L.O.V.E.

ARRIVEDERCI SIENA.

i have officially left my hometown. for good. i got

to cook with my dad one more time, got a kiss from giuseppe, and was told that where your heart is, you will never be far away. i love my host family more than words can express. i wish everyone could meet them and see just how wonderful they truly are. they will always be my second home, and i will never forget them.

what will i miss about siena? just about everything. sitting in the campo, bottles of wine on the dinner table, italian class with enzo, wednesday markets, contradas, zuppa di funghi, and the list goes on and on.

while i am sad to say goodbye, i know that i will be back someday. that this is not the end. this is only the beginning.

CIAO ROMA.

i am back. back in this beautiful city full of history and ruins. it is true, compared to siena, it is dirty, crowded, and noisy. but that is rome. and i love it.

i have been to the galleria

bourghese, the capitoline hill museum, the creepy bones church.

i have traveled to the ancient poet, horaces villa. and the ancient emperor hadrians villa.

i have wandered in the rain, and had many adventures with my 30 days of firsts.

what is on my bucket list of things to do here? simple.

-visit the rome temple site

-eat gelato as many times as humanly possible

-see the pope at the vatican

-maybe jump in a fountain. maybe.

-and soo much more...

LOVE = ITALIA

am i ready to leave this beautiful country? the answer would be... yes and no.

YES. i am looking forward to understanding

everyone around me, and being able to communicate, and having warm towels, fresh outa the dryer.

NO. i am not ready for school, dating, real life. can i be on a permanent vacation?

so what is the solution? enjoy every single minute that i have left. its not everyday that i get to live in italy, having all of these crazy/fun experiences. its time to seize the day!

30 days of firsts

my roomie and i have decided that for the month of november, we will do one new thing everyday, one thing that we have never done before. so here is a list of my 30 days of first...

november 1st- well, didnt decide to do it till after 9pm at night... so no firsts for this day.

november 2nd - first ever visit to a jewish synagogue, and first

time i've ever met someone from jerusalem

november 3rd -first package ever recieved in italy (from home!!)

- the first time i've ever bought delicious blood red orange juice, with white blossom extracts.

november 4th - watched my first full movie since i have been here in italy - stardust -(boy how i miss just chillin and watching a good movie!)

- leaving the talbots place at 2 am (latest that i have been out since i've been here) and having to take a detour because of large crowds on the street

november 5th - goingto an italian pharmacy (instead of a doctor), and getting eye drops (this pharmacy is even in guide books!)

- buying the largest piece of lindt chocolate that i have ever seen, and enjoying it!

- discovering the medieval and botanical gardens on a beautiful fall day, by myself

- buying the best panino from gino cacino's! (love that man!) panino = mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes in oil, and bread! delicious!!

november 6th - didnt get on the computer at all, not even to check my email! no connection at all to home for one whole day!

- first time ever going to the bargello in florence

november 7th - this was my fifth day of NOT wearing ANY make-up at all!! (impressive, right?)

november 8th -bought ALL NEW italian make-up

november 9th - ate a chocolate covered riccarelli - delicious! (not cooked in the middle!) it looked kinda like an almond joy

november 10th - bought food at the mercato today - fried m

ozzarella balls are delicious!

- waiting for over 40 minutes for my bus, and then having to fight

my way off once i got to the station. no one would move for me!

november 11th - visited two churches in siena that i hadn't been in yet, and saw several dead bodies (saints) in them! creepy!

november 12th

- went to montepulciano and saw where new moon was filmed, and re-created bella running through the square to save edward. so fun!!

november 13th - found all 17 of the contrada fountains - beat that! climbed the duomo arch, beautiful view of siena!

walked to the fonte bronda at night, and was tempted to go

swimming, but dont worry, i didnt =)

november 14th - had egg rolls for dinner - first chinese food that i have ever eaten outside the U.S. can you believe it? i ate CHINESE food in ITALY!! craziness!!

november 15th - first time eating torta caprese - amazing!!

november 16th - first time i've ever gotten a 95% in an italian class!

- and also the first time i've ever walked around on the top of the fortezza.

november 17th - first time i've ever had to leave my host family

for good... sad. hopefully i'll see them again someday!

november 18th - first time since i've been in italy that i've had a group of guys (prolly drunk) whisteling and catcalling at kelli & i, feeling threatened, and being very thankful that i had a couple of protective guy friends there with us.

november 19th - first time that i have ever eaten TOFU SOUP, at a chinese restaurant, in roma. and yes, it was delicious!!

