No translation needed

Except for meeting and conversing with a few tourists at small night clubs this weekend, I haven't done anything exotic. All of my recently-made school friends were on trips to Pompeii, hiking the Alps, among other things. I thought I would be sick, so I stayed put. It makes for a lonely weekend though. My host family has had their share of busy duties also, so I've been mainly just sticking by myself. I have noticed though that it's harder to find people to do things with because I live without peer roommates, unlike many of my fellow roommates. I do get a good sense of what being a foreigner is with living here, but at the same time I crave some meaningful conversation with other people. It's difficult to do so at home, with me knowing hardly any Italian but again, I know I'm here to work on it. It's a process, that's for sure.

So I went out for a walk today and came across a new "friend". Oh how I've missed animals. I came across an Italian cat today near a car, and I leaned down to say hello. He immediately trotted over to me, and we spent the next 15 minutes just hanging out. I sat on a bench corner, and he plopped into my lap and we just sat together for a few minutes like old friends. An elderly Italian man came over and said a few words to me, but the cat and I just looked up at him and couldn't understand a word. I smiled though, just like a foreigner does. At least I know "ciao". Photos to come later.