Afew more pictures

Elizabeth and I in Rome, Girls and I in Padova, River in Padova, Sad to leave Siena, and last day at Church

At the end of the Chapter

This chapter of my life is almost closed, and as I write it now I feel reluctant to finish because I know that once I do, it will finalize the reality that it is really coming to an end. My life will never be like this again, and that scares me, and makes me a little hesitant to complete the final story of my trip.  But alas I will write what I have experienced in hopes that someone will read this chapter of my life and will have the desire to go on a study abroad and begin to write their own chapter of experiences.

ARRIVEDERCI SIENA:

Saying goodbye was harder to do than I thought. I spent that last few nights walking endlessly around Siena trying to take everything in one last time. It was difficult to comprehend that I was walking around the streets, and sitting in the campo for the last time—as a true resident. The next time I come I will be a tourist and won’t be able to feel as I do now. I made a card with my remaining art paper and sewed a heart ornament on to the card with a big GRAZIE on it. We had the missionaries translate a perfectly spelt, not to mention impeccable grammar (just to make sure she did not give us a lecture the last night we were here) and bought flowers to give her. After dinner we gave her the gift and as she read it she got teary eyed and got up and kissed our faces. I really wanted to cry and thank her but I felt like I needed to just let the moment be as it was. We gave her our emails too, and I hope it bids well for us. You never know with Caterina.

The next morning we got up at seven and had breakfast for the last time. I felt so empty and really quite heart broken. Caterina got a phone call informing her that her uncle had died earlier that morning which put her in hysterics. She was so occupied with this news, that our leaving was quite anticlimactic and not very memorable. We got to the train station and met up with the other girls, waiting for our bus to come get us and take us away from our new homes. It really was a sad, sad day.

OFF TO VENICE:

Venice floats amidst some of romantic roads small alleys and ornate buildings. Indeed with the gondolas and decorative architecture some could argue it’s the most romantic place in the world. Let me just give you a small reality check: A lot of Venice’s charm is lost in the winter months. It is a little uncomfortable while walking around for hours on end. We are staying in a small hotel about five minutes away from San Marco piazza. First day here some girls and I walked around and saw the Doges palace, the accademia, and San Marco’s Cathedral. That night six of us went to La Traviatta opera in the Barbarigo palace.

It was amazing: first row seats and in an old palace where this opera first premiered. There were only seventy seats and meant to be an intimate performance where the audience feels like they are part of the story. I really did when the main singer came and caressed my cheek and held my hair in their hands as they sang about longing for love. It was quite fun trying not to laugh and some lady singing loudly into my face. Needless to say, I loved every minute of it. We had to change rooms for each new act which made it very interesting because we had a new seat, and scenery every hour or so. Wednesday we went to the Peggy Guggenheim museum, which was great because I got a new change of scenery from all the Byzantine art I have seen. I saw some Jackson Pollock, Picasso and other fantastic artists. I fell head over heels for Piet Mondrian. His work is brilliant! The other sites we visited and then headed to Murano to check out some Glass blowing! The boat ride over to the island takes about forty-five minutes and for some (me) may get seasick from the rocking about.  All worth it though once you get on land and participate in watching the glass blowing take action and browse the millions of shops that hold colorful treasures inside. The town really dazzled me, perhaps more than the glass itself. I loved the outlay of the small town, and the houses were so charming. I really could live there myself and be happy for the rest of my life, I should think. 

It is hard to really take for granted how great it is here and to appreciate it when the cold is biting at your hands and toes, but I am managing to stay alive and look back on the day only with fond memories instead of complaints of the cold.

 

BURANO:  

This place is spectacular! 

Legend has it that the fisherman community would get drunk at night and could not find their house so they all painted their own house bright colors so that they could find them.

The whole place is colorful and bright! It seems like a rustic candy land! Bright yellow, lime, blue, purple, red, orange, brown, turquoise, pink, white etc. It is so bright and cheery!

I really like this island and took tons of pictures of the houses and such. I could have spent all day long there but we had to get back for our final group dinner. Peter had arranged for all of us to eat at a really nice restaurant for the last night together. Each coarse was really elaborate and they served really weird looking fish, but fortunately they were pretty good.

 

BACK TO ROME:

(On the way back we stopped in Ravenna to admire some amazing mosaics! I stood inside the cathedral in awe of the intricate  laden tiles.)

