Entry 10: November 25th-December 11th

Last week, I had the opportunity to experience new things. I was able to go visit Ravenna, watch an Italian movie, watch the stars, and learn to cook some simple breakfast meals. I have also been accomplishing a lot of my work and getting it done early so I won’t have to worry about homework while traveling over my last weekend.  When I went to go stargaze, I went with my friend Holly and we ended up seeing five shooting stars that beautiful night!

My friend Holly and I on top of the hill stargazing

Ravenna was a neat town that was only two hours away by driving. Dr. Bailey and all of the girls went there as our last excursion and we went by bus. When we got to Ravenna, we headed to a church and museum, while getting a little lost on our way. We eventually found where we were looking for and went in. The church was breathtaking; it was covered with mosaics, marble, and frescos. I have never before seen as many mosaics as I did on that day, and they were incredible to observe. I thought it was interesting that a gift shop was attached to the church, so I decided to check that out as well. The shop sold all sorts of things which included Venetian glass, jewelry, postcards, small mosaic kits, and mosaic artwork. I ended up finding some more gifts for my family in the shop and a small rosary necklace as a souvenir.  

The Italian hairdresser that many girls have seen drove two other girls and me to Arezzo to go to the movie theater. I am still not sure what movie we saw, but it was very funny. I could not understand much of it, but a comedy movie is a comedy movie and those are always amusing. I laughed at the expressions that the actors would make and would laugh when I understood a certain joke. That was my first time going to an Italian movie theater and I enjoyed my experience there. I noticed several differences between American and Italian movie theaters. One difference that I saw was that the Italians do not put their feet up in the chair in front of them like Americans do. At the concession stand, I noticed some differences as well. Italian movie theaters had the popcorn in buckets already and they did not take it out from the big bin in front of the customer. The popcorn was also not as buttery and salty as American movie popcorn (I have noticed this with microwavable popcorn as well). Another observation I made is that they sell chips in buckets; I found this out of the ordinary.

After the movie, on our drive back, we kept commenting on how pretty the stars and moon were that night. One girl and I decided that we would trek up the hill that we went to before and would watch the stars. We bundled up really well, I wore a cami, long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, two jackets, leggings, pants, socks, gloves, and my Ugg boots, and I was warm for the most part. We also took towels to sit on and blankets to snuggle up in. The hike was a workout; I had to have us pause and take a breather a few times along the way. Once we got to the top, we saw such amazing sights. We sat down and looked at the city lights, laid down to look at the stars and moon, and talked for over an hour. We had a wonderful surprise of seeing five shooting stars that night; I don’t recall ever seeing a shooting star before. It was a picture perfect scene, on top of a Tuscan hill, next to an olive tree, and looking at the mountains and city lights. I don’t think I will ever forget the memories that I made that night.

I have heard about cooking eggs in the microwave before and have always thought that it would not be as good as cooking it on the stove. I decided that I wanted to make eggs and I could not find the pan to cook them. I then thought of trying to cook them in the microwave, I wasn’t sure if they were going to turn out, but I was willing to give it a try. I scrambled up two eggs in a microwavable bowl, added salt, pepper, garlic powder, and milk (to make them fluffier). I put it in the microwave and whenever it started to solidify, I would stop and scramble and restart the microwave. I found a good consistency and decided to try my experiment. I can honestly say that they are pretty good and I was wrong about thinking eggs cooked through the microwave would be gross. I have also started making garlic butter toast. I have been putting pieces of bread in the toaster and once they are out, just adding butter, salt, and garlic powder. I am a little upset that I haven’t made these meals before this month because they are so simple and would have been nice breakfasts in the past.

Because of the end of the semester approaching, I have had a lot of work. I feel like I have even more work than I did last week, which isn’t fun. Somehow, I have been pushing through and accomplishing everything, which is a really nice feeling to have. Once all my work is complete and I will finally have a break, I won’t be in Italy anymore, which is a sad to think about.  I have really enjoyed my time in Italy and it is hard to imagine going back to the United States. At least I know that I will be a different person from when I left because of all the opportunities that I had in Italy.

Entry 9: November 15th-November 21st            

It is extremely hard for me to believe that I only have a couple weeks left in Italy and that my semester is almost over. To me, it seems like only last month that I started living in Italy and was getting used to my new lifestyle. This past month will be the most hectic because of the things I have to accomplish. Since the semester is coming to a close, I have to start preparing all of my final projects and begin studying for my finals. I have also realized that I have not traveled enough and I would like to get in a few more day trips before I leave.

