Semester in Review

Studying abroad in Italy was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My Italian improved greatly, I made friends with people from all across the globe, and I have a new sense of independence. The things one learns from studying abroad are things that will remain forever. I am grateful I had this opportunity to explore another culture and other parts of the world. I encourage everyone to study abroad at some point in their life.

As many of you may know, I also had the opportunity to meet some of my extended family while in Italy. This in itself was a life changing experience. Knowing where my great-grandparents came from and how my family came to be was just incredible. Meeting the people and hearing the stories was so much more meaningful than reading it on a piece of paper. Being able to meet them and communicate with them was helpful as well and the last eight years studying Italian has definitely paid off!

I would like to continue blogging. Whether it’s here or on another blog, I will continue to keep all of my lovely readers up to date on my happenings. Grazie a voi! Thank you all! J  

Siamo in arrivo a...Castelpagano!

Anne and I have arrived in Castelpagano, Campania safely! We are checked into our hotel, Ca Del Re in Colle Sannita. We navigated the streets of Naples and Benevento and only slightly got off course ('getting lost' doesn't apply to this situation). Campania a beautiful region and I am excited to spend the next 4 days here, meeting my family and traveling with my mom. See you all in less than a week!!!

Dublin!

DUBLIN, IRELAND! Spending 2 days in Dublin was a) not enough time to fully experience Dublin and b) one of the most amazing experiences. Yes, I have said that everything has been an amazing experience, but Dublin tops them all. We met some amazing people from across the globe and I felt we really got to know them. It was a lot of fun in a beautiful city. Even the night before, which we spent in a hostel in Pisa, I toasted to my 20th birthday with someone from Egypt, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Germany, and India.

Shannon and I arrived on Tuesday May 1st to a soaking wet Dublin. After taking the bus for an hour on the wrong side of the road, we arrived at our hostel just in time for their free breakfast. We hung out at the hostel, making friends with a girl from Norther California, whom we ended up hanging out with both days and becoming good friends with her.

The three of us got lunch together at an Irish Pub. I got cottage pie, which is like shephard's pie but made with lamb and about 100x better! It was hearty and delicious and just what I wanted on a cold, rainy Irish day. Afterwards, we toured the Jameson Whiskey Distillery then saw The Hunger Games at the movie theatre. We all cooked dinner together and had a relativley early night in.

Wednesday May 2nd the sun was shining and we got up early, had breakfast, and hopped on a walking tour of Dublin. The guide, Kyle, was an Aussie with a head full of Irish knowledge. He covered Dublin/Ireland's history from Vikings to British rule to the Potatoe famine and where the country is today. The three and a half hour long tour took us to see things such as the Parliament building, The Spire, Molly Malone's Statue, St. Stephen's Garden, and Wolfe Tone's statue. It was a very enjoyable tour. A big group of us from the tour got lunch together at another Pub: Beef and Guinness Stew. GENIUS! Shannon, new friend Lauren and I did a bit of shopping, then went back to the hostel. A little later we went to a pub for some Irish music and dancing, which was awesome!

Dublin is a wonderful city filled with a rich history and beauty. I look foward to going back and spending more time in the city.   

Anne is in Italy!

Anne Berte is safely in Italy! =) She is in Florence for a few days, then off to The Cinque Terre and Lucca. We will meet in Florence on May 5th to go to Castelpagano together and meet our extended family. Love you and see you all soon! 

Greece!

Studying in Siena, Italy has allowed me to meet many amazing people from all over the world. One of our classmates, Konstantina, is from Greece. She studied in Siena for two months and we became good friends during that time. From April 19^th to April 22^nd, a friend and I spent a long weekend with her in Thessaloniki, Greece! We learned some Greek along the way and I would like to learn the Greek alphabet so that when I return to Greece, maybe I can understand more! Greece is a beautiful country. Yes, there is an economic crisis right now, but that doesn’t take away from the beauty and culture of the country.

There are no words to describe the taste of  Greek food. Greek salad made with tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and feta is so fresh and delicious! We had it both homemade and from a restaurant and they were both equally delectable. We ate out and Konstantina’s mother cooked for us. We dined on fresh feta cheese, creamy tzatziki salad, steaming souvlaki, which is spiced,meat on a skewer, tender lamb, and triopita. Triopita is a feta cheese pie made with filo dough. We had it for breakfast every day and I could continue eating it every day! The flaky crust and warm feta inside makes for a delicious dish any time of day or night. Dessert is complimentary at restaurants and you get free water wherever you go: restaurant, bar, or café.

