(from my journal) Saturday afternoon we made our way from the Villa to the train station in Florence. I'm proud to say my backpack really isn't that heavy! I will probably run out of clothes before the end of the week, but I plan on re-wearing some things! My "frontpack" is really heavy right now because it's got my telephoto lens, my wide-angle lens adapter, and all my snacks. Anyway, we took a train to Mestre, the station right outside of Venice, because our hotel was located in Mestre. In our group of ten, we had to take three cars. There were seven people in car four, William and I were in car five, and Britt (who got his reservation about an hour before the train left) was in car six. I don't know if he fell asleep or if he just didn't understand us when we said get off at the stop before Venice, but when the rest of us got off, he did not. So when we all met up, the first thing we noticed was that Britt was missing. We decided to try and figure out the best way to get to our hotel while we tried to get ahold of Britt, who wasn't answering his phone. We figured that he would probably try to get ahold of us once he got off in Venice and realized none of the rest of us were there. At the station they only had maps of Venice, which didn't really help us navigate Mestre, so we ended up taking three taxis to our hotel. We checked into our rooms, and then took the hotel shuttle into Venice. Britt was supposed to stay at the station in Venice until we got there, but he misunderstood us again and ended up back in Mestre. He eventually met up with us in Venice though, and after that he paid very good attention to where we said our stop was. Poor guy!! Even though it was dark, we walked in across the big bridge by the train station and stopped by the water. William took me to a ristorante/pizzaria right on the water while everyone else ate their "sack suppers." (Will and I ate them pretty early on the train ride over because we were hungry!) We finished dinner about nine and then went to get some gelato!! After gelato we walked up and down the main street by the water and looked at shops. We ran into Mont, Possey, Barrett, Weston and Emily on the way, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves! They were taking a night train out of Venice a few hours later. A couple minutes after saying goodbye to them we ran into Emily, Karli, and Abby. We talked to them for a minute or two, and then continued back up the street. Once we got back close to the restaurant we ate at, we ran into Kyle and Summer, and then the rest of our group, and then Alex and Lynn. We hung out and talked to everyone for probably almost an hour before we split off again to go look at some more of Vince before we had to meet the shuttle. We sat in front of a church on a bench for a little bit, but when a lesbian couple started making out on the steps in front of it, we decided to head back towards the bus. We met back up with our shuttle, which was kind of like a party bus - it had blue lights on the inside, a sparkly floor, and they were playing popular American music. We got back to our hotel, Villa Dori, hung out for a while and then headed to bed.
We got up about 7 the next morning and took the shuttle (and our backpacks) into Venice about 9. First we got our train reservations for a 1:30 train headed towards Salzburg. Then we broke up into two groups and walked around Venice. We saw some big, special bridge and then went to San Marco church. It was HUGE and really pretty, but since it was Sunday we just took a few pictures from the outside. After that we went to get some lunch and stopped so a couple girls could shop, on the way back towards the train station. We caught our first of two trains without any issues. It was about a five hour train ride, and it was exciting because we had two compartments to split between our group. It reminded us all of the Hogwarts Express. I really do enjoy traveling by train! Good thing too because I will be on them a lot this week!! We switched trains after five hours, and then took a two hour train ride into Salzburg. It was a lot of fun watching everything go from Italian to German, though it was a little harder to decipher the messages. It was also fun going through the alps, I LOVE the mountains, though they always make me feel homesick. Once we got to Salzburg we took taxies to our hotel, got our rooms, and then some of us went out to get dinner. Since it was around ten when we got in, there wasn't a lot close by that was open. We ended up eating at a McDonals, but it was an awesome McDonalds. They had free wifi too, which was a plus. I got to text my family and that was a nice little treat :) After McDonalds we went back to the hotel and went to bed!
A couple of details that I left out:
While in Venice, William, Katie and I decided to skip down the street, we actually got a lot of smiles and it was fun! hahaha :)
When we first got there and we were standing on the huge bridge, I waved at a boat going bye. A guy on board started whistling at me, and then waved back! Aaaaand then.,.
While we were walking by some restaurants on the way back to the train station in Venice, there was a friendly host/waiter guy who said to me, "Ahh, Bella! Can I come with you?! Just say yes!" As we were walking by, so I said "Yes!" to which he said, "Ah, Mia! My last day to work here! Let me hang up my coat!" And started taking his little jacket off hahahaha.. silly lil guy!
Well, I had a great time in Venice, though another day or even a few more hours would have been nice!! Beautiful, fun place! Next up - Salzburg!
Kortney Alacyn
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
FREE TRAVEL
Hey all!
I'm about to go on a big old adventure!! In about 30 minutes I'll be leaving the Villa and taking a train to Venice! I'll stay there tonight and spend most of tomorrow there before catching a train and heading over to Salzburg! I'm really looking forward to being back in Austria, even though it's supposed to be pretty chilly! After a day in Salzburg I'll be on my way to a day in Lucerne, Switzerland!! And last but not least I'll jump over to Paris, France! Spend a couple days in Paris and be back here next Friday/Saturday! Between now and then, WHO knows what could happen?! It's going to be exciting no matter what! We're setting out today as a group of ten: Katie, Maggie, Kelsey, Brandi, Jenna, Amanda, William, Britton, Jordan, and me! :)
I'm really excited, but I only have ONE memory card to get me through the whole week. AHH. that's probably what I'm the most anxious about, the rest I know is going to work out :) Keep me, my group, and the other groups all in your prayers!! I'll do my best to journal about everything we do so I can share it all with you later! Thanks for hanging in there with me and my sporadic blogging!!!
