I got my leather jacket! And went to Siena!

I finally got my authentic Italian leather jacket that I wanted! I got it on Friday at a leather store near the market, which has been open since 1959. The woman who worked there, Ana (I think), was so nice and gave me a student discount AND a discount because she felt bad for me because of my foot, haha, who would've known I had an advantage by wearing this boot. The jacket is the most popular style right now: chocolate brown and fitted - it is marked as 490 euro, and I got it for only 180 euro. I am so excited, though I feel kind of guilty for spending that much money. However, it is the ONE thing Grandma told me to do while I am here, so I keep telling myself that to make me feel better :). I will also have it forever and it will always remind me of this experience. It has been hanging in front of our closet the past three days just so I can stare at it ... I am in love with it and am so happy that I did the ONE thing Grandma told me to do ... buy a leather jacket! I also didn't have any boots to go with it, so I bought some leather boots (not real leather) that were on major "saldi" (sale) at a store. I am very excited, and Marielle, Patee and I become good friends with the owner of the store, named Luka. He and Ana had an extremely long conversation with us, while they were just casually drinking glasses of wine that the waiters from the restaurant next door brought them. They said they were impressed with our Italian and were happy that we were trying to learn. Luka told us to come by the store whenever we want and he'll help us with any homework we have, and that he wants to help us learn more. He owns the store because it was originally his Dad's. He and Ana said they learned English by working in the store and talking with customers who spoke only English - I was amazed at how fluent and good they were in it just from learning it that way!! We have to pass by his store everyday, so we will be stopping in and chatting a lot - he will be a friend by the end of this semester, just like Marco! Luka gave us a lot of advice for being safe in the city and for how to react when the creepy men try to hit on us and just what to do in Florence/Italy in general. He and Ana are so nice - I have found that a lot of the people here are extremely nice, as long as we show respect to them and their culture. It has become very obvious to me that the Italians have a lot of respect and love for their culture and their country. Even in Italian class, my teachers talk about Florence and other cities in Italy as if they are just in love. They constantly talk about how much they love Florence and wouldn't want to live anywhere else - I can see why, but I would never hear anyone say that in the U.S. We also asked my teacher where her favorite place is in Italy, and she couldn't even name one because she said it's beautiful everywhere and everywhere is her favorite ... if someone asked me that about North Carolina or the U.S. in general, I would have no idea what to say! This country/city is just so beautiful and the people in it have so much pride in it. I feel like Americans do have pride in their country, but we definitely take it for granted, and we are way too uptight. It's amazing how laid back this culture (and pretty much every other culture besides America) is ... how the employees drink wine by the glass while working in a leather store, how the butchers smoke a cigarette while cutting up their meet, how stores allow animals to walk through them with the owners, how the waiters and waitresses can blast techno music in a tiny cafe and start dancing everywhere, how they aren't worried about offending someone by being so un-politically correct, how the waiters and waitresses will take their time to seat you or come take your order ... you would never find any of this in America and it just goes to show how uptight we are. I love how everyone walks everywhere here and no one is ever in a hurry. I feel like we wake up for class, go to class, and then just walk wherever the road takes us - and my Italian teacher told our class that she likes to just walk around Florence in her free time. I find it funny that at the stores, the market and the banks I've been to, there is a "ticket line," where the customers who are waiting to make their purchases have to take a number and wait until they are called. My Italian teacher told us it's because Italians are extremely inpatient and that's the only way to go through lines quickly without starting "riots." Well that explains a LOT about our family :)

On Thursday we went to Florence's annual Chocolate Festival. It was on Santa Croce, which is right down the street from our apartment. It was so awesome! There were several vendors, each one selling different chocolates in every way, shape and form. We saw a lot of vendors who had carved chocolate in different animals, people and things - there were mice, cheese, sheep, the 101 Dalmations, Disney characters, alligators, and much more. Marielle and I bought some chocolate pieces in many different flavors (which she dropped on the floor last night). It was like Heaven under a big white tent! :) We went to Marco's pizzeria on Thursday night since we hadn't eaten there in awhile. We are going to try and eat there at least one time a week from now one because he is SOO nice. He made us our pizzas, right in front of us - the authentic Italian way!!! It is by far the best pizza I have had in Italy so far, and I am so excited to take Daddy there because it is his kind of place! Marco gave Marielle, Patee and I a free bottle of the restaurant's red wine. We are never going to drink it because we want to keep it as a souvenir! We'll see how that goes ... :) I think it's funny because I told Mom before I left that I wanted to find a little restaurant or cafe where we could eat every week and become friends with the manager/employee by the end of the semester, where they know our names. Well, we've already found it! Marco's!!!

