Half-way to home!
Hello everyone who reads this!
I know it has been a while since I have posted anything, but hopefully I will make up for some lost time with the things I will post today. The week after our trip to Pisa was rather uneventful, and October began with a Midterm Celebration with our SAI program coordinators. We all met at a pizza place called The Clubhouse and ate some margarita pizza (means cheese...I can't wait to accidentally say 'margarita' instead of 'cheese' when I go home). That weekend, we went on our next excursion to an Organic Farm, which I will describe in its own post. We also went to 2 gardens in Florence that Saturday.
The next week, due to various circumstances, I really made the effort to put aside my homesickness and start enjoying myself more. It had been quite hard for a long time to adjust to all the changes here, but I finally am becoming more comfortable with everything. Going on some fun trips also helped this, because they keep me busy and give me things to look forward to. Being able to walk to places in Florence now without a map also gives me more confidence and has made me feel better about everything.
Amy and I went to a pasta making workshop that week as well, which was fun because I had never made pasta from scratch before! I was also surprised that I liked what we made! I am still not such a big fan of tomato sauce, but I will always try it. =] At the workshop we made Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa di Pomodoro (potato gnocchi with tomato sauce) and Lasagne al Pesto (lasagna with pesto). Like I said, I liked both, but the lasagna was made with a white sauce that I thought was delicious!! The green color of the pesto almost made me not try it, but being brave certainly paid off. I didn't get any pictures at the event, but here is what they looked like:


It was fun to hang out with Amy, and even if I don't really remember how to make these foods, I have the recipes still! Cooking really has never been my thing, but it was cool to try it out.
The next day (the 12th), we went on a trip with our SAI program to Siena, which I also will have another post about. The day after that, Amy and I went on my favorite trip of Italy so far, which was to Santa Cristina Castle. That weekend also included some major studying for my Art History midterm exam with my friend Tara. Luckily, all of our studying was worth it and I think the test went quite well! Remembering dates is hard for me, but I think I did a pretty good job.
My other midterm exams went well, also, though it wasn't so fun to have 3 of them in one day! Tuesdays will forever be my most exhausting day of the week with 4 classes totaling 10 hours. For my photography class, I presented my set of photos entitled "A Universal Language That We Can Never Speak." It had to do with the fact that dogs all around the world have no language barrier, while humans struggle if they go to a different country where they don't speak the language. I took photos of dogs that I saw in Florence, and presented this concept to my class along with a short test for the midterm. My teacher, who I am not particularly fond of, actually seemed to like it so I was happy. My midterm for History of Fashion Design was rather easy, especially because I remember most of what she teaches due to how interesting it is. I didn't have too much knowledge of the fashion world beforehand, but I enjoy learning about it a lot! Like I said, my Art History midterm was ok as well, and that concluded my busy Tuesday.
Wednesday I had my Italian midterm, which wasn't too bad. I'm trying not to mix up Spanish and Italian too much, since I will have to take Spanish right away in January. I think it will be ok, though. We don't get through that much material each week due to the fact that the class is only 45 minutes per day.
Thursday I had my last midterm, which was for my Pompeii history class. I really like that class because I have always been interested in Pompeii, and we get to learn about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, which have also always interested me. I am super eager to answer questions in that class, and I don't even care that my fellow classmates (there are only like 7 of us) think I am rather odd for doing so. I like the teacher as well, who says "Brava!" to me all the time. Thursday was also Casey and I's 3 year anniversary, so I decided that it was the best day to place a padlock on Ponte alle Grazie (a bridge over the Arno River that I walk on every day). Lots of other locks are there too, and although it is technically illegal, I am a rebel and and a romantic. I will take a picture of it to put on here soon. For those of you who don't know about what I am talking about, these "love padlocks" can be found all over Europe to symbolize everlasting love, a tradition that in Rome was made popular by a book. I love things like that, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
And now here we are on this weekend, which has been rather chill due to the fact that I have come down with a quite unpleasant cold. It has gone through 2 of my roommates already, so I suppose it is my turn! Amy and Shannon left for Ireland on Thursday (lucky!!) and Kim's mom and sister arrived yesterday to explore Italy with her during the break. I, on the other hand, will not be travelling, but instead will be enjoying the tranquility of being alone for a while. It is so nice to wake up and know that I have absolutely nothing to do that day, and I can just take my time to do the things I want. That's definitely a good way to spend the semester break, in my opinion.
So now please read on (or go backwards) to learn about the trips I have listed above, and until next time, Ciao! =]