Bear With Me--Lots of Thoughts

There have been many different revelations for me throughout this past school week. I have made some realizations about the amazing women I live with and also in many more aspects of Italian life and history.

I should start by talking about the wonderful women I have now lived with for almost two months. It’s hard to believe it has only been that long, because we have begun to finish one another’s sentences and call each other out for common mistakes. Each one of is so different and unique in our own way, and it has been interesting to watch this. Sam, Nicole, and I all like to talk way too much, but at the same time we still have our differences. I would begin to brag about each of the wonderful women here but I think there is a large chance ill get emotional, as i remember we only have 6 weeks left together. I can honestly say that I believe there is a reason we were each brought here, and that we are supposed to all be here together at this point in our lives. I have come to appreciate Amanda’s helpfulness, Bekah’s gentleness, Chelsea’s patience, Jackie’s wit and sarcasm, Jenna’s creativity, Lauren’s energy, Nicole’s positivity, and Sam’s friendliness. While discovering these qualities in each woman, I have found that one thing we all have is an obvious compassion, not only for our experience here in Italy but for life. Everyone realizes how amazing it has been to be here, and I each one of us will walk away changed, in a positive way, from our time in Sansepolcro.

Changing subjects from the amazing women I live with and moving onto goodbyes seems fit. This is because we only have a little more than a month left. Considering I can’t imagine leaving this place and these people, the thought of saying goodbye to it all will be incredibly difficult. After reading Frederick Buechner, as I do every night before bed, I am reminded of the significance of saying “goodbye.” Before the word goodbye was simplified, people said “God be with you.” Doesn’t this seem to be less depressing, but very touching at the same time? I closed my book, set it back on my bed side table, and promised myself that when I left these wonderful people in Sansepolcro I wouldn’t say “goodbye,” but perhaps something more uplifting. Maybe I will tell them “see you again” or “God be with you” (if I feel comfortable enough that is). Either way, I think it is important to remember how this phrase began today whether we’re leaving loved ones for a long time, or just a short while.

I will now move from collective thoughts and realizations to some experiences I’ve had this week. Wednesday the science and society class traveled to the Aboca factory a few miles away from Sansepolcro in San Giustino. Here they make many organic products and natural remedies from plants they grow themselves. When we arrived we were given white paper robes and hats to wear in order to protect all of the plants. Seeing everyone in these bland, cheap cover-ups was a hilarious moment for me. After taking pictures in our cool new wardrobes, we walked through the factory, where the different plants are dried and then processed into powders to make the different products. All of their products are grown organically, and Aboca has a certification that assures all of those plants are indeed organic. I really enjoyed grabbing an extra sprig of dried mint and crumbling it between my fingers. The smell was so fresh and delicious! After stealing the spare plants from the drying racks we went into the packaging area where we saw them making and packaging the products they make. I wanted to steal the boxes of tea and sample honeys that were being labeled, but chose to keep my hands in my pockets to avoid getting arrested. I figured it was a better idea to visit the Aboca museum and store before I left in December. Each room of the factory had some amazing scent, which filled my nostrils and then sent happy feelings through my blood stream. As if the afternoon hadn’t been amazing enough, our guide gave me a business card for her rock climbing company in San Giustino. It is my plan to find a way there before I go home!

Thursday entailed two hours of Spanish in the morning as it always does, but we moved Sara’s Italy Today class to the afternoon. This is because a man from the theater in nearby Anghiari came and to speak and show us a film about a man killed by the Mafia, “I Cento Passi.” His name is Giuseppe Impastato, and his house was one hundred steps from another man's, who was very involved with the Mafia. Giuseppe never feared the Mafia, but instead expressed his hate toward them over a radio station he created with other fearless friends. Giuseppe left home when his Dad, a boss and member of the Mafia, and him could no longer live together under Giuseppe's bitterness towards the Mafia. Giuseppe's father was killed one evening, most likely by a member of the Mafia who is still unknown. Giuseppe went on speaking his mind on the radio until the day of his set up death on May 8th, 1978. His bitterness towards the Mafia began after he witnessed the death of his uncle at the age of 15. This movie moved all of the girls and I so much, and I think that everyone will agree with me when I say that we were speechless after the movie. I was disgusted by the Mafia after seeing this movie and reading about them in Italy Today.