Patee, Marielle and I went to dinner with Stacey, Rebekka, Shannon, Sam and Lindsay on Friday night at a famous Italian restaurant that is in my guide book and very recommended. It is called Za-Za's and I can't wait to take Mark there! It is so nice inside, and was extremely crowded. I went there knowing that I wanted to order an authentic Italian dinner, instead of just pizza and regular pasta, so Patee and I both ordered the "Florentine Fried Chicken served with Potatoes Cooked in a Flour Paste." Well, apparently that translates to: chicken fingers and french fries. Yes, we ate chicken fingers and french fries in Florence, Italy. We were so mad, but we made up for it with some AMAZING cheesecake, which was the best I have EVER tasted! We will definitely be going back to that restaurant, and I had such a fun time getting to know the other girls who were with us. We have such a good group here and are having a blast together, which makes this trip just 100 times better.

On Saturday, pretty much our entire group got up early to go to Siena for the day. It was a very last-minute and unplanned trip, and when we got off of the bus, we had pretty much no idea what we were doing or what we were there to see. Hahah... but we figured it out pretty easily - thankfully we had our Italy guide books that had maps and told us what to do! I learned that I'm going to have to read my guide books more often before we go on our trips so that we know where to go and what to do. Even though it was raining, Siena was still beautiful! We are going to go back one day when the sun is out for once so we can enjoy it even more. We took the bus roundtrip, which was so easy and pretty cheap - I love being able to travel so easily here. When we first got there, we found the Plazza del Campo, which is a humongous brickyard surrounded by European buildings and restaurants. The Plazza del Campo is also where the horse race takes place every summer - it's a really famous horse race that Italians go to and dress up in Medievil clothes to watch. The Plazza del Campo is also the place where Fonte Gaia is sitting. Fonte Gaia is the fountain Daddy told me I had to make sure I see. It is considered to be "the queen of Sienese fountains" both for its central position (in il Campo) and also as a work of art. It has a bunch of different designs on it, including a wolf that spits out water. At 321 meters above sea level, it is situated at the highest elevation of the fountains in Siena and it brings water from the northern part of the city, along a ridge uninterrupted by valleys. The Campo is also where the City Tower and Civic Museum are. We were unable to climb the City Tower as it was closed for bad weather, but we went into the Civic Museum, which had a lot of artifacts and ancient rooms/paintings, etc. To our surprise, at the end of the Civic Museum, there was a huge balcony that overlooked the city of Siena. It was beautiful and we were in awe at it! We stood there for such a long time and had a hard time leaving. After we did those, we went to Museo dell'Opera dell Duomo, which has sacred works from 1300 to 1500. At the end of the museum is a very tall walkway, called La Facciatone, that we could come and see a panoramic view of Siena. We climbed a million stairs that were extremely narrow, steep and scary! It was so worth it though because the view was absolutely amazing and breathtaking. We could see absolutely everything from the view, including the Campo, Duomo and City Tower. I have never seen such a pretty view! After La Facciatone, we went to the Battistero - the baptistry behind the Duomo, which holds a marble font with bronze panels that depict the life of Saint John the Baptist. It was such a beautiful little Church that was the town's Church back in the day. I wondered why they don't use it anymore and instead use it as a tourist attraction - Actually, I wonder that about a lot of these things ... what makes people turn them into tourist attractions? After the Baptistry, we went to the Crypte, which wasn't very interesting because there were no signs that gave us information on what was in there. We believe it had a bunch of tombs in there, but there weren't people in the tombs, so it was weird. We went to the Siena Duomo, which was absolutely beautiful inside ... at this point, I think it's prettier inside than the Duomo in Florence. The Altar was gorgeous and filled with different colored flowers, and the architecture and paintings were so detailed - it amazes us that these things are still around. To the right of the Altar was a Chapel, which was also beautiful. It had about three pews in it, and there was a candle-lighting right in front of it. For 50 cent euro, you could light a candle and say a prayer in honor of someone. I lit one for Grandpa just because I am constantly thinking of him and how I can't believe I am here immersed in my family's culture. I also know, according to Grandma, Grandpa wished they could have come to Italy one more time, and even though I feel his presence everywhere here, I lit it so he could actually be there with me. This trip makes me realize how much I really miss Grandpa, and how much I really wish I could've known him longer and that Mark could have met him.