Lots of love,
Kortney Alacyn
....Joshua 1:9; Jeremiah 29:11....
I'm about to go on a big old adventure!! In about 30 minutes I'll be leaving the Villa and taking a train to Venice! I'll stay there tonight and spend most of tomorrow there before catching a train and heading over to Salzburg! I'm really looking forward to being back in Austria, even though it's supposed to be pretty chilly! After a day in Salzburg I'll be on my way to a day in Lucerne, Switzerland!! And last but not least I'll jump over to Paris, France! Spend a couple days in Paris and be back here next Friday/Saturday! Between now and then, WHO knows what could happen?! It's going to be exciting no matter what! We're setting out today as a group of ten: Katie, Maggie, Kelsey, Brandi, Jenna, Amanda, William, Britton, Jordan, and me! :)
I'm really excited, but I only have ONE memory card to get me through the whole week. AHH. that's probably what I'm the most anxious about, the rest I know is going to work out :) Keep me, my group, and the other groups all in your prayers!! I'll do my best to journal about everything we do so I can share it all with you later! Thanks for hanging in there with me and my sporadic blogging!!!
Lots of love,
Kortney Alacyn
....Joshua 1:9; Jeremiah 29:11....
Monday, February 27, 2012
San Valentino ♥
Okay, so Valentines Day!
Valentines Day we started out with classes. Then we had an INCREDIBLE chapel, with the message presented by Jordan. It was so good. I recorded it and I am so glad that I did. Jordan is one incredible young man, I'm really glad to be getting to know him. He's been a great friend so far!! And his message was heartwarming. In fact, it brought Robbie to tears. Jordan is just so very genuine!
After chapel it was time for lunch. We were instructed to dress nice for San Valentino, so the guys were looking spiffy and the girls pretty classy. (or at least we weren't in t-shirts). The ladies went in and were seated (there were name tags), and then the guys were announced by Kyle piccolo. (That's how we distinguish between Kyle who works here {piccolo} and Kyle the student {grande}). They walked in with roses for each of the girls, and serenaded us with HUF Girls (My Girl) before presenting each of us with a rose. After lunch we had some free time, where we did some homework and hung out.
For dinner William took me out to a cute little ristorante near the Duomo. As we were walking in he bought me a couple of roses from a street vender. We had some good pizza for dinner and then walked around Fiorenze for a while. We stopped and got some gelato on our way back in. Overall, it was a very nice night. :)
When we got back, it was bed time! I think.. it's been so long I don't really remember. But I know nothing more eventful happened after that.
And that's what happened on Valentines Day in Italy!
I'm about to run into town (well, walk into town) to get some groceries. I'll try and get on soon, but the rest of the week is super packed and starting Saturday I'll be gone on my first FREE TRAVEL!!! SO excited. But I do have to tell you all about Rome and about the Opera and everything else that's happened in the last two weeks. I'M SO BEHIND!!!
Until next time...
Ciao!
Kortney Alacyn
Friday, February 17, 2012
"I'm Behind, Rewind"
WHOA WHOA WHOA....
Welll. So much for staying on top of this whole blogging thing. It's definitely been over a week now. And, of course, so much has happened in that small amount of time! Let's see... where did I leave off.
Okay, Thursday.
Thursday I woke up early(ish) because we had to be out of our rooms by 9 o'clock. I got up and got ready and took my bags to the room where we were storing them. Then I went downstairs and got some breakfast. The rest of the day I spent eating, taking pictures, and relaxing. Katie, Maggie, Amanda and I took a nice walk and had a snow ball fight which was fun. After that we spent some time in the TeaRoom just talking and relaxing. When it was time to head home, we all piled on the bus. I sat up close to the front, and let me just say, that was a terrifying experience!!! I do not know how we got home without hitting anything because it was close just about every single turn we came within inches of a wall or a car or the edge of a cliff. Eventually I had to just close my eyes, and turn on my music. I sat by William on the way home, and he slept most of the ride too. (though he had a bit more of an excuse since he'd actually been skiing all three days, and took a pretty rough fall on the second day).
When we got home we had dinner and unpacked. The rest of the night... I honestly don't remember. But I know I was exhausted for some reason.
..Friday..
