what a weekend!!

The bed bug bites are beginning to diminish! They are all now small and red and hard and my legs are all covered in popped blood vessels - I didn't even scratch!! But I look a bit like I have an intense case of chicken pox.... Charming!!

We are staying in our hotel until Thursday I believe? The house is being taken care of today, then closed up til Thursday morning, then new mattresses and NO. MORE. BED. BUGS. Schiffisimo. Boh.

Haven't really slept a full, solid night since last Thursday due to feverishness, then the discovery of the bugs, then sleeping in the hotel and being on steroids hasn't been helping.... I will take no more itching and no more nasty red bumps over sleep I guess!! No beach for me questo weekend either way - the sun makes them so much worse!

On a happier and sweeter note, we went to an Italian nursing home this morning to meet lots of anziani di Firenze (anziani, or anziano/a is the polite way of saying the elderly). They were all so sweet. The best part, by far, was when this younger man came in to read some of his own poetry and suddenly there was a very loud squillo (ring) of a cell phone. I assumed it was a Smithie's phone but no, it actually belonged to an adorable and very chatty anziana who promptly answered it (and not quietly either - "PRONTO!"). She had an entire phone conversation while this poor man tried to finish reading his poems. It was very sweet though and I thought Giovanna was about to keel over from laughing so hard. Gotta love Italians.

Time to get working on my journal entry due Thursday and my reading due tomorrow! Trying to start the schoolwork off well!!

Baci e abbracci!

P.S. Thanks for putting up with all the whining of bed bugs....!

Shot in the Bum

Tonight the doctor and Giovanna and Luciana and Ali and Julie and I gathered in the formal dining room/formal living room and looked me over. The doctor verified that indeed I have bed bug bites and I am having a very bad allergic reaction to them..... They gave me a cortisone shot in the bum and prescribed me steroids to take for a week and also some extra strength allergy medicine.... UFFA.

Ali and Julie and I are settled in the hotel now - time to do some reading for homework.... go to the pharmacy in the morning, then class all day..... then over to Luciana's for dinner (meanwhile the house will be investigated and the fumigation will begin.... new mattresses soon, too!), and then back to the hotel!

Buona notte!!

Baci!

Bed Bugs (Part II)

So indeed, I believed I had bed bugs!!

I looked it up immediately and this is what I found:

1. small, brown bugs (not going to explain ANY further....) CHECK!

2. bites in patches, some showing patterns of three or more bites all in a row (called Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner bites....) CHECK!

3. dots and smears of smooshed bed bug and blood on the sheets CHECK!

4. itchy itchy itchyness that Cortisone cream won't quite help CHECK!

5. an increased number of bites over time, none going away all too quickly (bed bug bites may not appear for up to 10 days so therefore when one shows up and you scratch it, it irritates all the others.... charming....) CHECK!

6. possibility of finding more bed bugs in Julie's bed, my bed, etc...... CHECK! (we found a huuuuge one in Julie's bed and one more in my bed who got away)

So at this point we had no idea what to do.... It was 12:30.... we were tired, Luciana was sleeping.... So I called Giovanna and explained it to her. I slept in Ali's room although none of us could really sleep....

Then this morning Luciana comes flying in saying, "Che è successo? Che è successo? Che è successo? " ("What happened?") This was the part we dreaded most because who wants to tell their adorable, 70-year-old host mother that they think there are bed bugs... So we told her. And she felt awful and panicked and told us to go back to sleep and she would take care of it and call Giovanna. Which she did, but she also decided it was simply a wood worm parasite which she had in her house previously. After talking to Giovanna on the phone a dozen times and exchanging emails with photos and links, we all decided that alas, it was NOT a wood worm but bed bugs. Who even gets bed bugs? Like really.... who??? ME, that's who!

After we snoozed some more (somewhat unsucessfully, I might add) we came downstairs to find an apology note from Luciana for this mess, and some breakfast on the table which we enjoyed as we sat and laughed about how ridiculous it is that I actually have bed bugs.... At which point we found 2 more dead bed bugs in my mattress cover.... We didn't dare unzip the actual mattress...

