Entry 10: December 9, 2011

Paris, what an amazing way to spend my last full weekend abroad. I have been to Paris only once before in my life and it was not a very fun experience, so I wanted to go again in the company of good friends. I was so excited to go because I’ve studied French for 6 years and I could finally get to use it.

We flew out of Bologna via Ryan air on Friday afternoon. We got into Paris around 7 in the evening and went straight to our hostel. We had to take the metro to get there, and it took about 15 to 20 minutes on the metro. When we arrived at the metro station that we were supposed to get off at, we were confused where to go. Elizabeth and I wanted to use this opportunity to see if we could use our rusty French. We stopped in a café on the street and asked for directions in French, and not only did we speak correctly, but we understood the directions! I was so impressed with us that I challenged Elizabeth and I to use French as much as we could for the rest of the weekend.

Our hostel was teeming with people our age who was here doing the same thing we were. Some people were students, some people were traveling with work, and others were just traveling. There were so many nationalities and cultures all around us, which made for a lot of interesting conversations!

After checking in and dropping our baggage off at the hostel, we decided to go out and explore Paris at night. We wandered around and saw so many beautiful things that can only be seen at night. For example, so many Christmas decorations were up from red and green lights to giant Christmas trees. One of the most breath-taking things I saw was Notre Dame with a giant blue Christmas tree in front of it. Something else that will stick in my mind forever was seeing the Eiffel Tower burst into sparkling lights. It was timed so that the Tower would sparkle with lights every hour on the hour, for about 5 minutes.

The next day, our hostel offered a free walking tour of Paris. Of course, we took this opportunity to take part on the tour and learn more about Paris. Our tour guide’s name was Camille and she was hilarious. Having been a theatre major, she was full of personality and became animated when telling us stories and the history about what we were looking at. The tour lasted about 3 and a half hours and I had learned so much about the history and landmarks of Paris. Elizabeth and I decided that we wanted to go on another tour at night of Mon Marte, with the same charismatic tour guide. This walking tour was not free; however, it was well worth the money. One of the stops was at the Moulin Rouge and this was particularly exciting for me because Moulin Rouge is my favorite movie.

On Sunday, we wanted to cram all the landmarks that we wanted to go inside or go see again. Our plane left at 6, so we would have all afternoon to wander around. I was able to see the Luxembourg Gardens and the Eiffel Tower up close. The Luxembourg gardens were covered in bright green grass contrasting against the giant vases of vibrant pink, yellow, orange, and red flowers. In the middle of the gardens was a large pond filled with ducks and little, handmade sailboats. The sound of the little children playing mixed with the sights of lovers hand in hand made this garden feel enchanted.
This weekend was amazing. I had so much fun exploring and making new friends of different cultures. Walking around Paris and knowing the language gave me more confidence to navigate an unfamiliar city. I can’t believe that this experience will be over in a week, and it breaks my heart that I have to leave. I have had countless adventures that a lot of people will never experience. I have made so many friends from all over the world and I know that the memoires I have of the places I’ve been will live with me forever.

 

 

 

 

 

Nativity Scene in Notre Dame.

Entry 9: 11/21/11

The time left here is quickly running out and I feel like I have so much left to do! This has been such a life changing experience and I can’t even think about it ending in the next few weeks. It seems like only yesterday that I arrived here not knowing what to expect or what kind of adventures I’d go on. I have made the kind of memories that I will be able to look back on for the rest of my life.

This sudden loss of time hit me when I was helping in my elementary school on Monday. The teacher pulled out the calendar and asked me to prepare something about an “American Christmas” for the last two Mondays.

Like most Americans, Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I’m excited to see what Christmas is like for Italians. Since I help teach first and second graders, I’m excited to create coloring pages and little lessons on what this holiday is like for Americans. The kids are learning the song “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” and it is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen because, their pronunciation is all off. Instead of pronouncing “wish,” they pronounce “wit.” I’ve been working with them getting them to practice the “sh.” For the time being, I really don’t mind if they get the “sh” in “wish” because it is precious to listen to!