Friday morning I had my first class at 9, and finished up with classes by lunch time. After lunch I got ready and then my group was shuttled down to the bus stop where we took Bus 6 into Florence. We waited in a piazza for our onsite teacher to join us, and then we headed to an artisan's shop. The artist that we visited works with metal and has some big clients in the US. He makes logos for clothing companies and designers, makes jewelry, and SO much more. It was really neat to see his shop where he has worked since he was between fifteen and seventeen years old. He was the sweetest man, too! I loved looking around his shop, and I loved listening to him talk about his work. He didn't speak English, the passion with which he spoke made it obvious that he loves what he does. After we were done at the shop we went to get a cappuccino while we waited for our next onsite teacher to meet us. When she arrived we finished our drinks and then headed to the shop to make our Carnevale masks. The young lady who was the master at the shop had already prepared the masks for us to decorate. She showed us the steps in creating them, and it took me back to making the plaster balloon when I was five. Decorating the mask was a lot of fun. I wish I were more artistic because some of the designs people made were so cool, but overall I was pretty happy with how mine turned out. :) After we were finished with our masks, about 7:30 if I remember correctly, we were free to go get dinner in Florence. Me, Kyle, Katie, and Maggie headed back to Scandicci where we had pizza at one of our favorite little pizzarias. We went back to Scandicci because I was supposed to meet up with William, but I couldn't get my Italian phone to work. We ended up running into him and Jenna at one of the bus stops on the way back to the Villa, so it all worked out.
Saturday...
What happened Saturday. I can't remember.. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!! I know we had classes until lunch, but after that I have no idea what happened. Hmmm. It's possible that I went and got groceries with Amanda and William Saturday afternoon and made it back in time for dinner. After that... I don't know.
Sunday!
Sunday we were going to go to Florence for worship, but we ended up staying in because of the snow. We had our own church service at the Villa and then Bible. At six thirty we had a song night with some members from the Florence church and the mayor and his family. Then we had dinner with a ton of people, and then we had a concert. A band called Metamorphosis came to the villa and played for us. They were wonderful!! They played jazz and some traditional Italian songs for us. Afterwards we had snacks and just socialized for a while.
Mondayyy
Monday morning we headed out to one of the local high schools in Scandicci. We had a "language exchange" with them. They helped us with our italian homework, and we helped them with some english homework. We also taught them a song. Lean On Me. haha. It was an interesting experience. I got paired up with a young man named Mirko. He was nice, but shy. His English was good, but he seemed a little hesitant to use it. As the class went on he seemed to get a little more comfortable with it, and he definitely helped me with my Italian homework. After that we headed back to the Villa for the rest of our classes and lunch. After lunch we had a few "free" hours before we had dinner. Dinner was basically a party! The kids from the high school came and had dinner and played games with us. It was a lot of fun. I met some friends, and even got invited to go to a pub with some of them. I played soccer with one of the guys for a little bit and found out that apparently girls don't really play soccer in Italy. It's a guy sport. SO he was impressed ;) haha. Another thing that I've noticed is that EVERYONE in Italy smokes. We walked out of class while everyone was on break and probably between 70-80% of the kids there were smoking. Some even took smoke breaks during class. It seems to crazy to me. Anyway, Monday was a good day.
TUESDAY - SAN VALENTINO
Actually, I have to go get ready, so I'll tell you about Valentines Day next time!!! :)
Welll. So much for staying on top of this whole blogging thing. It's definitely been over a week now. And, of course, so much has happened in that small amount of time! Let's see... where did I leave off.
Okay, Thursday.
Thursday I woke up early(ish) because we had to be out of our rooms by 9 o'clock. I got up and got ready and took my bags to the room where we were storing them. Then I went downstairs and got some breakfast. The rest of the day I spent eating, taking pictures, and relaxing. Katie, Maggie, Amanda and I took a nice walk and had a snow ball fight which was fun. After that we spent some time in the TeaRoom just talking and relaxing. When it was time to head home, we all piled on the bus. I sat up close to the front, and let me just say, that was a terrifying experience!!! I do not know how we got home without hitting anything because it was close just about every single turn we came within inches of a wall or a car or the edge of a cliff. Eventually I had to just close my eyes, and turn on my music. I sat by William on the way home, and he slept most of the ride too. (though he had a bit more of an excuse since he'd actually been skiing all three days, and took a pretty rough fall on the second day).
When we got home we had dinner and unpacked. The rest of the night... I honestly don't remember. But I know I was exhausted for some reason.
..Friday..
Friday morning I had my first class at 9, and finished up with classes by lunch time. After lunch I got ready and then my group was shuttled down to the bus stop where we took Bus 6 into Florence. We waited in a piazza for our onsite teacher to join us, and then we headed to an artisan's shop. The artist that we visited works with metal and has some big clients in the US. He makes logos for clothing companies and designers, makes jewelry, and SO much more. It was really neat to see his shop where he has worked since he was between fifteen and seventeen years old. He was the sweetest man, too! I loved looking around his shop, and I loved listening to him talk about his work. He didn't speak English, the passion with which he spoke made it obvious that he loves what he does. After we were done at the shop we went to get a cappuccino while we waited for our next onsite teacher to meet us. When she arrived we finished our drinks and then headed to the shop to make our Carnevale masks. The young lady who was the master at the shop had already prepared the masks for us to decorate. She showed us the steps in creating them, and it took me back to making the plaster balloon when I was five. Decorating the mask was a lot of fun. I wish I were more artistic because some of the designs people made were so cool, but overall I was pretty happy with how mine turned out. :) After we were finished with our masks, about 7:30 if I remember correctly, we were free to go get dinner in Florence. Me, Kyle, Katie, and Maggie headed back to Scandicci where we had pizza at one of our favorite little pizzarias. We went back to Scandicci because I was supposed to meet up with William, but I couldn't get my Italian phone to work. We ended up running into him and Jenna at one of the bus stops on the way back to the Villa, so it all worked out.
