When referring back to my first post when arriving in Italy, I am reminded of the panic, hypersensitivity to my surroundings, and overwhelming feeling that flooded my brain. After arriving back in the United States I was immediately surrounded by multiple family members and surprised by friends at the airport. I again felt the similar feeling of being overwhelmed and hypersensitivity about my stuff. I felt I had to do things myself because that is what I had been used to, not trusting anyone to do anything except myself. It was so good to see my friends and family and nothing made me happier but I also felt so overwhelmed with the amount of people greeting me. Later that night I felt the need to get away from everyone and just sat alone and talked with my mom. It was so good to be back in a familiar area but at the same time I went from always busy and traveling, being back home and immediately back into a crazy busy schedule. I think I still need alone time to adjust and just be comfortable. The rest of my summer is also incredibly busy and I can’t wait for school to start and my schedule to die down and start becoming a solid routine again. It is great experiencing everything day by day but I also enjoy structure in my life.

Looking back on my pre departure post and the preconceived notions I had about Italian culture I realize some proved to be true and some proved to be false. The notion I had about Italians using their hands when they talked was extremely true and in fact I would think some Italians were using sign language because their gestures are so similar or the same as the Italian Sign Language we were learning. As for their culture being fast paced, this proved to be incorrect. They actually take their time doing things and compared to American culture they can be considered slow. Italian’s take their time for meals and take an hour or more for lunch where in American culture most people eat on the go during the day because of the fast paced culture. When interacting with Italians I tried using as much Italian as I could but when they knew English most times they would continue using English because it was easier for them. When I think about going home I am excited to go back and see my family and to sleep in my own bed but at the same time I am sad to leave such a wonderful adventure. At this point I am very thankful for my experiences but I’m ready to be home and see my family. This experience has proved to be filled with mixed emotions and I am so happy to have been able to return home with these treasured experiences.

Our program ended this week and I was surprised at how much I missed everyone because we had ended up getting so close over the past three weeks being with each other for 8+ hours a day. The end of the program came so quick and the last week in Siena came with more surprises, of course. After the Palio there were parties all night and parades everyday with the winning contrada flags all around town. Something else we noticed that was really strange is that we were seeing the people in the winning contrada had binkies in their mouths. At first they were kids so we thought it was weird but nothing too unusual because kids can just be kids sometimes, but then we saw a grown man with a binky in his mouth. I had to ask the director of our program, who was born and raised in Siena and is a member of the eagle contrada. She said the reason for the binkies were because the members of the contrada were considered to be “born again” with their win of the Palio. We thought winning the Palio was a big deal, but we didn’t think it was anything like this. It is truly amazing how the energy and people in a place can make things feel so different. Without the spirit and seriousness of the Sienese attitudes the horse race would be a joke. All this effort put into the Palio is what makes it so special. The tradition, energy, and attitude put into the Palio makes an event you don’t want to miss; because you can see so much tradition and culture in one horse race, it truly is phenomenal.

At the end of our program we had a final dinner and it felt like we all knew each other so well even though we had only known each other for three weeks. I became close friends with a guy in our program and it was great to be able to make new friends in such a short time and close quarters. It was an experience I won’t forget and I am appreciative of the opportunity. I will continue to keep in touch with some people and will forever have the memories of a great study abroad program.

Our Italian Sign Language class picture.

The winning contra’s flag. The Tower.

Final dinner with some staff.

