Put Your Apron On and Get Cookin'

ITALIAN (secret) RECIPES

:::PRIMO::::
Tortellini

I have a Tortellini secret I would like to share with you. Remember, this is an Italian secret, and I would hate to be the one to tell too many people but I feel the need to share with the few that read my blog what I have just learned.

Find an Italian market that sells great Tortellini--then continue with this recipe. [Otherwise you will automatically fail the recipe.]

Follow the steps and you will have an amazing dinner prepared:
Step one-Boil the tortellini with water and oil. Make sure they are a little undercooked.
Step two- In a lot of oil fry the tortellini just enough till you have some browned edges.
Step three- Sprinkle cinnamon (just a pinch) all over and Presto!

Easy, fast, and exceptionally delicious.

:::DOLCE::::
The Sugared Apple

This was such a warm, flavorful treat that again, I write this down and it will only benefit those who read this blog (hint, hint).
1.Take apples and dip each one in water.
2. Then dip each apple into cinnamon and sugar so that the apple is covered.
3. Put all apples on baking sheet and put in oven. (temperature for oven is unknown. It could the the same as if one was cooking a potato I think)
4. Cook until apples are sizzling. (golden brown)
5. Let cool for 15 minutes
6. Bite into the apple by holding the step and bottom of apple,

Chew. Eat. Enjoy.

Note: Listen to some Italian music and use words such as “Mamamia” & “Presto!” while making the meal. (adds some real authenticity to the experience.)

May I introduce you to my Italian Teachers

Italian. Dancing. Viva la Vida baby.
(us in Italian class. Enzo our teacher decided to have some of the girls choreograph a dance to the song we were learning. He really does it so that he can show off his mad skills.)


Meet Alessandro. He dances. Whenever he talks he moves about.
Makes funny Jokes.

I miss that, I miss that—not

Sunday:
As I sit under a tree in the park, writing this, I am inclined to think that life just cannot get any better and that everything, at this moment, is perfect; until a pigeon decided to grace my hand with droppings. Fortunately not right on my hand but next to me which then splattered on my hand and arm.


...Nevertheless I will embrace this & continue to relish in my fortunate status of living in Siena.


I have been thinking of some things I will really miss when I get home. I have decided to make a small list:
1. Leather
2. Terra Cotta roofs
3. The sound of a Vespa zooming by
4. Pasta
5. Italian Soap Operas
6. Gelato and eating it in the Campo
7. SMA sandwiches
8. Easy public transportation
9. Charley’s Pizza
10. Scenery

Things I will not miss:
B.O.
Pecorino cheese
Smoke
Jeanie Pants
Mullets
Scandalous TV commercials
Pigeons
… My list of dislikes is small due to the fact that Siena, and in fact all of Italy is pretty much amazing.

Top Twenty

Dear Blog,
Being sick has its benefits. Sleeping in, getting a lot, if not too much attention and taken constant care of, plus uninterrupted leisure time to read a book. I caught a deep chest cold that came on fast which enabled me to cozy up in my small quilt and newest friend Northanger Abbey and read till two, and finally decided I had to part from my book for twenty minutes to shower and get ready. I finished the book on the bus ride over to the main square and was a little put out that I could not share my excitement with the world of Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney’s beautiful love story! Mr. Tilney’s character really captured my heart and I feel it my new mission in life to find a modern Henry Tilney, and marry him. I know he exists, and I will not stop looking till I find him.
Due to my cold I missed the chocolate festival in Perugia. I was really looking forward to it but because I was sick and the weather was awful it would have been a little bit unpleasant. Sharlie went and she was so sweet to bring back some souvenirs and such for me. I even got a Milka chocolate-cow-horn-paper-hat! I guess it was handed out at the festival. I love Chocolate!
I had another great Saturday chatting with quite a few of my dear friends on Skype. I love hearing from you so you who don’t have skype, get it and we will chat away. (It is free.).
There was a soccer game that night and as I was walking out of the pub (after talking with people on skype) I saw every teenage boy that existed in Siena standing on a wall looking over a railing. They were all watching the game that was down in the stadium. It was hilarious and I wish I had had my camera to document it. My dad so kindly reminded me that I only have 26 more days left in Italy! And only 20 in Siena! So I am coming up with a list of things to do. I will do one each day, equaling to twenty.
1. Finally try pistachio gelato. Everyone loves it but I just cannot get myself to try it.
2. Visit a mass in San Domenico
3. Climb tower in Siena
4. Have a picnic in the Medieval gardens
5. Enjoy the sun in the Campo
6. Visit the Medici fortress gardens
7. Say Ciao to Antonio (my bus crush)
8. Run to the Market
9. Press a flower for my journal
10. Buy Contrada Istriche stuff
11. Try a Café d’orzo (Barley drink. I heard it was good.)
12. Eat at alla Speranza
13. Carry a conversation with Caterina longer than 3 minutes.
14. Be on time for the bus
15. Learn the whole theme song to my favorite Italian Soap Opera ‘Un posto al Sole’
16. Buy cute flats
17. Make four grumpy Italians smile
18. Explore outer skirts of Siena
19. Get one more artwork on the art ‘Wall’
20. See Mamamia! in theathers with Sharlie

