La Bella Italia.

I am SO glad I decided to spend the last month of school in good ol' Italy.

While looking back I moderately regret not visiting the British Isles, Spain, or France, I do feel like I got a really good idea of some less-frequented parts of Europe, and am getting a really great sense of Italy. The truth is that four months simply isn't enough to see all of Europe and go to school at the same time. I also feel like my original reasoning for not hitting the major cities, namely that it's a lot easier to visit London or Paris later in life than it is to visit middle-of-nowhere Germany or the Czech Republic, is still valid. It does make me a little sad though that I won't get to see some of my favorite places in the whole world before I head home again. I guess I'll just have to keep visiting (bummer!).

Anyway, there are several reasons why I'm very glad I've decided to stay in Italy. First, it's way less stressful to do all of my traveling in little chunks and by train. I have so much more control over what I do and when I do it traveling this way. I also really appreciate staying in Italy because I speak the language and feel comfortable communicating and getting around. I get lost a lot less in Italy (and while it's been really good for me to get lost somewhere I can't ask for directions and have to rely on myself to get back to my hotel, it can get a little stressful). My primary reason, however, for enjoying Italy for this last month is that for the most part, we're having gorgeous weather! It's still been unseasonably cold, but it's ten times better than it was in Germany. Most of the GIF kids are in Munich right now, and while I'm sure they're having a blast, they're probably not wearing a skirt and sitting in the sun reading a book like I was earlier today. Tough life, eh?

I'm really liking the atmosphere of Florence especially now that it's getting a little warmer. While the sudden tourist boom is slightly irritating in that I have to push my way through crowds and guard my bag like a hawk just to get around, I don't blame them for coming. Piazzas feel the way they're supposed to - full of life and energy. Today I took my book to Piazza Santa Croce to enjoy the sun, and there were a bunch of kids out playing football and cheering each other on. Couples were out walking and everyone just seemed to have slowed down so much from the winter mentality of 'I'm freezing and will knock you over if you get in the way of my heated destination." It's very relaxing. This whole afternoon I actually ended up piazza-hopping (and, of course, doing a little shopping), and each had its own distinct atmosphere, but all were fun and relaxing to sit a while. I look forward to spending a lot of the next month that way.

Something ridiculous and amusing I'm realizing about myself -- my English is getting awful. There's not a really good reason for it, since I still speak English most often in my everyday life, but I think just working on my Italian and the fact that Italian grammar is becoming more natural and taking less thought is taking a toll on my English. I get things mixed up all the time, forget words I should definitely know, conjugate Italian verbs with English endings, and generally confuse everyone I'm talking with. It'd be a mess, if it weren't so funny. It'll be even more funny when I get home and start mixing Italian words in to my everyday life...especially this summer when no one else I'll see will know any. Oh dear.

Speaking of coming home, I'm getting really excited for that. I mean, not so excited that I'm counting down the days or anything, but excited enough that I'll be ready when the time comes. It's a really great state to be in -- I'm loving where I am, but won't be sad when it's over. I'm sure I'll miss lots of things when I get home (and I'm excited to see what those things are!), but I think it's a fair trade off. There are great things everywhere in the world, and you just have to enjoy the best parts of wherever you are. I know as much as I'll be so excited to drive again, I'll really miss having so many interesting places so close by train, and I'll miss how relaxing train rides are. I'll miss walking everywhere, I'm sure, and the incredible views I get on a daily basis just getting outside. I think I'll really miss speaking Italian as well.

What I'm really excited for though is coming home and trying some Italian recipes! I went to cooking class again earlier this week, and it was really, really fun. We made melanzane caprese (caprese salad with eggplant), fresh spinaci canneloni (spinach and ricotta pasta wraps), and home made vanilla gelato. DELICIOUS! I'm going to have to ask Karin for some of her recipes too before we leave.

Well, I've been putting off laundry for five days now and I'm officially out of clothes, so I better go do that. I've also got to grab some take-out dinner before Panda explodes with the hungry, tired Friday night crowd. Tomorrow I think if all goes well Rob and I will go to Assisi, though it looks like it might rain. It should still be warm though. We're REALLY disappointed because Gonzaga plays UNC tonight, but it's 3am our time. By the time the game is over, it'll be morning. BAH. We'll see. If we lose, I'll regret staying up, but if we win, I'll kill myself if I don't. Bah, we'll see. In any case, ciao!