A Saturday Stroll in Lucca

We finally were able to go to Lucca today, after the two thwarted attempts last weekend. It was about a one hour train ride from Florence to Lucca, and we spent the majority of the day there. When we got there Bob gave us a tour of the three churches in town: St. Zita's, St. Michael's, and St. Martin's. Once again, I was awed by the whirlwind of beauty in these ancient and holy places. St. Zita's body was in a glass case, just like St. Clare's, as she is another of the incorruptibles. She was not covered in wax though, so it felt kind of morbid to look at her.

St. Martin's church houses a crucifix that has a legend behind it. Legend has it that sometime in the 13th century a carved crucifix that was made by Nicodemus just after Christ's crucifixion was being carried by wild oxen from Jerusalem to a destination in Italy. The oxen had no driver, as there was dispute as to which city should house the crucifix. So those in charge left it up to chance, saying that whatever city the oxen arrived in first would be the city to house the crucifix. The oxen arrived in Lucca, and there was great celebration. Lucca became a site of religious significance for pilgrimages. Later, scientific dating was done on the crucifix, and it was found that it was made in the 11th century instead of at the crucifixion of Christ. I think I prefer the legend to the scientific evidence.

In Lucca there were lots of families with small children riding bikes and just strolling around the city. Some of the kids were wearing costumes, and they were throwing confetti everywhere. The historic center of Lucca is completely surrounded by original city walls. You can go on top of these walls and walk around the entire city. There is a rode on top of the walls, but vehicles cannot drive on it. There is also lots of green space and a few playgrounds for the children. It was really a nice place just to take a leisurely stroll and soak in the sun. If I have kids someday, I think it would be so much fun to bring them to this place.

Giorno Bellisimo (Beautiful Day)

Today the entire group boarded a tour bus that Bob hired just for our group at 7:30 a.m. to head for Assisi. We arrived in Assisi at around 10:00 a.m. and met our guide, Giuseppe. Bob has gotten to know all of the talented tour guides personally over the years, so he just calls them ahead of time and sets up a group tour. Giuseppe is a middle-aged man who lives in the country just outside of Assisi. He speaks English very well and has lived in Italy all his life. He was a great tour guide for our group. Everything he told us was very interesting, and he kept our attention very well by telling jokes. He told us one such joke when he was trying to describe how old everything in Assisi was and how much of what is there is the original architecture and art. He said it was very unlike Elizabeth Taylor's face, which is all new.

We toured the Basilicas di San Francesco (St. Francis) and Santa Chiara (St. Clare) with Giuseppe before splitting up. Both basilicas are built above the tomb of their namesake saints. You can go downstairs and view the tombs. St. Clare's body is uncorrupted, and she is inside a glass case. They covered her body with wax a few years ago, so she doesn't really look real, but it is her real body. St. Francis is enclosed in a stone coffin. The Basilica of San Francesco is the more beautiful of the two, in my opinion. It is kind of ironic, because St. Francis preached living a simple life unhindered by materials, and the basilica built to honor him is probably one of the most fancy and expensive of its era. And today so much money is made through attracting tourists to the basilica and selling them souvenirs. Perhaps that is why St. Francis is in a stone coffin--they don't want the tourists to see him rolling in his grave.

The basilica of St. Francis has a few very interesting stories behind it. When it was being built, the pope called in architects from France to plan it. This is because St. Francis' name means Frenchman, and his mother was from France. The style they used for the basilica was the Gothic style, so the Basilica di San Francesco became the first Gothic style church in Italy. A lot of blue paint is used in the frescos in the church, and this is all created with the pigment lapis lazuli. This was a hugely expensive pigment at the time that had to be shipped to Italy from Afghanistan. It actually took several years just to get the pigment, but the results are stunning. I was not allowed to take pictures inside, otherwise I would show you. But the ceilings in the upper basilica look just like a night sky, and there are gold stars painted on it. The beauty of it just can't be described in words. Another interesting story about the basilica occurred in WWII. There are the basement, lower, and upper levels to the basilica, and, unknown to most people at the time of WWII, there is also a space between the lower and upper levels. So during WWII, all of the Jews in Assisi hid in this space until townspeople could furnish them with fake IDs and help them leave the city. One Nazi officer who was familiar with Assisi realized what they were doing, but he kept his mouth shut. There is a movie about this event called Assisi Underground. If you watch it, let me know how it is, because I want to see it now.

After the tour of the churches, the group split up and we all went to find places to eat lunch. The majority of the group ended up together in a very quaint sit-down restaurant. I ordered ravioli, and it was, as all the food here is, delicious. I also had a quarter-liter of red wine for only two Euros. It will be so different when I get back to America and can't order wine at fancy restaurants at such a bargain. After lunch I hiked up the hill with Eldon and Carla and saw an old castle, with a sweet view! Then we were going to go to mass at the Basilica di San Francesco at 2:00, but we found out the next mass was at 5:00. We went down to the tomb area to pray for a bit, which I was glad that we got to do. I often feel almost guilty when we just go into churches, look at the art, then leave without praying. They were built for the purpose of prayer, so I try to remember that while I am in them.

I also bought a lot of gifts and souvenirs at the basilica, but I can't talk about most of them because some of you who read this will be receiving a gift. I did buy one thing for myself though. It is a large, Franciscan tau crucifix made out of olive wood, with Jesus made out of a silver metal. It was kind of a splurge, but I just thought it would be so awesome to have it in my house some day. Every time I look at it I will remember my time in Italy and my visit to Assisi. Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow I head to Lucca, so there will be more to come.

The Next Chapter

Last night I stayed up on my computer until 1:00 a.m., and this time I was not on facebook. I decided to look into how to become a teacher of English as a foreign language (EFL). This is something that I have been interested in for a while, and working in the writing center last semester really confirmed this interest. I love the satisfaction that comes with helping people express their ideas and communicate with one another. I also love learning about other cultures and travelling. Italy has been a great experience so far, and I would love to have more experiences like this one. Given these interests and passions, teaching EFL seems like the perfect fit for me. I have mentioned to a few people that I would eventually like to teach at the university level, but there are also so many opportunities for teaching in elementary and high schools abroad. Right now it just seems like it would be so much fun to experience different cultures while teaching English abroad. Then when I get to a point in my life when I want to settle down in one place, I could pursue a more permanent placement in a university setting.

