Back in Chicago

The return:
I awoke at 4:40 Italian time on Wednesday, which was 10:40pm on tuesday in Chicago. We left at 5:15, and headed to the airport in Rome. Once there, we said a bitter goodbye to Matt, Garrett, and Annie. The rest of us went on our way, heading to Washington Dulles. As luck would have it, Carissa and I ended up sitting together on the plane, which was so nice. On the ride over to Italy I was sitting between two old men, and it was much less enjoyable.
After 10 hours in the plane, we arrived in DC. We made our way through customs (which went remarkably smoothly) before parting ways and making connections to our home cities. There were a good many tears shed (though not on my part) as we said goodbye to the people we had spent nearly every waking moment with over the last 4 months.
After a 2 hour layover, I hopped on my second flight to Chicago. On that plane ride, I sat next to a nice young man on his way home after 6 months of missions work in S. Africa. We had a nice chat, and before I knew it the plane had landed in Chicago. My dad met me at the airport, and we drove 30 minutes back home. Tara and my mom met me, and as much as I really miss everyone from the program, it was good to be home.
Unfortunately, the jet lag has been a pain. Wednesday night and last night both I woke up at 3am more or less ready to start my day. And by 3 in the afternoon I was ready for bed again. But the adjustment has been getting easier, and I'm slowly getting used to being back in the United States.
The last few months have been some of the best of my life, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. But I'm looking forward to Christmas and meeting up with Gordon in Virginia next week!
Buone Feste, and arrivederci!

Finito

Today is my last full day in Italy. The last three and a half months have been wonderful, unforgettable, and perhaps life changing. While I'm excited to go home, I'm so sad to be leaving this place. I'm leaving with wonderful memories and fantastic friendships, and I couldn't ask for anything else.
Tomorrow we leave at 5:15am, which I'm not looking forward to, and I should arrive in Chicago approximately 22 hours later. Once I get back and settled in I'll add one more update. For now, Italy-it's been a privilege. And now it's time to return.

pictures from the weekend

View of Orvieto from the top of the hill we were on



The ice rink next to the duomo

the final weekend

Our last weekend in Orvieto and things couldn't be better. Megan and I finished working on our group project friday morning, and therefore had the rest of the weekend free. Thursday night Carissa and I started watching the mini series Dinotopia (made about 10 years ago...) and Garrett later joined us. The whole thing is like 6 hours long, so we didn't finish it until today. It's completely cheesy and ridiculous but it was fun anyway.
Last week they set up an ice skating rink next to the duomo, and this weekend it finally opened. So last night most everyone went out ice skating before dinner. We took the Doll kids too (though coming from Israel, they weren't very good at skating). It was a wonderful time, followed by gelato afterward (because it's never too cold for gelato).
Morning came early today, as Carissa, Kate, Garrett, Lexi and I woke up at 6 to watch the sunrise. Now, the sun doesn't rise until after 7, but we were on a mission of epic proportions. We set off at 6:30 and trekked across town, down an elevator to Scalo, and walked (or hiked...) for an hour before arriving at the Cappuccini Monastery across the valley. It was quite the hike up a very steep hill/mountain. But, despite my having an asthma attack and nearly dying, it was beautiful. Nothing could compare to watching the sun come up over an olive grove at the top of a mountain. After an hour of hanging out, we set off back down to Orvieto, stopping for a nutella cornetto at a cafe first.
This afternoon was spent watching Christmas movies and eating macaroni and cheese. Overall, a near perfect day.
I took pictures of both the ice skating and the sunrise this morning, but haven't uploaded them yet, so if you check back tomorrow I should have them posted.

Twosday

Today is Two Times Tuesday. Instead of the usual three hours of class in the morning, we had 6 hours of class. Yes, that's right. The equivalent of 2 weeks of class crammed into one painfully long day. 6 hours of discussing the characters in EM Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread. It was awful.
But it's done, and the rest of the week will be normal class hours.
This is my last full week here, and it's getting crazy. There's so much I'd like to do, but hardly any time to do it.
Last night a few of us went out after dinner, because the Christmas lights were finally turned on and it was absolutely beautiful. Nearly every street is lined with Christmas lights. The whole city was lit up, and there was live music and the shops were open late. It was so much fun.

Thirteen Days.