I am enjoying volunteering each week at Liceo S. Bartolomeoso so much that I am sad to see that there are only two days of volunteering left. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to my students and teacher because of how sweet they have been to me. There has not been a week where I do not feel special in some way at that school. Next week I am planning on bringing some Twizzlers to class and handing them out. I received the Twizzlers in a care-package from my mom and I’m sure the students would love to try them.

Some of my friends and I decided that we were going to go on a day trip somewhere for the weekend. One of our plans was to go to Pisa on Friday the 11th, but sadly that did not work out. One of the girls got very sick, so we postponed our plans until the next day. We ended up changing our destination to Cortona because it is fairly close to Sansepolcro and inexpensive to get there. We took a bus ride to Arezzo and then caught a less than 30 minute train ride.

One of the views from Cortona

Cortona is a beautiful town on top of a hill. Because its location and the fact that we were traveling in November, it was exceptionally cold. It felt even colder because I forgot to pack gloves and I wore leggings instead of thicker jeans. Thankfully, my Italian suede jacket helped block the freezing wind and made the weather a bit more endurable.

My friends and I did not accomplish much in Cortona because of our late start. We walked around the town, shopped, took pictures, and ate a nice meal. We wanted to go on a wine tour, but we never ended up finding one. Cortona seemed like a neat town, I wish I could have spent more time to visit the churches and museums.

Sadly, many girls have gotten sick over the week. I was one of those sick girls and I experienced horrible headaches, felt dizzy, had stomach aches, and was very tired. We have been informed that some local Italians have had stomach problems as well. The sickness has rotated between the Meredith girls and is hitting us hard because we all are exhausted.

Thanksgiving is next week and I’m eager to have our big Thanksgiving dinner. We get to invite our teachers and some friends, which will end up making the dinner very grand. The Meredith students are in charge of making pies for the big meal. This meal is special for the Italians because they do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Italy. It is my understanding that the towns people love to receive the invitation for this special dinner. I look forward to making a new Thanksgiving memory.

Entry 8: November 14, 2011

Naples, Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii Round 2

For my last travel break, there were three groups that had different destinations in Europe.  I decided that I would go with the group that would be traveling to Naples, Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii.  I wanted to go back to those places because I enjoyed my time there and wanted to explore more.  Overall, my decision was a good one, and I had a lot of fun with the three other girls who accompanied me.  I got to revisit places, show my friends around, and even discover new areas.  Also, this time I got the opportunity to take multiple pictures, which makes up for my lack of pictures from my previous visit!  We stayed at the same hotel as the first time.

My group and I arrived in Naples just like before, but this time we did not find a friendly welcome.  From the train station, we walked to the metro station and learned that there was a metro strike occurring on that day.  We panicked some because we had to figure out how to get to Sorrento from one of the most unfriendly Italian cities.  A man approached us and declared that he was a taxi driver, he then typed in his phone how much it would cost us to get to Sorrento.  We decided to follow him and were relieved when we found out that he was an actual taxi driver and not someone out to scam us.  Though he truly was a taxi driver, his driving was the scariest thing I have ever come across in my life.  He barely fit his car down the tiny, one way streets.  Most of the streets that he squeezed into had cars parked on both sides, with pedestrians in the middle of the road, and oncoming traffic.  There were too many times to count when we almost hit another car, pedestrian, biker, or a person riding a motorcycle.  Even though we faced all of that, we somehow got on the highway and on our way to Sorrento!  Thankfully, we successfully made it there, only taking a little over an hour, with the total trip costing us 20 euro each.

The next day we headed to Mt. Vesuvius.  I was very excited to go there because I did not get to sightsee there on my prior visit.  As soon as we got off at the train stop that would access both Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius, we were surrounded by tour guides trying to get our attention.  The tour guides were all advertising their tours and costs. We chose to do a bus tour that would take us up the majority of Mt. Vesuvius and drop us off at the start of the trail.  Once we got to the pathway, we started to hike up the mountain.  The climb was quite a workout. I had the strange feeling of being both cold and hot at the same time; I was hot due to the workout and cold because of the chilly, windy weather.  The hike ended up being worth all the leg cramping and sweating, because it was such a fascinating experience to be able to look inside a volcano!  I bought a post card and a few, small souvenirs near the top of Mt. Vesuvius. The shopkeeper stamped my postcard for me as proof that it was purchased there.