Friday was my second week at the elementary school, Maestre Pie in Sansepolcro. This week I went to the school a little more prepared than last week and had some Halloween activities for my three classes. The first class was a level V class, and we colored a haunted house. The challenge came when I told them to “color the roof orange” in English. With a little help thekids did a good job, and next I had the level I students who would have to color pumpkins of a certain number a specific color. They all gave me the same helpless look that I often give my Italian teacher when I have no idea what she has said. After realizing they didn’t understand what I was asking I began to walk around and help students individually. This was a nice feeling, because I knew I was making closer connections with the students. Another way that I benefit from going into the schools is when the students are talking in Italian and force me to practice mine. I am almost positive that I ended up at the school where the lease amount of English is spoken to students. After being frustrated last week, I tried to accept it as a challenge this week. Each week I am taught some simple word that I use over and over again while I am with my students. This week that word was questa which means “this” and I could use it over and over again to ask the children simple questions. Because I was also teaching them some Halloween words in English, I learned some of them in Italian, strega which means witch. Some of the pictures I had drawn on the chalkboard were so terrible that it was hard to identify what they were, but when they said it in Italian I looked up the word and told them if they were correct. When you teach elementary school level children English, you feel a little stupid if you don’t go into it knowing a pretty good amount. This has challenged me to study more, and the kids have become a sort of motivation for my Italian studies.

After class on Friday we were having some special guests from The University of Rochester in New York that have been studying in Arezzo for the semester. My only concern after their visit was why we hadn’t met them earlier. They were all so kind and I shared some great conversation with some of them, specifically one girl Rashiida, who is the also a sophomore and sat beside me at lunch. She is majoring in anthropology, like my sister did at Davidson, and she is also majoring in international studies. We had really good conversation about culture and differences of each human. She has had classes about these topics, but I am just interested in theme on a non scholarly level. It is fascinating that people come from so many different cultures, backgrounds, and families. We talked about our realizations that if everyone were the same than we may all lose our individuality. Sometimes it seems that if we all thought a like the world could be better, but I think that if it wasn’t for all of the creative thoughts from the billions on the Earth we wouldn’t be at the place we are today. People must also challenge themselves through experience, because I truly believe it is through experience that you learn some of life’s greatest lessons. We all exchanged numbers with different students from Rochester and hope to see them again soon. We will all go through Arezzo soon and be able to reconnect over a cup of coffee, or some food. Luckily none of them seemed to be big baseball fans, so my fear of having Yankees fans in MY palazzo never was a concern.

Now it is a beautiful Saturday in Sansepolcro, as the sun peaks through the dark clouds, which fill the sky and the beautiful valleys and farm lands seem to go on for eternity as Nicole and I run beside the river. Life is good here in Sansepolcro, and for at least the rest of the afternoon I must be productive by sitting with Carlo Levi’s biography. This means I must put down the computer and resist a college student’s #1 source of procrastination, Facebook. While listening in the most recent Vintage 21 sermon yesterday, I learned that over 50 million people are subscribed to Facebook and spend a total of over 6 billion minutes on it a day. I wish this would have made me feel bad enough to stay off of it for a long time, but I think it’s now a disturbing addiction. As Conan O’Brian says, by the end of 2009 the 3 different worldwide sites Twitter, MySpace ,and Facebook will combine to make youtwitface.com. I found that quite humorous. Hope you enjoyed bearing through all of my thoughts from the past five days! Now to get down to business! ciao

A Birthday In Italy

Thursday marked the day of my nineteenth birthday, but my first ever birthday in Italy. I feared that the day would leave me missing home and wishing I was with my family, but it left me feeling love from everyone I live with here in the palazzo. My morning began with the usual routine of getting up and brushing my teeth, then opening my wardrobe to change. This particular morning balloons began to fly out of my wardrobe. The girls had stuffed 20 balloons in there, nineteen for my nineteen years of living and an extra for good luck. Since my birthday has not yet become a national holiday here yet, it was off to class. Who knew this would continue to bring gifts. The Bankers gave me a lovely gift of lavender, which sent continues to fill my room long after the birthday celebrations. I also got a card from Vivian our alumni guest, and cookies from Sara our Italy Today teacher. Lunch, as usual was a feast but on my birthday we had lasagna with meat sauce AND with pesto. As if the first dish wasn’t divine enough there were still two courses remaining. The last was my amazing birthday tart topped with letter candles to spell auguri which the Italians say to mean best wishes on ones birthday. Everyone’s head was adorned with a festive birthday hat, and I got my own “princess” birthday hat. We decided to spend lunch speaking only improper grammar, to in turn annoy John Rose. Little did we know he would only join in on the idea, and this made the rest of lunch hilarious. I got a gift from everyone, which was a tray that had a scene of Venice on it and after lunch, Nicole and I convinced Amanda to run with us. This is one of the 19 things that were included on a list of 19 things I had to complete for my birthday by Sunday. More stories will come about this as you read on. The remainder of the day and night was mellow, as we all enjoyed a nice dinner at the Fiorentina restaurant near the palazzo. The girls refused to let me pay for my meal and when we returned back to the palazzo, a few of them had made me a cheesecake adorned with brightly colored strawberries. I somehow managed to miss the girls working on any of these things for my birthday, but loved being so surprised. When a cake was brought to my at the restaurant, there was a sparkler on top of it. I thought the girls had planned some sort of sick joke on me, because as they all know I am terrified of sparklers. They promised it wasn’t there because of anything they had said, but purely by coincidence. They DID however, buy me a package of these terrifying sparklers for my birthday and gave them to me with my cheesecake. We decided it was best to rest Thursday, as Friday and Saturday were promised to last much longer into the night.



