I'm going home today!!! I can't believe my year abroad is coming to a close. What a year; I have lived in Italy for a little over 11 months, visited six European countries, taken three classes at the oldest university in the world, and eaten countless pizzas! I have learned so much about Italian culture and about being a world citizen, not just a U.S. citizen. More importantly, I have learned a lot about myself. This has been a truly amazing experience, and I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity. Looking forward to seeing everyone back home and sharing my stories!
xoxo
31 July 2010
05 June 2010
Day 286! Ohhhh where has the time gone?!
Well, despite my best intentions (not really best efforts, obviously haha), here I am again, returning to my blog and all my faithful readers with my tail between my legs. Almost a month again since my last post! To be fair, not much has changed since my last post. May was a month spent almost entirely on studying. I must say, there are some really lovely things about Italy, but their university system was and is a terrible idea. Sure, at first it seems like such a great plan--almost an entire month between the end of classes and when you take exams, so much time to study! But ughhhhh, how I miss one solid week of finals like at IU. This whole extended exam period just leads to extended STRESS! I don't think I can take it much longer! But luckily I don't have to haha. My LAST EXAM is on Monday. FINALLY!!!!
Ok so had to get that off my chest. Since my last post:
Mostly studying:( I'll skip describing that, and move on to more interesting things...
BCSP planned a trip to the Tuscan countryside! We had ourselves a little bus trip May 13 and 14. Tuscany is GORGEOUS! It was soooo nice to get out of Bologna for a couple days and to just enjoy everyone's company. I really like when BCSP plans events for us because I tend to be really bad at keeping in touch with some of the kids otherwise, and everyone really is a lot of fun!
So, we left really early on the morning of May 13. Our first stop was Monteriggioni, a very small but culturally important medieval town. It looks like a fortress, surrounded by walls that we got to walk around on, providing an excellent view of the surrounding countryside. OHHH how I miss trees and grass, living in a city! haha We just wandered around the city and up on the walls for a while, it doesn't take long at all to see the whole town.
Next stop was Siena! What a beautiful city! (Just for you James Bond fans, Siena is the city at the beginning of Quantum of Solace!) Siena is famous for hosting the Palio twice a year. It is a horse race in which the 17 contrade (neighborhoods) of Siena compete for the trophy. We had some free time to wander the city and grab lunch, then we reconvened and were given a tour of the church of one of the 17 neighborhoods, Selva (forest). There we learned that it is tradition to take the horse into the church and bless it before the race! The symbol for Selva is the rhinoceros, so that is why I have so many pictures of little rhinos in my album haha.
After Siena, we headed on to our accomodations for the night. We stayed at Sant'Anna in Camprena, a former monastery. I've never seen this movie, but apparently The English Patient was filmed there! The scenery was beyond beautiful, the rooms were quaint and comfortable, and the food was delicious (to be expected!)
The next morning, we all hopped back on the bus and headed to Pienza, a city we had learned a lot about in our Art History class, so it was pretty cool to actually see it in person. It is known for being a true city of the Renaissance. Another beautiful, if somewhat small, city. Again, we just wandered about. One of my favorite parts was finding Via dell'Amore and Via del Bacio (Love Street and Kiss Street haha).
Then on to Montalcino, another hilltop town of tuscany. We were supposed to do a two-hour hike from here to a "near-by" church, but the weather was iffy, so we just stopped for lunch here instead and added another stop to our trip.
Our bonus city was San Gimignano. I'm so glad we got to go here, it is a really neat city. Once again, it is a walled medieval town. It's famous for having conserved 14 of its medieval towers, whereas cities like Bologna have lost most of theirs.
After San Gimignano, we headed on back to Bologna, and I headed (unfortunately) on back to the books!
May 17 was my first University of Bologna exam of the semester, Italian Literature. I wasn't satisfied with the grade my professor was going to give me, so I opted to retake the exam. That is the one I have on Monday. The only good thing about that is that I have already studied a lot, and now I know what types of things to study more based on the questions my professor asked me the first time around! I'm hoping I do better the second time around, because I want to be done!!!
Then MORE studying.
May 27 was my History of the Italian Language exam, which went TERRIBLY. That professor was HATEFUL to all of us foreign students. No one was happy with the grade they got. He was rude to almost all of us because we weren't fluent in Italian, knowing full well that we aren't native Italians. Also, since he let us foreign students take our exam on a special day, separately from the Italian students, he sees himself as being overly magnanimous to us already, and therefore will not let us retake the exam. Soooo there goes my GPA. Thanks, Italy.
