Blogs from Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, Europe - page 3

I apologize once again for the long interval that has pasted since my last blog, particularly since the last blog was severely lacking in written/intellectual content. This one will hopefully have a little more to offer, both in the way of pictures and writing: The other day I stammered out loud for the first time in my life. Why? What was I saying? Well, my actual sentence was "P-posso fare l'altro?", meaning, "can I do the other one?" It was in math class, and the general way math class goes here is that a student comes to the board and does one of the problems from the homework that others had trouble with. I had never done one of these problems. I figured that since I was capable of solving the next one, it was a ... read more

I have finally grown accustomed to living here. I realize this because when I sit down to write a blog, there is nothing strange or different I have observed that I can talk about. I know there are things I could talk about that are far different from everything in Mendocino, but I don't notice them anymore because now it all just seems normal, somehow right. I don't notice the strange light-switches every time I turn on a light, I don't stand up when the bell rings as I used to out of habit, It doesn't even seem strange the way everyone rushes to their seats when the teacher comes in. In some ways, it's a very cool feeling, It seems like I have finally reached the point where I'm actually living. Yet, in other ... read more

Saturday evening found me walking the bustling pedestrian only streets with Pietro and Chiara (my last host brother and his girlfriend) and Giulia (my current host sister and closest friend here). The Center looks flat out gorgeous at night this time of year, over every street there are thousands of twinkling little lights. Holly shapes over some, stars over others, all coming together to create a magic feeling. Pictures are coming soon, I promise. So, as we strolled the streets, peeking in store windows and generally enjoying the evening, we came across a small square where there were three or four large fires roaring, each with a large metal dish being swung back and forth over it. CHESTNUTS!! These were the most delicious chestnuts ever, and eating them in the twinkling light of these Italian ... read more

SO SORRY I haven't written in so long, time just got away from me completely, I didn't even realize it had been so long!! I will start by saying... I BOUGHT SHOES!!! They are the most beautiful heels, I love them. They are a sort of suede like material, all black, pretty tall, with sort of looped ribbon of the same material down the front. I wore them to a birthday party in a private room by one of the nicest bars in the city. It was fantastic, I felt so... posh in my beautiful shoes and little black dress! At first I thought I might be over dressed, but I actually blended in perfectly, the tone of the evening being a formal, yet young one. The store I bought them in was a sort of ... read more

This weekend I went OLIVE PICKING!! It was so fun! It was a small orchard owned by Giulia's family, only about 40 trees. One way you do it is to put a net down under the tree and then just shake the branches or strip off the olives etc. Otherwise you pick into a basket you sling over a shoulder. The orchard is on a hill, so it is arranged in a sort of giant staircase manner so you can stand on one level and pick olives from the tree on the next level down. It was so fun and being surrounded be fun people and stopping for a cheese, foccacia, and wine/peach tea break helped. Just to prove to Jam that I wont have to be rolled back to America (before I explain the ... read more