Fuilore and a Fish Dinner

Elizabeth, Plamena and I took the 7 bus up to Fuilore, 6 km out of town, to where the Medici family had their villas since it was cooler on top of the hill and cooler than in the valley Florence is located in. After I got us a bit lost looking for a museum, we finally found the church and vista point. The views were breath taking. We took some silly pictures, impersonating a sculpture, enjoyed our packed sandwiches and hiked up and down some steep hills.

Etruscan ruins we stumbled on when were lost. Plamena and Liz look a bit frightened since wasps were buzzing around them. After I clicked the photo they sprinted towards me in fear.


Be the sculpture. Florence is in the background. Squint, you may see the Duomo.


That night the three of us cooked at my apartment. Plamena graced us with her culinary skills and cooked Sole fish (whom she also argues she killed…it was quite an experience). Elizabeth, the surgeon in training, gutted the fish and took over my Greek salad. I bought a wine opener and poured the wine (big job, but some one has to do it). As you can see below, we did nothing short of harassing these poor fish.

Plamy killing the fish



The three of us toasting to more great days to come



Elizabeth expertly ate her fish. She wanted me to snap this to show her family that she can in fact eat fish well.


At the end of dinner Colleen, Nicole, and then Alyssa came in to join us for fruit, cheese and vino. I’m excited to see where these next four weeks take all of us.

Buona notte-

Jacqueline

Bologna and Balsamic Vinegar Production Tour

Bologna (origin of Spaghetti Bolognese for you foodies) is two-hour bus ride north of Florence. It is also the site of Europe’s first college founded 900 years ago. Its towers (only ten or so are left of the original 800) were immortalized in Dante’s “Inferno” (see photo below).


Elizabeth and I were most blown away by the University. The walls were covered with students’ family crests. Hitler used this building as his command center during WWII, specially the law room since there were many Germany family crests in it.


It was originally founded to teach law and then the arts were added, specifically medicine. Elizabeth drooled over the medical room which was completely wood—wood statues (of Hippocrates ect), wood lecture seats and lecture stand that was held up by two men without skin, exposing their muscles. Michelangelo studied the human body here.

The marble table in the middle was the site of dissections. Two human ones were done a year, a man and a woman, in the colder winter months. Students were not allowed to leave the room for 24 hours to maximize learning. (talk about hardcore pre-meds) It’s interesting, as a college student myself, to see where college learning began as we use it today in the West. I felt some connection sitting in the wooden bleachers listening to our guide…as if I was following some legacy of learning.



Bologna is also home to Basilica of San Petronio, designed to be longer than St. Peter’s in Vatican City, however as you can imagine, the Pope would have none of this, so they made it a little shorter. The façade was never finished since it took more than 100 years to complete. It has a Mediterrian Line (not sure on the spelling) to trace the days of the year. I love learning about “ancient” science. Nerdy, I know.


After our tour we ate a delicious lunch at a local favorite’s eatery. I had four cheese pasta (which rivaled my mom’s) and grilled veggies. There were large hooks around the top boarder of the room. They were used to hold slabs of meat in a prior era.For a snack I picked up some heart shaped raspberry cookies from an adorable bakery down the street from the restaurant.


Then Elizabeth tried to call hostels in Venice, however, we were unsuccessful and decided to do Venice on Sunday for a speedy day tour. We met back up at Neptune’s Square where I captured a picture of a boy eating gelato under the sun.

Next we hopped back on the bus to San Matteo, where traditional balsamic vinegar is produced. In a quaint country house three generations continue on the 120-year family tradition of making traditional balsamic vinegar. It is not a factory, which produces industrial balsamic vinegar, which we are used to in the states. Like other “copy righted products” such as Chianti, prosciutto di Parma, or parm. cheese from Parma, balsamic is protected in this region. We got to taste 18 and 30 year old balsamic, eat it on appetizers and ice cream, tour the vineyard and their storage cottage. It is a complex process that I can tell you about in person if you’re interested. Needless to say I picked up a few goodies…look forward to those ;)

*Elizabeth, Plamena, and I in the vineyards


Batteries, the “nesting dolls” of barrels of vinegar that are used in the complex processes of fermentation and oxidation (science people would have loved her explanation). The oldest balsamic is 100 years old. They have a cute family tradition of starting a barrel at each generation. So the eight year old boy has his eight year old barrel and the father has a forty year old one in addition to the ones left by his grandparents. These are used for special occassions, such as weddings.





