1. Rockette camp
2. Audition for the Rockettes
3. The perfect engagement....no comments please
4. A bachelor's degree
5. Live in New York City
6. Travel, travel, travel
7. I found the best friends in the whole wide world
8. I have a friend who can finish my thoughts/sentences/understands me/loves me no matter what/shares my Faith/supports me
9. Master's degree (well, almost...)
10. TRAVEL TO ITALY
I'm sure that there are others...but these are the first ones that come to mind!! I just want to say that I am so grateful to EVERYONE who has made these dreams a reality for me!!
Okay, so now...on to today!!! It has been a busy day! This morning I got up and was pleasantly surprised to find some emails that made me smile!! Then I got dressed, went to the kitchen and made sure that I ate my muffin. I thought that the muffins were blueberry, but in fact they were chocolate chip (I know Erin is gagging right now), and I didn't reeeeeally want it, but I ate it!! I didn't want any more accusations about not eating breakfast!! So I double checked my backpack to make sure I had everything I needed for the day (because I was going to Pisa), and after that, I left.
The walk to school was nice today because the sun was out!! It was a BEAUTIFUL morning!!! I tried again to note any particular smells or sounds, but the only thing I noticed was the same FOUL smell that comes from behind this one gate/wall and I smell it EVERY day!! Yuck!! However, today I didn't need my map and there was NO hesitation in my walk to school! :) MORE PROGRESS!!!! On my way I saw the strangest thing though: a truck with a WHOLE LOT of street signs in the back of it!! I couldn't get my camera fast enough to take a picture! It was the most bizarre thing though!!
School was good! The first part was the best. We talked about fairy tales and stuff like that. That's when I realized that Maria (teacher) looks like she could play one of the witches in the Disney versions; like she might make a good.....hmm....a prettier version of the snow white witch. She has loooong blonde hair and has this very distinct look to her...she's not a witch or anything, but she could definitely get a role in a live version of a Disney movie (think Enchanted). Anyway, so class was good...another 90% comprehension day I'd say! For right now I am happy with just being able to comprehend...if I can't speak that well then that's okay...FOR NOW! At the end of the first half of class we discussed differences between Italian and English...and then the differences between British English and American English! It was a really interesting discussion actually! I enjoyed it...and it passed the time quickly! Maria got a laugh at "voi" means "you all" and in Alabama (the South) that means "y'all". THe second half was BOOOOORRRRING...grammar stuff...
Marco's class was good! I of course had to ask my question first...so i asked about Montessori and Reggio Emilia. I told him that we study it in the U.S. and i was curious whether or not it was popular here in Italy (Florence). He said no! He really only recognized Montessori as being a doctor and Reggio Emilia seemed very unfamiliar to him! He said that the Reggio Emilia method was primarily (if not only) in Reggio Emilia. Hmm...but the Montessori thing surprised me! Then we spent the rest of the class talking about Italians going to school...it's not mandatory until they are 6 years old. Then we talked about Catholic vs. other; public vs. private; private catholic vs. private; etc. etc. (all in Italian of course). My brain is getting better at just listening and thinking in Italian...though I have to actively make it stop translating!! Dr. H-R said that when i can stop thinking in English and just think in Italian...then I'll have a bilingual brain...and less of a headache at the end of class...when is that going to happen?!?!? I'd like for it to happen...oooh I dont know, TOMORROW! ;) Juuuust kidding...however when I get home I will HAVE to find ways to continue practicing my Italian...perhaps daily phone lessons with Nonna or Fran! :) Ahh Fran said that Nonna would make me some spezzatino when I come to NYC! :) yay!
Okay wow, so much to say and I haven't even gotten to the end of school. So the last thing we talked about in Marco's class was why so many "older" Italians live at home with their parents. Something many of you were wondering about when I first told you that Guenda (the daughter) lives at home. So, turns out I was partially right. He said it's two reasons: 1. It's hard to find a job here that supports them livign alone (plus the cost of livign is so high in general) and 2. The Italian family is so protective/close-knit/etc.
