Ciao!!! 

Ciao all!


I figured since my last post was a bit of a downer, I'd give you a little bonus post. I love following the blog tinibuddah, it's filled with some amazing, insighful, upslifting posts and the one for today was titled: 


10 powerful benefits of change: why embrace it


So, here it is! (It may not apply to all of you, but I know it was great for me to read, and who knows, it may have a little something for everyone, regardless of where you are right now in life) 


ENJOY! 



“If you do not create change, change will create you.” ~Unknown

We are often resistant to change, and we don’t realize that change itself is constant.

Even if you resist it or avoid it, it will enter your life just the same. When you initiate the change yourself, it’s pretty easy to adopt to it, since it’s a wanted one.

But are the unplanned and unexpected changes bad? What if all changes were good by default?

I have been embracing change since a young age. During my life I have lived in five countries and in over twenty-five appartments, changed five schools and about five different careers.

At first it is a bit difficult and annoying, but after a while you get used to the change so much that if it doesn’t come for a while, you end up moving the furniture at home in order to feel something changing.

Changes connected with moving from country to country impacted my personality. Thanks to them I became more flexible and open-minded. Now I understand cultural differences and appreciate diversity.

Each of the career shifts brought knowledge and new experience with itself. As a result, apart from the professional experience I learned how  to resolve conflicts with difficult colleagues and how to work with unbearable bosses.

Career related changes brought self-confidence. All those changes led me to the realization of what I wanted to do with my life.

The  biggest and global change in life occured when I got married. The change brought love, peace, and comfort into my life. As a result a new me was born—me being a wife, mother, and happy woman.

Finally, the big change I initiated by quitting good job and embracing the passion of writing made me truly happy and satisfied.

In general, when looking back, I realize that all the good things in my life are the results of changes that occured in the past.

People usually avoid changes and prefer to stay in their comfrt zones, but I am true believer that once you get the courage and take the first step to change, your life will become much better.

Below are just few benefits of change:

1. Personal GrowthYou grow and learn new things every time something changes. You discover new insights about diffferent aspects of your life. You learn lessons even from changes that did not lead you to where you wanted to be.

2. FlexibilityFrequesnt changes make you easily adapt to new situations, new environments, and new people. As a result you do not freak out when something unexpectidely shifts.

3. ImprovementsWe all have things in our lives we’d like to improve—finances, job, partner, house, etc. All of us know that nothing will  improve by itself. We need to do things differently to make that happen. Without change, there’d be no improvements.

4. Life valuesFrom time to time changes make you re-evaluate your life and look at certain things from a different perspective. Depending on what the change is, it may also re-inforce your life values.

5. The Snowball EffectOften we give up because we cannot accomplish the difficult task of making a huge and immediate change. That is when small changes become extremely valuable. One shift at a time, small changes will eventually lead you to the desired big one.

6. StrengthNot all changes lead you to pleasant periods of life. Unfortunately we do not live in fairy tale and sad things happen too. Overcoming the tough period will make you stronger.

7. ProgressChanges trigger progress. Things move forward and develop because of the them.

8. OpportunitiesOne never knows what each change may bring. When you turn from your usual path there will be plenty of different opportunities waiting for you. Changes will bring new choices for happiness and fulfillment.

9. New BeginningsEach change is a turning page. It is about closing one chapter and opening another one. Changes bring new beginnings and excitement to life.

10. RoutineRemember the movie Stranger than Fiction? The main character Harold Crick does the same things in exactly same time for years. He leads a completely dull, extremmely predictable, and uninteresting life. That is how your life would be without changes.

So next time you get the temptation to avoid or resist the change, aim instead to initiate the ones that will lead you to where you want be.

And remember—if there were no change, there would be no butterflies!


LA VITA E BELLA!! 

CIAO!! 

Okay, so here it is folks, the first semi-terrible experience I've had in Italy!
First -- If you ever plan to come to Italy, DO NOT book a trip through Florence For Fun.