The bus ride back to Rome was long and I listened to a mix I made for my ipod filled with sad/Italian music. I was in a very contemplative mood the rest of the five hours. Back in Rome after we got in our hotel room two other girls and I spent half the night talking about memories and good times to come. My plane left for Atlanta at nine so I had a comfortable amount of time to get to the airport and get checked in. Both flights went well and as I walked off my plane in Sacramento exhausted, and looking like death, I saw my family and extended (yes, Jen you are definitely considered that!) waiting for me with a big “welcome home” sign! This was probably the best thing that I could have seen after getting home from a long day of travel! I love my family and everyone else in my life!

 

As I finish my last entry I am happy to report that life is great, I love home, I miss Italy, and hope you all have a Happy Holiday season! 

Arrivederci Tutti!

art work

of flowers




Pictures of my art on the "wall" and my final project (the 3 value shading

VENT

?

(I am using this post as venting time in one long sentence.)

WHY on earth does my art professor tell me to turn in my final project, and says it is really good and assures me that I will do great on it, then give me a stinking bad grade so that I get completely shocked, mad, want to break his glasses and then try to calm down but cannot because I am crushed cause I needed them to be a good grade to get an A, but now I cannot because he 'changed' his mind and gave me a stinking bad grade. AHH. blah.

The End is Near.

Dear Blog, 

The end is near... and I find I am trying to find something within myself to cling onto and hold because I feel like I am going to lose something, or have a large void, which I know is inevitable. Home is near, and for that I am decidedly happy, but try as I might, I cannot find the best way to say goodbye to Italy. Finishing up school with finals gets a little crazy and busy which frustrates me in some ways because it is harder to enjoy my last few days in Siena. Today seven girls and I had a L.I.F.E. club meeting. Some girls put it together a couple weeks ago and basically just have a deep discussion once a week on life. I went for the first time and had the best of time. We talked about our experience for two hours in a small café with hot chocolate and pastries. It was such a fun, and neat experience for me to hear and share our thoughts on leaving. I love that we all are so different yet become the same when it comes to what we want out of life, and who we now want to become when we come home. 

Then we had free gelato because one of the gelato shops had a free gelato day because it was the last day in business this season. The weather is getting too cold for it to stay open. Our life club has come up with a most ingenious idea. This Sunday we will sit in the Campo and write a letter to our self about life and who we know we want to be now, and when we get home. At some time in our life we could forget or lose sight of this and will always be good to know that we knew at one time exactly who we wanted to be. After writing it we will send it home so that when we arrive home, we will have a letter come later that week. A little present to ourselves, reminding us to keep up the new change.

Yesterday I turned in my four art papers, and final project. I was so relieved to get it all finished. I also watched some Pride and Prejudice on youtube with Sharlie instead of studying for Italian and Humanities. After an hour I started to worry (typical) and got my notes out to review. The good thing about Shar and me is that we balance each other out. I worry, she doesn’t. Therefore we find a good middle ground and help each other out. She puts things to the last minute, I don’t, so we end up getting it done it a good amount of time. I will really miss that girl! She has been such fun and I will always love the memories we made.

While we studied at eleven we started getting a little slap happy and because of my feeling a wee bit stressed my hard laughter turned into a bit of a cry/laugh fest. It was quite entertaining.

FINALS are OOOVVVERRRR! WHOOOO!

That was a literal shout I did after I finished. Life is good.

I pity BYU students at this very moment thinking about how hard finals are for them back at home. We are all going to climb the tower that all graduating students do here in Siena. (for some reason we got a Dante Alighieri Diploma..?) It will be very exciting! I am off to the tower! Ciao!

some photos

Pictures from Firenze. 

1. The tomb of MichaelAngelo

2. Different views from the Arno river

3. Infront of Dante Alighieri Statue. 

Follow the Yellow Brick Road... to the Emerald Palace

Forever In Love  with Firenze

I do not know when, nor can I tell you how Florence came to steal my heart. I think that I fell in love with Florence the first time I went in October. I really thought that Siena would steal my heart, but Firenze was the thief. This weekend I went for the last time and realized when I was overlooking the city that I really had fallen completely in love with it. And then I felt awful because I knew it was the last time to be there for who knows how long. The bus ride home was like an awful break up. So in this blog I want to write about the wonderful rendezvous' that I have had here. 

1. The Ponte Vecchio. Probably the most romantic bridge in Tuscany. Not only is the jewelry amazing but the whole panoramic view off the bridge is bellissimo.  I cannot get enough of it.
2. Piazella- MichaelAngelos view. It is breathtaking
3. Walking around the Baboli Gardens during the Tuscan Sunset.

