Life of Marie

Bus Love/Hate

2011-10-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

A large portion of my life is spent waiting here for this beauty to pick me up and take me home

I have a love/hate relationship with the bus.

Hate about the bus:

-the bus only comes every half hour meaning I'm either really early or really late

-the bus arrival time is inconsistent - some days it comes 10 minutes late and other days it's right on time

-water of unknown cleanliness drips from the ceiling onto my lap during rainstorms - and unlike utah it actually rains heavily here

-the 4B bus takes at least 7 minutes longer than 4A or 4H - this is usually the bus that is running during my commuting hours. nice.

-one bus driver ignored my stop request because the turn light was green and he wanted to make the light...i reminded him to stop, he looked at me, ignored me and then stopped at the next stop saying "here you go". nice.

-it takes 25+ minutes to go 4 miles East to Rosslyn

-the bus doesn't go to Georgetown - i have to catch another bus from Rosslyn to get to campus

-i'm completely dependent on the bus. if it doesn't run because of snow (i heard that happened for a whole week last year) i'll be forced to drive and pay an exorbitant amount to park. it's a scary feeling.

-the drivers are sometimes scary. just sometimes but that's enough for me to be a little wary.

Love about the bus:

-the drivers and passengers are usually so friendly! it is unusual to watch a person just get on the bus and sit down - there is typically a warm and welcoming exchange from the bus driver like, "Good morning!" or "Hello" and as people get off at their stop they always thank the driver even if they have to yell it from the back of the bus "Thank you sir (or ma'am), have a great day!"

-it's inexpensive - $1.50 to ride wherever you need to go ($3 a day - not too shabby)

-they have cool SmarTrip cards that act like debit cards - you load money onto the card and then you pay your fare by placing the card near the reader - the fare is automatically subtracted from your balance. but wait, there's more, you don't even have to get the card out of your wallet - radio frequency senses your card even through a thick, leather wallet

-a cute older man sat next to me one day and told me that he makes a point to say good morning to someone on the bus every day - what a nice idea

-the stop is literally .17 miles from my doorstep - so close

-it's always a nice temperature inside the bus

-it's typically never - seats are almost always guaranteed

-i get to people watch like never before. interesting people in the area.

-the same homeless people at Rosslyn station now recognize me and say hello. neat.

-i get to see the Washington Memorial pierce into the sky every morning on the drive

ultimately the good outweighs the bad. i'm glad i have a reasonably convenient way to get home.

Fall has Arrived

2011-10-01T11:46:00.001-07:00

I went to the Falls Church Farmer's Market this morning with my roommate. It was cold and rainy - totally indicative of fall - and so much fun! Things added to my refrigerator: zucchini, apples, and basil. I was particularly excited about the apples because I haven't been able to find any good, crisp ones since I have been here.

After the market we stopped at a cute pumpkin patch. I love fall!

What Got Me Through

2011-09-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

I saw this picture and it made me smile from ear to ear - something that has been hard to come by lately.

So the past 2 weeks have been rough ones - the ones where all I want to do is run home and snuggle with my mom and dad and tell them everything. Although I don't have my parents close, my sister Jamie and her husband Jon live about 5 hours away in CT. They were so gracious to come to D.C. last weekend to get my mind off of some things. I love what my remarkable family can to do lift and strengthen me.

While they were here we talked about life - we did other things but the details don't matter. What matters is that they were here for me when I needed them the most.

Thanks for coming Jamie and Jon. You two are wonderful.

We are nerds together. I love Jamie's face, Jon's prominent chin, and the fact that I look like I drooled onto my shirt. Best picture ever.

Sour Milk

2011-09-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

My brother Trevor (Mr. T) had to write a creative story about a topic assigned by his 5th grade teacher. He got sour milk. I have to remind you that he is 10 years old. Pretty sharp vocab for his age. He's adorable. Love him.

I trudged up the long, steep hill that led to my house. After a long grueling day in Mr. Malmrose’s classroom, the thought of a tall, cool glass of chocolate milk filled my mind. I took the last step, opened the door and excitedly sprinted toward the fridge. I opened the fridge and grabbed the milk and Hershey’s Chocolate syrup. Once I grabbed the cup, I carefully poured the milk into the glass. Then I added the delectable chocolate syrup to the perfect amount. I raced to the cupboard that held the spoons and grabbed one. Then I vigorously stirred, making sure that the chocolate was completely mixed in. I lifted the glass to my lips and took a huge gulp. Immediately my taste buds sounded an alarm saying, “This tastes dreadfully wrong!” Could this milk be rotten? I looked at the expiration date and, sure enough, the milk had expired two weeks ago. To make sure, I took a long whiff of that putrid gallon of milk. My nose hairs curled at the terrible stench of sour milk. After dreaming of chocolate milk, my expectations went down the drain, just as that sour milk did.

My Morning Run

2011-09-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

Although I haven't been exercising regularly recently, I had the chance to get a morning run in last Friday.

Most clinical mornings (Fridays) go like this:

-wake up at 4:45, 50, 55 - 5:00 can't wait any longer

-shower and get ready

-pack a lunch for my long day

-catch my bus at 6:15 am

-read scriptures while riding for 25 minutes

-run across campus to the hospital

-start clinical at 7 am

A run before clinical sounds so refreshing right? SO - you're probably thinking that I was a maniac and got up even earlier to get a run in before clinical. If you were thinking that I actually did that, you apparently don't know me that well (but we should be friends because you have great expectations).

Last Friday I was taking my time getting ready and realized it was time to go. Thankfully I still had PLENTY of time before my bus was supposed to come (about 3 minutes). Most of the time they are late so that left me even more time.

As I meandered out of my apartment I looked down the hill and noticed that my 6:15 bus was already at the stop. My stomach dropped. The next bus wasn't scheduled to come until 6:45 and I would definitely be late for clinical if I waited and caught the later bus. Shoot. SO, backpack and all, I started to sprint. I J-walked/ran dangerously through the busy Patrick Henry & Leesburg Pike intersection and ALMOST caught my bus. I was about a half block away when it pulled away. BAH!

At that point I almost gave up. I thought about just paying $25 to park my car at Georgetown for the day or to just catch the later bus. Then I realized that with option a) I would lose $25 b) I would be extremely late for clinical - neither option I really wanted to occur.

So, I continued to run. And run. And run. My legs were wobbly from muscle fatigue and I felt my knee cap play with the idea of dislocating a few times. I was scared but I just couldn't stop. Apparently money and time are great motivators for me (my weakness is exposed - you can manipulate me later). I said a fervent but not very reverent prayer as I was sprinting to catch the bus. I asked Heavenly Father to allow me to catch the bus and for my knee to cooperate in the process. Thankfully my knee cap stayed in and the Arlington Blvd traffic light kept the bus waiting for a solid 5 minutes just in time for me to catch up with the bus. I knocked on the door and the bus driver was kind enough to let me in. Prayers are answered! Even if what you are asking for seems dumb. If it is important to me it's important to the Lord. Blessings.

You bet your bottom dollar I studied my scriptures for that whole bus ride while trying to catch my breath.

The irony behind this whole story - there was road construction on Arlington and so our bus sat in construction traffic for about 5 minutes. We finally got going again but were forced to take a random detour that added another 5-7 minutes to the bus ride. 12 extra minutes on the bus. Great. I got to Rosslyn station at 6:55 and had to catch another bus from Rosslyn to Georgetown (about a 7 minute bus ride). Guess who was late for clinical anyway? Me.

I should have waited for the 6:45 bus. The end.

Chinos

2011-09-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

If I had a dollar for every pair of men's chino shorts I have seen on Georgetown's campus I would probably be approaching millionaire status.

Welcome to the land of well-dressed boys. Georgetown boys A) know what chino shorts are B) wear chinos regularly C) have chino shorts in every color - I have seen mint green, green, sea foam green, emerald, butter yellow, bright yellow, purple, navy, baby blue, white, pink, salmon, orange, and EVEN seer-sucker D) on occasion have their shorts embroidered with sail boats, anchors, or anything preppy E) wear belts, watches, and Sperry's to match these chinos.

To top it all off, their hair looks like this:

For all of you Bachelorette lovers, Ames would fit perfectly here

It's a different world over here in the Eastern part of the globe.

Georgetown

2011-09-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

This is where I go to school. It's neat. I kind of like it.

Humidity

2011-09-14T15:02:00.001-07:00

Call me a baby but this humidity + heat is just killing me. Sure I am inside most of the time but when I'm running to class because my bus is 15 minutes late I'm sticky and sweaty by the time I reach St. Mary's Hall. Sick.

My hair has also been a victim of this weather. When I first moved here in August I tried to do my hair every morning. I would blow it dry, straighten it, and even put a little hairspray in it. Then I would walk outside and the humidity would undo all of my work. I learned my lesson quickly. Just over a month later my blowdryer has become obsolete and hair elastics and bobby pins have become my NEW best friends. Here's the morning process: I let it air dry, it becomes wavy, I pin my bangs back, and if it looks too horrible [notice: too horrible, not horrible, too horrible] I pull it up. Ethan even commented about it one night...he said, "Marie your hair looks good." Me, "Really?" [E starts snickering] "It just looks like you have been walking outside in the humidity all day." It's sad when an unobservant boy starts noticing. My hair = beast that cannot be tamed.

So for all of you reading this blog - I haven't let myself go yet [I still shower regularly]. I just blame the humidity.

Apparently your skin doesn't age as quickly with the humidity though so - CHEERS to horrible hair but absolutely NO wrinkles!

Things I'm currently putting off:

2011-09-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

-Online Hospital Training

-studying for clinical tomorrow (7-5 tomorrow)

-studying for Pathophysiology (Professor suggests 15 hrs/week)

-making dinner

-writing my talk for Church on Sunday – Topic: Importance of Living Prophets – any ideas for me?

-coordinating the cleaning of our Church House (my new calling)

-studying for my test on Monday

I'm busy in school and I love it!

Disaster Response

2011-09-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

I got a “HoyAlert” text message 30 minutes after the earthquake. It read, “It has been confirmed that there was an earthquake about 30 minutes ago.” Love it. I felt much safer after reading that! Phew!

There are 4 of these holes in my wall now because of the earthquake

Hurricane Irene came next – Saturday afternoon to be precise. The wind howled all night. Church meetings were cancelled for precautionary purposes and the store shelves were emptied. I was lucky to snag one of the last cases of water after waiting in an hour-long grocery line. Although the hurricane ended up simply exhibiting as a tropical storm, there were some damages in the surrounding areas of D.C. Big branches and leaves plagued the streets around Alexandria, a transformer blew, and a tree in my apartment complex was ripped from the ground. Yikes. I’m glad I was tucked safely in bed. I’m also glad that I was inland. Sure it was only a “Cat 1” (Ethan was teasing me because he said “Cat 1” and I didn’t know what he was talking about – I’m from Utah, we don’t get hurricanes. How am I supposed to know that “cat” is short for category? Gimme a break ok?) but the winds were still really strong and I’m counting my lucky stars that they weren’t any stronger.

