Around the World : My "school" life and "food" life in Bologna

      Hello to all!!! Sorry it has been awhile since I have posted anything. I have been really busy with classes starting and weekend trips but on this rainy day in Bologna I thought I would write a blog post about last week, what classes I am taking and what I have been up to.
    So first of all I am super excited to see my Aunt Dianne tomorrow! It seems like forever since I have seen family. Actually it has been over 2 months but still that is a long time and probably the longest time I have gone without seeing a single family member. However my time in Italy has been going by fast and before I know it my mom will be visiting! I really appreciate all the emails I get from my family everyday. I know I have not been responding to most of them but I want all of you to know I really really appreciate it and just a short email saying hi really means a lot. I love all of you and I really enjoy writing this blog for everyone to read.
    So what classes did I decide to take this semester? Well through my program I am required to take 3.5 classes this semester not counting the other two half credit classes I took in Lecce and the first month of September. The half credit class that everyone is required to take is a writing workshop taught by the head professor Ivan Tassi. He talks really fast with tons of enthusiasm using his hands and is very easy to understand. I have only had one class so far but I really enjoyed a small class of only four people. We are required to write 450 word-essays every week to improve our writing and Ivan can also help us for other writing assignments and exams in other classes. My other two E.C.C.O classes are Storia Culturale and Teatro. My teatro class is taught by a professor who is a regista (director) of plays and also talks on the radio. He has the clearest voice, and pronounces everything with perfection. The first four classes were lectures about the history of theater but now we are learning about the italian language, how to pronounce words correctly and soon we will start reading plays. I have never taken an acting class before so I am really excited for something different and new. The final is a performance the first week of December open for anyone to see. I am nervous but also excited to perform! and I will keep you updated with this class. My other class storia culturale is also called "eating pages" and it is essentially a literature analysis class involving food. We read literature about food, short stories about food, and recipes and talk about them in class. The class is taught by an older woman who just talks for 2 hours about the literature we read and I feel like I am listening to a cute grandma recount about her day. I love listening to her voice and seeing how excited she gets over food.
    My last class is called La storia della scienza, and this class is a Unibo class which means it is taught at the University of Bologna. The class is required for philosophy and anthropology majors and there are over 200 people in the lecture hall. The professor is an older man who is easy to understand, and he is constantly engaging the class in discussion. The class is primarily about Darwin, natural selection, and the history of science. There are three lectures a week for two hours and I really like listening to the lectures. The professor puts up modules everyday of what we talked about which really helps me know what is going on, and we have to read one book (still on order). The final is a sit down exam of 10 open ended questions and the professor said he will talk more about the exam in the upcoming weeks. I am really happy with the four classes I have for the semester. It is so strange not having a single lab for a science class, not having class on friday, and having so much free time!
    With all this free time I have been going to my gym studio everyday taking a yoga or Pilates class and I finally played tennis! My tennis coach gave me a name to contact so I could play tennis. I contacted Mirko (tennis pro) and last Thursday I had a lesson with him. It was so weird playing tennis after not playing for 2 months, but I did not forget how to play. My timing was a little off and the surface was different: red clay! Yes I get to play on red clay now! The tennis club has five tennis courts: 3 red clay and 2 grass turf, and now that the weather is cold and rainy, they are all covered with a bubble. Yesterday I played tennis with a guy in his late 30s. We played for over an hour and my timing was a lot better, and I got to serve a lot. We started to play a set but did not finish (tied 4-4). My goal for the year is to try to play at least once a week and take a lesson with Mirko once a month. The tennis club is about a 45 minute walk from where I live (3.7 km) and a 20 minute bus ride. I have not taken the bus yet but I plan to take it only when the weather is really cold and snowy. I really enjoy the walk, listening to my music and passing through a really nice part of town. Walking to and from the tennis club is 7.4 km=4.6 miles, but it is always worth it because I get to play tennis!
    I also found two bars/caffe close to where I live to do homework and relax. One of them I go to in the morning after I workout and the barrista always knows what I want (caffe) and we are on a name to name basis. The other caffe just opened last week and it is very clean, comfy, and plays good music. I like to go here in between my classes to catch up on my work, and people watch. I really love where I live and I like living in a city for the first time.
    Also I got a roommate yesterday! Her name is Sara and she is a first year student studying civil engineering. So far all I know is she is from Puglia (south of Italy), her classes are far away so she has to take a bus, she doesn't know how to set up the internet, her phone volume is really loud, she doesn't smoke and hates the smell of smoke and she has a boyfriend. She already asked me if he can stay over one night while I am away next week in Amsterdam. I hope I can get to know her in the upcoming weeks but right now I am just adjusting to living with something else. I don't think I will have a problem because I will be gone most weekends and I am rarely home during the day. I just can't always stay up really late in my room with the light on and I have to be quite when I wake up early to go to exercise class. I will keep you updated on my roommate situation!
       The last thing I want to talk about is my cooking class. My program has included three cooking classes with a sweet woman named Rita. We are split into three different groups and go to Rita's house once a week for three weeks to learn different dishes and to eat what we cook. We also had a class all together and learned how to make pizza dough from scratch and gelato tiramisu. The food was absolutely delicious and the tiramisu was probably one of the best desserts I have ever tasted. All I kept thinking about was that my grandma and my brother would be in heaven and would have eaten the whole ice cream cake. Well Rita made two tiramisu's that night so there was one for each of you. The first cooking class we learned how to make apple, pear, chocolate and hazelnut torta, ricotta, parmesan and chives with pasta and broccoli and bread crumbs with penne pasta, and we had fresh vegetables to cleanse our palate. It was a delicious meal! Tonight I had my second cooking class and we made flan with almonds and caramel, homemade bread, and potatoes and meat tomato stew. I obviously do not eat the meat but she made me and my other friend who is a vegetarian potatoes with bean burgers. The meal was delicious and the bread turned out fantastic. Everyone in the group were able to bring the bread home with them. I can't wait for next weeks class! Rita is a fantastic cook and teacher and I always feel happy when I leave her house. She reminds me so much of my mom and how much she enjoys cooking for people. It is definitely nice to have a motherly "cooking" figure while abroad.
        So there you have it, there is my update on Bologna. I am going to Florence this weekend to see Aunt Dianne and also visit some museums and tourist sites. I have an itinerary all mapped out and I am excited to visit la sinagoga di Firenze   again but actually go inside. I am also going to Pisa for a day to see the Leaning tower and some of the tourists sites. I will definitely be writing about my visit when I get back as well as my other visit to Florence and my visit to Siena last weekend. By the way even though it rained in Siena the city is absolutely gorgeous. I am so jealous that my mom got to spend an entire month there. I can't even imagine seeing the city on a sunny day. I just wanted to write a post before I left because it has been too long. Again I miss everyone and I look forward to hearing from all of you! Keep me updated!
Con tanto amore,
Samantha