Friday I had to get up early and go to my school for Service Learning. I was placed in a private elementary school within walking distance of our palazzo, called the Maestre Pie. Here I helped three different classes learn English. The first class I had was the Level V class and this class has studied clothes and body parts. We played bingo using different kinds of clothes, and I explained you wear your shoes on your feet and your ring on your finger, etc. This class was smaller and the kids weren’t too bad. The next class was the Level I students who all averaged about six years. When I say all, I mean the 25 loud children that filled the room. In my time at the school I probably spoke more Italian than they spoke English, but this was because they were young and have not developed on a high level of comprehension yet. I am impressed that the Italian school system puts language in its curriculum so early on. Each student in class one came up to be individually and was asked how old they were in English. They each, in their own way and in their own time, told me how old they were. We didn’t get too much farther except for a song of “hellos and his.” The last group I had for two hours, and this was the Level III class. They were learning vocabulary for family and numbers up to fifty. This meant that I could introduce the members of my family using a picture and also tell them how old my sister and I were. Because they haven’t gone past fifty in numbers, and I wasn’t feeling daring Friday I couldn’t tell them my parent’s age. Maybe this is an idea for the next class. All in all, the experience in the school was fun, but I think that when I go back this week I will prepare a better plan for the students so that way they can learn more English in a more structured way. Because my morning wore me out I rested after lunch and began to prepare for an evening at K Café with some of the girls. This night I had to begin completing some of the 19 things that were on my list. While I would love to share the list, some of the tasks will be left unknown. Friday at K Café I did manage to take a picture with a young random Italian man, get someone to get me a drink, met and took a picture with a girl whose birthday was in October, and get the phone number of one of the bartenders. This night we began to get close with all the people that work at K Café, and I enjoyed this because we go there so often but don’t always talk to the bartenders very much. We returned back to the palazzo before the sun rose so we could rest up for our Saturday adventures.



Saturday we were to arrive on the bus at ten o’clock sharp in order to ride to La Verna. La Verna is a beautiful city, known for its beautiful church, which was a favorite retreat for the famous Saint Francis. He was one of the many Saints who I have learned about in my Art History class, and now on this trip. St. Francis had good reason to love La Verna and on our trip there I feel in love also. The city is surrounded by mountains, and is also higher in elevation itself. We even saw a few flakes of snow while in La Verna. This made me thankful of my hat and glove purchase the day before. I chose to venture of a little on my own while the Swabs talked to their students and discovered beautiful crosses made, and also ones etched into the rocks on caves. These were not literally caves, but large rock formations which I find fascinating and also relaxing. This city is also famous for being a spiritual retreat for Catholics. Once we had seen the city, and even watched the processional of a beautiful bride in her wedding, we loaded the bus and headed to Caprese Michelangelo. Here, the annual chestnut festival was being held. We got to see a man literally roasting chestnuts over an open fire. Because of this, I had the Christmas song of “Chestnuts Roasting on An Open Fire” in my head for the rest of the day. This small town is famous for being the birthplace of Michelangelo, the famous artist. He was born and baptized here. For this reason you can tour his house and visit a museum in honor of his amazing sculpture work. Saturday was a productive day, and upon returning to Sansepolcro we changed and headed out for the last night of birthday celebration. Things started at K Café, where we enjoyed the company of one another and a drink and talked with our friends. The music began and got us all in the mood to go dancing, which led us to our next stop at Sansepolcro’s disco techa Le Scorpione. I was intimidated by the number of well dressed guards they had working, and even more worried when we entered and the dance floor was empty. The dance club finally became lively around 1:30am, which is near closing time for American dance clubs. By 3 in the morning it was time for me to find my bed, but before leaving I got a few more things checked off my list of 19. I danced with a random person, and as I always do I danced my heart out on the dance floor. It was interesting to me that so many men were well dressed and instead of attempting to “grind” or dirty dance with a girl would enjoy dancing by themselves or with their friends. Funny thing was that me being the American woman that I am, decided that they all had to be gay because they weren’t being completely perverted or attempting to force me to dance with them. I should have found their fun and non perverted nature at the discotecha normal, but thanks to my experience in the states I was in shock. I slept longer than usually into the next morning and Sunday can be referred to as a “lazy Sunday afternoon.” I stayed in my warm bathrobe after a walk and coffee with Nicole, and proceeded to watch two chick flicks in a row curled up in a wool blanket with a cup of hot chocolate. For now, I’ll go find that same couch and wool blanket and cuddle up with my Levi books for Dr. Webb’s class. This won’t be as cheerful an experience, as the books for her class can only be described as depressing. One must do ones work however, and the reality is these things all really did happen in history. CIAO!