Catch Up

2011-08-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind in updating this blog...the last time I posted was near the end of June. BAH! That leaves all of July and August to play catch up on! Since I'm stuck inside with the hurricane warning I figure that now is the best time to "write up a storm". Get it? I'm funny. Let's start with July.

July: Jamie, Ethan, and I went to Utah for the 4th of July weekend. It was so much fun to finally be back home with friends and family.

On our trip we went boating. We were having so much fun that I failed to get my camera out for most of the outing. It was Ethan's first time and he was seriously a rockstar on the wakeboard; by the end of his turn he was "popping" off of the wake and getting some serious air.

Later that night we went to the Stadium of Fire featuring Brad Paisley and David Archuleta. I am always so impressed with "Archie"'s humility and adorable personality. He seems like such a sweet and down to earth person. Love him. Brad Paisley was wonderful too but of course you already knew that.

The best part about he whole evening was the entrance of the American flag into the stadium. The event planners were creative this year and decided that bringing the flag in by land was too boring. Skydivers bringing the flag = way cooler. I'm sure the skydivers practiced several times to get their timing and accuracy in alignment. A few skydivers landed representing one color (red, white, and blue). The last skydiver was carrying the actual flag. As he came in for the landing he whacked a cameraman with the flag. EMTs arrived to assist this poor man photographing the event. Watch it here. I love that everyone performing around just pretended like nothing happened..."if we ignore the problem everything will be ok". Best. Jamie couldn't stop laughing about it. When I glanced at her several times throughout the event I saw her snickering to herself Admittedly she was still laughing about the crash. The cameraman was fine - not his ego but physically - fine.

Jamie infiltrating my picture of the stage. This was her smile all night. Hilarious.

After all of the fun and fireworks Jamie had to return to real life in the city that never sleeps while Ethan and I took off for his family reunion in Georgia. It was gorgeous in Georgia! We stayed in a cute cabin tucked away in the woods with Ethan's family (his parents, brother Joseph and wife Anna, their little girls Kiya, Andrea, Haley, and Callie, and Ethan's younger sister Jenica). We played on the lake in paddle boats and canoes and made our way over to a really cool rock slide. Very fun! The little girls were so entertaining because of their cute personalities and excitement towards every activity. The best part was spending every evening looking for fireflies, eating yummy food, and enjoying one another's company. His family is really great!

Right when that was over I flew back to Utah for some Lake Powell action. Amazing. This was our first year on our houseboat so we were on a pretty steep learning curve. The toilets kept clogging leaving 34 people with sometimes only 1 working toilet (the boys finally took the toilet apart and found 60+ cherry pits in the "cookie monster" grinder). I will never eat cherries again. Nasty. Also, the generators kept vapor locking so the thrusters weren't working. The kicker, as we returned from an outing we found our houseboat pulling away from the anchors. No damage was done but boy was it stressful!!

Other exciting events: Laurena's toenail was ripped off by the bathroom door at Dangling Rope Marina - now dubbed "Dangling Toenail Laurena", Grandpa and Grandma wee darling on the WaveRunner - it tipped over as Grandma got on and Grandpa just giggled. Kyle landed 7 backflips. We pulled 6 wakeboarders at one time. We hiked up "Hole in the Rock". Sammy finally confronted his fear of ducks. Kyle shot a carp with his bow and arrow. Rachel and Sammy cleared the wake.

Grandpa and Grandma on the WaveRunner :) Adorable

Rainbow Bridge

Houseboat Location. Gorgeous!

Jack and Marie

COOLEST THING EVER!!!

That is all for now!

Chocopologie

2011-06-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Chocopologie is a cute little dessert cafe located on historic Main Street of Norwalk, CT. The owner has competed on a Food Network program several times. Maybe Iron Chef? I'm not sure. What I am sure of is how delicious all of the desserts were. Ahh. We enjoyed chocolate lava cake, cookies & milk, and a frozen hot chocolate. So good!

Jamie's Summer

2011-06-29T08:14:00.001-07:00

This is how Jamie is spending her summer. Thankfully technology is proving to be very useful while these two lovebirds are spending their summer apart. How adorable are they? They are so in love. I believe it's 45 more days until they reunite in Ghana! So exciting!

Buffalo, NY

2011-06-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

Ethan, or E as I call him, is working in Buffalo, NY for the entire month of June so I went to spend the weekend with him in upstate NY.

Friday: I flew in around 3:30. E still had to finish some work up so I read until he finished. We picked up the rental car and drove around (it's so green it's beautiful), checked into my hotel, got pizza and called it a night!

Saturday: It was rainy all morning so we just had a lazy Saturday morning. After the storm subsided a little we went to Niagara Falls (New York side). Unfortunately we didn't have our passports so we couldn't see the Falls from the Canadian side (they are supposed to have a better view) but we still loved it. I made E pretend to be enthused (it was his 3rd time seeing them).

He's such a good sport to put up with my insanity - you can see my neck muscles. Neat.

Niagara Falls - there were boats down there giving tours. SCARY!

A cute foreigner offered to take this for us. He didn't ask but just motioned to take it for us.

I couldn't keep my eyes open for the pictures either - it was so bright!

Sunday: We went to the Buffalo family ward at 10 and it was so cute. They have so many young families with small children so it was noisy but so adorable. I loved it! After church we headed to Palmyra to see Joseph Smith's house and farm, the Sacred Grove, Alvin Smith's house, and Hill Cumorah. It was really neat to be in the heart of church history. The Sacred Grove was my favorite. Right when I walked into the grove I was overcome with peace and serenity. I know Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in that place and because of that the world has been forever changed. I know Joseph was a prophet and I'm grateful for all of the sacrifices he and his family made to restore the true gospel in this dispensation.

E walking into the Sacred Grove

Pondering (I was trying to be a cool photographer - it never really works)

The Palmyra Temple hiding

In the Sacred Grove

Monday: E had to work so I laid by the pool all day and got my first sunburn of the year. I reapplied sunscreen frequently but the rays must have been pretty strong. It's not too bad of a burn but I can definitely feel it. Then I took the Marriott (love Mormons) airport shuttle to head back for NYC. I met up with Jamie in the city and we had BLTs from Grand Central Station and caught our train. The whole train ride was so much fun! We saw a lady eating pecans or some kind of nut out of an old orange prescription bottle with a childproof cap. That is the most creative tupperware I have ever seen! Then we just chatted about life and it took be back to the old days when we were roommates in college. It was so great and I feel so lucky to be spending time with her in Connecticut.

My weekend was lovely! Life is good!

South Norwalk, CT

2011-06-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, how cute is the Curtis apartment (my home for June)? I feel like I stepped into a Pottery Barn show room. So adorable! The hardwood floor, cute stove, spiral staircase, and simple but classic decor make it a cute and cozy little place!

View upon entering

Dining Room to the right of the entry way

Darling stove right behind the couch - love the brick under it!

Close-up of the spiral stairs - I feel like a princess using them

Cute decorations

Pottery Barn

Upstairs bedroom

New York Air

2011-06-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Dr. Cole, a very brilliant BYU professor, is a little extreme in teaching style. I believe SCARING his students is his motivation for change. I took numerous classes from him during my BYU adventure, my favorite being infectious diseases. Although it was a great class, I am now paranoid about little intricate details found in everyday life that potentially pose risk.

Airplanes. Most people are afraid of airplanes because, let's be real, flying doesn't really make sense unless you are a physics master (ahem Joe Bond). So, let's take a very large cylindrical object that weighs thousands of pounds and stick some wings on it. The wings will be attached with some bolts that are durable and can withstand HOPEFULLY a lot of force. Then we will make this baby go hundreds of miles per hour to hoist it into the air magically (thousands of feet into the air actually, above pointy mountains and chilling seas). Sounds neat. And safe right? Am I afraid of airplanes?

Yes! BUT Not because I am flying in a heavy object that has the potential of crashing into land or sea - heavens no, that's nothing to be afraid of, well, most certainly less frightening than what Dr. Cole offered in lecture! Did you know that you are exposed to hundreds of infectious diseases (including TB, SARS, bird flu, swine flu, and many more) by riding on an airplane? Imagine this - sitting in a confined space with recycled air and infected strangers surrounding you. Gives you the warm fuzzies huh? Me too. Thanks Dr. Cole. I'm not really THAT afraid (at least not enough to get a Hello Kitty mask to wear on the airplane) but I think about it every time I step foot onto an aircraft. Anyway, because of my infectious disease knowledge I was really excited to exit the airplane, step onto the New York soil and fill my lungs with the "fresh" air.

Unfortunately fresh air in New York during the summer doesn't really exist. Well, I don't know that fresh air EVER exists in New York but the humidity and heat reminded me of this very quickly. My body is trained to cope with the Utah mountain air that holds close to 0% humidity. Needless to say, New York was 80 degrees with what felt like 99% humidity. Mmm. It's like a warm blanket of stickiness everywhere I go. Can I say claustrophobia?

Jonathan greeted me at JFK with his hip and trendy glasses with his matching hip and trendy Subaru. Despite all of my existing concerns about flying in the yucky air, I finally felt like I was in good hands. This is my home for the next month.

Things in Common

2011-04-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

What do these things have in common?

Me! I'm going to switch from the feline family to the canine family and become a nurse at a wonderful school in a beautiful city. Go Bulldogs!

Georgetown. I'm in.

Last Day

2011-04-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

One week from today I will have my beautiful sister in town and I will be done with finals. One week from tomorrow I will also be a college graduate. Life is neat. AND today is the last day of class. Forever. Party time.

18 Credits and an Internship

2011-02-16T21:56:00.000-08:00

When I tell people I have 18 credits and an internship they assume I'm busy and overwhelmed with all that I have going on. They believe that because of my load I probably don't have any time to have fun.

Only half of their assumptions are TRUE. I do have a lot going on. That is true. Am I really as busy as people assume? Surprisingly NOPE. This is the most relaxing semester I have ever experienced. All of my classes are really interesting and easy. I have assignments and readings associated with each class but it seems like I have plenty of time to do all of it. AND I don't have class on Fridays - ever. I feel like I'm living a lazy "cushy" college life. My mom said that I should enjoy it now because that feeling will one day leave and never come back. For now, I'm enjoying it entirely!

