Verb of the day - comprare - to buy

 Hey everybody!

So things are getting a little crazy here in Italy!  We had a drawing class in San Miniato on Tuesday.  It's a small hill town about 40 minutes away from Florence by train.  I did a few drawings, took a bunch of pictures etc.  It's going to be the basis of our water coloring class that we're taking.

 So the weather was a little cloudy, but on the whole it was still pretty.  We're planning on painting from the pictures we took instead of working in the field.  I think it would be quite bothersome to bring out the paint and water and all that.  Our teacher did a few quick ones to show us what its all about, but we stuck to drawing.  He also said, "don't draw what you know, draw what you see."  This is something I've tried to remind myself every time I draw but it's difficult.  Often times, I dry to draw too quickly and I say to myself, oh this is a rectangle, that windows a circle, etc and I try to draw how they are usually represented in three dimensions, instead of taking the time to actually LOOK.  When you look and really pay attention to what angle the lines are at and the actual proportions or things, drawing becomes very easy.  It's just copying something that's already been done.

Here's the real lesson of the day though.  Comprare - to buy

Compro - i buy
compri - you buy
compra - he/she buys
 compriamo - we buy
comprate - you pl. buy
comprano - they buy

Today, I bought a leather carry on bag for flights.  I was getting charged 20 euros for every flight I took because the carry-on bag I have was too large.  I went to San Lorenzo market here where there are tons of stalls with paper, leather, belts, florence stuff, soccer etc.  And I walked around and I knew I wanted to get a leather bag but I didn't really want to rush into anything.  I've actually been doing a lot of research, poking around the stalls before, checking prices, consulting Mom for bargaining tips etc.  And after all that, I still think I paid too much.  So I started looking at a bag and the person came up and talked to me.  We eventually went into their little store which was quite close to where their cart was.  She showed me the leather, how nice it is etc. you can rub out scratches yada yada yada and it was really nice.  What impressed me the most was how the entire store smelled.  The entire store smelled like leather, kind of like a new baseball mitt.  I just wanted to take that entire smell home with me.  So anyway, we talked a little bit about the bigger bag, we talked about the smaller bag, we talked about the cheaper bag yada yada yada.  We talked a lot.  I ended up leaving.  The big bag started at 150 and the smaller bag started at 130 (although the listed price was 188).  And I got the big one down to 130 but didn't really talk about the smaller one.  I came back later and got the small one for 105. I really think that after this bargaining experience, next time I'm going to make the man cry.   I purposefully chose a place that had a girl working, I thought it would be easier to bargain and such.  But when I came back they stuck the man on me.  So I'm happy with my purchase, but I bargaining and buying are both addicting!  I really think if I did it again, I would come out with a cheaper bag.  I just wish Mom was here, she would have really taken it to him.  So the bag smells really nice, is real leather, should be relatively easy to clean.  And, I'm happy with the purchase, but I really think I could have gotten him down for lower in retrospect.  Anyway, it was a good experience.  I'll probably bargain more, but at a much smaller scale.  I'm still looking to buy a scarf and a belt, so we'll see how that goes.  I'll keep you posted.

So I said earlier things are getting crazy here, and it's true!  On Thursday our studio professor was not happy with the work that we had done.  He was generally displeased with everybody, but I think we are now on the same page.  Tuesday we got an email from him saying he wanted CAD drawings.   So on Thursday everybody had Cad drawings.  But, that's not what they wanted from us (confusing right?).  So anyway, after Thursday, I think we all have a better understanding of what he expects, and it's a lot.  I'm going to be working a lot this weekend on studio stuff, I have a midterm on Monday, and we're going to Madrid on Tuesday!  So things are getting exciting.  I've already planned a trip to Genoa on the weekend after Madrid, then it's midterms.  After that, I'm going to Dublin for the weekend, and then straight to Rotterdam for school.  I'll spend a week in the Netherlands and then it's already the second week in November and only 1 more month left in Europe.  So whew, this semester is flying by.  That's all for now.  Ciao ciao ciao ciao