I discovered a lot about getting TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certified during my Internet search last night. I learned that the certification is not actually a uniform thing internationally and that there can be many scams where the promised certificate really doesn't mean anything. After looking into things a bit, I found that there are many programs that are certified to administer a certification test through Cambridge University, and this test, called CERTA, is internationally recognized. Most programs that prepare you for the CERTA are about a month long, and they are offered in countries all around the world. I just think it would be so awesome to take the course in Spain, since I have a decent amount of exposure to the Spanish language. I was thinking about trying to take the course right away when I was done with my program in Italy, but I couldn't find anything that had dates that matched up.

Another option for becoming a teacher of EFL is to get a graduate degree in TEFL from an actual university. The programs tend to be very intensive, such as one in Seattle that allows you to earn a certificate along with 12 graduate level credits in one month during the summer. The website promises that you will be in class from 9-3 each day and will have six hours of homework each night, including weekends. While this program doesn't actually give you a degree, it does give you a certification, and the graduate credits would be applicable if you ever decided to earn your degree. I do not think the CERTA courses that I was looking into actually offered college credit with the certification, so that may be something to look into.

I don't really know what I'm going to do yet. I will probably try to talk to someone who teaches EFL at the university level to see how they went about doing it. I am thinking about possibly enrolling in a certification course for this coming summer. This is something that I am really excited about, and I think I will be good at it. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to do after college, and I know that I want to do something that I am passionate about, and I do not want to have a career that consumes my entire life. Teaching EFL seems to be something that will combine my passions while still allowing me to have time for other things besides work. Also, I have come to realize that I am not ready to settle down quite yet, and teaching EFL would give me some time to travel and explore. On the flip side, it is also a career that would be very compatible with settling down and having a family someday, God willing. So I will see where this new adventure takes me. I am just very excited about it right now, and I wanted to share that excitement with all of you faithful blog readers.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about what I'm doing in Italy besides surfing the net for TEFL programs, I had art class today and went to the cathedral of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. It was another truly beautiful cathedral. I want to go back there for mass sometime, so that I have some time for prayer and reflection, instead of listening to my art teacher dissect every art piece to death. She is kind of an annoying teacher, and, although I am learning a lot about art from her, it would be nice to just enjoy the art for its aesthetic appeal sometimes. Plus she always gets mad at us for not knowing the answers to her questions, which gets frustrating for me because I am really trying to pay attention and learn the information, but it is just very difficult. I guess art history is just not my subject. Tomorrow morning we get on a bus to go to Assisi at 7:30 a.m. I am really looking forward to this visit. The weather is supposed to be great, and I have heard that Assisi is beautiful!

Who let the dogs out?

I went running earlier today, and I had an interesting experience with dogs. At one point I was taking a break from running at a scenic overlook, sitting on top of a fire hydrant (they have flat tops here, don't worry) just minding my own business when two dogs came seemingly out of no where. They must have sensed an invasion on their urinary territory (the fire hydrant). They were cute little dogs, well groomed and everything, and they were friendly, so I wasn't worried. The problem was I wanted to keep running, and they wanted to follow me. The roads are very narrow here, and the dogs were walking in the middle. There is really no room to get off to the side, considering that many of the streets are walled in, so I was scared that the dogs were going to get hit by a car. While I was in the process of trying to tell these dogs to go home in Italian by saying, "No, no, casa, no," an older man came by also walking a dog. I thought perhaps the dogs were his, because he was whistling and saying something to them. So I sent the dogs to go with him. Only after doing this did I realize that the dogs were not his. He gave me a look and asked something in Italian. I think he said, "Are these your dogs?" I just waved and kept running. I don't know what the man ended up doing with the dogs, but at least I got rid of them.

Later, when I was further out in the country I found a little path that went into the woods from the roadside. I followed it for a ways, only to find that it led to someone's villa. The view was amazing though, so I was just sitting on a rock, taking it in, when I had another dog encounter. This time it was a cute little beagle, also very well-groomed and friendly. I petted him for a little bit, but then I wanted to continue my run. I went back out to the road, and, once again, the dog followed. Luckily, this one hung back when I started running, but passing cars were starting to give me dirty looks. Obviously they thought the dog was mine and I was allowing him to run in the middle of the street. I don't know what it was today...maybe my scent is very attractive to dogs when I sweat or something.

On another note, I also had history class today. We walked around Florence with our teacher, Luciana, as a guide. She is such a fun teacher. Her first language was German, her second Italian, and English came somewhere after that. I think she has also lived in the Middle East for a period of time. Many times she is unsure how to say something, and she will gesture and say words in all different languages until we figure out the English word. If we don't get it, she just says, "Well, okay, you already know." She is so excited about everything that she shows us, so that makes the class fun. Today we looked at a couple little chapels, the old tower houses, the old Roman city walls, Dante's house, and the inside of a large home from the 13th century. Luciana is a great guide because she takes us to the nooks and crannies that aren't usually explored by tourists.

Shop till you drop

Well, today was shaping up to be a pretty fine day up until a few minutes ago. Earlier I went into Florence with Ashley and the guys. We were going to buy tickets to the Milan-Naples soccer game that is set to take place in Florence tomorrow, but we were denied. The ticket salesman said they were only selling tickets to Tuscany residents for this game because of the danger of riots breaking out between fans. Italians follow their soccer passionately, apparently. Hopefully I will still get to go to a game of a little lower profile. I've heard it's something worth experiencing. So after the disappointing soccer ticket quest, Ashley and I split from the guys and did some serious shopping. The sales in Italy are government regulated and only occur in January and June, so we only have four days left to get the good deals. Ashley finally found the leather boots she was looking for at the great price of 19 Euro, and I bought my galoshes and an umbrella. Now I'm just waiting for it to rain again so I can use them. But hopefully we'll get through the weekend without rain so we can go on our field trips to Assisi and Lucca.

Ashley and I also experienced our first trip to an Italian McDonald's today. I was craving fish big time, as some of you know I sometimes do, so I had a fish sandwich. It's not too much different than the McDonald's in the U.S., but they have curly fries, they don't put ice in your drinks, you can order wine and beer, there's no drive-up, it's decorated nicer, the people working are friendly and dressed up, and it costs a lot more. They also have a separate section for the McCafe, which is like a coffee shop, and they have all different types of coffee and fresh baked goods. So it is a bit higher class than American fast food, but it is the lowest class food you can buy here. McDonald's is the only fast food chain in Florence, and they had to fight hard to be let in here. I think there are three or four in the entire city, with two of them being near the train station so all the foreigners can fill their grease cravings.

