So I know I haven't posted in a few days and my family is dying to know what's been going on, but I was so busy living my life that I didn't really have time to tell people what was going on.
So first off, I am now living in Siena, and it is great. Professor Stanford got us lost and then found again on our way to church, but while we were lost she told us that it's good to be lost sometimes so you can figure out where you are going. she said this while looking at a map though, because she wanted to just get to the building on time. and so far I haven't gotten lost. my host family took us on a walk of the town the first night we arrived and explained where a lot of stuff was, so I have been able to either recognize where I am or know how to get where I know I am. But more about my new stuff later, first: my last night in Rome!
We knew it was going to be our last night in Rome and we wanted to do something awesome, but we couldn't really think of anything in particular we wanted to do or see. But I had been in my apartment all afternoon because I couldn't decide where to go or who to go with so I was a little stir crazy... No one else really wanted to go far from home because they didn't want to walk very far or figure out the bus system since the metro closes early most nights. Brittany recommended a walk to the river and that sounded like a brilliant idea, so on a walk we went. it was a gorgeous early evening: the weather was perfect and the sun was behind all the tall trees so the lighting was pretty great as well. We walked across a bridge and watched the water flow for a while but Brittany and I really wanted to find a way down closer to the river. we did, and it was awesome to sit on the side and hang our feet over the edge. there were a lot of boats rowing by, and it was just so peaceful to sit there and relax. In fact it was so great to be outside that we didn't want to go back once we made it to the river. so we decided to keep walking and hit the next metro stop, so we could take it back when we were ready. But it is by the Piazza de Popolo, and out of all the Piazzas that I saw, I think I liked that one best.

What happened the evening we went to the Piazza de Popolo only made it so much better in my eyes. we went to sit down by one of the fountains on the side of the Piazza, and were just enjoying watching everyone walk through or play in the piazza and pondering why the United States doesn't have piazzas to unite people. We meandered and wandered through places, taking a few pictures here and there, very touristy stuff. then, as we were thinking of leaving, some guy started to set up something, and he had music and an awesome outfit and everything! Basically we were transfixed for his entire show, and we all dug into our pockets to find as much as we were willing to give him. just wait for the epic video:
When that was finally all done, we decided to go back home and figure out what we wanted to do for dinner, whether we wanted to use the food we already had bought or go out to eat. I kind of wanted to go out to eat, but I didn't feel super hungry so I didn't know if it would be worth it. No one else wanted to go out, so that made the decision to not go, but I had a little bit of what they cooked with the extra food we had. it was good, but not ristorante good.... :P

the night before we had gone to get gelato and had made a pinky promise to come back on the last night, so we went out one more time to get gelato. I really wasn't that hungry, it was weird, so I didn't get any gelato, but I went with the group anyways. and it's a good thing I did! Natalia started to play with some girls who were playing jump rope, and so a bunch of the rest of us joined in. I have a video of that as well, but everything is going super slow right now uploading (probably because I'm uploading 3 things right now and I'm sure there are other students who are uploading stuff as well, so it would really slow stuff down) but I'll try and put it up on youtube at some point and then let you know where to look. but basically it was the most fun I had any night in Rome: playing with some girls on the church steps at about 11pm on a friday night.
The next morning we started our journey to Siena. it is only a 3 hour bus ride but we left at 9 in the morning and weren't expected til 4:30 in the afternoon. that meant we were definitely doing something, hopefully something exciting. that thing turned out to be a stop in a small town along the way, but a little out of the way as well, that has some ancient Entruscan tombs that were discovered as recently as 2006, or something around that time. They were actually REALLY cool, but we weren't allowed to take pictures of it, and I didn't have a charged camera to take pictures anyways, so I wouldn't have pictures of it. but we were also given an hour to walk around the town it was near and just kind of explore what a normal Tuscan town is like. it was lunch time, so the place was basically dead because no one works at lunch time. they eat and rest and... I don't know what else they do. but there was no one out while we were walking around and there was nothing open. regardless, the place was gorgeous, and the views were amazing. there are so many hills everywhere, and so you can turn a corner and see the ground fall away below you and fields stretched as far as you can see. it is spectacular, and I'm sure to get some pictures before then end of it, but I haven't gotten any yet.
we finally got to Siena, and were told that some of us had people who came to pick us up, and some of us had to take the bus, and a few got to take taxis but it would have been nerve racking to have to take a bus when we had no clue where we were going. Rachel and I were given bus cards, but luckily, our "mom's" dad was there to pick us up. he is older (obviously if he has a 28 year old daughter) and has a little bit of a pot belly. and he doesn't speak english at all. it was an interesting ride to the house. he kept talking about stuff and pointing stuff out, but Rachel and I both didn't know what in the world he was talking about. We got to the apartment and got to meet Stephania's mom, who makes dinner at her house every night. she doesn't speak any english either, but we finally started to get what they were saying. the spoke really slow, with simple words and a lot of hand gestures. basically the clearest thing she said to us though was "no inglese." she said that when we tried to talk in english to her or to each other. later in the evening she was imitating the sound of english or french and I think she just doesn't want to not know what we are saying. I feel the same way, but I can excuse her for only speaking italian since this is Italy after all....

Rachel and I share a tiny room with almost no closet space and basically no drawer space. it has bunk beds because 2 beds couldn't fit in there on the floor and have room for the door to even open. but I don't mind that much. the view from our window is spectacular! seriously I don't mind living about a half hour walk from the school if it means I get to wake up to the view I have every morning. it's quiet and green, two things which cities rarely are. I took this picture, probably in the afternoon, but it's even better in the morning when the sun is starting to brilliantly light up the top stuff, but the bottom of the hill is still in shadow. basically I love it. and the family is amazing as well. the grandma (I call her that because technically she is my Italian grandma and because I haven't quite gotten her name yet) cooks every night, and even though I've only had two of her meals, they have both been superb. and multi-coursed. they usually start with something small (antipasta). last night it was bread with a meat paste on it and cheese. I liked it, even though I couldn't figure out what the meat was. and then they have pasta. the first night it was with a red sauce and.... I don't even know! I knew there were more dishes coming and yet I couldn't get enough of the pasta. last night it had potatoes and peas with the pasta, and I think some olive oil. so good. then there is the meat course. our grandma is from Sicily, so she made chicken like they make it in Sicily last night. I don't know what was around the meat, but it was so good. they also serve salad with the meat, and it's nice to have some greens in with all the other food. and lastly, there is dessert of fruit. I thought I didn't really like grapes, but American grapes are completely different from Italian grapes. I can't even describe it at all. but I like them. besides the seeds. I think I've had such a mental aversion to them because of our society that I can't help but bite into a seed in a grape without making a face. I really don't mean to, but the crunch surprises me, and not really in the best way. but the family, when they eat grapes, eat the seeds as well, and so I don't want to spit them out. I think I'm going to steer clear of them for a little while to get used to the idea of eating the seeds before I try again. I do like the grapes themselves.
well, I should probably go finish my homework that's due tomorrow. I just thought it wasn't fair to not have anything up for such a long time.