DISCLAIMER: I'm really sorry about this, but i'm about to go into a rant.
So Friday, we were supposed to leave the bus station at 6:30 and didn't leave until close to 7:30. Then they bring us to a rest stop, thinking they can get 100 kids fed in just an hour...literally the lines were out the door and we pretty much cleaned the place of their food. Then we were supposed to be staying in Hotel Spicy which we didn't stay in, but rather our bus we sent to a different hotel outside of Sorrento where we were supposed to stay because Hotel Spicy over booked and couldn't fit us. Did I mention it was down pouring too? So we don't get to our hotel until close to 2:30am and we learn that the kid working is only on his second day of work.....awesome. So we finally get to our rooms and get all settled. Wake up time is 7 am. It's pouring out when we get up which means all of our activities planned for the day have been cancelled, so the plan is to just walk around the town of Capri for about six hours. It didn't end up being terrible, we took a tram up to a high part of capri and when it wasn't raining, it was actually really, really beautiful to look out and see everything. Then we got some lunch to get out of the rain and stayed as long as possible before heading back down to the boats. Then we went back to the hotel for 4 and had 4 hours to get ready before dinner. I literally feel like I spent most of my time in that hotel this weekend too, which stinks. So since me and the girls in my room were all exhausted, we just went to bed until 7:45 then got up for dinner. Thankfully, dinner was actually really good. It was a sit down, all you can eat pizza dinner. They had different slices each time and I honestly don't know which one was my favorite! Although the broccoli rabbe was pretty darn delicious! Then me and a few people were exhausted and wanted to go back to the hotel to sleep. But sine the majority of the people wanted to go to a bar to drink, they made us pay for a taxi back home....... so ticked off at this point and over this trip.

Saturday was much the same. Thankfully, the rain held off until we were done with our visit which was the best thing. Also, we got to go on a one hour boat tour of the coastline which was insanely beautiful!! It was the highlight of the weekend, for sure! I've never seen water so blue before in my life. After the long afternoon, it started to rain again, but it was a beautiful sun shower and we saw the most beautiful rainbow that I've seen. It was so clear and so broad, (check out the photo below this post to see the rainbow!)  We went back to the hotel and had dinner there, and then I passed out with exhaustion.

Sunday was certainly the best day of all!

We went to Pompeii and had a walking tour of it which was so nice! The weather was perfect and it was really cool to see! I love that kind of stuff...guided walking tours of historical places :) It was nice.

then we got lunch and bused over to Mount Vesuvius to climb it! It was so amazing! The volcano is still active which was super cool and Alex and I had bought these cute little lemoncello jars and just dumped out the lemoncello so that we could use the jars to fill with the lava dust from the side of the mountain! it was really cool! That was definitely the best! 

Then we bused home and thankfully got in just before 12. I threw my laundry in which took until 2 -__- derp and then finally got to bed. Thankfully, my 9am class was cancelled so I just slept until 9 and then got up to shower and get ready.

Ciao!!!!

Ciao!!

Happy Wednesday to those of you back in the States! 

Can you believe how the time is flying? It's already Wendesday (or should I say Mercoledi!) here, and it's the middle of my third week here! WHAT? Anywho, yesterday was a great day! It was filled with amazing things and of course, great weather! So here's the low down:

First, I'm just going to brag again about the fact that I don't have any classes on Tuesdays! GO ME! Okay, okay, I'm done. 
So I woke up feeling great (because how can you wake up in Italy NOT feeling great? right?) I got ready and headed out to the Lorenzo de Medici library where I got my reading done for my Literature of the 14th Century class. The assigned reading for tomorrow's class was the first 21 chapters of Nuova Vita (the New Life) By Dante. It's such an incredible read and I would recommend it, certemente! (<-- one of my new Italian words I've learned, thought I'd just toss it in there...did I throw you for a loop?!) So much of Dante's life was and still is, defined by this love that overtook him at a young age. A love with deep tragedy, as she was destined to die an early, young death. A love that overtook him, body and soul. It's is beautiful and yet tragic, as most love stories often are. 
After finishing up my reading, I headed over to my little coffee place (Astor) to grab a coffee. I took my time making my way over to the API office across Firenze to sign up for our next trip which is to Venice and Verona in early October! I can't wait!!!  I'm definitely going to have to get a beautiful masquerade mask! I see them all the time here in Firenze, but it feels like I need to wait for Venice where the whole tradition of "Carnival" originated. (Don't worry, as it gets closer and I write about our trip to Venice, I'll be sure to post some great information on the history of Carnival) 
After getting all signed up for my trip, I took my time and walked around the city for a bit, just soaking in the sights, sounds, people and great weather. 
Alex came over to meet up with me and we decided that we would go to the Mercato Centrale (the fresh market for anyone who has forgotten!) and get something to make for dinner! We got some fresh pasta, fresh Pesto sauce, yummy fresh bread and a bottle of red wine. After dropping off our things at my apartment, we decided to take a walk. We stopped in the Santa Croce Piazza to have lunch! I tried one of the local Firenze dishes and it was delicious!!! It's called Panzanella! It's a bread salad. The florentines use up the bread that they don't want to go to waste and throw it in with some olive oil, salt, basil and tomato and let the bread soak in all the liquids and flavors. It was one of the lightest, freshest dishes I've had here! It was incredible! I'm trying to find a good enough recipe so that anyone back home can make it, but it seems as though all the one's I can find have been slightly destroyed by the evil "americanization" of recreating the dish! WAH!  
Here's a pretty good recipe!
      