"Internalize the Birth"

I cannot thank E.M. Forster enough for writing great, and short stories that entertain all who read. I found an English book store the other day and bought two books. Northanger Abby- Jane Austen and Where angels fear to tread EM Forster. I started Forsters book and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. It takes place in Italy, right outside of Siena so that is fun to read about. Phillip one of the characters says to Lilia, "Italy is the school as well as the playground of the world." I wholeheartedly agree with that statement!
Today our phonetic class started. A famous acting coach in Rome is doing an experiment and chose the Dante Alighieri University to come once a week for three hours and work on pronunciation with beginning Italian speakers. So we were the prime choice and had our first lesson today. I admit, if felt more like Yoga since we had to be on the floor with our eyes closed focusing on our breathing and such. Then we had to imagine we were a strand of grass and had to move like the grass in the wind. Same of the clouds and the sea. It brought back terrible memories of being in TNT drama class. But Our pronunciation of the A- U-E really improved. We have three more lessons with this man. He always has a wad of spit on the side of his mouth, smells like a heavy smoker, and thinks you pronounce the word 'breath' as birth. So every time he tells us to take a deep, heavy birth, and internalize it I use all my strength not to bust up laughing.
Oh Italy! I have made some good memories and am really starting to feel sad that I am leaving so soon!

1. Me frustrated with my assignments
2. My hosts moms mother that I drew from an old black and white photo
3. All my projects
4. me again. :)

Peppers, sketching, and Boccaccio

Dear Blog,

My Italian host mama loves to add peppers into everything she makes. Tonight She made a soup with tomatoes and meatballs that you mix into a cornmeal liquid. I was happily eating this concoction when I saw red skin, which appeared to me as tomato skin. So I picked it up with my spoon and greedily put it in my mouth. No sooner had I done this then my tongue lit on fire. “Burn! Spicy! Can’t breath!”, were the words that came out of my mouth as I flitted my hands around trying to explain why my eyes were tearing up and why I was starting to cough. Caterina finally realized, more like remembered, she had put two hot peppers in to add some flavor. Of course I got one. Sadly the rest of the meal was somewhat ruined as my tongue had gone numb.

Tonight I am trying to finish all my art assignments that are due tomorrow. I have eight garlic sketches, a value sketch and an atmospheric value sketch due. Each garlic takes about 30-40 minutes depending on if I feel generous to take an extra 10 minutes to finish it. The value drawings take hours, and hours. It may not look like they do, but trust me I have black fingertips and cramped up hands to prove it.

Since I have been in Italy I have just recently come to know how the famous artists felt after being commissioned to paint something. My case is not quite as extreme of course, but nonetheless I feel overwhelmed. Caterina asked me to draw her granddaughter Adelle!! She loved the one I did of her mother and when I accepted she raised her arms and said, “BRAVA” ! I told her I needed a photo but then she said she wanted me to do it when Adelle was here. Does she not know I can’t draw?

How can I even attempt to draw when this little one year old won’t be sit still for more than a few seconds. I looked at Sharlie for help but she just laughed in my face as she walked in her room. Supportive roommate, I think not! J

Today in Humanities Alessandro introduced me to a writer/poet: Giovanni Boccaccio. Have any of you heard of him? He is known for his novel, The Decameron. My interest was immediately captured when we read some of the text. Each page of the introduction just got better and better. The story is 100 tales told by ten people (7 ladies, 3 men). They go to the country during the black plague (1348) and seclude themselves from the outside world. Each day one of the ten is elected to be the king or queen and choose a topic. Then all of them tell one story about that topic. Each day all ten tell their story, and after ten days it made a total of one hundred stories. The book is all about the different tales and such. I strongly recommend the read. I will definitely read it all as soon as I get the chance to buy it!! Here are two sections to give you a feel:

1. Every time I stop to consider your natural inclination to pity, most gracious ladies, I recognize that you will find the opening of this present work abhorrent and distressing; for so is the painful recapitulation of the recent deadly plague, which occasioned hardship and grief to everyone who witnessed it or had some experience of it, and which marks the introduction of my work. … You are to look upon this grim opening as travelers on foot confront a steep, rugged mountain: beyond it lies a most enchanting plain which they appreciate all the more for having toiled up and down the mountain first.
2. Now I have it on good authority that as our city was in these straits and practically deserted, one Tuesday morning seven young ladies assembled in the hallowed church of Santa Maria Novella. They were virtually the only people present to hear the Divine Office, and were dressed in mourning as the times required. They were united in a bond of friendship or blood, or else they were neighbors, and the eldest was not past 28, the youngest not less than 18 years of age, and each one of them was gifted with good birth, beauty, charm, sagacity, and a fetching innocence. … While the young women were engaged in these discussions, who should come into the church but three young men, of whom the youngest was aged not less than 25. Being in love, nothing could dampen, let alone extinguish, their ardour—not the present adversity, not the loss of their friends, and kinsmen, nor even fear for their own safety.

