il trentuno di agosto

Mi dispiace! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to blog again! Last week was pretty low key. Thursday night we went out to celebrate our last night with the Austrians. Celebrate is an appropriate word. haha. When we let the lady at the bar know that we were celebrating she served us with these hilarious goblets that she told us belonged to Dante Alegheri. Obviously. They're the ugliest things I've ever seen. Later we went to some strange club where there were TVs playing NFL games, and my favorite Italian pop song played http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aN8oZfVd1g&feature=fvst. So outrageous. On Friday the director of our language school and his wife took Spencer, Kristen and I to Lucca, which is a really cute town about an hour and a half away. We walked through some incredible churches and got gellato with them. They are the cutest tiny little Italian couple you can imagine. And yes, this is the aforementioned scary lady with the cane. Obviously my opinion has changed since Siena. Afterward we thought they were taking us back to Firenze so that Spencer and I could meet our friend Anna and catch our train to La Spezia for the night. But we misunderstood Alberto and instead he ended up driving us another hour and a half to La Spezia. It was so absurdly nice of them. And then Kristen had to ride the 3 hours back with them alone... woops. But they dropped us off in La Spezia, which was as shitty of a town as everyone had promised, and Spencer and I checked into our hostel and waited for Anna to arrive. Since she now had to take the train from Firenze by herself. Woops again. But he and I took the train to Riomaggiore (one of the towns in Cinqueterre) and had a very romantic (and drenched) dinner outside by the ocean. I had my first experience with muscoli (mussels) and I liked them quite a bit. This super awkward middle-aged couple from the Netherlands were sitting next to us trying to make friends with us, and they kept laughing at the faces I was making when I was eating the mussels. They taste good, but they are really freakin' gross looking.
The next day we began our beach adventure, and took the train to Monterosso, the same beach where we went last time with the other troops. It was nice. Very uneventful. That night, though, we got a pizza to go from this cute little restaurant and when we were wandering around to find somewhere to eat it we stumbled onto a free outside opera concert in one of the piazzas. It was unreal. This place is incredible.
The next day we decided to go exploring and do a little bit of hiking recommended by my man Rick Steves. (Who is the author of a bunch of goofy travel books, and I can only imagine that he's the biggest goober in the world.) So we started in Riomaggiore and walked the Via Dell'Amore which is a path from one city to the next along a cliff by the ocean. Easily one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Minus all of the tourists. Of which I suppose I am one, but they're annoying. So along this path couples carve their names into the stone or write "Giacomo e Maria per sempre" or "Amore, sei la mia vita, ti amo" or other equally obnoxious things. So my friend Anna and I decided to carve "Anna e Lauren per il momento 2010" into a plant. Which means, "Anna and Lauren for now". It seemed hilarious at the time.

Then we did this incredible walk through a vineyard in Corniglia that gave us the most amazing views we'd had all weekend. Italy is so freakin' beautiful. I can't get over it. And the people at the beach were so friendly. Before we left we had lunch at this cute place by the beach and this Italian couple sitting next to us started talking to us (in Italiano, thank you very much. And we had a conversation with them!) and in the middle of it they asked the waitress to bring more plates so that they could share their food with us. It was hilarious! They were sitting with their friend who introduced himself as "Umbriacco"--which means drunk-- at 3:00 in the afternoon. Solid. And he was one of the most outrageous humans I've ever encountered. He kept calling Spencer "amico gay" and rubbing Spencer's chest. Out of absolutely nowhere.
When I got back Adair had arrived. She's the girl from Holy Cross that's living with me this year. And we had a lovely dinner with Maria Pia. I think the three of us are going to get along very well. Adair eats more than Raffaella did. Which is good, less for me. I say that as I sit here actually feeling my stomach being much larger than it was this time last month. Sweet. I've been trying to run at least 3 times a week, though. Pray for me.
Last night was our friend Marina's last night in her apartment so she invited all of us over for a little party. There was lemoncello involved. It obviously got out of control. To sum it up: at one point we had 4 American students, 3 Japanese 35-year-old women, a German girl, a German boy, a young Italian guy, and an Italian guy who I can only guess was at least 45 all trying to play King's Cup. I'll just say, when it came to "9- pick a rhyme" things got kind of messy. But it was a really good time. And today was our first real day of school with a new group of students. That was exciting.
This has been an outrageously long post. Perhaps I'll be more punctual just to avoid having to type this much at once. And Dad, aspetta, per favore. Scrivero' un post solo in Italiano presto.
Va bene. Vi amo tantissimo!

