'He is fit!"

Friday 9th
One thing that I love about being here in Italy is seeing the amazing views. I have yet to go to a place where the views and scenery are not absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. Every time we go on an excursion, we hear “oh it’s beautiful, you are going to love it”, and it is true. Every place has such magnificent views. Friday was a beautiful day, and we spent the afternoon in a neighboring town called Anghiari. The hilly streets were full of shops, churches, homes and cafes. Dr. Webb got us some gelato and I ate mine, and walked up the street to look out at the views. The beautiful walled town overlooks Sansepolcro and some of the Tuscan mountains. It was a lovely view!

John Rose’s daughter and her family were here in Sansepolcro this week. His granddaughter, Charlie and her friend Courtney, came to go out with Megan, Kayley, Lilly and me. We had plans at night to go meet some boys from Città di Castello. The girls and I went to a bar right across from the Palazzo and enjoyed a drink as we waited for the boys to come. As I was sitting in the bar I noticed a North Carolina licenses plate hanging on the wall, and got really excited. It felt like a piece of home was there with us! It was really interesting to talk to Courtney and Charlie; comparing different words and phrases that Americans and British say. We learned that “fit” means “hot”, as in” that boy in the blue shirt is very fit.”
We met the Città di Castello boys and went to another bar for a drink. The boys bought Lilly, Kayley, Megan and my drink. They told us that it was what Italian gentlemen do. At 12:30 Lilly and I walked John Rose’s granddaughter and her friend back to their hotel.

Saturday 10th
I was able to sleep in till 11:30, and it was wonderful! I enjoyed a nice leisurely morning and then went to a soccer game. The Sansepolcro team was playing a neighboring city, Città di Castello. One of our Italian friends, Luca, took us to the game and we were able to watch Sansepolcro beat Città di Castello. It was a really fun experience. I enjoyed cheering on the Sansepolcro team and listening to the crowds yell with excitement or anger. The players were very rough and intense which made the game even more fun to watch.


After the game I got some gelato and then went to get Chinese food for dinner. I know that sounds interesting, to be getting Chinese while in Italy, but it was actually pretty good. Megan and I split Chicken with mushrooms and shrimp and a side of some rice.
There is a club or discotecca called Lo Scorpione, right outside the city walls. Our Italian friends talked about it, and we had planned to go. We were informed that the club does not get “good” till about 2am. So I took a nap before I went. At 11:30 I woke up from a 30 minute nap and started to get ready. At 2:15, on true Italian time, Lilly, Kayley, Kim, Megan, Jess, and I went to Lo Scorpione. All the Italians whom we had talked to about the discotecca said that it was boring and small; however I disagree. The club was really quite nice, it had a lot of couches and tables for people to sit down on and was large so people were able to move. Apparently, the night that we chose to go was a special night for the men at the club. There was a burlesque dancer who came out dressed as a ballerina. She ended up dancing till she was in nothing but pasties. At one point I looked around: everyone one of us American girls had our mouths dropped, in shock. Our surprised reactions were opposite to those of the Italians, who were acting as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. After dancing and drinks as we left the club at 5 AM (like the Italians do ;). It was such a fun experience; I would really love to go back before I leave. I would also highly encourage everyone to go at least once because it was so different from anything I had ever done.


Sunday 11th
After only getting 5 hours of sleep I woke up, ate breakfast and started on some homework. Later in the day, John Rose came into the kitchen to tell us that the bell tower here in Sansepolcro was open to be climbed. It is not open all the time, and was a special occasion , so Megan, Kayley and I acted upon the opportunity and went to climb the 14th century tower. I have climbed multiple towers in different cities, but by far this one was the scariest. To get up to the very top I had to climb a little ladder and walk (or crawl in my case) across a wooden plank to get to another plank which you then squeezed through a tiny wooden door to get to the top of the tower.
I have seen the views out of many towers, and enjoyed each; looking out of the Sansepolcro tower has been my favorite, because I was able see and recognize places in the town. I was able to find my favorite gelateria, the grocery store I always go to, and my home for 3 months.

