viinITALIA

2009-11-26T04:40:00.000-08:00

Il Giorno di Ringraziemento
HAPPY TURKEY DAY!! Today will be my first ever Thanksgiving in Italy and I am very excited.
We’ve been experimenting with a few cooking ideas for a quite a while now. First we tried to get Margherita to bake the pumpkin for pumpkin pie, but that did not turn out so well. The pumpkins ended up really dry and crusty like and we were not able to use that for the pie filling.
Then two days ago, we had a cooking trial for pumpkin pie and cornbread. It was amazing! The pumpkin pie was made first. Chelsea mixed and kneaded the dough for the crust while Amanda and Dr. Webb made the pumpkin filling, and Mr. Ed and I were cracking walnuts for the topping. Since I was done cracking walnuts while everyone was still working, I decided to take the left over dough from Chelsea's crust and experiment with it; I mostly just played around with it. I guess I just got really bored after I had finished the walnuts. Messing around with the dough was pretty fun. For some reason, I decide to cut out a shape of a hand and made a turkey from it; I even cut out the beck and the wattle. Dr. Webb and everyone else had liked it so much that the hand turkey ended up being on top of the pie. While I was putting the final touches on my hand turkey, Jenna started the trial of cornbread.
The first to be baked was the pumpkin pie. About twenty minutes after the pie was in the oven, Amanda put my turkey on the pie and I came downstairs to Dr. Webb’s apartment to put arrange the walnuts on the pie. The pumpkin pie cooked for a total of about fifty minutes. After the pumpkin pie was done, it was time to bake the cornbread.
After the entire test trials were done cooking, it was time to rate and critic the food and to perfect it for today. The pumpkin pie was amazing and so was the cornbread! I did not think that either recipe needed adjustments.
Yesterday, we had to make a total of six pumpkin pies for today. We were lucky to have had the crew we had because everyone pitched in and did a part of the pies; it was almost as if it was an assembly line. It was just like the day before at the test trial where Chelsea made the crusts, Amanda and Dr. Webb made the fillings, and I made the toppings. We were pretty efficient. I had fun making all six pies with different designs on them. On two of the pies, I wrote out the word “Happy” and “Day.” On another pie, I made a hand turkey. On another pie, I got creative and made a pilgrim like hat and a really cool looking feather joined by a small heart in the middle. On another pie I was able to do the lattice and for the last one, I decided to braid a few strands of dough and make the crust have a braided texture.
The first three to be baked were the pies that consisted of the word “Happy,” “Day,” and the hand turkey. When I arrange the pumpkin pies correctly, they ‘spell out’ “Happy ‘Turkey’ Day;” our turkey was brown too! As for the pie with the pilgrim hat and the feather, the hat puffed up and it was as if the hat came to live because it gave it a three dimensional figure to it; it was pretty neat.
Well it is now time to go help Jenna with her cornbread; so I will be back to explain more about Il Giorno di Ringraziemente in Italia soon.
* * * * * *
It is now mezzonotte and we just got back from our Thanksgiving dinner at Santa Maria dei Servi. It was a long but very fun night. After Amanda and I helped Jenna with her cornbread, we rushed off to get dress and head down to the Servi to help set up tables and do last minute things. We were in the first shift to be down there and helping. Amanda and I ended up staying from four until a little past six working, more than our shift. I had a lot of fun helping Sergio decorate the place because it seems as if he likes to decorate himself; it was fun and perfect working with him. He let me arrange many things that Alessandra said he preferred to do himself so I felt honored to be able to help in such ways. Later on, I got bored and played with a few crops I saw laying around and made a gorgeous centerpiece with walnuts, leaves, hazel nuts, and persimmons. Alessandra and Sergio liked it so much that they wanted me to make more; so I ended up making eight center piece plates and placing them around the columns.
As soon as that was done I ran back to the palazzo to finish getting ready; which only took my about fifteen more minutes. Then Amanda and I had to escort Samantha down to the Servi because she was sick and we did not want her to be alone in anyway, we made sure that someone was with her at all times; but she seemed to have enjoy herself.
It was seven o’clock and people started filing into the dining hall of the Servi. Around seven thirty was when the rush of people coming in had slowed down. My host family, my service learning teacher, and my friends made it to dinner tonight with an exception of a few people. My host family even brought gifts for Nicole and me; it was a gorgeous necklace for the each of us. It was amazing to see them all spending the day of thanks with Le Ragazze Americane in Italy! Who can actually say that they spent Thanksgiving in Italy with people that care? The Immortal 9 can!
People started to leave around ten o’clock. As more and more people left, we started to clean up; it took us quite a while to wrap everything up and reorder the dining hall.
Well, all I can really say is that, tonight was a very successful night and the first of many American holidays celebrated in Italy! Tonight was amazing and I am thankful for all the people that I have met here and all the memories we share together, there is nothing more that I can ask for, except of course my real family.

