Jeff's 21st and Mac Dario

Ciao!

Yesterday was Jeff's 21st birthday so after our test in CLIDA, we celebrated with some mimosas, cake and lots of other junk food until 1 pm. When class ended, we got lunch and then Grace took me to a place she had recommended to get my hair cut. I think I got one of the best haircuts I've ever had. It was a breath of fresh air to get it chopped off. She took so much weight off by giving me tons of layers. I still have my length though! My hairdresser was awesome because she was Canadian and obviously spoke perfect English. She explained that she has dual citizenship, which was really cool, and that she's living in Italy for a few months and then going back for a break. Then, she'll be coming back for a longer span of time. Kind of weaning onto the idea of living in Italy, I guess.

I was excited to have my new hair for Jeff's birthday dinner, which we celebrated at Borgo Antico, his favorite restaurant. His mom (who is still in America) treated us to the whole thing!! We had a great time. Andrea and I split these amazing ravioli and spicy spaghetti, because we both wanted both. So, it worked out perfectly. We drank lots of wine and had amazing cheesecake for dessert. We were in food heaven despite the fact that the owners were being hardcore creepers on all the girls at the table. Apparently, according to Grace and Carla who frequent Borgo often, they are always hitting on them.

After dinner, one of the owners came out with us and brought us to this really cool bar/club, called Slowly. However, the atmosphere wasn't right for the kind of dancing that we wanted to do because everyone was just sitting around and the music was terrible. So, we decided to leave. We'll probably go back for a drink some day, but not for dancing. After Slowly, we went to Cafe Bigallo and sat there for a while. Elmer came to hang out with us and did some more insulting of the American culture. Here's how our conversation played out.

Elmer: Yea, every American is fake.

Me: What do you mean exactly? I know there are some fake people, but I really disagree about them all being that way.

Elmer: Well, even you're a little fake.

Me: Excuse me?

Elmer: Well, you're the least fake out of all your friends.

Me: Thanks, I think?

Elmer: Yes, but even you are still a little fake. For example, when you see a person you don't like, why do you talk to them?

Me: Well I'm not just going to pretend they don't exist if all my friends are talking to that person or something. I'm not going to hug and kiss them, but I'll be civil of course.

Elmer: And see, that's a little fake because it's not the way you really feel.

Me: Okay, Elmer.

I let him say what he wanted to say because he doesn't really have a filter on anything. However, I just always remember to not take anything he says seriously. That's the only way to deal with him. He's very socially strange, but a nice kid when you get past that.

We all called it a night around 2:30am, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

Today was an incredibly memorable day.  At 11am, we met Maria (our teacher from CLIDA) and her husband, Piero in front of CLIDA to drive to a restaurant called Mac Dario, in Chianti. I was so excited to be a passenger in Maria's mini cooper as we took the curves, climbing up the Tuscan countryside. She's a pretty good driver, for an Italian, but I'm not sure how much that's actually saying. Anyway, we arrived at Mac Dario around 12:30 and it was the coolest little place! There was a long picnic table set up and two smaller picnic tables tucked into the alcoves in the wall. In the middle of the room on the wall was a huge charcoal grill and all these cool appliances. The bathroom was made too look like a closet among the series of real closets, so I had a hard time finding it.

Apparently this place and this man are very famous in America, but I had never heard of either. Naturally, Maria and Piero are great friends with the owner, so we were their special guests. I wonder how they come to know so many classy people in high places. Mac Dario came out and greeted us all, and I told him that he was a genius. The waitstaff was also great, and one of the waiters had the most amusing sense of humor. He kept saying "Oh you young people, beautiful like the sun." When it came time for the food delivery, he put bowls out on the table and each of us had an individual one to ourselves. He proceeded to throw this amazing spiced salt mixture into each of our bowls, launching it from a spoon. He only missed once! Then, they brought out the "Accoglienza," which consisted of raw vegetables dipped in the aforementioned bowl with the salt, and olive oil and vinegar. There was also sushi of Chianti which I can't believe I liked. It was completely raw ground beef with lots of seasonings. I am shocked at how good it was. Unbelievable! There was also tuna of Chianti, which was grated chicken that had cooked in some kind of broth for 10 hours. It was delicious. The following dishes included rosemary pork and some kind of amazing meatloaf with a sweet and sour sauce. The meatloaf was my favorite of all the starters.