      http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/panzanella_tuscan_tomato_09380 

 

Anyway, after lunch it was adventure time! On one of our guided walking tours of the city a few weeks ago, when we had first arrived, we walked by this cute little coffee shop that is also a bookstore. I kept it in mind with the intention of making it my little hide away if I could ever find its location again! So, with the help of Alex and a little back tracking, we managed to find it! We walked in to check it out and I instantly felt at home. It was so quite, quaint and relaxing and I could definitely see myself going there to read for my classes and get work done with a little cup of coffee. It was just me and Alex in the store so one of the owners came up to us and just started talking to us about the shop. She told us that she has lived in Firenze for four years and that they remodeled and took over this little bookshop just over a year and a half ago. She said that the business has been struggling a lot because they are not allowed to have any big signs advertising their business on the street outside of their business which makes it hard to attract customers, especially so since their business is located down a little side street and is easy to miss. She said that with the economy, the taxes, location and other factors, they have been struggling. However, we asked her if it would be okay if we went there sometimes to get a coffee and just sit for a while to read, and she said she was absolutely fine with that! So there you have it, Alex and I now have our own little hide away to retreat to and get our work done outside the hustle and bussle of the typical day to day Firenze life. (DISCLAIMER: I will not post the name of the cute little hide away as it would no longer feel like a little secret! BUT, I will do enormous amounts of promotion this adorable little cafe/bookshop in the days leading up to my return home!) 

After a relaxing afternoon, Alex and I cooked ourselves some dinner! Pesto pasta with toasted bread topped with...yes, pesto! And a glass of red wine (I'm still not a huge fan of wine, so by that, I mean a few sips of red wine for me!) Dinner was great and it was fun to cook! 

After dinner, my friend and one of the girls that lives in my apartment, went to the Opera! The opera was called "Tosca" and was, naturally, a tragic love story. 
A few things about the opera:
  It was long... 2 1/2 hours
  It was beautiful
  I still have no idea how a person's vocal cords can achieve such feats 
  
Here's a link to St. Mark's (where the opera was held) if you want to check out some more information on "Tosca" and also the other opera's that are offered!
http://www.concertoclassico.info/p/operas.html

THEN, it was finally time for bed! 

That was my amazing, amazing tuesday! and now, here I am, and it's Wednesday (mercoledi!) and I'm getting ready to head over to my first class of the day: The Holocaust!

I hope everyone has an amazing Wednesday! (happy hump day! after this day, it's clear sailing to the weekend!) 

Here's a quick calendar of events coming up for me!
September 13 - 16 AMALFI COAST! 
September 22nd - Bologna Trip!!
September 25th - Soccer Match!
September 30th - corri la vita 5k walk (in support of breast cancer!)


la vita e bella!

Ciao!!

Love you dad, gma tini and Liz! 

 

Ciao!!

I’m bacckkkk for part two of an amazing weekend of spectacular sights and beautiful weather.

On Sunday, we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel and then boarded our busses to head to the marina where we were going to catch our boat over to the Cinque Terre.

