Roma (AKA My Life As The Lizzie McGuire Movie)

Ok, I'm typing this on an Italian key board (yes they're different than American ones) at my internship at Palazzo Vecchio, so please forgive the typos that probably will occur.

First of all: I LOVE ROME! It was a busy and tiring trip, but I loved every second of it and it was definitely up there in my top fav trips and is definitely in my top 5 fav cities in the world!!!! IT WAS SPECTACULAR!

Ancient Roman marble copy of Greek Bronze, Loacoon

SUF met at the train station at 8:15 for our Eurostar fast train to Rome. I met up with Sarah, Cynthia, Liz, and Tara. Tim and Andrew were also key players on the trip. Slept most of the way there, but did enjoy the pretty views of  the Italian countryside from the train. The weather was nice! Crisp, but clear. I'd expected rain the entire weekend, but instead we had brilliant blue skies and cotton candy clouds! Rome was so green too, I didn't expect so many parks and plants. I felt like I was in a movie. Like the Lizzie McGuire Movie. So basically it was my goal to replace my Italian twin pop sensation and expose her lip-synching partner at a live performance at the Colosseum. But I'll get to that part of the story in a bit. 

First on our agenda was Vatican City. We hopped off the bus that took us from the train station to the other side of the city, split for a coffee break. Sarah, Cynthia, and Tara got crepes at a nearby cafe, when a lady approached us asking if we'd dropped our tour book. None of us had a tour book, and there weren't any other English speakers around, so Liz took the book and it turned out to be very hand later on! We then went to meet up the big group at the entrance to the Vatican Museum. We toured through the museum, walking through the Raphael Rooms (where the School of Athens fresco is located! Eeeeeee!!!!). The ultimate destination through the Vatican Museum is the Sistine Chapel, followed by St. Peter's. It was strange, it was like Disneyland for Catholics. And art historians. Lots of lines, lots of weaving through barricades, lots of things to entertain you as you wait, but you knew there was something bigger in better ahead! Maybe I should look into getting an internship there instead of at Disney...JK! Anyway, we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel which we oohed and ahhed over for a good amount of time. They say you're not allowed to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel, but other people were snapping away, so I did too! With one of the field study chaperon's official tour guide badge, we then went through a secret door that took us right into St. Peter's, where we continued to ooh and aah and Michaelangelo's Pieta, the tombs of many of the popes buried there, the altar by Bernini, and the sheer size of the basilica! We were set free for a lunch break at that point, but I took us down to the crypt to see where more popes were buried (including JP1 & 2!) and to see a little window into the sanctuary of St. Peter, you know, where his bones are and everything. Very cool stuff.
 

Hello, Swiss Guard!

So my other goal for the trip (aside from finding my Italian twin pop sensation) was to see how little money I could spend. I'd packed my lunch, so after Liz consulted the new guidebook, I walked with Liz, Sarah, Tara, Andrew, Tim, and Cynthia to the restaurant they had picked out of the guidebook. After a guidebook hand off (which was now in my possession), I saw them off and went back to St. Peter's. There's an obelisk right in the center of the Piazza of St. Peter's, and right in front of it they were building the papal Nativity set for the first Sunday of Advent. Curious me, I start snooping around the blocked off area, hoping to catch a glimpse. When the wind blew up a side of the covering (it was mostly covered up to the public), I made eye contact with one of the workers inside and he started walked towards me. I thought I was in trouble, but he came over and we started talking in

Vatican Gardens

Italian as I asked him what was going on and what were they building? He asked me if I wanted to see for myself. I figured, hey, it's Vatican City. I can't get hurt here or else the Pope will be mad. So I climbed over the little fence and under the covering, and got to climb to the top of the papal Nativity set! Life sized manger and everything! It wasn't anything too spectacular, they were just in the middle of constructing the set itself, like the barn where all the figures would be, but it was a tour no one else got! The construction worker ushered me out, and I still had an hour or so to explore, so I walked down near the Tiber River and popped into a large basilica church called Santo Spirito nearby, and then went and explored the gardens of the Castel'Angelo, more or less a castle where Medici popes used to lock themselves up in. I headed back from my explorations just in time for the head count at the meeting point.

We got back on the bus, went tour our hotel, and checked in. I roomed with Sarah and Tara. I figured Sarah and I would end up together. After dropping off my bag, I turned around and went back downstairs to wait for Fr. Michael. A little before 5, a man walked in and asked the front desk several questions before he said

Piazza of St. Peter's

my room number out loud and started to call up on the house phone. I stopped him and introduced myself. 

He was so nice! He told me to bundle up, it was cold outside (it was), and we started walking towards his school. Ok, so this is what I understand. He's one of several American priests who teaches at a religious institution. He teaches the Byzantine cannon (written in Latin, class discussions in Italian). There are students and priests from around the whole world who study and teach there. After signing me in as a guest, the sun was almost down so he quickly showed me the garden (lovely!) and the library where students were studying. After that, we left the school and went across the street to our first stop, Santa Maria Majore, where the first gold from the New World was used to guild the coffered ceiling! That's where we saw our first (of many) relics, a piece of the wood from the manger of Jesus. So the whole

The Map Hall in the Vatican

church is dedicated to the Nativity and Mary as the Mother of God. I'm going to be the first to say, that it was AWESOME being toured around these churches with a priest. Fr. Michael knew SO much about the art, the patronage, etc. I felt really privileged. We went to 6 churches in 60 minutes. First of all, wow, Fr. Michael can make moves across the city. We covered a good amount of ground. We saw the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (painted by St. Luke), we saw the top of the cross where it was written "Jesus, King of the Jews" along with part of the spear that pierced Jesus' side, the finger of St. Thomas that went into Jesus' side, the head of John the Baptist, the table from the Last Supper, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some but I'll be sure to include them once I  remember. Along the way Fr. Michael pointed out the world's first ice cream parlor, a gelateria called. G.Fossi. Tempted to take me in, he concluded that "There's just something about ice cream before dinner though" and we carried on. But I made a mental note of the location. We finished back at the institute, where Fr. Michael took me up to the Rectory for dinner, and I was more than pleased. We dined on vegetable soup, a spinach and cheese pastry as the main course, broccoli, grilled tomatoes, and potatoes. We joined another American priest for dinner with wine at the table and talked about their Thanksgivings (at the Vatican with turkey) and about flying and travel (especially to and from the States). Mostly everyone else was at was a big priest meeting (their version of a chapter meeting I think?) but both Fr.

