Andiamo in Tunisia

The first semester has come to a close. I can't believe how fast it went by and how much happened. Overall, it was one of the most amazing four month stretches of my life, but I'll get back to the highlights later.

Conor arrived yesterday afternoon and we spent about two hours trying to track him down. The poor guy had to stay in a convent for the night for 40 euro. Luckily he found us and we spent the afternoon adjusting and recovering. We had our Around the World party in Savonarola last night and it went extremely well. Seven different rooms hosted, and all were absolutely awesome. Last night was one of the funnest nights here so far. Tonight I am packing for Tunisia...the buses leave for the Rome airport at 4 a.m. I can't wait.

Here are just a few notes on the first semester. Words can't do the overall experience justice, but just know that every day was a life altering experience.

Notes/Highlights

• Opening tour was such a blast because we really got around Europe. The school did an excellent job with that trip and I'll never forget our two big dinners together as a group in Krakow and in Munich. Both were so much fun.
• Thank God I came to my senses and went to Rome because the Italy/Ukraine game alone was worth the trip. Hands down it was the best soccer experience I've had as a tifoso.
• Amalfi Coast was one of the best weekends of my life.
• Cinqueterre is amazing and I can't get enough of it.
• Not too many people get to go to Bosnia and Croatia, and I'm very fortunate for it.
• Vespas are tight and there's nothing cooler than riding them around an island all day looking for beaches and catching sunsets.
• Ireland is crazy.
• Coming over to study means the same thing for Italians as it does back home in America.
• Florence is the most beautiful city in the world.
• Thank God I decided to study abroad

I'm off to Tunisia now. I'll let you know how it went when I return. Buon Natale!!!!

Il Tramonto (Sunset)

The last full week of school was a good one. Finals week hit us pretty hard, but we managed to have some fun nonetheless. The ethics final on Wednesday was definitely my least favorite, but I slipped by and am so glad to be done with that class. The test for Italian was a long cummulative test, but I pulled pretty much an all-nighter the night before studying (at YAB). I didn't have too much trouble with it. The sociology one was also pretty easy, and I was surprised at how much stuff I remembered from that class. Now I just have to buckle down and finish a paper for Studies in Fiction and I'll be completely done for the semester.

I was planning on going to the Fiorentina game against AC Milan tonight but unfortunately I waited too long to buy tickets and now the only ones left cost 45 euro. So I'll be watching it tonight at some bar instead. I'm pretty disappointed, but there will be other games. Just not against AC Milan.

It's hard to believe that Tunisia is less than a week away. We depart for the Rome airport at 4 a.m. next Thursday. This trip will be epic. There's no other way to put it. The hotels are all 5 star and we are doing some amazing things. I'm spending Christmas in Tattooine. Enough said.

The sun is setting on the first semester of this program and I feel like I've come such a long way already. I'm very sad that so many people are leaving at semester. We're losing some great people. And I'm pretty sure that almost none of them want to leave. Gonzaga in Florence is traditionally a year-long program for a reason. So much still lies ahead for me here. Bring on the next semester. Non vedo l'ora.

hunger

The only thing I don't like about the weekends is the lack of food. They stop feeding us on Thursday and don't resume until Monday. They do serve breakfast from 7 to 9, but let's face it, there's a better chance of me coming back to the pensione and going straight to breakfast than me waking up that early for it. I've probably said this before, but I go with the 5 dollar deal for the weekend: two 50 cent baguettes, a tub of cream cheese, the cheapest red sauce I can find, and some cookies. I top it off with a few Peronis for good measure. At first, the cream cheese on bread with a little sauce was great. Especially when I was starving. Now I can barely get it down. I was looking in the mirror yesterday and I can barely recognize my body. After carrying my groceries home from the store the other day I felt like I had just done a three hour workout. Most of my muscle mass is gone. If I go back to the Ridge this summer I'm in deep trouble.

Today we played football in the park and it was a lot of fun. I hope we can do that a lot more in the future. It's nice to play a sport that doesn't involve a frisbee. Tomorrow we have a Christmas get together at my literature teacher Lee Foust's house. It should be epic.

la mia citta'

Yet another week has flown right by. This one was great; school got put aside for a little while and we went out and had some fun. On Tuesday Gerrie and Caitlin were DJ's at Joshua Tree so I headed over there around 11. The place was so packed that I had to wait outside for a while to get in. Basically the whole GIF program was there, and this was one of the first times this year that I've seen everyone gathered at one place together. It was a lot of fun but extremely crowded and I think after I left things got a little too crazy. Wednesday night we went to YAB, a nightclub that I hadn't been to yet. It was unique because there were no other Americans there and the music was different. It was a little difficult to understand what was going on but I liked it.

Last night we had the GIF Christmas party. Dulce Zucchero was a great venue for it and though I didn't win any of the raffle prizes, I had a great time. Andrew Engel and I auctioned ourselves off for a date on the Triangle Bridge (La Spada and boxed wine included) and we went for something like 110 euro. Now the pressure's on us to break out our charm and deliver a date worth all that money.

This weekend will be all about relaxing and tying up some loose ends in terms of schoolwork. We're deep into the countdown to Tunisia and the arrival of Wallace. It's an exciting time of the year.

Fortunato

It's pretty shocking that it's already December 3. I lost track of the days and almost fell over in my chair when I looked at the calendar. For the semester students, only a few grains of sand remain until they must return to the states. I feel for them and will definitely miss them.

I'm excited to see how the newcomers will be. There are 34 girls and six guys coming. The girls must be hating this right now. I'm not.

The weekend was a great one. I feel like I really got around Florence. I did a lot of studying for Italian as well. I'm learning the language quickly, and much of my education is taking place outside the classroom. This upcoming week is going to be a fun one; perhaps one of the best of the semester. Spero. I'm finally going to get out on the town during the week rather than staying in every night reading and writing papers. We have our Christmas party on Thursday, which is kind of a last hurrah for the semester kids.

The usual weekend meal of bread, cream cheese, and sauce is taking its toll on me. Tonight's loaf of bread was more like a brick, and my body has basically thrown in the towel and no longer expects big, tasty meals. Oh well...anything I can do to save money. Ciao! A presto!