Off to Switzerland

Today I will get on a bus at 6:30 p.m. and head to Switzerland for the weekend. As I mentioned before, most of the SMU group is going, but they will be skydiving while I will be skiing. I'm very excited, and I'm sure I will have many stories to tell when I get back. You probably won't hear from me until Monday.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, so most of our group from Saint Mary's went to mass at the Fiesole cathedral. Once again, this was an experience unlike any I've ever had in the U.S. The service began at a small church just down the hill from the cathedral. The church was completely packed with nuns, priests, seminarians, and old people, so most of our group had to stand in the back of the church. Here began the music, which was some of the most beautiful I've ever heard. The choir was only composed of a handful of men and women, and they sang everything acapella. Their voices were so pure, and the acoustics of the church allowed to sound to resound so that the effect was just angelic. The bishop of Fiesole said a few words at this church, then we all processed out and formed two lines in the street and walked toward the cathedral. As we processed, we sang a prayer asking for the intercession of saints. There was a seminarian carrying a cross leading the procession, and there was another seminarian carrying loudspeakers on a pole so that we could hear the voices of the choir. The procession went right through the middle of the street, stopping traffic. Once we were in the church, the service continued similar to other Ash Wednesday services I've been to. There was just a lot more singing, and instead of putting the ashes on your forehead they sprinkle them in your hair. Overall this was a very neat experience, and I'm very glad that most of the group decided to go. Aside from small children, we were still definitely the youngest people at the mass even though the whole cathedral was filled. The majority of young people in Europe are just not very religious despite the culture of Catholicism that pervades. I was sort of surprised by this in the beginning of my time in Italy, although I had heard this before I came here. You'd think that when they have so much opportunity to practice their faith in their country they would do so. Even though it sometimes seems that American young adults are not very faithful, most do make a showing for major Church days like Ash Wednesday. I am proud of Americans for keeping these traditions alive in the younger generation, and hopefully we will not follow Europe's path.

The best party ever!

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, or Marti Gras if you're French and Martedi Grasso if you're Italian. But the words do not matter because,no matter where you are in the world or what language you speak, it is an excuse to party before the 40 days of Lent. And let me tell you, Italians know how to throw a party. Their Fat Tuesday celebration is called Carnivale, and it takes place in cities across Italy. The Carnivale I chose to go to with Ashley, Allyson, Ania, and Eldon was in Viareggio, a town on the Mediterranean coast. This Carnivale is known as the best in Italy, and it runs every Sunday for about a month before Lent. Yesterday was the last day, and we all got done with class at noon, so we decided to get on a train and go.

Aside from a bit of confusion about which train to ride, we got to Viareggio just fine, and then Ashley and Allyson bought beautiful Carnivale masks. We proceeded to search for the festival. At first we were a bit skeptical because it didn't seem like there was much going on, aside from a few families dressed in matching furry costumes roaming the streets. Finally we found the festival, which had kids' rides and lots of food booths. We had to pay 15 euros to get in, so we were all thinking, "This better be good." Once we got in we weren't sure what to do or where to go. We didn't know if we had to pay more to go on the rides and such, so we just wandered for a bit. Finally the good part came. We were just standing in the street, surrounded by kids and parents dressed in costume when we realized that the parade was coming, and we were directly in its route. And this wasn't just any parade, this was a parade unlike any I've ever seen before. Huge floats that fill up the entire street and are as tall as the multi-story hotels that rise up on one side are constructed from a sort of paper mache. The floats are all pulled by tractors, and they blast loud dancing music. They are all just packed with costumed dancing people, again little kids, parents, old people, teenagers, everyone participates. Unlike parades in the U.S., people do not just sit and watch the parade go by; they get up and dance in the street to the music, and lots of the parade marchers who are not on the float invited us to dance with them.

Many of the floats have a political theme. One that was specifically aimed at America was a satire of Barack Obama. He was dressed as a railroad worker in overalls and holding a hammer in his hand. In front of the float there were people dancing who had their faces painted black, and they were dressed as various occupations that represent middle class Americans. Other floats were less political, such as one based on Aladdin and another with a bunch of giant goose heads sticking out. The parade went on for probably 2-3 hours, and we were dancing almost the whole time. After the parade many young people just started dancing out in the street to the music that was still playing from the floats. It was just such a fun atmosphere and unlike anything I had ever seen in the U.S. before this. I especially enjoyed the fact that everyone, no matter their age, really got into it. I have never seen so many parents and children dressed up in furry purple cow suits before. Other costumes included a group of little girls dressed up as cheerleaders from Rydell High in Grease, a guy dressed up as the Pope who was handing out fake Eucharists, and a plenitude of young men dressed as women.

After the parade was over, I wanted to go see the ocean/sea, since I have never seen it before. So we walked toward where we thought it was, and then I saw it. I ran across the beach all the way to it, and when I got to it I kicked my shoes off and went in, panty-hose still on, as far as I could without completely soaking my mini-skirt. It was just such and exhilarating experience, even though I'm sure any Italians who saw me probably thought I was crazy.