At the end of our trip, it was absolutely pouring rain and the temperature dropped like ten degrees! We were miserable and my foot was in so much pain, so we took the first bus home. We attempted to find the wine library and the place where St. Catherine of Siena's head is, but we couldn't find it and no one seemed to be able to give us accurate directions. We will be back though!

On Saturday night, I made pastina for the first time! I am so proud of myself! It didn't taste as good as Grandma's, but I will be experimenting with it more ... Patee liked it too, so I am proud! :) My Italian teacher told me that manicotti is a Southern Italian cuisine and that I won't find it at the market in Florence, so I guess I'll have to keep searching so Marielle and I can learn how to make that. I thought it was weird since Grandma is from Northern Italy. I definitely have decided that I want to experiment as much as possible with cooking and learn how to cook. I'm sure Mark would appreciate that too, as he is expecting me to cook him an authentic Italian dish when he gets here ... and it can't be pasta! I have a lot of learning to do, but good thing Marielle is here!!

Today, Patee and I finally caught up on the sleep we've missed in the past week or so. We got 14 hours of sleep last night, woke up and the SUN WAS OUT! This was the first time we've seen the sun in so long! We were so excited, had lunch and went right out the door. We walked to Ponte Vecchio again, and then we went to the Plazza de Michelangelo, which is a huge hill you climb up behind Ponte Vecchio and the river. It has a replica of the statue of David in the middle of the plazza, and then it has a panoramic view of the ENTIRE city of Florence. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!! I was in awe - Patee, Stacey, Rebekka, Marielle and I took so many pictures together and of the scene in general - we went during sunset, which was even better. Luka told us that it was the best time to go there too, and he told us a lot of people go up there with a bottle of wine for the sunset, so maybe we'll try that next time. I can't wait to take Mom, Dad and Mark there - there is so much for them to do here and I can't wait to see their reactions! It seems like it'll be a good place to get away and think and just reflect if I ever need to. I just can't believe I am a resident here for four months. On our way home, we witnessed a motorcycle accident, which was very disturbing to me. There are no speed limits here and the motorcyclists drive however the hell they want to and at whatever speed they want to - they are way too risky and dangerous on those things - it was the third motorcycle accident Marielle has seen since being here (my first). He was trying to go around a car that was stopped and attempting to parallel park, but the car didn't see him and they collided. A lot of people helped him and pulled the motorcycle up and called the ambulance. He seemed fine, but it looked like he couldn't move his legs. I felt so bad for him. Those kind of things make me realize how grateful we are in America to have little things, like speed limits. At the same time, we hate driving the speed limit... but look what would happen if we didn't have them. I feel like it's insane to not have one! Another interesting thing that Luka told us was that in 2012, Florence won't have ANY cars whatsoever. They are building a metro and will only have that and scooters and motorcycles. Talk about going green.

Well, it is past bedtime. Actually it's about bedtime - we can never go to sleep before 2 a.m. for some reason. I am still so in love with this place, but it's hard to not be able to share this entire experience with the people back home, especially Mom, Dad and Mark. I almost feel guilty for having this opportunity, but I can't wait for them to get here and see what I am talking about - I can totally see why people always want to come back here and why people say they could live here forever.

Ciao!!

One Week Later...

Ciao di'nuovo! (Hi again!)

The past several days have been a very cultural experience! We are definitely immersed in the Italian culture and learning so much about the Italians' way of life and about the country in general. Today was the third day of our Italian crash course. Before I came to Italy, I had more than six years of Spanish and have been told that Italian would be easy because the two languages are very similar. However, I have found in the past week that knowing Spanish makes learning Italian much harder! First of all, Italian is a very difficult language to learn, and since the languages are so similar, it is hard to not mix up the words and tenses and grammar. We have about 12 people in our class, most of whom have taken Spanish previously. Our teachers have to keep telling us not to speak Spanish. Apparently the Italians get very offended if we try to speak Spanish to them, thinking that they'll understand it just because the two languages are so similar. My teachers names are Francesca and Mariangela - they are very nice and helpful in giving us advice as to where to go in Florence to buy certain things, but they also speak no English, which makes it difficult to understand, but easier to learn Italian. Mariangela always shows up to class in the SAME exact outfit she has worn since Monday. It's weird. I don't know if it's an Italian thing, but we find it very strange. But anyways, I am learning so much already and have already done well - for a beginner - communicating with the Italians at the markets.

