Siena Sickness & Winter Wonderland

In exactly one week I will be heading to Rome in order to take my gazillion flights back to the US of A. I'm freaking out. And not in a "OMG it's my sweet 16, FREAK OUT!!!" kind of way...

Let's just back up for a quick bit...

(note: this is going to be a little scattered considering I haven't blogged anything of actual meaning in quite some time... i mean, the poem was meaningful. well, sort of. bahaha)

So last time I blogged, I was excited about Melina and her boyfriend Romain coming to visit me in Siena... they came for a weekend and it was so fun! I got to show them all around Siena and we ate delicious food and gelato and it was so nice having some family around again. Shout-out to them for making it all the way to Siena, Italy for some good ole' fashion Tuscan goodness.

A few days after that some of my friends and I went to a discoteca! It's funny because there aren't any actual discotecas in the center of Siena so you have to take these little buses that are specifically for the club like 10-20 minutes outside the city to get there. They cram about 100 people in these little buses (that would so not fly in America, hellooo safety.) and then you get to the discoteca and dance the night away and then they take you back to Siena at like 3am. Funny.

One of our last excursions with school was to a pig farm and cheese factory! That sounds a bit odd, but it was really interesting. The pig farm is a special type of pig native to the Siena area. It's called Cinta Senese, which actually means "Sienese belt/band" because they are black pigs with a white-ish band around their middles. We got to see the big nursing ones get fed and they were all snorting and attacking each other and it was kind of gross. Then we trekked through the mud (so. much. mud.) with special bags over our shoes to go see the baby piglets. They were a little cuter, I guess. Then we went to see the wild ones that aren't perfect enough to be selected to be a mommy or daddy (aka they have an imperfect band or random spots instead of the whole band... coughracismcough) and they are the ones that end up being salami and prosciutto. Sorry all you veggies out there reading this but looks like you're beat, cuz I eat meat (HAH mi dispiace.) Then we got to try the different types of Cinta Senese meat and had delicious bruschetta too.

Later that day we went to the Pecorino Cheese factory which is a sheep cheese making place. Did you know I'm a huge cheese fan? Smelly indeed, but oh so good. We had to wear strange bags over our shoes again but this time it was to keep us from getting outside germs into the super clean, hygienic factory. Which I guess was a stellar idea considering we were just glooping and glopping around in pig mud, but I don't think the lady knew that. Anyways, we learned about the factory and also got to try about 5 different types of sheep cheese in different stages of aging.

The community service has been continuing and recently I went and helped out at the Siena soup kitchen and clothes donation center. I've also been going to my 5th grade class, and I think they are the cutest things ever (sooo cuuuute!!! shout-out to JC and Modern Family, duh). In two days I have my last class with them and I'll be sure to take pictures so you all can see what I mean. I'm also going to give them all envelopes so they can write me letters to the US and of course, bring them some candy which I'm sure the teacher will loooove me for.

About the week before Thanksgiving I got sick. Like INFLUENZA sick. But not the normal like coughy coldy throaty fevery one. This strange Siena Sickness attacked my muscles and made me feel like I had run a marathon everyday for 10 days straight. I also had no appetite and just all around felt deliriously miserable. The Italian way of curing sickness is just to stay at home and rest so school was out of the question considering all the walking up and down hills we do (I tried to go to school 2 days and that's what made me get even worse and have to stay inside a week after. ugh.) So long story short, I had to miss Thanksgiving. I was so sad. The program had this awesome Thanksgiving dinner and I couldn't go and it was depressing. Luckily some of my friends came to my house and visited, making me feel more like a human being again and not like a mannequin in pajamas. My host mom was also super great and helpful and would bring me soup and tea to my bedside. It was pretty terrible and one of the strangest sicknesses I've ever had considering there was really no medicine I could take to help except advil. Shout-out to America's Next Top Model for having 15 seasons (JK I only watched one full one. but oh was it saucy).

I also got a new roommate! My friend Nicole's host mom is older and got pretty sick and had to go to the hospital for a week to do tests so they moved Nicole to my house for the rest of the semester. She's one of my better friends here and loves to dance around just as much as I do so we've been having fun.

Last week we took our last excursion to Florence to go see Puccini's opera "Tosca". It was a cool experience and we actually knew what was going on because there were subtitles above the stage. But let's be real, you need subtitles to understand what's going on? BAHA.

All of the Christmas lights are finally lit and there are random little holiday markets around in different piazzas all the time! It gets dark around 4:30pm (which is CRAZY) but there are always tonssss of people walking around buying presents and being jolly like ho ho ho style. They also put up an ice skating rink in one of the grassy areas by the Fortress!

So things are winding down but the truth is, my heart is all wound up. I really have fallen in love with Siena and Italia and I'm very sad that it is unknown when I will be able to return here. All the things that I thought were backwards and strange about this place have become quirky and special and I'm just so used to it all. I know that when I go back home I will be happy to be home for the holidays with my family, but after that, who knows what kind of feelings will set in. What I do know is that I will never forget the experiences I've had and the people I've met here in Siena: my home away from home.

See you all soon,

Bella Gabriella

"COR MAGIS TIBI SENA PANDIT"

"Siena ti apre il suo cuore più di questa porta"

"Siena opens its heart to you more than its doors"

Ode to the Zingare

Dearest Gypsies,

Why do you scare me so?

If you looked like Esmerelda, you wouldn't be my foe.

Your outfits match and so does your smell,

You might be related, but it's kinda hard to tell.

You're always together, but you never talk.

Sometimes you have headphones in, are you listening to Young Joc?

It freaks me out when in the window our eyes meet,

and then, without fail, we get off on the same street.

I wonder where you go, and what you guys do,

One day you'll turn around, and I might be following you.

Until that day comes, continue creeping a ton,

I'll for sure be seeing you late-night on Siena Bus #1.

