In the four months I have been abroad, I have experienced and seen more than I could have ever imagined and as a result, I have my own set of survival techniques… I am patient… I have perfected traveling sunrise to sunset… I am spontaneous… I know how to pack light… I am a fearless eater… I dance through the airport security line…I can tell you everything about a painting in a church… I can make friends with anyone… I have learned to love the sound of my rolly suitcase on the cobblestone… I am open-minded… I don’t sweat the small stuff… I have made a family out of my friends here… And most importantly, I have not taken one single moment for granted.

50 REASONS YOU KNOW YOU’RE STUDYING ABROAD IN ROME WHEN…

1. You say ciao ciao, alora, and escusi whenever you feel like it… even if it doesn’t make sense
2. You don’t think twice if you can finish a whole pizza and as a result, your parents had to send you a bigger pair of jeans
3. You know it is going to rain when you see the umbrella men pop out of the woodwork as soon as one droplet of rain falls
4. You drink a bottle of wine like its your job
5. You blatantly talk about people in public and assume they cannot understand you
6. You are no longer phased by PDA (public display of affection)… It’s Italy!
7. You meet people named named Guiseppe, Massimo and Frederico instead of the standard Mark, Jim, and Bob
8. You get excited about free ketchup, free water, and free bathrooms.
9. You walk outside and the sun is shinning and Italians are wearing their sweaters and parkas in 70 degree weather
10. You are not surprised when you walk past numerous historical landmarks on your way to school everyday
11. You forgot what it’s like to tip.
12. All you do is eat food, study food, look at food, cook food, and think about food
13. Your last words of the night in attempt to have a “midnight snack” are Dove Kebabs?
14. You go to order gelato and the waiter already knows your flavor, size, and cup or cone!
15. You drink openly in the streets and don’t think twice about it
16. You consider 5-7 hours of traveling nothing
17. You talk and/or think about Chipolte daily and yet cannot eat it
18. You wonder how you ever survived 20 years without Nutella
19. You order olive oil and parmesan with your bread even though it is not the “Italian” way
20. You don’t understand why your teacher is sweating every day in class, stealing people’s food, scribbling unknown dates on the board, and cursing out the window
21. You begin to enjoy the view outside the only window in Aula A
22. You stop at the candy and dried fruit stand everyday and the guy knows you by name
23. You expect everything you do to take an hour longer than it should
24. You don’t react to cat calls, kissing noises, or phrases such as “ciao bella” anymore
25. You drink out of the public water fountains
26. Your food and culture teacher gets McDonalds…no?!
27. You will probably contract lung cancer as a result of secondhand smoke
28. You seriously discuss and worry about volcanic eruptions
29. You will bargain for anything
30. You worship Rick Steves
31. You are legitimately disturbed and confused when you hear people speaking English
32. You consider the taking a 30 minute tram ride, a 20 minute bus ride, and a 10 minute walk to school nothing
33. You don’t like the feel of a dollar bill anymore
34. You have officially stopped comparing the euro to the dollar because it’s not worth it
35. You “bevo molto birra” before the most memorable class visit of the semester… Sonia you are invited to Unoffical Christmas next year
36. You have accepted that men wear skinny jeans in every color, this includes 6’5 Mitch
37. You consider Skype god’s gift to man.
38. You don’t have internet for the first month abroad and God forbid you can’t blog or check rsefer.com… Thanks Ivano!
39. Your are greeted by your Layers of Rome teacher by saying, “Thank you for your promptness”
40. You have perfected your program director’s accent, “Do you know what is Kiwi?”
41. You pee in the bidet just for the thrill
42. You drunk dial Carla multiple times in one night
43. You steal sugar packets and toilet paper from restaurants because you have money
44.  You begin to think it is socially acceptable to “dino” down the streets of Rome and dance with pursed duck lips
45. Your genuinely get excited when you receive mail
46. You pick up nick names like Brisey because you are attached with your other half 24/7 
47. The evenings entertainment begins on the tram ride with a debut pole dance performance from Lady GaGa
48. You fight over who has the better Italian teacher
49. You end up on unexpected train rides to Naples when you wanted to go to Rome
50. You have made 31 best friends, countless memories, and a home away from home J

This experience has truly opened my eyes to a whole new world. Leading up to this journey, I was told that it was going to be one of the most memorable times of my life. Now I truly know what “a once in a lifetime journey” means. I am one lucky lucky girl!

