Honeymooning

Welcome to my favorite spot in Arezzo! In every major city in Italy (or maybe it's every single city?), there's what's called a Duomo. A Duomo is the main cathedral in a given city. There are other smaller churches but the Duomo is visited the most. Up the gianttt hill just past the school and around the Duomo, there's a wooded park. Once you walk through the wooded park, you see this fantastic view of the whole town. I had a couple hours to myself, decided to explore the Duomo, and just happened upon this amazing view. My jaw dropped, my hand went to my heart and I knew that I'd never forget that moment. Smoke is coming up the stacks, the hills are filled with private villas and there's a fog over the whole scene. I've seen pictures like this in movies and textbooks but there's nothing like seeing it for yourself in its breathtaking color and smells. You probably don't see what I see -- the picture doesn't do it justice -- but it's so, so lovely.

Here's a picture of me with my first gelato of the trip. It was at a place called Paradiso by the Piazza Guido Monaco. I had pistachio and it was very delicious! I'm still a little shy with my Italian. I don't like to say the little Italian I know because I'm afraid they'll laugh at me. Heck, they laugh at me when I'm only walking down the street. I'm getting better, though. I'll ask the price of things and, of course, exchange a few general courtesies and things.

 We had another break today that was significant so Danielle and I went to explore some more beautiful spots in Arezzo. This time, we went past the Duomo and just meandered through some of their manicured lawns and parks. We found this lovely view and stopped for some pictures. Kirk, the President of OU in Arezzo, has lived in Italy for 15 years now. He told us a story about visiting his in-laws last year. His father-in-law said, "What are you running away from? What's so wrong with America?" He answered, "I'm not running away. Home is just where you feel like you fit." After spending the week here, I can imagine someone thinking that. It would be easy to go anywhere this beautiful, be swept away and be left wondering why you should even go back. I still feel too overwhelmed to feel that way yet, don't worry. But I'm still honeymooning, so bear with me.

Here's another shot without me :)

Tonight, we had a language exchange with some Italian students studying English for various reasons. There was a 70-year-old women, a 45+ year old man, an 8 year old, a couple of teenagers. We spent about 2 hours talking to them and helping them with their English. Mostly it just made us feel stupid because these students know 3-4 languages already. One of them said, "You know Jersey Shore?" Basically, they made it clear that our reputation is a bunch of partying, drinking, cussing, disgustingly selfish people. We talked this morning in class about the whole A. Knox business and supposedly, my professor interviewed some Italians last semester when the news broke that she had been acquitted. Most would refuse to comment but the consensence has been that everyone thinks she's guilty. It kinda makes me wonder what they think of us being here. I swear I'm not crazy, I love my roommate and I don't do drugs. I also swear that I wasn't convinced of her innocence, either. That's all.