The Countdown Draws Closer..

It grows evermore closer to the departure date, and I have mixed feelings.  I do want to go home and be with my family and friends, but I would rather that I could come back.  However, I can’t.  Life goes on outside of the town of Sansepolcro and I have responsibilities to attend to. 

            This week has been much like any other, filled with classes and studies.  I still feel as though I am learning the Italian language much slower than all of my other classmates.  The stress coming with the ending of the semester is mounting.  I hope I don’t crack under all of the pressure. 

            Monday, I resumed work and tried to concentrate.  We received the results for the practice exam.  I have started packing already.  I hope that it will all fit into my suitcases.  On Wednesday, Gianna and I made our way to the bus station to meet our host mother.  We found her car and went to her house.  That night we made pizza and we spoke in both Italian and English.  The other people at the table this time were Nara, Angela, Libero, Francesca and Jane.  They are all very funny and very nice.  I am thankful that they were chosen to be my host family.

            On Thursday, we were given a take-home practice exam.  I think it looks much simpler than the exam she gave us the week before.  That evening we had a farewell dinner for Bekkah.  Apparently, the lady at the pizzeria did not believe Hannah and Sam when they asked for seven pizzas.  I found this to be quite funny.  Sara came and she brought her children, all three of whom are absolutely adorable.  After eating, we played with the children.  I threw them in the air and caught them.  They seemed to love that game.  The children are so affectionate once they get over their shyness.  Veronica kept playing with her hat and she wanted to be held.  Ginevra was the same way.  Both were equally adorable. 

            After everyone had left, the girls, John Rose and I proceeded into the living room.  We played catch phrase for maybe five minutes.  We only stopped because John Rose had deemed it unworthy of his time and decided that charades was a much worthier option.  What followed after was probably one of the funniest things I will ever see.  John Rose proceeded to get down on the ground on all fours, meow, get back up, continue meowing and then he jumped on the table.  Apparently he was supposed to be a cat on a hot tin roof.  It was purely amazing.  We kept the game of charades going, but we soon ran out of ideas and grew bored with the game.  My other favorite charade was the one that Sam and Vi did.  They had re-enacted a porcupine getting hit by a truck.  This was no random dead porcupine though.  The star of their charade was a porcupine that the Swab’s had found on the side of the road.  Afterwards we watched “13 Going on 30”.  This is one of my favorite movies, meaning I can watch it a lot and not get tired of it and that I enjoy it every time I see it.  At the end of the movie I was very surprised when I looked over and saw that, not only was John Rose still there, but also he was still awake.  The words that issued from his mouth, after the movie, are words that we will quote forever.  “Well, that was an amazingly sentimental movie, now wasn’t it?”  I don’t think we shall ever forget.

            After the movie it was time to go to bed.  The next day belonged to service learning, and I had an early start before me.  The next day I made my way to the school and met my teacher.  My teacher had arranged for me to teach one of the oldest classes in the school.  I was to teach them about the American Political system.  I thank my stars that I did my research before this class.  The students asked some very complex questions, as well as some not-so-complex questions such as “Do you like Twilight?”  I laughed, but not in a mean way.  I was surprised to find that two of the students were older than I was.  One of them was a very cute boy.  Maybe I have found my Italian boyfriend that everyone wants me to bring home.  I don’t think he would fit in my suitcase though. 

            The rest of the classes were much the same.  I taught them about the history of Thanksgiving and also about my tribe.  Next week I was asked to bring a more in-depth lesson, as they are all very interested and this was very spur-of-the-moment.  My day was made even better when I was invited to the discoteca by one of my students, Nathalia.  I agreed to go and I am very glad that I did.  After school, I went home, studied and relaxed.

            On Saturday, I woke up fairly early and got on a bus to Arezzo.  I had decided that it was going to be a very good day to go to Firenze.  I went alone and at first I thought that I had gotten on the wrong train.  I didn’t, it was just a train with a disgusting amount of shops.  I went Christmas shopping and on my way back I was hit on by a bunch of different Italian men, all of whom believed that I was French, well except for one.  This is probably because I had forgotten myself and was about to give my real name to someone that I did not feel was a safe person.  I had said “Jenna” and added “Vieve” to it at the very last minute, giving myself the name, Genavieve.  It was just one of the mishaps of going to a big Italian city on your own.   There was another guy who kept calling me “Honey Green”, because of the color of my skirt.  I left Florence and made it back just in time to take a shower before I was to meet Nathalia.  That night was very fun and I made four new friends, all of who were very funny and one of whom works with movies.  I am going to go see a movie that he made.  It is a horror film and I am very excited.  Hopefully, I will get all of my papers finished. 

