Review

Ciao a tutti!

Once again, I've dropped out of the blogging universe for a while. I will likely drop out again in a few weeks when final exams come around. However, I a few minutes at the moment, so it's time for a quick update. Where did we leave off?

The Sala Borsa! I got my library card and never used it. I don't have time to read books for pleasure, although Schelling's Arms and Influence wasn't quite as boring as my other required readings.

Halloween! We had a big school-wide party at a palazzo. My friend and I got some cardboard and built a portico-headpiece, dressed up as columns and went as a side-street in Bologna. We thought it was terribly clever, but we failed to place in the costume competition. SAIS is more of a creative hotbed than we anticipated.

Midterms! They happened. They're over (for now).

Thanksgiving! I cooked my first-ever turkey (which had to be special-ordered because Italians don't really do turkey), and it turned out edible! I had more people over to my place that I had chairs, forks, glasses, napkins or any one utensil, but we all had a good time. There was a ridiculous quantity of food. I made the turkey, pumpkin pie (from a pumpkin), apple pie and my friends brought everything from mashed potatoes to Chinese-style chicken. It was all delicious, but I've never spent so many consecutive hours in a kitchen before and I need a long break before I do that again.

Trips! I went to Venice for a day to meet a friend. It rained, it poured, and I had no umbrella, but in spite of it all, we had a really good time. We took a vaporetto (water taxi) across the lagoon to the island of Murano and watched some glassmaking before taking a rainy walk along the canal and doing some serious window-shopping. Of course we were sure to get some super-touristy shots in St. Mark's square before we left. I hope to go back when the weather is sunnier. I also went to Florence on an art history class field trip. We saw Michelangelo's David and visited the Uffizi. The day started beautifully and ended in rain. Winter weather in northern Italy is a bit of a letdown. It's cold and rainy, pretty much all the time. Still, the Florentine streets were all lit up and decorated for the holidays. That and a cup of hot chocolate (pure, liquid chocolate) put me in a very cheery mood, despite the weather.

Summer! I got an internship at the US Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome. It looks like my adventures in Italy are really just beginning.

Extracurriculars! I started volunteering at a local middle school with a fifth grade English class. It's an hour week and a nice break from the seriousness of my own academics. Also, I finally found a french horn and any mysterious noises emanating from the basement of Via Belmeloro 11 can generally be attributed to me practicing. It's been a long time, but it's a fun hobby to revisit.

I'm on my way back to school, so that's all for now folks. Tomorrow, I leave for a conference in Geneva. Ciao!