Being in the classroom with these kids has helped out with my Italian. The first and second graders speak almost no English, so I am forced to listen and try my best to understand. I have found that recently I have been able to understand some of the questions the children have asked me, such as, “can I go to the bathroom,” and “can I sharpen my pencil over the trashcan?” Yes, they may be adorable but like all 6-8 year olds, they can be noisy. Sometimes the teacher will leave to make photocopies and I will be put in charge of the children. At first, they are quiet and obedient, but once they recognize that their teacher has gone, their mouths and legs start to move as they make their way around the classroom shrieking. I try to get their attention by putting one finger over my mouth and “shhh”-ing, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Last Monday, my teacher said something humorous after a particularly tough battle with noisy children. The kids kept coming up to her desk and asking annoying favors, such as asking for another pencil or glue stick, then the teacher looked over at me, her face covered with exhaustion, and said to me, “Are kids like this in the US schools?” I laughed to myself and said, “Kids are kids no matter where you are!”

Since I enjoy drawing and sketching, I think I’m going to make the first and second grade students home-made coloring pages about the holiday of Christmas according to the Americans. I also think I will prepare a word search for the second graders with simple holiday words such as stocking, candy cane, and presents. The teacher has a Christmas craft ready for next time, which I am excited for because I’m a kid at heart, especially at Christmas time.

Travel Journal # 8

As beautiful as Italy is, I felt that since I’m in Europe and so close to everything, that I should “reach outside of the border.” Last week, some of us decided to venture out of Italy for a change and decided to travel to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Our journey began Wednesday afternoon on a train from Arezzo to Florence, then a train from Florence to Milan. By the time we got into Milan, it was about 11 or so and our flight was at 6:00 in the morning. We had nowhere to stay the night, so we decided why not spend the night in the airport? As sketchy as it sounds, we were not the only people who had that idea. When we entered the airport, all the gates were closed and people were lined up on the edges of the building sleeping. Some had sleeping bags, some were curled up in chairs and some people just slept on top of their luggage. It was the craziest sight I’ve ever seen! We all took shifts sleeping; a few of us would stay up and watch our luggage while others slept for an hour or so and vice versa.

After our early flight, we arrived in Eindhoven, Holland in late morning. We then had to take a bus to Amsterdam which took almost two hours. Pulling into Amsterdam was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was overwhelmed by all of the different looking buildings! Being in Tuscany for so long, I’ve gotten adapted to copper-red roofs with pastel shades of houses, cypress trees, and rolling green fields with vineyards. Now to see these narrow, tall, mainly brown and white buildings all clustered together was quite the contrast! There were many Gothic cathedrals and stone bridges. My favorite parts of the city were all of the canals. There were so many bridges over these canals with gorgeous views of older water-front houses and weeping willows hanging over the water.

Dutch food is delicious! We decided to venture out and try the cuisine around us. On Saturday night we decided to save up our money and go to a really nice Dutch restaurant. By the time we had arrived there weren’t many tables left, so we had to split up into a group of two and of four. This didn’t dampen the mood one bit, because we were all excited to eat! The menu consisted of mostly meat, cooked vegetables, and various forms of potatoes. The food choices reminded me of Southern comfort food that I eat at home sometimes. I settled on a traditional Dutch dish that was cabbage whipped into mashed potatoes with a meatball and gravy on the side. It was a huge portion, but I shared it with one of my friends. Needless to say we ate all of it.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to the Van Gogh museum. I have always been a Van Gogh fan and it was a unique opportunity to see more than just his well-known pieces. The museum was huge and all four floors were full of his work. I thought it was very helpful how the floors went in order from his early pieces through his different stages in life all the way to his last works. That helped me keep up with his timeline and relate the paintings to that certain time in his life.

Amsterdam is a place that I want to go back to. Even though it’s not the biggest city in the world, it still has a lot of things to see and visit. I don’t feel that a weekend was enough to go see everything I wanted, but this past weekend I was very satisfied with my travel. The only thing I disliked was how long it took to get there and back. It took two days of travel because of numerous train changes and the flight.

