When in Bologna...

On Wednesday our whole program went to the Opera. Everyone got all dressed up, so that was special. It was called L’Italiana in Algeri and it was about… love? I don’t really know it was pretty difficult to understand what was happening. Roughly here’s what happened, this rich prince-like dude didn’t like his wife so he tried to trick her into loving a prisoner he set free and find himself a real Italian wife. But then the new Italian wife feel in love with someone else (like a servant I believe) and the prisoner fell in love with the Italian wife, or something like that. And then I thought they opened a restaurant but apparently they just went to Italy and tricked the king dude with spaghetti and all ran away with the people they truly love. Or something. For understanding almost nothing, it was amazing. It was interesting too because they had subtitles in Italian above the stage, so something tells me even Italians work to understand the plot. Anyways, the costumes were unbelievable. It really wasn’t comparable to an American musical, it was really a treat. And their voices! They don’t use any microphones and we were literally at the very top level in the very last row (we are college students after all) and we could hear everything wonderfully. I would recommend an Italian Opera to anyone visiting Italy, if you have the time, although it is long- not sure if Tommy could make it. Not going to lie I had two espressos before hand.

Bologna. Initially I wasn’t even too sure why I was going. My friends just planned a trip and I figured why not? Plus, I don’t think a city in Italy exists that doesn’t have good wine and food so I figured we had at least that going for us. Although, to be honest, I pictured a kind of grungy city that smelled like a meat processing factory- I mean come on what else do you think of when you hear Bologna? Boy, was I wrong.

So we got on a train at 8:30 leaving from our town of Sesto to Bologna. It was about an hour and 45 minute train ride. We were on the train for about 40 minutes when we went into a tunnel for roughly 20 minutes and when we got out of the tunnel we were stunned: there was snow everywhere! Some comments included, we traveled to Narnia! Are we going to Hogwarts? And O, no we woke up from our dream Italian life and are back in Wisconsin! But to be honest the snow wasn’t that bad and it was actually a beautiful landscape for snow.

I went to Bologna with 8 other people. I was really excited about the group I was going with to begin with, but slightly nervous to go with such a big group. However, not only did things work out fine it was perfect. Our group got along so well, we got to know each other a lot more, and we were all pretty much always on the same schedule and down to do the same things- a rarity with such a large group. I realized that what is really going to be the deal breaker on these trips is who I go with, that they are what make these trips. So far, so (VERY) good!

We got there with absolutely no game plan (shocking!), a concept which has honestly become my favorite way to travel. Obviously, this spontaneous way of life could go horribly but that has not been my experience. In fact, I think it has paid off immensely.

When we got there it was pretty cold and we were pretty hungry so we sat in a little caffe drinking hot chocolate, which could easily be described as pudding not hot chocolate (but we weren’t complaining). Then we wondered around. The thing about Bologna that stood out as different to me than other Italian cities (so far) is that it is a university town. The University of Bologna is the first university in all of Italy, and it definitely had a campus feel to it. So we checked out the university and were stunned by the simple truth that this is where people our age go to school. It’s crazy! It’s so beautiful and historic, yet that’s where classes are. Needless to say it was pretty cool.

Then we went to our hotel which was outside of the city but a simple euro bus ride and totally worth it. 19 euro a night for great room, amazingly hospitable and helpful concierge and free (amazing) breakfast! Anyways we got ready and went into the city for the night. We found a little restaurant (off the beaten path just like everyone tells you to do) and had a great meal. One thing we all noticed was the difference in portion sizes, much smaller when compared to American sizes. Yet, still completely satisfying. This is the first real restaurant we went to that we completely could not decipher the menu (even those in Advanced Italian). So most of us went with the House special (I did), which was an oven baked lasagna type thing but not lasagna noodles it was like oversized penne noodles. I don’t know it was just good. And we had some house wine of course. I am really beginning to enjoy and appreciate the perfect wine with a meal, the two really do pair well.

