Always Something...

I have been sitting here thinking about what to post next... Well, there are a lot of events and things I have done that I haven't talked about yet, so I thought I would do that now! 

German Fest: First, this was so much fun, but interesting... to say the least.  Germany was having their October fest at the end of September (doesn't make a lot of sense, huh?) and parts of Italy had their German festivals at this time, too, so I went to one a couple towns over.  I went with Alyssa, Luigi (Alyssa's boyfriend), and a lot of his friends.  I was nervous, because I had heard that Italian women were not very accepting of other women, but everyone was really nice to me and I had a great time with them.  Luigi's friends are mostly other men and their girlfriends and it was a pretty big group.  We took the train, which was fine on the way there, but coming back late at night was a little crazy.  A passenger even got up and pulled the emergency break, which stopped the train and it took us a long time to get going again.  Everyone was really mad at him and they said it happens a lot.  The festival was huge!  It was underneath a  gigantic tent and tons of people were there.  The food was awesome!  I had a sausage in bread that was like a hotdog, a strudel, and some other really good stuff.  The entertainment was really fun, too, and we just sat and talked and listened to the different German bands.  At times their friends got up and danced and we went to the front for a while to watch the bands.  They did the train, played "YMCA," "We are Family," and a lot of other English songs.  American music is played everywhere in Italy... they love it... when you go into stores and everywhere.  They were also helping me with my Italian and his friends were just really funny. It was awesome and I'm glad I got to hang out with them and meet more friends.  

Markets:  One of my favorite things about Arezzo and Italy all together are the weekly markets.  Every Saturday morning Arezzo has a huge market that has everything you can think of... Food, clothes, purses, jewelry, shoes, home goods, everything!  It's like a huge flea market and I love it!  You walk up to it and it just keeps going.  You can bargain with the vendors, too, but I've never actually done that, because prices are so good.  They also sale the best rotisserie chicken there, mmm!  It is so good! It's homemade, cooked right there in front of you, and you can actually buy live chickens, too... which I have never done.  Apparently they cut the heads off for you right there.  Wow.  I bought some sunglasses, because I forgot mine at home, and some food at the market. Everyone brings their tote bags and you just have to be prepared to get bumped into.  Italians don't see this as rude, so you never get an apology when someone runs into you or steps on your foot or something.  It was hard to get used to, but it all goes back to their culture.  In addition to the weekly market there are also random events that take place, like the international market coming up this weekend, and a major market that happened a few weeks ago.  It started outside of my apartment and went on forever.  It was larger than the weekly market and just when you thought it was ending it went on to the left and right and so on.  It was HUGE and I loved it!  I spent about two hours walking around and all I bought were olives, a purse, and a necklace. I absolutely love olives!  I didn't like them in the States, but I LOVE them here... I really like the ones with the pits in them and I get them a lot from little stores... fresh olives! Anyhow, this market even sold live animals for pets, such as turtles and birds and there was even a one euro vendor.  It was really neat! Finally, on the first weekend of every month there is a huge antique market.  It's really famous, actually, and happens in Arezzo.  It's seriously on my top five list of my favorite things about Arezzo. It's right on the Corso (the main road) and stretches out to other roads and piazzas.  They sale all kinds of antiques, jewelry, books, clothes, records, furniture, trinkets, and so much more.  It's awesome! My favorite type of jewelry is cameo and they sale all kinds of it.  Things are pretty expensive, but I bought a skirt.  I had so much fun and walked around for about three hours looking at everything.  

Watch parties: Something Suzette and I started in the beginning of the semester were watch parties for the OU football games.  We've done four now and three of them have been at 2:00 AM our time, but they are a lot of fun and the students love them.  We stay up really late, but it's a great time and Suzette always provides snacks and stuff for everyone.  There's always a good turn-out.  Suzette and I are also both really into social networking, so the whole time we tweet and Facebook about the watch parties.  OU's twitter and Kevin Frazier from Fox Sports have even tweeted us back!  Last week we had a really busy week getting ready for the OU-TX watch party and we tweeted to ESPN, College Gameday, and OU all week long. The students also made a lot of signs and a video that we sent in.  We worked really hard to get on air or for them or at least tweet us, but it never happened.  It was fun, though, doing all of the work.  I'll post the video! The OU-TX watch party was pretty big and some of the students' Italian friends came and the athletic department actually provided our students with some promotional items that we gave out to them, so that was neat. We had burgers and a lot of other great food, too.  I love the late-night watch parties! 