Sincerely,

Gabriella

Sienese Chaos

Ok so there really was no chaos in Siena for the past MONTH that I haven't blogged. There was simply tonssss of chaos in my life (and since my life is currently in Siena...well, you get it.) which is why I have been the worst blog updater ever. Mi dispiace moltissimo.

Because I feel like this post would end up being longer than a Harry Potter novel, I will try to be short and concise (HAH who am I kidding? that never happens) and will provide short paragraphical blurbs of only the most interesting, necessary, and relevant situations from the last mese. (Also, if you haven't noticed, Italian words will be interspersed because I have been speaking it so much, it comes very quickly to my brain and my english grammar skillz have honestly gone down the tubes. so use your context clues or just make up your own meanings hah).

1. I moved out of my old host-mom's house and into a new family's home about 3 weeks ago. Reasons? Ex-hosty Giovanna was a NUT. I was very accepting of her irrational antics for a whole month of living in Italy because i was trying to be "accepting of the culture" but really she is unstable and just not a good person. Someone was just in it for the money. Anyways, I got a new host family and after packing alllll my stuff (and having an uncomfortable final dinner with G-lady) I moved in. And now everything is benissimo. My new famiglia is crazy but in a totally normal awesome way. Quick basics: Mom = Maria Pia, loud Italian woman probably around early 60s, wears every shade of eyeshadow you could ever imagine all at the same time, super into making sure I have everything I need all the time (what a change!). Dad = Franco, way older than Maria Pia and a super cute old man who is kind of a butcher that distributes meats to supermarkets around Siena. Brother = Andrea, 35 years old, lives in the house because he was going to get married but it didn't work out so he moved back home. Nice guy, wears braces, is treated like a middle schooler (his mom still packs his lunch...), we don't really talk much. Pets = Filippe, miniature pinscher dawwwg that yaps around and wears sweaters, really cute, Maria Pia's pride and joy, Chico could definitely eat him. Pet 2 = Yagermeister, 15 year old huge black cat, hisses at me sometimes, other times comes down the tiny spiral staircase to the kitchen to greet me in the morning.

2. Moving right along (told you I was bad at making things short! psh whatevs deal with it.)

So the past couple of weeks classes have really kicked in and the teachers have given us MOLTISSIMI projects, papers, homework, etc. It's been really hard to get done because it's all in Italian and I've had to write two 3page papers a week every week! The classes are interesting though. Mi piace la lezione di Cinema Italiano. We are watching famous Italian comedies starting from the black and white ones. In Emigration class I'm doing lots of research about the Baetti family migration and just Italians in Argentina in general. Interessante.

3. We've been going on tons of excursions recently as well. On one day trip we went to the small Tuscan towns of Pienza and Montalcino. In the latter we went to a vineyard where this crazy man Alessandro makes his own Brunello wine and we got to try the wine in three different stages of fermentation to test the differences. Pretty cool. The next weekend we went to Perugia and Assisi. In Perugia we got to go to the Perugina/Nestle chocolate factory! Factories are really fascinating to me (like that one time I went to the JellyBelly factory...best day ever) and the free samples after weren't so bad either (the stomach ache was though). In Assisi we just got to visit the town, which I loved, and of course learned all about San Francesco (St. Francis) because he was from there. Patron Saint of the Poor, what up ancient Mother Teresa!?

4. As part of some of the community service opportunities I took on the job of teaching English to a 5th grade class at one of the Sienese elementary schools. I've only been once so far, but the kids are really cute and eager to learn (drastic difference from demon child Ivan over summer) and I'm shocked at how well they speak it already! (Oh USA, please teach children foreign languages at a younger age, I'm begging you.) I'll get to go 4 more times before the program is over and that's exciting. We cover all the grades as well so one day I went with my friend who is assigned a Kindergarten class and it was just hilarious. Picture little Italian children trying to speak English! We taught colors and how to say "my name is___" :)

Alright well enough of the numbers. Siena is gearing up for winter and the holiday lights are already up (although not on yet). A little old man has started his annual chestnut roasting grill in the center of town and they are really yummy. I can't wait til the holidays roll around and the christmas markets start! It'll be interesting to see how the holiday spirit feels in Italy.

A couple of days ago we started our mid semester break. I went to Roma with my amica Emily from the program (we met her parents there too!) for three days and today I flew to Vienna to stay and hang out with Maria until Sunday! I'm looking forward to relaxing and getting to experience her daily life just like I got to do with Melina in Paris over summer. I'm also going to eat schnitzel and other austrian yummies and of course, not understand what anything says or what anyone is saying (oh german. how I loathe you).

It's crazy that it's already November! The program is already halfway over and I don't know how I feel about that. Once I get back to Siena on Sunday, classes will continue full force and at the end of the week Melina and Romain come to visit! I'm so excited to play tourguide again (first time was for Maggie!) and show them why I love Siena so much.

Miss everyone MOLTO!

Baci baci baci,

Bella Gabriella

Every Italian owns a Wiener Dog.

Sorry sorry sorrryyyyy that I'm being a bad blogger.

I don't quite remember where I need to start off from, but I'll just pick up at the 4-day group excursion!

So we left on a Sunday morning bright and early and took a coach bus to Pisa. One of the Italian language teachers is from there so she was able to take us around the city and tell us interesting stuff about the history, etc. Of course we hung around the Leaning Tower quite a bit (but oooohwee are there a lot of tourists there. like A TON. like SO MANY asians...check out my photo album haha) but the weather wasn't really cooperative and it would randomly start pouring rain on and off. Kind of annoying. We got to go inside the Battistero (baptistry) and that was cool because the place has perfect pitch and this woman came in and sang notes and made her own chords because each note would last so long...I enjoyed it. Later we got some free time to walk around and explore on our own but Pisa was just kind of dirty and not that exciting. Later in the afternoon we took the bus to the coastal town of Viareggio where we would be sleeping for the next three nights.

