Assisi
Germany
PompeiiAll right so first let me talk to you about the Earthquake. It happened early on a Monday morning while I was sleeping, and I didn't even wake up. Amy was awake for it at 3 am, and she said she felt like she was going insane. She said it made no noise, and all of a sudden the whole room started waving back and forth like waves were going through the room. There was no noise except for the furniture sliding around above her. She was too scared to come wake us up because she thought she was crazy so she just laid there crying until the aftershock happened around 5 am. Caroline and I woke up for our nine am class Monday morning completely oblivious to the fact that anything had happened. It was an on-site class at the end of Via del Corso, the main street in Rome, and we thought it seemed strangely empty. We get to the meeting point and all the girls in our class are buzzing about the earthquake. They were shocked when they found out we didn't even wake up for it. Our friend Marie said all the pots and pans got thrown out of her cabinets at her apartment, and other girls said they ran outside because they were so scared. Our guy friends Rob Zack Dan and Emery also all ran outside, except Rob and Zack were naked they said. How embarrassing.
Over the next few days we still felt quite a few aftershocks. They were really quite frightening, especially one that was almost as strong as the original quake. It was Taco Tuesday and we were all sitting around eating and talking about the Earthquake. One girl said she still hadn't even felt an aftershock or anything and she wanted to know what one felt like. Suddenly the whole room started shaking like we were in a building made of jello. The mirrors were rattling loudly against the wall, the television was rocking violently back and forth on the T.V. stand and all our plates and cups were sliding all over the table. "This is what an aftershock feels like" Britt said. It lasted for close to 30 seconds and we almost ran outside because we didn't know if it was going to end. There were a few more small aftershocks over the next few days, and then things completely died down over Easter weekend.
For Easter I went to Buxtehude, Germany with my roommate Caroline. We went to visit her Grandma or "Omi" as she calls her (I am not sure if that is how you actually spell it so we will just pretend that is right.) I had a wonderful time! We flew out really early Friday morning to Munich, then flew from Munich to Hamburg. In Hamburg we went to a restaurant owned by the McGuckian's family friends. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and chatted with a boy our age who Caroline grew up with. He then showed us around the city for the rest of the day, then dropped us off at the train station were we hopped on a train to Buxtehude.
A cab took us to the cute little house tucked away next to a park. Caroline's Omi was sitting on the porch waiting for us to arrive. Her Omi doesn't speak any English, and I of course don't speak any German so it was hilarious. Most of the time if Caroline wasn't around, Omi and I would just look at each other and laugh because we didn't know what else to do. We hung around the house for the rest of the night. For dinner we had bread and slices of cheese. I wondered what kind of cheese it was and when Caroline asked her Omi what kind of cheese it is (who is 93 I think by the way) she just said "German Cheese." She is hilarious that woman. She got mad though when I folded my bread and cheese in half to make it into a sandwich. Apparently I wasn't supposed to do that. Woops!
The next day Caroline showed me around Buxtehude. It was so beautiful!! Germany is very clean and Aunt Liz would be happy to hear about how crazy they are about recycling! It looked like a typical little German town with quaint little buildings with thatched roofs. There was a little open air market down one of the main streets and I honestly felt like I was in some sort of fairy tale. Caroline and I had lunch at a department store and I discovered that I am in love with German food. I don't know how to spell any of it so I won't even try, but they have a lot of sausages and potatoes, all of which I loved. We then went and got ice-cream and I saw the cutest little child ever. He came running out of the building screaming something and he looked really excited. Caroline said he was yelling "I HAVE A CHOCOLATE I HAVE A CHOCOLATE" and he had chocolate alllllll over his face. He reminded me of a young Alex Wiegel.
SPEAKING OF WIEGEL I found Wiegel Electronics Store. How exciting! That night we had another meal of bread and cheese with Omi and watched German singing shows on television. They were hilarious! One song was a man and a woman singing "My Hawaii is the North Sea" in German. They were talking about how they have everything they need in Germany and they never needed to leave. I felt like the government put them up to singing that song or something. Creepy. The singing show lasted about ninety hours! It was funny at first but got old fast.
