dominica en crespano

ciao!! the last two day were a little more realxed, thank god. sat we had the final seminar for the kepner tregoe decision making and analysis stuff. it was really inciteful the way the explain to you how to walk thru decisions in order to not continue making mistakes and think about the problem seems to really make a lot of sense and it works. we watched a video from the 60s-70s about a dead whale on a beach in oregon that they had to get rid of and they decided to blow it up, really funny check it out im sure its on the internet somewhere, definitely worth a look. that was an example of how not to make a decision by the way. then in the afternoon we had a travel orientation and they gave us a lot of good websites and tips and places to travel and hostels not to stay at and pickpocket scams to watch for and anything else helpful. it definitely helped us b/c that nite we went and started making plans for our travel week, i ended deciding to go to frankfurt, heidelburg, vienna, and prague with 3 other ppl from my hall in our dorms!!! itll be amazing and im really excited to be going its so crazy. i was so scared to hit the "book" button on that first flight it seemed like i was signing my life away or something. that nite we went to la piazza again, we had a great time moricio popped in a cd with some rap and we opened up the downstairs and had a little dance party.
sunday a bunch of ppl went to the sundy market in crespano. it was about a 20-30 min walk there but well worth it, bc it was soooooo beautiful!!! everything here is a painting it seems like. when we got there it was 6-10blocks of outdoor stores everything from fresh produce, to sweaters,shirts, shoes, watches, HOT food, and little hardware stores even!! i was a little hungover at the beginning but a cabob with sausage and chicked with peppers in b/w and a bag of patatine (fries) solved that!! it was mouth watering!!!! as we were walking thru the streets we came across some "vendors" selling louis vatton bags (Raquel...) and gucci and armani belts and movies still in theatres, off of sheets on the sidewalk and as we were looking at them they all rapped their sheets and merchandise up in a domino effect and ran off. we turned around and saw the polizia walking down the road behind us. they were selling stolen item and knockoffs, and we found out that we can get in as much trouble buying from them as they can for selling the stuff!! but it was still hilarious. after that i came back and took a nap, much needed. then woke up did some homework, also needed. hit up dinner i had some pasta with shrimp sauce that was really good, cold broccoli and and some pork, that was alright, and some fries. after that we had organized another nite of basketball in the gym, we played for a few hours it was as fun as it was last time. after bball i needed another shower, chatted on the internet for a few hours (if u have a webcam feel free to get on a messenger service, skype or windows live, and ill tell u some stories) emailed a lady about some apartments in prague and then that puts me here typing this blog, and after that i cant tell ya much bc i havent done it yet.
i have school again tomorrow, its really weird bc weve only had like 4hrs of school and like 4days of organized activities. and it doesnt stop next week, we only have school mon-tues again and then i have whats called LB1, more on this later, im not too excited about it ive been hearing some horror stories.... but im sure ill be on here again soon so thanks for reading, have fun be good, ciao ciao!!!
the pictures are an amazing house, us walking to crespano w/ monte grappa in background, me eating, "home depot", and group pic enjoy!!

busy busy busy

so its been a while, but ive been really busy.
so thrusday was a really long day we had this thing called the da vinci challenge. this guy came from slovenia, where hes from and he runs this business, and did a bunch of teamwork things with us. taught us how to work together and listen and communicate within a group to solve problems. we did things like a trust fall where u lean back and fall off a platform and the ppl catch u. a spider web where there were some ropes looking like a spider web and u had to get each member of the group thru the holes, without touching or reusing a hole. we also had to get across a "lava pit" from two platforms with a short board adn a long board(not long enough to reach across tho). and the last thing we did was we had to get our entire team over a 12ft wall. these were all really exciting and fun and PHYSICAL aticivties. i am sore like no other today, as a matter of fact i have shoes prints on my shoulders from hoisting ppl up.
breakfast and lunch were the same ole same ole, so bbbbb. but for dinner we worked out a trip to the pizzaria in asolo for ten of us. its really nice because the restaraunt comes and picks you up and takes you back for free! we got there and we ordered 7pizzas and 10liters of wine and it was only 10euro each!! and not to mention when i went to bring all our money up to the old man who owned the place we had like 70cents over so i told him take it, and i had to force him to accept it. and after i did he bought us a bottle of wine and came and drank with us!! it was awesome, we all had a ton of fun. when we got back some of the ppl in our group we hadnt seen a few days because they were secluded doing the LB1 thing. so after all that intense stuff they did they needed a drink so we were there celebrating with them. i was hurting this morning.

