Sono in Italia? Davvero?

I can't believe I'm actually here!  Just for a recap, I flew into Rome this past Monday and traveled to the small medieval city of Siena (in the Tuscany region) on Tuesday, and will be here until May! I'm participating in the IES Siena program, which has about 30 American students in it, and I'll be taking classes at the IES Center during my time here.

Now. Down to business... Well, the only things I've really done in Siena so far are: try to become familiar with the city and my program, meet and hang out with a lot of new people, start my intensive Italian class, and eat really good food. But that description gives little justice to the fact that I'm having a really great time here! Siena is amazing - it's so beautiful in its medieval charm, and it's small enough that I can already  find my way around my area and some other parts of the city. It's also really safe compared to some other Italian cities, so rest at ease. :) The Sienese are friendly, but not many of them can speak much English so it's definitely a challenge in that area. But to be honest I really love that, even though it's difficult, because I'm already improving my conversation skills with ordering food, etc. And we just started our intensive language class, as I mentioned, and since I'm doing the advanced class that should be a challenge as well. Until the end of next week we only have our language classes, and then we'll start our other classes, so I'll fill you guys in on those once they start!

Siena. is. a. workout. It's so hilly here, so it seems like every direction is uphill! But I decided that I definitely can't complain, since I'm here after all. :) And because the food is so delicious , I suppose all the exercise is a very good thing. :) We had to go out for food for the first few days (I say that as if it's a bad thing...) because we didn't know where the supermarkets were until thursday. But now that we have a little food in the apartment, we even had a few people over to our apartment tonight for antipasti (appetizers) e vino. It was really a great time, so we'll definitely be doing that more often in the future.

Speaking of the apartment, it's  amazing! Ok, so a few things are slightly falling apart, but we can't complain: 1) we have a great location, only about 3 minutes away from the main piazza (Piazza del Campo) and on a pretty happening street, and 2) we live on the fourth and top floor of our building, and we have a private terrace on the roof! It's incredible, and the view is breathtaking. You can see most of the city, and on a clear day you can see the far off hills of Tuscany. There's also a table and chairs, an umbrella, and even two lounge chairs, so we'll surely be spending a lot of time out there once it gets a little warmer.  (See pictures below!) My roommate, Lauren, and I are super excited about it. Lauren's from Wisconsin, and she's really nice so we're getting along just fine. The other students in my program are really cool, and I've been hanging out with a lot of them, so that's been fun. :)

our terrace!

the view from our terrace :)

I have a few comments about Italian culture brewing in my mind, but I think I'll wait until my next post so that they can fully take form (plus this first post is long-ish so I won't go on for much longer).

And now for just a few important notes:

     1. Remember, it's 6 hours later in Italy than in the US on the East Coast. So when it's noon for you guys, it's 6 in the evening for me. (Apparently I've not only traveled to Europe but into the future as well...)

     2. My address: So I do live in an apartment, but the best way to send anything to me is through the IES Center, where I take classes every day. They have a mailbox for me, so I'll be sure to get it. :) Here's the address:

               Lindsay Gaskill

               c/o IES Siena

               Via A. Pannilunghi, 7

               53100 Siena (Si)

               Italy

     3. I would appreciate any and all emails, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! I'll be on skype when I'm in the apartment too, so you can find me on there to chat! :)

Alright that's it for now. I miss you all so much and I hope you're doing well!!

Buona sera!