I finally decided why I like nature sometimes more than art. In Museums I get to admire the work of manmade art; in nature I can admire God’s artwork. It is hard to explain how I felt as I walked around gazing over the landscape, but I can say that it was a peaceful, and humbling experience for me. 

Festivo! Party Time! 

Five girls and took the rapida bus to Firenze at 8:10 am and arrived at 9:40. We all wanted to get some presents and such from San Marco Market so we headed over to start our shopping. I told myself that my shopping list consist of: Nothing.

Here is what I ended up with: Leather jacket, shoes, leather journal book, earrings, a nice tie, scarves, and a belt. I just cannot say no when Italians sweet-talk to me. Could you resist “ hey, bella buy a pretty jacket to enhance your beauty. You are the most beautiful lady in the market. You deserve something great”? Neither could I.

We did some sightseeing as well and enjoyed the warm sun and foccacia bread. Unfortunately because all us girls are great, but a little careless we all forgot to bring the address for our Hostel Emerald palace. We asked around—no, I asked around and when I got a thousand “non los so” responses I gave in to calling Mackenna at four in the morning to look up the hostel on the internet. Thank you kennaz!!!

We finally found it but when we arrived they told us that since we were an hour late to check in they were moving us to their other hostel Emerald house. Palace to house… hmm which sounds better?  But we lucked out because the house was an apartment that housed eight girls. Perfetto!! We got it all to ourselves—kitchen, two bathrooms, four bedrooms and a garden all for the price of 13 euros per person. We knew there had to be something wrong because who has ever traveled in Europe and not had mishaps!? We found the problem later that night. As we walked home from dinner we saw a red glowing heart next door to our house. Yes, a sketchy prostitution store/place open for business. It was a bit creepy but we survived the night. Lauren had tootsie roll pops that we all had and we told our fortunes with my face cards. It was so fun and we laughed till midnight. Sunday was met up with some more girls and the missionaries for stake conference in Florence. It was really neat being there and seeing all the missionaries and such. I even saw a guy from my stake back at home and met a sister missionary from Sacramento. Tis’ a small world in Mormon land!  After the conference we went to San Marco to see Beato (fra) Angelico’s cell frescoes. They were beautiful!!!

Next was the baboli Gardens where we walked around and enjoyed the sunset. Soon the nightlife came alive and our time in Florence was ending. I was reluctant to leave as I got on the bus that would take me back to Siena. I felt like I was leaving a part of me behind, and would not get it back. 

Siena was cold and I felt bitter getting off the bus, however when I entered the apartment and walked up the steps I felt like I was 'home' which is always a great feeling. And as I fell asleep, exhausted from the long weekend I smiled and replayed the events of the two days, which continued on into my dream. 

BIRRRRA.

By they way- I had my first Beer last night. It was awful. My host mom soaked bread in Beer and had melted cheese on it. She did not tell me about the beer till after I ate it. The alcohol was not cooked out of it. Anyways had to share. :)

Laundry Time

OUR Laundry Hour gets crazy here in Siena

Volterra

Vampires in Volterra

Dear Blog,

The clouds started tumbling in, dark and furious. Lightening would highlight the sky for seconds and then leave the sky black as before. Thick fog and mist were creeping around every corner, grabbing on to the walls and cobbled stone roads. The wind was increasing, but would sporadically blow its breath enough to knock light posts. This was the perfect storm approaching as if to claim territory of the town Volterra.
A dark alley with a tunnel created the perfect escape from the storm and sheltered twenty-four girls from the tempest. Little did they know that deep inside the alley was a shadowy figure, relentlessly staring at them. This shadow of a figure was one of the many living vampires of Volterra.
As the girls stood under the tunnel figuring out their next move, the vampire decided to come closer and as he did one of the girls turned around and saw him. She screamed, he disappeared into the storm.
Earlier that day started out sunny, but with a slight wind. The day seemed promising as twenty-four girls gathered in Porta San Marco to start their journey to Volterra. Today they were going to visit the town Volterra that is known for Etruscan buildings and artifacts still intact. All arrived promptly at eleven thirty and started in their small bus up the windy Tuscan hills.
Arriving in Volterra they all dispersed and went exploring in the town. Great excitement was in the air for there were many legends of vampires existing in this very town. There were even books written on it—Ancient Vampire families that had dominions over this city.
Life was quiet and quaint and scarcely anybody out. After having some fabulous hot chocolate and finding an old roman theater, the wind began to pick up and dark clouds started to form. As the rain came down we find the girls in that dark alley escaping from the treacherous weather.

