Bologna, Italy - Protests and Elections

How you know you're in Italy...

I'm on the train going to Bologna. We're stopped 5 minutes outside Bologna for about 20 minutes and people are getting impatient. A woman starts talking to me randomly in Italian, probably complaining about the train. Soon she spots a train employee and starts to complain. Hands are flying everywhere. Voices are raised in beautiful Italian melody. So glad to be here :)

I'm in Bologna to unwind and hang out with Beth. Meeting new people has been fun for the past few months - but it's good to hang out with a real friend. Beth is doing a Masters at Johns Hopkins in Bologna. People at the program are really cool and really welcoming.

Traveling has left me a little starved for nerdness and I end up going to American Foreign Policy with Beth. The topic is US Policy in Europe post-WWII, focusing on Eastern Europe. The topic could not be more relevant to the traveling I've been doing. A little too excited for my own good I take notes and even attempt to ask a question at the end of class. It's pretty fun pretending to be a Masters student.

The next day I wake up to loud yelling outside Beth's apartment. It turns out there are Italy-wide protests against a law passed the day before cutting the education budget and generally screwing students. I decide to join the fun. The protests wind throughout all of Bologna, ending on the main streets. Cars are all frozen in the streets as protesters weave in between them. Most of the motorists honk with approval. Hopefully the protests sent a loud message to the Italian government.

From Bologna, Italy

From Bologna, Italy

Finally, came the big day - Tuesday November 4th. Could I have any better luck than to be at American school during elections? I had already voted absentee (thanks Mom!) and am ready to watch the action. We gather at the school's auditorium at midnight (6 PM Eastern time) to watch the results come in. There is a huge screen set up to watch NBC. At 5AM sharp, the screen reads "Barack Obama elected 44th President of the United States". The room goes crazy with everyone hugging, laughing, and crying. We fill up on champagne as we wait for Obama's victory speech. There are few dry eyes in the house, including mine. Traveling for the past few months, I've often gotten the "I hate America - I hate George Bush". Hopefully that will all change :)

From Bologna, Italy