It was a little early to go out to a bar after dinner so we decided to hang out at this little cute wine bar for a little bit. However, a little bit turned into a long bit. We had great, lively conversation and, of course, great wine. Literally wine is cheaper than water here- that is not a joke or an exaggeration. Unlike in America you have to pay for water here, so it obviously more reasonable to bypass the water and go straight to the wine (haha!). Seriously, that should be Italy’s slogan- “Where wine is cheaper than water”

Then we fully immersed ourselves in the Bologna night life. I really felt like we experienced a typical Italian college student night out, so obviously it was a blast. Highlights include: bonding with an Italian bar tender who knew a surprising amount of English and thoroughly entertained us (as I think we did him), get evilly stared down by intense Italian woman because I accidentally bumped her (I thought she was going to kill me), hanging out at an Irish Pub, and get late night Kababs (seriously unbelievable). I feel like the Kababs need further explanation. In Italy (or atleast every city I’ve so far been to) you either eat Italian food (Pizza, pasta, or Paninis) or Kababs. So ya we aren’t entirely sure what Kababs are but they are definitely on to something. It is very similar to a Gyro except then they throw crazy things in there like coleslaw, fries and these crazy sauces- whatever it is the combination is like a firework in your mouth, an explosion of flavor if you will.

Then Saturday we had a fabulous breakfast at our hotel (yes, I have yet to have a bad meal even a hotel breakfast is amazing). Originally our plan for Saturday was to go to Verona for the day, which was an hour and half train ride away but we decided that was just too much and we wanted to see more of Bologna. So, our hotel offered a free guided walking tour (Sat-tour-day) of Bologna that we tried to sign up for but it was full. However, that definitely ended up being a positive.

The highlight of the day was stumbling upon an art project that was happening in Piazza Maggiore. There was a group doing participating in an art contest based in Milan. I believe the contest was to make the largest piece of art. As we strolled into the piazza we saw people in jumpsuits rolling out big white sheets of paper. As we asked some of the people in jumpsuits what was going on (luckily they spoke English) they explained the project and handed us paint brushes. Literally, we were the first ones handed paint brushes. So we just started painting. We were slightly intimidated… I mean where do you start? Most of us wrote our name, did some design, and we traced one of our friends. More and more people started to join in and there were tons of news crews and photographers around. Some people got really into, painting beautiful images. We stayed for awhile and took a look at some pieces and then left to wonder around the rest of Bologna. After about an hour we decided to come back and check out the progress of the project. Every inch of the paper was filled. Tons of more people had contributed, it was outstanding. It was interesting too to see where people had added on their own touch to an image that was already there. I got a great picture of an adorable little Italian girl splattering the paper. And my favorite was the people running the project had wrote really big “Make the Sky Bloom” I thought it was incredibly fitting. Hence, the genius that is spontaneity.

Then I had a crepe. It was awesome. It had Nutella and strawberries. Dad and Tommy you will be very happy to know that Italians LOVE their Nutella. It is everywhere. In some caffe fronts they just have GIANT jars of Nutella in the windows. At our hotel they had little packets of Nutella like jelly.

Yes, what you are supposed to do in Bologna is eat (obviously). So that night we decided to eat at a typical Bolognese restaurant. It was awesome. I had ravoli with Bolognese sauce. OBVIOUSLY, outstanding and indescribable. Everything everyone ate (even if they weren’t exactly sure what it was) was outstanding. It’s fun eating out with a big group and having little bites of everyones food. And again we had the house wine. I had a little wine before dinner and was a little iffy about the wine, BUT then I started eating and the wine just got better. I totally get it now.

Then we went out again. And again it was a blast. No kababs this night though.

I am so happy I have kept up with life like this, because honestly on moment of happiness is beginning to blend into the next. Aunt Kathy asked me today what my favorite thing has been and honestly it’s probably whatever the last thing I did was. It was just a day in Florence, then Siena, then wine tasting, then the Uffizi, then Ponte Vecchio, then riding bikes in Lucca, then the Opera, and now it’s Bologna… is this seriously my life? Literally sometimes I want to cry of happiness and I find myself having to stop often and asking myself if this is my real life. I feel as if I have a very similar paragraph to this one in my last blog which really makes me wonder if this feeling is ever going to go away.

The thing is too though (yes, to just go off on one more tangent) is that every aspect is perfect. It’s not just that we go to cool places and see cool things, it’s not just that I’m with awesome people, or that I’m going out and having a lot of fun- it’s the utterly perfect, indescribable combination of all of these things.