Sooo anyway, that's about all that has been going on. The weather here has be absolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to be done studying so I can enjoy it! Only two more days, and I'm FINALLY DONE! This has been the longest school year EVER!
xoxo
P.S. OF COURSE pix from TUSCANY!
Ok so had to get that off my chest. Since my last post:
Mostly studying:( I'll skip describing that, and move on to more interesting things...
BCSP planned a trip to the Tuscan countryside! We had ourselves a little bus trip May 13 and 14. Tuscany is GORGEOUS! It was soooo nice to get out of Bologna for a couple days and to just enjoy everyone's company. I really like when BCSP plans events for us because I tend to be really bad at keeping in touch with some of the kids otherwise, and everyone really is a lot of fun!
So, we left really early on the morning of May 13. Our first stop was Monteriggioni, a very small but culturally important medieval town. It looks like a fortress, surrounded by walls that we got to walk around on, providing an excellent view of the surrounding countryside. OHHH how I miss trees and grass, living in a city! haha We just wandered around the city and up on the walls for a while, it doesn't take long at all to see the whole town.
Next stop was Siena! What a beautiful city! (Just for you James Bond fans, Siena is the city at the beginning of Quantum of Solace!) Siena is famous for hosting the Palio twice a year. It is a horse race in which the 17 contrade (neighborhoods) of Siena compete for the trophy. We had some free time to wander the city and grab lunch, then we reconvened and were given a tour of the church of one of the 17 neighborhoods, Selva (forest). There we learned that it is tradition to take the horse into the church and bless it before the race! The symbol for Selva is the rhinoceros, so that is why I have so many pictures of little rhinos in my album haha.
After Siena, we headed on to our accomodations for the night. We stayed at Sant'Anna in Camprena, a former monastery. I've never seen this movie, but apparently The English Patient was filmed there! The scenery was beyond beautiful, the rooms were quaint and comfortable, and the food was delicious (to be expected!)
The next morning, we all hopped back on the bus and headed to Pienza, a city we had learned a lot about in our Art History class, so it was pretty cool to actually see it in person. It is known for being a true city of the Renaissance. Another beautiful, if somewhat small, city. Again, we just wandered about. One of my favorite parts was finding Via dell'Amore and Via del Bacio (Love Street and Kiss Street haha).
Then on to Montalcino, another hilltop town of tuscany. We were supposed to do a two-hour hike from here to a "near-by" church, but the weather was iffy, so we just stopped for lunch here instead and added another stop to our trip.
Our bonus city was San Gimignano. I'm so glad we got to go here, it is a really neat city. Once again, it is a walled medieval town. It's famous for having conserved 14 of its medieval towers, whereas cities like Bologna have lost most of theirs.
After San Gimignano, we headed on back to Bologna, and I headed (unfortunately) on back to the books!
May 17 was my first University of Bologna exam of the semester, Italian Literature. I wasn't satisfied with the grade my professor was going to give me, so I opted to retake the exam. That is the one I have on Monday. The only good thing about that is that I have already studied a lot, and now I know what types of things to study more based on the questions my professor asked me the first time around! I'm hoping I do better the second time around, because I want to be done!!!
Then MORE studying.
May 27 was my History of the Italian Language exam, which went TERRIBLY. That professor was HATEFUL to all of us foreign students. No one was happy with the grade they got. He was rude to almost all of us because we weren't fluent in Italian, knowing full well that we aren't native Italians. Also, since he let us foreign students take our exam on a special day, separately from the Italian students, he sees himself as being overly magnanimous to us already, and therefore will not let us retake the exam. Soooo there goes my GPA. Thanks, Italy.
Sooo anyway, that's about all that has been going on. The weather here has be absolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to be done studying so I can enjoy it! Only two more days, and I'm FINALLY DONE! This has been the longest school year EVER!
xoxo
P.S. OF COURSE pix from TUSCANY!
09 May 2010
Day 259!
Ciao!
The last couple weeks have just been a blur of class notes and textbooks and flashcards! I have been studying pretty much non-stop for my exams. My Italian Art History class is finally over, at least! The written exam for that class was May 3rd, and the oral exam was May 5th. I got a 30 (A+)! I studied soooo much for it, and it was worth it. Unfortunately, that was the easiest of my three classes by faaaar.