I think this is about it for this post.  More to come... 

Mastering Italian Culture

I wasn't sure what to call this post, but I wanted to talk about some of the things I had to get "used" to, I guess you could say.  Nothing has been horrible... there are no "negatives," but, sure, there are certain things that make me laugh, but the positive things definitely overshadow the American conveniences I no longer have. 


Where do I start? 


My apartment: I love my apartment!  I will post pictures, soon, but I have a beautiful terrace that is covered up, but opened on the sides to allow for some air to come in, but to keep the pigeons out.  I still get my share of pigeon feathers on my terrace, but it's just a fun place to sit and relax and it's where I hang all my clothes to dry on the drying rack.  There are no shortage of pigeons in Arezzo.  Sometimes I think it's the only bird that exists here, because I never see any other type of bird. They don't wake me up anymore, but sometimes I hear them on my window seal in my bedroom, especially right when my alarm goes off and I realize they are there.  Apparently you can put aluminum foil down to keep them away, but I haven't tried that yet... perhaps I should.  Dryers are very rare in Italy and everyone hang dries their clothes.  Mastering my washing machine was quiet the process. My settings did not have any words at all, just pictures, so I had to figure out what those pictures meant and even googled it until I figured it out.  I had to wash my first load of clothes three times, because they came out still smelling.  I finally figured out washing them on a delicate cycle was best.  It takes my clothes about three days to dry, but it's better than ruining my clothes on a really fast cycle.  I also had to look up the conversions to Celsius to figure out what temperature to put it on.  The towels get a little crispy, but my clothes are fine and I haven't had to iron yet, because I bought this awesome spray-on fabric softener.  Like I said about dryers, air conditioners are also very rare in Italy, but I actually have one.  I love it!  Energy has to be conserved here very well and I have to flip the breaker every time I do laundry.  Every time.  My shower is also a very interesting part of my apartment.  There is no shower tub... no base.  It's just a faucet, a brain and a shower curtain, so I have to dry the floor up big time after every shower.  It's also better for me to shower at night, because when I shower during the day I don't have hardly any water pressure. I guess because so many people are using water at that time and I live right by a restaurant.  When you walk outside my apartment entrance you walk into the outdoor seating area of the restaurant!  Water here is also conserved very well.  Toilets are only filled up with a very small amount of water and you have to use the toilet brush to clean it off... if you know what I mean.  :)  Bidets are used here and I have one, but it holds my basket that holds all of my showering products and I have yet to use it for its purpose.  I'll have to try it before I leave here, though.  Hmm... What else about my apartment?  Cooking has been interesting.  I have two small gas burners and a small toaster oven to cook.  You light the burners with a big lighter and hold down the nob for a minute until it gets warm.  I have messed sausage and meatballs up, but other than that, I have been able to to eat whatever I cook.  I like it, actually! I don't have a microwave or a dishwasher, but that is also very normal.  There is a microwave in the office, so that is really nice. What else?  I sleep on a twin-sized bed and have a second one pushed up against it, so I can have a little more room.  It's not bad.  Also, the locks on doors here are very outlandish and mine is no different.  It's crazy, but good!  When you lock a door it has about three deadbolts and you usually have a button or something to push before you can leave an apartment building door.  It's hard to explain, but they are very much about security here in homes, which I like.  I also love that I have an elevator in my apartment, because I am on the very top and it would be torture climbing all of those stairs.  I like my penthouse suit! 


