Ciao! First post - finally!

Ciao a tutti!

I've been in Italy a little less than a week, and it's already more than I ever expected. I love it here. It's overwhelmingly beautiful and I still can't believe that places like Perugia exist and function just like any other, as if everywhere were this beautiful. There are virtually no tourists here, exept for the other stranieri (aka: foreign) students like myself, and hardly anyone speaks english -which I love.

Internet is hard to come by and the buildings are freezing due to heat restrictions -but being a spoiled american I'm fortunate that those are my only complaints, and they are easily forgotten as soon as I step out my front door or chat with my roommates (who are Italian - extremely Italian, sometimes I have to stop and laugh that the stereotypes actually are true: they do stop for espresso every hour and follow it up directly with a ciggarette.) I'm learning so much and I'm so happy to be here. Below are some pictures - enjoy!