A little information on the Cinque Terre:

                In medieval times, the name Terre (land) meant village. From this origin comes the name Cinque Terre (Five Villages). Having rounded Punta Mesco, coming from Genoa, the first village is Monterosso Al Mare, the only one with a large beach and promenade connecting it’s historical centre to the new Fegina Quarter.

Vernazza, located at the mouth of a river,is naturally protected from the sea by a rocky promontory and it has always been the only safe landing point in the Cinque Terre.

Corniglia, the only village not situated directly on the sea, nestles on a hill surrounded by vineyards, and nevertheless has its own sweet appeal of the countryside.

Manarola and Riomaggiore, clinging to the cliffs, with houses piled up in a multi-colored mosaic overlooking the sea, are the most typical and unspoiled villages among the five.

On our trip we stopped off at Portovenere, Monterosso, Manarola and Riomaggio, all of which contained their own specific mystique and beauty.

At our first stop, Portovenere, we had a short guided walking tour of the small village where we stopped at a beautiful stone castle nestled high above the village overlooking the sea. I felt as though I was in a medieval story as I stood atop the stone castle looking straight down into the water. The castle, situated on the cliff was quite a sight to behold. We had about an hour to walk around, (awe struck at the beauty of the landscape) and get as many photos as we could. Of course, Toby and Gunther got some camera time here as well!

The Cinque Terre is best known for their Basil and Garlic Pesto, so you better believe that was all I ate, all day long!

After our quick stop in Portovenere (where yes, I was able to sample some pesto!) it was time to head back to the boat for our trip to Monterosso. Monterosso was even smaller than Portovenere and was divided by the “old side” and the “new side”. After a short guided walking tour where we accidentally were led into a church where a funeral was about to take place (BIG OOPSIES ON THE PART OF THE TOUR GUIDE!), our tour guide left us off at a cute little restaurant called Ely where Alex and I split a pesto pizza with tomato and mozzarella…. And yes, we finished the entire pizza!! The Cinque Terre is also well known for their sea food and might I say, it all looked so delicious! If I was only there a little longer, or had a bigger tummy, I might have been able to try some of the fresh fish! Everyone that got a seafood plate absolutely LOVED it!

After lunch and a few hours on the beach, oh and of course, some gelato (I tried grapefruit gelato and strawberry gelato combination – NOM!!) it was time to catch a train to Manarola where we were to have a walking tour of the Via Dell’Amore (lovers lane). The Via Dell’Amore connects Manarola to Riomaggiore and boy was it beautiful. The walk was all along a cliff and all along the walk there were locks where lovers would go and lock their love and throw away the key. Then, towards the end of the lane there is a section of wall where people have written cute things. Of course Alex and I decided to contribute to the wall! We wrote a line from our song….. (awwww). At the end of the Via Dell’Amore we ended up in Riomaggiore where we trained back to La Spezia and caught our bus back home.

The weekend could not have been more perfect. It felt as though we had crammed a week’s worth of activity into one day by the time our tired feet reached the busses, but the weather, the people, the sights, foods, and experiences could not have been better. It was an amazing moment of time that came and went too quickly, as most things do, but the events will stay as warm memories tucked away for years to come.

************

Quick update on the events of my Monday!

Monday was relatively quiet! It was a beautiful sunny day and I was able to get a lot of work done. Like all days have been here in Italy, it seems to have passed quickly! This morning I signed up for the Yoga club which meets almost every Tuesday from now until the end of November! I’m excited to have something to do to help me relax (yes, you can still be stressed in Italy believe it or not!), and it’s great because I have a few friends in the class as well! I can’t wait to get started next Tuesday!

A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT’S BEEN FOLLOWING MY BLOG! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Missing everyone back in the states: especially you Dad, Grandma Tini and Liz! <3

Ciao!!!

La vita e bella!

Ahhh, what a weekend!

And so, Monday, we meet again….

This weekend was truly amazing!

Friday night, I posted about the Rificolona event we were going to. It was really quite an experience. When you get to the river, all of these people are lined up waiting to get into these long boats. I believe they fit twenty people. And all together you row a short distance around the lake. It is so quiet and serene on the river and it’s pitch black out at night, so it made for an amazing experience. All of the kids typically have lanterns and some of them were just amazing, hand-made by an elderly local man. There are some little kids with tubes where they spit little pellets into the other kid’s lanterns. At first, I thought they were just being punks, but it is actually a part of the whole celebration, which was pretty cool to learn about!