2009-11-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

Today in Sara’s class, we were all abruptly reminded about family dinners tonight! There will be four girls going tonight to a family dinner, Samantha and Lauren, and Nicole and I. Tonight, Nicole and I are going to Chiara’s family. It was a shock to only be allowed a few hours to know beforehand but luckily it all turned out okay. Since I have never been to a family dinner with ‘strangers,’ I was nervous all day long leading up to tonight’s event. I had no clue of what to expect or how the family would be like. Sara had said that our family was one of the new ones this year, which made me even more nervous because no one had known them yet.
It was time to get ready and calm down before I go see the host family for dinner. Being that I’m shy and very quiet in front of people I do not know, I could not process the fact that I was going to eat with people I have never met before without my professors; I had to think of some kind of an ice break to get to know the family. Luckily I am not going by myself; I would probably die of not knowing what to say.
Well it was time to go downstairs to the lounge beside the class room and patiently wait for our host to come and take us to dinner; Bekah came down with us in case someone needed a translator. After a short time of waiting, we decided to go down to the main door incase the hosts did not know where to go. Right as we came down, Nicole's and my host came. At the time, Chiara was on the phone and confused us all because she mentioned in Italian something on the lines of, “there are five girls waiting and I don’t think we have enough room for all of them.” The five of us, Samantha, Lauren, Bekah, Nicole and I, were completely confused but then, Bekah jumps in to tell Chiara that there are only two girls going with her.
After Chiara got off the phone, it was our cue to go with her to her house. I had thought that we had to walk to her car and drive to her house, but her house is fairly close; it was just straight out Porto Fiorentino and towards the Coop (apparently, I seem to pass her house every time I go to school for my service learning). It was only a few minutes of a walk. Walking up the steps, I was feeling nervous all over again; then we were greeted graciously by her mother and her sister standing at the door so that made me feel a lot better, like a load had just been lifted off my shoulders. I figured that the family would be kindhearted and all but I was just still too nervous about what would happen throughout the night.
At the time of our arrival, I immediately gave my gifts to the mother, but she had refused to take it until I smiled and said, “Niente,” which means, “it’s nothing.” The father was not home yet because he was at work, but during the time he was not there, Chiara gave Nicole and me a tour of their lovely house. I was nice to be in an Italian house for a change. I have always wondered how the Italian house would compare to the American house; they do not differ very much at all, the big difference is that they speak Italian.
Even though the father was on his way home, the family decided to start dinner anyway. I was able to know a little bit about the family and relax some. Luckily, I also had Nicole; she was able to speak to them without a problem of nervousness or anything. Having her gave me a little room to think about what I wanted to ask or my input on certain topics. Soon after, Chiara’s father comes home and joins us at dinner table.
Throughout dinner, I learned quite a bit about my host family. My host’s name is Chiara and she is twenty-four years old. She and her family have been in Sansepolcro for a long time now but she and her sister, Marta, does not like it here because they said Sansepolcro is too small and they have been here for too long. Marta is Chiara's only sibling and is only eighteen years old. Marta attends the high school that Jenna goes to on Fridays and Chiara works around the corner at a clothing store. Their mother is a nurse and their father is a representative for Sansepolcro.
Since we were going to go to Matera this weekend, Nicole and I had asked about what it was like down south compared to Toscana. Chiara’s mother did not have much to say negatively about the city which was good to hear. She did tell us that the movie Passion of the Christ was filmed there and that it is a beautiful city and that we must visit it. This made me really excited because I had watched that movie and I cried my eyes out; I have always wanted to go see the place of filming for that movie.
Over all, they are a cute Italian family. They asked us a lot about how the American culture was, how we had liked Sansepolcro thus far, what we were studying, and where we have been in Italy. It was nice to have a gracious family to welcome us to the family bonding in an Italian culture. It was quite an exciting and wonderful experience. And I cannot wait until I get to see Matera for myself!

2009-11-07T08:37:00.000-08:00

It was early Saturday morning and I had to get ready for our little Science and Society excursion. The weather was cloudy and damp, but it was not raining at the time; it was also fairly cold because I could see my breath. On our way to Gubbio, the sky gets a bit foggy and hard to see.
On our way there, I noticed a part of the road that was covered in litter. Normally, the roads in Italy are clean and litter free, so I have no clue why this particular spot was littered on. Whoever did the littering must have no sense of cleanliness for our environment. It just seemed to be completely rude of them to trash the land that they live on. I understand that the United States is pretty trashy on the side of the roads and all but the trash is pretty evened out and not just in one spot of the road. But yet in Italy, the roads are all clean, except for this random spot out of nowhere; I just felt like I needed to get off the bus and clean it up, but that was not the case because we were headed to Gubbio.
Our first stop in Gubbio was the Mausoleum of the Dead 40. This mausoleum was a memorial in honor of the forty random people that were shot to death by the Germans. Of the forty, thirty-eight of them were men and two of them were women, a mother and her daughter. The ages of the men and women ranged from the youngest at seventeen and the oldest at sixty-one. Inside the mausoleum, there were the tombs and memorial of each person with their name and a picture of them. However, of the forty tombs, there was one tomb that only enclosed of a name and no picture was posted of the elderly gentleman. It was really touching to hear about the story of the forty martyrs and have one of our guests to be a son of one of the martyrs.
After the Mausoleum, the bus driver drove us into the center of the town for us to migrate off into. The first activity that we all wanted to do was to go on a lift into the tall part of Gubbio. The lift seemed to close for lunch so we all hurried our way towards it. We finally made it! It turns out that it was only five Euros to ride up and return, so I bought my ticket. My being afraid of heights, I had to find someone quick to ride with, so my riding partner was Jackie. As the toll lift came down and around, people had to ‘jump’ onto it because it does not stop, seeing that made me petrified of trying the lift. It was nauseating to be high up in the air but also jump on the lift, I was thinking in my head, “Yea, no thanks!” But soon, it was Jackie’s and my turn to get on. There were big red circles on the ground to show us where to ‘jump’ on at and Jackie went first. By seeing her jump on made me nervous because it meant that I was next. Here I go! “THUD!” and “CLICK!” was all I heard. It turns out that I made it safely and it was just my weight bearing on the lift and the click of the gate that I heard so there was nothing to worry about.
As I was up high in the sky, it was amazing to see all the scenery around me; as long as I did not look down, I was perfectly fine. I was in awe seeing almost all of Gubbio from above on the lift. It was as if I was daydreaming about the gorgeous scenery. As Jackie and I were getting close to the top, I was panicking about how I would get off because it seemed as if people were merrily jumping off. As we were getting closer, I knew it was time for me to turn around and face reality. At the top was a young man helping us get out and down from the lift, and he wasn’t too bad looking either, he was fairly cute! But back to reality, as I was led to jump off, I felt like I was going to fall flat on my face, but luckily the guy grabbed a hold of me and I was okay. I made it to the top!
It was an amazing sight up there; there are no photos that can do justice for what was seen that day. As we walked up to the church, in our good luck, there was a wedding going on at the time, just like our time in La Verna.
As we circled around the top, it was time to return back down to the center of the town before the men on duty of the lift closes off for lunch. Going down for me was a bit different. I am more scared of going down lifts where I can see as oppose to going up things that I cannot look down on. Luckily, I was with Jackie again and she jumped on first, so her height covered my ability to look over the edge and freak out. Like before, I started to panic about jumping off the lift. If I could choose, I would just stay on the lift until it stopped for me to get off, but this was not the case, it could not stop like that. I did not seem to panic as much as I did the first time just because I knew how it was to jump off the lift; it was just a matter of doing it again.
As we returned to the center of the town, we all wandered to find a nice but reasonable place for lunch. We ended up wandering for about half an hour to an hour; however, it was a nice way to enjoy the town. Half of the group went off by themselves and found other places to eat, and a few of us stuck with Dr. Webb and John Rose. As Dr. Webb would always say, “If you follow John Rose, you will never starve!” so that is what the rest of us ended up doing.

