you'd be a work of art

Last night we mourned properly by watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (good thing I brought it) and eating Mike n' Ikes. Had I been in the states it would have been Cool Hand Luke and balsamic vinegar. Nonetheless, it was good enough for me because...

I dreamed I was Paul Newman!! Well, not him, but one of his rebel characters. I kept escaping from the police, or jail, or other things. And then I got caught and they put handcuffs on me and I said, "Chains? Oh, I can break out of chains?" And I broke through them.

I felt really cool when I woke up.

Except I really think my bed is going to collapse everytime I wake up/move.

Yesterday after dinner we chatted with our host sister Virgi(nia) and she asked us about Speed Dating, because she heard they do it in America, haha.

I've gotta learn this language.

So yesterday I thought I had a midterm but I didn't and I really have no idea what's going on in my class...ever.

I've got heartburn and Paul Newman's death on my mind.
Can't post properly at the moment.

It's a sad day.
And we may be going to Greece instead of Switzerland.

Thought-provoking thoughts...of thoughtfulness.

Being Italy has given me time away from the business of the world and the drama of various things and it has provided me with a lot of time to think.

And here are some things I've thought about:

1. What is Art? (Peter asks us everyday)
2. If I fell in the forest and no one was there to hear it...Who pushed me?
3. What can I do to get this nice Mediteranean tan all year long?
4. If Ben Folds, Ben Lee, and Ben Kweller joined forces...Would it be the most amazing thing ever? (Oh wait, that did happen, and it was, but didn't last...sad day)
5. Why are people obsessed with pirates? (they're dirty and get scurvy and kill people)
6. Does time exist if I don't own a watch?
7. What makes people fall in love?
8. Why was my host family talking for so long about a public restroom at the dinner table?
9. If I die of secondhand smoke as a result of this trip, was it worth it? (always yes)
10. If Alessandro, our Humanities teacher, is fluent in about six languages why aren't I?

for real.

Hey blog.

Turns out it’s a lot easier to write in you when I’m at home with nothing to do, than in that small amount of time that I have internet and am distracted by other things.

Today Elizabeth and I woke up to a good song. Mostly, it’s a good song because the first time I heard it was when Lena is running to Kostos (finally!)…In a very important part of a very dear movie. Everybody’s talking how I can’t can’t be your love but I want want want to be your love, want to be your love for real.

I can’t believe September is almost over, but I also can’t believe I have over two months still. I have absolutely NO concept of time here...I don't own a watch and I can't keep track of what day it is. I go to bed sometime around 11 and wake up sometime around 7-8. Sharlie and I were commenting that we might be developing good habits, what a shame.

I kind of wish I didn’t have to communicate in English at all. Because I’m no good at it and it is far too complicated to switch back and forth.

So I just got done with my first solo dinner (perche le altre tre hanno clase mercoledi tra 5-9) and I thought I’d be good and have a go get ‘em chat-it-up attitude. But instead I just said about two words and nodded once in a while.
Failure.

Ma, prendo un’A sull mio esame orale oggi!! Brava io!!

Also, it was okay, because the cat joined us at the dinner table this evening.

Bought myself a Christmas present today, on accident, because she asked if I wanted it wrapped, but I didn’t know that’s what she said, so I just said yes. So, good thing she didn’t say, “do you not want your change back?”


“So you think tourist season will ever be over?”
“Well I noticed when the summer is over the old people come out.”

And they are out. I have to navigate through groups of them on my way to school, they walk slowly and have every visible sign of tourists. The fanny packs, cameras out, maps out, following a tour guide, backpacks worn in front, and today I saw a group and started to shake my head in amusement…but then I stopped mid-shake.

These people are probably fulfilling lifelong dreams. Maybe they spent their lives working and raising kids and just now got a chance to take a break to explore the world. Or maybe they’ve been here before and couldn’t wait to see the familiar places once more. And suddenly all their dorky outfits were wonderfully inspiring. They are following their hearts the best they know how. I am so lucky to be here. And even if they are hard to navigate when I’m late for school and they look ridiculous following someone with a flower on a stick, I’m glad they’re here too.