il ventiquattro di agosto

Ciao, all!
We just had our most awkward dinner yet. When Raffaella and I came home wayyy too late last night we were really hungry and Maria Pia wasn't here, so we snuck into the fridge and ate some cheese. Only an Italian mother would be able to tell the next day that someone had eaten some of a block of cheese... but she was really upset with us today and I feel terrible. Getting guilt tripped is even worse when you have to make up half of what's being said to you. I probably made it much more dramatic than it needed to be, but food is not just food to these people. And I have now learned that you do not mess with "la cucina"--even at 3 AM when the master is away... Mental note: made.
This weekend was pretty low key. Except Friday night when we went to this outrageous super-Euro club called Central Park. Nothing really of note there except that it was full of creepy Italian dudes and hilarious foreign teenagers..oh, and this old woman who was by herself in a VIP area with a bottle of Grey Goose. Casual. But this picture of Spencer trying to steal a street sign is from the walk to the club is worth sharing. And the fact that his liquor store has a student discount...
School is still miserable, except that our Italian literature teacher is absolutely hilarious. He's super fancy and has a huge nose and big fluffy hair. I'm quite sure his name is Marco, and he reminds me of a cartoon on Nickelodeon. If there were a snobby Italian character on Doug, they would model him after Marco. And he was really on his game today, making fun of these three girls from Cyprus in my class. So that was actually pretty hilarious. Today we read the "Cantico di Frate Sole" http://www.liberliber.it/biblioteca/f/francesco_d_assisi/il_cantico_di_frate_sole/html/cantico.htm which is one of the first poems written in common Italian by St. Francis, and I really enjoyed it. Other languages tend to sound much prettier than English.. PS, I can actually understand that (or most of it, anyways) so I must have learned something in the last month. I can follow along pretty well in Mass, too! Which also sounds considerably more pretty than in English.
The past few days have just been my typical routine of going to school, napping all afternoon, and anxiously awaiting dinner.
I'm still wondering if it's possible to get sick of this food. And tonight, since I felt guilty, I ate extra. Because I'm quite sure it's the only way to ensure that an Italian mother likes you. It was like piling food on my plate was a form of penance. Much more enjoyable than 10 Hail Marys.. I'm convinced that's why she doesn't like Raffaella, who leaves on Saturday (SCORE!)
Spencer, my German friend Anna, and I are going to a coastal town called La Spezia this weekend because Anna has always wanted to go. But when I told Maria Pia we were going there she looked at me like I was nuts and asked why. Then I Googled it and there's literally nothing to do there. So...that's sweet. I hope it's more fun than it sounds like tripadvisor.com thinks it's going to be. The girl from Holy Cross who's living with me gets here on Sunday, and I'm pumped for that. Mostly because I'm definitely going to enjoy living with her more than Raffa.
Today's sandwich (#9) was tuna and parsley sauce-- serious bummer. But look at the man in front of us with a velvet scrunchie in his hair. Really, sir? There's nothing okay about that. And I don't think that the guys working at this panini shop have caught on to Spencer and me yet--even though they're the same two people every day.
I think I'm getting sick :( so I'm going to read some HP7, pretend to study some grammar, and probably hit the hay.
Amore per tutti! Va bene.
Oh! I can't believe I forgot to share this hilarious video of Spencer from the Palio. He gets horrible hiccups when he drinks sometimes...and I think he has potential to become a YouTube sensation that rivals the sneezing baby panda. Thoughts? Okay, maybe I think it's funnier than it is. But I think it's pretty damn funny.