Everyday is Men's Day

Today is another rainy day in Florence. I may go into town this afternoon to look for a cute umbrella and rain boots, if the rain lets up long enough for me to do so. As long as I'm going to be out in the rain, I might as well do it the Italian way: in style. Other than that, I don't really foresee anything else happening today other than a bit of homework and perhaps running, so I'm going to blog about something that's been on my mind for a while, the rights of women in Italy.

Italy is an industrious, developed nation, so many Americans may assume that in their culture men and women would have mostly equal opportunities, like in America. I say mostly because I know that not everything is perfectly equal in America, but that is another issue for another time. Since being here I have noticed that Italian women have a high dependency on men, and they do not enjoy as many of the same privileges as men. I have yet to see an Italian woman running or biking, whereas I see many men enjoying these activities. When I was skiing, there were many more men than women on the slopes, and the few women who were there came with groups of men. There are times that I feel that Italian women look at us American women disapprovingly when we are seen exercising or doing things on our own. I have also discussed hunting with a front desk attendant at my hotel, Simone, who lives in the country and enjoys hunting for wild boars and pheasants. When I told him that I hunt, he thought that was just crazy. In Italy a woman would never go hunting, as it is strictly a man's sport here.

To attempt take this observation beyond the level of sports, I did look into prime minister Berlusconi's council, and I was glad to see that several women serve as ministers on his council. I can't really comment on the fact that men hold the great majority, because the same is true in America, with women having only three of the 15 seats on Obama's newly appointed cabinet. It seems that women have equal opportunity to go to university here, as they do in the U.S., and it also seems that women are equally eligible for professional careers. However, it may be the uneducated women who experience more effects of societal inequality, as it is a proven fact that the unemployment rates, which are currently high in Italy, are highest among women and young people.

Perhaps I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, but it is certain that something in the way women are treated here is different that in the U.S. Whether it is a good, bad, or neutral phenomenon, I do not know. Personally, I am thankful to be an American because some of the activities that I enjoy doing most are things that are frowned upon for women to do in Italian society. Meanwhile, while trying to maintain a low profile, I will continue to be the independent American woman that I am regardless to whether the women scoff at me and the men stare at me.

What I am really looking forward to is Women's Day on March 8, which is a holiday for all European nations to show appreciation to their women. When Bob was telling us about this holiday someone asked if their was a Men's Day too, and he replied by saying, "Everyday is Men's Day in Italy." That pretty much says in a few words what I've been trying to say in all of these paragraphs.

Like Thunder and Lightning

Let me just preface this blog entry by saying that today was the best day of my life so far! And I'm not a person who goes around saying things like that everyday. So I am going to write everything down in chronological order so I never ever forget it. Bear with me here, because many truly amazing things happened to me today.

Today I went skiing in Abetone, a small ski town about two hours north of Florence by bus. I started by leaving my hotel at 5:45 a.m. to catch the bus to the Florence train station, where I would catch the bus leaving for Abetone at 7:10. I got to the station around 6:30 a.m., and it was still dark outside, so I went into a cafe and had a donut. During this time I became very frustrated with the Americans I was seeing, and I was embarrassed to share a nationality with them. First of all I saw three drunk American girls walking into their apartment, staggering and slurring their words. It was just a pathetic image, and I hope they don't think they are safe wandering drunk around a foreign city at night. When I got into the cafe, I sat down at a table to read a book, only to be distracted, in a negative fashion, by two American boys (they don't deserve the title of men, although they were definitely in their 20s). They were both drinking beer at 6:30 in the morning, and they were completely wasted. Although the Italians do drink more than Americans, I have never seen an Italian drunk in public. These boys were playing a came where they spun a quarter on the table and tried to hit the other's knuckles. Half the time the quarter would fly off the table and practically hit someone who was sitting at a table across the room just trying to eat his/her breakfast. They were also extremely loud in their yelling and carousing. One time their quarter went other my table, and I kicked it back to them and pretended like I didn't speak English. I didn't want to associate with them in any way!

Finally at 7:00 a.m. I left my fellow Americans behind to board the bus. There were two other American guys on the bus who seemed to be as confused about things as I was, so that was sort of comforting. And, props to them, they were not drunk. At about 9:00 a.m. we arrived at Abetone, and I got off the bus. I was surprised at how different the ski areas are here than in America. The entire town is devoted to the ski area, and there are many private shops that rent out skis and sell ski tickets. You have to go to separate shops for rentals and tickets. So I spent the first half hour or so just wandering around the town trying figure everything out. Since Abetone is a smaller ski town, nobody there speaks English. My Italian is still very limited, so that added to the challenge. At the rental shop, the old man who was working just started laughing and speaking in rapid Italian when I asked him if he spoke English. He was a character in and of himself, more about that to come. After getting my rentals I wandered a bit more trying to find where to buy a lift ticket. Somewhere in this time I ran into the American guys from the bus. They were just as lost as me, trying to find where to get on the ski lift, so I talked to them for a bit. But they turned out to be ivy-league assholes, pardon my French. They were from Syracuse, and when I asked what state that was in they looked at me like I was from the moon. I'm sorry to burst your bubble guys, but the whole world doesn't revolve around your hoity-toity private school that you probably go to on daddy's dollar. I think I prefer Italian men by far.

So anyway, after a bit more ordeal, I finally found my way onto the slopes and began skiing. The pistes were absolutely heavenly today. There had been about a foot of fresh snow last night, so I experienced my first time skiing in real powder. The technique is much different than skiing on the icy slopes in Minnesota. On my second or third time up the lift I rode up with an Italian man who was in line by himself. He did not speak English, but he did speak a bit of Spanish, so we spoke in Spanish. I am surprised at how well I can actually carry on a conversation in Spanish when necessity calls for it. I've used my Spanish more here than I have ever before. On the way up the ski lift with by new Italian friend, Dario, we talked about all sorts of things. He proceeded to tell be that my "occi" (eyes) are "bellisimi" (beautiful). This little compliment went straight to my heart. My uniquely colored eyes have always been one of my vanities, and I am always greatly flattered when someone notices them. When we got off the lift Dario offered to let me ski with his group for the day. I agreed, why not? So I met Alexandro and his son Jo-Jo. Alexandra and Dario were both middle-aged, although I assume Dario was the younger of the two (he was 39). Jo-Jo was 16, and he spoke almost fluent English. He informed me that he had been taking English lessons since he was five years old, which he said was quite common for Italian youth in schools now. That may be promising for visits in coming years. So Jo-Jo acted as sort of an interpreter between me and the rest of the group, which got a bit awkward because Dario was flirting with me unabashedly, like any Italian man worth his salt. Jo-Jo first informed me that Dario wanted to tell me that if I ever wanted to visit their town by the ocean, he could get a room for me. I really didn't know how to respond to that, I'm just not used to men being so forward with me, especially 39 year old men. He's closer in age to my dad that he is to me, for goodness sake! Jo-Jo also helped to translate another of Dario's comments, which, in English, translates to, "You make my heart beat like thunder and lightning." Now, honestly, where will you find an American man who will tell you that? I was almost ready to look past the fact that he was 39 and had disgusting teeth when he said that.

