Preparing to Return Home--Molto Triste

1. In what ways have I changed?
I think that the more important changes will be more noticeable when I return home in a week, but what I can say now while I am still here is that I have grown more as an independent woman. I feel that I can do things on my own and I am truly proud of the person I am. I realized how blessed I am for everything that has come my way since being here. My English has improved and according to John Rose I smile a little bit more than when I arrived. Perhaps I smile more because I feel as though I have a second home and family with these people in this wonderful city. Maybe I smile more because I am truly at peace in my life, and while that may not be an obvious change to some I feel it within myself and it is so nice to be genuinely happy.

2. In what ways might my friends and family have changed?
If my parents changed while I was gone, it was letting go of their “baby girl” a little bit more. I think that being away from home for so long has allowed them to watch be become more independent, or at least I hope it has. I hope my friends have changed their opinions on me. Not in a bad way of course, but in a way that makes them respect me more for having left all that I know to come to Italy for an entire semester. I hope that my good friends realize how important having a friendship with me is, because I have certainly come to appreciate a couple specific friendships with people while being abroad.

3. How would I like my friends and family to treat me when I return home?
I would like my friends and family to treat me as they did when I left. I want my parents to trust me and the decisions I make, while being supportive in what I do. I want my friends to continue being a support system as well. One thing I would like my friends to remember when I return is that while I am so happy to see them and be back, leaving here was not easy (this hasn’t happened, but I know it will be hard!). I hope that they all respect me, just as I hope they did before I left. Either way, returning home will cause many bittersweet emotions. No picture or blog can truly explain the amazing experience I have had here in Sansepolcro to the people back home in Laurinburg and Raleigh.

4. What am I looking forward to the most? The least?
I am looking forward to seeing my parents and being at my house again. I want to help my mom and exercise with her, and also learn how to cook some really good food for our whole family. This will benefit all of us and also keep me busy. I look forward to making my parents finally clean the house so that we can then paint the house. All of those things at my house will help me forget what I’m not looking forward to and that is being back in Laurinburg. I’ve learned that I have left a certain part of my life there, so when I go back to it I get this bad feeling sometimes. I am happy to be around the good friends I have at home whom I missed all this time and also seeing my friends in Raleigh before they go home for the holidays. I get to see the beautiful mountains of North Carolina I have missed so dearly and drink as much sweet tea as I want, and that is pretty exciting. I am sure that in the midst of doing all of these things and reconstructing life in the states I will be missing Italy and all I must leave behind here.

5. What are the lessons that I have learned that I never want to forget?
I never want to say “like” as much as I did upon arriving in Italy, nor do I want to use “me” improperly in sentences. I must smile more, because usually even when I’m frowning I am happy. These are the lessons I have learned from John Rose and Dr. Webb, but there are many more from them and everyone else I have been around these past 3 and a half months. I have learned about the gift of time, and that if we don’t take such as a precious gift it will slip away. These past 16 weeks have come and gone faster than I can even imagine, and this time has helped me to not be so concerned about things in the future, but rather savor the precious moments with the people I share them with. I have also learned that people learn from experience and this experience has taught me only a few of the lessons I have left to learn. I have realized that things will fall into place as they should, that the people that really care about you will always be there even when you’re thousands of miles away, and that I am a strong and independent person. I really shocked myself with all that I learned and have been able to do on my own, and I am sure that when I return home I will see these changes more. I thank Italy for allowing me to learn that a simple, yet beautiful afternoon with good friends is what simple joy is. I am been so full of joy here, and I have learned the true meaning of being joyful.

6. What are some skills I have learned?
I have learned how to travel in a foreign country. I learned Italian more as the weeks went by, but I also learned that I must not be scared to ask questions to get to where I want or to get what I want. When Sam, Vi, and I were in Rome we asked about 4 people about taking the bus, but I was so happy we asked so many questions because we learned so much about the public transportation. The more questions you ask the more you can learn. I asked two Germans on the train one weekend where they were from, and by the time they got off the train I had learned how to count in German. I have learned time management, and that having a plan is important but being able to completely abandon a plan is alright as well. I think that the skills I now have for traveling will extend out into other aspects of my life, which will continue to challenge and teach me more.