Making my wish at the Trevi Fountain

Michael and this American priest from Chicago had gone to one back in May and didn't have to go this time around. After a dessert of fruit, we grabbed our jackets and Fr. Michael walked me back to the hotel. I really appreciated the tour and time with him, and gave him a big hug before he left. 

I let the girls know I was back, and that I'd wait to meet up with them after their dinner out. In the meantime, I flipped on the TV in the hotel and the Lizzie McGuire Movie was on in Italian!!!!! Eeeeee! So I was the happiest little muffin waiting for them before we ventured off to the Trevi Fountain!

After a lot of confusion, I finally met back up with Liz, Tara, and Sarah at a metro stop by the train station. We then began our exploration for the Trevi Fountain (which is supposed to be really beautiful lit up at night, and let me tell you, it is). We ran into some freshman also on the Rome trip on the way, and when we finally got oriented, made it to the Fountain in a cinch. We all made wishes and threw coins into the fountain, and enjoyed some photo opts by the landmark. We returned to the hotel a little before midnight, and we were exhausted, but had a 7:30 wake up call to look forward to.

Saturday morning was focused on Ancient Rome. We rolled out of bed, rotated out of the bathroom, and made our way downstairs for breakfast of croissants, rolls, deli meats, cheese, yogurt, cereal, you name it. I may or may not have made a few mini sandwiches for the day. Great life decision in retrospect. We all left our backpacks with the bellhop at the hotel (they stashed our bags for the day), and the group got headsets and followed whichever TA's voice was at the other end of ours to the Colosseum. 

Since Rome is the Washington DC of Italy, there was a planned protest for Saturday that started right by our hotel (by the train station) and was to wind around to the Colosseum, so we ran in order to beat the crowd. When we did get there, though, it was well worth the rush. Wowed and stunned beyond belief, the ruins and the monuments in this area of Rome are just indescribable! We took our time talking about the structure and how it was an engineering marvel, then went inside and talked about gladiators and felt like spectators ourselves. Taking lots of photos and group photos and just walking around jaw dropped, we had a lot of fun being history buffs and seeing it come alive! After our time in the Colosseum, we were ushered right across the street to the Roman Forum, which was like the city center of the ancient time. There was the basilica, which was the courthouse/town hall more or less, several temples, ruins beyond belief, triumphal arches, and everything so ANCIENT and Roman. It was very romantic in the sense that I felt ready to sit with Lord Byron and Mary Shelley among the ruins to write poetry and philosophize about the meaning of life, and then go have a cup of tea. I was enjoying it. Especially since I had Dean Martin singing to me in Italian in one ear with the TA lecturing in the other. Now that's the way to set the mood! We climbed to the top of the Capitoline Hill (a piazza designed by Michelangelo) and then were took across the city the the Pantheon. Again, a lot of oohing and aahing! I got dizzy looking up. Even today the Pantheon stands as the largest dome in the world (circumference wise, not height wise). And, Raphael's buried there! After a short talk about the Pantheon, we were dismissed for lunch. 

View of the Colosseum

In two hours, a small group of 18 lucky students (first come first serve for sign ups--you can bet your bottom dollar I was the #2 spot signed up) were to meet at Villa Borghese for an afternoon tour. Unfortunately, Villa Borghese is on the outskirts of the city, quite far from the Pantheon. Also unfortunately, we were on our own to get there. But we had two hours, the TAs said it was about a 45 minute leisurely walk, and I said, hey, we got time! I was all set to walk. Liz was trying to figure out if there were buses or a metro that went out that far. Nope, not quite. Besides, I argued, I wanted to see the Spanish Steps, and they were along the way. Let's explore! Taking the map and the lead of the group, Liz started walking due to the right. But it was almost one, everyone was famished (I'd packed a lunch, so I was set!). Liz was making it a priority to get to Villa Borghese. But food needed to be a priority. After twisting and turning down several streets and alley ways, we stopped the group, pointed out a pizzeria, and I said, go eat. I left them and told them I'd met up with them after, I was going to take my time and eat my lunch on the Spanish Steps! 

Listening to the lecture among ancient Roman ruins, NBD

But first, there was this church I wanted to dive into. I was reading the information plaque outside when an Italian man asked me, "You like churches?" and I nodded my head. He gave me his card, and told me there was the most beautiful church after the Vatican (of course) right across the street from his pizzeria, and I had to go check it out, as soon as I could because they close at 1. I thanked him, and after I satiated my curiosity with the first church I was in front of, I trekked up the street to find this beautiful church. Unfortunately, I was much too late (it was after 1 when I met the man, around 1:30 when I found the church) so I didn't get to peek in, even though I tried several entrances. Oh well. But from that church I was a block away from the Spanish Steps, and headed over and rested my knees and feet for a little (we were doing a LOT of walking!). I enjoyed my lunch of croissants, and rolls, and fruit, and yogurt and people watched. I was amused two female police officers trying to get the peddlers around the steps in trouble. Tim and Andrew and a group of girls showed up, and I called down to them, and they came and sat with me for a while. Sarah and the rest of the lunch gang met up a short while later. Together we all took off for Villa Borghese, which wasn't far from the Steps at that point! Through a beautiful park and at the top of another hill, we got to the Villa with 15 minutes to spare.

Cool Roman Forum ruins as seen from the top of the Colosseum

Villa Borghese is significant because the Borghese family specifically set aside this "country" home right outside the original city walls of Rome to house works of art that they patronized. So the fact that the art is in the original context is great. It's home to some great sculptures by Bernini, filled with movement and drama, a David, a Daphene and Apollo scene, and a Rape of Persephone that really stood out. But the reason I was so excited about life is that the Borghese is home to 6 Caravaggio

Pantheon

paintings out of the 56 or so that exist in the world. Great treat! Upstairs there was an exhibition of sorts with two surprise Raphael paintings just hanging out, including my favorite, the Lady with the Unicorn!

