I apologize for my lack of blogging the past couple of weeks. Here at CIMBA, we are constantly going from morning 'til night, every day, for the entire length of the week. We have just finished up Week 3 and are now on a regular Monday through Friday school day schedule. There will be no more weekend activities, so I am hoping to start up a bit of my traveling!!
Since there is so much to update everyone on, I decided to make it a bit easier on myself (and all of you) by giving all of you a photo tour of where I am and what I have been up to. It's much more fun than looking at a whole bunch of text on the screen! So, I invite you to share my photos below and learn a little bit more about my school, my life here, my friends, and my plans for my first travel week!
LaSalle, Room 134: Where I start and end my day.
A view from campus...
The building on the left is my dorm; to the right, more dorms, the cafeteria, and classrooms.
The entrance way to school -- drive too fast and you'll miss it!
Brittany, Jodi, Allison, and I before our first gourmet dinner.
The vegetarian main course; the block of cheese in the middle was the best cheese I have ever had in my LIFE!
Of course, the gelato. A creamy vanilla with a mixed berry sauce on top. To die for!
An Italian espresso -- it looks so smooth and rich, but it does NOT go down that way! It is the most bitter thing I have ever tried.
Lauren and I during our first gourmet dinner. Lauren is from the D.C. area and attends the University of Delaware. She's a Leadership major there and is looking to move to a third world country to help women survive and readjust to society after spousal abuse and rape. My hat goes off to her! We will be traveling together this next week.
Another view from campus this past week. Statues are everywhere!
I have quickly learned that cobblestone looks beautiful, but are not very friendly to ankles, feet, or knees.
The only snow we see in Paderno is the snow on the mountains. This was just before the Midwest's awful snow storm!
I am now officially the newest member of Phi Beta Delta, an honors society here at Instituto Filippin. During the semester, we will be completing a series of community service projects. Our first project begins after we return from our travel week; we will be working with a group of autistic children in a nearby town named Castlecucco. I am so excited for what Phi Beta Delta has in store for me this semester. I have been elected Web Design Chairman, so that will definitely be a fun way to add my own little pizazz to the organization. We are small -- only about eleven members -- but I have no doubts we won't make an incredible difference here in Paderno del Grappa. More to come!
So, on to the even better stuff. This Friday, I leave to embark on my first nine-day travel experience in Europe. I will be taking a bus trip to Budapest (Hungary), Vienna (Austria), Prague (Czech Republic), and Munich (Germany) with a small group of girls I met during my LIFE seminar during my first weekends here. I am so anxiously-excited about this trip! It has been such an adjustment living in Italy... and now I am packing my life into one travel backpack for nine days and setting out to travel to four different countries. The opportunity here is so amazing. My bus trip was coordinated through a travel agent that works for Instituto Filippin -- all I had to do was pay a flat fee. My friends Lauren, Katie, and myself all booked out hotels (and one hostel in Budapest) together. The bus simply drops us off at the main train station in every city and we are free to explore until it is time to leave. I will be taking LOTS and LOTS of pictures to share with all of you!
Before you go to bed tonight, I ask that you all say a silent prayer for my friends and I as we take on the four countries we are going to experience in the next few days. It is sure to be one heck of a ride!
Until next time --- Ciao!
No comments:
Post a Comment