Questa settimana

So this week has been a little crazy. I feel like I've had a lot to do, but am also starting to freak out about midterms which are in 2 weeks. I realized that tomorrow I will have to start studying or at least type up my notes to organize them. However, despite how stressed out I was, I started my volunteering on Tuesday. After my last class, I went to a nearby gym to play with little kids. It was great! I absolutely loved it! The kids are adorable and it's so cute to listen to them speak in Italian. It's nice to spend time with younger kids since I spend all my time with adults and people my own age. I volunteer for 2 hours every Tuesday and it's just a nice break from everything. I can relax and have fun and not worry about having to speak perfect Italian. I get to basically be a kid again. I am really excited to be able to do this and really get the most out of my time here in Siena. There are two different sessions, the first with kids ages 4-5 and the second ages 5-7. The kids were pretty hyper and excited to be running around. So, I was really tired afterwards and went to bed pretty early that night. Originally I had wanted to volunteer at the hospital just outside the city center, but the hours for that didn't work out with my schedule. I was a little bummed out, but once I went on Tuesday, it made my day that much better. Little kids manage to do that to me. :)
On Thursday it was the festa della donna (women's day). Men would give flowers to their girlfriends or mothers. It was really cute. I saw one guy surprise his mom with flowers and it was the sweetest thing ever. He waited for her to come out of a building near the duomo and held the flowers behind his back. He gave them to her and gave her a big hug along with them. It's nice to see that some of the Italian men are really sweet and care about their moms like that. Thursday night we went out to Barrone Rosso (the club we go to almost every Thursday or Saturday). They didn't let any men in until 12:30. It was really weird having just women in the club and I didn't really like it that much. At midnight, there was a stripper and I have never seen women go so crazy before. People were pushing and shoving and it was completely insane! Not to mention, the stripper was just weird. I was confused and didn't like it all. It was funny how everyone flocked to him afterwards to get pictures with him. Once the guys were let in, my friends and I were relieved haha. I have to say I've never been so happy to see men before, even if they were creepy. I guess that's what dancing with just women for an hour does to me. :)
Anyways, this weekend it is the chocolate festival. Yes, the chocolate festival. Apparently it is the very first one here in Siena. I went yesterday and it was amazing! I got some chocolate and I had the truffles I had gotten last night and it was the best chocolate I've ever had. I will be going back tomorrow to get more and to get some chocolate for my mom (since I know she loves dark chocolate so much) and Lauren. I will probably get some for other people too, don't worry! I can't wait to get chunks of chocolate to bring back and save for the rest of the time that I'm here. So excited! I couldn't go today because I went on a day trip to Lucca. I'm going to do another post just on Lucca, so I won't write about it much here. So, tomorrow I will definitely be going to the chocolate festival once I get up and then doing homework and skyping for the rest of the day. I love Sundays...
Oh well. In a week I will be going to Panicale to visit Elida and Guenter, which I am really excited about! I can't wait to go see them and their town. It will also be really nice to get away and have some time to myself for a weekend. :)
Time for a few shout outs since I know certain people read my blog all the time. A. Lynn and U. Dave: I hope everything has been going well with you both. Buon fortuna ("good luck") U. Dave! And Nanny and Grampie Bob: I will definitely have to get a hat or some sort of article of clothing for Grampie :) Don't worry Nan, I've already got a couple of things picked out to get you. And Nan - I may even call you when I am at Elida and Guenter's house :) I heard that UVM beat Stony Brook (right team?) which is great! Hopefully everything back home is going well!