Later in the day we met up with Dario and Alexandro's friends, Frederico and Barbara. Frederico was about the same age as Dario, and single, so you can imagine how that went. One of the first things that Frederico informed me of was that he was single and that Barbara was only a friend. Barbara did not speak a word of English, and Frederico was absolutely infatuated with the language, despite his inability to speak it very well. I've got to give him props for trying though. I know how hard it is. He was just hilarious though. He would try to repeat all of the English words I said, one of which was "fog." Only he pronounced his G more like a K, so you can conclude what that sounded like. I ended up telling Frederico a little white lie, saying that I had a boyfriend in the United States, and I think that word got out to Dario, because the flirting died down a bit after that. I was happy about that because, although the flirting is fun to a point, it is sometimes just difficult to deal with because I don't really know how to respond or how they expect me to respond.

Around noon our whole group took a break for lunch, and I had a panini sandwich. Alexandro brought espresso shots, which they simply call "cafe" for the whole group. It was the first espresso I had ever tried, and, boy, let me tell you, that stuff is strong. They just give it to you in this little plastic shot glass, and it is only about a third of the way full, but I had the jitters after that. After lunch we went out and skied some more, but our group got split up. For some of the time I was just skiing with Dario, and for some of the time Frederico and Barbara joined us. It was Barbara's first day skiing, so she was pretty slow. She skied exactly like my mom, for those of you who know how she skis. So we ended up waiting for her a lot. The top of the mountain was inside a cloud, so I never got to go all the way to the highest point. The four of us were going to go after lunch, but by the time the fog cleared I had to go catch my bus. I did get some beautiful pictures though.

I must say I was a bit sad to leave my Italian friends at the end of the day, but I didn't want to give out any of my personal contact information either. I just have to be extra cautious being a foreign girl travelling alone in a country where and American woman is considered exotic. Dario left me with a kiss on each cheek, the Italian way for close friends to say goodbye. It was a little awkward though because I wasn't exactly sure what he was doing at first, then I wasn't sure which way to move my head. But I must say he was very understanding, and he was very kind and patient with me all day today. I will most likely never see any of them again, but I am so thankful for the experience they gave me. I learned more about the Italian language and culture today than I could have ever learned in three months in the classroom.

At the end of the day I returned to the rental shop to return my skis, and I proudly announced to the old man, "Parlo molto italiano oggi." ("I speak much Italian today."). I still couldn't really understand him, but I could pick out the word beautiful in his rapid speech. He left me with a sort-of embrace where he grabbed my arms and said something about me becoming his son's girlfriend, I think. But I could be completely off-base there. It just seems like something likely for an old Italian man to say to a girl.

At 4:00 I boarded the bus and headed back to Florence to join my classmates for dinner. I just can't stop telling people about the amazing time I had today. I am so glad that I went by myself and became immersed in the culture. I know if I would have went with classmates we would have just spoken English and kept to ourselves. I would have still had a great time, probably, but I'm sure it would not have been of the magnitude that I could call it the best day of my life. I hope that I have many more experiences like this one, but even if this one is the best that I have, I think I will be satisfied.

Rain, rain go away, come again in May

The last 24 hours have proven to be trying ones to say the least. I will begin with last night's dinner. When I arrived at the restaurant I was extremely hungry. I had run quite some distance during the day and not had much to eat at all. So I dug right in and ate the first course, spaghetti with pesto sauce, delicious, I must say. The second course was a bit more questionable: plain omelets with a mountain of cooked spinach on the side. It tasted okay, but it was just a weird combination with the pesto spaghetti already in the stomach. Next came dessert, which was pannacotta with blueberry sauce. It tasted disgusting; it was very chewy, and I think it came from a can. But those of you who know me well know that I never waste food, so I ate in anyway. Now I regret it. On the walk back to the hotel I felt very nauseous, and , sure enough, when I got back to my room it all came back up. Luckily I made it to the toilet. After that I still didn't feel so well so I just laid on my bed and watched music videos of sappy country love songs on YouTube. I guess that made me feel better, because I woke up feeling just fine today. Now that I've effectively ruined your appetite and depressed you thoroughly, I can move onto the next issue, which is rain. It has been down pouring all day today! As I mentioned yesterday, we were going to try again to go to Lucca today, but we didn't because of the horrible weather. I guess this is pretty common for Florence this time of year, but it is definitely not what I'm used to. In Minnesota the rain usually lasts a few hours and passes on; it hardly ever lasts for days on end. So I think I will buy a really cute pair of rain boots that I have seen in many of the shops here. Perhaps that will make this weather somewhat more bearable. Despite the torrents I still managed to get to mass and go out for Chinese this evening with a group of friends. We all had soaking wet jeans and were severely chilled by the time we got to the Chinese place, but the food was worth it. I decided to buy a bus ticket and go skiing tomorrow, just to get myself out of this hotel and rain, if nothing else. Hopefully it is cold enough in the mountains that all this rain we've been getting has been fresh snow there!

PHOTOS!

This is a link to all my photos of this trip so far. There are a lot of them, so hopefully you have some time on your hands. For future reference, you can also click the slideshow that is scrolling in the upper left corner to view my photo album. I will try to keep that updated with new photos as well.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizarose88/VivaLItalia?feat=directlink

Strikes and Holidays

01/23/2008 Fiesole 12:25 p.m.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was scheduled to go to Lucca today, so I got up early, grabbed a quick breakfast and caught the 7:50 bus to the train station. On the way down, some fellow SMU students said that Bob had mentioned the possibility of a railroad mechanics' strike today. We all had our fingers crossed that we would be able to continue our journey. But at the train station we were met with disappointment. The train to Lucca had already been cancelled by the time we got there. It is quite common for workers to strike in Italy, as they have very strong workers' unions for almost every industry. This time they chose to strike on a Friday because it would affect the greatest number of people that way. They are able to pretty much get whatever they want as far as wages, hours, and working conditions go. Since I have been here there have also been strikes at Alitalia, the Italian airline. It looks like I may just get stuck here forever if the transportation workers keep it up.