Weekend in a Nutshell

2011-02-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

Friday:

Brooke, McCall, and I had a one night getaway to Heber. We had delicious taco soup and yummy cinnamon monkey bread at McCall's house. Then we went to the Midway ice castles and warmed back up in my family's hot tub. We always have fun together - this trip was epic!

Me freezing by the ice monument

Marie, Brooke, and McCall (Brooke fell on her toosh seconds after this photo was taken)

McCall's silhouette

My silhouette

Brooke's silhouette

Saturday:

I was in charge of a fashion show event for the American Heart Association. The actual volunteer coordinator couldn't make it so I took her place and ended up being in charge of all of the volunteers. Everyone was asking me what to do - I have decided that it's fun to feel important! I'm also supposed to promote women's heart health so - please go tell at least 5 friends that 1/3 women will die of heart disease - it's the number 1 killer in women.

Go Red For Women Fashion Show at the Fashion Place Mall

I got home from the event just in time to get a haircut and go to the BYU volleyball game with Rodrigo, Brooke, and McCall.

Shot of my new hairdo. SHORT!

BYU Men's volleyball playing the UCLA Bruins.

Rodrigo, Brooke, and McCall - look how pretty their eyes are. Precious.

Media Depression

2011-02-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

I read an article this morning that was published in the New York Times about a month ago. My mind has been churning all day about the words this incredible writer shared with the world. Nicole Hardywas raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The article is about her experiences with relationships, dating, and sex within Mormon culture. Her perspective is interesting, valid, and beautifully presented but I couldn't agree with her decision in the end. It put me into a mood slump just thinking about her surrender to worldly influence after her ongoing faithfulness.

Read it. I want to hear your thoughts.

Of all the places I felt sure I’d never go, Planned Parenthood topped the list. Because, you know, they perform abortions and give condoms to kids, or so I’d been warned. Yet one spring afternoon found me in its waiting room next to a teenage girl, who was clearly perplexed by the intake form and likely bound for an uncomfortable, humiliating four minutes in the back of a borrowed Chevy Chevelle.

But what did I know? I was a 35-year-old virgin, preparing for my own “first time,” which, incidentally, didn’t happen until I was well into 36.

I was not frigid, fearful or socially inept. Not overweight or unattractive. Didn’t suffer from halitosis or social anxiety disorder. I was a practicing Mormon, and Mormons “wait” until marriage. So I had waited, spent the first two decades of my adult life celibate and, for the most part, alone. Because only after the trial of my faith would I be blessed with an eternal marriage, which, I prayed, would also blow my mind in the bedroom.

It never occurred to me that I would remain unmarried, especially in a system where marriage is not only a commandment, but also one of life’s primary purposes. Turns out, though, that there is no place in that community for a single woman who doesn’t want children.

My only available choice within the church was to wait for my reward in heaven, as Mormon doctrine promises that single members denied marriage, family and sex lives on earth will have them after death. Needless to say, this wasn’t a compelling argument.

Most troubling was the fact that as I grew older I had the distinct sense of remaining a child in a woman’s body; virginity brought with it arrested development on the level of a handicapping condition, like the Russian orphans I’d read about whose lack of physical contact altered their neurobiology and prevented them from forming emotional bonds. Similarly, it felt as if celibacy was stunting my growth; it wasn’t just sex I lacked but relationships with men entirely. Too independent for Mormon men, and too much a virgin for the other set, I felt trapped in adolescence.

My first act of open rebellion was to go see “Brokeback Mountain” in Seattle’s rainbow-striped Capitol Hill neighborhood with a pair of lesbian friends. I was not ready to have an alcoholic beverage or a cup of coffee, to lie with a man or smoke a cigarette. But I could watch a movie, even if that movie was an obvious attack on the sanctity of hetero marriage, with its handsome, straight, Hollywood actors acting as if homosexuality were not perverse. Because while I am also straight and believe in God, one thing became clear that day: I could empathize with those gay cowboys. I knew, as an unmarried, 30-something, happy-without-children Mormon woman, how it felt to grow apart from one’s community. I knew what it was to be fundamentally bound to an ill-fitting life, to be the object of pity and judgment, to feel I had no choice but to be the thing that made me “other,” and to be told that if I prayed hard enough, God would bless me to want what I was supposed to want.

Stage 2 of my rebellion happened immediately after the movie, at Babeland, our city’s world-renowned sex-toy store. My lesbian companions were supportive of, if perplexed by, my commitment to the Law of Chastity; they were protective of my innocence, in the same way another friend once knocked a pot cookie out of my hand, lest I become unwittingly stoned on her watch. But what could be more fun than taking a 34-year-old virgin to a shop selling everything from art-glass dildos to vibrating nipple clamps? And what could be funnier than watching said virgin earnestly study each product’s list of features for water resistance, battery life, noise factor, shape, size and heft?

The few relationships I did have — all with non-Mormon men — lasted only a few weeks, months if it was summertime, and all dates could begin and end outside, in daylight, delaying the expectation of physical contact that darkness inspires. The pattern was predictable: at first, men were intrigued, turned on by my virginity, the landscape of uncharted territory, my innocence and curiosity. In certain scenarios, a man believes (or hopes) I’m playing an elaborate game of hard to get, that the whole charade will culminate one night in a seedy, sweaty, up-against-the-wall scene out of “Road House,” starring himself as a young Patrick Swayze.

However, every time fantasy met reality these men went in search of something simpler. And who could blame them? We were grown adults. Most of them had been having active sex lives for decades, and it was weird for them (some would say ridiculous) to suddenly be thrust back into the eighth grade.

So why wasn’t I dating Mormon men? In a nutshell, the pool is small, and people marry young, for obvious reasons. The leftovers were left over: closeted gay men, porn-addicted virgins, along with the merely awkward, uncompromising and unlucky. My favorite was the movie industry veteran who, after offering me a peanut butter cup, said: “Marie loves peanut butter. You know — Marie Osmond? We dated in college. She was into it, but I just couldn’t handle being Mister Marie Osmond.”

Obviously, I was left over, too — I was just never sure what my problem was. Until one man let me know. After overhearing a friend and me comparing our weekend horror-date stories, he walked up to me and asked, “You know what your problem is?”

No, I did not know what my problem was. And I was dying to find out.

“Your problem,” he said, “is you don’t need a man.”

I thought that was a good thing — to be able to take care of oneself.

He asked if I had a job.

“Yes.”

“A car?”

“Yes.”

“A house?”

“Yes.”

“Clothes?”

“Of course.”

“Food?”

“Obviously.”

“That’s your problem.”

“Excuse me?”

“Men in the church are raised to be providers. We are the breadwinners, the stewards of the household. If you have all the things we’re supposed to provide, we have nothing to give you.”

“What of love?” I asked. “What of intimacy and partnership and making a run at the world together?”

“Nope,” he said. “We’re providers.”

Regardless of my tragic dating history, the fact that I had no reason to feel hopeful, I tried for 15 years not to lose hope. The gospel was the answer. It had saved my parents, each of whom had converted, separately, when they were young. Thanks to the Mormon church, they escaped childhoods rife with abuse, alcoholism and neglect. They found God, found each other, and were rescued by a community committed to family, forgiveness and joy.

Out of chaos they created a tiny space where our family of four lived happily and prospered. I was surrounded by love, taught that I am a child of God, that I have a divine purpose — my whole life I’d felt secure, fulfilled, purposeful and connected. And further, I’d made a commitment. Why would I abandon God and his church now when in all ways but one I had asked and had received?

Perhaps the failure was mine — I’m sure many church members see it that way. I was too weak to endure. They’ll say I should have waited another decade, or spent my whole life alone if that’s what God required.

I’m just unwilling to believe that’s what God wants for anyone, and was unwilling to continue spiraling further into a disconnected life, feeling abandoned, being discounted.

Oddly, my trip to Planned Parenthood provided much that the church had not in recent years. During my exam, the clinician explained every move before she made it, asked permission to touch me during the most routine procedures. I was mystified: by her compassion, by the level of attention paid to my body — as if it were fragile, or sacred. Only then did it occur to me how many terrified and abused women Planned Parenthood must treat every day.

And that brought me to tears, sorrowful for the ways in which we all suffer, in whatever ways we do, and grateful for the unlikely refuge of this place. Grateful also for the safety granted my own tears, prompted by the delicate weight of a hand on my shoulder, the warmth of her palm against my back.

How unprepared I was to experience tenderness in the place I had been warned so vehemently against. How unprepared for the flood of relief, the bud of hope, after a life devoted to keeping myself separate from my body. Here was a path, an opening; here was empathy.

I would have an IUD instead of children; I would have intellectual and spiritual freedom; I would write poems and finally live inside my body; I would, for the love of God, feel a man’s hands on me before I died.

Golden Brown

2011-02-03T16:19:00.000-08:00

I always dread this time of the year. Holidays are few and far between and there is nothing to look forward to. It's also freezing cold for no reason. If it is cold and snowing I love it! BUT Subzero temperatures without snow are not acceptable, especially when it is ugly outside. The snow is partially melted and all that remains is an immense amount of yucky brown - brown trees, brown grass, brown mountains, and brown snow.

I feel the need for a different kind of brown. A golden brown. Maybe a brown associated with the SUN. Let's hear it for a beautiful SUNTAN!! Mmm. Warmth, boating, and basking in the sun with a good book to read. Summer please come soon.

Look how tan we are in this picture - indicative of a successful boating season!

BYU Dating Scene

2011-01-30T21:43:00.000-08:00

I went to the Jazz game on Friday night. It was a date - I think.

Tuesday night two boys knocked on the door and asked to talk to Brooke (my roommate) and me. The boys asked us if we would like to go to the Jazz game with them on Friday evening. We complied and were fairly excited to go. The door shut and we realized that we didn't know which boy actually asked us out. We knew it was a double date but the zoobies never distinguished how the date would be paired. Brooke + Boy 1 & Marie + Boy 2 OR Brooke + Boy 2 & Marie + Boy 1. Dilemma. We figured the couples would be obvious once they picked us up.

Much to our dismay, that distinction did not happen. As the boys opened the doors they failed to initiate who should sit where. SO - we just did what was the most convenient. Awkward. We played it cool though.

Throughout the date we seemed to pair off a little more and I was fairly confident who I was on a date with UNTIL the wretched doorstep scene. BAH! This still boggles my mind. I gave my "date" a hug and thanked him. Brooke followed suite with her date. THEN THE BOYS SWITCHED. My "date" gave Brooke and hug and Brooke's "date" gave me a hug.

WHAT? Was that real? Did that really happen? Oh BYU dating...

Here's the kicker - they both sat next to us in sacrament meeting today. Needless to say, I think they created a new dating genre titled DATING SCRAMBLE. I feel sorry for all of you who are missing out on these wonderful BYU experiences.

