take away pizza - with a group of students. I got the marina pizza which is sauce and oregano. It was beautiful and so delicious. We went back and hung out in someone’s room to eat. After lunch I went back to my room to relax for a little bit before the new student orientation which just gave us some good starting information for the program.

The new student orientation led into the first introductory workshop. Although I’m writing in Children and Young Adults, the workshop includes Creative Non-Fiction and Fiction writers because of an unforeseen circumstance and our group is rather large – 11people- which means we are sneaking in another workshop on Sunday. The first workshop was a little intimidating, but it was very stimulating. I really enjoyed myself even if I felt a little unsure of myself.

Our final meeting for the night was supposed to be about the book we all read, but since our original workshop leader isn’t it here it was canceled. Instead, all W4C&YA got to meet up and discuss books that had an impact on us growing up and wanting to become writers. It was such an amazing discussion with a great energy in the room. An energy which was so good that I’m a little bummed that we’re not doing the workshop together.

Our discussion over, I had a bit of time to hang out in my room and print off worksheets before meeting in the lobby for dinner. The group was so large that we ended up breaking up into two groups. My group went to a restaurant just up the street that looks like a castle and has a rooftop garden. I ordered a pasta dish with cheese and pepper and it came in a cute little bowl made of parmesan cheese. It was very good, but it’s so filling. Once again, the conversation was wonderful and I keep meeting more people who have interesting stories to tell.

My dinner for the night

Back at the hotel, I had some work to do before turning in for the night. Unlike the first night, I did not sleep well. I had a headache and just couldn’t sleep. I finally took my nighttime sinus medicine and found a bit of sleep.