I am also going to post a few pictures of my art assignments. Sharlie and I kind of had fun making the pictures look like I am a serious art student! ( I wish ).

Pictures from Peters House. 

1. The castle

2. Lynzie and I adoring our Castle

3. On the trail to the Villa

a good week...

Dear Blog,

This week has been really nice and slow! Italian class was canceled on Monday so we only had Humanities and a tour around the inside of oldest bank in the Europe—possibly the world. It was pretty neat and the view on top of the building was spectacular. You could see all of Siena and the weather was great so we got to see for miles out without fog blocking the view.

Tuesday was another free day and Sharlie and I just spent the day doing Art homework and walking around the town. Wednesday we had class and I went to the market. I bought my first pair of Italian made boots that I love dearly.

Thursday group #2 of the Art class went to Assisi and looked at Saint Francis burial site and church. I really enjoyed Assisi and the peaceful reverence there. There is something very spiritual about that town. The Franciscans monks and nuns are located there with a few other locals. In every church there must be complete silence and if you even whisper the guards point at you and yell SILENZIO which sort of defeats the purpose of being quiet since their voice bounces off the walls and echoes for a minute after their yelling.  We had a few assignments to look at different churches and such and then had a few more hours to sit around and enjoy the panorama.

On Friday, Peter our director, had eight of us girls over for Lunch. Leah his wife made a huge Mexican meal that was much appreciated! Although they are vegetarians she made a superb meal and we all were stuffed to the max after. They live 25 minutes outside the city in a town called Celsa. They are living in a dream location. In an old Tuscan home situated on a hill with views of a castle that is owned by a prince and acres and acres of beautiful Tuscan farmland. I was dumbfounded as I gazed over the scenery and wished I could stay there forevermore. We went on a walk after and peter took us to a gorgeous Villa that is owned by the 5^th richest man in England. He hosts fashion/vogue parties every year and apparently tons of stars fly in for the occasion. It reminded me of the house in Sabrina, the movie. The whole day was so nice and it sadly put my living quarters to shame. I was a little dissatisfied with my apartment but cannot complain—I am living in Tuscany!!

Saturday Sharlie left for Lucca, and since I have already been, I stayed and spent the morning doing homework and art. I wore my new boots too! I feel a little more Italian in them.

It was just me and Caterina for dinner that night and I was anxious to get it over with. She made her famous pizza which was good because I stuffed my mouth before she could ask me a question. I got through first coarse with just a few words but, of course, she had to ask a question that requires a lengthy and difficult response. Typical. She asked me what my church is, how it is organized and what I do each Sunday at church.  I raised my hands and said jokingly, “mama mia! Dificile!” (Translation: Oh my goodness, difficult!) And it was. My words came out with a struggle but somehow I managed to explain to her what I do each Sunday and why. I was felt pretty proud of myself after that.

On Sunday Caterina gave us pastries for dessert, which is a first, and then after I thanked her for dinner and she answered back with a, “niente mi amore”. YES! She does like me! I knew it! I also think she is nicer because I did a sketch of her mother from an old black and white photo I found in my room and purposely left it out so she could see. Haha I try my hardest to please her. J 

The weather has been good again! Friday it was 78 degrees and Saturday was 75 and Sunday was 79. Hopefully we are graced with a few more good weeks of sun! Knock on wood!

A couple of us girls went to a park after church to sketch our atmospheric prospective drawings that are due tomorrow. It was fun just sitting in the park sketching and talking. I really love the girls on this study abroad! I feel so lucky to have met them all! Ciao Tutti! Love Caye

some photos from Cinque Terre

These photos are from my little weekend trip. One is on the Via dell' amore, one on the beach, one of the town, and one with me with the sunrise and after being stung by the Jelly fish!

A series of unfortunate events

Dear Blog,

This weekend 22 out of the 24 girls went to Cinque Terre. The weather forecast was warm and we all decided to take a two-day weekend trip to explore the five-village national park.

Sharlie and I walked to the train station at 5:40 am to meet the other girls, but on our way down a black cat ran passed us. I casually joked that we were now going to have bad luck on this trip. Little did we know what was in store for us!