Re-entry into the BLOG world

2011-01-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

My darling great-grandmother discovered PhotoBooth over the break. Love it.

It has been over a year since I have posted last. Although not a lot has happened in the past year, I find it sad that that part of my life isn't documented. I was just reading all of my older posts and realized how much I have forgotten about my experiences already. Now I'm realizing that I have forgotten most of what went on last year. Oops. Like I said before, nothing too crazy has happened.

I'm graduating in April and I'm so happy about that. I'm so ready to be done with this chapter of my life. It has been an amazing experience but I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things. Most likely I will be going back to school but it will be a completely new experience. I'm looking forward to that.

I'm applying for nursing school at the University of Utah. (My ivy-league brother-in-law also convinced me to apply at Georgetown.) We'll see how that goes. It's going to be interesting to see how things pan out. I have also been doing an internship with the American Heart Association. They have been really great with me and I have truly loved my experience. I could possibly work for them as well. I'm grateful to have options.

I'm a gospel doctrine teacher right now and that has been fun. I have only taught one lesson that was sub-par but I still enjoyed it for selfish reasons. It's nice to teach because then you are really forced to learn the material. I wish I was motivated enough to simply study the scriptures with that much depth without my calling to force me into it. Sounds like a resolution to me!

Buon Thanksgiving: The Last Supper

2009-11-20T10:34:00.001-08:00

Some of my teachers! (L-R) Claudio, Andrea (man), and Livia on the right

Today was the last day of class and also our mock Italian Thanksgiving!! We took finals and then proved to Nando that we are all chefs - we actually made our Thanksgiving dinner without his help. I was a little nervous at first because the ingredients were totally different (their brown sugar is course cane sugar) but it ended up working out just great! We had a lot of food and I even made a pumpkin pie from scratch - entirely!! I cooked the pumpkin in the oven, cooled, peeled and spiced it. Then I made the crusts and the finished the inside pumpkin filling. It was a little nerve wracking but it did end up being absolutely delicious!! Nando dubbed it "La Torta di Maria" - it sounds so cute when he says it. He loved my pie, told me it was delicious and then asked me for the recipe!! I'm seriously going to miss the kitchen here, including Nando. Good guy!

Tomorrow (Saturday) we are spending the day in Florence and then we head out to Venice on Monday morning bright and early. Sunday is our last whole day in Siena and it's really making me sad. It's a bittersweet thing. I'm excited to go home but I'm also sad to leave all of the good friends I have made here but I will always remember the experiences I have had!

A Week and Counting

2009-11-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

Sadly enough I have less than a week left in Siena. We are leaving Monday morning and heading for Venice. It's so crazy how fast the time has gone by. I feel like I just barely got settled into my groove and even started understanding quite a bit of Italian. Such is life. I've decided that once you get comfortable in one place, the scenery somehow changes whether it be good or bad. Thankfully my change of scenery consists of Venice, Rome, London, New York, then the best one yet - HOME!!! YAY!!

I've been a bad little blogger this past week simply because I've been slightly busier tying loose ends before I depart. I'll give you a little run down of what went on this last week in a short and hopefully entertaining list.

-Monday I explored Siena and found a really neat library where Italian college students were studying. It looked surprisingly similar to good ol' Harld B Lee Library and I felt right at home.

-Tuesday Eli opened her mission call: Switzerland Geneva (French speaking) WOHOO!! We also got to visit a ceramics shop. It was pretty neat but I was slightly distracted by the man's disfigured thumb. I think the pottery wheel snagged it.

-Wednesday I experienced my second round of chestnut hunting. I now have a 10 pound package full of chestnuts that I'm going to send. There's some parmigiano reggiano coming Utah's way as well - delicious!!

-Thursday I went to....MILAN. Be jealous. It was so much fun! I shopped a lot and went to the Gothic inspired Duomo. Breathtaking! I also saw a very overpriced baby sweatsuit: 55 Euro for the shirt, 88 Euro for the Jacket, and 140 Euro for the pants. I loved it all!!

-Friday I came home to my fake little brother's (Giuseppe) hamster, Pipi, on his deathbed. His breathing was shallow and he was getting colder by the minute. Giuseppe was at soccer while this was going on. Right when he got home he saw that his hamster was dying and he instantly tried to revive it and kept encouraging it to live. He then ran into his room sobbing when he realized that Pipi wasn't going to make it through the night. It was so sad. It reminded me of when this happened to Trevor and my mom told me to console him. I was the person of choice for the job because I've had many hamsters die on me, including one that Jamie stepped on while we were playing. RIP Benjamin Franklin hamster...you were a great pet.

-Saturday I went to a Medieval Market in the Campo. It was fun to see all of the different items being sold. It reminded me a lot of Swiss Days. The market was really neat until this weirdy parade started. Road flares were pulled creating this creepy red light haze as intense music blared in the background. 4 interesting figures were dancing around - by interesting I mean dragons in masquerade masks flapping their wings. I forgot to mention that they were also on stilts. It was very crazy!

-Sunday I flirted with the missionaries that are serving here in the Siena branch. SCHERZO (joke). I have hardly talked to any missionaries since my family made fun of me for "flirting" with other missionaries in Florence. Just so you know, talking about college with missionaries is not flirting, it's making conversation to avoid awkward silence. Everyone knows that dearest family of mine. Anyway, round 3 of chestnut hunting after church - they're passionate about chestnuts. I was also approached by my host mom Sunday night. She wanted me to curl her hair like I curl Elizabeth's. She plopped right down on the toilet and handed me her blowdryer and the brush and put me to work. It was really cute. After that Alberto - the 15 year old fake bro - had me straighten his curly hair. It was fun to play beauty salon for the evening. They told me it should be my 2nd job. Love them.

That was my week in a nutshell, a big nutshell. Sorry, I failed miserably at making it brief!! Life couldn't be better here in Italy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-11-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

I just realized that half of my posts, probably more, are about food. We made SOFT and HOT cookies for our host family. They were shocked that we like them soft and hot - funny cultural difference. The brown sugar is a little different here so they tasted a little funny but they were still really good - I have been craving these little babies for a long time!!

Thanks Eli for the recipe!

Marriage of Figaro

2009-11-08T10:45:00.001-08:00

OPERA - ITALIAN OPERA. The opera we chose to go to was cheaper and as I entered I was a little concerned. The "opera house" was just an old church and there wasn't a stage or any props. Not super impressive initially.

A man came in a red bowtie approached the "stage" and described the opera (in English - nice) and it began. I WAS BLOWN AWAY!! The pianist started playing and he was seriously amazing. Then the actors came out and all of them had amazing voices. It was really cool because they didn't need props, a stage, or an orchestra to make it really incredible. It was a very neat and thanks to the man in the red bowtie, I also understood the story line.

The ceiling of the church with the stage right below

Very small

Kayci (Annie's friend), Annie, me

Once Again - Florence

2009-11-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

I went to Florence yet again for the weekend. I think this was my 5th trip! Needless to say, I guess I love Florence. We went shopping on Friday where I got some fun surprises. Saturday I met up with the group and we went to the Uffizi Gallery as well as a Monastery where Fra Angelico painted frescoes. Seeing all of the famous art is so amazing. It's incredible to think of the talent and time that went into every piece in the museum. It's breathtaking. I got to see some paintings by DaVinci, Michelangelo, Rafael, Boticelli, Fra Filipo Lippi and others. Really neat.

After that we went hunting for a Mexican food restaurant we heard about from a friend. Everyone in the group has been craving Mexican food, some have even said, "The only thing I want at this moment is a burrito" so we thought it was worth it to search. It was quite the hunt but I got some good practice with my Italian by asking for directions every block. We actually gave up looking for it because nobody we were asking really knew exactly where it was and we were all tired and hungry. We decided to walk back to the Duomo and find something else to eat and - Ecco - we found the place. We'll call the burrito "The Burrito of Gold" because it truly changed the attitude of the group, we went from crabby and stressed to happy in a matter of 10 minutes. Hilarious thing - I didn't even get one, I'm in Italy, let's eat good pasta or something, not crappy Italian imitation Mexican food. I'm waiting for my Cafe Rio pork salad (American-Mexican I know, not true Mexican but still better than Italian-Mexican).

The Burrito of Gold

We also got these waffles with Nutella in the middle. I have a pretty high threshold for sweetness and even I was sick by the end. BAH, I'll never eat another one - it wasn't that good AND they surprised us all by telling us after they prepared it that it was 6 Euro (by by 3 gelati) GROSS!

Cooking with Nando

2009-11-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

The kitchen is where I belong. I love every aspect of it. The cooking experience here in Siena has been one of the best things that I have ever done and I've learned so much from Nondo. I've really started to grasp the whole idea of Italian cooking and it's so fun and amazing!

Nando loves me! What more can I say? He asked me to come back next year to help him cook and translate for students coming to take classes from him. I told him that I don't really speak Italian very well and he replied, "I will teach you to cook and you can teach me English." He then again asked me several times to come back. The intern told me that he has emphasized this same point to her quite a few times. Exciting!! Maybe I'll do it.

Nando!

The most delicious dessert so far!

Happy Birthday DAD

2009-11-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!! I LOVE YOU!!

Eli and I created a hilarious music video to a song by Michael McLean titled "She Doesn't Know". We stayed up until all hours of the evening creating this video for our talent show. It's an awful song that he wrote for his wife for Mother's Day this year - if anything it's an insult. Check it out on facebook if you would like.

Day of the Dead

2009-11-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Just like Memorial Day in the States, Italians celebrate the lives of those who have passed on in the beginning of November. The festivities start out November 1 with Tutti Santi where the Italians celebrate all of the lives of the martyred saints. The larger holiday is the following day, Tutti Morti, where all lives are celebrated. Most people would consider this holiday to be depressing and dark but it's actually a holiday that many look forward to. Typically people picnic next to the graves (they always eat food to also celebrate that they are still alive) and exchange "gifts from their dead relatives".

Coincidentally on this same day we had a field-trip with my group to the cemetery. The day was dreary, cold, and raining which was very fitting for what I consider the feeling of a cemetery to be. When I entered the cemetery I was taken away by how extravagant and highly decorated all of the graves were, some even had their own little "Duomo" as the place of burial. Very interesting. The cemeteries also don't have any grass - who wants to mow around all the headstones anyway. Buon'idea.

My new giraffe print umbrella

Cemetery - beautiful

Trick or Treat

2009-11-02T01:57:00.000-08:00

Halloween day was not so spooky and was lacking dinner in a pumpkin but it was still eventful and enjoyable. Saturday morning we got to go to Buonconvento, Asciano, Monte Oliveto, and Rapolano. We visited some churches, ate lunch at a monastery, viewed the lovely scenery, and learned about the process of making olive oil. All of the towns were sleepy and picturesque so it was a fun change of pace for the weekend.

