La vite è bella

How am I supposed to leave this place?

I finally love it so much here, ma...

I don't want to write my paper.

It's a really stupid paper.

It is straight up busy work.

And pisses me off.

A lot.

Grrr.

Ciao.

I am...

...
tired.
hungry.
trying not to go up for seconds at dinner.
and lunch.
trying to make a mask.
trying to focus on the things i really should be doing.
trying to hold in my pee.
trying to grow as an artist.
trying not to love this place too much.
trying not to miss home too much.
trying.
failing.
succeeding.
ignoring working on internship applications that are maybe possibly definitely due wednesday.
daydreaming too often.
stuck.
moving.
everywhere.
happy.
wishing my nails were painted a different color.
not reading my philosophy for tomorrow.
a horse of a different color...aha...this is a joke, and i know i'm the only one who will laugh at this.
crazy.
wanting change.
wanting time to stop.
changing.
pondering how the internet keeps us at such a distance and yet has the uncanny ability to bring us together (youtubbeee).
entering my last year of college.
too far away.
and.
weird.
sorry.
needing.
to face the facts.
human.


i am...possibly the worst blogger ever.

ciao for now and perhaps a more interesting and sensible entry (posted in a timely manner) to come soon,

lo.

I'm joining the circus!

So despite the fact that it hurts to sit down, and stand up, and walk, and pretty much do anything...

I learned how to do a headstand today! And I was quite successful. Woo! I also learned all kinds of neat rolloversomebodyelse's back tricks. Claudia has all these awesome warm-ups that I cannot wait to incorporate into my own work when I return to the states. Whenever warmups are over I feel so connected to everybody in the class. There is all this walking and stopping and jumping at the same time but you have to feel each other out and blah it's hard to explain but I find it all very exciting! It was funny because she made us do an "elephant" exercise where we walk around in dog positions (yoga) and then like lean on each other and put weight on one another's hands and feet and massage each other's calves and Claudia kept saying "Elephant's are like family, ya?"...and last night she saw me making fun of my family so she asked me if I could make a skit for her family and for some reason I took it upon myself to give my best elephant impression because we were acting like an "elephant" family and this resulted in the class breaking entire focus and acting like elephants for a bit...which was fun. Reading that over it all seems really absurd and not funny at all...but it was funny. Trust me. 

Last night was amazing...every other week we have an open cabaret where we basically perform for one another. My friend Evan (for all your Goucher folks he is a hometown friend of our dear Jacob Cowan) plays guitar beautifully and he learned this adorable duet between Ingrid Michaelson and some guy called "You and I" and we performed it together. Everybody really enjoyed it so that was awesome! All the students here are so immensely talented. I had so much fun watching everybody perform, I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Hopefully some facebook videos or youtube or something will be up soon so I can share. 

Anyway... I must go finish some Italian homework and whatnot. Tonight we're having a giant birthday bash (three students had their birthday's this week...go figure...this meant Riccardo the chef did a whole lot of delicious cake making) in the limonia, the student lounge, and I am really looking forward to that. Tomorrow I look forward to a day in beautiful Arezzo!

Ciao for now, 

Lo.

How do you say...

"My ass hurts like all hell" in Italian? 

I just got out of my second day of movement class and let me tell you...

Clllauuuuudia Schuuuner (major German U) acrobat extraordinaire makes everything look SO easy. Well you know that game at arcades, like fun zone (remember fun zone?) where you smash the crocodile heads that pop up with a hammer to get points? Well I'm the crocodile and Claudia has herself enough tickets to get at least three large and completely useless items at the prize counter. I need to shower before my tutorial with her. Blarg. 

That's all I've got for now. Although my body is really sore, class was a lot of fun. I think I should mention that because I mean, rolling on people's backs and learning a hand stand and all that rot is fun...it just hurts. 

Ciao for now, 

Lo.

Sto Abitando Nella Villa!

Buon giorno miei amichi!

Arezzo is beautiful. Everything here is beautiful, and I'll pretty much leave it at that because it would take an entire book to describe the aesthetics,  the history etc...but soon I'll post a photo of the view from my window. 