            On Sunday, I had a lunch with my host family.  The Swab’s accompanied us.  As usual the food was fantastic.  However, I began to feel unwell and did not accompany them to the olive press.  I am not sure that I will go tomorrow either.  I am not very interested in it, and I have a horrible amount of work that still has to be finished.   Well, at least there are only two more weeks before I am home again.

Update for the Week of October 26th-November 2nd

Monday was filled with last minute preparations and travel jitters.  I was stressed because I had yet to finish my paper and I had yet to book a hotel room for the week that I would be in London.  I was leaving on Tuesday.  At the very last minute I managed to book a hotel.  I felt accomplished.  However, I still had to pack.  I hate packing.  I always have.  It feels like I am packing for a journey that I will never return from, so I always have to repack and this happens repeatedly until I get too tired to do it anymore.  Finally I did just that and went to sleep.

            On Tuesday morning I woke up very early so I could do my packing ritual once again.  I was finally satisfied with what I had done and cleaned my part of the room before we left for the bus.  Samantha, Vi and I were flying out of Pisa.  However, they were going to Paris and I was going to London.  Everything went very smoothly and I seem to have arrived at the airport just in time to check in and grab lunch before my flight.  On the flight I was delighted that we were allowed to pick our own seats.  I think that this is how it should always be done.  I managed to grab a window seat and two British ladies were my row mates.

            The flight went well, however, I got airsick.  That has never happened to me before and I was slightly embarrassed as I emerged from the airplane restroom.  As we landed I was left wondering how I would make it to my hotel.  I figured it out in the end.  I bought tickets for the Gatwick Express and made sure to buy one for the return trip so that I would save time.  Once I reached Victoria I decided it would be much easier to get a taxi rather than try to figure out where Hogarth Road was in the entire city of London.  This worked out very well.  The train station ended up being only a two-minutes walk from my room, but it would have been disastrous if I had tried to take the tube on my first time there.  My first night in London held nothing of interest.  London is a fascinating city though. 

            The next day was Wednesday, but I was very feeling very unwell.  I ended up sleeping the day away.  I did go out later that night.  I was enjoying being able to eat food that I was used to in America.  I didn’t realize how much I had missed it.

            On Thursday, I was still not feeling well, however I made myself get up and make the journey to Stonehenge.  I was surprised by how well it went.  When I arrived to Salisbury, my first thought was to take a cab to Stonehenge.  Everyone I asked told me not to do this and to do the bus tour.  I looked at the bus times and saw that I had forty minutes before it would come back to the stop.  I decided that it would be good use for my time to go to the cathedral that I could see the steeple of in the distance.  Walking to the cathedral seemed to take only five to ten minutes.  The cathedral was very beautiful and I bought postcards with Stonehenge on them.  Little did I know that this would be my only opportunity to see Stonehenge during my travel break.  I asked the cashier what the quickest route to the train station was.  The way she sent me was by no means the quickest.  It ended up taking me twenty minutes to get back to train station.  I missed the bus.  I was very much discouraged as I took the train back to London.  I went back to the hotel and fell asleep.

            Friday brought about much the same events as Wednesday, except that I managed to force myself up again to go see the fantastic Broadway production of “Wicked”.  “Wicked” is my favorite Broadway play.  Getting to Victoria was an adventure.  The day of my arrival in London I had seen the theatre that “Wicked” is performed in.  However, I got on the wrong tube train and ended up switching trains to get back to Earl’s Court.  I asked two drunk Frenchmen for help.  They were very nice and led me to the correct train.  I was very grateful.  I made it to the theatre without further mishap, even though I still had no real idea where I was going.   Apparently my “Best Sense of Direction” superlative is true because I found my way to the theatre and even managed to get one of the best seats in the house for twenty-five pounds.  I was very excited.  This was my second time seeing the musical and I was thrilled that the rumors that it wasn’t as good as the New York production, have proved false.

