Ciao!

Ciao!

I arrived in Taormina four days ago, and am just now getting around to type this. For those of you who don't know, I will be in Taormina for 3 months (or 12 weeks as I like to say). I am taking 9 hours of language courses at Babilonia, a language institute. I came over here with one other person from Auburn - Clay, and I'm very thankful I know at least someone!
Thursday was a long day for us, and I've never been on a plane for 9 hours straight before. Somehow it was exhausting just sitting there. We flew from Atlanta to Milan and then caught a connecting flight to Catania, which is only an hour away from Taormina. A car was sent to pick us up, and we rode to Taormina. I thought I would have a heart attack on the drive over as apparently Italians have their own unique way of driving. We were on a two-lane highway, yet sometimes there were three cars across. No one likes to stay in between the lines, and they speed up and slow down whenever they feel like it. They also don't like to use their turn signals unless of course they aren't turning. Then, the left blinker must always be on. But we arrived in one piece.
We were shown around Taormina on Friday and Saturday I went with some other students on a school excursion to Siracusa, a nearby city. We saw a teatro greco (greek theater) and a grotto. Plus, we walked through a fresh air market, which was lots of fun.
On Sunday we walked down to the beach at Taormina, which is a mere 593 steps down from where we live. I should be in excellent shape when I get home since I walk everywhere. I've probably walked at least 3 miles a day, and this place is hilly.
Taormina is a very small town, and I'm not quite sure what I will do with myself every afternoon for the rest of my time here. I've already finished one of my three books, so hopefully boredom doesn't set in. I know that sounds odd since I'm in Italy, but this place is smaller than Auburn, so really, there's not much to do.
Everything moves kinda slow around here. No one is in a hurry, and restaurants can take forever. All the stores close from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for siesta, which I plan on taking later this afternoon. The stores open back up at 4:30 (or whenever the owner arrives), and between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., everyone in Taormina comes to Corso Umberto (the main street) and walks up and down it. It's quite a phenonemon. And I'm not kidding either. Everyone and their brother go out for the evening stroll. And the whole town just walks up and down the street (it's about a mile long), and they'll occasionally go into a store and buy something, or stop for some gelato (ice cream) or a drink at a bar (bars at open during the day, and some are open at night, but not late like in the states). When we met an Italian at the beach on Sunday, he asked us if we went to il Corso, to just hang out. Well, I suppose now I do. There's really nothing else to do but cruise down the Corso, so it will probably become part of my nightly ritual as well.
That is probably enough information for now. I will try to update as often as possible, or as interesting things happen. I hope to take some pictures this afternoon and upload them to the blog as well! Ciao!