Yes, my blogs are long. I don’t care. This is how a write, it fits into my schedule to just post one long blog a week, and there’s a lot in my life to write about. So again, I don’t care. You don’t have to read it. BUT for those of you that do, THANKS and I hope you are enjoying reading about my life as much as I am enjoying reading it.

Again, thank you mother and father I love and miss you dearly.

Ciao!

Bliss...

Well it was another fast and furious week in Italy. These weeks are going by so fast, and thinking about the end is the most super depressing thing ever!

On Tuesday, in Art History we went to Santa Maria Novella, a church by the train station. The highlight here was a fresco that was the time perspective was used. There are also a lot of triangle effects that represent the trinity. Although everything we always do and see in Art History is awesome, the greatness of this class hit me on Friday outside of class.

On Friday I went into Florence for the day with a couple of girls, and it was a complete day of bliss. After a trip to the market for a panino (obviously) we went to the Uffizi. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but our program gives us this ballin’ passes that get us in to most of the museums in Florence for free. Once in the museum it was as if class was coming to life.

To best understand this experience it helps if you knew a little bit more about our professor. She is a genius. She knows everything about everything. And she likes to share everything about everything, so as enlightening as it is sometimes it’s a little overwhelming. But, when walking around witnessing these pieces first hand things start to make sense. Bits and pieces start forming complete thoughts. Imagine sitting in an Art History lecture on Thursday with a slide of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, and on Friday seeing the real thing… ya that’s my life.

The only bad thing about the Uffizi (and I dare say the only bad thing to happen all day) was this guy threw up in the hall way. Ya, forreal. It was strange. Yet, I’m not even sure how bad of a thing that is, because now we have a funny story to tell. How many people can say they were at one of the world’s most renowned art galleries and a guy threw up and passed out? I can!

Then we got to a corner of the Uffizi where beauty moves from the inside to the outside- the city of Florence. There is a breathtaking view of the city from up here and it was an exceptionally sunny clear day, making it that much better. It was at this point we decided to venture around outside- it was great to not feel guilty about leaving the museum without seeing absolutely everything considering we got in free and will be going back often.

So we left, and I ran face first in to a sign making a group of Italian laugh ridiculously hard and reinforcing the stereotype of dumb blonde Americans, but life goes on. Anyways, we went to what is now my favorite street in Italy- Ponte Vecchio. It’s actually a bridge, and it is the only bridge that survived WWII. Most of the stores on this street are jewelry stores- so you literally walk by windows and windows of jewelry (so ya I’m in heaven). I could spend a whole day taking in all the jewelry! Then in the middle of the street there is this fenced in fountain thing that couples put locks on to lock in there love! It was so romantic. The couples put their initials on the locks, and even a couple were engraved. It was so touching. There is also a not too shabby view of the city from the bridge. I also had my first cannoli in Italy while on this street… so I think it’s pretty obvious why Ponte Vecchio is now my favorite.

Anyways it was a day of complete bliss in Florence.

Saturday we traveled to Pisa and Lucca. And by “we” I mean everyone in my program basically. It was not a class organized trip but basically everyone went there this weekend. Pisa is pretty cute, typical Italian city and basically what there is to do there is see the leaning tower. So we did just that, and obviously took super touristy pictures of each other holding up and pushing the tower. I was a good time. Although most of the time I think we all attempt to blend in with the culture as much as possible (which is not much but we try) but here you just have to throw in the towel- you’re a tourist, embrace it.

We then took a twenty minute train to Lucca. Lucca, on the other hand, is not touristy at all. The town of Lucca is enclosed by a wall, so you can literally do circles around the city. So, we rented bikes and did just that. It was picturesque, every once in awhile I would pause and ask myself if this is really my life. The city is like from a story book. There were tons of Italian families out with their kids riding bikes and roller blading, couples out for an afternoon stroll, and old men playing chess. It was serene. Mom, you wanted me to check out Lucca to see if you guys should go- GO! It is such a leisurely and peaceful experience. Plus, we got this amazing crepe with nutella it was so warm, which felt great on our cold hands after the bike ride.

I think what I am enjoying most about our trips is the lack of pressure to do everything. We are always doing something, going somewhere, but with no real agenda. Most of the time who you go with often changes- yesterday I showed up with a completely different group that I left with. Everyone does whatever is pleasing to them, it is not a stressful, trying to squeeze as much as humanly possible into a day kind of thing, and I’m definitely digging that. I’m beginning to understand that I am going to be here for months not days, in fact I think it was just this morning that it hit me that I LIVE here.