Entry 7: November 7, 2011

Yet another charming weekend in Sansepolcro! On Friday, we took a trip to the nearby town, Anghiari. I think Anghiari is one of the prettiest towns I’ve seen so far, with the changing leaves of fall decorating the hillsides with various shades of yellow, orange, and red. Although it is a very small town, I am hoping to come back and maybe bring some homework or just a book and to seat myself in front of the gorgeous scenery and absorb the peace and quiet that is Anghiari.

On Monday, the Meredith girls hosted a Halloween carnival for all of the pre-school and elementary kids in Sansepolcro. Last week, the girls who were volunteering in pre and elementary schools, passed out colorful invitations to the children in their classes. The children began arriving around 5:20 or so, dressed in their finest Halloween attire. I was surprised with all of the variety in costumes. I saw many witches, a few devils, and an array of other mythical creatures. One family was all dressed up as spiders!

We had many different stations for the kids including: face painting, a pumpkin toss, musical chairs, and crafts. My friends Elizabeth and Erin were on face painting duty with me. We decorated one of the empty guest bedrooms by hanging spider webs and orange, black, and white streamers. Because of the language barrier with a lot of the kids, we printed out pictures of simple Halloween designs to put on the children’s’ faces like a pumpkin, a spider, a witch hat, two bats, and a black cat. Most of the boys wanted spiders and bats while the girls put in non-Halloween requests like flowers and hearts.

To paint the children’s faces, we used a variety of different tools. There were different soft crayons and there was also paint. I found the paint to be a lot easier to apply, although the color variety was lacking. There was only white, black, brown and orange in the paint but we made good use of it!

I thoroughly enjoyed my Halloween here in Italy. Coming over I had wondered if Italians got into the same Halloween spirit that we Americans do. Although it is a fairly new holiday for them, a good number of people knew about the background of Halloween and how it was celebrated in the United States. In fact, the 1st and 2nd grade classes I volunteer at every Monday had a Halloween party full of Halloween songs and activities! Hopefully, within the next few years, “trick or treat” won’t be such a foreign concept, because I think all of the young children would love going door-to-door receiving treats!

Happy Halloween from the Sansepolcro girls!!

Entry 6: October 31, 2011

Though I didn’t have a chance to travel this past weekend, I had a nice relaxing weekend at home. I’ve been on the go so much the past few weeks, it was nice to have time to experience more of my town and have more time to study!

On Friday, I did get the opportunity to go with four of my friends to the chocolate festival in Perugia called Euro Chocolate. Luckily, my friends and I got our Italian friend to drive us there so we didn’t have to spend money on public transportation. The drive on the highway was about an hour and if we had taken the train, the journey would have been much longer.

I was happy to see there was no entrance fee to the festival. There were tons of tents set up with free samples everywhere! I never knew that there were so many brands of chocolate. There were some American brands I recognized, like Godiva and Nestle, and other brands from all over the world. Not only did they have different brands but the chocolate came in all different styles. There was chocolate cream cheese, chocolate sculptures, even chocolate liquor! I sampled some chocolate wine and it was disgusting!

One of my favorite parts of the Euro Chocolate festival was trying out for an Italian commercial. Yes, a commercial for the chocolate festival! My friends and I waited in line to enter into a little booth with musical equipment set up in it. There was a wooden chest full of silly hats and wigs and we all tried our best to look as ridiculous as possible. We each were assigned to an instrument and our assignment was to pretend to play our instrument while the “theme song” of this company played. The director filmed three takes of about a minute long each of all of us rocking out. I really hope this makes it onto Italian TV!

The rest of the weekend was very restful and gave me a chance to experience more of my home. I love the area that I live in because, although it may be small, it still has many places I haven’t explored yet. I look forward to more of these weekends where I have more down time to explore the gorgeous place that is Tuscany!

Katy and I waiting in line for free samples of “Baci” chocolate!

