Finally some time to......breathe. There have been few afternoons in the past 3 weeks where I have been able to just sleep however long I wanted, make myself some good food, and actually feel bored sitting around my room..but today, today is just that kind of day! There have been non-stop adventures for some time now, but I would like to definately relate the events of the past 2 weeks at least... So, Saturday March 21st Seul and I woke up early in the morning and climbed on a bus with a group of Erasmus students heading to Modena and Bologna [View Full Entry]

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It has been a few days since I last had the chance to write out something real...but sadly it will be still more before I can give a full, detailed description of what has been happening lately. The reason?........more travels. In 7 hours I am leaving with all of the Spanish ERASMUS students to go to Modena/Bologna for the weekend. I will be back in Viterbo Sunday night, but then leave early Monday morning with the USAC students to spend 5 days in Napoli/Pompeii/Amalfi Coast. We return from that trip Friday evening, and then I will be leaving Saturday morning to [View Full Entry]

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Let's talk about olive oil. For my midterm exam in the Italian Conversation class I am taking, we were all told to choose one aspect of Italian culture which we would research and then speak about in front of the class for 7-8 minutes. Seeing that olive oil is such an integral part of the Italian culture, and it's something that I knew nothing about, that is what I chose for my presentation. So here is some of what I learned and spoke about: In the past, olive oil has been used for many purposes - it was thought to be [View Full Entry]

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To finally continue the tale of the changing winds that have taken ahold of this place... First off, the weather has been acting mighty strangely lately. After about a week of beautiful sunshine, strong and forceful winds took hold of Viterbo for about 3 days. It was almost worse than having it rain constantly because it was difficult for any of us to go outside without blowing away. After that, though, the rain simply returned and cast us back into the gray sphere we had become so used to during the first month and a half here. We had quite an [View Full Entry]

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A couple of weeks back everything seemed to slow down for a bit, but lately it's just been rushing ahead again. There have been a lot of changes in my surroundings, with people, weather, classes.....I have been feeling somewhat different lately too, but I wonder if it is just because so many other things have been changing.. I will explain everything I can in due time, but it seems like the latest happenings will have to be split up into two entries. So this one will focus on the changes at my home....on the people who have left the dorms, and [View Full Entry]

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Here are some more photos of beautiful Venezia, including the hostel we stayed at, the gondola parade I mentioned earlier, and more costumes and festive lights.. [View Full Entry]

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Yay! Here are some photos from Carnevale! Perhaps more to come later, but for now...enjoy! [View Full Entry]

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So it seems to me like a little history about Carnevale might be appropriate, especially because I have actually learned quite a bit about its origins after researching it for one of my classes as well. Curiously enough, Carnevale actually has roots in ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. There isnt much information available about what exactly the festivals signified back then...all I know is that in Egypt there was a "cherub oxen parade" that signified the start of the Egyptian Carnival, which lasted for one week. In Greece, Carnevale was celebrated to the wine-god Dionysus, though the fe [View Full Entry]

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Last night gave rise to one of the greatest memories of my life. And where did it take place? Where else but the dorms, ha...... Life in the dorms has become truly amazing, irreplaceable. In all honesty I was a tiny bit upset the first couple of weeks of living in the dorms because we are so far from the rest of our friends in town and from all the excitement in the city, but at this point I wouldnt have it any other way. The best thing about this place is the group of students that live here. There are [View Full Entry]

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I dont have much to update right now...things are running quite normally here. It is now Tuesday in Viterbo, so we are all mostly focusing on getting our schoolwork done before heading up to Venice this weekend for Carnivale... I wanted to make a post with the address where I can receive mail in Viterbo, though, just in case anyone has been wondering how you would reach me. So here it is: Kally Yamboliev c/o USAC - Stefano Pizzetti Università degli Studi della Tuscia Facoltà de Agraria - DAF Via S.C. de Lellis 01100 Viterbo, ITALIA Stefano Pizzetti is our head [View Full Entry]

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