After the ocean, we decided to try to find a place to eat. This is when we encountered two men who had been on a float in the parade. Ania and I had been blowing kisses at many of the men on the floats throughout the parade, so we think they may have been guys we were blowing kisses to. One was dressed as a clown, and the other had a cape and painted mask on his face. The clown seemed to have had a bit too much to drink, and he was asking us to come party with them. He was also shoving candy down our shirts and kissing our cheeks. He told us about a giant party that happens after the parade at the end of the street, and Ania, Allyson, and I thought it sounded like something worth trying. Ashley and Eldon weren't really feeling up to it, so they decided to head back to Florence. This was probably a good thing because it gave us an excuse to escape from the clown. Ania, Allyson, and I proceeded to find the party and, let me tell you, it was a party! There were food and alcohol vendors everywhere, and it was great food too. Since it was Fat Tuesday, I decided to splurge. Although I had already had a sandwich and gelato for dinner, I had a delicious cream filled, deep-fried pastry and a hot dog. I'm usually not much of a hot dog person, but this was a hot dog Italian style. It was on a homemade bread bun that was toasted and had fried peppers and sauerkraut on it...very tasty! Aside from the food, there were DJs set up on the street blasting loud music, and there was dancing everywhere. Although it was beginning to get late, small children and older people were still members of the party crowd. It was nothing like a street dance in America where usually people don't dance too much. Here everyone was dancing, and people you did not know would just start dancing with you. I've never had so much fun at a festival in my life! Unfortunately, the last train left Viareggio for Florence at 10:00 p.m., so we had to leave when the party was just getting started. I'm pretty sure it carries on all night, so perhaps another year I will find myself back in Viareggio for Carnivale. Until then, I will definitely remember last night as the best party I've ever been to.

This month's editorial

Once again, it's that time of the month that I write an editorial for the Saint Mary's newspaper. And, once again, my editorial is going to do double duty as my blog entry for the day. If any of you are interested in checking out the Cardinal online, the address is http://cardinal-smumn.blogspot.com/.

A lesson in Italian flirting

I have almost hit the two month mark of my time in Italy, and each day I seem to discover new aspects of Italian culture. One aspect that has proven to be especially intriguing is the culture of romance, which I never realized the full extent of before coming here.
Being a young, blonde, athletic American female in Italy has put me at the receiving end of much flirting from Italian men of all ages and appearances. The most overt and persistent flirter I’ve encountered was a 39 year old man named Dario on the ski slopes. During our first conversation Dario told me that I have beautiful eyes. This may seem like a cliché compliment, but he seemed very sincere. Shortly after he told me that I make his heart beat like thunder and lightning, and he asked me if I would like him to get me a room in his town by the sea. I must admit that at this point I began to get a bit creeped out, but this is a prime example of the flirting that is considered normal in Italy. If a man perceives even the slightest chance that a woman may be interested in him, he proceeds at full throttle.
Another story of a persistent Italian flirter comes from Saint Mary’s own Dr. Mary Fox, who is currently on sabbatical and doing some traveling and research in Italy. Recently she was in Rome with Br. Stephen Rustyn, and they were eating at a restaurant. Br. Stephen left the table to go to the restroom, and the young male waiter came up behind Dr. Fox and began kissing and caressing her head and neck. The man proceeded to tell her that he fell in love with her when he first saw her, then he began to undo his belt. He told her that he just wanted her to “take one look.” In America a waiter could get fired or arrested for doing something like that, but here it is considered acceptable.
Lastly, I would not do Italian flirting justice if I failed to mention the ways Italian men of all ages address young women on the street. A couple common phrases are “Ciao bella!” which means hello beautiful, and “Mamma mia!” However, some men opt for more original methods, such as a one who neighed at my girlfriends and me as we walked by. Sometimes I cannot help but laugh at the ridiculousness of these methods, but they do make some great stories, and I think I will miss the romance culture when I return to the States.

More Photos!

Aside from the few pictures I have uploaded into my blog, I really haven't shared any pictures, so I decided to share the links to all of my facebook albums. Take a look when you have the time...there are a lot of them!

Italia Due:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024377&id=173301949&l=9ec79
Italia Tre:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024647&id=173301949&l=ade09
Italia Quattro:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024703&id=173301949&l=0f5e6
Italia Cinque:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024863&id=173301949&l=bcf61
Italia Sei:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025132&id=173301949&l=2722d

Breaking Away

Last night I was trying to decide what to do today, and I just decided that I wanted to rent a bike and explore the countryside. So that is how I ended up renting a Bianchi racing bike and riding 20 miles to the small town of Greve in Chianti (pronounced Gray-vay). I rented my bike at a place called Florence by Bike, and they helped me figure out a route. They even gave me maps and highlighted the roads that I should take. The route to Greve was absolutely beautiful! There were olive orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see. I was really amazed by the expansiveness of the vineyards. Never before did I realize how big the wine industry actually is here. Today it finally hit me that this is how many people in Italy make their living. Many of the farms double as villas for guests, something the Italians call agritourism. It seems like a nice way for farmers to bring in a little extra income. When I reached Greve I explored the town a little and found a nice little bar to have lunch at. I was able to get a panine sandwich and a glass of Chianti wine for only four euros! After lunch I decided to do a little side trip up to a little village at the top of a big hill. It was about one extra kilometer, but it was extremely steep! I asked some guys on the sidewalk how to get there, and when they saw that I was biking they just started laughing because they didn't think I could make it. But I did make it, and I must say the view was well worth it. After spending a little time at the top of the mountain I began to make the 20 mile trek back to Florence. On my way back I saw some road signs that pointed to Florence, and I decided to follow them rather than retrace my same route. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turned out to be not so good. I ended up on a busy highway, and although it had a roomy shoulder, unlike the country roads, I still felt a little bit vulnerable when I was biking on it. But I did make it back to Florence in one piece and returned my bike. If you would like to see the route that I biked today, you can check it out on the Google map in the blog entry below. You will have to zoom out to view the entire route. Now I am extremely sore, and I have a feeling it will probably be worse in the morning, but it was definitely worth it.

View Larger Map

Picnic European Style!