Peace, Love, Roma

Your little Italian

I think that this picture perfectly depicts Italian food and culture today. It demonstrates the specific divisions among the regions as well as the differences between Northern and Southern Italy. It also clearly shows how different climates greatly affect the types of food which in turn affects the culture. This moment captures the past, present, and future of Italian food and culture! 

Ciao ciao!

So it’s official… It is my very last weekend traveling abroad and Verona and Cinqueterre were my last two cities to check off my list!!!

VERONA
Once in the beginning and once at the end I got to visit with Erin - a perfect bookend to my study abroad experience. After numerous group trips, this time I was ridin solo! Despite my anxieties, I was so so excited to see the Granada of Italy - Verona! It was everything I expected it to be and more… Little version of the Colosseum, Juliet’s House, Ponte Pietra Bridge, and the hill. The sun was shining and we were two chatty Cathys catching up for lost time. Alpha Phi, traveling, the upcoming summer, our internship at DRAFT FCB, senior year… You name it we were non stop all day :)

Highlights…
- Betty (or Betti as they call her): Erin’s Persian Italian speaking landlord who lives with them. After hearing numerous stories about her, she was exactly how I imagined. As soon as I arrived she greeted me at the door in her cowboy pajama shirt wearing no bra and gave me a big hug. She is a matchmaker to say the least because as soon as we walked in she began telling Erin about her friend who is a very attractive banker the perfect boyfriend for Erin who is leaving in less than a week ;) Then after a night out at Campus, we were excited to skype a few friends from home but Betty decided we were being too loud and it was time for us to go to bed soooo she turned off the internet and the power, standard right?!
- Family dinners: Every night a group of eight of Erin’s friends get together to make a big family dinner. Stuffed peppers, salad, and pizza bread were on tonight’s menu and it was DELICIOUS!
- Seeing Britta and Kalyn :D
- Wine on the bridge with my friend Penelope: Making up fake names has become normal in my everyday interactions with random Italians, tonight was no different. Olivia was my name of choice for the evening and I introduced Erin as Penelope (first name that popped into my head at the time, don’t ask me why). The young Italian men had trouble pronouncing Penelope so Erin tells them they can call her Penny for short. The men burst out laughing because apparently Penny means penis in Italian… Escusi!!!
- Campus… Definitely the Kams of Verona, felt like I was home sweet home.

CINQUETERRE
Probably THE BEST way to end the trip! Cinqueterre means “five lands” in Italian - Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso.  We decided to hike to all of them in one day… All seven miles up a steep and rugged landscape up to the cliffs that overlook the clear blue sea.  Needless to say, after learning about food, talking about food, looking at food, and eating A LOT of Italian food… I am outta shape! Sooo the hike was brutal but SO worth the breathtaking views.

I literally cannot believe I have less than TWO weeks in Rome and I can already tell that I am really really going to miss Italy :/

Love always,
Your little Italian

The past four months, I feel like I have wined and dined at some of the finest restaurants in the world. I have ventured out and tried new foods at a number of different trattorias, wine bars, pastelerias, and restaurants. For anyone who comes to Rome, these would be my suggestions!

Glass: BEST FOOD à The chef, Christina Bowerman, was our cooking teacher and it was by far the best food I have ever eaten! The hostaria was elegantly designed in a very modern fashion with glass flooring and rock and campaign bottles creatively displayed below. We tried some very unique and exquisite cuisine including: beef tartare with guacamole, pistachio crusted scallops, pigeon, rabbit, lobster, bisqued stuffed ravioli with seafood sauce, chocolate mousse with strawberry cream, and goat cheese pastry crusted with pistachio crumbles . It was rather expensive but worth every Euro penny!

