Quaresimo & the Dawn of a New Semester

Well, it's officially Quaresimo (Lent) and that means it's time to crack down on all this fun I've been having. Well, at least a little. Luckily, my Italian roommates are Catholic too so I'm not the only one who's not eating meat on Fridays and that helps me so much to remember! For Lent, I've decided to give up chocolate and take up diligence. One might be hard to achieve without the other. How I'm going to study without chocolate is beyond me.

On Ash Wednesday I went S. Maria Novella to find out their times for mass that day and ended up deciding to do confession with this priest I have a certain affection for. He's old and oh so sweet and made me feel so comfortable when I was trying to confess tutti i miei peccati in Italiano! Later that night I went to mass at my favorite church so far, Santo Stefano. It was such a small congregation (only 20 people) and I was so proud of myself for how much I was actually able to understand! Mass is practically like lecture here since I have to concentrate so hard to process everything, but it's certainly getting easier.

Meanwhile, school has started again. It's nice to see the city bustling with people. I had missed that. The only class that's started for me so far is one on the experiences of the people during the wars of the twentieth century. The prof is quite a character and she holds my attention relatively well...which says a lot. Later this semester I'm going to take a Dante class at the study center and then an English romance lit class at the University. Lit's hard enough without being in Italian. Right now I'm studying for an exam in my Italian lit class from last semester. Ahh. It takes me so long to get through the material.

I'm hoping to take on an internship this semester, most likely with the Italian literature department. I still have to meet with the lady I would be working under to secure the details, but if it goes through it should be really cool. It's for a new magazine the department's putting out with pieces written by immigrants on their experiences in this country.

In other news, I'm still tutoring English. Have I even mentioned before that I tutor English to two Italian sisters? There's Claudia, ten, and Elena, six. Claudia's English is already quite good because she's been studying it for a long time now. Tutoring them is fun and a good excuse to get out of the house.

Once I'm tired of being diligent, I still find time to go out and have a good time. Last Saturday night we went to the Mexican restaurant and there was dancing on tables, and tonight we're going to a birthday party for one of our Italian friends, Vincenzo.

And the most exciting of all things this month is that Brittany and I booked another trip! We'll be heading to Barcelona soon for some Sangria, Flamenco, and Tapas! Totally can't wait. Mostly just because I want to see Brittany. :)