We visited the Royal Tomb of Phillip II in Vergina, the town next to Konstantina’s home town of Veria. The tomb is now a museum but the original headstones, jewels, and even cloth are well preserved from 300 B.C. It was not raided by grave diggers so everything was perfectly preserved. We even saw burned animal bones and food from 300 B.C.! The marble entrances to the chambers are also maintained in this underground museum.

Have you ever heard of Sakis Rouvas? Well, he is one of the most famous Greek singers and we got to go to one of his concerts! Often times, large bars will have famous singers preform on Friday and Saturday nights. There are tables and chairs around a small stage and it is common to buy a tray of flowers to throw at the singer. We went on the 20^th to his concert and danced the night away with a bachelorette party! It was so much fun and a great part of the Greek culture. I still cannot believe we saw Sakis!

 

 

Overall, we had a fantastic time in Greece! The weather was either sunny or partly cloudy all weekend. It was in the 60s during the day and 50s during the nights (Fahrenheit of course!) and we saw many beautiful cities around Thessaloniki. I can't wait to go back!

Cinque Terre!

Have you ever watched the TV show LOST? The towering tropical hills, the fog covered peaks, the rain breaking through the trees during a sun shower? Well, I'm pretty sure that I was trapped in LOST this past weekend while at the Cinque Terre.

The Cinque Terre in Liguria is five cities all connected by one hiking trail called Via del Amore or the Road of Love. A tradition of this trail is for two lovers to attach a lock to a piece of the trail and throw the jey into the ocean, signifying they will be together forever. Here is a picture of the iconic symbol of the Via del Amore; two people kissing, covered by padlocks.

The order of cities from South to North is Riomaggiore, Manarola, Coniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso. We stayed in Riomaggiore in an apartment on the water. We hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola (about 1km and took us 40 minutes) then took a train to Vernazza where we hiked from there to Monterosso (about 3km and took us 2 hours).

It was lightly raining the entire day but the hike was gorgeous either way. The sun came out at the end of the hike, which was a nice ending to our day. The water is a crystal clear blue/teal color. It was such an amazing place and I am so glad I went to the Cinque Terre with everyone. Partially from the beautiful of the land, partly because there were cats everywhere! =)

Lucca!

Monday, April 9th, we took a day trip to a Northern Tuscan town called Lucca. Lucca is a city surrounded by a fortified wall. There are some small canals both outside and inside the cities walls. There are vast green fields and many parks located on the walls. I figured I had to go there before my mother. You know, check it out, make sure it was safe and such.

The one thing that I do not like about Siena is the lack of green. There are a few valleys that are grassy, but they are private property and not accessible to the public. The trees are located on the outer edges of the city so we don't walk by much green plant life every day. In Lucca, there are open fields and large areas of lush green grass as well as blossoming trees and fresh air. Of the four hours we spent in the city, one of it was spent just laying in the grass. Forty-five minutes was most likely spent eating things (because you HAVE to taste gelato in every city as well as the famous frati, or Italian version of donuts) and the rest of the time we spent walking around, mostly looking at dogs.

This was taken inside the walls, but that is what it looks like outside the walls of Lucca!

There is a lot of grafitti in Lucca, but it is all love notes and song lyrics. We did not see one piece of hateful grafitti or someone branding a wall with their name. It was actually really nice and it gave the city a unique feel. That, along with the fact that Lucca has a very large Anime following and there were mobs of kids dressed up in costume.

"Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you!"

Lyrics from Coldplay's 'Yellow'. Beautiful grafitti in my opinion.

Venezia!

I know it has been a while since my last blog post so I apologize. March was the busiest month so far. I had classes every day from 8:30am-1:00pm and then 3:00pm-6:00pm. I didn't have as much free time so I didn't so as much traveling. This month is my last month here, so we will be doing a lot! Look out for posts =)

This past weekend, we went to Venice! We left on Friday and arrived in the evening in Venice. Four of my friends and I had a nice dinner and took a short walk around the city. Saturday, we woke up early and set off on a walking tour of the city. One of our director's friends in Venice took us around the city.

First, we went to through the Jewish Ghetto. We saw the old check point buildings and barriers around the neighborhood and the World War II Memorial there. We walked up and down the canals and made out way to Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. We went into St. Mark's Basillica and went to the top of the Tower in the square. The view was stunning! You could see all of Venice from every direction. For the remainder of the day, we just strolled around the city. It was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we were in Venezia!