Anyway. Long story short! We are staying in a hotel for a few nights until the house has been fumigated, hopefully getting new mattresses, and still eating dinner here all together every night. Tomorrow morning I have to go to the doctor to have it verified that I indeed am covered in bed bug bites, and then (hopefully!!) this whole disaster will end.

Bite count: Absolutely impossible to count them but there are AT LEAST 500 bites covering my ENTIRE body - toes (especially my right big toe where there are literally 18 bites....), my feet (tops and bottoms), my calves and thighs and knees, my belly (including in my belly button!!!), my back, the back of my shoulders, the tops of my shoulders, my arms (the worst area - absolutely everrrywhere.....), my neck, my chin, my eyebrow, my cheeks, my fingers, hands.... TUTTO. EVERYWHERE.

What is especially terrible is that at this point, they are starting to look less like mosquito bites and more like a terrible skin condition.... Some of them are starting to almost blister... If my whole body blisters... Boh. What a mess.

I only hope that tomorrow is better than today because things can't get much worse! Its a good thing that Ali and Julie are so wonderful as well as Luciana and Giovanna or else this would have felt much worse than it does.... Ali, Julie and I are all in good humor about it because there is nothing we can do other than ask ourselves, "Who the heckkkkk actually gets bed bugs in real life?????"

Me.

Ciao! Baci e abbracci!

Unsure where to begin....

For a few days now, I have had many little bug bites - some standing alone and others in smaller, denser areas of bites. I thought nothing of this because everyone has been getting terrible mosquito bites since day one.

Bite count: A decent number, yet nothing alarming. Just a case of many Italian mosquitos perhaps?

Yesterday when I woke up, I was covered. I had little patches of bites on the back of my legs, my feet, my arms, and my back. I was slightly worried but decided to go get cortisone cream and some Benedryl. I figured, at worst, I was having an allergic reaction to laundry detergent or some of the fruit I had eaten. Off I went into town with Ali to go to the pharmacy and do some shopping.

Bite count: More. Definitely more. Getting worrisome - assumed allergic reaction!

About 1 minutes after leaving the house, Ali and I encountered and older woman walking very slowly, clutching onto the wall beside her, making pained and exasperated noises. As we came up to her, she let go of the wall and began falling backward. I caught her.

After Ali grabbed hold of the woman as well, we looked at each other rather panicked because the woman was speaking very quickly and quietly, in Italian, and even so, it didn't quite seem as though she was making perfect sense. She kept pointing to an address on an envelope she was holding and we didn't know if she was trying to get there, or if she wanted to get to the post office, or what, but then she asked us where the bus stop was. We tried to tell her it was too far, but it didn't matter either way since soon she was unable to stand even with Ali and I supporting her.

I called over the first man that walked by, since we couldn't let go of her to call an ambulance. He shook his head no and walked away. Unbelievable. Fortunately a woman soon biked by and stopped immediately when I asked her for help. I told her in Italian that we wanted to help this woman but we didn't speak Italian well enough to be able to. The woman called and ambulance, meanwhile two young men showed up and took the woman from Ali and I to lean her up against their Vespa while they held her. They asked us what happened and we explained in Italian as best we could. Fortunately, they also spoke English.

Interestingly enough, these two young men were seemingly and incredibly impressed with the fact that we were two American girls who a) spoke Italian well enough and b) saved a woman we didn't know on the streets of Florence. I don't know what imbecile wouldn't have done the same... but apparently they are out there somewhere. Finally, about 10 minutes later, an ambulance appeared. In Italy, no one moves over to let ambulances, fire trucks, police, etc. through. This ambulance was stuck behind a line of cars and actually had to wait through the stop light. It was appalling!

When asked what happen, this lovely older woman said she wasn't sure and she didn't understand because he legs just stopped working. She said she was always fine and this had never happened before, but her legs just wouldn't walk anymore. Between hearing this and having heard her try to speak earlier, our assumption is that she had a stroke. It was the most heartbreaking event I have ever experienced and I was shaking and tearing for a good long time afterward. The two younger men asked Ali and I first if we wanted to smoke, then if we wanted to go get coffee with them, then if we needed something cold to drink and finally, if perhaps they should call an ambulance for us as well. Maybe they should have, given that 6 hours later, we were still unable to think or speak clearly....

