finally a few pictures of siena

so this is siena, where i live... it is an old town with the tiniest little windy streets, and all roads lead to the campo!

this is the piazza del campo -- its basically a big hang out spot..  i'll have to take a picture on a weekend night when it is completely filled with people.  its fun- i wish we had a place like this in provo where everyone just kind of congregates!

this little alley-way is a street or two away from my house.. its the greenest part of town inside of the city walls!

 

hello friends and family.. its me again.  i'm a stranger to my own blog lately, and its a shame because there are a lot of great things to be shared if only the internet would cooperate!

i love italy.  have i said that yet?

i love it for the culture of the people.  open, friendly, helpful, funny, passionate.  i really like passionate people.  its been interesting to live with our italian host mother, and to get used to her way of dealing with little things.  living at her house is definitely a different culture from what i am used to!  but that's also why this is such a valuable experience-- i feel like i'm broadening my understanding of people and the world even just a little bit better. 

i love it for the food.  ok, to be honest, its a love/hate relationship... because its too good.  and its 80% carbs.  if you think of classic italian cuisine, then you know exactly what i eat everyday..  minus alfredo, which is apparently american-italian..   but literally everyday, we eat pasta, pizza, gelato, cheese, bread, tomatoes....  i've never been a big pasta eater, but now-a-days, if i don't have a bowl of it every night, something seems wrong.. i just love it.  its so good here!!

and the problem is, i can't easily change my diet to include more vegetables without just going without food (because we are fed breakfast and dinners by our host families, and the only realistic options for lunch are nearby sandwich shops or pizzerias... but then again, dieting isn't part of the eatalian experience anyway). but they don't really believe in entree salads over here (we have lettuce with olive oil and balsalmic vinegar every night, and rarely is there anything else in it), or really, any other food other than the stuff they're good at.  and i'm not complaining because i really do love it, but i am looking forward to mixing the daily routine up with some mexican and thai food again when i get back home.  thinking about what i eat here, i guess i could go without gelato more often, which actually is easier now that its getting cold, but. the gelato is so good that it doesn't make sense NOT to get it.  i know in two months time i'll be missing it... so what's a girl supposed to do!  ;)

ok that's enough of my ramblings for today.  i am happy, i am blessed, life is so so good.  god created such a beautiful and interesting world and it is meant to be appreciated and explored!  i'm so lucky to be doing a little bit of that right now.

arrivederci i miei amici!