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Sorry to not update in so long it has been so hectic here with trying to get things arranged in my apartment, school, and even everyday things such as trying to find clothes hangers. I have probably asked 20 people where to get something just to hang my clothes and jackets on and it seems as if it competely foreign to Italians. I believe I have taken Walmart for granted for many years. So the trip has been awesome so far and there is plenty to complain about but I could complain about both Scott City and Hays for days as well. The first night here we recieved a crash course on the town of Vinovo and went into Torino so we could get internet. We had been awake for around 30 hours by the time we got to Torino and all of us were pretty much out of it so most of what we learned the first night was forgotten and had to be relearned in the next few days. I didn't even have my camera on me that night and it was dissapointing but we are going back soon to explore some more. The trip there was interesting we have to get 4 bus passes costing around 1.70 Euro each just to get to town and back. We take the Sadem bus to the outskirts of Torino which is around 20 minutes from Vinovo. The bus drivers are insane and here it is pretty much the bigger vehicle gets the right away and you lay on your horn basically all the time. The roads are very small and when buses pass each other there can't be more than a few inches of clearance in the middle so it gets to be interesting in congested areas. After riding the Sadem you must get off and catch the number 35 GTT. At the front of the buses is a little box that stamps your pass and if you don't do this the police get on at random stops and checks everyone's tickects and if you don't have one or it is not stamped they take you off the bus and follow you to an ATM and demand 25 Euro for your fine. The buses are very crowded and you basically hold on to the closest thing for your life while your other hand is holding on to your wallet. As for now you kind of just guess where to get off and if its the wrong place your ticket is good for 80 minutes so you wait for another 35 bus and try again. When you finally arrive to the main destination in Torino it is basically a giant expensive mall that spreads across probably 5 square miles with everything you could ever ask for but clothes hangers. We walked around for probably 3 hours and finally got our internet key which cost 74 Euro for less than dial up speed only to later learn that there is another company that works better in Vinovo but is still around dial up speed. By the time we caught another bus we were all exhasted and fussy. To get home you have to catch the number 1 GTT and take it to the outskirts of town to where the Sadem bus wil pick you up. The last Sadem bus leaves Torino at 11:00 and if you miss this bus you have to wait until 5:20 in the morning to get back home which thank god has not happened yet. You can also call a taxi but for that you must have a cell phone and none of us have a cell phone so we would be without a paddle. When we got back you would think that since we had been awake for about 38 hours we would go home and go to sleep but that would be logical. So we went to the campus bar which is a great thing to have and Fort Hays could definately triple their revenue if they put one in the union. We stayed there until around 1 in the morning and finally made it home only to realize that Rhiannon had somehow lost her phone on the journey home. So we all went out and looked for it to no avail. Around hour 45 of being awake I finally got to bed for a little sleep with an entire weekend to catch up on my sleep.
The next morning I woke up around 10:30 and only got about 4 hours of sleep. My roomate Aaron and I went to the grocery store because we needed some water because you can't drink the water from the sink (only to find out last night that appearently you can drink the water from the sink). I am off to class now but will try and update more since this only covers the first day and the following morning and I have been here for six days.