Saturday...
What happened Saturday. I can't remember.. THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!! I know we had classes until lunch, but after that I have no idea what happened. Hmmm. It's possible that I went and got groceries with Amanda and William Saturday afternoon and made it back in time for dinner. After that... I don't know.
Sunday!
Sunday we were going to go to Florence for worship, but we ended up staying in because of the snow. We had our own church service at the Villa and then Bible. At six thirty we had a song night with some members from the Florence church and the mayor and his family. Then we had dinner with a ton of people, and then we had a concert. A band called Metamorphosis came to the villa and played for us. They were wonderful!! They played jazz and some traditional Italian songs for us. Afterwards we had snacks and just socialized for a while.
Mondayyy
Monday morning we headed out to one of the local high schools in Scandicci. We had a "language exchange" with them. They helped us with our italian homework, and we helped them with some english homework. We also taught them a song. Lean On Me. haha. It was an interesting experience. I got paired up with a young man named Mirko. He was nice, but shy. His English was good, but he seemed a little hesitant to use it. As the class went on he seemed to get a little more comfortable with it, and he definitely helped me with my Italian homework. After that we headed back to the Villa for the rest of our classes and lunch. After lunch we had a few "free" hours before we had dinner. Dinner was basically a party! The kids from the high school came and had dinner and played games with us. It was a lot of fun. I met some friends, and even got invited to go to a pub with some of them. I played soccer with one of the guys for a little bit and found out that apparently girls don't really play soccer in Italy. It's a guy sport. SO he was impressed ;) haha. Another thing that I've noticed is that EVERYONE in Italy smokes. We walked out of class while everyone was on break and probably between 70-80% of the kids there were smoking. Some even took smoke breaks during class. It seems to crazy to me. Anyway, Monday was a good day.
TUESDAY - SAN VALENTINO
Actually, I have to go get ready, so I'll tell you about Valentines Day next time!!! :)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Abetone Adventures
Italy 2012
HUF Spring 2012
Tuesday, 8th February – Abetone
5:15 am
Well, I woke up this morning around five fifteen, because I had set my alarm in order to wake up and shower before we left for our three day ski trip in the Italian Alps. I woke up, shut off my alarm, went back to sleep, luckily woke up fifteen minutes later, showered, and then went back to bed.
6:45 am
About six fortyish I got back out of bed, (we were supposed to leave at 7) and finished packing, ate breakfast, and got ready to leave (brushed my teeth and went to the bathroom). A couple minutes after seven I ran out to try and get my bag on the shuttle down to the bus, but it was full. I ended up riding with Lynn, Jordan and Kyle down in Kyle’s car and it worked out just fine. I was going to ride with William on the way up, but Lynn sat with him instead. So I sat in the back seat and slept most of the way. We stopped for the bathroom and to get cappuccinos and pastries about half way from Florence to Abetone. I went to the bathroom (twice), had two sips of Will’s hot chocolate and a bite of Kyle’s pastry. Then we loaded back up the bus and started up the mountain. The roads were pretty bad and there were a few times when I wasn’t sure the bus was going to be able to make it up. But we did finally make it to our hotel. The quick run from the bus to the hotel is the only time I’ve spent outside so far. The cold here is painful; it’s a bitter cold that pierces right through me and starts freezing me from the inside out. My fingers are always cold and white. Not much fun. So I’m hanging out inside the hotel as much as possible on this little excursion.
10:00 am
We arrived to the hotel, Excelsior, grabbed our bags off the bus and piled in to the lobby. There we got our keys, room assignments, and found out who we would be living with the next couple days. Luckily, I get to be with one of my good friends (and roommates from the Villa) Katie. Our room is little, with one full-sized bed, an ancient chair, two tiny night stands, and a closet thing. Our bathroom is about the size of our bedroom, it’s got a table and a chair, the toilet, the little poop cleaner-toilet-looking-thing, a sink with a mirror above it, and a bathtub. Although we’re inside and there is a small heater in our room, it’s still about 60 degrees. Apparently they turn the radiators off throughout the day and on at night. (However, it’s night and it’s still pretty chilly in here.)
10:30 am
Everyone who was skiing met and headed out to get their equipment. Those who were not staying headed out to check out the shops, bars, and cafés. I, however, decided to sit it out. I didn’t bring any waterproof boots or anything. Plus, the cold is just awful. I miss Colorado cold. So I read some of the notebook, and then just as I was falling asleep the girls who had gone out were back. We grabbed our sack lunches and went down to the TeaRoom where we hung out for the next three plus hours. We ate and talked and just relaxed while we watched the snow fall - I will give them that, the snow is very pretty. But the wind has been howling all day long!!! And the drifts are HUGE.
3:15 pm
About three we headed back to our rooms to take naps. Which we did. I slept for about forty minutes but I didn’t want to sleep too much. So I woke up and read some more and then worked on my computer. Maggie left the room about five, and about five-thirty I got up and went downstairs to see if there was anyone hanging out in the TeaRoom or the other lounge. Found a group that I sat and talked with for an hour or so. About 6:30 I went upstairs to get ready for dinner.
