Teaching, Traveling, and Tasting

So I am officially a failure at blogging. I have been meaning to catch everyone up on my exciting adventures for 3 weeks now but what can I say…I am having the time of my life and it’s pretty jam-packed. Since my last blog I have climbed the hills of Siena, biked my way through the fortress city of Lucca, portrayed the ultimate tourist at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and eaten the greatest parmesan cheese and pasta bolognaise from Parma and Bologna.

In Florence at the Pointe Vecchio

One night everyone in our program got all dressed up and went to see the Opera in Florence

I have also had the opportunity to explore Florence and Sesto more each week. Even though I’ve only visited a few other cities in Italy, it’s safe to say I love where I live! I am really starting to feel at home in Sesto after starting my internship. Once a week I spend two hours at one of the local elementary schools teaching English to 3^rd and 5^th graders. They are so curious and eager to learn all about a “real American” that within 30 minutes they had turned me inside out, learning all my favorites: “What is your favorite season? How old are you? Do you have sisters or brothers? Do you have a boyfriend? (obviously followed by giggles) Who is your favorite singer? What is your favorite sport, food, animal, color, dessert, state…” I too, am receiving a crash course in favorites and “educational games”: Lady Gaga is queen, football is king, pizza is the chosen food and feeding a salad to a 3^rd grader will not go over very well. Playing “Hangman” and “Simon Says” are very effective teaching tools. Today was our second week and I was able to plan our classroom activity. I decided to have them write a post-card to a friend where they would write about their favorite things to do in Sesto and ask questions of their friend to answer in return. I was pretty touched when while walking around the classroom to help them with their writing, I noticed most addressed to me! :) Missing my little swimmers in Riptide just got a bit easier.

Tomorrow I am meeting with my conversation partner, Chiara, for the first time. It should be another great opportunity to meet more locals and help me with my Italian (which most of the time still insists on coming out of my mouth either wrong or in French). I can’t help but hope she is a bit older than me so I can be invited over to eat meals and hang out with her family. Or a girl my age…with many guy friends. :)

Along with hanging with cute kids, my favorite part of living in Sesto is climbing the mountain and running around town. Each Sunday, some girls from my program and I make the two hour hike to the top of the mountain near our villa. It is quite the workout but the view of Florence and waterfalls at the top make it well worth it. That mountain is also the site of my future home. Yes, one day I will move back to Italy and grow old in my favorite house with the most amazing view. I’m so happy that I can run outside even though it is “winter” here! Running through town is always a slightly nerve-wracking experience. The drivers are fast and fearless, roads never go straight/end up where you think they should, and the cobblestone sidewalks are a sprained ankle in the making. It makes finishing the run AT the villa the goal versus just finishing the run.

A view from the top of the mountain (too bad it wasn't a clear sky)

Now that I’ve been here for almost a month (shocking) I’m beginning to get into a steady routine. A typical week goes something like this: travel to amazing places Friday through Sunday, return to the Villa Monday to do homework, (ok, pretend to do homework), eat, go to my classes, and plan next weekend’s grand adventure, before heading off for another weekend experience. Hostelworld.com and TripAdvisor have quickly become my new best friends, and online train schedules are read more than my art history books. A website that is not a friendly ally: currencyconverter.com. The U.S. dollar really needs to pick up the pace, preferably before May.

My classes are interesting and only having two or three a day is really nice. I really enjoy our on-site art history visits to Florence once a week where we usually visit a beautiful cathedral, palace, or museum. My professor knows more about every fresco/sculpture/building in Florence than is humanly possible, but I have come to appreciate the enormous amount of information she throws our way. My other favorite class is my Italian Film class. Homework each week: watch a famous Italian film. Some wine is usually involved during this “homework” period. Pretty rough…

Now to the really good stuff: my weekend trips so far. I could write a book on each city but sadly, this is already a terribly long post, so here’s a quick recap.

Siena ranks #1 as my favorite Italian city so far. The hills, the colors of the buildings, the cathedral…and it goes on and on! The best part of my day there was climbing a spiral staircase to reach the top of a tower overlooking the city. The view was unreal. With the blue sky and endless Tuscan countryside, there is really no other way to describe it other than “perfect.” On our way back to the Villa, we were able to take a tour of a winery and experience our first wine tasting. Drinking the best red wine in the world with your professors on a Friday afternoon, not too bad! :) Later that weekend I was able to climb more stairs (more and more and more) to reach the top of the Duomo in Florence with my roommate Kayla. Again, we were lucky to have clear blue skies and made sure to take tons of pictures from the top of the world.

