Closing thoughts

Yesterday I arrived off the plane and onto American soil. I was tired, had to switch planes because of overbooking issues, and the airport lost my luggage, but on the car ride home, I couldn't stop talking about Italy. I want to tell everyone, but I'm sure my parents are done with me talking about how much I miss it. And surprisingly, I miss pasta.

Then I cried today. I did one of those ugly cries where I just couldn't stop. When I woke up this morning I was so confused about why I wasn't in my dorm room in Urbino. Did it really happen? Will I ever go back?

My sister came in and I apologized and told her I was sad about leaving. She said stop being emotional. I wanted to punch her. If you didn't live this trip, you don't understand the implications of coming back, it has been a culture shock.


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I wrote this blog to help me remember this trip in the future. So I made a list for future me to not forget these VERY VERY important memories:


1. Sandra at the bosom. She liked Alli a lot and hooked us up. I have her to thanks for some of my best nights.

2. The blue hair bartender, I really enjoyed the drinks she made us. And she was fun to talk to.

3. The bar crawl. How Alli, Hailey, Victoria, and I pretty much tore up our shirts to make them look cooler and how Hailey's almost turned into a complete fail. I laughed my hardest that night. Then Alli and I ended the night at Bunker. Don't forget Bunker, this was the one and only time I went, but for that hour, I had the time of my life.

4. Goodbyes are the hardest. You can't chase after everyone, but the people you do find time to say bye to, don't ever forget how much they meant to you in that month.

5. Hailey and I's favorite caffe. Yes I spent about 10-20 euro a day there, but it was worth it each time. Favorite caffe days:
-When Hailey, Alli, and I (and others later) sat there for four hours creeping on people and trying to speak Italian. We saw about 6 graduations, sang a graduation song, and had a blast.
-When a group of us played cheers governor in Italian and I butchered every number.
-When Alli and I decided to take a picture of every emotion. (Then she lost her phone, but the idea still was brought up.)
-Becks

4. The professors...Steve, Greg, Bobbio, Bob, and Susan are my pals now. All of them taught me so many skills that I will use in the future. This was also my first time doing photography and I loved it. I want to continue with this passion. Alli also said that I had a talent for video-maybe I should pursue that?

5. Walking up the killer hill of Raffaello. You would pretty much die as you walked up, but it gave you your nice butt and toned legs.

6. Lucia. She was the best interpreter any American could have asked for. I hope her love life goes well. If she ever visits America, she will always have a place to stay.

7. Football games. Everyone in town came together in the piazza to cheer on their favorite team. GO ITALY!

8. The piazza. This place was my life. It was the center and heart of Urbino where everyone hung out.

9. Donuts and crescents filled with Nutella and cream. Yummmmm.

10. Going to Florence and hanging out with the locals in the evening. Getting kabobs with Hailey, Nigel, and Susan. Aka babysitting Nigel and Susan, but still having a great time.

11. The first time Hailey and I went out and killed a bottle of wine each. My tolerance rose from that day on. This was also the beginning of our blooming and timeless friendship. DON'T FORGET YOUR BFF HAILEY. She was the best person I could have met on this trip, or anywhere for that matter. When I go to Denver, I will see her and we will hang out.

12. Cussing like a sailor with Alli as we walked up the Raffaello hill. Then we got to a dance party at the fortezza and danced like there was no tomorrow. DON'T FORGET ALLI! Make sure you hang out with her because she is beyond cool and she was the best dance partner a biddy could have asked for.



I will go back. Maybe not in a year or even two year, or five, but I will visit. It won't be the same and I know that, but I want to see how my Italian town grew and changed while I was away. I will always love you Urbino.

So for now...
Ciao bella. Ciao.

Friday Goodbye

Friday

Today was one of the saddest days I have had here. Urbino is my life right now and I want nothing more than to spend more time in this beautiful city. I have met some pretty amazing people and have had even better experiences with them. Never will I forget the wonderful time here or the lessons I have learned.