I still have had a little bit of time for fun with friends, though. Nic, Rodolfo, Mariella, and I had a little Cinco de Mayo/done with art history celebration Wednesday night, which was really fun. Thursday was my LAST UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA CLASS EVER! haha Now I just have to keep studying soooo hard for my last two exams.
Thursday evening after class, I got to be in a music video made by my friend Sky Dylan-Robbins, one of the other full-year BCSP students. It was so fun, there was just a big group of us kids dancing around in Piazza Maggiore (the main square in Bologna) and on the Neptune Fountain. We all had our iPods with our own music going, so to everyone else we just looked crazy! We gathered quite a crowd, and right after we finished, a police car even came crawling by, and they told us not to do it again! Yikes! But Sky was done filming anyway, so everything was fine haha.
Then yesterday, I got filmed again for the show House Hunters International on HGTV. Professor Ricci and his wife are going to be on it, and they wanted some shots of Professor Ricci "doing his job" aka pretending to talk to students about their classes haha. Anyway, Professor Ricci called Nic and me and asked us to help out, which of course I did gladly haha. I am not sure when the episode will air, or how much I will even be in it, but I will try to keep you updated. It's not much, but still kind of exciting haha.
Well, I have a big day of studying ahead of me, and I want to get to the gym before I start in on the books, so I better go!
xoxo
P.S. Here is a link to the music video. It turned out so well! Sky is really talented.
The last couple weeks have just been a blur of class notes and textbooks and flashcards! I have been studying pretty much non-stop for my exams. My Italian Art History class is finally over, at least! The written exam for that class was May 3rd, and the oral exam was May 5th. I got a 30 (A+)! I studied soooo much for it, and it was worth it. Unfortunately, that was the easiest of my three classes by faaaar.
I still have had a little bit of time for fun with friends, though. Nic, Rodolfo, Mariella, and I had a little Cinco de Mayo/done with art history celebration Wednesday night, which was really fun. Thursday was my LAST UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA CLASS EVER! haha Now I just have to keep studying soooo hard for my last two exams.
Thursday evening after class, I got to be in a music video made by my friend Sky Dylan-Robbins, one of the other full-year BCSP students. It was so fun, there was just a big group of us kids dancing around in Piazza Maggiore (the main square in Bologna) and on the Neptune Fountain. We all had our iPods with our own music going, so to everyone else we just looked crazy! We gathered quite a crowd, and right after we finished, a police car even came crawling by, and they told us not to do it again! Yikes! But Sky was done filming anyway, so everything was fine haha.
Then yesterday, I got filmed again for the show House Hunters International on HGTV. Professor Ricci and his wife are going to be on it, and they wanted some shots of Professor Ricci "doing his job" aka pretending to talk to students about their classes haha. Anyway, Professor Ricci called Nic and me and asked us to help out, which of course I did gladly haha. I am not sure when the episode will air, or how much I will even be in it, but I will try to keep you updated. It's not much, but still kind of exciting haha.
Well, I have a big day of studying ahead of me, and I want to get to the gym before I start in on the books, so I better go!
xoxo
P.S. Here is a link to the music video. It turned out so well! Sky is really talented.
21 April 2010
Day 241!
Ciao! I'm trying to be better about keeping my blog updated again, like I was at the beginning of the year. We will see how it goes haha. Today has been an absolutely beautiful day here in Bologna! The high temperature was 76 degrees! I got up and went to the gym with Mariella in the morning, then I spent the afternoon in Giardini Margherita enjoying the sunshine and reading for my class. I really miss my huge terrace at my old apartment because I would have been laying out all day today! When I was leaving the Giardini, there was this whole gaggle of little Italian children at the outdoor gelateria in the Giardini. The adults had pushed all but one of the little round tables together into a big line, and there were maybe 25 little kids all sitting around them eating their gelatos, looking so happy and contented. It was the cutest thing, and it put me in an even better mood! Little children speaking Italian is so funny because they speak it better than I do! haha
xoxo
xoxo
18 April 2010
Day 238!
Ciao! I'm sitting here at the end of a really fun, exhausting weekend, preparing myself for about a month of hardcore studying! Yesterday I went to Mantua with my BSCP art history class for a field trip. We went to see the Palazzo Ducale because we have been studying the art from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, and there are some really good examples of that time period to be seen in the palace. We spent the morning at the palace learning about art from Prof. Benevolo, and then had the rest of the day to ourselves. Mariella, Nic, and I wandered Mantua for a little bit, but it was drizzly so we decided to head back to Bologna on the first train available.
