Our Free Weekend

This past weekend we were given what they called a "Free Weekend," meaning, that we didn't have classes on Friday and the school did not have anything planned for us. So, we are encouraged to travel and go do something on our own. Myself, along with Nina, Kayla, and Karina decided to go to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre are five beautiful coastal towns right on the Mediterranean that are connected via multiple hiking trails, national parks, etc. However, we decided to stay in La Spezia, which is a less "touristy" area about ten minutes away from Cinque Terre and a lot cheaper. We actually found a great deal where we rented an entire two bedroom apartment complete with a full kitchen for the weekend. Upon hearing this, Henry and Kevin asked if they could join us. Our thoughts: the more the merrier. The weekend was definitely an exciting one, but so not what I was anticipating. When we arrived in La Spezia on Friday we were all pretty tired and it was right in the middle of the afternoon during "Siesta" (which is when all the shops/businesses close for a few hours for lunch/naptime, Italy, right?). So, since there was really nothing to do, and we were too lazy to go to Cinque Terre that afternoon, we just hung around the apartment and watched Power Rangers. Essentially, a majority of the weekend turned into relaxing in the apartment and not doing much. It was a lot of fun and quite enjoyable, just not the educational or adventurous weekend on the Italian coast that I was expecting. Saturday morning, when we had planned on going to Cinque Terre, we actually spent taking Nina to the hospital because she had sliced her foot open the night before and it was still bleeding rather profusely. Actually, she had the door onto the balcony opened into the back of her achilles tendon because we heard a rather daunting religious procession taking place right under our apartment on the street outside. Luckily, going to the hospital to get her fixed up wasn't as stressful as it could have been and we finally made it to Cinque Terre. Unfortunately, by the time we made it there it had started raining and was rather cold. We only made it to one of the five towns, walked to the beach, took some pictures, and then realized how miserable it was being outside so found a place for lunch. We found a cute little pizzeria that was warm and cozy and each ate an incredibly large, delicious pizza. By the time we finished eating the weather had only gotten worse and was now snowing. We promptly decided it was time to go back to our warm apartment. Thus, I hardly spent any time in the actual destination of the weekend, but had a very good time relaxing with friends, cooking dinners (which also made for a very cheap weekend), and exploring the not-so-exciting town of La Spezia. The one aspect of La Spezia that I enjoyed the most was the architecture. The styles were very different from the medieval style of Siena and most other places that I've been to. It was very cute and picturesque. There was also a market on Friday that we spent a lot of time at and us four girls bought matching "500 euro" purple boxers. Dance parties in these boxers of course later commenced.

A Little Bit Out of Order

So it's been very long since I've had the time to sit down and recall everything that's been going on. Which is super unfortunate because so much has happened in the past two weeks! Most notably the Gita (trip) we went on this past weekend. Seriously one of the best weekends of my life, it was so so so much fun. But, that update will have to come later when I have more time to write about it in detail. Right now, I just want to throw a couple shout outs to the more recent awesomeness that has happened while I have a bit of down time. Numero Uno: This week was the first week of actual classes and start of the semester. The previous three weeks were intensive orientation and language-learning based, hence the celebratory Gita that followed. Now it's down to the real semester, which I'm very excited about both for the different classes and for the more set schedule. I'm taking Italian (of course), Art History, Cultural Anthropology, and Studio Art. Art History is going to be very interesting but also very easy. Most of the first lesson we learned things that I have already studied, but since the professor is Sienese and they are very proud people, I'm re-learning history I already knew but with added facts centered around Siena's role in the history of Italy, the Renaissance, etc. For our second class we took a walking tour through Siena to look at various medieval buildings and study they're art/architecture. Super cool! It's awesome to be able to apply what we learn in the classroom to what is literally right outside. Now Cultural Anthropology, on the other hand, is going to be interesting in an entirely different way. The professor is awesome but nuts. He didn't even show up for class on the first day and was 15 minutes late the next day. But, he is way funny and clearly very interested and enthusiastic about his topic so his mood is always catching. And I don't think he'll be a tough grader nor are his homework assignments that intensive, so again, an easy class. Studio Art I'm very excited about. There are only 8 of us in the class and we get to each choose what medium we want to work with and pretty much have free range. This, I think, will be a great stress reliever and something that I'll be able to work on at home to stay occupied. I have to go buy the rest of my supplies tomorrow: I'm starting with plain graphite drawings and then want to spend the majority of the semester working with watercolor.
The host family continues to be great. They mostly give me my own space but I'm totally comfortable spending time with them. Dinners have kind of turned into a time where we all watch TV together. I'm wondering if this was their norm prior to my arrival and then they didn't turn the TV on my first few weeks, or if this is a new development. Either way I'm ok with it because it gives us something to talk about and watch Italian TV helps with my language skills. A few nights ago we actually all watched Remember the Titans together, which is one of my favorite movies. It was dubbed in Italian of course, but I've seen it so many times that it didn't matter. We've also been watching what is essentially the Italian version of American Idol and that's pretty interesting. Last night however, Davide changed the channel to a soccer game but Monica wanted to watch the singing show. So, they asked me what I wanted to watch to be the tie breaker...Davide knew he had won that battle. With a smug grin on his face he turned to his mother and said, "Lei è sportiva," meaning he knew that I like sports and would want to watch the soccer game. I've decided that whether he talks to me or not Davide and I will be best friends. Maybe upon a silent understanding, but best friends none the less. With the hubbub of which television show to watch dinner last night was entertaining to say the least. Today was also a good day. It's Friday AND I got FREE GELATO! There is a gelateria in the city center called KopaKabana which closes from November to February and every year when it re-opens, the first day they give free gelato away to everyone all day! It was awesome. And it was the best gelato I've had so far. Ere go I'm returning there quite often from here on out. Kayla and I were even already home when we discovered that this was happening, so we got on the bus and headed back to the city center. I first got a cone with two scoops: strawberry and chocolate, sooooooooooo good, and we enjoyed our treat outside. Upon finishing we promptly returned inside and got another free two scoops. This time lemon and raspberry, also very good. All in all it was a great experience. Now later this evening we're going out because Noah (a guy on the trip also from L&C) got a DJ gig at a club here in Siena. I'm pretty excited. Alrighty, this day has been a full one and it is yet to be over. More to come this weekend I promise! Ciao a tutti!

