First Week: Class, Florence, and Family Dinner!

Well just like they said the first week was definitely the hardest. I've been here for almost a week now and I can finally say that I am getting used to the time difference. Its still so weird getting used to be six hours ahead everyone back at home. Even though it is just six hours, our days are practically opposite from each other. It has been hard just getting used doing everything in the same building. We sleep, go to class, eat, do homework, and hang out all in the same building. Sometimes it has felt as if I am trapped in the building, but don't worry I am getting used to this life.

The First Days of Classes!

I can't say that class everyday at 8:30 every morning is the highlight of my Italian experience so far. Our "supposedly" survival Italian hasn't really turned out to be any part of survival Italian. Instead, we are learning the dreaded...grammar! I cannot complain to much considering we haven't gotten to deep in the language, but I know it is going to be difficult. Our next class starts at 11 and is taught by a native of Sansepolcro and sweet Italian named Sara. Sara teaches us about Sansepolcro and the the way of life in Italy. Most of the time we spend our time out in the town getting acquainted with our surroundings and learning about this history of the town. Even though it has been in the mid-50's while we have been here, it is a nice break from the walls of our palazzo to walk outside in the fresh Italian air! After our IDS class, we divide up into Warfare and Culture and Geometry classes. I made the wise decision to take the history class where I am able to learn about blood, guts, and tactics of warfare throughout civilizations! Doesn't that sound like such a manly topic? Ah yeah! We are saved by a break from history each day by a tasty lunch by a our cooked Margarita! After lunch we resume class until three...yes I am in class from 8:30 to 3!

I know my description of class sounds a bit cude, but I don't think anyone came into the trip know that we would have so much work. I guess we really on a "Meredith" study abroad trip!

Florence!

My first true excitement of the trip thus far came with our trip to Florence! Up bright and early, we boarded a bus to Arezzo to take our first train to Florence! We made it to Florence around 11 o'clock and were guided around the town by Dr. Vitarbo! Walking out of the train station, my first taste of Florence was a busy, smelly, city that reminded me a lot of New York City. However, I would soon learn that my first impression was slightly off. The Duomo is absolutely beautiful. The attention to detail and the colors capture you. It is definitely a sight that everyone must see at least once in a life time.

After seeing the Duomo, we walked through the town to the Ponte Vecchio bridge of the Arno river. There were numerous couples, families, and friends taking pictures on the bridge with beautiful river and scenery in the background. As you can see in the pictures below, it is beautiful and breathe taking.

As we passed large groups lead by a little Italian with a speaking into a microphone which no one cared to listen, I was so thankful that we were taking an official tour! We walked along the side of the Arno river, climbed a TOO many stairs and turned the corner to see panoramic view of Florence!

After we took in the view, we headed down to the hill to get lost in Florence. Don't worry, we really didn't get lost! Our first adventure landed us at this little cafe. It was a little cafe that charged us to sit down! That sounds so silly doesn't it? Something like that would never happen in America! After we filled up our bellies we pointed ourselves in the direction of the markets. The market was over crowded and had similar items at every different station. Later on, we would find a nicer and more diverse leather market. The smell of the was somewhat overwhelming, but no girl is going to turn their nose up at that smell. After leaving the first market we decided to try out some real stores. We went into a store called Zara! Everything was so cute! But it was also made for the stick-figured Italian women, not for a southern girl with hips. After reexamining my body as I fought with a romper in the dressing room, I decided it was best to go indulge in some gelato. We scaled our way through Florence not interested in standing in the long lines to stare at art we wouldn't understand. Since our train didn't depart for another two hours, we decided to walk down another street opposite to where we came from. We found ourselves in another other market. This one was a little bit higher quality leather! I can't share everything I purchased because somethings have to be surprises, but I can say I was able to purchase myself some handmade Italian leather shoes! Go ahead and be jealous!
Tired, hot, and sweaty, we headed back to the train station to wait for the train. While we were waiting, some of the girls stopped at ate Italian McDonald's  I thought out trying it, but the fact that I don't eat McDonald's in America doesn't change my interest in another country. However, I may get up some courage in the next four weeks.
We had a little trouble figuring out what platform our train was going, but after we made the choice to ask. We were on our way back to Sanscepolcro!

Family Dinner!

Friday night we had our first family dinner.We were all kind of nervous about what to expect. We didn't know if we were going to be going into a home with a family who spoke only Italian or if the food was going to be uneatable to our American taste!