After that particular incident, we met up with the other ragazze from Smith and did some shopping, got a panini, had a beer and went to the pharmacy to buy some cream and Benedryl. The man at the pharmacy agreed and said that I was probably just allergic to something. Although the cream helped a little, I don't know how great of a help the Benedryl was.... and by this point, since they had been itchy for quite some time, the bites seemed to have spread.... I had them all over my arms and legs and back at this point.

Bite count: SPREADING!

Upon arriving home, I started panicking because I was tired, and almost a little woozy, and I started feeling that every little ache and pain must be related. I had myself all but convinced that I had adult chicken pox until....

I saw a bug crawling on the wall.

A tiny bug, mind you, but a bug nonetheless.

Naturally, I caught this bug in my waterglass and hopped on Google. Big mistake. Also very smart decision, but BIG MISTAKE. Within minutes, I was sobbing.

Bed bugs.

Che. Schifo.

How. Gross.

bedbugs.

yes. che schifo.

Uffa....

bad day.

more tomorrow.

baci.

How Florence Helps One to Find Faith: A Brief Guide to Encountering God in a Foreign Country

First of all, I must say that there is nothing like discovering new and beautiful places in Florence. There really is nothing AT ALL that even compares. It was in doing this that I realized perhaps Florence is the best place to find some faith.

This morning we took the bus (did I mention that there are tiny orange electric busses in

Florence?? We didn't take one this morning, but I did this afternoon!) and we went to la Chiesa di San Miniato. San Miniato is across the Arno, up a beautiful hill, and it overlooks ALL of Florence.

On top of the church being incredibly beautiful on its own, today was a gorgeous, bright, sunny, cheerful day. Coming to the crest of the hill after scaling at least 500 steps, I saw la chiesa - a very large one at that - and was struck silent.

To think that this church has been standing in the same place, appearing almost exactly the same as it did about 1000 years ago.... È incredibile, no?

So that is my first piece of advice when you desire some faith - find a church (or temple, or synagogue!). It doesn't absolutely NEED to be in Florence... but hey, my advice is my advice. Find a church in Florence. ANY of them. A huge famous one, a tiny one built in among other buildings on a side street, a roadside shrine - anything. Stop for a minute and just be. Don't think about faith or finding God, or talking with anyone of the divine sort. Just be. And perhaps take a minute to think about where you are and why you are there and who else has been there before you and how long people have been doing just that - standing and enjoying. Chances are, if you're in Florence especially, millions and millions of people over thousands of years (or even only hundreds, but still!) have been standing just like you, their feet on the same stone, wondering what you're wondering. It's a bit of a miracle.

My next piece of advice is to find an Italian nonna to cook you some dinner. This with inevitably help you find more faith in life and humanity. I say this because what better way to enjoy your life than to sit down with someone who loves you and has spent all day preparing something special for you to enjoy together (also... enjoying fresh Italian food.... a real delight.... something to savor and remember forever... and something which at least seems to give me some faith in love and life and famiglia). Tonight Luciana made spaghetti with tiny shrimp, mussels and some other types of seafood. Then we ate some delicious white fish and amazing potatoes made with rosemary, followed by the best nectarine I've ever eaten. When we finished, I had never felt better. Wasn't too full, wasn't empty. I had napped before dinner, and laughed my way through dinner.

As usual, a perfect giorno in Firenze!!

Moltissimi baci e abbracci!!

Note: The GoogleMaps image shows my house (A) and San Miniato (B). In between, you can see the Arno, the Boboli Gardens and to the left of my house, there is a huge park with places to run and walk and wander. Also in the park there is an apparently amazing market every Tuesday morning where you can buy everything from fruit and veggies to leather jackets and shoes to clothing and jewelry. In between Piazza Santa Maria Novella and the Uffizi, there is a little piazza called Piazza della Signoria and that is where I go to class every day.

Scherzo.... Just kidding!!

The puppy plan has fallen through for this weekend. But perhaps another puppy, another weekend. Che triste!!!

Coming Soon: A New Member of the Family?

On Saturday, there is a very decent chance that we will have a new member of the family joining us - A PUPPY!!!! Un barboncino toy - a toy poodle. A black one. From Bologna. Just like Giovanna's dogs. And Luciana has always wanted one and she decided for sure last night after spending time with Coco and Sparky.