Our main course was the famous "Mac Dario," which was probably one of the best hamburgers I had ever tasted. It was the perfect size and cooked exactly the way I like it, about medium-well. It had a light bread crumb covering and a side of rosemary steak fries, onions, and boiled vegetables. There were also three amazing sauces. One was spicy and thick, the next was sweet and sour and had a marmalade consistency, and the last was honey mustard! We were pleasantly surprised about the last one, considering it's nowhere to be found in Italy. Maybe Mac Dario got the idea from his wife, since she's American and is obviously familiar with honey mustard. I ate as slowly as possible to enjoy every bit of it. For dessert, we had a delicious, light cake, called Schiacciata alla Fiorentina. There was also espresso, of course.

I absolutely cannot forget to mention our lovely neighbor who sat himself next to Maria at the communal table. Lord only knows what his name was, but he was sooooo annoying. He was an American from Chicago, and spoke only English. From the brief background that Maria gave us, we learned that he goes to Mac Dario EVERY DAY for a hamburger and tries to make conversation with the people around him whenever he is there. At one point, even the waiter walked behind him mouthing to me that he never shuts up and that he's always there. He reached over our section of the table, and even got out of his seat to walk down to the very end of our section to re-fill our waters. I could have done it myself. Such a weird man. When Carla asked him what he was doing in Italy, he responded, "I'm eating." Period. The whole time, Maria was sitting with her back to him and blatantly ignoring anything he said to her. Knowing full well that he didn't speak Italian, she talked about him in Italian to us the whole time that he was seated next to her. Poor Jeff was his unfortunate victim of conversation, so they ended up talking American politics the whole time. Jeff majors in Political Science, and I assume he shared that with the man. Apparently though, all of his ideas and opinions were completely unsupported and nonsensical. I really thought Maria was going to kill him and I can't imagine how he visits Mac Dario every day. All they serve is meat! I imagine he's not leading the healthiest of lifestyles. Maria also told us that last time they had lunch there, the man turned to her and asked "how do you say 'to bleach' in Italian?" She responded with "candegginare" and he said "are you sure?" ARE YOU SURE!? SHE'S THE ITALIAN ONE! We won't even discuss the randomness of that question.

Anyway, when we were done with lunch, we went to the downstairs part of the restaurant where he had his butcher shop. All the meat looked so perfect and fresh. Mac Dario was so excited to have us that he gave us all mini sizes of that salt and herbs mixture. I asked him if I could take a picture with him and he was delighted and hugged the guts out of me for the photo. Then he said "ti sono piaciuti i bruciaculi, giusto?"--> You liked the (literally) butt-burners, right? I had no idea what they were, but I responded positively. So, he wrapped those up for me as another present. When I opened it up later, I saw that they were delicious looking peppers, soaked in olive oil. Those are most certainly coming home to the States. I guess they will be spicy, considering the fact that he calls them "butt-burners." As I walked out of the butcher shop, I saw his meat refrigerator, which was on display to the public. Hanging inside were huge cow legs and slabs of other types of meat. It was very unique, to say the least. Outside, our waiter popped out the top window and thanked us a million times over, blowing us lots of kisses. Then we went to take some pictures in front of the hills of Chianti.

On a side note, while this Mac Dario is a complete genius, I also understand that he is a little crazy. Apparently, he held funerals for the cows during the "Mad Cow" epidemic. Maybe he's a cow-whisperer and that's why he makes such great food. :)

As we were driving back towards Florence, I had such an amazing feeling about my study abroad experience. First off, I couldn't believe that I was living real life. I was in Chianti at a famous restaurant, eating incredible food with some amazing Italians. Maria calls herself our Aunt, and that's what she really is. She loves taking care of us and I will never be able to find the right words to thank her for all of it. I was so perfectly content at lunch, speaking Italian with my friends and experiencing something so totally unique. I felt so included in the culture because the waitstaff was so genuine and fun. Also, Maria and her husband make me so comfortable because everywhere they take us, they know the owners. We are always welcomed with warm hearts and that really makes me feel like a native Italian and not like an American who completely sticks out.

