1. Sardinia and mainland Italy's relationship is not unlike Scotland and the UK's. It is a small state with a drastically different history to Italy (Sardinia was originally under Spanish rule before being "seized by the Italian royals for a pretty holiday island"- in the words of one Italian friend). Sardinian independence has long been a contested issue, plus the language spoken is Italian but they have retained some of their distinctiveness by adding a Sardinian gloss. So basically we're both nations with a bit of a chip on our shoulder.
2. Sardinian iced teas are a superb drink.
3. The Spanish are night owls - a standard night out begins at midnight and finishes around five in the morning. This is taking a while to get used to as us Scottish girls have been generally wrecked by 10pm (partly due to the above point).
4. I really must slow down when talking. I'm forever being told this but the point is hammered home when speaking to a roomful of people who speak english as a second language.
5. There's no such thing as too much gelato, or good seafood.
6. Some obscure spanish words to add to my schoolgirl vocabulary. Cejas-eyebrows, Canela-cinnamon.
7. High-waisted bikinis are darling but the white tummy I'm left with is not.
8. I should be less cynical. I've always expected most other people on my course to be competitive and unpleasant, so I've hardly been a social butterfly among the law crowd. However, the other nine Scots here are all very lovely and I've even made a couple of new friends for life. This is probably what I'm most pleased to have learned-people will usually surpass expectations.My photos are on my camera mainly but I took a few on my phone last night at dinner. These are Eidann before, and me after, a fair amount of good italian wine (also pictured).
Natalie xX