2009-10-16T02:15:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of Service Learning! I woke up around seven in the morning and was ready to leave around eight, eight fifteen. It was not a long walk to my school, but it was a cold, wind chilled morning. Since I was not exactly sure where my school was, Amanda had walked with me; and our schools are right beside each other as well. I was feeling very nervous the closer in distance I was to the school; but I was still very excited for finally being able to teach again since I am missing my classes in the United States while I am abroad. But hey, I am in Italy!
I arrived at Scuola Elementare C. Collodi and was in the main office at eight thirty on the dot. The secretary of the office had called Mariateresa Chieli, my teacher, to tell her that I had arrived, but she had not arrived just yet. Mariateresa comes walking in surprised to see me; although I had no clue why because I had met her beforehand. I guess I showed up a bit early for my service learning but according to her, it was all alright; it was just a little miscommunication between her, Sara, and me.
Right when Mariateresa arrived, we went straight to class talking and walking on the way there. Walking up to class was nerve wrecking for me because I was not sure if I would be able to communicate with the students or not. The door opened and all the students stared at me with curious faces. They all greeted me with a big “HELLO!” It was unexpected but also a very nice welcoming. Mariateresa had said that I made the class a bit nervous because I was so much different from them and they did not know how to react. Slowly the students got more comfortable with my being in the class and started to talk more. We started out the class with physical descriptions, of me. The cool thing was, according to Italians, I am fairly tall; it’s funny because all my life I have been called the short one, until now. Mariateresa seemed to describe people a little differently then how we would describe them; for example, we do not say someone has black eyes or ginger hair, instead we say brown or dark eyes and red hair. But in the end, all the students were fairly good at describing me. They all wrote down the description in their workbooks and even drew a picture of me! Some of the students even noticed my blue nails and drew that as well; these students were amazing artists, way better than me by far. After all the class was done, they all wanted me to write in their workbooks on how well they did. It was very nice to be admired by the students even though I have not known them long. Towards the end of the class, most of them made cards for me to take. It was the most precious thing they could do! I already cannot wait until next Friday for service learning.
This class had around twenty-four students with many names being repeated amongst the students. The students were around nine or ten years old. The students understood a lot more English than I had expected them to; their English was probably better than my Italian. I was very impressed.
My next class had bout twenty-four students as well but these students were a bit older; they were around eleven or twelve. With these students, I had about the same first reaction from them as I did with the first class. These kids impressed me even more than the first though because Mariateresa did not have to translate much for them. I was told to talk about myself a little for the kids to kind of get use to me and start talking. After a brief five minute introduction, I was ambushed by all the questions the class had for me. I answered one after another; and when the students had asked in Italian, I felt great to be able to understand them and immediate answer them correctly. I never realized how much Italian I have learned thus far, and to use it in everyday conversations helps me improve even more.
After about twenty minutes of answering questions, Mariateresa says “Basta! Enough!” So then Mariateresa started the lesson; and like the first class, we did a description of me as well, but not a physical one, just more like an introduction to who I was. My job was to draw myself and describe and introduce myself on the board in first person. Mariateresa said that first person was easier for the students to understand because the English third person was a little too complicated.
So far it was a great first day at the school. In my second class, I met Sophia, Margherita’s daughter; and it was nice that she recognized me. It was fun to let all the students describe me or ask me questions about myself. The most outrageous question that a student could ask me though, was “Do you have a fiancé?” That question shocked Mariateresa and me. It was a question that I never thought anyone; especially a student would ask me.
After the students had finish writing down their descriptions, they all asked for me to sign my name on their papers. It felt like I was really wanted among the students and that they really liked me. It was nice to feel like a role model for them and to know that they appreciated me. When I had to leave, I remember this one boy who sat in the front and was just so upset at the fact that I could not stay longer. He walked slowly with his head down back to his seat and thumped into it. It was the cutest but the saddest thing I ever saw. I just felt so bad and that I need to stay. Once the class found out that I was coming back next Friday, they were all so happy that words cannot justify their enthusiasms.
I was being warned by Mariateresa about her next class; she said that they are very obnoxious, rude, and very loud; she emphasized the “very.” This was also my last class for the day. It consisted of students around eight or nine years old; and there were about eighteen of them. These kids really were loud. The little boys acted as if they were the jokesters of the class; laughing and making jokes out of everything.
I was able to meet Mariateresa’s youngest daughter, Susanna. She was a character; sweet, smart, and welcoming. She was probably the only student that kept a conversation with me; all the other students were either too shy or too obnoxious. Since in this class the students were younger, they were on a lower level of English. For class, we talked about what I had liked and my basic information; like my age, my name, or my birthday.
Although this class was not my favorite, I still had a blast with them. The trick to making the students behave and settle down is to give them a cool prize afterward; so Mariateresa told all the students that if they settled down, are quiet, and stay in their seats that I would go around and sign my name in their notebooks or where ever they would like it. It was so funny to see all of the students shushing each other and sitting quietly until I went around. Some of the students asked me to sign my name in more than one place. Some of the students opened their planner to my birthday for me to sign. The students were so much calmer when they get a ‘prize’ for doing well.

2009-10-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

Chiara passed out our exams for her today; not the best but good enough for now I suppose. We went over the exam and its entirety. We also met our new Italian professor today. Her name is Francesca and so far she seems really nice and I think she will be able to do as well as Chiara. She helped us while we went over our test when Chiara was not able to. As we finished going over the test, Chiara passed out magazines to us for us to find a picture to describe for our oral portion of the exam. We had to be able to describe about what the people in the picture was wearing, where they were, their physical and emotional appearances, as well as their ages. Chiara and Francesca also asked me random questions about myself and how I had liked Italy thus far. After everyone had finished the oral part of the exam, a few of the girls brought in pastries and juices for us to have a little farewell party to Chiara. As a farewell gift, she was given a Meredith umbrella. She will be truly missed and hopefully Francesca is as good of a professor as Chiara is. But at least we get to see her for one more day for sure tomorrow in Perugia.
In Italy Today, we had a guest come talk to us about the Italian political party from the Democratic side of Italy. His name was Michele Boncompagni, and he is a secretary of the Democratic Party of Italy. It was interesting to learn about the more modern day politics of Italy. The earliest date he talked about was in 1991 when the Left Democratic Party was founded after the dissolution of the Italian Communist Party. Michele talked about politics up to today.
Well it’s time for me to pack for my weekend in Ferrara and Venice.