7. Many say that re-entry shock is more challenging than initial culture shock. What are some things that I might do to make the transition easier?
Going home is going to be especially hard for me because I know that I will have to leave what has become another home here in Sansepolcro. I have new friends, a host family, and a new way of living daily. While it will be a challenge, I hope to accept that I am going back home because this journey is supposed to be ending so that another one can begin. If I stay busy with all the things that I have planned to do when I get back than I will know that home is where I am supposed to be until I return to Raleigh. I think accepting that you are where you’re supposed to be at any given moment is in itself the best thing to do. If I know I am supposed to be helping my parents paint our house or if I should be hanging out with the friends I have missed so much, then adjusting won’t be as challenging. As I put together the pictures and accidently use Italian phrases with my American friends I will wish I was back in this place, but small moments like that are acceptable because I think it’s important to have something to miss in the places you have been.

8. What have been the important things about this study abroad experience that I want to share with family and friends?
I think that the things I want to share are the things that I want people to actually see in me when I return home. I want them to see a content young woman who is satisfied with the life she is living and overjoyed to have had an amazing experience such as this. I want the people at home to SEE that these past few months have been some of the best times of my entire life, which have taught me how to be joyful in the simple moments. I hope they see the independence I have gained, because that is something very important which I have learned here. I want to share the friends I have made and memories I will keep close to my heart. The memories and people are the things I will have to physically share, but the other things I will take away from this experience are things that I hope can be seen.

9. What do I want to do with the experiences I’ve had?
I would like to continue to study Italian, which I am doing by taking Italian at NC State next semester. I will have this class with Vi, whom I spent the entire semester with here in Italy. That will be refreshing for us both because in the midst of everything else happening, we can remember Italy during our Italian class. I also want to continue to learn by experience, whether it be simply in Raleigh or by studying abroad again. I know that there is so much more to learn about the city of Raleigh, and I want to get all out of it that I can like I did here in Sansepolcro. I want to study abroad again because after learning all I have here, I know going away again could give me another chance to learn more. I’ve been dreaming of going to South Africa for a few years now and I can’t even begin to imagine the opportunities that lie ahead in such a place for me. I think what I would really like to do with the experiences I had in Italy is take them to my next experience and learn even more!

I Finally Made It to The Big City of Rome!

My sister is here!!! I can’t believe she is finally here and gets to see my second home right here in Sansepolcro. Her arrival promises an amazing week, and a few nights of little rest as I still have work to do in these final weeks. Moments such as having her in this amazing place with me, make me so incredible happy that I can’t even describe it. It is the simple and beautiful joy which I have found many times here in Italy, and I am so happy to share that joy with my sister now. I had to share my excitement on her arrival, but now I can share my weekend in Rome!

Saturday we got up to take the bus to Arezzo and catch a train somewhere around 12. I inconveniently read the bus schedule wrong, assuming that on Saturday there was a bus at 9:56 when really that bus only runs Monday through Friday. We chose to wait for Bekah and take a later bus at 12:45. This allowed me to get a little more work done before my sister’s arrival but also allowed me to walk around the market. I forgot how much I enjoyed walking around the market and Vi and I had a very successful walk through it all. We bought clementines for the weekend and I got to do a little bit of shopping for people I love back home (who happen to read my blog, and can’t find out their surprises yet). Once we finally left Sansepolcro, made a train to Rome, and arrived in Rome it was getting dark. We headed straight for our hostel, which I am happy to say was only about 4 blocks away from Termini (Rome’s main station for just about every type of public transportation in Rome). Our goal for the night was to make it to the Trevi Fountain, throw our coins in, and then find a good Italian restaurant for dinner, which seems to be harder when you are in larger cities. We found a good restaurant and all joined one another’s company, but I am sad to say that Saturday night we failed to find the Trevi Fountain. What we found was a small, disappointing fountain in one of the many piazzas of Rome. We threw in coins to represent quick return to Rome, finding love, or finding wedding bells soon. I am sad to say that Bekah, who really was excited to throw in her three for marriage threw them in the wrong fountain and went home having thrown them in a not so famous fountain close to the Trevi. I have no doubts we will all still attend her wedding soon, but it is quite funny we looked like crazy American tourists in front of the wrong fountain.