There is also an Italian/European notion called "holiday," which I first encountered today. After we found out the train was cancelled, a group of us walked around with Bob a little bit. He was going to buy us all hot chocolate at the place he claims is the best in Florence. He says that you can stick a spoon in their hot chocolate and it will stand up straight because it is so thick. However, when we arrived at the cafe, the metal gates were pulled down over the facade. There was a paper taped to one of the gates, which said that they are "on holiday" from January 19 until February 2. I guess businesses here can do that since they are family run and usually only have a handful of employees. But honestly, closing down business for a two week vacation would be unheard of for most businesses in America. So I guess this is the negative side of having small, family-run businesses dominate the market. They set the hours, and the hours are going to be at their convenience, not the customers'. I guess it would be alright if you were a shop owner though.

Oh, I forgot to mention one thing in my blog yesterday. When we went to Santa Croce for art class yesterday, we were pleasantly surprised by a chocolate market in the piazza. There were rows and rows of chocolate vendors set up beneath white tents. They were selling everything from chocolate liqueur to chocolate fashioned to look like rusted iron tools. Many of the booths had free samples, so that was a decadent little surprise for the day.

Running in the Tuscan Hills

01/22/2009 Fiesole 8:40 p.m.

I didn't start class until 11:00 a.m. today, so I went running beforehand. I've really started to enjoy running here. The beauty of the landscape gives me incentive to go, along with the fact that I have large portions of free time. Hopefully I will get back into the habit so I can train for some sort of race for when I come back to the states. I would like to train for a half marathon and see how that goes, and then maybe someday I'll train for a marathon. This morning the view was just so amazing, I don't ever want to forget it. The clouds that were in Fiesole yesterday had settled down into Florence, and there were more clouds above us, but everything in between was clear. I could see for miles from a lookout I like to go to, but all I could see was a sea of clouds below me. It honestly looked like an ocean, and the hilltops looked like islands poking out of the clouds. I wish I would have had a camera with to capture it. Running has sort of become my recharging time each day. I like to go alone so that I can think and have some time to myself. I also stop a lot to look at things, so that would probably get annoying for someone else.

On another note, I also had art and architecture class today. We went to the Santa Croce cathedral, monastery, and museum. It is one of the first Franciscan cathedrals ever, and it is so beautiful. There is so much to know about art and architecture though, I don't know if I will ever remember it all. I love looking at art and taking what I can from it, but sometimes I find it difficult to get into the history of art. My art and architecture teacher talks a-mile-a-minute, and her English is mediocre, so it sometimes hard to keep up. For this reason Thursdays can be very tiring because we are with her pretty much all day. We are supposed to have class from 11-12 and tour from 3-4, but both the lecture and the tour always end up going longer by and hour or so. So I am tired now, and I will be getting up early tomorrow to catch the train to Lucca for our first field trip. I will let you all know how that goes. Thanks for following my blog, to those of you who have hung in there. Ciao!

The "Routine" of Things

01/21/2009 Fiesole 10:30 p.m.

Nothing really amazing or earth-shattering happened to me today, and I was just thinking that it seemed like a pretty routine day. For this reason, I got a case of writer's block and debated in my head whether I should even write a blog for the day. But I didn't want to get out of habit, so I decided to write. This is when it occurred to me that what I now view as a "routine" day is anything but routine. I am so fortunate right now, and sometimes it doesn't even sink in. Among other things, I went hiking today at the same park I went to on Sunday. This time I brought some friends along, and we petted the horses. For dinner I had delicious pasta, steak, French fries (sort of out-of-place, I know), and tiramisu. For most people these experiences are anything but routine, so I just realized that I really need to stop and realize the true value of all of the experiences I am having, even when they sometimes seem superfluous. There are so many people in the world who would just love to have the opportunity to do what I am doing right now, but, for whatever reason, they cannot. I have worked hard for this experience, and anticipated it for a long time, so I really want to soak it in for all it's worth.

Obama Mania

01/20/2008 Fiesole 9:00 p.m.

As I left my hotel on my way to class this morning, the man who works at the front desk greeted a group of my friends and I by wishing us a happy inauguration day. He proceeded to tell us how excited Europeans were last year when Obama visited Germany during his campaign. When we arrived at class, the first words out of our teacher's mouth were, "Today is the day of the inauguration." I guess this is when it hit me that this day in history is a really big deal, not only for America, but for the world. I am now watching the t.v., and I can't understand most of it, since it is all in Italian. The one word that I do understand is "Obama," and it is being said frequently and with vigor. Armani came on one news channel that was featuring fashion, and he was wearing an Obama button on the lapel of his gray suit. There is just so much international excitement over the possibility of change, especially in matters dealing with America's foreign policy. I am not going to go into a rant of Bush bashing; the poor man has had to deal with enough already. But I will say that I would like to join the world in anticipation of positive change. Seeing the excitement of Europeans over Obama's inauguration has really helped me to see the historical significance of this event and helped me to embrace the hope that surrounds this day. No matter what your political persuasions may be, I advise you to watch the inauguration speech. This is a day that will be remembered in history around the world.

5 Things Italians do Better

01/19/2009 Fiesole 3:00 p.m.

This is an editorial that I wrote for the Cardinal (my school newspaper). I figured it could do double-duty as today's blog entry.

This semester I am studying abroad in Florence, Italy, and as I write this I have been out of the United States for about a week. I must say that I am still in the process of adjusting to being a foreigner. To give a brief synopsis of my experience so far, I have compiled a list of five things Italians do better than Americans:
1. Leisure time: Italians seem to have mastered this one to perfection. Each day from approximately noon until two all stores with the exception of restaurants close down, and workers go home to eat lunch and take a nap. Also, stores close for the entire day on Sundays, and many Italians simply take leisurely walks around the city.
2. Staying skinny: Don’t ask me how the Italians manage this one with all the decadent food that is available, but a fat Italian is definitely a rare sight. Perhaps all the walking pays off.
3. Being green: Beside almost every garbage dumpster on the street is a recycling dumpster, so it is just as easy to recycle as to throw something way. Italians also drive much smaller vehicles than Americans, for example, Smart Cars and motor scooters are very common on the streets of Florence. These habits could be part of the reason that the carbon emissions per capita in Italy is 2.12 tons, whereas it is 5.61 tons in the U.S (www.ucsusa.org).
4. Vino: A decent tasting bottle of Chianti made in the Tuscany region of Italy is sold in the local grocery store for two Euro (about three U.S. dollars), and there is technically no legal drinking age as long as you are not in a pub or restaurant, where the legal age is 16. Enough said.
5. Fashion: With the abundance of designer brands that have origins in Italy it is easy to infer that Italians would revere fashion. Wearing a t-shirt or sweatpants on the street is completely unheard of. Everyone wears black wool coats, and most women wear calf or knee high leather boots. If you want to scream American tourist, try wearing a colored ski jacket.