The owners collect objects from Italian farms and are in the process of opening a museum. Here are some glass flasks displayed.


When we finally returned home after some traffic, Elizabeth and I split a spinach pizza and had a couple local beers as a flame eater entertained us.


Ciao!

Jacqueline

Finally Florence

Yesterday we moved into our apartment!! Alyssa and I are sharing what should be an apartment for three people, but API said they had a cancellation so there is an extra loft with a bed above the bedroom we share (We decided not to use it since it gets way too hot up there, Lucy-and-Will-third-floor-style hot). The apartment is much bigger than the one I had in LA last summer. Our bedroom is as big as the AEPhi TV room and our living room is equally big. Our kitchen even has an oven (Elizabeth is way jealous since she is here to cook and is without one).

Our bedroom
Our Kitchen

Amy and I at our first dinner in Firenze

View from dinner of the Duomo!

For our first dinner in Firenze (Florence in Italian) API sponsored a dinner for the program at the top of a hotel and had a spectacular view of the Duomo and the city. Besides being a bit windy and chilly, which was welcomed after our hot weekend in Roma, it was perfect—we even had bowtie pasta! One of my favorites.

Today we had a walking tour of Firenze (Florence in Italian) by a guide who was not even close to as funny, good looking (well to me, she was female…), or loud as Paulo, whom we had in Roma. It was nice to get oriented though and rapidly see places I wanted to return to learn more about.

Il Ponte Vecchio ("the old bridge" below): It’s the only bridge the Nazi army spared when retreated from Florence. Since the middle ages, the bridge has house jewelry shops, especially gold and diamond specialties. It’s fun to window shop.

We ate lunch at il Mecato Centrale that is basically like San Francisco’s farmers’ market on the Embarcadero mixed with Harrods’s deli in London, but cheaper and Italian! The first floor is filled with meats, fish, bakery, and pasta stands and fruits and veggies on the top. It’s in what looks like a refurbished factory or warehouse. At the café inside, we had roast beef sandwiches on white roles with the tastiest a jus. Even though we meant to order the beef stew not the panino, it didn’t matter. The meat was so rare and tender, but the fat got stuck in our teeth. Small price to pay. Elizabeth will be returning there soon.

Meat Stands. These are for you Will. Instead of showing slices of meat, they show basically the entire animal, for example this is where they cut rib-eye steaks. We also saw a cow femur bone. While it was as long as my upper arm it was as think as my neck. Big cow.



Next we had an orientation at LDM (Lorenzo de’Medici), my school (which is an art school, I’m going to art school!). We had our meeting in a church! It was a beautiful building with frescos and carved limestone. I cannot wait to see my studio.

Tonight Elizabeth and I spent five hours cooking and planning excursions for the following weekends. I have to admit, we’re pretty ambitious. We’ve decided to do our own trip to Venice (hopefully this weekend!...ekk that’s in a day!). You should see us sprawled out on the strawberry table cloth in my apartment reading each other bits and pieces of guidebooks (which we have no shortage of resources with her Bon Appetite magazines, my three Florence guides, and the eight guides left in the apartment). Mom you should be very proud.

We are also planning a trip to Southern Florence to see Naples, Positano/Ravello, and Pompeii/Sorrento (over three days) for our last weekend. It’s going to be amazing. Basically Liz and I have been applying our pre-med work ethic to soaking up as much of Italia as we can in our four weeks left. No stone unturned, no cheese not eaten, and no sight unseen. We’re also planning some day trips…we just cannot contain ourselves. Our dinner, below, was a decent first attempt to cook in my tiny kitchen with Elizabeth. She made great salad with bread in vinegar with cucumbers, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, oh and LOTS of garlic. My pasta with tomato basil and prosciutto was the sadder of the two. Since we got so caught up in planning trips we were famished. As we ate and talked we listened to the lingering music from a classical music concert San Marco’s square, two blocks down from my apartment. Yes, this really happens in Italia.