The train ride was a bit stressful, as we had to change trains three different times. We missed two of them and had to wait an hour or so for each one we missed, making a three-hour train ride into a six-hour trip.  When we finally got to our stop and hopped on the next train which would took us to the first of the five villages we all rejoiced as we felt the sun beating down on our faces and 78˚ degree weather! Immediately we all started on the famous walk – Via del Amore or the Walk of Love. It is so beautiful along this walk.  I cannot describe the views, but they were breathtaking and romantic! There is a huge wall/tunnel that you walk through full of graffiti. Mostly people signed the wall proclaiming their love for someone or something. All of us signed it (don’t worry it is allowed) and wrote a special message to ourselves. Since it was so hot

Christina and I decided to climb down the path and go swimming (also allowed). We changed into our bathing suits and got ready to get in. Lauren and Christina jumped in first. All I remember was hearing shouts of shock because of the freezing water. It took me about 2 minutes to finally jump in but I did with style as I ran and jumped right into the turquoise blue water! I was also in shock from the cold water and accidentally gulped in a lot of extremely salty seawater. Yuck! My throat was parched and sore after that. Us three decided to keep swimming (even though it was cold) and check out some caves that were nearby. We felt so lucky to be swimming in October!

Here is where the bad luck comes in—No sooner had we talked about the ‘what ifs’ of dangerous sea animals, then Lauren and I hear a shout from Christina. Something had stung her pretty badly in the foot. I looked back and then felt a huge sting on my arm as well. I shouted back, ‘ya I just felt something. OW!!!’ and then I heard Christina shout again as she was stung in the arm. We did not see anything but little fish around us. We all booked it to the shore and quickly checked out the extent of our injuries.  We had intense red marks that burned like crazy and were bubbling up like huge blisters. The only thing we came up with was that it was medusa fish that stung us. Somehow Lauren did not get stung at all even though she was right by us both.

About 20 minutes later our burns got worse and we sat on a little walkway looking into the water trying to ignore the constant burn, and enjoy the warm sun. All of a sudden I see a jellyfish, then another, and soon a whole stinkin’ colony of them pop up! They were everywhere! How on earth did we not see a whole group of jellyfish while swimming for twenty minutes without getting stung, I will never know.  We laughed about it though and were excited to show our battle wounds to the other girls. J

The rest of the day was great as we explored two other villages and ate great foccacia bread! We watched some little kids play soccer, saw a larger than life grasshopper, and ran straight up a hill that took about ten minutes to catch our bus. I was out of breath when we reached the top, but luckily we caught the bus just in time. We got to our hostel, got settled, and then went on our way to find some food. On our walk we heard a man singing operatically with a CD that was his background music. He sounded amazing and we all stopped to listen to him. He knew we were there because he was singing out of his window and saw us all. So then he really showed off his skills. We got some of it on camera and hopefully I can put some videos up on this blog soon! We were entertained for a while and then decided to answer our screaming tummies and eat.

Cinque Terre is known for its great pesto, so I ordered a pesto pasta dish. It was amazing! It was only 5 euros too! I know it sounds sketch, but it really was delicious!  The hostel was a blast with all 22 girls buy soon we all settled down, exhausted from a long day of travel.

The next morning we got an early start (7 am) and went to go the other three villages. The sun was barely rising so we all hurried to make it up the famous 382 steps up to the village to catch the sunrise. It was another long walk up but worth it for the views were incredible and we got lots of great pictures. Remember though, the bad luck was still at work, and that morning we joked about how the four girls out of the 6 in our group were next to have something happen to them. Sure enough, as we were taking pictures Kimberly decided to put her backpack down to sit and enjoy the view. Lo and behold a cat came up and before we realized what he was doing, we saw the cat had gone and marked his territory by going to the bathroom all over her bag. It was soaked! Kimberly was a good sport and we all tried to help, but there was not many ways we could fix it. Then minutes later as we were walking down some steps, Rachel said, ‘man, three down, I bet you I will be next’. Sure enough, she was. She fell and twisted her ankle. It swelled up like a balloon. Lauren remembered the R.I.C.E. system she had learned from Girls camp. Raise, Ice, Compression, and Elevate. We treated Rachel to the best of our abilities and even managed to find ice. It is pretty much impossible to get ice in Europe so we lucked out on that one! Eventually we got her to the bus stop where we got dropped off at the train station to take us to the fifth village. This one is the main beach area. It was gorgeous! We decided to just lie out on the beach for a couple of hours, and enjoy basking in the sun and hearing the sound of the waves in the background. I turned on my jazz mix on my ipod and fell asleep to the sound of Norah Jones.  I got some good sun and even burned a little.

This trip was definitely a much-needed one for all of us girls. We explored village four later and found Kostos look-a-like from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie. He was fishing on his boat and looked lots like him so we all took pictures and enjoyed that moment in time.  The time came to finally go home and as we were waiting for our train we all decided to be old school and play M.A.S.H. We had some good laughs after hearing how our life would be. Luckily our life is not really mapped out by others because otherwise I would be marrying my Italian teacher, having 34 children, living in Iraq, and driving a hot air balloon as my way of transportation! 