A view of Siena from the top of the tower

Our first wine-tasting

My roommate Kayla and I at the top of the Duomo

The next weekend six other girls and I took the train to Pisa to show off our tourist side next to the Leaning Tower. I assure you, we did not disappoint. I have never felt more stupid than standing alone with my hands in the air struggling to “hold up the tower.” We laughed hysterically watching the other groups of tourists and took an equal number of pictures of hands in the air as of the tower itself. Later that day we ventured to the small town of Lucca about an hour by bus from Pisa. However, there is nothing small about the wall surrounding the city, previously used for protection against invaders. We had come to Lucca just for this wall, but not just to observe it, but to bike across it! For 2 euros we were all able to rent a bike (with a basket and bell) and pedal our way around the city. It was probably one the best things I’ve done here so far. The pure joy of cruising around a beautiful town made me feel like a little kid again!

Just as great as the tower!

Riding my bike along the wall of Lucca

This past weekend I went to Madison…oops, I mean Bologna. Getting off the train in Bologna and seeing snow was quite the shock. I thought I had seen the last of the snow at the Chicago airport!? Even though it was much colder than expected, we had a fantastic weekend eating, eating, exploring, and eating! Not only was I able to start my day with a Nutella-lined cup of coffee, but I was also able to end it with pasta with Bolognese from Bologna! This pasta was SO amazing, I really cannot even begin to describe to you the level of “tastey-ness”! In between, we were able to visit the University, (the oldest in Europe) where it is currently exam time, see two more leaning towers, warm-up in a medieval and anatomy museum, and experience a modern art exhibit. It was fun being back in a college town for the day; and even better that I wasn’t the one having to take exams! The next day we were able to take a short train ride into Parma, which is, you guessed it, the home of the best parmesan cheese in the world. It is also the home of my favorite cathedral we have visited so far. The walls are painted with extremely well-preserved frescos that are rich in color and detail. It is also one of the few heated cathedrals we have visited, which made for a great and relaxing visit. For lunch, I made sure to load my pumpkin-filled ravioli with as much parmesan as possible and even then I needed more. After searching a bit to find a store that was open, we finally entered an authentic cheese store and got to taste-test freshly cut parmesan off a large block of cheese. I was hoping to buy a wheel of it to bring home with me, but unfortunately my backpack was just too small. :) Maybe I’ll have some shipped to my apartment for when I return!

My favorite modern art exhibit: Networking

At the University in Bologna

My PERFECT pasta with Bolognese

Trying to find our way around Parma. Could we look more touristy?!

The inside of the Cathedral in Parma

Parmesan!

Which brings me to tonight! We just finished an orientation about this weekend’s group trip to ROME and I could not be more excited! We leave Thursday and I’ll be able to see the Vatican, climb the Spanish Steps, and throw my coin into the Trevi Fountain. (Yes, to all my girlfriends, I will make sure to quote Lizzie McGuire all weekend and plan on becoming an international singing star before returning to Florence Saturday night. Please look for me in the tabloids with Paulo!)

Thanks for sticking with me and reading this novel. Maybe February will bring a better-blogging Sarah! :)

I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm! Miss you and love you tons!

Arrivederci,

Sarah xoxoxoxoxo

The Sweet Life...My first week in Italy

Hi everyone!

I'm officially an Italian- I have eaten delicious pizza and drink wine instead of water with meals, I have perfected my pronunciation of "grazie," and bartered with the locals to purchase a gorgeous authentic black leather purse. And now that I've been here for 5 days I've finally pulled my life together for a moment to begin my blog! I can't help but feel like Julie in the movie Julie and Julia. Who will read this? Is anyone out there? Hopefully this will be a great way for everyone back home to keep up with my adventures and let me know there's still life over the ocean by leaving me some comments :)

The beginning of the journey was quite eventful with the blizzard that hit southern Wisconsin and Chicago the night before my plane was supposed to take off. Thanks to my dad, we made it safely to the airport in Chicago (with one stop at Culvers for my last butterburger (!)). After a bittersweet goodbye to my parents I was on my way with my life packed into 2 suitcases and a backpack. The first flight was not delayed on the schedule, but due to the time it took to de-ice the plane, the 9 other students from my program and I missed our connecting flight in Munich. We had no trouble finding a different flight into Florence, and after a quick wait in the airport we were in the air again. Seeing the Alps from the plane and the green countryside of Italy was unreal! Although it was dark by the time we left the airport via taxi to the villa and couldn't see Florence, we had made it to our new home without any major crises!