Viareggio is a hoppin' summer beach town. Key word: summer. Since it was already the end of September when we arrived there, there were basically no people and no bars/dance clubs to go to at night...that was a slight bummer. But luckily we were usually pretty tired from sight seeing and exploring throughout the day, oh and we were mostly all in food comas after dinner (more on that later) so sleeping sounded good by about 11:00pm.

So the second day was a free day in Viareggio. Once again, the weather was being a brat and it rained basically the whole morning. My friend Sophia and I went out walking anyways because we didn't want to be stuck in the hotel. We found the weekly market and although we had to dodge huge raindrops, we managed to enjoy ourselves. We also went and walked a little on the beach and watched the crazy surfers and wind-surfers who were taking advantage of the huge waves courtesy of the cold and wind. After lunch, the sky cleared a little and the whole group got to hang out on the beach for a bit. Some crazies decided to swim but I just stayed back and photographed (they felt sickly in a few days...) and then we went to dinner as a group to a local pizzeria.

We thought that when "Pizzeria" was on the itinerary it would be just like other nights when we've had group pizza sessions and everyone would fight to get more slices of zza. No no no. We started off with antipasti (hello appetizers.) and there were like 10 different things to try. Yum. Naturally everyone had filled up on bread when we initially arrived as well. So finally when the pizzas came, we thought we were going to die. Everyone got a hugeeee personal pizza. So completely unnecessary (we should have just shared!) and that was probably one of the ONLY times in my life I had to stop eating food because if I didn't i would have exploded. It was a sad moment because food to me is never a negative thing (shoutout to the EATING TEAM/WLBs ghp07 babyyyy). After dinner we walked around looking for a bar or anywhere to hang out but there was literally nothing open (we think the program picked this place on purpose so we would stay out of trouble...hmm...) so I just went to bed.

Day three we got up and (mmm hotel breakfast was delicious just throwin that out therrr) took a bus to a town called La Spezia where we then took a train to the Cinque Terre! So I've been looking forward to going to Cinque Terre for a verrrrrry long time. The weather was still on and off crappitos but I was pumped anyways. Once we arrived, we walked from Riomaggiore (town 1) to Manarola (town 2) as a group on the Via dell'Amore (sappy but cute with all these Love Locks attached wherever you could imagine... again look at my pics so you know what i'm talking about) and after that we had the rest of the day to explore on our own. Me and a group of 4 other girls decided we wanted to do some hiking so we set off into the hills (because the coastal trails were closed due to the rain...roar) and just started walking without really knowing where we were going. After lots of uphillness, we reached a town (who's name started with a V and is relatively unimportant because its not on the water) and took a water break. We then started the descent down to the town of Corniglia (town 3 of the "Five Lands"). We went downhill for a looong time (did you know that you get shakey legs after doing that because you've been trying to brace yourself for so long? fact.) and then ate lunch in Corniglia. We trained it over to Monterosso (town 5...we skipped town 4 cuz we sort of ran short on time) and hit up the beach where most of our other program friends were hanging out because they decided to be lazy all day and not go hiking. Again, it was way too cold in my opinion to swim so I just picked out pretty rocks and took pictures while everyone else caught colds and coughs oh wait i mean went swimming in the ocean. On the way back to Viareggio we stopped for dinner at a restaurant that I don't actually know the name of and there were 5 courses. FIVE. ljfalwkjefaljal fooooooooood and wineeeeeee. deliciousness with soups and pastas and bread and meat and dessert and goodness.

On the last day, we packed up all our stuff and went to a small town called Lucca. Lucca was actually built as a town to defend Pisa wayyyy back in those years when everyone was attacking everyone. Turns out, Lucca is a lot cuter and prettier than Pisa is (BURN!) and everyone rides around on bicycles. It looks a lot like Siena but without all the hills and with slightly wider streets so the sun gets in them and makes the town so bright and warm. Most of the day I walked around with Sophia and Maegan and we explored and enjoyed the sun while picnic-ing on the ancient walls around the city.

So that was the trip! It was cool to get to see the coast and some different parts of Italia that I may not have ventured to on my own.

When we got back, our regular classes started up. I think I said this in the last post, but I'm not sure so deal with the repetition or be my guest and skip this part! I'm taking History of Italian Cinema, History of Italian Emigration to the Americas, History of Italian Cuisine, and still continuing on with my Italian Language course (which, by the way, i got a 100% on my 3week intensive italian final exam... WHAT WHAT!?!?!!?). I'm still adjusting to the new schedule because all the classes start at different times and are only on some days and not the other so it's a little confusing.

This past weekend on Saturday we took a day trip to the Tuscan Coast and of course it wasn't sunny. But we hiked to this secluded beach and played beach soccer (MVP right hereeee call me Messi if you please) and then since we got hot and sweaty we swam and played volleyball in the ocean! I know, swimming in the ocean on October 1 is crazy talk! But I did it and it was great :) After the beach we went and visited the cute beach town of Castiglione della Pescaia.

Yesterday after class I went and volunteered at a special education center for adults. It was so fun and we played games and danced around to classical music with them for three hours. I'll probably start going every Monday now! It's very cool to be able to help out around Siena even without knowing the language completely.

Now I'm just trying to get used to the fact that it gets dark at like 7pm already and I know that means cold is coming and I'm scareddd. I'm not a huge Cold fan. (Shoutout to Melina for sending me some of my winter clothes in a box from Paris!) I'm also trying to figure out my plans for some of the breaks I have and that's always difficult with money for tickets and hostels and food and all that jazz. Other than that, I'm just enjoying the Italian ways... I people watch a lot....hence the title of this post. I'm not even joking, if they don't own a wiener dog (and by that I mean dachshound) then they own another variety of "long" dog. Must be the latest fad?

Here's the link to my Excursion Photo Album! I'm pretty proud of it :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037342&id=1120590434&l=fa2016b321

Miss you all almost as much as peanut butter or taking showers standing up!

