Marinella has been cooking up lunch since 1030 this morning. The entire pensione smells like heaven. I am sitting here waiting for 1oclock to finally arrive so I can eat up all the deliciousness she has to offer us. Last night we had eggplant for dinner, I couldnt be happier. I had about 3 servings, I couldnt help myself it was so delicious.
This week was the usual in philosophy and music. In art however, my homework was chosen as the best done. I was obviously over joyed. She did make a comment about my inability to 'stay in the lines' but my shading abilities were her favorite. We also started painting on our frescos. This is fun and very different because we use crushed up minerals, rather than oil paints.
Had a test in Italian today. That got reallllyyy interesting when she handed us the test and the ENTIRE thing was in italian. Not a single word in English. Needless to say Im not too sure it was the best Ive ever done on a test. Im lucky my teacher loves me though because I am the only student in class who will play along with her silliness when she tries to act out conversations with us. Hopefully my failure of a test will be overlooked by my ability to make her laugh and willingness to play/act along with her.
I didnt get to go to dance class last night because the girl I usually go with had a birthday dinner, and walking that far to the studio wasnt worth it. I was bummed, specially because Im going to have to run for twice as long today, but we will probably take two classes next week.
My run through the city is beautiful. I wish I could attach a camcorder to my forehead so I could post it on here and you all could see the view I get on my daily run. The majority of the time is spent along the Arno, obviously breathtaking and very calming at the same time, but I also pass the Duomo and Santa Croce.
Its funny, just the other day at dinner I was telling my table about my Martha and John. I wear a thin gold ring they gave me years ago every day. I used to wear it next to my Clauda but that got annoying so I moved it to the ring finger on my left hand because thats where it fits best. One of the girls asked me why I wear that ring there, because apparently it is bad luck. I had never heard that before, but needless to say I ended up getting into tell the table about Martha and John and how they are family. I decided I wear it there because I feel that since they are people that mean so much to me, wearing it on that finger is close to heart so I can just have them closer. If its bad luck, then oh well. Ill take it.
Then last night I got online and Martha had commented on my video of canyon jumping, (she seemed a little uneasy about it :)) I thought it was ironic because I had just been thinking about and talking about them to my friends. Im obviously jealous that mom and dad are getting to spend time with them.

Lunch is being set out! Time to eat. Lots to do today before we leave on a road trip tomorrow.
Five of us are getting in a car tomorrow and driving through italy to Sorrento, excited for another fun adventure :)

ciao!