Okay, so as soon as class was over I wrote an email to my momma telling her I was off to Pisa, went to the bathroom, and then headed towards the train station. The train station is only like a 10 minute walk from the school! Since I hadn't eaten anything for lunch, I stopped at the first place i saw with a reasonably priced sandwich!! I got a prosciutto, mozzarella, and lettuce sandwich! They toasted it too!! It was really, really good! I ate it as I walked!! Right near the train station i stopped and bought one of those little mini tripods for your "point and shoot" digital cameras! I was excited because it meant it would be easier to take pictures when i was alone if I needed too! :) I probably overpaid a little bit...but I paid for the convenience of having it in Pisa if I needed it (and having it this weekend in Rome if I need too!! :)
Once I went into the train station, I decided to go to the ticket windows instead of buying it out of the machine because I wanted to use cash. I was so glad that i did this because one, the lady was soo nice and two, I got an earlier train!!! So, instead of having to wait around for 45ish minutes, I got a train that left 10 minutes from then!! I was excited...I like saving time (and later I found that I definitely needed this time saved!!!). So I bought my ticket, checked the board for the departure time, and went to my train!! It was very much like taking the train from Grand Central Station when I went to Sarah Lawrence and then to Yale!!! The trains were nice too! I was pretty impressed!! I had to stamp my ticket in this machine thingy before I got on the train, it like "validates it" for that day or something.
Anyway, then i found a car where there were a few people, but I chose my particular car because there was a lady that was alone and reading a book....I figured she was a safe person to sit near! :) ALso, I found a single seat that had like a little table next to it, which was nice because I could put my backpack there and stuff. As the train started moving this overwhelming feeling of, "OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM IN ITALY AND TRAVELING TO ANOTHER CITY IN ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!" The actual train is really quiet...I was surprised at this!! However it got REALLY loud when some boys who were traveling home from school got on...they were playing cards and being really loud!! However, it was interesting to watch their interactions!! Later a couple with their VERY young little boy (Francesco) got on and it was fun to watch them with the baby! He was so little and so precious! I just wanted to hold him and love on him!!! **side note: thank you Dr. Hernandez-Reif for the suggestion of bringing baby wipes with me...i brought one of those travel packs and I was sooo grateful to be able to use them on the headrest/arm rests of this train...and later in the train station bathroom for my hands....ick!**I was hoping I would see some beautiful "countryside" of Tuscany, but just like in NYC...near the train tracks isn't that great! I did get a few beautiful views of mountains...but no gorgeous villas or anything of that nature! :(
About an hour later (I wrote postcards the whole way there), I arrived in Pisa, and so the adventure began. So I had written down directions on how to get to the tower from the "tower's" website...but they were VERY vague! So right off I had to ask where the first place it said to go was; it was an interesting walk!! Actually, it was a little sketchy...there weren't that many people around and Pisa is not as nice as Florence (though both have the bumpy sidewalks!). So I was walking SO fast as to save time and to get to a more populated area (and come to find out this is the BEST path from the tower to the train station).
*Picture is view from the bridge I had to cross...it was pretty, but the rest of Pisa that I saw was nothing special...it is the river, Arno and that church is Santa Maria della Spina* Once I finally got there...it was actually quite breathtaking when I first saw it. It truly is amazing that it is still standing. It looks like something out of "Ripley's Believe It or Not"; well, believe it folks...because here is the evidence...
From some angles it doesn't really look like it is leaning that much, but it really is!! (ex. in pictures below)
So I walked around taking pictures and went to where people were taking the "I'm holding it up" pictures!! I knew I would find someone speaking English and who might be willing to take my picture! I was right...i saw this couple that was taking pictures and so I offered to take their picture together and then asked if they would mind taking mine. The girl was SUPER nice and offered to take quite a few! She even suggested a jumping picture...now why...did IIII of all people not think of this!?!?! She was so kind and took pictures of me holding it up with my hands...and my foot...and jumping!! :) They were from Buffalo, New York AND they said that I did not sound like I was from Alabama! yay for that... Then I walked to a different side where people were all taking this same photo and I helped a couple take one...and then this sweet Japanese girl who was all alone...I took her picture! I had that couple take one, but then i just started using my self-timer and played with my ROll Tide beads and Flat Erin!!!