Art is making my head hurt worse than the Italian...I just don't want to spend hours and hours sitting in a poorly lit museum trying to make something by only shading. It's not my thing...It's some people's thing, but not mine. I'd rather take a photograph of the thing or draw a loose interpretation of it in sidewalk chalk. That's my thing.

Reasons

Reasons I am Happy Right Now:

Last night we had amazing potatoes!! They reminded me of the Indian food I have been missing oh so much. Tears of joy filled my eyes and I almost ate way too much.
But it gets better, to top it off we had ricotta cheese that I had been wanting/daydreaming about also!!
And our wonderful host mother wasn’t even mad we were a little late (because we had been doing Genealogical work at the Church) and told us we were having Gnocchi for “ranch tomorrow” …her attempt at English was appreciated, nonetheless and we all laughed together when we realized what she was talking about. Lunch and ranch basically mean the same thing anyway. And gnocchi is the best…con formaggii!!
She also made me an omelet because I don’t eat meat, she is the sweetest.
And to top off her sweetness factor I climb the stairs to our balcony-room and discover a HUGE comforter on my bed!!! Now, a lot of people have been freezing lately…Personally, I’m overjoyed that it’s cooled off. So even though it was too hot to use it last night, I slept on top of it and way really, really happy. Because it’s really thick…and has Mickey Mouse on it. Which kind of makes up for not having 102 Dalmatian sheets like Alyssa and Kendis have.
AND they have the book I have to read in Italian in English in this one bookstore which would be AMAZINGLY helpful because I try going through it and understanding, but I can’t because it doesn’t translate normally, because they don’t speak/write what they teach us in school. I spent about two hours on ten pages yesterday and still don’t understand it.
I had one of those dreams last night where everything goes how you want it too and you wake up all happy (though slightly disappointed it wasn’t real) and those happy feelings are lingering.
Also they have really good hot chocolate in these machines at school. For only fiddy cents.
And yesterday we found really good pizza/panini place.
And Kendis and Alyssa asked about hot showers and that all got fixed (still cold, but not freezing).

Reasons Why I am Less Than Happy Right Now

I feel lame. I’m always tired and sickish feeling. Yesterday I had a sore throat that luckily went away. But I don’t feel up to making any plans for weekend trips or any decisions about anything and I want to just sleep all day, but then I remember I’m in Italy and so I go out anyway.
I am covered in hives (or something) and have no idea why. They’re scattered all over my feet and there are a few on my arms and one on my face and all up my legs. I can’t figure out what it is. If it’s an allergic reaction it could be to anything because everything is new here. But they itch and are ugly and it sucks.
So. Much. Homework. I get about a million pages a day in Italian, not to mention the book that makes no sense. Humanities just doesn’t make much sense because BYU told him what to teach and I don’t think he’s ever done it that way before. Drawing is alright, but Peter is all professional and thinks harsh criticism will make us stronger. And my religion class is just a lot of reading…which is what online classes are, I suppose.
I want to know Italian!! I am trying. And failing. And I have an oral exam Wednesday (not that everyday isn’t an oral exam, but this one is being graded) and I just don’t ever know how to say what I want. I need to know more vocab.
Also, everyone else’s Wednesday class got moved so they’re going to the sweet market that only goes on Wednesday mornings…all three Italian classes that I’m not in got moved…but not mine.
The school is closed in the evening’s and weekends so I have to pay if I ever want to talk to someone at normal hours for them.

But there are always more reasons to be happy than sad.
.
Always.

Today was the Porcupine contrada’s celebration…thing. But it really made no sense because there were a couple places where everything was in French. Quoi?
And then there was a debutant ball type thing.
And people pretending to be policemen.
And a train that kept going around and around.
And people in pioneer-like clothing.
And I’m sure if we’d stayed out later there would have been a lot of drunk people.

So I’d like to point out that I cheated and read the book I’m reading for Italian in English…And it STILL didn’t make sense. So I’m not so horrible at Italian, they really were talking about eating fried brains on windowsills and wasps curing diseases.

And I realized I kind of really love editing movies.
Which I really am not sure how that makes me feel.

I’m sick…and I get really pathetic when I get sick…so make it go away please.