Sunday we went to the Island of Murano. it is the famous Island where Murano glass is made. We watched glass blowing and toured the shops and city. The canal's are shorter and the island is smaller than Venice, but still just as beautiful. We arrived back Sunday night after an amazing weekend.

March Update

Today, March 10th, is the two month marker. I will be home two months from today. Just figured I would update about what's been going on and what will be going on.

1. Day Lights Savings doesn't happen in Europe until March 25th. The United States and Europe aren't in the same cycle for Day Lights Savings. Needless to say, oober confused this morning. Therefore, I am only 5 hours ahead of USA (instead of the usual 6 hours) until March 25th.

2. School is going very well. This month we double up on classes. I have twice as many course hours each week and I am taking Art and Contemporary Histroy in addition to my normal grammar and langusge course. Last semester, I got a 28/30 on my final again. Pretty excited about that.

3. This past weekend was the Chocolate Festival. Chocolateirs from all over Italy were here to showcase and sell their creations. I bought one each of chocolate covered and candied lemon, lime, orange, papaya, mango, apricot, fig, dates, and ginger. I also bought chocolate covered almonds and hazelnuts, truffles rolled in nuts and coconut, and liquor filled chocolates. It was a delicious but decadent weekend to say the least.

4. March 8th was International Women's Day. To celebrate, I took part in a Flash Mob freeze to raise awareness of domestic violence against women. One of our friends here was participating and we joined as well. We all gathered on a busy main street in Siena in the middle of the day. At 2pm, a woman screamed and we held a picture of a woman's face with a man's hand covering her mouth over our faces. 2 minutes later, she screamed again and we walked away. It was actually very exhilirating and made me feel good to take part in something to raise awareness on an issue.

That is all for now. I havent done much traveling since Amsterdam but I am planning to go to Sicily at some point and I would like to go to Spain and Ireland atleast before I leave. Updates to come!

Gatto e toast

This is a picture someone posted on Facebook. It's called a meme. A meme is a picture with words, typically something funny, whitty, or factually based that makes fun of something else. My mother told me to post this so here it is. I will post the English translation below because it's in Italian.

1. Toast always falls butter side down.

2. Cats always land on their feet.

3. Tie buttered toast to the cat.

4. The cat and toast will fall, and turn itself without hitting the ground.

5. Attach cat with toast to generator

6. Acheive infinite energy.

Hope you got a good chuckle out of this one. I know I did.



Carnevale a Viareggio!

As many of you may know, during the months before Lent, Carneval takes place in many countries and cities around the world. The most famous city that celebrates Carneval is Venice in northern Italy. The second most famous city is Viareggio, a small town in northern Tuscany that is located on the water. Viareggio is most famous for its political satire-themed parade.  So today, 2/19/12, four friends and I went to Viareggio. The parade takes place every Sunday in February and the first three in March.  Even though it rained (almost) all day, we had an amazing time!

After a two hour train ride, we arrived in Viareggio just as the rain did. We got some lunch and walked around the city before heading into the festivities area. The city has a long part of the coast blocked off for Carneval and of course you have to pay to get in. There were bleachers set up to watch the parade, there were carnival rides and street vendors. We went into a small bar/restaurant and got white chocolate and nutella crepes. Oh my goodness, I think I died and went to heaven. They were AMAZING! After that, we walked around and went into all the little shops and stores. I bought a big flag with the symbol of Carneval in Viareggio: Arlecchino, a traditional Carneval persona. We walked down to the water and I touched the Tyrrhenian Sea! =) We walked back and went into a make-up shop and did our make-up before the parade. I went for lemon yellow and bright blue stripes of eye shadow. And might I say, we all looked fine! After that we staked out a spot on the side walk to watch the parade. Holy cow, was it a sight to see! And the rain stopped a few floats into the parade so most of the parade was rain free!

The floats (called “carri” in Italian) had to be at least 30 feet high and were almost totally moveable. One float had 25 foot tall political figures dressed in Bishop’s robes and they were swinging giant incense burners that actually had incense in them! Another had dinosaurs that moved all around and grabbed at the crowd. Every float has its own music, its own theme, and people dressed up, dancing on and in front of each float. There were baton twirlers, two marching bands, and men on stilts. It was really an incredibly sight to see and I’m thrilled I got to experience this!

