Last night was literally the worst night ever. Apparently, it doesn’t rain a lot here, but when it does, ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. I am not over dramatizing that whatsoever. Here I was, drenched in sweat from my AC-less room, when I hear a yell. “Sadie!” My roommate Christen has shot up straight in her bed, saying “Sadie, our door is open. Someone opened our door!” Since it’s five in the morning, this of course this causes me to sit up in a panic while a crazy storm is brewing amidst the safe haven of my new home. The thunderstorm wouldn’t be so bad if the wind weren’t howling, the rain weren’t pounding or the shutters weren’t slamming. I literally woke and thought I was in the scene of the scary movie where the innocent blonde was about to die. Not really, but I did think I had become part of the Paranormal Activities where hundreds of ghost were running around whistling and shutting all the shutters. Anyways, besides the fact that I was absolutely terrified, I still had the groggy sleepwalk in me. We checked the door, and it wasn’t open, which was weird, so we made sure to shut it. I know, I know, very anticlimactic, but just wait. I spend the rest of the morning, from five to eight, curled in my blanket and trying to tune out the screams of the wind and the shutters being thrown against the side of the building. It wasn’t until I got out of bed at eight, that I saw it. OUR DOOR WAS OPEN. I KID YOU NOT. There’s the climax.
And that’s how we adopted our ghost Mother Susan, an old saint here at the convent that passed away many years ago in our dorm. She died a happy woman surrounded by her loved ones.
Well, besides our odd night occurrence, I had my first day of school in Italy today! On Mondays, I have my Italian history class and my studio class. For history, we toured around our little castle for what seemed to be the third time, wait it really was the third time, but we did learn about how the town we lived in fit in with the Medieval Ages and the Renaissance and learning about the Etruscans and Romans. Pictures will be up soon, seeing as how the Internet has fallen to the dark hole of computers, Ipad’s and smartphones. Anyways, our teacher is fun and taught as that he could stand in front of a rock and convince us that something cool happened there. He makes history so fun! Or maybe learning about Italy is fun…either way; I don’t mind three months of learning this stuff.
Next, I had my studio professor, and this is where my words begin to fail. I am just so excited with the opportunity that I have here with this class. I am so beyond thrilled for my projects over the next semester and sharing the steps along the way. I get to not only record my adventure here, but I am binding and making my own book to do so. I get to create a wine label and create a map of my city. The professor is really going to help us reach out to traditional ways of making art, letting us actually see and feel for once without the use of technology, which is something that gets lost among the generation today.
With the end of this class, everything hit me at once. I am in Italy. I walked out of the printmaking shop and entered a scene so beautiful, I can't describe it. The clouds clung to the mountain, as the sun hid behind them, offering gorgeous beams of light through the cracks. It was such a sight to see. I am here. This is real. This is my home for the next three months. I am in a land so ancient and modern at the same time. The locals love to know that we are learning, and I have even made a friend named Giulia, who was so sweet to us at a bar for lunch. She even said she would help my friends and I practice our Italian.
My adventure has only just begun. I am going to Arezzo and Florence in the next two days, and finishing up my classes on Thursday. Until then, I will be sleeping or sketching or sipping a cappuccino (I tried the espresso and BLEH it was gross) while you laugh or sigh at my stories.
Ciao mi amici!
Sincerely Yours,
Sadie