Today we went to San Gimignano on our last group bus tour, which is a small medieval city situated atop a hill that overlooks countryside full of small farms and vineyards. It was an absolutely fabulous day! To begin with, the weather was perfect; at around 55 degrees and sunny it was probably some of the best weather we've had since arriving in Italy. At San Gimignano we first went on a tour with Bob which highlighted two of the main churches in town: Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta and Chiesa di San Agostino. The entire interior of Santa Maria was covered in frescoes. One wall was devoted to Old Testament stories, the other was devoted to Christ's Passion, and there was another wall depicting Hell and Heaven. St. Fina's tomb is in the church, and there are frescoes detailing her life. She was only 15 years old when she died, and she spent her life in San Gimignano. She was diagnosed with a terminal illness when she was only about 13, and she decided to lay on a wood plank on the floor rather than a bed in order to suffer more and to offer her suffering to God so that she could grow closer to Him. As she got sicker she grew very weak, and mice began to feed on her flesh. Finally she died, and all that was left was rotting, mouse chewn flesh. Not a very good image, right? Well God didn't think so either, so He turned her flesh into a pile of fresh flowers, and it is this miracle that made her a saint. I thought this was a beautiful story, and the frescoes about her life were very detailed and showed a lot of emotion in the faces of the people, many of which are small children. They are not happy paintings to look at, but the human emotion that they capture make them very captivating.

During our tour with Bob we also went up to an old hilltop fortress from the 1300s. It had a tower that was still in good enough condition to climb, and the view from the top was magnificent. You could see farmland and little towns and houses speckling the landscape for miles and miles all the way to the Apennines. Bob gave us the brilliant idea of returning to the fortress for a picnic, so that's what Ashley, Ania, Allyson, and I did. After our tour was over we went to an old church that had been converted into a wine shop. Here we sampled some of the white wine called Vernaccia, which is the San Gimignano region is famous for. I bough a bottle, and I am going to try to save it long enough to bring it home. I usually prefer red wine, but this is definitely the best white wine I've ever tasted. It is a sweeter and wetter wine than many, but it is great for a before dinner drink to whet the pallet. After purchasing our wine, we made our way to the coop where we bought fresh bread, Brie cheese, pesto, peach juice, and Pringles (the one American addition to our meal). On our way up to the fortress we stopped in one of the local sausage shops and bought some wild boar sausage. San Gimignano is famous for this type of sausage, and it was very good, I must say. We had a very enjoyable picnic with all of this food and a bottle of wine, and after our picnic we decided to just lay in the grass and take a nap. It just felt so good to lay in the sun and be warm, and I just kept thinking of how it would be if we were in Minnesota this time of year. Sorry to make some of you jealous, but just know that I do think of you occasionally while I'm laying in the sun. If I could bottle up the sun and send some to you, I would. But since I can't, I'll just enjoy it for myself.

Exciting plans

I received two exciting emails in the past couple days, both of which have led to some very exciting plans for the next few months. The most recent email confirmed that there are rooms for 14 people available at Manuel's Guesthouse in Cinque Terre for my birthday weekend. I've been looking at pictures online with Ania ever since I received the email, and I can't wait to go. I think this is going to be the best birthday ever! You can see some pictures at the website www.manuelsguesthouse.com. The guesthouse overlooks the sea, and there is a bar that serves beer and wine on the terrace! Who could possibly ask for a better place to celebrate a 21st birthday? I'm literally counting down the days even though I have a while to wait and there are lots of other exciting things happening in between. I really hope the weather is nice and that everyone has a good time, or at least pretends to, for my birthday's sake.

The other piece of exciting news really has nothing to do with Italy, but it's exciting nonetheless. Two days ago I received an email from the head naturalist at Whitewater State Park, where my office was based for my internship last summer. He offered me an internship at the park for this coming summer which would combine the job I did last summer (teaching fishing clinics in SE MN) with doing naturalist work at Whitewater State Park. They combined the positions due to budget constraints in the DNR, but it sounds like the ideal position for me. I am already familiar with the fishing clinic part of the job, and the naturalist part of the job will allow me more flexibility to pursue my own interests in the field. I was very flattered that I was offered this job, and I am looking forward to getting to know everyone at Whitewater better this summer. The bad part of this good news is that I might have to cut my travels around Europe after my school program a little short because of intern training. I'm still waiting to find out if that is the case, but if it is, I will have to switch my flight. So that will be sort of a hassle, but I'm willing to do what I need to do to get this job.

Unbelievable Riches

Today for history class we toured the Medici Palace (Palazzo Vecchio), where the famous Medici family lived during their reign in Florence. The Medicis were extremely wealthy, probably more wealthy than anyone ever has ever been in America. They made their fortune by trading wool and being the first pharmacists. At one point the family employed 700 servants! By the sheer power of their money they were able to secure leadership in Florence, and during their reign they funded much of the famous art that still exists in the city today. The palace really was a sight to see. Every room's walls and ceilings were completely covered with paintings, ornate carving, and gold. It is honestly unlike anything I've ever seen before in my life. The architecture itself is also amazing, as there are many arches and high ceilings. There is one room about the size of a soccer field that has an extremely high ceiling that is flat and entirely covered in framed paintings. Thanks to our teacher, Luciana, we were able to go on a tour of the "secret rooms" of the palace. We had an Italian tour guide, so it was a bit difficult to understand some things, but it was a really interesting tour. During this tour we were able to go up above the ceiling of the room I was just describing, and we found out that it is a self supported ceiling (no columns), and the paintings are all hung on beams. It is sort of hard to describe, but it was really pretty neat to see. The paintings that form the ceiling can be raised and lowered for cleaning purposes. The most interesting part of the secret room tour was when we were able to see a couple rooms that could only be reached by narrow secret passageways in between the walls. One such room was made to be like the interior of a jewelry box--the ceiling was arched, and it was the shape of a narrow rectangle. The walls were completely covered with paintings, and the ceiling was too. Some of the wall paintings opened up into secret storage areas where "treasure" was kept. Other paintings opened up to more secret passageways. There was one painting that looked like it had a completely black background, but then when a light was shined on it things appeared in the background. This painting opened up to a passageway that led to a tiny little library, only you could not tell that it was a library when you first walked in because all the books were hid behind pictures that opened up into bookshelves. It is just unbelievable that one family could be so rich that they could afford all of this. I don't even know what I would do if I had a house as big as theirs, but I guess that would probably be the least of my worries.

