First day in Italy!

So we finally got to Italy and what a day!

Drive from Milan to bologna and explore around here. We had pizza for dinner and gelato for dessert. More pictures of today 
to come later! Night lovelies

P.s. look at my awesome hotel room!

Scavenger hunt through bologna

Today was my fourth day in bologna and it started off with a bang! We had a surprise waiting for us in the lobby. Our teacher sent us on a photo scavenger hunt through bologna . Although my team didn't win I definitely know the city better now and I lost at least a pound after walking for 2 hours. And honestly whoever thinks that I'm going to super fat after eating my weight in pasta here in Italy is dead wrong. I've done so much waking that Hussein bolt ain't got nothing on me.

Everyone got so competitive that we were ready to go down fighting. Literally. More pictures to come soon and more about beautiful bologna.
Ciao
Shristhi

Bologna adventures

We Arrived! (Just in time for a Zombie Apocalypse)

Our class’s first day was a great way to start our adventures in Italy. Beginning with two plane rides which included multiple security checks, gum chewing competitions and little sleep, we all had jet-lagged butterflies in our stomachs.  Upon arrival in Milan (Linate), Lauren and I made a bee-line for some much needed coffee. To our delight, we succeeded in ordering a cafe americano and a cappuccino in Italian. Applying what we learned in our recent Italian language classes made us feel quite proud. Even normally energetic Kiernan developed an affection for the phrase,          " sono stanca!", meaning " I am tired!"

From Milan we drove to Bologna, our first city. This last leg of the trip proved how tired everyone really was- within the first half an hour everyone started to fall asleep watching the rolling hills out of the bus windows. Arrival in Bologna came with some hiccups, but Ms.Sandes and Ms.Alexis handled everything expertly as always.

 In the first afternoon we settled into our hotel rooms and then ventured out to gaze curiously at the surroundings and were awed by the stately, old architecture. As a class we have gotten so close in the past year that spending time together is a lot of fun. We spent the first few hours in one of the hotel rooms playing card games, dancing, and talking about everything we were excited to see. 

Later, donning beautiful new sundresses, everyone set out for walk around the hotel to take pictures and explore. Despite the heat our class enjoyed our first peek into Italian life. We saw colorful buildings , children playing soccer, and many motos in the vias.

In the evening, while strolling through the center of Bologna we came across something very unexpected. On one of the main vias dozens of young people were dressed in military uniform, poised as though preparing for battle. Moments later hundreds more approached from the opposite direction, dressed as zombies, and attacking the ‘soldiers’. Although the zombies seemed to lose (they reanimated and continued on their way to repeat the show in Piazza Maggiore), we saw a very entertaining  zombie apocalypse. Upon further research, I discovered that this event is called the "Zombie Walk" and is an annual occurrence in Bologna. That same evening we also walked through a music festival going on in the main piazza. There were also several performers and musicians throughout the streets, which gave us a glimpse the rich culture of Bologna. 

We are looking forward to new adventures and experiences this week before we depart for Venice on Friday.We have been in bologna for 3 days now and the city looks like it just popped out of a movie set. The red roofs, arches, and beautiful shops all add to the experience. In addition to that we got explore bologna by ourselves as well, which I thought was pretty cool. 

My feet hurt so much. If they could scream they would be screeching. In the span of 2 days I have climbed over 500 stairs!

With more food, gelato, and foot aches, I head to my fourth day in Italy. Pictures to come soon!

Leaving New York

I am writing this as our flight takes off (shockingly) on time. We have checked in our bags and cleared security, and everyone can feel the adventure that is about to begin. 

I said goodbye to my sister and parents and to my two cousins who I won't be seeing again until next year. So pardon the cliche but ciao for now!

(I'm he second from the left)

Pre-trip Warm up

The flight to Italy is now two days away and I have officially started getting butterflies. It kinds feels the way as before I step on stage, like I just want to fast forward time until the show.
Everyone is supposed to do presentations when we get to Italy as well. I have presentations on the Sistine chapel, the Trevi fountain, and the Galileo museum.  More updates on how that research is going... The only thing that I find hard about these presentations is that there is so much to learn, organize, and present! I want to make my presentation fun and exciting- I honestly don't even want to  teach a boring presentation.
I also received my brand spanking new pancake lens in the mail yesterday- so excited to take pictures with that little puppy.
So today's agenda is buying necessities - and doing last minute shopping. Apparently I was so focused on buying clothes and I completely forgot about shoes- whoops!

Spring field trip to NYU

I
About a month ago, the entire ICS class took a trip into NYC to see the Frick Museum as well as attend a class at NYU. 

The experience was overwhelming! Not only was it a gorgeous sprig day but we all learned a lot. 

The Frick is such a unique museum in the sense that it is very personal. There are rooms instead of exhibitions and the entire environment feels more individualized. The whole class loved it, and the lecture from our professor at NYU.

Attending a humanities class was very different. We were all in awe of the campus- which was bustling with artists, musicians, and students. 

One artist was drawing a beautiful chalk painting in front of us!

The class itself was about a few chapters in Dante's purgatory. Having read Inferno, it was a great class discussion to watch. 

Next year I'm going to miss these trips into the city. I feel like I have learned so much and have gathered so much knowledge that I want to go back - this time on my own.

Language Classes

Today my class had their first italian language class and I have to admit it was so helpful! Our teacher , Valerie, taught us simple phrases like:

Come stai? - How are you?
Come ti chiami -  What is your name?
Piacere - nice to meet you
Sto molto bene - I am well
boun giourno - good day
bonna sera- good evening


Tomorrow is another language class and the unveiling of artist Greg Wyatt's new sculpture. Pictures to come!