It's the Start of Something New... :)

I’m in Sansepolcro, Italy in the heart of Tuscany. It is nearly unbelievable. The beginning of my sophomore year, I could have never predicted that I would be in Italy by the second semester. Needless to say, I had not planned on studying abroad this year. My heart was set on going to Paris but somehow the Sansepolcro program caught my eye and I’m really glad it did. I’ve only been here for about a week and it’s already amazingly incredible. But before I begin my adventure in Italy I have to go back to last week when my journey began a couple days earlier than expected.

For an anticipated Sunday afternoon flight, I left my home of Manteo and arrived in Raleigh on Friday morning due to the triple threat snow storm. And so I had an adventure and I had not even left the United States yet! I settled in with my fabulous host Chelsea, who went to Sansepolcro last semester and she was more than kind to me. She’s shared stories of her adventures in Italy and even some cookies from the dining hall. Being back at Meredith was a nice way to say goodbye to the States. I was able to get a manicure and take some great pictures of the campus covered in snow; I consider this my silver lining.

The flight was certainly a separate adventure of its own. The most difficult part was when each girl was saying goodbye to her loved ones and my family could not be there; I’m still blaming the ice, because snow is just too beautiful to cause problems of that sort. Kevin, Associate Director & International Student Advisor, was there to help me on my way and this really meant a lot to me; silver lining again, thank you Kevin!

So after two flights and a four hour bus ride, I was greeted at the gate of Sansepolcro by Dr. Webb and Sara (our teachers and advisors). We arrived around lunch time and the jet lagged group of girls was informed that we could not go to sleep until 9:30 p.m. Now, this was a little bit of a challenge, especially for me because I had not slept a wink on the plane. In a twenty-four hour time period, I had two hours of sleep. It turned out being okay because John Rose and Dr. Webb certainly kept us busy with a walk around Sansepolcro and to the PAM grocery store. It’s a little different to United States grocery stores; I especially noticed how the shampoo and conditioner is much smaller and sold for 4 euro (about $5.50 a bottle for a much smaller size). Another difference is that whenever an individual is buying fruits, gloves must be used to place the items in the bag then weighed before reaching the register. That night we had a delicious pizza dinner with dinner guests. Our guests greeted us with their musical singing talents. It was a truly amazing experience to hear professional Italian opera singers.

We settled in the first night and prepared for our classes that very next day. The group is staying in the Palazzo Alberti. The palazzo is nothing like I expected; the pictures we were shown does not give our home, for the next three months, justice. It is completely breathtaking with the architecture of the building and the frescoes in the foyer. I am happy to report that despite my lack of ability with directions, I have not gotten lost once…fingers crossed this pattern continues. The palazzo is a huge palace for the new celebrities of Sansepolcro. I say celebrities because almost every time we walk down the streets, we get looks from locals of all ages. Possibly, this is caused by the fact that we are Americans in a small walled town.

Classes began with the start of Italy Today, Italian 101 followed by a delicious lunch then art history. My other classes include Learn to Travel/Travel to Learn and Justice & Liberty, a literature class. All my classes are taught in English and focus on the Italian language, geography and culture.

During the week, adventures included a trip to the PAM and Coop (grocery stores). I prefer the Coop grocery store even though it is a longer walk to a place outside the city wall. I also enjoyed a drink at the Happy Bar. The cappuccino was delicious, once I added a packet of sugar. I knew this already but Italian coffee is very strong, espresso is not my favorite so I will stick to cappuccino. Sansepolcro is such a magnificent town, with its cobbled streets, locals who close from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for a lunch break, breathtaking architecture, beautifully detailed doors and the shielding wall that encompasses the town; I have definitely had a couple of “Gee, Toto, I don’t think we are in Raleigh anymore…” moments.

So in addition to exploring Sansepolcro, the entire week, as a group, we were trying to figure out where our Sunday Surprise was going to take us. We were told Surprise Sunday included buying a comfortable pair of rain boots, would take a bus ride to get to the destination, and Dr. Webb and John Rose had not been there before. We spent the week playing detectives and asking tons of questions trying to decode the clues.

In the meantime, we had to do some shoe shopping for Surprise Sunday (as if a girl needs a reason to buy a new pair of shoes). My final choice was a pair of white Baci Baci rain boots. It was fun to go shoe shopping but the most surprising part of this experience was how much the sales clerk assisted me. She was very patient while I was trying to speak to her in Italian. Then, whenever I was paying she counted my change back to me in English (one, two, three euros). She went out of her way to make sure I understood and it was very sweet of her to do so. Like almost everyone else in town, I think she appreciated that I was trying to use Italian to communicate with her.

Surprise Sunday arrived and we were on the bus by 5:20 a.m. We still did not know where we were going. I slept for almost the whole ride. Signs began to show up…we were going to Carnevale in Venice. We had just learned about Carnevale in our Italy Today class. It is a celebration before Lent that includes special treats including castagnole, people dress in costumes wearing elaborate masks and there’s a lot of confetti. The biggest celebration is held in Venice, what a coincidence right?

We arrived in Venice after a four hour bus ride. We then took a boat ride to where the Carnevale was being held in the St. Marks Square. All I have to say is Carnevale was really the biggest celebration I’ve ever seen. I spent the day calling it “Disney World times ten because we don’t know the language.” So many people came to participate and enjoy the ambiance the environment provided. It was nice to see people of all ages come out to experience Carnevale.

The costumes were so elaborate and beautiful that around every corner was a new experience. One of my most memorable moments of the day was the Vampire men costumes complete with fangs, long nails and full facial makeup. They were certainly in full character, they even growled at Shannon and me. As the saying goes ‘a Carnevale ogni scherzo vale’ (anything goes at Carnevale). Another memorable costume was the Star Wars family including Yoda and Darth Vader. The most interesting part about the costumes was how the characters would pose and allow crowds of people to take pictures of them. Some costumes I captured on films were princesses in gowns, an elegant yellow dressed woman posed by a lamp post and a character who resembled the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ standing on a bridge by a gondola.

For lunch, Bekah, our Residence Director, taught us how to look for a good local restaurant. It should be on a side street with no or hardly any English on the menu and, if Italians are walking in, chances are they are locals so follow them. The restaurant we found was called Osteria da Carla. It was a rather small restaurant with only about seven or so tables and the menu was limited but the food was delicious. I had the most scrumptious ravioli. Despite how most Americans perceive Italian food as piquant and full of spice, on the contrary, the food is simple and full of natural favoring. So, when I return to the United States and cook meals in the future, I will now remember that simple equals perfecto!

The best part about Carnevale was that everyone’s experience was different. Even though we all went to the same place, we all had some event that really stood out to each of us so we all had a story to share.

I can’t wait to see where next weekend’s excursion takes our group!