The train from Pisa Centrale to Siena had problems with the tracks and we were stuck for an hour and a half just waiting. We all entertained ourselves by making videos of a host show, and me telling the girls future with face cards. It helped pass the time and finally we made it to Siena. A couple of us had Charlie’s Pizza which is such a deal because we pay 1.50 for a HUGE piece of marguerita pizza whereas other places are 2.00 for a small 6x6 piece. We also went to Mcdonalds and got real fries. I was somewhat hesitant to try Italian fries but they were mmm mmm good. We all sat in piazza San Marco eating our fries at ten thirty pm just talking and watching the busy Italian nightlife. While waiting for our bus Sharlie and I decided to have a rap off which ended with us in hysterics. We recorded us attempting to rap about the bus, our bad luck, and ended with Sharlie rhyming words like plukity pluck with luck, and zippity zap with mishap. That was the breaking point and we laughed so hard! We definitely cannot rap and should never try again!

Well, the curse had just one more thing in store for me… this morning I awoke with a sore throat and extreme headache. Hopefully I can sleep it off today and get better for Monday! Some bad luck came my directors way as well. Apparently a snake bit him as he was mushroom hunting and had to spend two days in the hospital. He is doing all right now but it was a scare. This weekend (minus all the accidents) was so fun and I cannot wait to go back to Cinque Terre sometime in my life! Italy just keeps getting better and better!

 

 

embarrassing.. but here they are

Hurrah! Midterms are over! I said I would try and get some of my art up. It is not the best but now you can see a few things I have been assigned to draw in the art class. We just got assigned to do four 'repeat' drawings of garlic per week. This will last till the end of our trip! I have a feeling I will loathe garlic after this. We also have to do more value and landscape drawings etc. Ciao!

Midterms in Siena are quite stress free- for the most part! I had two tests. One for Italian and the other Humanities. The Italian midterm was actually very hard, but I am taking Elder Wirthlins advice and choosing to laugh about it, instead of groan. "Come what may, and love it!" Humanities was a breeze: two 120 word essays on fall of Roman empire and the Roman legacy. Both midterms took just under 1 1/2 hour and I celebrated with some girls by treating ourselves to gelato! mmm! Such a great treat! I think I am getting a little sick so this will be short ( I know, you are all happy) I have to get home, eat, and go to bed. Oh I will take some pictures of my art soon. I got them back today and I did not do too shabby! Ciao!

Pictures are of me in the Baboli gardens, the Monastery and me infront of the best leather store in Firenze
Dear Blog,
When one is in Italy one must travel by train; it is the best way to see Tuscany and the seats are nice and comfortable. Florence trip #2 was today and although the train takes longer than the bus, the ride is much more smooth and has better views of Tuscany. The weather was a little overcast and slightly chilly but as we all started speed walking to keep up with our speed demon director, we all quickly warmed up. The watercolor group went with Peter to some museums and the drawing group (my group) was on their own till we were to meet at one and switch.

A couple girls and I went to the Bargello, which is a great sculpture museum. It was nice to have a break from the Byzantine art that I have seen constantly for the past couple weeks. I will tell you a little secret and admit that I am a little tired with the Byzantine style. I am truly not the biggest fan. I feel like it all looks the same after awhile maybe because every scene depicted is a Mary enthroned, or coronation of Mary. Or perhaps I am somewhat museum fatigued, that could be my problem?!?
The best sculpture in the museum is the [effeminate] David by Donatello. Ever since my humanities class I have wanted to see it and today I finally fulfilled this dream. It is being worked on but you could still see it all. Someone was at the base doing some cleaning and x-rays of some sort. I enjoyed contrasting Michaelangelo’s ‘David’ and Bernini’s ‘David’ to this one. If I were to choose one I like best it would be Bernini’s though.


Another amazing place we went to was the Pitti Palace. One of my favorite things there was the Baboli gardens (gardino di baboli). So beautiful! I could have stayed all day long walking around and sketching. If any of you have seen the movie, ‘Much ado about nothing’ just picture all the garden scenes from that movie and you can get a small glimpse of how picturesque it is.
For lunch I had a panino sandwich that was divine! Dessert was crema and cioccolato gelato. By the way have I mentioned that the food here has been successful in getting me to pack on some pounds? The best part is that I don’t mind! Somehow you can eat the food here and never feel guilty. It is wonderful!
Later my group met up and we went to Santa Maria Novella. This church holds the Holy Trinity by Mosaccio. I had no idea it was so large and a fresco no less! It was so neat to think that Leonardo di Vinci once stood where I was standing looking up at the same work of art admiring the genius of the linear perspective that painters were then incorporating in their artwork. We saw this painting today because we are learning about linear perspective. I have to do a linear perspective drawing this week. I finished my line drawings and maybe if I get a good grade on them I will take a picture and post them. Then you can all see what I spend hours and hours doing everyday! Tomorrow is another fieldtrip to Monte Oliveto and Buonconvento!

