Yesterday was a typical tuesday. Woke up and went with my roommate Katie down to the nearby cafe called MeetLife and sipped on a cappucino. We met up with our group at the University of Siena and spent an hour talking with locals university students about different topics and how our cultures differed. Had a short lunch break and was strolling through the streets enjoying the sunshine and warm weather on my way to Italian class. During class the rain started pouring and when I mean pouring, I mean monsoon. We literally ran through the streets of siena without umbrellas and some without shoes, screaming and laughing the whole way. All the Italians were waiting it out, in the shops or under umbrellas and we just shook off the strange looks we kept recieving. Thunder and lightening accompanied our laughter and we were just those crazy American girls. It was quite an experience. We all looked like we had just been swimming!
ciao for now!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
When in Rome
Yesterday I returned to Siena after taking a 5 day excursion to the wonderful city of Roma. We left wednesday morning by bus and after checking into our hotel, we spent the afternoon following our art history teacher around the city on a walking tour of the major sites. We hit the Colliseum, Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and several other of the ruins around that area. We walked through the Pantheon, got gelato and ended in a beautiful, typical piazza. There were outdoor cafes that lined the sidewalks surrounded by colorful, shutter-adorned bulidings. The center of the piazza held two major fountains with intricate carvings of people and animals. One was even the fountain featured in the movie Angels and Demons. We sat in the square killing time before dinner and perused the steet paintings, street performers and musicians. It was magical and several times it would hit me that I was ACTUALLY in Rome, this wasnt a dream. We had a group dinner at a small trattoria with a pasta course, meat dish and of course was finished with Tiramisu. The evening was our first exploration of the nightlife and after getting quite lost on the metro we ended up in Campo di Fiori where there are several bars and several students. It was fun mingling with all the others and seeing the nightlife and soon we were off to a danceclub near by. Rome is the city that does not sleep so - to do as the saying - when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
The next day we awoke and took a morning tour of some museums and churches and ended the tour at the giant monument celebrating the reunification of Italy. We were able to climb to the top of the monument and were rewarded with a 360 degree sky view of the entire city of Rome. It was a beautiful sunny day and Rome seemed to stretch on for miles.
The afternoon was free time and we savored our gelato near the Pantheon then trapesed around the city, shopping and exploring. The nighttime brought some rain and we only ventured a short ways to a small restaurant with a live piano player. We sipped wine and pretended to have more money than we actually did.
Friday we toured the Vatican and St. Peter's Basillica. It was culture week in all of Italy meaning all national museums were free. This meant massive crowds at the Vatican but it was still amazing and the Sistine Chapel was unbelievable. I could have stood there for hours admiring the work. That afternoon we checked into our hostel for the next two nights and took a short siesta because our legs needed rest after all the walking we had been doing. it felt as if I had just run a marathon. I guess all the gelato and pizza is now justified.
Friday night we explored an ice bar where you must adorn large capes and gloves before entering the -5 degree celsius bar. Everything is made of ice, the seats, walls and cups. It was a fun experience but we couldnt stay there for long. After, to warm up we sat in a restaurant nearby and drank wine until the place finally closed at one.
Saturday I ventured 30 minutes outside of Rome to a small town called Tivoli. We visited Villa d'este, a beautiful Villa with famous water gardens up on a hill. The fountains and gardens were absolutely amaizng, even in the slight drizzle. It still amazes me all the quaint small towns you can find right outside the cities.
We returned from that excrusion early evening and while most people went out to try a pub crawl, my friend Taryn and I toured the Spanish Steps, the biggest McDonalds in the world and sat at the Trevi fountain for a long while. We got dinner on a side street under a canopy of ivy and candlelight. It was amazing and people watching was excellent. We finished the night with gelato and another look at the fountain.
Sunday we ventured over to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope along with hundreds of others. We could hardly see him as he was up in a tiny window but it was still a fun experience. After we took the metro to the Colliseum and walked all around the inside. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking through the streets of Rome and soaking up all of it. As we took the bus back to Siena I was thankful to be returning "home" and to be away from all the crowds but I hope to return to Rome soon as I have fallen in love with the culture, history, people, food and atmosphere that is there. It is a city that spans generations and has so much to offer. I am throughly impressed and this has only inspired me to explore new cities in the coming weekends.
As you can see, life here is wonderful. I am getting more and more adjusted everyday and am now beginning to see how fast time is flying by. There is so much to see and do and so little time.
Ciao for now!