It’s amazing how life can look completely horrible and complicated and undefeatable one minute. And then you take a break to make some fig gelato, and eat way too many, and life/homework doesn’t look quite so horribly terrible anymore. But I’d still like to not be sick. And to be fluent in Italian…that’s not so much, is it?

forgot to mention we had panini at a place with interesting things. i had a goat cheese and sun-dried tomato sandwich and Kimberly had a boar salami one.

i think i'm getting sick, but i'm trying to fight it.

used a blanket for the first time here last night.

took a bunch of vid clips and hopefully i'll put them all together in a pretty way and you can see them soon.

because i can't really write short posts...

So, yesterday I listened to one of the most amazing lectures I have ever heard with these ears of mine. So, Siena has these contradas, they’re like neighborhoods, and there are 17 of them. And it’s kind of cute because they each have a mascot and a flag and such…

But it’s not cute at all. This is serious business we’re talking about.

Luca, who is our bestest friend at the Dante Alighieri school we attend gave us a presentation that gave us a better idea about the contrade (because in Italian a -> e to make something plural). So, he is in the Torre (Tower, elephant) contrada and they are enemies with the goose contrada. And he knows a goose who married a torre and he said during the war days (the Palio [the horse race]) they live in different places! Because it’s too hard otherwise!

Some contradas don’t have enemies, but Luca said that it’s not as fun that way because then there is slightly less motivation to win. In the case of different parents, they choose what the children will be before they are born. And each contrada has a museum that you can only attend with special permission. We got to see the panther contrada museum because it was for an educational purpose.

So the Palio is this intense horse race, only ten out of the seventeen contrade get to run. The seven that didn’t run last year automatically get to run and then the last three are drawn. It is symbolic of a war, because they used to fight all the time and now they run the race. But they still fight each other during the race time, but it’s on the side.

Then the horses are picked out and they draw for the horses. But it turns out that they purposely pick out some horses that aren’t so great, so it’s not really a sport, but more like luck of the draw type of thing. And no one cares about the jockeys because they’re usually not from Siena and doing it for the money (they make a TON if they win, by the way) and Luca kept referring to them as prostitutes. And then the race is won by someoneand everyone goes crazy.

And what they win is this cloth with the Virgin Mary on it, which is called a Palio. Because it is run in honor of Mary.

And the contrada is your culture, because you take care of each other and support each other and have parties all the time. And each contrada has a patron saint and they have a huge parade on their saint day.

And it is a really, really big deal. I don’t think my explanation can do it justice.

So today we fieldtripped it to Firenze (Florence) and saw David….THEE DAVID. Yeah, he’s huge, by the way. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was thinking more of a life-size type thing. But au contraire, he is a giant…Rather ironic. So it is an interesting sculpture, in that he is standing all muscled and victorious. Maybe because the last version of David and Goliath I saw was the Wishbone version, but I usually think of David as a young boy (or puppy). But it is a great sculpture. Bernini’s is better (I would say “in my opinion” but I’m sure you’ve discovered that everything here in my opinion). But Michelangelo did pretty darn good. Of course, it is also at a disadvantage because you can’t inspect it closely like the Bernini ones because it is surrounded by a glass gate and on a pedestal. Also as Kendis pointed out, you stare at it for a long time and then you go, “hm, it’s a naked man.”

The cathedrals here are so jaw-droppingly amazing. You round a corner filled with bustling tourists and fake purse sellers and all the sudden an amazingly intricate façade is just chilling there. It always makes me stop for a second. A-MAZING. I don’t know how they make them, because the outside is like a million paintings and sculptures all put together. I don’t think my eyes can even handle all the amazing things we’ve seen.

I am not an art history expert, by any means, and sometimes I feel ridiculous when I forget how to spell Michelangelo or I can’t tell when a piece is from the Renaissance (and also can’t spell renaissance), but I can appreciate what a piece is doing.

For example, when I look at a Carvaggio I can say, “dang, look at the lighting and shadows he created and how vibrant the colors are” or “oh, that picture is symmetrical and the colors are drawing your eye to Jesus and Mary, because they’re important.”

Also, I have to say Intro to Film has come handy many a time. “Oh, look at that vectoring…and saturation…and framing…and the choice of colors for each character...and those facial expressions are saying a lot about the emotions that are meant to be portrayed…did I mention the saturation and hue??”

Now I just need to find a painting with a Pepsi can in the corner and I can wow them with my knowledge of product placement.

the layout is as follows...