Then Sunday was Easter. Omi gave me and Caroline chocolate rabbits with bells on their necks! How cute. The Caroline, Omi and I went to a really nice restaurant on the outskirts of town and I had pork filled with ham- my two least favorite meats! But I loved it! And we had French Fries, but Omi tried to eat all of them. That day Omi didn't like that I wore sandals. I can do nothing right in her eyes. She likes my hair though. That night we watched "Chocolate" on television in German, and ate chips and ice cream. It was the perfect Easter. Also! That night! Omi was having bread and cheese and she folded it in half like a sandwich! I thought it was funny how she got mad when I did it the first night, but then she did it herself! She wants to be just like me, I know it.
A few more thoughts about Germany: The weather was perfect the entire weekend. All the flowers were in bloom and it was so peaceful. What a beautiful country! Also, my favorite part about all of Germany is the pillows! They are huuumungous and square. And fluffy! I am determined to find a German pillow when I return to the states, and I recommend you all do the same!
The week after Germany my parents arrived in Italy! When I found my mom and dad on the Spanish steps I started crying- I didn't realize how much I missed them! We walked around and got gelato, and then I had a great dinner with them and their tour group that night. They then went around the rest of Italy for a few days. I met them in Florence one day but I only saw them for a very brief time.
That Saturday I went to Assisi- I don't have much to say about it except that it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I am going to retire there someday. It was a school trip and they gave us a great tour around the whole city. Ugh I just love it.
The next week Mom and Dad came back to Rome and I spent all their free time with them. The first night they got back I joined them on their group's farewell dinner. It was at a beautiful Villa up on a hill in the center of the city. It was overlooking everything and the city sparkled against the clear night sky. The food was delicious, but the entertainer man was creepy. I had fried cream for the first time- good thing I discovered so late! I would be an elephant if I had found out about it any sooner. SOoooooo delicious. The rest of the week we just wandered around the city and saw many lovely things. It all sort of blurs together, the same way Pat's visit did just because it was so busy.
One day I remember Mom made me go into Dolce and Gabbana and I fell in LOVE with a three zipper tan purse called the "Lily Bag." Unfortunately it was 695 euro- I looked it up on Nordstrom’s and it costs $1,400 at home. A bit out of my price range. I dream about it every night. I was very sad the day they left BUT I knew I only had two weeks left until I would see them again!
Over the next few days we still felt quite a few aftershocks. They were really quite frightening, especially one that was almost as strong as the original quake. It was Taco Tuesday and we were all sitting around eating and talking about the Earthquake. One girl said she still hadn't even felt an aftershock or anything and she wanted to know what one felt like. Suddenly the whole room started shaking like we were in a building made of jello. The mirrors were rattling loudly against the wall, the television was rocking violently back and forth on the T.V. stand and all our plates and cups were sliding all over the table. "This is what an aftershock feels like" Britt said. It lasted for close to 30 seconds and we almost ran outside because we didn't know if it was going to end. There were a few more small aftershocks over the next few days, and then things completely died down over Easter weekend.
For Easter I went to Buxtehude, Germany with my roommate Caroline. We went to visit her Grandma or "Omi" as she calls her (I am not sure if that is how you actually spell it so we will just pretend that is right.) I had a wonderful time! We flew out really early Friday morning to Munich, then flew from Munich to Hamburg. In Hamburg we went to a restaurant owned by the McGuckian's family friends. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and chatted with a boy our age who Caroline grew up with. He then showed us around the city for the rest of the day, then dropped us off at the train station were we hopped on a train to Buxtehude.
A cab took us to the cute little house tucked away next to a park. Caroline's Omi was sitting on the porch waiting for us to arrive. Her Omi doesn't speak any English, and I of course don't speak any German so it was hilarious. Most of the time if Caroline wasn't around, Omi and I would just look at each other and laugh because we didn't know what else to do. We hung around the house for the rest of the night. For dinner we had bread and slices of cheese. I wondered what kind of cheese it was and when Caroline asked her Omi what kind of cheese it is (who is 93 I think by the way) she just said "German Cheese." She is hilarious that woman. She got mad though when I folded my bread and cheese in half to make it into a sandwich. Apparently I wasn't supposed to do that. Woops!
The next day Caroline showed me around Buxtehude. It was so beautiful!! Germany is very clean and Aunt Liz would be happy to hear about how crazy they are about recycling! It looked like a typical little German town with quaint little buildings with thatched roofs. There was a little open air market down one of the main streets and I honestly felt like I was in some sort of fairy tale. Caroline and I had lunch at a department store and I discovered that I am in love with German food. I don't know how to spell any of it so I won't even try, but they have a lot of sausages and potatoes, all of which I loved. We then went and got ice-cream and I saw the cutest little child ever. He came running out of the building screaming something and he looked really excited. Caroline said he was yelling "I HAVE A CHOCOLATE I HAVE A CHOCOLATE" and he had chocolate alllllll over his face. He reminded me of a young Alex Wiegel.
