going on a walkabout

Quick tour of town with our new friend and experienced RC, Chelsea. Have to be ready to give it to new students on Tuesday.

l'arivo (the arrival)

We knew we were in Italy when everything became difficult.

Surprise, the plane was late. Our freshly dispensed bancomat money quickly transferred into the hands of various transportation companies: a last-minute bag check that incurred an unexpected fee, an overpriced shuttle that only took us as far as the Termini train station, where we had to pay for two additional trains (one from Rome to Arezzo, and one from Arezzo to Castiglion Fiorentino). That’s THREE trains we had to, with superhuman strength, shot-put bags up onto the trains’ platforms. Madalyn wants everyone to know that her sternum is fine, but that the same cannot be said about her aging knees.

But then, we set eyes on the blue “Cast. Fno.” insignale (sign) and an angel, Sharon (a.k.a. “Boss”), welcomed us back home with open arms and empty trunk. Such a blessing not to have to haul all of our possessions up the hill to our new house at Santa Chiara. For those of you new to this blog or uninformed about what it is that Madalyn and I are doing this next semester, here’s the quick run-down:

We have been hired as Resident Coordinators at the Santa Chiara Student Center in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. It is a charming medieval hilltown in Tuscany, about an hour southeast of Florence. As an intern at the Center, we’re here as part of a team that hosts college students from across America who have chosen to study abroad in Italy. Most students who come here are Architecture majors, like us. Everyone starts trickling in on Tuesday, so for now it’s been a lot of training.

This is the view from our room...no, I am not joking.

Key to the map:

1: CASTIGLION'S SOCCER FIELD, close enough to hear the chants.

2: THE VALLEY

3: CASTELLO DI MONTECCHIO, castle on the horizon.

4: CHURCH OF THE CONSOLATION, built during the Renaissance.

First picture of Santa Chiara. We spend most of our days sitting in this courtyard.

how european do we look now?

To sum up our plane ride, it was cold and the blankets were too short. And the stewardess judged us right off the bat, deeming us too young/incapable of sitting in the exit row. She just didn't understand that we simply wanted the extra leg room. Oh, and we almost missed the flight. The entire plane had boarded before we looked up and realized that maybe that HAD called our section.

We started our second day in Amsterdam today. After 2 SleepyTimes and a solid 18 hours of sleep we were ready to go! Here are some observations:

1. We don't know how to say even the simplest phrases in dutch, like "hello" or "thank you".

2. The people here are so classy!

a. They don't eat sandwiches with their hands (like me).

b. They ride bikes in dresses and heels and don't even sweat.

c. They are healthy. For example while Haley and I were sitting at a cafe drinking beer and eating cheesy croissants we saw a girl ride by on her bike eating an apple.

3. The Dutch are tall.

4. While they value natural ventilation and light in their living spaces, NOT so much can be said about their bathrooms. We've nicknamed our 4 sq. foot bathroom "The Linoleum Cave," covered floor to ceiling in tan speckled linoleum. But it's clean, it being possible to literally Windex the entire space and all.

Today we plan to visit the Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank's House. Since those are the only attractions we are aware of. We also plan on googleing more things to do.

I bought some lovely wooden tulips to remember our trip to the

flower market!

Our favorite flowers were the Dahlias!

one more day!!

On this day in history: 8/23/2008.
Madalyn and Haley land in Dublin. SUPER jet lagged, SUPER excited about our upcoming semester in Italy. Coming back full circle...

it's just Tulip Talk.

For us, the adventure starts when everything falls apart.

I think we're off to an interesting beginning: just received an email from our hotel in the Netherlands and simply skimming it you'd find the phrases "unpredictable accident" and "fire disaster"... hmmm, what now?!

We've been informed to move hotels. That's more like it. Throw us the curveball.

Travel's become pretty easy - click here: got your plane ticket, click there: rooms booked, swipe that: nice crisp bills instantly in your hand. Not to say I'm not thankful, but it's removed a little of the authenticity of experiential traveling. Adventure, mishap, and survival. Rarely are travelers ever in true danger, and yet on some level that's why we do it, right? We want to risk something, to have our very own adventures, to have to re-route halfway through, to dodge real-life fire disasters..

So, one week till Madalyn & I leave: here's to unpredictable accidents that (hopefully) turn into unregrettable memories. May our quest for adventure stay insatiable.

every journey begins with a...new pair of converse.

So I bought (and by "I" I mean I guilted my mom into buying me) a new pair of converse. I was contemplating getting an all white pair because they are so hot right now, but they didn't have them at Kohl's. Instead I went back to my roots, the classic black ones. I'm pretty happy with my decision. I'm thinking of giving them a special photo album and documenting all they places they go. Last round in Italy I had grey ones. I loved them so much, they had a really full life and I hope for these new ones to have the same. Italians love converse, it's a fact. With my new kicks, I am going to just blend in seamlessly with the locals. (I don't know if I can say the same about Haley's cowboy boots.) I'm also being really economical by buying mine here in the states because they are so much more expensive over there. Buying those shoes has made me feel so much more ready for Italy. Now I am confident that no matter what I wear, my feet will be looking fresh.

Lisa (shout-out), I went all lower case on the title because I was inspired by your blog.