That's what I've got left. Thirteen days of espresso, 13 days of breakfast cookies and frutti di bosco jam. 13 days of studying literature, 13 days of waking up to fog in the valley. 13 days of Loconda del Lupo, 13 days of cuddle puddles.
Out nearly four months, only 13 days remain.
In the last 94 days, I've grown accustomed to certain things that will be very strange to leave. Like living in a cold 800 year old monastery, and having the heat turned on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening (except for when it breaks and doesn't come on at all...). I've gotten used to living in an Ikea catalog and looking out my window to see a mountain. 3 day weekend are the norm, and reading 3 books a week is not unusual.
As we wind down and begin preparations for the end of the semester, we are all faced with conflicted feelings. While I'm excited to go home and see everyone and spend Christmas with my family, I'm terribly sad to leave everyone and what has become home in the last 3 months. As much as it's nearly impossible, I'm trying not to think about leaving, and concentrate on making the most out of these last days in Italy.
I'm halfway through this last class, and it's been pretty good so far. Very challenging, having as much as 150 pages of reading in one night, but it's interesting. So far we've read Daisy Miller and the Aspern Papers by Henry James, The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and we are currently reading Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster.

Yesterday, a few of us experienced something great: Italian Cinema. Or more precisely...American cinema dubbed in Italian. Laugh all you want, but we went to see Twilight in the theater here. The second in a ridiculously stupid series about vampires, New Moon was just as funny as we had hoped. 7 of us went, and we were the only ones in the theater. It was a good thing, too, since we talked throughout the entire movie. Since we don't speak much Italian, we had knew very little of what was going on in the film, so we just made up what we thought they were saying. It was pretty fun, and let us make use of the little Italian we did know.
Speaking of Italian, our final was yesterday. The class is pass/fail, and it all depends on the final exam. Unfortunately for me (and several others) it was harder than i had imagined. So whether or not I passed is still up in the air...we'll see what happens.

pictures from thanksgiving

The desert served to us: fruit salad in orange baskets

The enormous turkey that served somewhere around 40 people

In Everything I Will Give Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving, and while I'm in Italy, a place where this holiday isn't a holiday at all, I've a few things I'd like to say thanks for.
I am thankful for the circumstances which have brought me to this place. I'm thankful for the bad relationships, I'm thankful for the misery. I'm thankful for the uncertainty, the bad grades, the sickness, the bouts of loneliness, the struggles I went through.
I'm thankful, because without the negative aspects of my life, I would not be able to appreciate the positive ones. Without the bad, there is no good.

Today I am thankful for a positive attitude. I'm thankful for my health, I'm thankful for my family. Today, I thank God for where He's brought me. For surrounding me with people I admire, for allowing me to know them. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here, and for the impact it's had on my life. I'm thankful for my mom, who is always there for me, even when I'm 4,000 miles away. For my dad, who has the uncanny ability to make me laugh. For Tara, whose brilliance and selflessness inspires me, and for Gordon, who shows me that I don't need to have my life planned out to enjoy it. There's of course many more people I thank God for, but I'd need a full length book to name them all.
I thank God that regardless of where I am in my life, I can still thank God.

Today's routine is not much different from any other day here, with the exception of the fact that the restaurant will be serving us their version of an American thanksgiving. I'm not exactly sure what that will entail, but i'm sure it will be good.
Carissa's parents arrived today, and tomorrow we'll be going to Rome with them to hang out and see the Coliseum and whatnot. So that should be fun.

Also, yesterday John scared me and I fell down the stairs a bit and hurt my back. Moral of that story: don't jump out and surprise people. that's how people get hurt.

British and American Writers in Italy

Three days into the new class, and things are looking up. As of yesterday, the majority of the people in the class were stressed to the point of having breakdowns, and no one felt confident that they could do the assigned work on time.
It is a 3 week class, and in that time, we were assigned an average of 150 pages of reading a night (6 novels and a few short stories), 2 essays, a group project, student led discussion days and a final exam essay. On top of that, we have to prepare to leave, while doing our last trips and things before we leave. Confident that I could in no way handle that amount of stress, I talked to our professor yesterday and told her my concerns. She said I would be able to audit the class (take it for no credit) if I wanted to, and I felt good with that decision.
Last night, she reduced the reading by 100 pages, in lieu of the choir rehearsal, concert, and reception that happened last evening. Everyone was grateful, and I was actually able to get all of the reading accomplished. Then this morning in class, we were met with a surprise. Dr. Frankwitz announced in class that she was removing the book Indian Summer from our reading list. While we were all busy thanking God and her for their grace, we were shocked once again, when she continued by saying she would also eliminate the first paper. I glanced around the room in that moment and was met by 11 faces with the same expression I wore on mine: total disbelief, followed by incomparable relief. As it turns out, Dr. Frankwitz realized that the amount of work she had assigned was perfect for a 4 month class, but when compressed into 3 weeks, it was simply impossible.
So now the workload is both doable and enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to a good end to the semester.
Tomorrow is thanksgiving, and we are all anxious to see what meal Mauro will have prepared for us. He'll do his best to put on a Thanksgiving feast, though it will no doubt be quite different than we Americans are used to. Carissa's parents arrive tomorrow, which will be a nice treat, and I'll be going with them to Rome on Friday.

Inferno, Purgatory...finally, Paradise!

It's been a long week (or month...) but it's finally over. The Dante class finished yesterday, and there are still 3 days before the next class starts. It's finally time to relax. Now, it is true that we in the english class were assigned homework for monday, but I'm not thinking about that yet. Clearly the incoming professor is not aware that the weekends in between classes are supposed to be free.
Because I've memorized it, I'd like to share with you what we had to recite for class. It's not that long, but you try reading it, let alone memorizing it. It's not so easy.

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
che la diritta via era smarrita.

Ahi quanto a dir qual era e cosa dura
esta selva selvaggio e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura!

Tant'e amara che poco e piu morte;
ma per trattar del ben ch'i'vi trovai,
diro de l'altre cose ch'iv'ho scorte.

Io non so ben ridir com' i' v'intrai,
tant' era pien di sonno a quel punto
che la verace via abbandonai.

Ma poi ch'i' fui al pie d'un colle giunto,
la dove terminava quella valle
che m'avea di paura il cor compunto,

guardai in alto e vidi le sue spalle
vestite gia de' raggi del pianeta
che mena dritto altrui per ogne calle.

Now you may be wondering what relevance there is in knowing 18 lines of classical Italian. I'll tell you a secret...THERE IS NONE. I know virtually no Italian, so it's comparable to someone who knows no modern English memorizing Shakespeare or Chaucer. Completely useless.
But if ever, in the middle of your life's journey, you find yourself lost in the middle of a dark wood and care to express that in classical Italian, i can help you out.

Today was a much needed day of relaxation. I stayed up pretty late hanging out with Kate and Garrett and then slept in later than usual. Megan and I had some breakfast and then watched Studio 60 for a bit before talking a walk before lunch. After lunch it was a couple more episodes of Studio 60 and then a two hour nap (which was completely accidental). I'm incredibly thankful for the chance to rest.
The new art teacher arrived today, but I haven't met her yet, and the new english teacher will come in tomorrow.

Tuesday

Yesterday morning I woke up at 7, and Becky, Annie, Kate and I worked out until 7:45. After a quick shower and a breakfast of french toast, we tidied up. Today the monastery had to be extra clean and presentable because the bishop and mayor were coming to visit. They arrived at 9, when class started, so we began our class without our teacher, since Dr Skillen was giving them a tour. At 9:30, they came into the classroom, and after a brief discourse on the goings on of our class, the bishop blessed us, praying that we would use our intellect to the glory of God (or something along those lines). Skillen of course had us recite the opening lines of the Inferno in Italian for them just to show off.
A bit after that both classes got to go down to the Refectory and talk a bit with the bishop and mayor over some refreshments.
Yesterday was a beautiful day, but unfortunately, almost all of it was spent inside studying. Our exam was today, and since Skillen has a habit of going on tangential rants during class, none of us had any idea what we were supposed to be studying.
At 6:45, we presented our group project, which was a combination of mini lectures and a game show/skit and discussion. While the preparation for it was a lot of work, the actual presentation was pretty fun. The game show was called "Judgment Day" and had 3 mini games within it called Where in the hell is Dante?, in which contestants had to guess which circle of hell Dante was in, based on what was acted out. The second round was called Damn Right, a game in which a damned soul's sins were presented and contestants had to send them to the right circle of hell. The last game was Fit the Crime, and contestants had to label the appropriate sin and give sinners the correct punishment, according to Dante's Divine Comedy.
That went over well though, and everyone was pretty happy since we got to have cake and wine.
Dinner was pizza night, and while I love pizza, it was unfortunate because pizza night always runs long. Last night especially so, since it was Eli's birthday and they served cake and Mauro sang to him. Finally, at around 9:30 we headed back to the monastery, but before we could study, we had a quick choir practice. It was after 10 before I started my studying, and it was the start of a long night.
I don't know what relevance it will hold in the future, but if you ever want to know what happens in the first 11 cantos of the Inferno, Purgatorio, or Paradiso, I'd be happy to inform you.
Tomorrow we will recite the first 18 lines of The Inferno in Italian, and after that this class will finally be done. The new teachers arrive this weekend, and no one will be sad to see the end of Skillen's Dante class. Monday begins British and American Writers in Italy, taught by the chair of the Gordon English department.

