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.

Un regalo

Well, it's finally happened. People, after allllllll this time I've spent here I finally got pooped on by un pigione. I say it's about time since there are SO many of them. Around here, apparently it's really good luck, even though it's really gross. My mom told me I should play the lottery, but I don't know about that....

But the best part is how it happened! I was out with some friends and we were hanging out in the street outside a bar, just chatting. It's the way here. There aren't many cars in the center of Siena and drinking in public isn't against the law here, so on nice nights EVERYONE is outside. My friends and I were chatting and laughing when I felt something drop on my head. I stroked my head I didn't feel anything. I figured that since I didn't feel anything I really didn't need to think twice about it. It had been raining all day and had just recently cleared up for the night. Probably just a rain droplet, right?


Hours later I go into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. Sure, I had had some Birra Moretti, but not THAT much. And there it was--a glob of pigeon poop. But it wasn't so bad. My hair was up so my friends didn't catch it. Unfortunately I don't have a picture to share other than the picture of a Roman pigeon, but rest assured I laughed quite a bit. Hope you too enjoyed a chuckle or two at my expense!

One month left until I fly home. There's so much left to do and I'm really feeling EXTRA pressure to take advantage of the time I have left. I don't know what that means for the rest of the time here or what's to come for the next month, but I plan on finishing strong!

On a "Schedule"

I guess I can say that the itinerary has been a bit open. It literally reads: “We’ll be doing a little sightseeing, but mostly time will be spent getting to know each other and talking about the semester.” And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing. While I’m enjoying the time to relax and get to know each other, it makes me realize how used I am to American “busy-ness.” I have caught myself four or five times over the past two days saying that I need something to do. That makes me a bit frustrated with myself, but I’m sure it’s just going to take some time to adjust. Not to mention that I’m still a bit jet lagged, so I’ll just blame that for now.

Today we went to Lucca which ended up being kind of miserable. I imagine that it’s normally a beautiful place, but there were a handful of things that weren’t so great: 1) it was cold; 2) it was raining…torrentially; 3) we were walking around lost in the down pour for about 45 minutes; 4) the bus driver was a speed-demon and talking on the phone while playing chicken with tiny Italian cars. Some of us really felt like we were flying while others got used to the feeling of our stomachs in our throats. Bonus: I learned the Italian word for roller coaster (le montagne russe, aka the Russian mountains).

But we going back to our time in Lucca, I really enjoyed sitting al bar drinking tea and coffee with everyone and simply talking. I also found it very entertaining to watch people watching us. Not only are we a sizable group of Americans, but by chance we are all women. You can just imagine the range of looks from confusion to awe. After the bar, we went to the Duomo in Lucca and Lucia, a really awesome woman who works at the school, gave us a lecture about the Church, numbers, and self-development. It was mind-boggling to me to hear her speak about how an individual has to find balance between the good and the bad of life, much like the theories I’ve learned about in Buddhism and traditional Chinese religions. It just goes to show you how people are people no matter where they are. Below are a few pictures from the church. The one on the bottom is a labyrinth showing that one must start “in the hearth” and move outward in personal growth and that sometimes you have to change your path. Truly inspiring.

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