Weekend Number 1

So this weekend was an interesting one. Friday I waited for some of the girls to get out of class so we could head to the beach. We walked down there; it took about 15-20 min and we probably went down over 500 steps and i'm not kidding. Once we got there though it was beautiful. The water was crystal clear with a green blue tint to it. When they say the beach is pebble here they aren't kidding. There was no sand just rocks so it could get a little painful at times to walk on but it was tolerable. We all swam out to this lava rock, which we thought was not that far away, it was a long, cold swim. See the Ionian Sea is never warm so you have to let your body get numb to tolerate the water. I ended up cutting my toe on the rock so I hope I don't get some scary infections (i've been putting medicine on it). I got pretty dang sunburnt that day so i've been in a little pain :(

Later on that night all of the Auburn students got together in the hotel and hung out. We decided to go to this place called the Morgana Bar; it was beautiful inside but the drinks were way overpriced. We all had a pretty fun night and I decided to be the paparazzi and I took many pictures of random things and people. The night soon ended when I got back to the hotel and walked into my room. My roommate had too much to drink that night and proceeded to throw up everywhere in our room but the tiolet. Yes, this includes the floor, sink, and balcony :) It was interesting to say the least.

Saturday was a pretty uneventful day for me. It was Jeffrey's birthday back home and i'd decided since I couldn't be with him then I wouldn't do anything that day, hah. I was pretty sad/homesick all day. This is the second year in a row i've missed his birthday and I feel so guilty; even though he doesn't hold it against me!! I'm going to try to never miss another one of his, or mine for that matter again, it's just not any fun!

Yesterday, I just hung out at the hotel and did homework. We layed by the pool and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all day, fun stuff I know. Later that night we watched Disturbia in one of the girls rooms and then talked about our boyfriends, read the book Skinny Bitch, and just laughed about whatever popped up into our heads.

-->random insert...while on the beach friday we had multiple Chinese woman come up to ask our for massages and we'd say no a hundred times but they wouldn't leave us alone. So finally I said something I learned last summer in China which is, Boo Yah (boo-yowh) and it means get away right now and leave me alone! and i'll be a monkey's uncle if that lady didn't up and all but run away from us! Pretty interesting that I used Chinese in Italy!

So today my culture class has a little excursion to Catania, should be interesting. That however is all that's planned for my day today. Pretty exciting huh? Well until next time, Arrivederci!

Temples and Tours

Hey guys so yesterday was an amazing day for me!! We took a 3-hour busride to Agrigento to visit the old Greek temples. We got to see five of them including the Temple of Hercules and the Temple of Zeus...here are some pictures :)

The bus ride to Agrigento was exquisite. It was like a Tuscan landscape; rolling hills, vineyards, and driving through the mountains. The ride though made me realize how much I really miss Jeffrey. He’s such a history nut like I am so I know he would have loved to be on the trip with me!! Being at the temples just makes you realize how big the world truly is. Those temples have been there since 5000 B.C. After we left Agrigento we went to La Villa di Romana. It’s one of the largest, most intact Roman households in the world. It was used as a “hunting weekend getaway”. The floors were magnificently laid in mosaic style. The artwork behind the mosaics were so intricate and detailed, everyone was mesmerized.

After we left there we headed back to the hotel for another 2 hour ride. It was a very long day. Not to mention the ride to the Villa was the most stressful of my life. Anyone who knows me knows how bad I freak out with other drives so imagine riding through curvy mountain roads on a tour bus….we went through sharp turns (and of course I’m on the side where the mountain plummets into an abyss) so anyway, we were going around these curves when another girl and I spotted cars that had gone off road into the mountain side. That was the time if any I needed anxiety medicine, for sure! Needless to say we made it through safely though.
We got back to the hotel and ate after traveling all day long. After we ate I decided to make a few phone calls and ended up spending an hour on the phone; my mom is gonna kill me!! Oh well I wanted to let people know how I was doing J Then it was basically bedtime and that about sums up my day!

Today we’re going to the beach to see what it’s like, we haven’t made it there yet. Then we plan to hit up the night life to see what that’s all about! I’m pretty excited about it since we don’t have anything to do tomorrow! I miss everyone at home and am ready to see them again but I’m definitely having the time of my life in Sicilia!!

Buon Giorno miei amici,
Maria

Daily Life

So i've been here for several days now and my body is still getting adjusted to time. It stinks waking up at 2am and staying awake for hours because back home it's 7pm. Hopefully, by the end of the week i'll be able to get a full nights rest.

Yesterday we went on a tour of the city. It was a straight 2-hour walk up and down the hills of Taormina :) The tour was interesting; we learned where the bus stop, post office, and the public gardens are. I'll have to show some of the garden pictures even though they do it no justice! After our tour some of us grabbed lunch and headed to the hotel for some rest. I took a 2-hour nap which was probably not to smart considering I was up the whole night. After waking up we went to this little cafe/bar down the street. We all got lasagna (I had lasagne quattro formaggi; 4 cheese lasagna) it was interesting, but good. Then a couple of us grabbed some deeeelicious gelato and wine and headed back to the hotel.

When we got back to the hotel we proceeded to have a wine night, I of course bought the more expensive bottle and choked everytime just to swallow. The wine Nero d'Avola is supposed to be one of Sicily's most famous wines; well it takes like petroleum mixed with tire rubber, ask anyone! :) We had a pretty good night though, a couple of the girls and I hung out after everyone either left or went out and we found a lot of commom ideas we all share! It was fun! That was the end of that night until 2am this morning when the crazy, loud, drunk italian men downstairs proceeded to wake me up!

So this morning I woke up, ate a big breakfast, and now i'm at the school writing this. I've got to do some homework and start studying for the GRE (fun stuff I know). Oh, my phone is finally starting to work a little better now. I've been able to get calls from mom and jeffrey, which definitely makes my day :) I miss them both so much but i'm so glad they supported me in the decision to come here, it's a blessing no doubt! Well that's it for today!

Arrivederci :)

Taormina Travels

Well I have finally arrived in Taormina, Italy. After spending all day Saturday and Sunday traveling i've got most everything packed away. The plane ride from Dothan to Atlanta was bittersweet, I was so excited to be going to Italy but it was hard telling my parents and Jeffrey goodbye for awhile. I'm definitely gonna miss my friends but culture shock hasn't really affected me thus far. I had a 5-hour layover in Atlanta which was not ideal, but tolerable. The plane ride to Rome was long but nothing like the ride to China. I got a total of 8hrs of sleep between Friday night to Sunday, and if you know me that was pretty difficult!! Of course my phone over here is crap and not working right. I have the worst luck with phones over seas and it's not cool. As of now I can call anyone but no one can call me :(

Today has been beautiful. The sun is shining and if you look to the south you can see Mount Etna in all it's glory with smoke billowing out the top. The scenery here is just like you would image, taupe colored buildings, balconies aligned in flowers, and people saying Buon Giorno as you walk by. This place is straight out of one of my dreams! It's amazing but I do wish Jeffrey was here to share it with me :) The couples you see are so adorable, it's like everyone is so madly in love and such! Stuff here is not too expensive but since the dollar is worth nothing to euro it's gonna be a little difficult to stretch out the allowance i've been given on this trip.

Well I suppose I should go back to our hotel I have some homework to do before class tonight :(

Ciao ragazzi!