Entry 5

Venice, in my opinion, is one of the prettiest cities in Italy. This past weekend some of my friends and I had a chance to spend a weekend here. The hostel we stayed in was gorgeous because it did not look like a regular hostel. I could tell that it had been around for a while, not because any wear and tear was obvious, but because the walls and ceilings were decorated in an antique style. I felt like I was sleeping inside of a museum!

The first full day there, we took a ride on a gondola and visited the Peggy Guggenheim museum. Even though it was freezing that morning and we had to pay twenty euro each for about forty-five minutes in the gondola. It was totally worth it. We actually got quite the deal because usually gondola rides are very expensive and the man who paddled our boat gave us a thick blanket to keep us warm. He knew a lot about the city around us and we saw many interesting places such as part of the Grand Canal, Casanova’s house, and some churches.

After getting off of the gondola, we headed to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Guggenheim was a collector of many different pieces of art. I enjoyed her collection because it was contemporary and had some priceless pieces, such as a few pieces from Pablo Picasso. Outside the museum was a pretty garden. Amongst all of the foliage was a fairly skinny tree with little white tags hanging off of the branches. This was called the “Wish Tree” and the little white tags hanging off of the branches were actually little pieces of blank paper with people’s wishes on them. My friends and I took part in this by grabbing a small sheet, writing down something worth wishing for and pinning it up on a branch.

Sunday morning we all got up about five o’clock to catch a very early train to Verona. The air was frigid and waiting in the dark, for the water taxi to take us to the train station, was not what I wanted to be doing that early. However, once we got into the city and started touring, I started to feel better. Our first stop was Juliette’s house. Shakespeare based the character Juliette from his play, “Romeo and Juliette;” as the woman who lived in this house. It was a lot smaller than I expected but had beautiful vines hanging from the sides of the house. We didn’t get to all of the sights we wanted to that day due to the time crunch but I’m glad we stopped in Verona. I’d like to go back soon to take time to explore this beautiful old city.

Juliette’s House

Entry 4

This past weekend was spent on a spontaneous trip to Rome. I had been thinking about visiting Rome recently, so this was perfect timing. I thought I would have missed out on a big part of the history of Italy if I had left this country without visiting its capital. I have heard from many study abroad students that Rome is a very touristy place and not something to “write home about.” However I have wanted to visit the Coliseum and the Vatican Museum.

Upon arriving in the Rome train station we were met by our friend Elizabeth’s family friend, Sharon. Being a resident of Rome, she was able to take us all around! We started near the Coliseum and made our way through the Trevi Fountain all the way to the Spanish Steps. Sharon is an art history professor for a study abroad university in Rome, so we received in-depth histories of all the sights we saw. A downside to this personal tour was that we had to lug our book bags, full of our weekend clothes, around with us. We never had a chance to put our bags down and it wore us down a lot faster.

On our second day, we took a trip to the Vatican. For 25 euro, we got to skip the ridiculously long line and receive our tickets. I found the Vatican City very confusing, I was under the impression that we could tour the actual city but the only thing that was open to the public was the museum. My favorite part of the museum was the Sistine Chapel. I never thought I’d get to see it with my own eyes. The frescos on the walls were breathtaking but the atmosphere in the chapel left much to be desired. You would expect that the chapel would be a serene and holy place but the Swiss Guards made it seem otherwise. They yelled “silence” in intervals of about five minutes and pushed people through. I wanted time to sit and gaze up at the magnificent paintings by Michelangelo but instead I felt like I was part of a “cattle call.”

I didn’t get to see the inside of the Coliseum like I had earlier hoped, because the Vatican took all day. As much as I enjoyed Rome, I’m glad I’m not studying abroad there like some American students, because I don’t think I could enjoy a big city as much as I enjoy a small town. I feel like the hustle and bustle of a large city would make it harder to concentrate than the quiet of our small Tuscan town.


The Trevi Fountain

The Coliseum

Entry 3: October 10, 2011

This past weekend I was in the most beautiful place I’ve ever been, Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre consists of five cities that are located on the north-western coast of Italy. The city that four of my friends and I stayed in was Monterosso al Mare. This beach-town was encompassed by mountains on one side and white sandy beaches on the other. The water was clear enough to see all of the rocks and was teeming with little fish. As soon as my friends and I checked into our hotel, we bolted to the beach. We spent all of Friday soaking up the rays of the sun.