Here’s what I’m looking forward to in the future… Italian Opera Tuesday with the whole program! Next weekend Bologna and Verona. Rome with the class. Spring break in Spain. Weekend trips to Amsterdam, London, and Sicily. My family and Uncle Dan, Aunt Amy, Bri and hopefully Ry coming. (Sorry Aunt Kathy, Jenni and Gam not as excited for your visit because it means the end for me) Going broke… eeh, not too excited for that one, o well you only live once!

Although all of this is so exciting, I’m trying to enjoy every moment and every day. Everything I do is better than the last. Everything I eat is better than the last. Everything is wonderful. That’s why I titled this entry Bliss. Because my life is complete and total bliss.

And for that I must now devote a few sentences to my parents. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I promise to not take it for granted and enjoy everything. You guys are the greatest, like seriously the greatest, and for that I love you soooo very much. Thanks again, you rock! Love and miss you, can’t wait to see you!

That’s all for now, Ciao!

Siena and further exploring Firenze!

Salve!

First, thanks everyone for reading my blog and commenting, I feel so popular. Only a couple of days have past since I last wrote but I’ve done a lot!

On Friday we left for a class trip to Siena at 8am. We had breakfast at 7:30 and while at breakfast they had cold cuts, bread, cheese, and fruit our for us to pack a lunch. So we did not look at tourist at all- traveling in a large pack, holding a sack lunch and wearing amplifiers around our neck with headphones in so we could listen to our teacher- nope, I’d dare to say we fit right in. Anyways, the drive from the Villa to Siena was only about an hour and a half, and I don’t think anyone minded traveling through the Tuscan hills. It was a little different then let’s say the drive to Michigan City or Madison, it was slightly more scenic.

The first place we went to was St. Dominic Basilica. It was definitely a different style than what we’ve seen so far in Florence. Florence and Siena were very competitive during the Renaissance, so they had some what similar styles but definitely different. Florence definitely won. The Basilica was interesting none the less. It felt, in my humble opinion, a little bit more scattered and less cohesive than other places we’ve seen so far. What most people go to St. Dominic’s to see is the mummified head of St. Catherine, who is the patron saint of Siena. St. Catherine is a very interesting character. She claimed to have a very intense relationship with Jesus. She was stigmatic (which I believe is the proper way to say that) so she felt pain that corresponded to the pain Jesus felt during the crucifixion (in her hands and feet where the nails were). She said she had really intense conversations with Jesus and he would tell her about the future and tell her what the government of Siena should do. I don’t know, I usually prefer my saints to be a little bit more humble but whatever floats your boat. I am fully prepared for St. Catherine to be waiting for me at the gates of heaven to give me a nice slap of the wrist for what I just said.

However I may feel about the influence of St. Catherine on Siena I am very intrigued by the religious influence here on everything, literally everything. I feel like I am living the history of my religion, so I am anxious to see more.

Then we saw the Cathedral in Siena, a museum that holds archived pieces from the Cathedral, and the Siena governmental building. It was all interesting, and I’ll post a link at some point for pictures once I figure that out…

Then we went to a wine tasting, which is officially my new favorite thing to do. I was really excited to learn new things about wine, but I couldn’t really hear the guide and his English wasn’t that great so I did not get to learn too much. However, I did learn that different wine is all based on the time between picking the grape and fermenting the wine and how long the wine ferments for. This particular vineyard also produced olive oil and vodka, and although we did get to try to the olive oil there was no vodka tasting haha!