"The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light"

The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. These words come from Isaiah 9, verse 2 in the bible, which celebrates Christ’s coming. This verse is famous, and reminds believers that even in the darkness of today, great light comes. One night, about a week ago, I found a devotional in a book by Frederick Buechner that referred to this same verse. Buechner is an amazing author, who has a way of making his readers nod their heads up and down because his words always seem to make so much since. He reminds us that if we think of darkness as “a world where nobody can see very well” or if we think of that darkness as all of the “conflict in the world,” then we’re all indeed living in a world of darkness. I have seen darkness in my own life when I was lost and didn’t know what I was going to go next for or when I was fighting conflict which seemed to have no end. Everyone in the world sees this same darkness daily if they open a newspaper, or turn on their television and watch the news. As I had my moment of devotion, I realized that although I am having this amazing experience in Italy, there continues to be darkness all around this city, and in this country. The darkness may not be in the palazzo where I have community with amazing young woman and eat the best food ever made, but it is in the reality of discussions on WWII which we have in our Literature class. The darkness may not be on the friendly streets under us, which roar with noise of friends and lovers. However, there is darkness on the winding mountain roads where women stand and sell their bodies for sex night after night. I can’t say that I have felt darkness in the “perfect” moments I have had in Italy, looking at beautiful mountains and being completely content in my decision to come here for the semester. I can see darkness when I am lost in why I really did come or where life will lead me next. I think because we as humans are continuously questioning what is coming next in life and not living in the present we are often in the dark. When we live in the present, we are able to see the beauty of the moment and come to, in some since or another, appreciate it. I walked into this program in a great darkness, never having come to Italy and not knowing these women very well. Now that I am here I see the beautiful “great light” which has been created from my living out this experience. I have a new family, a new community, and a new appreciation for new things! It is all a beautiful experience and journey which continues daily <3

Imagine What A Year Can Do

There have been so many things that I have seen, felt, learned, and experienced in the past year that have brought me to this exact moment here in Italy. For that reason, I wanted to get those things out right now. This time a year ago I was half way done with my first semester of college. It was about this time last year that I was finally adjusting to my new home in Raleigh and finding new friends at Meredith. The adjustment to Meredith from the small town of Laurinburg deemed to be more difficult than I ever imagined. It was the strength I gained in my first few months at Meredith that brought me to this moment. I ended a chapter of my life and a lot changed with a new school, new home, and new realtionships.





Once adjusted to Meredith I didn’t hesitate to jump into trying out all the school had to offer. By winning the election for vice president I met more girls from the class of 2012 than I thought possible. I discovered what Cornhuskin at Meredith College really was “all about” and did my part to be involved. I helped see Meredith College’s first habitat house go up and worked with MEA and my freshman class to plan events on campus. I declared my major in interior design and found out that students weren’t lying when they said that you will stay up all night for interior design projects. I learned how much it takes to put on a dance performance after putting in many hours of practice for an amazing and packed weekend of dancing. When I wasn’t stuck in a book, at a meeting, at dance practice, or in the interior design studios, I was with the amazing girls of second Barefoot. It seems that all the girls on my hall quickly “clicked” and became friends. I now have new life-long friends, like my roommate Megan Adkins, my future suitemate Jodi Von Jess, and my partner in crime Betsy Graves. That doesn’t even begin the list of amazing women who have touched my life, and taught me so much about myself. All of these experiences helped my fall more in love with Meredith College, Raleigh, interior design, and dance.