Explore!

01/17/2009 Fiesole 4:45 p.m.

Today is Sunday so all the stores are closed and restaurants don't open until dinner time. We went to church last night, so today was basically just a lazy day. Most of my group was doing homework, but I had mine done, so I decided to just go for a walk on my own. For those of you who are wondering whether this was dangerous, it wasn't. It would be just like going for a walk during the day in a Minnesota suburb. As long as you know where to go and stay in the right areas, there is very minimal threat. I walked all around Fiesole just to become a little more familiar with my surroundings. I was able to find a park that has a lot of hiking trails through the woods on a big hill. At the top of the hill I stood where DaVinci tested the wings he invented! The view was just so beautiful, I cannot even describe it in words. I could see a combination of olive orchards, villas, and expansive farmland along with the entirety of the city of Florence. I find it so amazing how harmoniously the city and the countryside blend. It is not like in America where unsightly and environmental unconscious urban sprawl invades farmland. Cities are closer together here, but they are all very self-contained. If you see them from the air, you can tell that they have been the size they are now for years and years. I don't know how they manage to remain so contained; perhaps they do not have the population growth that America has. Whatever they do though, it sure does work. I think I could handle living in a city when it so easy to escape from its boundaries and get into the countryside. I mean where in America can you go from the center of a city of around 700,000 people to a leisurely country lane in an afternoon walk? I love it; it is like having the best of both worlds!

Walking With Bob

01/17/2009 Fiesole 7:30 p.m.

I didn't get much sleep last night because people were extremely loud and obnoxious when they returned from the bars around 2:30 a.m., and the noise continued in spurts until around 5:00 a.m. Hopefully that doesn't become a routine thing. I'm pretty sure it won't last, because hotel guests complained about the noise last night. So this day started off on the wrong foot, but I decided to go on a walk with Bob (our program director), Eldon, Ashley, and Carla. I thought we were just going to walk down to Florence and come back, but it turned out to be an all day affair. I felt a little bit out of place because I hadn't had time to shower before leaving and I was wearing a sweatshirt, which definitely pegged me as a tourist in Florence. However, the day did redeem itself. Bob took us into the parts of Florence outside of the main touristy areas. He also took us out for lunch and cocktails. We ate the best Chinese food that I have ever tasted! I know, it is ironic that this excellent Chinese food is found in Italy. For 10 Euro we got a full meal, which included your choice of Chinese tea (very authentic, loose leaves), wine, or a half liter of mineral water for beverage, two spring rolls, Cantonese or white rice, a main dish of chicken, veal, pork, or vegetarian options, and a shot of grappa (Italian hard liquor) or coffee. For my main dish I had pineapple chicken (see picture), and we all had shots of grappa afterward. Unlike in America, it is quite customary for Italians to drink wine with their lunch and take a shot of grappa afterward. Some Italians even begin their day with a shot of grappa in their coffee. This is not in any way frowned upon or discouraged here. To top off the great meal, we all received hot towels from the waitress/owner when we were done. We then walked around Florence some more, window shopping the designer label shops. Bob walks at a very fast pace and is intolerant of dilly-dallying, but you see and learn a lot when you go with him. He is like a walking encyclopedia. He knows everything about all the current celebrities, and he also knows everything about history and politics, it seems. I have never asked him a question that he could not answer. In the afternoon, we were all getting a bit weary, and Carla needed to use a restroom, so Bob suggested that we sit down and get some drinks. But, get this, we did not just stop in at some dingy cafe, we went to the lounge of the Hotel Lungarno on the Arno River. The hotel is owned by the Ferragamo family, and a classic double room costs 380 Euro per night. The price of cocktails can be left up to your imagination. So Bob treated us to drinks, and I tried a Cosmopolitan for the first time. The lobby looked over the Arno, and we sat in plush white couches and sipped our drinks. It was a very nice place to stop and rest, although I would probably never do so on my own dollar. After the drinks we went separate ways: Bob and Carla rode the bus back up to the hotel and Eldon, Ashley, and I stayed in town to go to English mass at the Duomo. After mass they announced a social group for Catholic students studying in Florence, and I think I may join. I really would like to meet some people outside the group of 15 SMU students who came on this trip. It is difficult to meet Italians because I don't speak the language so well yet, but I am improving. It will be nice if I can get to know some English speaking people outside this group because, even though it is great fun spending time with many of my fellow SMU students, only speaking to 15 people for four months sounds like a nightmare to me!

Take a picture, it'll last longer!

01/16/2009 Fiesole 10:06 p.m.
Today I had my first real encounter with the perceived creepiness of Italian men toward American women. Up until now I did not realize why the girls who went in previous years had so many stories about their encounters with Italian men. To me they seemed just like American men, but that was before today. The first encounter happened when Ania, Allyson, and I were standing at a bus stop at the Piazza di Michelangelo for about a half hour waiting for the next bus. It was around rush hour, so lots of cars were passing. It was so hilarious to see the head of each Italian man who passed by turn to stare at us as. It is not a subtle stare either. It is a full on, shameless, I don't care if you see me staring at you kind of stare. And these are not some hot 20 somethings, these are old Italian men with their long blackish gray hair greased back, wearing leather jackets, staring at you down their pointy noses. Creepy, right?!? But the story does not stop there. There was a carload of 20 something Italian men who slowed down to stare, and the one in the passenger seat pulled out a camera. This wasn't just any camera though, it was a huge SLR professional camera. We just burst out laughing and gave them a little wave. A little bit later a car passed, and the man actually slammed on his brakes in rush-hour traffic to take a closer look. I swear, sometimes I feel like an animal in a zoo or something! Italian men are just so enthralled with American girls. We think it is because we are much more outgoing than the Italian women. When we are together we laugh and talk and have a grand-old time, but Italian women tend to be guarded and less inclined to smile and laugh in public. Whatever it is that draws Italian men to us American girls, it is quite amusing to see their reaction to us. There were also some very cute Italian carpentry workers returning home for the day at the bus station who beckoned to us girls to get on the bus with them. We had just been saying how cute they were, but it was not until they called out to us that we noticed that one of them was missing a tooth. Of course the thought of getting on the bus with them did not even cross our minds, in case you're worrying. I just said, "No capisco," (I don't understand) as the bus doors closed on them, and they were gone for good.

