29.01.2009

Today I got up at 7am and stayed in bed for a bit while I talked to Ry. I had Garden's class today at 9am at the BC campus...so not too far of a walk!! :) After Ry and I talked for a bit, I got up, had some cereal and a banana and then I got ready for class and left my dorm at 8:40am! In Garden's, we talked about what we are going to be seeing tomorrow while we are on our field trip. We are going to Frascati Garden first and then the Tivoli Garden. I am excited for the field trip, first one of many for this semester!! :) Garden's went till 11am and then we had a break until 1:30pm, so Cass, Bethany, Jenny, Beth, Amy and I went to the mall to grab a slice of pizza and study for our Italiano test which was at 1:30!! At 1pm, we headed back to school, took the test and then stayed in the class for a bit talking about homework, etc. Once class was over, Survey of Art class would start at 3:45pm in the same classroom, so us girls hung out and chatted for a bit. Today was the first day of the Survey of Art class for me (really class number 2 for everyone else, but since I switched from Travel Writing to this, it was my first). My teacher is younger and her English isn't all that great, but she seems really nice!! :) The first slide that came on the Power Point, I knew what it was because I had just learned all of this last semester while taking the ARH102 class. I am excited that this will be a review for me and plus we will be able to take a few field trips to ROMA to see some of the paintings which we are going to be talking about in class!! :) We will be going to the Vatican and the Borghese Gallery!! How exciting!! After Survey ended at 6:45pm, I came home, got ready for bed, had a PB&J for dinner and went to bed!! :) Tomorrow is going to be a long day-FIELD TRIP!! :) Yay!! Can't wait to show you all pictures of the Garden's!!
LOVE and MISS you ALL!!!
CIAO!! :)

28.01.2009

Ha, our hike home!!

It's so open now!!

I woke up around 9am this morning and got on my computer to check my email. Once I responded to the ones I received, Ry called and we chatted for a bit on my dorm phone. Once we hung up, I got ready to go to the grocery store with Cass. We were in need of some milk and cereal...we live off of it!! :) We went to Ipercoop around 11am and since we bought so much and the bags were really heavy, we just decided to take the shopping cart home with us!! :) Ha, it costs one euro to use a shopping cart each time you go, but if you return the cart, you get your euro back...it was worth loosing the dollar!! Ha!! The Ipercoop carts are like the IKEA carts, they have a mind of its own...so it was soo funny trying to steer the cart home!! :) Once I got back to my room and put away all of my groceries, and then I rearranged my room...it looks so much more open now, I love it!! :) Moving the wardrobe was heavy...so I had to put on my tennis shoes so I had some grip on the tile!! Ha, definitely got a workout out of it!! Then I decided to get ready for the day because at 2pm Cass and Beth came over to finish up some homework that was due at 3. After Italiano class was over at 5pm, Cass, Beth and I went into the town walls where our cuisine teacher Christina lives. For cuisine class, we go to her house to make dinner!! :) It was really fun and I ate some foods in which I probably wouldn't have had in the states. There are 12 students (including me) in the Wednesday night cuisine class. There are 12 more which meet on Tuesday nights. When we got there, she sat us down at the dinner table and gave a presentation about Lazio and the foods in which are produced within Lazio (Roma and Viterbo are in the region named Lazio, Italia has 20 regions). Christina thought it would be good to learn about the region in which we are living in first! After telling us about Lazio, we all went into the kitchen where we would make homemade biscotti’s, soup, the meat sauce for our pasta as well as the salad dressing. Once we had everything on the stove/in the oven, we went to the dinner table and enjoyed the bruschetta-which is a slice of bread with homemade olive oil in which Christina and her husband Richard made with their olive trees!! It was the best olive oil I had ever had, so much flavor. After the bruschetta we went to the kitchen to finish our chick pea/hazelnut soup and cut the biscotti’s. Their soup isn't runny, it’s more dense and is like a meal itself-once the soup was done, we took it off the stove and grinded it up a bit, so you didn't have huge hazelnuts in each bit. Once the soup was ready, we went to the table and enjoyed our soup! Wow, I normally don't like chick peas (spelling?)-mom, I know you LOVE them, you would've enjoyed this soup...it not only had chic-peas and hazelnuts, but celery along with tomatoes and rosemary. It was really good. :) Pasta was next, Christina and Richard went into the kitchen to cook the noodles and poor the sauce on...the sauce had bacon in it...but again, not like our bacon...it wasn't crispy, or thin!! Ha, I took a bit and wasn't a huge fan, but the sauce itself was excellent!! The noodles were sooo thick, it was different for a change, I liked them!! With pasta, we all were served 1/4 glass of vino-Italians are BIG on vino with their meals...and Christina says it’s not a meal without some vino! Ha! It was a white wine and actually wasn't too bad. I think I like white better than red...Wow, there was still more food to come. Next was pork, which we all went into the kitchen and watched Christina prepare them on the stove...Richard was finishing up the salad...the salad dressing was anchovies with garlic and lemon juice all mixed together on the salad was different looking...it was actually the stocks of a certain lettuce and when you put it in water, they curl up, it was really fun!! So we all went back to the table and enjoyed the pork along with the salad and another glass of vino to go with the pork only...not the salad...Richard made that clear!! Ha, it was a red vino and wasn't too bad either. The salad really wasn't that bad, anchovies and all, I couldn't really taste them, which was good! :) Then Christina brought out a cutting board with 3 different cheeses on them. One crumbly one with a strong taste (my favorite), one with not such a strong taste and the third was like a brie, but not as strong...ha, I am not good at describing cheese. We ate these cheeses with a white vino which was my favorite, it was really sweet and was made with cannellino grapes...delish!! :) After tasting the cheeses, biscotti was next. Italians eat their biscotti with vino, not with their coffee/teas, like we do in the states. They actually dip their biscotti in the vino and let it set for a minute. We dipped our biscotti’s in a red vino...one which was really strong, so I didn't dip mine or finish the glass. The biscotti’s were SO good!! Definitely going to make them when I get home, they took like 30 minutes to make!! :) After that fabulous meal, we walked back home and I finished up my homework along with some studying, I have my first Italiano test tomorrow, wish me luck!!
CIAO everyone!!
MISS YOU ALL!!