Because I wasn’t at home anymore, I felt that the relationships with those left behind or far away was going to be tested, and they indeed were. Some relationships lasted longer than others, but sitting here a year later I can say that I am so happy for each person from home that is still close to my heart. I left behind my Friday night football games and weekend long guard competitions, but still carry the memories I had with my “cheetah girls” and instructor Lynda. Amazing that after almost five years now, us “cheetah girls” still all keep in touch and remain close. The test of distance was also thrown upon my family as I left my home of eighteen years on Coble Drive. There my mother and father raised me into the young woman I am today. My parents and sister have challenged me to be stronger than I ever thought I could be, and achieve more than I ever thought I would. It is there support that got me through difficult times and now to here in Italy. My friends no longer resided in Laurinburg but in Raleigh, Wilmington, Greenville, Boone, and even across the country in California. Distance challenges friendships, but the ones that were meant to remain always do, and have for me. Being across seas from the ones I love presents a challenge, but also a realization that no matter the distance, true friends will remain.



Leaving home also meant leaving the church I grew up in. I was determined to find a Presbyterian church in Raleigh but the Lord had other plans in store for me. It was his plan for me to find the amazing community I have found at Vintage 21, a non denominational church in downtown Raleigh. The day that my friend Jodi took me to Vintage for the first time, I was scared about how I would feel. I left the church feeling renewed from the worlds that Pastor Tyler spoke, and still get the same feeling every Sunday that I leave Vintage now. Once I was in love with Vintage, I had to find a community group to be a part of. I was led to Hannah Mohr’s community group and the endless amount of love I have felt from all of them truly made my time in Raleigh even better. It was because of this amazing community that I have had a renewal in my faith. That same faith has gotten to me to Italy, and through hard days here.



Upon leaving Raleigh, and the amazing year of growth I had there, I was off for another adventure in the mountains o f North Carolina. Little did I know that I was about to meet many amazing people, and fall in love with the mountains while being at Holston Presbytery Camp. Because I had never even been to Holston Presbytery Camp, I was taking a big leap of faith to spend my summer there. I loved the camp, but more so the counselors I worked with and the weekends we spent together at my cabin in Blowing Rock. It was this summer that I learned how to relax and enjoy the beauty that surrounds me, because in any situation there is beauty. I found beauty in the mountains and in each person I met.





I took that lesson and brought it with me here to Italy. The mistakes I made, which led to the lessons I learned, which led to the choices I made, which led to this; the best decision I have ever made. Coming to Italy was a spur of the moment decision. Since my start at Meredith my study abroad mind set was for me to be in Africa somewhere, which I now know is South Africa. Because this opportunity in Italy sounded like one I shouldn’t let up on I chose to apply. After being accepted I realized “this is real! I’m going to Italy.” Each girl in the Palazzo Alberti was brought here for some certain reason, but one of those had to be to touch my life. I was worried to be away from my family and friends at home, but I have learned this is my new family. These girls are like my sisters, each here to teach me something. Dr. Webb and John Rose act as my adopted parents for the semester; here to teach me not only correct grammar, but many more lessons on life I am sure will be remembered for a long time. I am thankful for another year of life, another year of lessons learned, and another year of experiences to have had! If so many amazing things have happened in my eighteenth year of life, who knows the amazing things coming my way for year nineteen!

Gathering Thoughts

There are a few things I have forgotten to mention, as well as some things that are new which I should share with everyone! Where should I begin? I told you all about my experiences in Venice, in pouring down rain or when it was piovendo gatti e cani (raining cats and dogs). I however, left out my observations on umbrella use in small streets, no more than 4 or 5 feet wide. As one learns in Italy, if you are on a skinny road you stay to one side or the other. A slim road with umbrellas makes this already stressful task even more interesting. As one chose to lift their arm, raising their umbrella above the heads of others, everyone coming the opposite way must recognize their maneuver and lower their umbrella. This all become fascinating, as I watched each person recognize those around them and move their umbrella accordingly. You could count on having one or two every couple of small streets who would not catch on and hit their umbrella against yours. This small, yet mathematical procedure made for a more entertaining adventure to our destination.

Tuesday the Swabs, who are teaching the science and society class, took their students to a farm right outside of the city. I chose to take my bike and go along for the adventure, and I am surely glad I did! When we arrived I was already in love with the house, placed in the valley with mountains surrounded me, 360 degrees. As if the scenery wasn’t enough, this family makes wine. We had the chance to see one of the seven brothers of the family move a “mashed up” grape solution from a “mask,” which stores the substance until it is time to be made into wine, to a wine press. After transferring the grapes, he covered them with wood in order to begin the pressing process. People took turns pumping the press and creating the juice, which would be filtered to its final state as wine. This family also keeps their own prosciutto(like country ham in the states) and cans their vegetables. It all reminds me a lot of my mom’s parents. They also have chickens (and one rooster of course), dogs, cats, cows (mucche) and pigs. All of the farm animals were another small reminder of the small hometown I come from. The afternoon ended with the amazing spread of snacks they had prepared for us. Eating when I return to the states will most likely never be the same, because it seems every time I eat in Italy I have the best conversation and community. It is a beautiful thing.