Let it snow...

I thought when I came to Italy that I was done with snow for good, but I was wrong because this morning it snowed on my way to class. It was kind of exciting, since I have not seen snow in over a month. Okay, that's a lie, I did see snow when I went skiing, but you get my drift. So I caught a few flakes on my tongue, but the excitement quickly faded because now it's just really cold and drizzling outside. So today is a pretty low key indoors homework day. I feel for all of you in Minnesota, although I've heard it is finally "warming up" there, meaning that it's about 40 degrees.

Grrrrrrr....taxes

I spent about two hours today working on my 2008 income tax returns, which is pretty much my least favorite thing to do in the world. I usually put it off until the last minute, but I figured since I will be travelling around Europe in April, I should probably have them done before then. The plus side is that I'm getting about $300 back, a nice little cushion in my bank account that is quickly being depleting from all this travelling. I am beginning to think I should take the Italian approach to income taxes. Hardly anyone in Italy reports their full income, so they don't pay the full amount of taxes that they technically should. However, since everyone does it, the government can't do anything about it. Here are some statistics from the Wall Street Journal (06/28/2007): unpaid income taxes in Italy from the country's black market economy constitute 27% of Italy's GDP; only 0.8% of Italians claim to earn more than $134,000 per year; Italian restaurant owners declare an annual average income of just $18,000 (less than school-teachers); there are 5,800 people in Italy who declare incomes of less than 5,000 euros per year, but who drive cars worth more than 100,000 euros. The reasons for these tax evasions are complex, but one reason is that the Italian government bureaucracy is notoriously corrupt, and taxpayers believe their tax dollars are squandered, which, in many cases, is true. I guess I feel a little more confident that the tax dollars I pay to the U.S. government are at least doing some good. Plus, if I didn't pay my taxes in the U.S., I'm pretty sure the IRS would be on my tail eventually. So I guess I will be a good American citizen and pay taxes, and I shouldn't complain too much because at least I'm getting some money back.

Better in black and white

I tried to publish this post yesterday, but I was having Internet issues:

2/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

Today I went to a black and white photography exhibit in Florence with Ania. I have wanted to go to it ever since I first got here and saw the advertisements, and today was the last day of the exhibit. It was my first time visiting an art gallery on my own volition, and I really enjoyed it. I felt quite sophisticated wearing my dress and walking through the exhibits, quietly commentating on the works. Usually I have some trouble really digging deeper into a work of art, getting beyond its face value, but I have never had this problem with photography, especially black and white photography. I think it has something to do with the writer in me, but I just love to look at photographs of people from many years ago and think about how their life was and what they were thinking at that moment. The exhibit in Florence was very striking because of the age of most of the photographs. Many were from the 1850s, and they portrayed life in Florence and the surrounding country. It was very interesting to see what has changed and what has remained the same since that time. My favorite work in the entire museum was entitled "Springtime," and I believe it was by Roberto Robinson. It is a portrait taken of a young couple from behind as they walk down a country road in Holland. The man has his arm around the woman, and they look very happy and in love. On the right there is a Dutch windmill, and much of the country landscape is visible. I thought this photo really captured the emotion and beauty of the moment, and, even though it was taken over 100 years ago, the emotions it captures are still applicable today. Someday when I have an apartment/house I really want to collect black and white photography and have it all over my walls. I would probably never get anything done because I'd always be looking at my pictures and thinking about what those people were thinking, but at least I'll be thinking.

A great Valentine's Day after all

In spite of all my doubts, Valentine's Day turned out to be pretty great after all. The goodness began with dinner last night, which turned out to be the best dinner I've ever had in my life! We began with a bottle of white wine then ordered our first and second courses with a bottle of Chianti. My first course was ravioli filled with goat cheese in an orange sauce with tomatoes. It was the best ravioli I've ever had, and I really want to learn to make goat cheese when I raise goats someday so I can make something like that. All of the food here is just so fresh and authentic, I don't know how I am going to react when I go back to eating preserved and processed foods in America. My second course last night was a fillet-mignon with a sauce made from fresh grapes, and I also had a side of fresh grilled zucchini, eggplant, and red pepper. The beef was definitely rare, but ever since I've been here I've discovered that's the way I like it. It would be illegal in American restaurants to serve beef as rare as they serve it here, but I think the texture and flavor are so much better when it is served this way. So when I go back to America people will probably look at me like I'm crazy when I eat my bloody steaks. Also, after all that food last night, we still had dessert. I had almond biscotti that came with a dessert liqueur to dip it in. It was pretty good, but I couldn't bring myself to drink the liqueur afterwards, which is what Bob said I was supposed to do, so Ashley drank it for me. Then we finished the meal with limoncello as an after dinner drink. So I must say I was slightly tipsy after drinking about four glasses of wine and the limoncello with my meal, but all-in-all it was a great meal!

