Leave no man behind

Tuesday left not much for us. Calpoy has left for Rome so the building is rather quiet. The students are looking forward to faster internet speeds, more space and more food at dinner. I suppose it is nice like this, but I do like having more than the Aggies around. It gives us all a true view of the world. It is NOT College Station.

Wednesday, was pretty much a nightmare day for me. I have been told time after time to "stop babying" the students. "They are adults" so they should figure stuff out for themselves. I think it is about time I took this advice. I can bearly get my own work done because I am field their questions. Basically, I am going to have to seclude myself for some time.

Today, we went to Sienna. Paolo could not come, so the only people on the trip that had attended were Anna and I. First, we woke to find that our "breakfast" was locked in the office. The students seemed to find it okay to blame me (this by the way was not the best idea). When we got off of the bus, we were responsible for getting the students to the tour guide, with our limited knowlegde and bad maps. I think we did a rather good job of getting the students there in a good amount of time (but the students didn't feel this was fast enough). After that, I was basically responsible for making sure no one lost the group.

Once again, Peter had an interesting tour prepared for after lunch. We went to the "Good Vibrations" exhibit. It was a contemporary exhibit on rock and roll. I rather enjoyed it. I didn't make it to all of the roms, but I do have my favorites. The best (in my opinion) was the vault exhibit. It simply had a Marshall amplifier with music being piped into it. When we first stepped into the space, all we heard was the hum of the electricity in the amp. Then, pressing the pedal in a pulsing motion we were able to get a little sound. Finally, pressed it for an extended period and was greeted by the sounds of Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner. This is one of the few versions of the song I feel actually have heart. I really like the entire exhibition, but this one in particular was a well thought presentation.

At this point, things are going great, but this was only short lived. The time came to get back to the bus, and I had a feeling that everyone did not know how to get there. Unfortunately, my intuition was right. Long story short, I had to leave two students in Sienna. I felt horrible. Others told me that they had just as much opportunity as everyone else, but the truth of the matter... we had no place to be but dinner. And we were the only ones in the school so dinner could have been a bit late. In the end, they made it back to the center safely. I just hope it doesn't happen again.

Tonight, began the all-nighters for the students to get their work done for the presentation Friday. They worked so diligently that I am finally able to focus on what I need to be doing with my work. I have actually made strides regarding my final study. I am quite pleased with myself.