So I had an IB European History teacher who said that every aspect of history could be divided into the following catagories: Social, Economical, Political, Religious, Technological/Scientific, and there might have been one more

So here is my life, currently, in those terms (one of you has already seen this)

socially: basically i hang out with my three roommates. sometimes we go out with other girls in the program and wander around siena. the people around here stare at me and don't smile so i don't know how to make friends. but at the school there are some nice people who speak english...i just haven't managed to get to know any of them very well because all of us at BYU are on our own schedule.

politically: i have no idea what's going in america. i was going to get an absentee ballot, but i really don't know anything about anything. except i like obama as a person, he seems nice. the other day i walked by the TV and Bush was doing something and my first thought was, "oh! America...Wonder what's going on there" but it was in Italian and i just kept walking to the dinner table

religiously: the branch here is AMAZING. there are 12-20 members but they are all incredible! the branch pres is a missionary and he's really dedicated and i'm super impressed that he's able to do it. i'm trying to read the book of mormon in italian, it's hard. .

technologically: i have no ipod, no cell phone, i use the internet at the school that only works half the time...as i type this it is turning off and on. i live in a medevial city. i don't have hot water at the house i live in... there is limited lighting in my room.

economically: the usd:euro sucks, but might be slowly going down. i feel awesome because i took a bunch of money out the day it was the lowest it's been the whole time. i am going to be completely broke when i get back.

the other day a stranger asked me for directions, so i showed her around. even though later she discovered she had a map with the route she needed to take highlighted. but, i felt good for doing service.

we had fresh riccotta cheese last night and it was AMAZING!!! i wish i was eating it right now.

Arroooooooooooooooo!

I had pictures to go with this, but the internet fails, so instead you get a long wordy post. Horrah!

Yesterday it started pouring down rain while we were at school. And hailing!! Somehow it was hailing when it was 80ish degrees out! This city makes no sense, but I still love it. Peter decided to be all generous and told us we could stay out later than our usual curfew. Most people were overjoyed (I was indifferent as time really has no meaning to me here) and we all decided to meet in il Campo (the big square…well, it’s a circle, where they hold the Palio and such).

So everyone was excited to experience the Siena night life, we had dinner early and got to il Camp early and there were people out, sitting and chatting and it was great just to be outside when it wasn’t a million degrees out. Then more of our group shows up and it starts raining. But it was mostly raining on the other side of the square (circle) so a few of us were still out in the rain when it comes rushing towards us from the other side. A wave of rain came rushing at us and we ran for an archway to the cheers and laughing of some drunken men at an outdoor restaurant nearby. We made it before the rain-wave caught us.

And the next day I bought an umbrella. It’s incredible here…everyone has an umbrella. I’m used to Oregon where it was always kind of wussy to use an umbrella unless there was a monsoon going on. But I thought about it a bit and people here wear designer clothes instead of Birkenstock’s and Hawaiian shirts so they actually have clothes worth protecting. Though, I did see a Birkenstock store here. So everyone has umbrellas and it’s the coolest thing to see a massive herd of umbrella-y people strolling down the street. And every store has little umbrella buckets to put them in while you shop. And I bought a bright yellow one.

Today we went out to dinner (and got completely ripped off, mind you) and this guy was having dinner with a girl and he just kept blabbering on and on. We could here him talking the whole time and almost never heard her. Then he goes off about facebook, “if I wrote on other people’s walls more they would write back on mine. That’s how it goes.” And I just started laughing, because he was saying how he could create the illusion of popularity if he wanted to put in the time but he didn’t because he didn’t care…but I think he really did care. Looooooooooooooooooook  do you see that “look” the insane cat we live with typed that. No joke. I think he is trying to tell us something. Also, he can Apparate because I will leave a room that he’s in and he will just be in the next room I go into. It’s like the First Edition cat, I just don’t know whose life he wants me to save.

So it’s cold and rainy now. It literally happened in one day’s time. It’s nice because Fall weather is my absolute fave but also strange because we used to be “literally sweating to death” everyday, (note: if that had literally been true I literally would not have been able to make such a statement, because I would be dead…literally). Sharlie and I literally had a discussion about people only using literally when they mean the opposite. We figuratively wanted to kill people who misuse it too often.