After the bus took us down from Mt. Vesuvius and back to the train station, we grabbed a quick lunch.  Once we finished eating, we immediately headed over to Pompeii and bought our tickets to enter the excavation site.  Pompeii was one place that I did not mind revisiting because of how interesting it was during my first trip.  I had the opportunity to go to other areas of Pompeii that I did not see before.  I really enjoyed walking around Pompeii and finally taking pictures there!  This time, a friend and I got a special tour from a stray dog that was in Pompeii.  I believe the dog wanted us to follow him because he would stop to check if we were still behind him. He would wait for us to catch up to him and then continue on his path.  Like all the other stray dogs I have come across in the Sorrento and Pompeii area, he was extremely nice, loved people, and adored attention.

Unlike my last trip to Sorrento, I did not shop much.  I tried buying Christmas gifts, but was unable to because my debit card stopped working.  I tried “ATM hopping” to find a machine that would give me cash.  I eventually found one and successfully got money out, but when I returned the next day, it didn’t work for me.  Apparently, the bank thought my debit card was stolen and froze my account.  I have a credit card as a backup, but some shops would not even take that.  Thankfully, I had enough money to get back home safely and was able to call my parents and get the problem fixed.  In the end, I had to change my pin number but all is working well.  What an adventure!  The rest of the trip went well and we made it back safe and sound to Sansepolcro.
                 

Entry 7:  October 31- November 7
 
Back to Florence for a Day

I knew from my first trip to Florence that I would like to go back and I have been trying to make plans for my revisit. I wanted to return for a number of different reasons, including to go shopping and to museums. A couple of our girls were talking about going to Florence over last weekend and I decided to join in on their plans. Sadly, only two of us ended up going on the day trip, but we still had fun! 
We left on one of the morning buses and went to Arezzo.  We bought our train tickets while at the train station and also bought our returning train tickets. Instead of waiting for an hour at the train station, we decided to walk around Arezzo to see what it has to offer. Arezzo seemed like a neat town to take a day trip to. Our train left during the early afternoon and we got to Florence quickly.

I am standing next to Donatello’s David statue in the Bargello Museum

Once in Florence, my friend and I dashed to the Bargello Museum because it would be closed in the late afternoon, and we only had a couple more hours left to get there and tour it. We mainly wanted to go to that museum to see Donatello’s bronze David statue. The museum was very interesting with a wide collection of different pieces. Of course, my favorite was the bronze David, and I spent quite some time looking at it.

After the Bargello, we started to head to the Academia Gallery, which holds Michelangelo’s David statue. Like people have told me, that statue is absolutely breathtaking. It is one thing to see it in a picture, but pictures do not give it the justice it deserves. This David was interesting to compare to Donatello’s David because they are so different. Donatello’s David is younger, smaller, and looks weaker. Michelangelo’s David is 17 feet tall and he resembles a giant. As I gazed at Michelangelo’s statue, I wondered how if David was that large, how Michelangelo would have portrayed Goliath?  I tried to picture an even bigger statue next to David and it was hard to imagine.

We decided to grab lunch before we went shopping. We found a lovely restaurant close to the Academia. For lunch, I had a delicious fettuccini alfredo with peas and chicken. I have recently learned that fettuccini alfredo is not an Italian dish and I have not had any since I left America. I felt like I had to try the alfredo since I haven’t had it in so long, and I am very glad I did. The sauce was overall different than found in America, but I still enjoyed my meal.

Shopping was the next thing on our list and we bought a lot of stuff. During our shopping in Florence, I bought my biggest purchase of my whole trip, which was my suede jacket. I have always wanted a leather jacket and I have heard multiple times that Florence is the place to get leather. The jacket I bought was on a nice sale and is all black. It did not come from any of the markets but from an actual leather shop on a road near where we ate lunch. The shopkeeper was extremely nice to both of us and I did not feel pressured into buying anything.  Another purchase that I made was on my cameo ring, it has the pattern of a fleur-de-lis and I really like it. Both my jacket and my ring are items that I will treasure for a long time and will remind me of my wonderful trip to Italy. As well as those two things, I also bought a glass piece that has Michelangelo’s David in it, a coin purse, and some Christmas gifts.
Getting back to Sansepolcro was easy. We ended up meeting our friends in Arezzo and while waiting for our bus, we all shared stories of our travels of the day. We also had a show and tell of our purchases and it was neat to see what the other girls bought. The bus ride back was bumpy and curvy as usual and it made me feel a bit nauseous, but we got back at a reasonable time and I was fine for the rest of the night.

