Day 111!

I did it again, I apologize! Let me just say that I cannot believe it's already half way through December! And I have been here for over 100 days! This semester has really flown by. I am already completely done with one of my classes! I had the final for my Italian grammar class on Dec. 3, so I spent most of the first week in December studying for that. It's such a relief to only have two classes to think about now, even though grammar was my favorite class.
Saiya, one of my very best friends from IU, was here from the 5th to the 11th. She just finished studying this semester in South Africa and was making a few stops in Europe to visit people before she headed home for Christmas. I'm so glad she was here for a week, it was a really wonderful time. It was perfect timing, too, because Dec. 8 is a national holiday here (for the Immaculate Conception I think). So I didn't have any class on Monday or Tuesday last week--a FIVE DAY weekend! Saiya got in on Saturday afternoon, and we went grocery shopping and just walked around Bologna a little bit. She and I, Rodolfo, Anne, and Alex all went out for an aperitivo and gelato Saturday night. Sunday Saiya and I just caught up and chilled. She is a wonderful cook and made me African food--baked squash with spinach sauteed with garlic and onions with yogurt on top. It was delicious.
She and I and Rodolfo went to Venice on Monday for the day. It was a pretty gray day, but Venice was still such a beautiful city! We took a boat to Murano, the island famous for its glass. I could have spent the whole day just in Murano, there was so much to look at! I definitely want to go back before the end of the year.
The rest of the week I just showed Saiya around Bologna and introduced her to the wonder that is real Italian food haha. She also cooked for me a lot, which I really miss! I liked introducing her to new things here. We tried roasted chestnuts for the first time--there are people selling them on the streets this time of year. They were delicious! It was so good to have someone from home here. I liked showing her around because it made me realize just how much I have learned since getting here. It was very sad to see her go, especially since it meant that I really have to focus on my schoolwork now! I have my final for my cinema class on Thursday. It's an oral exam, so I am getting pretty nervous about it! I also have to write an 8 to 12 page paper (in Italian, of course ugh) for that class. It's not due till Jan 15, but I want to get a head start on it so I can just focus on studying for my literature class when I get back from my Christmas trip.
Speaking of which... Erin and I have planned a trip from Dec 21 to Jan 4 or 5. We are going to Milan, Novara for Christmas eve and Christmas day (Erin has family there), then Interlaken, Switzerland, Berlin for the BIGGEST New Year's Eve celebration in the world!, then Munich on the way back to Bologna. It may sound extravagant, but I know I will need something really exciting and distracting to do over the holidays so I don't have too much time to think about missing my family and everyone back home! There will be LOTS of pix, of course!
I have been a little bit homesick just because of the season, but it is also exciting to be here for the holidays. Bologna, and all of Italy I think, is really getting into the holiday spirit. There are Christmas lights strung across all of the major streets as well as many other small ones. The taller of the two famous towers of Bologna is all lit up, and I can see the top of it from my window. The whole city just has a really festive feeling, and I really love it! Little Christmas markets have sprung up across the city. It's fun just to wander through and browse all the gifts. I have never spent the holidays in a city before, and I kind of like it. There are always people bustling around Christmas shopping and carrying lots of bags and packages. Sometimes there are people on the street playing carols on a saxophone or accordion, and as I mentioned, there are chestnut vendors on the main streets. I just love the Christmas season, even though I can't believe it's here again already!
xoxo
Check out my latest album!