Top Of The World

We went to visit the bank in Siena today. Who knew that a bank could be so cool and that when they said "bank" they actually meant art museum. The two are very similar...I can see where the confusion would come from. Anyway, we climbed to the top of the tower on the bank and got to see all of Siena at once. I heard myself comment that I am on top of the world, but I don't think I realized how true it was. Not only was I at the top of the world of Siena at this moment but I am at the top of my world. I'm living my dream and I love it.






This is a picture of where I live. See that valley? If you go all the way down that and out the door or the city wall you get to my house. I think it's the most beautiful place to live.


Here's a close up of the valley. I guess close up is relative, but when something is this big it's hard to get much closer.

Who's Next?

It all began at 5:45 in the morning on Friday. Or maybe it started the night before when I set my alarm for 5:15 and wondered why I was going to be leaving my house so early to catch a train. It was a bit of a strange feeling walking for half an hour to the train station when it was still very dark outside. It was worth it though. 22 of us went to Cinque Terre this weekend and it was amazing. Cinque Terre is a group of 5 towns that are connected by train, boat, or hiking. It was absolutely incredible, especially because of the weather. It has been the perfect temperature here the past few days and it was even better in Cinque Terre. We spent the weekend in our swimsuits on the beach. Ironic that it was snowing at my house... It was so nice to just be able to sit in the sun and not have to worry about the large pile of blank paper at home waiting to be drawn on. We did have our fair share of exciting experiences though. After a while people began to walk around in fear of who was going to be next. It started when we were swimming on Friday. There were seven of us at this point and six of us were swimming and enjoying life very much. After a while we decided to swim back to shore where Sharlie was watching us. All of a sudden one of the girls yelled out that she had been stung by something. We swam around in a bit of panic. Everything became a bit more frantic when another girl was stung and then the first girl was stung again. Try and imagine what happened next. If you imagined pandemonium you are very correct. We all proceeded to swim back to shore as fast as we could but we weren't exactly sure what we were swimming from. I was half laughing and half freaking out. For those of you who have seen me around fish just take that and imagine that the fish was ACTUALLY trying to get me, it wasn't just a figment of my imagination this time. We made it back without any more problems, but it was pretty entertaining, especially for Sharlie who had no idea what was going on but just had to sit and watch pandemonium erupt. Everybody is ok now though. Over the course of the trip we experienced many other small issues. Believe it or not, a cat actually peed on my backpack. It was quite the experience that has only accentuated my dislike for cats. Another girl tripped and twisted her ankle quite badly and then our train coming home stopped in the middle of nowhere for an hour. We aren't exactly sure why we stopped because we didn't understand what was going on, but something about a broken train car on the track and waiting for the police. To top it all off, we found out today that Peter (our program director) got bit by a snake on Friday. Turns out it was a potentially lethal snake and he ended up in the hospital for a night because the venom had started to spread into his chest. He's fine now though. His hand is extremely swollen, but he seems to be acting normal. All in all, the weekend was an adventure but we had such a good time. A little adventure makes everything more fun.


It was a bit of a strange feeling to be on a train so early in the morning, but you do what you need to. Things like this make me wish we had better public transportation at home.


It really wasn't hard to entertain us this weekend. We were mostly just really happy to be in the sunshine and warm.


The views were absolutely incredible and pictures don't do it justice. Every time I looked around I was stunned. I love the combination of hills and ocean. You can't get much better.


We spent a lot of time swimming and being on the beach. Here is my general feeling about the Mediterranean after spending time in a couple of different locations on the coast. I love to look at the water. It is amazingly clear and such a great color. I don't particularly love being in it though. Turns out I don't appreciate being able to see everything (rocks, fish, plants, other strange things) that is under me. I find it hard to relax this way.


We got up pretty early on Saturday so we could spend some time in the cities before we had to go home. It was incredible to see Cinque Terre before most things were open and all the people were out. It was a truly beautiful place.

Oh Lament

As I sat in Italian today I finally realized why I didn't understand what Enzo was talking about. I never learned anything in my English classes in the way of grammar. I'm pretty sure that my teachers tried, but it just never clicked. Or maybe I just never really cared. That might be it. Whatever the reason, I don't know my grammar and that causes problems. How am I supposed to figure out what's going on in Italian when I have no idea what's going on in my own language?