We returned to the center around 2:30 and I met up with my friend Alex, from high school. She is studying abroad in Ferarra and came to visit Florence for the day with her friend Nikki. As soon as I found them, they were sooo ready to go shopping, so I took them to the Ponte Vecchio as per their request. They bought some beautiful pieces of gold jewelry. I was amazed at how beautiful everything was. Then, I took them to Prada, Gucci, Hermes, and Fendi, and I don't think more needs to be said about this, except that they dropped a TON of money in all these places. I ONLY watched, but it was fun. Actually, when we were in the jewelry store Alex reminded me of something that I had done in 7th grade that she'll "never forget." I don't remember this, but apparently I really liked her silver heart link Tiffany's bracelet when we had French class together. She explained that one evening I called her house (this was pre-cell phone) and asked her where she had bought it because I had wanted to ask for it for my birthday. I guess her Mom thought that I was "soooo sweet" because I had no idea of any of these designer things, and I too found the story a little funny. I guess that answers my personal question of when I discovered Tiffany's. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing the bracelet as I type this entry.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I am so full from today and I think I'm going to stay in for the night and watch a movie. I need to be well-rested for homework tomorrow. Yay. Oh, and thank goodness that I had such a good weekend because I just received an email today that I didn't get the Avon internship in NYC. Apparently, they were impressed with my research and writing skills, but wanted someone with "more related experience." I'm sorry, but how much more related can my experiences get when I did Relay for Life for two years with the American Cancer Society?! Avon is a breast cancer foundation! What a lame excuse. Well, there's always more out there, I guess. I'll keep everyone posted.

A presto!

Maria Pia throws a party/ Leather creations

Ciao a tutti!

Yesterday evening, Maria Pia had all of my friends over to celebrate both mine and Andrea's birthdays. (Andrea's will be coming up on Feb. 16.) She extended the table and set it absolutely beautifully, with fancy plates and wine glasses and everything! We started with three types of crostini, one with a salmon butter spread and capers, the next with sauteed onions, and the last with pureed broccoli and kidney beans. All delicious. For the first part of the first course, we had my favorite, spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and pepperoncino. For the second part, we had lasagna with bechemel (sp?) sauce that was absolutely, indescribably incredible! For the second course, we had chicken soaked in a gravy and mushroom sauce and we also had roast beef. Both were fabulous, of course, and the chicken was sooooo moist for having been cooked the way it was! We also had grilled eggplant with chopped parsley and tomatoes on top.

Right before dessert, Maria Pia gave Andrea and I our birthday gifts. We each received an authentic Italian cookbook with recipes labeled by the different regions from which they originate. It's all in Italian and all in the metric system. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen! I was so incredibly touched because it was such a thoughtful gift. She had written me a card, but I asked her to re-write her words in the cover of the book. I never want to forget what she had to say. I absolutely love it. We took plenty of pictures :)

At dessert, she brought out two cakes with candles on them, one for me and one for Andrea. "Mine" was basically a chocolate fudge cake. It's made with no flour, so that's what made it so incredibly fudgy, just the way I like it! "Andrea's" was the famous "Torta della Nonna," which is a Tuscan classic. It consists of a gooey white cream inside and a a fabulously fresh pastry crust, topped with naked almonds and powdered sugar. It's to die for... seriously. There were also Maria Pia's famous "Cenci" which are hard to describe. They are a Tuscan specialty that are made only around the festival of Carnevale (which is Feb. 16) and they are a light, cookie-type pastry, but much more flaky and thin. They are drowning in powdered sugar and absolutely delicious. Kevin loved them and ate 12. I can't forget to mention that everyone sang "Tanti Auguri" to us with the lights off and the candles going. That was very nice as well.

With the dessert, she served us home made limoncello, Vin Santo, and a sweet red wine. After having had plenty of regular wine with dinner, this was pretty crazy for us, but it was a celebration, so we drank it anyway. After all of this, we were incredibly full, so Maria Pia made us some tea for digestion. She offered us a digestive liquor, but we passed. We couldn't take any more alcohol haha.

After dinner, we chatted for a while and then passed around photos of Maria Pia's family, which she was happy to show us. As we hear over and over, she adores her grandson Leonardo, who is 5. She shared a hilarious story with us that I absolutely have to retell... So, Federica (Maria Pia's daughter, Leonardo's mother) is trying to have another child with her husband, Lorenzo. Sadly, Federica has some irreversible problems with her female parts, so she and Lorenzo have been having a lot of trouble. Leonardo doesn't understand, and wants a sibling very badly. So one morning, Lorenzo walks into the living room and greets Leonardo. Immediately Leonardo asks, "did you try to make a sibling for me last night?!" Lorenzo doesn't answer and then the next day, Leonardo asks the same thing. This time, Lorenzo says "no," and Leonardo then asks "well, if you can't try any more, let me try!" We died laughing.

I think that everyone had a great time. We were originally planning on going out, but we were all so exhausted that we changed our minds on that one. Thank goodness, because I'm still exhausted today.

Today, we met Elisa at 12:45 for lunch at Teatro del Sale. Yes, that same terrible place that we went last time with Elia for dinner and a show. This time, it was better because lunch was much more calm and quiet. The asshole host was still there watching us though. We had a nice time and of course, ate too much. At 3:00 after lunch, Elisa took us to our cultural event for this month. Jeff, Carla, Andrea and myself went to the workshop of a leather artisan, while Kevin, Maggie, Maggie and Grace went to a book-binding workshop. For 3 hours, the artisan named Moranda helped us to make a real leather picture frame book! (You know, the ones that open like a book and have a spot for a 4 x 6 photo on each inside cover.) I was finally able to figure out how those imprinted designs on leather actually stayed that way because I got to do them myself! For that, you leave the metal stamp on an open flame for five minutes and then quickly dip it in water to cool it slightly. Then, you press the metal stamp right onto the leather- and there you have your imprint that won't ever go away!

I really enjoyed working on this picture holder with the artisan. The other ones with me didn't seem to enjoy it as much, but I'm so into arts and crafts that I had a great time! Mine doesn't look as good as all of hers do, but it takes practice!

Now, I'm home and about to take a nap. It's about 8:30 pm and at 11:44, Andrea and I will be taking the bus into the center to wait for our bus to Pisa that will be leaving at 3:30 am. When we arrive in Pisa, we will be flying Ryanair at 6:30 am to Eindhoven. From there, we will take a train to Amsterdam and finally arrive sometime during the day tomorrow. I'm really excited, but dreading the trip itself. I'm sure I will have plenty of stories on Monday!

A presto!

21st birthday celebration

Ciao from the 21 year old!

Yesterday was great! After school ended at 1 pm, everyone went to Mama's Bakery as per my request. They sell bagels there because the owner is American, so we had to have them. I got a bagel with veggie cream cheese and it was delicious.

After lunch, a few of us walked around a little and then I headed home and took a nap. I got a call from Paul and from my Dad, so that was really nice to get some birthday wishes. Around 6:15, Andrea and I took the bus to the station to meet everyone else to grab the bus to Pontassieve, where we would be having dinner with Benedetta and her family. As usual, everyone else cut it close and we almost missed the bus, but it turned out ok. We actually ran into Benedetta who was also taking the bus from the center. That was pretty funny, and we were glad to have her on the bus with us because we had no idea where to get off.

When we arrived at the stop, Anarita and Antonio were there to pick us up. I introduced the friends that they hadn't yet met and we got to the house. Antonio led us to a new room that he had just finished building, and the table was beautifully set with nice plates, silverware, and a centerpiece from Benedetta's party! It was sooooo nice. We all sat down immediately and Anarita came out with the first course. We had sweet red wine with 3 different types of crostini. One had a mushroom puree, the next had prosciutto, butter and artichoke, and the 3rd had sausage and cheese puree. We also had these delicious flaky muffin-looking things, filled with zucchini and cheese. For the first course, we had regular red wine with lasagna, Napolitano-style. It was soooooo delicious but incredibly heavy. For the second course, we ate two types of meat. One was normal pork and the other was lamb with bits of olives and other pieces of meat cooked into it. There were also roasted potatoes and salad.

Throughout the entire meal, Benedetta was pretty funny because she tried to get all the kids to help her Dad to believe that she NEEDED an iPhone- in white, specifically. He looked at me and asked, "What do you think? Should she have an iPhone?" Usually, I am most certainly the wrong person to ask because I don't even want one, but I think they are cool. So, I told him that she should have one, but that I didn't want one. I probably should have left the second part out though. Oops, sorry Benedetta. She was hilarious while trying to convince him though. I'll think she'll get one some day soon, but it's just a hunch. Benedetta also informed us that she will officially be coming to America for a month this summer (end of June- end of July). She will be living in Tarrytown and taking an English class at a university nearby. That will be great! I'm going to show her what an American BBQ is like! Me and my friends also told Antonio that we would come over when the weather improved and make a BBQ for them as well. That should be fun.