7:30 pm
For dinner we had lasagna, and then some kind of pork with melted cheese on top. After that we had some french fries, and then we had a fruity, pastry, cake thing for dessert. Afterwards we brought in the chefs to thank them, and after we applauded them, they wanted us to sing for them. So we sang a song for them, and at least one of them cried. It was touching.
8:30 pm
About 8:30 we met for a devotional. We talked briefly, and sang quite a few songs. It was a lot of fun. After that people broke off and played games. A few girls went out to get some drinks, but pretty much everyone else played games. I watched Kyle and Jim play Kyle and William in dominos. Then I played some nertz with a few of the girls and Possey.
12:00
About curfew I headed up to my room where I hung out with Katie and Jenna for a while. Then I went to sleep and slept very well.
Wednesday, 9th February
9:15 am
Katie woke me up at 9:15 so we could go down and get breakfast before they put it up. We had pastries and fruit.
10:00 am
I took a bubble bath. It was an interesting experience. My first European bubble bath.. our hotel is a little old, but the heat was still pretty good. However, as the water was filling up in the tub I noticed a rather green/brown tint to it. I put in some bubble to try and hide the color so I could relax and enjoy it. I did enjoy it. I played some music and I read my book, The Notebook, it was just what I needed.
11:00 am
After my bath I got ready and Katie and I went out in search of boots for me. I ended up finding some cute, warm, waterproof boots for 35 euro, and then an adorable hat for 5 euro. I was happy about it :)
12:30 pm
We met up with a group of girls, and Jordan, for lunch. We went to get pizza at a café. It was a little place that Brooke had found and thought was the greatest thing. They ran out of cheese pizza and apparently weren’t making more, so I got margarita pizza. It wasn’t very good though, and I was kind of disappointed because I spent about 7 dollars on that and a sprite. I ate as much of it as I could, but it wasn’t very filling. After we were done eating we walked around and looked at the little shops, then headed back to the hotel to warm up.
2:00 pm
At two we met with (most of) the group for a group picture. I found out that William had taken quite a spill, and broke his stick and his goggles and injured his nose. He was okay, but had a pretty bad headache. We took pictures and hung out for a little bit, then headed back to the hotel.
3:00 pm
From about three until five we hung out in the TeaRoom. We talked and relaxed, I edited some pictures and ate crackers, while William and Katie watched. Amanda and Maggie were in there with us too. At five we went to get ready to go find something for a snack.
5:00 pm
We went to a little “dance” bar. There was music playing quietly in the background, but no one was dancing. I got some chocolate cake which also wasn’t really that great, but it was kind of tasty. We stayed there until almost 7 o’clock. We basically just sat there and talked; it was Kyle, Katie, Maggie, Amanda, William, and me. It was a pretty good group.
7:22 pm
Dinner time. Tonight we had spaghetti, turkey, beef with lemon dressing (which I actually kind of enjoyed, shocking), salad, bread, and for dessert... GELATO! It was funny, I was talking to Maggie and saying how I really wanted some Gelato, and out they come with trays of Gelato. AND I got chocolate which was spectacular because at first all they had was vanilla and peach.
9:00 pm
After dinner we headed to the lounge where the internet is supposed to be. Well, unfortunately they had decided to shut it off. Which meant no talking to my mommy :( I seriously wanted to cry. It was working earlier today so why they turned it off is beyond me. But I edited pictures and watched the guys play dominos.
11:45
Bed time. :)
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Gelato ♥
Hello again =)
Let me tell you about my "weekend" so far. Friday morning dawned cloudy and frigid. I woke earlyish for classes, and instantly realized I was absolutely exhausted. After my adventures of Thursday, everything had finally caught up with me. The long days of walking mile after mile, and the nights of squeezing in just a few hours of sleep finally said "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" and my body screamed "LET ME SLEEP!" I tried to wake up as I went downstairs for a quick breakfast and Bible, my first class. Unfortunately, we were using the projector which meant, lights were off. Long story short, it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. As soon as class was done I got up and walked around, trying to get myself to wake up. Sadly, my next class we spent most of it with the lights off too. It was the hardest thing to stay awake, but eventually we finished Humanities too. We had two guest speakers who were giving us a lecture about artists and artisans, and about how many skills and "guilds" are becoming extinct, if you will. (hehe, I just said, if you will) Anyway, they had interesting things to say, but it was hard to listen to them talk for two hours straight with the lights off when I was exhausted and feeling a little sick. Finally classes were over and I went and took a two+ hour nap. After that I was feeling a little better, but I stayed in bed and did some homework for most of the afternoon. Not the most exciting thing, but it needed to be done and I think it definitely helped. Once I was feeling better, it was time for dinner, so I went and had some dinner. Half of the group was gone on a tour, and a good chunk of the other half of the group was at the library in Scandicci reading with the local kids. Did some dishes (I've totally got the kitchen cleaning/dishes doing thing down to an art hehe), and then went to do some studying.
Got up this morning and went to aerobics class. We worked on legs/butt for the entire class and may I just say, I AM SORE. Already. Next, I took my Humanities quiz, and went over the Scavenger Hunt in IES. Next we were going to have Italian, but because of the weather and car issues our teacher wasn't able to make it. So, it was free time until chapel. We had split chapel today, and in the ladies class we're going to talk about the women's role, about how we can be supportive and encouraging and do God's work without being in leadership positions in the church - that kind of thing. I think it'll be good.
