Journal Entry #2

September 19, 2007

Hi Everyone!

I've been in Italy now for 17 days and it is amazing! I have been in classes for two weeks and already also traveled to Rome, Assisi, Orveito, Tuscany, and I am going this weekend to Pisa and the coast! The classes have been very interesting and all of my teachers are friendly. It is sometimes hard to understand what they are saying because of their thick accents and different vocabulary but they are always helpful with questions and helping us figure out what they are saying. My Italian class has been especially great because we are being taught practical phrases and words that we use day to day. I can already have a short conversation in Italian as well as order coffee and food. Speaking of the food, it has definitely been an adjustment to get used to the different food here. I have had to redefine what pizza, marinara sauce, and pastries taste like. I do miss the American versions of food to an extent but it is fun to try all the Italian versions! The gelato here is also amazing. My roommates and I frequently go to one called Grom, which uses all fresh ingredients to make it. It is so delicious - I know I'm going to miss it so much when I come back home. Thank goodness we do a lot of walking because it works off all the food that we eat! We even walked to the top of dome of the Duomo for my Renaissance Art class - all 463 steps! I also have begun my internship. I have a project where I am looking into United Kingdom Universities to figure out how their internship process works so my company can recruit students. It’s really interesting to see all the different UK schools and see how different their education is structured compared to ours. I feel like I am doing the college search all over again! Anyways that's all for now. Check back again soon!