            Saturday was another sick day.  That night I made myself get up again.  I ended up exploring the town and going to High Street Kensington where I was inspired to shop.  Not that it takes much to inspire me.

            Sunday had to have been my best day there.  I woke up earlier than I had been and while I only felt slightly better, it was easier to make myself get up.  Sunday was my last day in London and I had still not seen the Tower of London.  Once I arrived at Tower Hill I found my way to the Tower.  The Tower was absolutely fascinating.  I was also surprised by how big the grounds were.  I walked around and ventured into the shops and left.  My favorite exhibit was the one with the crown jewels.  The history of those objects was amazing.  I was about to leave when I saw a Starbucks.  I was thrilled because Italy doesn’t seem to have any.  Of course I went in and bought a drink.  Leaving I was even tempted to try fish and chips, but my better sense won out. 

            I got back on the train and made my way to Earl’s Court.  I had to drop off my purchases before I ventured back to High Street Kensington.  I wanted to walk around and maybe see a movie.  Only one of these things happened, as I was unable to find the cinema.  I went back to the hotel as everything was closing and I packed my things for the return journey home the next day.  Packing everything turned out to be an adventure in itself. 

            The next day I was feeling worse than I had all week.  It didn’t make me feel any better that I was facing a full day of traveling either.  I checked out and ended up missing the tube train that would take me to Victoria.  Thankfully they run like clockwork and I was able to catch one, however it was ten minutes later.  It seemed like fate had ordained that I should miss my flight.  But I fought back and won.  I made it to Gatwick determined that I would take any flight going to Italy.  Thankfully I got the one I paid for.  The rest of the day was filled with flying and the familiarity of Italian train stations.  I can’t say I missed it too much.  I miss London much more.

Pictures will be posted later.

A Week of New.

            This week has been a pretty exciting week, well, aside from Monday thru Thursday.  Monday thru Thursday consisted of nothing except classes.  In Italian class we are learning how to tell time and how to name foods as well.  Science and Society has begun, but I am not in that class.  I must say that I enjoy having free time instead of a class in that period, I get more done.  Chelsea has also begun giving me piano lessons.  I am going to give her beadwork lessons. 

            The real excitement began with Friday.  On Friday, I was to go to a local school to teach the students English.  I was really excited and really nervous, I was a mess.  I was assigned to the high school.  I hadn’t received my timetable or curriculum until Wednesday, so I did not have a lot of time to put anything together.  I did manage to get some pictures of my house to show the students.  The students were learning about types of houses and furniture in English.  The night before I put together a PowerPoint presentation to show them. 

On Friday, I woke up an hour before I had to leave; sleeping late was pure bliss.  I showered, dressed and did all the other things a girl has to do in order to be presentable to the public world.  I remembered where my school was located and didn’t get lost at all!  However, I came across trouble when I tried to explain to the receptionist that I was there to teach English.  Thankfully she took me to one of the English teachers who kept me company.  I wasn’t supposed to be there until 11:45am, but I got there fifteen minutes early.  She explained to me some of the things that I would be doing and what the classes were doing.  I noticed that there were a bunch of posters dedicated to different festivals.  The bell rang, and my teacher came out of the classroom to lead me to the class that I would be talking to.  I came up the stairs and was met with a torrent of noise that came form a mob of rowdy students at the end of the hall.  The closer that the teacher and I came to the classroom the more students went inside and sat at their desks.  I walked in and was met with more noise.  The teacher introduced me and told me to go to her desk and sit.  I went to her desk and stood because I did not feel comfortable, I felt that the students should see me and I also felt that I would be pushing the teacher out of her room.  I spent the first fifteen minutes talking about houses and different rooms.  I said nothing of furniture, so my PowerPoint presentation was useless.  They asked me questions that I would never have thought to ask.  I was explaining to them about trailers and mobile homes when I was asked if there was a problem with tornadoes.  I explained to them that tornadoes weren’t a problem in the area where I’m from.  They also wanted to know about the education system in America and what classes were required for students there.  They also asked what classes I had to take and were very concerned that Italy was not a main option for foreign language in the high schools of America.  The male students were very loud and would flirt, but when they wanted to ask a question they would avert their eyes and look away as though they were shy.  Everyone did that when they asked me a question.  Next time I will explain that I am not scary and am not much older than they are, so they have nothing to be afraid of.