2009-10-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day! First off, I would like to say that we got an extension on our Art History term paper; instead, it is now due tomorrow morning as we board the bus to go to Florence.
In Italian class, we received our check test/pre-test today and it was not really that bad. I did not get an A or a B but in my opinion, average is okay for a preliminary test; it just means I need to study a little harder.
Lunch was nice today even though John Rose had left us to go show the trustees, faculties, and alumni around in another city with Dr. Bailey. Instead of John Rose sitting at the head of the table as always, Mr. Ed sat there. Everyone starts to pass all the food down to him and Jackie took a funny picture just for John Rose; the picture was quite funny but for John Rose’s sake, it was kind of cruel.
Before Art History had started, we were able to see Barbra set up all of her jewelry for the jewelry show and sale for the trustees, faculties, and alumni. We got a sneak peak for when we have time to buy her gorgeous work.
A package had arrived for Dr. Banker and Dr. Webb had asked me and Amanda to wrap it for her as a gift to him. We wrapped it all up neatly and I added a cute little bow on top in the Meredith ribbon colors. It was time for class. As class started, Dr. Swab, Mr. Ed, Chelsea, and Dr. Webb marched in with Dr. Banker’s gift. It turns out that the gift in the box was a set of books entitled Sassetta: the Borgo Sansepolcro Altarpiece: Volumes I and II; the Sansepolcro Altarpiece by Piero della Francesca was the one that Dr. Banker had found documents on and helped write this reference with a few other scholars. It was an important day for him. We were all so proud and lucky to have such a great history professor as well as his wife for our art part of the class.
After class, I had an hour to do as much homework as I could before the wine tasting had begun.
Here come all of the trustees, faculties, and alumni in the dining room for the tasting. It was very crowded but still fun nonetheless. There were snacks in between to add or heighten some taste of the wine. There were a total of three wines to taste; and according to our accountant/wine tasting host, there is a specific technique to taste wine. First, we were taught the correct way of holding a wine glass; who knew there was a wrong way. The correct way was to scissor the base of the glass at the bottom with a thumb on top to stable the glass. Apparently, the way we hold the glass is important because our host said that if we hold it at the bottom of the glass where the wine is, we would taste more like the soap on our hand then the actual taste of the wine. Then we were told to hold the glass of wine up to the light to see if the wine was clear and is not contaminated by any other substance. Next, we looked at the color of the wine. If it was white wine, the color varies from a slight green yellow color to amber. If it was red wine, the color varies between the hues of red from bright red to deep burgundy red. The color of the wine tells the age of the wine. Thirdly, we smelled the aroma of the wine to determine its contents; whether it contained flowers or fruits. When we smell the wine, it has to be a big sniff and normally it is the aroma of the first thing that came to mind. The first whiff was the most important so that the aroma does not disappear or gets dispersed throughout the room. Then we swirled the wine to see the consistency of it and to determine if there is a high alcohol content of a low one. The faster a leg drips the less alcohol it has to one that would drip slowly. The next step was to taste it! I am not so fond of wine, but I had fun tasting the different types and I had a lot of fun learning the techniques to a successful wine tasting. And the wine was not that bad either; they were actually pretty good for my taste. It was a lot of fun sitting in between “Double Trouble.” They were just a blast to converse with and their personalities were so much fun to have around. I will truly miss them.
It was time to get some more homework done before Dr. Jackson takes us girls out for gelato. As we walked around towards the Goblin, all the usual restaurants and stores were closed; even K Café was closed. As we got to the piazza, we then noticed that the Goblin was closed as well. Then we went to check the gelateria in front of the palazzo, and it too was closed. Since all these places were closed, we decided to go another day and we all headed home to finish up our homework.
Well it is time for me to finish my term paper for Art History and I can’t wait for Florence tomorrow!!!

2009-10-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

Today has been a busy, busy day. We have been cleaning and making sure everything is in order all morning. Today is the day that the trustees and alumni are coming so everything had to be in tip-top shape. We did various chores from mopping to dusting plant leaves. This is the start of the busiest weekend here in Sansepolcro.
The trustees, faculties, and alumni came around two o’clock. Dr. Webb had to reserve a bus for them because there were so many people; they all stayed in three different hotels. I was in the group to go to Porta Romana to pick up the trustees, faculties, and alumni to take them to their hotel, Palazzo Magi. Off the bus came Mrs. Mary Louise and Mrs. Jean with open arms. I did not understand why at first, but then they had asked if I am the niece of Kim; it all made much more sense. They both gave me a big hug and gave me a gift from my aunt and my cousins. It was the sweetest thing that the two women could have done for my aunt and my cousins. Right after them, Mrs. Ann comes and gives me a big hug as well. She happens to know my grandparents through their church and said that she remembers when I was wee tall. The next couple who spoke to me was Dr. Allen Page and his wife, Barbra Page. I could not remember meeting Mrs. Barbra before today, but of course I knew Dr. Allen Page. They have known my grandparents since I was young as well. It was gracious of them to bring a gift to me from my grandparents. I am very glad to have received index cards, to study Italian, and after bite repellant, because I have received many of those lately. It was just overwhelming and joyful to be able to meet everyone. The only odd thing is that I now hear both of my names and it takes a little bit of adjusting too because only my grandparents call me by my American name; but it’s all good.
After we had gotten every trustee and alumni settled in his or her hotel, we went back to the palazzo to add finishing touches, have a quick lunch or snack, and get tote bags and maps all organized and ready to be passed out to all the visitors. The tote bags were specialized with the study abroad advertisement of Sansepolcro. There were enough totes so that all of the students who live in the palazzo were able to get one as well. Then it was three; time to regroup everyone and take them to the palazzo for a small open house and acquaintance.
As we returned all of the guests to the palazzo, the house tours began. Everyone greatly got acquainted with others and had a lot of side chattiness. Everyone seemed so blessed to be in Sansepolcro for the start of new Meredith history. After our little get together, we had a little break before we headed off up the mountains for an afternoon trip.
It was time to go to Montecasale! Montecasale was Saint Francis’s favorite monastery located a little bit up the mountain and is about twenty minutes from where we call home. This place had great scenery and was very calming. Once we got off the bus, all that was around us were cats, birds, and a few dogs. Saint Francis was a patron saint of animals. We were gladly accompanied there by Sara and her father, Luigi Andreini (aka Gigi). Gigi knew almost everything there is to know about Saint Francis. Gigi was our tour guide for the day. We were able to see where Saint Francis had slept as well as some of his friars; Saint Francis’s bed was a high up pile of rocks. I was amazed by how he could withstand such bad conditions; but some of his philosophies were to do what Jesus had done for the people or do in return of what Jesus had done for us. Everything at the Montecasale Monastery was interesting in so many ways. Every now and then, we were joined by one of the Franciscan friars. He was just about the cutest person ever with a height almost exactly like mine. (I learned that everyone back then were pretty short.) I was lucky enough to be able to take a picture with Friar-Nicolas; I was just as surprised as John Rose was about Friar-Nicolas saying that it was okay to take a picture with him. Afterwards, he showed a few of us the garden of where the friars plant their own fruits and vegetables. At that moment, the sun started to set behind the mountains and it was gorgeous. Then it was time to head back down within the walls of Sansepolcro.
Once we got back, the trustees, faculties and alumni had a short little break and were headed off to dinner at Fiorentino Ristorante with Dr. Webb and John Rose. While they had dinner, Dr. Webb supplied us with delicious pizzas.
The main thing that we girls had left to do was to rest up for the full and busy Sunday we had in stored for us.
Bounanotte!