27.01.2009

Today I woke up at 7am...my alarm clock was my dorm telephone ringing and Ry was on the other end!! :) It will 11pm his time and he told me he would call to wake me at 7am!! :) We talked for a bit, but then I had to go and get ready for class which started at 9am at SMG. Once we got to class at 9...our teacher didn't get there till 10!!! :/ I was a little upset because I was TIRED and didn't want to get up to begin with. I was going to leave at 9:15am, but then Stefano (director) walked in and told us to wait for her!! :( So she finally strolled in at 10:01am, to be precise, and we were there until 12pm. Her class is strange....we had to purchase the book Under the Tuscan Sun and in class we will be reading/going in to depth about this book. The one thing I don't understand though is she constantly tells us how much she dislikes Frances Mayes's writing style....well then why did you choose this book to analyze?? It’s rather annoying because she doesn't stop saying how much she dislikes her!! After class, Cass, Bethany and I went and got 2 slices of pizza each...the way they do their pizza is on like cookie sheet and it's one big rectangular pizza, then its cut in half long ways...so when you ask for a slice its only like a 3X5" slice...not very big!! The pizza was good though, had one ham slice and the other was margarita. When we left the pizza place, it started to rain...I always have my umbrella because it is always sprinkling here!! Once we got back to the dorms, I talked to Ry for a bit, and then took a FOUR hour nap!! :) It was a much needed nap!! When I woke up, I got on here and updated my blog for all of you to hear about PARIS!! :) Luckily my internet was working...but very slow!! That's okay, I am now up to date with my blogs!! :) Now I just have to upload some pictures, hopefully the next blog is all pictures from this past weekend!! :) I decided to log onto Skype and was so excited to see that SARA was on as well!! :) I was so excited to talk to her, she put her webcam on and showed me her view out her window…which is the mountain…it was COVERED in snow!! :) Very pretty to look at!! We weren’t able to call each other on Skype, so we just chatted back and forth for a bit until I got disconnected…she had to go to vball anyways. I love you sister and miss you like crazy!! At 11pm Ryan called me again and we talked for an hour and then he had to leave because he was off to class!! :) I then took a quick shower and went to bed!! I love sleeping!! :) Haha!!

Love and miss you all!!

CIAO!!

26.01.2009

Today I woke up around 8:30am enjoyed a bowl of cereal (no milk...no fridge) with a kiwi on the side, it was delish! :) After breakfast, I was in no hurry because I had class at 3pm, so I checked my email, talked to Ry for a bit and then got ready to go to the SMG campus with Cass and Bethany where we would purchase our books for all of our classes. While I was there, I dropped my Travel Writing class and added Survey of Art, there was just going to be too much writing in that class and it just wasn't my style. The teacher is a writer herself, and she was critiquing us the first day...so I can only imagine how the whole semester was going to be. I am excited for Survey of Art, should be a breeze for me because it will be like a review...with like barely any homework, definitely more my style!! Ha!! :) After we did all that, went to the cafeteria by the dorms where we had some pasta and bread. Since it wasn't filling, we went back to the dorms and had a bowl of cereal as we did our homework. Cass bought some milk on the way home...cereal is so much better with milk!! :) After Italiano class, us girls went to the computer lab at campus where the internet is suppose to be better...it still was taking forever to upload pictures and it kicked me off the internet a few times!! :( I definitely miss that about AZ and how the internet is so fast and you never have to worry about getting kicked off-line!! :) When 6:45pm rolled around, we left the computer lab and went to Jenny, Amy and Beth’s apartment where we would all go to this pizza place that serves your huge pizza out on two plates!! :) Ha, I got a pepperoni pizza and definitely polished the plates clean!! :) It was really thin, and the pepperonis were delish!! :) When I got home from dinner, Ry and I talked on my dorm phone, wow, I am such a lucky girl to have him in my life, he is simply amazing!! :)

LOVE and MISS you ALL!!
CIAO!! :)

25.01.2009

Today I got up at 4:40AM, got ready, and went downstairs at 4:45AM to make sure the hostel arranged the taxi like they said they would and the man said 'yes, be down at 5:10'...so we were down at 5:10 and he hadn't even called anyone to be there to pick us up!!!!! I was absolutely livid, I am sure he saw it too, but I didn't care, that was messed up of him!! He was lucky because someone came by 5:25, but by then we only had 20 minutes to get to the bus stop on time (which was 20 minutes away). I was fuming, so I told the driver to step on it and he got us there in 15 min...we all got out of the taxi, bought our tickets and waited patiently for the bus which was going to take us to the airport for our 9:30AM flight. In PARIS, I guess you are suppose to get to the bus stop 3 hours before your flight...crazy! It all worked out, but before we could get on the bus, the man who collected the bus tickets before you got on, was really making me mad because he made us 'ROMA' people stand outside in the FREEZING COLD for 15 extra minutes than everyone else!! I was so upset with him, I am sure he was enjoying seeing us FREEZE OUR BUNS off, I wanted to kick him in the shin, I know that is mean, but it was mean of him to leave us out there to DIE!! Ha!! :) The bus ride was only an hour, we got off, and went inside to check in. After check in, we sat around and then waited in line so we could RUN to go get our seats on the plane!! :) HAHA!! We flew RYANair!! Aww...I wish Ry was with me!! Once we landed, I recorded how everyone cheers, this one wasn't as intense, but still hysterical!! :) Once we got off the plane, we went and bought bus tickets to get to the ROMA Trimini (Train station) to get back home. Once we were at the train station, we had time to kill before we would get on our train. I had a slice of pizza and then it was time to board the train. The journey was about 2 hours long and then we walked back to our dorms. Once I got home Ry and I talked for 5 hours!! :) Can you believe that?? We didn't talk much at all this past weekend so we caught up on everything!! :) It was a great!! :) I love you Ryan Matthew, and MISS you LOTS!!! After our conversation ended, I took a shower and then it was time for bed!! Wow, great weekend for sure!! :)
*I keep trying to upload pictures for you all to see, but it's not working...hopefully my next post will be all pictures!!*
CIAO to all!!