I feel like sleeping all the time. I don’t know if it’s jet-lag coming after me, or that baby mono I get sometimes, or just because it’s more inviting than homework, but I just fall asleep in the middle of the day…A lot.

We had really good potatoes yesterday but she said she wouldn’t tell us what was on them and that we would have to cook with her to find out. But they were delizioso.

People were singing in the streets last night and I have no idea why. There are always drums or bells or something going off around here. Our second night we walked into an internet café and a few moments later a group of people running a race jogged by…at 10 o’clock at night. There’s always something.

So Sharlie was telling me how she said, Mama Mia! To her host mamma at dinner and that she laughed a lot. So I kind of stole that concept and today we had carbonerra pasta which is eggs and ham in pasta. And she was like, “you want it without meat, Virginia wants it without meat OR eggs…” and I go, “mamma mia!” and she laughed. Success! It’s the ultimate Italian icebreaker. Keep that in mind.

Ate grapefruit yogurt today…The food here is incredible (in every sense of the word) I’m pretty sure I was meant to be Italian.

My homework was so hard this last weekend. Me and Elizabeth both wanted to cry because we had so much work that didn’t make sense. I actually felt sick at the thought of going to class. But it really wasn’t so bad today. Turns out, she seems to find my cluelessness a tad bit endearing and as long as I put myself out there and act like I’m trying I should be okay. But she talks really fast and still looks at me like I’m stupid. Which I kind of am, so it’s good.

Right now I’m having a really hard time thinking in English…Which I think is also good. I kind of wish I was on a Study Abroad like Angela where everyone knew the language at least a little. Because I need all the practice I can get.

So my skin is really hot...Like I should be running a temperature, but I'm not. And I don't really feel sick...But my face and neck are so hot.

Only one answer, must be becoming a werewolf...Or as I learned today un licantropo.

i know the sky is what makes the ocean blue.

So, I just have to say that I am overwhelmingly happy for my friends right now. Because a lot of them are in really good places in their lives right now, in love or experiencing new, wonderful things. Or just living life up as best as they can. And if you're happy I'm happy. Win-win-win (don't ask about the third win, it just is).

Today I woke up to what sounded like people trying to open a door and failing. And kind of like tapdancing also. Turns out there were pigeons all over our skylight...And I wanted to kill them because they would not shut up and it was SO loud. I don't know how it was so loud but it was somehow amplified.

Last night we watched 13 going on 30, pretty hilarious stuff. And she is ridiculously cute. Kind of made me miss boys though.

Luigia (mom) said that we are the luckiest in our group because we are fed well and have the nicest parents. I think it's true.

I ate about a million figs last night (and this morning)...So delish.
So on my card here they spell my middle name Michkelle...it's quite brilliant.
Really weird not having anyone in my class to work on homework with.
I'm trying so hard to learn this language...But it's hard.

but as my parents always tell me, I can do hard things.

figured out a schedule for next semester, 13 creds + the film app + a job should keep me pretty occupied. Also, after that semester I will only have ONE GE left! The advanced writing or whatever one. I'm excited...Except that means I better get a major stat!

Mambo Italiano

Ciao Americani!!

So, we're starting to get settled into our homes. Yesterday they told us that we didn't have to stay in our rooms and that we should do homework outside, or at the kitchen, or in front of the tv. heh. They are SO welcoming, it's amazing.

I gave them their presents and they were SO thrilled. Franco put on the Nike cap and it was hilarious. And they were all excited about the Football and wanted to throw it around at the table. They also looked at the postcard for almost a full ten minutes. And I think Luigia liked the earrings. And then the girls really liked the bags and the Burts Bee's chapstick. Virginia was like, "I want to eat it." and Lucretia kissed me on both cheeks.

And now for an interesting little story. Felt like a missionary because Angela (friend of the family) came over and was asking me what classes I was taking [note: this is all in Italian] and I told her I had four and one of them was an online religion class and she was like [in Italian] "What is the Mormon church?" So I tried to explain [in Italian] what it was all about using words I know and trying not to ruin the message I was trying to convey. And she kept asking questions about how its different than other churches and what is the Book of Mormon. It was intense. So now I know what it's like to be a missionary speaking to people I don't really know in a language I don't really know about the Church.