We finished at Villa Borghese around 4:30. Our train ticket was for 7:30, we needed to be at the station by 7. On my to do list was to visit one more church Fr. Michael had pointed out but we didn't have time to go in, and to see the Ecstasy of St. Theresa by Bernini. I accumulated a small group (Tim, Andrew, Sarah, Susan, Tara, Emma) and we walked out of the Borghese park and straight down a boulevard to Santa Maria della Vittoria, the church that held the St. Theresa statue. We got there just before closing time. I made the gang read the passage from St. Theresa's writings that describe the vision that Bernini depicts in his sculpture (essentially, a spiritual orgasm, I kid you not). Great fun. Also in the church is the body of St. Victoria. A little waxen looking with some blood on her neck from a piercing wound (stabbed in the throat?), missing her real hair (clearly wearing a wig) and teeth in bad decay (maybe she could use a visit to Doc Rob?), she wasn't looking to shabby for a third century saint! We left that church and went down the road to Santa Maria degli Angeli, where most of Angels and Demons was filmed, and is a "big" church in Rome to go see. Originally the place of Roman Termini baths, it still maintains its basic Roman structure with idealized Renaissance additions in the interior. Pope Clement XI commissioned a sundial/meridian line to be built inside the church, which is where I think the whole Angels & Demons part comes into play (wouldn't know, didn't see the

The Extascy of St. Theresa

movie!). But it was originally built to predict the exact date of Easter! Susan, Tara, and Sarah were all really blown away by the church so I was happy I could entertain them.

We went back to the hotel to pick up our bags, but still had an hour to kill. The boys went to the train station to see if they could change their tickets (they did, after much cajoling), and we picked up Rachel, a SU freshman, and Calvin, who goes to Brown and is friends with Tara. Anyway, we had an hour to kill and I remembered that Fossi gelateria Fr. Michael had walked us past. I was determined to go. And, besides, I'd gone the WHOLE weekend without spending more than a dime (technically, exactly a dime since I threw a 5E cent piece in the Trevi fountain...) but I deserved a gelato from the first gelateria in the whole wide world! After a little confusion, and some serious map reading, we got there, and wow, it was WORTH IT. It was easily the BEST gelato I've had since I've been in Italy. They say three things get better as you go south in Italy, the pizza, the weather, and the gelato. WOW. I got a cone full of chocolate, hazelnut, and tiramisu, and they plopped on a whopping serving of homemade whipped cream on top. Wow. It was so good. So good. And SO much for 2E. Easily, the best 2E I spent in Rome (haha). Thinking about it now makes my mouth water. Nothing will compare after that. Nothing. So good. Wow. A big thank you to Fr. Michael for pointing the place out to me!

After a 10 minute walk to the train station, we got there right at 7:05 when our platform was posted, and we hopped on the train. A short bus ride later and I was home sweet home by 9:30 or so.

Today, I spent the day at Palazzo Vecchio. Today was the Florence Marathon, which was really cool except that meant the buses were running on a funny route. A route that didn't include Quartieri Gavinana (our neighborhood). So lucky me got to walk an hour to work in the rain. But it's ok because I got to listen to Christmas music (it is the first day of Advent after all) and cheer on the runners in Italian (I was literally walking along the marathon route). And today was just my luck, because no one showed up for any of my tours, so I was free to do whatever in the Museo. I took care of some homework, and then ran into my friend Emily with her dad, and gave them a tour of Palazzo Vecchio and took them in the secret passageway with the peephole. They really appreciated it, but I appreciated having something to do! When no one showed up for my 4pm tour (my last one of the day) I spent some time sitting behind the desk with Giale, but snuck out when she got busy with visitors around 4:30, and yep, you guessed it, walked back home in the rain. But again, it was ok, because I belted Christmas songs the whole way home and got to Anna's soaking wet, but in a very merry mood. I've now warmed up, showered, and now Hannah and I are waiting for dinner time. Successful weekend, aside from the part where I got all my homework done. On to that next!

Piazza della Repubblica at night

The Italians Don't Celebrate Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! Hannah and I woke up this morning, looked at each other, and she said to me, "I don't want to talk about it" I replied "I don't want to hear it," and so it was our goal to go about today pretending it wasn't Thanksgiving, and that we weren't homesick, and that it was just another Italian day. Too bad no one else got the memo, and we were forced to be thankful for all our blessings (kidding, kidding...). SUF did mandate today Pie Day, and gave out free little pieces of apple and pumpkin pie around campus at various times throughout the day. Originally, I thought I'd missed it because I got to school from my internship after the original designated pie time, but my Italian teacher pulled a few strings and got some for us for our intervalo (break) during class! Though previously, when I'd thought I'd missed pie day, there were some cartons of apple juice left over...some completely full...and unopened...and I miss apple juice (it's hard to find here, plus goodness knows I drank gallons as a kid), and may or may not have taken a giant juice box's worth and stashed it in my bag for us to enjoy in the library later...shhhh don't tell!

Anyway, this morning began with tours at Palazzo Vecchio. Almost late (but not!) to my first one at 10:30, I took a Brazilian couple around the Palazzo, and they were really fun and interactive and I enjoyed giving that tour. But no one showed up for my 12pm tour so I headed to school on time for Italian (but, sadly, not in time for pie). I only had Italian, and after I headed to the library to do some work. I applied for four internships this afternoon. I was on a roll, amiright? Yeah? Ohhhh yeah. In the middle of applying for a new scholarship at SU. It's not much, about $500 a semester I think? Or just a one-time $500, but hey, I'll take what I can get! I just had one of those GASP moments where I realized I missed a meeting with my professor, my internship coordinator Prof. Duni. I feel AWFUL. Will be emailing him immediately.

There's a Damien Hirst exhibition opening today at Palazzo Vecchio in the studiologio, and at work this morning I was handed a fancy ticket to see the exhibit tonight on the opening night (well I felt important!). It was valid for two people. I text Hannah, "Wanna be my plus one?" so at 5:30pm we headed over. We breezed through all the (intense) security and roped off sections, and hopped in line. Only 12 people are allowed in the little room at a time, and only for 5 minutes. You walk in from the Sala di 500 (the main room) into the studiologio, and then escorted into a pitch black room where the only light seems to be radiating from this crystal skull! It's an 18th century human skull, dipped in platinum, and encrusted with diamonds. It's a freak. Damien Hirst is known for his extravagant displays (he's designed pianos for Lady Gaga) and is a big name in contemporary art (especially because of his work with Sotheby's). The story is that when Damien called his mom and told her about the skull project, she responded, "Oh for the love of God, Damien," and so that's what this piece is called, "For the Love of God." Fun fact!

The viewing was pretty cool, I'm not one to necessarily get weird over diamonds, but this was just something else. We headed home almost dizzy and came home to our Italian version of Thanksgiving dinner: carne with pomodoro e formaggio (like a red meat version chicken parm) and pasta pomodoro and salad and bread with of course, dessert. At that point Hannah and I gave up: we're very thankful this Thanksgiving!

