Trip to Argentiera with the AFS Group

Well, I've started packing, as I leave here on Thursday for Spain!
Yesterday Francesca invited me to go on the AFS outing to Argentiera, to see "the ghostly ruins of its silver mine, once the most important on the island". Lonely Planet The Romans first mined it, and it was mined up to 1960. And it is ghostly! There is a very small cove of a beach, which was very rough yesterday. There are eight students based here in Sassari, and no more than two of them are in the same school. Most of them are here for the whole year. There is a boy from Bethel, CT. Of course, I went to talk with him; he could have been from Bethel, ME! Most of them have only been here less than a week, so they are still pretty shy. Except for the Spanish speaking students, their Italian is quite elementary-EASY for me to say!
They held a short program at a school, where each student introduced him/herself. Then we drove around to look at parts of this sad little town. It is so small; there cannot be too much tourist activity. Afterwards we met at a beach where everyone had the picnic which they had brought. Some of the parents had been AFS students themselves. Many of them did speak English also.
Francesca and I left early, as she needed to go see her mother at the hospital in Alghero. I just sat in the car and had a catnap!
On our way back to her house, we stopped in the city of Alghero, a major city and port, which still has its street signs in Spanish and Italian. We got a gelato, walked around abit, and saw that there was alot of activity at the Duomo. We had actually seen three young priests walking towards the church wearing basic black robes and carrying what looked to be off white long, fancy surplices. Francesca wanted to go in to see what was happening, and that was fine with me. We only stayed about ten minutes, as it had not yet started, but that is as close as either of us had ever gotten to priests' ordination. There was a huge crowd, and the dress was from very fancy to very casual!
We got back to her house in plenty of time for me to drive home before it got dark.