The Story of an Apartment Superhero: Take 2

About one year ago I discovered the existence of a superhero, X-Tina. She had toilet unclogging abilities that could make the most heinous villain want to vomit. Now, one year later, I have discovered another hero, Alena.

Here's the story.

In a small apartment in Happy Valley there was a sink. A sink that was shared by four girls. All of the girls had relatively long hair. The poor old sink never drained very well, but after months of abuse it just gave out. It would not let any water down its drain. Standing water is pretty gross to begin with, but this was a bathroom sink. Think toothpaste, soap, and face wash. Get the picture? It was nasty.

And yet these four girls were unsure of how to act. Sink unclogging seamed to be such a gargantuan task. How could they do it? One would rise and take on the quest.

So on a Saturday not too long ago, actually it might have been today, they had had it. Alena, who had previous experience with such sinks, decided to take on the task. So after retrieving her weapon of choice, a wrench, she got to work. She unscrewed the "p-trap" (not sure if that is the right word) and set to work. Water and hair began oozing out of the pipes. The smell of rotten eggs wafted through the air. And yet she persevered.

All seemed to be going well until the girls realized that the sink was still not empty. At this point Katie entered the scene and decided to begin stabbing a hanger down the drain. Let's just say it was not the most effective method... However, Alena realized what truly need to be done. She removed another portion of pipe and began removing hair from that as well.

Then came the greatest surprise. Water began rushing out of the pipes from the other side. One of the neighbors was washing their hands! The bucket began to overflow. What could be done? Alena promptly grabbed the garbage and let it fill with water. All to the background Katie's hysterical of laughter.

Shortly after this incident Alena realized that the hair would not come of the sink without further... prodding... So she reach up into the pipe and began to pull out the hair. By. Her. Bare. Hands. EW!

And thus the sink was unclogged.

Well now I can wash my hands without fear.

My Tips for Eating the Best Gelato

Ok. So I love gelato. Is that news? No. I have seen a lot of tourists eating gelato and I have noticed some common mistakes in picking and consuming the correct gelato. I hope that this post will clear all of that up. Not be pretentious or anything...

Tip #1: Be in Italy. I know that there is gelato elsewhere and I know that sometimes you're going to indulge because you miss it, but really gelato is best in its homeland. So go. Eat. Enjoy.

Tip #2: If at all possible go to San Gimignano. The gelato there won the world championship. Seriously  . It is so good.

Tip #3: Avoid gelato shops that have giant mounds of gelato. If it is piled a foot high in the container it means it's not fresh. Trust me. Don't eat it. There is better out there.

Tip #4: Avoid gelato shops that overly decorate their gelato. The strawberry does not need to be covered in strawberries. If it's good gelato it will stand on its own and doesn't need extra attention.

Tip #5: For flavor go with a cone. The cones provide a lovely crunch and savory flavor to balance out the gelato.

Tip #6: For quantity go with the cup. They tend to have more in them.

Tip #7: Eat it with a spoon. You'll eat slower and enjoy it more. I understand though that sometimes it is just so dang good that you want to shove it in your mouth as fast as possible. Don't feel guilty if you can't hold back.

Tip #8: Try it in hot chocolate. Life changing!

Tip #9: When in doubt Grom it out. If you can't find a local shop that looks appealing Grom is always good and it is in a lot of cities. (They even have one in Malibu. Road trip?)

Tip #10: While in Italy eat whenever you get the chance. You'll miss it. I guarantee.

Tip #11: Don't worry about the weight you'll gain. It is healthier than ice cream after all!

This is what you should look like while eating the right gelato.

I hope this fills you with the joy that can only come from gelato.

Buon appetito.

The One That Came After Siena

After leaving Siena bright and early on a Friday morning we headed off to Ravenna. The first part of the drive was really pretty. We drove through mountains covered in the orange hues of fall leaves. The ride was uneventful for the most part. There was one instance of near accident bladder fullness, but you don't want to hear about that. Let's just say that when an Italian says the rest stop is five minutes away it's actually over half an hour away... Va Bene!

After a few hours we reached our first destination, Sant'Appolinare. It's an early Christian church with some really old mosaics. And when I say really old I mean it. We're talking 400 AD. So yeah, that's old in my book. The church was really cool to see. I am so used to churches being elaborately decorated with gold leaf and sculptures and that mosaics were a nice change. The colors were so light and happy. Soft green. Gold. Cream. It was like springtime in a church. Outside the church we found some water buffalo statues. Photo op? We thought yes!

