At the post office

ugh I feel sooo ill. Far too ill to work on my french essay, so I'm trying to do some less strenuous (and yet still constructive...) activities.

I was in the post office yesterday, enquiring about posting said essay to Birmingham next week. (incidentally the only service which *guarantees* my essay door to door costs 29 euros!) I asked if they had envelopes (there weren't any visible). She produced 5 envelopes but in order to give them to me had to hand complete an A4 size form which was my reciept, which, for reasons unbeknown to me, and seemingly her, required my name at the top of it. When I expressed my surprise that she might need my name for a 50 cent pack of envelopes she informed me that when she was in England in 1977 she noticed the post offices were already selling envelopes! In Italy however they only begun to be sold in Post offices 3 -4 years ago. 'We're a bit behind' she said...


Speaking of being behind the times... In the last few days posters have appeared on all the bins on every street corner in our area, with a picture of a baby's face, and the words 'Don't throw away my life, and yours.' So although Berlusconi announced that he did not intend to touch the Legge 194 which guarantees free and safe abortions, Ferrara is running as a candidate in the elections next month on a single issue anti-abortion ticket. And I'm told he thinks he will get 8% of the vote.

In other news, courses have started and I have some fascinating ones, I'm doing
Multiculturalism and Cultural relativism
Citizenship of Women in the Contemporary World
History of International Relations
and a masters course in Problems and Priorities in Political Development in Developing Countries.
Next 'half term' I'm doing an anthropology course about migration too.

There is a lot of overlap within the courses but I'm really feeling the effect - particularly in the masters course - of not having studied political science before. When I come back to England next week I'm going to be stocking up on 'Very short introduction to...' Nietzsche, Marx, Nussbaum etc. Unless anyone can recommend any good (short) books?