Pisa and the British Invasion of Florence

 Sam came back to Florence! Granted, it was with an ETS class, but I treasure every moment, and it's like seeing the city in a new light every time I'm with him! Here's what happened:

Thursday Sam got into Pisa at 8, and the original plan was for me to meet him at the hotel his class was staying at at 9:30 (by the time they got to Florence, and got situated, this seemed like a reasonable time). Haha well after a few delays and traffic and the class's stop at the Leaning Tower in Pisa, I got to their hotel on a 10:45 bus (the buses come once an hour after 9:30, so that had to be planned meticulously), arriving at the hotel around 11:15, right when they were walking in the door to check in. Va bene. I took Sam and his best friend from abroad Erick near the Duomo to get some food, and we ended up hanging around one of the bars/cafes/clubs (it's like a mix of all three, the going out places here serve multi-functional purposes) for a little just for something to do. We ended up running into a group of SUF students who knew Erick (small world!) so the group of us enjoyed the evening until late (dare I tell you?--3am) and instead of taking a cab home I crashed on the floor of the boys hotel room--seriously. Think Palm Springs back in the day when our family would go and Jackie/Tori would make a bed out of the cushions haha. I told Sam I'd leave early so I could get home (I didn't tell Anna I'd be sleeping out, otherwise it wouldn't have been a big deal) and slipped away at 7am--woof, brutal. But it was sunny with a few clouds, and I was glad the SUL class would have a sunny day to explore the city.

Wrong.

I went back to bed as soon as I got home and got a restful 2 hours of sleep (made all the difference in the world) and after preparing myself to conquer the day, headed out to meet the class at the Medici Chapels at San Lorenzo. And it was pouring rain. And continued to rain all weekend. Relentlessly. I didn't mind, obviously, but when I met up the with the class Erick said to Sam that I'd never fit in as an Italian, I was a) too happy b) too colorful (I was wearing my trench coat and a red scarf, that's not that colorful!) and c) too blonde-curly-haired.

I followed the class along the rest of the day, and Forbes, the professor of the class who Sam had introduced me to Thursday night at the hotel, overheard me "teaching" Sam about the Medici's and ended up having me speak my piece at every monument we went to thereafter. I was kicking myself for being such a know-it-all. But Sam said he's never been more proud! After the Medici Chapels the class broke for lunch and we went to a favorite sandwich place of mine where we saw three Italian women with wine that was steaming. I had no idea that they served mulled wine here, so Sam, Erick,

Buonanno's Cathedral doors in Pisa

and I tried this "hot wine" and while it certainly wasnt the same as mulled wine with the spices and such, it was a warm pick me up after splashing around Florence. Kinda warms you up from the inside out. Interesting!

The class proceeded with a look inside San Lorenzo, a trip to the Duomo, and ended in the Baptistery where I accompanied them and got in free thanks to the generosity of Forbes and SUL (my museum pass only covers certain entrance fees, the Baptistery and most churches are not included) so I earned my keep by talking about the great mosaics of the Baptistery for the class, and I think I'm really lucky. The SUL kids who are art history majors/in art history classes (I talked to a few who were) sure, they'd have class at the National Gallery, but they don't get to study their stuff in the original context like I get to. Mom, you said in a previous email that maybe I was actually going to remember something from this semester of schooling. I absolutely agree, it not only helps to have that interactive learning where I'm on site for most of my classes, but even in the classroom, I can easily go into the city and apply what I learned to the things around me. They're like constant reminders, so how could I forget? I guess my point is that I was really easy to talk about the things Forbes was nudging my way, and I really enjoyed talking about them!

View of the Pisa Duomo from the Baptistery

After a stop at their hotel to change into try shoes (did I mention it rained all day? You'd think these London kids would be used to it/own a pair of boots. Every single one of them had sneakers! Big thanks to Gram, the boots she got me at the end of the semester last year have been my life saver! They're adorable and waterproof without being rainboots!) Anyway, we headed to Villa Rossa where Forbes kind of MCed a discussion among SUF professors and/or local Florentines and his class. This was an event where he'd told his students to tell us, the SUF students, to come and participate. Except none of the questions he asked applied to us, or were directed at us. I'd invited as many friends as were in town (there was a Paris trip this weekend hosted by the school much like this Florence trip for the SUL kids where it was optional and you had to pay for it--Hannah went) and Sarah and Cynthia came. But regardless they served an AMAZING apperativo after with crostini and bread and FRESH olive oil (the harvest was last week!) and cheese and olives and Chianti wine and it was just delicious! We tried to formulate a plan for dinner for the group after, but realized a group of 22+ people was a big extreme to descend upon a restaurant without a reservation, so we broke off and Liz and I took a group of 8 SUL students to our favorite local student cheap great variety place, Il Gato e Il Volpe. Everyone was more than content, but really full from our apperativo (I'd told them--my vote was to skip a sitdown dinner and grab a slice of pizza or something...) so Sam and I were the smart ones who split gnocci! Especially since Italians don't believe in doggy bags...sorry Abby.

Pisa Baptistery Pulpit

That night we were all filled to the brim with food and tired, so I headed home around 11:15 because I had a field study trip the next morning and had to get up early early early. Sam said he crashed as soon as I left. Anyway, so Pisa/Lucca was on my agenda for Saturday, and after a brutal 6:40 wake up call and my tendency to run late, I made it out the door with my breakfast in one hand and key in the other (I knew when I returned Anna was going to be mad I didn't wake her up to make me breakfast, but first of all I refuse to disturb the woman's sleep for something so selfish, and second of all I was late myself). But everything was fine and within two minutes of being on the coach bus for the trip I was asleep.

In Pisa we checked out the main complex, the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and of course, their bell tower, or the Leaning Tower. I took one of those adorable touristy photos of me holding up the Leaning Tower--yeah just wait til it goes up, it's precious! Anyway, we learned about why its leaning, and then went to the Baptistery, which is much plainer than ours, but has an important pulpit we learned about in Black Death, and then at 11, a monk came in and called out notes--he didn't sing, but he called out different notes. And based on the acoustics in the Baptistery and the timing of his note-calling, it sounded like there was a whole choir in there!!! That was really really cool, something the Pisans have on the Florentines. All Florence's baptistery's good

Pisa Baptistery from the second story

for is shiny gold stuff. We spent some time in the Cathedral which also has an important pulpit and some important bronze doors, and then were told we might not do the second part of the day trip because of the crummy weather. Well my heart skipped a beat because that meant I'd get to go back to Florence and join in on the SUL tours! After that idea was put in our heads, an idea which 90% of the group was in favor of, the leaders said, just kidding, we're going to Lucca at least for lunch. Well ok. I mean, we were out and about anyway, when else was I going to get a chance to see Lucca?