The view from the Olive Oil Museum

Some Olive Oil

An old man working in the garden-

Outfit: Tweed blazer, White button up shirt

red beret, skinny jeans and leather boots.

His garden might look a little dry but at

least he is still lookin' good.

Three-wheeler: the steering wheel is not

a wheel, it's a handle-bar. Awesome.

I want one.

Later that night there was a Ward Halloween Party in Siena that we dressed up for. With some ideas from some friends and a little creativity I decided that being Mario would be the perfect costume for an Italian Halloween. Mario is the perfect merger of the two cultures - genius! My partner in crime forgot her costume (Luigi) but it still ended up being just fine. The missionaries also dressed up for the evening: hippie, nun (funny but borderline), gangster (very borderline - it's ok he's the Branch President), and a magician. They did a dance to MJ's Thriller - cute choreography - then it faded into Coolio's Gangster's Paradise (minus the lyrics - still dodgy) while the Branch President (gangster) rapped to it. It was so funny but I almost felt bad for laughing - I still did though - maybe I'll join Grandma in Kamas.

Kaitlin (We Can Do It girl), It's a me, Mario!

Annie (Frodo) - she won the costume contest hands down

Elders: Stanfield, Ranieri (Branch President),

Drury (served with Natalie Johnson) and Shaw

Up close and personal to my mustache.

Mal di Gola

2009-10-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Translation - I lost my voice. Italians have a very interesting perspective on sickness and the process of getting sick. They believe that if your neck gets cold, or any part of your body, you will get sick. This afternoon my fake mom heard my voice and told me that I got sick because I left the window open and it was cold in our room. Very interesting. Italians are also very willing to share their opinions about sickness or dressing for the weather, even if you are a complete stranger to them. Eli got reprimanded by a complete stranger for wearing flip-flops in normal fall-type weather.

On a funnier note, last night we had a fun little slumber party with two other girls from our program. Annie, Eli, and I went to the city center and met up with Hillary. Annie and I decided to ride the bus home early. Although we warned Annie to grab her bus pass, she said, "It will be fine, they won't check tickets tonight." Ok, ok. As we were about to get on a bus to go home we saw the officers that check your tickets - we didn't get on that bus - we chose the other one thinking that we weaseled our way past the system. Little did we know that those buses have the same first stop and the officers got off on that stop and switched lines onto our bus. Annie immediately pushed the button to get off but she was caught. She hopped off the bus without me and all I could imagine was cute little Annie without her bus pass, money, or ID being thrown in the slammer for the whole night because she rode the bus without her pass. Needless to say, she got a ticket that included a hefty 40 Euro fine. It was slightly scary at the time but she handled it well and it makes for a good story now. After that, our sleepover was so fun - we pushed 3 beds together and slept any way we would fit. My back is sore and I'm exhausted but it was definitely worth it!

Castagne e Funghi

2009-10-27T11:11:00.000-07:00

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose....Who knows what chestnuts are anyway? I always thought they were just an easy joke for the immature and perverted mind, I didn't know that they truly existed and that people actually ate them. Sunday I finally found meaning to this yuletide carol nut because I went hunting for them in the forest with my fake family. Hilarious! Chestnuts are enclosed in this shell that is similar in spikiness to a sea urchin and there is a certain technique you use with your feet to open and expose the nuts. I feel like I'm telling the polar bear joke. Anyway, we found a lot of chestnuts that I am going to preserve and send home so that we can all try them! They have a good flavor and they are sort of chalky in texture. Interesting.

What a chestnut looks like

My basket full of chestnuts

The gorgeous forest

The sun peeking in around the trees

We also found some mushrooms in the forest. It was so hard because Benny kept pointing to different types of mushrooms and was quizzing me on the type of species and if it was toxic, edible, fatal, or just plain not good to eat. I was getting frustrated because once I got one type down he would switch to another and I kept getting them so mixed up. He would look at me disappointedly when I didn't know the answer. Oops.

Benny's two favorite things: Funghi and Eli

Beautiful Fungus

Upside-down Fungus

Previously in the week (Saturday) I went to a mushroom convention with Benny. There he taught me some of the species and classifications of mushrooms (hence the quiz the following afternoon in the forest). I got to meet the President and Vice President of the Mushroom Association - both of which know every species and classification of mushroom. Little did I know how popular mushroom hunting was here or that it even existed. I told my program director about this hobby and he said, "Imagine organizing an Elder's Quorum activity to go mushroom hunting in the forest, scarves included." Never in a million years BUT that's why I love Italy.

Man- Pres Woman- Vice (notice the man's scarf - he's handsome)

Cooking in the Tuscan Countryside

2009-10-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

9 AM: Looking at this

10 AM: Baking with these two fun people

11 AM: Listening to Norah Jones

12 PM: Cooking pasta

1 PM: Cleaning my little loves

2 PM: Finished

We ate an amazing lunch with the shrimp pasta dish we made and ate the two different cakes we baked for dessert later that night. I've realized how amazing this opportunity is many times before but this experience truly engrained it into my memory for good. Who can beat listening to Norah Jones while cooking with the view of the Italian countryside? Breathtaking and simply perfect.

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

2009-10-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm. Imagine streets and piazzas lined with beautifully organized chocolate stands, free samples, and even a chocolate climbing wall. Perugia's chocolate festival is one of the most famous in all of Europe and for good reason. There were so many different types and styles of chocolate that I felt like I was in heaven (I knew I wasn't quite there-no gelato). It rained the entire time but it made it possibly more fun because it somehow felt more ok to consume disgusting amounts of rich and super sweet treats. 30 Euro later and probably 10 pounds heavier, I don't regret visiting Perugia for a fun little getaway.

Chocolate purchased

Chocolate purchased by everyone in the group, lovely sight to behold

Sardines Anyone? Chocolate?

2009-10-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight Benny brought out fish pasta. I was a little nervous because Eli hates fish and whenever some sort of seafood dish comes out she gets a little nervous and her gag reflexes heighten. Usually if she can't see the shape of the creature she's fine. This pasta dish worked well for her - little chunks of fish, no big deal. Then he brought out a whole basket of fried sardines - still in tact from head to tail with a little batter on them. Insert classic Eli face here, one of courage combined with disgust. She did a great job and ate everything - minus the spines - she couldn't eat those. Way to go Eli!! Most girls wouldn't even touch a sardine let alone de-spine and eat 30 or so.

Me, being the human garbage disposal, loved everything, spines included and even contemplated eating Eli's leftover spines...let's just say that I think I'm ready to be invited to the next General Conference Priesthood Afterparty because I'm a newfound convert to SARDINES (except I won't burp on you, I'm way more polite than that)!!

Tomorrow I'm going to Europe's most famous Chocolate Festival in Perugia, what some would consider a step up from sardines. Let me know if you want anything....mmmm

Freud was Right

2009-10-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Me being sad and cold in my fake room

Dreams are truly a pathway to the subconscious. Last night I had a dream where I was sitting in the living room of my fake family apartment and Benny started talking to me without speaking slowly or clearly. He then asked, "Hai capito?" (Did you understand?) He repeated what he said and then again asked, "Hai capito?" Everything in my dream was wearing on me and I finally exploded. I burst into tears and I said, "No, non ho capito niente!! (No, I didn't understand anything)." (Maybe it's a good sign, I'm speaking Italian in my dreams). I then continued by saying, "I can't wait to just go home and speak in English where everyone understands me and I understand everyone." Then I woke up. It was a good day. I haven't really felt that intense about not understanding consciously- maybe it truly is my subconscious speaking - I have a midterm in Italian tomorrow.

I do agree with my dream though, all I want is to be understood. It's difficult to imagine myself fluent in Italian and it frustrates me even more when I see little bambini (babies) babbling and speaking in Italian more efficiently than I do. Maybe I will just live in America for good. Problem solved.

Discoteca & Other Less Important Things

2009-10-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Discoteca: Just what it sounds like - a sincere disco dance hall. Well, the one I went to was more of a social pub than a discoteca but regardless, it was amazing. I went with a large group of girls from my group and we had so many fun experiences and interesting social situations together.

We got to the dance pub at about 11 and it wasn't too exciting at that point. We figured that it would pick up later so we ordered a few drinks - not the kind of drinks you expect - and we waited. Eventually some fun songs came on and we couldn't hold back our urge to dance any longer. (Unbeknownst to us, nobody really sincerely dances at this pub but we created a really good dance party on our own). Boys were approaching us and all of the girls were being pretty harsh and rejecting any guy who was even trying to talk to us. I just decided to make it fun and start dancing with boys. It was fun and even a good idea in theory but I soon felt like fly paper in the middle of a cow farm. Thankfully I had very good friends who fought the boys off and helped me out.

At one point I went outside to find all of my friends but they weren't there. Oops. The boys followed me out there and wanted me to take pictures and they even tried to convince me that it would be a good idea to go home with them. No thanks.

Then I met Max. He's this cute boy from Rome who is studying here in Siena. He was completely what you would expect from a typical smooth Italian man. He was telling people that I was his girlfriend and that I was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen. I wonder how many girls he has really told that to? Too many to flatter me. Anyway, we danced and talked a little (in Italian - thankfully he was patient and super interested or it wouldn't have worked so well) and it was fairly sweet. Imagine this, a tall, dark, and handsome man whispering Italian into your ear while holding you close, then looking at you with his gorgeous smile and dark eyes waiting for your response. Dang, watch out Stephanie Meyer, I think I'm in the running for writing the next hit romantic teen novel. Anyway, although I knew that it would never go anywhere, who can resist that situation? Not me! He tried to get my phone number and tried to set up a time to meet again but I figured that things should end there. Dating is not allowed on the program and that's sketchy anyway. So, right before I was about to leave, Max, my Italian boyfriend for the night, totally kissed me - he stole it from me. I was so shocked and so were all of my friends who saw it. I was so embarrassed BUT - who can say that they kissed a cute Roman boy in Italy? I can. It's bittersweet I suppose, but mostly just funny!

My dancing buddy - for a while

All of these girls are dancing queens

Secondary things:

Earlier on Friday (discoteca night) I went to Florence and found some cute pants, shoes, and scarves.

Saturday: I went to Arezzo and saw Vasari's house as well as the place where Life is Beautiful (a touching Italian film) was filmed. There was also and international market where there was food from all around the world. They also had bread the size of an alligator, it was pretty awesome!

