La Vita Padovana: Il primo giorno

My brain is befuddled. I don't think it even knows what it's doing right now. What day is it? What time is it? My internal clock needs a new battery. Despite my temporal trials, however, Padova thus far has proved to be the most unique place I've ever been, and full of so many firsts.

Firsts accomplished today (or yesterday? like I said, time has no meaning):

My first transatlantic flight
My first steps in a country not contiguous to the US
My first time walking in Padova alone
My first time walking in Padova alone in the dark
My first time walking in Padova alone in the dark without a GPS
My first time getting lost in Padova (WONDER HOW THAT HAPPENED)
My first meal in an Italian bistro
My first time being confused for a Spaniard
My first Italian catcall from a passing car
My first time dealing with really complex Italian locks in the dark trying to get back in my apartment

     In short, guys, it's been a really busy day full of firsts. The thing about firsts is--unfortunately, exciting though they are--they are tiring. They are so very very tiring. I am tired. Luckily for me, I'm now cuddled up with a cat in a bed in the same room--my room!--as a small non-poisonous snake. Cat's new favorite perch is the dip in my lower back, which I'm not exactly sure how I feel about, as I mistrust most cats not to extend their sharp little demon kitty claws into my skin. This particular cat is also walking on thin ice with me, having already decided that my foot was a really exciting toy to attack. No, cat, no. That is my foot. Get it right. Cat is also weirdly skilled at avoiding pictures. Cat is an odd one. Also, I'm sure Anna told me Cat's name, but I forgot it, so now it's just Cat. When you type cat too much, it stops looking like a real thing and starts becoming a nonsensical construction of random letters.
      Moving on from Cat, interesting though she is, my room is really big, and has a fabulous view, and kind of a ton of hilarious personality left behind from Anna's son Joshua--who, as it turns out, might be returning to Italy soon. I wasn't sure how I felt about that at first, but now I'm sure it would be fun; Anna's really busy at her bistro, and calls her son "a survivor" for having managed with her long hours. Joshua being back would give me a native to tour me around and such! The rest of Anna's apartment is just as beautiful, and I'll snap pictures of the rest of it during the day when it's charm is really clear.
   Anna herself is really fabulous, intense, and busy. She told me already that she wants to be an entire family for me here in Italy, and I feel she truly means it, despite her time commitment at the restaurant. The employees at her bistro seem great too, which is fortuitous, as any meals I'm meant to eat with Anna (breakfast and three dinners a week) will be eaten there.
At this moment, it's 8:52 in Padova, Italy, 2:52 in Boston, Massachusetts, and 1:52 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. My brain belongs in so many time zones, and there are so many people already in each of them that I want to be with and talk to--it's a little conflicting and confusing, trying to divide oneself like that. My body is quite solidly in Italy, so at least that's taken care of. I can only hope I'll get used to juggling my three separately-timed lives soon enough.