            The questions grew and they became more personal.  The students wanted to know what I enjoyed to do and all the places I have been.  They also wanted to know about my taste in music and asked if I liked Italy and its food.  The students were also concerned with whether or not I liked the people and what I didn’t like.  Another thing they really wanted was to see pictures of where I am from.  The end of the class came soon, and I found that I regretted the shortness of the class.  I would gladly volunteer to go back on Saturday.  Upon leaving one of the male students told me that I was beautiful and that I did beautifully.  My self-esteem shot to the sky.  The rest said goodbye multiple times and one of the female students stayed back to ask what English was in American culture.  I explained that it was Literature.  The teacher was very nice and I left in a very good mood.  To heighten my good mood I passed the music store to find that it was open.  I went in and bought a piano music book to help Chelsea teach me.  I was so happy that day that I didn’t even mind that it was “Fish Day”. 

            That afternoon consisted of shopping.  I didn’t find anything, but that is probably a good thing.  That night, the girls and I went out to celebrate Hannah’s birthday weekend.  I left early.  The next day was met with an early start.  Saturday was a day of much traveling.  It was also a day of extreme cold.  We were all shivering as we stepped off of the bus and into the forests of Chiusa della Verna.  It was extremely beautiful and I had the biggest urge to shoot off into the trees, I didn’t of course, but that is only because I didn’t know that it was legal for me to do so.  By the time I had made that discovery, it was too late.  We were at della Verna so that we could see the Monastery where San Francesco lived.  We saw his cell and the rock were formations were absolutely breathtaking.  While we were there, a wedding took place.  It was neat that we got to see the bride go into and leave the chapel. After della Verna we went to Caprese.  In Caprese there was a chestnut festival.  I am not fond of chestnuts, but we found another treasure here; Cotton Candy!  It was huge!  We left with high spirits and Lauren, Vi, Samantha, Hannah and I managed to catch a nap on the bus while we were waiting for the others to show up.  I was happy to arrive back in Sansepolcro.  I was extremely hungry and was thankful that Vi suggested we go to the Chinese restaurant.  Later that night we went to the discoteca.  I had a lot of fun. 

            On Sunday, I slept late and woke up with nothing immediate to have to do.  I came into the kitchen and did pretty much nothing all day.  The rest of the girls had an epic movie day that consisted of chick flicks.  That evening, most of us did homework last minute.  It was a great week and I look forward to teaching my class again this Friday.

Scooby Dooby Doo, Dove Sei?

These past few days have been filled with many happenings.  That is because this week was the visit of the friends of Meredith College.  On Monday, our disastrous paper was supposed to be due, but our amazing professors extended the deadline to Tuesday morning.  I had retreated to the tranquility of the classroom to work on the paper.  I was on the fourth page when Vi, Amanda and Samantha came into the room.  Needless to say, production wasn’t as fast as it was before.  We ended up having a tiny pen war.  I finished my paper at four in the morning and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

            Three hours later I was awake, and none too happily.  I was worth it in the end; the trouble was getting there.  On this particular day, the students had decided to join the Friends and accompany them to Florence.  I have to say that Florence was a lot of fun.  I got to see things that I didn’t before and they were all very interesting.  The first place we stopped at was the old Pharmacy.  The herbal remedies and displays were fascinating.  Afterwards, we left for an old Palazzo, which used to be a tower, and is now a museum.  My favorite room was the kitchen.  It didn’t have only cooking supplies in it, but lace making and things of that sort as well.  Those things have always been of interest to me.  After the Palazzo, we made our way to the restaurant where we would be having lunch.  Finding the bathroom in that place was an adventure in itself.  The lunch was delicious and we were amused to find that the restaurant was named “Angels”.  After lunch, it was time for the Bargello.  This museum was very fascinating.  My favorite room did not involve art, but artifacts.  The many different items were appealing in every sense.  My favorite item was an old globe that showed the latitude and longitude, but no countries.  Afterwards, we had free time.  Amanda and I ventured off to the market.  I bought two hats and a purse.  I only went shopping so that I could exercise my bartering ability.  When we were finished at the market Amanda and I went on the hunt for art supplies and gelato.  However, the only art supplies we could find were for drawing and painting.  There was also no gelato to be found, at least from a clean establishment.  We decided to give up our hunt and made our way to the bus.  We sat outside of the bus for nearly ten minutes before we decided to actually board it.  We weren’t sure if the bus driver would let us on, at first he wasn’t going to.  We asked if his was the bus that had left from Sansepolcro; he thought we were random people before he realized we were students.  The entire situation was amusing.  Everyone made it to the bus and we went home.  Upon arriving in Sansepolcro, we left to hunt for food, with no success. 

