Settling In

Since my last post, my roommates and I have mostly been transitioning from a "just arrived in this brand new country" way of being to "semiresidential: we're not actually locals but we do sort of live here" way of being. Which largely means transitioning more to a normal day to day life. So I don't have too many really thrilling stories, but I do have a recipe.

Sunday was the laziest day I think I've had since I left the states. I think the only productive thing I did was blog. The rest of the day was dedicated to the procurement of gelato, and reading in the sunshine.

Monday was the date of three important events: The acquisition of cell phones, first classes, and a dinner party.

The acquisition of cell phones was a rather harrowing ordeal. By that I mean in took about two hours. Eventually though, we were all presented with cheap little phones, so now we can call each other. It's rather a relief, as scheduling and meeting without being able to get ahold of each other has definitely been an adjustment.

Classes are good. It appears that they will be relatively easy, but still interesting. My Beginning Italian class moves rather quickly, which I'm excited about, since it means we will be able to communicate that much sooner. My food class is really fun. It's casual and discussion based so far, but soon we will have field trips to bakeries and restaurants, and cooking classes (so excited)!

In the evening, we hosted a dinner party for the other members of the program, meaning largely that we provided the living room, and they cooked for us. It was great fun, and good times, good food, and really bad wine (to be fair the champagne was semi decent) were had by all. I decided to help out in the kitchen, so I bring to you a very simple and quick chicken parmesan recipe, from the mind of fellow participant Brandon:

Quick and Simple Chicken Parmesan:

You Will Need:
A Bowl
A Fork
A Plate
A Frying Pan or Cookie Sheet (these can be done in the oven or on the stove)
Chicken Breasts
Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese
Bread Crumbs
Eggs

Break the eggs into the bowl (we used three for between 10 and 15 chicken breasts)
Beat with a fork
Dip chicken breasts into eggs, thoroughly coating both sides
Mix parmesan and bread crumbs on a plate
Dip egg coated chicken breasts into parmesan and bread crumbs, until thoroughly coated
Fry in pan or roast in oven (we used the oven method because the frying pan would have taken ages for 20 people. Brandon recommends coating the cookie sheet in foil so that the breasts don't glue themselves to it. We cooked them for about 40 minutes, and to be frank they were rather dry, so I would go for less time)

Serve with pasta and red sauce

Tuesday and Wednesday were calm days for the most part, with time divided between hanging out at the apartment, class and homework, and wandering around the city. Wednesday morning we went to the weekly outdoor market, which I was expecting to be a mostly produce affair, but which turned out to be mostly cheap clothing and shoes. I bought a new dress and skirt, both at a very good price.

Now that we are beginning to settle into a more normalized life hear, I have to say that I'm really excited for the next 5 weeks. Siena strikes me as an amazingly livable city, both alive and peaceful, modern and full of history at the same time. I love my apartment, and my roommates, and I'm really enjoying living semi-independently. The only thing missing is the company of dear friends and family (that's you guys). It seems really strange to me to be here and having these experiences without the people I'm accustomed to sharing them with (I've been a little homesick and whit-sick). However, I couldn't ask for a better place to be, or better roommates. This place constantly amazes me. I suppose the homesickness just means I'll have to come back, and bring you all with me.

Ciao!