Here is my final project: http://2014.inurbino.net/corpus-domini/ I worked hard on this for the limited time I had. Thank you to all the wonderful teachers and mentors who helped me get this far.



From this trip I have learned to...

1. Try to learn the language. Be immersed in the culture. Italy is BEAUTIFUL and the locals like you a whole lot more if you try to talk to them in Italian, even if it bad (believe me, that is me every day).

2. Be nice and polite when you can, but don't be afraid to get aggressive. Of course I am going to be a nice person, but if an Italian tries to take advantage of me because I am an American, like hell I will stand up for myself. You should be respected because you are human, not because of your nationality.

3. Embrace all of Italy.



ANd on a random side note, I definitely just pulled an all-nighter and I am leaving for Rome now.



Ciao bella. Ciao.

Thursday

Thursday

I was able to sleep in today. This has been the third day this month I have been able to. I took my Italian final, which was surprisingly pretty easy. I got stumped on some things, but overall I took it like a champ.

What really bummed me out about today though was a call from Bobbio bright and early in the morning saying my story isn't done......what? When you give a student a small amount of time to give you a masterpiece, they want to peace the hell out. My brain is fried and my stress levels over the roof. Fixed it and turned it in, hopefully for the last time.

There was a bar crawl tho tonight and this was by far the best way to end my trip to the beautiful land of Italy.

Weekly Update

Day.... I have no idea

It has been crazy. Literally my work load ate me, spit me back up, cut me up in little pieces, set me on fire, then threw my ashes in a swamp to be eaten by an alligator. SO I am going to sum up the last couple of days instead of doing individual posts...


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Saturday:

Spent all day with Lucia, one of our interpreters. She's the best. We are practically bff's now. I'm also so proud she asked her crush to get a drink. Since them, I've seen those two everywhere together - so proud!


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Sunday:

Today was the Corpus Christi festival. Filmed a lot, had gelato, and got some decent footage.


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Monday:

Monday funday. Kinda. There is this bartender who looks like Zac Effron, but in a punk Russian way. He works at Haily and I's favorite caffe. I don't know if it is our favorite because he works there, the location is great, or that we love the little snacks they gave us when we order a beere, but whatever the reason, I have spent a good chunk of money at this place. We had been trying to talk to him for a couple days because we are there all the time and really just want to interact with the locals, but it is super hard because he doesn't speak a lick of english and we don't speak a lick of Italian. But it is super fun to try to converse with him. The other night, I headed in with Alli, Hailey, and others. This kid literally has no expression on his face. So Alli asked him, "tu triste?" (pronounced: tu tris-tay and means "you sad?") and he said no and looked really aghast. So alli asked him, "tu arrabbiato" (which means "you angry?") and he shook his head no again. He just has that kinda face. Since then, you can tell he tries to be more expressive now when he sees us. He also likes us because every time we order a drink with strawberries, I swear he puts in more each time. I've even gotten a mint leave on one. I pay a lot of money here so I better get perks.

But anyways, we had a long morning of working and stressing out. I love my topic and I enjoyed every moment of Cagli, but I wish this event happened earlier in the month. I literally had no time to edit, write, and put everything together without blowing up from stress. So by 3pm, I couldn't stay in the classroom. Alli, Hailey, Victoria, and I went to our favorite caffe and I started working on my story there. I worked on it maybe for an hour and just gave up. After a while, you just have to stop and relax. I had my translation book on me so we asked the bartender what he was doing Tuesday night. We somehow were able to communicate and the game plan was to meet in the piazza at 6 or 7pm for the soccer game.

After that, we just chilled outside the caffe at a table for literally four hours. I had a blast. Professors passed us multiple times while we were just drinking and eating. Graduation celebrations were also happening; we witnessed at least 8. One Italian girl came over to our table and made us sing an Italian celebration some (or something, I have no idea what it was), but none of us knew the words so I tried lip singing, while standing there awkwardly.