- also the first time that i have ever kissed a giant foot (part of the remains of a sculpture of a man at the Capitoline hill museum) - the only thing that i will get to kiss while in italy!

november 20th - first time going to ancient ruins of hadrians villa and absolutely loving it! i recommend it to anyone who decides to go to italy!

november 21st - first time that i have stayed indoors all day since i have been here in rome. due to the weather - lightening & thunder, pouring rain. there is a reason why this is the off season for tourists!

november 22nd - first time truly appreciating ALL of the art in the vatican museum

november 23rd - first time trying a kebab - and i didn't like it! too much meat, and it was really spicy

november 24th - first time walking around in the pouring rain without an umbrella or a hood! just soaking it up. literally.

november 25th - first time eating thanksgiving in rome. in the piazza rotunda at a fancy little outdoor restaurant, right in front of the pantheon!!

november 26th - first time going to H&M in roma!

november 27th - first time being in a car and getting stuck on a cute little italian street in the middle of the night, in the middle of the country. luckily, carmellina got us out of that scrape and we made it back to vitulazio!

november 28th - first time ever eating a whole pizza all by myself! also, the first time ever eating soo much food in one day - i ate more than i usually do on thanksgiving day! now that is saying something...

november 29th - first time ever going to napoli. my first response? repulsion. and then it slowly grew on me the more we wandered around in it.

november 30th - first time eating delicious lemon sorbet. in half of a lemon. i was in heaven.

-also, my first time ever going to capri. beautiful - you dont even feel like you're in italy anymore... you feel like you're somewhere in greece. (thats what imagine greece to feel/look like anyways...)

- i have finally finished my 30 days of firsts... and it has definatly been a time of adventures! if you ever feel like your life is too routine, or boring, try doing a 30 days of first, it definatly spices life up!

...chocolate...

chocolate in italy is my #1 weakness. kinder bueno, kinder latte, ringos, fondente, chocolate with hazelnuts, caldo cioccolato, nutella... you name it, i love it. a chocolate (or two) a day... keeps the doctor away? i think so.

today is the first sunny day we have had in at least three days now. when it rains here, it pours. literally. non stop rain for two days straight, day and night. lets just say that i enjoyed our class field trip to the fonte bronde; sitting outside, soaking up the sun, and reading dante, (while eating free gelato from kopakabana's).

we visited a jewish synagogue today, and i have to say that i think it has been one of my favorite things that we have done this whole trip. eli (their stand in rabbi), is from jerusalem, and has been living in italy for two years. he was really nice, and told us all about the jewish religion, its history in siena, italy, and europe in general. he answered all of our questions, and even told a jewish joke! i want to learn/study more about the jewish religion and culture, and would love to go to jerusalem someday. maybe another study abroad in a year or two...? i think yes.

oh, and by the way, today is my one month mark till i leave this beautiful country. and two more weeks till i leave siena. sad. so i'm taking advantage of every moment that i have.

unpredictable

unpredictable. italy. have you ever heard that italy is unpredictable? well, dont worry. it is!

unpredictable. words. what italian is going to come out of my mouth each day.

unpredictable. panic attacks. getting to the bus stop 5 min early at my apartment, needing to catch a bus outa town at piazza gramschi at 8. the bus never shows up. running to catch bus 11, with the driver shaking his head and driving on. getting on a random bus at 7:55, and making it to piazza gramsci exactly on time to catch our next bus.

unpredictable. weather. one morning you wake up and its nice and sunny, and that very afternoon, it is pouring rain.

unpredictable. family meal times. coming home for once right after church, and finding that your family is expecting you to eat lunch with them. with five guests who are coming over for lunch in a half hour.

unpredictable. italian class. we do anything from "gymnastics" to "fortune telling" to playing a game or going to the market.

unpredictable. mail. i still haven't received my package from home, even though it was mailed over 2 1/2 weeks ago... still waiting...

unpredictable. schedules. the night before i registered, i picked my schedule. dont worry, i'm taking a sewing class, along with an essentials to nutrition. surprise!

unpredictable. home. what random sights or smells are going to remind me of my home, oh so far away.

unpredictable. emotions. one moment, it is silent at the dinner table. the next, everyone is talking loudly at the same time, laughing, and making hand gestures.

unpredictable. life in general. but i'm starting to prefer it that way.