I still find it very easy to fit in here and to get around. One thing I have learned is that Italians and Americans do not share the same "politeness," and Italians are not politically correct whatsoever (which explains Grandma and her bluntness!). What we Americans would perceive to be rude, is not rude to the Italians - for example, when walking on the sidewalks, which are extremely narrow, no one, including men, will get out of the way for you to walk past them. I have been knocked off the sidewalk several times already (and I have a boot - you'd think they'd get out of the way for me!), and they don't even say "Scusa" or "Mi dispiache" (excuse me, or I'm sorry). They probably find it very strange that we say mi dispiache every time we bump into them. This morning my umbrella and I were knocked into the street a million times because no one cared about maneuvering their umbrella to accomodate me and my umbrella. At orientation, the counselors told us that it is considered strange to smile at a random person on the street who you do not know -- and that is very true. Everytime I have smiled at an Italian on the street, they just stare or look away. I have gotten used to it though and have learned to just push and shove back without caring. Another thing we've noticed is that the men have no chivalry. They don't care if the women get knocked in the face with the doors that they don't hold, or if they knock you onto the street. Patee's Italian teacher told her that "ti amo" (I love you) is only used between a married man and woman and it is considered strange to say it to a friend or family mate (which also explains Grandma and Dad's family!). The Italians are also soo blunt ... they will say whatever the hell they want to say and not even worry if it will offend someone. Additionally, whenever we are in restaurants, the waiters/waitresses/cashiers don't care about us. They don't care about customer service one bit ... we sat at the Red Garter the other night and waited around for a waitress to pay attention to us for about 30 minutes (only because we really wanted hamburgers and fries!). At our favorite panini shop, the waitress' friends will come in with a boom box and start playing techno music extremely loud and they will all start dancing in the middle of the restaurant. It's funny to watch, and it's so rare for us to see something like that in a restaurant. A manager would freak out in America if his employees were doing that, but not here! Whenever we walk through the market, the male vendors try and stop us and get us to buy their stuff. It's hard because if you jsut take one little peep or glance at their products, they will chase you down the street -- it's way too hard for me to walk through a huge aisle and market of leather shoes and jackets and purses without looking! I am on a mission to find a cute leather jacket and cute leather boots for a decent, good price before I leave. It'll give me time to bargain and find the good prices, especially with them seeing me walk through and looking everyday. :) Today one of the male vendors at the market, who says something to Patee, Marielle and me every single day, yelled "Won't you just love me for five minutes?" Yesterday he asked us if we were Charlie's Angels, and the day before he asked us, "Don't you wish your boyfriend was hott like me?" We just laugh hysterically and walk away. He enjoys it.

On Monday, my Italian teacher told me that I must pronounce my last name the way the Italians do while I'm here (ForCHina). When I went to buy my Italian textbook at the LdM library, the cashier asked me what my last name was and I told him, Forcina. He said "Like the hairpin?" I laughed because I wasn't sure what he said and thought he was making a joke. But then he asked again, and I asked him if that was really what it meant, and he said yes. Surprised that our family has never heard that before, I went to the Italian dictionary and found out that, yes, forcina does mean hairpin! What do ya know.

We have still been napping everyday after eating lunch at our favorite panini shop because the four-hour Italian class everyday has been exhausting. Today after lunch we went to the market for the first time, where we bought lots of fresh fruit, dried fruit, salad and chicken. We made (well, Marielle really made it) fettucini for our friends, salad and garlic bread for dinner at our apartment. It was a lot of fun, and I'm finally learning how to be somewhat domestic by cooking - Mark would be proud, even though he probably doesn't believe me that I'm finally learning how to cook! Marielle also made marinara sauce and meatballs on Monday night and we had a fun little roommate dinner in our apartment. Marielle and I are going to learn how to make manicotti sometime soon because that's one of my favorite meals that Grandma used to make. Patee made garlic bread the other night, taught by Marielle, and I had three pieces. She's pretty proud of herself, haha. I made the homemade garlic bread tonight and it was yummy! Anyways, the market is awesome, but it is also pretty gruesome. It has pig noses, cow stomach and shaved cat hanging up in the vendor shops. It's disgusting, but once you go upstairs, you get to the good stuff - all of the fruit! I can't wait to take Daddy there because he is going to LOVE it and help me learn how to pick out good fruit - it'll remind him of the Guss' Fruit Market days, like it does for me. It's also a really good place for me to practice using my Italian and learning - I was very impressed and proud of myself (it's not much that I know, but hey, I'm a beginner!).