The week continues to move right along, as does every day here in Italy. Today is my birthday, and celebrating a birthday in Italy is most likely once in a lifetime for me. The girls filled my wardrobes with 20 balloons (one for good luck) and gave me a list of 19 tasks I must complete by Sunday. Readers will hear about the rest of the activities after checking in at the end of the weekend. Well, you will hear of most of the activities, but perhaps not all! Until then, CIAO

Communication

This is a travel to learn assignment that I did but also thought was a good story from my weekend in Venice!

My experience in Venice this weekend was a perfect example of the difference in communication between Americans and Italians. Vi, Sam, and I asked ten people for directions to the Hard Rock Café before finding it two hours later. We can blame ourselves for lack of preparation because we had no map (with Hard Rock Café on it) and weren’t sure where it was, only that is was close to San Marco. I choose to blame the Italians for our long adventure in the rain because they all had a high context style of communication. Had one of the first people we asked told us that we had to take more than one left or right to make it to Hard Rock Café, we may have arrived earlier. Instead, each person said “to the left” or “to the right” giving us false hopes that perhaps it was only one right or one left away. Now I’m not sure if they were attempting to point us in a precise direction with their arm gestures, but I somehow feel they may not have cared at all. Some were direct and helpful, while others seemed to not care and told us to go to the left or right. It was the direct and non circular communication which the last woman we asked used that got us to the restaurant. She first turned to face the direction we should leave the store in, then proceeded to tell us the first right then a left and another right in clear Italian with motions in case we had not understood. After finally getting to lunch I was able to realize I had just experienced multiple styles of communication from direct to indirect and from linear to circular.

More to come soon about the week thus far. I can guarantee is has been less stressful, but less exciting at the same time! :)

"Heaven Sighting #2 and "The Flood"

The second heaven sighting happened for me on Friday when our Italian teacher, Ciara, took us to Perugina, the largest chocolate factory in Italy. In the factory 120 lines run each day to produce more types of chocolate than I should probably know about if I want to continue to lose weight here. The factory was first owned by two families, one of which was Sansepolcro’s own Buitoni family. God bless their idea to put the factory in Perugia, very close to Sansepolcro, but also God bless them for expanding it to be as large as it is today. After hearing about the factory we got a tour of it. As soon as I walked into the factory the scent of chocolate filled my nose and my pupils probably looked as though they were dialated. There was chocolate pouring into molds and flying down conveyer belts everywhere I looked. Baci are the chocolate/hazelnut candy popular to Perugia and only made at Perugina. There are 1500 of them made every minute of every day. That is a lot of Baci, a lot of Baci for Hannah to eat! It was apparent I had stepped out of heaven when I stepped into the gift shop and was repeatedly confronted by an “Italian” American woman. She asked if we were Americans and then went on to say that we were in her group’s way and we were being rude. I was quickly set off by this woman, who seemed American and judged me to be rude solely because I was American. She went on to tell us that she was American, but that we were “in her country.” Don’t worry; I was confused by this also. I tried to forget how offended she had made me and went on to have a great day with my friends and our teacher Ciara over a great lunch, which included one finally Italian lesson. She is done teaching us and our new teacher, Francesca, will come tomorrow. I experienced the mini metro on the way to the train station for Ferrara. The “mini metro” is a small one car metro which is run by computers I assume, as there was no driver.

From Perugia is was off to Ferrara where we were staying with our friend Giacomo and meeting up with Nicole, who studied in Ferrara last fall. We were too tired to last into the night the way the Italians do and got to sleep after a trip to LoboLoco, a bar Nicole took us to with the sweetest bartender. We got up a little later than planned and walked faster than the average American (so this is way faster than the average Italian) to get to the train station for our train to Venice. I think Samantha, Vi, and I all had a chance to catch up on our sleep on the full train to Venice, and when we arrived it was pouring. We were told it may rain, but we didn’t want to listen to anyone. We stepped out into the city and less than thirty minutes after being there we were all soaked. We each weighed about 10 more pounds than we had upon arrival simply because we were so wet! At one point Samantha and I walked straight through a puddle filling our shoes with even more water, looked at one another and could do nothing more but laugh. We reached the point where we decided we would only “see” Venice, we would not be “doing” Venice. I must include that another reason for time loss was the two and a half hour search for the Hard Rock Café where we ate burgers that CAME with fries and drank diet Pepsi (not Coke) which had free refills. I am ashamed to have gone there and spent the 25 euro I did on my meal, but was completely content on getting my one American meal complete with free refills and Rolling Stones playing in the back ground. It was time to accomplish our next and last mission for the day before returning back to Ferrara, going to Murano by way of the water bus. This city is the one known for its glass making and it had a charm which I enjoyed, especially when the sun began to peak through the clouds and force me to pull out my sunglasses. I peeked into a window to find a man (or perhaps it WAS a woman) blowing glass to create what looked like a wine stopper. This art has always fascinated me because blowing glass is a tedious job, which can make things frustrating. I have a friend from the summer who blew glass in his garage and had to keep everything he was working on at a certain temperature, while moving, and while making sure air was being circulated. I ended up making some good purchases before we left to head back to Venice. This time we took the water bus directly to the train station, and wished we had known about the stop upon our arrival in the down pour. It would have been nice to learn about a more convenient way around ahead of time, but would have made for an unexciting day. I left Venice planning to return back, and while I probably won’t make it back this time, next time I’m in Italy I will return!