My cute new coat I got for 20 Euro

The view in Arezzo - beautiful

Alligator sized bread

I also went to a pizza birthday party of my fake little brother, Giuseppe. How cute - little boys here have pizza parties for their birthday's too! He just turned 12. The party was hopping with a bunch of cute little boys right around his age. They all pitched in and gave him a really nice cell phone - hilarious. Imagine Nick having a cell phone. Also, during dinner the boys had their own little room and they were being super obnoxious and rowdy. Boys were yelling and betting over arm-wrestling, some were talking on their phones, and others were arguing about whose turn it was on the Nintendo DS. I could imagine them 60 years from now doing the same thing, but just as little old Italian men - probably arguing over Scopa (an Italian card game) or calcio matches (soccer). It was quite the sight to behold. Needless to say, I loved every second, it reminded me of home with all of the little yahoos running around all the time (strangely I realized how much miss it).

The craziness

The arm-wrestling competition

Eventful weekend! I'm understanding more Italian every day! HOORAY!! Thanks for your prayers!

Gelato Count: 23 - Ah, I'm getting behind my one a day goal.

*One sad story: A busy 10 bus means a lost umbrella and guess what - it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Thanks for buying it anyway mom! I loved it and used it for a good week or so of rain.

Judaism, Haircuts, and Food

2009-10-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

These are the things that I have done this week.

1) Jewish Synagogue - loved it. It was very different from the 10,000 Catholic Churches (slight exaggeration) I have seen and it was also neat because we were able to have a question & answer session with the group leader of the Jews in Siena. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met and the discussion was very interesting. I learned a lot about Judaism. He also told us that in Jerusalem the Mormon Church has donated a lot of money to help with their church programs. He said that the Jews and Mormons have a very good relationship and he respects our religious beliefs very much. It was cool to hear. No pictures allowed inside. Sorry.

2) I got a haircut here in Siena and it was SO MUCH FUN!! I was a little nervous because of the language barrier but it ended up being so cute.

It was interesting because a woman washed my hair, two men worked on cutting my hair (hairdressers here are typically male), and the same woman styled it after the men were done. 3 people. One haircut. It also took forever - 2 hours.

The best part about the haircut was just watching the men do their job. They were singing to American music and cutting hair in a very dramatic way. They would bend down backwards to get closer to my hair and once they would cut the hair they would throw it in the air - he was being totally serious, he wasn't trying to entertain at all, he was just in the "zone". It was so entertaining. After my hair was dry he did some last minute touch ups with his scissors. I felt like a poodle being groomed - my hair was literally flying all over the room. It was hilarious.

To make the whole situation funnier, after he finished the touch ups he grabbed two blow dryers, one in each hand, (stick 'em up partner) and started blowing my hair all over the place as the other man sprayed hairspray all over my crazy hair. Talk about blowing me away with their manliness :) I loved every minute!!

My hair - It's hard to see the layers

3) Cooking Class Menu: PIZZA!! All kinds of pizza. One with corn, tuna, and grilled onions (this one was my favorite), all of the others were pretty normal pizzas. It was delicious. We also had spinach and carrot something or other. Divine. We finished off with mint chocolate flan with strawberries on the side. Buonissimo!!

Tuna, Corn, and Grilled Onion Pizza

Spinach and Carrot something

Chocolate Mint Flan with Strawberries

Vacanza with the Vicinanza's

2009-10-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

We had the wonderful opportunity of going to Salerno (Southern Italy near Napoli) with my host family. It was very interesting but so worth it.

Some of my favorite things that happened this trip:

-Watching my fake brothers play on my iPod - they love JellyCar just like my real little brothers

-We arrived late Friday night under very sketchy circumstances. Salerno isn't quite as quaint or picturesque as other towns I've visited. My first impression of Salerno was: dirty, scary, gangster, traffic, and stinky.

What Salerno looks like from a distance - it's deceivingly beautiful

-That night we ate a lovely large meal with all of Benny's family. It was so fun to see him interact with his family - Italians are so loving. We ate an 8 course dinner and all of the family accepted us as their own. So kind. They also gave us three courses worth of dessert. Yum!

This man was the best - so cute

-We then went to the apartment where we were going to sleep. Everyone was speaking so fast and it was really overwhelming to understand. We just opted out of that social situation and retired for the evening.

-The next morning we went shopping at the market with Alberto and Anna. I was tired and really didn't want to be there - their style is so weird - but I made it through - no purchases were made.

-We came home to Benny who was in his official mushroom hunting outfit including a scarf tied around the neck, lightweight button-up shirt and pants, cap, and hiking boots. So darling, quite possibly my favorite part of the trip.

Benny and his mushroom he found in the forest (notice the scarf)

-Visited old town and walked up the shore-line with the family. Benny then found a ceramic shop bought something for me. Heaven knows what it is for. He explained it in Italian but...yep, still don't know...

My fake family

-We had another amazing meal including langostine, shrimp, oysters, clams, octopus (twice), some sort of raw fish, and another fish that was caught fresh that day - topped off with a chocolate souffle. DIVINE. I love seafood.

Benny, his friend (restaurant owner) and fish

-Then we drove in the coast on our way back home (for way too long) and stopped in Minori (near Amalfi) and Positano. They are both so lovely. The road was windy and Benny imitated his Ferrari skills through the turns.

Positano is lovely

Benny and his "Ferrari"

-We left at 10 AM and returned to Siena at 8PM. LONG, and yes, it only took us 4 hours on the way there.

Overall it was a very fun weekend and I'm glad I got to see my host family in their true element but man is it good to be "home".

*The pictures aren't the greatest quality but that is what it is allowing me to post so hopefully that is better than nothing!!

Cinque Terre Norwegian Style

2009-10-04T12:13:00.001-07:00

Hiking, wonderful food, tanning, swimming, and shopping - what more could a girl ask for?

We arrived in Riomaggiore on Friday evening and took pictures, then caught a train to Vernazza and ate dinner there. We sat right above the ocean on the edge of a cliff. The view was amazing and the food was delicious (squid and shrimp - yum). The next day we hiked through all of the cities (approximately 5.5 hours). It was very tiring but very worth it because of the lovely view and lovely beach at the very last city of the hike. We jumped in the water, swam for a while, and tanned in the middle of a sincere European bathing territory. My lucky day right? Europe is tainting my innocence.

This is when the story gets good so if you are still reading you are in luck my friend. We went to dinner in Monterosso, the last city. After we ate dinner (sea-bass, pear and cheese ravioli, and chocolate souffle) we went to purchase our train tickets to get home. The ticket booth was closed so we had to use the non-English automatic ticket machine. We figured out how to purchase ours when 4 Norwegians came and asked us to help them buy tickets. I willingly accepted because I knew what to do (and wanted to be the hero). We got their tickets all figured out (and I got a hug from the cute man) but they needed help stamping their tickets too. The same man immediately grabbed my hand (and didn't let go) and pulled me along saying, "You come with me, we need help". Flattered, I went to help but it was broken. I thought, "No big deal, the men never come by to check tickets so they'll be fine". Did the ticket checkers come this time? Yes, of course they did, it's Murphy's Law. The man got mad at the Norwegians because their tickets weren't validated and because their tickets weren't correct. Dang. It was literally all my fault. I accidentally purchased an upgrade to a ticket rather than actually buying a ticket - although they look absolutely the same. To make it even worse, the entire group of girls I traveled with had the same incorrect ticket as well. Double Oops. The ticket man wasn't too mad, they just required us to pay an extra Euro but the nice Norwegian man paid for all of us. Proof that there are still amazingly nice people in the world. We got off the train laughing and we said our goodbyes with our newfound friends.

The next morning for breakfast we went to a cute pirate cafe in Vernazza. On our way out, I was putting my wallet in my backpack and as I looked up and saw the biggest grinning face about 10 feet away. It was my cute hugging and hand holding Norwegian friend!! We all laughed hysterically and took pictures. I now have friends in Norway (although they weren't too excited to say where they were from - they didn't want us to think people in Norway were dumb because they couldn't purchase their own tickets).

Our cute Norwegian Friends

Finished

Almost there

The view from the hike

Eli and I on the rocks
Gelato Count: 21

A Five City Weekend

2009-10-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am leaving for Cinque Terre. It consists of five cities that you hike to and the last one has a gorgeous beach. It's known to be one of the loveliest places in Italy. I'm very excited to go for the weekend to hike, hang out with my darling friends, and go to the beach. I realized today that General Conference is this weekend and I was instantly glad that I had planned to do something fun so I don't get too homesick. Our family will make any excuse to party but General Conference weekend in particular consists of constant partying. I got a little sad that I would be missing it. Who am I to complain? I'm in Italy AND I won't have sardine breath blown into my face! Have a wonderful conference weekend!

I Love Gravity

2009-09-27T04:28:00.000-07:00

This blog pays tribute to gravity. Who thought that 9.8 meters per second squared would have such an effect on all of our lives, or buildings in Pisa. The infamous leaning tower is so well known all because of gravity (and a sandy foundation - primary song anyone?) and I think it's amazing that the thing is still standing.

Now who in their right mind would climb to the top of a building that is structurally unsound? I guess I would! I was pretty nervous when the group leader said we would be climbing it simply because it seems a little ridiculous to knowingly endanger myself. I did it anyway. And I had fun. While climbing around and around I could feel which way the tower was leaning according to the way that gravity was pulling me. I was being pulled to the center of the staircase, the outside of the staircase, and forward and backward. It's fun to feel that sensation but it's also scary because if you fell down those stairs that would be a sincere beating up and down. It didn't help that the stairs were highly polished and uneven which made them very slippery. Good thing I'm coordinated, sort of. I would have recorded the experience but my camera battery was dying and I had to save some battery life for the typical "push the leaning tower up" pictures! I'm touristy and it's ok!

Mangia!

2009-09-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Cooking class again today and it was delicious as always! We made mushroom crostini, pecorino and pear risotto, chicken with pepperoni (bell peppers), and tiramisu. Everything tasted so amazing and it was fairly simple. I'm currently formulating a list of food items that I'm planning on bringing home so that I can try to recreate these recipes.

Last night we went to a Calcio game (soccer) and it was so much fun! The fans are insanely passionate about their team that they even have organized chants and songs that everyone knows. Siena played Verona and therefore it wasn't a very exciting game (they tied 0-0) but I think it was a good introduction course for Italian soccer.

On the way home it was dark and late and I was walking home with Elizabeth. A man pulled over and asked us if we wanted a ride (in Italian) and we kindly said no thank you and he drove away. A couple minutes later the same man pulled over again and asked us if we wanted a ride. We said no again and he drove away. Thankfully he didn't follow us or come back again so we felt fine about it. I was glad that I did have a cell phone just in case. We also used common knowledge - be bold and confident. We were totally fine. I don't know if the man was just being nice but we were still cautious. It's safe here in Siena, and I'm a smart girl. "Taxi cabs are so expensive, want to share?" -Taken

I'm doing really well and enjoying everything about my trip so far. We're planning a trip to Cinque Terra during conference weekend. Lovely. Life couldn't be better!