Our first homemade dinner:


I met a Bulgarian girl named Plamena (Plamy) who is an exchange student in the states. She calls me her German and Elizabeth her Russian. She’s a fascinating person, interested in perusing art as more than a hobby but not a profession and speaks 3.5 languages, who I hope to get to know better. She studies Scandinavian Lit at U of Chicago. Her roommate Jen goes to De. While there is definitely a group of students who are the definition of why American tourists/students get a bad name, there are some gems in the ruff. I’ve especially enjoyed meeting some ladies from the South. I cannot get over their accent.

Colleen (I love this girl, it feels like she’s a Cali girl at heart although she is from the East coast) is here for six months and I am so jealous. I want to live her forever. I love the Italian way of life: taking pleasures in the simple things, how environmentally conservative they are in their appliances and cars, the language sounds like you’re singing someone a song as you talk to them (I often listen in even though I have no idea what they are saying), the bunches of older women all dolled up to go to the market, the slowness of a meal to enjoy the food and conversation, the fact that saying “ciao” or “bongiorno” just makes you feel happy (unlike English where good morning can feel like a slap in the face), that people kiss each other hello and being surrounded by so much history 24/7. I’m on cloud nine right now.

However, I REALLY HATE CATCALLS. Every single man, it doesn’t matter how old or young (seriously a 60 year old bought Jen a drink last night) will hit on you. It’s flattering, but I cannot even walk half a block to take out the trash with out hearing “Ciao Bella” (hello beautiful). [It reminds me of the Jerry Seinfeld stand up comedy bit from “I’m telling you for the last time” called ‘Men and Women’. Here is an except:

“Women want to know what men are thinking….I can tell you the truth…nothing. We’re not thinking anything. We’re just walking around, looking around. This is the only natural inclination of man. We like women. We want women. We’re walking around, honking car horns, and yelling from construction sights. These are some of the best ideas we’ve had, but it’s not easy when your minds are blank.”

One of the funniest things was in Rome when some man was waving a sign in a big crowd of people, so Alyssa looked up (never make eye contact with these men or they will never leave you be, that’s my rule) and he said something like, “ Hi pretty lady. You want to have sex?” with a totally serious face. I almost fell on the floor laughing while Alyssa picked up the pace towards the hotel. It’s completely harmless, but annoying. I’m not saying I don’t like being told I’m beautiful, but seriously boys, it’s so intense. I just don’t get how they keep it up until their graves…must be in the vino. I guess they aren’t afraid of rejection like American boys are….every culture has its pluses and minuses.

Tomorrow we’re off to Bologna and a tour of a Balsamic vinegar factory (!). If anyone doesn’t know, I love balsamic and would drink it if I could. Then Sat/Sun is Venice, if we can find a hostel, and Monday we start classes. Time is flying and I need to get some sleep since we’re meeting at 7:30 am.

Ciao!

Jacqueline

PS Thank you so much for all your e-mails, wall postings, and comments. PJ I’ll try to stay away from the grappa... Mom, I’m going to include more entries on food. And Christie I’m sorry you and Cecilia are so bored. Plan some day trips…they take up a lot of time. Oh and I don’t think I’ll be able to bring back gelato, so tell me your favorite flavor and I’ll eat it for you and tell you how it was. ;) Michelle thanks so much for the recommendations, I hope to get to those spots ASAP. Caroline, the constant wall posts make me feel like you’re not so far away. You’re right studying abroad is really the time of your life. Oh and check out my little’s blog (Ashley Levine) on the right side…she’s seeing some amazing stuff in Africa. I’m so proud to be her big. Michealla, I don’t know if you’re reading this, but thank you so much for encouraging me to come here and make the time to study abroad. I’m learning so much not only about Italy and culture, but also about people, especially myself. I hope you’re all doing well. If anyone else wants to hear anything specific, please let me know.