We were dropped off within the city walls of Lucca, every fourth person was handed a map, and told, ok, you have two hours for lunch. When you're done, we'll let you know if we're going back to Florence or walking around the city on a walking tour. Sarah, Cynthia, and this new guy John (who reminds me of Bob Saget from his Full House days) and I meandered around this Medieval city with its twists and turns around markets and

Pisa Cathedral Pulpit and Interior

such--it's a very pretty and very quaint little town, I really enjoyed it--until we popped into a cafe to grab some lunch. We reconvened at the meeting point, tired, full, and ready to get on the bus to take a nap, when the field study leader of the day said, well the weathers holding out, we're going to stay for another hour and a half and go on a walking tour of the city, but it was optional. Most of the kids didn't go, but Sarah, Cynthia, Bob Saget aka John and I figured why not, and I ended up being really glad we went! We went to three different churches, one of which has the un-decayed body of Santa Zita (Saint Elizabeth, we think), which was really cool and really weird at the same time! People were taking pictures, I felt like that was kind of sacreligious...but wasn't sure. She looked a little worse for wear...kind of mummified...but it was pretty cool nonetheless. We finished at the Lucca City walls, which are now preserved as a park/running path/biking path and enhances the city's beauty. The walls were kind of a joke back in the day, since Lucca was a peacefully little city with the big fat squat walls. But now they're really very lovely.

Anyway, we headed back to Florence, I crashed like the narcoleptic I am in moving vehicles, and arrived in Florence early still around 5:45. I headed home, cleaned myself up, and headed out to meet Sam around 6:45. After a major major lack of communication between the two of us (I blame myself, I'm the local, I shouldn't have expected him to give me directions to where he was, I should have designated a meeting point!), I found him with a group of other SUL kids at 8. They were trying to go to this restaurant called Dante on Oltrarno (YAY!!!! MY side of the Arno!!!! SUF kids avoid Oltrarno like the plague for no good reason) that serves free wine for students. They were glad to see me to

Walking along Lucca's wall

have someone who knew where they were going, and to have someone who spoke Italian. Unfortunately, Dante's was packed. And I panicked, I didn't have a back up plan for this area of the city. So we walked along the road and found an osteria a block down with a promising menu and very reasonable prices. It was a GREAT meal!!!!!! I love Oltrarno, it's so much less touristy and has so much to offer, and I loved that the SUL kids didn't know any better that it wasn't the "center" of the city, they were just as content to eat there as anywhere else. In fact, Sam said if he was every to come back to Florence in the future (i.e. with his parents, in future travels), he'd want to stay Oltrarno and see the more Tuscan side of the city, rather than the main attractions. God love him. Everyone at dinner was mad I wasn't with them all day, Sam said every single person in the group, including Forbes, asked him where I was that day and if I'd be joining them later, because it was more enjoyable to listen to me (showoff, in my opinion/talk, in theirs) than to listen to Forbes and his Florentine counterpart. I thought that was very sweet of them, and Sam said he was beaming with pride all afternoon. Awwww. Following dinner, I'd planned to crash at the hotel that night and go with the class to see the David and go to the Uffizi early the next morning, I was ready for bed, but Sam wanted to go out to a club we'd been to when he first came to Florence. It was the first time he and I had some alone time, and we only went out for an hour or two, but we had fun! When we returned, we'd found Erick had ended up going out with a group of SUL boys, and returned even later than we had. But we got a solid night's rest.

Medieval Lucca city wall

After a nice breakfast at the hotel and me pretending I'd just arrived at the hotel that morning when Forbes came to collect the group, we headed to the Academia to check out David, who I actually hadn't seen before. My museum pass got me in for free, and not only that, but I was able to cut the line, so I was ready to go a little before the class was! We spent about a half hour in the Academia with this GIGANTIC statue (I underestimated him---wow, big piece of marble), and then made our way across town to see my favorite gallery of art. A little unimpressed at how Forbes was presenting the information (ok, now I'm being an art snob, I know), and Sam still a little tired, and with the permission for the class to wander the galleries alone, we broke off from the group after moving from

Pisa's Campo Santo--literally "Holy Ground" brought from Jeruselum and planted here

pre-Black Death to early Renaissance art, and took our time to look at images as I pointed out my favorites to Sam. I mean, I go to the Uffizi on rainy Sunday afternoons for hours and hours just to have something to do occasionally, so after Palazzo Vecchio this was home.

When Sam complained of image overload (there's apparently a syndrome for that...) we tried to wait out the rain (nope, just kept raining) and walked along the Arno and locked a padlock on the Padlocks of Love by the Arno (awwwwww). After that he wanted to get some earrings for his mom, but the earrings place that I got the girls' earrings at was closed, so we made out a deal for me to pick them up, after he asked his mom if she still wore earrings (they're going to be in London for Thanksgiving)...anyway, that's just a side story. We strolled along Oltrarno and Sam wanted to try Dante's again, we were seated immediately and he treated me to a lovely fedaccini alfredo lunch (for me) and lasagna (for him) for lunch, which was very much the Italian version of comfort foods after walking around in the rain. The SUL kids had free time until they had to meet at 4:15 to leave for Pisa, but Sam didn't want to go to another museum, and instead we started heading back to the hotel to watch a movie in the lobby or something, but en route stopped at the olive oil festival in Piazza della Repubblica, where we tasted some really interesting oils and cheeses!!! Apparently we weren't the only ones who were looking to warm up at the hotel, and several other SUL kids had camped out out of the rain there.

I walked with Sam to the train station where they we catching a train to Pisa before their flight, and said goodbye and waved and cried (I'm such a baby) until their train pulled out of the station. I headed back home, arranged my schedule and rested for the remainder of the evening, and then joined Anna and Antoinetta for a delicious dinner of minestrone, our favorite chicken and vegetables, fruit, and panna cotta. Hannah walked a little after 10 and Anna warmed up a plate for her. I'm exhausted, and was looking forward to a good night's sleep in what feels like the world's now comfiest bed.

Inside Campo Santo

All In A Day's Work

Back to the daily grind! Reality hit hard, we have 3 more weeks here, 26 days. Ok so technically its a little over 3, more like 4, but the last week doesn't really count since I know I'll be bogged down with finals. That we're-in-Italy-I'm-so-lucky feeling is back, and I'm experiencing the city like every moment could be my last walking down that little Florentine street. It's fun!

