The Last 30 Days

First of all, thank you to everyone for your wonderful support and suggestions in my germy time of need. I especially liked the mask idea.... I ended up finding a bottle of something that looked like bleach and it was. I sterilized everything and then went a drank a lot of wine (which for me was about 3/4 of a glass...go me...didn't even get drunk...) and now I feel a lot better about the whole thing. Still feel contaminated, but hey, she's a gross girl. At least I don't have to live with her when I go home. Everything has it's positive side. She's gross, but temporary.
I can't believe I've been here for a month. I was thinking about it this morning and i've done a lot in a month. I've been to Chianti, Pisa, and Venice. I've travelled by bus, train, and boat. I've only ridden in a car ONCE in the last month. I've walked up a thousand flights of stairs, and my favorite, I haven't had to clean up one pile of dog poop (sorry Mom), although I have almost stepped in it many times (these Italians are as bad at picking up shit as Americans). I haven't used a map in at least two weeks, and I haven't gotten lost (or taken the long way) since then either. In fact, I ventured out yesterday on a long walk and tested my knowlege of the city. It was actually a really dumb idea because I could have gotten very lost and contrary to popular belief you can only catch a cab at the major piazze (the plural for piazza, hurray for Italian class). But, my mapless self found my way home, directly. Go me. Maybe I won't need that tattoo of a map of Florence on my forearm after all.... : )