My favorite dinosaur float!

Amsterdam!

This past weekend, I was Holland bound! Three friends and I left Thursday night and came home late Sunday night. It was an amazing trip but frigid cold and we all came home drained. Both of energy and money! We planned our trip about a month ago after finding a round trip flight for around 80 Euro. Here's an overview of the trip with a picture at the bottom. Enjoy!

Thursday we left for the Siena train station at 7:00pm. We took an 8:00pm train to the Pisa airport, which brought us there around 10:00pm. Now let me tell you; we had planned to sleep in the Pisa airport Thursday night because our flight was at 6:30am Friday and we wanted to save some money. Around 10:45pm on Thursday, we found out that we were not allowed to sleep at the Pisa airport... After panicking for about 30 minutes, we came to the decision to sleep outside infront of the airport. There was joking of laying 52 pick-up on the third rail to stay warm, but ofcourse that didn't happen. A police officer came by around 11:30pm and told us we could stay over in a certain area of the airport. I don't think I've ever been so relieved. We made camp and my friends Betsy and Kerie slept for a while, during which time I taught Shannon how to play Rummie 500 and we played cards with some other Americans going to Amsterdam for a couple hours.

We made it through the night and onto the plane at 6:30am, which I slept through. Then we took a 15 minute shuttle bus from the Eindhoven airport to the Eindhoven train station. From there it was a 1 1/2 hour train ride to Amsterdam, another of which I slept through. We took a taxi from the train station to the hostel, settled in, and set out to explore the city.

The first thing we did was go to the Anne Frank house. The storefront and upper annex of the secret hideout for the Frank Family was turned into a museum and can now be toured. You walk up the same staircases, go behind the same bookshelf, and look at the same pictures on the wall that Anne Frank and her family looked at for two years while in hiding. It was quite an experience to be there. Anne's diaries are on display and Shelley Winters' Oscar is housed here. The rest of Friday consisted of a late afternoon nap, American fast-food (Dutch food isn't the best), and going to bed early.

Saturday we got up bright and early to start our day. We bought tickets to a city tour bus and toured all day. We went to the Gassan (pronounced Hassan) diamond factory and learned how diamonds are cut, polished, and priced. At one point, I was sitting only a few inches away from a diamond woth 114,000 Euro! It was really cool the learn about and watch the process.

Next stop was the Van Gogh Museum. It contains 200 of 900 Van Gogh original paintings as well as some of his sketches and letters. The museum starts with the artists whom Van Gogh was inspired by then continues chronologically through his lifes work and finally finishes with the artwork of the artists whom Van Gogh inspired. It was very interesting because Van Gogh's work changed based on the city he was in and the artists he met a long the way.

After that, we stopped by a local restaurant to get some Dutch pancakes! The Dutch have the most amazing sweets and desserts. These pancakes were about a foot in diameter, thin like a crepe, but made with what tasted like American pancake batter. I got mine with ham and cheese and it was absolutly delicious! We also stopped by the Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam and the Heineken store. With the tour, we got a coupon for a free gift at the store, so we all got bottle openers from the offical Heineken store.

To finish off our day, Shannon and I went to the Amsterdam Sex Museum while Betsy and Kerie went shopping. It had everything from an exhibit on sex through the ages, to an exhibit on Marilyn Monroe and Rudolph Valentino as sex symbols, to the history of lingerie. It was quite an interesting experience! Likewise, so was touring the Red Light district Saturday night. We walked through the streets and yes; there really are windows with red lights over them and prostitutes standing in them. It's illegal to take photographs there.

Sunday was a relaxing day of breakfast and walking around taking pictures. We left Amsterdam at 12pm and got back to Siena at 12am...needless to say we had some trouble in transit but we made it home safe and sound. The weekend was truly a memorable experience.

This picture was taken at Dam Square in front of one of the main buildings. (L to R Me, Kerie, Betsy, Shannon)

SNOW!

IT'S SNOWING IN SIENA! It's so crazy! We've been talking about snow coming in on a cold front from Russia for about a week now and it's actually here! It started Tuesday 1/31 as rain around 2pm and now we have about 4 inches and it's coming down at a decent rate. Do they even have snow plows in Siena? I don't know  but this is just crazy! The only downside to the beauty of the snow is that inclined cobblestone streets aren't exactly the best walking conditions... So here's a picture from my bedroom window!

