Dobar Dan

i feel like someone punched me in the heart....like that's really how i feel, i'm not being metaphorical.

Monday Kimberly, Sharlie, and I made the big decision...We have been debating for many months now what to do with our ten days after the program. And now we know.

Hungary and Croatia!

Perfect, eh? I am very stoked and here's why...The ballpoint pen was essentially invented in Croatia. Got matching hats and scarves at the .99 euro store to celebrate.

Today we wandered around Siena and saw St. Catherine's head. No joke...Her real head. Then we found an amazing gelato and crepe shop.

Filmed bits of Lynzie's music vid and also bits of what might be my application to the film major.

Got a sweet jacket for 5euro. also, i've taken up the guitar.
i know three chords.

isn't it beautiful?

BYU is going to have an Italian Field Study spring/summer that is an Archeological dig north of Mt. Vesuvius.



I want to do it/wish I was doing it instead of this.

But also not, because then I wouldn't give up what I've done here.

But an archeological dig!?!? Voglio.

Important Announcement

November is National Blog Month.
It’s also national some other things month, but this is what is most important.

So, in honor of this, I am challenging you all to write in your blog everyday. Whaa?? But that’s so hard!! No, it’s not, I've done it. For three months. But I understand that it is a bit difficult and I myself may not be able to do it because I’ll be traveling for much of November. But between my two blogs I am going to try and do it. But if you do I will give you a special prize. At least do your very best. For me. I’m even generously giving you a few days notice so you can prepare yourself mentally.

It’ll be fun, eh?

Best of luck on your endeavor!
Lauren Laws

Questa Weekend

FRIDAY – European Chocolate Festival

You could get these cards that were good for free stuff at certain booths. So it was like trick or treating really. Especially because at one station we got cow horns so we all had a costume too. So we gorged on a lot of chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate balls, hot chocolate, and chocolate pudding. The hot chocolate was just as thick as the chocolate pudding. So good. I feel really sick right now. Also the world's largest chocolate cow sculpture.

One of the free booth places had all run out but they were playing really great music that little kids were hula hooping to. Shaqira came on and I decided to shake my hips like I used to and one of the guys working there joined in and really showed me up. He is an Elvis of his day.

May have accidentally consumed alcohol as I took a bit of a chocolate ball and bitter liquid exploded in my mouth. Less than delightful. Emily spit hers in the garbage can which was amusing.

Also, ate French fries which I have been craving for ages. These are our cow faces.

Saturday
10:27 am

Chocolate Hangover.

Watched Bridget Jones’s Diary 2 last night and I love that film. I was admiring how the editing causes you to believe one thing is going on when it is really another. But then someone went and told me about an entirely different twist that had been removen (yes, removen, why not?) by Clean Screen™ which didn’t make sense and grossed me out.

11:32 am
Laying in bed and having deep discussions despite the early hour.

2:56 pm
Stuffed. We had spicy ketchup gnocchi for lunch. Also meatballs that she made me eat one. “it’s good, you won’t feel the meat.” It wasn’t bad, I just don’t like beef in the slightest. Luigia is always trying to trick me into eating meat.
“Pomegranates? Oh, yeah we have tons growing at our country house.” Why don’t I have pomegranate trees in my backyard?!?
My computer is falling apart and I’ve only had it a year and half. Should’ve gotten a Mac.

3:22 pm
Realization(s) hits. My stuff is all over the room and will I have room in my one suitcase to get everything back? Do not really want to be lugging two suitcases all around Croatia after the program. Other realization: I really love white shirts. Third realization: how good would chocolate covered pomegranate seeds be? Only one way to find out… Fourth realization: really excited to have my own kitchen again.

Sunday
Taught Sunday school today and survived. I have wanted to be a Sunday school teacher since I was about 15 and would try and teach when our teacher was late or didn’t show up. This time it was legal and I enjoyed it.

Yesterday we went on this insane bowling excursion that ended up taking six hours. We went with the ward though and it was great because watching Italians bowl is quite hilarious. There were high fives all around on many, many occasions.

Also, the city was called Poggibonsi, so that alone was worth it.

On busses/trains and while waiting for busses/trains I asked Lynzie if I could be her manager and she said yes. I plan on taking this role very seriously and will get her lots of gigs. And then talk all her money when she’s not looking. Kidding about that last bit.

