New Blog!

Hi guys! I have decided to take on a blog for loyola, so sadly enough this one will be over! Here is the new link! http://blogs.luc.edu/goglobal/

Love and miss you all!

Jess

FRANCE!

Hello!! I am going to France for two weeks on vacation! I hope everyone's summer is going well and talk to you in two weeks! Ciao, Jess

I have arrived!!

Hi guys! So I have safely arrived in italy, after a bit of delay in new york. There was really bad weather at JFK so we were delayed for two hours but only ended up being a half hour late entering Switzerland. The flight itself was fairly uneventful, the girl I sat next to was nice. I watched two movies and slept for a bit. Overall not too bad. I then had a layover in zurich and I like the zurich airport a lot. It is really big, but was fairly empty while I was there. So I got a coca light (aka diet coke but not as good) and went on the computer for a bit. Getting through security was a breeze, I was the only one in line. Which was nice. It reminds me of AFS, being in the zurich airport so that is nice. I cannot wait to see my host family, I am literally bursting. Martina works until tonight so I will be with anna and ettore for the afternoon. I think we may go out tonight. I haven’t slept really at all in like two days so it is just pure adrenaline now. But I don’t mind. I have been using my kindle quite a lot, so thank you again for that. I miss everyone already! But I am also so excited so it is a double edged sword. I will keep you updated as I arrive and get settled and whatnot! Oh also! Not having a phone is rather liberating. I kind of like it. I have also started wearing a watch again, which I like. So I am excited about that too!!!

Okay, i have safely arrived in Somma!! All is well, i am just getting situated before we leave for France. I will keep updating throughout the next few days! Ciao, Jess

Returning to Italy!

Hi guys! It has been ages, but I am finally going back to Italy. I leave on Monday and fly to Milan, where I will spend around a month visiting with my friends and family. Then Martina and Luca are driving me down to Rome, where I will spend the remainder of the year, studying at Loyola University Chicago John Felice Rome Center Campus. I am super excited to go there! Cannot wait. I will keep updating my blog with more adventures so make sure to check back!

Ciao, Jessica

birthday/coming home!

sorry, this has to be short, since i've got a lot going on! i had a great birthday yesterday! i'm headed to rome on saturday, then i fly out early sunday morning. so i get back into bay on sunday night US time and early monday morning italian time. i'll update when i get back, sorry, i still have lots of packing to do!! more from the U.S. of A! Ciao ciao, Jess

STRAIGHT UP!/ LEGIT! (aka chrisi, jb, jen and larryyy were here!)