Olive Harvest!

Today we got up, and after a hearty breakfast of cocoa puffs, we crammed 13 people into a 10 person vehicle, and took off to the country. We went to the farm of a nice old man named Sergio and his wife to help them harvest their olive trees. It was a ton of fun. We set up nets underneath the trees and then started picking. Unlike the vendemia where we had to taste the grapes and only cut the good ones, today we picked all the olives without tasting them. If you didn't know, olives straight from the tree are disgusting. We climbed on very tall, very old ladders to get the olives at the very top. If you know me, you know I'm afraid of heights..but I managed just fine on the ladders (or in Italian, scala).


John was kind enough to bring his guitar along and play for us while we picked. Sergio and his wife prepared lunch for us, which was delicious. We had penne pasta and bread with white wine for the first course, followed by wild boar, cheese, potatoes, and sausage with red wine for the second course. Then came salad, finished off with biscuits. After the harvest, we were served more wine, with the option to have grappa or brandy as well (none of which I had any of).
By 5pm we were tuckered out and ready to go, but I think everyone had a wonderful time.

Also, yesterday I talked to Dr Skillen and convinced him to cut the last 12 lines that we had to memorize. Now we only have to memorize the first 18 lines of the Inferno! Grazie mille, professori!

Tuesday

Last week we had to write a paper on Dante in conversation with Virgil. This week, we have to write a paper on Dante in conversation with Signorelli as seen in the San Brizio chapel. We also have to work on our group project, while studying for our test and memorizing 30 lines of the Inferno. The fun just never stops...



As promised, here is the picture of the Purgatory cake we made for John's birthday. The flags label each of the 7 layers, with the earthly paradise on top. A masterpiece, to say the least. And yes, I look extremely excited to be in this picture

Remember, Remember

Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder, treason, and plot
I know of no reason
why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!
Today is also known as paper writing day...and it's not incredibly fun. For the Dante class, we have to write a 5 page paper on Virgil as Guide for Dante's Divine Comedy. It's rather complicated and I don't really understand it, but with any luck, it'll get written soon.

Kate and I have started a workout routine in the evenings, and have gathered a bit of a following. While we all look like idiots doing "Turbo Jams," a group of us have been getting fit. With all the pasta we eat here, it's a wonder we aren't all rolly-polly by now.

Nothing much eventful has happened here recently. The other night at dinner they gave us two desserts, which was the highlight of the week. For the most part, life is pretty calm. The weather's been decent but very rainy. The heat was turned on this week for the first time, which has been lovely. With a monastery this huge, warmth is rare and we usually have to bundle in layers just to sit at a desk and do homework.
Tonight we'll be watching V for Vendetta on the big screen in honor of Guy Fawkes' Day, which should be fun. Only one person on the program had any idea who Guy Fawkes was, so today was a learning experience. It's my third favourite holiday, after Christmas and St. Patrick's Day.

happy birthday and halloween

Friday morning a few of us spent the morning making a cake. It took 4 times the normal amount of cake, but in a few short hours we had created a Mt. of Purgatory cake for John. We gave it to him on his birthday Saturday and he was overjoyed.
There's a story behind it, don't worry. We don't just make cakes on random subjects involving purgation... In the first class in September, John was my partner for our group projects. Our project was on purgatory, and in order to help us remember what happened in each canto, John wrote a little ditty. It caught on and by the end of the month, everyone knew the Dante song. So in light of that, John's birthday cake was a 7 layer cake, each level holding a little flag, one for each of the 7 deadly sins. There were also two little pirate-looking figures for Dante and Virgil and a tree on top. It was pretty awesome. I'll post a picture when I have one.