We tried three different types of wine: Le Corti, Cortevecchia, and Don Tommaso. I listed them in order of price Le Corti being the cheapest at 10 euro, then 13, and 20. Not too bad but would cost a lot more than that in the states, that’s for sure. I don’t know how many people my age would claim to be a fan of red wine, but now I think it is solely because we tend to drink cheap, American wine. After drinking this wine I am completely a red wine fan. The wine was just so pure, everything feels perfectly blended and smooth. Everyone here is not sure how they will be able to return to American/Italian food, I’m not sure how I’ll able to go back to American wine (especially cheap, American wine). At the vineyard (which also had incredibly scenic views of the Tuscan hills, pictures to come) I bought the Don Tommaso as a gift for my parents (no I’m not a sweet child, I was peer pressured I was just going to buy it for myself but everyone else was buying theirs as a gift). Anyways, don’t worry I bought myself a box of wine, slightly for the humor and also because it seemed like a good deal (the lady that runs the Villa an older, experienced Italian told me it was the best deal around). It cost me 14 euro and it was the same quantity as four bottles of wine, and it was great red wine, so well worth it. Some of you may be familiar with Franzia (a cheap boxed wine, popular amongst college kids), trust me the comparison between Franzia and this wine ends at the box.

Obviously, wine tasting was a fantastic experience. I think most of us were pretty enthralled by the fact that this was a school sponsored event and we drank wine with our professors. Life is great.

Friday night everyone in the program hung out in the basement of the Villa, which is “our place”, as they’ve told us many times. Then I went out with a group of people to a bar in Sesto. Night life in Sesto (the town I actually live in) is pretty chill but I had a great time. We went to a bar called Isolde. There was a group of local Italians around our age who knew about as much English as we did Italian so we had some great conversations and cultural emersion. They were very interested in MTV (particularly the shows Next and The Hills), McDonalds, and Michael Jackson. They also think that if you are from America you are from New York or California, although they did know Chicago. I was able to use some of the few phrases I’ve learned so far in Italian 101 (which have actually really come in handy) and we mostly asked them where their favorite places to go were (in Florence and Sesto) and what they do. We also tried to ask them where we could go and get some late night food and they were very confused. Apparently late night, post-bar food is a VERY American thing. We even passed some vending machines that were turned off from Midnight to 6 am, when in America is a vending machine EVER closed? Although it was a slight disappointment at the time, it will probably be best for my diet that there is no where to get a cannoli at 3 am.

Then Saturday we took a noon train into Florence (Firenze) and roamed around. We are all still getting used to the city, aka we are all still getting lost. I truly do not mind getting lost in Florence though. Eventually we found the market we had been looking for and had lunch. What we did was walk past all the street vendors (who mainly sold leather goods, jewelry, and scarves) and we went to the indoor market (more of a food market). First we just wondered completely entranced by the food. Everything was so fresh and so many different types of things. We tried some dried strawberries and dried kiwi. I plan on going back often and always trying something new. Then at all the deli counters you can get just meat or they will make fresh sandwiches. So I got a salami panini with provolone cheese (with no mayo, mustard or anything- very un-American) and a Fanta to drink. Then we took our sandwiches and ate them on the steps of a church. It was the most perfectly cliché thing I have ever done. The panini was so fresh and wonderful, minus the birds, it was complete bliss!

Then we had dinner in Florence at Acqua al Duo. There is only two of these restaurants one in Florence and the other in San Diego, ya a little strange. Our RA recommended it and one of my guidebooks written by previous abroad students highly recommended it. The thing to get here is the pasta sampler. 10 of us got the pasta sampler and Hayley got the olive oil chicken which looked amazing. So they brought out five different types of pasta and we ate them family style: spinach pasta, pumpkin bowtie, artichoke risotto, gnoochi, and eggplant pasta. Every single one was absolutely delicious and they serve the perfect amount so you don’t feel overwhelmingly full but perfectly content. The spinach was so different and delicious and the gnoochi was by far and long the best gnoochi I’ve ever had. Five of us also shared a bottle of white wine which of course was supreme. All together the meal was 15 euro (for those of us who go wine) which I thought was pretty reasonable. AND then some guy that works there asked us if we were American students and such and said if we hadn’t already paid he would have given us a discount so instead gave each of us 10% off our next meal! AND he owns a restaurant across the street where they serve American breakfast ALL DAY, only place in Florence to get American breakfast. Good to know because some of us are starting to crave a good old fashion American breakfast. So needless to say we will be back there. The guys name is Valentino and he was so nice, he even knew the guy who was running the bar crawl we were going to. It seems that everyone in my program has had a some what similar story with a local reaching out to them because they are American students studying (and not in a taking advantage kind of way) so that is really refreshing.