            Wednesday was a day of agony for all of us.  We had two exams in one day, one for Italian and one for Art History.  After the exams we all let out a sigh of relief.  That night I stayed in and relaxed.  The next day we had an oral exam in Italian.  I had no idea this even existed for us, although common sense should have told me that it did.  Needless to say, I did not study for it.  This did not dampen my spirits.  That night I stayed in again, but this is a good thing because we were going to Perugia the next day. 

            On Friday, we all left for Perugia at 8:15am.  We were all tired and most of the students had luggage with them due to the fact that they were leaving for their destinations, as this was a travel break.  I opted to stay home this weekend, and I am glad that I did.  Anyways, back to Perugia.  While in Perugia we met up with our Italian teacher, Chiara.  She is no longer our Italian teacher so this was to be our last day with her.  She took us on a tour of the chocolate factory.  It was absolutely amazing and the chocolate was delicious.  I found a place where I will get some Christmas presents.  While there, an obnoxious American woman was rude to Hannah, and that put a dark cloud over the trip, because the woman had insulted all of us.  I really don’t like Americans anymore.  I think it’s odd how that happens.  I feel that I am so much in the process of assimilation that I can see the faults that were harder to see in the US.  I feel odd that I should be so judgmental and critical of my “fellow countrymen”.  After we left the chocolate factory we went to the train station.  Here is where we lost Chelsea, Lauren and Jackie.  They had left for their destinations, which were far further than the rest of ours.  Those remaining went to lunch with Chiara.  We went to a pizzeria with delicious food.  I had french fries along with the pizza that Samantha and I split.  After finishing lunch, we went for a walk around Perugia where Chiara showed us amazing views.  The views were absolutely beautiful.  I discovered that from Perugia you can see Assisi.  It was time for us all to split ways; Hannah, Samantha and Vi left for their train and Chiara, Amanda and I left for ours.  We made it to the train station in almost fifteen minutes.  We made it for the 3:30pm train.  We said our farewells and left for Sansepolcro. 

            That evening we left to eat dinner with the Friends, professors and John Rose.  It was interesting evening.  I had a lot of fun.  My table companions were Double Trouble, the Swab’s and Doctor Banker.  The entire night was filled with amusing conversation, along with the story of the Swab’s met.  It was a great story.  The entire night my attention was riveted to a painting on the wall opposite of me.  By the end of the night I had discovered that it was by a Yugoslavian woman.  I will find out who she is.  Her artwork was strange, but it fit my tastes perfectly.  People made speeches and even made Doctor Webb so emotional that she wept.  Upon seeing her cry I started crying.  That night, when we arrived back at the palazzo, I knew that I should go to bed early.  However, I didn’t.  I ended up waking up at the ungodly hour of 4:00 am.  I was going to help the Friends with their luggage and bid them all farewell.  First we were off to the Hotel Fiorentino.  When we finished there we were off to the Palazzo Magi.  The Palazzo Magi is where Double Trouble stayed.  I must say that they are two of the most amazing ladies that I will ever meet, and I am honored to be Miss Jean’s adopted granddaughter.  I helped them with their luggage and we set off for the bus.  However, before departing, Miss Jean gave me a present.  It was a beautiful ceramic leaf plate, with a scene painted on it.  I was deeply touched.  Finally it was time for farewells and I set off for the Palazzo with a strange sense of loss.  It was really nice to be able to look out of our windows and see people we knew.  It was also really nice to hear all of the noise and commotion that our wonderful Friends brought with them.  They were certainly a lively lot.  Back at the Palazzo I found no trouble returning to the kingdom of slumber.  The rest of the weekend was spent in silent bliss, I finished my homework and managed to watch an episode of “Scooby Doo”, in Italian of course.