"Annie wake up...were in the Alps"
Friday morning at 7 a.m. I wake up to my bus buddy Sean saying this to me... I looked out the window to see the most unreal sight in the world. Huge snow covered mountains surrounded me on all sides. I was completely amazed. It was like I had never seen a mountain in my life. Sean had a good laugh about it because most of the kids love to joke with the girl from the desert/beach about cold weather/snow/mountains and what not.
Thursday night a group from my pensione went out to dinner at a place called Yellow Bar. Delicious pizza and wine for a good price. We had a great time, all continuing to know each other more. After Yellow Bar we all headed back to the Pensione, where sean and I grabbed our bags and headed to the train station. We ran into the other 16 kids leaving as well, and arrived at the station by 11:15. By 1130 we were on the bus headed to the Alps. Sean and I started "Catch Me if You Can" but it didnt take long before we were both sound asleep. Unfortunately the sleep didnt last. The seats were tiny, no leg room, and the heat was too high. Haha, so sleep was difficult, but we were all in and out of consciousness enough.
We arrived at our hostel Balmers around 8, unloaded, got into our rooms, got dressed, and left. No one wanted to sleep. The sky was 100% clear, literally. No clouds, complete sunshine. It was remarkable. Half the group went snowboarding/skiing, but there was about 12 of us who didnt want to do that so we made our own adventure. We took a bus to the train, and the the train about halfway up the mountain. There we walked around a small village, and had some much needed Lattes and Cappucinos to wake us up. We got on a gondola that took us even farther up the mountain, then set out on a two hour hike across the snowy mountain. We stopped for lunch, I got tomato soup and french fries with Kiki, and then finished the second half of the hike. We made snow angels, threw snow balls, and had a blast playing and taking amazing pictures.
We got back to the hostel around 4, and took a nap. The other kids got back not much later and passed out too.
We got up and went to an amazing Thai place right next door to our hostel for Carl's 21st birthday. Then we went to the only club in Interlocken...the one in the basement of our hostel. Perfect.
We had a blast dancing the night away. I played 'mom' for the night because I got a bit altitude sick so didnt drink much. I took over 150 pictures just of the evenings events trying to document Carl's birthday to the fullest. We had a blast. Carls a big kid, but can hold his alcohol, so luckily there was no carrying him to bed. :)
Saturday we woke up, and prepped ourselves mentally for the extreme sports we were about to partake in. Everyone broke up into groups because everyone had different plans. After exploring the city a bit, 6 of us got on a bus and headed up through the mountains to go canyon jumping. We got to a parking lot, parked, and then walked uphill for an insane amount of time before finally reaching the platform. Thankfully Tucker is such a gentleman and carried all 8 of the girls harnesses :)
I was given the sheet we had to sign to read out loud to the group, it was hilarious. All very sarcastic, and in the end finished with "Furthermore, my mother does not know I am here".. haha. We all signed, and had our weight taken. I was the smallest, meaning I had to go last. We got our harnesses on, and lined up at the platform, everyone took videos of everyone else, so there is plenty of documentation of the event. Tucker went first. It took him no time at all and was off the platform within a few seconds of getting there. Kiki was next. Kikis biggest fear is hights. All of us couldnt believe she had paid and signed up to go, but she wanted to overcome her fear. She got strapped in, and harnessed in, and stepped on to the platform. It took a long time to jump. There were tears, she wouldnt let go of Remo (the instructor) and for a while we all thought she wouldnt do it. She did though, and Chloe and I were so unbelievably proud of her. Everyone else did their jumps, and last were Chloe and I. We were the two who were most excited, least scared, and basically got everyone else to want to sign up. After Chloe went it was just Remo and I, he was nice enough to video me since all my friends were gone :) They all cheered for me from 300 feet below, and I jumped off. I was free falling for about 5-7 seconds and then went into a full swing through a narrow canyon, about 10 times back and forth. It was the most liberating, exhillarating, and crazy thing I have ever done. I would do it a million times more. One of the girls in the group said she did skydiving as well, but the rush and satisfaction and sheer fear/job that comes from jumping off the side of a cliff into a narrow canyon was better than jumping out of a plane. I couldnt have been happier.
We got back and everyone shared their different 'extreme sports' stories and showed videos and pictures. A bunch of the girls went out to dinner, sean joined us, and we ran into some live musicians on the way. We danced around for a bit then made it back to the pensione for a relaxed night.
Sunday morning I woke up and went on a hike with Kiki, Chloe, Matt and Jeff. Matt had done the hike a few days before, and said he was willing to take us back up. It was a tough hike, but once we got to the top it was entirely worth all the effort :) beautiful scenery.

We got back on the bus and after 8 hours were back in Florence

Switzerland = cleanest air in the world, purest water in the world, unbelievable scenery, the nicest people I have ever met they were so kind to all of us, AMAZING chocolate, delicious cheese (thank goodness I brought so many lactate pills). It was a weekend trip unlike any other. We had a great, diverse group of kids from GIF there which was really nice. I got to know 2 girls that I had never met (who happen to be DGs) that I love.
I got the experience of living in a 10 person hostel, co-ded, with friends. A nice way to break in the hostel experience. It was like a big slumber party every night. We talked a lot, shared stories, talked about friends and family at home, and got to know one another even more. They broke the GIF kids into two rooms, one room of 10 and another of 8. The LMU girls and Brooks were in the other room, so I was in a room with 9 other people that I really got to know better. It was great.