On Saturday our group decided to take the opportunity to hike to all 5 cities in Cinque Terra. I was reluctant at first because I have never been a very outdoorsy person, but I decided that this was an opportunity of a lifetime.
We started our journey in Monterosso al Mare, where we hiked over an hour to the next village, Vernazza. The hike between these two villages was among the longer and more challenging ones. The rocky terrain made it difficult when climbing up the mountains. Every now and then I’d look over my shoulder and freeze because we were up so high. At some points there was no wooden railing to keep us from falling off of the edge of the cliff. I felt like such an accomplished athlete by the time we arrived in Vernazza. It is filled with pastel-colored houses contrasting against a clear and turquoise ocean. Below the houses was a small patch of beach with a nearby marina. The marina was fairly small but held many boats; ranging from little boats to yachts. The village was small and was mostly filled with cafes and souvenir shops.

After we ate lunch we started our hike to the next village, Corniglia. To me, this was the most challenging hike because it was mainly up hill and in the heat of the day. We all took turns carrying a backpack with our bathing suits and waters in it: of course I had to lug that backpack up this particular mountain! Even though the hike was physically exhausting, the view at the top was breathtaking. The pictures that I took did not do this place justice. No camera could capture the way that it felt when the ocean breeze played with your hair and the way that the salty aroma filled up your nostrils.

My favorite place on the whole entire walk was the “Via dell’Amore,” otherwise known as “the path of love.” This paved trail connected the last two cities together, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The trail was a smooth stroll that overlooked the ocean. It was riddled with locks that previous couples had hung on the sides of railings and metal gates. Each lock had its own design where both of the lovers had put their names. What made this walk particularly romantic was that it was sunset when we walked it. Seeing the sun slowly fade into the water while on the Via dell’Amore was the perfect end to a perfect day.

What a hike! On the trail from Vernazza to Corniglia.

On the trail from Monterosso al Mare to Vernazza.

Gorgeous sunset seen from Via dell’ Amore.

Entry 2: September 26, 2011

I spent this past weekend in Florence, or as the Italians call it, Firenze. We had to take a bus from Sansepolcro to Arezzo, which was about an hour-long ride. The ride went through this a town called Anghiari, and I would love to visit there for a day. It is small enough that I could go for a few hours in the afternoon and come back in time for dinner. The view from one of the parks that our bus passed was gorgeous and it made we want to get out and explore.

From Arezzo, we took the train to the largest train station in Florence, Santa Maria Novella. As soon as I stepped off the train, I heard my peers yelling “watch your bags!” and “keep your purse nearby!” I was very nervous about being robbed, because I had heard that Florence is known for its talented and clever thieves. We continued our journey out of Santa Maria Novella and onto the streets of Florence, which reminded me of Sansepolcro; only a lot more crowded. The buildings all looked similar, too and I felt like I was too far away from Sansepolcro. However, we hit the market, and that’s when I knew I was not at “home” anymore. The markets were packed full of shoppers bargaining for lower prices. My eyes were wide as we passed through block after block of handbags, jewelry, bright scarves and leather jackets.

After making it out of the market, we came onto one of the main streets that led past the Duomo. The Duomo is part of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, or “Saint Mary of the Flower” (Sacred Destinations). It was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio to be the largest Roman Catholic church in the world. It was first designed in 1294 and the first stone was laid in 1296. The cathedral was finished in 1380, and the dome finished construction in 1436, when it was consecrated by Pope Eugenius IV. The dome was the first octagonal dome to be built without the support of a wooden frame and was the largest dome to be built for its time.

Two of my friends and I climbed to the top of the Duomo. This was quite a feat for me because I am terrified of heights. As I walked farther up the stairs and towards the dome, the walls became closer together. It was interesting to see how the walls started to curve into the shape of a half-circle as we got to the top. Finally we came upon the stairs to the opening where we climbed onto the top of the dome to look out. The stairs were almost completely vertical, I literally felt like I was rock-climbing! Breathless, I climbed out and was speechless with what I saw. The panoramic view overlooked not only the city of Florence, but the rolling hills of Tuscany as far as the eye could see.

