I love my life.

This trip has made me soooooo aware of how lucky I am. O M G.

Florence was amazing. It was so beautiful. I took the fast train there, but it was like 38 euros. I was like AHH!!! It was a total impulse decision to go to Florence, mostly because now all I have is 16 dollars in my bank account. But it was sooooooooo worth it. I met soooooooo many people this weekend it was insane. I met people from Yugoslavia, Belgium (which their language is Flemish, haha weird), Native Italians, People from California, Boston, Canada. I met a girl who goes to San Jose State which is like 20 mins away from me and we met in a small town in Italy!!! How COOL is that!?!?!?!

OH! Well in Florence there are like three major things to do, see Douma, see David and see the art gallery. Well Douma was free to look at and it was seriously THE coolest building I have EVER seen. I am going to do some reading on that building because the girl that I was talking to from San Jose was telling me how it took century's to build and she had been studying that building for like 2 years now and its soooo surreal for her to see it now. Umm but David and the museum were 10E each. Since I didn't feel like paying around 15 dollars to see a statue me and my friend went to the art gallery. I had nooooo idea that the Birth of Venus was there, but gasped when I saw it. It was really cool. It was also sooo interesting to think about how huge of an influence Catholicism had on the art during the Renaissance. You never think of Roman art from that time period. I always think of Ancient Rome and totally forget that they also lived during that time period, it was just France and England. But I feel that's all you ever talk about. It was really cool. I wish I couldv'e taken pictures.

Umm then we went to Pisa and Luca for a day. Luca was dumb, it was just a town and we were followed the whole time by Italian men, it was really annoying. Buuuuut Pisa was pretty cool. We saw the leaning tower of Pisa, obviously, but what was weird was you always think of this tower as this HUUUUGE tower, but its really small. Its kinda unimpressive. I was more impressed with the church behind it. However, it was soooooo worth it for the pictures. :)

and then I took the loooong train back that only cost 15 euros. :) but instead of 1hr30min it took like 4 hours. haha. O well.

wahoo!

Going to Florence.

:)

Post pictures soon.

Will need money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

No new photos today!

So school has started. :( bummer. haha well right now its not to bad, just Italian, but Italian is really really hard. She has us doing conversational stuff that I feel that when I was in French we didn't do tell we had more vocab. Tomorrow I have to write a 30 word composition!!! It's only been two days. It will take me at least an hour to write it and I know it will be terrible.

Worst part is I will respond using have french words and half Italian. But knowing that I like French so much more is kinda useful. Weirdly it makes me more determined to learn french fluently. I looked into some jobs for the summer in France, but I don't really know.

Umm otherwise learning Italian is useful when you are in Italy. Because I am able to communicate more, I mean even if its a lot of blank stares and me no capito, I am still able to say my name and tell them where I am from.

Today me and my friends began to talk about where we are going. I just have no idea where I want to go. Anywhere really, that I haven't been before sounds good to me. haha. I think I am going to Barcelona, a city in Belgium that I am not even going to try and spell and then Berlin. I think that was what I may do. idk. Its all kinda up in the air.

My friend Charlotte from France is moving to Brussels in April, so I am going to visit her then and she said she is coming to see me in February which is very exciting!

Not much else. Oh I am sick. No fever but swollen throat and flem, the usual for me. Only bummer is I will have to pay full price to see the doctor and get medicine and then I will get reimbursed. blah. I am going to get medicine today and if it doesn't work I will be forced to go to the doctor.

Love always,
Arielle

Closso

This was a wonderful day! We took a guided tour of ancient rome which I am super stoked I did because I would have no idea what I was looking at otherwise. There is just so much history to Rome its insane. I asked the lady if there were any excavations I could go on, she said that she knows some people and to e-mail her, who knows mabye I can get an intership. :)

We also took the metro there. I love metros but on the way back we saw someone getting beat up. it was kinda scary, I wanted to stop it but what can I do?

I don't know why I don't have much to say. Probably because I put it off.

I just got back from my Italian class, pretty freaking intense if I don't say so myself. Italian is a very hard language. I kinda like French better. But I love Rome so what can you do?

I miss everyone so much.