today we had some kepner tregoe activities about the decision making process and how to go about making decions from the most practical way with all the info and needed options, blah blah. but they did it with some activities we did about traveling here or there or how to decide where to go, and it applied very well. the things were doing here are very good for being managers and leaders its all really amazing. i like it a lot. some of it can be boring at times, but the ppl teaching and the ppl in my group are great so that helps a ton.
that seminar was all day adn we just got back from crespano to mail out our "permit to stay" forms for the police. we need these so we can stay in italy for more than a month or w.e., basically it says were doing school. but they needed to see us and our passport and signature so we all had to go, the ppl in my group i mean. for the most part everything were doing these first weeks is all in our groups. right now its 7 so i gotta go to dinner, if i dont like it i gotta hustle to the tabacci for a piece of pizza for a euro which usually fills me up. im not eating as much here, which is great i need to lose some wieght. catch ya lata a pui tardi!!! ciao ciao
the pics are us at the pizzaria and with the owner of that, and me with the bartender from la piazza

Activities

Ciao!! ummm where did i leave off.... ok so last nite some of the groups started our "leadership training" thing and its sounds pretty crazy you'll hear more on this next week when i actually do it. but i went to the simpson room to watch "the departed" with some friends last nite it was fun. and that was about all we did, oh yeah i caught a nap, that was nice. so this morning i woke up and went to breakfast it was good croissant and juice. then we had "survival italian" to learn helpful phrases and words, this is more for kids who aernt taking an italian, but it was still helpful. im about to go to another orientation and then lunch. after lunch we have approx. 5hrs before my group takes a mall trip to castelfranco it should be kool to see an italian mall, and get out of paderno. not that paderno is bad but that i havent been anywhere else....
this morning it was beautiful!! the clouds parted by 9 and you could see the beuatiful view of Mt.Grappa behind us, it was amazing. oggi (today) di primero guorno (first day) i could see the mountains molto bene (very well)
thats another thing as i learn more italian u get more italian so keep up!!
im really having a great time here everything is nonstop amazing so i dont know how to control my smile sometimes! hope everyone in the states is having a great time with their 6-10in of sno depending on where u are!! its been around 40-50 degrees here most of the time. i miss everybody and i was happy to be able to see my baby maximus for the first time yesterday (courtney had him in studio so i could see him on the webcam. he couldnt figure it out, he could hear me whistling and talking but it was confusing him and making him sad not to be able to find me. hell figure it out eventually hes a smart boy.
im doing the post early today b/c weve been told power will be down later during our break before the mall actually, because some lightning from iere (yesterday's) rain messed up a cicuit breaker or something... idk
a pui tardi, buona giornata (have a good day) and i ill prolly have more pics tomorrow.
well be at the mall untill nove or later so if ur on the internet ill prolly be able to catch u when i get back b/c itll only be tre o quattro ur time. ciao!

