So Much to Do, So Little Time

I can’t believe that we are almost done with our first month here in Paderno already! The time has gone by so fast, and looking back it is amazing how many things I have been able to do. This week was spent on campus and was full of classes, planning trips, and a variety of other activities. We started off the week with an etiquette seminar where Dr. Al taught us the proper way to eat and drink at a formal Italian meal. This was very interesting because I have attended etiquette dinners at home, but everything in Italy is completely different from the way we eat in America.

This etiquette seminar was preparation for our first formal dinner which was held later in the week. The dinner was so much fun as everyone got dressed up for the night and we went to a very nice restaurant where we were served several courses of delicious food. We had three different antipasti, a pasta dish, a meat dish, and the most amazing dessert ever! It is hard to even explain, but it was a shell with an ice cream/pudding inside and chocolate drizzled on the top. We also had the opportunity to sample different wines with each dish, tasting how they went with what we were eating. By the time the meal was over everyone was very full, but very satisfied. As soon as we left people were already saying how they are excited for the next formal dinner.

This week I also had the chance to go to a nearby town by the name of Asolo for my Italian class. Asolo is a town that is actually on the list of 1,000 places to visit before you die, and I can definitely see why. It is a gorgeous city that we had the opportunity to walk around before sitting at a café and ordering a coffee or hot chocolate in Italian. It was too short of time for such a gorgeous city, and hopefully I will have the chance to go back and explore more soon!

A large part of our week between homework was also spent planning travel as we are leaving for our first travel break on Saturday. I will be traveling all around Italy for the first week going to Florence, Pisa, Siena, Rome, Naples, and Pompeii. I am so excited and can’t wait to see everything Italy has to offer! We have researched each town and have an idea of everything we would like to see, but we are just going to see what we find. It is going to be interesting to see the cities and the sights, but also to see what Italian culture is really like and how it varies by the region. I know it will be a fast and exciting week already!

A few girls and I also booked flights to Barcelona for our first long weekend, which we are already excited for. While planning all of this traveling I have really realized how fortunate we are to be in a program that really encourages traveling and allows us to have time off of school to do just that.

However, I should start packing but I can’t wait to update you all after our travels!