A New Week

2009-09-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday was very interesting. Our host family had another family over for lunch where I saw the epitome of true Italian conversation. The entire dinner consisted of everyone talking at the same time, sometimes there would be a spurt where only 2 or 3 were talking, but there were always multiple people talking. It was very interesting to watch because they all fight for the attention of others and whoever has the best idea or the funniest story wins SOME attention. It was very overwhelming and I just stopped trying to understand what was going on. I just talked to Elizabeth quietly - and we took turns. Then we went on a walk with the family and I think Benny smoked at least 5 cigarettes. Chimney. He also insisted on buying us gelato on the Sabbath (that buys me another chat with the bishop I suppose). Benny is an interesting fellow who has taken a liking to Elizabeth. She has been a little weirded out by him paying a lot of attention to her and brushing her bangs out of her face, but supposedly that is custom for Italians in general. That's their way of accepting you and including you in with the family. Things will be fine, we just need to culturally adjust.

Although Sunday was a little overwhelming, the thought of the start of a new week was refreshing.

Monday: class until FHE, then dinner, then bed.

Tuesday: class until visiting the Duomo, Piccolini Library, and the Baptistry of Siena at 3.

Wednesday: class, street market, and Calcio (soccer game)! (Siena v. Verona - Siena's the best)

Thursday: cooking class (my favorite), visit San Caterina Church

Friday: class and nothing else

Saturday: Pisa and the Basilica

My Italian is getting better day by day. The only thing holding me back is my pride. I get too embarrassed when I say things incorrectly. I'm starting to get past that and I've seen some drastic improvement. I'm understanding things in class and it's so much fun. Hopefully I'll continue to improve.

Gelato Count: 15

Weekend

2009-09-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was hoping to just be able to relax and stay in Siena for once. Although that wish didn't come true, I got to go see the Volturi and eat world famous gelato. Not bad for one weekend right? First we went to a town called San Gimignano (San Jee-meen-YAH-no). This city was once home to almost one hundred tall towers that families lived in. They built their homes in towers to protect themselves from invasion from other cities. They didn't build stairs in their casaterra (tower house) but just built ladders so that when people did invade, all they had to do was pull up their ladders and they would ward off invaders. Smart. We went to the town hall where there was an art museum - fairly interesting but nothing special to say the least. The coolest part was climbing to the top of the tallest tower and viewing the entire bird's eye view of the city. Che Bellissima! After that we ate at a gelateria that has won the title of the world's best gelato for 3 years straight now. It was seriously the most heavenly tasting gelato I've ever eaten. It was so creamy and the flavors were simply phenomenal. I got pistacchio, cioccolato fondente, and cocco (coconut). Divine.

Next stop was Volterra, the setting for the New Moon (Twilight Series) book and movie. I was slightly tempted to buy a tacky shirt that had a huge picture of Edward and Bella on the front with Volterra written underneath. Needless to say, I didn't buy it. Non-buyers remorse? Maybe. I can always go back right? If anyone else wants nick-knacks such as an alabaster apple that says Twilight on the front - let me know. We also went to an Etruscan museum and quite honestly, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. They are full of sarcophagi, urns, some jewelry, and pottery. There, now you have basically been to one. That's Volterra in a nutshell, no need to go (unless you are going for the tacky shirt).

GELATO COUNT: 13

Rillassamento

2009-09-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Relaxation! What a lovely day! I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single minute of it. We had a lecture early this morning on Etruscan history. It sounds pretty lame, I find any phrase involving the word lecture to be dull, but the man knew a lot about Etruscan influence in Italy. Immediately after the lecture I went to my first day in the cooking lab. AMAZING!! Seriously, I can't wait to come home and cook for everyone! Americans have a unique and incorrect perception of Italian food. We think that Italian food is complex - false. Italian food is all about choosing the best ingredients and using simple clean flavors that are enjoyable to taste.

Yummy cookies we made.

Rolling out pasta for the ravioli.

On the menu for today:

Insalata Caterina:Salad with arugula (peppery lettuce), spinach and 4 other greens. Garnished with pecorino and dry ricotta cheese with balsamic vinegar, oil, and salt. It is so simple but so delicious.

Spinaci Ravioli: Homemade pasta ravioli (wohoo I made pasta) with spinach, ricotta, basil, and parmigiano reggiano filling. This was dressed with a cooked tomato, garlic, and basil sauce.

Vitello con Limone: Veal cutlets with lemon sauce served with grilled pumpkin was our secondo.

Biscotti: For dolce (dessert) we made biscotti (Italian hard cookie) which had almonds, lemon and orange zest, and pinenuts.

Everything tasted so good and it was very simple to understand and make. I'm excited to share it with all of you!

We came home after that (and after a quick gelato trip). Benny (my host dad) got home from his business trip today and brought home Mozzarella Bufala (Mozzarella from buffalo milk) sourdough bread and some other surprises. Elizabeth's favorite part of his surprise was the living creatures he brought home too (oysters and clams) along with some freshly caught fish from this morning (thankfully not alive). I'm lucky because this family knows how to eat. We had clam spaghetti a few days ago...buonissima!

As we were cooking Benny turned some music on and he started teaching us how to dance like Italians. It was hilarious because I was so terrible. We kept saying, take a picture - I did take pictures but my blog is being lame and won't post any. When it starts working you'll enjoy seeing how awkward I look in the photo.

Another funny thing that came up today was wine and liquor (any alcohol in general). Benny said, "It's too bad you don't drink this because it is very good. Mormon." He kept offering us different kinds of alcohol and we just politely refused. He's a persistent little man because Elizabeth is 98% sure that the 3 different kinds of dessert they gave us tonight contained alcohol. I didn't really notice (me being naive) so of course I ate them all. Elizabeth was sitting next to me trying to either gag it down or explain that she's too full to eat anymore. Oh funny. Should I talk to the bishop about it? Shoot!

We finished off the night by playing Wii with Giuseppe and Alberto. I feel right at home.

GELATO COUNT: 11

Firenze

2009-09-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

Firenze = Florence. We took a quick trip to Florence today since it's only about and 80 minute bus ride from Siena. We went and visited the Baptistry and Duomo where I had to present The Gates of Paradise to all of the girls. It went well but I'm glad it's over. We also climbed to the top of the campanile (belltower) which included a lot of stair climbing. Excuse for another gelato right? From the top of the campanile we had and amazing view of Brunelleschi's dome and got to see the lovely terracotta rooftops.

We also went shopping at the street market near the Duomo. I love to barter, it's a new found hobby I suppose. I purchased and bartered for a darling mustard yellow wallet and I'm so excited about it. Sad as it may sound, this is my first real wallet. I feel like a new woman. Anyway, I'll be back to Florence a lot so if anyone is interested in anything let me know. Florence has a lot to offer. Handbags, scarves, belts, jackets, jewelry (my personal favorite) and soccer jerseys (sorry, no gelato). Life is good here, it's a little rainy but it's great!

Gelato count: 10

The Gates of Paradise

Brunelleschi's Dome in Florence

Pecorino, Parmigiano Reggiano, Balsamic, and Prosciutto

2009-09-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go to a cheese, meat, and vinegar market. Gino Cacino taught us all about the process of parmegiano reggiano, balsamic vinegar of Modena, and specialty meats unique to Siena.

Some interesting facts I learned:

-Parmigiano reggiano is tested by a professional cheese tester after the first year of aging to make sure it's a quality cheese. The cheese that is rejected is still ok to purchase, it's just not certified so it will be a little cheaper and a little less tasty.

-Pecorino Cheese is a Sienese specialty. Back in the day there were a lot of sheep in the area and therefore they were able to use sheep milk to make cheese. There is pecorino fresca that is very soft and comparable to Muenster cheese - this type had to be eaten within 15 days or it will go bad. It's delicious. Another pecorino cheese is preserved by being coated in tomato (for its acidic quality to eliminate bacteria - yay food microbiology) and it's left to age. It's a little less moist and more flavorful than the pecorino fresca.

-Balsamic vinegar is left in wooden barrels to age. The longer it ages, the more valuable it becomes. They sell 40 year old balsamic vinegar that is 30 euro= $45 USD for 1.3 oz. I didn't get to taste it but they claim that it's really sweet and absolutely delicious - hence the price per oz.

-The Sienese people were overtaken by Florence and their spices used to preserve their meat was taken away. They then had to find a new way to preserve meat and used fennel to do the job. This type of salami with fennel is now considered a food eaten to celebrate Siena's new found independence from Florence.

-Jon pointed out that in Tuscany there isn't salt in the bread. This is because salt was very expensive (salary and salt have the same derivative) and they needed it to preserve their meat. All of their salt went to the meat. It was also a benefit and continued tradition because their meat is so salty that they didn't want to combine salty bread with salty meat so they have kept it that way since. Neat right?

I LOVE FOOD - particularly Italian food, real Italian food.

I want Gino's job, I got a picture with him but another girl has it. I'll post it here when I get it from her.

The First Day of School

2009-09-14T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school. Dante Alighieri is amazing and my Italian class is going to be a blast. It is going to be challenging but so worth it. Hopefully I’ll be able to study hard and start speaking well. The view from the school is amazing and I feel so blessed to be able to study in such a lovely area around so many good people. I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.

After class we went and got gelato (regardless of the freezing cold rain). White chocolate and mint was the flavor of choice for the day and it was so good. I now have an official gelato count going: 7. Every post I'll update it.

We ate dinner with my group tonight. The chef whom I will be studying under here in Siena prepared the meal and it was amazing. It made me ten times more excited to start working with him. We got the recipe booklet already - YUMMY!

Gelato count: 9

School Night

2009-09-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday was great. We literally quadrupled the branch size - it’s so small that a missionary is the Branch President. It was neat to see that the church is the same everywhere (except the sacrament bread, it’s definitely more delicious here). We had school orientation later that afternoon - can I say back to school night all over again. It was fun because the cute man, Dr. Bonomi, showed us where our classes were and how to get to the cafeteria. The orientation took way longer than we thought it would and me and Elizabeth hadn’t quite figured out the bus system. We got on a bus but actually got on the wrong one. We ended up having to ride the bus to the end of the route, wait ten minutes for it to start again and then ride back to a familiar area to walk back to our apartment. It took us about 45 minutes on the bus and about 45 minutes to walk. We arrived at about 8:45 and dinner was supposed to start at 8. Our host father, Benny, was fairly disappointed with us and told us we should have called. We tried to explain that we didn’t have his phone number and also that we got lost. He was fairly understanding but I was still on the verge of tears. Disappointing somebody is way worse than anything else I think. Everything ended up ok and we feel a lot better. We still haven’t figured out the bus system (bus maps don’t exist here, you just have to kind of guess a general direction and get on the bus and pray really hard) but we are determined to figure it out.