Back in Florence now...its fun that this is where I get to come home to.
Headed to my music class now to listen to symphony music for three hours....cant complain :)

loving live,
ciao

Things I learned about myself/life this week...
1. Beethoven's 3rd symphony may very well be my new favorite composition...ever.
2. I have issues 'staying in the lines' in my painting class
3. Painting is a lot of work, but after days of doing homework, it is unbelievably relaxing, and I actually enjoy taking a few hours out of each day to go and work on things.
4. I can in fact make the 'crooked lip'. I had to scrape about 2 inches of sand and lyme off a tile...the crooked lip was necessary.
5. I am allergic to lyme.
6. Tuesday nights are the popular night to go out here. Italian class on wednesday is not fun, especially since the 75 year old teacher knows about tuesday nights, and uses that to have fun.
7. Getting the short end of the stick in a situation may turn out to be the greatest thing in the world.
8. I have some of the most fun, kind, adventurous people in the entire GIF program living in my pensione with me
9. Dragoon beer is not a good decision
10. I may like philosophy more than I thought
11. I love naps
12. I hate gin
13. "Master class" in Florence means something entirely different than in America
14. I can last an entire dance class, and do well in it, with absolutely no one in the room speaking English
15. I was told by a girl in the program that Im the type of person that brings out the best in people...that one was my favorite

Things I knew, but were noticed more this week...
1. I am a perfectionist. (shocking) This can be fantastic, but not always.
2. I am a free spirit.
3. If I eat meat, I WILL puke - Giovanni accidently placed the meat ravioli in front of me...haha while all of us students laughed about it, he looked like he was going to be sick he felt so bad.
4. I get car sick if Im not by the window.
5. When I dance, no matter how good or how bad the class, its the greatest feeling in the world. Especially after so long without it
6. I love being the teachers favorite ;)
7. I love going on adventures. Walking the city for hours never gets old.
8. I have an ability to show a lot love and compassion for people I have just met
9. The world is tiny. 6 degrees of separation should be 3 degrees of separation
10. Everyone is fighting some sort of battle.
11. Someone out there has gone through the same thing/things you have and they may need to talk about it to a brand new friend
12. People who dont usually go out, will go out if you really want them to :) or at least invite them over and over and over until they have to say yes!
13. I love my parents more than anything and couldn't be more thankful to them for providing me with the experience of a lifetime. There are no words to express sufficient gratitude
14. My brothers are such a part of my life. I talk about them constantly.
15. I am the luckiest girl in the world



This week was full of life lessons and discovery. Classes as usual. Homework has begun, but the teachers are nice enough to leave us free of work for our first real weekend of traveling.
Everyone in my pensione got even closer this week, and our place is the place to be. Its a blast.
Leaving for Interlocken in a few hours, cant wait.