Friday Fieldtrip:
Another long day of sightseeing! We headed out at 8:30 am in a big pink paisley bus. We definitely stuck out on the road like a large pink flower. The bus ride was a blast as we sang to a bunch of 80s songs such as girls’ just want to have fun, and footloose to name a few.
Our humanities teacher Alessandro came with us to talk about some historical facts that we would be seeing. We stopped a Buonconvento a small and quaint village. Not much happened there except for the larger than life grasshopper that had hopped onto the back of my leg. It was gross!
I got a video of Alessandro so you guys can all see him fidgeting and doing the ‘teaching dance’. He moves constantly when he talks and always seems so nervous. It is quite entertaining.
Next up: Monte Oliveto. This place is a gorgeous monastery with lots of frescoes of Saint Francis and his ministry. It is beautiful up there! Lots of uphill walking but worth seeing. Inside we had to be very quiet and were silenced a few times. We were supposed to be respectful to the monks still living in the monastery. Weirdly enough when we got out of the monastery a friend and me saw a monk laughing and talking on his cell phone. We had a prepaid lunch up on the hill with everyone. The lunch was really good and lasted for 2 hours! Our bus got back to Siena by 4 and I literally ran 15 minutes- bag and all- to my bus stop just in time.
Now I am sitting in my room writing this instead of doing my homework. I should be studying for my midterms but this is more fun to do.
Here are a few small things I have written throughout the week that I am including in this post.

How to Steal a Million
Seeing so many museums lately has made me want to watch the movie How to steal a million, starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’toole. I keep thinking of ways I could somehow plan to steal something and quietly enjoy it in my own home. I would really love to steal all of Bernini sculptures… or some of Monets artwork. Who knows maybe even an old relic or two would be nice. Or I could start buying old paintings at all the antique markets in hopes that they are some long lost masterpiece of some kind. I heard recently that in the sixties two paintings were sold for 100 euros each. Turns out this year people found out that the paintings were really the last two missing paintings of Fra Angelico’s eight piece altar! Lucky granddaughter who recently inherited the paintings! She could sell them for millions!

A fish Tale
I dislike fish. The smell, the look, the texture: ALL of it. The day of ‘fish for dinner’ finally came; I reluctantly went to the table. I tried everything to get my mind off of the fish but I felt like I could already taste the salty, unpleasant flavor of this slimy creature. First course was a great pasta dish that I ate as slow as possible to delay as long as possible the biggest challenge I had yet to face. I could not stall any longer though and as she put the fish bits on my plate I tried to quickly think of different reasons why I could tell her why I wasn’t able to eat fish. My mind was blank and I suddenly found myself putting the fish on my fork. My head was screaming ‘NO, Cailey! Don’t do it,’ but my fork kept going closer and closer to my mouth. (This whole struggle went unnoticed of course). The first bite I immediately wanted to spit out… till I realized I had not even tried to chew it. As soon as I relaxed a little I found that it was rather tasty. Soon I had eaten the whole spoonful Caterina had given me and then there I was asking for more. How could this be? I despise fish in the states but here I like it. I detested fresh tomatoes in the states too but here I cannot get enough of them. This must mean my food palette is growing and that is a good sign! Hopefully she will make more fish and I can then test myself and see if I like it a second time as well.

I made a list of some my favorite things/places here in Italy. (not in order)
1.Pastries 2.Trevi Fountain 3. Amalfi coast
4. Ponte vecchio 5. Lucca 6. Baboli Gardens
7. park in Siena 8. Aranciata gelato 9. Tuscan Grapes
10. Leather 11. Bernini sculptures 12. Villa Borghese park
13. Small town outside of Roma 14. Del Campo


P.s. Aunt Sandy- I looked for the ribbon store but could not find it. I am now on a quest to locate the store next time I go to Florence!
Auntie Joyce- I walked by the site that you got your wallet stolen and had a moment of silence for you.

SMELLS OF SIENA

SMELLS OF SIENA

I woke up today, and made my bed,

then I went to breakfast and was happily fed.

I brushed my teeth, heard caterina make some kind of fuss,

which then lead me to leave fast and catch my bus.

On the bus, I had to hold my breath

because some of the guys really smelt like death.

I thought to myself: “no, no, no, NO!

and wondered if they could smell their own putrid B.O.?

Unfortunately the smell kept getting stronger

and my bus ride seemed to only get longer.

The bus was soon packed for it was rush hour you see,

and somehow the B.O. smell seemed to follow me.

My stop finally came, I rushed out with glee;

I skipped up and down—at last I was free!

My face no longer needed to be in my sleeve

Hip hip hooray I could finally breathe!

I was now on my way but then I walked by a bloke,

who was deeply puffing out smelly nicotine smoke.

I breathed in and smelt a little too late and

 found myself coughing, oh what fate.

I walked by a bakery selling fresh bread,

it smelt so divine it went to my head.

I smelt the gelato all creamy and cold,

walked by the best fruit stand of which I was told.

I enjoyed the aroma of all these good things

and thought what great foods Siena brings 

Later that day I sat in the pub,

getting free WIFI with other weird grubs.

The smell of the beer and coffee was in all the rooms,

too many smells, to many fumes.

On the bus ride home, I sat down and said,

“if I smell anything more I will surely be dead.