The next day we awoke and took a morning tour of some museums and churches and ended the tour at the giant monument celebrating the reunification of Italy. We were able to climb to the top of the monument and were rewarded with a 360 degree sky view of the entire city of Rome. It was a beautiful sunny day and Rome seemed to stretch on for miles.
The afternoon was free time and we savored our gelato near the Pantheon then trapesed around the city, shopping and exploring. The nighttime brought some rain and we only ventured a short ways to a small restaurant with a live piano player. We sipped wine and pretended to have more money than we actually did.
Friday we toured the Vatican and St. Peter's Basillica. It was culture week in all of Italy meaning all national museums were free. This meant massive crowds at the Vatican but it was still amazing and the Sistine Chapel was unbelievable. I could have stood there for hours admiring the work. That afternoon we checked into our hostel for the next two nights and took a short siesta because our legs needed rest after all the walking we had been doing. it felt as if I had just run a marathon. I guess all the gelato and pizza is now justified.
Friday night we explored an ice bar where you must adorn large capes and gloves before entering the -5 degree celsius bar. Everything is made of ice, the seats, walls and cups. It was a fun experience but we couldnt stay there for long. After, to warm up we sat in a restaurant nearby and drank wine until the place finally closed at one.
Saturday I ventured 30 minutes outside of Rome to a small town called Tivoli. We visited Villa d'este, a beautiful Villa with famous water gardens up on a hill. The fountains and gardens were absolutely amaizng, even in the slight drizzle. It still amazes me all the quaint small towns you can find right outside the cities.
We returned from that excrusion early evening and while most people went out to try a pub crawl, my friend Taryn and I toured the Spanish Steps, the biggest McDonalds in the world and sat at the Trevi fountain for a long while. We got dinner on a side street under a canopy of ivy and candlelight. It was amazing and people watching was excellent. We finished the night with gelato and another look at the fountain.
Sunday we ventured over to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope along with hundreds of others. We could hardly see him as he was up in a tiny window but it was still a fun experience. After we took the metro to the Colliseum and walked all around the inside. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking through the streets of Rome and soaking up all of it. As we took the bus back to Siena I was thankful to be returning "home" and to be away from all the crowds but I hope to return to Rome soon as I have fallen in love with the culture, history, people, food and atmosphere that is there. It is a city that spans generations and has so much to offer. I am throughly impressed and this has only inspired me to explore new cities in the coming weekends.
As you can see, life here is wonderful. I am getting more and more adjusted everyday and am now beginning to see how fast time is flying by. There is so much to see and do and so little time.
Ciao for now!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
trains, trains, and more trains
It's 5 am Friday morning. The streets of Siena are uncharacteristically quite, emptied and somewhat creepy. I walk to the corner to meet Austin, Paris and Hannah. We quickly march up to the bus stop to meet the 3 boys also traveling with us this weekend. Since it is so early there are no buses running to the station so we make the 15 minutes hike downhill and outside the city walls to the train station. Once there, we managed to buy round trip tickets to Napoli from the kiosk and wait only a few minutes for the 5:57am train to arrive. As it pulls into the station we hesitate only for a moment as to why on earth we are all awake at such a ridiculous hour and then push the thought aside as we board the train. We make it to Chiusi no problem and have just enough time for a quick cappuccino before boarding a large overnight German train headed for Rome. Unfortunately for us, our tickets weren't quite enough to cover this train ride so we had to pay slightly extra when the ticket lady came around. As we watched the landscape change outside and the the sun slowly rise over the Tuscan hills we became slightly jealous of the other passengers with their fold down beds and private sleeping compartments. Ok so we've made it to Rome and it is now probably around 11. Check the reader board and we hop on a train to Napoli after paying a few more euros for a ticket supplement. Make it to Napoli and as we wander around looking for the Circumvesuviana Train line headed for Sorento, we all clutch tightly to our belongings. Napoli is known for pick-pocketing and even the overhead announcements warned passengers "beware pickpocket". OUr fourth and final train of the day pulls into the station covered in bright, bubbly graffiti and we cram inside with hundreds of others. The 70 minute ride goes by fast and before we know it we arrived in beautiful Sorento. It is now 3pm and although we are exhausted and hungry we catch a bus for what we thought was a 10 or 15 minute ride over to our hotel. 45 minutes later and after surviving the ride along the steep coastal cliffs on tiny winding roads we are dropped off at our hotel. We stayed in tiny, colorful bungalows with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen that had a gorgeous view of the ocean. It was only a short walk down the road to our own private rocky beach. The view as amazing of the coast and as we relaxed on the smooth rocks the Mediterranean ocean lapsed at our feet. Saturday brought beautiful, sunny warm weather and instead of trekking to Pompeii as we originally had planned, we headed to the beach instead. It was a glorious day of sun tanning, skipping rocks and jumping off the dock into the clear, blue ocean. There were hardly any others on the beach and we were able to spend the whole day relaxing and realizing how lucky we were to be spending a saturday on the coast of southern Italy. That night we bought cheap pasta from the market and cooked up a delicious Italian meal that we enjoyed from the comfort of our bungalow porch. We made friends with our neighbors who were from Australia and drank wine as the sun set into the hills.
