Thus Far ...

 Ciao!

Enjoying a gigantic prosciutto funghi pizza!

It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost four weeks.  It’s going so fast, so I have to stop and remind myself to enjoy and appreciate every fleeting moment.  All of my classes have finally started up, which has been keeping me busy outside of all the other necessities of living in a foreign country.  I just had my first Italian test today, which I feel pretty confident about.  I actually was able to study a lot today because I had to stay home from my Italian Hill Towns class field trip.  It started out with a soar throat a few days ago and it’s not exactly getting better. And the fact that its 50 Euro to see a doctor and you can’t get medicine outside of a pharmacy is making things a little difficult.  But I got some delicious tea, which is a big thing for me to say, because I really don’t like tea.  I was able to enjoy a nice big mug of it yesterday, but not so much today.  All I have to show for today is a burnt thumb and a broken fingernail…  couldn’t exactly figure out how to turn on the stove… ahh… the joys of living in a foreign country.

So, yesterday probably was of the most exciting days.  I went to the grocery store near my apartment, Emi Piu.  I filled up an entire cart with my friend and went up to the only register open.  So we put our stuff on the counter and after figuring out we spoke barely any Italian, the clerk tried showing us that we were supposed to weigh our vejis and fruits and put a sticker on it before we brought it up to purchase.  Yeah… we couldn’t really figure out that’s what she meant.  So she took us to the produce section while the line started getting longer and longer until she finally showed us how to print our stickers with the price.  My friend and I could only smile at the people in line.  “Mi Dispiace, Mi Dispiace” I’m sorry, I’m sorry. 

Tarquinia... enjoying the beautiful scenery!

At the store today there was this older lady too who decided she wanted to start a conversation with me because we made eye contact accidentally.  She looked blankly at me and just started talking.  I listened, and before she went too far into conversation I said, “Mi dispiace, Io capisco un po Italiano.”  I’m sorry; I only understand a little bit of Italian.  She wouldn’t stop talking so I just kinda smiled and left.  And then later, by the ice cream, she was there again.  Apparently she didn’t get what I said so she started talking to me once again.  I just kind of smiled and kept looking at the ice cream. Hey guys, I’m trying, I really am.  I guess odd people live here too.

Other than the awkward grocery store conversations, embarrassing grocery store trip, and burnt thumbs, things have been going pretty well.  I got a tutoring job teaching three 4^th grade girls how to speak English.  This might sound like a pretty straightforward job, but there’s a little more too it than you may think.  First of all, I don’t speak Italian, and second, they don’t speak English… which may or may not have already been established, but that I guess is aside the point. The good thing is the girls are super sweet and they are patient and try hard with what we are working on.  I have been doing some googling on the internet because I haven’t been formally trained on how to teach English as a second language.  English teaching may be my major but I’ve only mainly taken the core courses.  Math and science aren’t exactly helpful in this situation.  But I’m excited to see where it will go and I’m definitely putting my all into it because first I want to help the kids get where they need to be with their language learning, and second, it’s a step on the right path with my future career goals.

Courtyard at Universita degli Studi della Tuscia, my university

Outside of the day to day, I was able to go on another trip. Just last Friday our Hill Towns class went to Tarquinia, a beautiful ancient walled in town, similar to Viterbo.  But this was a hot spot of Etruscan civilization so it hosted a plethora of ancient artifacts within the museums and even the city itself was evidence to the prosperous civilization.  It was really cool to see artifacts I had remembered only from history books.  One in particular, the relief of the winged horses yoked to a chariot, especially stood out.  The detail in every one of the pieces I was able to see was simply fascinating.  Also, the several pieces of detailed pottery that dated back to the Etruscans was equally as entrancing as I remembered several pieces from my 9^th grade Latin class workbooks.  If you click this link, you can see some photos of the trip.  I apologize; I didn’t realize you needed a snapfish account to view the photos.  But all you need to put in is your basic info like name and email and you’re pretty much done.  They don’t pester you with anything either, so no worries. (link yet to be added)

View from Tarquinia.

Well, despite the disappointment of being home sick today, I’m excited for this weekend, our first trip to Rome.  I had been to Rome in high school for a week, but it was so quick it was hard to take it all in.  I’m excited to just go and take time to look around.  I won’t be so rushed because it’s a short train ride and I have time to visit again a few times if I’d like before I leave.  There are plenty other trips we have scheduled, including the 5 day Field Study I signed up for where we will have the opportunity to visit Pisa and Florence, among others.  I’ve been trying to plan other weekend trips, and a trip for a four-day weekend in November, but I still have time to figure it out.  I’m trying to just take it one day at a time and not get caught up in the need to have every moment planned with trips and places to go.  Viterbo is a nice place in an of itself, and I’m enjoying just making my new home, home.

Well, all for now!  Ciao!