Al Grappolo D’oro: BEST ROMAN CUISINE à This trattoria has by far the best carbonara – so rich and cheesy! It also has a delicious cheesecake served with fresh berries, a crumbly cinnamon crust, and fluffy whipped filling. This will definitely be my last supper in Rome before I head back home to the States! 

Forno in Campo di Fiori: BEST PIZZA (alla taglio)

San Crispino: BEST GELATO (banana and chocolate combination is my favorite!)

This study abroad program has sparked my curiosity for food and encouraged me to branch out and experiment with a number of different types of cuisines. It has also inspired me to become creative in my own kitchen. I have since experimented with stuffed peppers, shrimp linguini, four-cheese pasta, parmesan broccoli, cacio e pepe, carbona, salmon, and many other recipes for la mia cena!  

Chocolate Cream

In a medium-sized stainless steel bowl, mix the sugar and egg yolks together with a wooden spoon. (Never let the mixture sit too long or you will get pieces of egg forming.)  Add the flour and then add to the egg mixture, mixing until you get a smooth paste.  Set aside.

Meanwhile in a saucepan combine the milk on medium heat until boiling.  (The milk will foam up to the top of pan when done, so watch carefully.)  Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.  (If you get a few pieces of egg (curdling) in the mixture, pour through a strainer.) Add the seeds to the egg mixture.

Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly.  When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 - 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.

Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the chocolate.  

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar 

1/8 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour 

Sandwich di sgombro, pomodori secchi e stracciatella

1 slice of panbrioche, bread or white sliced bread

1 mackerel

1 tbs of stracciatella cheese

2 sundried tomatoes, cut julienne (long thin strips)

1 tbs oil

salt

Clean the fish and obtain two filets

In a hot pan, pour 1 tbs oil and place the file, skin side down, keeping it down with your finger to avoid curling.

Once the skin is crispy, flip it and take off the burner. Let it finish cooking.

In the meanwhile, toast the bread either in the oven, high temp or in a pan. Top it with stracciatella cheese, sundried tomatoes and then the mackerel, skin side up. Complete with some finishing salt. Serve with apple, possibly.

Scalopina con Marsala

1 slice of veal 1/4 in thick.

1 shot of marsala

2 tbs flour

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil 

Butter

·      To insure tender scaloppine, you will want slices of veal about 1/4 inch thick (1/2 cm) thick. Thinner scaloppine will dry out and toughen as they cook. Thicker scaloppine will instead require a longer cooking time and become chewy.

·      To keep scaloppine from curling in the pan, make 3 to 4 equally spaced nicks in the edges of the slices, and remove bits of gristle that will shrink as the meat cooks.

·      To keep the drippings (which become the sauce) from becoming lumpy, after flouring the scaloppine shake off all excess flour.

With these premises:

1) flour meat with salt and pepper. Dust off excess

2) in a pan, place a little oil and butter

3) cook the scaloppine for few minutes

4) deglaze with marsala wine

5) take the meat off the pan and reduce sauce

6) place the meat on a plate and pour sauce on top.

Serve with sautéed mushrooms.

Carbonara

INGREDIENTS for 2 

7 oz spaghetti or rigatoni

3 oz guanciale cut in small pieces

2 egg yolks 

2 oz grated parmesan cheese and pecorino cheese

Black pepper

While you have the pot for pasta going, place guanciale to melt in a pan. In a bowl mix eggs, cheese and pepper.

Cook the pasta. Once ready, mix it very quickly with pasta and in the end, pour the guanciale and mix one more time. Serve immediately.

Risotto

5 cups vegetable broth (2 parts onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery, 1L water. Bring to a simmer for 45 minutes)
3 tablespoons butter 
1/3 cup finely chopped onion 
1 1/2 cups Carnaroli Rice 
1/2 cup dry white wine 1/2 teaspoon saffron  1 tablespoon butter 
1/3 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese 
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste 
Parmesan Cheese

Heating the broth or liquid: All the flavors that the cooking liquid starts out with become more concentrated and intense as it evaporates.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the broth to a slow, steady simmer (the liquid should stay hot but not simmer).

Place this pot on a burner, over low heat, next to the burner you will be using to make the risotto. Keep the broth simmering slowly.