Sunday we set our alarms to get up at a decent hour. After being awoken at 6am from our neighbors, and then again to say goodbye to Bekah around 7am, we finally dragged ourselves up and out the door by ten after a little more rest. We headed off to see the Spanish steps and I was encountered by a man holding some string on the Spanish steps. He literally made a bracelet using my finger as the holder for his string, and then put it on my wrist. Of course after talking to me and making this bracelet for me he wanted money. I finally told him that I was going to give him a euro to get away from me. It seems that people will often give you things for “free” in Rome, but quickly turn around wondering why you haven’t given them any money for it. This happened again that same night at the Trevi Fountain. It seems one of my biggest down falls is that my blonde hair screams “American tourist” to all the people on the streets of Rome. After seeing the Spanish steps we decided to see what looked to be interesting places on our map. We couldn’t get to any of the places we wanted to go on the metro, so we had to figure out how the bus system worked. I am proud to say we utilized Rome public transportation, and took the bus to a few beautiful places off the normal Rome destinations. We saw Castel Di St. Angelo and a beautiful fountain that had stunning views of Rome in many directions. We decided to play “guess the building” from this point as we looked onto much of the cities buildings. After venturing off the beaten path it was time to find the Pantheon. This required another bus, but this time we got spilled off the bus close to where we were headed. We saw the Pantheon and then I made it to Termini to wait for my sister’s arrival. I stared at every person getting off of the Leonardo Express, and when I finally saw my sister’s familiar face and blonde hair from a distance I ran straight to her. I couldn’t believe my sister was really in Italy with me! My sister, Vi, Sam, and I all went to dinner at a restaurant close to our hostel which was nothing like the amazing food we get here, but it was priced well. After dinner we all went to the REAL Trevi Fountain, which I am sad Bekah missed but happy that my sister did not miss. It was gorgeous and when I arrived I knew that I had to be at the right fountain because I was speechless. The people crowded all around it also indicated we had found the right spot. Rome is one of those cities where you must constantly remind yourself how awesome all the things you are seeing are. This next day in Rome, I did that a lot.

On Monday Patricia, Sam, Vi and I rolled out of bed a little earlier than the day before and got ready for our most touristy day yet. Our plan was to make it to the Vatican and then the Colosseum all before catching the train back to Arezzo. This made for a very hectic, but productive day in Rome. We made it to the Vatican around 10 Monday morning, and I quickly became overwhelmed by all the tourists around us. As our tour guide would later put it, “there are two types of pedestrians here, the quick and the dead.” We found a good student deal for an official tour of the museum and the Sistine Chapel which lasted a couple of hours. My back began to kill me, but I was happy we decided to take the entire tour. Our tour guide made the journey through the many rooms of the museum entertaining for everyone with the “spot the celebrity” and “where’s Rafael?” Thanks to our guide’s games we found Sylvester Stallone and Johnny Depp, who I spotted and called out in the middle of the museum. We also found all of the Ninja Turtles except for one in the Rafael rooms. Rafael hid Leonardo (Da Vinci), Michelangelo, and himself in a painting that covered one of the walls. After making it through the museum and the magnificently painted Sistine chapel, we ran to the metro and headed back to Termini in order to go to the Colosseum. We could use our RomaPASS there to get skip the lines, and it also covered our admission in. My sister and I were alone at this point and decided it was ok to be touristy and get the audio tour. It was amazing to hear how old everything was or how much happened in the same place I was standing. It was great to finally see Rome, but even better to see it with my sister. We returned home on a 5 o’clock train to Arezzo and took the last bus to Sansepolcro, so needless to say we were both very excited to see our beds. I could finally feel the blood circulated through my feet once again as I fell asleep far past my bedtime.

thoughts on a week flying by!

The week has gone by faster than I thought it would and now we have made it through another full week of classes. Rather than working more on papers for class to get ahead, I am watching a movie with the girls. I feel like the chances to enjoy afternoons like these are dwindling, and so I try to be ok with my choice of afternoon activities. I’ll have dinner with good friends tonight, and then in the morning it will finally be time to see Rome!