Halloween was yesterday, and of course, we all dressed up. Carissa and I originally thought about bringing back our 80s costumes, but Kate gave us a much better idea. We decided to dress up as Sergiy and Angela (a couple in our group). I was Sergiy and Carissa was Angela. We may or may not have snuck into their rooms and stolen some of their clothes for that costume.... Carissa even fashioned a small hoop earring for Angie's nose ring. It was pretty impressive.
We went to dinner dressed in our costumes, and of course got a lot of inquisitive looks. Halloween isn't really big in Italy. Hannah dressed as Leonardo, the waiter at the restaurant, which of course he loved.
After dinner, we had a little party. We got mulled apple cider, raisin bread, and apple pie, had a dance party and enjoyed a showing of Carissa's and my music video that we made at the beginning of the semester (on the big screen of course). Carissa, Garrett and I finished the evening off with a viewing of Vampire Diaries (appropriate for the holiday).
I do believe I consumed more sugar yesterday than I had during the entire two months previous. But it was a lot of fun.

A Trip to the Doctor's

Sunday when I got up, my foot was a little sore. I ignored it and went on with my day. That night it was very much sore, and I didn't know why. When I woke up yesterday morning, it was swollen, red and quite painful. Laura (the RA) gave me some anti-inflammatory cream for it and I went to bed that night hoping it would be better by morning. However, when I woke up this morning, the pain was so bad I could hardly walk. So Laura came and picked me up this afternoon and we went to the Doctor's office. After over an hour of waiting in a little room packed with old Italians, I finally got my 5 minutes. After examining my foot, he asked me if I wore flip flops, and I said yes. Turns out that's what caused all this pain. So I was instructed to wear my birkenstocks this week and put ice on my foot a couple times a day.
So that was today's adventure. Not all that exciting really.

(not your average) Venetian Adventure

Friday the 23rd
Everyone in the monastery, with the exception of Hannah, Carissa, and myself, had left before 8am on Friday. One group went to Florence, one to Cinque Terre, and another to Perugia. Our train didn't leave til 11:50, so we had a nice morning here getting things ready. When we left, it was pouring, but luckily we were on a train so it didn't affect us much. On the train, Hannah and her excellent Italian befriended Maria, an older Italian woman. The picture here is of Hannah reading The Little Prince in Italian and Maria helping her with pronunciation.
We arrived in Venice at around 5pm. Rene Seindal, my contact there, met us at the station. Because of the Vaporetto (waterbus) strike, we had to walk through the town to San Marco Square, where we were able to board a Vaporetto to The Lido where Rene lives. That evening we went out with Rene for drinks and then for dinner, which was nice. At dinner, he ordered us two appetizer plates of "antipasto pesce" which was basically a seafood taster dish.
I would like everyone to know that I ate squid, smoked salmon, sardines, and prawns. If you know me at all, you know that's not something I'd normally do. It was certainly interesting.

Saturday the 24th
Kayaking! In the morning, we got some pastries for breakfast and then walked down to the beach. It was beautiful. At 1, we left with Rene, got a gelato, and headed down to the other end of The Lido where the kayaks were. We were on the water by about 2pm. We got to take a roundabout route to Venice, through marshlands and such. When we finally got to the city, we were met by three british travel writers/photographers. They were writing for an airline magazine, doing a big article on Venice and were including Venice Kayak in it.
We paddled through canals for a few hours (which was just gorgeous) until it got dark. At one point, we stopped in the Grand Canal and were able to listen to an old man on a gondola singing Volare, accompanied by an accordian.
We stopped at around 7 for dinner at a local restaurant, where Hannah and Rene both got spaghetti with squid and black ink sauce...which was interesting.
After that, we headed back into the kayaks, geared up with paddling jackets, headlamps, and glowsticks. Which was awesome. We got to paddle down the Grand Canal at night which was beautiful.
By the time we made it back to The Lido and got the boats out of the water, it was midnight. By the end of the day we were absolutely exhausted and sore, but very happy. It was a wonderful day of paddling and a terrific experience.
Sunday we took our time getting ready, and wandered around the city before heading back to Orvieto. Where, of course, Hannah befriended another old Italian woman, who gave her her number so Hannah could come visit.
When we got back, we met Michelle Arnold, the new painting teacher.

Dante with John Skillen started this morning...and I'd just like to say, I miss Julia Kasdorf. The poetry class was vacation compared to this:
2 papers, a group presentation, a test, and 30 lines of text to be memorized IN ITALIAN. It's gonna be a long couple of weeks. Ah well. They don't call it Inferno for nothing.