Later that night we went to a dance party. Anna, our mom had asked us about going with her before and we were really excited. We told all of the girls in the group how cool our mom was for taking us to this dance party. We arrived at the party and it happened to be a senior citizen dance party. You would think that the party would be dead but it was actually quite hoppin. This old short man came and asked Elizabeth to dance and he wouldn’t let her go until she danced for 3 songs. It was so hilarious because he was relentless. I got asked to dance by an old man too but it was only for one song. He was a really good dancer and he smelled pretty good. Too bad he’s too old for me. I’m so glad this whole situation happened because it was a great bonding experience with Anna. We haven’t been able to communicate with her entirely with her until at the dance party. I have found that laughing is a universal language and I’m so glad. It was so awesome. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera (the one night that hilarious things occur - Murphy’s Law right?) but believe me, it was so funny.

My Temporary Family

2009-09-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today we drove again and yes we all wore pants to avoid freezing to death like the previous experience. We went to an Etruscan tomb in the mountains. The valley looked very similar to good ol’ Heber Valley and it made me feel right at home. It was lovely. After that it was time to meet my host family. Oh my goodness they are so adorable. The mom and dad are so nice and the two little boys are seriously darling. Giuseppe is 12 and Alberto is 15. We went to the supermarket to get things for dinner and it was so fun. Alberto kept putting candy and ice cream bars in the basket secretly and it was so funny to see the family dynamic. Giuseppe has a cute hamster name Pipi (pronounced pee pee) and it is hilarious. It reminds me entirely of my childhood pets. Then we had a delicious meal. I thought I was going to die - I was already full when they pulled out two big blocks of trecia and mozzarella cheese and they had us eat it all with tomatoes. It tasted really good but too much of one thing can turn into a bad thing - I’m full of cheese. So I have church tomorrow, hopefully I can find it. I’m excited for my adventure!

Right before me and Elizabeth met our family

The Wedding of Micaela and Jon

2009-09-12T13:26:00.002-07:00

Friday we were able to spend the day in Amalfi as a group. We went to the Cathedral of St. Andrew. Just as we were looking around and about to depart all of these women in matching dresses came in. A few minutes later a bunch of cute boys in matching suits came walking in. A few minutes later a large amount of people dressed up came walking in and started taking their seats. Little did we know that we were about to be part of and Italian wedding. The song turned on, everyone stood, and here came the bride. It was so fun! It was a very lucky day too because the wedding was in english. The groom was from England and the girl was from Italy so the only parts that were Italian were the repeated vows in both languages. I have pictures and everything. Congratulations Micaela and Jon! I wish you the best of luck and thanks for the invite to the wedding.

Jon and Micaela.

Minori - Amalfi Coast

2009-09-12T13:26:00.001-07:00

Alyssa, Ashley, and I arriving in Minori.

Our view.

Elizabeth soaking in the rays

On Thursday we had a free day to ourselves. First thing in the morning we went to a cute market where clothes, underwear, jackets, shoes, bed sheets, fresh produce, and basically anything you can sell was being sold. Then we hit the beach, played in the water, and tried our best not to look touristy (although the white skin, modest swim suits, and cameras gave us away).

I met the man of my dreams! He was rowing a boat into shore and was shirtless and good looking (always a plus). After he got his boat out of the water he started helping an old man get his boat onto the water. It was adorable. All of the girls nicknamed him Marco.

I did laundry from the tub - that was interesting. I left everything out to dry on our deck and right as we left the hotel the wind picked up. Of course it did - just my luck. I was praying that my personals wouldn’t be scattered all over the quaint town. I wasn’t too scared though - there’s always panties at the market. Sick.

Hurculaneum & Pompeii

2009-09-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday left Rome early in the morning (on a freezing cold bus) and made our way down to Southern Italy. On our way to the Amalfi Coast we visited Hurculaneum and Pompei. These two preserved cities were very interesting to visit. Mt. Vesuvius erupted on August 29, 79. I always imagined that people of that time were primitive - false. The remnants of these two cities are amazing! They had water systems for their homes, public baths with hot, medium, and cold water, and even a workout facility. Although they were advanced, they were also fairly wicked. Brothels and homosexuality were obvious problems in the neighborhood and we know that because they have preserved frescoes of it. Now we know why the entire two cities were destroyed. Thanks Mt. Vesuvius.

Hurculaneum

This is my adorable roommate Elizabeth freezing on the bus. She tried to cover her arms with the headrest covers that were literally paper thin. She claims that it helped preserve her life by preventing hypothermia on the bus.

I also saw two stray dogs and it made me slightly miss petting Max and Gus-Gus. I jumped directly next to the dog and he didn't twitch at all. Nope, not dead, just homeless and covered in fleas. Slightly more unloved than my little doggies.

We made our way to the Amalfi Coast after that adventure. The bus ride was beautiful yet very painful. We were driving in a very large tour bus through hairpin turns on what was basically a one way street. One girl threw up and a few others were very carsick. I was so thankful that this bus had better suspension than the cute Ford Transit we rented with Dad & Mom because in that case, I think I would have been the girl vomiting.

lunedi, martedi

2009-09-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

Monday we saw a lot of fountains and piazzas including some creepy men trying to steal things (don’t worry mom, I was very aware of what was going on and it was easily prevented - don’t send me home). Also, dad - I’m averaging one gelato a day (don’t send me home either because it’s not 3, I think 1 a day is moderate). We went to dinner and I got a table, ordered water and food, and asked for the check - ALL in Italian. Thanks Jon for helping me! Then we got gelato and ate it on the Spanish Steps at night - always a party. Funny events include getting smashed by the doors in the metro because of rush hour and the inability of others to squish in and standing in the sun for 20 minutes waiting for the bus to come, crossing the street to get out of the sun, then crossing the street 2 minutes later when the bus is arriving. I knew that the only way the bus would come was if I proved I was smarter than an ape.

Tuesday was bright and early. We went to the Colosseum where 2,000 lives were lost in the first 100 days of opening. Although it sounds gory it was actually very neat - the Romans were so advanced, no wonder they conquered everything. It must have been a planned gory day because we also went and saw underground catacombs near the Appain Way as well as remnants under a Cathedral. Tomorrow is our last day in Rome - whew! That means that the schedule is going to slow down a little very very soon!

Jamie - I found your note today in my luggage. It came just at the right time and I appreciated it very much. You are so sweet and I loved spending time in Italy with you. I love you so much!

The Moses

I took this picture. Yes, a girl kissed a fake Gladiator!

Lauren and Me at dinner. She's so darling.

Sabbath Bliss

2009-09-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Me and Elizabeth at church

On Sunday we were able to attend the Roma 4th Ward (possibly Branch). I could easily say that this was one of the most touching meetings I have attended. The 19 girls and family of 5 almost doubled the ward size. Although small in numbers these members here have very strong and abiding testimonies of the true gospel. It’s very neat to hardly understand their words and be forced to listen through the spirit. The feeling in the ward was amazing!

The cherry on top of the amazing Sabbath consisted of a cute little nonna (grandma) directing the congregation in a song. She started singing loud and clear and caused the whole congregation to sing their hearts out. When the second verse rolled along she somehow got lost and obviously started singing the wrong words to the wrong tune - very loudly at that. The bishop stood right by her and got her back on track. What was neat was her attitude through the entire event. Some in that situation would have turned 10 shades of red, some would be offended, but would everyone be beaming ear to ear with excitement and enthusiasm to fulfill a calling and worship through music? Not me, but cute nonna, you bet! This same nonna approached most of the girls after Relief Society and kissed their cheeks and told each and everyone she loved them. It was so touching.

Sono Pronto

2009-09-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

The night before I was going to join my group I was looking through the itinerary just to see what I should expect for the first day. I was overwhelmed as I found the Vatican Museum and San Pietro’s Square and Cathedral on the list of things to do. From my visit the week previously I knew how tiring that would be. The Vatican Museum is gargantuan and the San Pietro’s is hot, humid, and busy. If you know anything about me, none of those things are even close to appealing.

I joined my group and immediately went for round 2 at the Vatican Museum. I was thankful for my previous visit there with an enthusiastic and very knowledgeable brother-in-law. I felt like I could capture more of each piece simply by knowing a few little tidbits. I was even overheard explaining the symbolism of the pinecone fountain in the courtyard and was pinpointed to repeat my words to the group. Thanks again Mr. Tourguide Curtis! I seriously wouldn’t have made it on the trip without him. Sidenote: pinecones symbolize fertility - a possible suggestion for a Halloween costume...

Mr. Tourguide Curtis

Pack Rat

2009-08-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

Pack Rat, yes. Procrastinator, yes. Two titles that I can easily claim. Two titles that make packing for an Italian adventure a nightmare. Thankfully I have an organized brother-in-law who coaches me on packing. Jon should officially be a travel agent. Forget Law School. Wish me luck on packing because it is beginning riiiiiight NOW!

Scabies

2009-08-22T11:48:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting in the doctors office I saw a pamphlet titled, Scabies: The Journey to Eradication. I giggled to myself as I reminisced of my now laughable college experiences. Yes, one of my roommates had scabies and funny enough, nobody else in the apartment got it - one word, quarantine. She sat on the couch, this meant no relaxing in the living room for weeks.

Here's a taste of more funny experiences:

Third date: Boy asks, "Do you have a testimony?" then proceeds to ask, "Is it strong?" I suppose I passed because there was a fourth date...

Fourth date: Boy asks, "When do you want to get married?" I reply, "22 or 23, I want to experience life." I then shoot the question back at him. His reply, "ASAP!" No more dates for Marie.

First date, different boy: Kid you not, he says, "I'm disfellowshipped from the church." I say, "Why?" Really Marie? Why did I ask that? Did I want to know the answer anyway?

Another boy - I stopped returning his phone calls. Guess what he does? He came over to my apartment and confronted me about it in front of all of my guests. "Why haven't you returned any of my texts or phone calls?" Of course my face turned 10 shades of red. I deserved that one I suppose.

I remember hiding all of my nice knives in my bedroom for two reasons: one, so they wouldn't get ruined, two, so I wouldn't tempt my roommate's fantasy of stabbing people. Seriously.

The list could go on and on. I just want to thank the disgusting little mite that furrows into skin to defecate and lay eggs for reminding me, A - of college life and its fun and B - that I won't have to bear it for another 3 months.