Today we were going to go to Bologna, so we went to the train station around 11 a.m. to figure everything out. This was all of our first times figuring out how to buy a train ticket and board a train on our own, so it was a bit frustrating and confusing. To begin with, we couldn't find any local trains to Bologna, and the only ones we could find were expensive EuroStar trains. So on the spot we just decided to go to Pisa instead. A one way ticket to Pisa is about 5 euros, and it takes about an hour to get there, so it is a nice place to go for a day trip. We finally figured out how to buy our ticket and found our train and boarded. However, none of us realized that we had to validate our ticket before we boarded the train, so the conductor got a little angry with us. Overall though he seemed to be fairly understanding, he just wanted to make sure that next time we validated our ticket, which is understandable because otherwise we could use it again without charge. So the train was a live and learn type experience. Once we got to Pisa everything was very easy to figure out. We stopped at the tourism office and got a map, and we made our way on the ever-so-common tourist pilgrimage to the leaning tower. And, sadly enough, we did cave and take the obligatory tourist pictures of us holding up the tower. Other than the tower and the cathedral there is not much else to see in Pisa, so we found a place to eat a late lunch and then went back to the station and bought tickets back. The ride back was much less stressful than the ride there, as we actually sort of, kind of knew what we were doing. So now I'm done for the day, exhausted, but glad to say that it was a happy Valentine's Day. Oh, and I did receive two Valentines: a poem from Eldon and a rose from Bob (well, he doesn't say it's from him, but all of us girls got one, and the note is in his handwriting).

A day of rest

Everyone in our group except for Allyson, Ania, Ashley, and me went to Venice today. They are staying there all weekend, so it is just us four here at the hotel. We didn't want to go to Venice because it is Carnivale weekend and Valentine's Day, so it will probably be super crowded. Plus it is still really cold there, and we'd rather go when it gets warmer. Next weekend I hope to go to a Carnival celebration (similar to Mardi Gras) at a small town called Viareggio. Today we were thinking about going to Pisa as a day trip, as it is only about an hour away by train, but none of us were quite feeling up to it today. Allyson and I are both recovering from our colds, and Ania just caught one. So instead of going to Pisa, I stayed in my pajamas until 2:00 p.m. and looked up information on Cinque Terre online. Cinque Terre are five little towns on the coast of Italy connected by a hiking trail. Everyone I've talked to who has travelled in Italy has said that it is a must see. So I decided that is what I'd like to do for my birthday weekend (March 14). All 14 people in our group want to go as well, so I'm in the process of figuring out how to get a hotel or hostel for all of us. I've contacted a few places via email, but I haven't got any responses yet. There is this really cute place called Manuel's Guesthouse that the group last year stayed at. My friend Ryan recommended it to me, and I would really like to stay there if the rest of the group is up for it. It's a bit more expensive than a hostel, but at least we would know what to expect. Other than looking into that, I went for a long run/walk, and I found a new public hiking trail that snakes through part of an olive orchard. It was really pretty, and it was a fairly nice day today: sunny and 46 degrees. It had been a while since I went running with midterms and all, so it felt really good to get back into it. Tonight it will just be us four girls and Bob for dinner, but the rest of the group has already paid for meals because of their meal plan. So Bob said that we would get a really fancy meal tonight. He is talking about ordering prosecco, wine, and steak along with other more high-class item menus. I've been trying not to eat a lot all day so that I can enjoy this dinner to the fullest. Tomorrow we are going to Bologna, but I don't know if it will just be a day trip or an overnight thing. Bologna is only about an hour away by train, so I'm kind of hoping for it to be a day trip, but it depends on what everyone else wants to do too. So all in all it has just been a nice day of relaxation to recuperate from midterms and my cold. I think it is a good thing that I did not go to Venice, because I would probably still be tired and sick if I did. Even when you're travelling sometimes you just need to take time to relax and realize that you will never have time to see everything. This is something that I learned when I was in Colorado for a summer working as a camp counselor. While I was there I tried to pack as much into every weekend as I could, and by the end of the summer I was just so tired that I had very little energy to do my job. So the moral of the story is, you have to find a happy medium of experiencing new things and taking time to relax and take it all in. The end.

Midterms = Death

Sorry I did not write yesterday. I had my history and language midterms, and it was just not the greatest day. I'm pretty sure I did really bad on my history test because I studied all the wrong information. I knew what happened in the history of Florence backwards and forwards, but I did not study specific dates. Then when I got to the test it was all multiple choice, and most of it was on dates. I'm in denial that I ever took that test right now, but hopefully next Wednesday won't bring too unpleasant of news. The language test was really easy, and after I took that I spent the rest of the day studying for the art midterm, which is today at 5:00. This morning we went to the Uffizi, and now we have some time to study before the test. I also caught a cold this week, so I think I may take a short siesta before doing more studying. I seriously think my head might explode right now, and out of it will come a masterpiece of all the Italian artists combined with my sweat and blood. Sorry for the graphic image. I will be so glad when all of this is over. It is just such a different teaching style, and it is so hard to know what to expect. So after today the blogging should be back to normal. It's just been a rough couple days.

One midterm down, four more to go. I'm tired and sick of studying, so I'm going to go to bed now. It will be nice when these are over. Sorry, that's all for today. Just wanted to let my faithful readers know that I'm still alive.

For the love of books

Today I went into Florence once again. This time I went with Ashley, Ania, Bailey, and Jill so we could book a weekend trip to Interlaken, Switzerland for the end of February. We are going through a business called Florence for Fun, which specializes in travel and cultural experiences for English speaking students in Florence. So I am really excited for that weekend. I am going to ski, and I think everyone else is going to sky dive. Skydiving would be really awesome, but it's really expensive, plus I've always wanted to ski in the Swiss Alps. Actually I've always wanted to do this for my honeymoon, but this way I will know how things work, right?