And just so you all know, I’ve found some sandals that are like walking on clouds (Mom they are the ones you ordered for you, the black bite sandals. I highly recommend these pups. I’m so over the fact that they don’t look too cool. It’s function not fashion for footwear when you’re going a million miles a minute.)

God Bless the Pope

Today was our third and final full day in Rome. In the morning we visited Vatican City and toured the Church of St. Peter's. I was in awe of how big the church is (the largest Catholic Church in the world-still). The church is quite proud of this fact, as they imprinted the floor with the names of a few famous Catholic churches at the distance corresponding to their respective length, emphasizing the grand size of St. Peter's.

The Swiss guards in their traditional 16th Century outfits. As our guide told us, you can date the Swiss guards and even marry them. They live in Vattican City and it's a great honor to serve the two years as a guard of the Vattican.

St. Peters Church from the interior is HUGE. It has three levels. The first is where Peter was said to have been crucified and where his bones rest. The second level is where previous popes are buried (as well as some members of the English Stewart family). Then the final level is pictured below. Three popes who were particuallary distinguished are buried on this level in glass boxes. You can still see them (!). They have wax over their skin to keep them looking as if they were sleeping.

The alter. I loved this stained glass. There is a dove in the middle of the orb of light, but you cannot see it in the picture.

La Pieta by Michelangelo looked so real. I found it a bit vain that it is the only statue Michelangelo ever signed.

Sadly, we did not go to the Sistine Chapel, however we did go the Castle of St. Angel, where the Pope hid out during the sacking of Rome and also the site of many excecutions and originally the temple of a Roman Emperor. Here is a picture of it from the bridge of St. Angel designed by Berlinni.

The views from the top were worth the hike through this muggy castle. In the first picture you see St. Peter's Church, which we had just toured. In the second one, the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and a bit of the river we walked along up to the Spanish Steps.

After the tour, a group of six of us decided to break off and trek it up to the Spanish steps. First we stopped for lunch near the Piazza del Popolo at a small bar. I used some of my Italian here and was doing well until on of the waiters heard me speak English to a friend, and then he busted out in his perfect English. I wish that in the US we had more emphasis on second languages, even though I dragged my heels through Spanish. I love speaking Italian. I just pretend I'm Super Mario and everything sounds like I've spoken the language for years. After cooling off, we wandered into the Borghese gardens stopping at fountains, statues, and a merry go round. I some how became the navigator, which I don't mind, however, many of the small park streets weren't on the map, but no one seemed to mind that we looped out of our way. Then as we were walking down Via della Trinita del Monti we saw a few steps before a double bell towered church. At we joked that it was the Spanish steps and that we had come this far to see 10 steps. They turned out to be the steps! Or at least the beginning. There is a picture below so you can see the grandness of the steps.

We made our way down Via de Corso admiring the designer shops and hoping into a few to cool down. We passed the Parliament building and then stoped for gelato again (this time I got watermelon). Exhausted, we made our final steps refueled with gelato past the Pantheon and down two blocks to our hotel, where we all immediately jumped into the shower.

Blister up date:

So far I have four blisters, two on each foot in symmetrical lay out. I believe I have gone

through eight band aids and two second skin adhesives. I really wish I brought my moccasins to wear (many of you phis have seem me wear these hot shoes in the house) since they are so soft. I have two pairs of shoes that sort of work with my blister situation...I may have to go shoe shopping. BUMMER.

It's our last night in Rome and tomorrow we'll be off to Florence! I've made good friends with a group of girls who will be staying in the same apartment building as us. Overall everyone is pretty friendly and just want to experience Italy as much as possiable.

Ciao

Jacqueline

When In Rome...

I woke up pumped to tour Rome-it was one in the morning-I went back to sleep. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel of crossiants, yogurt, and yogurt. Another "gringa in Italy" moment occurred during breakfast when I pushed the Latte button on the coffee machine and received a cup of warm milk (latte means milk in Italian, however this was not covered in Italian I at UCLA). FYI if you want coffee with milk, order a cappuccino.