Then it was time for lunch, and then I got ready to head in to town. I went in to Scandicci with Katie, William, and David. We went to the Scandicci market and Katie got a dress and a scarf. Then we went and got some gelato, in the freezing cold (like the American's we are). After gelato we went to the coop (grocery store) so I could pick up some snacky-foods for between meals. While we were browsing this cute little, old Italian lady walked over and asked William (who is 6'3) if he could get something off the top shelf. It was SO adorable :) We also ran in to Peter (who is an American who lives/works here in Florence - he helped us get to church last Sunday). and talked to him for a little bit. Kind of cool seeing someone we recognized at the store. After groceries we were walking past a pizza store and I had to get a slice.. Then we caught the bus and headed back to the villa.
We got back just a little before dinner, so then I had dinner! hehe..
After dinner I played some ping pong, watched Hercules for THE FIRST TIME, played some basketball, and some soccer.. and THEN I took some pictures. I have also skyped, and now I'm blogging. I should really go to sleep... because I have to get up for church in the morning. SO, I'm going to bid you all a fond farewell.
Arrivederci!!
Kortney Alacyn
Let me tell you about my "weekend" so far. Friday morning dawned cloudy and frigid. I woke earlyish for classes, and instantly realized I was absolutely exhausted. After my adventures of Thursday, everything had finally caught up with me. The long days of walking mile after mile, and the nights of squeezing in just a few hours of sleep finally said "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" and my body screamed "LET ME SLEEP!" I tried to wake up as I went downstairs for a quick breakfast and Bible, my first class. Unfortunately, we were using the projector which meant, lights were off. Long story short, it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. As soon as class was done I got up and walked around, trying to get myself to wake up. Sadly, my next class we spent most of it with the lights off too. It was the hardest thing to stay awake, but eventually we finished Humanities too. We had two guest speakers who were giving us a lecture about artists and artisans, and about how many skills and "guilds" are becoming extinct, if you will. (hehe, I just said, if you will) Anyway, they had interesting things to say, but it was hard to listen to them talk for two hours straight with the lights off when I was exhausted and feeling a little sick. Finally classes were over and I went and took a two+ hour nap. After that I was feeling a little better, but I stayed in bed and did some homework for most of the afternoon. Not the most exciting thing, but it needed to be done and I think it definitely helped. Once I was feeling better, it was time for dinner, so I went and had some dinner. Half of the group was gone on a tour, and a good chunk of the other half of the group was at the library in Scandicci reading with the local kids. Did some dishes (I've totally got the kitchen cleaning/dishes doing thing down to an art hehe), and then went to do some studying.
Got up this morning and went to aerobics class. We worked on legs/butt for the entire class and may I just say, I AM SORE. Already. Next, I took my Humanities quiz, and went over the Scavenger Hunt in IES. Next we were going to have Italian, but because of the weather and car issues our teacher wasn't able to make it. So, it was free time until chapel. We had split chapel today, and in the ladies class we're going to talk about the women's role, about how we can be supportive and encouraging and do God's work without being in leadership positions in the church - that kind of thing. I think it'll be good.
Then it was time for lunch, and then I got ready to head in to town. I went in to Scandicci with Katie, William, and David. We went to the Scandicci market and Katie got a dress and a scarf. Then we went and got some gelato, in the freezing cold (like the American's we are). After gelato we went to the coop (grocery store) so I could pick up some snacky-foods for between meals. While we were browsing this cute little, old Italian lady walked over and asked William (who is 6'3) if he could get something off the top shelf. It was SO adorable :) We also ran in to Peter (who is an American who lives/works here in Florence - he helped us get to church last Sunday). and talked to him for a little bit. Kind of cool seeing someone we recognized at the store. After groceries we were walking past a pizza store and I had to get a slice.. Then we caught the bus and headed back to the villa.
We got back just a little before dinner, so then I had dinner! hehe..
After dinner I played some ping pong, watched Hercules for THE FIRST TIME, played some basketball, and some soccer.. and THEN I took some pictures. I have also skyped, and now I'm blogging. I should really go to sleep... because I have to get up for church in the morning. SO, I'm going to bid you all a fond farewell.
Arrivederci!!
Kortney Alacyn
Thursday, February 2, 2012
An Eventful Three Days
Well hello there!
Okay, here's a quick recap on the past few days:
Tuesday: Classes from 9-1 and then our first "free" afternoon! However, after four hours of classes there was about 12-14 hours of homework. (They class load goes heavy at the beginning of the semester and then lighter towards the end, supposedly.) So after class I did about ten minutes of homework, hehe :), and then I headed in to Scandicci with four friends. It was Jordan, Kyle, William, Amanda, and me, and we took the bus to the train station which took us to the Coop, the grocery store. I got some shampoo and conditioner I was needing, and Kyle got some things he needed. Then we headed into town and I exchanged some money, finally. After that, I had to stop and get some Gelato (of course), and Jordan tried some, too. It was absolutely delicious!! From the Gelato shop we headed back to the restaurant we ate at the first night in town. Kyle, William, and Amanda got crepes. We walked all the way back to the villa from there, up hill, in the snow/rain. By the time we were half way back my shoes were completely soaked through, but it was a good time anyway. When I got back, I got cosy, had dinner, and then did some reading, played some Nertz, and then went to bed. (more or less haha - didn't get much homework done!)
