Fourth Note - A memorable experience. I first started writing about university and it turned out to be a really depressing note, so I decided to write about something else instead. The thing is I have an exam coming soon, so I’m basically locked up in my room studying and I’m not really doing anything worth writing about. But a couple of weeks ago I took a break and did something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. In Italy the first of May is a national holiday (Labour Day) and my parents and I went on a small trip in Tuscany. We met with some of dad’s old friends and we spent the weekend in a hotel. I met two girls around my age who were really nice and we had a great time, but the best part came Saturday afternoon, because that’s when I jumped out of a plane from 4000 meters. I decided to do it only the night before, as soon as I found out that I could actually do it, and it was amazing. It was a bit uncomfortable, I wasn’t dressed properly and I couldn’t fit into the suit they gave me, but once I was in the air I forgot all about it. I sky-dived and nobody can take it from me. I feel so proud of myself now. I actually did it, I didn’t chicken out of it. I was at 4000 meters from the ground, in the clouds, and I jumped. And when I finally landed, everybody cheered and called my name. I’ve never won anything, I’m not good at sports, but in that moment I felt like a rock star. I felt like Michael Jordan, I felt like Freddie Mercury. I felt invincible.

Third Note: Bologna by night. It is very late now in Italy, but I still wanted to write something. Tonight I went out with some friends and we had one of the most typical Saturday night here in Bologna. Since Bologna has one of the oldest and most famous universities, lots of students come here from everywhere. And that’s why the city really comes alive during the night. You can go in the center of the city and you’ll find everybody just going around, taking a walk and just chatting with their friends. Tonight was also a special night, completely dedicated to art. Museums and old buildings were open and we went to see an Andy Warhol exhibition. Then we just walked around for a bit, enjoying the lights and the night. I think Bologna really comes alive during the night and you can feel it in your veins. You can find artists and any sort of character in the medieval streets of the historical center. If you get hungry, don’t worry, you can always get an ice-cream under the famous towers, even though it is still January. You are more of a salty kind of person? You can get french fries in a cone in the university area, the true core of the night life. We didn’t really do much tonight, we mostly walked around, and met some friends, and chatted, but it was a typical Saturday night here in Bologna and, from someone who was born and raised here, it really felt like home. We had everything that makes Italy such a lovely country: art, food and friends.

Second Note - David Bowie Marathon Yesterday has been a great but tiring day. A cinema close to my apartment had organized a David Bowie marathon to honor him after his recent death and since I am a big fan I had to attend. It started at 6 PM and the first movie scheduled was Labyrinth. That’s one of my absolute favorites. I had just watched it the day he passed away, but I watched it again anyway. I used to watch it when I was really young and, even though I didn't understand half of the stuff that was going on and the metaphor of the movie, I was always deeply impressed by David Bowie as Jareth and his charm. If given the choice, I would still totally choose to stay there with him, who cares about the baby brother. The second movie was more like the recording of a concert and it was like being at a true concert, which I will never be able to attend now (not a David Bowie one, anyway). It was magnificent seeing him on a big screen like that. When he started singing Space Oddity I had a giant smile on my face. Then, after a 30 minutes break – it was almost 10 PM by then – I watched The Man Who Fell To Earth. I had never seen it before but I loved it. It was really confusing, to be honest, but it was so good. He was so good! I fell in love with him a little more I think. The character was just perfect for him and for his stage persona. The last movie of the marathon was The Hunger (in my country it is translated in “Miriam wakes up at Midnight” which I find a really sweet title, for lack of a better word). I had already seen it before, with my mother, and we ended up crying like babies. I cried a little this time too. But it was really great, especially the atmosphere. It was after midnight and most of the people had gone home by then. We were moved to another room for this one and the chairs were really comfortable (we were almost lying down). If you’ve ever watched this movie, you know it has a somehow dark but alluring atmosphere to it and it was perfect. The whole marathon lasted 8 hours and I was so tired when it ended. I had a splitting headache, I had to use the bathroom and I was hungry. But it was a really great experience a really nice way to say goodbye to someone who was really important to me during my whole life. Thank you for reading and correcting my mistakes :)

First Note - An Introduction Hi, my name is Rachele and I'm new on here. I'm fairly good as for now, but I would love to practice my speaking English. That's always been a weak point of mine, since I have never been able to be abroad and to really talk in another language. I practice regularly my English, I read and watch movies and tv series in the original language, but there is just so much you can do talking aloud to yourself. I have always been proud of my English skills, it was the only thing I was really good at. I wasn't a particularly good student - I don't have the discipline it takes to really be good - but I have always loved this language and I really worked hard in order to get better. Now I'm done with high school and I don't study English anymore, so I was afraid I would start to forget it. After all the hard work, I wasn't about to let it happen. And so here I am here. My writing skills are not as bad as my speaking ones, but I could work on them as well. So I hope this will be helpful, Thank you to the ones who will take time to read and correct my mistakes. Have a great day :)