On a side note, I had my first final exam this week! Every month, we have one class broken up into language and grammar. At the beginning of each month, new students come in and then at the end of the month, we take a final exam. It has a written grammar section and an oral language section. The highest score you can get is 30 points in total. Combined written and oral I got 28 out of 30!

A Day in Florence

This weekend, three of my friends and I spent a day in the Tuscan city of Florence. Only about an hour away by bus, it was very easy to get there. The day was a bit chilly, only 40 degrees Farenheit, but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.

This is a picture of me on the Fiume Arno (The Arne River). Gorgeous day! From the bus station, we made our way to the Duomo. It was amazing! The ceiling was beautifully painted and the size was incredible. Later in the evening, the tip of the dome was lit up. 

We also visited the Uffizi, which is the museum containing most of Florence's works of art, including The Birth of Venus. The David wasn't in the museum and we couldn't find it but we'll go back again to find it. The Uffizi contained black and white photographs, paintings, drawing, and sculptures. We spent about two hours in the musem, before heading to a local pizzeria for lunch. After that, we walked around the open market on one of the main Florentine streets. Bags, scraves, shoes, painting, you name it! It was huge! We also crossed the Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge filled with really expensive jewelry stores.

The last place we went to was the Piazzale Michelangelo. We walked uphill and up stairs for about 10 minutes to the top of a hill. But the view was absolutely breath-taking! You could see the entire city! We went up at sunset and there was a huge staircase carved into the side and you could jsut sit and watch everything. Truly a sight to see. The picture below is the sunset view of the hillside from this spot.

My Weekend in Rome

I spent this past weekend with my UMass group in the metropolis of Italy: Rome! We departed Saturday morning for the 3 hour buss ride south to Rome. The city is HUGE compared to where I am right now, in Siena. The small walled city does nothing to compare to Rome. The city was absolutly beautiful and we had an awesome weekend packed with sight seeing, great food, and meeting old friends. We saw the Colloseum, Trevi Fountain, Capitol Hill, Spanish Steps, Piazza of the People, Pantheon, and some other monuments. Below are some photos from the weekend. Enjoy! =)

The Colloseo! Truly, it was collosal! We couldn't actually go into it but just standing in front of it was breath-taking. This photo is taken from a few hundred feet away. We took a nice group photo in front of it but I'll have to steal it from whoever took it off Facebook.

This is a picture from the "entrance" of The Vatican. You can see the Christmas Tree and Nativity scene are still up for another week. Saint Peter's Basilica towers in the background. The inside of the church was absolutly stunning! We listened to a mass (because we went on Sunday) and then at noon, the Pope came to his window and blessed the crowd in the square. He spoke in 6 different languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and English. It was beautful to see him and hear him speak.

Another highlight of my weekend was meeting up with my high school exchange student! Her name is Ilaria and she came shopping and touring Rome with us Saturday evening. I haven't seen her in 3 years and I miss her so much so I was excited beyond belief to see her! She goes to school in Rome for medicine. The site is being finickey so unfortunatly I can't add a photo.

Le foto!

Here are some photos from Siena. There will be more to come! =)

This is a picture of the Piazza del Campo. It's the biggest, main square in Siena. There's a fountain in the middle, restaurants surrounding the center, and a bell tower. Cha bella!

This is a picture of me with my friends (from left to right) Katie and Shannon and our program coordinators Katia and Elena. They took us out to a welcome dinner.

Miscelaneous Update

It has only been 2 days since my last post but a lot has been going on!

1) Class has started and it is going very well. The school day is broken up into two parts. From 8:30am-11:00am we have our "language" class. We pretty much just talk and practice the language.We then have a 15 minute break and from 11:15am-1:30pm we have our grammar section. We go over little grammar tidbits and details because our teacher wants us to speak italiano perfetto! My class is about 20 people. There are students from Japan, Korea, China, Yugoslavia, Slovakia, Russia, Italy, Lybia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and US. Right now, it's mainly reviewing passato prossimo (past participle) and imperfetto (imperfect past) which is painfully, tear my eyes out, easy. But the professors, one for each section, are awesome and the classroom dynamic is really strong. So far so good!

2) For those who saw my Facebook status Tuesday evening, I went out with a UMass professor and some of my friends for drinks! Kyle Johnson, one of the most eccentric professors at UMass was teaching an abroad winter session course with the University of Delaware in Siena where we're studying. My friend, who had him last semester for Linguistics 201, had been emailing him and we met him Tuesday night. (Yes I had him as a professor as well. No I'm not stalking him...)We talked about everything from how Prof. Johnson got into linguistics to poisonous Australian spiders to telling stories about crazy people at Dunkin Donuts. None the less, it was quite an experience.