A Firenze!

So it's been an incredibly busy/intense couple of days. I finally got over that nasty cold (after staying home one more day from school) and was able to study for and take our second Italian test on Friday morning. I actually feel pretty good about this one. After the test we went to a second museum in Siena, this time the museum of Santa Maria della Scala. It was just as interesting and as beautiful as the first. Friday afternoon continued with an hour long Opera Workshop, taught by one of SIS's guest professors, and Friday evening it was off to Florence (Firenze) to see Don Giovanni, an opera in two acts by Mozart. Oh, I forgot, during one of our breaks on Friday I found an awesome new pair of shoes (black, ankle-length, high-heeled boots) for only 20 euros! So I bought them and then wore them to the opera that night. Love my new shoes, hated them after about two hours of walking in/wearing them. Oh well, anywho, upon arriving in Florence we walked (when choosing to wear my new shoes I did not realize how much walking was involved in this trip) to the opera house and then had to stand outside for over a half hour. Another task that added to my feet hating me. Finally we were let in though and found our seats. The performance was incredible, or rather the singers/performers were incredible and their voices were breathtaking, however the rest of the experience was a bit of a let down. The theatre itself was kind of dingy (the Craterian at home in Medford is ten times as nice) and the stage set/technical aspects of the show were pretty awful. The set was nothing exuberant or really note worthy, and the lighting was very poor. A majority of the stage was completely in shadows most of the time. However, despite it not being the awe-inspiring experience I was hoping for, getting to see one of Mozart's most famous creations, in an opera house in Florence, Italy, is an experience that I am truly grateful for and will never forget. After the show, the eleven of us who decided to stay in Florence for the night started making our way to the hostel. We were able to reserve one room for all of us, so it was basically like having one giant sleepover. And, being in a hostel for the first time surrounded by people that I know and trust made the experience an easy and comfortable one. The hostel was called Euro Student Hostel and, all things considering, was pretty nice. The beds were comfortable and the room was bright and spacious. We checked in then headed out on the town. Well, what we thought was going to be a fun night of going out and drinking in Florence turned into us just walking around looking at cool stuff for about an hour and then going back and going to bed. It was still a lot of fun though! In the morning we had to check out by 9:30am so we got a pretty early start to our day in Florence. We began by going to the Saturday market in one of the squares. Kayla (the other Kayla on the trip for those of you that don't know), Nina, and myself split the cost of a bottle of wine. Sometime in the near future we will enjoy it together. The market was awesome and I wish I had more money to spend there. Actually, all the shops and street vendors in Florence were amazing and I wanted to buy so many things. I'm definitely going to set aside some money to splurge on some gifts for when we go back. Kayla, Nina, and I ended up breaking off from the rest of the group and had a fun, adventure-filled day of sightseeing. After a nice breakfast of cappuccinos and pastries of course. We began by going to the Duomo and seeing the main cathedral. The painted dome inside was phenomenal. We then went to some other little churches and made our way to Palazzo Vecchio. This was by far my favorite part. The statues in the square are so beautiful, I took so so so many pictures. We also went to the Museum di Palazzo Vecchio, which was once the palace of the Medici family. This is my favorite museum that we've been to. The ceilings, frescoes, paintings, fireplaces, everything was so gorgeous. And the fact that all the rooms were once actually lived in by the wealthiest family and former rulers of Italy is incredible. For lunch we did the typical "college students traveling Europe" thing: found a covered area (it was raining) next to another huge palace which we commented on and took pictures of, sat and ate our homemade/packed lunches, and then left because actually going inside the palace was too expensive. As the afternoon was quickly drawing to an end we decided we should probably go find the bus station and figure out what the bus schedule was for returning to Siena that evening. Well, this was not an easy task. The bus station is not marked, there are no signs anywhere, and it is completely tucked away around the corner from the other main bus/train station. Luckily, we were able to call a friend of ours who took the bus from Florence last weekend and he directed us to the correct place. We then finished our time in Florence by going to one more church/museum: Santa Maria Novella and getting gelato before catching our bus home. The 36 hours we spent in Florence made for very sore feet, little sleep, and a lot of art/history in a very short amount of time, but every moment was fantastic and I'm so happy that we went. Of course, there is still so much to do/see there so we've made a list for when we go again in the next couple of months. Even though our adventure in Florence came to an end, Kayla and I still had a few more exciting things happen to us on the way back to our houses. We realized that we still had a half hour to kill before our bus home arrived, so we decided to go sit and get something to drink at the cafe that we've now termed "our usual." We've been there 4 times in the past week and are determined to become "regulars." Well, on our way to the cafe we passed an Italian man who we had a conversation with a couple of weeks ago, he recognized us, said hello, and asked how we were doing. Pretty cool. Then, in the cafe, the owner (who's always there when we go in) served us and then brought her little dog, Simba, over and introduced us to him. So, pretty much she now knows us and we got to meet the dog. Aka we're regulars. Awesome. Like I said, it was a full two days and I'm completely exhausted. Tomorrow will be a restful but work filled day because we have a twenty minute research presentation to give on Tuesday (all in Italian of course) and a bunch of other homework to do. Then I GET TO WATCH THE 49NERS PLAY IN THE SUPERBOWL. Even if the game doesn't start until midnight here, nothing will keep me away from that television. Alrighty, buona sera a tutti!

