Entry 6

I actually just had one of the best weekends of my life.  About two months ago, Andie, Hillary, and I planned and booked a trip to Barcelona for the weekend.  On Thursday night, we went to Rome to spend the night because we had an early flight Friday morning.  At the last minute, Katy K decided to join us.   We woke up at 3:45 on Friday morning (the earliest wake up time yet!) and headed for the airport.  At 10:30 am, we arrived in Spain!  It was such a surreal feeling.  I was walking around in shock that I wasn't even in Italy anymore.  We checked into our hostel and immediately started figuring out what we wanted to do

While we were standing in the lobby of the hostel, we saw a flier for a thing called a "go car".  Andie was all over this automatically and I was happy, too, because the original plan was for Katy to drive our car.  When we got to the office, we realized that since Katy didn't have her license with her that I would have to drive.  Watching the video and signing all the forms that came along with being the driver, I was honestly wondering what I had gotten myself into.  I was terrified getting into the driver's seat, but after a few minutes I was totally comfortable and having the time of my life.  It was so much fun, and all I needed was a push from my friends.  I hate to think about what I would have missed out on it otherwise! It still seems so crazy that I was driving a tiny little car around the streets of Barcelona.  Katy and I named our car Sally.  Sally had a GPS that told us all about where we were and the landmarks surrounding us.  We took one turn that took us to the beach, and Katy and I ran to the water.  I got to stick my hand in the Mediterranean!  The weather was absolutely beautiful, and there wasn't even a cloud in the sky.  The water was a calm, clear blue and we had so much fun unwinding at the beach.  We were headed back to the cars, chatting, when a girl with a slight British accent asked us where we were from.  When we told her North Carolina, she got all excited and exclaimed, "I knew it!"  Turns out she lived in Wilmington for a few months and recognized our little southern accents.  

We heard about a Magic Fountain before we left and decided we wanted to see what it was all about.  When we first got to the fountain area, we saw a little dinky fountain which Katy and I thought was the Magic Fountain and were pretty disappointed.  Andie and Hillary laughed at us and pointed at the actual Magic Fountain which was this beautiful structure which made so much more sense.  We had to wait for 30 minutes for the show to start.  It was totally worth it, though!  The fountain started and the water rose, fell, changed shape, and turned colors to music.  It was incredible!

Saturday morning, we climbed to the top of the Christopher Columbus monument.  We were blessed with another beautiful day and were able to see for miles from the top.  After, we tried to find the cable cars to ride up to the castle, but had a lot of failed attempts.  Andie was really hoping to find an Olympic T shirt for her dad, and so I went to the Olympic Stadium with her while Hillary and Katy went to look at the Gaudi stuff.  We tried hard to find a T shirt, but there was nothing to be found.  We were pretty amused by the fact that there was a Monster Jam in the stadium.  I felt like we could have been back in North Carolina. 

When we finished at the stadium, we rode the cable cars up to the castle.  It was so beautiful, and we got to sit outside under straw umbrellas, eating a snack, and watching the sunset at a castle in Spain.  It was unreal and I wish I could have had pictures from that moment.

Sunday was all about traveling, and it rained as we were leaving...the only time all weekend!  It must have been because Spain was sad to see us leave :)  After a long day of traveling, we finally made it back to Sansepolcro.  We were so excited to tell everyone about our wonderful trip, but there just wasn't anything we could say to make others understand how amazing our weekend was. 

This trip was so good for me on a personal level.  It was really clear to me just how much I've grown because I saw the new Katy so many times this weekend.  I was in a pretty low place about some things before I left, but now I know that things are looking up for me, and I am going to be headed home with a new attitude about so many aspects of my life.
It is simply unbelievable that this incredible experience is over in a few days.  I'm so sad to know that soon I have to start packing to go back America, but I am getting really excited to see my family and friends and to share stories and pictures, and to get back to the beautiful life I've created for myself in NC.