After we booked the trip we all went our separate ways, and I chose to check out the library. It was a lot different than libraries in the U.S., but I really liked it. I don't think you can actually check out books there; it seems to be more of a place to study. But their were lots of students around my same age there, and it was a nice atmosphere for studying. I sat up on an open terrace in a sunny spot, and besides being distracted by the Italian couple across from me that kept making out, it was a great place to get some studying for midterms done. I think I will go back there again, as I tend to get very distracted when I try to study in the hotel. Plus their was a plenitude of very nice looking, studious Italian men who looked to be about my age, so perhaps I will get a chance to practice my Italian speaking skills ;-)

After the library I stopped at a cafe to get some cappuccino and use the toilet, which was more of just a hole in the floor...gross. Then I went to find the American English Academy in Florence. I had emailed them to see about volunteering as a conversational partner for Italians who are learning English. I figured it would be a good way to meet some Italians, feel somewhat productive during my time here, and get a jump start on my goal of becoming an ESL teacher. Unfortunately, the lady who I was emailing was not there when I stopped by, so I have to go back tomorrow. I am really excited about this if it actually works out, and I hope I can start soon.

Next I went to Edison, a large bookstore, kind of like Barnes and Noble, that has a large English book section. I browsed around for a while and became very disheartened to see the Twilight series printed in several languages. I just can't believe that book series is an international bestseller. The writing is just plain bad, and the female protagonist has no positive defining characteristics. I see it as a book that works against the ideals of good literature and feminism, so I would never support it, but I digress. At the bookstore I found a book of 501 Italian verbs and I bought it. I am hoping to be able to use it to learn some Italian on my own. My goal is to be able to be comfortable starting a conversation in Italian before I leave here. Right now I feel like if I start a conversation, I will just embarrass myself, because I know so little of the language.

So it's been a day of books, and now I am going to hit the books again because midterms are this week, and half of our grade is determined by how we do on midterms. Wish me luck!

Concentrated ENERGY!

I just got back from the soccer game: Fiorentina vs. Lazzio, which are two cities in Italy. Each city in Italy has it's own team, and they all play against one another. I did not realize the amount of loyalty people have to their teams until today. The Lazzio fans had their own section in the bleachers, and the section was fenced off with chain link with barbed wire on top. Next to the Lazzio section there was an entire empty seating section on each side, and security guards flanked the edges of those sections. This is all done to protect against a riot, which, after seeing how the fans are, I can entirely see the reasoning behind. The Lazzio section was chanting in unison throughout the entire game. Their chanting seemed a little more coordinated than the Fiorentina chanting, probably because the Lazzio section was composed of all the most hardcore fans together in one place. But don't get me wrong, Fiorentina did their share of chanting and gesturing at the Lazzio section as well. There were people waving huge flags for the Fiorentinas, and everyone was wearing scarves, which they took off and used as banners to cheer with. I wish I would have known the words to some of the chants so I could join in, but it was fun just to watch too. In fact, even if you do not like soccer, it is worth it just to go to the game and watch the fans. It is different than in America too, because hardly anyone is drinking beer, but people are just so energetic and into the cheering. The score of the game was 0-0 for most of the time, but then in the last minute Fiorentina scored a point. The energy in that stadium was just so intense at that point that it cannot even be described in words. There were groups of younger guys piling on top of each other and basically rolling in the bleachers. All of the security guards around the Lazzio section stood up and formed a barricade to prevent anyone from approaching the section. Just this moment alone made the entire game worth going to. After the game, the Lazzio fans had to stay in their little cage until all the Fiorentina fans vacated the stadium, once again for riot protection. As I have said before, Italians take their competitions seriously.

A great day to be alive

I woke up this morning, and the sun was shining, for once. So I went for a long run in an area I'd never been before. I was wearing just a t-shirt on my upper body, and I was sweating because it was so nice outside! Once I got back I did some homework and had cappucino with Bob and Simone (one of the front desk workers at the hotel). In the afternoon Ashley and I walked in Florence so she could go to mass. But I did not want to go to the English mass because I'd rather go to the Franciscan mass tomorrow. So instead I went to this bookstore/coffee shop place that I saw walking the other day. It was pretty much the perfect place for me: combine books, coffee, and cute decorations, and I'm sold. They also have live entertainment each night, so I'm planning on going. After my nice little me time at the coffee shot, I met up with Ashley, Ania, and Allyson for dinner, which was delicious yet again. There were so many people just walking all over the streets in Florence, it was like a fair or something. Everyone was just so happy that the rain finally stopped, and they had to get outside. On our way back to the bus stop after dinner I saw two dresses that I really, really liked, and they were on sale. So I bought both of them, for an amazing price of just 20 euros for the two of them! Right now I am getting ready to go out to the bar with the rest of the group, and I wearing my new red dress: the color of passion!

Siena in the rain

Today we toured Siena, and it rained most of the day, but what's new? The churches we toured were San Dominico and the Duomo of Siena. St. Catherine's head and finger are preserved in San Dominico, which is a little bit morbid if you ask me, especially the finger, the right hand thumb, to be specific. It is displayed in a monstrance, but it just seems weird to be staring a thumb that is several hundred years old. The Duomo has lots of inlaid marble on the floor, which is really intricate. My favorite part of the whole day was looking at the library in the Duomo, which housed illuminated manuscripts. Last semester I made an illuminated manuscript for my honors class, but seeing these ones put the one I made to shame. I thought mine took a long time, but these were just so intricately done that it must have taken hours just to complete one tiny section. The end product is absolutely gorgeous though, something that you just can't get with modern printing machines. So I lingered in there for a while until Eldon came back and told Lorenzo and I that the rest of the group wanted to move on and that we had to come out. I seriously could have spend hours in there just looking at all those beautiful pages.