So this is my attempt at figuring out how to upload pictures...this is one of my favorites that I've taken so far. It is what I get to look at every morning when I walk to school :)

Sono Malata :(

Well, I woke up with a terrible cold yesterday. Luckily we only had our Italian class (granted that was still 5 hours of class), but I was at least able to come home at 2pm and sleep for most of the afternoon. When Monica got home I told her I was feeling sick, "Sono un poco malata," at which point she immediately started bustling around, grabbing thermometers, various medications, and of course made me a nice mug of hot milk and honey. I'm so lucky to be living with such an amazing Italian mother. And like a nervous mother hen, she then told me that I will be staying home from school today to rest. So, here I am, at home in bed feeling sickly. And of course today of all days would be one of the prettiest we've had so far in Siena. Oh well, hopefully this weather will last for awhile. Also, even though I was so not going to argue with Monica for telling me to stay home (going against an Italian mother's wishes is just not something you do here) I was bummed because I was supposed to go to a Tuscan cooking lesson this afternoon. Fortunately though, when I emailed Gianca (one of the program leaders in charge of our school/activity schedules) he said that I can go to the cooking lesson on Wednesday when I'm feeling better. So yay! :) Now I just have the day to myself to sleep and get better.

The First Full Week

Today is the start of our completely free weekend, which finishes our first full, incredibly busy/exhausting/wonderful week of school in Siena. We're still in a sort of orientation though, which is part of the reason why we've been so busy. Everyday we have 5 hours straight of Italian class. We've been learning an incredible amount in such a short time - the past tense, direct objects/articles, and lots and lots of new vocab. Luckily homework is never too stressful, nor is there ever that much of it. Monica (my host mom) even told me two nights ago that my Italian has already improved greatly and that I'm getting very good at speaking. This was one of the best things I could hear. After spending 5 hours in a classroom studying and speaking a different language (which I'm essentially brand new to) coming home and having to speak more Italian is soooooo taxing. But apparently I'm getting better! So this is great. Everyday after our Italian class, we have some sort of orientation presentation. Monday was a bit of a shorter day for me because we all had to go to the post office to sign some forms, but only half went on Monday, I went Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon we learned about the different community service options there are for us to partake in throughout the semester. This is not required of us, but it is greatly encouraged since it gives us an opportunity to meet people and most importantly, practice our language skills. Some of the options that I'm most interested in are helping teach English to either elementary or high school students for a few hours each week, volunteering at an elderly home, or.....rescuing stray cats! Seeing how I am missing my own kitties immensely, this just sounds amazing. They told us that essentially all we do is go play with kittens. And the best part is that this is not a set-in-stone deal, we can do multiple service options and switch it up from week to week if we want. Wednesday there were presentations of the different courses offered by SIS (Siena Italian Studies - the name of the program where I'm studying). Unfortunately, Lewis & Clark students are kind of our own entity. We do not take the SIS classes, but take a Cultural Anthropology and Art History class all together. However, if we would like, and schedules permitting, we can audit one of the SIS courses. The one that I really, really want to audit is the studio art class. We study different artistic styles and then spend the semester painting, drawing, etc. At the end we compile our pieces into an art show. Also, the teacher is still a college student here in Siena and seems very nice. She said that most of the time she brings wine and snacks to class to enjoy while we work. Hopefully, this works with my schedule because I very much want to take it! Wednesday we took our "Reflective Writing" class. Pretty much they gave all of us a journal which we are to write in and then talk about what we wrote once a week in a group. Thursday us Lewis & Clarkians had the presentation of our two courses. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THE ANTHROPOLOGY ONE. Because, we are going to study/read both Aldous Huxley and Ernest Hemingway in context with Sienese history. Both of the authors are some of my favorites, both spent time in Siena, and wrote about their experiences in, and impressions of, the city. My literature major senses are tingling and I can't wait to get to apply my area of expertise to my time here in Siena! Friday was a rather easy day. We had our first Italian test. I think I did pretty well, some parts were difficult but overall I feel okay about it. Afterwards we got to visit our first museum! We visited the Civico Museum located in the city center: Piazza del Campo. It was the building were the Sienese government was established back in the 13th century. There are still magistrate benches and other pieces still in tact. All was incredibly to see. Then in the afternoon we got to go to one of the many hot springs in Tuscany. It was such a relaxing experience and a good chance to sit back and talk with people. Friday night was another opportunity to experience the "nightlife of Siena." A large group of us went to the English Pub (one of our favorites),  then a bar nicknamed "The Shots Bar" (it's essentially just as it sounds, they serve shots. 3 for 5 euro, so a pretty great deal), followed by one of the discotecas (nightclubs). A full week, but ready for the weekend and the beginning of week two! Hopefully as things die down I'll be able to start posting updates more regularly. Ciao!

First 24 Hours

Ciao a tutti!

I have been in Siena now for just over 24 hours and I'm loving every minute of it. We arrived yesterday in Rome after an 11 hour flight from San Francisco (we had a very brief layover in Frankfurt, Germany). We then had to take a 3 hour bus ride up north to Siena. Once in Siena we were called one by one off of the bus and immediately greeted by our host families who rather rapidly whisked us away to their houses. My host family is absolutely wonderful and I don't think I could ask for a better living situation while I'm here. My host family consists of a mom and her two sons: Monica, Lucio who is 18, and Davide who is 16. I was very excited when I found out I have host brothers. I get my own bedroom which is fairly spacious, I have my own desk and a very large closet/dresser. It is extremely comfortable. All of the family members speak English which has also made this transition quite an easy one. In all honesty, I think I have the most anglocized family out of all the potential hosts. My host mom and I get along great already, as well as myself and Lucio. Davide is also very nice but very allusive and spends most of his time upstairs in his room. Lucio and I have a lot in common and he was very excited to find out that I know martial arts because he recently started studying Krav Maga, an Israeli mix of self-defense and street fighting. He wants me to help him with his kicks which I'm super excited to do and am so happy that we have something to bond over/have fun doing together.
Today, being our first full day in Siena was mostly an orientation day. We took a tour around the city center (historical Siena, where our school is located. I actually live about 5 minutes outside the city walls), took an Italian language placement test, and learned much pertinent information to our living here for the next four months. Right now I am extremely excited and in a kind of euphoric state. Honestly, I don't think it has even fully sank in yet that I'm living in Italy. Everything is so beautiful, all I want to do is take pictures! Tomorrow is another day of orientation including our first Italian class, then tomorrow night I get to go out and experience Siena's nightlife!