#checavolo

And my blogging has surely plummeted. So much has been going on that sitting down to write it out has been tough, I'll probably incorporate some videos just so I don't have to put aside an hour to relay how beautiful.gorgeous.generous.kind.funny.amazing and great Italy is. I haven't left Reggio Emilia yet, our first field trip is next week so thats really exciting. I wanted to list a few things that have happened since I arrived

I have been waking up at 6am on the dot everyday, call it jet lag or call it random but it gives me time to do yoga, shower and enjoy cookies and cappuccinos with my host mom every morning.

It doesn't matter where you go in this city EVERYONE is willing to stop and help you even if you don't ask. I got the strap of my sweater stuck in my bike on the way to school and some man and his wife spent half an hour helping me get it off, in America people acknowledge that they can help but continue to pass as if they have something better to do 

I am the only person in my group who chose to do the home-stay option and I cannot possibly explain how great it has been every moment with Manuela, Dario, Luca e Matteo. The mom and the younger brother don't know any english but my Italian has us talking and laughing for hours. Luca is 17 and he's currently in school to improve his English. He's also this super talented artist he mostly does real life portraits!! He even offered to draw me eventually I'll have to remember to take pictures of some of his work. Dario(Dad) has been helping me adjust to Italian life, we take walks in the afternoon and just kind of compare cultural lifestyles over wine, he actually used to work for Max Mara which is amazing!! Matteo is young and full of life, we played Uno the other night and this kid won like eight times in a row but refused to let me quit playing lol All in all I am in love with this family and all that they have offered to do for me is more than I could have ever asked for.

THE FOOD!!!! aghfhjgoiefdjhdshbdash <-----an appropriate way of saying I am in cibo (food) heaven I eat all of my meals at home with the family and every time I am just so amazed at every component of the meal. Breakfast is usually cookies and coffee and then after I get home from school Manuela has lunch ready. We usually start with pasta and then move on to vegetables and a type of meat(fish, roast, prosciutto you name it) all whilst sipping on wine and talking and then we finish with fruit THATS JUST LUNCH GUYS! Dinner is normally similar give or take a course and add gelato before bed but when I say that I have had dreams about the food it is not a joke!

I have officially learned to ride the bus and bike to school, both with similar time frames ~20 minutes. This city is actually very bike friendly and flat. They have red roads designated just for bikes and almost everyone uses that as their mode of transportation which is nice to see. 

I have put so much effort into speaking and understanding Italian that when people talk to me in English my mind get very tired of it very quickly lol I read somewhere that studying Italian language the way that I have chosen to do it leaves Americans with very poor English at the end of it(this explains my lack of proper grammar)

Have been really positive considering the miserable plane rides I had due to an unexpected cold. We arrived at Hotel Posta around 4pm and recieved huge keys to our room. The Program directors are all very nice and easy to talk to. They treated us to a large piazza dinner to give us the full Italian experience, needless to say I ate about 6 slices with no mercy. I have been so busy enjoying myself that I haven't been taking many pictures however, I couldn't seem to find  my digital camera in my luggage even though I know I packed it before leaving Riverside. Nevertheless this Iphone has been stepping in very nicely. After dinner our directors took us out for Gelato, I was very hesitant only because I knew that it would make my cold worse but Julia insisted that it would help my throat lo Italians have a very particular way of insisting so of course I got some gelato and even though it made my throat worse it was absolutely delicious.

Later that night a few of the girls decided that they wanted to go out for drinks our first night in Italy. We went by two bars, the first one everyone just got a beer because the waiter seemed like he had no time for decision making, it was a very large beer for about 5 Euros. The second bar we went to was next to the town fountain and we were greeeted by snacks an a very patient Guilanni who laughed at everything Carolyn said. Most of the girls don't know any Italian but Carolyn wastes no time trying to pick up the language lol she and Guilianni bonded because in her attempt to learn Italian she was ordering drinks in Spanish, thankfully Gulianni recognized the language and made a joke out of it, we decided as a group that Guilianni's bar would be our hangout spot. 

The next morning I woke up to the most beautiful sight

As I wait for my plane to board I just wanted to note a few things about my travel experience so far.

First, come prepared for any and everything!

Second, do not let your mother talk you into packing anything you may need "just in case" after you've finished packing. I was so proud of my packing skills using my ecubes until the night before when my mother suggested that I pack in an additional 10 pounds to my bag insisting that it was under the 50lb weight limit, as we got to the line to check in, my bag weighed 52.78. This wasn't a huge problem, but I wanted to have enough space to bring things back which is a lot tougher now that both of my bags are at maximum capacity. I have decided to just send a singular package home before I leave to avoid checking in a second bag.

Third, peanut butter is a cream meaning that my gift for my host family was thrown away at the gate due to restrictions. My bag was re-scanned three times because my beloved peanut butter is a threat to the airport. So for future reference be advised to always check in gifts because given the choice between having my luggage tossed around like a rag doll and having to throw it away all together I choose to take the chance with checked luggage. 

That's all I have as far as tips go right now. My connecting flight to Chi town boards in about 15 minutes and after that 4 hours I have a layover for 1.5 hours. From there I will be connecting to London which is a 7 hour flight, the big kahuna. Stay tuned for more info.