arrivederci

Three day weekends are fantastic. Weekends everywhere should be like this. There extra time makes such a difference.
Thursday night was a great time. A bar nearby that we have already been to a few times had a kareoke night. A ton of kids in the program went, and there were also students there from NYU and other Universities in the city. I sang "Sweet Caroline" with my new friend Ralph, it was a blast.
On Friday we slept in a bit, but got up in time to make it over to a popular sandwich place across the city. Its called the Oil Shoppe. They have tons of options, HUGE sandwiches, and they are only 3 euro each :). I had an eggplant sandwich that was absolutely delicious. We walked off the huge meal by walking through the city, over the bridge, and over to the piazza de Michaelangelo. It is quite a hike to get to the top of, but once at the top there is an amazing view of the entire city. It was freezing, but the sun was shining and the sky was clear and the view was perfect. We spent a good amount of time there, and after the hike down, and back into the city, we went to a gelatto spot called Grom. Its a favorite of a lot of the year-long students here, so we decided to check it out. It has moved to first place on my gelatto favorites list!
Exhausted, we all went home, put in a movie, and took naps. Friday night was low key, we stayed in the Pensione and all of us hung out in one of the dorm rooms.
Saturday we got up bright and early, and headed over to the bus station at 8am. We got on a 9am bus, and made it to Sienna in an hour. It was nice to get there early because we got more of the daylight. We got a pass for 10 euro that was all inclusive. It got us into the Church, the Basilica, Crypts, Panorama, and into the church where St. Catherine's head was. All of the places were beautiful and so historic, and it was great to have so much time to spend in each one. We got pizzas at a little pizzaria hidden away in an alley then ate our lunch sitting in a huge plazza in the middle of the city. We walked more and found more sights, and got on the bus to head back at 4pm. We got back, went to the grocery store to get some food/snacks and went out to a popular club called Space. We danced the night away.
Today has been mellow. The weather is overcast again, so we slept and just hung out around the Pensione with everyone. Lauren and I went down the street to get some awesome chinese food, then Elizabeth and I went and did our laundry; which was not very fun at all, but at leasts its done.
Here I sit, doing everything possible to put off the homework I have to complete before tomorrow. There isnt much at all, the teachers seem like they all plan on going easy on us for the weekends due to travel and what not. :)
Ciao

end of week 2

I have just completed my first full week of classes. It is a completely different week set up for me this semester. Instead of the usual nine to ten classes, I am only taking four, and it is wonderful!
I hate to speak too soon, but I love all of my classes and teachers already. I hate philosophy, but my philosophy teacher is extremely helpful and doing what she can to help us to understand what we are reading. She guides us really well, and even when someone gives a completely wrong answer, helps them to get it right.
My Italian teacher is quite possibly the most adorable human being I have ever met. She is so short, a little pudgy, and easily over 75. She laughs at all of her own jokes, most of which we dont understand because she constantly switches from italian to english without noticing. She is helpful and understanding that we are all new at this, so the environment is easy going and fun so far.
I have a three hour music class on Mondays only. It is exactly that. Three hours of music. The concentration is in 19th century romanticism, starting with Beethoven. We spent the class learning a bit about Beethoven, and listening to the entire 5th Symphony. In this class there are only three students. Its sad how little the arts are appreciated now a days. All of the art classes here have few students in them. Its hard to say that though, because I couldnt be happier that there are only three of us because it just means more personal attention and a better relationship with the teacher.
Ms. Garriot is a chatterbox, and spent the first 45 minutes of class talking about the weather, herself, and us. I guess it was nice to spend 45 minutes doing that since we had 3 hours for class. God once again showed how small this world truly is, and how the theory of 6 degrees of separation continues to be true. This teacher is also quite old, and has had a lifetime of accomplishment in the music world. One of these accomplishments is having played for the Florence Symphony Orchestra for over 20 years. I sat there thinking, there is no way she could know Richard (from Guiseppes) but I might as well ask. I did, and her mouth dropped. She couldnt believe I knew his name, and said, how do you know our cellist? I knew then that she obviously had known him, because Richard plays the cello. She said they had played together for at least 3 or 4 years, because the time of him coming and her leaving overlapped. I was amazed, and we had a great little chat about Phoenix and his restaurant and how crazy the world is.
On Tuesday night I have a three hour art class called Fresco. We will be getting to make actual frescos on tiles, using Lyme and water, just like Michaelangelo did :) This teacher is also a joy. Anytime I get to meet someone that has the same appreciation for art forms that I do, I cant help but be happy. She is a firm believer in not giving up, and if we produce something that we think ugly, remembering that everything has its own beauty. The two other students in this class and I are all beginners, which helps to make me feel at ease. She said it is a very interactive class, where she will be helping us and we will help each other. In addition, our teacher, Ms. Lucy, will be taking us on short tours around the city to certain Churches to see famous frescos to inspire us.
When I wasnt in class, I explored the city with friends, took naps, and thankfully found time to go for a run and do some yoga.
Today after lunch I am going to a dance class with another girl who has been here for the year. She has been taking dance since August so she knows the ropes around here and was extremely willing to take me under her wing and have a companion for classes! Cant wait to finally dance again, it has been toooo long!
Arrivederci!