While we were sitting, a big group of graduation guys came down to us. They started saying stuff in Italian that we couldn't understand, but it was clear that they wanted us to kiss this kid. We were trying to joke it off and saying no, but they were so persistent. One of the guys came up to me, introduced himself, and pretty much pulled me in for me to kiss him on the cheek. I was taken aback for a second, but I complied so the group would leave. He had no interest in talking to the others and after I said my first name, he asked for my last name. I said, "why?" and he said, "so that I can find you on Facebook!" And then he said he had a girlfriend. The dating culture makes zero sense to me. It honestly sounds like cheating is a huge thing here. Anyways, he swears he will find me and walks away to stand by the fountain with his friends. After a while I look over and he makes a heart out of his hands. At this point, this was a little overwhelming, so I jokingly flick him off. Oh buddy. I don't know if he was heartbroken or what, but he avoided me like the plague. And now I see him everywhere in Urbino.

Our other friends (Marco, Abby, Abby's Marco, Natasha) came over at one point and joined the party. I love them, I had a blast just chilling and enjoying one of the last days here.


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Tuesday:

Ughhhhhhhh. I was ripped a new one from Bobbio. He went over my article and tore it up. At least that's the way I felt. This guy has one at least one pulitzer prize, so he is a genius, but it's hard when you are on such a tight deadline to hear criticism. I rewrote it and then he critiqued it again. This time it was better and I hope my final text piece is good.


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Wednesday:

I set my alarm for 6am, but I was so tired that I didn't hear it and I slept in until 9am. I took a shower and got to class at 9:45. I worked on my video until about 1:30. That entire time I didn't eat, so I was starving when Hailey, Alli, Victoria, and I went down the killer hill and ate at Noi and Voi - a tasty pizza shop. Delicious. We headed to a short ceremony with the newly elected mayor. An artist came in and made everyone prints of the city of Urbino (it was so much cooler than how I just described it-I can't remember what it is called, but I'll let you know when I do).

Some Italians I have met found me on Facebook and keep talking to me. Ask me sometime to show you these messages, it's hilarious because there is still a language barrier even if they know how to speak english. Joking is not universal. For example, I told one guy, "you suck" you know, like you are the worst, I din't even think that would translate any differently, but then he said, "you are nasty." Oh boy, the guys here are already creepy and short enough, I just don't know how to react to something like this.

I am really pumped for tonight though! All of the Americans are going to go out to celebrate-it is the last wednesday we are here so we have to live it up while we can!

Day 21: Cagli day 2-Bruno

Day 21

I had the best day today. I am feeling great instead of unsure about my article. I haven't looked back at my footage, but while taking notes, video, and stills, I think I was able to accurately capture the entire day.

I woke up and met with Bobbio at 7:30 am. We drove with his wife, Marie, and Bob Reeder (best photographer for the Washington Post). Bobbio and Maria dropped Bob and I off at Cagli to meet with Bobbio's friend, Simone. I had talked to him on the phone, but he was even better in person. We met him in the piazza. He brought one of his friends, Bruno, with him. The entire morning from 9-12noon, I captured Bruno picking oregano for the Feast of Corpus Christi. I am also I had Bob there because he doesn't mind being the guy who tells you to move a certain way or say something again, etc. and that is great because I could get a lot of good shots from it.

Anyway, I had a great time filming, interviewing, and taking shots of this guy Bruno.

Then I got gelato.

Perfect.

Day 20: Cagli

Day 20

Let me tell you, life is a roller coaster. I woke up this morning for the class trip to Benelli. When we entered the company, I felt that I stepped into a bachelor pad. As you walked in, a brown bear pelt covered the wall. There were pictures all over of manly things. Then, going up a flight of stairs, you were greeted by a stuffed lion. I wasn't a fan of some of their particular design tastes, but the entire place felt like it stepped out of an IKEA magazine combined with a hunter enthusiast. The floor had a beautiful wood on it of all shades of brown and it felt modern, especially compared to the Renaissance town of Urbino.