That is my large news of the day. And since I wrote an entire novella last night, I think I will keep tonight's update a bit more brief!

One last thing that seems worth mentioning (only because it was very sweet and made me feel especially adorata) is that tonight Luciana was adding our numbers to her cell phone, and since her grandson's girlfriend's name is Sara, she already had a Sara in her phonebook. Therefore I am in her phonebook as Mia Sara (my Sara) which is very cute, no?

Anywhoozle. Today was great as usual. I'm a bit sleepy but I have some work to finish for tomorrow.

Fino a domani!!! Baci e abbracci!

Whiskey.

Today was one of the best days I have had in many, many, many years.

As I said earlier, it was Ali's birthday and Luciana was especially sweet and adorable this morning. The walk to the Sede was the

same as always, had language class, a dorky treasure hunt to become oriented in the city and a chat about our mental health being students overseas. Throughout the day, I walked with Alayna and Breana to get tea, pastries, a present for Ali, etc. I am starting to understan

d the city and know where I am most of the time..... soon it will really be home!

After our little health meeting, I took a long and windy path home by way of a few great shoe stores and also a street near ours called Via del Prato. I didn't know what I would find on Prato, but indeed, I found a few little pasticcerie, or pastry shops (often called bars - an American bar is a pub - and

they often also serve wine and panini) as well as a sweet little store where I bought Ali's present (a really pretty silk scarf, and of course I got one as well - 2 for 10

euros! The adorable older woman gave me a deal because I was so carina and I was speaking Italian with her). When I got home, after doing some homework (uffa!...), I watched Luciana

futz around the house, getting ready for Ali's special dinner. We ate in the formal living room tonight (see photo!) and we ate with nice plates and real wine glasses and Giovanna came as a surpr

ise for Ali (she bought the pups of course!! See the other photo!)

We ate the most amazing dinner.... First some aperitivi (appetizers - some bread with homemade porcini mushroom sauce, some with smoked salmon and some with baby shrimp). Then we ate homemade lasagne, complete with homemade pasta. It was traditional Tuscan lasagne, made with bechamel sauce, not ricotta, meat and porcini mushrooms. Then we ate some incredible veal with a sauce whose name is escaping me - made with mayonnaise (yes... mayo... apparently its VERY Italian???), capers, lemon and something else which Giovanna wouldn't tell us because we aren't familiar with it. In addition to the meat, we had the best zucchini I have ever eaten - tiny and so flavorful. Finally, for dessert, Luciana made an INCREDIBLE hom

emade dark chocolate mousse which we ate with gelato. There was, of course, a bottle of red wine and a bottle of prosecco but we only made it through the red wine.

Throughout all of dinner, there was an immense amount of laughter. First, because Ali, Julie and I had tried to explain our one problem with Luciana to Giovanna - we cannot ever say no to her and therefore we always eat way more than we want because she keeps piling more and more onto our plates without asking. Giovanna said this was not a problem and to not worry, we could easily say no. She learned this was not completely the case tonight when Luciana kept bringing more and more food and giving us however much she thought we would want to eat. Così buffo! Later, Luciana was laughing at me because I was flushing and she accused me of drinking too much wine, meanwhile she kept cracking jokes about whiskey, first asking Giovanna if she wanted some (which for some reason was incredibly humorous) and then (in response to Giovanna asking what Luciana would like to name a puppy since we MIGHT be getting one), she said, "Hmmmm...... forse...... AH SI! SI CHIAMA WHISKEY!"

At the end of the evening, Giovanna congratulated us for speaking and listening to Italian all day since 8'o'clock this morning and we took some photographs (as you can see!). After Giovanna left and we helped Luciana clear the table, Ali, Julie and I headed to my room where we proceeded to take a series of ridiculous pictures and laugh hysterically about various things for about an hour, when we then said "Buona notte!" and headed to bed.

I would say, simply, that today was fantastic.

Enough said.

Ci vediamo domani! Buona notte!

Baci e abbracci!

Buon Compleanno, Ali!

This morning, Luciana came into each of our rooms to tell us that our special breakfast was getting cold - she made American French toast for Ali's birthday! And it was AMAZING french toast. No maple syrup, but cherry marmalade and strawberry jam!! She also gave Ali a really lovely necklace and earring set and is concocting something special for dinner! Così carinissima!!