Arrived back in Florence from a three day trip to Rome this evening.
We left Thursday afternoon. I was so bummed because that morning the sun was shining here in florence and the rain stopped, and we had to leave :(
Obviously once we got to Rome it didnt matter. We got to our hotels which were about a 5 minute walk from the Pantheon, and ten minutes from the ruins. All 73 of us went to dinner at a restaurant in a piazza near our hotel. It was a five course meal, which we all wished we had known beforehand, because we were all unbelievably stuffed by the end. Being a vegetarian has proved to be the best choice so far this trip. There are four of us here, and we usually end up getting better meals than everyone else. That night the girls at my table were joking around saying that they would be turning into vegetarians by the next day if they could have meals like mine. Lucky me. I was pretty worried when coming here that it would be difficult, but there are vegetarian options everywhere I go that it has not been difficult at all. The owners of my pensione are awesome and they make me and Jennie (another vegetarian in our building) fish for our meals instead of the chicken or pork that they serve the others. It has been great.
Anywho, that night after dinner we all went to a bar right next door to it called the Drunken Ship. Some say its a pretty American bar but of all the places we went, it was the most "italian". As i have said before, everyone here speaks English, so no matter where we go, we fit in well. We didnt stay there late because we were all so exhausted, so after we took a stroll through the city over to the river and onto to bridge. We hung out there for a while before returning home to rest up for Friday's events.
On Friday we did a 3 hour walking tour of the major older monuments of Ancient Rome We saw the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and all the ruins of the political buildings. Our tour guide was fantastic. She was extremely intelligent and really gave us a great understanding of the city. I of course was right up front next to her with two other students soaking in everything she said and asking plenty of questions, so I got a lot out of it.
Then we went to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, and strolled around the area going to the Trevi fountain and eating gelato. It was my first gelato of the trip and it was delicious! The fountain was amazing, and we all threw coins over our shoulders and made wishes and hung out there for a good hour or so. Then we walked to the Bourghesi museum. (good chance we walked over 15 miles this weekend...) I had remembered this museum as boring, and one I didnt really enjoy when I had been to Rome with my parents, except for I did remember that I had enjoyed some of the statues. This time I had a much greater appreciation for everything. The statues blew my mind again. Apollo and Dafni continues to be my favorite statue of all time, and I spent a good 15 minutes at it, listening to the audio guide and talking to a person who worked there about it (he spoke english...shocking). But the museum was wonderful and Im glad I got to go back and appreciate it more.
Then we went back to the hotel. We had the entire night free to ourselves so some girls and I got some delicious pizza, and went on a Colosseum Pub Crawl. It was fun. We went to four different pubs and danced the night away.
Saturday was basically entirely on our own. We were taken to the Vatican, and after getting our entry tickets were allowed to do what we wanted. We walked through the museum, saw the Sistene Chapel which as I had remembered from before as one of my favorite parts of Rome, and remains to be. Then we went to St. Peters. I had told my friends to prepare themselves for the beauty of it, but even I had my breath taken away when we walked in the front doors. We spent a lot of time in there, soaking it in and praying in every section they had open.
Due to exhaustion, we went home and took naps for a few hours before dinner. Dinner was in a small family owned restaurant, we took the entire place up. Again, I lucked out being the vegetarian because I had the best meal. Homemade spaghetti with eggplant :)
After, we had a once in a life time special tour given to us by our Chaplin, father Brian. It wasnt a scheduled thing. Some of us were hanging out in the lobby after dinner, and he came up to us suggesting a walk to the Trevi at night. We said it sounded great and went. Of course, it was beautiful. After hanging out there for a bit, we went to his favorite gelatto spot nearby, where we all got gelatto, on him. After, he took us to the Bellarmino Palace. In this palace, there are 70 Jesuit priests. They are from 30 countries, and speak 25 different languages. They are all studying to get their doctorates and other additonal education. The building is a part of the Vatican, but located in a different part of the city. From the extremely high terrace (on the roof) we could see the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, St. Ignatius, the Vatican, and the Piazza Venezia. It was breath taking and definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Only 15 of us got to go, and we were so happy we had the experience.
This morning we got up, packed up the bus, and headed to Vatican city. We were given 3 hours there. We knew that at noon the Pope would be doing his blessing, and otherwise we could do what we want. We played in the middle of the plaza by the manger scene and christmas tree. When the Pope came out there were hundreds of people there. He spoke for a few minutes in Italian, and then it over 7 different languages, blessed the crowd. It was awesome! Definitely something I am glad I was able to be a part of.
The four hour trip home was filled with sleep and exhaustion, and now I am back in the pensione hanging out with the girls, downloading pictures, and writing journals.
Class starts tomorrow! cant wait.
Buona Notti.