It was rainy and cold, so after climbing the tower Megan, Courtney, Charlie and I had a nice cup of hot chocolate and talked about more words that were different in Italian (most of our words and discussions consisted of boys). They told us that mingin means ugly. So now we know two words to describe boys: fit and mingin.
Monday 19th
We have a service learning project with our Italy Today class. I was assigned to go to one of the Middle Schools here in Sansepolcro and work with the English teacher and her class. I had gone the previous week and was a little stressed. The first time I went there was very little structure in the class. I did not know how much English they knew, or even what they were learning. After a stressful 50 minute class I spoke to the teacher and figured out what I could do for the next week. She had given me a list of subjects I could teach for the next week. For my second time I chose to teach a lesson on food. I went in and asked the students how much they knew about food in English. With the help of the students I made a list of food on the board broken into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desserts. We also brainstormed reasons why we liked the food. Once the list was made I gave them a piece of paper that said “My favorite food is___. I like it because_____.” I had each of the students draw a picture of the favorite food which they wrote about. Once completing the assignment, each student came up to present their picture and tell the class what there favorite food was, and why they liked it.
Tuesday 20th
Jess and Kim got their haircut. It looked so good that Megan and I decided to get ours done as well. It was really funny trying to tell the hairdresser that I wanted to keep my hair long, but just add layers into it. The hairdresser came to cut my hair, and had an electronic razor in her hand (the kind my brothers would use if they wanted a buzz). I was nervous, hoping that my Italian translation was correct. She would take some of my hair and comb it, then she would angle my hair and use the razor to cut the layers. Every time I have got layers at home the hairdresser uses succors. It was a fun experience, and happily my hair cut was a good one.
I had met a nice Italian boy here in Sansepolcro, and had a date. He came to the Palazzo to pick me up at 9:00. Lilly, Megan, and Kayley were watching from the window in the classrooms to see when he arrived, which he thought was funny. He was very sweet, and brought me flowers when he picked me up. We walked around the streets of Sansepolcro and then went to a bar. He does not speak much English, and I do not speak much Italian, so the language barrier made the night interesting. I brought a pocket dictionary and phrasebook with me. When we were confused with what we were trying to say we would look up a word, and it was very helpful. I had a really fun time!

April 1st
For my Easter break I left for the south of Italy with Megan, Kim, Jess and Kelsey. We were going to stay in Sorrento. We were on the bus to Arezzo when Kelsey gave us our tickets and realized that our tickets were actually for two hours earlier. Since we missed our first train we lost our seats, had to pay 8 euro, and ended up standing for about two hours in a crowded small aisle between the compartments in the train. After a couple of people got off the train we were able to sit in pull out chairs that were in the aisle. A five hour ride, on a crowded train is a long time when you don’t have seats!

When we got to Naples, we had to take a connecting train to Sorrento. We got off our stop around 9:30ish and walked to our Hostel. I thought it was really cool when we arrived, there was a bar that served drinks and food that played music and karaoke. After dinner Megan and I sat in the bar and had a drink with some people who were studying abroad in Madrid.
April 2nd
Pompei! We got on a transit train and headed for the ancient city in ruins. Pompei and its people were killed from an eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. The ancient city of Pompei is in ruins, but we were able to see some of what was left.

I saw two people who had died during the eruption and you could see the pain they felt as they were dying with their body stance and facial expressions.
After Pompei we went to Sorrento and did some shopping on the main street. We looked at souvenir shops, clothes shops and sandal shops. One thing that Sorrento and the south are famous for is hand make sandals. We went into some shops; you were able to pick what color leather, what style and how you wanted your sandals made. I would have loved to buy some, but as I am low in the money department, I didn’t.
That night we went to dinner, but as none of us have a lot of money right now we were looking for some of the cheapest food we could find. We were able to find a bowl of spaghetti with tomato sauce for 3.50 euro. The pasta was very good, and I was happy I was able to get the spaghetti at such a cheap price.
April 3rd
Our hostel had an Easter special where we could be picked up by bus, taken to a boat and given a tour around the island of Capri. The 5 of us girls signed up for the excursion and left by 9:30. At 10:00 the boat was taking off. It was such a beautiful day, but when the boat was moving it was a little windy and cold.

The boat ride around Capri has been one of my favorite things I’ve done since I’ve been in Italy. Our boat driver took us all the way around the island and we were able to see different caves.