When you go into a situation with no expectations, things always work out better than you ever could have imagined. Amanda, Mollie, and I ate dinner with an Italian Air-force Air Traffic Control and a Elementary School Teacher - Stefano Tarducci and Daniela Papi. They careers alone sound like an American couple. As many Italians do, they lived in flat, something an American would call an apartment. Daniela is an absolutley amazing cook. For dinner we had cold blue fish with lemon; tuna and tomato salad; muscle and basil pasta; black muscles and bread; and finally gelato and strawberries! The food was so yummy even if we did have seafood on seafood on seafood. Throughout dinner we talked shared stories about our families and our ways of life. They were so interested in everything we said about America which was kind of silly!

At the end of the dinner, they requested that we become their Facebook friends! So now, I am Facebook Friends with them! Daniela may be getting some emails from me asking for some recipes!

Finally Here!

Well I have finally arrived in Italy! I am all unpacked and settled, but getting here seems like it took years. Our first flight out of Raleigh...to Charlotte...was a breeze. However, the next flight I was about to board was nothing close to a breeze. The eight hour flight was definitely not the highlight of my travels. Since we had a 5:10 flight out of Charlotte, we were graced with a lovely airplane dinner. I was not expecting anything delicious. We were served chicken, rice, carrots, snap pees, salad, and a brownie. If you know me well enough, you know I only ate the salad. I mean you can't really mess up a salad! Sleeping on the plane was quite miserable. We were in the economy setting so our seats were super close together! Lucky me, I was beside a giant German and older lady. There was no way I could get comfortable enough to fall asleep. After dosing up on some sleeping medicine, I was able to sleep a little over an hour. When I finally realized that I was not going to be able to sleep anymore, I watched the end of Django Unchained! Gilliam - You would love the ending! Sorry I watched the end without you! The rest of the flight, I counted down minutes until we landed in Munich, Germany! The airport in Munich was so clean and technologically advanced. Everything was done with some type of bar code scanner. Since we had been warned that we may have some type of delay or layover in Munich, I was just waiting on it. But surprisingly everything was on time. When we boarded our last flight to Rome, I was so exhausted I feel asleep before I we when took off. I managed to wake up before we landed, just to see the beautiful countryside. I cannot put into words the beauty of the countryside - all the houses spread out and separated by farm land.

                                                        

 Waiting in the airport for the other group was my first experience with Italians. Surprisingly, everyone was dressed up...and I mean dressed up. All the Italian women were wearing some type close fitting pants or jeans with heels or wedges. I have quickly learned that Italians don't slum around. Since we were supposed to wait in the cafe, our group of six scoped out a table, ordered pizza, and sat down. Once the other group arrived, we all exchanged our money. The exchange rate was nothing that I expected. Google exchange does NOT have correct exchange rates. Although, I am not going to complain...I exchanged $100 (American Dollars) for 68 and some change euros. Not exactly what I was expecting, but oh well what can you do? After we all exchanged our money, we boarded the bus for a 3 to 4 hour bus ride to Sansepolcro, Italy!

As we pulled away from the airport, "Thrift Shop" blasted over the radio in the bus. The same song that is so popular in the U.S. is popular here in Italy! It made me think of back home and Gilliam dancing - such a good thought! The majority of the bus ride I spent sleeping. I tried so hard not to fall asleep, but it was inevitable there was no way of getting around sleep. I woke up for the last few minutes of the bus ride. Since Sansepolcro is in the Tuscany part of Italy, the landscape was hilly and green with houses and towns scattered along the road. I had no idea what to except Sansepolcro - the town I would call my home for the next five weeks. When pulled into the town, it was different than I expected. The outskirts of the town hadn't been kept up to well. But that doesn't go without saying that this town is centuries old. The bus pulled up to these walls which I have come to know as the city walls. We walked down the main street inside the city walls also called the "main drag" until we reached these large wooden doors. Behind these doors would be my home for the next five weeks and I had no idea what to expect. I could have never imagined how beautiful and big our palazzo is...like woah! The third floor is the main living for and the student apartment. When you walk up the stairs you can either go left - to the student rooms - or right - to the main sitting room and kitchen. The student apartment has three bedrooms - one of the rooms sleeps three, the other four with an onsuite bath, and the last (my room) sleeps five, but there are only four in our room. The two rooms without baths share the two hall baths. There is also a sitting room with couches. If you turned right, instead of left, you would find yourself in the main sitting area..the ONLY place with a television! If you continued on down the long hallway you find yourself in the dinning room. The dinning room has a long table that seats about twenty. Connected to the dinning room is the commerical kitchen which we are not allowed to enter and the student kitchen where we can store our own food items. 

