SiEnA

well, my blog is only partially a success, if you want to see any photos, you have to go to my facebook. wish they could both be in one! (pics + writing) i know how exciting it is to only see words here... but hey, its better than nothing!

wow, siena is... beautiful, breathtaking, and full of life. it is definatly a must see if you come to italy. we are slowly becoming "locals" here, i say slowly because a.) we look american b.) we are still learning italian and c.) well, i just felt like putting a c. =)

listening to stories about everyone elses host families, i realize that i am pretty lucky. our family is pretty chill and laid back. we eat dinner around 8 or 8:30 at night (STILL not used to that!). our family loves to practice their english, and so our dinner conversations are half in italian and half in english. it is an interesting experience to have to switch back and forth between the two. beniamino is an amazing chef, he takes pride in his cooking, and loves it when we ask for the recipe. we have a primo piatto of pasta, a secondo piatto with some type of meat, cheese, bread, and then our dolci, which is anything from gelato, or fruit, to some type of torta (cake). italians like their food, and so they dish us up plenty of food, and then have us finish off whats left. like beniamino said "eat all you can now, diet when you get back home," is it sad to say that i'm taking his advice? well... when in italia!

school is going good, it is overwhelming, but good. our italian teacher, enzo, if a fun, easy going teacher, and we laugh a lot in our class. talbots classes are fascinating, we are reading dantes inferno, and i am suprised at how much i like it! there is so much to take in and learn here, sometimes its hard to keep it all in order...

we have taken two weekend trips. last weekend we went to florence, and this weekend, we went to san giminano and volterra. florence was a slightly overwhelming, get to know the city trip, but we did eat at the best gelateria in europe, vivoli. i got blackberry, raspberry, and lemon. simply to die for... and the bobboli gardens are beautiful! recommend going there too...

san gimignano is known for being the city of towers. they didnt have enough money to restyle the city with each new arty fashion, and so it is a purely medieval town. the towers in all the other cities, like florence and siena, were all cute down to normal, apartment style height. but in san giminano, they were kept tall, and the nobles and rich people lived there. no ladders, and practically no windows. but the view from top definatly makes it worth it.

volterra is less touristy, and you get more of an italian feel there. we didnt have much time, but still loved the place anyways. we went to an etruscan museum and saw ancient burial tombs and more. (the etruscans lived in this region before the romans took over) it was simply fascinating to see some of their ruins!

my new goal is to read the book of mormon in italian, and finish it at least by the end of the school year. its harder then it sounds, so we'll see how it goes... we have a free weekend, this weekend, so some girls and i are attempting to plan some trips. i realize that while i love siena, i am a country girl at heart... i prefer to be in the smaller, less crowded cities, surrounded by the beautiful tuscan countryside.

exhausted, but happy...

have i ever mentioned how much i dislike technology?? the internet here is soo dang annoying! i have the internet at my apartment, but i cant send emails from my email, or post pictures from on my blog or facebook. so i am soo sorry that everyone cant see my pictures! i will keep trying... one of these times it has to work, right?

we stopped in a town called sarteano. we went and saw the coolest tombs ever! the site is not well know yet, and so it is not really a tourist attraction yet. we only knew about it from lucca, our director at the DA. we got to see the frescos up close, not behind glass. the paint colors are so vivid still and beautiful. it was amazing! i love this kind of thing... we had to go in groups, and so after, somers, travis, and i had a blast exploring the other tombs. it was so much fun! they were dark, and had cobwebs everywhere. reminded me of the castle on the rhine, that mom, krystal, and i got to explore.

anyways, i am now in siena, and it is wonderful! my family was not here the first day, their neighbors pick us up ciao!!! long story... we showed up at the train station and our family was the first to show up, but it ended up being the neighbors. our family was out of town. so, they took us to the apartment and showed us the place and our room, and we were left to unpack for a few hours and they would get us for dinner around 6 30 at the bus stop. well, they were about a half hour late, and bev and i were kinda freaking out. it was weird to be there without our family. but they got us for dinner, and it was a lot of fun. they have a family of 7, but only five were there, and matteo (4) sat by me, and he just fell in love with me. it was the cutest thing! all through dinner he kept trying to talk to me, and i would respond in italian that i dont know, or i would say what, and he would try again. and he kept pulling my arm to show me his room, but i said no, because i thought would prolly not be ok. but he was soo adorable! made my day =). i had fun trying out my italian, the woman speaks english, but the husband does not. they invited us to go to mass sometime, and asked about the church, and joseph smith. the food was good, and it was a good experience.

we were left at the apartment, so i called the professor and we met them in town. they were glad we called, they had been worried about us. and so they showed us the city, we got gelato, and ended up staying the night in their house, we could tell they felt better about that. and i did too, it just felt weird to be in someones house without them there.