Così felice!

So happy! I think today has been the best day thus far of my Florentine adventure.

This morning we had our first language class and it was surprisingly good. We talked tutto in Italiano ALL day, and it wasn't half bad! After that class, I headed to Giovanna

's apartment with Alayna and some other girlies for a cooking lesson with an amazing woman named Pam. We first made panzanella (see the first photo) which is similar to a tabouleh but with stale bread so

aked in water and then squeezed out and mixed with oil and herbs and fresh vegetables. After that we made pappa al pomodoro (photo due), which is a bit like a stew or soup of tomato sauce and basil and chunks of (also stale) bread. Finally, we made some tiramisù which was far easier than I ever knew!

We sat down to eat with Pam and Giovanna, who bought us some amazing vino - both red and white with un po' frizzante (a tiny bit bubbly). We also had an incredible salad made with spinach from Pam's garden and the best peccorino in all of Italia, served with a concentrated and sweetened balsamic vinegar or local Italian honey. Che buonissimo!

After cooking class, we had history with a professor from Sienna who was very sweet and (for the most part!) quite interesting. After that class, Breana and I wandered the streets to find a notebook to write down all of our new vocabulario in so we won't forget. Finally, I strolled home, a mere 22 minute walk. For some reason all the Italian men have stopped harrassing me and calling to me which is odd considering my hair color, but I have decided to embrace the bionda and just present as Italiana as possible - maybe it's working?

Dinner tonight may have been the best so far: zuppa di fagioli (beans), fresh mozzarella with tomatoes, basil and olive oil, leftover veal from last night and lots of fresh fruit - the grapes are AMAZING. After dinner, Luciana, Ali, Julie and I chatted for a long time about all sorts of things - I think we were all feeling more confident after spending an entire day speaking solo Italiano! Luciana told us that she loves having us here with her because she likes our company. She is incredibly sweet and wonderful and I could not have asked for a better host nonna!

Fino a domani!!

Baci e abbracci!

Note: Today I learned that the patron saint of Florence is San Giovanni and he is celebrated on June 24th - my birthday! It is ovviamente (obviously) meant to be that I am here!

The Menu for Sunday, September 20th, 2009

I have finally figured out why Italians eat their salad and vegetables after eating their pasta and meat....

The following was the menu for this evening, in order:

One large bowl of spaghetti carbonara (once we all had our full large bowls, Luciana realized that there was still some left in the pot so naturally, without asking, she dumped it into my bowl, making it the largest bowl of pasta I think I have ever seen).

Once we had all finished off every last bit of spaghetti (which took a bit since my bowl was about 1/3 of a pound of pasta...) we were presented with the most amazing veal I have ever had (although I have only had veal once or twice.... but non importa!).

Then came the salad and the eggplant - both very amazing, but really...... at that point, even iceberg lettuce was pushing my limit. Regardless, once we took our desired portions of eggplant there was, again, some leftover and, again, it was piled high on my plate.

To top it all off, we had not only fruit salad, but fruit salad and gelato.... Oddio!!!!

Anyway, back to my main point. Italians must eat their veggies after their pasta because the pasta is the heaviest, followed by white meats and fish and then the vegetables. Then usually there is a small break before i dolci (dessert) but for some reason it appears that we skip that much-needed break in this house....

.......

On a different note, tomorrow is the first day of orientation! We have Italian, conversation time with some young Italiani, history and cooking class at Giovanna's apartamento!

Fino a domani!! Baci e abbracci!

I foto!

New pics up on Facebook!!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=8894813&l=8d908272a4&id=500755531

First night out on the town....

Ciao a tutti!

Last night we ALL went out. It was a bit chaotic!! We couldn't decide where to go, what to do, what to drink, etc., etc.! We finally decided to get a glass of vino at a little restaurant by the Duomo... it's hard to escape the tourist traps at this point because we have no knowledge of the city and the best places to go out without other American students.... Had to take a taxi home since it was after midnight and some Italian men were following us and telling us they wanted us..... So taxi it was!