Ciao,

Bella Gabriella

Gelato, You Will Be The Death of Me

It has been two weeks already! Living in Siena is amazing and I really don't think this "honeymoon" period (all the study abroad advisors call it that) will ever end for me. I am constantly learning new things about, not only the Italian language, but the culture and people as well. I even feel relieved when I'm heading back to Siena after a long day of excursions to other Italian towns. I just like it here. Plain and simple.

I have done so much in the past two weeks that I'll try to sum it all up in a few categories:

School--- The first three weeks of class have been Intensive Italian class only. We got divided into levels and I'm in the advanced group (stir the soup!). We have class everyday from 10am to 3pm with an hour break for lunch where we generally go to Piazza del Campo (the main plaza in Siena) to eat and people watch. We've had a test at the end of each week and after this week we have a final exam! After the final exam we go on a 4-day group excursion (more on that later) and then when we return, Italian language class continues but we start new classes as well! I will be taking Italian Cinema, Italian Emigration to the Americas, and History of Italian Cooking (tasting sessions, bring it on). The intensive italian hasn't been bad, but we're reviewing lots of verb tenses and conjugations that are verbally not necessary because Italians don't actually use the complicated ones ever. All the Italians I have spoken with say that I will be able to speak better than them haha.

Free Time/Excursions--- When we're not in class, we're usually either drinking cappuccinos or eating gelato in the Piazza. And by "the Piazza" I mean Piazza del Campo. As previously mentioned, this is Siena's main plaza and touristy hotspot. Shaped like a shell and divided into 9 sections (representing Siena's ancient "government of the nine"), Il Campo is hoppin' at any time of the day. My favorite Campo activity is taking pictures of adorable kiddies chasing pigeons, or just feeding the pigeons myself (my friends here hate me for that bahaha). Many afternoons/evenings the program has activities planned for us. One night we had pizza and a city walking tour, another night we had a picnic at the program director's beautiful garden. This past week we got to swim in the local hot springs and this week coming up we get to go to an Italian cooking class! We've visited two museums in Siena and later this semester we're visiting the Uffizi in Florence. I've taken two spontaneous excursions aside from the group with my friend Sophia the past two weekends. Last Sunday we took a bus to the small town of San Gimignano and yesterday we spent the day in Arezzo (where La Vita È Bella was filmed!). It is very easy to just head to the bus station and buy tickets on the spot to visit little Tuscan towns! Next Sunday we leave for our group excursion to Pisa, Lucca, and the Ligurian Coast!

Night Life--- Siena is a pretty chill town compared to Rome or Florence... but there are still some cool bars and fun things to do at night. Generally we all just come back into the center around 9:30pm. This is due to the fact that we all eat dinner with our host families around 8pm and because almost everyone's last bus into town is at 9:30. Drinks here are pretty expensive so we usually just buy some bottles of wine to split and we sit in Il Campo to hang out for a while. There are usually other groups of American students from other study abroad programs or other international students so we usually end up meeting new people or getting serenaded by some German guy who loves playing Backstreet Boys on his guitar (true story). Later we usually end up going to a bar called Caffe del Corso (they have these realllly long neon colored straws that are absolutely useless but really fun anyways) and then if it's before 12:20 we go to the bus stop to catch the 12:20 bus and if it's after, we have to take taxis. Which brings me to the public transportation section...

Public Transportation--- Inconsistent. Frustrating. Bogus. Funny. All words to describe the Siena bus system. They mostly stop running around 9:30pm but there's one line (the #10) that sometimes runs at 11:20pm and 12:20am. Key word = sometimes. These late night buses are called the "phantom buses" because they are never posted and they only sometimes show up. Or they show up but at the complete opposite time they were supposed to (slash not supposed to). Or they just don't. And then you sat there waiting for it for an hour only to finally decide as a group to split a taxi even though they're super expensive but no one can actually walk home because it's about a 45 minute walk and it's night time. You would think that the bus system would be a little better during the day but oh noooo. Don't even bother to plan ahead because even if you do, the bus driver probably just didn't want to go down your street that morning, it's Wednesday (market day) so naturally everyone is 30 minutes late everywhere, or some old man's cane got lodged in the doors so they couldn't close and the driver had to stop the bus to get out and dislodge the cane (again, true story). Speaking of canes, did you know that Siena is home to more old people than any other city Italy?

The Elderly--- Ok so I made that fact up, but there is a fact that resembles that one that our program directors told us and I just can't remember it exactly. But let me just say that there are SOOOOO many grannies and gramps here. everywhere. all the time. They're generally cute although sometimes pushy on the bus but that's usually just the nonnas and not the nonnos. There is this one old man that is at my bus stop a lot. We talk but he is really hard to understand so I typically just end up smiling and nodding and saying si si si even though I don't know what's going on. Last time we spoke I think he said something about equinoxes. Maybe?

Gelato and Coffee--- Two very delicious things. Want to have them every single day. So many flavors of gelato to try and getting espressos and cappuccinos is just the Italian way of life. Luckily, the two bars next to our two different school locations give us a discount on caffè. I don't even think I like gelato all that much. I mean, I do, but I also just get it because it's something to do and because I'm in Italy. I'm trying to reduce my spending-money-on-gelato tendencies by thinking in terms of "If I buy this item, I can't buy gelato for at least two days!" It is semi working.

Ok I could probably continue on and on with more categories like 1. cheap Asian stores, 2. Q tip translates to Cotton FIOC, and 3. Italian males are highly aggressive yet highly intriguing, butttt maybe next time.

Here is the link to my first photo album of Italia photos! Take a gander.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037054&id=1120590434&l=b40523d390

Ciao for now!

Baci,

Bella Gabriella

Long Time No Blog!