il venti di agosto

Ciao, regazzi!
Sorry it's been a little while, but nothing terribly exciting has been happening. Pretty much going to school hungover, feeling like crap all day, going home and taking siesta until dinner. And then eventually going back out to ensure that I feel like crap again the next day. Except yesterday we had to go to the Immigration station to declare our residency and it was actually the most outrageous thing I've ever witnessed. Italy has the most ridiculous bureaucracy you can possibly imagine. To illustrate: in order to take care of any business at this place you have to get a ticket between 7 and 9 AM. If you arrive after 9 AM you can't make an appointment to do anything. So you wait in line starting at like 6:30 to get a ticket. Then you wait to be called up to a window in the order that you received your ticket (I had A78). When you are called to a window you tell them what sort of business you have and then they give you ANOTHER TICKET for the department you need to deal with. Absurd. Needless to say the whole thing took 4 1/2 hours. I no longer have any question as to why nothing gets done in the country...However, I had to take passport pictures to give them, and that might have made the whole thing worth it. They are hilarious. I took them in the sort of photobooth that gay couples and 12-year-old girls go into and pose for a picture with a frame that says "2gether 4ever" or "little angles" in airbrush... You know what I'm talking about. And it caught me off guard so the pictures are hilarious. I look like a terrified alien with no chin.
Last night was my friend Marina's birthday. So a bunch of us took her out to dinner--at a Mexican restaurant, owned by a German man, in Italy. The food was no Colimas, but whatever, the Sangria was awesome. Dinner ended with shots of Patron, Anna bought a bottle of Jack Daniels and (sorry if you're reading this, Mom) I learned the verb "vomitare"... It was a lot of fun though. We shotgunned Italian beers in an alley, and a good time was had by all. Until this morning, when I thought I was going to vomitare again in class. Va bene.
So I'm laying low tonight, I think. No plans for the weekend yet. I can't believe I've been here for three weeks. Love and miss everyone!

il diecisette di agosto

Vive il bruco!
Il Bruco was the name of the horse I chose to support in the Palio yesterday :) The Palio is this totally outrageous horse race that takes place in a city called Siena every year, and this year it just so happened to be yesterday. http://www.ilpalio.org/palioenglish.htm. Spencer and I have been looking forward to this since we got here two weeks ago, and the event did not disappoint. It was literally the weirdest thing I've ever seen. The old lady who runs our school (who uses a cane and is consequently terrifying) heard that we wanted to go and sat us down last week to advise us against it, and inform us that if we did decide to skip school and go to Siena that we would have to write her an essay about it. I just finished my essay. She probably thinks we're asses. Va bene.
Back to the point: this whole deal was even more insane than I expected it to be. People dress up in ridiculous medieval costumes and parade through the streets singing for their team. All of the windows are full of people screaming and singing talking trash to other horses. They bring the horses inside of churches to have them blessed by priests. It's out of control. So my friends and I responded by being douchey Americans and wearing brightly colored clothing and drinking too much. It seems apropos. (Did I just use that word correctly? I hope so.) I can't think of any particularly hilarious story from yesterday, mostly because I don't remember a ton of it, and mostly because the whole day was hilarious. Siena is an absolutely beautiful little city. I could not believe how many people crowded into the piazza for the race though. I don't think I've seen that many people in one place since Lollapalooza--it was a similar atmosphere. Haha. Yep, the Palio was like Italian Lollapalooza. Complete with men in suits of armor.
Well, Il Bruco finished third. Oh! Another outrageous thing about the race is that it can't begin until all of the horses are perfectly still in line, but there's nothing to control them except the jockey. They aren't in stalls or anything. So between the time that they bring the horses out and the time the actual race starts can sometimes be hours. People wait for HOURS to watch a 90 second race. And yesterday the troublemaker was Il Bruco. All of the other horses were in line and he would just flip out and run away. It honestly went on for an hour. It was hilarious. Everyone in the crowd would get like dead silent, and then Il Bruco would start moving again and everyone would yell at him. Typical.
All in all, having to write a one page essay was absolutely worth it. Yesterday was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I am so glad I went. Take that, Gabriella, you and your cane!
I can't think of much else to say. I love and miss you all.
Va bene!