SPEAKING OF WIEGEL I found Wiegel Electronics Store. How exciting! That night we had another meal of bread and cheese with Omi and watched German singing shows on television. They were hilarious! One song was a man and a woman singing "My Hawaii is the North Sea" in German. They were talking about how they have everything they need in Germany and they never needed to leave. I felt like the government put them up to singing that song or something. Creepy. The singing show lasted about ninety hours! It was funny at first but got old fast.
Then Sunday was Easter. Omi gave me and Caroline chocolate rabbits with bells on their necks! How cute. The Caroline, Omi and I went to a really nice restaurant on the outskirts of town and I had pork filled with ham- my two least favorite meats! But I loved it! And we had French Fries, but Omi tried to eat all of them. That day Omi didn't like that I wore sandals. I can do nothing right in her eyes. She likes my hair though. That night we watched "Chocolate" on television in German, and ate chips and ice cream. It was the perfect Easter. Also! That night! Omi was having bread and cheese and she folded it in half like a sandwich! I thought it was funny how she got mad when I did it the first night, but then she did it herself! She wants to be just like me, I know it.
A few more thoughts about Germany: The weather was perfect the entire weekend. All the flowers were in bloom and it was so peaceful. What a beautiful country! Also, my favorite part about all of Germany is the pillows! They are huuumungous and square. And fluffy! I am determined to find a German pillow when I return to the states, and I recommend you all do the same!
The week after Germany my parents arrived in Italy! When I found my mom and dad on the Spanish steps I started crying- I didn't realize how much I missed them! We walked around and got gelato, and then I had a great dinner with them and their tour group that night. They then went around the rest of Italy for a few days. I met them in Florence one day but I only saw them for a very brief time.
That Saturday I went to Assisi- I don't have much to say about it except that it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I am going to retire there someday. It was a school trip and they gave us a great tour around the whole city. Ugh I just love it.
The next week Mom and Dad came back to Rome and I spent all their free time with them. The first night they got back I joined them on their group's farewell dinner. It was at a beautiful Villa up on a hill in the center of the city. It was overlooking everything and the city sparkled against the clear night sky. The food was delicious, but the entertainer man was creepy. I had fried cream for the first time- good thing I discovered so late! I would be an elephant if I had found out about it any sooner. SOoooooo delicious. The rest of the week we just wandered around the city and saw many lovely things. It all sort of blurs together, the same way Pat's visit did just because it was so busy.
One day I remember Mom made me go into Dolce and Gabbana and I fell in LOVE with a three zipper tan purse called the "Lily Bag." Unfortunately it was 695 euro- I looked it up on Nordstrom’s and it costs $1,400 at home. A bit out of my price range. I dream about it every night. I was very sad the day they left BUT I knew I only had two weeks left until I would see them again!
I also went to Pompeii at one point- I am not sure when. I know there are a ton of things I never got a chance to add in my journal! I also forgot to mention in my journal on England that I saw the musical Chicago one night with Caroline and Amy. On our way there we discovered that we could have gotten tickets to a play starring JAMES MACAVOY instead- ugh if only we had known! But Chicago was a wonderful show. Anyway!!! Pompeii was great! There was a cute little stray German shepherd. There was also a brothel with pictures on the wall that a man would just point to to show what he wanted. It was like a menu with pictures. And there was a penis carved in the road to point people in the right direction to the brothel. And I saw burned people. That is all I remember.
I am now approaching my last weekend here and I am so so sad. It has been such an amazing experience and I definitely got a lot out of it. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so glad this is something I got to do so early in life! I gained a lot of knowledge not just about all the art I saw, but about life in general. I know so much about a culture that was so foreign to me before I arrived. I always think how cool it is that no matter where I am in the world, I will always know my way around Rome. How many people can say that?
I am not sure if I will write any more entries after this. If I don't, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my lengthy entries! And I apologize for the infrequency of my entries- it has been a busy semester! See you all soon!
I am not sure if I will write any more entries after this. If I don't, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my lengthy entries! And I apologize for the infrequency of my entries- it has been a busy semester! See you all soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment