Finding it hard to breathe...

So....as I have been scolded at now by a couple people, I figure I should post another blog (this is for you Nicole)...its going to be a long one...

So last week, classes went pretty well. On Monday in my world religion we visited the Synagogue because we were studying the Jewish faith. It was really interesting. I was very surprised to see how the women and the men are still very sepearted in the Jewish faith (for instance, the women have to sit in a different section of the Synagogue, while the men sit in front and closer). I really enjoyed the tour and the history there. The Synagogue was beautiful. I am actually going to attend one of their services soon, because I think it will be interesting to see how their faith works and their community.

I also attended the synagogue on Tuesday with my Women and Religion class. There, we had a different tour guide, who talked more about the differences in men and women, but I actually did not enjoy this tour. The woman was very rude, and skipped over our questions if we asked something about women, and was also kind of rude about Christianity. But it was still nice to see the Synagogue again.

On Thursday night, our roomate Sara said that we were going out with an Italian. Her family knows some friends that live here, and they gave their son Richard our number and told him to call Sara. We all went with her, since no one knew him. But it was actually incredibly fun. Richard took us to a bar, where we had a drink and just sat around and talked for a while. His friend came and hung out with us then...and then we went dancing. Which is my favorite thing to do. It was super fun...it was just Sara, Caitlin and I, and then Richard and his friend, and also another boy that we met a couple weeks ago who is from Ethopia. I am hoping to make more friends while I am here that are not American. I am glad that we finally have met some Italians and locals!!

Anyways..on Saturday, Leah Sara and I woke up really early and took the train to Cinque Terre with some our school. Cinque Terre is about 100 miles north west of Florence and is filled with vineyards, and thounsands of feet of rock forms (which sara described to us in great details!) It is composed of five villages and is why it is called Cinque Terre (translation...five lands). We began by hiking between Monterosso and Vernazza. Monterosso is a land where there are many resorts, lots of crowds, and a beautiful beach. We hiked very high up into the mountain, which was a hard hike, but totally worth it.

It was incredibly beautiful. It was a steep hike, and the rocks were difficult to climb at some points, but so beautiful. It actually reminded me of St. Lucia, and made me homesick to be there actually. I did not think I could find a land that was almost as beautiful as St. Lucia, but Cinque Terre comes very close. The waters were clear, and the scenery amazing. I finally felt incredibly at home. I think I could live there.

Vernazza is the real jewel of Cinque Terre. There is not much noise around there except for the train that goes actually through the mountain. There were many people near the harbour and so many cute little outdoor restaurants and shops. We stopped to eat lunch first. The region is the birthplace of pesto, so obviously, I got pesto pizza. It was incredible. They make it with a mix of half parmigiano cow chesse and half pecorino sheep cheese, garlic, olive oil, and pine nuts. The pizza was soo good, that we decided to go to another shop and try it on their other local specialty, which is focaccia. Its a flag bread with olive oil and salf. The baker roughs up the dough with finger holes and then puts onions, sage and olive bits in it. It was also amazing.

We walked around and took pictures, before we decided to try to manuvear ourselves into our bathing suits and jump in the beautiful water. WE swam for a bit, before we got out and took the boat to Manarola. From Manarola we walked to Riomaggiore. The story goes as follows:

"The Cinque Terre towns were extremely isolated until the last century. Villagers rarely married anyone from outside their town. In the 1920's, a trail was made between the first two towns: Riomaggiore and Manarola. Happy with that trail, the villagers asked that it be improved as a permanent connection between neighbors. Persistent landslides kept the trail closer more than it was open. After WWII, the trail was reopened, and became established as a lovers' meeting point for boys and girls of the two towns. A journalist, who noticed all the amorous graffiti along the path, coined the trail's now-established name, Via dell"amore."

It was a really cool tunnel to walk through, with grafatti everywhere proclaiming people's love for one another.

This was one of my most favorite days so far in Italy. I think because it was in the countryside...I felt so at home. It was also amazing because the air was incredibly clean. I have been having a lot of trouble breathing over here with my asthma because everyone smokes everywhere and there really is no clean air.

This weekend my roomate Laurie Ann, Caitlin and I were walking aroudn the square when we stopped to listen to a band playing. They were playing some Jewish dance music, and this little old lady was dancing by herself to the music. Really fast dancing though. She turned around and I smiled at her, and then she turned around again, grabbed my hand, and started dancing with me. Haha, so this old lady and I were dancing aorund the square...I was trying to follow her steps. It was hilarious. Turns out she was from Germany, and we had a conversation in German. I actually felt really proud that I could finally speak a language and was really happy to tell my Oma about it!

I have been walking so much around here, that I wore my shoes out. I am looking for some boots to get because it is starting to get cold, and I stupidly didnt really pack warm shoes. I love walking around here, just going down random streets and discovering new things.

Today caitlin and I discovered a new market that had incredible prices. We will no longer be getting our fruit and veggies from the downstairs market! We bought 4 huge green and red peppers, 4 massive carrots, a ton of green beans, 5 tomatoes, 10 huge potatoes that looked like they had been plucked from her, a huge bunch of celery, 10 clementines and four large peaches for less than 10 euros. It was awesome.

This week has been a stressful week so far with homework and reading and tests. But I am getting through it and looking forward to this weekend.

Thursday is my 21st birthday, and I am soooo excited for it. I know what you all are thinking...I am going to go party it up, but if you know me at all, you know that I am going to be quite content to eat a nice dinner and go dancing, which is exactly what my roommates and I are going to do. So no worries about me going out and getting trashed, cause I am not interested in that!! We are going our for our first real, and expensive probably Italian meal (the one with more than one course and wine) and then going dancing. I am so excited because I really love my roommates, they are so amazing...and we are going to have a wonderful time.

On friday two of my best friends from st. Norbert, Autumn and Jenn are coming to celebrate my birthday and visit Italy. they are studying abroad in Spain right now. I am missing them like crazy, so I am super excited to have them here this weekend with me.

So, i should be studying for my first italian test tomorrow, so that is what I am going to do!

The next post will be from the wise old age of a 21 year old in Italy!!!

Miss you all very much!!

Love

Amy

Nicole: Thanks for the wonderful email and for all the cards that make me smile so much. I miss you and wish you could be here with us. Love you so much.