We were told at orientation that probably a lot of Europeans and Italians will try and talk to us about the new president because they are so shocked that we have elected Obama. We've only run into one person at the market who asked us, but all he asked was where we were from and he had a big smile and said "OBAMA?!?!?!" I just walked away, figuring it was for the best (ha). Our group of friends went to the Red Garter again on Tuesday evening to watch the inauguration. It was pretty cool because they had it on a big TV screen and the bar was full of Americans celebrating. It was a beautiful inauguration, and was on the front page of the Italian papers this morning.

One thing that has been frustrating about Florence is how rainy it is! It has rained everyday since we've gotten here, which makes it difficult to go touring around the city. We still want to tour the Duomo and climb it to the top, but we have to wait for a sunny day. We also want to go back to Ponte Vecchio so that we can take pictures of it in daylight. We've passed by our friend's ristorante everyday, and we know each other by name now. His name is Marco and he is so funny! He loves when we come in and say ciao to him and he always asks us to come have some pizza or vino, but we have to go back sometime later this week. He looks SO Italian, similarly to UJ and Daddy. I saw a sweatshirt the other day that said "princapesa" on it, which made me smile because that's what Grandpa and Daddy have always called me (princess in Italian). I am very tempted to buy it, or maybe I'll just let Daddy buy it when he comes ...... :)

OK, well I am off to bed because it is late once again and we have Italian class early in the morning ... a domani (see you tomorrow) e buona sera (and good night)!

I'm Here!

Ciao Firenze (finally)!

After a year of applications, paperwork and planning, I am finally here - in Florence, Italy. Marielle, Patee and I left Charlotte at night on Jan. 14 and, with all of our travels fortunately going smoothly, we finally made it here on the 15th. I (and I'm sure Mom and Dad) am still in shock that I was able to pack two suitcases that didn't exceed the weight limit of 50 pounds. Once I had stepped off of the plane in Florence, I was in awe at how beautiful the scenery was just from the airport. The mountains in the background were just gorgeous, and I fell in love instantly. We had to get our suitcases and find a taxi, which was very chaotic because we had so much luggage! We had to take two taxis between the three of us and our 12 bags to Lorenzo de' Medici, the school we are enrolled in and checked in there. Patee and I, after much debate, tipped the cab driver five euro, and later asked Marielle if we were supposed to, and she said no. Oh well, I guess he's five euro richer now, and I'm five euro poorer. After checking in at the school which we are enrolled in, Lorenzo de' Medici, we got our keys, called yet another two taxis, and rode about three minutes to our street - Via di Mezzo 12. During this ride, I saw some of the most beautiful sightings ever - especially the Duomo (we also saw a McDonald's... what?!). I asked the cab driver if it was a Catholic church, but he didn't speak English and just responded with "Duomo" (to the right). I later found out that, yes, it is a Catholic cathedral. Patee and I kept saying that this city is exactly how we imagined it - very European and quaint. It's just beautiful. We arrived to our apartment, and, with much hesitation, carried every single piece of luggage up the narrow and steep stairs, one by one (I got out of it though because of my boot). We were in shock at how nice our apartment is because we were told to not expect much out of them, and Jill told me that Teresa's apartment, from her recollection, was "shitty." Hahah, well I guess we are lucky because all of the girls' apartments in our group are extremely spacious and nice. When you walk into the apartment (it has lion door handles!), you walk into the common area that has a couch, TV, big kitchen table, and a very nice kitchen with a laundry room to the side. To the left of the door is Fran and Monique's room, and past the common area are Marielle's "singola" and my and Patee's double room. Our room is very cozy (below, Patee in our room)! After unpacking and organizing everything, we went to find a "ristorante" with our roommates so we could eat dinner together. We found out, after walking door to door, that nothing opens for dinner until 7:30, which is what Mom and Grandma warned me about! Finally we found a restaurant that served pizza, pasta and wine -- exactly what we wanted! We had several glasses of red and white wine (below - Patee, Marielle and me with our first glasses of wine in Italy!), while I ordered a pepperoni pizza, which came out to be a pizza with jalapenos on it - ha! I was very confused, but I guess we found out the hard way that a pepperoni pizza is not what we Americans think it'll be. Our waiter felt terrible, but I told him it was still delicious. He told us that the pepperoni I had in mind is "salamino picante," which translates to spicy salami and makes very much sense! Patee ordered a calzone, which was bigger than her head. We had a very good time together and loved our first night in Florence. When we left the restaurant at 10 p.m., there was a huge line of people waiting to go in and eat dinner. I guess we've learned that you don't eat dinner until late here -- which is pretty ordinary for Patee anyways (ha). And since that night, we haven't eaten sooner than 9 p.m.!