- Okay, our trip did not involve real vampires but everything else happened. It was awesome! And the twilight series do talk about vampires in Volterra. Even our Humanities teacher who accompanied us said there were old legends about vampires. It was an exciting day!
After Volterra we went to San Giminagno which was gorgeous! Cute, and small. It also has the best Gelato in the world. – A Gelato store won the ‘best Gelato in the world’ so we all had to try. It was true. BEST gelato I have ever had: Life changing.
This weekend I am going to Florence for two days. I cannot wait! And today I did laundry for the last time – hence some of the photos. Sharlie and I had a blast today dancing around the Lavanderia doing all sorts of crazy things (we were alone) until we saw a security camera and got unbelievably embarrassed. Cannot wait to see you all soon!

girls making chocolate chip cookies plus the missionary


Salt and pepper

Bobbing for Apples

Me and Anna the Cat

Trick or Treat

Dear Blog,

[Annoyance]

It is considered good luck in Italy if one gets pooped on by a pigeon. Does the fact that it gives luck make it any better? No. Does it make it better that I now have poop on my new coat, and hair, but hey, its good luck? No. Who thought of that anyways? Probably someone who never had a pigeon let loose on their clothes before. Curse all pigeons.

 All Hallows Even

Halloween is a night of candy, ghosts, and scary scenes that either gives much pleasure or scars some child for life. Luckily I do not fall under the latter and love this holiday. The other day I started to think about the origin of Halloween and was so curious that when I researched it I was a little surprised at how Halloween has evolved in the last two hundred years. Here is some of what I found: This holiday originally started with the Celtics. They used this day to slaughter livestock and store the meat for the winter. That night they would make bonfires and throw in all the bones and such from the livestock. It originated in Ireland first and was called all Hallows even. It marks the last day of the year on the ancient Celtic calendar, its night being the time when all witches and warlocks walked abroad and engaged in wicked revelry.  With the coming of Christianity, the feast was transformed into the Eve of All Hallows, or All Saints.   The following poem by Robert Burns is a good indication of how pre-Christian Halloween beliefs and traditions survived. Most of it I cut out but I left the beginning, some middle, and the end.

HALLOWEEN

by Robert Burns

Upon that night, when fairies light

On Cassilis Downans dance,

Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,

On sprightly coursers prance;

Or for Colean the route is ta'en,

Beneath the moon's pale beams;

There, up the cove, to stray and rove,

Among the rocks and streams

To sport that night.

Among the bonny winding banks,

Where Doon rins, wimplin' clear,

Where Bruce ance ruled the martial ranks,

And shook his Carrick spear,

Some merry, friendly, country-folks,

Together did convene,

To burn their nits, and pou their stocks,

And haud their Halloween

Fu' blithe that night.

The lasses feat, and cleanly neat,

Mair braw than when they're fine;

Their faces blithe, fu' sweetly kythe,

Hearts leal, and warm, and kin';

The lads sae trig, wi' wooer-babs,

Weel knotted on their garten,

Some unco blate, and some wi' gabs,

Gar lasses' hearts gang startin'

Whiles fast at night.

Wi' merry sangs, and friendly cracks,

I wat they didna weary;

And unco tales, and funny jokes,

Their sports were cheap and cheery;

Till butter'd so'ns, wi' fragrant lunt,

Set a' their gabs a-steerin';

Syne, wi' a social glass o' strunt,

They parted aff careerin'

Fu' blythe that night.

This Halloween is going down in my book of most memorable holidays. Something about starting from scratch and going all out made this night impeccable. It was a pure good old-fashioned Halloween.  Kimberly Stoker decided to throw a Halloween party and to make it a church activity so the ward would be involved. Then she went about getting things ready and really went all out—It was great. She made chili and we had baked potatoes and salad. Not to mention the Elders made chocolate chip cookies! Mmm! Such a treat, you don’t even know!

The costumes that the girls came up with were so fun! There was Pepe and Sale (pepper and Salt), Sherlock Holmes and Watson, two Christmas trees, lots of witches (dollar store and 99 cent hats), garlic, art, angels, cat, referee, and a hippie. The missionaries dressed up as well. I was a little confused seeing one elder in a gangster outfit and the other as the original gangster in a pinstriped suit, but it was funny nonetheless.

I, however, was not as creative and went as ‘Halloween Colors’. Yes, yes, boring. I know this.

