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... =)