Somehow, it's all made better by the fact that I just drank a whole thing of milk in about a minute flat. I never knew that cold, pasteurized, NORMAL milk could make a person so happy.

Always Remember

I had an extremely unique experience yesterday that I will never forget. At 4:00 we went to the church and were able to watch the Relief Society Broadcast from last week. Following that we were able to watch the first session of General Conference live. Our whole group plus the four Elders were in one room watching it in English and the Italian members were in a different room. When we first started ours something went wrong so we had to start it over a couple of times. As a result our broadcast was about five minutes behind the other room. As we were sitting there listening to President Monson speak we heard a huge commotion going on in the hall. There was a lot of screaming and we were extremely confused. Elder Welch went out to see what was going on. He was gone for a couple of minutes and then came back with a huge grin on his face. We had no idea what was going on, but he just told us that everything was fine. A couple of minutes later we understood. When President Monson announced that five new temples are going to be built everybody in the room gasped. As each new temple was announced there was a different reaction from the group. I just want to tell you about two of them. One of the girls in our group is from Kansas so when the Kansas temple was announced she literally screamed for joy. It was really neat to watch her over the next few minutes. The amount of emotion she felt as a result of this information was really eye opening to me and it got me thinking. Nothing will ever compare though to when the temple in Rome, Italy was announced. I wish more than anything that I could accurately describe to you what went on and the feeling that was in the building. First there was our excitement. We have only been here for a month but I was amazed by how excited I was for these members. Honestly, I really don't know them but I just know that they deserve this temple so much. Then there was the reaction of the missionaries. I've never seen four 20 year old boys so excited about anything in my life. I will always remember the looks on their faces and the excitement that they obviously felt. The most amazing thing of all was the spirit that the reaction from the Italian members brought to the rest of the meeting. I wish that I could have been in the same room as them, but just being in the building with them seemed to be enough. They were so excited in a way that I can't describe. It caused me to think about my life a lot. I have multiple temples within 30 minutes of my house and I obviously just don't understand all of the blessings that a temple can bring. I thought I understood, but I learned otherwise. These people truly know and recognize the blessings of a temple. They can see what it brings to a person's life when they are able to attend the temple. As I sat and listened to the prophet and apostles speak over the next two hours I learned and gained so much. How amazing is it that we have the opportunity to learn from these men? I've never fully understood how in touch they are with the world and what we need. It's amazing to me that I could grow up in Salt Lake with so many amazing church sites, opportunities, and strong members around me but it takes me watching Conference in the Catholic capitol of the world to fully feel the spirit of it. I will never forget being in Siena when the first Italy temple was announced.

My Adventures of Late

You know those days when you feel like telling about what you're doing won't do it justice? I've had a few of those this week. Instead of trying to do the days justice, I think I'll just post some pictures and give little snippets of information. Maybe that'll help you understand more.




First order of business, let me tempt you with some of the amazing food that I have eaten this week. It has been a week of plenty. In cooking this week we did a vegetarian menu and it almost convinced me that I should be vegetarian. The top item is a crepe filled with cooked vegetables in a light sauce with both a cream and tomato sauce on top. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The next is an apple torte. The recipe was actually created by the chef we work with and it was incredible. (Apparently he has a book of his recipes being published right now, a purchase you should all consider making.) The bottom picture is in Florence. Leah, Peter's wife, found this shop there that makes the best bread. Although I was not particularly hungry at this point, I found it incredibly easy to consume all of the bread. To top it all off, I had a strawberry and cream tart today. I don't have a picture, but do you really need one to know how good it was?




This is how I've felt all week. I'm pretty sure that 75% of my time has been spent with my head back as far as it goes. Italy can't be good for your neck! It sure is worth it though.


Long story short, we got lost in Florence. Are you surprised?





All in all, today was amazing. We visited Buonconvento and Monte Olivieto and it was an ideal Italy day. The first picture is a view from Siena where we waited for our bus. It was rough. The second and third are views of and from the mentioned cities. We also got to eat lunch at this awesome restaurant. We had an awkward amount of money left in our budget so Peter took us all out to lunch. It was so fun to all eat together.


