Dinner at the apartment..
Flaming shots
Viva America - Academia Bridge
We went to the "only night club" in Venice. It was called Piccolo Mundo. Totally - gross. There were red leather couches everywhere and about 243243 italian horn dogs. Entertaining, but not a cool place to hang every night. Everyone was really touchy feely, much different then what I'm used to. I went with Christa, Caroline and Christian. The rest went home. We were the only 3 girls in the club. I typically would have had a field day (talking and socializing of course!) but it was way too foward and way too - pushy.
LIDO
Once we finally dragged ourselves (gross feet and all) out of bed, we went to get our coffee. There's a few vaporetto lines (water taxi) that run around the city. The #1 line is the local. It sucks but goes to lido. #2 line runs express to all the hot spots. While we were waiting for the 1, there were a bazillion rowers. They all had tags so their must have been participating in a race. After awhile, we realized the 1 was never coming. Kelly suggested that we go to the north end of the island to catch it. The north end is primarily, commercial i guess. The group split up and some ended up shopping while 5 or 6 of us weaseled our way across. There were no signs like in New York. There's no such thing as service interruption information.
Getting lost- its not a big deal. I don't think I've been lost yet. I'm extremely thankful for my intuition/sense of direction. Or possibly my cocky attitude. You decide..
I refuse to settle or be confused. Our professor Kathy was saying that "our parents will be so impressed of how independent we are." If I come back any more independent, I'm not sure what parents 1-3 would do with me. For me, this trip is more about finding myself and being more, I don't know, zen? I think it's working. I'm forcing myself to be less judgmental and more accepting. I think I am. When I first arrived, I cringed at the fashion faux paus. Now, not so much. Fashion itself is international. Prada is prada and louie is louie. Whether it be in Italia or en America. Shit, I'm starting to speak itaniano- ish..
Regardless, live and let live.
There are african men all over selling the FAKIST knockoff handbags i've ever seen. It's mutilated burberry, cheap chanel and the tackiest of the tacky. The LV handbags aren't even LVs. They're weird fluer de lis.
Sorry- tangent. Lido was cool. It was about a 35 minute ride from Venice. My perception of time is totally screwed up. I have no idea what's going on. If have I have to be punctual, that's the only time that it matters. The rest of the time I seem to be floating around. I don't look at my watch very much. Once we got there, there was a sea of bicycles. I didn't take any pictures, I'm not sure why. And then- there were cars! It was a strange feeling. Venice has been a blur until we went to Lido. The pollution hit us immediately. It smelled, looked, and felt different then what we have been exposed to recently. There were tons of Volkswagens :) I felt at home. We found our way along a long avenue to the beach. This beach was much different than anything I've ever seen. There was no surf. Zip, zilch. It was more like a lap pool. The waves gently spilled on to the beach filled with shells. Kelly, Ray and I went shelling and collected some cool ones. Certainly a present for someone at home! I think I'll get a cool container or something and stick them in there. The beach was extremely flat.
So let's talk about cultura. I'm in awe. Men seem to be of a different kind here. Women as well. There's a sense of ease. Lack of apprehension and pure acceptance. Much different than the states. I know many who are apprehensive to don a bathing suit. Here, they just simply strip and vibe in their underwear. I'm fine with it. Speedo's and tight swimsuits are common. For women, their bottoms are brazilian cuts and butts are floppy. Women of all shapes and sizes are welcomed here. Ugly, fat, sexy, there's no discrimination. Male confidence/machismo is intriguing. I've studied about it and read about it but never experienced it. At the club, it was overwhelming and slightly annoying. I haven't encountered it in the streets too much but confidence in public is a refreshing changed. I asked some friends what they thought about male culture here, they replied with it's much more easy going. If I was to classify it, I'd say it's metrosexual at it's finest. They're fashion conscious and unafraid to express their love for the same sex. It's an attractive quality. I am not afraid to express my interests in the same sex. I appreciate fashion and a good looking women. I would never act on it but my interests are definitely perked. In America, men are homophobic and petrified of any sort of something that's emasculating. It's a great thing to see the opposite. Despite the fact that they hump you when you're dancing. ... That's another topic in it's entirety. BE COMFORTABLE WITH ONESELF.
PICS FROM LIDO:
Kelly's gelato. <3
LIDO
Ultimate Tourist.
Sleepy tourist
Flea
Christa
This little girl was flying her kite - via her ponytail.
Revelation: The most unflattering thing in a human is to be uncultured. I'll leave it at that.
On the way home, we were forced to wait in line for the vaporetto. We were completely crammed and felt like cattle. We met two lovely young men who were from Padua. Their english sucked but I spoke some spanish to them and we got bye. They were entralled by all of our beauty...typical. :) One was a break dancer. He showed us some video. He was pretty sick. The other was sporting some zinc oxide chap stick-
All in all, they were really sweet.
Once we arrived back in Venezia, we stocked up on some groceries. Since then, Kel and I have kicked 2 bottles of raboso y chianti. We're pretty happy. Life's great and I can't wait for what's in store for tomorrow. I stink like a european, so- shower and bed.
Ciao
Good evening, Kim. However,it is the middle of the night for you. It was wonderful to speak and see you today! I enjoyed it so much and also your blog. You are an exceptional writer. I am so proud of you and love you and miss you even more. Love, Mom
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