But in the meantime, I do have 10 papers and 4 presentations, an oral and a written final to take care of. Sheesh.

My Black Death class met at Santa Croce today for class, and it was my first time in this church, which is one of the major ones in Florence. Badly damaged by the 1966 flood and Vasari's 16th century whitewashing, it houses the tombs of some of Florence's greats, including Michelangelo, Machaveli, Dante (who has a tomb there but isn't actually buried there...he was expelled from Florence in his later years, but clearly Florence regretted that after a while...) just to name a few. We spent some time in a private chapel locked off to the public after looking at some Giotto (pre-Black Death) frescoes to compare those to these private chapel's post-Black Death frescoes. The difference? The treatment of intimacy and the idea of the "touch"--since the BD was so contagious, and was sweeping people out left and right, the people of the time refused to even look at the diseased. As a result, we can see this change when Jocohiam (Mary's dad) meets Anne at the gate scene: Giotto had them kissing, their halos converging, emphasizing the humanity and tenderness of the moment of good news (that Anne was pregnant). In the post-BD, we see the two characters grasping each others' arms, in what's supposed to be an embrace, but in reality it looks like they're pushing each other way. There's your art history lesson for the day.

After Santa Croce, I headed to Italian which just seemed to drag on. My Medici class was in a classroom for the first time all semester, and that also didn't seem to exactly fly by either. I made my interactive Christmas wishlist during that class (all I want for Xmas is world peace! I don't deserve Xmas presents this year!) and the people behind me were getting a kick out of it. It's Nov 22, and I'm pretty sure it's rained every day for the past 22 days, so I was thankful we were warm and dry at least.

I made it home in a productive mode, and cranked out three papers WOO HOO. Other than that nothing's too exciting from today! I forgot to mention yesterday that Anna's friend Antoinetta asked me if I felt fatter or skinnier since being here, and told me that in her opinion I was skinnier because of my pants. I think I'm fatter and that it's an optical allusion because they don't use dryers here so nothing shrinks back. Oye.


Staying dry and fly in Firenze!

America's Got Talent?

I finally got the MacAvoy/Shalom package!!!! The slip for it was in the "I" mailbox and not the "J" because someone wrote the J looking like an I, but anyway, I went to pick it up (it's BEAUTIFUL by the way! It's a frame the Dr. Shalom made from sea glass she collected in Cuba with a picture of me and Sam in it) and Beth, the Student Life Coordinator, was talking to my friend Liz about how this semester is the most uninterested semester she's ever seen, i.e. only a few people had signed up for the talent show. And so as I was trying to get my packages, she was asking me, "so you're going to sign up?" and I laughed and said no, I have no talent. Beth told me that that was ridiculous and said I could sing something. Right, I only sing in the shower or the car. And Liz pipes up and says, "Well you know there's a 50E prize." And I jokingly said, oh ok I'll sing Christmas carols. And Liz lit up and said that she'd vote for me if I did sing Christmas carols. So Beth put my name down with "music" underneath.

Ok, so my idea was to find a guy to sing Baby It's Cold Outside with me, because, duh it's my favorite Christmas song EVER. Tim bailed, but he texted me wishing me good luck right before I went on. So did Andrew, who was my back up plan, but he's Jewish and didn't know the words anyway (JK Andrew you're the BEST!). But no surprise. So I was going with Santa Baby.

I recruited a handful of friends to come cheer me on, (Sarah, Sarah W., Liz, and Nora but she left early, and Hannah went home early from school cuz she wasn't feeling well so she the wasn't there either). So Sarah's giving me a pep talk as soon as I arrive, though I'd been sitting in my Leonardo class earlier and I was like, who am I kidding, I'm not winning anything, I just should go straight home, Anna wants us home early anyway for an early dinner, forget it. But I went downstairs and Beth ushered me right into the room, and there was Sarah and Sarah, as well as two other professors, one other student, and Beth. At that point I thought, well ok, maybe I'll be winning this by default, it'll be nothing, it'll be like singing in the shower. Then all the other 6:10 classes got out. And the room filled up. Most of them freshmen--good for them for showing up! And then the rest faculty members. Was I really about to do this?

Jim, the assistant director, warmed up the crowd as the official MC. The director (Michael) began with a lovely rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight" on the guitar and singing, followed by a student who played his guitar (no singing though). Then a freshman girl got up and recited a Maya Angelou poem. Then it was me. Jim apparently knew the other three performers and introduced them nicely, he got up and said, "Next we have Stephanie. Stephanie are you here? I'm going to let you introduce yourself." Gee thanks. So I get up. "Hi, I'm Stephanie, though more of you may know me as Stevie. And I'm going to be honest, I've never sung in front of a room full of people, I tend to only sing in the shower. So please be generous, please be nice, and on that note I'd like to do a song about generosity and giving." And I start singing Santa Baby. The line where it goes "Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed" I went and sat on my friend  Harrison's lap (he's one of the two freshmen boys here), and the crowd was ROARING. I mixed up two verses (ring/platinum mine) but really no one cared, they were in stitches. Quite honestly I'm surprised I didn't black out. But it was great. After I sat down, I got a standing ovation and Jim had A LOT of great things to say after that little performance, he wont be without an intro for me next time (haha he was really sweet)!!!

After me, Beth did a song on her guitar for her brother who recently passed, a girl Morgan sang a beautiful Sarah Barielles song, another professor played an Irish jig on her fiddle, and another girl Lenora did a dance, but Anna really did want us home by 7:30, and it was 7:10 and goodness knows it takes me forever to get home, so I went up to Jim and told him my situation, and he said to go, and that they'd let me know if anything happened. So I missed Lenora's dance and RAN to the bus stop and RAN home, only 5 minutes late for dinner. I'm sitting on the bus getting close to home, and Sarah calls me, screaming "YOU WON!!!" And I said "I won what? Honorable mention? Third?" And she was like "NO, you won FIRST!!!!!!!!!" HAHAHAHAHAHA I was almost screaming on the bus I was so surprised and amazed and happy! She told me to go to Beth's office in the morning to pick up my prize (which someone alluded to wasn't a straight up 50E, but a 50E gift card to a restaurant...hey, that's my meals for the weekends for the rest of the semester, I'm ok with that!!!!!!!). Oh my goodness, I'm still riding such a high. Why don't I do that more often?

Anyway, so that was the highlight of my busy day!!