To top off your taste of my week, here's a picture of our whole group. It's not very often when we are all together and have enough time and a good location to get a group picture.

Unexpected Good is the Best

People in my group all seem to be in a bit of a flurry trying to see everything in Italy there is to see during every spare moment. Every weekend people run off to different places and return excited to share their adventures from some little city in Italy. Personally, I have been content just soaking up all of Siena. A group of us spent the weekend seeing what there is to see in Siena and I loved every second of it. There is something to be said for seeing cathedrals and works of art that you have studied and seen countless times, but seeing something for the first time that you've never seen before is wonderful in its own way. I really don't know much about the churches and sites in Siena so when I walked into the Duomo Cathedral or the Museo Dell' Opera I was just stunned. People shouldn't go through their life without seeing and doing what I did this week. Here are a few pieces of life in Siena for you.

Wednesday Market - Every Wednesday morning there is a HUGE market in the city. We usually have class on Wednesday morning, but this week it got moved to Friday so we decided to take advantage. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but what I saw wasn't it. Honestly, I felt like I was in Mexico. This market went on and on in so many directions and you could buy anything from flowers to clothing to kitchen items. At one point I was actually lost in the market and had no idea how to get out. The atmosphere was super fun though.


Oratorio Di S. Bernardino - This is a church that we didn't know actually existed. You walk down this little tiny road and then all of a sudden there is this huge church. There is a museum that has a whole bunch of old art work in it that I've never seen before. Sometimes it's frustrating that all the information for these places is in Italian so we can't actually figure what we're looking at, but it was neat anyways. Here's a picture outside the front of the church.



~ Duomo and company - This was one of the most amazing things that I've seen before. I walk past the duomo everyday on my way to school, but this weekend was the first time that I actually went inside. There are many different parts to the duomo: the Battistero, the Cripta, the Museo Dell 'Opera, and the Cattedrale. We weren't exactly sure what was going on in the crypt. We expected to see evidence of people being buried there, but mostly it was just cement rooms with paintings on the walls. It was pretty interesting anyway. The baptistery was amazing though. I just wandered around in awe of the art around me. I also loved the Museo Dell' Opera. This is where they keep some of the paintings and sculptures that used to be in the Cathedral. The art is amazing, but we had to draw one of the sculptures for art so I felt a bit of anxiety every time I walked into the room. Hate it when that happens. The Cathedral was by far my favorite though. It is one of the most ornate places I have ever been before. The walls are all made of black and white marble in stripes and there are amazing paintings everywhere. My favorite part though is that the floor is completely covered in mosaics of scripture stories. We are lucky to be here when we are because the floor isn't always uncovered. Nine months out of the year it is covered to protect it, but lucky for us we aren't here during tourist season. I could have sat in the cathedral for hours, but I eventually left knowing that I can come back again.


~ Random views of the city - For lunch we went and got some really good sandwiches from the market and then wandered around to find someplace to eat them. We happened upon a park that had an amazing view. Minus the pigeons that were attacking, it was perfect.


~ The view on my way home - As I was walking home the other day, I realized yet again how amazing it is to live in Italy. Here is what I see as I walk to my house.

Best Not To Know

I don't know what the protocol for cooking Italian food for study abroad students is, but I think I've started to figure it out.

~ First week: Serve them food that they expect. Lots of pasta, tomato sauces, bread, cheese. They will fall in love with the food and will expect good things from then on.

~ Second week: Serve one course of food that they expect (still the pasta, cheese, bread) but throw in a few unexpected, but good surprises. Make them wonder if they really know what "Italian food" is. Confuse them even more by throwing in a Chinese appetizer one night. It's sure to cause a sensation.

~ Third week: Start serving them things they really wonder about. Serve lots and lots of fish of all kinds, especially kinds where they wonder if it's cooked or raw. To top things off serve them a whole dinner of fried "things". Fry enough things that look strange that they don't even want to know what it is they are eating. You know you've done your job when one girl turns to the other, asks what they are eating, but then thinks better of it and decides she doesn't really want to know until after it's gone. If at all possible, spy on the girls when they go back to the room to see if either of them happen to look up pictures on the internet of all the fried creatures they just consumed and then wish they hadn't looked at all.