Entry 5

Well, we hit the halfway point of our time here on Monday.  It is so crazy to know that we are halfway done with this experience that we so anxiously anticipated a few short months ago.  I look back to where I was before I came to Italy, and I can see that I have grown and changed in so many ways.  For one, I had set a rigid plan for my life, but I am so much more flexible now.  I have realized that there are so many paths that my life can take, and I am so excited to see which of those paths my life will take!

Before I left I would let issues in my life leave me worried and downtrodden, but I have been able to look at things so much clearer and have accepted that there are things that I can control and other things I have to simply put in God's hands.  My faith has gotten a boost being here.  I see God's handiwork in the area around me every day.  I also believe that he put all twelve of us together for a reason.  These girls have changed my life.  We are such an eclectic group and probably would not be friends without this trip.  However, this time here has created an unbreakable bond between us and I know that while our lives will undoubtedly take us apart from each other, but I know that we will always be able to get back together and talk about our time in Italy.  I love all these girls so dearly and they will hold such a special place in my heart.         

We went to Venice and Verona this weekend! The alarm went off at 4:15 am Friday morning and I was up, dressed, and ready to go at 4:51 am.  Hillary, Andie, Nikki, Meredith, Erin, and I dragged ourselves and our stuff to the bust stop to catch the 5:30 am train to Arezzo.  We planned to catch the 7am bus to Venice.  There has been some confusion about booking tickets online, but we just chose to buy the tickets at the train station before we left.  We didn't think the early train would be full, but little did we know that it was actually going to be sold out!  We ended up having to wait in the train station for 3 hours.    We even saw Landis, Katy K, Allison, and Liz on their way to the Amalfi Coast.  We finally got on our train and were finally on our way to Venice.              

As soon as we walked out of the train station in Venice, we were on the bank of the Grand Canal.  Even though I have done a few of these trips by now, the moments when I am actually standing in front of famous sights that I used to only dream of seeing still take my breath away. We got Rolling Venice passes and immediately took advantage of the free waterbus rides.  We headed over to our hostel to check in.  Our hostel experience definitely exceeded our expectations!  The place was SO nice and the staff was so kind.  We stayed in an 8-bed female dorm with two other girls who did not talk much, but we got to know lots of other people in the hostel.  After dropping our stuff off, we headed over to St Mark's Square.  It was packed!  We got to tour the Basilica which was stunning!  Next we headed to Doge's Palace.  While it's no Pitti Palace, it was definitely beautiful.  We got dinner and did lots of shopping.  We didn't buy much, though, because we were headed to Murano the next day.  We spent the night getting to know some of the people we were staying with in the hostel.   We were the only students.  Everyone else was traveling all over Europe for a minimum of 6 months. It really showed me how common it is for kids to take off and travel after graduating from high school.  I feel inspired travel more.

The next morning we went on a gondola ride which started and ended on the Grand Canal, but took us through some back ways.  It's really bizarre to see speed limit signs for boats and waterways as streets!  We saw Casanova's house, Marco Polo's house, and some views that were simply unparalleled.  Just as our ride was wrapping up, a wave came up and splashed over poor Hillary.  The fact that it was absolutely freezing certainly did not help matters.     
After the gondola, we headed over to the Guggenheim, a museum I particularly enjoyed.  The gallery is very different than anything we have seen thus far. After lunch, we made our way over to the waterbus stop and hopped on one that was headed to Murano.   I was so amazed by all the glass I saw.  The works of art they create is just beyond my imagination.  

We had an early train on Sunday.  We got to Verona at 8:30.  We got the Verona pass which works much like the Rolling Venice.  We went to Juliet's house, where we got to tour the museum and see the famous balcony.  We all even wrote her letters!  We found Romeo's house, as well.  It was so cool to walk the distance that Shakespeare writes in that play we all know too well.  There were other things we wanted to look at, but our exhaustion level was really high.  The only thing we really wanted to do was eat lunch at about 10:45 and shop, so that we did.  We caught a train to Arezzo at 2:30 and ended up home and ready to crash in Sansepolcro late Sunday night.

