Italy 2018

What an amazing week it has been!! For starters, thank you to everyone who made my birthday/ birthday week so special. From the texts, calls, visitors, surprises, and gifts all the way from the US. You guys are the best. Thank you! One of the things I thought about when planning to study abroad was having my 21st birthday in Europe. It sounds silly, but I wouldn't be with any of my friends from home, and turning 21 isn't a big deal when you are in any country other than the US. Luckily, I have met the most amazing friends here in Reggio, and they have truly spoiled me for my special day. I came home from my night class on Thursday to a surprise party with all of my close friends. We had cake, lemon fanta, gummy bears, and beer... just a few of my favorite things. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration! I started the birthday weekend off right by visiting FICO, which stands for the Fabricca Italian Contadina (Italian farming factory). Some people know ...

I started this week off right with my first Italian cooking class. Our class is so fun, its held in a small hostel in Reggio that has a full restaurant and kitchen attached. Our teacher is an older woman (Simonita) and her husband who run the restaurant. They don't speak any english, so class is lead by a translator, but we mostly learn from watching Simonita, and copying her every move. We learned how to make a traditional 4 course Italian meal with spaghetti and of course pork and potatoes ;) (inside joke. If you don't get it, don't worry). After cooking the meal, we get to sit down in the restaurant portion of the hostel and hang out and eat!! Friday we had a field trip to the parmesan cheese factory. We went to the original factory where the traditional method of parmesan making was started. We got to watch how they make the famous Parmigiana Reggiano cheese from milk to the aged cheese wheels. This type of parmesan is made from the milk of a breed of red cows that ar...

It's crazy to think that I have been living in Reggio for a whole month now. It seems like just yesterday I was home preparing for this crazy adventure. Where did the time go? On Friday it was pouring in Reggio; to the point that we were soaked just walking home from class. I have never really noticed how much rain effects people's moods. In P town, the rain doesn't stop long enough to notice a change in people's attitudes, but here, it was like night and day. Everyone was grumpy and in a sour mood just because it was raining. It was one of the weirdest things. That afternoon we went on a program field trip to Modena, Italy. Modena is about 15 minutes by train from Reggio. We went on a walking tour of the city, saw a bunch of fresco paintings from the Renaissance, and got some delicious gelato (yes, in the rain :)). Every time we meet a new Italian friend, they ask us where we are studying, and their response to Reggio is almost always, "Oh. Why do you live the...