Then later in the conversation they asked when our first love was and we may have accidentally told them we had sex when we were 15-16. But I'm thinking we didn't...But it's hard to say.

So, we're building up a good view of Americans.

Just now the 102 teacher who subbed for our Oral Esami last semester was walking around here with his wife and another guy from BYU. And they talked to one of the teachers here who said this guy who drew a picture on the wall of the room we always hang out in walked from Siena to Florence! It took him 5 days. Crazy.

The Euro is down to 1.39! Hooray! [still not that good]

Things I miss: smoothies, having a fan in my room.

che lunga.

So...I'm in an Italian class...All by myself. Solo. Oh wait, I'm not by myself, because there is the Italian woman who is asking me questions and having me analyze text and tell her what my "dream in a drawer" is. Which, I have no idea what it is...Also, I had to talk about my childhood and my earliest memories. I attempted to describe, in Italian, duck, duck, goose. Mama Mia...I've got an incredible headache, needless to say. But I should be dang good at Italian at the end of these ten weeks...

or dead.

But, lets back up a bit. We arrived in Siena on Saturday. It was lovely, as expected. We all stood around at this bus station and waited for our families to come get us. It was really like puppies in a cardboard box. We were on the side of the road and they would come and pick up a couple people and then they left. Ours came to get us in two cars (due macchine) with their daughter, Virginia, who speaks pretty good English. So she told us that we were going to drop off our stuff in the city and then we would go to the country for dinner, and I was confused, but went with it anyway.

Turns out...They have TWO HOUSES!! The city house is this immaculate museum... Which conveniently required carrying our luggage up 4 flights of stairs. Our mama, Luigia, works at a bank (or something) but is also an AMAZING painter. And her paintings are everywhere in the house. It's a huge house, by the way. Then the country house has cows (mucca) and horses and chicken and a cat named Schizo and a dog, who I'm not sure even belongs to them. So we ate dinner there with a couple that they are friends with, who are quite hilarious.

And we ate tons of figs, which are DELICIOUS.

Next day we went to church and people were incredible. This one lady had one of the missionaries translate into English for us, but she kept telling him he was doing it wrong and he was like, "you can speak English!!" but she insisted he translate. and then at one point she was getting emotional, but told him he didn't have to cry, hah.

After church we wandered around a bit and then took a much needed nap.

Then we got picked up and taken to the country for dinner, this time the daughter who spoke English didn't go with us so we thought it would be quieter...But o contrario, we get there to a huge chorus of Ciao! Buona Sera! and telling us how pretty we are. There was one man who sang in New York in 1969. And another lady with three wedding rings all together that were buried in diamonds. And our friends from the night before along with a lady who wanted to practice her English and another who was convincing us she would be the best tour guide for Siena, because she knows everything.

And we ate a lot, pasta in a walnut cream sauce, bread, zucchinni with mozerella, thin fried potatoes, and mashed (sort of) potatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper, proscuitto and figs, and gelato.

They were all so hilarious and animated, I wish I could describe the scene better, but it was excellent.

I really wish it would cool down here, because I have overly used my 1 pair of shorts and 3 skirts, but it's getting better.

ciao ciao!

So I have a REALLY long post for y'all (Sydney is wearing off on me) but it is on Sharlie's computer because I wrote it on there and then the internet died, but here's one, it'll just be out of order when I get the other one up.

Yesterday was our first real family dinner (without a million distractions) and it was lovely. I feel immensely fortunate to have the host family that I have. They aren’t home much, but so far we’ve always had dinner together. The mom came home and half-hugged us and kissed our cheeks. And the daughters are always super friendly and tell us the Italian words for things. And then the father was telling us how he has family in New York. And while this is all happening quickly and in Italian it still feels like a family.

School is intense so far…We have three hours of the same class at a time, which is not my most favorite. Today we talked forever about drawing and I kept thinking we were going to have a break, because I had to go to the bathroom, but we didn’t…And it sucked!

Oh, and we made some alterations to our shower head so the water doesn’t spray all over the entire bathroom…



So my contrada is the contrada of the catepillar. and we have the best motto ever.

My name sounds like a revolution. How sweet is that? Here is my street with the contrada flags on it:

just a day at the beach

So, slowly, but surely I am getting pictures to upload, horray!!