Today is my friend Ronnie's birthday. She and I were best friends from kindergarten through fifth grade, when she moved schools. Now she goes to IU, too, and is studying in Florence this semester! About a month ago, she came to visit me in Bologna, so I wanted to go to Florence to celebrate her 21st with her! So Mariella, Jesse, Brandon, and I all took the train to Florence at about 8 last night. Mariella and I did what I did last fall with some of the year long students--we went down to Florence, stayed out all night, and just took the first train back in the morning at 4:30! It was exhausting, but really fun and worth it. It was so good to see Ronnie and to celebrate her birthday with her. It was fun to go out dancing, especially since I have to lock myself away from the world with only my school books for company for a while! Mar and I got back to Bologna at about 6 this morning and just crashed, of course. Today I have just been recovering and trying to finish up some reading for art history. Got to prepare myself for the exams coming up!
xoxo
Today is my friend Ronnie's birthday. She and I were best friends from kindergarten through fifth grade, when she moved schools. Now she goes to IU, too, and is studying in Florence this semester! About a month ago, she came to visit me in Bologna, so I wanted to go to Florence to celebrate her 21st with her! So Mariella, Jesse, Brandon, and I all took the train to Florence at about 8 last night. Mariella and I did what I did last fall with some of the year long students--we went down to Florence, stayed out all night, and just took the first train back in the morning at 4:30! It was exhausting, but really fun and worth it. It was so good to see Ronnie and to celebrate her birthday with her. It was fun to go out dancing, especially since I have to lock myself away from the world with only my school books for company for a while! Mar and I got back to Bologna at about 6 this morning and just crashed, of course. Today I have just been recovering and trying to finish up some reading for art history. Got to prepare myself for the exams coming up!
xoxo
13 April 2010
12 April 2010
Day 232!
Ciao! Still here! I am just getting around to posting my pix from my spring break trip to PARIS! Mariella's mom came to town during our spring break, and the three of us ladies went to Paris. Mar's mom has been five or six times before, so she was our own personal tour guide. I LOVE PARIS. It is easily my favorite place that I have been so far! We were there from March 29-April 2, and we did all of the touristy things we could possibly fit in. We arrived Monday evening, so we just got settled and planned our week.
Tuesday we went to Sainte-Chapelle, "a gem of High Gothic architecture," and the Conciergerie, the prison where Marie Antoinette was held before being executed. We also saw Notre Dame and wandered the city a bit before stopping at a cool vintage shop called King of Frip that was right by our apartment (which was in a wonderful part of town, by the way, right on the Rive Gauche). We went to a long-established restaurant called Chartier for dinner, and I had steak tartar! Sooooo good!
Wednesday we started with the Arc de Triomphe and then worked our way down the Champ Elysees looking at all of the shops. We stopped for "tea" at Laduree, where I had a delicious cappuccino and a pistachio eclair! Yum! Laduree was sooo pretty, all decorated in light greens and pinks. As Mariella pointed out, it felt like being inside a faberge egg! I also bought some macaroons to go. I had to try macaroons in Paris! (They were also delicious, of course, and were gone by the end of the day!) Then we were pretty tired of shopping, but had one more errand to accomplish on the Champs Elysees: get beer at McDonald's. Which we finally did, but only after learning that you have to order something salty first. So we followed our "tea" with french fries and beer:) We continued on to the Louvre, walking through the Tuileries gardens. The Louvre was great, but so overwhelming! Mariella and I just darted about seeing the main attractions, like the Mona Lisa. We were getting a little worn down by that time. We stopped for dinner on the way back to the apartment and passed out once we got there!
Thursday was our last full day in Paris. We started by taking the train out to see Versailles. Due to some ticket issues, I ended up just going through on my own. I buzzed through, seeing the things I wanted to see (mainly the Hall of Mirrors) and then we walked around the gardens for a bit. Versailles is sooooo beautiful and decadent, but also a little overwhelming! We had lunch at a TEX MEX place! haha It was funny to find a tex mex restaurant pretty much next door to Versailles, but it was sooo good! Then we took the train back into town and headed to Sacre Coeur, a beautiful church up on a hill overlooking the city. It was a beautiful day, not rainy like it had been the rest of the week. It was in that neighborhood that we finally found crepes! We had been wanting them since our first day in Paris, but had some trouble finding a place. After dinner, we bought a baugette and a bottle of pink champagne to take to the Eiffel tower, our grand finale. Once we got there, we realized we couldn't take up the bottle, so we drank our champagne underneath while waiting in line. But we snuck the bread up and had a baugette sword fight on the first floor of the tower. We made it to the very top of the tower, and it was so cool to see the whole city spread out before us at night! The tower sparkles for the first ten minutes of every hour at night, and it started sparkling while we were up at the very top! We also got to see the whole thing sparkle because it started up again by the time we got back down. It was so beautiful, I love the Eiffel Tower so much and would live at the top if I could!
Unfortunately on Friday, we only had time to wake up and get worn out selves to the airport to catch our plane back to Bologna. It was such a good trip though, and I really hope I get to go back!!!
We got back to Bologna Friday afternoon and rested up that night. Saturday morning, we hopped on a train to Genoa to spend Easter with Mariella's aunt and uncle and cousins. We spent Saturday night and Suday morning there, enjoying being with an Italian family (i.e. eating a lot of good food), then took the train back to Bologna Sunday afternoon because Mar's mom was flying back to the U.S. on Monday. Mariella, her mom, Nic, and I had a lovely Easter dinner. Mar and her mom made American breakfast for dinner! We had pancakes and eggs, and it was sooo delicious! Overall it was a really great Easter break, and it was over wayyy too soon:-/
Now it's back to the grind. Classes are actually almost over, and the craaaazy studying for exams will begin. This is my last week of my Italian Literature class. If all goes well, I will be done with school for this year by the end of May... ugh speaking of which, I need to do some studying!
xoxo
P.S. PIX from PARIS heeeere.
Tuesday we went to Sainte-Chapelle, "a gem of High Gothic architecture," and the Conciergerie, the prison where Marie Antoinette was held before being executed. We also saw Notre Dame and wandered the city a bit before stopping at a cool vintage shop called King of Frip that was right by our apartment (which was in a wonderful part of town, by the way, right on the Rive Gauche). We went to a long-established restaurant called Chartier for dinner, and I had steak tartar! Sooooo good!
Wednesday we started with the Arc de Triomphe and then worked our way down the Champ Elysees looking at all of the shops. We stopped for "tea" at Laduree, where I had a delicious cappuccino and a pistachio eclair! Yum! Laduree was sooo pretty, all decorated in light greens and pinks. As Mariella pointed out, it felt like being inside a faberge egg! I also bought some macaroons to go. I had to try macaroons in Paris! (They were also delicious, of course, and were gone by the end of the day!) Then we were pretty tired of shopping, but had one more errand to accomplish on the Champs Elysees: get beer at McDonald's. Which we finally did, but only after learning that you have to order something salty first. So we followed our "tea" with french fries and beer:) We continued on to the Louvre, walking through the Tuileries gardens. The Louvre was great, but so overwhelming! Mariella and I just darted about seeing the main attractions, like the Mona Lisa. We were getting a little worn down by that time. We stopped for dinner on the way back to the apartment and passed out once we got there!
Thursday was our last full day in Paris. We started by taking the train out to see Versailles. Due to some ticket issues, I ended up just going through on my own. I buzzed through, seeing the things I wanted to see (mainly the Hall of Mirrors) and then we walked around the gardens for a bit. Versailles is sooooo beautiful and decadent, but also a little overwhelming! We had lunch at a TEX MEX place! haha It was funny to find a tex mex restaurant pretty much next door to Versailles, but it was sooo good! Then we took the train back into town and headed to Sacre Coeur, a beautiful church up on a hill overlooking the city. It was a beautiful day, not rainy like it had been the rest of the week. It was in that neighborhood that we finally found crepes! We had been wanting them since our first day in Paris, but had some trouble finding a place. After dinner, we bought a baugette and a bottle of pink champagne to take to the Eiffel tower, our grand finale. Once we got there, we realized we couldn't take up the bottle, so we drank our champagne underneath while waiting in line. But we snuck the bread up and had a baugette sword fight on the first floor of the tower. We made it to the very top of the tower, and it was so cool to see the whole city spread out before us at night! The tower sparkles for the first ten minutes of every hour at night, and it started sparkling while we were up at the very top! We also got to see the whole thing sparkle because it started up again by the time we got back down. It was so beautiful, I love the Eiffel Tower so much and would live at the top if I could!
Unfortunately on Friday, we only had time to wake up and get worn out selves to the airport to catch our plane back to Bologna. It was such a good trip though, and I really hope I get to go back!!!