Then Saturday night we went on a bar crawl in Florence, organized by a student travel organization. There was a lot of American students there and almost everyone in our program went. It was nice to see a lot of different bars in Florence, but it was not the most authentic thing I’ve done. Regardless, it was a lot of fun!

Sunday was a pretty chill, catch up on life kind of day. Although I did go with a big group for a hike in the Tuscan hills. This ended up being a far more serious hike than I intended (I’m pretty sore today haha!). The hills are super steep! But the view was surreal and it felt great to get some exercise. And don’t worry Mom on the way there we passed some tennis courts.

Right now I’m only worried about two things: school and money. I often forget that I’m here for school (oops!), so homework has been kind of on the wayside. It’s so hard to bring myself to do it when I’d much rather be exploring or hanging out with my new friends, o well guess I’m going to have to get better at that. And then there is money. It’s really not that expensive here it’s purely the conversion that is absolutely going to kill me. I don’t even think I’ve spent frivolously at all, yet when I checked my account my bank did not agree. YIKES! It’s very difficult for me to let money get in the way of my life, maybe not the best idea, but I think given this circumstance it’s okay. I’ll figure it out…

Today we had an orientation for an internship opportunity my program has. I am going to work at an Italian middle school and elementary school, I’m so excited! At the middle school we will really be working with students on their English skills (especially unique American phrases) and at the elementary school it is more about emersion of culture (so playing child games and singing classic American children songs). I think it is going to be fabulous, and a wonderful way to give back to the community that is hosting me. The teachers seem wonderful and that they really enjoy and appreciate us being involved at their school. They also said the children love it! I am also probably going to get a conversation partner so that will be really cool. Plus, they said that in their experience 3 people have ended up marrying their language partner, so ya just never know!

This weekend I think I might go to Pisa and Luca for either the wknd or a day trip. OR Tricia and I might have to go to London (she had an unfortunate fainting incident and when she fainted she fell into the wall and messed up her mouth really bad- stitches in lip, xrays on nose and jaw) so we might have to go to London because she has a cousin there who is a dentist and he says he badly needs to go to the dentist and the language barrier here is making the dentist slightly difficult—anyways, the point is I might also be going to London this weekend. So look for more tales soon!

Sorry this was ridiculously long again, like I said I make no promises on length! Hope everything and everyone is well at home, I miss you all! Look forward to postcards soon (ish, mail is slow)!

Salve! (Hello!)

Ciao! I’ve decided to start a blog for my time in Italy for my benefit as well as yours. So welcome to my very first blog!

I suppose the logical place to start would be the beginning, but I don’t actually care to relive getting here so I’m going to skip that. Let’s just say I’m ecstatic to actually be here. Moving on…

My whole program basically takes places in one Villa- we sleep here, eat here and go to class here. Now some of you may think that this would suck and think we’d go crazy being in one place all the time… you have obviously not seen this place yet. The Villa is beautiful, exquisite, gorgeous, stunning, and absolutely magnificent. (And yes I just looked up synonyms for beautiful- it deserves every word)

So “The Villa” resides in a bedroom suburb of Florence called Sesto Fiorentino, it’s really quaint and I actually really enjoy living in the suburbs it’s more authentic plus it is super easy to get into Florence. They put a lot of effort into preserving the Villa and so far they’ve been really successful. I remember during my first meal here looking up and just seeing this magnificent work of art and thinking how cool is it that this is where I eat everyday. It’s slightly difficult to explain, but just like the city it resides it’s quaint and authentic. I live in a 5 ish room. I say ish because it is one big room where my four roommates live and then in the back right corner there is a little side room where my bed is. It’s actually kind of entertaining. I also didn’t have a light for awhile so I lived in the dark, alone- not weird at all. The way the Villa is set up sort of like a dorm, except instead of big communal bathrooms there is a bathroom for every room that just the people that live in that room share which is nice. For example, my room has a bathroom attached to it with 2 showers, 2 sinks, and 2 toilets for the five of us so that’s nice (except that it is pitch black in the toilet stalls and only one shower has a curtain, but that’s another story).

I think the most beautiful part of the Villa is the gardens. I haven’t even explored all the grounds yet (as I missed orientation) but it is just picturesque. I can’t wait for spring so that things are in full bloom and we can hang out outside!