hey, i know it's been forever and i get back in like 5 days, so this will be one of the last. pieces of my american family were here from 11/6/09 to 19/6/09!! we had a blast and got to visit lots of cities. and martina just informed me that today is my last day being 16 years old! woohoo! and i still don't have my liscense... okay! so! the 11th they got in at night and we went to go get them in the train station, then all ate dinner at my house. JB and Luca are now new BFF's and JB enlightened him with the definition of ''cutting the cheese'' we looked at my yearbook from this year, and they went home at about 1 am! the next morning we got up early and headed to milan! i showed them all around the duomo and in that area, we at Luini's for lunch (best non-hot pocket ever!) and they all put their foot in the lucky bull and made a wish. we found carpisa and i got a messenger bag for next year (thanks aunt katie #1!) and we saw a lady selling prescription drugs, that was intense. JB stumbled upon this grocery store called Peck, so we got awesome gelato there and got on the train to go to venice! In venice chrisi and JB had an awesome room with a balcony, while mom, larry and i were up 6 flights of stairs in the keep. we did have a window that looked into someone's house though, which turned out to be creepy. we wandered the streets of venice that night, and bought a lt. of prosecco for 2 euros and they gave it to us in a milk jug. (juli evans needs to watch the video we made for her on flickr!!) we got to see st. mark's at night, which was really pretty. larry got a migrane, and JB realised he threw away 45 euros, but we ended up finding them!! so we got celebratory gelato. the next morning we were on one of the main bridges and everyone starts yeling 'stop him stop him!' in italian and we see this guy come running up the stairs, i really had no idea what was happening until after, and then we decicded to make up all these situations, like what if JB and larry could have thrown him off the bridge? but we were under the impression that he stole something. outside our hotel were signs protesting the people who sell fake purses and they had crates right by them, so larry and i took the liberty of sitting down. Everyone walking by then thought we were protesters and some people were like ''yes! great job!'' and then this adorable swedish couple came up and asked us what it meant, and we got to talking with them for a while about venice and italy in general. We then got on the train and headed to florence! that night we had a 10.30 reservation for the best pizza in florence, which ended up being some of the best pizza i've had in italy. on the 14th, which was a sunday, we walked around florence all day. went to the uffizi galleries and to go see the david at the accademia. we had one of the most fun lunches at this awesome place called il latini, and the server messed around with us a bit, but he was fun! mom ate 'pasta' which we later learned was some sort of intestine, and JB didn't say anything (''yeah, it's pasta.'') we saw a sausage the size of Julia, no joke. it might have even been bigger than her, considering i haven't seen her in 9 months. i took a youtube worthy video of chrisi on the way to the accademia (check that out.) and then napped for a while, since it was a long day. on monday we went to florence's central market and then headed to sienna! we had a feast on the train, and got to see the duomo, bapistry, crypts and underground fresco rooms of sienna! all of sienna is basically hills, and so we ate at this restaurant where the table had stilts, because it was on a downward slope. we waited forever to take a bus back to the train station, then had to run to our train. the controller thought JB was crazy because he used a wet wipe to clean the outside of the train window so he could see better. chrisi and jb went out, then came back like 4 hours later with pizza for us! on Tuesday the 16th Larry and JB went and got the car, but got lost on the bus, so it took like 2 hours, if not more. then we drove to VOLTERRA! the entire day we had road blocks, like a truck full of logs, a helicopter on the road, traffic jams. but all was well and i was content and not complaining because i got to spend an hour and a half in volterra. i got a gorgeous ring there, and i was like japanese one, since i took like 100 photos in an hour. (did i explain how we called larry and jb japanese becuase they kept snapping photos of everything?) we also went to Lucca, which was just as pretty as before, but a lot warmer. we drove to La Spezia, then got lost on the bus again, but a nice 10 year old helped us out. on the 17th we did a looonnnngg hike. i think it was like 5 miles? if i remember correctly? anyways, we hiked all of cinque terre and took lots of photos! (also flickr for that one!) the next day we spent at the beach! we got a paddle boat for 5 people with a slide on it, so that was awesome! then larry and i got a kayak and went inside all the caves and went cliff diving, which was scary, but super amazing. we also picked up jelly fish with our kayak paddles! that was also quite scary. i didn't have a bathing suit, so i went into the sea in my matching bra and underwear, which was you know, weird.
but a good story nonetheless. i was making dinner reservations for us and i almost said condom instead of reservation, since the 2 words in italian are really close... we bought a bottle of prosecco and brought it back to our room. (wine of the trip.) that night there was a 'carnival' in the town, which consisted of a small swinging contraption that the kids went on, and while they were spinning the carney put a donkey with a tail in the air and they had to try and grab it, and i totally called which kid would get it. we might have pictures of him? and that night we made our gelato rounds. i believe we hit 7 places in one night. and 19 total, if JB's count is correct. on the 19th we headed back to milan! chrisi and JB left, :( and larry jenni and i headed out to busto to eat lunch with daniela's family. and then to davide's to meet him! they headed out that night, and i slept for about 2 days! all of the pictures are up on flickr so check that out! and now, some highlights of the trip. calling out every mag (man-bag), marf (man-scarf. and i'm still upset larry didn't get one.) and murse (man-purse. so different than a man bag.) that we saw. (too) LEGIT (2 quit.) aka them making fun of the slang i picked up from catherine!! and so then they started to say STRAIGHT UP! and i had to sing paula abdul, as a general rule. calling out nut huggers and du-nu-du-nu (aka quoting blue crush.) GIIIIRLLLL, ''i look like fat monica from friends.'' singing the only french that we know. ''bonn-jourrr!'' ''mer-cììì.'' and me teaching them how to say grazie probably 100's of times, but they still messed it up, every time. overall, i had a great time, even though i didn't get a tattoo. :( and later i'll write about this week! check out flickr and i'll see all of you in 5 days! ahh! Ciao ciao, Jess

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!/ 2 weeks.

first off, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!! woohoo. secondly, i arrive at Akron Canton airport exactly 2 weeks from today. freaky. Jen, Larry, Chrisi and JB all just left. and no, they didn't let me get a tattoo. :( i slept for about a day straight and have been uploading flickr! so check that out, it's legit. :) i'll update tomorrow or tuesday, and see everyone in 2 weeks. ciao ciao, Jess.