Paul, our guide, walked us through the near by monuments of Rome. I revisited the Campo dei Fiori, where a day prior I noticed my foot had lost a half cup of blood. As you can see in the picture below, there is a statue of a creepy cloaked man. Although at first I thought he stood for the grim-reaper of blisters, in fact he is a philosopher whose statue was commissioned by the government had a falling out with the Catholic church. Today the square is a open air market in the morning and patroned by youth during the night.

Next we visited the Plaza Navona, as I mentioned yesterday. Here is a picture of one of the fountains. Unfortunately the fountain of the four rivers was under scaffolding so we couldn't see it, but we learned some funny tid-bits about it. The artist designed it so that the two men who personify the rivers of Africa and Europe shield their faces. This was done because they face the large while buiding, seen in the photograph below (designed by a competing artist), because the fountain designer thought the building was poorly build and would fall on the fountain. Ironically, when the fountain was built the building had not even begun construction. Oh how I love the Italian spirit of competition and humor.











We then went to the Pantheon. The dome is an architectural feat-43 meters from the top and in width. Inside Rafael, the great artist, is buried. Marble aquired from Africa, Asia and England show the strength of the Empire.









We then proceeded on to the Church of Saint Ingatius with its beautiful ceilings. Interestly, the fo painted a dome (the dark circle in the first picture). It really looks like the real thing when you walk in, however, when you're right under it appears fake. However, I doubt many patrons looked straight up at it, since as you can see the Baroque style alter is a bit distracting.





Then we walked through a mall that had originally been constructed early 19th century as a place to take an evening walk with beautiful stained glass window ceiling. However it was abandoned and the poor of the city took it over. 20 years ago, it was turned into a mall where there are car exhibited as reptiles (Will this shot is for you). Dad you might recall this mall as your savior in Rome since you cut through it countless times, savoring its air conditioned hallways. Our guide also had the same strategy.














Our last stop before lunch was at the Treve Fountain, a site we had failed to locate the day before. Every time I see the fountain I am at awe with how clean and pristine it looks. A group of us did throw a coin over our back, as we would all like to return to Rome (They collect 2 million euros a year from the Treve F! Police stand by to make sure no one steals coins out of the pools of water). Below is a picture of the fountain, including one of Elizabeth and I. One thing about being on a tour with strangers/not your family, is that you take a lot of pictures of things, but you're not in a lot of them. Here is proof that yes, I was there.








After lunch at a pizzeria, we hopped on a bus (with cold AC!) and went to the colluseum. I'm always impressed with the ideal of the Romans re-enacting famous naval battles by flooding the floor of the stadium with water so that they can sail boats on it. Much of the colluseum was quarried for its stone and the metal holding the stone in place, which is why the outer limestone is completely gone along with much of the upper stone structure (as you can see below). As our guide Paul put it, Rome has always been very green-they like to recycle. In fact the entire building would probably be gone if a Pope had not proclaimed it the site in memory of Christian martyrs, making it a holy place prohibiting the removal of more stone.








Viewing looking out of the Colloseum.








We then drove outside the Roman walls and through various neighborhoods, enjoying the AC (if you don't know me, I don't do heat well. I can do it emotionally, but my body doesn't like it. My skin gets itchy, heat rashes are frequent, and I get sun headaches sometimes. I'm fun to travel with, I know). After a shot of life had been "frozen" back into me, Elizabeth, Amy (elizabeth's roommate) and I ventured to find the Spanish steps, but instead got side tracked at the Tomb of the Unknown Soilder. The bronze statue of the emperor on the horse is so large that they put a table in it and had dinner IN the statue. Sadly, we were unable to find a way into the horse's belly ourselves, although we find some great views from the top and a great museum with Girabaldi's striped pj pants and pictures from the first world war.


View from Tomb of the Unknown Solider. The farthest dome is St. Peter's Church.




