Thursday kicked off my last few days here with a.............. BANG!!! And yes, there was a big pause there. Thursday morning my alarm went off at 8:10am as I set it. However, groggy me was uncertain if class was starting at 9 or in the afternoon. I thought I'd heard Annalisa move class back to the afternoon and that Matt was planning to use the morning to work on the project. I listened to footsteps going past in the hallway and only heard one pair of feet over a 10-15 minute period. I figured it was just Matt that was up early and getting something to eat, so... I went back to sleep.
10:35am comes around, I yawn, stretch my arms, and slowly get out of bed thankful for the extra sleep. I get out of bed open my computer and log onto the internet and check Facebook. I go to my messages and see a message from Maggie, "Hi Neil! We are in engineering building Code 5566 Let me know if you need help getting here" (sent at 9:14). I stare at my screen for a few seconds in disbelief before the alarm bells go off! WEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUUU WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUU WEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!
I throw my clothes on, sprint to the bathroom, put my contacts in, grab my wallet, key, and backpack and book it. I sprint out of my room, down the stairs, and out the door. I toss my key to the security guard, turn the corner out of the gate, and go full tilt up the hill, weaving past people and cutting across the street. And I don't stop, not even when I finally get to the top of the hill. I just keep going and going and going, past people, cars, and shops. I make it to school in record time... too bad I was 2 hours late. I rushed into the environmental engineering building, raced up the stairs, and trudged into class, sweat dripping down my face.
I get a sleek smile from Annalisa "There he is" and a background of laughter from everyone in the class. I was too tired at that point to even care about the embarrassment thankfully, but I'd missed a lot of important stuff. I made it through the rest of class completely wired with adrenaline, apologized to Annalisa the best I could, and spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on what I'd missed and preparing for the town meeting the following day. I was assigned to be an engineering consultant for the mock town meeting, so I had my work seriously cut out for me. With this role, I needed to build a strong background on the problem at hand and remediation techniques. By the end of my preparation I'd read or skimmed all of the documents provided, pulling out all of the most useful information into 7 pages of my own personal notes.
The next day, the Mock Town Meeting started at 10:30, not wanting to be late again, I got up early, through back a few coffees to ensure that I stayed awake and got to class by 9:20 where I compiled some final notes and reorganized all of them. The meeting ended up going for over 2 hrs and by the end of it, we were all just ready to go. The whole meeting was constantly just turning in circles, addressing ideas, forgetting them, then readdressing them again. It got so confusing and circular at times I lost track of what was happening. However, my preparation allowed me to adequately fulfill my role, providing technical information and professional advice that helped move the debate forward. I think my performance of my role in the debate helped to make up for my sleepy blunder the previous day just a little bit.
After the meeting, we were all free to enjoy the Friday. I went to grab some quick lunch before bouncing down to the barber shop to claim my souvenir taglio di capelli (haircut). They only took appointments, so I set my appointment for 9:15am the following morning, and headed back up to the dorm. I worked on our final project due Monday for a bit with Divya before Cat, Lauren, and I went out for some souvenir shopping. Didn't end up getting too much, but saw some really cool stuff and might try going back to some of the shops tomorrow for a final look. When we got back, most everyone had gone out to dinner, but we weren't hungry quite yet. I hung out for a bit before heading back out to try to find where people went. Some people were at Za Za's Doner Kebab (one of the usual joints) and they said everyone else was on the top of the hill at some restaurant there, so I walked up to go see them. Sure enough I found them at restaurant overlooking downtown Cagliari, so I sat down to join them for awhile.
Around 10 I started to get really hungry myself, so I went back to Za Za's for some quick food before heading back up to the dorm to see what everyone else was up to. Everyone else was just hanging out drinking and playing card games. After a bit of time here, we hit the streets. The crew on the hill was out infront of a church just down the street chillin' so we went to join them. We kicked around there for a good bit of time before deciding to go to the usual bar, Republik. I sat down with Dylan and one of his Italian friends, Marco and chatted for awhile. He ordered us some hot Tabasco shots which knocked me back a little bit with surprise. A good change of pace from the usual drinks though. After chatting for awhile I switched tables to talk with some other people and to meet some new Italians. Many of them were excited to have Americans with them, so they ordered some wine to share around. I met quite a few different guys, I cant remember all of their names, but Matteo sticks out. Really cool guy, very friendly, and he had good English. Everyone there was so friendly though and it was just such a fun atmosphere to be in. We didn't head back until 3am, but I made sure to add Matteo on Facebook so I could catch up with him and some of the other guys again later.
The next morning my alarm went off promptly at 8:40am, and I muscled my way out of bed, threw on my clothes, grabbed a banana for breakfast, brushed my teeth, and hazily trudged my way down to the barber shop. I sat down in the chair and let the barber go to town. I showed him a picture of kind of what I wanted, said a few words to try to clarify it further, and then I just let him go to town. Definitely came out as a very Italian haircut. Not quite what I was expecting, but I'm happy how it turned out. Only difficulty with this cut is it kind of requires some gel to look good, so I might need to invest in some better stuff.
The cut.
After the cut, I went back to the dorm to hang out for a bit before grabbing a real meal at the cafe. I ate with a few crew members before heading back up to crash. I slept for 4 more hours, getting up right before it was time to leave for our hike "Sella del Diavolo" (the devils saddle) right by Poetto beach. It was a really nice hike with more beautiful views and surprisingly nice cloud cover. It was a very calming hike and great to get out. I could have stayed up there for awhile just meditating, 'twas very therapeutic.
From the hike.
When we got back we grabbed Incognito Pizza for our final purchase dinner. I was starving so I grabbed a small appetizer at Za Za's beforehand. Usually the pizza takes awhile to arrive so I want something to tied me over, but surprisingly it arrived very quickly, so I got my fill of food I'd been craving. We all went back to the dorm after this and just hung out for awhile. Everyone was exhausted so most worked on the project for a bit and then went to bed.
Matteo, who I'd met the day before, invited me to a party, and Id already told him Id stop by, so I coherence Dylan into joining me there. It was just a short walk up the street. I didn't have too much energy that night either, but I am really glad I went. I met and talked with a bunch of really cool Italians who all seemed to have some sort of background in English. Some spoke more then others naturally, but I was able to communicate with everyone using simple words and lots of hand motions. It was so much fun to talk to more Italians and to find out more about their lives and culture. The people here never cease to amaze.
We got back, once again, around 3am, so I naturally slept in today. I got up a little after 12 and went to work finishing my parts of the project (which I actually have to go and fully finish after this blog). I worked 'till around 3pm then we left for Sagra di Santa Caterina in Orroli, a festival in honor of Saint Caterina. I thought my time here was over and there wouldn't be too much new left to see or do, but boy was I so wrong. The festival was so incredibly cool. There were tons of people and a parade with horses, tractors, oxen, and tons of beautiful hand-made garments. Its really hard to express in words how cool this was. The best I can do is show some pictures and say its a beautiful thing to be truly immersed into a culture, its traditions, and its festivals in a setting where very few tourists can be found. It is so authentic that it just leaves me with awe. I'm sorry that we weren't able to stay past 9:30pm because up to that point it had been so much fun and the real party was only just beginning.
From the festival.
I sit back in my dorm now, writing this final blog, and I'm certainly sad to say good bye. Sardinia is an absolutely amazing place filled with a very wealthy people, maybe not in riches, but in heart and soul. I highly recommend for my fellow friends to come here someday, and I hope that one day I might have the blessing of returning. Until then, this is Neil Fachon signing off! Arrivederci e Buonanotte!