Entry 6: October 24-31

Volunteering At My Italian High School

I have been to my Italian high school that I volunteer at three times thus far. The school, Liceo S. Bartolomeo, is about five minute walking distance from the palazzo and is still inside the Sansepolcro walls. I love the experiences that I receive when I go there.  The students seem very attentive and listen to everything I say. I see such fascination in their eyes when I speak. The teacher, Signora Gambetti, is a wonderful and kind lady who makes me smile.  I always leave the school in a good mood because of the students and the teacher.

The sign in front of my school

The first time I went to Liceo S. Bartolomeo was on the 10th and I was a little lost and confused. I felt that way because I showed up on time, but the teacher did not. I have since found out that it is very common for adults in Italy to show up late for things but for children and younger people to show up on time or early. I have always been the type of person to show up early because I don’t like to feel rushed. When Signora Gambetti arrived, she greeted me with a big smile and a kiss on each cheek, which is a very common thing to do in Italy.  She is the type of person that I feel like I have known for years, but in reality, I just met her. The students bombarded me with questions; even when I thought I had answered every question they could possibly have, they would ask more. They started off asking some basic questions and then they got more detailed. I showed the class a PowerPoint on Panther Creek, which is the high school I attended. The teacher wanted me to give this presentation because the students will have a project on comparing their school with my school.

Monday the 17th was the second time I volunteered at the school. During that class, I was asked even more questions and then we went over what I presented for the week prior. I also talked about my high school prom, which is a total mystery to the Italian students. They do not have proms and they are only aware of them through movies, magazines, TV, and other media. All of the girls got extremely excited about the idea of me going to my prom. They asked me questions about my dress and how I was invited to my prom. I promised all the students that I would bring in pictures the next time I would come and they seemed ecstatic.

The latest trip I took to my school was on the 24th and once again, I had a very nice time. This time I brought two PowerPoints for my students to experience. I started off the class with a special treat by showing everyone pictures of all the dances I have been to in my lifetime. Those dances included my eighth grade dance, my senior year prom, Meredith College fall dance, and Meredith College spring dance. The girls and the teacher kept commenting on how beautiful I was and how much they loved my dresses. Their comments made me feel very special. They also asked questions about my friends and boyfriend who were in the pictures. I have found that the girls in the class love to talk about dances, boyfriends, and romantic ideas; the boys don’t mind talking about the same things even though they don’t enjoy it as much as the girls. My second PowerPoint was on colleges and universities in the United States. I showed pictures of different colleges and their sports and relayed fun facts about them. That presentation also had a focus on Meredith and what majors it offers, what the dorms are like, and what students do with their free time.

Every time I leave the school to go back to the palazzo, I feel sad to say goodbye students and my teacher because I always have so much fun with them. The students always make me feel welcomed in the class and wanted there. They always compliment me, listen to me, and even clap when I try to speak the Italian I’ve learned. The teacher jokes around with me and the students by saying that my Italian is better than their English, but that is not true at all!  The students’ English is not very good but I am still impressed by how much they know and how often they try to speak it. The students say goodbye and thank you to me each time I leave. The teacher also always thanks me and I know that it is coming from the bottom of her heart. Then she gives me a great big hug!

Entry 5: October 18th- 24th

Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri
For the weekend of 10/14-10/16, three girls and I went to Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, and Capri for our travel break.  We had a good time even though the weather wasn’t always pleasant. The day we arrived, it rained all day and the other days were cold with high winds. However, we ate some excellent food and learned a lot from the different places we went.  While my camera was not always working for me on that trip because my batteries have been acting up, luckily, I still got some nice pictures!  I am thankful to one of my friends who loaned me two batteries to use.

We did not get to spend much time in Naples, even though that’s where we got off our train.  We had to figure out how to get to the metro and get on it.  From the metro in Naples, we would take an hour or so ride to Sorrento, where our hotel was located.  Naples seemed like a neat town that I would like to go back in visit, despite all the horrible stories about it.  Many friends and teachers have said that Naples is not a good town and that crime is high there.  We kept our guard up and had no problem. 