Not much to report, today we spent the day on the beach. We took a boat to Amalfi and the coast was quite wonderful. We got mini calazones like my mom makes for one euro and for a brief moment I felt like I was at home, heh. Also got way to big of a gelato...Dang that language barrier ;)

Walked around some cute little shops, got one christmas present. So I'm doing alright. Sharlie found the wedding ring she wants at a jewelery store.

There are the CUTEST dogs (cani) around here. They're all little mixed breeds and they just roam around. Two had infiltrated Pompei, but they are adorable!!

Also, everyone honks at everyone here...And our bus driver is amazing because he can navigate on incredibly narrow roads on cliffs and not think anything of it.

I'm sunburned...But I probably deserve it for laying on the beach so long.

People here are incredibly passionate, and I want to be more like them.

If You Think It Is Not Incredible You Will Change Your Mind

Yesterday I was struggling way too much with internet to try and write on here, but I did write to myself, so no worries.

We are now in Minori on the coast, and it's wonderful as any coastal town is. Todaym after Pompei (AMAZING) we saw/floated in the sea, which was really great considering its a million degrees here.

Have not been hit on by an Italian man yet, but almost ran into one (literally, like four more inches and noses would have collided) and Sharlie was convinced we shared a moment.

So Herculaneum was yesterday and it was my FAVORITE. We got to explore these perfectly (well, not quite) perserved city. They have amazing buildings and we took some fabulous pictures I wish I could show you (but again, the internet hates me). I realized the film kid in me is coming out as I wasn't as satisfied unless each photo was perfectly composed/lighted.

Dinner comes with the hotel and so far we have had hilarious conversations at each of them, this trip has been good to get to know everyone before we split off in separate house.

In Pompeii we had a tour guide and he told us lots of cool stuff. Saw some really well perserved frescos, including in what was apparently a brothel...which was unfortunate.

Around Pompei I filmed a trailer about two students who (with the help of a gypsy) discover the truth about how the people of Pompei died. Unfortunately the sound is kind of horrible, but I'll put it up shortly.

At breakfast I couldnt get the milk to pour out and the waiter-guy who was hovering over the buffet goes, "no, it's magic." and he pushed the button that made it go, ha.

My English is getting worse, which I hope is a good sign.

I loved the ruins so much though, as much as all the art we've seen is amazing, I love exploring the ruins. It's like a playground...Only you get disapproving looks from people in nametags when you get too excited (yes, that happened to me).

So, yeah, I'm having a good time. Today at the beach we found smooth rocks and were showing them to each other, feeling like little kids, and then someone goes, "everyone at byu is in classes right now." and we :)

pioneer children sang as they walked and walked and walked and walked

k, five minutes to type because i dont want to pay more than .50€ for internet. i will post more details about where we have been hint: everywhere when i get my pics up.

so, i probably wore off a layer of my feet from all the walking we have done. but its fun right? also, the met broke down for a while, so more walking.

went to this INSANE bone church...cyrpt...thing. i need to look up more about it, but basically they made all these designs out of bones...real bones...and they were everywhere and it was like hundreds of dead peoples worth of bones

also walked around the forum and made up stories about each thing because i had left my guide book. but, boy did we make up some good stories.

also saw the colusseum...which was big. 55000 people could sit in it, fun fact.

not to mention we saw some AWESOME-AWE INSPIRING sculptures by berninni, like the most amazing things ever, and carvaggio paintings.

k more later.

l'arte

So we saw a bagillion paintings today.

Oh, and the amazing Sistine Chapel, which I almost forgot because we saw SO many other things. We are all super exhausted because we don't sleep much and are museum machines. Okay, so everything in the Vatican museum was amazing. Everyone knows the Sistine Chapel is amazing, but everything you see along the way to it is amazing too!! I took lots of pictures. And took a video of the sistine chapel even though it was forbidden. (rebel)

When we walked out this little british kid exclaimed, 'did you see all those damned people?' and it was cute and hilarious.

the keyboards here are different which is kind of a pain.

we went to a gelato shop with a BILLION flavors...probably over 60, no exaggeration.
an italian waiter made fun of me and i did not appreciate it in the slightest.

and i'm honestly too tired to remember more, maybe someday.