The rain/snow quickly turned to SNOW, and we got quite a few inches. (or so I'm told, I never ventured out to check for myself).
Wednesday: We were supposed to go in to Florence to do a scavenger hunt, and then tour a church or something. However, when my alarm went off and I looked out the window, I shut my alarm off and went back to sleep. About an hour later someone came in to let us know that the trip had been cancelled for the day. We had breakfast at 9 and then we started class at 10. Robbie and Mona couldn't make it down from their house until about 1:30; I guess they got about a foot or more of snow. There was no one on kitchen duty for that day because we were supposed to be out in Florence, so I did lunch dishes with Weston, Emily, and Barret. That took me until almost three and then I had Italian class at three fifteen. Mona made a big pot of hot chocolate for us all to have with our Italian class, it was yummy! About four thirty we finished up with class. I made my way upstairs and did a little more of my reading I needed too. Dinner was at 6:30 and then I had dinner dishes after that. So about 8 I went upstairs to try and work on some homework. However, there was chocolate cake served with our dinner and I maybe had like two pieces. So I didn't have much luck with focusing right away. I eventually got my Italian homework and my Bible homework finished up (I'd started it on Tuesday night). Then it was Tea Time (or for me, another piece of cake time and a cup of water!). It was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed it. After tea, I went back upstairs with a group of friends to work on Humanities homework, but my three pieces of cake REALLY hit and I was on a sugar high. I could NOT focus at all... I did eventually get that assignment done though. Turns out, down stairs a full blown dance party was breaking out. Eventually it was sounding crazy enough that I had to go down and check it our for myself. Sure enough. EVERYONE was dancing! It was crazy :) Even our sponsor was dancing haha!! From the electric slide to the Cupid Shuffle, to a couple of the guys perfecting lifts (with other guys, lol), dance skills were breaking out left and right. David was acting as DJ and everyone was having a good time. I took some pictures and a video or two, which I'm really glad I did. About 12:30 it was time to wind things down, so Reid played guitar and everyone else sang Wagon Wheel. After that I stayed up until about 1:30 talking with my roommates, and we made some crazy connections by people we know. Crazy how small the world is, right?
Thursday: Woke up bright and early, 7 o'clock that is, for some yoga with Kyle. It was a great way to start the morning. After yoga, got some breakfast and then put on as many layers of clothes as possible. Once I was all bundled up I headed into Florence with my group (Katie, Amanda, David, Jordan, Brandi, Kelsey, Paige and Jenna!) to start the scavenger hunt! We left about 9:20/9:30ish and didn't get back to the villa until after 4!! We took the bus, then the train, and then walked. And walked. AND WALKED. Oh, then we walked some more. About halfway through we stopped for lunch and had some pizza (FINALLY! it's crazy that I eat pizza more in America than I do in Italy). We actually ended up eating at the little pizza place where Jersey Shore is/was filmed. Not that any of us knew that at first. It was a nice little meal, and it felt so great to sit down and warm up!! After that we headed out again for the next half of our journey. Once we finally found as many as we could, we headed back to the train station to go back to the Villa. We stopped at a little gelato shop on the way there and got some gelato to eat in the snow. (Yes, the Italians did stare and make fun of us - apparently they don't eat ice cream in the snow. crazies.) There are two stops you can get off to catch the bus to get to the villa. For some reason, certain members of my group decided to get off at the stop furthest from the villa via the bus. And of course, we missed the bus. So we ended up walking from that stop and it was another good walk. (And I needed to go to the bathroom the whole time, all the way through town, up the little hill and then up THE BIG HILL, but I made it!) Got home, took a nice, long, hot shower (no one else was back yet), and then skyped with my Mom and Drake. Then had dinner. NOW it's time for some homework.
Funny sayings from today:
Jordan (passing hundreds of Asian tourists): Wow. Are there any people left in China?
Jenna (Standing in the street with her hands in her pockets, not moving as the car came at her): Ahh! Don't hit me! (luckily, it did not hit her, hahaha)
Random things I forgot mention:
First night we were here we were having a meeting with Robbie. He was calling people out by name as he was saying things about them and some how forgot that Jordan's name was Jordan. Instead, he called him Randy, and people still call Jordan Randy at times. Kind of funny.
Today, while we were walking along the sidewalk, some random snow ball hits me in the arm/chest. I look around but no one has snow, and behind me Jordan is laughing. Turns out, either snow on the car or someone from inside the car through a snowball at me. lol.
WELL. I have to do homework now.. because I'm pretty sure I have two quizzes tomorrow. OOPS.
Until next time!