Well it has been over a month since I've posted.......some of you may have not even noticed haha! But alas, I'm back, and ready to share share share what's been going on. If you're not ready to read read read all of this, don't. Or feel free to skip around. Or grab a friend and popcorn read (!). Ready, GO :)

So, to start off I'm just going to briefly recap the end of my time in Spain. Considering the fact that my last post was in complaint of the (bogus) Spanish health standards, things definitely ended better than they started. But I'm not going to go into too much detail (won't go into the funny stories or bratty backtalk...) because I've mentally moved on from España. and it's better that way. Gotta compartmentalize things these days.

1. I got to go to the Atletico de Madrid futbol team training session, hang out by their really nice cars, and take pictures with all the players once they came out from the locker room after practice. This was all courtesy of my host dad who's client is actually one of the members of the team (a very good looking 20 year old professional soccer player... victory). I got to meet Kun Agüero from Argentina and Diego Forlàn who won the Golden Ball in the World Cup this year! It was really cool.

2. Maria came to visit me in Madrid for a whole week! So my host family left for vacation and since there wasn't enough room for me in the first place they went, they told me I could just stay home for a week alone. Which would kind of be cool if I weren't in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, I convinced Ria to fly down from Vienna to stay with me for the week. We got to do all the touristy things I hadn't gotten to do yet in Madrid and it was a great time. We took the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus around Madrid (quick! change the language of the commentator without the other person noticing!) and also took a day trip out to Toledo. We also got to relax by the pool by my house and I finally was able to prove to someone that yes indeed I was living in Africa-looking boonies.

3. After Maria left, I took a train down to the south of Spain to meet up with my host family. It was nice because I got to go to the beach, but most of the time I was having to deal with the baby who wouldn't stop running to and from the water, try to eat sand (typical.), all while his grandma and grandpa say obnoxious things about what I'm doing right or wrong (or how obscene it is that some women were topless, etc. etc.) to the other retired people who own condos there. This was all going down while my host mom was further down the beach away from the family because she didn't feel comfortable tanning topless around her mother and father in law. hah.

Anyways, I got to go to Aguadulce Beach (by Almeria) for about 5 days and then we drove further down the coast closer to Cartagena and stayed at La Azohia Beach for 3 days. Close quarters + too much family that's not even my family = ready to gooo. At each place we were meeting up with some part of their extended family. So basically I was at another family's family reunion. Talk about awkward. I felt like the whole time I was either a- invisible or b- in the way. Not a good feeling. But hey, BEACH. and it was pretttty blue/green water. So suck on that.

Kiddie/I'm a Demon Child Quote of the Trip: I play high-five with the baby all the time and I also say high five to Ivan a lot. This one time though I did the whole "Up high, down low, in the middle... Too Slow!" thing and to my surprise, his face went stone cold and he proceeded to say "I don't want to be friends with anyone who does that." Then he walked away.

CLASSIC.

When I got back from the beach I had one day to pack up everything and say my goodbyes...to my two friends...? hahahaha i sound like a loser (but you would be a loser too if you lived in Las Matas, just sayin').

THEN I FLEW TO ITALY. (after paying easyJet around 60 euros because they are the DEVIL.)

So the first night I was in Italy I wrote a journal entry on the computer because I knew I wouldn't have internet for days and I was just going to use that as my blog post, but since that was over a week ago I'll include it (just for kicks, it'll be funny to go back and read my reactions from the first day with the study abroad group) and then tell you more about being here in Siena! (Disclaimer: I was still really annoyed with easyjet so please disregard, or laugh at, my ranting.)

Arrival to Siena Italian Studies Program- Sunday, September 5, 2010

So the morning started off pretty terribly after Roberto (host dad) dropped me off at the airport at around 5:30am. I had to pay easyJet for all this stupid baggage crap because they’re huge losers. First of all, my main checked bag was 3 kg over weight… I knew it was going to be a little overweight but sometimes they let it slide. Not easyJet. They just want to steal your money left and right. So I had to pay 36 euros. Then after going through security and getting a quick coffee and croissant. I stood in the ridiculous boarding line since there are no seat assignments and everyone freaks out and wants to be first. I was pretty close to the front but once they started checking tickets the ticket lady would make every single person with a carry-on suitcase fit it into their stupid little measuring holder thing. Mine fit of course but I had stuck my camera case on top of it and covered it with my jacket and it almost passed but she busted me and then I had to get out of line and pay them 22 more euros to send my carryon under the plane even though my little tiny camera bag can fit under the seat in front of me perfectly fine and doesn’t bother anyone or take up any overhead compartment space! I was so extremely pissed off by the time I got on the plane I just wanted to get to Rome. And then, homegirl in the row behind me starts painting her nails. Really. Really?! You didn’t think about the toxic fumes that are currently permeating the entire enclosed aircraft? Rude. Anyways, the flight was fine. Got to Rome and got my bags and headed to the Siena Italian Studies meeting point. There were already lots of students and bags sitting in the middle of the hallway. I arrived there around 10:30am and we had to wait until the entire group arrived before heading to Siena so we had to wait around till 2pm. Not that fun and certainly uncomfortable (airplane floor bruised my butt) but we all started talking a little and getting to know each other. There is no one from the South (well except for Rebekah who’s the other girl from UGA). There are 32 students total and about half the group is from Siena College in New York. They all basically know each other because that school is baby size and some of them are even good friends. They were friendly though. Then there are some other people from around New York, then some randomers from Montana State University who seemed cool and outdoorsy and the rest I haven’t really met yet. Once everyone arrived we boarded a charter bus and drove three hours north to Siena. I sat with Sophia who is really nice and we talked a lot and slept some too (at least I don’t have jetlag…). Everything was going great until the anticipation of meeting our host families arrived. As we pulled into some parking lot, we spotted all the host families waiting in a big clump. Roni and Mike (staff from SIS) would call us out one by one (or in twos if you have a roommate) and you would get off the bus to meet your family! Really nerve-wracking! I got picked up by my “family” who is an older widow named Giovanna. We packed my suitcases into her little car and drove to a gelato place (where I got to pick out the flavors I wanted---Nutella and Peach first!) and took some home to eat. Pros of my living situation= I don’t have to share a room. I don’t have to share a family. The apartment is close to/within walking distance to the city walls. Cons= It’s just her, Giovanna. Not exactly the loud, big dinner table full of people I was thinking in my head. She smokes. I don’t think a lot, but she smokes in the house therefore it is smelly…ughhhh. She told me she’s a vegetarian? Which is so bizarre because I didn’t mark veggie on my application and there are lots of people who did and who might not be with families who are veggies. And I’m pretty sure I marked that I didn’t smoke either. And I also wrote in my app that I am close to my family and like to be around lots of people and blah blah blah… so much for them “perfectly matching” us to what we wrote in our apps. This is basically the exact opposite of what I wanted lol. But looking on the bright side, this is verrry different from my last new family experience and I think if I had been placed with a family that had little kids I would have compared it a lot to Madrid and to the De Frutos family. This way I’m having a totally different experience and keeping a widow company while her daughter is studying/living in Pisa. Plus, I’ll be gone most of the days in classes and stuff. And it is very nice that she lives close to the city doors. I’m curious to find out where other people live in relation to me. Tomorrow we start the real orientation!