Another interesting feature of Siena is horse racing. In their main piazza they hold horse races each summer, with 10 different sections of the city competing against one another for the top place. For those of you who have seen Quantun of Solace, this is where the races in the movie take place. It is extremely competitive and deeply linked with family ties and religion. The races are done in honor of the Virgin Mary, and before the races the horses are brought into chapels into their section of town for prayer. Our guide said if the horse "leaves something behind" in the chapel, it is good luck. The piazza is oval shaped, and the middle is sunken down. About 30,000 people stand in the middle of the piazza and watch the horses race three times around the outer edge. The race is usually done in just a couple minutes, but the results determine which section of the city has the most honor for an entire year. Our guide married a man from a different section of the city than her family, so their horses race against one another. One year his horse lost, and hers won, so he did not speak to her for a few weeks. She said that their marriage is very tense each year around the time of the races. In the Duomo there was a corner devoted to praying for the racers. Prayers of thanksgiving are offered here, and people can hang something on the wall. Along with many dented scooter helmets from people who survived accidents, there are medals from the races and horse shoes and harnesses. The winner of the race gets to design a huge candle that is burnt in thanksgiving to St. Mary for a half hour each day for a year. They sure do take competition to a whole new level here in Italy.

A couple new Italian pick up lines

Today was art Thursday, once again, but I don't really feel like blogging about that. It's interesting and all, but I don't have that much to say about it. Tomorrow we are travelling to Sienna, so I'm excited for that. I just thought I'd take this opportunity to update you all on a couple new pick up lines I've encountered this week.

I encountered the first two pick up lines on Tuesday night when Ashley, Ania, Allyson, and I were walking to the bus station after going into town for dinner. There were five or six guys just sitting on the curb in front of a store, and they were all drinking wine from the bottle. When we walked by, one of them said, "I only drink wine when I'm in love." He said it in English, so it was obviously aimed at us. Shortly after we were past them, but not out of earshot, one of the guys neighed at us. And yes, by neighed I do mean that the sound that a horse makes. It was probably the weirdest thing I've heard of a guy doing to try to get a girl's attention. He did really sound like a horse though, so I guess, you've got to use your talents.

Today when we were walking through the San Lorenzo market, one of the booth owners said to me, "Excuse me ma'am, you dropped something," and he pointed to the ground. While I was looking down to see what I had dropped, he proceeded to say, "Oh, it's just my heart." It was just so funny, I burst out laughing right in front of him. Of course, this American girl who was walking near us heard him and had to steal our thunder. She told us that he had said the exact same thing to her yesterday. I don't really care though, it's still hilarious. I should make a book when I get back of all the strange things I've witnessed men say or do for the sake of women here in Italy.

My crazy beautiful life

So everything that was wrong with yesterday was right with today. I don't know what was up yesterday, it was just not my day, hence the depressing blog post. I was really missing my friends back at SMU, and my friend Mel back home had just found out one of her high school friends died. She was having a hard time, and we were chatting over facebook, but I just really wanted to be there for her. It also rained all day yesterday, which never helps to improve my mood. I know I shouldn't let it affect me so much, but it always does.

But today started out on the right foot when I woke up to shine shining in through the window. I didn't have class until 10, so I decided to go for a run. It was a good thing too, because when we got out of class it was down-pouring. I had another class at 2, so I did some homework in between classes. At 2 I went to my language class, which always frustrates me to a certain degree because it is way too easy. I really really want to learn the language, and the class doesn't challenge me at all. I know I could just try to learn on my own, but I have a hard time disciplining myself to do that. I think I might try to start writing another blog in Italian, and see if that helps me to learn a thing or two.

During Italian class, I was sitting between two of my classmates who make me laugh the most, Ania and Joey. So I was basically trying my hardest not to crack up completely for the whole class period. Also during class, Joey informed me that the guys would be going to go get soccer tickets afterwards. He knew I wanted to come to a game, so he asked if I was coming with, and, of course, I said yes. I have had so many people tell me I have to go to a soccer game that I would probably never live it down if I didn't. Don't get me wrong though, I am super excited for the game, which is on Sunday. I was also pleasantly surprised when we went to go tickets and found out that women get a three Euro discount! I guess they want more women to come to the games or something. I am the only girl from the SMU group going with all the guys, so that should be interesting.

After getting the tickets, all of the guys went straight back to the hotel, but I stayed in town by myself and just did some browsing around stores. The sales are ending soon, so I wanted to get my fill of shopping in. I ended up finding one thing that I was actually looking for, which was a book with the responses to the Italian mass in it. That way I can actually follow along with the masses in Italian, which will be nice. I also found a very cute little cappuccino shop and sat down for some coffee and sweets. It was just a little hole-in-the-wall type place, but the old lady who owned it was very nice and had it decorated cute.

On my way back to the hotel, I walked past a very small old lady who was trying to get into her apartment building, but her key wasn't working. She started speaking to me in Italian, but I didn't understand her. I told her that I don't speak much Italian, but through her gestures I could tell that she needed help getting in. She couldn't get the key to turn, but I got it for her and helped her into the building. She seemed very feeble and was using a cane, but she also had two big shopping bags with her. It was frustrating not being able to communicate with her very well, but at least I was able to understand enough to help her out.