Toasting the rice: Cooking the rice in hot butter or oil before adding liquid helps the rice to absorb the liquids slowly with becoming soggy. This is called “Toasting the Rice.”

In a large heavy 4-quart pan over medium heat, melt the butter; add onion and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes or until soft (be careful not to brown the onions).

Add the rice. Using a wooden spoon, stir for about 2 to 3 minutes, making sure all the grains are well coated (toasting the rice in melted butter keeps it from getting mushy). Toasting the rice quickly heats up the grain’s exterior (toast until the rice is hot to the touch and the color should remain pearly white, not turn brown.

Add the wine and stir until completely absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add liquid in increments: The quantity of liquid suggested in the recipes is always approximate. In actual cooking, you should be prepared to use more, or sometimes less, as the risotto itself requires. All the flavors that the cooking liquid starts out with become more concentrated and intense as it evaporates. 

Add the hot chicken broth (1/2 cup at a time), stirring frequently. Add liquid slowly and stirring frequently are the keys to making perfect risotto.

Run your wooden spoon across the bottom of the pot to determine when each addition of broth is almost completely absorbed. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup, reserving about 1/4 cup to add at the end. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Risotto doesn’t need constant attention during its 18 minute cooking time. You’ll just need to check on the pan every few minutes, give the rice a stir to keep it from sticking, and add more stock.

Adding saffron:

When the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, add  saffron.

Finishing the risotto:

After approximately 18 minutes, when the rice is tender but still firm, add the 1/4 cup reserved hot broth.

When cooking with broth, if you have used up the broth before the rice is fully cooked, continue with simmering water.

The rice is done when it is tender, but firm to the bite. The total amount of cooking time may vary within 2 to 3 minutes. To test the risotto for proper consistency, spoon a little into a bowl and shake it lightly from side to side. The risotto should spread out very gently of its own accord. If the rice just stands still, it’s too dry, so add a little more stock. If a puddle of liquid forms around the rice, you’ve added too much stock. Spoon some liquid off, or just let the risotto sit for a few more seconds off the heat to absorb the excess stock.

Turn off the heat and immediately add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the parmesan cheese, stirring vigorously to combine with the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

After an overnight flight, we arrived in Santorini just in time to see the golden sunrise over the aqua blue waters. “Welcome to paradise…” It was only a matter of time that I knew I would never want to leave so I kept my fingerers crossed that the volcanic ash would interfere with our flight home.

The weekend was spent basking in the warm sun on the famous white, black, and red pebbled beaches gazing out over the white houses with turquoise trimming, cocktail in hand of course… Everything was better than I could have ever had imagined! B-E-A-utiful!!!

Here are the HIGHLIGHTS:

Hotel was unreal… Maid service, clean white towels, soft pillows, fresh fruit deliveries, pool with luxurious lawn chairs, and chocolates on the pillow to top it off!!! This was NO comparison to any hostel!

Stray Cats and Dogs were EVERYWHERE! We quickly adopted and named a few of them: Scruffy, Oreo, Michael Jackson (MJ for short), Butterscotch, and Garfield. They followed us to the beach, to our ATVs, to the bars, to the restaurants and attempted to join us in our luxurious hotel room but that’s where I drew the line! Debatable, I may or may not come back with rabies ;)

Message on the beach… Sounds legit right?!… NOT! After a long nap on Perissa Beach, I was rudely awakened by a plump tan  Greek man with a backpack,  baby oil, and sign in hand. The sign read: Beach Massages - back, feet, legs, buttocks, face, and breasts…. When in Greece right?! We all went out on a whim and decided to do it for a group rate… Back ONLY messages on the beach. Despite much hesitation. I volunteered myself first to get the message and give a full report back to the group. I had nothing to compare it to so I gave the thumbs up to the rest of the crew saying that the massage was goooooood! Bre was the next victim in line and halfway through he gathers us around her lawn chair to point out two tax collectors who were after him.  He then tells us that he hasn’t received his official masseuse license so we had to tuck our payment into his knapsack and pretend that he was our friend just giving us massages on the beach, standard right?! Although we were slightly disturbed, we took pictures with him and laughed about it later.