The church from the outside.

The beautiful mosaics

Why not kiss a buffalo?

So after our little stop we headed into Ravenna, or rather the ghetto of Ravenna. By ghetto I do not mean the previously Jewish section of the city (that's what ghetto means in Italian), I mean the sketchy part of town. It was in this area that we found our hotel. The Hotel Roma had been a source of excitement for me. I was staying with my best friends in Italy. It was going to be a party. At that point I hadn't seen my room yet.... Turns out our rooms had very interesting floor plans that were nearly impossible to maneuver three months of luggage through. Also, our room smelled a little bit like smoke. Even our towels were smoky! But that wasn't the best part. The best part was that our beds were leopard print. I am not going to lie that part was awesome! Also, oh so tacky. Let's just say that my first impression of Ravenna was not the best.

At this point we were set loose for lunch. After a bit of walking we entered downtown Ravenna. Fortunately, the city center is actually adorable. It kinds of looks like Main Street Disneyland (yes, that means I loved it). We ended up at a cafeteria that Rick Steve's recommended. I am not going to lie I was not thrilled about eating at a cafeteria. I thought it was intimidating and a little too mass produced for my new Italian taste. One piadina (kind of like a quesadilla) later I was convinced otherwise.

I told you it was cute!

With my piadina. I was obviously excited.

We then met up with the whole group and went to see more mosaics. They were all so incredible. The colors were just awesome and they were so different from everything else we had seen. I particularly like the church of San Vitale. Ravenna used to be part of the Byzantine Empire and you could really see that influence there. I may or may not have contemplated robbing the coins thrown in one of the fountains there.... Hey! I was pretty broke at this point! But I didn't do it. So be proud.

In San Vitale. Maddie thinks it looks like a Dan Brown movie.

The outside of San Vitale.

Just some of the mosaics.

After our educational visits we set out for entertainment and dinner. Of course my group did the most childish thing we could find. We rode a carousel! It was so fun. The worker gave us the strangest look when we bought our tickets. Also, riding a children's carousel when you've gained a lot of weight is not the best idea. My horse made thudding sound every time it came down... Yikes! The restaurant we ate at was VERY good. Ravenna is in Emilia-Romagna which is the most famed food region of Italy and it lived up to its reputation.

The Carousel

My tortellini in broth. Yummmmmmmm.

Our walk home (to the ghetto) was interesting... We were stopped by an elderly man speaking English to us in an American accent. We were surprised and talked to him for a while. Turns out he was actually Italian. We were shocked! I mean his American accent is probably better than mine. As we parted ways he told us not to walk towards the train station at night because that area wasn't safe. Little did he know that that was exactly where we were headed. Of course our sketchy hotel really was in a dangerous area! After a strange encounter with a white van we made it home safely, but not without a few freak outs on my part. 

The One Where I Was Attacked by a Demented Teddy Bear

No joke. Anne has cursed us with a teddy bear.

About a month ago Anne found a tiny little bear on the ground. It was white with a tiny little crocheted dress. She thought it was cute and decided to keep it. She put it in her purse and that was all we thought of it for the next month.

Contently laying in Anne's purse. Look at those creepy beady eyes!

And then about a week ago it appeared on Anne's nightstand. It was just chilling there. No one had put it there. We had never taken it out of Anne's purse. It just found its way up there. Creepy!

Just hanging out on the nightstand.

The next day we found it on top of  Anne's boots. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM! Will someone explain to me how a bear can walk all the way across the room? Was "Toy Story" more than fiction?!?!

On Anne's boots.

SO if the bear wasn't already creepy enough it attacked me. A few days ago I woke up with scratches all across my chest. The creepy thing is that they were too tiny to be from my fingernails. They were literally the size of a pin. I am pretty dang sure that that is the size of that little bear's claws.

The next day the bear was randomly in Anne's closet. What the what?

If anyone is looking for a new horror movie we'll sell the bear to you!

Save us!

The One with the Halloween "Inspiration"

Halloween (or as my host dad says "Aweeeen") is fairly new to Italy. Now it's mostly just an excuse for kids to dress up and eat candy (not that that is really any different than America). So I wasn't really expecting a great time, but my expectations were happily exceeded.