Saturday morning, it was rise and shine! Then we headed straight to Pisa! It was in the high 90s all day, but it was certainly a beautiful sight to behold! A few interesting things that I learned that day:

 -The local dish of Pisa is Cecina which is mashed chickpeas baked together and then seasoned and put into focaccia bread! It was so absolutely delicious! And it felt awesome to taste a little of the local food!

                Check out this blog on the local food Cecina – It’s pretty interesting!

                                http://www.tuscanfoodie.com/2011/02/cecina-or-farinata-di-ceci.html

 -The leaning tower of Pisa is actually a bell tower for the cathedral (duomo) that is located just in front of the tower!

 -There were two different architects that worked on Pisa and when the second architect came in to work on the tower, he tried to counter-act the lean of the tower by building more heavily on the less slanted side. This gave the tower an almost banana-esk shape

After getting all the pictures we wanted with the tower, we had a few hours to explore and see what else was in Pisa.

After a hot, long afternoon of delicious food and great adventures, we hopped back on the bus and headed to the beach! It was so nice!!! The perfect way to cool down, relax, and just take in our beautiful surroundings.

At this little beach town, I got my first nutella banana crepe! IT WAS DELICIOUS! I’m talking you’ve never tried anything like it before! I probably could have just sat there and ate about seven of them, but time (and maybe a little bit of will power) stopped me from that! After a few hours, it was time to get back on the bus and head to our hotel!

After getting an hour or so to shower and collect our thoughts and especially to enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains and the sunset, it was time to head down to our first full-course dinner!

The dinner was amazing! Three hours of delicious food, great conversation and good company!

Some of the food we had: pasta in a red sauce, quiche with zucchini (delicious!!!) potatoes and fried mozzarella, bread and gelato! I don’t think I’ve ever been more full in my life!!

INSERT FUNNY STORY HERE!

                During our third course, and in between great conversation, our friend Kelsey was called from the table by one of the API staff members. We were all wondering what could possibly be the issue, as we were sure she had done nothing wrong. … well, it turns out that she had messaged a friend on facebook jokingly saying that she was trapped in a cave and needed the friend to call the international police to save her…… ohhhhh Kelsey! So, naturally, her parents were freaking out and called the API staff members to make sure she was okay and asked to have her call home.

The moment Kelsey told our table about that story, none of us could stop laughing for a good five minutes.

Now, let’s just take a moment to rationally think about this:

                If Kelsey HAD really been stuck in a cave, what cave, might I ask, would actually have a wifi connection for her to use and ask for help?.......

Thankfully, she was able to get in touch with her parents and assure them that she was okay and in good health, and also, very far from any caves, but actually safely in a hotel that just had terrible internet access.

Well, we all know we won’t be letting Kelsey live that story down!!

So I'm super excited to tell you all about the event that our program is taking to us tonight! La Rificolona….what is it?

 
The feast of the Rificolona is one of the four traditional old feasts of Florence that is celebrated on 7th September, the day before the religious feast of the Nativity of the Madonna.

It is a very special Florentine feast (that has spread to other parts of Tuscany) and still very popular.

To reach Florence for the 8th the farmers and mountain dwellers set out a few days before with torches and lanterns of all shapes and sizes to lighten up dark country roads and streets of Florence.

They used to bring their wares and set up a market the day of the celebrations in the Basilica of Santissima Annunziata when the entire city came to worship the miraculous image of the Annunciation. The whole family would dress up for the occasion and cruel city folk would laugh at their attempts to imitate them, and the children would be allowed to maliciously sneak around with mock lanterns and set fire to those of the unfortunate travelers.

The young Florentines started to call those wandering countryside women, “fieruculone” a word that comes from “fierucola”(a small fair), not so much because they came to a fierucola, but rather for their large and prosperous bottoms. The turned into "rificolona", and is still used in dialect to refer to women who dress in bad taste. Then the young men would throw things at the lanterns until they caught fire.