But as the presentation started, I didn't feel good. I broke out in sweat and started seeing black spots. Yup, I almost fainted. I learned over to Hailey and said I was going to pass out. We couldn't really do anything during the middle of a presentation, so I toughed it out and after about 5-10 minutes I felt back to normal if not better. During that time I had to close my eyes and I might have even passed out leaning on my arm, but it was scary. I've passed out before, but this one came out of nowhere so I am thinking I was just super dehydrated (which makes since because everything has 10 gallons of salt in it) and maybe also from lack of sleep (yo gurl needs 12+ hours that's not happening).

The rest of the tour went well. I couldn't hear the tour guide for the majority of it, but it was really interested touring the facilities.

In the afternoon, I went with Bobbio and his wife Marie, to Cagli. Let me tell you, I loved hanging out with them. We had a great conversation in the car ride over and by the end of this trip I felt like their daughter. I joked around with them about it, but what was even funnier, was when we ran into some people Bobbio knew (he knows everyone). They were talking and she asked if I was their daughter. I got a real kick out of that.

They showed me around the town of Cagli (pronounced Cal-yee). Apparently the ieiMedia program was in this town for about 6 years before it moved to Urbino. And who knows, maybe in the future it will be somewhere else! 

This couple was also one of the cutest I have ever seen. Bobbio called Marie "foxy" and you could just tell they still really loved each other. They were also hippies at heart. Marie owns an environmental kayaking tour place. 

They were also very helpful when it came to my story. Since Bobbio knew everyone, and if he didn't, he still could have gotten their contact information, I was able to set up an appointment with a priest and a guy who picked flowers for the procession. Whooo already I feel like I have more in this first day for this story than in the entire month with the other. 

After that, we had the best gelato in all of Italy. It was homemade and melted in my mouth. Then we headed up this beautiful mountain (called Monte Petrano I believe). A cool technique Bobbio taught me with my camera was that if you focus on one of the far mountains, the different colors of the mountains stand out more prominently. Words cannot describe how beautiful and majestic this place was. The filed stretched for miles in each direction and all over was this tall wild flowers and grass. A tournament is going to take place on Saturday and Sunday that had to do with hunting with dogs, so some people were up there training. 

Day 19: New Story

Day 19

The last couple of days of me trying to put my story together just hit the fan. Thankfully it landed in a nice puddle of flowers at my feet. Literally. I'm doing a new story about the Corpus Christi that is happening in the town of Cagli (pronounded cal-yee). In this festival there is a procession. The people of the town decorate the streets with beautiful murals made out of flower petals. I am hoping that this story actually works because for the story about the palace people just didn't want to talk to me. (That or they didn't like me...happens.) I'm a little worried because I'm going to be shooting video, pictures, audio, interviews, and trying to retain everything all at the same time. Thankfully I have my crew of professors with me, who have already gone above and beyond what I could have asked for in a mentor. I just would really like to do everything myself (even though I know it's not going to be possible), but I want a finished product that I can say I did without any outside footage.

I'll let you know if I die of overworking in the next couple of days.

Day 18

Day 18

It's crazy to think that I am on week three of four of this Urbino adventure. Deadlines and sleeping in class are approaching fast.

We watched another foreign film called, "Cinema Paradiso." That movie was one of the best I have seen, and one of the saddest. I highly recommend it. In fact, I would like to watch it again (and that's saying something because usually I only like to watch a movie once then any more times it just gets old).

Another GREAT movie we saw last week was "La Grande Bellezza." That opening scene and then the rooftop dance party blew my mind. It was the majestic bengal tiger of films. This one I will also be watching again so I can analyze it and try to comprehend everything that happened.