Homesick? Not If Stephen Colbert Has Anything To Do With It!

I started to feel homesick after my return from London (posting coming about that trip soon!), and this little gem popped up in my newsfeed on Facebook. Really though, nothing can be wrong in the world when I'm watching this 1.49 minutes of pure genius. Please agree with me!

http://tv.gawker.com/5600274/

My Crazy Italian Life

 Mondays sure know how to start the week with a bang! I headed to Palazzo Vecchio because Roberta, one of my internship coordinators, said to stop in and chat with her. I got to the Piazza around 8:40ish but no one was in (things dont open until 9 here) so I sat outside in the Piazza and did some Italian homework. When I made my way in, Roberta and Giaele, my other internship coordinator, were chatting, and I think something got lost in translation, because that check-in meeting turned into my internship test with Giaele! So instead of being there for a half hour like I thought I was going to be, I was there for 2 hours! Oops! But great news...I passed! And I should be on the tour schedule this week. I'm about to email Roberta about it now. And I had 15 minutes to make it to class on location at Santa Maria Novella, and I was 3 minutes late, and therefore successful!

From my Black Death class on site I ran back to Villa Rossa for my Italian class, in which we watched a movie about the mafia. It was in very fast very Sicilian Italian...3 minutes into the movie Donatella (my professor) left the classroom, and Tim went up and turned the subtitles on. Thank goodness because I ended up really enjoying the movie! Hannah didn't like it though (she watched it in her Italian class also). It was like the Italian version of Milk, you know, about Harvey Milk, but the main character wasn't gay, and was a communist, and his family was part of the mafia. So, you know, something along the same lines...

Anyway, I ran from Italian back to Palazzo Vecchio for the class tour of the museum, and it went GREAT. Unfortunately the class had to be split in two, and I couldn't be in two places at once, but I gave the tour to one group and was shadowed by a regular museum tour guide Stefano because it was a secret passageway tour and I wasn't expected to give the secret passageway tour but I was allowed to give the tour and he just unlocked the doors. It was great. It was a little weird, because for this class there are presentations given, so we often stopped in one room for a long period of time to discuss one particular fresco or something, but otherwise the tour went well on my end, and I'm looking forward to getting more comfortable with the material so I can give tours without any reservations!

After my final class, we were dismissed early so we could make it back to Villa Rossa for a lecture by the museum director of Palazzo Strozzi, the only rotating exhibit space in Florence (i.e. without a permanent collection, so there are always new shows coming in and out). But I learned a lot about art curating and creating interesting and interactive exhibits, and I'm hoping I can use him as a contact in the future.

Apparently this week is just relentless, and packed with fully, busy days! Tuesday morning I made my way to the library to finish up my FINALLY LAST NEVER HAVE TO DO ONE AGAIN Leonardo presentation--yay! After scanning images for two hours, I made my way to Italian, which was a short class, and we studied some works from Puccini's La Boheme because that night the upper level Italian classes were headed to--you guessed it--the opera!!!! But first, I had to head back to the library and finish my presentation, meet with my TA, get my presentation approved, fact check, etc etc. After finishing most of my work, Hannah and I headed to Spazio to speak with the Italians, and since it was a kid's birthday (the one guy in Hannah's class, kind of like the Tim to our class), Donatella made us two giant pans of tiramisu and brought spumante! It was perfect, because since we weren't going to be home for dinner, Anna had packed us little sandwiches and oranges, so Spazio served as the perfect dessert for our take-out meal! Plus this Spazio was really fun, we talked to two Italians (one a young working man, one a university student) who wanted to hear more about American universities i.e. Greek life. So we were amused trying to explain sororities and fraternities, and then talking about SU back home and our families and our brothers and sisters.

Sarah, Sarah, Dani, and me at our favorite restaurant, Gato e Volpe

After Spazio I headed back to the library for a little to squeak out a little more work, while Hannah went to a lecturer for her photo class. Tim came and met me in the library around 6:50, and we were going to make our way to the opera, which was on my side of the Arno at St. Mark's English Church. Hannah refused to be left behind on her own, and it took us a while to get her to leave the lecture, but we had to go, and she wasn't a happy camper. Oh well, you can't please everyone. Tim told me I should be the one mad because she was going to make us late, but I didn't want to get into it. I let it blow over and by the end of the night it was like nothing happened.

Anyway, the opera: it was held in a small church (which apparently always has mass in English! Good to know!) about 6 bridges over from our house (aka not close, even though it was our side of the Arno). There were about 50-80 people there for the performance, and there was a grey-haired gentleman narrator (from Austria, so he sounded like Arnold) who would come out and describe the scene we were about to see in English before it was sung in Italian. The performers did four scenes from La Boheme, which is what Rent is based off of, who knew! But it was beautiful, and a lovely authentic Italian experience. Mom you're right, Sam does come here this weekend, and I'm thinking about taking him, they have a second performance Saturday night of Puccini's Wedding of Figaro, so I'm going to ask Donatella for more information today in class. But over all it was very very fun, and a great experience!

The opera ended a little after 10, so Hannah and I had to catch the night bus (ugh....only bad experiences with that bus...) and as usual the 10:07 bus didn't show up, so after waiting another 10 minutes for it, we decided, hey, now we're only about 3 bridges away, we can walk. So we walked home together from our bus stop, and we got in around 10:50, so it wasn't terrible, especially since it was a nice night. But we got in, and were wipped out, so we headed to bed shortly after, especially since MoWe are our early days.

Night at the Opera!

Londontown Two

My flight into London was Wednesday night at 8:45. I ended class at 6, and had a bus to the airport at 6:45 (it takes an hour to the airport by bus). I was cutting it close, but it was doable, the airport's small and easy to get through. I got to the bus station no problem. 6:30, no bus, no worries. 6:40, no bus, some worries. 6:55 and the bus hasn't shown up and I'm starting to panic. 7:05 the bus finally leaves and I'm having a heart attack about making my flight. I arrive at the airport at 8:20, my ticket says the gate closes at 8:25. The bus driver saw that I was in a tizzy (oh and I was the only person on the bus) and pulls up right to the departures area, and I go flying through security (no line whatsoever) through boarder control (again no line) to find that the flight hadn't even started boarding, and I burst into tears. At least I got into London fine by 10:30 to find Sam waiting for me at the airport.