Wait a minute, how old is that?

01/15/2009 Fiesole 11:50 p.m.
Today was my first day of my Art and Architecture of Florence class, and it turned out to be a whole day affair. The class itself took place from 11:00 to 1:00, then we toured various sights from 3:00-5:00, so this has been my busiest day by far. We went to the Duomo, the baptistery, and a Gothic style chapel. All of them were so amazing that they cannot be described in words or pictures, although I will present a feeble attempt. There is just such a sense of history here that cannot be found in the United States. The architecture and sculptures that we were looking at dated back to Greek and Roman times. Every day I pass by buildings and statues that bear such significance that I can hardly fully fathom it. If a chapel in the U.S. had even a tiny part of the mosaic ceiling of the baptistery, people would come from far and wide to see it. However, since it is so common here I sometimes tend to grant less credence to these great works of art. I just have to remind myself of what I am looking at, the history behind it, and the work that went into making it, then I am truly amazed.

One dark and rainy day in Fiesole...

1/14/2009 5:20 p.m. Fiesole
It was a gloomy day in Fiesole, and besides going to class we had been cooped up inside the hotel all day long. Facebook and other such online entertainment had ceased to entertain, and I was pining for some real adventure. This is when I decided to go for a run, which is something that I vowed to myself that I would do during my time in Italy. Eldon had also made the same vow, so, overhearing me say that I was going running, he asked to come along. I said yes, on the condition that he wore a shirt. He pleasantly agreed to do so, and our running excursion was on. The hills of Fiesole proved to be a bit more daunting than anticipated, but, nonetheless, we made it a decent distance at a decent pace, according to my standards. We ran up to the lookout over Florence and onto the monastery grounds. Running up the hill to the monastery, I was the first one to crest, and my eyes came upon a man who appeared to be in his fifties. He was standing on a sidewalk behind a stone rail by the chapel, facing his backside toward us. I was quite taken aback to see that he was not wearing pants. Upon getting closer, he began to speak to us in Italian. I responded by continuing to run and saying in Italian that we do not understand. Eldon, on the other hand, decided to speak German for a reason unbeknownst to me. This is where Eldon and I had a minor dispute. He claimed that the man was a monk and that he was wearing a habit. I still hold my claim that he was probably a homeless man, as he was not wearing pants and what Eldon thought was a habit I thought was a stocking cap. Perhaps we shall never know. But I digress. We continued to run through the monastery grounds and came upon a cemetery. Eldon has a cemetery fetish, and I admit that I also find them interesting, so we decided to check it out. We went through the gate and had a little walk around before deciding to head out of there before it got dark. This is when we discovered that the gate had closed while we were in there. We tried the gate only to find that it was padlocked. I had a moment of minor panic at the thought of spending my night in an Italian cemetery in the cold rain. However, we found a way to climb over the wall at a low spot by stepping up on a water fountain. Relieved, we made our way back up the hill to the hotel and told our story of being locked in a cemetery to all who would listen. Moral of the story: Always read the sign that is outside the cemetery gate before entering.

Today's Walk in Fiesole

1/13/2009 Fiesole 10:45 p.m.

This is my roommate Ashley on a street in Fiesole. Surprisingly this a two way street! I really don't know how European drivers do it. It's scary walking on them sometimes, so I can't imagine driving.

This is me sitting on the wall to a private villa/olive orchard.

Pretty much all private property is gated and walled around here.

Spare Time....What's That?!?!

01/13/2009 10:50 p.m. Fiesole
Today after class the amount of spare time that I now have hit me for the first time. At SMU I am used to always having something to do between classes, work, homework, and extracurricular activities. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a time that I could say that I had no homework since I began college. Today I could say that for the first time. I finished all of my work for the three classes that I've had so far. The classes seem to be very simple; the literature class is pretty much all review for me, and in the language class we learned the Italian ABC's today. While this is definitely a welcome reprieve from the fast pace I was living at SMU, I have also come to realize that there is a happy medium. Part of my newly acquired free time also has to do with the Italian culture. All stores and banks completely shut down from about noon to two each day. This is so that workers can go home and have lunch and a nap. This is definitely not what we're used to in the U.S. with our 24 hour supermarkets. Also, most shops besides restaurants close for the entire day on Sundays. There just seems to be this European appreciation for free, leisurely time. When we were out walking on Sunday many people were just meandering on the streets with their friends or family, seeming to have no particular destination in mind. I guess my dilemma right now is just finding a way to use my free time so that I feel productive. I have found that this is something that I really need to feel, and I assume it is the same for many middle-class Americans. Whether I am working, doing homework, or volunteering, I like to have a level of personal responsibility. So far I have been spending a lot of time online keeping in touch with friends and blogging. While this is not exactly my first choice of activities while I am in Europe, I can't be out spending Euro in the shops and restaurants all the time either. I am working on finding a happy medium, and hopefully I will be an expert at leisurely activity by the time I'm done here just like the Europeans.

On Being a Foreigner

01/12/2009 Fiesole 9:00 p.m.
I feel like I am getting more into the swing of things now. Today was the first day of class, which is held in a room about a block away from the hotel. The class schedule is very light while we are here, but there is a lot of work outside of class. Mondays I have Global Issues at 10:00 a.m., then the rest of my day is free. Today I did homework for a few hours after class, as I want to stay on top of things so that I have free time to travel during the weekends. In one of the particular texts we are reading for the class, The United States of Europe by T.R. Reid, the perception of Americans by Europeans is discussed. And, let me tell you, their perception of us is none too flattering. According to opinion polls, Europeans see America as a nation of violence, social inequality, and racism. Of course, the stereotypes of Americans are not true for every American, but I feel as if I am judged because of this stereotype to some degree. Walking the streets of Florence it is easy to pick out the Americans. Not only is their skin and hair color different, but also many Americans will be wearing a colored ski jacket, be speaking loudly, or be slightly overweight. These things may not seem too out of the ordinary, but in Italy they really make you stick out. Even Americans, such as me, who try to fit in by wearing black and trying not to draw attention to themselves can easily be pegged as foreigners. But, perhaps you're wondering why this is a big deal. For me it is difficult because people treat you much differently than they would treat someone from Italy. They are less likely to strike up a conversation with you because they know you don't speak much of the language. Often times they are ever-so-subtly hostile by not apologizing if they bump into you or giving you strange looks or exasperated sighs. Now I know that I am the guilty party as well because I do not exactly go around trying to strike up conversations with native Italians. The reason being that I can only say hello, how are you, and a few other simple phrases. But I cannot help but think that learning the language would be much easier if people were friendlier about it. Now I can see how much it must mean for people who are coming to the U.S. as immigrants or students when an American initiates a conversation and patiently tries to understand him/her. Working in the writing center last semester I spoke with many foreign students, so I have been on both ends of the spectrum. I know that there are days when you just don't feel like struggling through another conversation, but when you think about how much it might mean to that person it takes on a whole new significance. I hope as I learn more Italian I will become more comfortable having short conversations and that this will help Italian people become more receptive towards me, not as a stereotypical American, but as an intelligent person who respects their culture and wishes to learn more about it.