 “Aunt/Sister Chris’s” Arrival. After traveling for a FULL 24 hours, Christy Coco arrived into Santorini fashionable as ever, decked out in her 4 inch heels and aviator sunglasses as she gracefully strutted down the steep cobble stone steps with a big smile on her face. Bre was so excited to be reunited with her and we were so excited to all be in Greece together for a girls weekend. :)

Countless efforts to ride a donkey… Epic fail. Riding a donkey was definitely a top priority when coming to Greece but they were no where to be found :( Looks like I’ll have to come back to Greece so I can check that one off my bucket list!

Found Yoko in the little town of Oia… Enough said.

ATVs… True Life I’m  a  biker chick. ATV check. Helmet check. Aviators… Check plus!

Baklava = amaaaaazing. Pastry crust. Honey. Walnuts… Mmmmm, can’t disappoint my sweet tooth!

Scene of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants… In honor of Bre, Katherine, and Monica, I wore the infamous “sisterhood of the traveling yellow dress” to the port where they shot the film. It was absolutely picturesque and I now feel accomplished that the dress made it to its home and inspirational destination :)’

ATHENS, time for some serious touring!

Acropolis, Parthenon , and Temple of Zeus, Temple of Athena/Nike and Democracy Rock… All very incredibly old but VERY well preserved!

Flea Market where the sold THE most random things: jelly tomatoes, used tennis shoes, balloons, a ring that was a half eaten Ritz cracker, stolen cell phones, furniture people probably stole out of the dumpster,  sunglasses, and old money?! Needless to say, I made few purchases ;)

Back to reality in Rome… Well not really reality! Only one more week then finals. Time is truly flying by…

June 5, 2009 - Lindsay gets into the “Rome Food and Culture” Program

June 6, 2009 - Gail books the family’s flight

March 7, 2010 - Gail begins packing

March 20, 2011- Gail repacks

April 10, 2011 - Family leaves for Italy

Needless to say this was an incredibly well planned and greatly anticipated visit :)

To prepare for their arrival, I made a welcome package with the best of Italy… Best merlot, olive oil, honey, licorice, chocolate, spices, nuts, wine toppers, and many more goodies to start their trip off right! I quickly noticed a theme of this trip – “Packing and Unpacking” – I called it as I watched my mom whip out a number of small net-lined packages filled with perfectly color coordinated outfits. The small bags were labeled with lime green Post-its… “Day 1 - Sorrento”, “Day 2 - Positano”, “Day 3 – Pompeii”. After a short hour, we headed our journey to Termini to head down to Naples… on purpose this time (for those of you who remember my train episode after Florence)!

Needless to say, I have a bad track record of getting lost and having a bad sense of direction but my family was pleasantly surprised to find that I have become an expert in navigating my way around Roma as I led them to the train station. Our luxury trip began as we traveled First Class down to Naples starting the journey off with some sparkling white wine at 13:00 Italian time… 6:00 AM Chicago time ☺ Never too early to get the party started. It was then that my dad kept asking when we were going to the discoteca as he lip sync with his I-pod suffle to his new favorite jam, “Release Me”.

After arriving in Sorrento, my mom was immediately confused where we were. “Excuse me, Madame”… French, “Gracias”… Spanish, “Mozzarell”… no language. Her confusion continued with the exact location we were headed, “Excuse me, are we going to Naples… I mean Pompeii…. I mean Rome?” I blame the jet lag because we were going to D. None of the Above; we were headed to Sorrento! After arriving at the hotel and a short nap, we headed out to watch our first sunset while we enjoyed some of southern Italy’s famous pizza… mmmm delicious!

Day 2, we woke up to a loud booming voice outside our window that started at 7 AM. Since it was Sunday, we all assumed that it was some sort of religious service but as we opened our window we found it was a Half Marathon… and we were at the finish line! Excited to get our day started, we hopped on a bus that would takes us to the two small towns called Positano and Amalfi. The whole Amalfi Coast has a magical landscape lined with 50km of sheer rock cliff, colorful houses, and little villages perched in between the cracks. The area is also filled with abundant citrus trees, flowers, and lots of boutique shops! We bounced around the quaint little town trying on hat after hat, testing a number of different citrus products (including limoncello), and stopping at a restaurant on the beach for some fresh fish. I think my family immediately realized how much Italian food and eating effects my everyday life.