When dessert came, Antonio brought out sparklers for all of us, along with champagne. Then, Kevin and Jeff entered carrying a cake with candles for me, and another for Maggie. We lit our sparklers, sang happy birthday, and blew the candles out together. It was soooo wonderful. At this point my stomach was bursting, but I was pretty much required to eat the cake. So, I had a taste of the one that was made with Chantilly cream and vermouth, and also had the chocolate fudge nut cake with whipped cream frosting. They were both so incredibly fresh and delicious.

After dessert, we all felt pretty sick, so Antonio brought us espresso (I opted for tea) and bicarbonate bits to mix with water. I did a few stretches and had the "medicine" and felt a little bit better. Then, Anarita and Antonio drove us into the center and dropped us off at Santa Croce.

I'm pretty sure all of Florence was on crack last night, because everyone was soooo rowdy. A lot of Italians hang out in the Santa Croce area, so we definitely stood out. But, as we were walking through, they were going crazy with each other, carrying people, throwing and smashing bottles, running around, and acting like animals. We moved as quickly through the piazza as possible. When we got to the other side of it, we saw a chubby girl laying on the sidewalk, drunk out of her mind. Her chubby friend was kneeling on the ground and trying to help her while her butt crack hung 6 inches out of her pants. And of course we expected the next part- they were Americans. I love how this semester-studiers make such a wonderful impression right in the beginning of their experiences! This is the reason that Americans have such a bad reputation over here.

Anyway, we hurried ourselves to Cafe Bigallo because all of the streets were just swarming with crazy people. At Cafe Bigallo, we were more in our comfort zones. We found a big table in the back and had a few drinks there. After we had just sat down, two Italians came in from outside, following an American boy that looked like he was 15. I'm sure he was our age, but Italians always look much older than Americans. Anyway, they turned this kid around and started yelling at him and pinning him against the wall, right in the middle of Cafe Bigallo! Pretty quickly, Giorgio, the owner came to the back room and broke it up. He sent the drunk Italians away and got the kid a free drink. The lowly American was a little shaken up, to say the least.

A little further into Cafe Bigallo, I scanned the crowd of Americans and discovered that two girls at the table across the room looked incredibly familiar, but I couldn't figure out how. High school? No. Salve? Didn't think so. No one knew them from Holy Cross, so I thought about the Vineyard. Then, it dawned on me! The both of them worked at McPhail's this summer, the coffee shop that I visited almost every day before work at the Yacht Club! Whoa, small world. We'll get back to this later.

So, as things got rowdier in Cafe Bigallo, Giorgio came around with glow bracelets and I told him that it was my 21st birthday. He didn't believe me, so I showed him my id. 10 minutes later, he came back with a free bottle of champagne for me and all of my friends! I opened it, and we did a little toast. That was so nice of him, even though he did it because he's also totally creepy and loves American girls. Whatever. So, Carla, Jeff and Grace dumped their champagne into my glass and told me to chug it. No way. Because I said no, they started making a scene and I got embarrassed. So, I chugged it to shut them up. DON'T CHUG CHAMPAGNE. It's disgusting. I succeeded, though. I guess you only turn 21 once.

Around 12:30 am, everyone decided to go to Twice for some dancing. While I was on my way out, I ran into one of the girls I had recognized. With my liquid courage, I approached her and asked "Hi, did you work on the Vineyard this summer?" She said "Oh my God, yes! Me and my friend have been staring at you this hold time trying to figure it out! Sorry if we were creeping you out!" And then, we got to talking. Her name is Dana and the other girl is Lily. They both go to Skidmore and apparently didn't have much fun on the Vineyard this summer. I apologized for that and said that I wished I had officially met them earlier so that they could hang out with me. She told me that she always looked forward to seeing me because I was one of their only pleasant customers. That was very nice to hear. She also said that she felt so bad charging me the prices that she was forced to, because it was always so expensive. This is very true, McPhail's was wayyyy overpriced. She made sure to mention that I always ordered chai tea or a iced mocha. I was shocked that she remembered!! We decided to exchange numbers and I told them that we could hang out whenever, and that I would be happy to show them around!

After about a half hour of talking, we parted ways and I ran to Twice to meet the rest of my friends who had gone ahead. We danced there until about 3:30 am. It was completely packed and swarming with creepy Albanians. We ignored them and sent them away often. Despite their annoyances, me and my group had a great time. Thank goodness we were able to dance and digest.

