SIENA! By way of Assisi!
This morning we left Rome pretty early (8:15 is early, ok) and got aboard our charter bus (yessss) to make the drive to Siena, our home for the next six weeks. On our way to Siena, we made a long stop in Assisi to do some sightseeing and shopping.
Let me tell you: Assisi is gorgeous. It is picture-perfect. Basically, I arrived in Assisi and thought "this is what I expected Italy to look like." Just stunning. It was so nice to walk around the city, taking in the sites and going in the little shops. It was a true Italian experience, at least in my mind.
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| Basilica of St. Francis |
Then a group of us, including Cinzia, went to a restaurant (food, always) and the pasta itself was not incredible, but the view was. We sat out on a terrace. In Italy. Eating pasta. the dream.
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| this is the view from our table at the restaurant, if you can believe it |
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| I couldn't believe it |
After a few hours wandering around the city, we got back on the bus and drove the last hour and a half to Siena. Our arrival at Siena was an absolute whirlwind.
This is how it went: drive up into the piazza—where apparently the charter bus is not allowed, so we have to move quickly—and hurriedly grab our luggage and get off the bus. Suddenly, we are surrounded by Italian host parents and our Italian director (I guess that's what you'd call him) who begins listing off names of students and matching them with families. Once matched up with our host families, we were whisked away to their cars and off to their homes, without saying goodbye to Cinzia or any of our fellow study abroad-mates.
So my and Shauna's (my roommate) names were called and we were matched with an older lady. She immediately drew me into a hug and kissed my cheek, saying "Ciao ciao" and something else I did not understand. Then Shauna and I are hauling our suitcases down the street to our host mom's tiny (regular-sized?) car. All the while she is chatting us up and I am only catching bits of it, because—hello—I just went from lounging in a charter bus speaking English with my fellow students to becoming a member of an Italian family and having to communicate solely in Italian.
Because my host mom doesn't speak a word of English. In the long run, I see this as extremely beneficial . . . but this immediate culture shock gave me a mini heart attack. She is so kind, though, and is willing to speak slowly and explain things we don't understand. Overall, definitely overwhelming but it is something I can certainly get used to.
Tonight Shauna and I basically just unpacked and then ate dinner with our host parents and the German woman who is also staying here (and speaks Italian at about our same level). What an experience! We were warned about the Italian woman's need to keep feeding people, and that's exactly what happened. First course (which we didn't exactly know was the first course) was bowtie pasta with marinara sauce. She heaped it onto all of our plates until every bit was gone. Second course (whoa) was cooked spinach, chicken, baked zucchini, salad, and bread. (note: Italians do not butter their bread. Like ever.) Then, after Shauna and I had both worn out the phrase "Sono satsia"("I'm satisfied," polite way of saying "I'm full"), our host mom presented a bowl of fruit and new plates. I had two kiwi for my third course, yummy yummy.
Another thing we were warned about is the Italian desire to sit at the table and chat after dinner is finished. So after our fruit was all gone, our host mom began a conversation varying from where Shauna and I are from and what we study at BYU to World War II. I don't know how we got on the topic of WWII but I was pleasantly surprised; I was able to understand most of what she said and even offer some (limited) comments. Mostly she was telling us about how Siena managed not to be bombed during the war when the Americans and Germans were fighting their way through Italy. Interesting stuff, especially to me!
Then we went back to our room to get settled and ready for bed (sono stancissima), but before we did I asked our host mom where we could do our laundry (it was expected that we would either handwash our clothes or have to take them to a laundromat somewhere nearby). In response to my question, she led us into our room and showed us a hamper, telling us to put our clothes in there and in the morning give them to her. She is going to do our laundry for us! She is so sweet . . . best news ever.
I really need to go to sleep but I had to write this all down before I forgot. Adventures await in Siena. Hopefully my language skills will improve over these next six weeks and I will be able to better communicate with my host family. Can't wait to see what the days bring! Il primo giorno is tomorrow!
Ciao!
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