The museum that our class got to go to was called the Pitti Palace. This was an ancient Palace that belonged to the Pitti family. It was designed in 1457 by Filippo Brunelleschi and it was sold to the Medici family in 1549 and became the residence of many important families (Visit Florence). I was very impressed with the collection in the Palace because it didn’t feel like a bland museum. Everything was decorated including the walls, ceilings, floors, even the trim of the walls! Something I found very interesting was the way the ceilings were painted. Many times I had looked up and wondered how they got sculptures up there. Then I realized that there were optical illusions of caved sculptures!
Florence is a place that I definitely want to go back to. I did not have time to go to the Uffizi gallery or the Academia and I feel like those are two places I need to visit before I leave Italy. The city was a lot cleaner than I expected and the people, for the most part, were friendly. I was so proud of myself for climbing to the top of one of Italy’s most beautiful buildings and getting to experience the type of panoramic view that not many can say they have seen.

My friend and I looking out over the city of Florence, from the top of the Duomo.

Entry 1: September 19, 2011

Sansepolcro is a town full of little wonders. From the moment I walked inside of the city walls, I could already tell I was going to love this place. The smiling faces around me made me feel like I was right at home. That’s a comforting feeling to have when you’re living somewhere incredibly far from where you’re used to!

Our Palazzo is a vast beauty. The windows in our rooms overlook the rust-colored rooftops overlapping the rolling lush hills of Tuscany. I’ve never been in a place this beautiful before. Every morning I wake up to the hustle and bustle of the streets below, although, there is only so much hustle and bustle in a smaller town like this.

After we got settled into our home, three of our faculty residents took us out on a walk around town. This town was built around the 16th century and is still standing! Of course, many buildings have had renovations done, but almost all of the buildings are in their original design. There used to be a lot of tall towers built by different families in Sansepolcro but none are as tall as they once were. This is not because of wear over the years; it is because the Pope sold Sansepolcro to the Florentine Republic in 1441. The Medici family, who were a very influential family in Florence, demanded that all the towers be shortened in Sansepolcro. The Medici family wanted all of the towers shortened to show the kind of dominion they had over Sansepolcro. They felt that only their family could have the tallest, most regal towers in the region.

Near the Piazza is a giant stone cathedral, Cattedrale di San Giovanni Evangelista. The church was constructed between the 11th and 14th century. It is mainly gray except for a brown wooden door and an alabaster rose window. It showed some wear on the outside stones but other than that the building has been standing for all of these centuries. The church was a Romanesque style, however the inside of the cathedral shows some later style influence.

Last Tuesday, the Meredith girls went to town hall to meet the mayor. The mayor brought us all together in the room where the town has all of its meetings. The mayor spoke to us about how happy she was that Meredith College was studying here and how it is bringing so much positive energy to the town. I didn’t know that our school had such an impact here! We are so privileged to have an opportunity of this sort. I’m excited to start out on this journey of living in another country and being included in the culture and not just visiting.

This past weekend was the Balestra festival. The Balestra is a cross-bow competition with preceding acts, including flag twirlers. These flag twirlers were very talented with all of the tricks they could do with an object as simple as a flag. All of the Meredith girls got to dress up in medieval costumes; six of us were dressed up as vestal virgins in simple outfits and six of us were “nobles” in more elaborate dresses and hats. The vestal virgins wore headbands made from flowers and leaves and their dresses were made of a pale cotton sheet that hung over the shoulder. My dress was part of the noble crowd and consisted of a long blue skirt with a lace-up silk, white blouse. The headpiece that I wore was a thick headband with different shades of blue embellished with faux pearls and lace. Many townspeople participated in dressing up and paraded around the town with us. We got to meet a lot of new people who were so passionate about this festival. The Balestra was a way to see the whole town come together to celebrate a proud tradition.