on sunday, we couldnt go to church because they were having a stake conference in florence, of course! so we went to the talbots and sang a song and had prayer and they said a few words. after, they went and got us food, because they didnt have any and we needed to eat. and they got burritos. yes... they have a MEXICAN restraunt in italy?!? who woulda thought? and it was pretty good too, i approve!

our family was home saturday night, and they are all very nice. we had a delicious dinner and i had a lot of fun attempting to speak in italian. it is intimidating, but i am trying. bev doesnt speak a word of italian, so i am trying for both of us. beniamino speaks pretty good english, and so does alberto, but anna and giuseppe dont. it has been quite the adventure so far! they are all very nice, and bev and i both love our family. did i mention that we are the only ones in the program that have a family? fun!

i survived my first day of classes today. italian is going to be fun, there are only 6 of us in our class. but it is still very intimidating. when he puts me in the spot light, i totally freeze up, so i hope to overcome that soon. i will be studying all the time! cant wait for the day when i can speak without thinking too hard about it.

i am overwhelmed to be here. it is waay out of my comfort zone, but i know that i am supposed to be here. it was a blessing to win my airfare a year ago, i was inspired to come to italy, and i prayed about my roommate and family i'd be living with long before i got my assignment. there is a reason for all of this, i dont know what it is yet, but i know there is a reason. i am trusting and relying on the Lord 100%.

more to come later... and hopefully pictures too! oh, my fun phrase i learned for the day "vorrei comprare le francobille?", can i buy a stamp? yes, useful... =)

When In Rome...

....do as the Romans!!



this first week in italy has been an amazing experience. i dont feel like i can fully express my love for this area. the first drive to our hotel, the first walk down familiar streets, i feel like i am returning home in a sense, that i never left from vacation two years ago. we are staying one metro stop away from the vatican, and our hotel room has a balcony all the way around the edge. it is an amazing view!



the girls i am living with are simply amazing. my main group of people to hang out with so far has been jane, somers, kelli, and travis. i love these people! we have been going out almost every night, to different piazzas. seeing the sights while others rest, and just having a blast. they like to travel like me, keep moving, just snack for lunch, and eat gelato. can i just say that i have had gelato EVERY SINGLE DAY? it is soooooo goooood! of course, my favourite flavor is still lemone, but the others have all been tasty too! havent made a bad chioce yet! (is that possible with gelato??)



our days have been jam packed with sights to see. we have seen the pantheon, colloseum, st. peters basilica, the forum, the house were john keats died (a famous english poet) and where he was burried, and so much more. we have been to many different piazzas, took a stroll in a park, and have been in countless churches. including the one where galileo renounced in a famous trial that the earth revolves around the sun, and then renounced that as soon as he walked out of the church. and today, we went to the catacombs. it was amazing! most of the girls thought it was a little creepy, but i found it fascinating. there were over 500,000 people burried there, and it has four levels. we only went to the second level, which was 60ft underground. it was only used as a burial place, not for hiding, like many rumours say. wow, so cool. we rode a bus on the appian way, which is where peter left rome, and saw christ right outside the gates. the story is the in the second half of the new testament, one i didnt remember, but thought was neat.



i have become comfy with the metro system now. i am able to get around where i need to go, and i'm not worried. i am sick now because i havent been getting enough sleep... totally my fault. so i am trying to slow down and get some rest... but... its not every day that you get to be in rome! cant waste any time!!! tomorrow is my last day here, and then we head out to siena, to meet our host families. i am starting to get a little nervous about that, but i know that it will be fine.



oh, did i mention my run in with the cute gladiator? he caught my eye across our group, and called out "blondie!" i just smiled and turned away. then he was right next to me, and somehow convinced me to get a picture with him, so i got allison in there too. our first pic was cuter, he was kissing my hand, but that only made it on her camera. and he called me cleopatra.. haha it was a fun experience, totally a tourist thing to do... but hey... i am a tourist!



I LOVE ROMA! I LOVE ITALIA!!



(internet is sooo sketchy here... pics will come later!!)

good bye america, hello italy!!

it has been a wonderful summer at home, but its time to go back to school, only this time... in ITALY!!!! i have been doing last minute packing and a lot of just waiting for today to come. i finally think i am ready to leave. am i a little nervous? yes, but mostly excited! this will be the adventure of a life time! i dont have any idea what to expect, but thats part of the excitment.

mom thought i should put a pic or two up of what i've done this summer. i have painted the picnic table, doesnt it look a lot better? i have pulled weeds in the garden, goat heads and soooo much more.

well, arrivederci! next time you hear from me... i will be in italy! wish me luck!!