LOTS OF LOVE FROM FLORENCE,
Kortney Alacyn
Okay, here's a quick recap on the past few days:
Tuesday: Classes from 9-1 and then our first "free" afternoon! However, after four hours of classes there was about 12-14 hours of homework. (They class load goes heavy at the beginning of the semester and then lighter towards the end, supposedly.) So after class I did about ten minutes of homework, hehe :), and then I headed in to Scandicci with four friends. It was Jordan, Kyle, William, Amanda, and me, and we took the bus to the train station which took us to the Coop, the grocery store. I got some shampoo and conditioner I was needing, and Kyle got some things he needed. Then we headed into town and I exchanged some money, finally. After that, I had to stop and get some Gelato (of course), and Jordan tried some, too. It was absolutely delicious!! From the Gelato shop we headed back to the restaurant we ate at the first night in town. Kyle, William, and Amanda got crepes. We walked all the way back to the villa from there, up hill, in the snow/rain. By the time we were half way back my shoes were completely soaked through, but it was a good time anyway. When I got back, I got cosy, had dinner, and then did some reading, played some Nertz, and then went to bed. (more or less haha - didn't get much homework done!)
The rain/snow quickly turned to SNOW, and we got quite a few inches. (or so I'm told, I never ventured out to check for myself).
Wednesday: We were supposed to go in to Florence to do a scavenger hunt, and then tour a church or something. However, when my alarm went off and I looked out the window, I shut my alarm off and went back to sleep. About an hour later someone came in to let us know that the trip had been cancelled for the day. We had breakfast at 9 and then we started class at 10. Robbie and Mona couldn't make it down from their house until about 1:30; I guess they got about a foot or more of snow. There was no one on kitchen duty for that day because we were supposed to be out in Florence, so I did lunch dishes with Weston, Emily, and Barret. That took me until almost three and then I had Italian class at three fifteen. Mona made a big pot of hot chocolate for us all to have with our Italian class, it was yummy! About four thirty we finished up with class. I made my way upstairs and did a little more of my reading I needed too. Dinner was at 6:30 and then I had dinner dishes after that. So about 8 I went upstairs to try and work on some homework. However, there was chocolate cake served with our dinner and I maybe had like two pieces. So I didn't have much luck with focusing right away. I eventually got my Italian homework and my Bible homework finished up (I'd started it on Tuesday night). Then it was Tea Time (or for me, another piece of cake time and a cup of water!). It was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed it. After tea, I went back upstairs with a group of friends to work on Humanities homework, but my three pieces of cake REALLY hit and I was on a sugar high. I could NOT focus at all... I did eventually get that assignment done though. Turns out, down stairs a full blown dance party was breaking out. Eventually it was sounding crazy enough that I had to go down and check it our for myself. Sure enough. EVERYONE was dancing! It was crazy :) Even our sponsor was dancing haha!! From the electric slide to the Cupid Shuffle, to a couple of the guys perfecting lifts (with other guys, lol), dance skills were breaking out left and right. David was acting as DJ and everyone was having a good time. I took some pictures and a video or two, which I'm really glad I did. About 12:30 it was time to wind things down, so Reid played guitar and everyone else sang Wagon Wheel. After that I stayed up until about 1:30 talking with my roommates, and we made some crazy connections by people we know. Crazy how small the world is, right?
Thursday: Woke up bright and early, 7 o'clock that is, for some yoga with Kyle. It was a great way to start the morning. After yoga, got some breakfast and then put on as many layers of clothes as possible. Once I was all bundled up I headed into Florence with my group (Katie, Amanda, David, Jordan, Brandi, Kelsey, Paige and Jenna!) to start the scavenger hunt! We left about 9:20/9:30ish and didn't get back to the villa until after 4!! We took the bus, then the train, and then walked. And walked. AND WALKED. Oh, then we walked some more. About halfway through we stopped for lunch and had some pizza (FINALLY! it's crazy that I eat pizza more in America than I do in Italy). We actually ended up eating at the little pizza place where Jersey Shore is/was filmed. Not that any of us knew that at first. It was a nice little meal, and it felt so great to sit down and warm up!! After that we headed out again for the next half of our journey. Once we finally found as many as we could, we headed back to the train station to go back to the Villa. We stopped at a little gelato shop on the way there and got some gelato to eat in the snow. (Yes, the Italians did stare and make fun of us - apparently they don't eat ice cream in the snow. crazies.) There are two stops you can get off to catch the bus to get to the villa. For some reason, certain members of my group decided to get off at the stop furthest from the villa via the bus. And of course, we missed the bus. So we ended up walking from that stop and it was another good walk. (And I needed to go to the bathroom the whole time, all the way through town, up the little hill and then up THE BIG HILL, but I made it!) Got home, took a nice, long, hot shower (no one else was back yet), and then skyped with my Mom and Drake. Then had dinner. NOW it's time for some homework.
Funny sayings from today:
Jordan (passing hundreds of Asian tourists): Wow. Are there any people left in China?
Jenna (Standing in the street with her hands in her pockets, not moving as the car came at her): Ahh! Don't hit me! (luckily, it did not hit her, hahaha)
Random things I forgot mention:
First night we were here we were having a meeting with Robbie. He was calling people out by name as he was saying things about them and some how forgot that Jordan's name was Jordan. Instead, he called him Randy, and people still call Jordan Randy at times. Kind of funny.
Today, while we were walking along the sidewalk, some random snow ball hits me in the arm/chest. I look around but no one has snow, and behind me Jordan is laughing. Turns out, either snow on the car or someone from inside the car through a snowball at me. lol.
WELL. I have to do homework now.. because I'm pretty sure I have two quizzes tomorrow. OOPS.
Until next time!
LOTS OF LOVE FROM FLORENCE,
Kortney Alacyn
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