Well, the lessons I learned from this last travel break are obvious: I now plan to book my train tickets online (since I found out how on Monday) and am going to insist on getting a good night's sleep before having to travel early the next morning.  I was so inspired hearing the stories from the other travelers we met.

While I love this place and know that I will be homesick for Sansepolcro in America, there is a big part of me that is excited to get home.  I cannot wait to share my experiences with loved ones!  I can't wait to get back to being a small group leader, and a Meredith Angel in Raleigh.  I know that I have some of the best people in the whole world in my life, but being away for an extended period of time just reminds me of how blessed I am every single day.  I pray that I can bring my lessons that I've learned here and apply them to my life at home.

Growing, Changing, Learning,
Katy

Our group outside the Guggenheim

The view from our hostel

Our ride in the gondola

Entry 4
I thought I'd share a typical day in the life of a study abroad student in Sansepolcro.

Every week we sign up for chores around the palazzo.  For example, this week I am on garbage duty.  Every morning I get up, get the recycling that is designated to go out that day, take it down the 2 flights of stairs to the bottom floor, drop it outside the palazzo, and then go get ready for my day.  At 9 am, our classes for the day begin.  Margherita is still making delicious lunches.  We have yet to have a meal repeated.  I am amazed at how beautiful every plate looks, as well as how tasty it is!  After afternoon classes, the homework marathon begins.   We just finished our Rival Cities project,  a collaboration between Color Theory and Art History, and are presenting it tonight.  Italian 101 just finished and we started 102 today, so I am officially taking Italian as a class now.  On Monday and Wednesday evenings we have the conversation section of Italian.  That class is probably going to be my biggest concern for the rest of the semester since I have the feel of my other classes down by now.

Something very exciting that we started this week is our service learning section of Italy Today.  I am working at the high school down the street.  I was so nervous going into my first day of class because I honestly had no idea what to expect.  I did not know how much English the kids spoke or what exactly was expected of me.  So I got there early, with my notes in hand, ready to go.  The teacher and I had some time to get reacquainted and talk about our plan for class that day.  She decided that she wanted me to do a Question and Answer section and then I would talk about the American public school system.  Since I am a product of the school system and I already know about some big differences, I felt really comfortable talking in front of the class.  The teacher would stop me periodically and ask the students to report back to her in English what I had said.  They were so impressive!  I can count on one hand how many times I had to go back and repeat myself. 

My lesson on Monday taught me about as much as I taught the students.  Little things that I did not even consider to be something different about the American school system like placement tests taken Freshman year to determine in what classes a student will be placed, or the system of getting to place out of a class if a student can pass the required exam were brought up.  I learned that there was really no reason to be nervous because my class was so attentive and asked a lot of questions. 

Of course the part of my talk that the girls liked best was when I got to tell them all about prom.  Talking about picking out the perfect dress and getting all dolled up, I could see their eyes literally twinkling!  The teacher asked me to talk about yearbooks and multiple choice testing because neither exist in Italy, but the Ministry of Education is trying to pass a law to have multiple choice tests in classrooms. 
I really enjoyed getting to talk about Senior Portraits and Graduation.  Those two events were the highlights of my senior year.  I am so glad I chose to go to Ned Winn's studio to get my senior pictures done because that hour and a half with just Ned, my mom and me was just so memorable and felt how a special portrait session should.  Every student remembers their high school graduation.  That day we get to celebrate accomplishing a huge goal.  All the late nights, stress, tears, and nerves are worth it when you get to walk across the stage with your classmates and your loved ones in the audience.  I remember tearing up when we turned our tassels, and I started tearing up when I talked about that moment.  The teacher did not make it any easier when she asked if that was the last time I saw a lot of my classmates.