After I felt satisfied with the pictures I had taken, I walked to see the other buildings... The Duomo was GORGEOUS inside!!! Omg, I was in love. I was OBSESSED with the ceilings...let me just say, that if this gold is THIS beautiful, I CANNOT imagine the streets of gold in Heaven...if this ceiling was THIS beautiful...then I mean...my mind simply cannot fathom it!! I'll just let the pictures speak for me (though looking at them...even the pictures dont do it justice...it was just breathtaking):
After I left here (which was free by the way...I didn't pay to do anything in Pisa)!!! It was getting overcast at this point, and I felt a small raindrop or two, but it did NOT deter me!! I kept taking pictures and walking...but at this point I knew I needed to wrap it up so that I could go find some postcards, take any last pictures, and get to the train station for the 5:30 train. I saw these girls taking pictures and I could hear them and knew they were American...so i stopped and took their picture together adn they took mine one last time. Then, I stopped and bought a silly tower keychain (to go with my Eiffel tower one I bought in Paris) and then i was on my way! I stopped and asked if there was a different street to the train station, but the guy said no! However, I did stop at a store and bought a few more post cards!! Then i had to stop and buy a Special K bar (an ACTUAL Special K bar this time) because I was exhausted and needed something to eat. I walked SOOO fast back to the train station because I was pushing it!! Oh my way I walked past some restaurant that had THE BEST smell coming from it...reminded me of the food you smell walking down a New York City street!!!
When i got back to the train station I went to stand in line again, but it was taking too long. So I sucked it up and went to a machine. However, it didn't take my credit card...I saw the couple next to me using euros so I asked them how to do it...she let me have her machine adn a beggar lady started helping me...I got it paid for with euros and was on my way! I HAD to go to the bathroom one more time before I got on the train (which you have to pay for...which is STUPID...). Then i had to run to the train...run to get my ticket stamped (which the person didn't even come check this time. I was sweating...thankfully the weather has been so nice here that I didn't have to wear my jacket all day! :) So on the way "home" I wrote post cards, studied, and looked back at my pictures!! The hour passed quickly! :)
The walk home was a little more confusing than I thought it was going to be...but it was only because I hadn't walked that way yet!! However, i was so glad to see my room and my bed!!! I immediately changed clothes and collapsed on the bed. They closed my door so that Matilde wouldn't come in here...I like "playing with her" though!! However, it was nice to just lay here!! By the time dinner came I was STARVING!!!!!
Dinner was good! Started with penne pasta and pesto (with fresh parmesean cheese) adn then I had one of those meat patties again, however I ate very little of it because 90% of it was still pink! I had a little bit of this salad stuff, but then Guenda was having left over spezzatino, so I had some small potatoes and 1 or 2 bites of veal from that. Then a SMALL piece of the chocolate pie thing from the other night (they insist on having sweets every night)!!! And they dont let you refuse...
So then I played with Matilde for a while...dinner was fun because we played with her too!! She is so cute (but MAN can she scream!!!). Anyway, then I showered and now I have stayed up so late trying to finish my blog that my head/eyes/body are killing me and hating me for doing so!! Tomorrow is going to be jeans, homecoming t-shirt, UA jacket, ponytail, and merrills day...probably going to get up as late as possible...though I plan to just come pretty much straight home tomorrow after class because I'm so exhausted, I want to prepare for Rome, I want to upload pics to facebook, and I just want TO REST!!!
So...great day...great thing marked off the list... GOODNIGHT!!!
One last thing, a thought I had today while I was in the church: If God (and what Jesus did for us) has inspired so much beauty here on earth (all of these wonderful churches, cathedrals, duomos...whatever word you want to use)...WHAT MUST HEAVEN REALLY BE LIKE!?!?!?!
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