Arielle

St. Peters!

My Kitchen

Bathroom

Small Hall

Balcony

Bed room!

My group of friends.

We were unsure of what this building was but it was cool.

St. Petersburg.

Fountain in Piazza Navona

Bird man!

hello hello!

Yesterday was a big day! In the morning we went to an academic meeting and I fell in love. The lady just had so much information! The classes seem amazing to me and I can't wait! Except for they are going to be pretty hard which is unfortunate because I want to do everything but I have to keep in mind I am here for school, but at the same time I am ready to push myself in a way that I have never done. There is just sooo much to do! We can volunteer by leading English discussions at high schools or by working at an orphanage (which I plan to do). Turns out our student visa allows us to work for 20 hrs a week and she put our names on a list that she is going to give to a whole bunch of people who need babysitters. There are so many places I want to go see, Florence for their leather, Venice, Tuscany, and more. I want to go to so many city's, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin!!!

It was just incredibly exciting!

Then after our information meeting we had an hour break so we went to Piazza Novona! It was just breath taking.

Then we had our Italian placement test, which unfortunately, had an English section, and I am sure you have noticed I am not very good at my own language. So that was a little embarrassing. So I am in like beginning Italian like pre beginning where I think they are going to teach me English first and then start with Italian, haha.

Then we just walked, we went back to Pizza Navona and got Gellatto then we went to St. Petersburg which was astounding and then during the night we went to an Irish pub. There were a lot of Americans there. It was good if you wanted to be in an atmosphere that was familiar but at the same time it was familiar, tonight we are going to meet up with some people who have been in the program for a semester already and they are going to show us around.

Day one ish

Hello my family and friends!

I have created this blog so you can follow me in my travels in Italy and else where.

I live in one of the richest neighborhoods in Rome, about 8 blocks from the Vatican! I saw it yesterday and was absolutly amazed! The walls were so high and me and my friends discused how people could get in through the walls. Conclusion- you can't. Mabye one pro could scale the wall but that takes time and procision, and they would deffinatly shoot you down before you could even get to the top. But idk who would actualy want to try and scale a wall to kill men of god.

My apt is strange. The way I keep describing it is a verrry Italian apt. Its on the 5th floor of a building stuck inbetween other buildings that are inbetween other buldings. Typical of course for city life, thats not what shocked me. What was like o m g for me was the fact that my apt is sooooo small! there are only two bedrooms, luckialy I called dibs on the room with the balcony haha! So yeah we have a balcony which is fucking awsome, I like to in the mornings just watch people open up their shops and continue on with life. Mostly I can watch them do this becuase I am still Jet laged and have been waking up at like 7am!!!! Christ.

The other parts of our apt include hot water but you only get 30 mins of it before in runs out and you have to wait an hour for it to heat up again. umm our kitchen is soooo small! Oh we have one of those butt cleaners hahaha! There is no living room just a hall that leads to all of this.

My Roomate is from UCSC as well! I love her! I just know we are going to have like the most amazing time ever! but I wish the other two girls are as active. I mean like they are sooo nice but it seems like they are out of their comfort zone so me and Britt are going to try and make them feel more aqianted.

I saw my school yesterday! It is absolutly gorgeous. And the people who run the program are so nice and helpful! haha all four of the women who live and work here are all forgien but they said that they moved to Rome because they all feel in love with a Roman. So their is hope. However, its kinda weird because as women we have to be incredably standoffish because the roman men will sqeeeze on you so hardcore. They said that Rome will teach you how to become paranoid.

Another problem we went over is loud Americans! haha! and I realized just how loud I am. We were in this pizza place and I was talking about this that and the other when my friend was like shhh and I stoped talking and I realized it was dead quite in the pizza place. It was bizzare. And like I was talking to my friend on the street about finding an ATM when this girl in front of us turned around and was like Oh yeah Americans too! but told us that we really need to keep our voices down because not so nice people will target us because we are american and generaly are wealthy. Also when you get a few drinks in me, I am so loud I love to talk and flirt and we are suppose to be so standoffish. Blah. how boring.

Well I will post pictures soon I havn't taken enough of what I want to post so I will get back soon.

Ciao!