Ok so even reading through that now is funny to me. I've only been here in Siena for a week and I feel like I've been here for weekS. It really is incredible how much you can learn and do in such a short period of time. I already know the entire bus system (more on the public transport later), can walk to and from school from outside the city walls, and successfully informed 4 different sets of American tourists who, while trying not to get soaking wet in the rain, needed to know which bus to take to get to the train station today! dominationnn.

I'm tired. just got reallllly tired. plus this post is already long enough. that's what i get for letting everything run together! but of course i'll post again in a few days with actual information about what i've been doing here in italia and how things are going with the program. oh and pictures too (although pictures don't do Tuscany justice...).

Baci from Italia,

Bella Gabriella

Hey Spain: You've Got Mail

Dear Spain,

It is in my personal opinion that you immediately review your personal hygiene policies. They are, to say the least, rather hypocritical. Please, let me give you an example:

I have trouble finding your "shower before you enter the swimming pool" rule worthy by any means. Do you really think that running cold water over your body for around 5 seconds (those that even do it properly) removes any form of bacteria, grime, or whatever you think should come off the body before cannonballing into the water? You do realize that pools have chlorine in them for a reason, right? And you don't even post this rule anywhere. You just assume that everyone knows that they have to rinse off before entering the pool. So it's ok for everyone to stare at me and for little children to yell "YOU didn't shower!" from across the pool but it's not ok for me to be grossed out when three different days POOP (yes, I said poop.) is found floating in the pool? And no, I do not mean bird droppings. I mean HUMAN FECAL MATTER. Three times. Hypocrisy? I think yes.

The situation was handled in the following manner: Screaming kiddies (and who knows, maybe even the Pooper him/herself) get the lifeguard's attention that there is "something" floating in the water. Lifeguard investigates. Grabs long pole with net attached and scoops UFO (Unidentified Floating Object) out of the water. Declares it POOP. Chucks it over a fence. And sits back down. Kiddies jump back in the water and go on their merry way. Other neighbors decide to come to the pool. Little do they know what swimmer just crashed their party. Michael Phelps? No. Spongebob Squarepants? No. E.COLI? Bingo.

Spain, did you know that in the United States if this happened said pool would be closed for the rest of the day? Although this may be a slightly drastic and exaggerated move, at least pool-goers can be sure that the proper disinfecting precautions have been taken before setting foot back into no-longer-poop infested waters.

All I'm saying is you've got three (brown) strikes. Not sure if you're familiar with baseball, but usually that means you're out. Get your act together.

Sincerely,

This is Why I Didn't Choose to be an Au Pair at White Water

P.S. Don't even get me started on the fact that you have no means of cleaning off the workout machines at the gym!

Beggars Can't Be Choosers

I've realized that the more and more I blog/vent on this thing, the more and more people I need to restrict from reading it... For example, I would freak out if my host mom ever got a hold of this website link considering the fact that I constantly blabber about her family and children and methods of raising them. But, honestly, I have to have some sort of outlet while I'm experiencing this experience. I already barely have anyone to talk to here (in person I mean). Luckily Andrea works at the pool everyday and I conveniently go there everyday with Iván so we get to talk a lot and I can complain to her. Sounds good right?

Minus the fact that yesterday I found out she's a SHOPLIFTER. As in, she plucks tags off things and proceeds to place them into her pocket or bag. I saw her do it. She knows I saw and even wanted me to do it too. HAH HAHHHH.

Here's the whole story though. The first time we hung out, before going to that town party I wrote about a couple posts ago, we were at her house while she was getting ready and she gave me a ring out of her jewelry box simply because I had said it was cute. It really was cute, it's an owl with little rhinestones for eyes. But I obviously didn't expect her to just say "it's yours!". I was so confused and had a puzzled look on my face but she was like "yeah i think you're pretty cool so it's whatever I'll just buy another one, no big deal." So at that point I just thought she had a lot of money or something like that. I got a new ring for free because "le caí bien..."

So fast forward to yesterday. During her hour break (the pool closes during siesta time. oh spain.) we went to the mall real quick just to look around. We pop into this store and we're looking at this box full of rings and I notice like 5 or 6 that she had at her house! We're chit chatting about how cool they are and how she has them and then she proceeds to find the owl one she had given me, pluck the tag off it and shove it in her pocket. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to skamper off ASAP just in case there were cameras or something! I felt like I was in 7th grade all over again. Peer pressure to do it, not do it, still act cool about not doing it, etc etc etc. Although I wanted to play it off like haha no big deal you just STOLE that ring and go on my merry way, apparently my poker face sucks because she realized how skittish I became and mentioned it. "It's the Spanish way" she said. Oh yeah?! The Spanish way is shoplifting. hmm...