24.01.2009

Another day in PARIS, I LOVE it!! :) We woke up today around 8:30, went downstairs, grabbed some breakfast- we had bread, which was the BEST bread I have ever had and I had a bowl of cereal, their version of "cocoa pebbles"...where's the sugar?? Ha, it was definitely lacking in the sugar department. After breakfast, I went back up to the room and got ready for the day!! Once we were all ready, we headed to the metro where we would take it to go see the Eiffel Tower once again, to get some better pictures and go to the TOP of it!! :) Once we got there, it was really cloudy and luckily we were able to go to the top, because last night, the highest you could go was the second level because it was so windy out!! :) We only waited in line for like 30 minutes and before I knew it I was at the TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER, it was definitely an amazing feeling!! I LOVED being up there, not only was I taking pictures, but I was taking everything in...I didn't even mind how COLD it was, I was just thrilled to be there!! :) I was able to see ALL of PARIS!!! It was simply AMAZING!! :) Once we got off the Tower, we went to this stand where they sold crepes and hot cocoa. I bought myself a hot cocoa and it was gone in seconds, I was so cold, but it definitely warmed me up!! :) Then we were off to go see the Notre Dame. I tried taking pictures in there, but you couldn't use flash and it was pretty dark in there. It was really crowed, but it was GREAT being there, I have definitely learned about it in class and the architecture is amazing!! :) Such ornate detail on the columns, etc., even the stained glass was ornate and enormous at that!! The building itself was definitely bigger than what I expected, same goes for almost everything I saw this weekend-not everything was bigger, sometimes smaller, like Mona Lisa!! Wow, I still can't get over everything I have already seen, and the day wasn't over yet! :) After walking around Notre Dame, we went to this cafe where I got a HAMBURGER!! :) My body definitely needed some meat, haven't had much since I have been in Italia!! It wasn't an American sized burger, but it was still delish!! :) After the burger, and FRIES, HA, (that one makes sense though, the other meals with fries...interesting) I got some dessert...every meal isn't complete if you don't end on a good note ;) I got 2 scoops of coffee ice cream and one of chocolate. The chocolate was very chocolatey, so I ate half of that scoop, and then mixed all of them together, it was SOOO GOOD!! :) Definitely enjoyed it and wanted more!! Ha, our waiter was a lot of fun and spoke English, so it was our new fav place in PARIS!! :) Before we left, we asked him how to get to the Arc de Triomphe and us girls took a picture with him!! :) Off to the Arc we went!! While we were there, us girls had a TON of fun reenacting what the statues were doing above us!! :) Ha, there were 4 main scenes that we did, everyone around was laughing, we enjoyed doing it!! :) Then we walked down the main shopping street in PARIS, where us girls stopped in a few shops, and once we were done with that, we wanted to go see "The Thinker" at the Rodin Museum, but they had closed early...so instead we went to Moulin Rouge and took a few pictures. Then we got back on the metro (which was scary, it was like going through the GHETTO) to go to the Luxembourgh Palace, it was definitely closed, so we were sad...there is just NOT enough time in one day to do everything unfortunately. :( All in all yesterday and today were both AMAZING days!! :) I enjoyed every part of this weekend and staying over night in the airport was definitely worth it because I was able to experience all in which I told you about!! :) After the Lux, we got back on the metro to our hostel where we ate dinner. I had garlic bread with mozzarella cheese on top, it was DELISH, because it was on that really great bread I had for breakfast and I got a salad with it and it had normal dressing on it, so I enjoyed it!! :) By the time I got to my room it was 12AM and I was ready for bed. WOW, what a weekend!! :)

CIAO everyone, MISSING you ALL!! :)

PARIS PICTURES!!

At the LOUVRE!!
Do you like my fanny pack? :)

Me, Cass, Mona and Bethany
The Tower at night, absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!

PARIS crew: Me, Cass, Bethany, Mike, Jenny, Beth and Amy

Me at the TOP of the EIFFEL TOWER!!
NOTRE DAME!!
After my hamburger, I had some yummy chocolate and coffee gelato!!
Arc de Triomphe!!

