So it’s official- we are FINALLY in Ariccia, and finishing up the first week in our beautiful new home! The first days here have been more amazing than I ever imagined but the adjustment of assimilating to a new culture also comes with some hardships.
Upon arriving here, we toured the city of Ariccia where Cinzia and Ms. Linda taught us the ins and outs of life here in Italy. We ate our first Porchetta sandwich-which I must add, was quite delicious. We learned basics such as the stores to go to for cell phone minutes and transportation tickets, and even got a tid-bit from Cinzia about which boys to stay away from. We had the opportunity to tour the Chigi palace, see our class room and get to know some of the history behind the palace and its wonderful curator, Francesco. Francesco and Maurizio showed us the different rooms of the palace where the paintings remain in the same place the Chigi family put them. Thursday we went over the syllabus and toured the main cities of the Castelli Romani. Among many other things, we saw the pope’s summer home in Castel Gandolfo, tasted the sweet wine in Frascati, and saw the precious town of Nemi which is famous for its tiny strawberries.
Friday, we had our first official “Italian Survival Class” with Laney, who was once a student on the Joseph S. Bruno Study abroad program too. Her heart was  captured by the beautiful Italian culture while she was a student and decided to move back where she met an Italian man and got married. We learned that “Buongiorno” is the formal way to greet someone where as “Ciao” is more proper to greet a friend or acquaintance, among some other short phrases to help us get around. After getting schooled in Italian phrases, we had the opportunity of meeting the mayor of Ariccia. Though I didn’t understand much of what he said, I did grasp the important fact that he is happy to have us here in Ariccia, but somewhat upset that we are staying in his town’s beloved Chigi palace. Cinzia then took us around Albano, one of our neighboring towns, to show us where to catch the train and the bus, which I must add is easier said than done.
For our first official weekend in Ariccia, we had the choice to do whatever we wanted! Because of the jet lag we were all experiencing and the big week we had just taken on, most of us stayed close to home and relaxed for our first weekend off. After seeing the beauty of Lake Albano at the Castel Gandolfo overlook on Thursday, several of us decided that Lake Albano was the place to be on Saturday. We bought our twenty kilometer train tickets and headed to Albano, where we missed our very first train. As we saw it drive down the tracks without us, Natalie, Hannah, Caroline, Mackenzie and I were all frustrated but decided that a taxi was the next best thing. It was quite a sight to watch Caroline attempt at communicating with the taxi company, but after some miscommunications and about an hour wait, the five us us crammed in and headed to Castel Gandolfo. Little did we know that the drop off for Castel Gandolfo was a far trek from the actual beach, so about another hour later we made it down to meet the rest of our friends. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach where we relaxed and unwound from the stressful  week of culture assimilation. We enjoyed some delicious gnocchi and gelato to make the perfect day even better.
Overall, life in Italia has been wonderful. I have been shocked at how much slower the pace of life is here, and their lives are drenched with more richness than I believed possible! Though I have experienced some jet lag and the set backs of the “palace cold,” life here truly has been beautiful. I cant wait for more experiences and adventures in the next couple of months! I truly am so blessed to be here!