A few of the girls got together and planned a Halloween party for all of us. In case you missed my Harry Potter party, Star Wars party, man costume, AND Peter Pan costume I LOVE costumes. However, I have no stuff to dress up with in Italy. So I wore everything that I own and went as a hippy/Trelawney/hobo. Could I BE wearing any more clothes? (Friends reference) The party was a ton of fun. We ate gelato and cake and that is always good. Then came the entertaining part of the evening...

We had a little game that was a mix between telephone and charades. Somehow the garden of Eden managed to become an insane asylum (hidden feelings about IHUM 280?) and a vampire became a bunny rabbit. Then came the talent show...

Anne and I had not planned to participate in the talent show. Neither of us is particularly talented and there are some other really talented girls in the group. However, the night before (while lying in bed with the lights off) we started singing "You're the Inspiration" and dancing. After one run through we thought it would be a great talent, but we decided we would wait until breakfast to see if it was still funny. It wasn't funny at breakfast. So we thought we wouldn't do it. I, however, made the mistake of telling people about it. So when we got to the talent show it was requested. This is the result... (I'll try to upload a video later.)

Happy Halloween! (A little late)

The One with Two Stories

So this week may not have been the most eventful of weeks, but two VERY funny things happened. I thought I'd share them with you.

Story #1: Fat Problems
I feel like I should preface this story by explaining that everyone in Italy is very honest. They're not rude, they just call it the way they see it. My roommate, Anne, and I have both gained a significant amount of weight, but neither of us could be considered fat or heavy. However, our host family would seem to disagree. Marco has decided to go on a diet and so he went to the dietician the other day to get one custom designed for him. He was telling us about this new diet and I naively made the joke that our moms had planned similar diets for us when we get back home. From here things went a little down hill... Paola said (totally serious) that Anne had gotten so fat that her mom wouldn't even recognize her when she got of the plane. Ouch! Who says that? The funny part was that she didn't think that she was being mean at all. So then Marco puffed up his cheeks and said that that was what Anne looked like. Paola proceeded to observe that Anne's face had gotten rounder. As if fat insults weren't enough they called Anne a "slow wheel."What does that even mean?!? Apparently it means that Anne does everything slowly, but that she always gets where she needs to go. We were in shock and had absolutely no idea what to say. When we got back to our room I LITERALLY rolled on the floor laughing. Fortunately Anne was not gravely offended by any of the occurrences of the evening.

Story #2: Sanitary?
In my Italian class we spend most of the time just talking about social issues and customs in America and Italy. We were discussing the relative differences in sanitation between Rome and Milan. I joked that Italians would think Americans were disgusting because we don't use gloves when we pick out fruit at the grocery store. This was followed by a question about how often Americans wash their hands everyday. We said that it depended on how many time they go to the bathroom. Our teacher than asked whether we washed our hands before or after we go to the bathroom. We of course told him after. He was SO disgusted. Apparently in Italy people wash their hands before they go to the bathroom! Weird! He said that only the really clean people wash their hands after as well. This led to a lesson about how to use a bidaai. He was shocked that we had never used one and even more grossed out when we said we didn't have them in America.

Yay for cultural differences!

The One Day That I Walked Twenty Miles

So... Friday was the most eventful day of my life. I don't really know how to describe it, but I shall try.

The first half of the day was so perfect that I thought it was going to be the best day of my life. It started at 5:30 in the morning. I got up to head out on a trip to some small Tuscan hill towns, Pienza and Montepulciano. It was a gorgeous morning and I didn't mind being up that early. We boarded a bus and headed south. It was a great bus ride. The views were great and the people were hysterical. At one point a bunch of Italian middle schoolers got on the bus. They were listening to some interesting music. I never thought I would drive through the Tuscan countryside will listening to "Stronger" by Kanye West... I did really "enjoy" one of their songs. It was an Italian rap song, but the chorus was in English. It went something like "live the sexy life, the sexy life." Twelve year olds singing that at the top of their lungs. So hard not to laugh.

After about an hour and a half we got of the bus in our first town, Pienza. It was like something out of a fairy tale. The views were great and the pecorino cheese was even better. I really can't describe this town so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Oh what a view?

So happy.

More Tuscan Hillside.

A real well.

Places like this exist.

The Street of Love

The Street of the Kiss.

Pecorino and Pear

After Pienza we headed out onto the hike to Montepulciano. It was supposed to be about six miles long so we figured we could take our time. The trail was seriously stunning. We walked through vineyards, past villas, and over rolling hills. 

The trail.

