I'm in Italy?!

Wow. I have only been here five days and it already feels like I've been here a while. I don't know where to begin.

Things are very different here. The streets are made of cobblestone. The dinners here are three to four courses of deliciousness. These people are obsessed with olive oil. Vespas line the streets. The Italians are super fashionable.

A red, pizza-delivering Vespa that was outside of my window.

But probably the biggest change is that EVERYTHING IS IN ITALIAN! Well, pretty much everything. But if a menu is in English here then I am suspicious that the place caters to tourists rather than Italians. There are many tourists here right now! Another challenge is that it has been crazy hot here. I don't really sweat in the States but here I've soaked through shirts (tmi maybe). It's a small miracle that I haven't passed out here.

My first couple of days here were tough. I don't know what I was expecting but I guess I wasn't expecting it to be this legit, this real. I really am in a totally different country. Where most people don't. speak. English. So at first I kept trying to talk to people in English, and that didn't go so well. But I've been getting better. Though I apparently know minimal Italian, I've been able to communicate basic things with simple words accompanied by hand gestures. So I'm like a baby Italian.

I am very determined to learn the language now, even though the goal feels nearly impossible right now. I took a language placement test with my school and I was confident that I did horribly. I could barely guess at what the essay questions were asking, and when I took the oral test the teacher had to repeat questions several times. And yet, I was somehow placed in Italian 4, even though I have only taken two quarters of Italian. I'm questioning whether I should stay in this class right now. I cannot understand much of what the teacher says and of what I read. So I might ask to go down to level 3. I'll pray about it.

Amazingly, I'm adapting quickly to this new lifestyle. I really like my homestay family. There is a dad, mom, and two young girls. They are very sweet. Today I went grocery shopping with the mom and the two girls and they helped me pick things out. (There was a whole pasta aisle and another aisle for olive oil!) The youngest does not speak English but she is very expressive so she can tell me stories by acting them out. The older one (who is only 12) speaks English okay. The parents speak English. I am glad that they do but I do need to work on my Italian. The dinners with my homestay are very good. There are four dishes for every meal. We have pasta but not as often as you might think because my homestay mom is on a diet!

I enjoy all of the little coffee shops, pastry shops, gelaterie, and pizzerie. If I'm hungry I need only walk past a few shops before I find affordable, yummy food like un panino or pizza (it's affordable so long as it isn't in a touristy area). There are cheap kebab places around too that I need to try.

The bus system is easy to use, too. There is a stop that I get on right by my place and then to get back I just have to find a bus stop that has the number 22 on it.

I got a museum pass from the school, and so the next thing that I want to do is to check out some of the sights here. I'll keep you posted.

Il Ponte Vecchio

Last night I had an EAP dinner that was very good. We were served lasagna, vegetable-stuffed turkey, potatoes, and bread. The best part was the dessert! It was a cake called millefoglie and it had sugary sweet cream inside of it. After, I went to the Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Vecchio literally means "old bridge." The bridge that's there today was built in 1345 and it's the only bridge that the Nazis didn't destroy during WWII. The bridge is lined with jewelry shops. When I went, there was an Italian band there singing a Coldplay song to cater to the tourist crowd.

Have you ever gone somewhere where you felt completely out of your element? What did you learn from the experience?

Possibly the best gift ever

My friends Malibu and Samsara went skydiving last weekend. After surviving, they stopped by my house to drop off a gift. They wrote me a letter for every week that I will be in Italy. How sweet is that? I'm pretty dang lucky.

A letter for every week I'm in Italy

I think that I'm going to have to acknowledge that I'm going to Italy for a semester pretty soon. I leave on Sunday morning.

Have you ever received a truly memorable gift? What was it and who gave it to you?

Mission Italia

My waterproof, semi-illustrated map of Italia

My mom and I went to Barnes&Noble to look for a phrasebook for Italy. Though I've taken two quarters of Italian, my Italian is currently nonexistent. While there I also found an illustrated map of Florence (pictured above) and a Florence on a budget book.

Excerpt from my Italian phrasebook

I love this phrasebook! Above is the section from the "social romance" section. I find it hilarious!

This is slowly beginning to become real to me. And I'm beginning to freak out a little bit. I'm going to need subtitles for my life pretty soon!

However. I need to chillax and have faith. This trip was God's idea a long time ago. He knows what He's doing.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." ~Joshua 1:9

Loving SB: My Pre-Italia Summer

The Gaviota Wind Caves. [Photo Credit: Malibu]

Rattlesnake Trail. [Photo Credit: Beth Gory]

My summer before Italy has been some work and a lot of hiking. The top photo is our "band photo" which was taken at the Gaviota wind caves. The caves were legit and I felt like a true explorer climbing a mountain to get to them. The second photo is at Rattlesnake Trail. Ironically, we saw a rattlesnake at the Gaviota wind caves rather than at Rattlesnake Trail (snake pictured below). Some other adventures I went on this summer include an attempt at going to Tangerine Falls (never found them), getting saltwater taffy on the SB pier, checking out the Goleta train museum, seeing Lake Los Carneros, checking out a creepy coffee shop, going to Lizard's Mouth, and taking a trip to Red Rock. And many, many trips to Thrifty ice cream. Mmmm mint chocolate chip!

Gaviota Wind Caves. [Photo Credit: Sidewinder]

Have you gone on any adventures this summer?