Sunday we checked out and took the bus into Sorento to tour the streets, admire the palace hotels and smell the orange/lemon trees on every street corner. Sorento is famous for lemons because so many are grown all around that region. Everywhere you look, even in the city, there are orange and lemon groves. That being said we of course had to try the lemon gelato and lemoncello. There were an abundance of lemon products and this just added to the glory of the town.
At 1130 we took the train into Sorento to begin our trek back. In Sorento we were told by what we thought was a trusting authority, that our tickets would allow us to get on the 3pm train to Rome without having to pay extra. We camped our in the station for a few hours and when 3pm rolled around there was no train to be seen. After asking several people what train to get on or what ticket to buy (and of course never getting the same answer) we bought a supplement and boarded a 430 train to Rome. It was standing room only so we spent the next 2 hours standing next to the bathroom in a tiny cramped space. Once in Rome we had to wait in the ticket line for an hour before finding out that there were no more trains to Siena that night and our only option was to stay in Rome until the next morning or travel to Chuisi and get stuck there. We opted to stay in Rome and after eating some dinner, ventured out into the city. We had until 5:45 am so we bought a map and walked to the Fountain of Trevi. It was absolutely gorgeous at night, all lit up and we spent awhile there just basking in the glory of it. We threw a few coins in - which promises a return to Rome, and the more coins you throw, the better your chances are of falling in love with a Roman . We made it over to the Pantheon and sat there while munching on gelato. At 1am we were getting tired and walked back to the station where we found some wall space and curled up to try and sleep. That only worked for a short time as we soon became cold due to the stone floors so we entertained ourselves for the next few hours with word games and people watching as there were hundreds of others also stranded. The volcanic eruption in Iceland had messed up most flights in Europe causing the train system to in turn become a nightmare. Luckily at 6 am we found a train headed north and literally sprinted down the terminal to catch it. In the hurry we forgot to validate our tickets which usually results in hefty fines but the ticket lady took pity on us poor students and we were fine. Made it to Chuisi and somehow in our delirium caught a bus to Siena. Finally made it home at 930 Monday morning...just enough time for a shower and then off to 5 hours of class.
Quite the weekend.
I am somewhat rested now and only one more day of class before we all head to Rome again for 5 days. I suppose this is the life in Italy - travel, trains, no sleep and off to a new city almost everyday. Things could be worse.
Ciao for now!
Sunday we checked out and took the bus into Sorento to tour the streets, admire the palace hotels and smell the orange/lemon trees on every street corner. Sorento is famous for lemons because so many are grown all around that region. Everywhere you look, even in the city, there are orange and lemon groves. That being said we of course had to try the lemon gelato and lemoncello. There were an abundance of lemon products and this just added to the glory of the town.
At 1130 we took the train into Sorento to begin our trek back. In Sorento we were told by what we thought was a trusting authority, that our tickets would allow us to get on the 3pm train to Rome without having to pay extra. We camped our in the station for a few hours and when 3pm rolled around there was no train to be seen. After asking several people what train to get on or what ticket to buy (and of course never getting the same answer) we bought a supplement and boarded a 430 train to Rome. It was standing room only so we spent the next 2 hours standing next to the bathroom in a tiny cramped space. Once in Rome we had to wait in the ticket line for an hour before finding out that there were no more trains to Siena that night and our only option was to stay in Rome until the next morning or travel to Chuisi and get stuck there. We opted to stay in Rome and after eating some dinner, ventured out into the city. We had until 5:45 am so we bought a map and walked to the Fountain of Trevi. It was absolutely gorgeous at night, all lit up and we spent awhile there just basking in the glory of it. We threw a few coins in - which promises a return to Rome, and the more coins you throw, the better your chances are of falling in love with a Roman . We made it over to the Pantheon and sat there while munching on gelato. At 1am we were getting tired and walked back to the station where we found some wall space and curled up to try and sleep. That only worked for a short time as we soon became cold due to the stone floors so we entertained ourselves for the next few hours with word games and people watching as there were hundreds of others also stranded. The volcanic eruption in Iceland had messed up most flights in Europe causing the train system to in turn become a nightmare. Luckily at 6 am we found a train headed north and literally sprinted down the terminal to catch it. In the hurry we forgot to validate our tickets which usually results in hefty fines but the ticket lady took pity on us poor students and we were fine. Made it to Chuisi and somehow in our delirium caught a bus to Siena. Finally made it home at 930 Monday morning...just enough time for a shower and then off to 5 hours of class.