That night at our hotel, our curiosity go the best of us as we stared at the 2nd “toilet” in our bathroom – the Bidet. According to Wikipedia, “a bidet is a low-mounted plumbing fixture or type of sink intended for washing private areas.” This came as quite a shock to me because I thought it was another toilet for men to use to save water… NOT! It was a good thing I didn’t attempt at that one ;) Although no one would admit it, I think there are a fewwww people in my family who attempted to use the infamous “bidet” by the end of the trip!

Day 3 – Pompeii. My mom scheduled a tour guide to meet us at the hotel to take us and give us a tour of Pompeii. When she didn’t arrive at the scheduled time (typical Italian), we decided to hop on the train towards the ruins. After a few short minutes on the train, we see a short stocky woman with a beard yelling “Neiiillson? Neiiillson? Neiiillson?” I raised my hand, “ummm us?”.. turned out to be our tour guide who ran from the hotel to meet up with us. Despite her sweatiness, she proved to be an incredible tour guide with a ton of interesting facts to share with us. At noon on August 24, A.D. 79, Mt. Vesuvius exploded and buried the city under 30 feet of hot volcanic ash. After many excavations, the town is very well restored and many ruins of the buildings still remain. In one section of the town, we could see the casts of the volcano victims frozen in a position of terror: a dog, a pregnant slave, and a man praying. The people of Pompeii thought that this volcanic explosion was a form of punishment of their sins and did not know the warning signs of the volcano before it erupted. It was one of the most interesting, yet sad sites I have ever seen because you could look into the daily life of the Romans and then see it all swept away in a day.

NEXT STOP… ROME

Definitely a highlight for me! I was so incredibly excited to show my family mi vita a Roma. I’d say they got a true sneak peak into my class schedule because they joined our class in cooking class where we made delicious Tiramisu, Layers of Rome where we toured around the famous squares, fountains, and oblasques, and even joined us for our class trip in Cilento. We dined at all my favorite restaurants: Grapolo d’oro Zampano, La Cassetta, Vin Allegro, and Glass. Glass was by far the most amazing because the chef of the restaurant is incredibly well known in Italy, has won a number of different awards from Gamberoso, and teacher of my cooking class! We splurged and tried anything and everything including pigeon, risotto, rabbit, beef, chickpeas ravioli, lobster, goat cheese pastries, and chocolate cake lined with silver. They tackled every major tourist attraction: Campo di Fuori, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, Gianicolo Hill, Vatican City, Roman Forum, Colloseum, and Capuchini Bone Cathedral. I even got to show them my favorite wine bar and yoga studio. ☺

Class Trip to Cilento to learn about the Mediterranean Diet was an interesting one to say the least! We met a number of different chefs, ate, visited the fisherman at the marina, ate, went to he Mozzarella di Bufala farm and factory to see how fresh Mozzarell (as my mom says) is made, ate, pet fish at the Marina of the Sea Museum, ate, toured the Paestum ruins and art museum, ate (noticing a trend here?), visited an herb farm, and picnicked in the rain. Needless to say it was fascinating! By far my favorite part was learning about the Water Buffalo and how they produce more milk when they are relaxed and calm. There are even these big yellow brushes to give them massages… what a life! 

It was so incredibly refreshing to see my family and I feel so incredibly lucky to have them in my life. It was sad to see them go but knowing I would see them in less than 30 days was comforting. Love you three to the moon and back! 

Yoga and Pilates has become routine in my weekly schedule at the little L’albero e La Mano studio around the corner. My lively instructor is still in awe of my flexibility and chuckles every time he attempts to find my “Achilles heel” as he calls it. Apparently “Lins-DAY” is even too difficult for him to pronounce so “Ballerina” has become my new nickname in the class.

