Come si dice 'disgusting' in italiano?

The rest of this week has been nice and relaxing (after my midterms all finished up!). On Wednesday, we had a girls’ movie night, watched Julie and Julia and ordered yummy veggie, margarita, and sausage pizzas. Anna, the Resident Director of the CET program, and Guizzi (one of the Italian roommates) also came, so we were able to spend time with them too. Then Thursday, I only had my Italian class in the morning. Marco had us bring in pictures of our friends and family (since we are learning all of the family terms) and explain in Italian who everyone is. It was a fun exercise to talk about everyone from back home and share a little bit about ourselves. Our homework for this weekend is to interview three people in Italian and write a paragraph about their families (in Italian of course!); Ana Rose and Stella are excited to be my first two interviewees! The remainder of the day Thursday I read, did some homework, worked out and asked Stella, “Come si dice ‘disgusting’ in italiano?” which she found very funny and taught me the phrase “sono schifa e fare la doccia” - “I’m disgusting and need a shower!” It’s so hot here that even just walking to class (and especially going for a run outside!) is enough to make everyone’s face beet red. It’s funny to think back on when I first arrived in Siena, and they were having unseasonably cold weather! That evening, we had our weekly Gelato Giovedi “Gelato Thursdays” with CET, which is always nice to have a free gelato! One of the girls in the program has the motto that if she doesn’t pay for her gelato then it doesn’t count, so she can have two in one day on Thursdays… I think we’re all slightly addicted to it! That evening, Ana Rose and I had dinner with Stella and had a conversation about Latin roots of Italian. She loves that I have a knowledge of Latin! We had crustini, frittata with ricotta, salad, and watermelon for dinner. Afterwards, Ana Rose and I went with some of the other girls to an Irish Pub. It was a nice evening so we really enjoyed sitting outside at their tables that overlooked Piazza Gramsci and visiting with each other/practicing some Italian.

At 2pm today, we are all heading to Pienza for our traveling seminar with the Art and Architecture class. I’ll write all about it when I return but to peak your interest I’ll say that on Saturday after visiting the abbey of Monteoliveto Maggiore, we are having a cheese tasting at the pecorino cheese factory! Stay tuned for more…