Thursday

Today I was in a protest parade. Well, mostly because it was on my way home. But I clapped along. But then some lady said something to me in Italian and then walked off…I think it was positive, but I really didn’t catch a word of it. All the students are striking because they want to make colleges private. I don’t blame them. I’d like to not pay for college also. I wish I could figure out more about it, some of them were wearing paper donkey ears, and they were yelling stuff. Last weekend when we were in Lucca a bunch of little kids were marching with their parents. It’s a big deal. Also, something about cutting. We just don’t know what.

There is a bunch of Swiss kids at the school and apparently one of them stares at me. I’ve noticed a couple times and someone else pointed it out too. He’s got a piercing in the part of his ear that keeps iPod headphones in.

I GOT A PICTURE ON THE WALL!! I am finally one of the elite. Peter with his all scrutinizing grading chooses a select few to put on the wall and discuss and I finally made it!
Although exciting it is also incredibly confusing. I thought the picture was so bad I almost didn’t turn it in. I thought the point of the assignment was to make something look three-dimensional, which I did not do. But he loved my composition. He is all about composition. I will never be an art student because everyone is so subjective!! Yes, I realize I’m trying to go into film which is the same way I’m sure, but I actually care to get better at that.
The other frustrating thing is he’ll be like, “I gave you a good grade right?” and then he’ll look at the grade and be like, “oh” (but doesn’t change it) so it depends on his mood or the time of day he looks at it or something.

And I’ve learned I can just quietly (or not so quietly) disagree with him and rework the drawings for him and for my grade. I also tell him to his face that I like my style and he’s too difficult. We have to do a final project that will probably kill me because I have to make three drawings that all go together and consistency is not my forte.

We found a quaint little hot chocolate shop today with a lady who sings and white chocolate Twix bars. We had a Life Club meeting: Deep Discussion Issue and an old man said Buongiorno to us.

lean on me

Greater than seeing the tower was seeing the different ways everyone posed around it.

my wonderful roommate and i. she is beautiful in every way.

it would only let me upload two

Non Sono i Vestiti, ѐ La Persona

The Polish Lady has a name, and it happens to be Donna, which is lady in Italian so I really was spot on.
She came over for dinner again, our numbers have been around ten for dinner for some time now. And she was saying how Lucretia is some kind of tree (I really have no idea, her Poltalian is difficult to understand). And Virginia said, “e Virginia?” and later Donna goes on to tell her that she has a grand name and “she will it’s good.”
Virgi: “vede il futuro?” you see the future
Donna: “si, si.”
Me: [eyebrows raise in amusement and surprise]
Virgi: can you read my hand?
Donna: “si” tries for a bit and then says it is hard to read and she’ll do it another day
Virgi: domani?
Donna: I don’t know…For I cannot say if it’ll work tomorrow.
Franco: mine?
Donna: Si, oh, you have good lines…very good lines. You don’t like adventures…sometimes?
Franco; si…
Donna: ah, I can see…and you see, the reason I can see is because I have a very good aura. A very positive spirit. I was born on [some date] which means [some thing] etc. etc.
Luigia enters.
Franco: she’s reading my hand.
Luigia: oh, read mine!
Donna; another time, another time
Luigia: okay, tomorrow then.

By this time Donna had had 2-3 cups of wine and I was a bit anxious to see what would happen if she kept drinking…

At some point during this Elizabeth laughed so hard she had to excuse herself. Can’t blame her, years of acting training were finally put to use as I tried not to break at the dinner table. Che buffo questa donna!

Then Franco takes us up to the very top of our building and we had a most gorgeous panaromic view of Siena…Breathtaking! So, so gorgeous, even at night. We saw the tops of all the churches and the tower in the Campo and the tower of the cathedral. Bellissima citta! We are going to see it during the day sometime and I’ll post proper pictures then.

5terre

Oh, I cut my hair...

Cinqueterre. The best weekend getaway I could have asked for.
Our train was delayed and we missed the connecting one, but va bene, because we had a dance party in the station splitting an iPod four ways.

Upon arrival we realized we were in a most beautiful place straight off a postcard. The weather was perfect and we walked between the first and second city along the road of love. City two had delicious cheap gelato and colorful buildings. Between two and three we found a playground. Then we decided it was too hot and changed into swimming suits. We found a boat dock and jumped off some rocks into the water and it was delightful. Salty, but delightful.

