First Day of Classes

    Today was my first day of classes!  It feels good to be starting the academic part of the semester and getting into a consistent schedule.  Also, I'm really looking forward to all of my classes since they focus on subjects related to Siena and Italy.  It is so remarkable to have Siena as a classroom since there is such a wealth of art, history, society, and commerce around us.  Here are what classes I'm taking: Beginning Italian, Family and Gender In Medieval and Early Europe (a gender studies, history, and sociology class), Grand Tour of Tuscany in Literature, and Presence of the Past (a required core class where Siena literally becomes our classroom through field study.  Class description: "In Italy, the past is inescapable, a fact that accounts for both its incredible cultural wealth as well as its often difficult relationship with change.  This interdisciplinary course will study how Italy's historical, artistic, and cultural patrimony is a legacy shaping Italian identity past and present identities.  Study excursions and field studies to important sites will alternate with classroom sessions of 'the presence of the past' in culture, language, society, art, and politics").  I'm thoroughly happy with my schedule and I think it will be a most interesting and academically stimulating semester.

    On another note, I am planning a trip to Rome for this coming weekend!!  2 of my friends and myself have booked Friday and Saturday night lodging in a hostel that's 2 blocks away from the Re di Roma metro stop and within walking distance of the Colosseum!!  We plan on seeing the Pantheon, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City/St. Peter's Square/Sistine Chapel, various Piazzas, several Churches, and perhaps a few other important sights.  If you have any good ideas for things I should add to our itinerary, email me (on my PLU email address) and tell me about your experiences in Rome.   

    I don't have class until 4 pm tomorrow, so I think I'm going to do a bit of exploring.  I've found some really cool urban trekking maps on the website of Commune di Siena (City of Siena; I put the website link under "Links of Interest" on the right hand side bar) with places, views, churches, and gardens that I have yet to discover.  Hopefully, it won't be too cold or rainy.  Today, the weather was pristine; there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining all day.  Unfortunately it's been very cold (it's been very similar to Seattle, except less rain & clouds, and a bit colder) so being outdoors can be very unpleasant, but I've been making the most of it.