p.s. Grandma Schulz - I told my girlfriends here that I needed to find a nun for you. They thought I meant a real nun, we got a good laugh from that. Ever since, we have been taking pictures of real nuns walking on the streets. I will have a collection of pictures for you when I return home :)

Day 3.
What a beautiful city I get to live in for 4 months. This place is unreal.
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, s a huge holiday for Florence. Many things close down today, all day for the celebrations. We planned on just walking the city, but came to find all these events on the way. Out in front of the Duomo there was a live manger scene, with sheep, bulls, and donkeys. There was also a huge parade. We walked through the city to the Arno. Its a dirty river, but the overall look of it is beautiful.
Brooks and I joked and decided that we should buy one of the apartments in the buildings that line the Arno. But decided our mommies might not like it if we dont come back home to them :)
We walked and explored for hours. It was wonderful. The sun finally came out! It only lasted about 30 minutes, but we got a wonderful dose of sunshine, and while the clouds did take over a majority of the adventure, there was little or no rain!
The girl that lives next door to me and I are leaving for mass at the Duomo now, they have had masses all day for the Epiphany.
Im sure itll be a mass unlike I have ever experienced. Cant wait.
Everyone here speaks english. Last night my friend Hailey and I had a long conversation with an Italian guy our age who was teaching us the differences between certain words when speaking to younger kids as compared to Adults. The conversation began because i said Escusi, but he corrected me saying that since we were the same age, I could just say, scusi. He was a nice guy, we learned a lot from him.
Everyone here is so sweet and open to making new friends. I was pretty nervous about the Gonzaga students excluding themselves from those of us that dont go to Gonzaga with them, but they are unbelievably welcoming.
I couldnt be happier with the program and city I chose. Three days in and Im already in love.

Arrivederci

Day 2.
Ciao.
We arrived yesterday after an extremely long 16 hour trek. In Denver, Brooks and I met two other students studying abroad in our program so we had an additional 2 companions the rest of the way which made the experience more fun. We almost missed the last leg of the trip, the flight to Florence; we were literally running through the airport in Frankfeurt, but were allowed last minute onto our plane.
Florence is rainy. It hasn't stopped raining since my arrival. I hate the rain, but it looks like im going to learn to love it :)
The family that owns the pensione is wonderful. There is a grandmother, grandfather, their daughter, and her son. They are extremely loving and so sweet. The daughter, about 30 is the only one who speaks any english, and it is very little, so hopefully it'll help in my learning italian!
Rumor has it that our Pensione has the best food. I love it, we have great meals, always at the same times. They give us lots of food and they like it more when we finish everything, Im still full from lunch today.
We went out to an Irish pub last night. Met even more students and had a blast. Barely slept last night, the jet lag is killing me, but hopefully tonight will be better.
About to go with a friend from LMU to the drug store and take a walk down to the Duomo...lucky me :)
Arrivederci.