Lets take a really short break... like 20 minutes.

So we just finished Noah's class and I feel well prepared for the classes that lie ahead. Not too much to report on the class front... we start a history of institutions and criminology this week which should be exciting. I also have a lead on a thesis topic which should be interesting- something about bringing pop culture into art crime and its cross influences, whether correctly or incorrectly portraying the severity of art crime, blah blah blah. It is still under construction. Anyway, this week/weekend was more about getting to know people better and really finding interesting and hilarious bonds with the roomies. Essentially the week consisted of long lunches and coffee breaks (Noah's now infamous way of offering coffee breaks is this week's title- a 20 minute BREAK, really?).

The FIFA world cup of soccer started this friday too-- we got out of class at 1:15 instead of 5:30 because of this... note, the first game didn't start until 4:30. Works for me! Because we have satellite tv, we decided to invite a few (5 or 6) people over to watch the last match. This turned into a full blown party of about 22 people. Whoops. Our neighbors we not so thrilled, but c'est la vie (or however it is said in italian).

This party, I must say, was epic. We piled about 16 people on the terrace where we proceeded to consume WAY too much alcohol (despite all having to be up at 730 the next morning) and talked about very random and awesome things (imagine 16 people with minds just like me, all together and what that conversation could evolve into... hint, we spent about 2 hrs trying to explain to a Belgian what "fetish" means, unsuccessfully). Yeah, thats an awesome party. We also had a dance party at the intern's house where people just got out of control. Needless to say, the next morning was rough.

Due to my severe awesomeness of not getting hangovers, I was miss chipper the next day, much despised by Jennie who at one point made the bus to Orvieto stop so she could throw up. But, that is beside the point. We went to Orvieto for the day for a tour by Noah and a little free time. We went to the cathedral, saw a little relic called the Stained Corporal of the miracle of Bolsena. Its the cloth under the eucharist that actually, according to lore, bled when a priest was doubting the faith. It was housed in the beautiful reliquary (see picture below) that has insane intrinsic value, being that it is made from sapphire, diamonds, emeralds, and gold.

On the other side of the apse, there was a chapel with a Fra Angelico fresco Christ's Last Judgement. This, too, was beautiful. Very identifiable from the other frescos eventually done by Luca Signorelli in the early mannerist style.

After this we went underground and did a little "digging around" into Orvietos history. This was way cool and a very fun excursion. While our tour guide left a lot to be desired, Jennie and I made it worth our time and money. After lunch and a little light shopping, we hopped on the tram to the bottom of the city and headed home to Amelia.

Saturday night we watched the US v England match and did a little fun facebook stalking of Noah. Let me just say, this guy has a very interesting non-professional side that I would like to get to know...

Today, Sunday, we laid low, read for class, and headed into town for a potluck with the other students. A great idea because meat was too expensive to buy for 25, most of the dishes were vegetarian- a much needed reprieve from pasta and salami. After dinner, we all went down to Bar Leonardi, our favorite little coffee/wine bar and watched the game with this week's professor. Go Germany! Now, I am home and exhausted. Thank goodness we can sleep in a bit tomorrow because there is no Italian class on mondays. Smart! Well, thats all for now. I will try to update more often, but the week can be mostly boring. Enjoy the photos! Ciao tutti!