It has been (a little more than) a week in Sicily, and it is still just as great as the first day.  In that short period of time, I can say I have already changed quite a bit!  My diet has seen the biggest impact.  More on this later…

My class schedule is very favorable: Italian, Mediterranean Ecosystems, Volcanolgy, Black and White Photography, and the Sicilian Core class.  I really enjoy all of my classes and am excited for what the future brings in each one.  One of my goals for this experience is to be able to speak Italian semi-well (well enough to sustain a conversation).  There is an older lady living upstairs that Nate, Frankie, and I have agreed to help, but it is very difficult to offer assistance without being able to communicate.  I’m also the “president” of the food delivery volunteering, so it would be nice to be able to communicate with the locals when I help them.  The language barrier is by far the most difficult object to overcome.  It is going to take a lot of time and effort, but I’m up for the challenge!

The rest of the week was mainly devoted to familiarizing myself with the area.  Ortigia is very small, but it is still foreign and therefore hard to know the names of places.  At least I know how to get back to my apartment from anywhere!

Now to the changes in my diet.  First off, Italians tend to only have two meals.  For “breakfast” they just snack and have sweets.  Lunch is usually around 1 in the afternoon, and dinner is around 7/8 at night.  This took some getting used to, but I’ve come around to it and regained my appetite.  There are also a few foods that aren’t common in the states.  Horse meat is rather popular, so I had to try it.  Lo and behold, it’s delicious!  I have also taken a liking to Arancini (rice balls) and blood oranges.  There are more culinary adventures I have yet to take on like octopus and prickly pears.  All in good time.

Yesterday (January 27), we visited the city of Catania.  Unfortunately, it was too foggy to see Etna, but I know it awaits me!  Catania’s architecture was gorgeous!  In general, everything was made of basalt, a volcanic rock.

Well, that’s all I can think of to write now, so enjoy some pictures!  Ciao!

                                Chocolate Pudding with Pistachio Crumble.  Perfetto!

                                                        Sunset over the bay.

                                                     The sunset over Syracusa

                                  Statue of St. Sebastian during the St. Sebastian festival.

                                               Etna looming large in the distance.

                  An Aston Martin DB9 (my dream car) in Catania.  "Someone important's"...

                                                               Horse Burger!

                 St. Agatha's Cathedral in Catania.  Beautiful architecture and fascinating history.

                                                   Catania: the city of stray cats.