We boarded another full train and Sam, Vi, and I were split up again, but this time Vi and I were sitting across from each other and beside two German men. After about fifteen minutes I decided they had to be German but I wanted to ask. I didn’t know whether to ask in Italian or English or at all. I am glad I asked because these two young men turned out to be very nice and know a lot of English. They taught me a few simple German words and after they got off Vi continued my language lesson by teaching me to count in Vietnamese. Vi and I ate a small dinner and instead of heading off for the discotecha we decided to return to Giacomo’s. Today we all got some extra sleep and Nicole showed us all the places she loves in Ferrara. The city reminds me of Sansepolcro in a way, but larger and with more stores (ones that I can afford) and many more bikes! Arriving back in Sansepolcro gave me the same bittersweet feeling it always does. There is a sad feeling that another weekend is over here in beautiful Italy, but amazing feeling of being “home” in Sansepolcro, which overwhelms me. I have sat down and written another blog as I always do Sunday nights upon my return, and I’ll now retreat to bed thinking about all of the things I should have done tonight before sleep, but won’t do because of sheer exhaustion. Buono notte!

Good Wine and Good Company

More days have passed in this beautiful Tuscan town of Sansepolcro. Things have calmed down with exams completed and the trustees preparing to leave. This leaves me with mixed emotions as an amazing art history class ends and new friends from the Meredith college community are made. The guests will be gone upon my return from Venice and Ferrara for the weekend, which will be strange. It seems they have had a way of teaching me many things while they were here that I didn’t know about Meredith.

Important guests mean fun activities, and one of these which we were invited to was a wine tasting. Yes, I had a wine tasting with the president of my college and some of the most important faculty, trustees, and alumnae. I felt like a professional of wine after these few hours of counting “legs” on a wine glass to see how much wine content it contained along with smelling it for certain fruits and flowers. Call me crazy but I always connected grapes with wine, not pears and other fruits or flowers. Italy as most people know is known for their wine, but it is no wonder because Italy has over 300 kinds of grapes. This blew my mind, but also made it possible for me to realize how people can compare wines and actually taste many differences. Rose wine alone can be made in many ways. You can mix different types of grapes, only use the flesh of the grape, or use red grapes to create your desired red wine. My dad made beer while I was growing up and the process has always fascinated me. After the wine tasting I am fascinated with the way the thousands of different wines in Italy are made. It’s not just some smashed grapes in a wooden barrel. The barrels are of certain wood, the grapes of certain vines and locations, and the “smashing” of a certain art. The location of the wine tasting and the detail explained for such things began to fascinate me. I assume I will have to continue tasting them while I am legally allowed, then when I return to the states I can show people how to properly open their wine bottles and teach them about their wine.

The company of the people at the wine tasting added to its amazing atmosphere. The arrival of these important Meredith faculty and friends has brought with it amazingly long lunches that include some great conversation. I feel lucky to get to talk to women who graduated from Meredith in 1946 and still love the college so much that they would come for the opening of the Palazzo Alberti. Also, having president Hartford here along with the trustees reminded me of how important this was to them also. This place has become like a home and knowing that I have made one of the best decisions of my life by coming to Sansepolcro is something I cannot describe to anyone. I believe the only other people that can truly understand it are the other 8 girls studying here with me. If I think about December 6th ill just break down into tears. For now I must sleep because there is a long weekend ahead after a busy week with little sleep included!

Can’t wait to tell about the next adventure CIAO AMICI
:)

grand opening weekend!

Oh my, I can’t begin to describe how tired I am, but I also won’t get a chance to explain WHY I am as tired as I am if I don’t blog tonight. Where to begin? Who know the weekend that wore me out the most so far would be the weekend I stayed in Sansepolcro? This weekend was the grand opening of the Palazzo Alberti, home of Meredith College in Italy, OFFICIALLY! I feel honored to be one of the “immortal nine” as we like to refer to ourselves as, and while it has been tiring to remain charming it has been truly amazing to meet so many alumni and friends of the college.

