Culture Shock Part Two? Or Three? Not sure what we're up to by now

There are five days left until I fly to the Hague for the Model UN Conference, and I'm starting to freak out a bit. I'm prepared, but I'm still freaking out. Because that is what I do. At least that hasn't changed.

On another note, I am starting to miss the US more and more. I know it's the culture shock, the spiral that happens before it's time to leave, but apparently knowing that is the reason isn't enough for it to stop. I miss having my own car and driving. I miss grocery stores that have everything, so I don't have to stop at four different places to get everything I need. I miss stores that are open past 8pm. I miss Castleton, badly. And most of all I miss my family and my friends.

But enough of that, because in three weeks I'll be home, and then I'll start missing Rome. I know I'll miss being in this city, having all this freedom to do almost anything I want. I'll miss my friends here, and those in the ISA program, since most of them are spread all across the US. I'll miss being able to fly to another country for a weekend, without breaking the bank or being on a flight for 7 hours.

Week One of the Four most stressful weeks of my life (up to now) is over. I have my Italian Presentation, Italian Oral Exam and Italian Final exam left. I have a final exam in Intro to the EU. I have a final paper, an extra credit paper, and a final exam in IR Theories and Cases. And finally, I have an extra credit paper and a reflection paper in the MUN class, after the Conference.

Today was supposed to be the trip to Ninfa and Sermoneta. My roommates Hannah and Hannah were going with me, on the ISA trip. We had to meet ISA at 9:30 by the school, about a ten-fifteen minute bus ride once the bus shows up. We intended to leave the apartment at 9AM, to make sure that we were there on time, but no one was ready yet, as we were eating breakfast and making sure cameras, Kindles, etc were charged for the bus ride. We made it out the door at 9:15, got to the bus stop at 9:20, and proceeded to wait until 9:45 for the bus to actually show up. We got to the school at 10:00AM on the dot, and ISA had left. None of us had cellphones to call them to let them know we were running late, and even though we had said we were definitely going, they didn't wait past 9:45 for us. It is very frustrating not having a cell phone here, for that exact purpose. I'm mad that we didn't leave early enough, that we missed it. I was so looking forward to just spending the day in a huge garden, and I wasn't able to go because we were late.

Hannah, Hannah and I went to get pastries after words, because it's hard to be sad with an Italian pastry in front of you. While we were sitting and eating, this woman was walking her huge, fluffy white dog, who was very interested in us because of the pastries we had in front of us. She let us pet him, and we were attempting to talk to the dog in Italian. A man was trying to get by us and the dog on the sidewalk, and the dog either really doesn't like men, or just that one in particular, and tried to tackle him to the ground. It was so strange, because he was so calm and sweet with us, and then so vicious the next second. He went back to being calm after the man got away and the owner apologized. We had to leave to catch the bus, which of course showed up right away this time.

Later that day, another roommate Cassandra and I went to Campo di Fiori to do some shopping around that area. There are tons of boutiques and shops, with really nice clothing and shoes and jewlery. I needed a pair of black ballet flats or basic sandals, to wear at the conference, because I forgot mine at home. I mistakenly thought I was size bigger than I was, so I didn't get anything because I thought they were too small. But I'll go back on Monday after class. While we were waiting for the tram to go back to the apartment, we saw another dog, who was a mix and was so sweet. The owners were closing up their flower stand, and let us pet their dog. His name was Rocco, and he was so sweet. He just loved being pet, he sat right down between me and Cass and was so excited. We had to leave because the tram showed up, but I was so happy I got to pet two dogs today! I miss my chocolate lab Cali so much, so it was nice to be able to get some dog therapy in.

Until next time!

Is there a pause button I can hit?!?

I keep thinking I've had the most stressful and busy week of my life, and then a new one starts. I apologize for all the late posts, once again. This post is about April 7th-12th.

As of April 12th, I have 30 days left in Rome. This absolutely insane. On one hand, I'm excited to get home, to see my family and my friends, to come back to Castleton in the fall, and to finish college. On the other hand, the idea that I won't be in Europe in 30 days is terrifying. I've gotten very used to my life here, all the small hassles and the slowly disappearing language barrier. I'm able to hold conversations, but there are still a lot of vocabulary missing for me.

Other than the fact the I'm almost finished this semester, I've been thinking a lot about my MUN class. Our final deadlines for position papers was the 13th, but I uploaded mine on the 12th, just to be safe. I had been working on these papers for the last month, so for them to be finally done and turned in is nice.

I've also been named Head Delegate for our Delegation. Our previous Head Delegate has to fly home and will not be able to attend, so I stepped up and was voted the new Head Delegate. Ellen, the previous Head, was auditing the class as this was the third time she had taken it. She was just doing it to be able go to MUN again, and as a result, wasn't very active as our Head Delegate, but I have been stepping up over the past three months, and now it is my official title.