Afterwords, Alli, Victoria, and I took the town. We met this wonderful student, Alessandra, who we talked to pretty much the entire night. What I thought was so interesting was that she said I had an American face and the blond American hair. We got onto the subject of stereotypes and she said that American women are stereotyped for being easy (that's why they get so many cat calls), while male Americans are stereotyped for being dumb (and that is pretty accurate).

Cigarets are also huge in Italy. For the past weeks, I've gotten use to the smell here because you can't simply avoid it. I decided to try one last night, though I didn't understand the "buzz" that people get from it, but I did enjoy the taste.

That's it from Urbino tonight!

Day 17

Day 17

Mondays. Still the bane of my existence. We practiced numbers today bright and early in Italian. It was rough for me. Hopefully when the test comes around for Italian, it will be easy because it's taking me a while to pick up the language.

I also freaked out a little to my teachers about my article today. I know what information I want, I just can't get/find the contacts to do it. They calmed me down though and have have some more ledes so I'm hoping for the best. I have to hope for the best too because my deadlines starts Friday. Derp.

Then after dinner, some people and I had a yoga shesh. It was the best. But really, it was so relaxing. I'm not usually a yoga kid, but I really enjoyed powering down my muscles because I have gotten so tense here. When I get back to the states I need to get a full body massage asap.

At midnight here was the US vs Ghana soccer game. For the last few games, the University of Urbino has shown them in the student center. I guess Italians don't like Americans as much as I thought because they didn't show that soccer game. But it worked out because I hung out a little with Natasha, Abby, and Abby's boy toy friend Marco and we watched a little of the game on the computer.

On a random note this buzzfeed pretty much sums up my life right now:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/samstryker/the-23-worst-parts-of-studying-abroad-in-europe-9ibk

Day 16

Day 16

It's Sunday and all the pizza shops are closed for lunch in town. Which is a bummer because Hailey and I walked all the way there. But we got kabobs and gelato instead. And both were amazinngggggg. If you live in America, there is a McDonalds and a Starbucks on every street corner-in Italy it is a Kabob restaurant and Gelato. I think that if these Kabob places made it to America, it would be a hit in no time. And yo gurl will be hitting it up at least once a day.

Since I slept in again today, time escaped me. After lunch I headed to my room and worked on my story finding research and writing an outline. Then took a nap and then it was dinner! Funny how the days speed up when you don't have a lot going on.

Remember the other day when I went to the winery? Here is a short YouTube video of the trip that one of the teachers, Steve, put together. I'm barely in it, but it gave a good summary of the events that transpired: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J0ccp6vO4s&feature=youtu.be Enjoy!

Day 15

Day 15

Today has been....I wouldn't say good, but I wouldn't say bad either. It's been rushed and just not my cup of tea. I slept in which was good for my health and well being, but it restricted my time. I headed to the market to scope out a soccer jersey. I didn't find one, but there were a bunch of really cool other stuff. I ended up getting a bushel of apricots and cherry tomatoes. I hadn't eaten food that day so I starting noming hard on the tomatoes. The kid who I bought them from (literally he was a kid, probably about 16) gypped me out of some change. It was only 20 cents and I shook it off, but you really have to be careful and count your money.

Today I was walking around with Alli and Hailey. We headed down to the center of town and found a store that sold University of Urbino apparel and soccer jerseys. Perfect. I just got the soccer jersey (for tonight, Italy is playing in the World Cup) and I will have to stop by before I leave to pick up a University shirt.

By the time we arrived back at the dorms, I only had a half an hour to get ready before my interview. I tried getting food, but the line ended up being too long, so I had to scrap breakfast/lunch. Instead I ate three of the apricots I bought today. My tongue felt a little weird after and I saw some red bumps on my chest, so naturally I was a little worried I was getting hives right before my interview. Good thing I was too rushed to look into it.

