March 23-29

I am so excited for this Thursday to come because my family will finally be here!!! YAY! I cant even wait!  But its bitter sweet because they're only staying for a week, and I hope it doesn't go by too fast!

It's also bitter sweet because this is the week the midterms start.... ugh! I only have 1 this week, 1 next week and 1 the week after that.  So its nice that they are spread out, but then again it's a reality check that I'm actually here to take classes....

March 16-22

This was a pretty quick week! However, it involved an Italian oral exam and midterm, which I managed to do really well on! (even though Im in Italy and classes aren't exactly my first priority!)  haha kidding Mom and Dad... kinda! I got my computer back at the beginning of the week so I was extremely excited about that, especially after not having it for over a week and a half.

Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day.  So my guy friends who live a couple of apartments down had some kids over and that was a lot of fun!

It was a short week because we didn't have class on Friday.  Instead, IES (the program I take classes through) sponsored a trip to Siena for the weekend.  

So on Friday we got up and had to be at school at 8 am, which means that we had to get up at 6:45 to be showered and ready and at school by that time.  Our first stop was the Fattoria del Colle in Trequanda.  Here we got a quick tour of the winery, which only has women working at it and had a traditional tuscan lunch there.  They had amazing soup and good meat!  After that we 

went to Casato Prime Donne Winery and went wine tasting.  They only make red wine where we went so that is all we got to taste.  I bought 2 bottle

s for my parents and for Jay, Dana and I for when my family visits.  After the wine tasting we got back on t

he bus and headed to Siena.  We had dinner at our hotel.  Again another pretty good meal! And the hotel was really nice too.  A bunch of us went out that night and searched around and ended up at a pretty cool pub that had posters and pictures ALL over the walls and played Bob Marley music all night.

On Saturday morning, we got a guided tour of Siena and went to Piazza del Campo, where a famous horse race takes place each summer, Fonte Gaia, Palazzo Pubblica and the Duomo in Siena.  Siena was really cool cause it felt like you were back in Medieval times and the buildings were the originals since nothing got destroyed in any of the wars.  Later that day we went to San Gimignano to walk around and go gelato tasting.  I was in absolute heaven! It was awesome to see how gelato was made and also just as great tasting freshly made gelato.  That night we had dinner at a restaurant called "Papei".  It was probably one of the best dinner I have had since being in Rome.  Great pastas, salad, meat, dessert and wine!  Afterwards we went back to our hotel and went out for the night.  We found a "shot bar" where the boys had a hay-day buying shots called Bin Ladins, which consisted of only tequilla and vodka.  After that we went to a pub/club place that was tons of fun.

Sunday morning we left Siena and headed for San Galgano.  We got a guided tour of San Galgano Abbey and the Montesiepi Hemitage.  The abbey was neat becasue it housed an actual "sword in the stone".  And the Montesiepi was really cool place because it was in the middle of a gigantic field.  It was an old, huge church that was still up but kinda overgrown... it looked like it could have come out of a movie.  After that we had another great meal for lunch and then headed back to Rome.

Another great week/weekend which was nice because we finally didn't have to pay any money and still had amazing food and a wonderful time!

March 9-15

This is the week that my computer just stopped working and I had to find a MAC store in Rome to get it fixed.  It was very stressful because once I found the store, I realized that it was pretty far from me and once I got there, I realized that the men working there do not speak very much english... but we managed to get by and in the end they fixed my computer!! But it took over a week... (I dont think people in Rome are very concerned with time and costumer service! haha)  

It was Penn State's spring break, so 

a friend of mine, Sarah, came to Italy for Sprin

g break.  She travelled all around and got to Rome on Tuesday.  Natalie and I decided to take her on a pub crawl which was tons of fun.... but my camera got stolen from me. : (  That was the big bummer of the week....

My friend Kristin (who is studying in Florence) 's family travelled to Rome for the weekend so she decided to come back to Rome for the second weekend in a row! Which I was very excited about!  Her parents took Natalie and I, with Kristin and her brother and cousin, out to eat at a very nice restaurant with great food and the most delicious cookies!  That night we took Kristin and her brother and cousin to a club... We wanted to keep it an early night, but actually ended staying out til 3 am!

On Friday, I had another field study for another class and went to to the Holy stairs.  It's a place that you are only allowed to climb the stairs on your knees.  I didn't get to do it, but my friend Ross and I decided that we would go back one day and try it.  After that, a bunch of my friends from my program travelled to Florence for the weekend.  Natalie and I stayed out Kristin and Alli's apartment in Florence.  It was huge with really high ceilings and you had to walk up like 8 flights of stairs, since they were on the top floor.  Needless to say, I got a good workout that weekend!  On Friday night, Natalie and I and a couple of our guy friends decided to go to a restaurant called Acqua al 2, which supposedly had one of the best steaks in Florence.  It was a filet mignon with a blueberry sauce on it and it was delicious!!! It was the first time I've had steak since being in Italy and it was one of the best, if not the best steak I have ever eaten.  Afterwards, we met up with Alli again and she introduced us to all of her friends and we went out to a club called 21.  While in 21, I ran into a girl I used to dance with when I was wayy younger.  It was the first time that I have seen someone from home and I was so excited.  Our parents are really good friends so we took a picture and plan to send it to them.

