After I arrived in Venice, I got my luggage and was planning to buy a bus ticket with the woman I sat next to on the plane there. Her luggage did not come through, however, and so we parted ways. I hope she found her luggage... she was so nice. I approached the ticket machine to buy my bus ticket and could not understand ANYTHING about what to do. A man saw me in my turmoil and approached me to help. I was a little bit uneasy because I thought he might try to take advantage of me somehow, but after a few points and nods, he got me to the right screen and let me put my money in for my ticket. While waiting for the bus, it was easy to spot other CIMBA students because we all had the same exhausted, completely baffled looks on our faces. It was nice to have others so we could stick together. The bus arrived and, after validating our tickets (a MUST for any bus or train ticket to ensure that you aren't using the same ticket over and over... if they catch you with an unvalidated ticket, you have to pay a huge fine on the spot) we boarded and drove through winding roads to the Mestre train station. None of us realized we were at the station because the driver didn't announce anything, so thanks to this nice Italian woman who said "train" when we started asking "Mestre?", we all got off and proceeded to the station.
The Mestre was insane. We found a CIMBA representative there who helped us buy our ticket, alidate it, and point us in the direction of which stop to go to. I packed extremely light and I was having a hard time going up and down the stairs, so I'm amazed that some of these girls who have 3-4 bags with them even made it. On the train, we stacked all of our lugage as close together as possible and collapsed in the seats. I noticed an Italian teenager accross the aisle from me was blasting Incubus from his headphones and it was the first familiar thing I experienced, which was nice. We took the train to Bassono del Grappa, where we unloaded and walked across the street to wait on our bus. I'm not sure when Italians have school, but there were teenagers EVERYWHERE smoking ciggarrettes and being very affectionate towards one another. It is bizarre, the teenagers' styles here are very dirty and punk, but the 20+ year olds are very clean and stylish. No one cares about the amount of PDA going on, and it makes the entire culture so much more romantic.
Finally the bus picked us up and brought us to Paderno. I never thought I would make it. It is SO hot in Italy... I thought there would be less humidity and more breezes than Dallas but it is the exact opposite. I feel very dirty despite showering and there is no point in even trying to make your hair look washed or styled. I am also veryyyy thirsty, all the time. I'm not sure if that is because of jet-lag or because of the humidity. Luckily, bottled water is very plentiful around campus. I am a little homesick but I think that is because I haven't really been able to talk to my parents over skype or text anyone from my phone. I love the campus here and will post more pictures soon. I will also write about the campus, my dorm, and classes later. As of right now, I am taking an afternoon trip to Asolo! Very excited!
This is the view from my dorm & bathroom... the picture doesn't do it justice, though! (click to make bigger!) That is Mount Grappa in the background.
Ciao!