The metro to get to Sorrento was very crowded and we couldn’t sit down until the crowds died down and seats opened up.  We found out later on that the metro in that area is pretty much always crowded and it sometimes waits a long while before taking off.  Once we thought we were running late to the metro and we ran and jumped on it, thinking that we barely made it. We then found out that we weren’t late at all and had to wait on the train nearly fifteen minutes before it actually moved. 

Our hotel in Sorrento was very nice, especially because it was only a five or so minute walk from the metro station.  The people that worked at the hotel knew us and knew our room number and handed us the key every time without asking what it was.  The food and shopping in Sorrento were excellent!  The first night in Sorrento, we went out and I had Spaghetti con Vongole, which is spaghetti with clams.  A man that worked at our hotel recommended that restaurant and I’m glad he did.  For dessert, the girls and I split a wonderful lemon cake. I’m still not sure what it was called, but it was a specialty of Sorrento. 

The second night, we treated ourselves at a fancy restaurant that served buffalo.  I had a pumpkin and sausage pasta as my first dish and then I had buffalo steak for my second course. Both were superb!  I got a lot of my Christmas shopping knocked out at the Sorrento markets.  The gifts that people buy in Sorrento include limoncello, coral jewelry, lava jewelry, and ceramic pieces, such as plates, pitchers, wall decorations, etc.

Unbelievably beautiful sunset near Sorrento

Pompeii was an amazing experience.  It was enormous!  My group and I spent a long time there, but we still didn’t see everything.  We did an audio-tour, which I recommend because it is cheaper than hiring a tour guide.  Also, watch out for the tour guides!  Some of them that offer tours are not official tour guides, just scams!  The history behind Pompeii is amazing and overwhelming at the same time.  We did not follow a certain path, but just wandered around.  One really funny moment at Pompeii was when we were sitting down on some rocks and looking at maps, and then next thing we knew a few people started taking our pictures.  Once other people saw them taking our pictures, they decided to take pictures of us too, we had our pictures taken by about twenty or so random people.  When we asked for one of them to use our camera to take a group photo of us, some lady popped into our pictures from behind both times making funny gestures.  I find it amusing that people thought that four American girls sitting down and looking at their maps was picture worthy. 

Beginning of Pompeii

Capri is one place where I wish I could have spent more time.  We went to Capri on the morning we left, which left us only two hours to get to Capri, walk around and get back in time for our metro.  The boat ride to Capri was extremely and so windy that I had to buy a sweatshirt, but I was still cold.  We walked around Capri, did some shopping, took pictures, and ate a small lunch.   After Capri, we ran to the hotel, grabbed our stuff, and then ran to the metro to make sure we weren’t going to be late.  Thankfully, we had plenty of time to spare!

Coming back to Sansepolcro was overall an easy task with no troubles.  Our train ride was a straight shot. Once we arrived in Arezzo, we met up with another Meredith group that had gone to Venice. We then waited a little under two hours till the bus came and took us all back to Sansepolcro.

Entry 4: October 11th-17th
Midway Point

This week we started our new part of the semester, we crossed the midway point. This is both sad and exciting. Two reasons why it meeting the midway point is exciting are because we have started working at our schools and our schedules have changed. One negative but is also a positive thing is that I get to return back to North Carolina in a few months. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to get my haircut at an Italian hairdresser, which turned out to be quite an experience.

 On the Monday of 10/10/11, I went to the high school where I will be volunteering for the remainder of this semester. I had the 15 to 16 age group and the students were wonderful. They started off the class by asking me a million questions about America and me. One particular favorite question of mine that a girl asked was if I have ever been on TV, because I looked like an actress; I was very flattered by this question. The students also asked me where I lived in America, what foods I like here versus what foods I like to eat in America, what TV shows I watch, what music I listen to, and many more various questions. Once all the questions were answered, I started my PowerPoint that I created for the class on the American Public School System. In my PowerPoint, I mentioned the age groups of all the grades as well as other simple facts. Then, my PowerPoint went into public High School and what it was like. I mentioned classes, sports, activities, lunch, and many more things that the Italian students found fascinating. Their minds were blown when I mentioned that my high school, Panther Creek in Cary, North Carolina, had over 2,200 students. The schools in Italy are very small, theirs reminded me of a small, private school and not a public school. I’m very excited to continue working with the students and the professor throughout the rest of this semester.