The beginning of the week started off as most do. I realized that my weekend had gone by too fast, and that another one was coming my way to do just the same. I knew I had to be productive this week and so that is exactly how started off my week. I finished Sara’s final paper by Wednesday and was planning to reward myself after by relaxing some. When I walked up stairs to start this time of relaxation, Chelsea tells me that we have a family dinner scheduled for 7:30. I stopped in my tracks because I was still in my pajamas from the morning and not prepared to be charming. I threw on my jeans and changed my shirt, and five minutes later the Tanfis were there to get us. The Tanfis are the adorable couple that Chelsea and I have eaten with twice now. They have come to the palazzo before because they are Dr. Webb and John Rose’s friends. They are so sweet to let us into their house and gave us amazing food. They have one son Matteo who is married with a son Andrea and their other child, Clara passed away some years ago after a bad accident. Not only do they feed us well, they never think we have enough. They ask if we want more or if there is anything else we need. Even after we eat they have plenty of things to entertain us with. This week it was Matteo’s wedding album, their wedding album, and Clara’s baby photos. It is always tiring to go to the family dinners because we are speaking only Italian and sometimes have to explain things we don’t talk about in Italian class. After stuffing ourselves with food and being entertained by the Tanfis charm and also their dog Rocko, it was time to find a nice warm bed.

Thursday wasn’t going to be a very promising day to be productive because I had to register for classes, then we had Bekah’s final dinner. This was another day that it was nice to just be with everyone here. Sam and I went to order the pizzas and the woman at the pizzeria didn’t believe that we wanted 7 whole pizzas, but we were ordering for everyone. We gave Bekah a frame with a collage of pictures from the semester and Sara came with all of the children also. They brought dessert, and after eating we moved to the living room. I learned that John Rose is quite good at charades and I enjoy playing with him. I chose The Little Mermaid when it was my turn and so after using my fingers to explain the word “little” I had to be a mermaid and wiggle around on the floor. It was quite an entertaining time, and we even got John Rose to stick around for the entire chick flick that we watched after the game. Watching 13 Going on 30 is interesting when it is in Italian and you have seen it because some of the things they say are not the real words.

Now it is Friday and there is plenty that still needs to be done before I head off to Rome, but I hate to say it won’t all get finished. I look forward to finally seeing Rome and also to see my sister! There is no doubt the next week will be amazing simple because she will be here, and we can always have fun together.

This weekend all of the girls, Dr. Webb, John Rose, and the swabs, along with our favorite driver Marco headed off for a long weekend excursion. We would be traveling to several of the places in Italy that we have been reading about in Dr. Webb’s English class. My immune system and I have been trying to battle a bad cough in order to not feel bad for the weekend’s adventures. We would start our trip in a small town near Siena, but as the weekend progressed we would venture to the south where few of us have been.



Thursday after our Italian lesson we traveled on the bus for a couple of hours and made it to Montepulciano. The weather was perfect this day so we walked around the city to stretch our legs. Little did we know, the most recent Twilight movie, New Moon was filmed there. After seeing pictures of the actors in store windows we became curious and one of the townspeople told us they used the main piazza for filming. After seeing the beautiful colors and charming buildings of this city we loaded back on the bus to head to La Foce, where Iris Origo lived and wrote her journal War in Val D’Orcia, which we read for English. In this journal Origo talks of her life in this Italian town during the war. Her and her husband took in 23 children to protect them from the war, and had two of their own. The property was more extravagant than I had pictured with its beautiful gardens and large estate. Seeing the property allowed her stories to come to life. I could see the places where they lived, hide when the Germans came, and where the British and others running hid on their property. The estate was larger than I imagined, and the gardens that filled the yard were beautiful. The views from the rose garden down into the valleys, most of which the Origos owned, were beautiful and would be the first of many amazing views I saw this weekend. Before leaving, we learned that olive oil is made on the property since it is still a working farm. Cooking with olive oil is one of many smart decisions Italians make when cooking. The sun was setting, and after seeing the cemetery where the Origos are buried we loaded up to make it to our hotel. We stayed in a charming hotel in a small town called Pienza on Thursday night. We all went to dinner together after settling into our new rooms, and I chose to get a first course and split a second with Nicole. It’s a good thing I run because this Italian food is too good to not eat, but if I was lazy I would regret eating it all. Before we arrived back to the hotel for the night, Lauren found a new friend in the bus. There was a giant spider, which crawled right up beside Lauren’s face. This moment was a testament to how fearful women can get over bugs. After capturing the entire thing on video and laughing until we cried, everyone went to sleep after a long but productive day.