I met up with my lovely interpreter Silvia. That's where things get....not to be my cup of tea. For my article I'm writing, I thought that this man did art restoration for the palace. This wasn't going to be my main focus, but I wanted to look into it. But things start to plummet in terms of information I can actually use. While I was preparing the video camera, he changes his mind about the camera being on him. Then while he is talking, he starts moving around and I have to go hand held with the camera because I'm secretly filming him. Then he refuses to answer questions about the palace. I was there for over an hour asking him questions that has close to nothing to do about my topic. And trying to leave was a pain because he just kept talking.

Sure, the information was interesting and I would have enjoyed the experience if I was not writing an article about a different topic. This lede in terms of a journalism perspective was a complete dud. I'm going to go in on Monday and try not to freak out to my mentors.

Now I'm off to eat Chinese food (that goodness) and I am happier than a kid in a candy shop. The idea of something that's not pasta is stimulating to my taste buds.

Day 14

Day 14

Woke up bright and early to take a bus to Fratterosa. The class saw terrecotte pottery making and went on a wine tasting/tour. The terrecotte was amazing to watch. The man just had a slab of clay on the pottery wheel and in less than 3 minutes, it was a full sized pot. His nimble fingers glided over the clay and shaped it into a work of art.

After that we headed to a vineyard and wine tasting. It was really nice of the professors to put on this event for us. I had a good time, except that the wine was making me super sleepy. We also had lunch last, so I was dying of starvation.

The wine was very delicious and after, the students put our feet into the pool in the backyard to cool off.

When we got back from the day trip, Urbino had finally cooled off to the beautiful weather I know it for. 

Day 13

Day 13

It's hard to write a post in your blog every. single. day. I want to remember the time I've spent in this beautiful city, but I'm seriously over come by a disease called laziness and too busy. It's going to be quite hard to overcome in these last two weeks.

These few days have just blurred into one hot mess. But seriously. It's still hot and that's all that is on your mind. Today we didn't have check in at 9 which meant sleep in. I actually tried to get up at 8:30 this morning to grab breakfast but I just couldn't pull myself out of bed. The amount of sleep I have gotten here is next to none and I need all the shut eye I can get.

But as usual, when you start the day later, everything goes by so quickly. The first thing that was mandatory was Italian at 2pm. Man, I hate it. With a passion. Sure I love the language and think it's beautiful, and I also want to fit into the culture, but I just have the hardest time getting it into my head and learning it. I pretty much stared at my teacher today and moved my lips to make it sound like I was trying, but all and all language is not my cup of tea.

Today we had to turn in our first video assignment. I was partners with Hailey and ours kicked some major butt. We definitely had one of the better videos, if not the best, in the class. Of course we weren't going up against the video kids, but the majority of people had the same video experience so I'm very proud of the final result. We still have our main project, but I'm glad to know that Hailey and I are on the way to greatness.

After the students presented their assignments, the teachers presented a little video that they made. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuSlu6b1cQ This video was one of the cutest things I have ever seen! They were so encouraging and just really want us to have a blast filming and editing. My minor role in this short YouTube video is not my shining moment, so heads up. Steve, one of the video teachers, has these camera sunglasses. So when I went over to him and started talking, I didn't even realize that he was filming. I'll be on my toes next time.

The previous day, I had happened to chance upon the group of video teachers and they were doing the same assignment as the students were, so we could compare our work. The had me go into the gelato caffe and eat gelato. And they paid for it, so I was like hollllaaaa. Then I took a selfie with one of my favoirite professors', Berry. They really made my day.

World Cup also started today. I went down to the piazza to hang out with some friends and watch the game on tv’s that were placed outside by the tables. It was really chill. The only downside was that I wasn’t in a good mood. I headed back early, gelato in hand, because my boy toy decided to cancel our skype date. So now I’m being passive aggressive and writing about how annoying he is so that he get’s the message of how frustrating it is to date someone who will rather study than talk to his girlfriend for 10 minutes. That’s fine by me, I’ll just get an Italian man.

Day 12

Day 12

It's still way to hot.

But I have managed to cool down. Though there is no way this is going to last for very long. I think I am going to have to rethink my gelato once a day limit and eat it once an hour to attempt to cool myself down.