On our way to the train station to grab a taxi, Andrea and I were walking briskly past the Duomo when we were stopped. Some girl, who sounded like she had an Italian accent called to us and said "hello!!" We thought she was an Italian who was mocking us, because we were Americans. So, we continued walking. Then, she actually yelled "fuck you," and we turned around and realized she was actually American. It's funny though because that comment didn't offend us. It just made us realize that she needed our attention and help. She was drunk and standing there with a weird Albanian man who was very persistent in walking her home. So, I spoke to this Albanian in Italian and told him that he could go home because Andrea and I would gladly walk her. He responded with "No, she's very drunk and I want to make sure that she'll get home safely, but she doesn't remember exactly where she lives. It's around here somewhere." I assured him that she would be fine with us and politely argued with him for a few more minutes until he finally left. Once he was out of earshot, she turned to us and said "I actually live right down this road and I just didn't want him to know." Smart girl. So, we walked her to her door and waited with her until her friend let her in since she had forgotten her keys. I'm so glad that we stopped and helped her out. That guy was sooo creepy. It's really not good that her friends let her walk home alone though. I hope she gets that straightened out for next time.

Andrea and I took a cab home and I crawled in bed around 4. I woke up today at noon and I feel great! It is a perfect 10 day, so I'm going to meet Maggie in the center and walk around a little bit.

My birthday was great, and the fun isn't even over yet! I am so thankful to have had such a one-of-a-kind birthday experience. Bringing all of my friends to an authentic Italian meal with a real Italian family is such a lucky experience, and I'm so happy to have celebrated the way I did. Anarita and Antonio are such special people, and so genuine. It was really a wonderful night.

More later. Ciao.

Thursday night

Hi everyone... here's a post that I wrote on Friday, after my fun birthday celebration on Thursday night. My internet was down for a few days, so I was unable to post it. So, read it as if it were yesterday hehe. Oh, and today is my 21st birthday!!! Yayyyyy!

Ciao!

Last night, we celebrated mine and Maggie’s birthdays by going out to a great dinner at La Casalinga, on the other side of the river. This place is very well known for its awesome prices and great food. We all ate very well and tried basically everyone else’s dinners too. We started by sharing lots of different plates of appetizers. There were liver crostini, bruschetta, mixed cheeses, and beans soaked in olive oil and garlic. It was all amazing. I had spaghetti Bolognese for my main course and it too, was delicious. Between all 8 of us, we finished 4 liters of red wine and 1.5 huge bread baskets. For dessert, I had a delicious vanilla gelato with blueberry sauce on top. We were all so happy with our meal, especially when we got the bill. Considering all that we had ordered, we really didn’t pay very much. Each of us gave 17 euro and that covered it all! Amazing!

After dinner, we walked back across the river and went to Café Bigallo for some drinks. The creepy man that owns the place was still as creepy as ever, trying to be all cute with the girls. Maggie and I thought that maybe, since it was our birthdays, we would be able to get a free drink. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Oh well. We hung there for a while until it started getting really full with annoying Americans. Then, we went to the Lion’s Fountain for more drinks. On our walk to the bar, Grace decided to go home because she was tired. Kevin and Jeff also left to catch their bus. The Lion’s Fountain was packed because it was karaoke night, so we hung there and had a drink while laughing at the singers.

After Lion’s Fountain, we had planned to go to Space to go dancing, but everyone ended up being so tired that we just decided to go home. Andrea and I were able to catch the bus, so we didn’t have to pay for a taxi. Kevin and Jeff had missed their bus, however, and took a taxi home after returning to the Lion’s Fountain.

This morning, we all made it to class at CLIDA, but were totally dead. Maria (our teacher) thought it was pretty funny, so we did a few grammatical exercises and then played Bananagrams (which I’m obsessed with) and talked for the rest of the class. After class, I picked up a little and got lunch. Then, I took myself shopping for a birthday outfit for tomorrow’s dinner and actually succeeded in finding an awesome skirt. Following my shopping excursion, I went back to CLIDA to pick up a package that my Dad had sent me, and to use the internet because mine isn’t working!!! Ugh. Maria Pia is trying to work it out. Anyway, I’m not going anywhere tonight because I’m exhausted. I have school tomorrow from 9-1 and then we are having the fabulous dinner at Benedetta’s! I can’t wait! I’m sure I’ll have stories on Sunday.

A dopo.