Venician Palace: Mussilini gave many speeches on the balcony of this building that shares a
square with the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.




Finally, a few random pictures of a Peace flag and inspirational street art.



(That's Amore, for my phi sisters).



For dinner a group of six of us ate at Trattoria La Fraschetta in Trastevere. I had pasta gorgonzola with "speck" (some type of ham, although we haven't looked it up yet). It was a cute family run place with red and white table clothes, many tables squeezed into the room, and garlic hanging from the rafters. The house wine was perfectly dry and we toasted to Roma. We're all antsy to get to Florence and begin living as Italians among Italians. To walk off the meal we wandered around the river and back to Campo dei Fiori which had radically changed from open air market to college kid hang out.


Tomorrow we tour "Christian Rome" aka Vatican City. Sorry this entry was a bit tour guide-ish, but really it's too early for gossip or for me to tell you about all the Italian men showing me the town (joking-basically all we see in Rome are tourists). I just wanted to show you a glimpse of what we saw, as if you were here too.


Ciao!


Jacqueline

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Preface: I wrote the entries on the last three days in Rome at the end of each day. Sorry I made you wait so long for an entry and that this one is such a beast in length. I'm going to try to upload pictures, but we'll see how it pans out. Thanks for all your comments so far! I hope you enjoy this one and I apologize in advance, since I wrote these at the end of the day, they may have some errors I didn't catch in them....but really we all know I cannot spell, so when in doubt, sound it out :)

After a near panic attack at the SFO airport Saturday morning (Apparently according to Canada Air, which was listed under United, flying from San Francisco to Toronto is a domestic flight i.e. NOT in the international terminal. Also FYI, flying on a Saturday in June means everyone has to check their bag and if you're flying Air Canada, you cannot check in on-line and get in the shorter line, so you'll be in line for an hour waiting to check your bag.), I am now in Rome. But as my mother said, all good trips begin with a hellish start at SFO.


But it didn't end there.


After arriving in Rome, meeting up with fellow API members, and taking a bus to Rome, my roommate Alyssa and I decided to take a walk to orient ourselves and to prevent ourselves from taking a nap an falling deeper into jet-lag. We tucked a map in our purses and were off to explore. Stopping for a treat of gelato in the heat, I realized I recognized the street we were walking down from the previous year. I was sure it wasn't dŽjˆ vu when we turned the corner to find the Pantheon (shockingly, it hadn't moved since 2006-just kidding). However this time we got to go inside it and marvel at the huge dome and marble work. Finally, with a landmark, we pulled out the map and headed to the Piazza Navona, where (this is for Bianca) the Brazilian Embassy is. We then proceeded to walk pass the street our hotel is on and just before reaching the fiume (river) Tevere, I noticed bright red on my black shoes. At first I thought it was red tape or a piece of a poster, but no. Turns out that the back of my right heel was drenched in blood. Not just deep crimson, but bright crayola crayon red splatters were all over my heel and shoe. It was so red, as if the plasma or water part of my blood had evaporated leaving only the red blood cells and all their hemoglobin-oxygen richness on my shoe. While my feet had hurt a bit walking around, I chalked it up to breaking in my flats. We quickly raced back to the hotel-me hobbling and super self-conscious about my fire brazen heels. I even rode the claustrophobic elevator up to our room and raced into the bathroom. I must say though, this is the first time I've ever used a beday (how do you spell that?), and I was glad to have it. I'll spare you the gross details on dressing my wounds. Even if I was able to get all the blood out of those shoes, I don't think I could wear them again.