A vineyard.

An agriturismo.

After an hour and half we reached the town of Montechiello. It was seriously the most adorable town that I have ever been to. It was tiny! There were only three restaurants! The linen shop in the town was adorable. We talked to the owner for quite a while and he told us about how they make all of the fabric themselves. After exploring the town we had lunch at a little sandwich shop. It was one of the most peaceful experiences. The town was so empty and yet so beautiful.

The main "piazza"

This is their cute little church

A swing!

Now this is where things start to go wrong... but it didn't hit me until hours later. We had a drawn map of the roads that we needed to take, but we weren't exactly sure. So we hit the gravel road we had been on in hopes that we would find the turn off we were looking for. Well we did find the turn off. It just happened to be a private road. We didn't know what to do. None of us had any idea what the trespassing laws in Italy are so we decided to stick to the gravel road. We figured that eventually we would get to some town. We were still kind of worried so we asked the next car. They told us that the road did lead to Montepulciano, but that it was 10 kilometers away (about 6 miles). We thought they must have over  exaggerated. Turns out they underestimated... However, I was still really happy at this point. I was walking through beautiful scenery and the weather was great.

After a little bit one of the girls started to get really dehydrated. And by that I mean VERY VERY VERY dehydrated. She was seeing double and had to walk slowly. This wasn't too much of a problem on the dirt road. We would all just walk at our pace and then stop to wait after a while, but eventually we ran into the highway. The dirt road just ended. Luckily there was a sign pointing towards Montepulciano and we headed off that way. Unfortunately it was a busy highway. We were walking single file along a highway with no shoulder with ITALIAN drivers. I was scared for my life. Things kept getting worse for our dehydrated friend. Eventually we stopped at a hotel and asked for water. According to the girl the "goddess of the albergo" gave her a cup of the coldest and tastiest water she had ever tasted. 

We had hiked for several hours when we realized that we weren't going to make it to Montepulciano in time to see much of the city before the last bus left at 5:40. In fact we realized that at the pace we were going we probably weren't even going to make the last bus. We wanted to pick up the pace, but the dehydrated girl simply could not go any faster. One girl decided to run off on her own so that she could make in time to walk around the town a bit. We planned to meet her if we made it in time. This is when it hit me that we were going to be stranded. The town still looked so far away. 

We continued hiking. At one point we all just leaned over the guardrail and started laughing hysterically. We were that far gone and totally pathetic. After another little bit we reached a cross road. We could either continue down the terrifying highway or take what looked like a hiking trail to the city.  We decided to go with the trail. We figured that we were going to miss the bus either way so we might as well take the safer route. It was gorgeous. We walked through orchards. I may or may not have stolen an apple for my dear dehydrated friend. After a long uphill climb the said dehydrated friend was so far gone that she prostrated herself on the ground in a praying position. I would have done the same had a car not driven by. After a little bit longer we reached the most beautiful church I have ever seen. It was a total surprise out in the middle of nowhere. 

One more rough uphill climb and we reached Montepulciano. We missed our bus by five minutes... So slightly hopeless and ready to be home we headed to the main square to try and find information about how to get back to Siena. In the square we ran into the girl who had run off on her own. The bus had driven by her without stopping. It is super lucky that we found her. It turned out that the tourist information center was closed... Just our luck. So a few of us headed off to find a hotel with internet. Our search was futile and we were told that the only internet cafe in the city had closed a year ago. 

This  is when the panic started to really set in. We headed off to the bus station just outside of town only to find that it too had been closed for the night. So totally hopeless we went to the nearest hotel to get their prices. It was a little more than we wanted to spend and so we decided to keep looking. We saw a sign for a taxi and decided to call and find out their prices. The ride was going to cost 240 euros... Not happening. So resigned to the fate of our overnight stay I called my host family to tell them that we would not be home. With so much kindness they told us that they would not let us stay and that they were coming to get us. Unfortunately they couldn't fit the other girls in the car. The other girls decided to take the taxi and Anne and I parted ways with them. We went to the Conad, bought dinner, and waited for the next two hours. When that white land rover drove up we were so happy. I cannot even begin to explain it. After being chided for being stupid enough to walk between cities we made it home.

The next day was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I was SO sore. I never knew it could be harder to go down stairs than up them. Not to mention my body was all kinds of funny feeling after being pushed to the max. And yet I am still so glad that it happened. I wouldn't change it at all. It's a great story and now I can say that I have SEEN Tuscany.

