Field Trips, Exams, Volunteering, and More!

The last month has literally flown by right before our eyes. However, I came into this journey knowing that it would be this way! It's just crazy how much has happened, how much we have already done here...our arrivals seem so close yet so far away. I feel like I've already grown and gained so much from this experience, and we still have the rest of the year! I've become completely adapted into the Italian lifestyle, and am loving every minute of it. While I miss my family and friends back at home more than anything, it's impossible to be too sad because everyday has brought along new and exciting experiences. As for what's been going on in my life, I don't even know where to start! I've just basically had Italian lessons during the week, and on the weekends I have been visiting Massimo or he has been coming here. The first two weeks of the month, I went back to his town. It was my first time dealing with the train system on my own, and it was indeed rather stressing! That's mostly because I chose to take the cheapest route which entails a few train changes and much more hours in the train. It's all okay now, because I feel like an accomplished train traveler...like a true Italian! It was so weird going back to his town for just a weekend visit, but at the same time it was like my getaway from the hustle and bustle here in Florence. It feels so nice to go there and lounge around and to not have to cook or worry about anything :) Also, I helped Massi move into his first apartment in Padova, which probably was more exciting for me than it was for him! I must say, I made a much bigger deal about it...but it's a big transition! Guys just don't see the excitement in things like we do :)

I'll admit it, having lessons every day at one enabled me to be free spirited during the week. There has been so much more going on on week days than I have ever done in America! But it's okay, that's what the two month language program was for- to integrate us into the culture, right? :) I really don't have any regrets at all; I have made so many incredible friends from around the world. Our Italian friends are a given, but we have also made friends from Portugal, Spain, France, and England. I can't even begin to explain how awesome it's been getting to know people from everywhere, and getting to learn about different cultures other than our own. Not to mention, meshing languages is always the best part :) Studying abroad has truly given me the unique experience to meet and make lifelong relationships with amazing people whom I never would have gotten the opportunity to meet.

Amici dal tutto il mondo :)

 October 12th to the 14th, our school took a school field trip to Parma, Torino, and Milano. We got to see so many amazing things in each of the cities, however I must say that I fell in love with Torino! I'll elaborate on that later. We started the trip with a visit to the city of Parma, which is where Parmiggiano Reggiano (Parmesan Cheese) comes from. How could you not already love the place? It was a cute city, however we didn't have much time to see anything besides the Duomo and the Baptistery. Honestly the whole time I was too busy thinking about the cheese factory that awaited us.

An ancient theater that's made completely out of wood!

We had gelato shaped like a flower...now THAT'S special.

Bus ride!

The Baptistery of Parma...made of pink marble from Verona!

Duomo di Parma

Inside the Baptistery 

The inside of the Duomo

Next, we headed to the cheese factory, which was kind of in the middle of the boonies. It reminded me very much so of the Central Valley in California..and you better believe that it smelled like it as well! We were told that Parmiggiano Reggiano could only be made in Parma; the type of grass and soil that they have is unique, so the cows produce milk that is specific to the town itself. We saw each of the stages of the cheese making process, and then of course got to test taste...cheese wasted. It was definitely an experience to get to see how my favorite type of cheese is made; now back in America when I'm eating it, I'll be able to say I saw exactly where it comes from :)

This is where it all begins; they use these giant mixers to get the cheese to the perfect consistency.

When they finish, the cheese goes to the bottom of the bowl and gets shaped into a wheel.

Then they move it all into this room and put weights down onto it to force it to take a flat shape on both sides, while at the same time the water is being completely drained from the cheese. They also wrap it with plastic that has the letters that we see on the outside of the wheels, so it gets indented into the cheese overnight. It indicates where the cheese was made, the date, the number, etc.

The next day, when the cheese is flat, they move it into this room where it begins to take the wheel shape and continues to dry itself out.

The next day, it moves here into the salting room. They submerge the cheese into these salt water baths and they remain here until they are ready to go into the aging room.

FINALLY..the best part! The aging room! The cheese sits here and ages until it's ready to go onto our pasta :) This room just seems to be endless...and every wheel is worth 500 euros, which is roughly over 600 dollars. It's insane! 

This pretty much sums up my love for Parmiggiano Reggiano...it's a bit of a problem.

From here, we drove all the way to the beautiful city of Torino. This town literally stole my heart! It carries such a unique and different feel from all the other cities that I have visited in Italy. I hear many people say that it gives you the feeling of being in France, since the architecture is so similar. The city seemed to be much cleaner than many of the other places that I have been, and just had a lovely joyful feel to it. Another awesome thing about this city is that it's known for Black Magic, and some of the piazza's have their own mythological tales as well as superstitions. For any of you soccer fans out there, it's also Juventus's home town...which just so happens to be Massimo's team. Just another reason to love this place :)

Had to take a picture for my one and only overly obsessed Juve fan :)

Our tour group! We had an amazing guide named Carlo, and it was actually his first time giving a tour in English! He did an amazing job; I feel like I learned a lot about the city and gained a new friend :)

We always have to get our roomie picture ;) This river was absolutely beautiful!

Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the largest piazza in Torino...and one of the largest that I have seen!

The Mole Antonelliana- it's the monument of Torino, one of the largest and tallest in Italy and now a cinema museum.

                    

One of the black magic legends in Torino- the two statues here represent two greek gods named Càstore and Polluce. According to the people of Torino, they watch over the border between the black and the white magic in the city. I believe the one on the left is supposed to be the white magic, and that you're not supposed to look to the one on the right, because it's believed to be bad luck!

Roomie dinner date with some of the best pizza EVER.

In Torino, we also visited the Egyptian Museum, which is actually the second biggest one in the world next to the one in Cairo. This was so incredibly interesting to me; although I have never really intensely studied the Egyptians, it was still quite an experience to get to see real mummies and artifacts that depicted their way of life in Ancient Egypt. It was surreal seeing real unwrapped mummies, that are still preserved after so long. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they were people just like us so long ago, and now sit in a museum for hundreds of tourists to look at them every day. The museum was humongous! There were everything from the mummies themselves to the food they ate, their clothing, their wigs, scriptures, statues, coffins, furniture, and everything else that they used on a daily basis. It took us nearly two hours to go through and see everything, but it was definitely worth it. 

Egyptian food!

Leos taking a picture with the Lioness :)

I just love that Egyptians worshiped cats.

I don't know if you can read this, but it's basically explaining that the picture below is Egyptian porn. Awesome.

These were three sisters, the third one unwrapped. Creepy!

They stored organs of the dead in these jars, typically with the head of an animal to top it.

On our last day, we got up bright and early and headed to Milano, where just spent the afternoon and split up into groups to visit different museums. I wasn't particularly excited about going to Milano, since I had already been there and explored it, however it ended up being an amazing experience. It was a rainy and cold day there, so we didn't spend much time outside. I decided to go to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, where there were many original works of art as well as the original works of Leonardo DaVinci. The museum was beautiful and had some amazing works of art; the inside and the outside of the building seemed like art to me as well! I have to say that the best part for me was walking into the final room with the works of Leonardo DaVinci. It was like walking into an ancient library, it smelled of old books and it was completely filled from nearly the floor to the ceiling. It was dimly lit, so it gave you that olden days vibe to it...I literally got goosebumps when I walked in! On the floor, there were glass cases filled with Leonardo's works. It was so surreal to see the originals...and every one seemed to be so different. It really goes to show how brilliant he really was. I thought that it was also interesting that everything he wrote, he wrote in Italian and backwards, so that nobody would understand. It was all accompanied with drawings of numerous things, from artwork to geometrical shapes to engineering layouts and machines. I only got one picture of it before somebody told me that I wasn't allowed to :) On the way home, we stopped by Giuseppe Verdi's home, who was a famous Italian Opera Composer. I studied him a bit back at home, so it was definitely interesting to see where he lived. Overall, the field trip was definitely a great experience...I can't wait for the next one!

The Courtyard at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana

The mosaic staircase. So incredibly beautiful!

The balloon release in front of the Duomo in Milano

Giuseppe Verdi's house

Inside the Galleria

Duomo di Milano!

Just a taste of the beautiful library room with Leonardo DaVinci's works..amazing.

Last weekend, we celebrated an early Halloween with our Italian friends. We wanted to show then the American tradition of carving pumpkins, so we had a little Halloween party. We ate gnocci with a pumpkin cream sauce, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin seeds. Literally the definition of pumpkin wasted! It was too much fun watching them carving the pumpkins for the first time..they really seemed like they enjoyed themselves ;) We are just having too much fun bringing the two cultures together..it's truly an experience that everybody should have in their life.

We just finished up the Language Program and took our exams last week, so finally our semester is starting! I'm so excited- I have three Literature classes and two Italian classes. Finally getting away from general ed and jumping into what I'm passionate about! We are starting classes on Monday after a week break, which is another post that will be coming up all on our trip. Jessica and I started volunteering at Casa San Michele, which is associated with Caritas, a charity program here in Italy. We go once a week to this house where there are moms and children that are living there to get back on their feet. We get to go and play with the children, help with moms with anything they need, and to help cook and clean. So far, we have only gone once..but it was nice meeting the moms and children! I can tell that it will be a good experience. I also joined a conversation exchange program, where I will be paired up with an Italian high school student and will get the opportunity to go to their house to have dinner with their family and continue hanging out with them and their family throughout the year, so that we can help each other with our languages. Also, I will be assistant teaching English at an elementary school once a week alongside an Italian teacher...I am too excited for that! I really think that it will be a great opportunity for my Italian, as well a chance to gain some more experience in teaching. This is all getting started this next week, so I'm nervous but excited to see how it all falls into place. Other than that, I have been cooking here more than ever, and really experimenting with new dishes, mostly real Italian cuisine. I think that I will add another page on here just dedicated to my adventures in cooking, because it's quite fun ;) 

I will be posting soon on our trip to Amsterdam! Ci sentiamo amici :)