I have also gotten to know the regulars in my class and Betty is by far my favorite… yes Erin, her name is Betty! She is a tiny, youthful, and incredibly flexible 62 year-old woman with top-notch fashion and an amazing zest for life.   Several times throughout the class, she would command everyone in the class to stretch harder, roll around their mat, or my favorite, “No, I don’t want to do that stretch. Lets all do this one!” (all in Italian of course). When “Shook Me All Night Long” came on the stereo towards the end of the class, she leaped from her mat, put on her sunglasses, and began prancing around the room in her thong leotard and black tights. I sat there in child’s pose trying to compose myself and hold in my laughter. I must not have been too discreet because she stood at the edge of my mat with her hands on her hips and beckoned towards me.  The next thing I knew my face turned bright red as we skipped around the room holding hands to a classic American tune. I look forward to more encounters with Betty and my other yogamates throughout the rest of the semester!

In efforts to escape the roman chaos over easter weekend, Bre and I decided to adventure to the little island off the boot of italy, Sicilia. We were both excited because all of our teachers raved about Catania and I was pleased I could finally check Sicily off of my places to visit! Due to the holiday weekend, flights into Catania were wayyy out of my budget but we had heard there was an overnight train… Yes, a train to an island. Despite our confusion, we booked the journey.

Upon meeting our four Sicilian cabin mates for the evening, our curiosity got the best of us when we asked them question after question about how this twelve car train was going to fit onto a little ferry. I think they found amusement in the naive American tourists because they whipped out their post-it notes and began drawing numerous pictures on how this event was going to take place. Apparently, each of the cars break apart from one another and go into the bottom of a huge ferry, one-by-one. We continued to chat with them all night long and it became a game of charades trying to communicate with one another. Every Italian I’ve meet cannot pronounce my name correctly and I have officially become “Lins-DAY” (emphasis on the day)… And these people were no different so I’ve learned to embrace my new “Italian” name. At the end of our journey, one of the women admitted she thought I was French because the shape of my nose and her husband asked if he could HAVE my nose as a souvenir and memory of our ride together. Standard… NOT!

Day #1: Taormina Beach. After being exhausted from our overnight train, we decided to enjoy the perfectly sunny, cloudless day out on the sandy beaches playing numerous games, which I won… Well from MY viewpoint at least. We indulged in exotic fish dishes for both lunch and dinner and by the end of the day I felt like I could grow gills because I ate so much fish!

Day#2: Mt. Etna… Sicily’s pulsing heart. Mt. Etna is Europe’s largest volcano and it is also one of the world’s most active. Due to my poor packing skills and lack of planning, I only packed a pair of flats for the day of hiking ahead of me. I soon became the laughing stalk of the group, when my tour guide called my footwear “ballerina shoes” only meant for shopping… Typical right?! Our passionate tour guide then called up his buddy who literally appeared out of no where with a warm pair of socks and a size 7 1\2 shoe… Exactly my size! I then began to call him the Gipetto of hiking boots. With luck on my side we began our trek up the bumpy roads to Mt. Etna. On our way, the tour guide explained to us that the mountain is divided into 4 parts, starting with the beach, next agricultural vegetation, then a set of deep green woods, and finally ending with the volcano’s deserts at the top. Although it is not an explosive volcano, eruptions occur frequently from the 4 live craters at the summit and the volcano slopes. It was an incredibly unique day spent with Italians and British people among lunar lava valleys, craters, ancient woods, and ash deserts. Throughout the day, I gained a great appreciation for nature’s beauty… Probably the only place where you can spend the day hiking in the snowy mountains or basking in the summer sun on the beaches. The night was spent bouncing around from pasteleria to pasteleria experimenting with Sicily’s famous street food and pastries: cannoli, arancini, fried crispelle with ricotta cheese, cartocciate, and cassat… Diet starts Monday! :)

Day #3: Easter! In attempts to be as easterly as possible, we went to 10AM mass at Catania’s famous Duomo. The ceremony was simple and traditional in the beautiful church and it was a great way to kick off the holiday. The rest of the day was spent leisurely strolling around the little town exploring the markets, Easter egg stands and more pastry shop. Overall, I fell in love with the beautiful island of Sicilia and the friendly people. Definitely one of my favorite destinations!