My teacher isn't a hundred percent sure what it means officially at the conference to be the Head Delegate, but unofficially I'll be checking in to make sure everyone is in their committees, make sure everything is running smoothly, calm down people when they get stressed out. Luckily, it's all stuff I'm good at.

I am starting to think that after college I want to have a career that allows me to use the skills I've gained in this class. I would like to do something with diplomacy, but probably not with the UN. I respect the UN and all it does, but it is unfortunately not as effective as it could be, at least for the General Assembly. I think I want to work for an IGO or NGO that does make progress, in a significant way. I want to be part of real change that actually helps the world.

The closer we get to finals, the more projects my teachers assign. They're all listed in my syllabi, so it wasn't unexpected, but still all at the same time. This is my schedule for the next four weeks:

• 4/13: Composition in Italian due, as well as write-up of how the oral presentation prep is going.
• 4/14: Turkish Minister Presentatino - Extra Credit for Two Classes
• 4/15: Memo due for ECPO course, worth 20% of my grade
• 4/16: Debate in IA 200 on Feminism from an Int'l Relations POV
• 4/16: Lecture given by FAO to promote their MUN in September, which I won't be around for, but FAO may have info/be able to answer questions of mine for my MUN
• 4/17: MUN Class, full day of mock committee, must know all Parliamentary phrases, esp. since we have a guest that day. Second Draft Resolution is due, on agriculture and food security
• 4/18: ISA trip to Ninfa and Sermoneta, which I may pass on since it's a week away from MUN
• 4/21 or 22: Oral presentation on Food in Italy, throughout it's regions.
• 4/23-4/27: MUN Conference in the Hague.
• 4/28 or 29: Italian Final Oral Exam
• 4/30: IA 200 Term Paper Due (completed by 4/29)
• 4/30: IA 360 MUN Reflection Paper Due (completed by 4/29)
• 4:30-5/3: Trip to Ireland
• 5/4: Last day of classes
• 5/5: Study Day for Exams
• 5/6: ECOP Final Exam
• 5/7: Italian Final Written Exam
• 5/7: IA 200 Final Exam
• 5/12: Fly Home

This is in addition to all my classes, which will still meet and have regular homework assignments, and anything that will come up with the volunteer club and cultural immersion. It's just a lot all in the next few weeks. But on the 12th, when I come home, the only thing I have to do is fight jet lag and slowly unpack. It will be bittersweet to leave, but I am so looking forward to catching up on sleep.

Firenze Part Two

Florence was absolutely amazing! It's so much smaller and cleaner than Rome. There were a few moments where I wished I was studying in Florence instead of Rome, but I am overall glad that I am in Rome. In Florence, there aren't really places to get away from the touristy areas, because it's so small. Because of that, I didn't really have to use Italian at all this weekend, just a few phrases or sentences to clarify what I meant when I asked a shop attendant for something, or ordering on a menu. In Rome, you can tell if the restaurant is a touristy one based on how many Italians are inside, and if the menu outside is in English. In Florence, almost all the restaurants have tourist menus and lots of Italians, because everything overflows in the small city. Florence would be a beautiful place to study abroad in, but in my opinion, it isn't the best option for cultural immersion. I would have definitely have to try harder to become immersed, as opposed to in Rome, where I'm surrounded by Roman day-to-day life and culture.

But, since I was in Florence to be a tourist, that is what I did. ISA paid for tours of the Uffizi Gallery and a walking tour on Friday, (I missed the walking tour because of my class), the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze and the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral on Saturday, and wine tasting and lunch on Sunday in the Chianti region, on the way back from Florence.

The Uffizi Gallery was nice, but I feel like I knew everything that the tour guide told us. (Props to Professor Scott in the ARH Department!) It was still amazing to see paintings by Botticelli, Raphael, and one by Michelangelo. Actually walking in the Medici family pathway above the streets of Florence was really cool, after learning about those as well. The Medici family had them built so they didn't have to mingle with the butchers and the peasants on the streets, as they had a "better than you" kind of mindset.

Botticelli's Birth of Venus

Botticelli's Annunciation

The view of the Ponte Vecchio from inside the Uffizi Gallery

Michelangelo's only painting in Florence

Madonna del Cardellino or Modonna of the Goldfinch, by Raphael

After the Uffizi Gallery on Friday and the Accademia on Saturday, we were free to explore Florence and the surrounding areas on our own. I went to an early dinner with my friends Nicole, Rachel, Lauren and Hannah, which was good but a bit touristy. We walked back to the hotel, where I finally got to see my hotel room, and met up with my roommates, Hannah M. and Hannah J. who are two of the five people I share my apartment with. We wandered around Florence, and ended up by the Uffizi Gallery, where there was a street musician playing a flute. He was so amazing, we stopped and listened for a while, and when we left I gave him a few Euros. (I believe that if the street performer makes you stop and watch/listen, you owe them some money.) We walked down to the Arno river, which is very beautiful at night with the lights on the bridge. We even walked across the Ponte Vecchio! It was something we had looked at in Italian Renaissance Art, so I was very excited to actually be on the bridge, that was rebuilt in 1345. We spent most of the night out, (but we behaved, as we were representing our home university, AUR, and ISA). We finally got back to the hotel around 2-3am, and went straight to sleep, because the next day was the Accademia, to see David!