We all had a great dinner and then started to play the games. We played Mummy, where teams wrapped people up with toilet paper. It was a race to see who could wrap faster. Apple bobbing, relay races, eat the donut off the string (but in our case cracker), and we had trick or treating for the kids. Everyone had a blast and we all laughed and played till nine forty or so. There was a guy who was in his mid twenties who came. He is not Mormon but interested in the church. He really liked the party and loved talking to twenty-four girls all eager to get to know this Italian man. J The rest of the night was great and I walked home in the rain which added to the whole event. 

I come home in two and a half weeks! Crazy! I will post some pictures later! Ciao Tutti!

Trick or Treat

Dear Blog,

[Annoyance]

It is considered good luck in Italy if one gets pooped on by a pigeon. Does the fact that it gives luck make it any better? No. Does it make it better that I now have poop on my new coat, and hair, but hey, its good luck? No. Who thought of that anyways? Probably someone who never had a pigeon let loose on their clothes before. Curse all pigeons.

 All Hallows Even

Halloween is a night of candy, ghosts, and scary scenes that either gives much pleasure or scars some child for life. Luckily I do not fall under the latter and love this holiday. The other day I started to think about the origin of Halloween and was so curious that when I researched it I was a little surprised at how Halloween has evolved in the last two hundred years. Here is some of what I found: This holiday originally started with the Celtics. They used this day to slaughter livestock and store the meat for the winter. That night they would make bonfires and throw in all the bones and such from the livestock. It originated in Ireland first and was called all Hallows even. It marks the last day of the year on the ancient Celtic calendar, its night being the time when all witches and warlocks walked abroad and engaged in wicked revelry.  With the coming of Christianity, the feast was transformed into the Eve of All Hallows, or All Saints.   The following poem by Robert Burns is a good indication of how pre-Christian Halloween beliefs and traditions survived. Most of it I cut out but I left the beginning, some middle, and the end.

HALLOWEEN

by Robert Burns

Upon that night, when fairies light

On Cassilis Downans dance,

Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze,

On sprightly coursers prance;

Or for Colean the route is ta'en,

Beneath the moon's pale beams;

There, up the cove, to stray and rove,

Among the rocks and streams

To sport that night.

Among the bonny winding banks,

Where Doon rins, wimplin' clear,

Where Bruce ance ruled the martial ranks,

And shook his Carrick spear,

Some merry, friendly, country-folks,

Together did convene,

To burn their nits, and pou their stocks,

And haud their Halloween

Fu' blithe that night.

The lasses feat, and cleanly neat,

Mair braw than when they're fine;

Their faces blithe, fu' sweetly kythe,

Hearts leal, and warm, and kin';

The lads sae trig, wi' wooer-babs,

Weel knotted on their garten,

Some unco blate, and some wi' gabs,

Gar lasses' hearts gang startin'

Whiles fast at night.

Wi' merry sangs, and friendly cracks,

I wat they didna weary;

And unco tales, and funny jokes,

Their sports were cheap and cheery;

Till butter'd so'ns, wi' fragrant lunt,

Set a' their gabs a-steerin';

Syne, wi' a social glass o' strunt,

They parted aff careerin'

Fu' blythe that night.

This Halloween is going down in my book of most memorable holidays. Something about starting from scratch and going all out made this night impeccable. It was a pure good old-fashioned Halloween.  Kimberly Stoker decided to throw a Halloween party and to make it a church activity so the ward would be involved. Then she went about getting things ready and really went all out—It was great. She made chili and we had baked potatoes and salad. Not to mention the Elders made chocolate chip cookies! Mmm! Such a treat, you don’t even know!

The costumes that the girls came up with were so fun! There was Pepe and Sale (pepper and Salt), Sherlock Holmes and Watson, two Christmas trees, lots of witches (dollar store and 99 cent hats), garlic, art, angels, cat, referee, and a hippie. The missionaries dressed up as well. I was a little confused seeing one elder in a gangster outfit and the other as the original gangster in a pinstriped suit, but it was funny nonetheless.

I, however, was not as creative and went as ‘Halloween Colors’. Yes, yes, boring. I know this.

We all had a great dinner and then started to play the games. We played Mummy, where teams wrapped people up with toilet paper. It was a race to see who could wrap faster. Apple bobbing, relay races, eat the donut off the string (but in our case cracker), and we had trick or treating for the kids. Everyone had a blast and we all laughed and played till nine forty or so. There was a guy who was in his mid twenties who came. He is not Mormon but interested in the church. He really liked the party and loved talking to twenty-four girls all eager to get to know this Italian man. J The rest of the night was great and I walked home in the rain which added to the whole event. 

I come home in two and a half weeks! Crazy! I will post some pictures later! Ciao Tutti!