22.01.2009-23.01.2009

TODAY WAS SERIOUSLY THE LONGEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!
It started off with Gardens class at 9am, it was the first day so my teacher had a Power Point which had a bunch of pictures of all the places we will be visiting! :) I am excited to travel and see all the gorgeous gardens, we travel on Fridays and leave early in the morning and return at night! :) I am thinking they will be fun days!! When Gardens ended I had a break until 1:30pm, so Cass, Bethany and I went to the train station where we purchased our train tickets for ROMA tonight!! After we purchased them, we went to the mall, which was on our way back to class where we grabbed a slice of pizza and french fries. French fries seriously come with everything, who would have thunk, fries and pizza?? Kinda interesting, but its okay....BRING ON THE CARBS!! Ha! I FOUND PEPPERONI pizza!!! :) I was soo excited!! They call it salami here, weird huh?? O well, I don't care what they call it, I found it and was ecstatic!! While we were eating, we worked on our homework, which was due at 1:30. We finished our homework and had time to kill, so we all figured since we are great stundents, we should treat ourselves and grab some gelati!! :) So we did, I got cappuccino and it was the BEST I had ever had, it melted in my mouth and the taste was fabulous!! It was very exciting to find out that my wonderful cappuccino gelato was only 1,30euro or something like that, which is awesome and the location is very close to the dorms...that might be dangerous!! Ha!! Italiano class was from 1:30-3:30 and it was ok, nothing too exciting, our teacher loves to give us our homework assignments by telling us what they are in Italiano, which is frustrating, because you never know if you are doing the right assignment or not!! Ha, but after class we went into town to help Cass find a pair of rainboots and while we were out, I found a pair of pants!! :) I was excited, and only 15euros, what a steal!! :) I also but an elaborate scarf for only 3euros, I love Italia!! When we got back to the dorms we packed up and were all ready for PARIS!! :) YAY!! Our train left tonight at 7:52pm, so we met Jenny, Amy, Beth and Mike at the train station just before it was time to leave!! The train look longer tonight, because it was behind schedule, so it took us 3 hours to get to ROMA, I didn't sleep AT ALL!! :( I was planning on it, but I couldn't, so when we got to ROMA we tried to find the shuttle which takes you to the airport, and we couldn't find it, it was 11:05pm and I think the shuttle stopped at 11!! :( Too bad the train was behind schedule, so we all got into two taxis who dropped us off at the airport, where we would SPEND THE NIGHT AT!!! WOW, WORST IDEA EVER!!! We got there and we were all starving, nothing was open and NO vending machine, which is unheard of here, because they seem to be everywhere, obviously not!! :( So we went inside one of the terminals, sat on the floor and attempted to fall asleep, definitely didn't happen for me, so instead I played cards with Cass, Bethany, Jenny and Mike. I-t was fun, but I guess we were being loud and you're not suppose to because we got "shh'd" at from this cranky lady who was trying to sleep!! I laughed when she did that, because honestly, was she even enjoying her sleep? Cold and hard floor doesn't seem so comfortable to me!! Finally 4:30AM rolled around, so we all got up and went to our correct terminal, found some food-I had a chicken sandwich at 5AM, it was so great because I was starving, I don't even know if it was chicken though!! :/ Then we checked in and went through security. Finally it was time to board the plane, so since the flights here have NO organization, you stand in line so you can then run outside (once you hand your ticket in) and board the plane....people literally RAN to get to the plane, it was a different experience. Ha, at that point, I just wanted a seat so I could sleep, but I ran because I thought it was SO funny how they do that!! :) The flight was absolutely HORRIBLE!! :( I crashed once I got on the plane, before take-off, but when I woke up half-way through the flight, it was the BUMPIEST flight I had EVER been on, it was soo scary, so I went back to sleep. Once we landed, this horse track sound came on and EVERYONE started to clap with excitement that we landed, WOW, different experience as well, it was pretty funny because I wasn't expecting it!! So we learned for the next flight to 'hoot and holler 'once we land!! :) After we got off the plane, we then had to walk out into the pouring rain and go around this one building to another where we would purchase bus tickets which would take us to the main bus station in PARIS!! When we got on the 2 hour bus ride, I tried to fall asleep, but I couldn't :( Once our journey was over and we got off the bus, it was ABSOLUTELY FREEZING and POURING!! :/ Not good combos for me!! So my first impression of PARIS wasn't that great!! Ha, but at least I saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance. We found a taxi and had him take us to our hostel, it was only 20 minutes away from the bus station. When we got to our hostel, we had time to kill before our 2 o'clock check-in. We went to this little cafe were I ordered a cheese omlette...bad idea...the egg was still running...I was soo sad, because I have been craving an American breakfast since I arrived in Italia!! So I ate the fries off the plate and that’s it, the salad had MAYO as the dressing, DISGUSTING!!!! After my disgusting meal, we went back to the hostel and I crashed for about 30 minutes while we waited to check-in. 30 minutes does wonders, I swear! We checked in, went to the metro and off to Louvre we went!! :) Wow, there was a TON to see there, our first visit was Mona Lisa...she is SMALL!! And she has her own wall, it's ridiculous...I don't see what’s so big about that painting, but I am excited that I saw it because I have learned about it semester after semester!! :) After the Louvre, we went to the Eiffel Tower, WOW, I LOVE IT!! It is soo gorgeous, we got there right as the sun was going down and not even 10 minutes after we first saw it, it started glittering-the lights were flickering up and down the entire tower!! :) It was absolutely gorgeous!!! We went to the Tower and Jenny, Amy and Mike decided they wanted to go up on the second level at night, I was wayyy too cold to even think about going up there were it was windy!! So while they went up, us girls hung out where we got annoyed with all the guys asking us if we wanted to buy any of their souvenirs, I definitely didn't buy from them, or talk to them, they were scary, but I did purchase a little Eiffel Tower-it's PINK and ORANGE!! :) I LOVE it!! Once Jenny, Amy and Mike were done, we left the Eiffel Tower, but didn't go to far, I saw boats on the water and said we should eat on there, not thinking anyone would agree, but we ended up on the closest boat and when we were sitting at our table, you would look up and there was the Tower, I was in 'AWW'...I couldn't believe that I was here, WOW!! :) The meal was only 20euros and it was the best meal I have had all trip so far. I got bread, pasta salad, salmon, green beans, and french fries, HA, told you...every meal!! It was definitely worth it, and the view was AMAZING!! :) Once dinner was over, we were all ready for bed, back to the hostel where 5 would sleep in one room and 2 in the other...hostels are quite an experience...let me tell you! There was this older man in my room and he would cough constantly, it was nasty...I only heard that for about 10 minutes in the middle of the night and I fell right back asleep!! I slept from 10pm till 8 am, it was so great to finally be in a bed and catch up on some sleep!!
CIAO!
Miss you all!