Of course Graduation is a day of goodbyes and emotional to remember, but I like to look back and see just how far I have come in the last year and a half.  Meredith College has been more of a blessing in my life than I ever thought it would be.  This trip has taught me so many incredible lessons about myself and I feel like I grow a little more each day.  So while high school is fun to relive in memories and had a huge part in shaping me today, I would not trade my experiences today to get a single class period in those four years back.  Instead, I cannot believe that I've already been here 43 days!  I really cannot believe how fast this is starting to fly by.  At the beginning of the semester I thought this was going to trickle by so slowly, but now I just am trying to hold on to every single day because our days here literally are numbered. 

So as I close this post, I feel a cool draft coming in the window.  Autumn has definitely come to Tuscany, and by the feel of it we are going to have a cold winter after an unusually long, warm fall.


My high schoolers and their wonderful teacher, Signora Pasqui

Autumn in Tuscany

Entry 3: October 4, 2011

I cannot believe I have been here over a month!  In a few weeks half my time here will be over, and it is an extremely bittersweet feeling.    There was some culture shock when I first got here, but I am now anticipating reverse culture shock when returning to The States.  

This weekend was the first travel break we took on our own.  Landis, Elizabeth, Holly, Meredith, and Erin went to Cinque Terre, Katy K; Nikki, and Liz went to Oktoberfest; and Andie, Hillary, and I went to Rome.  If anyone had seen us saying goodbye on Thursday, they would have thought we were going to be separated for 3 weeks instead of three days. 

The roomies and I got on our bus at 5:40 headed to Arezzo, and were greeted at the bus stop by mom and grandmother!  It was an amazing feeling to see my family in this place that has become so near and dear to me.  We spent Thursday night in Arezzo in a very nice suite.  Mom and grandmother had a room with two beds that had a little kitchenette connected.  Down the hall was our bathroom and the room Andie, Hillary and I shared.  Our hotel had a lovely little restaurant downstairs where we got some delicious food.  Even though we got to bed pretty early, 5:20 am came much too soon.  After getting ready and stuffing the goodies the hotel gave us for breakfast into our bags, we headed out the back gate, followed the train tracks and got onto our train at 6 am.  

We arrived in Rome at 8:30 am, dropped our luggage off at the luggage check, and got on the metro to the Colosseum.  I was speechless as I exited the metro station and the Colosseum was right in front of me!  I felt like I left the real world and stepped into a postcard or history book.  A girl who seemed to be around my age approached us offering a tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forum.  We decided taking the tour would be beneficial so we weren't simply wandering around aimlessly.  Paola was our guide for the Colosseum, and Greg took over for the rest.  Reading about these places is completely different than actually standing in these ancient spots and hearing about the history.  We learned about the kind of entertainment in the Colosseum such as hunting fights, gladiator fights, and condemnation to death.  It didn't really hit me how different entertainment in ancient times was.  People used to sit in the Colosseum and watch people get executed for lunchtime entertainment.  There was never a faked death because a servant would have to go and make sure the victim was actually dead.  Our tour of Palatine Hill "never left the building".  The palace was 14 km big and so, although we  were outside the whole time, we were inside what was the palace at one time.  We even saw Mussolini's summer residence...no big deal...I just had to turn my head and was able to see MUSSOLINI'S summer residence...yeah, that's how life in Italy is.