Friday was used mostly as a driving day to get to the south of Italy. It was about mid day when we stopped for lunch, and when we took the exit to stop I knew I wasn’t in Tuscany anymore. There were honking cars with rude drivers, and I was reminded of northern US. This is interesting because in the United States the people in the south aren’t very rude when they drive, but you get to the big cities in the north and you drive only when you have to. I have been learning about the continuous north south divide of Italy, but this trip gave me a chance to actually see what I had learned in person. The poverty was shown in the condition of building that filled the streets, and while I didn’t want to feel different when I left Central and Northern Italy, I did. When we stopped at the French Palace of Castera, we went to the restrooms. Upon entering they smelled terrible, and when I turned on my water it was brown. This isn’t usual for the north and one of many signs of poverty in the south today. This French palace had a beautiful garden and we walked around it to allowing the blood to flow through our legs once again. It is a fact that I saw some beautiful gardens and some beautiful views this past weekend! This same day I also had Ursala (from the Little Mermaid), or should I say octopus for lunch. I knew I was getting seafood pasta, but I was very proud that I ate such a sea creature that day. After several more hours of alternating between taking notes on the north/south divide in Italy and falling asleep with my ipod, we made it to Matera after dark. The view we got right after we got off the bus made the ride well worth it. Bekah, Sam, Amanda, Lauren and I ate dinner together at a pizzeria where we were happy to be the only Americans and enjoyed good food and good company with one another. For some reason travel makes people tired, even when you nap the whole ride. This made my bed look really nice, in our surprisingly nice hostel. I say that because it was my first time actually staying in a hostel here and our room even had a spiral staircase. This made late night bathroom breaks interesting, but added a charm I wasn’t expecting to get from a hostel.




Saturday we got up and set off early for Aliano. This is a small city where Carlo Levi wrote his famous book Christ Stopped At Eboli. I was anticipating this trip because I just finished writing on Levi’s life in Aliano and what he learned from the children there. When we arrived to Aliano it actually was what I expected. This usually doesn’t happen to me but it was as if what I had read could be understood completely because I was in this place. I was grateful to tour a museum containing pictures of his life, papers from his exile, and paintings he did while in Aliano. We got to see where Carlo lived while in Aliano and view he got from the top of the house was a good one. It was another day filled with amazing views of spectacular mountains. When I think about the time in which Levi was in Aliano, I realize that he could have been one of the luckier of his time. This is because he survived the Holocaust and was exiled to a city he came to fall in love with instead. I am not saying life was easy for him or that the things he saw were easy to take in, but it gives one something to think about. We got a small but charming lunch in Aliano after seeing Carlo Levis grave. He is buried in between two walls and on the ledge of this cemetery. This seems to represent the space he was confined in, but the beauty that was all around him. This same scene is in his painting Lucania 61 which we saw in Matera and it makes you wonder if it is something he knew he wanted before her died. We drove through Stagliano, where Levi also spent some of his time and stopped in Craco. This city was abandoned in 1963 after mud slides came and ruined everything. Everyone was sent away, and today all that remains is ruined homes and buildings. It was very exciting to see it all and I even was allowed to take a Italian roof tile, I just have to get it home now! We returned to Matera Saturday night and saw some of Levi’s painting in an art gallery. It was interesting to see how much he grew as an artist, but also how his style changed when he was put into exile. You wander if it was because his life was shakier or because of the supplies he was limited to. I had another oversized but extremely good dinner that night with Bekah, Sam, and Lauren and after we got good thick Italian hot chocolate. Before dinner, let me add that we got gelato. We were all missing it too much and had been happy to find a place that still had it.


Sunday it was time to get back to Sansepolcro and even though the day wasn’t promised to be outstanding, the one city we did stop in was different than the rest we had seen all weekend. Paestum was the town we stopped in and it was famous for its Greek ruins. I was happy to see some ruins since I haven’t made it to Pompeii or Capri yet. There was a museum we went in first and there were tombs older than biblical stories. This was different than the 15th century Renaissance art I have seen here in Italy. Stopping in Paestum was a great way to finish off the weekend before getting back to Sansepolcro. I got to spend the weekend seeing so many different parts of Italy that I hadn’t seen yet. The places we went gave me a new picture for the country and helped me realize there was so much more to see. As always, it was great to get home and now the week must be a productive one, so when my sister arrives in a week I can enjoy time with her in this gorgeous country! :)

Only a month remains...