2009-09-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I kept waking up this morning in increments of about every fifteen minutes since six. I guess it was meant for me to wake up instead of lying in bed. I finally got up at eight.
At around eleven, we found out that the some of us who stayed this weekend were able to go to Citta di Castello for the day. I was thrilled because I heard it was a small but dainty city.
We weren’t all quite sure at what time we were leaving until all of a sudden Dr. Webb comes in asking if we were going to go; then we all fled out the door. We ran down to the bus station for Jen and me to buy our tickets, but it was too late so Mr. John Rose let us use his and Dr. Webb’s.
Citta di Castello was a fairly close city; we got there in less than an hour. When we arrived, the first thing we always do is check the bus schedule to see when would be the right time to leave. After that, I had to go buy tickets to return to Sansepolcro for me and Mr. John Rose and Jen had to buy two tickets, for her and Dr. Webb. It was lovely to be able to speak in Italian and have the saleslady understand me.
The next thing was for us to find the Information Office. Luckily that morning, I glanced at a map of the city and had a slight clue of where it was; but to be sure, I went back to the saleslady and asked her for directions, in Italian! We arrived to the information station shortly after. We were all able to get maps of the city.
Since today was Saturday, there was a big market out in the main piazza. The market had just about everything from clothes to raw food; but for some reason, this market closed a lot later than the one in Sansepolcro.
As the market came to a close, it was time to meet up with Dr. Webb, Mr. John Rose, and Mrs. Mary Susan for lunch. On our way to meet them, we also saw Bekah and Chelsea a well; they joined us for lunch too. Our lunch was probably the first ‘Italian timed’ lunch I’ve had. All of my lunches usually last no more than an hour, but his lunch lasted almost two! After lunch, there were not many places open because of their closed hours from one to four in the afternoon. Instead, the “ragazze” walked around the city to a lovely church. This church used great accents of gold to bring out their sculptures, frames, and a few of their paintings.
In the side chapel of the church, it looked like someone just had a wedding. Everything was decorated with cal lilies and lacey ribbons. This church, or any church in Italy, would be perfect for a wedding.
The church had such great detailing in all of its frescos. There were domes after domes covered in artwork. The main dome in the church, right above the altar table, was painted with many people. The people seemed to be rejoicing in a blissful occasion. By looking at the painting as a whole, it just made me want to smile. Everyone in the fresco seemed to be connected in some way or another.
After walking around the church, we left. As we walked out the door, there was an exquisite park on the opposite side; it looked as if it was waiting for us. It was a regular ‘fun day’ in the park; I have not had one of these days since I was in grade school. It was nice to be reminded of old memories. In the center was a statue of Vittorio Emanuele II, the King of Piemonte and the King of Italy in areas where the Pope was absent. All around him were trees of great heights to cover for shade and gives the park a calm feel. We felt like little kids running around the park taking pictures. There was a wall on one of the outsides that was pretty far up. But the wall was so thick that we saw a few people sun bathing and napping on it. I would be scared to fall; but all of us jumped on the wall and took pictures. There was such a beautiful backdrop that it was hard not to take pictures.
We all left around four because Dr. Webb and Mr. John Rose had an appointment with the Belgians for tea at our palazzo. It turns out that the Belgians had stood them up; no one arrived or called.
It was getting late, so Dr. Webb and Mr. John Rose figured that the Belgians blew them off. All the girls decided to go to the cinema to watch an Italian movie!
It’s almost movie time! Ciao!

The cinema was incredible; it was named the Teatro Dante. It looked like it was from an old movie. There were four stories of ‘boxes’ for us to sit in and there were also chairs on the ground in the middle like any other theater. Everything was bright velvet red. The ceiling had an elegant chandelier in the middle of gold and crystals and all around it were painted flowers and borders. It looked like one of the theaters that you would watch black and white movies at. We were lucky to get such a perfect box. The movie was at eye level and straight ahead. There was no need to left my head up high or stick my head down low.
The movie was a cute comedic romance. We watched The Proposal in Italian! It was titled Ricatto d’Amore, which Bekah said means a love contract. The movie was just as good in Italian as it was in English. It could not have been better. I wish you all were there to see it!

2009-09-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

We learned a lot of new vocabulary today in Italian! We can all now label our classrooms and our bedrooms. I’m glad that the class is learning new stuff rather than learn the same thing over and over again. We got to run around the classroom and the bedrooms to label everything; this way, we would gradually remember all of the vocabulary.
In Travel to Learn, we learned more about our upcoming travel to Florence and what to expect as a tourist. Dr. Webb got all of us a really nice hotel to stay in, too nice according to Mr. John Rose. We will all travel there together, but to better know or learn our sense of directions, we have to find our ways back to Sansepolcro. I can’t wait till next weekend!
There was a crowd for Margherita today. It was a fairly full table for lunch. We had numerous guests, one lady from Sansepolcro, one couple from the Netherlands, two of the Professor Bankers, and Mrs. Mary Susan. It was interesting to hear stories from all over. It was quite a treat.