I live in an historic and massive Villa surrounded by gardens that are world-renown. I've nicknamed it Hogwarts because of the great number of staircases that just seem to appear every time I explore. Inside the villa is a dining hall, 4 libraries, a computer room, many classrooms, a study lounge, and a large basement with a tv space and room to hang out and play games. I share a bedroom with a great girl named Kayla. Our room is situated in a cluster of other rooms, so that a few of us share a bathroom, closet, and refrigerator. The view from our window is phenomenal, overlooking the gardens of the Villa and the countryside of Sesto. Everyone in the program gets along really well. We change up who we eat with at dinner to talk with everyone, chat about travel until too late at night, and someone even paid 25 dollars so that we could watch the Packer game in real time video on the computer...too bad the Pack let us down!

To clarify, the city I live in is actually not Florence. Sesto Fiorentino is located 6 roman miles outside the center of Florence. This works out to my advantage as I get the benefits of living in a "real Italian town" and being close enough to travel into the more "tourist-friendly" city of Florence.

Bruno, our chef keeps me full with the most gourmet meals anyone could wish for. Some of the dishes I've eaten include pasta, pasta, pasta, and oh yeah...dessert. I am not joking, I am living in a swimmer's paradise filled with piles of noodles and loaves of bread. Breakfast usually consists of fresh bread with homemade peanut butter and cherry jelly, juicy oranges, and if you really want to get crazy...cornflakes :) Lunch is the main meal of the day and is served in courses. Soup or salad is first, followed by a type of meat drenched in a sauce and fresh vegetables. Dinner is a pasta dish, and dessert. My favorite has been a cake-like dessert with pear and apple filling, drizzled with a custard topping and finished with powdered sugar. Or maybe it was yesterday's crepes filled with cheese and spinach. Or maybe it was... :) I am always a member of the clean plate club.

Sesto is adorable. It has everything you need, including a supermarket, post office, shopping, the Coop (aka Italy's Walmart), running paths, and restaurants/bars. Our first night out, we went to a bar called the Drunken Ladder (commonly referred to as Drunk) where the locals play board games at the tables and American music plays overhead. We have also tried out a wine bar, but decided against going back for awhile as each bottle of wine was 30 euro (equal to about 44 dollars!!!) Right now is the "sale" of the year. In Italy, the days following Christmas and before January 20th are the only days of the entire year when store items go on sale. People shop the streets like there is no tomorrow! My purchases have been a bit more needs-based so far: kleenex, a wine opener, and wine :) With just 3 euro, a bottle of fantastic wine can be purchased!

Florence, on the other hand is massive. I've never seen so many cathedrals, sculptures, and gelato shops in my life. Florence is also where the large market is held. For 3 large streets, you can find beautiful leather goods, fancy scarves, and colorful artwork. It was very entertaining as Italian men seem to think having blue eyes entitles me to receiving a discount on their 200 euro leather jackets ;) Don't worry mom, you don't have to take me to shoppers anonymous yet... On Sunday, our Art History professor took us on a tour of Florence which started at the highest point in the city, the San Miniato Church, (with the most amazing view) and wound all through town. She told us fact after fact about what we were seeing through a microphone that we hear through headphones. We looked super tourist-y but what we learned, was way worth it!

Classes started Monday. I am taking an Italian Film class, a Shakespeare class, Art History, and Italian. They all seem very interesting, and even though they are long (an hour and a half), it's just a 4-day week, leaving us a long weekend to travel.

And speaking of school, sadly we still are assigned homework, so I better get back to reading Hamlet. I miss you all and hope everyone is doing well, staying warm and enjoying the last few days of break (to my college friends).

I promise the next post won't be so long :) but I just get so excited to talk about my new life!

XOXO- Sarah