Starting the second session of our semester this week meant we also had a final in Italian 101. Italian 101 flew by because we were on hyper-speed in that class. The final went well in my opinion. I tried to study a lot, for it but could barely find the time to do so. I am nervous about finding out my grade for the final and for the class. Since Italian 101 ended, we have started Italian 102 this week and it is going well so far, even though we have only had one day of it. We have also started our Italian Conversation class on Monday. We wrote out questions for the Italian students that will come over to our palazzo for our Italian Conversation class/game night. I learned a lot of interesting facts about the Italian school system and it is neat to compare it with the American school system. I am eager to have more Italian Conversation classes, because I feel like it will help improve my Italian skills, which aren’t that good. Also, a tutor is now going to come every week to help us with any Italian that we need help with and I plan on going to every one of her sessions to get as much help as possible.

When I got my haircut, it was a real shocker. I think there was a misunderstanding in the communication between my hairdresser and myself. I showed her a lot of pictures of how I wanted it cut and what color I wanted. The color turned out great- I really like it!- but the length, on the other hand, was way shorter than what I imagined it would be. I ended up not liking my hair at first. I went back to have it evened out, which she gladly fixed for free since it had been barely over an hour since I left. The hairdresser was extremely nice and she fixed it with no grudge and I like my haircut a lot better. It is still weird to look at my hair and see how short it is, because I have never had it this short in my life. I found that going to the hairdresser was a good experience because I learned that Europeans have different hairstyles than the United States has and it is fun to try and learn how to style a new haircut.

Before Haircut	After Haircut

I am both sad and excited about going back to America. I am excited to see my family, boyfriend, and friends again and share my experiences with them and show them how much I have grown since I have left. I am also excited to go back home and get certain foods; I really miss fried beef chimichangas, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, fresh chocolate chip cookies, various southern foods, sweet tea, muffins, certain candies, and other foods. When I leave Italy, I will miss all the amazing pasta, the gelato, and even the Chinese food that I get from this restaurant that is close to the palazzo. I will also miss the freedom that I have here, I feel like I have grown in many ways here, including being more independent. I am looking forward to having new friends, who are like family now, back at Meredith College. It will be sad to watch this semester start to end but I am grateful for all the opportunities that I have had here and all the opportunities that will help prepare for my future.

Entry 3

To Germany and Back!
For my first travel break, two of my friends and I went to Germany. We all had a very nice time in Germany and had exciting and new experiences there. We went to Frankfurt and Munich. While in Munich, we had the opportunity to go to Oktoberfest. Getting to and from Germany turned out to be a bit of a challenge, but we made it back!

We left Thursday afternoon, on September 29th, after lunch to take a bus to Arezzo. From Arezzo, we took a train to Florence and then another train to Venice. From Venice, we flew to Frankfurt-Hahn airport and when we landed, we took a bus to our hostel. Our hostel was quite a distance away from the airport. We got to our hostel late in the evening and went to bed almost immediately. The next morning, we woke up early to get ready for our trip to Munich. We caught a train in the morning and it was a pleasant ride. Once we arrived in Munich, we took a taxi to our hotel; our hotel was far away from the train station. Our taxi ride was costly, but our hotel was cheaper than it would be to stay in the city. The hotel we stayed at is a Holiday Inn and I recommend it; it is about five minutes away from the airport.

I did not get to see much of Frankfurt because we got there late in the evening and left early the next morning. I would love to return to Frankfurt one day and explore there. Munich was our main destination and I’m glad that we spent most of our time there. I would love to go back to Munich and see the sights that it has to offer and also learn its history.

Oktoberfest offered many amazing experiences. We talked to people from many different cultures in Germany because Oktoberfest is a big destination around the world. Oktoberfest is basically a massive fair, with great foods, fun rides, games, and a lot of people. Germany has delicious pastries; I ate a lot of different types over my trip. At Oktoberfest I had bratwurst, kettle corn, corn on the cob with butter and salt, cotton candy, sugared nuts, and chocolate covered strawberries. I loved the food at Oktoberfest, it was all so yummy! The tents in Oktoberfest were highly crowded; in order to get a seat inside, you have to request a space for a table far in advance. It is not common to get a table without a reservation unless one gets to a tent at nine in the morning.