Shortly after arrival, we were served dinner. We are blessed to have a cook who stocks the student kitchen and makes amazing Italian lunches for us! We had an array of freshly made food - turkey, green beans and tomatoes, vegetable muffins, salad, and some kind of grain salad. After our light dinner, we took a quick walk around the town and then headed back to our room to unpack and get settled! Once we were all settled, a group of the girls decided it would be nice to go have drinks at a local bar/cafe. (Don't worry Dad, I only drank two glasses of wine!) It was so nice to sit around and get to know all the girls on our study abroad trip! On our way back to the palazzo, we decided that we had to stop at the local gelato shop! It was such good decision, the gelato was absolutely amazing!

Today, we had to be ready for orientation at 10 o'clock (that would be 4 a.m. your time). We all met in the classroom and went over the rules and expectations while abroad. After our mini orientation session, we took a walk around the town to see the local grocery stores. It was really nice to get more acquainted with the town. Although, there is no way I am even close to navigating myself around yet. Then we were welcomed back with an AMAZING lunch! Our cook is absolutely fantastic - and no, I am not exaggerating right now! If you didn't know this, the food in Italy is served in courses. First, we were served mini pizzas and salad. Second, pesto spaghetti! The pesto you eat in America cannot compare to the pesto here. The pesto - and all of the food - is so fresh and the sauce was not thick and creamy. There was all the same taste - well actually better - with less of the sauce. I might be going out on a limb here, but I think it was more of an olive oil base. The third course is what the the main course or meal is in the states. It was turkey, greens, and mashed potatoes. So, so, so good! And last, we had some type of custard or yogurt with fresh strawberries! It was so so so good. When writing all of this, you may think I just consumed an enormous amount of food; however, the portions are very different. You don't eat a full bowl of pasta or a large piece of turkey. Instead, you eat a small amount of pasta maybe a fourth of a plate or half of a small bowl. After eating lunch, I was so full but I didn't feel as if I had over eaten! 

Well I am about to start on my homework...until next time.....

I love you all!

Twas the Night before departure!

Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm all packed up and headed for airport in less than twelve hours. It still hasn't really hit me yet. I mean don't get me wrong I've had my emotional moments, but I still don't believe that I will be in a plane over the Atlantic Ocean in less than 24 hours! This "last" day flew by faster than I ever wanted it too! There is no way that I will be ready to wake up tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn, but I will do it!

Until then...

I am beyond blessed to be granted with this opportunity, and I ask that you continue to pray for my safe travels!

T-minus 4 days!

May 12, 2013

Well all the Mother's Day festivities have cleared and everything is quiet here at the Lane house. As I sit back and relax, I am starting to realize how soon I will be leaving for Italy! I am so excited for my adventures to begin, but I have a long way to go before I will be ready to depart from this great nation.

It is so weird to think that today was the last time my family will all be together before I leave. I already know the hardest part of my time abroad will be missing all of my family. Every time I think about the airport, I automatically start tearing up. It is so hard to think that I will not be seeing my family, friends, and of course Gilliam for five weeks. It is a very scary feeling, but I know that they will always be an iMessage, email, or Skype call away. Even though I only have four days until my departure, I know that I will make the most of every second with everyone I love!

How exactly do you pack for five weeks in a hiking backpack? To be honest, it seems unrealistic to me! I can't really understand how I am suppose to pack under the "suggested" thirty-five pounds when I can pack an overnight bag that weighs at least twenty. My list of things I need to purchase and pack seem to keep on growing. I don't think that they will ever be complete. For some reason, my mind keeps telling me that I am going to a deserted island with no resources. However, I keep reminding myself that I will be able to buy things in Italy. Silly me! Although I am extremely worried right now, my numerous packing list and the availability of other's on the internet will definitely relieve some of the burden of packing. I know that by some miracle, I will be able to avoid over-packing and pack the ultimate bag.

Even though I have a lot of hesitation, I know that everything will work out in God's way!

As the time draws near for departure, please keep me in your prays!