After our tour, we retrieved our luggage and dragged it to the hotel which actually was very close to the train station.  We checked into our Rome hotel, which was a 5 person room..  The girls and I decided we wanted to go on a walking tour that night instead of resting.  We met up with Greg and our tour was so small: the three of us, two married couples and 3 Australian teenagers.  We met at the "Wedding Cake" and then went into a couple of churches on our way to the Trevi fountain where we saw the place that Audrey Hepburn got her hair cut during filming of "A Roman Holiday".  Today it's a religious store.  In the same building is the oldest gelato shoppe in Rome.  All of us threw our coins into the fountain (the correct way:  right hand over left shoulder).  After the fountain we went to the Pantheon.  Walking inside this beautiful, ancient building literally took my breath away.  Buried in the Pantheon is King Vittorio and his father, as well as Raphael.  It's kind of cool to say that I was in Rafael's birthplace and stood at his grave in the course of a week-this vastly important artist in Italy.  Upon leaving the Pantheon, we made our way to the Piazza Novana and got to see the stunning fountain.  After we left the Piazza we tried to find a mexican restaurant that Andie had found the address for.  However, it is no longer a Mexican restaurant, but a bar.  It was a little disappointing to have to miss out on Mexican because we were seriously craving it.  We ate at a very cute pizzeria, instead, and I got a white pizza with mozzarella and potatoes.   It was not like any other pizza I've ever had, but it certainly was tasty!  After we finished our meal we headed over to the Spanish steps.  We had been clearly warned to avoid the men trying to sell us roses, and we had our own experience with these men in Florence.  Well, standing in front of the steps, a man approached us trying to give us roses which we kindly declined.  He told us they were gifts, so we took them.  Here's the scam:  he offered to take our picture with our flowers, and then charged us for taking the picture!  After dealing with all that, we climbed all the way to the top of the steps, and thoroughly enjoyed the view.  We planned to take the metro back to the hotel, but we were unaware that the metro closed at nine on Friday nights while they are constructing a new line.  The result:  us walking easily 45 minutes back to the hotel, but we made it back no problem, thanks to Andie and the map!  When we got back to the hotel I had a nice little surprise, my foot was swollen, again!  To say I was very frustrated would be a severe understatement because I had also had some asthma issues earlier that morning.

We woke up Saturday morning pretty early because we had reservations at the Vatican Museum for 10 am.  On our own, we would have walked through 600 rooms of the museum.  I was relieved to have a tour guide to show us only the most important rooms.  Our tour concluded in the Sistine Chapel.  It’s most definitely an experience to be herded into the Chapel.  There were a ton of folks around, but I was in my own little world just trying to take in the beauty that surrounded me. My little world was interrupted by the less-than-friendly guards who were constantly “sssshhh-ing” us, and saying “NO PHOTO”.  I know they have a stressful job, especially after seeing people who were still sneaking their cameras out. I know I would be pretty grumpy, too, if I had to deal with all that. The most entertaining part of all was when a guard caught a couple splitting a banana, the guard said “No eating, you’re in the Sistine Chapel”.  Since it was silent, we all heard and I had to stifle my laughter.  One of the perks to taking the tour was being able to skip the line to go into St Peter’s Basilica. We did various things Saturday afternoon, including shopping.  Luckily, we were able to take the metro on Saturday night, and we found out that there was a metro stop closer to our hotel that we decided to try.  Well when we got to our stop, the escalator was no longer working! As a result, we had to climb more stairs than I can ever remember climbing.

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day because we had already seen the most important things on our list.  When we got up, we went to the church of Saint-Peter-in-Chains where we got to see Michelangelo’s Moses.  After leaving the church, the girls and I went out to the least-touristy part of Rome where we got to see a pyramid.  Yes, you read it right, I saw a pyramid in ITALY.  As we continued to walk around, we saw the a cemetery of WWII soldiers and the Protestant cemetery where we saw the graves of John Keats and Percy Shelley.  We had an assignment for Sara’s class to try to typical food of the region, so we found a little family-owned restaurant where Andie got Rigatoni Carbona, I got Rigatoni Norcina, and Hillary got Gnocchi.  As per usual, the three of us ate off each other’s plates, as well as our own.

We left Rome completely satisfied with our weekend.  We got to Arezzo and the Cinque Terre group was also at the bus stop.  There was a lot of hugging and squealing involved.  Mom and Grandmother met those girls then and were included in the hug-fest.    I was so excited to show mom and grandmother my home when we got back, and to take them around this beautiful city for the rest of the day.
Happy to have my family here,
Katy

Grandmother, Mom, and me in front of the Colosseum

My mother and me in the Colosseum

Roommates!