The evening of September 7th became a tradition. Florentines would make their own lanterns, often inspired by a long-skirted female figure swaying from a long pole, and parade the streets with clappers, whistles or anything noisy.

Today the lanterns, in all shapes and sizes, are usually made by children (perhaps with Daddy's help), or bought ready-made. Various Rificolona laboratories are organized by the City Wards to help keep up the lantern making tradition. 

I will certainly admit that it has been a strange adjustment getting used to the fact that I have no classes on Tuesdays, Fridays and only one morning class on Thursday. At Bryant, I'm used to waking up early and going, going, going until late into the night. Yesterday, Thursday, has now become my Fridays in a way. Three day weekends for me, every week! I can't complain! 

After class, which was my first Literature of the 14th Century course on Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch, Kelsey and I decided to brave the streets of Florence and find the rest of the books I need for my class on the Illiad and the Odyssey. After a few narrow escapes from death (the Taxis here are ridiculous!!) and getting lost among the streets, we finally managed to find the bookstore and our post office. It was a beautiful afternoon for a walk and exploration and well worth the adventure.

UPDATE: Alright, so you know how I've been posting about the HORRIBLE internet situation in our apartment?... well, yesterday afternoon the technician was supposed to come and bring a new router... well forty minutes after he was supposed to have shown up, he arrived.....sans router! At this point, we were beside ourselves. After giving a stern talking to the internet company, they finally told us that they are sending someone today (Friday) to bring and set up a new router...so fingers crossed please!!! 

After a relaxing afternoon a few of us from the apartment walked over to the API office to sign up for some volunteering opportunities. We all signed up for a breast cancer half marathon (which, I will be walking...now way, no how, I could run 13 miles.... maybe one day.......) and I also signed up to volunteer for a few other things! 

We then headed back to our house where we all got ready for our planned walk to the Michelangelo. The plan was to go in a huge group, take the beautiful half hour walk over beyond the Ponte Vecchio and up the mountains to the Michelangelo to watch the sunset. The view can never be described and no pictures can do it justice. It was the most serene, peaceful, beautiful scene I've seen since being in Firenze. We spent a good amount of time just taking in the scenery and the beauty, all eagerly trying to snap as many photos as possible before the sun set on us. It was the perfect weather, surrounded by a group of great people, in one of the most beautiful places one could be. Just taking a moment to stop, and realize where you are, the history, culture,  beauty and antiquity will overtake you. For a moment, it truly does feel as though everything can be simply forgotten. 
Thankfully, the walk down was at a slower pace and we were able to appreciate the views around us as we descended. To think that that moment has already come and passed is strange, but it will forever leave its mark on me.

After getting down, it was around 8:30 and we all decided it was high time for some dinner. We came upon the most DELICIOUS place called Osteria Il Gatto e la Colpe. Everyones dishes looked amazing! Angie and I split the most delicious caprese salad I have ever had with fresh cherry tomatoes, arugula,  and buffalo mozzarella, dripping in deliciousness! Of course, I also ordered a caffelatte to give me one little last push before we headed home to head to bed. 

It was one of the best days since being here. I think I will probably be saying it even the day we are leaving, that life here doesn't feel "real". I feel like a character in a book! I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that I'm living here for the next few months! 

I miss you all back home! I love reading all your comments and I hope everyone is doing well! 

xoxo 

la vita e bella!!

Ciao! 

Today, for my class on the Holocaust, we took a walking trip to a nearby church called the Orsanmichele where we learned of a terrible story dating back to 1942. Here's the story:
In 1942 Spain gave their Jewish residents the option to either convert or to leave Spain. A Jewish man, choosing to leave Spain, came to Italy. A statue at a local church was found smashed early one morning and the Jewish man was accused of the crime.  After being forced to say he committed the crime, his punishment was that he would be taken from church to church around the city of Florence and at each church would have a limb or body part cut off. On the day he was to carry out his punishment, he showed up at the church and never made it further than the first church where a mob mauled him to death immediately. The statue (pictured on the left) still stands today, nearly 600 years later, and serves as a reminder of the event that took place in 1942. The description in Latin below the statue reads
" IVDAEVS PETIT HANC EFFIGIEM FERRO IPSE INDEX OBIT DILANITVS VVLGO IPSE"