(Inside an Oktoberfest Tent)

Getting back from Germany was an interesting and difficult task. We left on Sunday, October 2nd and got back to Sansepolcro late at night. We started off our long journey by taking a taxi into Munich to the train station. From there, we hopped on a train and tried to get to Karlsruhe, Germany. That plan did not work out so well because of one stop between Munich and Karlsruhe; at that stop, we got on the wrong train. Luckily, our train ride was short and a woman who worked on the train told us how to get back to the original connection station at and she did not fine us; the penalty to be on the wrong train or to not have a validated ticket is expensive. We are still not sure how we ended up on the wrong train, because we were at the right gate and it was on the same time as we should have boarded on the right train. We took a train back to our connecting station and realized that we could not get to the next train and still get to the airport on time. We grabbed a taxi and took it to our airport, Karlsruhe-Baden. Our taxi was expensive, but we made it with plenty of time to spare! We got on our plane and flew to Rome, to the Ciampino airport. From Rome we took a bus, a confusing metro train, another regular train and arrived in Arezzo late at night. Because we arrived late at night, we had to take a taxi back, which we already planned on doing. Our taxi ride was extremely comfortable and was pleasant. Overall, Germany was a lovely country and I would love to have the opportunity to visit it again and spend more time there to learn its history. But, coming back to my home of Sansepolcro left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. In a little over a month, Sansepolcro has become dear to my heart and is a great place to return to from traveling.

Entry 2: 9/22/11

Florence

We arrived to Florence with so many activities to do that our two and a half day trip was not enough time to get everything accomplished; we arrived in Florence on September 16th and left the 18th. I went to as many places as I could squeeze in, those include the market, the Pilazzo Pitti, different clothing shops, a garden/park with a friend, and walked around the city a lot. The joke between us girls with walking around is that we walked around 20 miles, I don’t know if that is true but it sure seems that way.

The San Lorenzo market is an experience that I highly recommend while in Florence. Leather goods, scarves, jewelry, clothing, and several other items were being sold in the market. Some examples of the leather goods were purses, bracelets, jackets, journals, and other various items. The market itself seemed about endless and was almost overwhelming. I personally did not buy that much, but I can see why some people go crazy. The prices were pretty cheap! If you want to go shopping, Florence is the place to do it at. However, I would suggest making a financial and budgeting plan before you leave, some of our girls did that and it worked well for them. I myself did not make a budgeting plan but had a good estimate that I kept in my head; it would have been wise to write it down on paper.

The Palazzo Pitti, otherwise known as the Pitti Palace, was very grand and breathtaking. The artwork in the Pitti was overwhelming. I saw artwork everywhere I looked: the paintings, sculptures, curtains, rugs, tables, statues, ceilings, walls, chairs, floor, and frames! I found it very interesting to compare the art of one piece with another or to compare one room from another room. One interesting fact that my group and I found out about the Pitti palace was that it does not take credit card, which we thought it would. Dr. Bailey told us about various paintings and artists and that was fascinating to learn about the history of the building itself.

I am upset that I did not get the chance to go to the Duomo and the Uffizi Museum while I was in Florence due to my already packed schedule. The Duomo is an enormous Catholic church that is a breathtaking sight. I was hoping to go in it, but could not due to it being closed on Sundays. I took pictures from the outside of it. I heard that the Uffizi Museum has some amazing artwork in it, but the artwork is on plain walls, whereas in the Pitti Palace, everywhere one looks is some type of art.

When one goes to Florence, you should bring extra comfy walking shoes. I thought I had brought some, but I still ended up having blisters on my feet. Dr. Bailey told us that it always seems hotter in Florence than other places and I definitely believe that. The walking plus the heat made my days pretty uncomfortable. I recommend taking the bus if you have to go anywhere far in the city, it is worth the price of a small gelato and the city is big enough to get your money’s worth from the ride. One more tip is to stretch before and after a lot of walking! I wish I had done more of that. Because of all the walking in Florence, I’m hurting a bit in my hip and knees, and I know that it is not because I’m out of shape.