I have really enjoyed the company of the people in the program. Not just the students, but professors and the people that work/ run the Villa. It is always wonderful to meet new people, especially likeminded people. Especially since it is so easy at school to stick to your group and forget that there is soo many other people at your school. It’s kind of crazy that I had to travel across the world to meet all these awesome people that live in Madison, it’s slightly ridiculous. Needless to say I’m very anxious to continue to get to know everyone.

I’ll move on to food because I think that’s what people are most interested in. So far I’ve eaten every meal except one at the Villa, which trust me I’m not complaining about. I’m still getting used to the eating schedule here. Breakfast is served at 7:30 am (for those of you who know me well, not really my favorite time of day) and breakfast is bread or croissants with different spreads like jam, honey, nutella, and homemade peanut butter (which I have been told is out of this world but I have yet to be at a breakfast where it was served). Then lunch is served at 1 (or 13:00 here another thing I am still getting used to). Lunch is the big meal in Italy and is typically followed by a siesta (except apparently not at the Villa as I have class right after lunch). But most stores and things in town are closed between 1 and 3 ish, a concept that baffles most Americans. We were just joking today about how ridiculous that would be in America, could you imagine a CEO not taking meetings from 1 to 3 because he was at home napping? Although I am all for America adapting this idea, maybe that’ll be my next campaign (Americans for Siestas). Anyways lunch typically starts with a soup and then there is a meat with a side of maybe pasta or cuscus (which was out of this world) and usually a salad and oranges are always out. My favorite so far was split pea soup with home made croutons, it took my breath away. We also had egg plant, zuchinni, and peppers cooked to perfection- they were warm and luscious as they touched my lips (haha that sentence was ridiculous). Now these are just highlights, trust me everything is fabulous. Then dinner is served at 7, which is typically a pasta dish with a salad and every other day we get dessert. All meals are served with the most amazing coffee I’ve ever had, I’m addicted. I had lunch in Florence on Sunday and it wasn’t too noteworthy. And I’ve had gelato twice, once in Florence and then tonight in Sesto. We found the most adorable little Gelattoria in Sesto, something tells me that we’ll be back there often!

Now most of you are probably wondering if I am worried that I’m going to come back 300 lbs. The answer is no not really. First off you walk every where and we haven’t even truly began traveling yet so the amount of walking will only increase. Second, I will definitely be going hiking and on runs, I mean the Tuscan mountains are literally outside my windows how much more enjoyable could a run be? Third, the food schedule pretty much prevents me from snacking, plus there is no food to snack on (unless you get a few things from the grocery store, but why spend euros on food when I can eat for free?). Fourth, the food is so fresh and not processed so it has to be at least slightly good for me right?

My classes are great. I’m not to concerned with doing well in them because they are so relevant and interesting. I am taking a Comparative Fascist Cultures class, which looks into how German and Italian fascist movements came into power. The professor is great, really chill and funny! Then I’m taking an Italian Cinema class where we watch a movie every Monday and then discuss it that week. Although the first one wasn’t too enjoyable (I mainly think that had to do with the fact that it was my birthday night and wasn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing). BUT, I’m really looking forward to this class simply because I’ve never taken anything like it. I’ve never even given too much thought to the effect that cinema has had on culture and society, so I’m glad to be finally giving cinema the attention it deserves. Italian, is well, it’s a foreign language so that always comes with it’s challenges but I think the professor is really good and seriously how more relevant could a class be? THEN, there is Art History!! I am obsessively obsessed! The professor knows everything and is soo passionate about it. On Tuesdays we travel to Florence to see the art first hand and she explains them and then on Thursdays we discuss the pieces in more detail. I truly think I’m going to learn a lot in that class and hopefully when some of you come to visit I’ll be able to share at least some knowledge!

Needless to say I feel right at home here, it’s wonderful. So many exciting things have happened already but there is so much to look forward too! I feel very fortunate to be able to have this experience, as it is truly once in a lifetime.

Sorry this was so long, I would say that the other ones won’t be this long but I don’t make any promises. I don’t really care if no one reads this, it is just as much for myself as it is for those of you interested in my life. Well, I’m off to bed as it is 1:10 in the morning here!

Arrivederci!

P.S A lot of Italian words are completely butcher by Americans in America (like boun apettito) so don’t come over here thinking you can say much of anything (DAD!)