04/08/2007: first week in siena

here is my first official post on my blog. things in siena are going really well thusfar. when i got in on the 1st we got our assignments for housing and i live in this really sweet apartment that is about 25 minute walk from the aha office where we have class. although that seems kinda far it really is not at all. i live with three other girls whom are all really nice. i have really enjoyed getting to meet new people. although i wish i could find a way to meet more italian people. but i am sure i will get there. right now it is just really hard what with the language barrier. i find that a year of italian has been enough to allow me to kind of converse with people. but my vocabulary is lacking and it is hard to understand what people say when they talk really fast. but i have found that watching tv (especially mtv) has helped my ear a little to get used to listening to italian and trying to understand what they are saying. the biggest obstacle is trying to converse with people at stores when you want to buy something. so i have been trying to brush up on my fruit, vegetables...etc. vocab so that i can try and get what i need. but for the most part people are understanding that we dont speak italian and really do try to speak to us in english. it is just hard sometimes because they wont know very much english.

lets see. two days ago we went to this church thing that used to be a hospital. i forget the name i think it was the santa maria? eh. but it was way cool we got to roam around under the building because there were all these tunnels they built back in medieval times. there was this triptych (i think my spelling is off on that) that i definitely recognized as learning about in art history class. so that was way cool. and there was just a bunch of art that is so amazing to see in real life. even the architecture, which i am not usually interested in, is a crazy thing to see in person.

i think that the best part is definitely getting to see all the stuff that i have learned about in class. we have been to the piazza del campo many times and it is just amazing over there. in a week they will start setting up for the palio, which is this intense horse race that they do every year and are very proud of. ten of the neighborhoods out of seventeen get to comptete and the winner is based on the first horse to cross the finish line, either with or without the rider. i hear that it gets really vicious becaue the riders just try and knock each other off of their horses. and that it is not uncommon for one of the racers to die. but around here the italians are all excited for the palio. it happens in several of the cities in italy but siena's is the most famous. the palio will take place on the 16th and i am more than excited for it. close to my apartment there has been this huge neighborhood party every night this week in celebration of the upcoming palio. neighborhood flags are hung up everywhere and everyoneis getting excited for the event.

next week i am going to vincenza e venetzia. its going to be quite amazing. i cant wait for the biennale. it sounds like it is going to be a really amazing experience. well, i should probably go for now because i am meeting a few people at the campo at three. ciao ragazzi!