il tredici di agosto

Ciao, belli! Hope everyone is well. I like how I refer to my fan base as "everyone"-- or how I just called it a fan base. What a joke.
Everything is still lovely in Italia. The sandwich adventure is still going strong, even though we had to stand in the rain eating #4 today. And it had parsley sauce on it. Which is not something that I recommend to anyone. HOWEVER we had a hilarious Asian lady with grape flip flops as a fellow diner. Obviously I took a picture. Asians crack me up.
School was even more miserable today because I only got 3 hours of sleep...because we thought it would be a good idea to stay out until 3:30 with a group of outrageous French kids that we met last night. Well, we didn't meet them until like 2 o'clock, actually. We started off the night up at Piazza Michaelangelo. It's an incredible viewpoint from a mountain that overlooks the entire city. Pretty much whenever you see pictures of Firenze, they are from that vantage point. Not going to lie, it was absolutely beautiful. I can't believe I get to live here for a year. We met up with Marina and her three friends who are visiting while they study in Paris, and we tried to go to this ridiculous club on the mountain called FLO. However, the bouncer wouldn't let us in because the boys were wearing t-shirts. Are you serious? P.S. When I say bouncer I mean sassy Italian man with a sweater tied around his shoulders. If it had come to blows, I definitely could have taken this guy. But in a competition of pure sass, he had me beat for sure.
So then we walked down the mountain to this piazza where we've hung out a few times and that's where we met the outrageous French kids. One of them was actually hilarious and he was telling me about how much he likes "It's Always Sunny"--then he burst into song and choreographed dancing, as you can see below. I wasn't familiar with the song, but it obviously didn't stop me from being hysterical. Look at the kid on the right's face near the end. Maybe for those of you who are avid viewers it will be even more funny?
That sort of nonsense continued until 3:30 AM when I finally decided that I was going to stop being an idiot and go home. Waking up at 7:30 was actually painful. Then I learned we had a test on the difference between the passato prossimo and the imperfetto. I'll let you all imagine how well that went. When I got home from school I passed out for 4 hours until dinner time. Which is my favorite time :) Currently mentally preparing myself to go out again. Love and miss you all!
Va bene.

il undici di agosto

Yesterday was La Festa di San Lorenzo! (Who happens to be my patron saint) I'm sure you all had crazy celebrations, and I didn't need to inform you. haha. But there was a huge festival in La Piazza di San Lorenzo which is just one of the giant squares in front of a huge beautiful church in Firenze. Italians celebrate Saint Lawrence by eating watermelon and lasagna and wishing on falling stars. No one was able to offer me any kind of explanation for that...but he is MY patron saint so I celebrated by drinking some giant beers and wandering around the city with some new friends. Nothing too crazy, but it felt so European to be outside celebrating at midnight with 80 year old nonne and 5 year old bambini. I don't feel like I hang out outside enough at home. Perhaps because it's a gillion degrees in Visalia. And drinking in public is illegal. Bummer. Also, I bought a hilarious t-shirt that I'm sure will make an appearance in a short while :) Speaking of hilarious, why is that robot holding that baby at gunpoint on that advertisement? I don't know. I don't speak Italian.
I got a 20 out of 30 on my first test at school. So I'm officially a retard and will not be surprised if they move me down to Gruppo 1. Sick. I understand like everything at school, but my speaking is horrible. I think it's because I speak English with everyone outside of school, but what the hell am I supposed to do? If I had to speak Italian with my friends we would sit in silence...
On the food front: Spencer and I found this CLUTCH panini shop near school where we can get a sandwich for 2.50. They have 29 different sandwiches, so we started with #1 yesterday and we plan to eat them in order. Maybe I'll start naming my blog days after the sandwich. And taking pictures like a hardcore tourist.
Some people in my class took a trip to the Medici Villa outside of town after school today. It's a giant palace that's obnoxiously furnished and gaudy, obviously. I finally understand where cheap Italian restaurants get the inspiration for their terrifying decor. Two words: red velvet. But the gardens were really pretty. And it is pretty insane to visit places like that with so much history, that people in Italy just casually live next to. It was so hot though, it was nasty.
I finally got around to hanging pictures on my wall yesterday, and it made me miss chu guys so much. I've been so blessed to have the people in my life that I do. Okay, I'm done being gay.
I hope this finds everyone well. I'll be sure to keep you updated on adventures. Va bene!