Hannah Squared and I outside the Uffizi Gallery. We were listening to a street musician until we got too cold

The Arno River is so much prettier at night than it is at daytime. Definitely don't drink the water in Florence!

ISA told us to meet in the lobby at 10 am, so Hannah Squared and I ate breakfast in the hotel around 9:15, then went downstairs to wait. Before the Accademia, we toured The Cattedral di Santa Maria del Fiore. It was very pretty, but I was too excited for the Accademia to pay too much attention, and I don't remember much of what the tour guide said.

This clock is supposed to count down how many hours are left until sunset each day.

The fresco of the Duomo

Close up of the fresco, The Last Judgement

I donated and lit a candle for my Aunt Donna, who passed away April 20th, 2013

Outside of the Cathedral, looking up at the Duomo

The Accademia is a very small museum, and the only pieces of any real importance are Michelangelo's unfinished sculptures, and David.

My generation is known for selfies. Whatever.

Finally seeing David was just as amazing as I always thought it would be. I feel like I have a picture from every angle, but I feel no shame in that. Depending on where you are standing, the statue looks different, as your angle changes and you view different areas. Again, the tour guide wasn't able to give me any new information, because Prof. Scott had done such a good job teaching me last fall.

After seeing David, a few of my friends and I decided to climb Giotto's Campanile, or the Bell Tower, so we could get a good view of the Duomo. It's 414 steps to the top, in the most narrow, dark passage way. There are tons of people coming down as you're trying to go up. It was terrifying but we finally made it to the top safe and sound. The views were breathtaking.

After the Campanile, myself and Rachel, Hannah, and Nicole went to the leather market in the Basilica di San Lorenzo, where I bought the most beautiful leather purse and wallet. I got a fantastic deal, as the purse was originally 170 Euro, and I got it for 60 Euro, and the wallet, originally 60 Euro, I got for 25 Euro.

I went with Rachel, Hannah, and Nicole to find something to eat. I got these mini mozzarella balls, which were very delicious. Nicole got fried vegetables, which she shared with me, and were also very good. We walked back to the hotel afterwords, and made plans to go out for dinner that night. The restaurant we wanted to go to didn't have any reservations left, so I ended up going to dinner with my two roommates, Hannah Squared. We went to bed kind of early, because ISA wanted us packed and ready to go by 10, to get on the bus and head to the wine tasting.

The bus ride to Castello di Verrazano wasn't too bad or too long. We got to Castello di Verrazano around 12:30, and started our tour right away. We got to see where all the wine is stored in the barrels, and the areas where they dry out the grapes. Our tour guide described the process to us, and then led us to the terrace, so we could see the amazing view. We then went inside the dining area, so we could taste the wines and eat lunch. They served us three different wines, 1) Rosso Verrazzano, a red wine that is best enjoyed within 5 years; 2) Chianti Classico, a red wine that is best after 5 years after bottling; and 3) Chianti Classico Riserva, a red wine that is best after 7-10 years after bottling. I tried all three, but I still have not found a wine that I like. Lunch was classic Florentine dishes, from Ribollita, (similar to minestrone soup but with bread in it. It was delicious), a spicy penne pasta dish, and a selection of meats, from prosciutto, Italian salame, and many more that I can't remember the names of. I bough a bottle of the Chianti Classico for my grandfather and a bottle of white wine for my grandmother for their gifts.

I took so many pictures of the view, because of the mountains. I seriously miss seeing my Vermont mountains on a daily basis. These helped a little. 

A poem on the terrace, by Miriam Serni Casalini:
"From high Verrazano,
Vastness of the sky As the embrace of a mother, Closes the immense space.
Scenes of hills, Geometries of vineyards Lost in bundles of light accomplice cypresses.
Barbaglia glaucous olive, or maybe it's silver.
Play in the wind The sail of hawk, Beyond the castles, and then disappears.
Overlooking from up here, this sea, close my eyes.
And I get lost."

Hannah Marie and I

The room where they hang the grapes to dry before making them into wine. 

I have decided that one day, I will own a castle on a mountain in Italy. Preferably, one with a tower.

Wine tasting and photo ops with friends in the Chianti Region.

I really miss Vermont's mountains, but Italy's will do for now.

The bus ride back to Rome was very long and very boring. I was starting to get sick, which I did not realize until Monday morning when I had class. I slept most of the day Monday, which helped a little bit but not as much as it could have. Luckily, I had brought cold medicine from home, so I didn't have to go out and buy any.

Ciao!