Quite the weekend.
I am somewhat rested now and only one more day of class before we all head to Rome again for 5 days. I suppose this is the life in Italy - travel, trains, no sleep and off to a new city almost everyday. Things could be worse.
Ciao for now!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Grocery shopping...an experience in itself
In Siena there are several small markets, wine shops, butchers and bakeries. There are also a few actual grocery stores but they are quite different than ones at home. You walk in and pick up a basket that you can either carry or wheel around with a long handle that extends from the basket. The store is quite small and is brokenup into sections...the fruits and vegetables, meats and cheese counter, wine, and two aisles of other food. I start with vegetables. You must first grab a plastic bag and then adorn your hands with lovely plastic gloves. After selecting what item you want, it is placed on the scale where you must enter the corresponding number and consequently a small sticks is printed out to be put on the bag so the cashier knows how much to charge you. After vegetables we move onto wine which ranges from high priced bottles to .89cent box wine that looks like an oversized juice box - aka juice boxes for adults. Next to the wine is the meat and cheese counter where you can order fresh cheeses and salami among other things. Turn around and we are at the first aisle. Pastas, sauces, rice, cookies an chocolate adorn this aisle. Once you reach the end you turn right for the frozen foods and toiletries aisle or turn left for drinks, water and of course - milk. The milk and eggs are not refrigerated and the mill comes in small cartons in about a million different varieties. I'm not sure how I managed to pick the one I did but it tastes fine so I'm sticking to it. People here get groceries every couple days because they eat fresh food and so you must eat it within a few days. There are no preservatives or costcos here..just fresh ingredients.
Finally I make it to checkout. People understand the concept of lines but the rules aren't followed. If you don't stand your ground some little old italian woman is sure to step in front of you and others will see fit to follow - believe me it happened. Ok so I make it to checkout and begin unloading my groceries. The policy is bag your own items and it costs extra for the bag so you better remember to bring your own. Exact change is encouraged and there is no shame in hunting your purse for coins. However I do get flustered when they begin ringing up the next person while you are still there trying to collect everything. By the time I finally leave I feel a sense of relief not having to cram down tiny aisles and count change at the counter. Whew...now to carry it all home.
Finally I make it to checkout. People understand the concept of lines but the rules aren't followed. If you don't stand your ground some little old italian woman is sure to step in front of you and others will see fit to follow - believe me it happened. Ok so I make it to checkout and begin unloading my groceries. The policy is bag your own items and it costs extra for the bag so you better remember to bring your own. Exact change is encouraged and there is no shame in hunting your purse for coins. However I do get flustered when they begin ringing up the next person while you are still there trying to collect everything. By the time I finally leave I feel a sense of relief not having to cram down tiny aisles and count change at the counter. Whew...now to carry it all home.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
a day in the life
I wake up to the sounds of church bells, vespas and clinking dishes from the cafe down the street. I open my shutters to sunshine and after putting on my boots, skinny jeans and a scarf I head for class. I walk along the cobblestone streets, through the Campo where people sit enjoying the sun or in the outdoor cafes sipping on cappucinos. I head up past the trendy shops and tour groups, to my school. I spend a few hours in class, usually with only about 7 other people and if I get bored I just look to the ceiling to admire the frescos painted there. After class some of us trek down to the Campo where we stop first at our corner gelateria and then go sit in the sun and take in the scene with the rest of the town. Its about 6 or 7 now and most of the town is either lounging in the Campo or enjoying an apertif at one of the bar/cafe/pizzeria/coffe shop in one located on every corner. After finishing our gelato I cruise through the grocery store and pick up some vegetables, pasta, and fresh cheese. Cook up some delicious food, wash it down with some vino and then decide where to head for the night. Most likely we in the Campo, grab a few drinks at the bar and mingle with the rest of the locals who all socialize in the ourdoor center of town. If it is a school night Ill most likely head home around 12 although I will still be awoken at 3 am promtly as the late nighters head home from the bars. Late night renditions of La Bamba in Italian always make for a good story.