I know this blog entry is getting long and making random jumps, but I want to remember all of these things that happen. So, next random topic, today at dinner I could not stop laughing. And I mean really laughing, where you can't breathe and no sound comes out and your eyes start watering because you're laughing so hard. I don't know what it was. I did not have anything to drink, but everything just struck me as funny. Sometimes I just have to laugh at the situation we're in: 14 American students who didn't know each other before, all from different backgrounds, stuck together in a foreign country for three months, expected to live, eat, sleep, party, study, attend class, travel, and do everything else together. No offense to anyone, but I really think this is the closest to living in a nuthouse that I will ever come. So that's why I just crack up laughing sometimes. If I don't try to find humor in some of the situations, I'd probably drive myself crazy.

After dinner I was planning to stay in, but Ania got a facebook message from one of the bartenders at JJ Hill saying we should go down because there was going to be live music. So, heck, why not? We went down there for a while, and it was nice because the band, which consisted of an acoustic guitarist and a singer, played English songs that we knew. Oh, and I now have a favorite beer. I discovered it on Monday night, and I had it again tonight. It is called Strongbow, and it is an apple beer. I like to drink it with berry syrup, and it basically tastes like apple cider with a little kick. It's probably considered a girly beer, but I don't really care, because it's good. I don't know how good it would be with food, but when you're just at the bar to drink, it's a good drink to have. I really hope they have it in the states when I get back. Anyone know the answer to that one?

A hate love relationship

For those of you who read the title and thought I made a mistake, that it should be "love-hate relationship," you are wrong. I meant it to be a hate love relationship, because at the moment I do hate love. It's 11 days until Valentine's Day, or as some prefer to put it, Single's Awareness Day. I've heard Valentine's Day is particularly big in Italy. I mean, it is the heart of romance culture, how could it not be big? I can already tell that this is going to be true, because stores are starting to put stuff out for it. Today I saw a heart shaped red frying pan in a store window, and I know this sounds really dorky, but I thought it was really cool. That's the thing, I always see all these cute little Valentine's Day gifts, and I always look at the flowers, and smell them, and admire them. I also constantly imagine going on dates to different places that I visit. This is something I pretty much do year-round, but the instinct is particularly strong this time of year. But then the day comes, and it's a big disappointment, because nothing happens. Not that I really expect anything to happen, but somewhere in my hopelessly romantic dreams, I think it will. I can try to make it better by going out with girls or buying myself a nice little gift, but that just calls attention to the unpleasant truth: I am single on a day that is devoted to couples. Now I still have 10 days to find myself a Valentine, so I'm not giving up hope completely. I do have one rule however: said man must be closer in age to me than to my dad; so, for those of you who have been keeping up with the previous blogs, Dario is not a contestant.

When I was in Assisi last weekend our tour guide told us a story of St. Valentine. I looked it up on a Catholic website to verify it, but I didn't find anything similar. So it's probably a legend, but I really don't care because it's a cute story. The tour guide said that St. Valentine lived in a small village in Italy when the Greeks and Romans were fighting. Every young man in the village had to go fight in the war as soon as he came of age. The only exception was for married men. They did not have to fight in the war because it would anger their wives, and then their wives would demand more when they got home. The wives would say, "You spent years and years away fighting at war, now you come home, and you are going to have to fight with me." And so the wives would always get their way. St. Valentine was a peaceful man and was saddened to see all of the young men in his village sent off to war. So he decided to use the marriage exception to his advantage. This is how he began his role as village matchmaker. He would arrange for young couples to get together and get married, and then the males would not have to go off to war. This is how the tradition of Valentine's Day got started and how St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers (also a myth, according to the Catholic website). But, in the spirit of the season, I am going to choose to believe this little legend and ask for the intercession of St. Valentine to make me a match.

By the way, it is still raining, but I didn't think anyone would be interested in reading another post about that.

News Flash!

Okay....here it is, the news flash: Rainy Mondays are depressing, no matter where you are in the world. That's all there is to it. This one was made a little bit better at dinner though. We have two birthdays in our group this week. Today was Joey's 22nd birthday, and tomorrow is Jill's 21st. To celebrate Bob bought champagne for all of us, and we were surprised by it at the end of our dinner. It was a nice gesture, and it made the rainy day a little more bearable. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself, as the rain isn't supposed to stop until next Wednesday. Perhaps another trip to Abetone (the ski place) is in the stars for this weekend. I bet they're getting snow right now instead of all this rain.

Franciscan Mass

I had a fun night at the Irish pub down the street last night singing camp songs (the moose, hippopotamus, and milk songs, for those of you who are familiar with them) and dancing to live Irish music. I still managed to get up for breakfast at 9 a.m. today and make it to the Franciscan mass at the monastery up the hill at 11 a.m with Eldon. I really enjoyed the mass, and I can honestly say that it is one of the most engaging Catholic masses I have been too, even in spite of the fact that it was in Italian. It was a youth mass, so there were lots of people my age there. I'm not sure if they do youth masses every Sunday or just on certain ones. There was a big oriental rug in from of the altar, and lots of people were sitting on the floor. It was a bit hippie-ish, I suppose, but I thought it was neat...but then again I tend to be attracted to hippie things. There was a Franciscan nun who led in the singing, and someone was playing guitar and tambourine. It was very lively and modern music, and I sang along it Italian because there was a song book with all the words. I think I am going to try to get a mass book in Italian so I can say the responses during the mass too. After the mass many people were sticking around to socialize, but we didn't really know what was going on, so we left. Before we left though a Franciscan monk named Augustano who spoke a bit a bit of English talked with us. He was pretty young, probably in his 30s, and very nice. From what I have seen, I really like the Franciscan order and what they stand for.