The next day, on Jan. 16, all of the students on our program were required to attend the LdM orientation, which was from 9:30 to 2. Patee and I accidentally set our digital travel clocks one hour ahead of what the time really was, so we got up way earlier than we thought it was. We didn't realize this until we tried to rush Marielle along when we thought it was 9:25 and she said "but it's only 8:25." Hahah... We would do that. We stopped along the way in two little tiny, quaint cafes that served pastries for breakfast. I got a very yummy plain croissant and Marielle got one with chocolate in it, which seems to be everywhere. While we were at orientation, we received very useful information from counselors at LdM, a police officer about safety, and the field trip coordinators. It was a long couple of hours especially after traveling for two days, but we made it. After the orientation, Patee, Marielle and I went to the Pixell store, which had our cell phones ready for us. The cell phones are very useful for us so we can get in touch with our other friends on the program, and with each other if we need to do so. After a long day, we were very hungry and stumbled upon a panini shop, which was SO GOOD! I got a spinach artichoke chicken and cheese panini, and I can't wait to go back there. It reminded me of the kind of place Mark would love, so I can't wait to bring him there either. We figured out, after eating breakfast and lunch out that day, that customers aren't supposed to pay for their meals until after the meal (even if it's a cafe where you get your meal at the counter and then sit down). It's strange. After lunch, we found a grocery store near our apartment and did our grocery shopping, where we just got lunch and breakfast foods, and some pasta to make at night if we don't want to go out. Later, we figured out how to retrieve our Internet, which is absolutely amazing to have in our apartments - apparently this is the very first year they are doing it for the students. It makes it so much easier to find things out about the city on the Internet, and keep in contact with friends, family and Mark (not to mention and writing this Blog!). Patee and I took a power nap afterwards because we were sooo exhausted and jetlagged. Somehow, Marielle always has the energy we need! Haha. After our naps and showers, we met about 15 other program participants at our friends' apartment, which we figured out was on a very busy street that had a lot of bars and nightlife going out. Marielle, Patee and I stopped in a little pizza and pasta restaurant, which was very delicious. The owner was very nice to us, and we have seen him everyday since then! I have a feeling he will know us by names by the end of this semester - he loves us and we love him! We all went to a bar called Red Carter, which had karaoke. Yes, Patee and I actually sang karaoke after a few glasses of wine - to Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. We even had the Italians dancing and singing with us - we were a hit! Anyways, after a long day and night of partying, we walked home (which apparently was very fun and humorous) at 4 a.m. (everything stays open forever here) and had lots of trouble getting the door unlocked - the keys are so different and hard to use here! I also tried Nutella, the native chocolate spread they use here to put on EVERYTHING. It is SOOOO good. Mom would love it and I can't wait for her to have some. I bought a jar of it at the store and eat it on my bread, yummy :).