Coming back from Florence to Sansepolcro was the trickiest part of the trip. We had heard rumors about a train strike and found out on the Sunday as we were attempting to leave that the rumors were true. Our train teased us by telling us that it was 10 minutes late, so we thought it was coming. The 10 minutes late was a lie and the train was cancelled. We grabbed another train an hour after that and that was not too bad. When we arrived in Arezzo, we headed towards the bus station across the street. We missed the bus by 2 minutes! We ended up waiting for over 4 hours, since few buses run on Sunday. All of us did not get back till late at night and that was not a pleasant evening. I’m just grateful that we could occupy our time in Arezzo by studying and reading for English class. Without the strike, I feel like it would be an easy trip to make. I’m planning to go back to Florence again sometime this semester because I would like to do all the activities I couldn’t do on my first trip.

Florence at Night- View from Piazza Michelangelo

Entry 1: September 19, 2011

The Start of My Biggest Adventure Yet

Living in Italy at the Palazzo Alberti has been an absolutely wonderful experience thus far. My trip started out differently than the other girls because I left the 21st and traveled around Europe and then came to Sansepolcro on the 29th and the rest of the girls arrived on the 30th. My family and I left RDU airport, flew to DC and then took another overnight plane to Zurich, Switzerland. We spent a total of 3 days in Zurich, in which we did a lot of different activities over there. One magnificent adventure that my family and I went on was an all day tour around Switzerland. On that tour we went to Lindt chocolate outlet, a cheese factory, a few small, beautiful towns, in which we shopped in and visited churches, and we learned some neat facts about Switzerland. Switzerland was overall a very gorgeous and green country, which I absolutely loved. Switzerland’s homes were a neat sight to see because they were nothing like what I have seen in the United States and they are even different from the Italian homes that I see. One fact that I learned about the people of Switzerland was that they were happy if they had a lower license plate number. The people from Switzerland would sometimes pay a large sum of money to get lower license plate numbers because that was the thing to have, they would even have bids for lower number plates. Switzerland is a country that I would love to go back to; the only downside I would say to it was that it was a pretty expensive country unlike the parts of Italy I have been to.

After Zurich, my family and I took a train to Milan. I recommend that one should stay awake on that ride to see the amazing views of Switzerland and of Italy, I sadly fell asleep for a large portion of the ride and I regret it. Milan was a remarkable city in both size and sights. Of course, I did some shopping in Milan, in which I bought some shoes in. The reason why I had to buy the shoes was because I did not bring any open toed shoes and only closed ones and it has been more hot than normal in all of Europe. One of my favorite experiences about Milan was where women spin around on a tiled bull that lay on the ground of the Gallery. Women would spin around on the bull’s crotch area, which was a funny sight to watch and then get close on and see a hole in the ground from all the spinning done on the bull every day. The tradition was that one puts their heel in the hole and turns around in place a couple of times to get good luck. This curious tradition started out when the bull crest was first created, the men who created it put large testicles on the bull; the ladies were horrified by this and they would try and rub the testicles down with their feet to show their protest to the bull. The bull’s crotch area got worn down over the years and then one time, one of the mayors of the town decided to try and replace the bulls testicles and make them normal size, but tradition still carried on and woman still to this day spin around on the bull, the testicles have not been replaced since.

After Milan, my family and I took a train to Venice. Venice has always been among the top places that I have to visit, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have gone there. Venice is a sight to be seen in person, not just through pictures. I don’t believe that photographs do Venice justice. There were so many activities to do in Venice and the food was fantastic! I am sad to say that I did not go on a gondola, which is one thing that I would have loved to do. My family and I only had about one and a half days to see Venice and I feel that was not enough. I would love to return to Venice one day and experience more of it.

My family and I took a train to Florence from Venice; we then hopped off there and got on another train to Arezzo, and then took a bus to my new home town of Sansepolcro. I love Sansepolcro so far and am really enjoying the other girls ‘company. We have done a lot of activities here so far: a couple parades, the World’s Youth Fly Fishing Tournament Awards, and the Balestra and an after-party. The World’s Fly Fishing Tournament ceremony was a really neat experience to watch because the Americans won this year, I feel like it is such a coincidence that they happened to win and be around Sansepolcro when the other girls and I are living here. The Balestra was a crossbow competition in which Fiorentina, our side, won and that was thrilling to watch!

I just had my first Italian test the other day. My first test was on chapter one and it was about the week days, months, numbers, and small, everyday phrases. I have learned so much from going around the town, I have especially learned how to order certain foods and have learned short phrases to use in my new Italian life. I’m excited to learn more about the Italian culture and to be able to communicate better with the Italians one day.