We got back to Bologna Friday afternoon and rested up that night. Saturday morning, we hopped on a train to Genoa to spend Easter with Mariella's aunt and uncle and cousins. We spent Saturday night and Suday morning there, enjoying being with an Italian family (i.e. eating a lot of good food), then took the train back to Bologna Sunday afternoon because Mar's mom was flying back to the U.S. on Monday. Mariella, her mom, Nic, and I had a lovely Easter dinner. Mar and her mom made American breakfast for dinner! We had pancakes and eggs, and it was sooo delicious! Overall it was a really great Easter break, and it was over wayyy too soon:-/
Now it's back to the grind. Classes are actually almost over, and the craaaazy studying for exams will begin. This is my last week of my Italian Literature class. If all goes well, I will be done with school for this year by the end of May... ugh speaking of which, I need to do some studying!
xoxo
P.S. PIX from PARIS heeeere.
21 March 2010
Day 210!
Ciao! A lot has happened since I last posted. Makes sense, I guess, seeing as it has been over a month! How is it already March 21st?! I am so happy it is finally spring, though:) It's supposed to be 75 degrees here on Thursday!!! I hope the forecast is right.
For those of you who don't know, I went home for my brother's wedding from the 4th to the 14th of March. It was so good to be home and to see all of my family. Two international flights within two weeks of each other combined with major sleep deprivation due to wedding festivites left me pretty wiped out, and I feel like I have just beent trying to get back in the swing of classes and life in Bologna since I got back. So not a whole lot of new exciting stuff going on...
One new thing though is that my roommates and I moved apartments! It worked out that they moved while I was gone, which was kind of nice for me because they moved all my stuff for me:) although it was a bit disorienting to get back to Bologna and be in a new apartment! We now live a lot closer to the University but farther from the BCSP office, on Via Delle Belle Arti (Beautiful Art Street haha). I have my own room in the new place, which has been really nice. I'm still trying to get everything unpacked and settled! I will post pix as soon as I feel like it's ready to show off:)
xoxo
For those of you who don't know, I went home for my brother's wedding from the 4th to the 14th of March. It was so good to be home and to see all of my family. Two international flights within two weeks of each other combined with major sleep deprivation due to wedding festivites left me pretty wiped out, and I feel like I have just beent trying to get back in the swing of classes and life in Bologna since I got back. So not a whole lot of new exciting stuff going on...
One new thing though is that my roommates and I moved apartments! It worked out that they moved while I was gone, which was kind of nice for me because they moved all my stuff for me:) although it was a bit disorienting to get back to Bologna and be in a new apartment! We now live a lot closer to the University but farther from the BCSP office, on Via Delle Belle Arti (Beautiful Art Street haha). I have my own room in the new place, which has been really nice. I'm still trying to get everything unpacked and settled! I will post pix as soon as I feel like it's ready to show off:)
xoxo
15 February 2010
Day 176!
Ciao!
Sorry I haven't been blogging recently. My internet cable at my house is broken, so I have to go to the BCSP office or to Mariella's house to use the internet. What a pain! I have just been going to class and hanging out with Mariella mostly. She and I were valentines yesterday, haha.
On the 13th I went on a day trip to Ferrara with Mariella and three of the new students. It was really fun, we saw a real castle, complete with a moat! We also stumbled upon a lovely little park and a cemetery. It was nice to see some green, grass, and trees for once!
Last Saturday, Mariella and I took a day trip to Venice, mostly just to go to Murano for the glass. It is Carnivale here, and Venice was packed with people decked out in masks and costumes. St. Mark's square was flooded, too, which was so weird to see! It was actually a really sunny, beautiful (almost warm!) day.
Yesterday for Valentine's Day, Mariella and I went over to Lorena and Lauren's house (two of the new semester girls). Nicole came too, and we just had a little girls night. Nothing too elaborate, but very fun. We tried to make cookies, but they ended up more like biscuits haha. Baking is hard in Italy!
Here are some pix of our day trips, enjoy!
xoxo
Sorry I haven't been blogging recently. My internet cable at my house is broken, so I have to go to the BCSP office or to Mariella's house to use the internet. What a pain! I have just been going to class and hanging out with Mariella mostly. She and I were valentines yesterday, haha.
On the 13th I went on a day trip to Ferrara with Mariella and three of the new students. It was really fun, we saw a real castle, complete with a moat! We also stumbled upon a lovely little park and a cemetery. It was nice to see some green, grass, and trees for once!