This past weekend entailed another morning of service learning to start and was followed by a beautiful day in Gubbio, a fun night in Sansepolcro, and a rainy but productive Sunday here at the palazzo!

Friday I made it back to Maestre Pie to help teach in the English classes with the schools English teacher Laura. The past few weeks have been stressful because the school’s headmaster has been sick, and this past week there was also sick teachers. Laura had to step up as a leader so when I arrived to help, I could tell she was very happy to see me. For the first hour I was with the level five class and these students are working on terms for clothing and body parts. I sat with individual groups and helped them say what they were wearing. I have noticed these kids having the same problem as I do in Italian class, and that is constructing sentences properly. They remember the vocabulary pretty well but when they are asked to say “I am wearing” and then the terms, they struggle. I do this same thing, but because their ten and eleven year old children learning the same things as me I am pushed to study even harder. This week was my first week in the nursery and I helped teach a group of five year olds a song in English. Now to me, the fact that these students are learning ANY English at the age of five impresses me. They managed to pick up the vocabulary for pig, sheep, horse, and mouse from one of the songs. We sang a song about colors of autumn or autunno and they learned the word for brown, yellow, and orange. When I walked into the nursery, three different Italian women rushed to greet me. This was great except that since they were Italian, they were speaking in very fast Italian. I managed to understand some of it, tell them my name in Italian, and say that I only spoke a small amount. You sometimes impress yourself when you are put on the spot and forced to create sentences though, and this happened to me that morning at the school. After teaching the five year olds songs and making horse and mouse puppets I went back into Laura’s classroom to work with the level three class. I planned to teach them about a typical Thanksgiving meal. We did this and I gave them all a lot of vocabulary words for the wonderful food that I eat on Thanksgiving, but they also taught me a few things. There were some words that I didn’t go, because at this point in my Italian studies I do not know the word for every type of food in Italian. When one of the boys asked me how to say cereali in English I had no idea what he was talking about! Come to find out, thanks to my Italian-English dictionary, he meant cereal which I should have known. The language barrier also makes for a few nerve racking moments in the classroom. As I may have mentioned before, my students are a lot less far along in their English studies than some of the other girl’s students at their schools. Their smaller knowledge of English has given me the challenge to work on my Italian more, and I need that. Because of our group trip to Matera and Val D’Orcia this week, I will not be going to the school again until the 20th.





On Saturday the science and society class was required to go on a day trip to Gubbio, but I am very glad that I chose to go along with them because it was a beautiful city. Gubbio is a small city close to Perugia, where I went for the chocolate festival a few weeks ago. It is the rival city to Sansepolcro and this past year we beat them at the Balestra, which I attended in September (I can’t believe I’ve really been here since September!). We arrived in Gubbio and took a lift, or as they call it a “funivia,” to the upper city. It was small but charming, and the ride up was beautiful. There was a church of course, and a wedding was being held on this day. I never saw the bride, only the beautifully decorated cars for the bride’s getaway. The views from the top made the ride even more worth it, but so did the company at the top. Being all together in these last few weeks is important because I now have a relationship with everyone here and we will not be together like this again in four more weeks. After a group picture that almost led me to tears, it was time to go back down to the center of the city and get something to eat. Sam, Bekah, and I managed to find a charming pizzeria which no Americans had been to since the currency changed to the Euro. I had the best calzone I’ve had since being in Italy. We walked around and let our food digest while exploring the rest of the city. It was beautiful and while waiting for the bus we explored the part near the city center. There was a collection of beautiful, autumn colored trees. The day was beautiful and luckily we had no rain.

Sunday was a productive day for me. I got a lot of work done, went for a run with Nicole (we ended up getting soaked from rain!) and then enjoyed the evening. I was in bed by eleven for the first time that I can remember. I hope the week continues to go as well as it has begun!!