For Art History, we went to Arezzo. Who in Art History can say that they traveled around Italy for class? We can!! We went to study more about the frescos painted by the wonderful Piero della Francesca. He was amazing at what he did. Too bad I can’t show you because we were not allowed to take pictures. In the church, in the very back behind the altar piece were the paintings of the “Legend of the True Cross.” It was great to see it on paper but to see it in real life, it was remarkable! No words can really explain what we were lucky enough to see; but I’ll try to describe it.
There are ten frescos put together in a complicated order. The first one was in the top right corner and was a depiction of the death of Adam. A few pieces of the fresco were gone but the painting itself was fairly straight forward, nothing to explain except the fact that the painting was divided in half by a tree painted in the middle. On the right of the tree was Adam on the ground being fed the “seed of knowledge” that his son found for him. On the left of the tree was Adam dying; he being was surrounded by a crowd of people. In the far back of the fresco, just to the right of the tree, were two angels, I guess overlooking to see what was going on.
The second painting was right underneath the death of Adam. This fresco was split into two as well by a pillar. On the left, Piero did a painting of the wood, the one that will be made for the cross of Jesus, adored by the Queen of Sheba. And on the right was the meeting of Soloman and the Queen of Sheba.
The third painting was just to the left of the second. This painting showed the burial of the wood.
The forth painting was just below the third. This painting was about Constantine’s dream. Constantine was the general of Rome and he was going to be in a battle with Maxentius in about 1311. Constantine dreamt that an angel came down and told him that his men will not kill a single person and that he will win the battle that way; and the angel gave him a lit symbol of the cross. There was a miraculous mystery behind the stars in this painting. The stars are known to be the exact arrangement from the sky in 1463 at that same exact location. The only difference was that it was a mirror image of the sky. There is no proven belief to why Piero painted the sky this way.
The fifth painting was to the right of the forth, which is also right under the second painting. This painting was described as the Battle of Mialein Bridge, which was the battle between Constantine and Maxentius. As described in the forth painting about Constantine’s dream, Constantine did as he was told. At the battle, Constantine and his men did not kill a single person. Constantine held the lit symbol of the cross that the angel gave him and he ran Maxentius and his men down the Tiber River; and Maxentius and his men drowned.
The sixth painting was to the left of the third one. The painting was a depiction of the tormenting of the Jews. In this painting, the Jews were represented by Judias. He was being tormented because he seemed to know where the original cross of Jesus was but he would not tell anyone. The men of Constantine tormented the day lights out of Judias, and still he did not tell them. Constantine wanted the original cross to make Christianity the main and only religion in Rome. Judias being Jewish did not wish for Constantine’s plan to succeed.
The seventh painting was to the left of the sixth painting. This painting is described as the discovery and proof of the true cross. The Romans finally found three crosses, but they did not know which one was the “right” one. As you can tell in the painting, the Romans found the true cross by waving it over a dead man and the man was then alive again. If you look in the far back left side of the fresco, it is a painting of Arezzo.
The eighth painting was right below the seventh. This scenery told the story of the Battle of Heraclius, the Emperor of Rome, and Chosroes. If you look closely, there seems to have one man looking straight at the viewer. This painting shows a great deal of foreshortening, overlapping, contrast, and balance.
The ninth painting was above the seventh painting. This painting portrayed the exaltation of the cross. The painting shows when Christianity became the main religion.
The tenth, and the final painting was below the sixth painting, which was also in between the forth and the eighth painting. This painting is known as one of the stages of the annunciation. The painting shows that there is a pillar splitting the painting in two. The Virgin Mary is on the right being approached by the archangel on the left of the pillar. In the top left corner, there is a depiction of God. Looking closely at all the frescos together, there are two of the same faces, God in the annunciation painting and the surrendered King in the painting of the Battle of Heraclius and Chosroes, the eighth painting. No one knows exactly why Piero did this but it was “bold” according to scholars because who would ever depict the image of God in one painting and in another, the face of God as a failure. I believe that he was illustrated this way to show him as a “person;” people have their ups and downs in life but that should never stop them from anything.
The Church of Piero della Francesca, in Arezzo, was a great way to see up close, some of the works of Piero. I learned quite a lot from just this one church. It was incredible to see the frescos in person. The people in the paintings were just about as tall as I am. The fresco was a sight that just has to be seen by everyone.

After the church, we left on the latest bus to go back to Sansepolcro for the city balestra; it was against Porta Romana and Porta Florentina. The “Balestra” is a competition involving crossbows.
Amanda and I came a tad bit late, so every seat was taking and still hundreds of people were left standing or squeezing themselves through others just to see what was going on. Luckily, I found a great spot where we were almost front row; the only problem was that it was Porta Romana all around us. It was still okay because we still cheered for Porta Florentina.
The balestra was amazing! We are Porta Florentina (because our side of the city leads to Florence). It was such a tight competition. These men were amazing at shooting crossbows as if they were born to do so. It was a sight to see for yourself; something that is just unexplainable. The crowd was so spirited and had great pride and joy for its side. The shooters went one-by-one. First one side and then the other, and then judging time to see which side got closest to the center. There were about eleven rounds total. It was such a close game; the sides were almost always at a tie. Luckily, or skillfully, Porta Florentina won!!

2009-09-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Perugia by train and we left around 10 in the morning. We all learned that you should buy tickets before hand and not wait to buy them because some places with tickets would be closed. Almost everything is closed on Sundays. The train ride knocked almost everyone to sleep; especially considering the fact that we just woke up a bit before.
It took us about an hour and a half to get there. Perugia is where our Italian professor is from. There happened to be a market on the day we were going. There were vendors covering the main street selling from balloons to purses to food. Luckily Prof.ssa Chiara gave us brochures and maps beforehand so that we pretty much knew where we were going and how we would get there.
Hannah and I wandered off finding a place to eat. We were surrounded by American tourists everywhere. It got really annoying to actually hear the fact that according to Mr. John Rose, Americans say “like” way too much. We got fed up and left.
We start wandering off and looking for places and stores to go to; but everything was closed. We got lost many times and ended up in weird alleys with sketchy men. Luckily we left early with the rest of the ragazze and came home on the early train.
The one thing that we would all love to come back for would be the European Chocolate Festival in late October.
We came back, did homework, walked around, and now are about to watch Dark Knight. Buonasera!

2009-09-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning refreshed and ready for travel. We departed Sansepolcro by bus around 9:15 to go to Anghiari. Anghiari was beautiful! We walked around everywhere to learn more about the place. Anghiari was so calming that it was recommended for us to escape here to study or to just take a short break from the palazzo. Although there were hills everywhere, everything we saw was too picture-perfect. I ended up taking most of my pictures for the day here. We spent about an hour or two here and went back to the bus stop to head out for Arezzo.