Last Saturday, Mariella and I took a day trip to Venice, mostly just to go to Murano for the glass. It is Carnivale here, and Venice was packed with people decked out in masks and costumes. St. Mark's square was flooded, too, which was so weird to see! It was actually a really sunny, beautiful (almost warm!) day.
Yesterday for Valentine's Day, Mariella and I went over to Lorena and Lauren's house (two of the new semester girls). Nicole came too, and we just had a little girls night. Nothing too elaborate, but very fun. We tried to make cookies, but they ended up more like biscuits haha. Baking is hard in Italy!
Here are some pix of our day trips, enjoy!
xoxo
02 February 2010
Day 163!
Heyyy! I start class again tomorrow:( I have really enjoyed having the past few days with NOTHING to do!!! My friend Alyssa from IU came and stayed with me last weekend. She is studying in Florence this semester, so hopefully we will get to see a lot more of each other before the year is out! We have had more snow this weekend! It's so pretty when it's falling, but I really am OVER the winter, ready for spring to come along. We found a place to move that is not too far away from where we live now. It's on Via Delle Belle Arti, it's kinda old and really dirty right now, but I will get to have my own room there so that will be nice I guess. We are planning on being moved in by the beginning of March. I finally took pictures of my apartment where I have been living for the past five months! Check out the pix on Facebook!
XOXO
XOXO
27 January 2010
Day 157!
Ciao! I am FINALLY done with my first semester! I had my oral exam for my class at the University of Bologna (contemporary Italian literature) on Monday. It feels soooo good to have that out of the way. I was really nervous beforehand, and I think that may have affected my Italian. It seems like I always forget how to talk when I'm under pressure. I got a 24 out of 30, which is equivalent to a C+. Not a great grade, but I honestly don't even care! I just needed to get the exam out of the way and finish this semester. Now I have a little bit of free time. One of my classes for next semester starts February 3, a week from today. It's really cold and snowy here. It snowed all day yesterday, and all of it stuck. Makes me just want to stay curled up inside all day!
xoxo
xoxo
20 January 2010
Day 150!
150 days!!!! Wow. Sorry I haven't been around (again...). I've been super busy with the new kids being here, writing a paper for my cinema class, and attempting to study for my literature exam. There are I think 24 new kids here for this semester. It's so overwhelming to be around them, because we only had 16 in our batch. We had a welcome dinner last week and a pizza party with the program. It's fun to meet them and to think about how much more I know about Bologna than they do right now! haha.
I've been really stressed out other than that. This paper is almost done, I just need one of my Italian roommates to proofread it because my Italian grammar is definitely not perfect. And I am so nervous for my oral exam for literature! I have been trying to study, but there is just so much material! I have pretty much accepted the fact that I am not going to do well, I just want this semester to be OVER so I can get a fresh start on the next one.
Next semester I will be taking art history, history of the italian language, and philosophy of religion. The classes sound interesting, but hard. One class starts Feb 3rd, one Feb 9th, and the last on Mar 1st. I was looking forward to having a week or so between my exam and my first class to be able to just chill, but unfortunately it seems that I will be house hunting then. My roommates and I found out yesterday that we have to move out within the next two months. It's a long, uninteresting story, but basically there is an issue with the way we wanted to do the contract, so our landlady is kicking us out. I'm pretty upset about it because I love where I live and who I live with. Mariella found an apartment that is SO close to me now because we wanted to live close, but I am afriad I won't be able to find anything so close this next time. The one good thing is that I'm not really on my own because all four of us are getting kicked out, so we are trying to find an entire apartment for all of us to just stick together. We are looking at a place at 5 today, so I hope it works out. Pray for me!
xoxo
I've been really stressed out other than that. This paper is almost done, I just need one of my Italian roommates to proofread it because my Italian grammar is definitely not perfect. And I am so nervous for my oral exam for literature! I have been trying to study, but there is just so much material! I have pretty much accepted the fact that I am not going to do well, I just want this semester to be OVER so I can get a fresh start on the next one.
