Last Wednesday I said goodbye to my parents in the San Diego airport and boarded my plane. Somehow the fact that I was flying to a foreign country to live for 6 months didn't seem to hit me on the 18 hours of travelling (3 flights and layovers). I didn't get it until I landed in Rome - wow, did I ever feel like an American. It didn't help too much that I was extremely jetlagged and carried both an overstuffed yellow and blue student-abroad type backpack and a huge suitcase. In the line (the 4th one I was directed to) to check in for my flight from Rome to Pisa, a group of very Rome-chic most-likely models actually pointed at me and laughed. With a quick "And of course she's American" (or something to that effect in Italian), I didn't exactly feel welcome in my new country.
Once I arrived in Pisa, however, to the welcoming arms of other students and administrators from my school, The Siena School for Liberal Arts (www.sienaschool.com), that fish-out-of-water feeling subsided. From the Pisa airport we drove about an hour and a half to a tuscan agriturismo (a farm b&b that often produces its ingredients for fantastic family-style meals).
The first night I was probably not as amazed as I should have been by the calendar worthy splendor of this place. The next morning I ran before breakfast; I felt like I was in a tuscan postcard.
Left: The orientation agriturismo (I don't have the name with me at the moment)
My favorite photo thus far
The most impressive part of orientation (apart from the amazing amount of hand-holding we have here in terms of preparation for Italian life) was probably the food. The agriturismo made aged and young pecorino cheese. For breakfast, I learned to love unstrained (chunky?) honey and baked ricotta on fresh bread.
During orientation, we did a bit of sightseeing in the surrounding reigon. One day we explored rainy, but surely adorable Lucca and the next, we went to the Monte Carlo Castle in a small town near Lucca. As 8 of us girls waited to use the tiny bathroom in his house, the tourguide told us stories about his time as an Italian naval officer "on mission" in the U.S. He said when he arrived, he was given a card with the name of a girl, an address, a taxi number, taxi fare, and the girl's height. He was to pick her up for the naval dance (after the men of course exchanged cards based on height). He repeatedly mentioned that the girls of 3'6" were much too tall for the men....maybe my most entertaining bathroom line.
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
In the first photo, the small column on the hills on the right is the hometown of Pinnochio.
Well for now, I'm off to a bar and pizzeria with the other girls from my program. I'll write a bit more about my living situation in Siena soon. For now, I hope everyone is well (tutto bene--all good). Ciao.