Swimming was going quite well and we were on our way back in when Christina yells out that something stung her. We had just looked in the water and not see anything but fish so I was thinking, great the freaking fish are electric. Then Cailey yells that she got stung too. And I was in between the two of them. I don’t think I’ve ever swam as fast as I swam towards shore then. Sharlie was on shore and said she could not figure out what was going on because we were all booking it towards her. Christina got stung again and I was freaking out because I had no idea what I was swimming away from. We get on shore and their skin is bubbling up and all white. But they were tough and didn’t complain. So we lay out to draw on this rock-thing. And about 20 minutes later I notice a little pink thing floating along in the water. Jellyfish infestation. Luckily they were little things.
Speaking of injuries. Peter, our director and art teacher, is always concerned about people’s health and asks several times a day if we are okay. Well, he decided it would be neat to poke a garden snake with a stick and it bit him. Turns out the garden snake was a viper and one of the most poisonous things in Italy. His thumb swelled up, then his arm, and it headed for his heart.
Turns out his blood was thickening and he was beginning to be digested. He spent the night in the hospital and we were almost Peterless.

The rest of cinqueterre was magical. After exploring the first day, we ran up an insane hill to catch the bus and almost died. But then we checked into the hostel and went exploring around the surrounding areas in search of dinner. The town was mostly deserted but we did see two boys and contemplated asking them for directions to a restaurant. The stopped near us and said, “ciao” to which we all replied in a girly, “ciao!” turns out they were saying goodbye to each other, not hello to us. One of the complications of a word that means hello and goodbye.

Cailey could smell Basilicas but that didn’t help us much.

We finally headed down a road to a pizza place, but they were on holiday, but we passed a window and could hear a man singing opera. And it’s moments like that when you know you’re in Italy.

At the restaurant I decided to be adventurous and got these weird pasta pancakes. They were hard to chew. Rapped about our awesome day on the walk back.

Survived my first night in a hostel. And we were first in line for the bus that morning. Hiked up 300 stairs to a pretty viewpoint. Mishaps occurred but I was given the opportunity to use the knowledge accumulated through 50 first aid and a sports med class. I saved the day with RICE though she insisted on not elevating or resting. Nap on the beach to make up for lack of sleep. Braved the water again, but only after Christina scoped out the water with her goggles.

Ate quiche and foccaccia with pesto for lunch. And Kit-Kat gelato in a waffle cone. Sat along the water and watched the boats floating along. Found Kostos.

Train ride back broke down, or something, it was explained quickly in Italian whatever it was that happened. Entertained people with The Lauren Show featuring Lynzie and Sharlie with a very supportive live audience.
Where'd it all go?

I am in love with the Miel (honey) Pop cereal we have here.

last night i laid awake thinking about homemade nachos

I’m not sick!! I’m not sick!! I went from completely bedridden to frolicking down streets of gold. Not really, because I got dizzy going up stairs and if the streets are gold it’s only from all the dog pee (see Few Qualms I Have with Siena).

So life is all lasagna and fruit tarts these days (again, really just this day because the last two were horrible and involved not so much actual eating as attempting to make it look like I ate and flicking tortellini onto Kendis’s plate furtively*) and my Italian teacher is amazing and defending me even though I don’t deserve it because she knows I only did horribly* on my midterm because I was half-dead. Figuratively*.

*I, Lauren Laws, intended to defend against Mr. Woods claim that adverbs are obsolete.

In other speakings, my English is getting progressively* worse and worse and maybe we really shouldn’t use adverbs and why do I still talk all the time anyway. And maybe we should all just speak Polish liiiiike the hilarious lady who came to dinner tonight [segue]


The lights come up on a dining room in an over 800 year house, three American girls sit on one side of the table. Two adults at one head and two more girls at the other. A polish lady, Italian college student, and younger Italian (about 14) sit along the other side, backs to the audience.