Living in a Villa=awesome. The Villa Godiola, where the school and the dorm are located, was built in 1312 as a Bishops summer home, I believe. The dorm rooms are great, two people to a room with a private bathroom. The decor has been maintained; the villa was well restored because lime was in the paint so they were able to keep all the original paint on the walls and on the outside...the downside to this is if you lean on a wall then you get "villa-d" in that your clothes get covered in either pale yellow, pink, or green dust. The other downside to living in a really old building where the heat can only be on by Italian law 8 hours a day is that it is FREEZING. There is a beautiful rooftop where we get to hang out, and a student lounge called the "limonia" where we throw parties. Another huge plus in Italy...an excellent bottle of wine costs less than 2 euros...and you can bring a six liter jug to the winery a mile away and they fill it up for 5 euros. I look forward to doing that. 

Riccardo, the chef, is amazing. We get three insanely delicious Italian meals here a day. I know I'm going to get sick of pasta but so far I'm in dining heaven. Riccardo is like superman, he also does the gardening and does most of the repair work in the Villa. It's nice because for some reason you can tell he really loves his job and is totally excited about new students being here. Apparently he throws parties on the weekends for us if you invite him to performances or simply ask him how his day was. 

Another awesome aspect of living here is that Ubu, the dog, is awesome. He is a smelly dirty adorable terrier that needs one thing in order to remain calm and friendly...you have to make a point to throw his tennis ball so he can catch it... and that's it. He doesn't go to the bathroom in the house or bark much...he basically just sits around and looks cute and plays. Very entertaining. 

My roommate, Maggie, is really cool. She actually was here last semester for theatre, and she has stayed for dance. At first I found her insufferable because every other word out of her mouth was "last semester..." but I realized quickly that she simply missed her friends who once inhabited her life and needed a few days to readjust to being in the same place with completely different people. Also, she is very familiar with the area, culture, and my classes...so she is a big help. She answers all of my questions and she sleeps like 10 feet away from me. It rules. Oh, and she's crazier than I am...I'm talking off the wall. She's straight up hilarious. 

Classes started today. I already met all of my professors...oh goodness...I wish you could hear the church bells right now, they sound so pretty!...bah, anyway, my professors are all really awesome and complete experts in what they teach. I had my acrobatics class this morning and I'm already aching but it was a lot of fun...but also very, very difficult. Claudia Schuner, our teacher, makes everything so effortless, and then I start a movement, get on the floor and kind of stay there. Fortunately my entire class is pretty much at the same level as me, so I'm not the only one who feels stupid about 85% of the time. Today is my lightest day. Like I said, movement in the morning...lunch in an hour and then Italian and then Philosophy and Art. Unfortunately every other day my classes go from 9AM-7PM...there is little rest here. Although everything is about a 1 minute walk from my room (all classes located on villa grounds) this is conservatory style so we go hard core. Also everything is a collaborative effort... we have Cabarets every week where we are supposed to combine what we learned in class to form of art we already enjoy and perform it for the students and staff. There is a whole bunch of other rules but basically...I'm living in an artistic collective and for the most part it's really awesome. 

I have yet to really explore the city of Arezzo, but I was in the actual city for the first time yesterday and it is SO beautiful. I have a lot to see and I can't wait to report back on all my explorations. I also need to plan my travel on the weekends. I also need to shower... so I'm going to go do that before lunch. I hope you're all well and enjoying wherever you may be!

Ciao for now, 

Lauren

BLOG is a funny word. Think about it.

Dear Reader, 

I have made this online blog to keep everybody updated on my life in Arezzo for the next three months. Hopefully it will be a testament to my experiences with Italian culture and my travels as opposed to one giant therapy session. I guess it's a simple way to keep in touch which is good because I'm definitely going to miss you guys! I also hope late at night when you're bored and/or procrastinating that my entries will be a source of entertainment that fall into the categories of youtubing and facebook stalking. 

Anyway, I leave six days from today. I'm excited and scared at the same time. I don't think it is really going to hit me that I'm going to be living in Italy until I'm actually there and realize I hardly understand a word anybody is saying. I'm also really nervous about packing...but at the end of the day I have my passport, visa, and plane ticket...so I mean, I'm going regardless of whatever other important shit I may leave behind. 

Ok, well, I think that's enough. I hope you enjoy wherever you may be this semester! 

Ciao for now, 

Lo.