Im HERE!

Sorry I took so long to write! I have had time but I was completely lame and forgot my password for this blog. I finally remembered it so now I can update you on my first week in Italy!

So after the incredibly longggg flight from the States I made it to the Hotel everyone was staying at during orientation. It was in a perfect spot right next to the Arno river! The first night we walked around, got some really great gelato and saw Santa Croce church! Then the next few days I had lots of meetings and administrative things to do for orientation but then on Thursday I met my host family. Its great because they live really close to school. It only takes me five minutes to get home unlike some other people that have to take the bus or walk for thirty minutes. They've treated my roommate and I very well and have been very accommodating. We eat dinner as a family every night during the week which allows me the time to practice my Italian alot.

This past weekend my host mother, Cristina, took myself, my roommate and her daughter to the beach for the weekend. Driving there at 90 miles an hour as we swerved back and forth between cars was an experience, to say the least, but lets just say I was glad to get out of the car :-) Then we spent the afternoon laying in the sun and swimming. The water in Italy is perfect. It's not as warm as Hawaii but still much easier to get used to than at the beaches in Orange County.

Afterwards we headed to the family's country home in the hills. It was a small but cute little place basically in the middle of nothing. We drove about twenty minutes to this cute town called Castagneto Carducci for dinner which was situated on top of a hill so that you could see a bunch of vinyards that led all the way to the ocean.

The next day we got up and headed to the medieval town of Massa Marritima. After the VERY steep trek down the cobble stones, we ate lunch next to a beautiful 13th century church. Apparently, the town is a spot that many Italians like to visit but is virtually unknown by foreign tourists.

I'm going to Assisi on Friday with school and then hopefully the Cinque Terre for the rest of the weekend. We are having a hard time finding a hostel or cheap hotel to stay at though so we may end up somewhere else. I guess you'll find out in my next post!