Before we went out, Ali and Julie and I were again faced with the endless task of dinner! Penne with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, veal or pork (still undecided...) with fresh lemon, eggplant with parmesan and then an AMAZING fruit salad! This was all after Ali and I explored our neighborhood, found the train station (where it is evident how it could not be so safe at night.... un po' sketchy!!), found a cheap yet beautiful shoe store, a perfect supermercato and some sweet little bars and restaurants! Perfetto!

Overall, yesterday was un giorno bellisimo!

In a few minutes, I am going to head to il centro and meet Breana and Alayna and others and go to the Boboli Gardens which are supposed to be incredibile!! Pictures later!!!

Ciao! Baci e abbracci!!

Un giorno perfetto!

Ciao a tutti!

Things just keep getting better and better! Last night Luciana made such an amazing dinner - fusilli bolognese (I think...) made without oil or butter, followed by thinly pounded chicken in an amazing light lemon sauce (again no oil or butter!), and then - the best part by far - homemade torta di zucchini which was like an exceptionally delicious quiche with a light, fluffy crust. Just when we all thought we were going to burst with joyful fullness, Luciana brought out a homemade panacotta - an Italian custard of sorts - with a blueberry sauce on top. Incredibile!

After dinner, Ali, Julie and I sat down to watch TV with Luciana - who knew that Criminal Minds in Italiano would be so good!!

Jet lag kept me up until about 1:30am which was unfortunate given that I was aiming to get up at 7:45 this morning (which I did not succeed in!)

This morning I woke up to breakfast, a nice simple Italian breakfast - pane tostato (toast!) with cherry marmalade and nutella, and some black tea - it was perfetto! Now I am about to commence my day, shower, wander to il centro to meet Alayna and everyone else, perhaps buy some fruit and chocolate and biscotti for snacks, as well as some postcards to send a casa mia in the U.S. and then we are meeting Giovanna for a lunch of cheese, bread and fruit (pardon me if I already explained this yesterday!) After that we are meeting some younger Italiani to talk with them and get to know the city more. Hopefully I can make my way home to take a nap before our 8pm (sharp!!) dinner, and ideally, I would love to go out after that! Unfortunately, the area where I live is near the train station which doesn't have the best nighttime reputation. I can get to il centro without directly passing the station so it should be okay, but when it gets late, I have to take a taxi home.... and no walking around at night alone - EVER - according to my dear nonna Luciana!

Più tarde!

Sono arrivata! I have arrived!

Yesterday, I arrived in Florence at 2pm (10am @ home) to spend 9 months living here.

I cannot express how thrilled I am to actually be living in this city for an extended period of time.

When I arrived (with Alayna and 4 other Smith ladi

es), we wandered around Florence and found some dinner at a touristy place by the Duoma but our Smith program director, Giovanna, talked the owner into not charging us the cover fee (instead of a tip, there is a cover fee for most ristoranti!) After dinner, we walked to the Ponte Vecchio and along the Arno River, then stopped for gelato on the way home. I had a delicious combination of fragola (strawberry) and bacio (chocolate and hazelnut, like those little Bacio truffles sold in the U.S.).

Jet lag was pretty rotten.... Fell asleep at 10pm Italy time, woke up at 2am and was up until 3.30am and then woke up at 7.30am still fairly sleepy. That being said, I am ecstatic right now because at 2pm I hopped in a taxi with

my 80kg (over 100lbs....) of belongings and met my host mamma (Signora Luciana Dionisi - age 70). She is INCREDIBILE. Our apartment is stunning - marble floors, two stories, we (Ali, Julie and I) each have our own room, all of which are amazing. I have a dresser, armoire, couch, chair, desk and adorable bed. Lucian

a is the sweetest woman and she speaks at just the right speed and bears with us as we give her blank stares after asking us a question. She is said to be the best cuoca (cook) that the Smith program has ever seen and therefore I am rather psyched for tonight's big cena (dinner).

Tomorrow we meet lots of Italians our age who hopefully will help us learn to communicate a bit better, but only after meeting for a delicious pranzo (lu

nch) of foccacia and cheese and fruit with Giovanna and Monica (the program director in Firenze). Perhaps tomorrow night will be our first night going out in the città!

Baci e abbracci!

Check them out - More photos on Facebook!