That One Week Where I Got Hit On By a Satyr

So this las week was full of a lot of cultural events. Some fun. Some exciting. Some tasty. And one nauseating.

Monday we got to tour "the so-called crypt" under the duomo. A little over ten years ago a man was digging under the duomo check the foundation. He struck his hammer on the wrong part and the foundation crumbled. It revealed a previously undiscovered building under the duomo. Sound like Indiana Jones? It was pretty awesome because they still don't know what the building was and why it was hidden. Any guesses?

Tuesday I had an interesting lunch... Janessa and I went to the grocery store to buy lunch between classes. We found a cute little package in the cheese section for just 35 cents. It was called "lieveto." We had never heard of it before, but I decided to try it... All Italian cheeses are good, right? Well turns out it was yeast. Yeah... not the best thing I have ever put in my mouth. I'm not sure how I managed to miss the pictures of bread on the package. Won't make that mistake again!

That night I got to experience the community first hand. The director of our school is a member of the Torre (tower) contrada and he arranged for us to spend the night with the contrada. To explain this night I have to start by explaining a little bit about Siena. Siena is divided up into 17 neighborhoods. Each is called a contrada. Every contrada is assigned a mascot. I happened to live near istrice, the porcupine. Twice a year the contrade all compete in a giant horse race, the palio. Whoever wins is given the right to brag and party for the rest of the year. It is a really cool system because it creates a very tight knit community. We started our contrada night with a lecture at the school and then went to explore the church and the museum. It was SO cool to learn some local history. We ended the night with the weekly contrada dinner. It was really great to see all of the members socializing and to try some different food. The food there was a lot more rustic than what I normally have at home, but it was still really good.

In Torre's Victory Room

On Thursday I did one of the coolest things ever. I went to an Italian soccer game!! It was so fun. We were definitely the annoying group of Americans, but we had a blast cheering for the Sienese team. Between all of the smoke I breathed in and all of the screaming I did I am pretty sure my throat will have permanent damage. But alas, we won!! It was definitely a night that I will always remember.

Repping Siena.

Victory!

Saturday brought our much anticipated visit to the cheese farm. In August when I was looking for excursions for our group to do I found this cute little farm that made ricotta and pecorino, gave tours, and hosted tastings. After MUCH debate the group decided that tasting cheese might be a good idea (haha it was unanimous, everyone loved the idea). After a lot of wandering in the Italian countryside we found the farm. We were greeted by Vittoria and led of to a fantastic lunch in the farmhouse. We tasted all kinds of awesome things. I won't describe them in fear that you will all come after me in a fit of uncontrollable jealousy. Then came the tour of the factory... Unbeknownst to me I became the translator for the entire group. My cheese vocabulary is not extensive enough for that! Oh well! It was all really interesting and I think I managed to help everyone out.

Our lunch table.

Trying my best to translate.

Jenessa and I on the farm.

Just chillin' with a bale of hay.

That night Onda, one of the contrade, threw a giant victory party. The theme was the Trojan war. They decorated their entire neighborhood like ancient Greece. It was sweet! The already ancient streets of Siena became even older. The best part was that all of the residents got REALLY into it. There were old women dressed in Togas. Young men dressed as soldiers. A herd of cupids. Hades' minions. And then a pack of satyrs... The first satyr we passed told us he loved us and wanted us to stay, but that was no big deal compared to what was to come. We happened upon the satyr's lair. Libby led the way in. We were barely in when she got surrounded by five satyrs roaring at her. One scream and a few steps later we had booked it out of the lair. It was one party that I will never forget.

Sunday was one of the best days of my life. In the place of stake conference in Florence our group had a small devotional at our school. We talked about light and revelation. It was SO beautiful. All of the girls were so well prepared. The lesson help me make sense of things in my life that I had never understood before. After church Anne and I went to the fortezza to think and write in our journals. It was so peaceful and just what I needed. When we returned home Paola and Marco invited us to go furniture shopping with them. Anne and I said yes without even knowing what exactly we were getting into. They took us to an Italian designer store where the designer knew them by name. It was awesome!! Everything was so modern and innovative. After the furniture store they surprised us with a visit to San Gimignano. That city was so gorgeous and it was fun to go with Italians who knew all about the history. Also, San Gimignano is home to the best gelato in the world. Literally. They have one awards. Paola treated Anne and I and it was wonderful. I tried rosemary-raspberry and it was absolutely incredible.