And then not one, not two, but three men got on,

I stiffened and thought something is wrong.

I said to myself  “do I dare? Should I now really risk breathing in the air?” 

As I did, I knew the horrible ‘it’ was back!

The B.O. smell was strong and in full attack.

Thought I would change my blog up a bit and give you all a break from my usual writing patterns. I wrote this poem while I was sitting in my room debating whether I should go to bed or do homework. Obviously I did neither. Enjoy!

 

 

Siena Days...

Dear Blog,

Because of the lack of male interaction here (we are basically forbidden to speak, look, or accidentally bump into) as soon as the girls meet fellow BYU students or U.S. college kids it’s a mad house. Rumor is that last night some of the girls met some BYU students (all boys) who were traveling around for a week. Apparently it was a catfight to get the attention from the boys. I am glad I was not there for I heard that some girls were desperate that only one or two had a change to speak. The best part: They are all facebook friends as of today. ha!! It is sad and funny whom we consider friends now.

Friday nights are less productive since our curfew is eleven and considering the bus stops at 10:00 pm we are stuck at home by seven.  So I spent the evening entertaining myself by singing along with all my good friends, the Beetles and the Beach boys. After awhile I found a book on the shelf. It was a compilation of short stories by Oscar Wilde. I proceeded to read it (in English of course) and laugh out loud at the lines and lines of witty humor. Oscar Wilde definitely made my night! Bravo Oscar for clever lines.

Today was spent touring around Siena seeing the main sites and sketching some more at the Museo Dell’Opera. I am really loving the time spent sketching and I barely notice the hours pass by. The Duomo here in Siena is so gorgeous and unique. Sharlie, Kimberly and I walked around till we found a nice Panini shop, got a panino and discovered a nice park that looked over some of Tuscany! It really was a great find! It is semi close to my school so I think more hours will definitely have to be spent there.

My Saturday night was great as well! I talked to my best friend Miriam on Skype, which was so fun! Had a great meal at home with Caterina and her daughter Maria who is thirty-six and looks twenty-eight. She is a true natural beauty! Maria speaks six languages and has lived everywhere! It was amazing to talk to her and hear all about her experiences she has had. She taught in Korea for 3 ½ years, lived in Portugal for one year, Edinburgh for six months, France for a year, and has traveled all over the world! She is definitely a great example on how to be a world traveler. 

After dinner we watched the Italians version of the Oprah Winfrey Show. The main host looked like a transvestite and spoke in a lower range than any man I know. Her story is that she married a famous TV producer who got her a job as this Dr. Phil/ Oprah kind of person and soon became one of the most famous gals on tv.

In honor of Paul Newman I want to say that he was an amazing actor. I loved him in all his movies! Long live the legacy of the dressings, lemonade, and last but not least a charming actor! Sunday was great. I almost missed the bus and ran after it and because the nice bus driver was driving he stopped and opened the door for me. Maybe he heard about my bad luck with the bus last sunday??  Church was great as usual. A friend we have met who is studying at the University came. He is a professor of Theology. He got his masters in Opera/Music and another in Theology. He will get his PHD in Florence this year! Paul is from Australia and loved the primary program the kids put on. 

The rest of the day was spent in my room cleaning little things, watching some Ugly Betty that I had on my laptop, sleeping and of course more of Oscar Wilde. Our host mother asked us why we do not go out on Domenica and party or go to the Cinema. We explained the best we could that Sundays were a day of rest and such. She did not understand and kept repeating, 'curioso'. Eh, oh well.  Dinner was great as usual and then I took a nice, long, hot shower. I know I should not have but I could pass up the opportunity of the warm water. I also shaved my legs! (Only girls will understand when I say Caveman.) Because of the cold water I was never able to shave them.. I admit it kept me warm but it was time to go. This week is pact with lots of trips. Thursday is Florence again, Friday is another field trip to Buonconvento e Monte Olieveto. (?) and Saturday some girls and I are heading to Arezzo for the day. We will get back in time to catch a session of General Conference. We only get one of the sessions saturday, and the rest Sunday. We will be at the church from 2-12 pm catching all sessions. We got special permission from the Kennedy Center and the missionaries. Whoopdidoo! Party at the church! 

  I hope all of you are doing great! Email any time! I would love to hear from you. If anyone wants to update me on some of the economic issues going on that would be good too. I only watch the news in Italian and don't understand a word. Plus, internet time is precious and so I spend it updating the blog, responding to emails, and taking online quizzes which leaves little time for reading other things.  

p.s. I just realized that I have reached the half way mark here! SCARY! Life passes by to quickly here!

A few pictures I thought I would post. I will update later today on my weekend adventures.

