I have three midterms tomorrow.

And therefore, this blog post will be brief. So here are a few interesting things that have happened to me in the last couple of days.

1. Kenan and I went to Vespers at the Duomo. We were the youngest people there by no less than 10 years, and there were maybe 10 people there. We, not being Catholic and not speaking Italian, had no idea what was going on, but it's basically a lot of singing of scripture (I think?) led by monks. One of the monks stared at us a majority of the time, probably so confused as to why on earth we were there. Just another Italian adventure!

2. I have found a local bakery that I love, finally! Today I got a mini nutella and custard pie (ate the whole thing...) and some bread. Unfortunately, it was Tuscan bread, but it is still fresh and delicious. If you don't know what Tuscan bread is and ask any American in Italy, you will just get a disappointed sigh. Tuscan bread is beautiful, but it is unsalted, and don't let the simplicity of that statement fool you: unsalted bread is quite simply similar in taste to cardboard. However, as Ainslie explained to me, it is like tofu in that if you put anything on it, it can become delicious. So, I enjoyed a slice of mine to clear my bowl of homemade tomato sauce I had for dinner tonight.

3. I have continued to volunteer at the elementary school working with english speaking kids on reading and writing. It continues to be a major struggle, as there is no discipline in the school and no materials, but we survived. At one point there was a kid under my feet, one on top of the table next to me, one rocking back and forth on the bench across from me, and one spinning in circles to the left of me. But really, who are these children? It's difficult because every child is on completely different levels of proficiency and could all use one-on-one assistance, but it's just not possible! I hope I'm making a difference at least!

4. This week must coincide with many an American spring break because the tour groups have arrived! Whether it be matching book bags or jackets, they are easy to spot and get tangled in on my way back to the apartment! I'm beginning to see why Italians kind of despise tourist season! At the same time though, it does make me feel like I know what I'm doing when I pass camera toting, mouth agape Americans navigating the streets. Shh, don't tell anyone that person was me two months ago!

That's it for now, I need to go study some Italian vocabulary, learn some recipes, and compare Plato and Aristotle. Yikes.