The rest of the day was pleasant and in better shoes. Although Alyssa and I had said we wouldn't nap-we did. It was maybe for an hour. I justified it saying that I had lost a lot of blood and was in critical need of some R&R. Later, we had a buffet dinner with the API group at a hotel. All my favorites were there-prosciutto and melon, mozzarella and tomatoes that were cold and slightly garlicky, as well as pasta that wasn't over cooked, bruschetta and lamb. It was amazing how our moods changed after the meal-it was even more extreme than my brother, Will, is in between feeding periods. After dinner, Alyssa and two other girls we ate with walked along the Tevere admiring the smorgasbord of goods and services for sale: books, purses, palm readers, canes with an ivory Buddha on the top (which we joked I'd need at my rate with foot wear), wooden sculptures, belts of every color and glitter known to man, bars, a Texan BBQ joint and Japanese San Rio toys such as Hello Kitty. We saw the smallest car ever (it was up to my hip, probably about 4 feet long, and red). Alyssa took a picture of me next to it. Seriously, this car was built for Toby to drive (Toby is my dog, a yellow lab). Leisurely, we made our way back up to the hotel, which we land marked because it is near the Area Sacra (literally Sacred Area), Roman ruins of a temple to Argentena. And for a moment, I wished I was Lucy, my sister, and had taken Latin. And then that moment passed and I am presently in our cute little hotel room with the thinnest twin beds ever, but hey it beats an airplane seat.


Now it is finally time for sleep-it's 10 pm here-I know I'm one crazy party kid ;) . Tomorrow we'll visit "Historic Rome" via walking tour in the morning and a bus trip at night and will have the night free to explore on our own. I'll bring my camera and flood you with shots this time. I was going to take a picture of my foot, but I'll let your imagination run wild with that visual.


Ciao! Jacqueline

Italia in Two Days

Okay. Welcome to the "Jac in Italia" blog! So exciting. Chill out--I'm not there yet...

While I am not as cool as my roommate or little sis who are in Africa saving the world, I thought maybe someone, at least my mom, would appreciate hearing from me while I'm in Italia. So I'll do my best to write my adventures down for you to read and hopefully upload a couple pictures. Sorry, I'm not as cool as Trafton and will not be posting any videos on YouTube. I'll still answer e-mail, but I cannot promise the immediate response I've been known to have in Cali...so Christie don't go posting any heinous photos of me on facebook.

As many of you may know, when I was a little booger I lived for arts and crafts and could routinely be found making my friends do something "artsy"--sorry Emily. When I was in third grade we traced ourselves on butcher paper and colored ourselves in the occupation of our dreams--I was an artist. Somewhere between there and now, art slipped into a hobby and basketball then science took center stage. This trip to Italy will be a chance for be to indulge myself in my childhood dream. I start in Rome where we'll tour the historic and Christian landmarks of the city. Then I'll be in Florence for three of the weeks where I'll be taking sketching and painting classes and living in an apartment with another girl from the states. In the middle of my three week stay in Florence, I'll be in Chianti for a one week excursion to paint the Tuscan landscape. I didn't realize how excited I was for this trip until I read the materials list. I get to use a quill!

While signing up for this program, I also convinced a good UCLA friend of mine, Elizabeth (who pledged AEPhi at the same time as me) to come too. She's living in a different building, apparently with a girl from the OC (where Elizabeth also lives--I am sure her lovely parents are having a field day with the irony). She's taking a Renaissance Art History class as well as a course in Italian cuisine. I plan to spend many meals at her place being the official taste tester.

An additonal note:

So since I was severely in the state of coma-toast during finals week, I told many people that I was leaving on the 28th.....this is not so. I'm leaving on the 24th, this SATURDAY (and today is Thursday night). I'm not getting nervous. No worries. (omg! or should I say caspita!) This leads me to listing my current state of affairs in the prep for Italia.

State of Affairs:

1. While I have not packed, I do have travel sized plastic bottles--currently, they are empty.
2. When trying to recall my Italian I speak Spanish, however I did finally read the info packets API (my program, Academic Programs International) sent me. Basically: don't over pack and this will be the time of your life. I hope these two are not mutually exclusive, because the first is inevitable.
3. While I have no Euros, I have an Italian student visa (this was no easy feat).
4. While my footwear is questionable, my lovely mother did buy me blister first aid kit. I love moms.
5.While you are reading this, I am wondering how much stuff I can bring and still be under the airline weight restrictions.

Next time I'll write, I'll be in Italia!

Ciao!

Jacqueline