He told us that we were able to walk up into one cave. I went to go walk up the cave, but for some reason he suggested not taking our shoes, which resulted in very painful walk as there were small rocks the whole way up. Inside the cave it was dark, wet and cold. The view down was so incredible, looking down I could see our boat in the bright blue water. After out lunch and drinks that were included in the boat ride, he dropped us of on the Island and we went to walk around. The shops were nice, but very expensive. There was one shop that had kitchen supplies that I loved. I really wanted to get some silver wear for my apartment next year, but each individual piece of silverware was 15 euro, so I didn’t get anything.
One of the famous things to do in Capri is to look in the Blue Grotto, or cave. Usually you are able to pay to take a row boat in and look inside, but the tide was too high so we were not allowed to take the row boats in there. He told us that we could swim into the cave, but told us he did not think it was a good idea. The tide was so high that it was smashing up against the entrance, which would also make it very hard to enter into Though I did not go in the cave, I would not let myself leave without jumping into the Italian ocean. I jumped in and it was freezing! I got out right away!

Kelsey had read in her Rick Steve’s tour guide book about a place called Delfinos, it was supposed to have the best seafood, for moderate prices. Jess and I split some seafood pasta and I got a salad. I thought it was good, but I ended up eating sand from some of my seafood, which I did not particularly enjoy.
Around 11:00 Megan and I went down to the bar for a drink. As we were enjoying our drink a weird Italian guy started talking to Megan. He kept trying to put his arms around her, play with her hands and get her to dance. I was looking at him as if he was crazy, and then looked over to my side and saw some guy staring at me. He then came over and talked to me and asked me why I was so sad. I was explaining to him that I was not sad at all, but the boy talking to Megan was weird, and just a little too much for my liking. Finally the weird guy talking to Megan left, and the guy (whose name I cannot remember, it was an Italian name that I could not pronounce) the guy who came to talk to Megan and I asked us if we liked ice cream. We said yes and he told us he would take us to the best place. We didn’t want to go just with the Italian boys, so we asked our friend Tom (the American we met who studies in Madrid- a very trust worthy type of guy) to come with us. Tom did, so Megan and I went with the Italian guys for Gelato at the famous place Primavera. It was fun to have the local Italian boys walk us through the city.

April 4th
In the morning I went to an Easter mass at the cathedral which was right next to our hostel. I got there early and was able to see everyone come in and greet each other. They all did the double side cheek kiss. I felt very out of place as the church was so small and everyone knew each other, but I was happy that I was able to attend Easter mass.
After mass Megan, Kim, Jess, Kelsey and I got on a bus to go to the Amalfi coast. The bus was so crowded we had to stand in the aisle for an hour long drive on curvy roads. We got off at Positano and realized we had a really long walk down to the beach. Finally making it to the bottom I got some pizza and a drink and sat on a blanket in the sand. With all the cold weather that we have had I was so happy to be able to lie out in the sun on an Italian beach.


We were not able to stay at Positano for very long; since it was a holiday the buses didn’t come as often, and we needed to be able to get back on a bus. We stood in line for about an hour waiting and when the bus came it stopped at the end of the line. All of the people that got there after us got on the bus before us and got seats. We were almost not even able to get on the bus until a dad, from America, who we had talked to before the bus came, blocked the people behind him and said “come on North Carolina, get on while you can.” The bus was so packed that I stood on the stairs inside the bus with two other women. I was literally not even able to move my feet for a good 30 minutes until people started getting off.

We made it back safely, showered and Megan and I went out for an Easter dinner. We each ordered both order pasta and then decided to split a fish. The fish came with its head, fins, tail and eyes. After our waiter placed the fish on our table we looked at the fish, then at each other, and back at the fish, as if expecting it to cut and debone its self. I cut of the head and tail and tried to debone it.
Apparently I didn’t do that great of a job with the deboning, as both of us were picking bones out of our mouth as we ate our fish. It was an interesting experience. I really enjoyed going to the south of Italy. It was so beautiful and I loved the coast!

Dertua and Assisi

March 15th
Our art history class took a field trip to Deruta, which is about an hour away from Sansepolcro. Dertura is a well known city for ceramics. Our first stop was at a ceramics factory which Dr. Bailey was able to get us a tour and we were able to see how everything was made. The first floor was the showroom for all the beautiful ceramics; there were table tops, plates, cups, vases, wine stoppers and much more. The ceramics had so many different patterns and colors, all of which were handmade and painted. On the second floor we were able to see the process of how the ceramics were made. There was a man working on the potter’s wheel. I have learned how to work on the potters wheel in a couple different ceramics classes, and it is not easy, yet the man on the potter’s wheel made it look like such an easy task. He made a bowl, a plate, a vase, and a cup within five minutes!

