Buonasera!

oh my gosh i just got back from a chocolate festival in the piazza di santa croce....HEAVEN on earth!! it is here all weekend so i am going back at least another time. literally the entire piazza was filled with different booths of various different kinds of chocolate--chocolate covered espresso beans, dark/milk/white, wine that pairs well with chocolate, chocolate with liquor in the middle, melted chocolate (literally "hot" chocolate), chocolate in the shapes of turtles, rabbits, mice, mickey mouse, pigs, and even dinosaurs! seriously--HEAVEN i am telling you! :)

Tomorrow i am going to Assisi with the school and then on saturday a few of us are taking a bus to Siena! i am also going to siena later with one of my classes which is soo awesome...i just LOVE Siena! it will be cool to be guided through it and to just wander. last night we went to the opening of this bar/club called Mericana--AMAZING! seriously like you see on TV...a huge bar area, huge dance floor, multiple stories...it was soo fun! so today i slept till 10 and was off to class cus i didn't have class till 1:00...i have to walk through an open-air market every day--I LOVE IT! it is ALL italian locals--shopping for clothes, fruit, food, watches--they have sooo much stuff for SOO cheap! it really cool to experience this open air market with people who probably shop here every day for local vegetables, fruit, everything.

kinda random... but today i had this memorable little moment as i was walking home....here in Italy, you do not see many people smile as you pass them on the street. in fact, as a woman, they tell us do not even make eye contact with men on the streets. even something as little as eye contact will give them the wrong impression. soooo--its hard because in America you kind of naturally walk by someone with a little smile to say hi or whatever...well not here. anyway, i was walking home from school today and i saw this adorable old italian couple. it was an old woman with a long coat on and a red scarf on the arm of her husband that was not much taller than her. as i walked by, i looked up and made eye contact with her and couldn't help but smile. she said "buonasera" with a huge smile and it truly just made my night. she was the most typical old italian lady and seemed to be so happy that a complete stranger smiled at her. anyway, it was a little moment, but really fun. thats another thing,....is i always walk sooo much faster than anyone around me! i notice that wherever i go, everyone around me is waking slower, enjoying the views, enjoying each others company, seemingly walking aimlessly, as if they have no place they have to be. i love it. it is allowing me to step back, slow down and truly enjoy every moment here.

anyway i am off to bed now because i've got an early day tomorrow for the assisi trip! BUONANOTTE a tutti!!! :)