what i love most about italy

Fiats
kinder bueno

gnocchi con pesto
cooking with Beniamino

wearing scarfs and boots

drinking cappuccino di orzo

day trips with amazing friends

beinamino's specialty zuppa di funghi

fresh mozzarella with tomatoes and olive oil

riding the vaporetto's in venice and getting lost

gelato - especially the combination of lemon and strawberry

doing "gymnastics" in italian class, with my fav italian teacher, enzo
writing postcards, licking stamps, and putting them in the mail drop box
the fact that there are no side walks - moving out of the way for cars to pass
eating "mystery meat" at dinner with Bev, grinning, and just getting through it
having long phone calls with my parents, telling them all of my wonderful adventures
having moments where a sentence just flows in italian, when i dont have to think about it
going to church and not understanding half of what is being said, but still feeling the spirit

delicious hot chocolate from the vending machine at the DA, on a really cold day
searching for chestnuts in the forest, with the leaves changing colors

having dance parties in our apartment with Giuseppe and Anna

sunday lunch as a group at the talbots, and fhe monday nights
going to the mercato on wednesday mornings before class

cobble stone streets and brightly painted buildings

watching how italians interact with each other

being around my family, just in general

reading the book of mormon in italian

eating riccarelli and paneforte
ceramic shops

chocolate

just a walk in the park

wow, this last weekend was jam packed, full of adventures.

venerdi (friday) - somers, audrey, and i took a day trip out to cinque terre. and let me tell you... it is beautiful! and totally worth it! we were originally thinking of not going there, because thats where everyone goes... but then we decided that we should... and there is a reason that everyone goes there!

it was a long day, i got up at the crack of dawn - literally. 4:15 am baby! the reason? the first bus in the morning comes in at 5;25, if i missed that, i wouldnt have been able to go to the station till 6:25, which would be non buona, perche the next bus didnt come till 6:25, and our train left at 6:35. so i got up super early, got ready, caught the bus, caught the train, made all the connections, and got to cinque terre around 10:30.

if you go to cinque terre, do the hike. it is definatly worth it, but dont worry, at times, it feels like the stairs never end! but the view that you get of the cities, is amazing. there are five cities right on the coast - hence "cinque" in the name. the building go right down the cliffs to the water. bright colored buildings, colorful fishing boats, bright blue water. cant beat that! and, get this, it was warm enough to go swimming - in october! we did the hike between each city, except between the 3rd and 4th, because there had been a landslide, and the trail was closed. and we had time to see all five in one day! and we felt like we had a good feel for each city by the time we had left.

and then... yesterday, we spent the day with our mom and dad. it was sooo much fun! we slept in that morning and did some homework... or well... we were supposed to... =) and so our dad made us lunch. and then after that, we went for a drive in the country, out to the forest, and went looking for chestnuts! i had no idea that chestnuts were surrounded by a prickly pod, and that three come in one pod. it felt really good to get out of the city, and be back in nature. and our dad is a crazy driver- love it! italians pass cars like no other, go super fast, and they tail each other too. definatly a different experience, but i've decided that i prefer driving in their car to riding a bus. after we spent the afternoon in the forest, we came back and went to the grand opening of an osteria (like restaurant) and met their friends. we ate some delicious food, and yes, i tried liver. i knew i wouldnt like it, but this cute old man had been talking to us for about 20 minutes, and then suggested that i try some food that he was eating. but dont worry, he told me that it was liver before i got some. it was really fun to be out with the locals, and seeing our parents in their social environment. i feel like i am truly getting the italian experience. i couldnt have asked for a better family! we are getting closer, and i feel like we really are a part of the family. i hope that we get to have more days with them like we did yesterday.

just a word of advice to the wise...

guiseppe had a birthday party last night and had a bunch of friends over for dinner. and so we got to help our dad make dinner. which was awesome! so we made risotto, which is all good, right? well, after its done cooking, beniamino puts it in a big bowl on the table, takes champagne out of the fridge, takes the cork out and puts the bottle in the middle of the bowl of hot risotto. and then he put sugar in it and it bubbled over into the risotto. kinda like when you make volcanoes as a kid. and it was awesome to watch, bev and i had no idea what was going on at first. and then we realized that we still had to eat it... because we had made the dish, and we figured it would be ok to just eat a little bit.i figured that maybe the risotto was hot enough, that maybe it cooked some of the alcohol out? ok maybe that was a long shot... it did taste good, but i could definatly taste the champagne. well, i got tired pretty fast after that, so after our 2 hour dinner party, i went to bed. at 10:30. early for me. so this morning, i got up early to study, but instead i had a mini panic attack about what i'm doing with my life when i get back home. and then i went to italian class and i couldnt focus on anything. i was soo out of it! and really emotional too! i had a hard time keeping hold of one thought, and even a harder time talking. i also felt kinda nauseous. i didnt realize what was going on until someone said i was a little hung over. and it all makes sense now! and i'm not goin to lie, it was pretty funny, my teacher enzo just laughed, luckily he understood, cause i had an oral test today. but dont worry - i still got a 92%! no idea how that happened. haha oh wow... story of my life!

anways, just a word of advice to the wise - dont drink champagne! or in my case... dont eat it with risotto! hahaha.....