I had my first interview today with a art history professor at the University of Urbino. She was very nice and friendly, though she didn't answer the questions I asked her. She also contradicted herself. Insanity of old age perhaps..? But overall she was helpful. I was able to get another source and gain some new knowledge about the palace.

Day 11

Day 11

It's hot. Like I'm about to scorch your pants off hot.

My computer right now is being covered by the perspiration seeping from my body. Where is the temperate Urbino I love? Now I miss the first week when I was able to wear pants to class and actually feel comfortable.

I really don't know if I can function right now.

Day 10

Day 10

Mondays. I hate Mondays. Even abroad you are pummeled with work. The class had a photography assignment due today. I got the first two pictures covered, but I was having trouble with the last. The assignment was to take a portrait of a random person and then get his/her contact information. It's intimidating first of all to go up to a person and take their picture, especially when you know next to zero Italian. Plus, I am having a hard time liking the camera I have. Over half of the class have really nice, high tech cameras, and mine is essentially just a point and shoot. It doesn't matter if I change the ISO or shutter speed because I can see no difference in the quality of the photos. So it's been frustrating, especially since I've really been enjoying the photography portion of the class.

I finally worked up the courage to ask a table of people to pose for me. As I was taking pictures of the guy in the glasses, he checked out a woman who walked behind me. I'm glad I was able to catch that moment.

The guy with the beard I got a few good shots of. I really enjoyed his beard and I am planning on bringing him back to the states after I befriend him as a present to my roommate Kayla.

Overall it was a hot day with lots of work. We had class from 9-5, dinner, then a critique of our pictures from 8:30-10pm. I couldn't tell you how happy I was to finally lay in my bed.

Days 7-9: Part 2

Days 7-9

A Weekend in Florence
Part 2: This is what I learned

I love Urbino. Florence was lovely, but Urbino has bewitched me body and soul, and I love it. Lo amo Urbino. I came to this conclusion after walking around in the heat of Florence for half a day. Urbino is like a woman who is a showstopper with no makeup, while Florence was an attractive woman only when she applied makeup on. Make sense?

I also love America. Before I came to Italy, America was the norm for me. I didn't actually realize how much I had until it was gone. Of course, I think Italy is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, but so is the beach at sunrise, or West Virginia mountains in the fall. In fact, I feel more patriotic than ever. I think partially it is because it's hard to feel that you are part of a culture when you can't speak the language very well and when you don't understand the cultural norms. I believe that being here is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I am grateful that I can call America my home.

I miss American food, aka I miss knock off foreign food. I miss Mexican, Italian, Seafood, Chinese, Mexican, and homemade. Yes I said Mexican twice because I love it more than my own toes, and yes I said Italian because as of today I haven't been mind blown by any food. The "authentic" foreign food in America isn't comparable to the food people actually eat abroad. I haven't been to Mexico, but I am sure the food taste different there than at El Charro (which I miss so so dearly). Before the group left on the train, we picked up some Subway. What was odd was that Italian Subways don't have regular yellow mustard or banana peppers, but they do have yogurt and ketchup to put on your sub.

And all over Italy there is such thing as a ketchup flavored chip. How odd. I don't usually like ketchup as it is so I think I will pass on that.

English speaking people were everywhere. This was a nice break from the usual everyday struggle. I didn't expect that, and half the time I wanted them to talk to me in Italian so I could learn more.

Italians love Americans. Which worked really well for me. It was fun trying to communicate and hang out with some of the locals. I wish I chilled more with them. On the way back from eating at a cafe in between trains, we passed three guys who were walking in the opposite direction. They almost passed us when they heard we were speaking english. They immediately turned around and asked to take a selfie. I guess selfies are universal.

