In Italy nobody gets murdered in the shower

Yesterday morning I was in the shower and was about to turn on the water when I noticed a chord hanging on the wall. It was attached to something on the wall that I couldn't really see, but I had never seen anything like it before. Curious, I pulled on the string and immediately a loud noise (like a doorbell) rang throughout the entire house! I shrieked and almost fell out of the shower because it had startled me so much! My host mom thought someone had rung the doorbell, so she went downstairs to answer the door :) I came out of the bathroom and explained what I had done, and she laughed- it turns out that in Italy there are alarm systems in the showers (in case of emergencies). I guess this is a good thing because if you were to have a heart attack in the shower you could pull on the alarm and get help... but immediately I thought of those dramatic movies where a murderer creeps into the bathroom, pulls back the shower curtain, and the woman inside screams. Well, now I know this will never happen to me! If a murderer comes I can just pull on the alarm! Italian showers are the safest I guess :)

Anyway, here are some pictures I forgot to post with my last entry:

                                           The older part of the city of Vicenza

                                 Ellen (a fellow exchange student) and I in front of the Vicenza sign

                                     Marta, Davide (my cousin) and I at the lake in Verona

                                               Beautiful buildings in Vicenza

                                                                     pomodori fresci :)

                                                                  Downtown Verona

Me in the arena in Verona!