I thought there was more but maybe it will come to me later...OH! I've been cooking up a storm for my friends over here. Vegetable ragu, alfredo sauce over chicken and veggies, and homemade pomodoro sauce over pasta...BUONISSIMO!

Starting La Scuola

Today was the start of our scholling term. The Universita` per Stranieri (University for Foreigners) is about a 15 minute walk from our residence. it's right outside the city walls, mext to the train station and a small shopping center. We had a placement exam in the morning. it consisted of a 1 1/2 hr written exam and a short oral exam. There are six possible levels of study at the Uni: A1 & A2, B1 &B2, and C1 & C2. I have been placed at the B1 level, which is the intermediate level. Classes start tomorrow and will be Monday-Friday 8:30am-1:30pm. I'm excited to start school but ofcourse apprehensive seeig as I have no idea what classes will be like or how class is conducted. Ci vedremo... (we will see...)

Today is the day I'm taking to finalize what I need to get. Many stores were closed because this past weekend was a holiday. My alarm clock broke so I need a new one. I need to exchange money, I need a satchel bag (they're all the rage here) and there are lots of good sales going on so some shopping is in order. YAY SHOPPING!!

As a follow-up to my last post, I talked with my Art History professor yesturday when she took us on a tour of the city and YES a lot of people in Siena own a dog. And because there are hardly any gardens, grass, backyards, etc, people have no choice but to walk their dogs around the city. Dogs are fascinating creatures so I felt it necessary to post about them.

Un bacio!

Cani (Dogs)

There are a lot of dogs in Siena. It seems like everyone has a dog and was walking their dog today. The weather was gorgeous, probably 40-50 and sunny and there were dogs everywhere! Big dogs, little dogs, black, brown dogs, curly hair...all different kinds! I don't know if people in MA just don't walk their dogs or what but there were a lot of dogs out today. This is my first observation about the people in Siena.

Sono arrivata!!!

I'm here! I made it! Nothing got stolen, no luggage got lost, and I'm finally settled in! It feels so good to be here, although the realization of everything hit me all at once. But I suppose I'll talk about that later.

All my flights went well. I flew from Boston to Toronto (2 hr flight with a 2 hr lay-over), then Toronto to Zurich, Switzerland (7 1/2 hr flight with a 2 1/2 hr lay-over), then Zurich to Rome (1 hr flight). Then we took a 1 hr train ride to a bus station, waited 1 1/2 hrs there, peed in a hole in the ground, and took a 3 hr bus ride to Siena.....The flights were good. Air Canada was awesome! I watched Crazy Stupid Love, Red Riding Hood, part of Saving Private Ryan, and most of Drive. The flight ended with 30 minutes left! GAHH! But all the flights were fine, food was surprisingly good, and I don't have any annoying flight neighbors, which is always a plus. Train and bus were fine but annoying. And yes, I did pee in a hole in the ground. And I had to pay 60 cents to do it too!! Oh italia...

So I'm living with an English girl named Sam. She's awesome and we're really alike so I think we'll get along great. We're on the 5th floor of an apartment building. The floor has 6 double bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and a kitchen/diningroom. We all went food shopping today and it's seems a bit more homely now. Everyone here is wicked nice but I find myself afraid to speak Italian. All of the bar tenders and store owners are kind to us and patient but I'm still scared to death of being wrong. I just have to get over it and be strong and make mistakes. I can do this!

I do miss America, and how things are in America. Specifically cellphones. I really want to take out my phone and take pictures of things or texts my friends and boyfriend but I can't. I can't just call my family or anyone and that's going to be the hardest thing to get used to. But i know I can make it. After a few weeks it will be as if I never had a phone at all.

All in all, I'm settling in well. School starts Monday with our placement exam (YIKES!) and then Tuesday classes start. This is going to be the start of an interesting four months to say the least. Ciao a tutti! (Bye everyone!)

Starting a Blog

I have never written a blog before but now seems as good a time as any! I will be studying abroad in Siena, Italy for 4 months. I thought it would be cool to share my experiences, my thoughts and feelings, and the happenings half across the world! This is all new to me but I'm excited for what's to come in the next few months and to share it all.

Bare with me while I get this all figured out :)