[soft murmuring while the Polish lady gestures with her hands a lot until gradually words become more clear]

Lady: asks some things in Italian
4 Americans: silence
Luigia: attempts to understand and asks for everyone’s plates
2 Italian daughters: eat something different, and healthier than the rest of us
Flavia: politely asks for only a little bit
Elizabeth: reaches for Frizzante acqua
Me: predicts it will not be frizzy
Elizabeth: is disappointed
Alyssa: asks Lady where she is from
Lady: somewhere in Poland that I did not catch…asks if things in the house are authentic
Franco: says the house was built in 1265
Me: [aside]Mille due cento?!!!
Elizabeth: asks him to repeat
Franco: it’s 800 years old
Me: [thinking] Mamma Mia
Elizabeth: [aloud] Mamma Mia!
Me: excited for a change to add something to the conversation, La mia casa…é sette. Holds up seven fingers.
Much laughter
Franco: asks if my house is like the ones in Hollywood
Me: Ummm, not really.
Luigia: asks if we all saw the tarts
Me: [thinking] why yes we saw them from our balcony room actually.
Schizzo: tries to open the door to escape
Luigia: disappears for a while so we can’t have the tarts we had seen.
Luigia: returns, hands out tarts giving the one that falls apart to Franco.
Lady: tries to teach us words in Polish, because our Italian is so great we’re obviously ready to move on.
Virigina: tries very hard to say said Polish words
Franco: also tries
Me: think that Polish might be impossible with an Italian accent.
Luigia: forces more tart on everyone, ignoring requests for none or small pieces.
Lady: wants to know how to make lasagna and tarts, asks Luigia to teach her
Luigia: goes into detailed explanation about how to cook such things, including peeling onions
Me: thinks she said peel the cow and cut it into pieces, horrible imagery
Elizabeth: informs me I misunderstood and laughs for a while
Virigina: says something in English
Blank stares
Luigia: finally decides she will teach ALL of us (after asking when we get out of class) at 15:15 or 15:30
Me: [again glad to have something to contribute] la clase di Luigia!
More laughter
Lady: continues to talk…
Me: can no longer follow when she switches languages

Pouring of mysterious green alcohol that as they drank I couldn’t tell if they enjoyed it or not.

Finally retreat about 9 o’clock, me happy to haven eaten for reals.

Yesterday I was sick and not really interested in the food and Luigia was like “senza carne! Senza carne! E verde” which I knew because only Don Johnson thinks meat is green. But then Franco winked at me and said, “c’ѐ carne.” Which means there is meat. And it made me smile despite half-deadness. I believe winking should occur more in everyday life. It is a great thing. Infatti, we don’t even need courting, when I feel ready I will just run off with the first person who winks at me…but then it would be an old man…or Lynzie. Which I would be okay with if the cards hadn’t told her today she’d marry someone else.

I spoke Italian in my sleep last night!!!
Success!!
Only like a sentence, but still.

Do Not Sit On The Choir

I'm sick...hot and cold at the same time with a splitting headache.

Took my midterms even though I could hardly remember my own name.

Today I watched television with Franco. The other three had cooking, which they didn’t inform Luigia of and she kind of flipped (they yell a lot here…that’s kind of just how communicating happens). She was really concerned about making too much and I said, “mangio piu” which means I will eat more and Franco laughed. I have to say I appreciate Franco a lot, he is my right-hand man, or rather, left-hand man because I often end up sitting to the right of him at the dinner table. But he laughs at my jokes*.

*anyone who laughs at my jokes gets a million bonus points in my book, without exception.

Today we went to Florence and I have to say there is amazing food. We had the most amazing focaccia bread in the world, I’m sure.

Friday:

We went to buonconvento which is a quaint little Italian town that looks just like the pictures…Infatti, here is a picture:

Saturday:

I can’t even begin to explain…

No words.

Today I:
. made an appointment to cut my hair, in Italian
. decided I might need Italian boots
. was asked for fashion advice by an Italian
. did homework
. bought tights and underwear
. was laughed at by a guy from California
. heard/participated in a lot of yelling and tearing up when they officially announced the building of the Rome temple
. celebrated the Palio victory of il bruco!!
. bowed to a Tibetan monk
. saw a group of lepers eating at a restaurant
. petted a donkey
. danced to Viva La Vida in Zanzibar
. passed through Afghanistan
. walked down a street cloaked in Chinese laterns
. got snowed on
. and am now listening as celebration music blares into our room from outside…coming from two different places.

Songs include:
Jitterbug
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
YMCA
Walk like an Egyptian
Songs from Grease
Hey Baby
The Twist
Great Balls of Fire!
Video Killed the Radio Star

more to come when I'm not sick.