Photo Op in the middle of the first tour

Entry 2: September 26, 2011

We went on our first TRAVEL BREAK this weekend!  We spent the weekend in Florence, and it certainly was unforgettable.

Friday after Italian we made our way to the bus station where we caught a bus to Arezzo, and then a train to Florence. The bus ride was bouncy and left us all feeling a little topsy-turvy when we got off. The train ride was much smoother, not to mention beautiful as we looked through the windows. Pulling into Santa Maria Novella station was so exciting!  Holly looked at all of us and said, "Well ladies, welcome to Florence!"  We got off the train and walked all the way through town to our hotel...easily a 45 minute walk!  Once we finally made it to our hotel, we unpacked and headed to the market. My group got a little turned around on the way to the market and ended up on the other end of town.

After we got our daily exercise, we were finally at the market. I have never seen anything like it!  I could have bought something from each booth. There were so many vendors selling scarves of every style and color, everything you can imagine made of leather, and plenty of booths selling classic tourist items like T-shirts. After we shopped, we headed to dinner. The food was delicious, but the awful service, definitely made me miss small, sweet Sansepolcro.

We were dead on our feet Friday night, so we all convened downstairs in the courtyard of our hotel and had a girl's night chatting in our comfy clothes. Our hotel was awesome!  It was a long walk from just about everything, but this converted convent was on a residential street that had essentially no street noise and the most comfortable mattress I've slept on since I've been here. We all fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow that night. We were ready to get good rest for the busy day we had planned Saturday, starting with a tour of the Pitti Palace.

We were supposed to check in with Dr Bailey at 8:45 Saturday morning and be ready to leave at 9 am. Well, at 9:15, Andie, Hillary, and I got a knock on our door because our alarm hadn't gone off. Three out of the four rooms had overslept!   We threw clothes on and pretty much ran all the way to the Pitti. Luckily we made it in time for our 9:30 reservation. The Palazzo Pitti was amazing; there is so much beautiful art, not to mention the extravagant design of every single room. However, I was tired and out of breath when I got there, and not having had breakfast caught up to me as we were touring the palazzo. I feel like I would have enjoyed the whole experience more had I woken up in time and actually had breakfast.

When our tour was over, Andie, Hillary and I got some lunch at an adorable cafe right across from Pitti. For 15 euro we got penne pesto, lemon chicken, and a salad. We were sufficiently full, and we bought tickets to walk through the gardens connected to the Pitti. It was definitely worth the extra euros!  Everything was landscaped so beautifully. Next, we went to try and climb the Duomo, but the lines to climb and to even get into the cathedral were so long, so we decided to go on Sunday. We used the extra time to take a lot of pictures, and headed back to the market to make some more purchases. Once Saturday’s shopping was finished, we went to the Santa Croce piazza, took some pictures, and bought sandwiches which we took along with us on our hike up to the Piazza Michelangelo. The other girls caught up to us at the piazza and we got to watch the sunset over Forence. It felt so surreal to be sitting on concrete steps overlooking such a beautiful, ancient place as the sun set for the night.

Sunday was Allison's birthday, so we decided to celebrate Saturday night. When we left the piazza, we took a bus that dropped us right off at the hotel...completely worth my two euro!  We all got ready and headed to a cafe right beside the Duomo where we got bruschetta, salad, lasagna, and a glass of wine for 9 euro, not to mention the fact that we got to eat facing the Duomo at night! Before going to Florence, I thought restaurants near historic landmarks would be wildly expensive. However, some of the most affordable meals I had were from those little restaurants. They can probably afford to have such delicious food for great prices because all the tourists will be around to try it, and then will recommend their food to friends and family who will be traveling.