21.01.2009

Wow, I leave for PARIS tomorrow!! :) I definitely went to bed tonight at 730PM, I was dead and since this weekend will be long, I think it's a good idea!! :)
Today I didn't have class until 3pm but I woke up at 8:30am so the maids could come in here and clean!! :) I went down to Cassie's room where I had a bowl of cereal with banana in it....EWW...the only thing was, our milk container didn't have a screw-on top, and salami was in the same bag, so our milk tasted like SALAMI! It was absolutely disgusing..ha, so I just drained the milk and finished the cereal, I can't just throw that stuff away, I am a starving student....LITERALLY!! :( After breakfast, I went back up to my room to get ready to go meet with Stefano, the director. Cass, Bethany and I all went to meet with him to talk about teaching kindergartens English! :) I am very interested in doing, I just don't think it is going to work with my schedule! :( You would have to go to their school once a week and plan the lesson and everything, which would be great if we didn't have to go on Mondays, because normally I will be traveling every weekend, and if I get back late Sunday night, I will still have to do a lesson plan, etc. :/ So that idea is now out the window. After the meeting, we came back to the dorms to do our fabulous homework, it's always soo much fun!! :) Not really...HA!! Before class Ry called me, it's always great talking to him!! :) He's such a sweetie!! Italiano class was from 3-5pm tonight and was good tonight, I learned some new things which is great because not a lot of people in this town speak English. After class we walked back to the dorms and right as I was unlocking my door, Ry called once again, I LOVE IT!! :)
I love and miss you all, talk to you once I get back from PARIS!!
CIAO family/friends!!
XOXO

20.01.2009

Today was a pretty long day!! I had my first class of travel writing from 9-1130am at SMG aka my worst enemy...ha, I just don't really enjoy the 30 minute walk in the early morning to get to class! But in the writing class she informed us of all the work that was to be assigned!! WOW-talk about a lot of writing!! :/ We will have 3 essays due and a journal by the end of the semester!! :/ Currently, and for my whole life, I have not been all that into writing, but hopefully this class will help me like it!! :) We will be writing about our experiences with detail, so I am thinking when the class is over, I will enjoy looking back on my writings!! :) Thinking positive!! :) After class we had a break until 3pm. I went over to the student lounge with Cass and Bethany where we got on our computers for a bit and then went to grab a slice of pizza! Seriously, today was the first day I had a tasty pizza. I think there was bacon(?) on my pizza, with rosemary and cheese..it had a lot of flavor and I was really excited about it because there is NO peperoni pizza here, what the heck yo?? Its different, so I have been sticking to mainly cheese...very plain. I don't really want to find out what was on the pizza I had because I enjoyed it. I have been doing that lately...I have just been eating and not really knowing what I am eating. Ha. I don't really have a choice because I don't know what they are saying to me and vice verse (HA-SARA!) After lunch we headed back to SMG for our Culture class, which we had a new teacher today...she will be teaching the class once every 3 weeks, or something like that, and the other lady is our main teacher...kinda confusing, but whatever! It was really boring today, the teacher is sweet and all, but I just can't stand history! :( So after class we went back to the dorms where I took a two hour nap and when I woke up, Cass and Bethany were ready to go over to Beths apt...it was her birthday today, so we brought over a cake and hung out with them at their apartment! A few other people came over and we all had Sangria's (Mari, how do you spell that? Ha, I definitely thought of you!!). I am not a huge fan of them, but I enjoyed the fruit!! :) At about 12am we came back to the dorms and I talked with Ry for a bit, and crashed!! I was soo tired...lately I have been which is not good because this weekend is going to be a long weekend! :/ Definitely going to bed early tomorrow night!! :) CIAO everyone!! YAY...you will see PARIS pictures soon!!

:)

Jenny, Cass, Beth, John, me, Jenny and Alex :)

19.01.2009

Sorry everyone that my blog is not updated...I have had no internet, so I couldn't update this...but I am now! So..

Today I had class from 3-5pm...so I had the morning to sleep in a bit and do some homework!! :) Ryan called me in the morning and we were able to get on Skype to talk because he was home from Colorado!! :) It was very exciting and even though we got disconnected a few times but it was great to see him!! :) Before class I did my Italiano homework which took some time because the directions were in Italiano!! Ha, after my homework we went to class which was at BC aka AMAZING because its so close!! Italian class is getting a little better for me! Today I was able to understand most of the sentences and put it together, which I was amazed at myself for doing it!! Ha. After class was over, Cass, Bethany, Jenny, Amy, Beth and I came to the dorms, paid our rent, and then went into the computer lab to book our PARIS flights!! :) I cannot believe I will be in PARIS this weekend!! I am so excited!! It was getting late so Jenny, Amy and Beth went home and Cass, Bethany and I went to the grocery store to pick up some food. There we found a freezer bag, which was GREAT news-because we don't really have a fridge!! I bought some lunch meats for dinner and milk for my morning cereal!! :) It was so yummy to have a turkey/salami sandwich...just like home!! Ha, thats one thing I am missing for sure...FOOD!! The kind that fill you up...I am not really getting that here!! :( I'll figure something out!! Only a few more days till I am in PARIS!!
CIAO!!
LOVE and MISS you all!!! :)

18.01.2009

Sunday...today was a 'catch up on sleep day' and I loved it!! :) Yesterday was a very long day with lots a walking...so I slept in till about 930 and got up and got on my computer for a bit to read my emails and catch up!! :) It was very nice to sleep in and not have to worry about getting ready for class!! :) At about noon, Cass and Bethany wanted to walk the streets and find this one crepe place that others said was open on Sundays, it definitely wasn't open!! On our way back home there was this sale thing set up in the street where people put all their stuff for sale on tables...kinda like a garage sale..but seeing that there are no garages here, they do it in the streets?? Ha, I acutally found something, but not for me, my sister actually!! :) It made me laugh really hard because I thought of her, so I had to buy it!! Ha, Sar, I hope you like it, I dont know why you wouldn't!! :) While we were at the "garage sale" there was a guy who had dried fruits/nuts set up..so I bought some and everything was delicious!! :) When we got back to the dorms, I did my first load of laundry...what an adventure..ha, mom...you would laugh...I will probably just email you the embarrasing story rather than writing it on here!! :) Cass and I hung out down there while our clothes were washing and laughed the entire time...we were entertaining ourselves with accents and what not...it was fun!! :) After the laundry was done, the girls came over to my pad and we all talked about this weekend...I think we are going to PARIS Friday-Sunday, which will be a blast!! :) So we had to talk about what sites we wanted to see and where we wanted to stay...I said the streets, but they didn't agree!! Ha, YA RIGHT!!! Later tonight we went out to grab some food because PB&J is getting pretty old...we found this pizzeria with really good BIG pizzas!! :) It was yummy!! After we called some friends and went to their apartment to hang out and at 12am we went to this bread shop and buy some bread!! :) Ha, there is the alley nearby with the back doors to a ristorante open where 2 old men who smoke cigs are making bread for the morning, but you are able to walk up and purchase the bread!! I bought pane con dolche (or something like that) which is bread with chocolate in the middle and it was soo good, still hot and everything!! :) By then I was very sleepy so Cass, Bethany and I walked home!! Soon after I got home, Ry called!! I was so happy to talk to him again, I cannot wait for the morning, we are going to talk on Skype because he will be home...he has been in Colorado this past week!! :)
Mmm...my room smells like laundry soap...I love it, very refreshing!!
Night family/friends...LOVE you ALL!!
DADDY-O, glad you are feeling better...LUL!! :)
CIAO!!!

17.01.2009

the girlies!

THE COLOSSEO!!!

:) I love the clouds!!

Bethany, Cassie, me, Mike and Francesca with 2 crazee men!!Jesse, me, Bethany, Alex, Francesca, Mike, Corine, Cassie and Brooks, COLOSSEO in the background!!!
This is where Julius Ceasar was killed...old town ROMA
Pantheon Ceiling
Make a wish...TREVI FOUNTAIN!!! :)
Spanish Steps!

On the Spanish Steps watching the sunset (that's the most expensive road in ROMA!)

ROMA!!

WOW, what a day!! :) It was so amazing in soo many ways!! :) This morning I woke up at 3:15AM to catch the 5:03AM train to ROMA!! Even though I woke up so early, I was wide awake with anticipation!! Today was my second time visiting ROMA!! This time my family was not with me but it was so amazing because this time around I had new appreciations and knowledge about the sites I saw!! I was in "AW" the entire day!! Everything about ROMA was gorgeous in its own way. The buildings were so beautiful...each are different with such detail...it's amazing!! Completely opposite from AZ, that's for sure! I finally saw the "COLOSSEO"--I missed seeing it last time I was here and was super sad!! We did not take the tour today because we are planning on another day in ROMA for that, along with visiting a few other sites!! :) After the Colosseo, we visited the sites around it and then met up with some other people and ate at a ristorante where I ate a plate of Alfredo...but its definitely not like the alfredo I am use to back home...it was still really good, but nothing like alfredo!! Ha, after lunch we all walked around ROMA and took lots of pictures...we saw a lot of buildings/statues...and I dont know the names of a lot of what we saw...so sorry about that!! Haha! We went inside the Pantheon and saw the wonderful ceiling, I loved it, its very unique! Then we went to the Trevi Fountain!! I just love this fountain...to me, it's in a funny location because you are walking around ROMA, shopping and what not, and you turn a corner and BAMM...there's the Trevi, in the middle of no where!!! :) It's just fabulous though!! I only posted a few pictures of what I saw today, but all together I took around 340 pictures while I was in ROMA!!! HAHA, you know me and my pictures!! I LOVE them!! After the Trevi, we all went to the Spanish Steps..perfect timing to see the sunset!! It was beautiful!! Since we were all dead tired from a longg day...we all got on the train to come home!! FAVORITE day so far!! :)
I LOVE and MISS you all...wish you all were here with me to experience all this together!! :)
ARRIVEDERCI!!!

16.01.2009

Ciao everyone!! :) Today was the first day I talked to Ry on the phone!! :) It was so great to hear his voice and catch up a bit!! He called me at 2am my time and woke me up, which I didn't mind at all because it had been 8 days since I last had talked to him. :)
Today I had Italiano class from 9-11am, which is getting better each day, she still mainly talks in Italian, but I wish she would speak in Italian and then translate in English to make it easier for me to understand what she is talking about...but she doesn't, so I just have to guess as to what she is saying! Ha! After class I went back to the dorms to make myself a PB&J...ha, thats all I have right now, the fridge we have for the dorms is currently full and actually stuff falls out when you open the doors, so I do not have any food in there for now...or even milk...so my breakfast this morning was a cereal in a baggie!! Ha! After my sandwich I had to go all the way back to SMG (30 minutes away from my dorm) for my Italian Culture class. This class went from 2-5pm and we talked about "Tuscany under the Sun"...she wants us all to purchase this book because we will be reading it during class. We read a few pages from the book and then watched a bit of the movie..she is different, but she has an accent so I like to listen to it!! :) After class, Cass, Bethany, Jenny, Amy and Beth (from class) all went to the bus station to catch a ride to the local bon-fire!! It was huge...made out of tree trunks and stacked probably 20+ feet tall. They lit it at 630 and food was served shortly after. There were soo many people there, it was insane! The food was very different, but the cheese was veryy good, I enjoyed it! Since we were all freezing, we decided to catch the bus back home and catch some zz's because Cass, Bethany and I are going to ROMA tomorrow!! :) Night everyone, I have to get up at 3:15AM to catch the 5:03AM train to ROMA!!
ARRIVEDERCI!!

15.01.2009

I think of my sissy everyday on my way to school!

Yummy lunch at Francescas apartment!

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY RYAN MATTHEW!!! I LOVE YOU SOO much!! This past year has been simply hamazing, all thanks to you!! :) KISSES!! ;)
Today was a fun day, I had class from 9-11am and the rest of the day to just hang out..I'm loving it!! :) After class, Cass, Beth, Francesca (another USAC student who is in our Italiano class) and I all went to a meat shop to grab some lunch meats and cheeses and then back to Francescas apartment where she insisted on making us our sandwiches!! Francesca will go going to ROMA this weekend with Cass, Beth and I, so we wanted to talk about our plans for Saturday!! After a few hours of chit-chatting about ROMA, Cass, Bethany and I headed back home where we would work on our homework. Yes, I said homework, we all think its a bit ridiculous, but then I reminded them of how we were in Italy for a semester abroad...not just to have fun!! HAHA!! By the time we were done with homework/checking our emails, etc. it was time for bed!! :)
At 2am my time, Ryan called my dorm room (which I can receive free incoming phone calls, so whoever wants to purchase a calling card and call me, just let me know and I will give you my number!) and I was SOOO EXCITED to hear his voice!!! It had been over a week and I couldn't stop smiling the entire phone call, plus a few 'happy tears'!! :) I miss you baby, and I miss all of you as well!!
LOVE YOU ALL,
CIAO!!!

14.01.2009

Buongiorno friends and family!!
Wow am I ever tired...today didn't seem like a long day but I guess it was!! :) Today was the first day of Italiano class..was it ever different!! 99% of the class period (which was from 9-11am) Erika (my instructor) spoke in Italian!! My head was about to burst after I left her class...she is a very sweet lady, but wow, it was soo frustrating for me to sit there and have her speak in Italian!! Hopefully everyday I wont feel like this!! Ha, its hard enough each day on the streets/in stores to communicate with the local Italians, I just am unsure of her teaching style for now! I know its going to be the best way to learn, but as of right now I KNOW NOTHING so its frustrating!! Anywayss...after class, Cassie, Bethany and I walked up and down a few streets looking for a place to eat. We found this cute cafe so we went in and I ordered a salami panini and "un caffe". The panini was really good, but the "caffe" was disgusting!! Ha, espressos just aren't my thing I am thinking!! Wayyy too strong for my liking!! Ha, but I ordered it #1 to try something new and #2 because the cup was soo cute!! :) After lunch we had to be to the post office at 1:30p to mail off our residency paperwork...their post offices take forever to get anything done!! It was very frustrating especially since I was the first one to get there and I was like one of the last to leave!! Illardia (a lady who works with us USAC students) was letting us know when we could go up and mail off our packets, but somehow I was at the end of the "role-call"...I dont know how my last name got put last!! So that was interesting...but I am going with the flow this semester...if I order food for example and it wasn't what I expected...so be it, Ill try something new...and as far as today I have already ate some things I would never eat back home, and I dont mind them for now, I just miss my favorite foods. Ha, its different over here, in many aspects!! After the post office, we (Cassie, Bethany and I) went back to the dorms to grab our laptops and off to the campus we went to upload our photos/use the internet. After we were done at school we grabbed a bit to eat and had to run to Ipercoop once again for a few more things..like peanut butter...which by the way is way different...they only have one brand, and I am sure its natural peanut butter...ha, its definitely missing the sugar!! Ha!! :) Today we decided that we are going to do a day trip to Rome, tomorrow after class, we are meeting up with Francesca (she is in our Italiano class) to talk about what all we want to see, I am wayy excited!! Well everyone, I am off to bed!! Thanks for reading!! Pictures to come soon, like I promised!! :)

ARRIVEDERCI!!

13.01.2009

Day two of orientation!! This morning we had to meet at "Wing Fountain" which is in the middle of town I suppose to all catch a bus to get to the other campus called "ARG" (they wanted to show us all how to use the buses). ARG is actually only about 15 minutes from my dorm, so not as bad as "SMG" which is where we were yesterday and that was a good 30 minute walk away from the dorm. Anyways, we got to ARG and had to fill out all this paperwork for residency in Italy and it took some patience...lots of stuff to fill in and sign. We did get done early which was amazing!! It was 2pm and we were free for the day!! The mall was only about 10 minutes away from campus so us girls went to the food court to grab a bit to eat!! Wow, I had the most disgusting sandwich ever...it was such a bummer because I was soo hungry!! After my nasty sandwich, the girls and I all got some GELATO!! :) It was soo yummy!! I got caffe gelato in a waffle cone and wow was it amazing!!! After we ate we went to the grocery store "Ipercoop" to pick up a few items and then hiked back to the dorms. At 8pm (Ay, I hate how they eat so late!! Ristorantes/cafeterias aren't open any earlier than 8pm, CRAZEE!!) we went to the cafeteria down the street with a few boys from the dorm (Jesse and Stefano, other USAC students) and ate some pizza. The pizzas they serve you there are huge...but its FREEZING in the cafeteria..I can see my breath when I am eating, that's NOT right! But that is so common here, places rarely have A/C...INSANE!! It's definitely an adjustment for me...I wear like 4 or 5 layers each day and barely take off one layer, even when I am inside places!! Ha, and I wear a scarf as well!! Sooo opposite from AZ, that's for sure, I am enjoying it though, as much as I dislike the coldy!! I LOVE and MISS you ALL!!!
CIAO!!