Anyways, I felt super uncomfortable because obviously I'm not a shoplifter and have never lifted shop once in my whole life, but like my title says, "beggars can't be choosers". If I had a plethora of friends to choose from, yes I might shy away from the klepto, but since I don't, I'll just have to try to refuse mall invitations at all costs. Personally, I don't want to go to jail.

In other news, I finally have another friend! Her name is Paula, she's 18 and she lives in my neighborhood! I just met her now because she had been gone being a counselor at a spanish summer camp in the south of spain. We hang out at the pool with Andrea because they're friends too. Hopefully we'll be able to go out together now that Christina went back to the U.S.

Speaking of Christina, we went out on Friday in Madrid since it was her last night here. We met up with some French kids she met through a girl at her homestay and went to a couple of bars and then to a discoteca called Pacha. It was fun fun fun to dance all night. This time though, instead of going back to Xtina's place to sleep, I just took the metro to the train station and then took the train home because she had to go to the airport anyways. Got home around 8:30am and then went to bed for a few hours. The staying out all night part isn't hard at all, but the recovery really is. It takes me about two full days to catch up on sleep. Us Americans just aren't used to this type of thing considering our "parties" have to stop at 2am.

It is August! YAY!!! getting closer to finally going to Italy. I've started reading some articles from an Italian newspaper online since it has been so long since I last spoke/studied the language. Very rusty!

Wow, this post is getting too long. Maybe that's why so few people read this... I know it's true! I've caught numerous people red-handed. But, it's ok. It will definitely be nice to look back at this blog later and read all about my six months in Europe. Kind of like a journal.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about some funny kiddie quotes.

1- At the pool, I'm talking to this little adopted Chinese boy (there are like 4 or 5 adopted asian children in this neighborhood!) and I ask him how old he is. "5." He asks me how old I am and I tell him to guess simply because I love hearing what they really think. "30." hahaha no guess again i say. "40." hahhhhhhh. no lower i say. "11". hilariousss.

2- Riding back from a lunch we went to on Saturday (and by lunch I mean sitting at the table for 5 long hours...) Iván informs his dad that he didn't really like Jamie's dad. When he asks him why, Iván says "well its because I don't actually like anyone with long hair."

kiddie brains. limitless.

love love love,

G

Halfsies

Tomorrow marks one month in Madrid for me! Wooo only one month until I can speak Italiano all the time (in Italia of course).

Due to some previous requests (coughALLIEcough) here are some pictures of exactly where I am and things I've been discussing in my previous bloggyposts:

Here is the "calle" where we go out and play with all the other neighborhood kiddies.

Here is my house. That front stoop is generally where I sit while Iván and friends are playing some type of sword-fighting game or shooting each other with lots of plastic guns. Stick 'em up.

This is the gate that surrounds the "neighborhood".

This is the view directly on the opposite side of the gate. Looks like the middle of nowhere...Now do you believe me?!?!

That's Madrid way yonder over the river and through the woods. Well there's no river. and you know what I think about the "woods". Lion King-esque.

This is the path that I run down. It is right next to the Polideportivo (community rec center) that I go to and about 3 minutes away from the house. ps: i don't know why this is underlined. i can't find the button to un-underline it.

Here's the Polideportivo (the gym)- oh look, now the underlining is blue. joy

The pool. Spain has this ridiculous rule that there has to be a horrendously ugly fence around the perimeter of every single pool in the country. Very aesthetically pleasing.

Other side of the pool. There's my friend Andrea the lifeguard!

Now inside the house: the kitchen. brings back burnage memories.

Other side of the kitchen and the laundry room.

Living room.

Back yard/garden/deck thing.

My room.

Well there ya have it folks. My Spanish life in pictures. Leave me some comments, questions, or just an emoticon ----@ (rose?) to let me know more than just mi madre reads this thang.

LURVE.

-G

ps. pretty sure I conquered the baby tonight. victory is mine muahahahaha

Day Camp = Recipe for Disaster

This week Iván had day camp at the little community recreation center that I mentioned in my last post as the gym I found. This meant that everyday we had to wake up two hours earlier than we normally do so that I could walk him to camp before 9am. I decided it would be good use of my time to start working out right after I drop him off since I'm already there (and since it's moderately less hot at that hour).

So Tuesday morning I used the gym. It's nothing compared to the grandeur of an LA Fitness or even a YMCA but it does the job for sure. I used the elliptical and some of the weight machines. Wednesday morning I went running through the hill type thing behind the chalets (because I don't want to pay to go to the gym everyday) with one of the other moms from the neighborhood. The scenery is hard to describe... it's not the woods because when I say woods I usually mean tall trees. There aren't tall trees, but there are like randomly dispersed short little bush-esque trees and lots of wheat looking stuff and it sort of looks like the plains of Africa? ok I don't know I guess I'll just have to take some pictures for you all. It's kind of nice though. Thursday I swam laps at the pool at the rec center and made friends with a really nice old lady who was swimming next to me...I think her name was Berta.

So day camp brought me a nice little boost of energy throughout the week. It felt good to be active on a consistent basis (because chasing around a toddler does not count).

BUT... day camp also led me to most terrible moments in the afternoon. I thought that teaching him lessons in the morning was rough. The afternoon has NO comparison. Since Iván was at camp during our usual lesson time, the mom moved it to the afternoon around 5pm. The first day- he didn't take a nap after lunch so then when lessons came around he was unbearable. Whiney, tired, throwing things (pencils, his workbooks, erasers, etc), saying that I didn't know anything and that I was inventing math problems, and just plain ridiculous stuff. I was surprisingly extremely patient but of course had a talk with his mom after. Day two- Takes a nap after lunch (mom's orders). Still is in the worst mood ever and throws things and snaps at me and talks back to me like I have a mental disability (everyone know that voice? the slow words with big eyes one). It also didn't help that his dad was sitting in the same room playing FIFA on the Playstation at the exact same time. Oh dear. Day three- Someone had the brilliant idea that I had to wake Iván up from his nap and then do our lessons. Because most people really like 1) being woken up, and 2) being woken up by their English teacher that they despise. MOST EXCELLENT PLAN. So that lesson included the previous day's occurrences but also a full-blown tantrum with crying and flailing of limbs. Let's just say I'm glad it's Friday (although in 15 minutes I have to go give the last lesson of the week. painful. hopefully i don't get a concussion. some of those books are pretty heavy).