While I would love to tell the story of the night before all of our guests arrived, I must condense it for the sake of its ridiculousness. We all decided we would enjoy ourselves and the company of one another one more time before the madness began so we went to KCafe. I discovered a guy I had noticed, who works at the bar with his girlfriend and to make the story short we caused a scene in one of the most popular bars in the city! No, no girlfriends of crushes were hurt in this story but it was too funny not to mention, even I am not telling it in its entirety.

Saturday morning as soon we were out of the bed we began to prepare to for the day’s activities. I quickly learned where the flower shop was, and how fast a palazzo can be cleaned with teamwork. We all pitched in and did exactly as directed by Dr. Webb before picking up our guests. Ellen Goode, a professor and wonderful women, brought with her a whole bag of goodies for me, so I was beyond happy to see her. I am now happy to say I now have a beautiful Canon powershot camera and lots of orbit. My dad even slipped in his favorite, Winterfresh and a CD of his music for me! The holey pajamas are currently being worn, and while the hole is too big to even keep my legs warm, I am happy to have received them! Back to what is REALLY important…
After everyone arrived, they came here for an open house and we got to meet all of the wonderful guests that came for the grand opening. This included president Hartford, Dr. Jackson and some other important faces from campus. It was nice to know how much this all means to these people, because this place has already become a second home for us young women. I have realized all of the hard work that has been put into making this all possible, so seeing this weekend finally arrive was exciting, even in the midst of a lot of school work! We visited on of St. Francis’ favorite city with everyone and I had another “moment.” Over the hills and on top of a mountain there were three crosses. I was reminded of how lucky I am to be here! When we returned from Montecasele it was time to attach myself to a chair for the rest of the evening to work on my paper. After four or five hours of work I went to bed so that when I woke up Sunday for the 5K race in San Justino I would be able to run it.

Sunday marked the day of my first ever run in an official race. A 5K, and in Italy which makes it even better! Nicole and I signed up to run and after the Swabb’s arrival less than twenty-four hours before, they chose to run with us too (the Swabb’s are here to teach the science and society class). It was hard to compare a race in Italy to one in the US when I had only been in track meets in the US. This race started with the smaller children’s races in which they ran about 200 meters. I was questioning whether I should have just signed up for that race right before we began. Finally it was time for all the big kids to begin the race. Now before I go any further let me clarify two things. One is that I was not in the 14k competitive race, but the non-competitive 5k race. A girl has to work her way up, you must understand. Second of all I must clarify that apparently being time for the “big kid race” included boys around the age of 12. The reason I know this age was included was because for the first four kilometers of the race, I was in fact racing a 10 to 12 year old little boy. During the third kilometer we were running side my side and I turn to notice that he is looking at me as if he wants to really race me. It was fun to run with him but by the last kilometer he had gotten ahead. Ill blame my “older legs” for beating him, but it is surely to not happen with the next young boy. One thing I will say I know they don’t do in races in the US is give away free cheese to everyone who ran. After the race, we turned in our numbers and each got a bag of goodies which included a one pound slab of cheese. Let’s just say, it was all worth it. Incase you were wondering the man who won the competitive 14 kilometer race was a Kenyan man that came in about three minutes after me making his time only 40 minutes. How people go that fast, I will never know.

Once we found John Rose amongst the crowd, we rushed back to the Palazzo to prepare for a big Sunday lunch with all of the trustees and friends of the college. I was very excited that all the girls in the house were invited. We got a chance to learn about all of the people that had come, and of course eat an amazing meal that was way too large. After eating with amazing people, we rushed back to the palazzo to add finishing touches and tie the ribbon on the door to be cut. It was finally here, and I am so glad I got to be a part of it all! The mayor of Sansepolcro, the natio, and president Hartford were there to cut the ribbon with Dr. Webb and Sarah Andreini (the assistant director for the program) close by. After the ribbon cutting and a presentation by the flagmen and drummers (similar to the Ballestra), the entire town was invited into our home. There were people everywhere! It was madness. I enjoyed seeing so many people interested in the program, and the palazzo. It’s great that now the whole town will know that the palazzo is our home and we are with Meredith College. I’m hoping it means less funny looks and more hellos and questions from people in the streets! The night finished off with a beautiful concert from a choir, our own Chelsea Stith and her piano teacher, and good friends to the program singing opera. It has been a great weekend and I am so thankful for our extension for our art history paper because I’m not sure I could have done such things tonight! It’s hard to be charming all day long after a 5K. Buono notte <3