This week I had the opportunity to participate in the Palio and all the festivities leading up to the huge horse race. The Palio happened on Thursday and during my entire stay there have been events leading up to the Palio but starting Monday is when the big events started happening. On Monday the people on the board of the Palio chose 10 horses of the 17 that were brought to Siena to tryout for their chance to race in the Palio. Of those 10 horses they assign one horse to each contrada competing. As I mentioned previously only 10 of the 17 contrade compete, they have previously tried to get all 17 to compete but it ended up being too many horses on the small track they use in the Piazza del Campo. Once the horses are assigned to their contrada, based on the horse’s reputation, the contrade pool their money to buy a promising jockey to win them the race. People donate large sums of money to the pot that is used as the winning prize and the money is known to go up to a couple hundred thousand dollars or more. Four days prior to the Palio they hold practice races and parades celebrating their contrada. On the day of the race people start piling into the Piazza del Campo as early as 5 am and they see the Campo has been transformed from a normal square where people hang out in to a horse track with hauled in dirt and fences. At the race they close the doors around 7pm and the race starts at 7:45 pm. When they close the doors, they lock everyone inside the middle of the track and this means there is no bathroom and no exit until the race has come to an end. The jockeys are blessed the morning of the Palio and after that, they cannot be replaced. At the start of the race the police escort the man carrying the horse line up to the announcer and there the order is announced and the horses are put into place. At this particular Palio the contrade with good horses got horrible placement in the line up, which meant no one was happy. There was one contrada that doesn’t have any enemies and he kept refusing to get in the line up, staling the race because he was most likely paid off and didn’t want to create any enemies for the contrada. The man in charge of lining up the horses kept relining them up and the jockeys kept getting out of order trying to change places at the last minute. If the race is stalled long enough, at sun down they stop the race and will continue it the following day. Lucky for us, they finally were lined up and started the race. The race consists of a small track and only going around three times. After about the first lap a man next to me was screaming and crying, they take this race very seriously. The group of us happened to be standing in between two enemy contrade, one of which, was known to have an excellent horse and a promising chance of winning the race. Upon the completion of the race, a fight between these two contrade broke out because the contrade with the promising horse won the race and the other contrada were outraged. Everyone started to back away and the fight was broken up and another fight broke out. After everything was said and done I was so appreciative to have the opportunity to attend the Palio and have access to the explanations behind everything. The Palio would not have meant as much without knowing the information behind it all. It was a great experience that allowed me insight into the Sienese culture. Here are some pictures from the Palio and how crazy packed it gets in the Piazza del Campo.

The packed Piazza del Campo

A picture of the Palio (which is also what the win) The Palio is a painting on cloth.

The ceremonial horses

This week we started school and upon first arriving in the city of Siena I noticed intricate looking lamps down every street and down the street my apartment was on there were flags every ten feet for as far as I could see. They were beautiful with lots of bright colors and had what looked like a horse on the flags. During the week I had the opportunity to go on several tours with my school and learn about the history of the city. I wanted to know more about the variety of flags I saw around the city and the flags down the street. The coordinator of my school is from Siena so I also talked to her about it and she, as well as the tours, informed me that they were flags and symbols representing sections of the city. The city is divided up into 17 sections called contrade. Each contrada has a “mascot” that represents their section (mine happens to be the leocorno, or unicorn) and each contrada has a rival, except for two that are supposed to be rivals, but have now formed a friendship. Twice a year these contrade race horses around the Piazza del Camp, which is similar to a large plaza in the city, the horse race is called the Palio. The Palio happens in July and August and I will be able to attend the Palio di Siena on July 2^nd. An Italian is born into their contrada based on where their family lives and it forever becomes a part of them, their culture, and passed down tradition. Attached are some photos I have taken from around the city to show you the different lamps and the unicorn contrada’s flag.

Leocorno (Unicorn) contrada

Onda (Wave) contrada

Bruco (Caterpillar) contrada

Upon arriving at the airport in Italy I was pretty tired and burnt out from the long plane ride and not being able to sleep. When walking into the airport I knew that I had to go through customs and get my bag and then find my driver to take me to my destination. There was so much going on and all these people running in different places like they usually are at airports. I flew into a rather large airport so there were tons of people. I was also warned about pickpockets so I was scared and over protective and hyper aware of my belongings and where they were at all times. The signs were in Italian and thankfully… also in English. I was excited but nervous and also just hyper aware of my surroundings. I was trying to take in everything but at the same time my senses were overloaded. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing and had their own agendas. Everyone would just walk around someone who was in their way because they had places to be. At that point I was just so tired I wanted to get to my destination and catch up on the sleep I had missed out on. Upon arriving to my destination I was thrown into a room and told to go up the 5^th floor. My first experience of Italy was the extremely creepy elevator shown below. I had no idea how to work it at first and I wasn’t entirely sure it would hold both my luggage and myself. Driving to my destination I realized Italian drivers being crazy was no joke. There was so much traffic and honking everywhere. People would cut each other off and not let other people in. So that drive was pretty scary but on the way I saw some gorgeous buildings and monuments that I was able to quickly snap a picture of.

The actual elevator. Made out of wood.

The creepy elevator that I had no idea how to use. This was the outside cage.

A monument I passed leaving the airport.