Simple Pleasures...

Today we ended our first class! In celebration we packed up our laundry in our backpacks and took the bikes into Casarsa. We dropped our laundry off and then headed to Coap, pretty much the Wal-Mart of Italy. I looked around and the differences in products and prices is so apparent in the grocery store. The cereal section is tiny because Italians don't really eat breakfast. There are tons of pastries, little amazing pastries. Lots of cheese and wine of course. Hardly any canned foods, in America there are so many different canned goods! Gum is very expensive and airport security conveniently took my Costco-sized orbit twelve pack and now I am without breath freshner! I refuse to pay almost three dollars for a little pack. Italians don't chew much gum I guess. The woman at the cash register wears plastic gloves and she won't put the change into your hand, it's not in an rude way they just don't. They like exact change too, I could clearly see the irritation flash across the lady's face when I handed her a twenty instead of the ten thirty-seven euro that was glaring at me from the little screen. She said something to me in Italian as I scrambled around in my wallet for the change, my face turning bright red, what can ya do? Let's see what else...Oh yes, you pay three cents per plastic bag for your groceries, you don't see hardly anyone taking bags and if they do they stuff them full. Can you imagine if the lady at Wal-Mart charged someone three cents for the thirty bags they just filled, people would think it was outrageous, but it is really quite logical if you think about it. They are so good about conserving and recycling here.
There are so many regulations on the garbage here. You have general, compost, paper, plastic and cans, in every room. It's amazing. I think it is wonderful how here it is a way of life, it is not people who are aware and recycle and take care and then those who do not. It just is you do it or you get fined, plain and simple no questions asked. I love it! People have to think before they throw things away. They told us Italy has cut their non-recyclable waste by close to sixty percent!
After the store we went to the Tabacco store to get stamps, that's the only place they sell them. Then we went back to the laundry mat and picked up our clothes. We proceeded to stuff them soaking wet into our bags, because drying clothes is close to three dollars for ten minutes! I loaded the clothes into my backpack on my back, a bag of groceries on my arm and two bags of groceries in my basket. More funny looks. Needless to say, I took every curve very slowly. When we got back we hung our clothes outside on the line, I hope it doesn't rain this evening. It's a treat to have some clean clothes.
Tonight some of the students are going to take the train to Austria and spending the night. I decided it would be wise to save for a time we could stay longer. I think I will ride a bike around here tomorrow and possibly take the train to Udine or Pordenone. I love it here, the simplicity of it all, including the things we Americans make so horribly complicated.