At the bus stop, we met two elder ladies who had family that fought in the war or who were in the holocaust; it was a quite interesting.

As for the bus, it was late; I guess it was running on Italian time… this bus was overly crowded. It was so rude to be stereotyped or judged as I was going to my seat. The four obnoxious Italian guys were singing some song calling me Filipino. I loved the fact that they did not even bother to ask my nationality.

Well the bus ride was about an hour and a half of scenery watching. It was insanely beautiful. We reached our Arezzo around noon. We learned that the first thing we do once we reach our destination is to check the bus schedule to see when a bus will take us back to Sansepolcro. After that, we were to find the “Information Office” to get a map of the city in case we needed directions or got lost.

There was a great antique show near the cathedral in Arezzo. We all walked through in different groups just wondering around to see what we could find. The antique fair here was by far better than one in Raleigh. There were so many things and such great history behind each of them. I was astounding to see what others collected over time.

Well it got smoldering hot and we were all sweating out of our clothes. We went in to a few clothing stores to look around and cool down. There was no where around here that had air condition. We found a cute clothing store with pretty modern clothes for a fairly good price. I got a cute plaid skirt for only 7 euros.

A few of us decided to go back on an earlier bus ride back to Sansepolcro. So then we were just trying to kill time before our bus came. We left around 3:35. We wanted to come back because we were tired and I wanted to rest before our city “Balestra.” The balestra is a competition involving crossbows if you didn’t know.
Well it's nap time before the pre-Balestra

2009-09-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

Oggì è vernerdì.

Today was an okay Italian class. We studied all class. Therefore there is not much to say except I have to study for the Italian Check Test on Monday... we’ll see how that goes.

After class, a few of us went to the bus station to buy our tickets for tomorrow’s trip (Anghiari and Arezzo). I got to ask for them in Italian!! I was so happy that she understood me.

Posso comprare tre biligetti, uno da Sansepolcro a Anghiari, uno da Anghiari a Arezzo, e uno da Arezzo a Sansepolcro per favore.

I could not have been more proud of myself for using what I learned to real life experience.

After lunch, a few of us went to the post office to turn in our permeso, and again I used Italian small talk to get the lady to understand me. It all worked! Now we just have to wait and go to the police station to finalize our stay in Sansepolcro.

Since all went well, I went shopping with a few friends! ;)

Everyone was able to find something which was great!

I bought a purple dress and a grey shirt that came with a necklace.

For dinner, Jen and I went a little outside the walls and ate at a nearby restaurant. It was delicious, but nothing compares to what Margherita spoils us with. While we were eating, a British man, of mid-twenties we believe, walks up and introduces himself to us. Jen was in awe of his accent so I ended up doing all the talking. We invited us to his friends bar for drinks.

After coming back to the palazzo from dinner, the British man had mentioned knowing John Rose and Dr. Webb, so of course I asked Dr. Webb who he was. From the sound of her description of him, he sounded very sketch. That was a No-No; so instead we went on the nightly “passagiata.”

Well it’s about time for bed. BUONANOTTE

2009-09-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Oggi è giovedì. Today in Italian class we learned about job occupations and how to ask for contact information.
In our Italy Toady class was awesome! The mayor of Sansepolcro, Prof. Franco Polcri, came in to talk to us about some history of Sansepolcro. He was very interesting; he has been to the United States twice. Prof. Polcri speaks Italian and French; English is very difficult for him. Before becoming a mayor, he taught literature and history in high school. Prof. Polcri wrote a book about the Accademia olegi Sbalzati found here in the Palazzo Alberti. The Accademia was a place used to be for poets to recite there poems to others. After the Alberti family moved out of the palazzo, the Accademia moved as well. The palazzo was used for many things since then. First it was used for the Alberti house; then it went from being for the people in the town to use for the study of Piero della Francesca. Near the end, it became a place to gamble. But today, it is a place of culture and knowledge for the Meredith College abroad (and a few other businesses on the ground floor as well).
The Alberti family was a known as one of the ‘greats’ in Sansepolcro. Everyone had great respects for them. They were a big family of artists; eighteen of them to be exact. Some worked for the pope in Rome and painted gorgeous frescos that I will have to see soon. In the palazzo here, there is a beautiful fresco in the Sala della Fama, which is a room of importance where they have meetings for the town sometimes. The fresco was painted by Cheubino Alberti and it consisted of two angels wrapped in a long wide ribbon like fabric. His use of vivid colors brightens the room entirely. I will take a picture of it as soon as possible.

Well that’s enough for now =]
Ciao!

2009-09-02T01:20:00.000-07:00

It was such a long night last night. I did not finish talking to my family on Skype until about 3 o’clock this morning. I was glad I was able to see everyone even though it was pretty late. I miss them dearly and have been frequently home sick. I hope some traveling will help me ease out of that phase. Having a great big tummy ache did not help me to sleep either. I pretty much stayed up until 4 or 5 in the morning. I am well aware that lack of sleep is not healthy but it’s just too hard to sleep sometimes. The people in Sansepolcro don't even go home until about 2 in the morning.
We learned our numbers in Italian today. We can count up to a few billion. I still can’t help but use either Spanish or French when I’m speaking Italian. I am really trying hard to break this habit. I hope it works.
In Learn to Travel, we found out that Dr. Webb has planned our travels for this weekend as a whole group. We are going to go the Anghiari, then Arezzo, and then back to Sansepolcro. I cannot wait to travel outside our city walls. The only thing we have to do is buy our tickets, in Italian!
Art History today was beyond amazing! As a class, we went to the Museo di Sansepolcro. I was amazed by all the neat art works they had. Back then, Italians were more known for painting frescos than anything else. I just hope that I can paint like that one day. I felt so good about art today that I started a drawing myself; it’s an angel sculpture from one of the churches we were lucky enough to see.
After the museum, we went to go see Signor Andreini, Prof.ssa Sara’s father. He showed us a lovely church called the Church of San Francesco. Signor Andreini was marvelous with all the facts that he was able to share with us. It was very interesting to know an Italian perspective of my religion. It was so cool to see what other people were not able to see.
We got to go under the church altar in a room where Berti Reniari was kept in a casket. He was a great man of his time. Everyone knew him and spoke greatly of him. He was almost a saint; that’s how important he was. He has been at the Church of San Francesco for seven hundred and five or so years now. Two or three years ago, someone had snuck down to the casket, pried it open and oddly, stole his right arm! No one really knows why but they think it’s because people believed that having the bones or remains of a highly respectable catholic, saint, or clergy men was good for the soul. They believed that the remains will help them in the long run.
Today was one of the best days ever here so far!