Picures include me and my Vespa, Inside the Siena Duomo, and me inside the baptistry

small update

Dear Blog,

Everyday in Siena I walk by a certain church with a courtyard that has a long cement siding where I find the same old men religiously sitting and watching all the tourists and locals pass by. I feel sort of like a goldfish in a bowl as they stare with their overly large glasses that magnify their eyes ten times larger than eyes should ever be, also accompanying them is a cane, newspaper and usually a hat. I smile at them but get the same blank stare and huff as each one puffs and blows their cigar smoke towards my way. What a peculiar culture they have created… more like a suicidal culture. Everyone seems to not mind smoking his or her hearts and lungs out.  I could build another Pantheon with all the discarded cigarettes lying all over the streets.

Last night as I was eating dinner I started talking about berries…which lead to Jam, which lead to an interesting incident. My Host mother was very excited about my love for jam and quickly showed us some she had just made. Caterina brought out some more bread and I greedily spread the apple jam smoothly on my piece. About ten minutes later she proceeded to tell us that it was actually homemade baby food that she had made earlier that day for her granddaughter Adelle. I then lost my appetite.

My family came to visit me! I really needed that little comfort from home. What a great time we had going to dinner at the Campo and showing them around. They met the girls in my group and Peter the director. Maddie had brough Gold fish and gave me a package of originals. Amazing. And my mother brought me some Lebkuchen from Austria! My very favorite kind of cookie. 

Today was my first Oral exam for Italian. I was a little nervous but it was fine. I have been studying since Tuesday so I had most of it memorized. The only hard part are the 6 irregular verbs. 

Life is good here. Yesterday my art class went to the Museum del’opera and drew statues for four hours. We had to shade everything instead of sketch.

I am still not finished and hope to finish it by Saturday.

I will try and update more next week! Ciao!

Bisogno ho di Te

Dear Blog,

Sunday: the day of peace and rest. I look forward to this day even more so here in Europe. I love the slow, peaceful day that I get to have. First I wake up and have a nice long breakfast, get ready, go to church, have a nice twenty-minute walk home, take a nap, read my scriptures and have a nice dinner with Sharlie and Caterina. However, today did not start off quite as magical.

I woke up late, showered in cold water, barely made it on the bus, and as we were getting off at our stop a bus police got on and asked us for our tickets. As Sharlie got her wallet out and showed her bus pass, I panicked as I pictured my wallet resting on the old desk in my room. Hoping I was wrong I quickly looked through my bag to find my journal, scriptures, and a cell phone.  The Bus police took me by the shoulder and lead me out of the bus.

“Oh no,” I thought as I stepped off the bus and looked back as the others watched and stared at me like I was some kind of criminal. We stood on the side of the road visible to all passerby’s as she began to greedily get out her citation booklet that looked dusty. This bus lady did not speak English so we communicated the best we could. After much confusion on my part, and with tears in my eyes I replied to all her inquiries, “Si, va bene.” Which is yes, that is good/ I agree. 

The verdict: Charged with a citation and a fee of 40 Euros with a 0.95-cent charge for the write up. Oh such a typical European thing to charge ninety-five cents extra! The bus lady called my host mom and thankfully Caterina vouched for me and said something that made the bus lady soften just enough to speak a little slower to us afterwards so that we could understand a few words more, and gave me five days to show my bus pass and appeal to the bus court. I won’t have to pay the fine if they agree that I was honest and really did have a pass. Wish me luck! I am going tomorrow morning.

I had to fill out a few other documents and sign something and was on my way, now thirty minutes late for church. The rest of the way there I walked silently promising myself that I would always have my wallet with me when I leave the house!

I had organized a group of eight girls earlier that week to sing a special musical number for sacrament meeting. I was a bit frazzled from the bus event but as I walked up and started to sing with the other girls I felt comforted. We sang ‘I need thee every hour’, or ‘Bisogno ho di Te’. As I sang this song the reality that I do need my savior every hour was so clear to me. We sang the first two verses in English and then the second verse in Italian.

• I need thee every hour, stay though near by; temptations lose their pow’r, when thou art nigh. I need thee, oh I need thee. Every hour I need thee, oh bless me now my savior I come unto thee.
• Bisogno ho di Te, se Tu mi sei vicin. Il male vincero col grande Tuo poter.

Bisogno, ho Bisogno, sempre del Tuo amore; se Tu mi sei vicino, io vengo a Te.

These beautiful words touched the hearts of the congregation and as we finished I looked around at the eight Italian members and felt their testimonies.

 

The walk home from church was good as Sharlie and I exchanged our thoughts and feelings about our church experience. We also figured out that we both share a love for the movie Court Jester! We laughed as we quoted Danny Kaye’s brilliant lines and hysterical acting. As we talked I started to tell her about my cousin Christopher who reminds me of Danny Kaye. One thing lead to another and when we got home I showed her a picture of Chris. She thought he was cute and now I am on a mission to set them up. (as soon as he is home from Brazil of course).

Anyway life is great and I am happy to report that I am not in jail for being on a bus illegally and want to let all the Italians know that I am not a criminal.  I hope your Sundays went well and remember to rely on the savior always.  Buona giornata! Bacio e abbraccio!