On Saturday, Natalie and I got up and met a couple of our guy friends at an american diner for breakfast.  We got omlets and bagels (which they do not have in Rome) and freshly squeezed orange juice.  After that we went to the Duomo and climbed to the very top which was over 400 stairs.  It was a beautiful church and it had an amazing view at the top.  Once done at the Duoma we decided to go the the museum where the Statue of David is.  It was pretty cool to actually see the statue in person and I managed to take a picture without getting in trouble.  It was on a disposable camera though, so hopefully it turns out.  Then we went to the famous bridge in Florence called Ponte Vecchio.  We walked across the bridge and got lunch on the other side at a cute little Italian place.  Again amazing food... I got a panini with turkey, goat cheese, lettuce and sundried tomatoes.  It was great!  Then we decided to go to the market and look for jackets... I ended up being a leather jacket, which I am in love with and wear constantly now.  Later that night, Alli's parents were in Florence, so her mom made us an amazing dinner at Alli's apartment.  After that we met up with the rest of our friends who were in Florence for the weekend and went to a club called Space.  

On Sunday, we went back to the market and looked around for a while and decided to head back to Rome around 1:30.  It was nice because we were able to come back and catch up on some work and relax before class on Monday!  Overall, a great weekend with great food and great sights, and great friends!

March 2-8

This week was another pretty relaxing week, besides our Italian quiz.  It's finally starting to start like school and not just seem like a very long vacation.  Our teachers are starting to assign us readings and homework assignment... which me, as well as the kids in my program are not too pleased about.  

For one of my classes this week, we had a field study to a museum to see art that is called "Futurismo".  It was a period where youth, technology and speed were portrayed in the artwork.  We had to choose a painting and describe how the painting ties into Facism for my sociology class.  I chose to describe a painting called "Women Swimmers".

On Friday, my friends Alli and Kristin (who are studying in Florence) came to Rome for the weekend to end their spring break.  We had tons of fun going out and seeing the Trevi Fountain (and throwing coins into it.)  On Saturday, we also went to Villa Borghese, which is a beautiful park in Rome and we walked around for hours.  It was the perfect day for it because the sun was shining and it was just the right temperature.

They left early Sunday morning, so Natalie and I didn't get to see them, but we got to sleep in.... which was great because I can honestly say that that was the longest I have slept in, in like atleast a year.  We just relaxed and went to another park close to us and listened to music and played soccer with our friends!  Great and relaxing weekend!

February 23- March 1

This week was very relaxing.  Just consisted of taking classes and exploring.  On Wednesday the 25th I went on a tour of the Coliseum and the Roman Forum with my neighbor Meghan.  It was really awesome.  I tried to get ashes for lent, but when I looked around no one had ashes on their forehead and we later learned that is due to the fact that they sprinkle the ashes in their hair instead.  Also this week, I went to see the Vatican with my friends Meghan, Tom and Kelly.  We didn't go in but we looked outside.  Kelly is an art history major so she was telling us all about the architecture so we had our own tour guide.

On Saturday, since in State College it's State Patty's day, we had our own State Patty's day in Rome.  It was by far the prettiest day we have had yet in Rome.  So we decided to have a day drinking party at my friend's balcony/apartment.  Later that night we went to the Penn State bar in Rome.  The man who owns the bar loves Pennsylvania, Penn State and Pittsburgh in particular.  He was awesome and the bar will definitely become a common place we go to!

On Sunday, Meghan and I went to the market in Trasteverie.  Very nice market with lots of stuff for very cheap.  

February 16-22

This is the week our classes started.  Basically everyone starts class at 9:30 am and doesn't get done til around 5 that night.  Granted you have some half hour and hour breaks in between classes.

On Thursday, the 19th, a bunch of us left for Interlaken, Switzerland.  We left Rome around 6 and got to Interlaken around 4 am.  The bus ride wasn't bad and we all slept a lot of the way.  Natalie and I met up with our friends from Penn State, Alli and Kristin!  Interlaken is a cute little city that is what I would picture an old Swiss town would look like.

On Friday morning we got up and signed up for paragliding.  Paragliding in the alps was one of the prettiest views I've ever seen.  After paragliding we walked around Interlaken and had lunch.  That night we went night sledding in the alps.  One of the craziest things I have ever done.  The moon is basically your light source on the sloops.  You catch so much speed going down the hill and there are tons of turns so you have to be very careful.  I have a couple of bruises that are still healing from that night.  But Natalie and I caught on fast and managed to beat everyone down each time.  

On Saturday, we decided to travel to Bern, Switzerland for the day.  It was about 5o minutes away by train from Interlaken.  Bern was a more modern city with a lot of good shopping and chocolate.  We had rosti for lunch which is a typical Swiss meal that consists of potatoes and any kind of meat or vegetable you would like to add.

We relaxed on Sunday and watch THON online in our hostel.  It was snowing like crazy so the main road to get out of Interlaken was shut down.  So we had to take a detour that added 2 hours onto our trip so we didn't get home until 4 am Monday morning.

Intensive Italian/ Academic Advising Week

February 9-15

This week consisted of us taking italian class for 2 hours a day and also getting all of our classes situated.  It was a very useful week and I learned a lot.  We decided to stay in Rome for the weekend of the 14th and 15th so we could explore and get to know the city better.

Assisi and Perugia

February 6 and 7

IES took the whole program to Assisi and Perugia for 2 days.  Both places were very beautiful.  We went to Assisi first.  Assisi is an old village with tons of churches.  So Friday consisted of a walking tour throughout the small city.  That night we went out to dinner at a meat house.  The meat and pasta were delicious.

On Saturday we went to Perugia.  Again we had a walking tour of the city.  Perugia is a bigger and more modern city than Assisi so it was neat to see how contrasting Italian cities can be.  Perugia looked like more of a gothic city.  Perugia is known for their chocolate, especially Baci.  Baci means kisses in italian and people buy that chocolate for their friends and family for Valentine's day.

Orientation Week

February 3-5

This was our orientation week.  We had to be at the IES center from 9:30 am - 6:30 pm everyday.  Basically, the week consisted of getting accustomed to how things were going to be run.  We had meetings to learn about the culture and about our classes, etc.  We also had lunch and little parties so we could get to know all the kids participating in IES.