Happy Fourth of July!

via

I'm currently at the beach soaking up the sunshine.

There's a lot of this type of food being served here with my family.

Hope y'all are having a wonderful holiday!

School Functions

In Italian schools, each grade focuses on one thing for the year. My class, for example, focused on fruits and vegetables. This does not mean they relate everything to this topic. It is just a way for them to have a year-long theme. One way they used this theme was for a field trip.

My class, along with the other two second grade classes, took a field trip to the grandfather's gardens. The Italian name is "Gli orti degli anziani." They call it grandfather's gardens because it is run by a bunch of old men. Haha no lie.

our guide

We walked to the gardens from the school. It was about a 20 minute walk on one of the hottest days of our trip. One little girl in my class brought an umbrella to shield her from the sun. We laughed at her before we left but by the end of the day, we were all wishing we were that smart.

The gardens were beautiful. There were rows of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, each plot belonging to a different person. People would ride their bikes to the gardens and pick the food they wanted. There was a playground on one end for children. There was also a large building where they sold snacks or hosted parties.

Martina e Riccardo

One of the men took us on a tour of the gardens, stopping to name all the plants. The children were able to pick a few things to taste. At one point, we came across a plot with long-stemmed lilies. The man who owned the plot stopped our group, picked two of the flowers, and ran to give them to Giovanna and me. So sweet!

After our tour, we went inside the large building to eat lunch. They made gnocco fritto for us and man was it good. It is basically a fried ham sandwich. The bread is fried and the ham is cold. Mmmmm I'm drooling just thinking about it. So simple, yet so delicious.

The thing I love about Italian schools is that they are very in-tune with the outside world. They try to get their students out in the world as much as possible. This field trip was just a small example of this philosophy.

Another way my class used the theme of fruits and vegetables was for the school festival. Each class has to make things to sell and must also put on some sort of performance. My class made a cookbook as well as little trinkets, such as the pencils shown below.

For their performance, they sang songs about fruits and veggies. They each wore a costume of a different food and had dances for each song. At the end, each student walked to the front and introduced themselves in English. They said the food, what color they were, and their name. Unfortunately, I was not able to go to the festival because I was in Firenze. But I did get to see them practice. I have videos but they aren't working for some reason. As soon as I figure it out, I'll post them for you to see. The kids are so cute!

One Direction Infection

We all know I had it before this concert. But I just love them even more after seeing them live.

The concert was so much fun! I had a blast acting like a preteen with my cousin.

On the way!

Let me give you a picture of the audience. There were thousands of middle and high school girls, their moms (and a few dads), and then a few college-aged kids. I was definitely in the minority. So I was surrounded by tons of little girls who were screaming their heads off.

Y'all my ears were still ringing the next night. It was soooo loud. I can't even describe it. When the boys came out, they said that we were the loudest concert they've played. Every performer says that at each show so I didn't really take them seriously. But as the night went on, I totally believed them. I have never heard so much screaming. Every time a new boy would start singing, the girls would start screaming all over again. I've been around music/performing my whole life so I know all the signs performers give to the sound guys. The boys were telling them to turn up their in-ears because they couldn't hear themselves. Suffice it to say, it was loud.

Allie and I had such a great time. The boys were great live and were just as great personality-wise as they are in their interviews.

The opening acts were great, too! Well, I was not a fan of Manika. She dressed like Nicki Minaj but sounded like Hannah Montana. Olly Murs, on the other hand, was incredible! It would have been worth it to just see him. He had such a great stage presence; he was born to be a performer. He was on The X Factor in 2009. He has a jazzy pop sound and I just loved him. "Heart Skips a Beat" is his latest single out in the US. Check him out!

One of the things I realized on this adventure is that I really want a nice camera. My digital one just doesn't cut it sometimes. Can you say graduation present??? Mom?? Dad??

I digress. I would definitely go to another one of their concerts. Great night all around!

Modena Part 3

Welcome to day three of Modena stories! Today is just a random assortment of things.

My favorite thing about Italy was the gelato. I think we stopped at every gelato place we came across. Pretty sure I ate my weight in gelato.

I wish I was kidding.

My favorite flavor was bacio. It's chocolate with hazelnut and oh.my.word it's delicious. They have Bacio chocolates in Italy and my mom was sweet enough to send me home with two bags. I only have a few left so I'm trying to save them for when I really miss Italy.

These are only a few of the stops we made:

This was on the day they told us we were leaving early. It was so hot this day and we walked around for an hour trying to find this place.

The first day of school, I went out to lunch with two other girls. Our parents had told us about Bar Agora so we set off to find it. It took us about 15 minutes when it only should have taken 5, but we finally made it! And sadly all the tables were reserved for a business meeting. So we had pizza next door instead. But we were really proud of navigating the city by ourselves!

this was all mine

Around the corner from my house was the cinema. There was a huge statue of a duck in front of the building. Every time we drove past it, Giacomo would say, "There's the best statue in all of Modena!" I just had to get a picture of it.

excuse the horrible quality...we were driving


Modena is like my second home now. I absolutely loved every second I spent there. My family was so wonderful and I can't wait to go back to see them!

Modena Part 2-Birthdays and Obama

Welcome to day two of the Modena stories!