On a side note - took a day trip to Firenze with Austin and Georgia today. A little rainy in the morning but after shopping through the markets we hiked to the top of a hill and found the most amazing views of the town. Unreal. Afterwards we got gelato and took the bus home. I love that I live here. It might be the most amazing country ever.
On a side note - took a day trip to Firenze with Austin and Georgia today. A little rainy in the morning but after shopping through the markets we hiked to the top of a hill and found the most amazing views of the town. Unreal. Afterwards we got gelato and took the bus home. I love that I live here. It might be the most amazing country ever.
Monday, April 5, 2010
That's a dishwasher...right?
The other day Katie, my roommate, and I were making dinner and exploring our tiny kitchen. A large white cabinet looking thing was somewhat mounted on the wall and we figured it must e a dishwasher. I convinced Katie to turn it off to see if we could open it and figure out how to load dishes. Let me tell you...it was not a dishwasher but the hot water heater. I happened to be walking back Down the hall to our room and ran into our neighbor, in his towel. Mind you we've never spoken before this time and he simply asks " do you know what happened to the hot water, it just turned off randomly while I was in there, I had just put shampoo in my hair." Nope I have no idea I answer, trying to hide my laughter. As soon as he went back to his room I sprinted down the hall ad we quickly turned it back on. That was close but u guess it's one way to meet our neighbors :)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Buona Pasqua
I'm beginning to feel more settled. Friday night we ate a typical 4 course italian meal which was delicious. Then we headed out to discover the local Siena nightlife. There are a total of 2 dance clubs in Siena and we hit both. The first was a trendy bar with almost all European men eyeing anything female who walked through the door. Our group planted in the middle of the place and I remained in my seat for most of the time because the boys in our group offered protection. After that we decided to explore the dance club near our apartments. It was also all guys but was a great place to dance, of course, to American music. Ended the night late which is defintely what the sceneis around here. There are hundreds of people out all night and most do not start their evening, even dinner until at least 9 or 10.
Yesterday brought on the grocery store. I hardly knew what to buy and when I got to the milk section it was quite a dilemma. None is refrigerated, it is all in cartons and there are about 12 different kinds. I couldn't read any of them. I picked one, randomly, and my cereal this morning tasted alright so I think we're good.
Because I'd Easter we all met this morning for mass at the Duomo. The cathedral was gorgeous and the service, although entirely in italian, was beautiful.
It poured rain today so unfortunately we were holed up inside for the rest of the day. The upside - gelateria was still open and in Italy it is perfectly ok to eat gelato no matterthe weather. And it is good. My next goal is to become best friends with the gelato guy at the place I've fine literally every day. By next week I'll be a regular.
Ciao for now!
Yesterday brought on the grocery store. I hardly knew what to buy and when I got to the milk section it was quite a dilemma. None is refrigerated, it is all in cartons and there are about 12 different kinds. I couldn't read any of them. I picked one, randomly, and my cereal this morning tasted alright so I think we're good.
Because I'd Easter we all met this morning for mass at the Duomo. The cathedral was gorgeous and the service, although entirely in italian, was beautiful.
It poured rain today so unfortunately we were holed up inside for the rest of the day. The upside - gelateria was still open and in Italy it is perfectly ok to eat gelato no matterthe weather. And it is good. My next goal is to become best friends with the gelato guy at the place I've fine literally every day. By next week I'll be a regular.
Ciao for now!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Just the beginning
So it has been a crazy last few days. Yesterday was the first day of my program. Mom left in the early afternoon on the train and I think all went well with that, we managed to get her to the station after at frist getting on the wrong bus.
That afternoon I met all the pepole on my program and the directors, as well as got to see where we are going to have class. There are 11 girls including myself and 4 boys - total of 15. Most everyone is from UO except 2 girls from Seatte, 1 from Minnesota and another boy from Washington I think. Our school building is right across from the main bus stop area in Siena, also right near a park and soccer field. It is on the second floor above a bank and the whole buliding used to be an old palace. There is a small library, a few rooms for classes, 3 computers and another hang out room. It seems nice and is open all during the week for us to go there and hang out except it is closed on the weekends. We have a site director (Silvia) and housing coordinatior (Claudia) and a visiting professor. We havent met the italian professors yet. After orientation yesterday a bunch of us went to dinner in the Piazzo del Campo, the main square in Siena and very famous in Italy. We still look like and act like tourists but we had fun getting to know eachother and practicing pouring the wine during dinner without spilling all over the tablecloth - we did this with little success.
