It Leans!!!!

After returning back to Pisa about an hour ago the one thing that I've really grapsed from the whole trip is that it leans!!!! It really leans!! Seeing the leaning tower of Pisa on postcards and the internet cannot compare to actually being there and seeing thousands of tourists do the cliche "hold the Pisa up" picture, while others simply stare in awe at the structre. There have been several skeptics that one day this huge monument will lean so much that it's demise will follow soon after. This will not only be devistating for the monument's well being, but seeing that Pisa's number one money maker is tourism, I doubt many will come to see the fallen tower of Pisa. Other places that I visited while in Pisa was the synagogue and the Jewish cemetary. Professor Cooperman lectured in the synogogue walls and elaborated on Portuguese and Italian Jews. Basically, one didn't like the other and thier co-existence was not a smooth road. Upon arrival into the Jewish cemetery, we met up with a female tour guide in her mid twenties who was very well-educated on this particular cemetery. However, I could not tell you a word she said. Let's just say I was in a bad neighborhood. Those mosquitoes creeping around in that cemetery doubled anything outside of the cemetery walls, and they was hungry. I don't get it. Do they love me or do they hate me? Either way i've gotten over 50 bug bites and I think im gonna scratch myself silly. However, one thing I did pick-up on about what the tour guide was saying while getting feasted on was how the Jews went about preserving the body. In the middle of the cemetery there was a huge structure where they cleaned the bodies before burial. In the Jewish religion, burial comes nearly immediately after death. One the activities we did while in the cemetery was to put paper over the writings on a tombstone and use charcoal to outline the words. I think the meaning behind this activity was to get a closer look into how much time and effort went into making the tombstones. After the tour of the cemetery was done, we all parted ways for the weekend. Bell, Joseph, and I grabbed lunch at a nice restaurant near the Pisa. While in the restaurant a young girl no older than 9 came into the restaurant playing the according and begging for money. It was tough to sit there and enjoy a meal while seeing how unfortunate some others are. Seeing such a sight really puts it into perspective for me how fortunate ive been throughout life to have a loving family who can provide for me and look after my well-being. After lunch we walked around for a little and boarded the train back to Florence. Now I sit in my room with the decision as to read the book assigned for this class or take a nap. Well, when in Rome... and since people over here take ciestas (naps during the day) during the day I might as well indulge in the culture.