We met a bunch of AMERICANS!  It was strange the whole day to hear other people speaking English as we passed, but it was awesome to meet some other American students studying abroad. The group we got to know the best was a bunch of students from Chicago studying Rome. Now we know who to get in contact with when we're in Rome in two weeks! 

I woke up on Sunday with one working foot, and one foot that was killing me!  We learned Saturday night that the Duomo is closed on Sundays, so now we know that we need to look this kind of stuff up early. A bunch of girls decided to go to the Uffizzi, but I knew that I could not enjoy anything with my foot feeling like it did so I decided to go home early with Nikki and Landis. We heard early last week that there was supposed to be a train strike but hadn't heard anything else so we thought the strike was off. Well, when we got to the station the board said that the train to Arezzo was CANCELED. There weren't even any trains going elsewhere that were going to stop in Arezzo. We decided to look for a bus to Arezzo, but the only one running from Florence doesn't run on Sundays. Our only options were to either wait 4 and half hours or get a taxi to Arezzo. We opted for the taxi and then took the bus back to Sansepolcro. It was so great to be back in our small town!  I loved Florence, but coming back to Sansepolcro was just as exciting. We were able to take nice, long naps and woke up in time to go to dinner. We learned from the other girls that their train had been canceled as well! They were able to find another train stopping in Arezzo though. They then had to wait to the bus station for 4 hours to get a bus back home. Meanwhile Nikki, Landis, and I had the palazzo all to ourselves, which was oddly quiet. We ran across the street to the pub and got burgers and fries. It was so nice to have some American food. We were well underway with our homework when we heard the door open as all the other girls came home. It was good to see them after all our adventures.

I learned a lot this trip. Checking open hours and days for the things we want to see is definitely top of the list. Luckily, we're planning to go back to Florence so we can see everything we missed. I had budgeted for this trip and actually came in under budget, which gave me a cushion for my taxi to Arezzo on Sunday. I am so thankful I had that extra money! I learned that I need to always have a little emergency cushion for every trip I take. I was so upset about oversleeping the day of our Pitti Palace tour, so now I intend to set multiple alarms on every trip I take. I will set all those alarms in time for me to get up and eat breakfast, because all the walking around that comes with touring is hard work and not something to do on an empty stomach. I originally was very skeptical about riding a bus in Florence because I thought it would be very expensive. The buses are actually very cheap. While I recommend walking as much as possible to really soak in the atmosphere and the culture, riding a bus or two is definitely worth the couple euro. Florence was a great experience, and I feel like I am ready to travel on my own for my next travel breaks!

Happy to be home in Sansepolcro,
Katy

The view from Piazza Michelangelo

Just one of the vendors selling scarves in the market!

Me with some of my purchases

The sunset view from Piazza Michelangelo

Entry 1: September 19, 2011

Sansepolcro Fall 2011

What an experience this semester is shaping up to be! The plane ride from Charlotte to Rome was...long. Then, after a small mishap at the airport in which we couldn't find our bus driver, we were on a bus to Sansepolcro and that was...long. However, on the bus we were able to look out at the beautiful scenery and doze some, since none of us got any sleep on the plane. 

When we arrived to Sansepolcro, the faculty and directors of the palazzo met us at the gates to the city. After a short walk, we arrived at the front door of Palazzo Alberti, our home for the next three months. We ate a delicious meal of pasta, green beans, salad, chicken, potatoes, and bread. Next we went on a tour of the palazzo, claimed our rooms. I'm sharing a room with my good friends Andie and Hillary.

This town is absolutely one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Each building looks like it belongs on a painting or a postcard. There are so many shops around, and the girls and I have agreed that lots of shopping is in our future. We were able to look inside churches and shops where they create handmade lace! We have already met so many interesting people, and I feel like this has already set the tone for the rest of the trip.

