Monday was another work day for me. I got my first load of laundry going and then took off to go grocery shopping. While returning from dinner the other evening I noticed where the Standa supermarket was. It's sort of a upscale Walmart or Meijer's in the sense that they sell they have a department store and grocery store together. I bought myself a few packaged salads and some prepared foods I can just heat up along with some fruit. I happened to walk by the coffee section. Because the Academy kitchen has been closed now and I broke my French Press, I've been going without coffee. After a moment's reflection on my coffee predicament, the thought comes to me -- instant coffee! It's been a long time since I've had to drink instant, but it's better than nothing. The tap water from the sink in my room is hot enough to make do. My apologies to the entire country of Italy, but I can't make do with a tiny cup of espresso. If it makes me white trash from the states, so be it. But I'm looking forward to my first grande cup of Starbucks.

I also needed to buy shampoo. I came to italy with two or three containers of Head & Shoulders. I don't know how many I had, but I ended up with three. Hopefully I didn't swipe someone else's H&S from the bathroom. I think it was mine. It took me about half an hour to pick out shampoo. You can't trust the labels in Italian to be what you expect it to be. (It's sort of like ordering a pizza here with pepperoni only to discover that pepperoni means peppers.) I bought myself a bus ticket this time so I didn't have to lug my goodies back up the stairs of Trastevere.

 I managed to finish my laundry and have my lunch by early afternoon. I'm sorry to report that I wore out another pair of slacks and will have to throw them away. The good news is I've been losing weight. Actually, I don't have a scale to weigh myself. I'm getting smaller around the middle, since I've had to tighten my belt up Before I came on the trip I used the first hole in my belt. I'm now on the fourth hole.

Tomorrow afternoon will be our second to the last seminar session. We'll be hearing presentations from a few people.