Getting Lost

01/12/2009 7:55 a.m. Fiesole
I woke up before my alarm, so I decided to get up and write. I'm still adjusting to the seven hour time difference, I guess. In my last post I mentioned that I had quite the adventure yesterday. This adventure entailed getting lost in Florence. Br. Bob, the program director walked our group through Fiesole and into Florence yesterday morning. He then gave us directions to the Duomo, a large cathedral dome in the center of the city where there is a bus stop. However, Carla and I got separated from the rest of the group in a supermarket and we were on our own. Luckily we had a map, so we weren't completely clueless. It is difficult to get your bearings in the city though because it was built in ancient times and it isn't really on the grid system. Also, there are many tall buildings with no gaps between them, so when you are on a street you cannot see what lies to the left or right. We wandered around all day, using the little Italian we knew to ask for directions. We ended up eating pizza sitting on the curb by a dumpster because we were so hungry and we couldn't find a bench, although benches seemed to spring up all over after that when we had our eyes out for them. Finally, around 2:00 pm we saw a dome, and we thought for sure that it was the Duomo. It was on the other side of the river, so we crossed the bridge and found the cathedral. However, it turned out to be the wrong dome. I looked at the map and realized we were on the wrong side of the river, so we crossed again. We ended up in the high fashion district of Florence. Carla tried on some Ferragamo shoes and I had to pull her away from the other shops because we needed to find the bus stop so that we could make our 6:00 pm meeting back at the hotel. Finally around 4:00 pm we found the Duomo and located the bus stop, and it's a good thing because we were both dead on our feet by then. We rode the bus back to Fiesole and made it back about a half hour before our meeting. My estimate is that we walked over ten miles yesterday!

My First Day

1/11/2009 Fiesole, Italy 5:35 p.m.


Since my flight arrived in Florence, my days have been quite eventful. After claiming my luggage in Florence I got a taxi from the airport with Eldon to go to Hotel Villa Bonelli. Let me tell you, that taxi ride was harrowing! Speed limits mean nothing in this area, and there are so many cars, motor scooters, and pedestrians on the roads. Not to mention that most of the two way streets are narrower than American one ways, and many of them have walls on either side. Eldon and I were pretty much holding on for dear life all the way to the hotel. After arriving at the hotel we got our hotel room. It is smaller than expected. I will put up pictures soon. We have two small twin beds which are pushed together, so it's basically a double bed. We also have a couch, a desk, a small closet, a mini fridge, a TV, and a bathroom with a heated towel rack :-) The best part about our room though is the view. From our window we can see rolling green hills. You can see a picture at the end of my previous post. It would be better if the crane wasn't in the way, but oh well. Also, we've been able to have our windows open much of the time because it is in the upper 40s and low 50s and sunny! It is basically like late April in Minnesota! Everything is green. I got to explore Fiesole a bit yesterday evening. I went to mass with Ashley, which was in Italian. We were the only ones under 50 in the church besides a couple with a baby. The mass was in Italian, so we only understood the words "Amen," "Alleluia," and "Christo." What I got out of it was that it was the baptism of Christ yesterday. One neat thing about the mass was that it was held in an old Roman temple, and there is still one of the existing columns. I also went out to eat at a restaurant in Fiesole. There I had real Italian pizza (not like the American stuff) and wine, legally for the first time! Today was another eventful day, and I will get to that later.

My Journey to Italy

On each of my flights on my way to Florence I jotted some notes about what was happening. Travelling through airports actually ended up being much easier than expected, and I actually enjoyed it for the most part. Anyhow, here is what I wrote along my journey:

1/9/2009 10:50 a.m. Minneapolis, MN
I took a Rochester Direct shuttle bus from Pine Island to the Minneapolis airport because it was snowing and the roads were not so good. On the shuttle I met a very nice guy named Tim who works at Mayo as a P.A. He was travelling to London to visit a friend, and he was able to give me some hints about travelling, including ways to avoid severe jet lag. He has been to Europe several times, including one trip to Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy.

Right now I am sitting in the plane, awaiting takeoff. Due to the snow moving through the Midwest they put me on an earlier flight. This means that I am not with Eldon and Ashley as originally planned. At first that was a little bit scary, but I found that three guys from my class are on this flight, so that made me feel better. Hopefully I will meet up with Eldon and Ashley in Chicago, as we all have the same flight to Frankfurt, then to Florence. I can't believe I will be in Europe in ten hours or so!

1/9/2009 2:20 p.m. Chicago, IL
Once again, I'm awaiting takeoff. it is strange to think that next time I touch the ground I will be in Europe! I met up with most of the Saint Mary's group on this flight, and it is good to know that we'll be together. I am sitting next to a recreation professor from California who is going to Latvia. She seems to be pretty well-travelled. She told me to be sure to see Sienna and to get tickets online to see the "Last Supper" in Milan. She also advised me to try many flavors of gelato. She cited salt, cactus, and watermelon as various flavors available. It will certainly be interesting to try some of those!

1/10/2009 7:55 a.m. Frankfurt, Germany
Well, I've made it this far; I am now in Europe. Now I just have to get off in Florence and make it to the hotel. This might be the hardest part of the trip, in all honesty. We'll have to figure out how to get a taxi or ride the bus. With all of our luggage it is bound to be difficult either way. It is strange being a foreigner now. Announcements and such are always spoken in other languages before the English announcements. So far though, getting around airports has been easier than I anticipated.

I made it Florence safe and sound, arriving at Hotel Villa Bonelli around 10:30 a.m. I am currently suffering from a bit of jet lag, but I will continue to keep you updated. My day in Fiesole has been quite eventful already...to be continued.