classes

so last nite after dinner i went to the gym and played basketball with a bunch of people from the program for a few hours. it was a lot of there were a lot of ppl that came to play, at one point i think we had tre o quattro teams rotating, games to 10 - winner stays style, it was fun to actually run and work my body its something i havent been doing much, well any of, lately in the states. so it was good to make sure everything still worked. it was a lot of fun met a few more ppl i hadnt and i got a blister, so i guess i was working hard......
after basketball i came home and showered and then went and had a drink and la piazza (the bar) with some friends there werent as many ppl as the first nite but still a good number. i wasnt planning on staying long but i got myself into a 50 person flippy cup game! it was fun, my team won. i went home just a little before 12. actually yesterday we read a little announcement on the borad in our hall about how "anyone caught publicly intoxicated after 12am could be put in jail and fined up to 300euro. we didnt quite understand this at first b/c the bar had been doing last call at1. we ended up talking with the bartender/owner (moricio) and he told he also could be fined by the policia for staying open after 12, but hes been making so much money off of us, i would stay open to. i think its worth it for him, but im sure we wont be frequenting as much as everything here is about to get a little faster and more hectic.
oh yeah i also did a load of laundry in the sink last nite just some boxers and socks but it worked out pretty well and theyre dry this morning and clean so yay!
this morning it was raining and cold. i had two classes, managerial econ and consumer benhavior. i am absolutely loving the teachers here, they are all so amazing! my teacher in CB is really exciting me. she is here with her family (husband and four kids) and they rent a house in osolo (8km from here) from some american ppl who live in italy now. (the renters visit family and friends while they stay here) and she was telling us that we will come at some point and have dinner with them which should be exciting. esp since she was telling us about her 87yr old neighboor who was the first female pharmacist in italy and this ladies parents, parents used to hide italian soldiers in some caves and tunnels near their house in WWII when the austrians were coming thru/over the dolomite mountains (the mountains right behind campus!!) and that we mite get to visit those tunnels!!! thatd would be amazing!!
on a side not she told us a pretty interesting story id like to share. she was giving a presentation to a competitor of walmart in seohl, korea and she said when she went in it was the first time she ever "knew/realized" she was a female b/c everyone had a "no way this woman can teach us anything/waste of time" face on. they were all suit and tie 50yr old men in this company. and ten minutes in someone came in the door and it was 6 military men with big guns and they proceeded to point there guns and scream at this man a few rows back, who hit the floor and, she said it was obvious he was begging for his life. and she had no idea what was going on, and then they dragged him out, and she was told to continue. she later found out the man had stolen some things from the comapny and sold them on the black market, which in korea thats fine black market is part of their culture, but his sin was that he was using the money to live lavishly, a.k.a he had a house bigger than his boss!!! he was sent to jail for 18yrs, which for a 55yr old man is essentailly his life!!!! crazy huh.....
so after class i came back and went to check out lunch it was the same as always which is getting old already. so we went to the tabbachi across the street and got some sandwhiched for 2euro and they were amazing!! oh yeah i also figured out that they do serve the food luke warm/cold on purpose. evidently in italy serving hot food is not a necessity/priority, i dont but it kinda sucks that its not hot. like most things in america are either hot or cold i guess the dont do that everything is room temp.... milk, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, green beans, etc. but hey i guess i gotta getused to it
i have my last class this afternoon and then we dont have class again until the first two day of next week. we have a lot of things plannned a mall trip, ropes course, teamwork building/leadership skills excercises and things. im not sure what those all entail but ill tell ya lata...... see ya soon

on campus

so the last few days have been really fast and really exciting! when i finshed dinner (pasta) we had orientation where they explained how our schedule read and a few rules and whatnot. all the staff are really kool ppl and just want us to have a fantastic time while were here and there are so many things well be doing its crazy!!! after the orientation i came back and showered because i had been in my clothes for 34hrs and i smelled. then a lot of ppl (well everybody basically, oh yeah there are 151 of us students here this semester) went to the bar, which happens to be about a 20step walk from the portineria, to watch the bears-saints game. but when we got to the bar they only got cnn so we left..... no we didnt we were there til 1 when they were tired of us. but they had wine on tap, red and white, and some really good beers. everyone was meeting ppl adn trying to remember names but you know how it goes.
my roomate is a really kool guy his name is adam. the guys across the hall, tony and durken(his last name), are real fun guys too.... everyone here is.
this morning i woke up at 8 and went to breakfast. they had coffe and croisants and donuts and some cocoa puff type things and some wheaties things too. i got a orange juice a croissant and a bowl of the wheaties. i sat down and dipped my spoon into the cereal and took a bite and about threw up because the milk was warm and tasted like shit with the imitation flakes(the milk came from a box shoulda been my tip off but w.e) but i lived on the croissant and juice. then we had an orientation with everybody where they went over more things in more detail. trips and schedule and soccer and bbal games vs. the italians and so forth. after that i went and picked up my books and then went to lunch. for lunch i had the pasta with red sauce again and some turkey with cooked broccoli and carrots (by cooked and i mean they had been cooked, but italians must not like hot food because they were luke warm, if that, im still trying to figure this cold food thng out) but i ate it all. then i went to my classes comm&culture and italian for conversation both classes went really well and had me excited abouth the semester ahead. for our semester we must attend every single class. first absence is a 1/3 letter grade in that class. second absence and its a full letter grade in that class. and third absence in dismissal from the program, yes thats right back to the states. and if u didnt figure it out the absences are cummulative, that means for all my classes i have 3 total absences!! gotta go i guess....
right now im just doing this posting and waitng for dinner. actually most afternoons once the semester gets rolling i will have free so my afternoon/nites are your morning/afternoons so if u can get on an instant messenger and try to talk to me if im here. windows live is a little iffy sometimes with signing in, but skype always has worked so get that for free and catch me.
im kiel.huntoon@gmail.com on skype and kiel.huntoon@hotmail.com on windows live msn
a pui tardi (see you later)