Days 7-9: Part 1 Firenze

Days 7-9

A Weekend in Florence

Part 1: This is what happened

This weekend I traveled with a few of my friends to the lovely city of Firenze (us 'Mericans call it Florence). It was a 45 minute bus ride to Pesaro* then a 2ish hour train ride to Faenza then another hourish to Firenze, with a two hour layover between trains. Let me tell you it's not so cookie cutter go in one direction.

We arrive in Firenze confused and directionally challenged. We found an english speaking man and he helped us navigate to our hotel. Thank goodness, other wise we would have been totally lost. 

We stayed at a very cute hotel. The room was adequate for the group I was with. There was one bathroom, which in girl culture meant we all had to be as quick as we could putting on makeup and getting ready so someone else could do the same.

After freshening up and settling down, we were finally ready to explore Firenze in the late afternoon. The hotel was on the very edge of the city so we started walking through streets. We had no idea where we were headed and just explored random alleyways. On the main streets, the clothing shops were designer and expensive, but we were able to find this adorable boutique that sold hip and stylish clothes at a normal price. Since we were starving, the group pledged that we would come back to this place.**

Later that night the group decided to head into town. We met some other Americans, one of them was named Nigel*** and some really cool Italians. Italians are so stylish. But what I don’t understand is that they wear pants and long sleeved shirts in toasty weather. The other day one of the interpreters was wearing jeans, a sweater, and a scarf in 70 degree weather. What…? I don’t understand why they aren’t dying of heat. Maybe that’s why they are so skinny: they sweat off their weight and more.

We ended the night with kabobs and a restful sleep.

The next morning we woke up to eat breakfast. For the first time in Italy I was actually impressed by the breakfast food. They had orange juice, yogurt, cereal, plenty of bread (as usual), and coffee (also as usual).

Saturday morning we headed out to see some sights. Our first stop was the Duomo****. The moment I saw it, my jaw dropped. It was huge. And impressive. We found the ticket line, but after we waited for about 20 minutes, the person at the front would not let two of my friends in. Some of us were wearing dresses, and that was fine, but the other two were wearing shorts, and in the Catholic church I guess we would go to hell if we stepped inside without longer articles of clothing. So we headed to another ticket place and were able to find activities that pantsless people could do.

Our first order of business was to climb the Bell Tower. This building was over 300 steps, narrow, and sweaty. But the view was of the entire city and the Duomo.

There were more English speaking people in Firenze than I thought. I went up to a man, showed him my camera, and said, “poso?” It translates to “may I?” I meant to ask him to take a picture, but it didn't matter because he didn't understand. I quickly switched over to English and asked him to take a group photo. Most of the waiters and storeowners knew a decent amount of English, which was also helpful getting around the city.

The group headed over to another church and then ate pizza for lunch. After that, we headed to the famous Firenze bridge and had a mini photo shoot. We got gelato and headed back to our hotel. It was hot and everyone was exhausted. The moment I laid down, back to the bed, I folded my hands across my chest and passed out. I didn’t even take off my shoes. The classic dad nap.

Then we walked around and kinda shopped. It was more like looking into shops, but not being happy about the prices. I had my heart set on finding that cute boutique from the prior day to spend my money at. After searching and searching for this store we finally found it! I bought a teal maxi skirt and I will rock it.

Before calling it a day the group headed to the Hard Rock Café. We craved something American. The waiters were really chill and we had a casual time before heading back home.

Sunday woke up and had another great breakfast. The group tried going to see David, but the line took forever and we had to catch the train. Instead we got Subway and stopped by a church on our way to the train station.

*That was one of the oddest cultural moments I have encountered. The bus to Pesaro was a double decker. Luckily my group came early enough to get a seat. There was a group of friends who sat around us and some of them arrived late to the bus. Instead of not getting on, people sat on each other's laps or in the aisle. I guess it's not that crazy, but at 8am I was like wow, no one better sit on this girl's lap.

**This store was hard to find again. We walked up and down streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful clothes in the shop, literally it took all day.

***Who the hell names their kid Nigel???

 ****Also called the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or in English, "Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower"