Divertimento Dappertutto!

Whew! I'm exhausted. I feel like I can see the minutes just roll by me and I'm running around like crazy to get school things done and to still enjoy the end of my time here. Actually, despite the fact that I have a really nice long weekend, I've decided to take it slow and to soak in the end of the semester. My time in Siena is really wrapping up and I feel pretty satisfied with everything that's happened. But to the specifics of recent activity!

The last couple of weeks have been PARTY CITY here (among getting un monta of work done)! I think primavera just brings out the best in people...even when the weather is only sporatically spring-like. Two friends turned 21 and we threw them a surprise party, American style at the school! We invited friends from Florence and even some characters that work at the school came. It was a great success. The next morning we got up presto presto for a trip into the countryside with Jeff and the creative writing class. I had so much fun, but especially since he gave me commentary on the places and people we saw that showed up in his book. I'm finishing it up now and really enjoying it, but I'm certain that that gave it extra life. Not to mention that despite the rain, the Tuscan countryside is fantastic! It's really hard to get to without una macchina, but lucky for us Jeff & Valeria (his wonderful wife) were great guides.

The past weekend was also meraviglioso! April 25th is a holiday to celebrate the independence of the country during WWII so Katie and I relished being Americans in Italy. We fought rough odds (read: Italian chaos on holiday) and ventured back to Jeff and Valeria's small apartment for the festa di carciofi. That's right people. I basically ate my weight in artichokes! Artichokes with penne pasta, artichoke soup, and best of all--i carciofi fritti! I had two servings of that one (and lots of other food). It was insane to see the tiny town overflowing with people after seeing next to no one in the streets just 6 days earlier. And in case you didn't know, Italian's version of una fila, or a line, is more like a mass of people that push themselves forward.

Later, I was also honored enough to attend a contrada party! Friends of a friend are from Siena and part of the Valdimontone (Valley of the Ram) contrada. At this time, I didn't know where the Montone's fountain was, so made my way there. It's also great to have some freedom to walk around places that are totally off limits to the public! I had a fit. But I have to admit that it was an odd sensation being there and everyone knowing you didn't belong to the group. I could understand how people who have lived in Siena for a long time thought of it as a closed community. Still, I had a lot of fun and was able to practice my Italian.

So, like I said there's a long weekend starting today. Why, you ask? It's Labor Day here in Italy! What fun, huh? Readers, rest assured I'm sempre working hard, but I'm still making sure to have a lot of fun while there's still time.