Thursday we began the day with an at-home brunch and then spent the better part of the day at the

Sam at the British Museum

British Museum looking at the ancient artifacts housed there. It was a change from the frescoes and paintings of Italy to explore the mummies and Greek and Roman marbles and bog men full preserved from the 17th century. It was very cool. Sam had to stop at Faraday House, the SU London campus to drop off some paperwork for Friday's events, and I ran into Jessica Kutcher, a fellow DG, and a friend of Courtney's! Sam said he wasn't surprised I'd find someone I knew. We then made our way to Covent Market to explore the rock n roll area of London where the Beatles used to play and Elton John used to work at a record shop. It was a completely different vibe! Sam took me to a mussels place for dinner where the time on the clock was the price of your meal--so we feasted on a giant bowl of mussels for 5 pounds, which was

A pretty red double decker bus with a Harry Potter ad

awesome. As we made our way back to his flat, we walked through Leichester Square, the "Broadway" district if you will, only to walk through a throng of people behind gates. Of course, me being the little weasel I am in crowds made my way to the front to see what was up with Sam right behind me. We were walking right through the Harry Potter 7 world premier!!!!!!!!!!!! We literally caught the last MINUTE of the red carpet for the premier when the main cast posed for a final group photo and then entered the theater. TOTALLY stumbled upon it, I thought the premiers were NEXT weekend (with the release date--yeah I'm still hip all the way here in Europe) and a bunch of Florence kids are going to London for the premier, but no no, I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and JK Rowling herself pose for their final group photo right before the entered the theater.

What a lovely city!

Friday Sam signed us up for an all-school field trip to Oxford and Belheim Palace in the English countryside. We made our way to the Faraday House for our departure at 9:15 (waaaay later a departure time than any SUF field trip I've ever been on!) only to run into the one and only Jed Greenwald! Though he didn't seem as surprised to see me as I was to see him--he was still reeling from his night at the HP7 premier (apparently he stood outside all day and then missed JK Rowling down the red carpet cuz he had to use the restroom. He vowed he's never going to the bathroom again because he misses cool stuff when he does...). Also on the field trip were Tara Fothergill and Molly Tarsel from freshman year, and we took a couple minutes to catch up and chat! But anyway, we headed off to the Palace first, where many films are apparently shot, including the new Gulliver's Travel coming out this Xmas, and the Harry Potter forest scenes. We were given a guided tour of the castle where the 11th duke lives with his second (or third...) wife (you never know with those Lords and Ladies) as it was being decorated for Christmas. It was gaudy and decorative and the perfect example

Blenheim Palace

of 18th century art and architecture (good thing I'm taking a class on that stuff next semester...) though after the tour we were quickly rounded up and sent off to Oxford about 15 minutes away, and Sam and I were equally bummed that we didn't have time on our own to explore the grounds (which included a rose garden, a haunted tower, a garden maze, an Italian garden, and an English garden). In Oxford, however, we were given the freedom to explore the college town and university on our own. Sam and I went to a pub off the beaten track for the BEST fish and chips I've ever eaten (he had a burger and onion rings which were just as good). We then found a way to sneak onto the Oxford campus (I mean we're technically students, right?) and had fun in the great Oxford dining hall (which was filmed as the Great Hall in Harry Potter...I know, it was a very Harry 24 hours) and the many many gardens despite the chilly weather (not much rain though!). We got home from the field study trip in the early evening and headed to his flat where we made sweet and sour chicken and stir fry and spent the rainy night watching movies and drinking tea and eating apple crumble.

What a treat!

Saturday we headed to the Portabello Market in West London, which was like the Venice Beach of London if you will. Very hippie, yet filled with antiques and vendors selling such things as antique

Cupcakes for two!

china and toy soldiers. After walking through the market we headed to the opposite end of town where we got off at the tube stop right in front of Harrods. I just wanted a picture of the Harrod's sign, but Sam took me in to see the toy floor and the Christmas decorations. I was not ashamed of my touristiness and took pictures of the Egyptian elevator and the extravagance of the place. But I'll admit, the toy floor was really really really cool with demonstrations for the kids and toys to test and play

Hello Harrod's

with. But, of course, we got lost (its HUGE) and left a little more frazzled than when we began. Down the street we went to a Japanese restaurant called Wagamama where Sam had won a raffle at SUL for a gift card, so we grabbed a late (3:30pm) lunch of noodles and miso soup and it was delightful! Our next plan of attack was to catch the Lord Mayor fireworks by the Themes, but because of work being done on the tube and the crowds for the fireworks, we were unable to grab a train and started the walk towards the river. We missed the fireworks right by the river, but were able to see them through the trees on our way, and it felt like a movie. I really enjoyed it! After getting to the Themes 5 minutes too late (in our defense, the fireworks were supposed to start at 5 and the began at 4:40 instead), we decided to make our way to the Natural History Museum to go ice skating. I shouldn't have been so surprised that Sam was so graceful on the ice as he excels at all physical activities, but for a boy who grew up on a tropical island I had no idea where he'd practiced his backwards skating technique! I had a lot of fun and held my own as well (no wipe outs for us)! We headed back to his flat afterward to warm up with tea and cookies, and made a late meal of sausage peppers and onions for dinner.

Big Ben post-fireworks

Sam sent me off at the airport this morning and as usual I cried (I'm such a silly fool but I can't help it) and I got into Florence around 6pm after a long day of traveling. I got home and I wasn't feeling in top shape, perhaps because all I had to eat was a big coffee that morning, or from lack of sleep, or jetlag, or saying goodbye to Sam, who knows. But I was on the bus en route to Anna's and I was glad to be back in Florence, but I got the overwhelming need to go home home. That's where the homesickness kicked in. And so as I was unpacking and talking about the weekend with Hannah, I told her what I was feeling, and she threw me a guidebook and told me that she felt the same way Friday but looking through the book help a lot. Anna called us to dinner with Antionetta our other unofficial host mom and Anna's best friend, and I still couldn't shake my funk. But I thought maybe I just wasn't feeling well because I didn't have anything in my stomach, so I started to dig in to our delicious dinner, but I started feeling physically sick. Then Antioneta asked what was going on in California, in terms of weather and seasons and family and when I mentioned my family I started to tear up and couldn't stop, and Anna and Antionetta did the grandmotherly thing and reassured me, and I totally knew I was being silly!!!! Especially when Antionetta had just pointed out how time's flown and we're leaving soon! But I told them I was being silly and they said I was just tired (I am) and not feeling well (I wasn't) and that it was natural. Anna gave me a warm glass of water with sugar to help my stomach (much better now) and I'm headed to bed now that I've finished a quick essay.