After watching him make the pieces, the daughter whose father owns the shop, showed us the kiln and how the pieces look after they have been bisque fired( first firing) and then we walked over to where both her parents, and owners of the shop, were painting glaze on different pieces. Her mother was painting a huge vase with a large intricate pattern which was being made as a set.

Her dad was also creating a pattern for a set, however he was free handing his pattern. Watching him work was so neat! He was able to paint the pattern on with such ease, and made it look so great!

Our next stop in Deruta was the Museum. We were able to see ceramic pieces in chronological order and see the remains and restorations of pieces , some as old as 2 thousand years ago.

After the museum we were able to look in the shops. Each shop more or less has the same stuff, but with different colors or patterns.



March 27th
We went to Assisi! It was only about an hour and 15 minuet bus ride from Sansepolcro. Assisi is a beautiful historic town. We went to the Basilica of Saint Francis and saw Giotto’s frescoes which we had learned about in our art history class from a guest lecture with Dr. Mulvaney, an art history professor at Meredith. Giotto was a famous gothic artist who helped to close the gap from byzantine to a more realistic art style. He worked to create a sculptural emphasis, more 3 dimensional figures, lifelike backgrounds, and illusions of space. Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata is one of Giotto’s more famous pieces where 3 dimensional figures, life like and illusions of 3D spaces are seen. The frescoes depicted scenes from the life of Saint Francis, that showed how very Christ like he was. The 28 frescoes are all around the church and are under different frescoes of the Old Testament.


Saturtday night some of the girls and I went out to K-Caffe, and enjoyed the night out!



March 28th
Sunday was a nice relaxing day which I had been wanting for a long time. I was able to sleep in till 11:30, and it was wonderful! Kelsey and I had planned to have a breakfast party because Italians do not typically have hot breakfasts, and we had been craving one for a long time. We had gone to the store the day before and got eggs, sausage, and pancake mix. At 12:00 we started making our breakfast, which was actually brunch. All the girls helped pitch in from making toast, cutting sausages and making coffee. By about 12:30ish the table was set :we had eggs, sausage, pancakes and oatmeal made. There was also toast and jam, coffee, hot tea, orange juice and water. I really enjoyed eating a “Sunday morning American breakfast” like my dad and mom used to make.



After breakfast I did some organizing and cleaning my section of the room. I then went out with Kim, Kelsey, Dr. Webb, and John Rose. Some of the grand Palazzos here in Sansepolcro were getting shown, our very own Palazzo Alberti included. We went to tour one of the Palazzos and the line, or lack thereof, to get into it was long and crowded. As I have previously said, Italians seem to not have a personal space bubble. As we were standing in the unorganized line, people were smashing into to us and I had a bosoms up against my back and in my face. I need my personal bubble, and I did not get that, so waiting in line was not my favorite part of the day.
The tour of the Palazzo was in Italian and afterwards, a woman who was doing some of the touring came to give us information about the family and the Palazzo in English. She told us that they were a rich family, and during the Renaissance period Sansepolcro was actually a large and powerful place since it was a connection from the Adriatic Coast to Florence.
Next Kim, Kelsey and I went into the Aboca Museum. This museum had old medicines, herbs, and plants used to make the medicines. The museum had one room showing only ceramics that were used to hold the medicines. The ceramics were similar to some of the patterns and decorations that I had seen in Deruta.
At 5:45 PM I was walking on the main street and heard the bells ring at the cathedral, which meant mass was going to start soon. I was happy because I had wanted to go to church since it was Palm Sunday, but had slept in too much to go in the morning. I walked in and after waiting realized that the bell meant that mass was starting in 15 minutes. While waiting, I saw that everyone was getting olive branches, so I went and got one as well. I was later told that they use olive branches rather than palms because the olive trees are plentifully here. The church has at least two confessions booths. I was so surprised to see people using these during mass. My church at home does not have confessions booths in the open, so no one does his or her confession while the mass is going on, which was very different for me. Another difference that I noticed, and was also surprised about, was that after receiving the Eucharist the Italians did not make the sign of the cross. I, as well as fellow parishioners at my church, make the sign of the cross after communion.