In my dream kitchen.

Marco and Paola being adorable.

Yeah, I love gelato!

Could life get any better?

Ode to a Pink Water Bottle

I have a special friend. A friend that I know so well. I take her everywhere with me. To school. To work. On hikes. Through thick and thin, hot and cold she is always there for me. She even helps me think better and stay healthy. I know of no better remedy for a headache than her presence.

One fateful weekend we were parted from each other. I left her sitting by me in class and walked away without remembering her presence. It was traumatic. I longed for her presence all weekend. Yet she was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, she showed up at a social event of Sunday. She was there waiting for me. Oh sweet winds of fortune, I thank thee!

With such a level of friendship it could not be doubted that she would accompany me to Italy. I did not forget her. She was comfortably seated on the plane. It was with eager anticipation that I yearned to share the Roman water with her. Yet, fate would not have it so.

After only 4 hours of slumber I was in great need of a short rest. I shut my eyes and drifted of to the world of dreams. When I awoke she was gone! The tragedy! I had kicked her in my sleep and she had rolled away. I searched frantically for her. I even asked the flight attendants if they were aware of her whereabouts. No one had seen her. My dear sweet friend had gone missing.

Oh 16 oz. pink camelback, oh how I miss thee!

In Pursuit of the Golden Arches

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that two young women in possession of American descent, must be in want of Wi-Fi. –Jane Austen

With this in mind Anne and I set out for McDonald’s and free internet. There is a sign right next to our house that indicates that Mickey D’s is only two minutes away. Let me just tell you, McDonald’s lies!

After walking for about fifteen minutes we couldn’t find it. We didn’t think it could possibly be farther than that. So we decided to walk back to the bus stop and take a bus into the city to go to an internet café. We waited for about ten minutes and the bus never showed up. (Side Note: I really do not understand the bus system in Italy.) We decided that we must have passed McDonald’s and that we should try to find it again. So we set out in pursuit of the golden arches. On the way we decided to ask an elderly woman for directions. In Italian that was so fast and spoken with such a heavy Tuscan accent that we could only make out about every other word we gathered that McDonald’s was far away, about another kilometer. As college students hardened by two weeks in Rome we thought a kilometer was nothing… I mean it is less than a mile! So we recommenced our journey. After about 20 minutes we found ourselves in the ghetto of the outskirts of Siena. We didn’t think anyone would build a nice restaurant there (McDonald’s are very fancy here in Italy), but we pressed onward anyway. Our effort was rewarded with the sight of trash along the road, but it was not just any trash. It was trash labeled “Big Mac” and “French Fries.” We thought that we must have been getting closer. After another ten minutes I spotted flags waving in the wind, flags emblazoned with golden arches. We had made it! So with shaking legs we entered the restaurant only to find that there was only one worker and a line of ten Italians. We decided to forego our much-anticipated cokes and just used the internet. So in summary we walked two hours for fifteen minutes of internet… I have never felt so American.

Why did we do it? Sometimes you just really want to be connected to the outer world.

Ciao!

Singin' in the Rain

There is simply too much to blog about. I have decided that for now I will just give you some snippets of life here instead of a detailed inventory of the events of my life.

So the weather in Rome is not what I expected. Who am I kidding? Nothing in Rome is what I expected. It has exceeded all of my expectations.

The first week the weather was incredibly hot and more humid than anything I have ever experienced. It was the kind of weather where I literally needed to take a shower after about five minutes. Pair that with at least 5 hours outside, walking in the heat and you have one sticky Katie. It's ok. I didn't smell nearly as bad as some of the Italians... I am pretty sure deodorant hasn't been discovered here. 

So after that weather the rainy streak of the last few days was a welcome change. It started on Sunday right after church. A fine mist began to descend from the sky. By Tuesday it was pouring. For me, a Washingtonian, it seemed normal and manageable, even fun. I love the rain!

Normally I am extremely opposed to the use of umbrellas. In Washington we just never use them. However, life in the USA is a lot different than life in Italy and rain introduces a whole new set of challenges here.

Challenge 1: Getting on and off the metro. You have to avoid being picket pocketed while attempting to open your umbrella in time to save you from getting drenched. I am here to tell you that it is an art form. In one hurried attempt my professor’s wife opened her umbrella a little to quickly and sprayed her husband with rainwater. Hilarious.