I have to admit, being able to walk down a flight of stairs and deposit myself in class is even better than living on the tiny Meredith campus. I have really been enjoying my classes this semester. I am taking seven credits worth of Italian, Art History, Italy Today, Travel to Learn, and a Literature elective, Liberty and Justice. This semester is going to be difficult and full of reading, but I think I am up to the challenge!

Many of the girls and I look forward to the times when we get to head down main street. It seems as if all of the stores have for sale signs on the windows which seem to just welcome college students from America in with a warm embrace. All of us have been entranced by the amount of boots, and how beautiful they all are! 

Some of our most recent excitement has been a big Renaissance festival, called the Balestra that culminates in big events two weekends in a row.  The Balestra dates back to a document in 1619 in which Sansepolcro invited a neighboring city, Gubbio, to a crossbow competition. The friendly competition has continued to this day. We were invited to walk in the event on the first Saturday in our Renaissance dresses, so I wiggled my way into my dress and Andie and I got all laced up. We took some group pictures around the palazzo and then made our way to the city wall where we did some group pictures and individual shots. In true American style, we were where we needed to meet up well before the Italians. We may or may not have been a little impatient to get the processional underway - could be the “American way”, the fact that we had multiple blisters already, or both.  When we heard the steady beat of the drums, we knew we were beginning. Two of the girls held a Meredith banner and we began our processional. I knew this was a big deal, but walking into the piazza, hearing the announcement of Meredith College, and seeing all the people in the stands cheering for us was a little overwhelming but exciting, all at the same time. The event was like nothing I have ever experienced before, and it truly was an honor to be some of the few people privileged to sit in the middle of the piazza.

We found out that Sansepolcro hosted fly fishing world championships this year, and USA won. We were astonished that this little city had hosted this event, but we were proud of our American boys. We went to cheer on the good ol' USA at the awards ceremony. One American won second place in the individual category, so we got to hear our national anthem played once. However, when the top three teams were announced, each country's national anthem was played while their flags were raised to the respective height of the place they won. I got chills when our national anthem was played the first time, but my chills had chills when I got to see our nation's flag raised and to hear the national anthem while standing in Italy. The Italian team won second place, so it was doubly exciting that the top two teams had special places in our hearts.  We all giggled when we saw every single one of them wearing Merrills and croakies on their sunglasses...they all could have been walking straight off Hillsborough Street!

This past Saturday night, we attended the Sbandieratori performance. We found out that day they also wanted us to process in and sit in the piazza. We processed for thirty minutes, had an hour and a half break, and then processed into the piazza. I was really glad I had a front row seat in the piazza for this show. The flag-twirling is so incredibly athletic and impressive!  I loved watching the colorful flags soar into the air. I was seated beside a woman and her little one. He was absolutely precious, grinning at everything, and so enthralled with our headpieces!  We were asked to be guests at a VIP party for the flag performers’ family and friends. It was so neat to see all the interesting people there, including the mayor! Sunday was the final day of the Balestra, the big crossbow competition between Sansepolcro and Gubbio. It was such a different experience to sit in the stands as a spectator, and one that I really enjoyed. Good news! The final score was a clean sweep by the Sansepolcrans!  Everything about the Balestra is so theatrical and intricate. This whole Balestra experience has been once in a lifetime and was only made better by the fact that Sansepolcro took all the honors. 

It has officially been two weeks since I hugged my mother and boarded the plane. In some ways it feels like we got here yesterday because I discover something new every time I walk out of the palazzo. However, I also feel like I've been here forever and belong here. I know I am never going to be able to speak Italian flawlessly, but listening to the locals talk no longer overwhelms me, but instead it has just become part of the normal rhythm of things, and I love listening to how beautifully these people speak their language- it's not nearly as pretty when I try! I have already begun learning so much about myself. I don't think this trip could have come at a better time. I find myself fighting some inner battles, but I am also learning that I can apply myself to the best of my abilities, and I am learning to be happy with that.

Will write again soon!
Katy