12.01.2009

:)

So basically those donkeys (Ryan and Rachal...yes...I named them!!) wake me each morning at 7am unless it rained the night before, then around 730 or 8 because its not light yet in the morning at 7. Each day you can hear them playing, making all sorts of noises, it's very cute though!! :) Haha, they crack me up!! But the reason I named them Ryan and Rachal is because they are always together and they are just so cute!! Ha, I thought for sure the names were perfect!! :) Ryan is the one lying down b.t.w. :) More pictures to come of these two for sure!! :)
Well today was the first day of orientation! It went all day--from 9am-5pm...WOW!! They talked to us about Viterbo and all the info we should know about classes, definitely information overload!! I am soo excited though for my classes, they seem very cool!! Italian (language), Italian Culture, Travel Writing, Italian Cuisine, and a traveling class to look at gardens!! I guess for our Cuisine class, we go to our instructors class and use her kitchen...I am soo excited though, she is an English woman with a strong English accent, but speaks in Italian...and English...she is very cute!! :) With the travel class, we travel a few weekends out of the semester, which will be wonderful!! I cant wait to post those pictures...ay, so many sites to see, I cant wait to experience it all!! Wow is it COLD when it rains here!! Nothing like the hot-humid rainy days in good 'ol AZ!! I was freezing walking home from orientation, because it started to rain...it seems to do that a lot here, at night especially!! For dinner tonight, Cass and I went back to Alex and Corines apartments where there would be about 8 people there, just hanging out...so we went over there and all of us walked to this pizza shop down the road and took it back to their place. There I tried to enjoy a glass of vino, but it was hard to because it was soo gross!! Ha, I'm assuming it was fairly cheap!! So I only had 3 sips of that and I was done!! Haha!! After hanging out for a few hours, Cass and I headed back home and went to bed!! Another long day tomorrow....Ciao...miss you all lots!! Hope you are enjoying these blogs!! :)

11.01.2009

Buongiorno!

Today was a free day so Cassie, Bethany and I decided to sleep in a little and then hit the streets and check out our new home town!! :) We literally hit every street in town, walking up and down streets, even outside the ''town walls'' where not much was going on...After walking over 3 miles at least, we were getting a bit hungry, so we decided to stop at this ristorante called ''Ciccarelli''. Our new friend works there, he is very nice and the reason he is our friend is because he speaks ENGLISH!! :) Its amazing when you find someone who speaks English...wow, its definitely much more difficult to get things done when you both dont speak the same language...so far I have not been to picky with food because it is too hard to communicate with them, so I am pretty sure at the end of this semester, I will have a whole new look on food and not be as picky!! Ha!! After lunch, we hiked back to our dorm, about a 15 minute walk, and were only there for a few minutes...we ran into some of the other students living with us in the dorms and they informed us of a ''pot-luck'' that Alex and Corine (two students who are dating) were going to be having later that night in their apartment. Us girls thought we should go to meet new people so we went to the closest grocery store to pick up bread, cheese and vino!! After the store we went back to the dorms to take a nap before we were to leave for the ''pot-luck''. It started at 8, so we left at 730, since it was about a 25 minute walk....when we got to their place, no one answered the door, so we tried again and nothing! Ha, after waiting outside for about 10 minutes, we just decided to take the cheese and bread and go sit on a random bench and eat it...seeing that we were all starving!! It was pretty funny, and we all had a laugh or two...on our way home we saw this gelato shop, so we had to get some for dessert (we havent had any yet)!! When we walked in and within seconds the gelato was shut down and pastries were all there was to offer...nutella filled pastries is was! They were so good too!! After a little treat, we went back to the dorms and off to bed! Days seem soo much longer here I think because all you do is WALK!!! Its very tiring!! Ha!! I will post pictures soon!!

CIAO!!

LOVE and MISS you ALL!!

VITERBO...DAY ONE!!

My beddy...hard as a rock!!

My cute desk..with picture frames from my girlies, and the most amazing scrapbook from Ry

:)

tiny shower/bathroom

Day one in Viterbo...

After checking out of the hotel, we left our luggage there at the hotel so we could (as a group) walk around Viterbo to check out all the buildings/see where some key meeting points are and just walked around to get a feel for the town. After gaining some background knowledge of my new home town, we went back to the hotel to get our luggage and take it to our new residence. Those who were living in the dorms had to carry the luggage up-hill, about a 10 minute walk, from the hotel to our dorm, ha, what an adventure!! My legs will definitely be in shape when I return home...its crazee how much walking they do here, its great and all but its definitely not AZ walking, its UP and DOWN every turn you make!! haha! :) After we moved in, we had the night to ourselves to unpack, etc. I am so tired right now, so hopefully tomorrow I can edit/add to this...sorry to leave you all hanging, but I have to get to bed, up at 7am to go across town to ITALIANO class!! :) CIAO!!