In other news, I officially have a friend! The lifeguard, Andrea, and I went to the movies last night to see Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. It was dubbed (which I hateeee) and I'm not a huge Cruise fan either but it was nice to just get out of the house and talk to someone who's not 7 or 37. Andrea talks A LOT and more than 50% of the time I am lost when she's telling stories because she switches from subject to subject without any pauses or notifications but I don't mind at all because again, I just really wanted to have someone to hang out with on a consistent basis! I think we're going to a free concert at midnight tonight at the town summer fiestas the next town over (that is if my mom and dad come back from their dinner and a movie outing in time... gahhh more babysitting with a toddler who doesn't want me to touch him and with a 7-year-old who doesn't want me to talk to him YAY!!!!)

Here is the link to my Facebook album of photos from Spain-

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033856&id=1120590434&l=27f0eda026

Miss everyone!!!!!!

You know you love me, XOXO,

G

Burns...and not due to a lack of SPF

Boy do I have a lot to update about... Ready,Set, Go:

So the day after my last post was going well until the mom and I were preparing lunch in the kitchen (which rarely happens because she usually prepares it while I'm feeding the baby and making sure he stays out of trouble) and she dropped an entire pot of boiling water all over. Let me start by explaining that the kitchen is very small. But not small enough to "run into each other" (that's what she said happened when she was later retelling the story... as far as I was concerned, I was perfectly stationary the whole time...) So luckily only my elbow and forearm got drenched and by the time it got to my feet it had already cooled enough so that there wasn't any damage. My arm though has a rather large burn that is doing much better now that it's been a few days. But geeeez. Pretty traumatizing experience. Oh, here's the kicker... At the time it happened I was holding a very large knife. Could have been a lot worse!

The rest of the week went by ok and on Friday morning we left around 10am to go to Segovia. Picture this: a car that seats 5. Perfect for 5 people. Now picture this: a car that seats 5 but two of the seats have HUGE car seats. Perfect for 4 people and maybe a rabbit sized human being in the middle seat. Oh wait. That was my seat. Consider that and the fact that the same movie (I do believe it's the Spanish version of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron HAH) has to be on for the baby not to cry every single time we're in the car and you've got yourself a grand ole car ride. Luckily it was only about an hour drive.

Segovia is a really cute small town with the huge ancient Roman aqueduct running through it. We walked all around the town and even got to visit a castle (link to facebook album of photos to come later!) We finished up pretty quickly (that's what happens when you're with a fussy baby and a complaining 7 year old :( and we decided to drive over to Avila which was only about another 45 minutes. Avila is another small town surrounded by the original walls of the town. It was also really pretty and we ate lunch at a place with traditional food. Visiting these small towns made me really excited for my study abroad in Siena, Italy! I really do prefer that type of setting to a large city (coughMadridcough).

Saturday I was kind of sad and homesick but after lunch I had to get ready to go into the city so I started feeling a little better. I took the train and metro to get to where my friend from high school Christina was staying and we went out to dinner around there. Later we got ready to go out and headed into Sol (the heart of Madrid center). We went to a bar and got some drinks (this beer that has half beer and half lemon in it is my favorite...since i don't like beer barely at all) and then met up with some of her friends from her homestay and took a bus around 2am to a discoteca that we didn't really know how to get to.

After a long bus ride and some walking we got to Kapital around 3:15am. Turned out to be perfect timing because the madness was just beginning. Kapital is a 7 story club. SEVEN. Talk about a good time! Floors 1, 3, and 5 have big dance floors that each play a different type of music. 1 was techno/electronica, 3 was hip/hop and r&b, and 5 was spanish pop type music. The rest of the floors were more chill and were kind of like lounge areas where you could sit and talk and not be mobbed with crazy dancing people (aka lameee). We spent the most time on the first floor because that's where the biggest dance floor was and the most people. Every once in a while they would BLAST this weird vapor/steam/white business really hard into the crowd and you couldn't see anything at all so at first it was almost scary but after a while it felt good because it was cold. They would also do it really randomly like trying to go with the music at some parts so it was fun trying to guess when it would happen. I'm pretty sure I didn't stop dancing once... not even on the staircases changing floors. There was also a good mix of people both foreigners and Spaniards. Basically, an AMAZING time!

Christina and I before going out

So after dancing the night away, the club closed at 6am and that's when the Metro opens so everyone floods out of the club and goes to the Metro. It's a really funny experience going home when the sun is rising. We reached Christina's place around 7am and got ready for bed... when it was light out... awesome!

Since then I've been trying to catch up on sleep and stay out of the unbearable heat. Today it was 99 degrees all day. I got a little dehydrated and felt pretty sickly and weak all day.

I'm pumped because I found a small gym type place that I can pay a fee and go to and its only about a 7 minute walk from the house. The spud look just isn't doing it for me.

I've been reading a lot since I've been here which is nice because I haven't read a book for pleasure in a long time (college's fault.). I read Chocolat and then watched the movie again which I LOVEEEE and now I'm almost done with The Catcher in the Rye which for some reason I was never forced to read previously (high school's fault.) and I like it a lot.

Below is a video I took at home when Spain won the World Cup. Probably 15 minutes after the actual win hahaha. After that is a link to my favorite song right now that they play all around Spain and at the club!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU

More to come another day :)

Miss everyone a lot!

Besos,

G