The next morning, Saturday, Jan. 16, was our first day to sleep! We were supposed to stay in our apartments between the hours of 11:30 and 4:30 and wait for our landlord, Vincent, to come by and inform us on how to use everything in the apartment. Well, Patee woke up to his voice at 12:30 p.m. and woke me up and we went in the common area and all of our roommates had apparently been passed out too! Vincent is a very nice man and very accommodating and wanting to make our stay as accomodating as possible. We were still very sleepy so we went back to bed until 2:30 p.m.! I guess you could say we are still not used to the time, haha. We got up, made some lunch and got ready for Church, which was at 5 p.m. in English at the Duomo - Catedrale di Santa Maria - Fiore, Firenze. Well, we thought the architecture of the Duomo was amazing, but we had no idea it was going to be even more amazing inside. When we walked in, I seriously almost had tears in my eyes just seeing how beautiful the sight was. The dome (to the left) in the ceiling is a huge mural that is so unbelieveable. The Mass was also beautiful, without any music. Patee, Marielle and I sat in the front row, which I wanted to do so that we could get maybe a little more out of the experience. For some reason, this Mass meant a lot to me, much more than the ones do at home. The priest had an excellent homily and made it very easy to listen to, and since there was no music, it was a lot less distracting. I feel like I can really focus, concentrate and meditate on my thoughts and prayers in there, and I really am excited to be able to go to that Mass every weekend. This week we are going to do a tour of the Duomo, which I am also excited. After the Mass, Marielle, Patee and I decided to walk in the direction we hadn't been down yet so we could see the river that everyone had been talking about. We were shocked at how busy the plaza was. It seems to be the place to be for everyone on the weekends - it has lots of shopping and restaurants (we even ran into a Disney store!). We actually kind of just stood in the middle of the plaza, just watching everything and amazed at it all. This place is just amazing. We also had our first cup of authentic gelato! I got tiramisu, Patee got chocolate and Marielle got mint. It was SOOO delicious. It is so cool how they store the gelato because they decorate soooo pretty. I took lots of pictures of them and can't wait to have more! Anyways, we kept walking and pretty much stumbled upon another Plaza that had a TON of beautiful statues and a big museum and other historic buildings. We stood in that Plaza for another long time and just took a million pictures, amazed at how beautiful it was. We continued to walk through it and then we finally came across the river, which is possibly one of the most beautiful sites I have seen here. It was also Ponte Vecchio (to the left), which is the bridge above the river, that has shops and restaurants there. The apartments and buildings lining against the river just made it even more beautiful. All I can think about while I'm looking at this stuff is how I can't wait to bring Mom and Dad and Mark to these sights since they've never been to them. They are going to be blown away, and I know Dad will really enjoy running through this beautiful city. After we enjoyed another dinner (I had pesto pasta, yum!) on the other side of the bridge, we walked back to our apartments and took showers and got ready to go out again with our friends. We have had a lot of fun hanging out with the other students on the program and I am excited to be able to get to know them all better through classes and field trips and stuff.

Today, Patee and I accidentally slept until 3 p.m.! We woke up and the three of us went to the grocery store to get a few little things, and then to the "Nine-t-Nine cent" store (which is the dollar stores) to get another few things. It has been raining all day here and been very cloudy, but somehow it is still beautiful and makes me never want to leave this city. Since the three of us have been craving hamburgers and french fries, we tried to go back to Red Garter, but turns out all the other Americans here wanted hamburgers and french fries - we couldn't even move in the bar because it was too crowded. So, the three of us left and went to a pub down the street, which had amazing cheeseburgers. However, instead of serving french fries as a side item, they served hot nachos with cheese and salsa! Strange combination, huh? Oh well, it was still delicious and hit the spot! We passed by our friend again in the pizza shop we went to two nights ago and stopped to say hello to him. He asked us if we wanted to have some wine, but we were too tired and wanted to come home, so we told him we would see him tomorrow. Since we got home, we have just been lounging around and talking to people on the Internet and I've been writing in here. Tomorrow we start our Italian crash course, which is a four-hour daily class for the next two weeks. I am really very excited to start this class because it has been exhausting trying to talk to the Italians, especially those who don't know English. I feel kind of ignorant and rude coming here without knowing any of their language, but I am definitely going to learn, and I have definitely already learned a lot. I am SO excited to learn it... it's hard being in a country where you don't know the native language.

Well, it is 1 a.m. and even though I have only been awake for a total of ten hours today, I am still very exhausted and need to get some sleep for my Italian class and another full day of touring tomorrow.

This place is so amazing - I could live here forever and tour it every day and still be amazed at the beauty of it. I feel very fortunate to be able to have this opportunity, thanks to Mom and Dad. It is even more rewarding to have this opportunity of a lifetime and get to know my cultural background. Grandma and Grandpa, I know, are ecstatic that I am here. I even saw an elderly woman today outside of the grocery store, and Patee and I looked at each other and were both thinking the same exact thing - she looked EXACTLY like Grandma, it was crazy. I think of Grandma and Grandpa everywhere I go and wonder if they were there. I love being able to see how they lived and how all of my ancestors lived. I feel so at home ... it sounds crazy, I know, but I really do just feel so comfortable and like I fit in so easily. I feel closer to Grandpa than I EVER have before and I can't stop thinking about him. This all just makes me so proud of my entire family and it makes me feel so in touch with my cultural background, and it just makes me so proud in general.

Until tomorrow...! Ciao!