Arrivederci!

2009-09-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

Today was interesting and long; probably the longest day here so far. Everyone was out if it and tired. I, myself was really pooped. There were many things that happened today though even though not all of them were as fun as previous days here.
In Italian class, I learned to say the date and the days of the week!
Che giorno è oggi?
Oggi è martedì il primo di settembre.

In our Italy Today class with Prof.ssa Sara, we learned about the up comings of Sansepolcro and how it became a city. It was quite interesting to know that Sansepolcro means “Christ’s Tomb” in Italian. We were told to take certain pictures within the city walls that give evidence to the history that we’ve learned thus far. Everything has been so intriguing. I hope we are able to learn more about the Italian culture and way of life.
Lunch was awesome as always. We had pasta in tomato paste, artichoke heart, cucumber and tomato salad, and sliced pork. Don’t you wish you were us?
We had our first ‘community meeting’ as the Meredith group community. We talked about our arrangements here at the palazzo and a contractual agreement as members of the community. The contract consisted of courtesy, boy hours, and personal time.
We did not go out for dinner; instead we ate leftovers.
Around 7:30 pm was our Learn to Travel Lab part of the course. It lasted for almost two hours. We talked more about knowing where we would want to go and how we would do so. It is very important to plan ahead what we are doing so that we are not delayed in any way that would mess up our travels. It’s nice to know that we get to try out our travel experiences first as a group with Dr. Webb and Mr. John Rose. I am hoping to learn a lot from them.
After our meeting, we girls decided to go out for some gelato…
I learned the hard way that I should lay off the dairy considering the fact that I am lactose intolerant. It still hurts painfully right now as well.

Well it’s time to Skype my family. Ciao!

2009-08-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

It’s been almost a week now. We’ve mainly stayed only in Sansepolcro. It has been fun learning the ins and outs of this gorgeous city. So far, today consisted of Italian class with Prof.ssa Chiara, Learn to Travel with Dr. Webb, a delightful lunch prepared by Margherita, and an introduction to Art History with both Prof. and Prof.ssa Banker.
My Italian has gotten a lot better than when I started. For some reason, I keep using my Spanish pronunciation and my Spanish words into Italian. It was good that we learned how to pronounce words and where to put the stress or the emphasis on each; but it was rather tedious.
In our Learn to Travel class, we had to summarize the whereabouts of our travels. So far Jenna and I have picked my tourist sites but gorgeous cities. I cannot wait to start traveling and using what I learned to explore this great country.
Margherita keeps surprising us with special lunches. All of our lunches here are three course meals! And she is a great cook by far; but will never beat my parents. At the rate of her cookings, I will need to walk a lot more often.
So today was the first day of Art History. It was so fascinating to learn the art had such a great impact on Italian history. This class was amazing and interesting; it made the class go by a lot faster even though it was a three hour class.

Well I’m off to go eat gelato!
Ciao for now!

2009-08-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

We finally landed in Rome around 10:11 AM
The airport was pretty crowded and very hot. We had to wait a little while to get our baggage because we had such a full flight. Once we all finished, we went out to the entrance and found Dr. Betty Webb and Mr. John Rose.
From there we had to take a train to the main train station; the ride was a little less than an hour. The outskirts of Rome were a lot different from tourist pictures or the normal everyday pictures you see when you think of Rome. There were lots of gardens in people’s backyards and a lot of graffiti everywhere. I didn’t even think it was Rome.
At the main train station (still being in Rome) was HUGE. We had to wait there for about 2 hours until our train that goes to Arezzo arrived. It was long hot and agonizing.
Once our train arrived, we all rushed with about 15 suitcases dragged behind us. The train was so refreshingly cool for only a little bit. Once we were settled, the ac was turned off and it was hot and humid as ever, but bearable. Most of us had fallen asleep even before the train was in motion. The ride took almost 2 hours.
After we had reached Arezzo, we then took a bus to the walls of Sansepolcro. The bus ride was wonderful. The first thing I seemed to notice was the ac that we had; it made us all very happy. There was gorgeous scenery on the whole ride there.
Once we arrived, we were all greeted ecstatically by Amanda and Nicole (came a few days earlier into London and Rome). They helped us all with our suitcases and their hyper enthusiasm.
The palazzo was breath taking! Everything was even more gorgeous than the ride here. Dr. Betty Webb soon gave us a tour of the palazzo. The accommodations were far too good for Meredith students. Everything was newly furnished and put together by some of our staffs.
I ended up choosing a room by the main street with my roommate, Jenna. It had five twin size beds, five night stands, and five wardrobes coordinated to a calming cream finish. Obviously with only two of us, there are three empty beds; but it all worked out for the better. Almost every room had only two students with about one, two or three empty beds. With Jenna’s and my stuff, we each get a bed to sleep in and a bed for whatever.
Our room can get very loud at night with all the ruckus from Main Street, but closing our windows is a no-no. We just love the business of the small rural town. Leaving the windows open gives our room a nice airy breeze instead of a stuffy mask of air; especially since today is rather hot.
Within thirty minutes of unpacking and calming down, Margherita (our chef) cooked us a great dinner with her assistant, Alessandra. Our first home cooked Italian meal! It was a wonderful three course dinner; pasta sired in green basil and garlic cream I think. We also had salad and a meal entrée that I cannot seem to think of but everything was delicious.
During our dinner, we were happily interrupted by a lovely couple singing opera from the bottom of the steps. The echo up the stairs just wanted to give us chills. They were amazing and we all then got a slap in the face that we were finally in Italy!

2009-08-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

11:00 AM left the house to go to RDU airport
Waited for everyone to arrive to check in (Samantha, Chelsea, Hannah, Jackie, and Bekkah)
Leave RDU at 2:15 PM
Arrive into Washington Dulles around 3:45 PM
Met up with Jennifer (flew from Atlanta) and Lauren (flew from Nashville)
Initially we were supposed to leave Dulles at 6:18 PM, but the plane had an emergency signal malfunction. We were on the plane for three hours before we left for Rome, Italy.
The plane ride was an interesting one. I never knew a plane could go so fast; it reached up to around 800 mph and an altitude of 37000 ft. It was nice to be able to see all of that from my seat.
As always, I felt extremely nauseated many times; especially during takeoff and landing.