Challenge 2: Waiting for the sometimes unreliable public transportation. Italians like to take life at a more laid back pace. Meetings start late. Meals are long. And sometimes the bus comes an hour late. This is fine in clear weather, but after exploring some freezing catacombs with 24 girls who have already been out in the rain for 5 hours you kind of want the bus to come on time. We ended up as a line of umbrellas along the Appian Way. It was pouring and most of our umbrellas/rain jackets had reached capacity. Add the fact that cars kept driving by and splashing us and you have some very wet BYU students. We stood there for an hour. In which time we sang songs from every known musical, giggled, and watched someone very important (probably the pope) drive by in a very nice maserati with a huge police escort and a helicopter overhead. Luckily, our bus came eventually and we made it safely back to our dry hotel.

Challenge 3: Dressing appropriately. In Rome the name of the game is layers. You never know "weather" (haha punny...) it will be hot or cold. So I end up with a v-neck, a sweater, and a scarf. Most of the time I wear just the V-neck. This causes a problem. Where do I put the sweater and scarf? If I bring a backpack I am constantly worried about it being behind me. I can’t keep my stuff safe back there. If I bring only my purse I have to tie my scarf and sweater to it and I look ridiculous. I’ll let you know if I figure out the solution.

Challenge 4: The Pantheon. For those of you who don’t know the Pantheon is a Catholic church that was originally a pagan temple. It has one very large cement dome. The thing is that in order to be structurally sound the dome has a giant skylight in the center. This leaves a hole that is open to the elements. What happens when it rains? Well locals told us that the rain never touches the ground. Seem true? We didn’t think so. So when it rained we booked it to the Pantheon to find out. I am here to tell you that the rain does touch the floor. There is a drain in the center of the floor to catch it. Myth busted.

Making the most of the rain.

Life continues to be great! Rest assured that I am loving Rome!

The Art of Packing Light

So on this the eve of the eve of my departure to foreign lands I am consumed with jealousy. Jealousy? You may ask. Why would one who is about to venture off into the paradise formerly known as Italy have cause to be jealous? And well I see your point. My life is about to be pretty dang awesome. However, I am utterly filled with envy towards Mary Poppins and Hermione Granger. What I wouldn't give to have the ability to expand my bag and stuff all of the contents of my life into it and yet simultaneously suspend them in a state of weightlessness.

Packing geniuses! 

Lets just say packing has not been easy.

One suitcase. 50 pounds. The next 3 months of my life. Mission impossible.

After carefully shopping for every possible thing I could need and laundering every single item of clothing (some I didn't even know I owned) I began to sort it all out. 3 piles: definitely Italy, maybe Italy, and heck no! that stays in the states. After fitting all of the definitely pile into my suitcase I realized that I still had a significant amount of room for the maybe pile. So after deciding that my orange pants should were worthy of the voyage to Europe I began to fill my bag to the brim. After sitting on it my belongings were crushed to the point that I could safely close the zipper. Then came the weighing. And gosh darn it my bag was 5 pounds too heavy.

What to do? What to do? The answer: sacrifice my back. My carry-on backpack is now about twice as fat as I am and almost as heavy. So If I return from Italy looking like a hunched over 100 year old grandma you will know why.

P.S. Hope you like the new more travel-esque look of my blog.

Bad Decisions

Yesterday I made the worst decision of my life. I participated in a food fight. I thought it sounded fun, but I was oh so wrong. I should have realized that if I can't do the dishes without gagging I surely couldn't survive a food fight. Natalie and I set out armed with yogurt and pizza sauce. We returned covered in BBQ sauce, mustard, oatmeal, sardines, spam, sour cream, and a bunch of mystery items. We reeked so badly that our roommates had to air out the apartment. It was too much for my stomach to handle... Never again.

And this was after we hosed off... So sad.

Bucket List: Sand, Boys, a Little Smoke, and a Lot of Chlorine

The last week has been full of bucket listing (yeah, it's a verb now). Sadly no pictures were taken, but I shall commence my written report.

Sand: 
We have all successfully played volleyball. I played in the sand and I'm pretty sure that there was sand all over my body for quite a long time afterwards. I had a lot of fun. I haven't really played volleyball since my stint on our ill-fated young women's team. I had forgotten how enjoyable it was. However, I had also forgotten how much it hurts your forearms.