10 trains, 6 buses, 4 airplanes, and 4 taxis

I must tell everyone all about the amazing time I had on my long break to London and Glasgow. It was hard to leave Sansepolcro last Tuesday, because the weather was perfect and all the trees looked beautiful. The week ahead would make up for the beautiful city I had to leave, because I would be seeing two countries I had never been to and two friends I hadn’t seen since leaving the states. After a fabulous week with MK and Rachel in London and Glasgow, I arrived back in Sansepolcro completely worn out and happier than ever to see my bed. For me, both of those were a sign of an amazing week and a good break, since now I must recover and refocus for the last month in Sansepolcro. The title of this blog is meant to express the many means of transportation I took to run around and see all of the amazing places that I did.

The long break started in Ferrara, because Nicole and I decided to go visit people studying with the program that brought her over to Italy her first time abroad. She reconnected with her directors, and we also got to see our friend Giacomo. The dinner that we shared with the company of this study abroad group was also incredibly good. I had to have one last three-course Italian meal before heading to London. Because we were in Ferrara, we only had a short train ride to get to Bologna the next morning, where both of us would leave from. As much as we wanted to see Bologna, my anxiety was getting the best of me because I wouldn’t let us venture off to far from the train station. If we had I would have surely panicked if I missed my bus to the airport or my flight. We did get to grab one last Italian calzone, cone of gelato, and take a walk through the park before separating ways at the station. We were indeed both in for two very different experiences on our break because Nicole was going to Moracco where she spent less money than she has since being here, and I was off to the big city of London where I would spend well over the budget I have had in Italy.

I was completely content when I boarded my plane to London, because I had a window seat that allowed me to look back on beautiful Italy and at beautiful mountains ahead. It was one of those simple unplanned moments of joy that Frederick Buechner talks about in his devotional book (a favorite author of mine). I was reminded you must check twice to make sure you have your things, because when I arrived at Stansted airport in London I realized I left one of my books for class on the plane! After making it through customs and London on the “easy bus” it was time to have my first experience on the underground tube. Apparently my first experience was unlike anyone else’s that went to London. As I was waiting for the next circle line train to arrive, a district line train pulled into Victoria station where I was waiting. About eight to ten young men proceeded to exit the train, strip off all of their clothes, and then get back on the train right before it left the station. I believe my face froze in complete shock, as well as everyone else. All I could think was “well welcome to London Hannah!” After this surprising welcome to the underground my less exciting train arrived and I finally got to MK’s neighborhood, Notting Hill. Having arrived in MK’s neighborhood, the next step was to find her and this ended up being a little more painful than I planned. After trying two different payphones and an Italian cell phone (which would have been ridiculously expensive had it worked), I finally found a small internet café where I bought thirty minutes and called her cell phone from Skype. Skype is an amazing invention for any young women studying abroad, and I was reminded of this in a different way that night. We finally connected and realized how awesome it was to be in one another’s company. We began to catch up over dinner which included chicken, “chips”, and some amazing corn (on the cob!). When we returned to her flat, I laughed at how incredibly close I had been to her earlier when I was looking for her, and after a bit more catching up we slept.


Thursday we felt it was necessary to be completely touristy for the day since I had never been to London. MK even took her new beautiful camera along for the adventure. We made it to the center of the city where we saw Big Ben, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and many tourists. We enjoyed our chi tea lattes and after getting all the pictures we could and choosing against the Eye’s 20 pound charge we were off to Trafalgar’s Square to have some lunch. We enjoyed this area and sat on the steps for lunch, at times uncomfortably close to the pigeons. It’s interesting to observe all of the different people you see in a big city. They come from so many different places. When MK and I were heading to the Queens Palace to see the guards two women in front of us and one said she wished one of the horses the guards were on would really bite a tourist (which signs warn tourists of outside of the palace). This woman must have been one of the more bitter residents of the area but what can she expect living in London? The day was getting late and MK’s flat mate was celebrating her birthday that night. We decided to go out with them to a club called Whiskey Mist, which normally has a cover of 20 pounds but because her friend Kathryn knew people there we all got in for free. I enjoyed that because since I was staying with MK I could be a tourist and have her show me around, but I also got to see other parts of the city and meet her friends.

Friday morning MK and I were off to Glasgow, where we would stay with my friend from home Rachel. She is currently studying at the University of Glasgow and lives in a flat near the university with 3 Scots and one German girl. Getting to Glasgow wasn’t too painful, only a slightly delayed flight. When we arrived it was pouring rain as the wind blew, so of course an umbrella did nothing to help since it was windy. I knew I was finally in Scotland when a man turned to me in the rain and said “welcome to bloody Scotland” in a deep Scottish accent. Although I was getting rained on, his welcome brought me so much joy! We took a local train and met Rachel in Glasgow’s central station, since I learned planning a meeting time and location was better than having to make phone calls. We ventured through the rain, took a small subway (this time less exciting than the experiences in the London tube), and then walked a few more minutes before arriving to her flat. Once we arrived we made fajitas in Rachel’s kitchen, which I really appreciated because I have only reheated food in our kitchen here at the palazzo. We turned on music and allowed ourselves to enjoy each other’s company. The girls she is living with are so sweet and after we finished eating Rachel, two of her flat mates, and I went to one of Glasgow University’s student unions for “cheesy pop Fridays.” The name confused me at first, but upon arrival it clicked that it literally meant Fridays were dedicated to dancing to old “cheesy” pop songs. I enjoyed myself completely because I got to hear all sorts of old songs from when I was younger, including the Spice Girls and Hanson. Because Rachel and I were already tired we made it back to her flat for the evening.




Saturday morning we gave ourselves a little more sleep than we had been getting, then got up to see Glasgow. This day the weather was nice and the rain held out so we wouldn’t get soaked while walking around. Rachel took us to Glasgow University where she studies and showed us the older part of the school. The original buildings of the University are mainly used for professors’ offices and the classrooms are housed in newer buildings. This was a beautiful school and after walking under the multiple barreled archways we reached the other side of the school which presents a great view of the city. Another feeling of joy during my excursion happened at this beautiful place. It was so nice, and I was so happy to be in Scotland with MK and Rachel. After touring the school I had to get fish and chips at one of the local pubs before the football match. The fish and chips was everything I hoped for and although I only had a coca-cola with my meal that day, while in Scotland I did try the cider and it was very good. This is one thing you can’t find much of in Italy. Once we had eaten, we met Iona (Rachel’s roommate) and her father at a football match. One of Glasgow’s local team was playing a team that was said to be a favorite of famous politicians in Scotland. Once the second half rolled around I had purchased a scarf, I was yelling at Thistledown (the team we were rooting for) to stop making stupid mistakes and getting mad when they did. It’s interesting to see how quickly one gets into a game after being there for only a short while. In front of us there were three generations of a family. The father, son, and grandfather were all yelling at the team. It was quite entertaining to watch them all and hear what they had to say. Once we left the game the sun had left Glasgow and it was time to find some dinner. We cooked again, and this night it was grilled cheese and tomato soup. I had forgotten what pre-sliced orange cheddar cheese tasted like and very much enjoyed it in my grilled cheese! Rachel and her friends were all heading out for Halloween festivities after supper, and even though I didn’t have a costume I couldn’t let it stop me from going out dancing. We returned to the student union, whose interior was a little more festive, and line was about ten times as long as the previous night. I reconnected with some Scots who were part of an exchange program my high school had with a high school in Oban, Scotland. It was good to see them after having met them in the states. We all had so much fun that we stayed out until about 3 in the morning, and by the time I returned to Rachel’s flat MK and I had to pack up and catch a taxi to the bus station. We rushed off after a short but sweet trip to Glasgow very early Sunday morning.


Since the only bus we could catch arrived at the airport over an hour before our flight I was able to get one hour of sleep on some chairs before boarding. I believe that MK and I both slept from the moment we took off from Glasgow to the moment we landed London. Upon arriving the rain was coming down, and when you add rain to sleep deprivation the only thing that your body wants to do is sleep. After searching the internet, I had found out there wouldn’t be any shows in London that night and all my body wanted was a little sleep. After a long nap, MK and I had one final dinner together at a restaurant in Kensington (a neighborhood near hers’). The break had all gone by too fast, and I can honestly say it was the first time I wasn’t aching to come back to Sansepolcro because I didn’t want to leave good friends and new places so quickly. Now I’ve returned and we have only a month left here! It’s hard to believe how long I have been in Italy now, but then sad to think about leaving in another month. All of these beautiful experiences allow the days to fly by! Only a little more than two weeks and my sister will arrive for Thanksgiving week.

“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!! :) ”