Eventful Eventfulness

The entire week went by very quietly.  It was like a calm before a storm, the storm being metaphorical for the chaos that would be this weekend.  I tried to do my homework as I should, and I did for the most part.  I was distracted by many things, most of them happening in the far future.  I was also slightly horrified at the fact that we had a term paper and two finals coming in the next week.  I feel like a huge, freak wave just smashed into me.  I’ll be able to breathe once this is all over. On Friday, after class, the girls and I spent the morning, before lunch, preparing the Palazzo.   By then we were all feeling the stress that comes with being a historic college student abroad.  After lunch, Nicole, Samantha, Vi and I got on a bus and went to Arezzo to do some shopping and relax before the trauma started.  Upon returning we set off to work on our term papers, which was a disaster looming over our heads from the beginning.  We were supposed to write an eight to ten page paper about our topics in Art History.  I had chosen Cosimo Medici and his contributions to the art world through paintings.  It didn’t work out so well in my opinion.  Even later than that, we decided to go out and relieve our stress even more.  That did work out very well.

This past weekend has been one of the most horribly busy weekends I have been forced to endure, although it was also enjoyable. The next day, I woke up and got ready.  This was the day that everyone would arrive.  At around 1:30 pm we set off for our respective bus stops and met the people that we would be escorting.  I ended up escorting the Swabb’s to the Palazzo.  The Swabb’s are a very funny couple that will be teaching the Science and Society Class that begins next week.  They wouldn’t let me carry their bags and I felt kind of useless.  Once we reached the Palazzo, Chelsea and I showed them to their room and gave them a tour of the building.  Later that afternoon everyone gathered in the dining room and, after distribution of refreshments and talking, we all introduced ourselves to each other.  My favorite two ladies are the two oldest, double trouble as they called themselves.  They graduated in 1943 and 1946.  That shocked me.  Later that evening we, the students, were able to relax, which we needed for the day that was to come.  According to Vi I repeatedly woke up in the middle of the night and looked at her many times.  Then I screamed, “What time is it?”

            The next day was to be the busiest we have experienced this semester.  Coupled with the fact that we had a term paper that many of us still needed more research for, it was regarded with dread.  We dressed up for the occasion and went with everyone to lunch.  I sat across from the adorable old lady, one whom is called Miss Jean.   She told me that I looked just like her granddaughter, Alex.  Lunch lasted for nearly three hours and afterwards I escorted Miss Jean back to the Palazzo for the grand opening.  For the grand opening many of us felt it was necessary to change clothes again, well we’re women, it’s to be expected.  We helped set up all of the many refreshments that would serve everyone who walked through our doors.  We decorated with napkins and plates.  When we were finished we stood in the main lounge and waited for the crowd that would come upon us.  The whole thing frightened me I won’t lie.  I am not a fan of crowds.  At first the crowd of people was more like a trickle.  At first we saw the familiar faces of the Meredith friends, then larger numbers came through the door.  By the time it was 6:00 pm the Palazzo was crowded.  There was no room to move and there were still things for us to do.  I had heard that there were supposed to be flag throwers.  I can honestly say that I did not believe that it would actually happen.  Boy, was I surprised.  I was doing something downstairs, I can’t remember what it was, and was told to go to the front to see the flag throwers.  I’m glad I did.   While outside, I managed to get a picture of John Rose pointing at the camera.  I’m going to turn it into a poster that says “John Rose wants you to study abroad in Sansepolcro.”  It is my marketing technique to recruit students for the program. Back to the flag throwers, I do believe my future Italian husband was among them.  After the show, Vi and I were running up the stairs.  We didn’t realize the troop of performers were ahead of us.  We rounded a corner and Vi yells out, “Whoo!”  The last two in line looked at her and I couldn’t stop laughing.  I felt bad afterwards; I hope they didn’t think I was laughing at them.  Personally, I was delighted when they decided to stay for a while and eat, drink and socialize.  We met two of the performers.  Their names were Lorenzo and Giulio.  Giulio was my favorite.  We got their information and they left.  Afterwards, I tried to get into my room only to find that the door was locked.  I was worried because, earlier, I had walked into my room and walked back out because an odd woman was sitting on my bed, and it looked like she was meditating.  I was worried because I thought she might have locked herself in my room.  I ran to get Bekka.  It turns out that Vi, Chelsea and our friend Francesco had locked the door to do Chelsea’s hair in private.  I was slightly angry at first.  Then I decided that I would do Chelsea’s makeup.  I think I did beautifully with her makeup.  Francesco left to eat dinner; he would meet up with us later.  By this time, nearly everyone was gone and we could relax.  Everyone’s nerves were a little high.  Jackie and I left to take the flower arrangement to the Santa Chiara.  I didn’t eat dinner, but I did eat gelato.  Any hunger that  I had disappeared as I sat in the chapel and the choir began to sing.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Those words really don’t do it justice.  My favorite songs that were sung were “Oh Waly, Waly” and “No John”.  Afterwards, it was time for Chelsea to perform with her instructor.  They played beautifully.  I enjoy watching hands when people play the piano, so my eyes were riveted to their hands.  Afterwards it was time for Andrea and his wife, Stella, to sing.  They are both opera singers and it was amusing to watch them and wonderful to hear them.  Afterwards we went home.  I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