Finished Flying

so my last two flights finally got over with, i made it ok. in one peace and have all my luggage so yay!! this is what i typed in the amsterdam airport while waiting for my plane to venice, and then i started again on the bus ride to paderno:

Flight to Amsterdam 8hrs 600+mph 35000ft 4200+mi

Tough to sleep, watched invincible and incredibles. Had my own remote, made me feel at home.

Windows froze up over nite, over atlantic ocean got below 70degrees F. we flew so long we made the sun come up and changed the days, im officially in the future now!!

Served chicken and beans and mashed potatoes and a heiniken for dinner, and egg and cheese biscuit yogurt and fruit salad for breakfast when we woke up over Ireland and UK (thats right long enough for two meals)

Longest flight ever, biggest plane ever, almost smallest space ever, longest ive never moved, ever.

amsterdam airport was crazy huge they had all sorts of stores and whatnot they were smoking in and around the bar areas, also. i had to go thru one checkpoint in amst. it took a long time until they finally opened up more than one line. i tried to use my phone card and was having some trouble til iu realized that that phone didnt do phone cards i had to find one of the few that did, and called home.

Now on to Venice!!! Last leg here I come, if my legs still carry me around the airport and I don’t get lost!!!

Once I got to the Venice airport instead of having to take a taxi a few of the students had delays so they ended up holding the 4oclock bus for everyone who came in late so right now im riding on a coach bus with about 15-20 other students. Were all really happy to be off the planes, and most of us have all of our luggage. I got all of my luggage back the way I left it so that makes me very happy. Everyone is already talking about so much shit to do its gonna be a ton of fun. Our bus driver doesn’t speak any English so it was nice to run my knowledge by him. Whatever I knew I said to him and he understood so that was good. Ahhhhhhhh im in another country its crazy, i just cant over that. This is a new exp. for me but not for some of the ppl.

Right now were headed home for dinner and orientation. And then after that im sure ppl are going to want to go out. But Im so tired well see how long I last.

ummmm the pics werent loading so..... u can check out facebook if u have it if not.... find someone who does or get on it, they let anyone on now.

Flights

So this morning i woke up gathered my things and headed to the airport. After a little negotiation i managed to make the 50lbs. per bag limit and then boarded. First leg: 1pm Lincoln to Minn. 48min. plane was one time. Second Leg: (which i am currently waiting for) 9pm Minn. to Amsterdam flight time 8hrs. yikes!! but hey i get dinner at least. Last leg: 230pm Sunday Amsterdam to Venice flight time 2hrs. and another dinner! after i arrive in venice i have to find an italian man named Renato (a cab driver) and take the cab with two other students to Paderno del Grappa and hour and a half ride. So after 24hrs of flying and driving i will have arrived on campus in time for dinner and orientation!! From there Europe is mine to take in!!! Keep checking for more posts and pics!!!
ps... im working on changing my camera dates and times gimmee a minute ok...