Like I mentioned yesterday, I went to a birthday party with one of my brothers (Giacomo) while I was in Modena. The first Sunday, while we were eating pizza, Giac told me I was invited to his friend's party. Honestly, the thought terrified me. Not only was I just getting to know the family, but I was going to have to put up appearances in front of a group of Italian 20-year-olds. Scary? I think yes.

The party was on Thursday and the closer it got, the more relaxed I became. Living in a new country with new people speaking a new language really makes you take advantage of every opportunity. I generally hate crowds and new situations. But in Italy, I embraced them. The night of the party, my mom picked me up from our seminar and took me to Luca's house. I found out that his mom was an English translator so that eased a little anxiety. I realized on the bike ride over that I was actually excited to go into the new situation. And it turned out to be awesome!

I was greeted at the door by Giac, Luca, and Luca's parents. They were all so friendly. They took me to the backyard and I was immediately the center of attention. I'm talking everyone went silent and they all stared at me. A little uncomfortable. They introduced me and then everything went back to normal.

People started walking up to me introducing themselves. Almost all of them spoke English. One of them was fluent so we made fun of the other's attempts. They all wanted to practice their English and wanted to know about America. They offered me so much food as well as beer or champagne. I don't drink so when I told them "No, grazie" they were shocked. "You're 21 right? You're in college? You're American? And you don't drink?!" Haha sorry to disappoint. Not all American college students are like the ones you see in movies.

One of the other boys was particularly interested in our politics. After introducing himself, this is how our conversation went:

Boy: Are you Republican or Democrat?

Me: Republican

Boy: So you don't like Obama. Correct?

Me: That would be correct.

Boy: Why?

This led to a long conversation about American politics and what's going on in our country. It was actually pretty great. I never expected to talk politics at a 20-year-old's birthday party, let alone at an Italian birthday party.

The rest of the party was spent talking, laughing, and playing dumb party games. At one point, a boy started to explain the rules of a game. Everyone made him explain it in English for me. So he was speaking in English and then another guy translated it in Italian. Quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever heard.

This night was one of my favorite nights on the trip. The people really made me feel welcome and were so interested in everything I had to say. I have never liked being the center of attention, but it was nice for a change.

Sadly, I didn't have my camera, so I have no physical prove that this actually happened. Luca's mom did take a picture of me with the birthday boy. Guess I need to track her down and get that from her.

I had originally planned to finish up Modena stories on this post, but this turned out to be longer than expected. So stay tuned for more outings tomorrow!

Modena Part 1

I really enjoyed living in Modena for a few weeks. The town was the perfect size: not too big and not too small. I either walked or rode my bike everywhere I needed to go. My school was a short 10 minute walk and the center of the city was less than 20 minutes by bike. The first night I was there, my family took me on a bike tour of the city. We rode by all the major buildings and they gave me a brief history lesson of the city. I am so blessed my parents (whole family, really) spoke English. It made things sooooo much easier.

my cute little bike

The first Sunday was so busy. We all slept late (because we didn't get back from our bike tour until 12:30 am) and then went to Nonna's house for lunch. We then went to the Ferrari Museum and to a small castle. This was my first visit to a real castle (Disney World does not count) and y'all, I was excited. My family kept apologizing because it was so small but I thought it was awesome. I didn't take any pictures but my brother took one on his phone. Outside in the creek, they had found someone's bones. Kind of creepy but kind of cool.

you can see the skull and a few bones in the middle

After the castle we went to mass (long and boring, mostly because I couldn't understand a word). The people were really friendly and everyone was interested in the new American girl. I've never been one to like attention, but I really enjoyed it in Italy. I especially enjoyed it at a birthday party I attended, but that story is for another post. 

After mass, we went out to eat pizza. Italians don't mess around with their pizza. Instead of ordering slices or sharing one pizza with multiple people, they each get their own pizza. Granted, the crust is super thin (I'm talking almost non-existent) so it is easy to eat a lot. But I was not aware of this. I told them to just get whatever, thinking I would just eat a slice of the type they usually order. You can imagine my surprise when the waitress brings me my own pizza with literally everything on it. Meat, vegetables, cheese, you name it. I only ate three American-sized slices. I felt horrible leaving so much on my plate but I just couldn't do it. By the end of the trip, however, I was able to eat an entire pizza and still have room for gelato.

Just a few of the many pizzas I ate:

calzone con prosciutto e formaggio (ham and cheese)

spinach and cheese pizza

This, my friends, is the Modenese Pizza. Probably one of the best things I've ever eaten. It has everything that Modena is famous for: parmesan cheese, prosciutto, and basalmic vinegar. Heaven on a pizza. I'm craving it so bad now.

I'll save more stories for my next Modena post. Stay tuned for gelato, birthday parties, and ducks!

Let's take a short break from Italy posts, shall we?

So you might have heard of a boy named Justin Bieber. You might also know that he just released his new album and is on tour. And just in case you're a big fan, you will also know that he has new dancers for his tour.

Well guess what. I happen to know one of those dancers! She was in my orchestra class in high school and grew up in my grandfather's church.

(she's the first dancer on stage)

Kind of crazy to think that someone from little ol' Grayson would end up dancing with Justin Bieber! Congrats Ely! You look great!

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Speaking of boy singers/bands...I'm going to the One Direction concert tomorrow!!!

Woohoo! Confetti! Party in the USA with Brits!

Seriously I'm so excited. My 13-year-old self may just come out.

Can't wait to let y'all know how it goes!