Boys: 
Well we did it! My entire apartment manned up and asked boys on a giant group date. It was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done. Something about stepping out of my societally assigned role was just terrifying. Although, I will say that I have gained so much respect for guys. I do not know how they are able to ask girls out over and over again. At first you're scared that the person will say no, and then you realize that even if they say yes they could just be doing it to be polite! I often complain about girls' inactive role in dating, but now I am so glad I am not a guy.

However, the date went really well. Originally it was just going to be the six of us gals and our dates, but by the time the date rolled around there were 18 people on the date! The plan was to play games, have a picnic, have a bonfire, and make peach cobbler. And I guess that was what happened... but lets just say there were a few mishaps along the way. First we realized that we forgot a can opener. Luckily, one of the guys went all cavemen and became a human can opener. Then we realized that there was no butter for our cobbler (never put guys in charge of getting supplies). The peach cobbler took forever and a day to cook. So while it cooked we went for a walk. On this walk we were told not to exceed a speed of 3 mph and were warned of the illegality of trespassing dogs. Just remember trespassing humans are ok! Finally the peach cobbler was all cooked. Then we realized that we did not have enough forks. So basically we all went a little savage and dug in with our fingers or faces, whichever was our preferred utensil. All in all it was a fun experience that I will definitely remember for a long while.

A Little (ok, a lot of) Smoke:
When we said we wanted to have a bonfire I don't think we realized that we would be having at least one a week. Luckily, I love bonfires, they are so summery and they just bring me so much comfort.

A Lot of Chlorine:
We put swimming on the bucket list and let me tell we have definitely been able to cross it off. Over the last week I have gone swimming or hot tubbing at least every other day.  It has been a ton of fun. I love the water and I love that his been warm enough to be to be in it. The only problem is that my hair really holds on to smells, for like a week... So between all of this swimming and bonfiring I now smell like a pool set on fire or a fire put out with chlorinated water, take your pick.

I love summer and can't wait to continue finishing our bucket list!!!

A Year in Review

Well it's done! My sophomore year at BYU is finished. It has honestly been the best year of my life. Sure, there have been some really low lows, but there have also been the highest highs. It's crazy to look back to what my life was like a year ago. I had just finished my freshman year and was preparing to go back home. I was completely reliant on a boy I thought I was in love with. I had a few really close college friends, but couldn't wait to return to my friends back home. Things couldn't be more different. Now I am about to face life as a college junior. I am staying in Utah to work at least until June. I have never felt more comfortable with myself and am honestly confident on my own. I have an incredible friend group here and am dreading the social life I will return to at home (I love my friends there. It's just that things have changed so much). SO to celebrate this incredible year I thought I would give a few highlights.

Highlight #1: Roommates!!!!!!!! This is probably the biggest highlight. I lived with five wonderfully fantastic girls this year. We had the occasional argument, but for the vast majority of the time we got along so well. I think that is quite the accomplishment. I just have so much fun with these girls. Everyday in our apartment is sitcom worthy. Gah! I am going to miss those of them that are leaving a ton!

The only good picture to come out of our photoshoot...

Highlight #2: 7th and 8th roommates. I am so grateful for our two honorary roommates. These two guys are incredible and really keep our apartment (at least me) grounded. Also, if it weren't for #7 I don't think my apartment would ever have had a social life.... So thanks Chad and Connor!

Highlight #3: The Quote Wall! My apartment is pretty darn funny.

Errrr, quote door?

Highlight #4: My ward! My ward this last year has been incredible. My freshman ward at BYU was not so great. My friends and I sat in a corner and were basically invisible. This year, however, my ward was awesome. I felt so included and really care about all of the people. You all made going to church even more enjoyable.

Highlight #5: Bridal Veil Falls hike. This was the first thing we ever really did as an apartment.

Highlight #6: Football games! Go cougars!

Highlight #7: Gangsta dress-up. This is the night I knew I would fit in.

Highlight #8: Potato cannon!

Highlight #9: Peter Pan Halloween! We won best group costume!

Highlight #10: N'Sync dance! I think we make pretty convincing men....

Highlight #11: St. George. BEST weekend of the year.

Highlight #12: The Bachelor- Chad Edition. Too bad I never finished it...

Highlight #13: Star Wars Party! You know you have cool friends when they will dress up as star wars characters.

Highlight #14: Festival of Colors!

Highlight #15: First concert ever! I love Fun.

Highlight #16: FHE movies. My film debut.

Well that's all for now folks! Thanks to all of you who made this year the "highlight of my existence!"