Slowly but surely, I'm becoming American once more

I have a small confession to make...

I've been back in the US for over 2 weeks. I came back as planned on May 10, thankfully dodging any interference from the volcanic ash that I was so worried about.

No longer can I use the lack of internet as an excuse to not update my blog. I am constantly connected to the internet - even more so than before due to my new Blackberry.

So my updates will become more regular and I will bring this blog up to date on all my traveling that transpired over the last 6 months or so.

Until then, I'm planning on making a half-hearted effort to find a summer job and readjusting to life in my native country.

I've already been made painfully aware of the fact that I am no longer in Italy by many different events. I miss the blunt approach the Italians have to life - when I spoke to my friends here, they initially found me to be brutally honest. Needless to say both parties had some adjusting to do.
I can't look at the "Italian food" served in the US, let alone eat it. No pizza for the next few months until I can forget what authentic pizza tastes like. And don't get me started on how dismayed I am that I can't buy alcohol for myself yet. How am I supposed to get my wine?!

But for all the cultural differences, I love my home country. And I can't complain that I no longer have to worry about communication errors when going to the doctors or ordering at restaurants. Plus, seeing my friends and family again continues to be a treat each day.

Now that I'm back I can clearly see huge changes in who I am and what I want out of life - all for the better, I think. But more on that later. And more pictures and stories of my travels.

Update (Part 1): Bologna and Halloween

It has been far too long since I last updated this blog! My utmost apologies! Needless to say, life has been hectic and busy in Italy, but nonetheless exciting.

Classes have been getting more demanding and I begin to learn more and more complexities of the Italian language and parties/travels have been taking over the rest of my time.

To bring you up to speed with what I've been up to here in Italy, I'll quickly sum it all up here before going into detail about each adventure I've been on.

Three weeks ago I stayed in Bologna for three days with my study abroad program.
Two weeks ago I celebrated Halloween here in Siena.
Last weekend I went to Sicily with a friend from back home who is currently studying in Florence.
This weekend I relaxed in Siena (making this my last full weekend in Siena this semester before all of my crazy traveling starts).

Alright, so first off: Bologna.
Bologna is a big city full of university students, most of which attend the University of Bologna (the oldest university that is still in use in the world). Needless to say, the nightlife in Bologna is exciting and varied due to all the students living there. Even though it was raining half the time my friends and I were there, we still had an amazing time exploring the city and sampling the food and night clubs.
The architecture of Bologna is simply beautiful, with high arches and porticos everywhere. A portico is almost like an overhang that covers the sidewalk so that the people of Bologna can go about their everyday lives and move from one place to another, even when its raining. We were infinitely grateful for these porticos as we toured the city in the rain.
Here are some pictures of the architecture and porticos of Bologna:






Bologna is not only beautiful and full of night life, but it happens to be the gastronomic capital of Italy. The food is unbelievable! Each of the three days we were in Bologna, our study abroad program took us to a different restaurant for lunch and fed us 7 course meals. I think I gained five pounds from that weekend in Bologna alone, but it was all so delicious. We had delicious appetizers of prosciutto and quiche, amazing pumpkin gnocchi, tender pig cheek (which was really good), and fantastic desserts such as creme brule. Tortellini was first created in Bologna, so naturally we had some of that as well.
Here's a picture of the appetizer I had at the last restaurant we ate at (a winery outside of Bologna). Egg quiche and prosciutto with a flowery seasoning. So good.



There were also some fun outdoor fruit and vegetable vendors in Bologna. Check it out.




Our program also took us on tours of both a Parmesan cheese factory and a Balsamic Vinegar factory.
At the balsamic vinegar factory, we tasted 4 different kinds of vinegar - some of them aged over 20 years. They were surprisingly sweet and delicious on their own, but incredibly expensive. Here's the currently fermenting vinegar at the factory, stored in barrels until its ready to be bottled.



At the Parmesan cheese factory, we were walked through the entire process that goes into making authentic Parmesan cheese. These huge vats are used to mix the cheese:




There were hundreds and hundreds wheels of cheese stored at the factory.



Bologna was a fantastic experience, and I will probably return before the end of my stay in Italy - especially for the food, if nothing else.

Now, about Halloween...
Halloween isn't too widely celebrated in Europe, but over the years Europe has slowly warmed up to the idea of dressing up on October 31. I don't think I saw any children trick-or-treating in the streets of Siena, but the students of Siena definitely partied hard in honor of Hallows Eve. Many of my fellow American students (including myself) spent the majority of our Halloween at a dance party at La Fortezza (the fortress) near my house. There was a huge party with a DJ and free drinks. I was surprised at how many Italians actually came out in costume. I also get a kick out of being able to say that I celebrated Halloween in a fortress in Italy...

Exploring Siena and Lucca

I'm sitting in my room, listening to the chatter of Italian in the piazza below my window. There is an unusual amount of people out in the streets of Siena this evening. I'm not sure why, but my guess would be that there is going to be a contrada (one of any of the neighborhoods in Siena) party tonight. That's part of the intrigue of Siena... there's always a lot going on here but only the local Sienese seem to be sure of what it all means. The tourists and students here are left to observe and figure it out for themselves.

A friend recently took me to the botanical gardens here in Siena, located in the Tortuga (tortoise) contrada - one of my favorite parts of Siena. The plants there give off a very relaxing scent and I could see some beautiful views of the Tuscan hills from there.




Not far from the gardens is a charming park that was once a farm. It overlooks part of Siena, a villa owned by a rich family, and more of the shadowy blue hills of Tuscany.

Yesterday my study abroad program took a bunch of us students to Lucca - a small, walled city in Tuscany. Lucca is about 2 hours from Siena and very similar, only with more greenery and less tourists. We took a tour on top of the city walls of Lucca, and then into the town center. It was absolutely beautiful there and the weather was undeniably perfect.










We then went to Villa Reale a little bit outside of Lucca (where my camera battery unfortunately died) which was the villa of Napoleon's sister. It was so incredibly gorgeous and peaceful there. I especially loved the grotto where the inhabitants of the villa used to spend hot summer days (before air conditioning came along). There they had water that sprayed in thin streams out of the ground and statues and ceiling.

I would gladly live in either Siena or Lucca for the rest of my life. The walled cities are so medieval and beautiful, with everything concentrated and within walking distance. I think I'll have to make a trip on my own to Lucca in the upcoming month so that I have more time to explore the city and get to know it better.