il nove di agosto

Hey, friends!
Sorry it's been a little while. I had a busy weekend, and I'm sure most of you saw the pics on fbook, but I'll share the adventure with you :) or at least what I can recall of it.
So on Friday after Italian class Spence and I went on a quick trip through the Uffizi, which is Italy's national art gallery that has like Botticelli's "Primavera" and the "Birth of Venus" and some Da Vinci's and other things that are insane to actual stand in front of. When we were sitting outside I spent much longer than it socially acceptable staring at this group of Asian school children. You can obviously tell which one was my favorite. Friday evening my teacher gave our class a tour of a church across the Arno that has Donatello frescos above the alter, which was really cool. Even though I hardly understood any of her lecture. Obviously. So at the church we met some new friends from our school and went out an had a few beers with them. We had decided earlier in the week that we were going to rent a car and go to the beach this weekend, and we invited them to come with us. (When I say 'us' I'm referring to my friend Spencer, the Austrian boy he lives with, the Austrian girl I live with, and myself. haha) Only one of the girls could come. Her name's Marina, she's the one on the left in the beach picture.
So that's the crew. We rented the car early Saturday morning. And it took for freakin' ever because I forgot my passport at home. (Out of character, I know). When we went to the "supernegozio" to get snacks Spencer and I learned that there are no open container laws in Europe. So obviously we bought giant beers for the drive at 10:30 in the morning. The drive was really pretty, and when we stopped at a gas station on the way we found the outrageously huge Danish beers called FAXE. Six Euro for 3 1000 ml cans. Incredible. We got plastered in the car while Lucas and Rafaela sat in the front judging us for being retarded Americans.
Got the beach, saw way more men wearing speedos recreationally than I ever wanted to. Italians are very proud of their bodies, I guess. Even when they probably shouldn't be... The water was so clear and beautiful, but the beach was full of Europeans wearing and doing hilarious things. Or I was drunk. Either way, it was a good afternoon.
At some point we were all climbing on a giant rock and diving off of it and we met a group of German guys who were driving an RV across Europe. You can imagine how ridiculous they were. One of them looked and acted exactly like Conan. So we called him the barbarian. Nonsensical drinking and wandering continued through the night... I got in a number of arguments with them for shitting on America. Short rant: I've met way too many Europeans (not Italians) who claim that Americans think they're better than everyone else. In reality, they think they're better than us. And it drives me freakin' nuts!
So, we never bothered to get a hostel, and ended up all five of us passing out in the TINY car we rented. Apparently I was speaking Italian in my sleep and contorting myself strangely. Sorry you got stuck next to me, Spence!
We woke up and all the windows were fogged up and we smelled like shit. It was awesome. Went back to beach for all of the next day, walked around the city a little bit. It was unreal how pretty it was. I wish people could come visit me :( The trip back to Florence wasn't anything to write home about. Filling the car up with gas was really funny, just because we had no idea what we were doing and I was imagining how funny it would be to watch someone in America not know how to fill a car up with gas. Or read what kind of gas they were pumping for that matter...
Oh! Spencer told me my new favorite joke. It might even replace the duck in the bar. But probably not.
A slug is sliding down the street, minding his own business, when he gets mugged by a turtle. So the slug goes to the police station and says to the first officer he meets "I'd like to report a mugging." The police officer says, "Okay, tell me what happened." To which the slug replies, "I can't. It all happened so fast."
Needless to say I was hysterical. You know how much I love animal and food jokes. School was mizzz today because I'm freakin' exhausted from this weekend. Still loving life. Still missing all of you. Va bene.

il cinque di agosto

Went out last night to the same hilarious tourist trap bar that we've now been to four times. The kind of place where the guy outside speaks perfect English and convinces you to buy three bottles of chilled red wine. Chilled red wine is not a thing, sir. But we shut the place down and hung out with the owner for a long time. Having outrageous Italian-English lessons. He told us he was excited to go to Texas to see the Grand Canyon. Awesome. Also some shit-faced Australian girl wandered up to our table and I tried to trade silly bands with her because I told her that I had a kangaroo. Only to discover that my silly band is in fact a duck. Needless to say she wasn't interested anymore...
It rained today. Booo. The first time the weather hasn't been awesome, though, so I supposed I can't be too upset. Because of the "piova" today was pretty uneventful. So I'm going to take this space to show everyone the hilarious decor in my room. Starting with the poster of the Italian version of Justin Timberlake circa 1999 c'e si chiama Valentino Rossi. Kid's killin' it. Also, this appropriate porcelain statue of a Geisha. Topped off by the outrageous collection of religious art over my bed. My house is great, though, and my mom is still amazing. Homemade pesto last night and pizza tonight. Obviously that's all I have to report on.
I can actually feel myself getting fatter. Shit's awesome.
Amore alle tutti! Va bene!

Il cuattro di agosto

So, I woke up this morning and realized that I couldn't open my right eye all the way... It was doing the same thing my eyes sometimes did in 8th grade (for those of you who recall) when Cate called me Quasimoto. Awesome. So when I tried to ask "la mia mamma" Maria Pia what she thought was wrong she mumbled something in Italian and brought one of those crazy gel-filled sleeping masks to the breakfast table and tied it around half my face. So I looked way more normal eating breakfast looking like a pirate, obviously. At least the Austrian girl who I live with, Rafaela, thought it was pretty amusing.
Another ridiculous day of school today. Spending hours pretending to know what's going on. But my comprehension is definitely improving. Or I'm getting better at making things up. Either way, I say ridiculous things all the time. My class is the most interesting group. There are people from all over. Brazil, the Netherlands, California, Korea, Greece, Nigeria. It's insane. Except this one d bag in my class named Vagner from Brazil. Dude sucks. He speaks Italian like fluently and interrupts people all the time. Not to mention the fact that he's like 40. Get outta here. There's a Brazilian girl in class too. Who's pretty plump and loves wearing scandalous clothing. Her sartorial choices actually became a topic in class today. Hilarious. Oh, and she has a tattoo on her wrist that says "Diva". Classy.
Well, I've spent all 3 days that I've been in Italy lusting over all of the women's gladiator sandals that I see. I don't know if they're an Italian thing, or a tourist thing, but I wanted them. And like Spence said "When in Rome, do as the Florentines do!" So I bought some. These are them on the sick pink, argyle sheet that's on my absurd twin bed. (Pictures of the decor in my room to follow...)
The weather is still amazing, and Florence is so pretty. This is not real life. It's never going to stop blowing my mind. Maria Pia is a fabulous cook. So I've put to rest any question as to whether or not I'm going to be morbidly obese when I leave. She serves like four courses at every dinner. And they're all so good. Bummer.
Thinking about going out tonight... we'll see how that goes. Obviously still haven't found my blogging voice. Give it time.
Va bene.

Il tre di agosto

Well, I'm not entirely sure how to approach blogging, to be honest.
I know it's more interesting if you have a gimmick. But I suppose living in a foreign country for a year is gimmick enough.
I imagine that the best place to begin would be the beginning. I think I can rush through most of this, though, because it's not very interesting. I spent Friday night in Woburn, MA with Modge and Pops. Got shitty by the pool at the Courtyard Marriott in a typical Evans family fashion. On Saturday morning dad insisted that we go to some bizarre diner that he saw on that Travel Channel show. Forgettable. But I did make my last American meal a bacon cheeseburger and French fries, which I thought was appropriate.
Nothing really significant about the travels at all, except that on the flight from Frankfurt to Florence I sat next to a HUGE Italian woman who had to request one of those seatbelt expanders because hers didn't fit. Needless to say I had Lufthansa reserve one for me for my return flight next July :)
Arriving in Florence and getting to my host mother's apartment was no problem at all. She's the sweetest woman I've ever met. Granted she talks a mile a minute, and it doesn't seem to faze her at all that I have no fuckin' clue what she's talking about. But I smile and nod and toss in the occasional "Si, si" or "va bene". (Literally those are the only things I still feel comfortable saying)
There was another exchange student staying in the house from Brazil on my first night, so she took me into the city and we took a lightning tour of all of the amazing sights. This city is the most incredible place I've ever seen. Everything is so beautiful. I feel like I'm at Disneyland, but a Disneyland where you can drink when you're 16. So, basically the actual happiest place on Earth. There are insane tourists everywhere, but at this point I just think they're hilarious. I'm making a point to ruin as many Asian couple's pictures in front of Duomo as I can...
Also saw a little German girl today wearing a pink t-shirt with a bicycle and a flower on it that read: "I AM MOTORCYCLE SPORT". Excuse me, who let that go to print? Hilarious.
Anyways, there have obviously already been drunken wanderings and talking to outrageous people. Spent way too long talking to a guy named Giuseppi last night. Yep, a real person named Giuseppi.
Today was the first real day of school and I am actually exhausted from trying to understand people talking at me all day. Not even responding. I've sort of given up on responding for now. But everything is absolutely wonderful. I feel like I'm living in a dream. Of course I miss and love everybody at home, and can't wait to receive regular updates!
Sorry this wasn't very good. With luck, I'll find my blogging-persona soon, and I'll sound more like myself and less cheesy.
(The top left picture is the building where my language school is. Casual, right? The picture next to it is the inside of Duomo, which is the super famous church in the center of the city. The bottom picture is of my good friend Spencer as he sips chilled red wine in the shadow of Duomo. As we discuss the fact that our lives aren't real)