The End of Poetry and a Lack of Sleep

The second course has ended. Poetry and Ekphrasis with our dear Julia Kasdorf is no more. In the course of 4 weeks, we read ekphrastic works from Homer to Browning, and created 8 poems of our own. From those 8, we chose 5 to revise, and 3 of those revisions will be put in an anthology. Tonight we're having a poetry reading for the other students and staff. It's been a good class, and we had a lot of fun in it.
And then there's the saga of the art students... The students in Matt's drawing class are all either sleeping, or wishing they were. Their final project wasn't assigned til a few days ago, and it was a big undertaking. They were supposed to draw a scene from Orvieto, and it had to be big. Several of them are taller than I am, and much wider. Because of the size and detail of their work, 7 out of 12 of the students were up all night working on them. I woke up at 7 to find that Annie wasn't in her bed. I wandered downstairs to see if I could find her, and I discovered a whole slew of people who hadn't slept yet. Their drawings are beautiful, but needless to say they are all exhausted.

Tomorrow morning, Carissa, Hannah and I will leave for Venice. We'll be met by Rene Seindal, a kayaking contact of mine, who will be putting us up for the weekend. He'll be taking us kayaking, which will be wonderful (though probably cold) and showing us around the city. I'd say there's not much better than a virtually free weekend in Venice. If we're lucky, we might also get to take part in a Venetian rowing session. We'll see how it goes.
When we return, Dr. Skillen will be here again, preparing to commence the third class of the semester: Dante. It'll be a big change from writing poetry, but hopefully a good one.

ROMA take two

Friday morning, 6:15am: The 10 of us left the monastery, boarded a bus, and headed down to the station. Matteo met us at the station in Rome and we boarded another bus. Our first stop was cathedral that I can't remember the name of. It was pretty incredible though. The roof was painted in such a way so that the perspective was perfect as long as you were average height standing from a certain view. The figures looked like they were coming out of the ceiling, and it was hard to distinguish the painting from the actual architecture of the building. It was pretty magnificent.
From there, we visited two more churches before ending up in what Matt calls "the most beautiful piazza in the world" (the picture above). At 11:30 we met up with the art students for lunch, before heading over to the Vatican Museum. It was a joyous reunion, having been without them for far too long.
Vatican City was nice, but I didn't see the pope, which was really sad. I found a fresco with a picture of a chubby little pope guy, that was the closest I got. see:The sistine chapel was impressive, but not as awesome as I'd imagined. I preferred the church we were in earlier that day. But regardless, it was still pretty great.
After the sistine chapel, the poetry students split off from the art class and began our journey back home. We walked to the center of the city to the gelateria we went to the first time we went to Rome. I got limoncello, orange, and grapefruit and it was delicious. Our train back to Orvieto left around 7pm. It was pretty full, so the group didn't sit together. Kate, Becky, John and I rode together in one of the glassed in sections. along with some random old guy. We spent most of the ride talking about our favourite books and movies, which was lovely.
After a busy day walking around the city, we were all pretty tired. I went to bed around 10, and spent the next 6 hours mostly not sleeping. I'm not sure why but I felt deathly ill and spent a good portion of the night on the bathroom floor. I woke up around 7...so today I was pretty tired.
The art students came back at around 12:30, and it's good to have them back. It was getting a little too quiet around here without Carissa.

October's not warm

The art class left this morning at 6 for Rome, where they'll be til Saturday. It's pretty weird not having them here...it's so quiet. While they're spending 4 days drawing in Rome, we're still writing poems. Tonight we will welcome the arrival of Wallis Wilde-Menozzi, a poet and author who lives in Parma. She'll be sitting in on our workshop tomorrow, giving her expert opinion on our poems. It'll be interesting to hear from an American writer who's lived in Italy for nearly 30 years.
Two nights ago we were all given down comforters, and it would seem they arrived just in time. The October air is not as warm as it has been, and at nights it gets downright freezing. I have no right to complain (not that I want to) seeing that GC in Wenham has already had their fair share of snow. The weather here is pleasantly brisk..but definitely cold enough to require slippers and sweatshirts when walking around the convent. From what I'm told, I understand it will be getting a lot colder in the upcoming weeks and months. Coming from Michigan/Massachusetts will make it considerably easier. I have pity for the Californians who think 50 degrees is cold. They're certainly in for a shock.