            Today was Monday and we all suffered the repercussions of yesterday.  I was so exhausted.  I was so thankful that we were given an extended deadline on the paper.  I worked on it every chance I got.  We ate lunch, and we went to class.  There was a jewelry showcase here and I bought a ring and a pair of earrings.  All of her work was very beautiful.  After that I worked on the paper some more.  There was a wine-tasting event, so I retreated to the classroom for some peace and quiet.  We were supposed to get gelato with Jean Jackson, but everywhere was closed, even the Goblin!  We came home chagrined by the traditions of Italia.  

Visiting Venezia

So far I have visited Arezzo, Angihari, Assisi, Urbino, Citta di Castello and Florence.  However, aside from Sansepolcro, Venezia is my favorite city. 

This past weekend was amazing.  Lauren, Chelsea and I had left early for Verona.  Amanda was going to meet up with us later.    In Verona we visited Juliet's house.  I loved how everything was themed around the play.

At the entrance to Juliet's house the walls were covered in love notes.

In the courtyard there was a bronze statue of Juliet.  She was placed just underneath her balcony.

According to popular belief, grabbing her right breast will grant you luck in love.

So I did.

Ah, Verona.

The next day we went to Venezia (Venice).  

While in Venice, we also went to Murano.  This is an island off of Venice, it is famous for its glassblowers.

 The trip to Murano.

I don't know if you can see, but this is a glass blown spiderweb.

It was amazing.

Afterwards, we went to St. Mark's Square.

There was a sign that said you couldn't lay down in St. Mark's Square.

But I am a rebel.

 We also went on a gondola ride.

This was our gondolier.

By far one of the best weekends ever.

An Update of Massive Proportions.

Since my last post a lot has happened.  That is probably a given because I haven't posted in a while.  I promise to be better about it in the future.

The weekend after my last post was the weekend of the Ballestra.  All that week there were people, in medieval garb, who would parade down the streets playing instruments.  That weekend there were only four girls left in the palazzo.  The girls left were Vi, Amanda, Chelsea and myself.  That Saturday we went on a group trip to Citta di Castello with John Rose and Doctor Webb.  The trip was a lot of fun and it was a great chance to relax.  After lunch we walked around Citta di Castello with Bekah.    We spent most of our time in a small park that we had discovered.  That is where we discovered this dashing man with the epic mustache.

We ended up taking more picture of the group, ourselves and each other than the sights around us.

The view form the park was magnificent, I really don't think that my flimsy digital camera could do it justice.

We left Citta di Castello and went home to Sansepolcro.

That night we went to see "The Proposal" at a movie theatre, which was amazing.  We were lucky enough to get a box seat right in the center.  Of course, the movie was in Italian, but the message still got through, and it still managed to make me cry.

It was a great end to a great day.


The next day was the Ballestra.  It didn't start until 5:00 pm, so the day was spent in peaceful silence until the time came to leave for the piazza.  The Ballestra is basically a competition between the two towns of Gubbio and Sansepolcro.  The competition is a crossbow competition and it was mind-blowing.  The arrows went so fast and it seemed that at least thirty of them had hit the target.  For the entire competition they hadn't changed the target, so by the end it was a huge cluster of arrows.  There were also performances by other bands and flag wavers.

   This was the announcer.

This was the Gubbio crossbow team.

This was the Sansepolcro crossbow team.