Today we moved out of the hotel and had more orientation at our school. We learned about the excursions we will be taking throughout the term - to places like Florence, Rome, Bologna, Rimini and near by wineries. I signed up for an extra class which meets 5 times and teaches us how to cook Tuscan dishes.
We had pizza for lunch and then had a walking tour of Siena. We learned where the grocery store was, the post office, the best atm machines, best gelato and more. This afternoon everyone is moving into apartments. Everyone on the program is rooming with at least one other student from the program. All the girls are in apartements very close to eachother - in the same neighborhood within the city walls on the south end near the University of Siena. The boys have an apartment outside the city walls and have to take the bus. I am living in a place called miniresidence with a girl named Katie. She is a junior from UO as well. We share a room that overlooks the street, we have our own bathroom and desks and the washing machine is across the hall. We live in a dorm - type place in that our room is at the end of the hall of 6 rooms or so. All the rooms share a general tv area room and a kitchen that looks a bit like one you would see in an office building breakroom. that will be interesting. But I definitely lucked out. The other students living here are Italian and are currently on break for Easter. There are a mix of girls and boys. Not only do we have laundry here but wireless internet and the cleaning lady comes every friday to clean our rooms. Plus it is about a one minute walk to the Campo. We are just down the street behind it.
I am very excited for eveything - class starts tuesday because of the holiday. We have a group dinner tonight and then the rest of the weekend free. Probably going to mass on Sunday at the Duomo to take in the scene. It is sunny today and Im beginning to feel a little more adjusted.
I will upload pictures as soon as I figure out how...did I mention Im currently using the main lobby computer because our landlord is home for the holiday and said we could use it no problem. His name is Fabio....haha
Ciao for now!
That afternoon I met all the pepole on my program and the directors, as well as got to see where we are going to have class. There are 11 girls including myself and 4 boys - total of 15. Most everyone is from UO except 2 girls from Seatte, 1 from Minnesota and another boy from Washington I think. Our school building is right across from the main bus stop area in Siena, also right near a park and soccer field. It is on the second floor above a bank and the whole buliding used to be an old palace. There is a small library, a few rooms for classes, 3 computers and another hang out room. It seems nice and is open all during the week for us to go there and hang out except it is closed on the weekends. We have a site director (Silvia) and housing coordinatior (Claudia) and a visiting professor. We havent met the italian professors yet. After orientation yesterday a bunch of us went to dinner in the Piazzo del Campo, the main square in Siena and very famous in Italy. We still look like and act like tourists but we had fun getting to know eachother and practicing pouring the wine during dinner without spilling all over the tablecloth - we did this with little success.
Today we moved out of the hotel and had more orientation at our school. We learned about the excursions we will be taking throughout the term - to places like Florence, Rome, Bologna, Rimini and near by wineries. I signed up for an extra class which meets 5 times and teaches us how to cook Tuscan dishes.
We had pizza for lunch and then had a walking tour of Siena. We learned where the grocery store was, the post office, the best atm machines, best gelato and more. This afternoon everyone is moving into apartments. Everyone on the program is rooming with at least one other student from the program. All the girls are in apartements very close to eachother - in the same neighborhood within the city walls on the south end near the University of Siena. The boys have an apartment outside the city walls and have to take the bus. I am living in a place called miniresidence with a girl named Katie. She is a junior from UO as well. We share a room that overlooks the street, we have our own bathroom and desks and the washing machine is across the hall. We live in a dorm - type place in that our room is at the end of the hall of 6 rooms or so. All the rooms share a general tv area room and a kitchen that looks a bit like one you would see in an office building breakroom. that will be interesting. But I definitely lucked out. The other students living here are Italian and are currently on break for Easter. There are a mix of girls and boys. Not only do we have laundry here but wireless internet and the cleaning lady comes every friday to clean our rooms. Plus it is about a one minute walk to the Campo. We are just down the street behind it.
I am very excited for eveything - class starts tuesday because of the holiday. We have a group dinner tonight and then the rest of the weekend free. Probably going to mass on Sunday at the Duomo to take in the scene. It is sunny today and Im beginning to feel a little more adjusted.
I will upload pictures as soon as I figure out how...did I mention Im currently using the main lobby computer because our landlord is home for the holiday and said we could use it no problem. His name is Fabio....haha
Ciao for now!
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