Next semester I will be taking art history, history of the italian language, and philosophy of religion. The classes sound interesting, but hard. One class starts Feb 3rd, one Feb 9th, and the last on Mar 1st. I was looking forward to having a week or so between my exam and my first class to be able to just chill, but unfortunately it seems that I will be house hunting then. My roommates and I found out yesterday that we have to move out within the next two months. It's a long, uninteresting story, but basically there is an issue with the way we wanted to do the contract, so our landlady is kicking us out. I'm pretty upset about it because I love where I live and who I live with. Mariella found an apartment that is SO close to me now because we wanted to live close, but I am afriad I won't be able to find anything so close this next time. The one good thing is that I'm not really on my own because all four of us are getting kicked out, so we are trying to find an entire apartment for all of us to just stick together. We are looking at a place at 5 today, so I hope it works out. Pray for me!
xoxo
09 January 2010
Day 139!
MARIELLA IS HERE!!!!!
Ok for those of you who don't know, Mariella is one of my very best friends from IU. She is doing the same program I am, but just for the Spring semester. The program starts up on Monday, but she got here yesterday so she is crashing at my place for the weekend. I am soooo excited she's here and can't even believe she is going to be here for the whole semester with me! I mean, life was pretty great here before, but now it's PERFECT. Off to run some errands, ciao!
xoxo
Ok for those of you who don't know, Mariella is one of my very best friends from IU. She is doing the same program I am, but just for the Spring semester. The program starts up on Monday, but she got here yesterday so she is crashing at my place for the weekend. I am soooo excited she's here and can't even believe she is going to be here for the whole semester with me! I mean, life was pretty great here before, but now it's PERFECT. Off to run some errands, ciao!
xoxo
05 January 2010
03 January 2010
Day 133!
Sooo, Erin and I have decided that we've had enough of travelling for now. We are skipping Munich and heading back to Bologna. I'm so tired of living out of a suitcase! And we've been running around now for two whole weeks! Ugh. We have an entire day of trains ahead of us. Our first train leaves at 11, and we should get back to Bologna at about 1:30 in the morning! Boo.
xoxo
xoxo
02 January 2010
Day 132!
BRRRRRR! It's soooo cold in Germany!!! Berlin is a pretty happenin' city, but it's so cold out we don't really feel like doing much! New Year's Eve was crazy! Erin and I finally made it to our hotel after a 9-hour train ride!!! After a much needed nap, we went out to find the party. First we found an Italian restaurant and had delcious pizza! Our waiter was Italian, and he was so happy that we spoke Italian with him! It was fun:) Then we took to the streets, just following the CROWDS of people to find where the party was. Basically it was everywhere. Berlin is a huge city and kind of hard to navigate, so we didn't really know where we were going, but we eventually spotted the center of all the action, the Brandenburg Gate. It took us so long to get there, we arrived just in time to ring in the new year! We finally made it to the front of the party as the last couple acts came on, one of them being Captain Jack, the only person on the bill that we had ever heard of. After the music ended we made our way back to the hotel, very cold and very tired.
Yesterday we woke up and took about half the day just dragging our suitcases around the metro system of Berlin, making our way from our hotel to our hostel. Ugh! We met up with Alex (girl!) again, and we all went to the zoo! We saw elephants, tigers, lions, lots of monkeys, a giraffe, a panda. I love seeing the animals, but zoos are always a little sad, too. The conditions in which these animals live is pitiful.
Today we spent 3 1/2 hours walking around Berlin in the FREEZING cold on a free walking tour. Our guide Stephanie was from New Zealand, but has been living in Berlin since last March. She was really funny and REALLY knowledgeable about Berlin and its history. I really learned so much from her. We started at the Brandenburg Gate and saw places like the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the site of Nazi book burnings, lots of memorials. It was a great tour, even worth the almost frostbitten feet and hands! Needless to say, we are all wiped out!
On to Munich tomorrow.
xoxo
Yesterday we woke up and took about half the day just dragging our suitcases around the metro system of Berlin, making our way from our hotel to our hostel. Ugh! We met up with Alex (girl!) again, and we all went to the zoo! We saw elephants, tigers, lions, lots of monkeys, a giraffe, a panda. I love seeing the animals, but zoos are always a little sad, too. The conditions in which these animals live is pitiful.
Today we spent 3 1/2 hours walking around Berlin in the FREEZING cold on a free walking tour. Our guide Stephanie was from New Zealand, but has been living in Berlin since last March. She was really funny and REALLY knowledgeable about Berlin and its history. I really learned so much from her. We started at the Brandenburg Gate and saw places like the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the site of Nazi book burnings, lots of memorials. It was a great tour, even worth the almost frostbitten feet and hands! Needless to say, we are all wiped out!
On to Munich tomorrow.
xoxo
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