Walking: Living here you do a lot of walking.  In order to get somewhere you have to walk.  Good shoes are must, but it's crazy, because a lot of my shoes are already tearing up.  I have a feeling I'll have to get rid of all these shoes, because they'll be so torn up from all the walking.  I don't mind the walking... sometimes I really like it.  It's fun to see everybody as you walk and to people-watch, to count how many people stare at you, and to window shop as you pass by stores.  Italians tend to do a lot of staring.  I don't take offense to it anymore... I do have naturally blonde hair and bluish eyes, which is the epitome of the beautiful American, according to my co-worker, Lucio.  He is one of the two Italian staff members and is the Student Services Coordinator.  Marta is the other Italian staff member and is the Office Manager.  Anyhow, I have gotten used to the walking, the feet and leg cramps in the middle of the night, and having to leave extra early when I have to be somewhere.  Although it is sometimes okay here to run on "Italian time."  It's so funny, because no one is ever on time and nothing starts on time.  It's Italian time!  I love that, because I'm always late... haha


Shopping:  I have also had to master shopping, which was quiet the challenge at first.  I lived in a residence hall for seven years and this is the first time in my life that I have had to really grocery shop, and I had to learn to do it in Italy.  The food is different here.  Sure, there is a lot of pizza and pasta and it's delicious, but grocery stores also have items like we have in America, too.  Getting fruit is the oddest thing.  It is a cultural norm to put a glove on before you grab your fruit... the older ladies get mad at you if you don't.  Once you put it in the bag you weight it yourself and a sticker prints out with the price and you stick it to the bag.  Everything here is more expensive.  Cost of living is much higher and you are always spending more in dollars when you are charged euros.  Since I am paid in dollars, this sometimes makes things a bit complicated.  When I go to the grocery store I usually go down all the rows until I get enough stuff that looks like it will last be for a little while.  I cook a lot on my gas burners and try to stay away from my toaster oven.  Something really funny to me is that you are charged per can when you buy a six-pack of Diet Coke (coca cola light), so you can tear open the package and grab however many you want.  Also, you are charged for bags, so most people bring their own tote bags to the grocery store.  It's hard sometimes when you buy so much and then have to walk back to your apartment.  The other day I bought way to much and it was quiet the experience getting it all back.  I had bags wrapped all over me, but I made it!  I think I'm being smart with my choices of food, or I hope so... we'll see.  I'll write an entry about the food sometime this week.  


Random thoughts about culture:  You don't tip here at all, which is really strange.  Also, they never split the check, so you have to learn how to divide that up evenly.  Public bathrooms are shared by men and women, which is just still odd to me.  When you walk into the bathroom there are normally a couple male stalls and a couple stalls for females and then the hand-washing stations are in the opened area where you wait for a stall. For a lot of sinks you have to push a lever with your foot to get the water to come out.  What else?  You have to really be careful when walking, because cars typically do not stop for pedestrians, except at crosswalks with lights.  Things that Americans would see as rude here are not actually rude, it's just their culture, and that was hard to get used to.  There are always beggars out on the streets asking for money, which you reply, "No, grazie" to.  People are always selling something, too, or playing instruments to get money.  Also, the shops here are amazing! There are boutiques, fruit stands, magazine stands, bread and cheese shops, and more linning the streets everywhere.  I have finally determined where the cheapest places are and the best grocery stores.  Bars are also everywhere, which is what they call pastry and coffee shops.  I love going into fruit stands and buying fresh ficcas (figs), but it is almost time for those to be out of season, which is sad... they are my new favorite fruit!  I love them!  I have also found the euro store, which is like the dollar store in the States.  That's pretty funny to me.  There is a really big grocery store called the Ipercoop that I went to about a week ago with two students and spent a couple hours.  It's not walking distance, but it's a huge store with everything and it's the cheapest.  We took a taxi out there and it was pretty cheap.  I finally found a hair straightener, because I burned my American one up the first week I was here.  :)  It smoked and was really awful, but nothing caught on fire... thank goodness.  I also bought hangers, because all I was provided with were a few really large coat-type hangers and a bunch of other stuff I needed for my apartment. The Ipercoop is like nothing I've seen. It's like a Walmart or Target, but also has clothing stores inside of the building and a store that's like a Best Buy.  Oh, and a restaurant... what?!  It's crazy. The only things I haven't been able to find that I would really like are cotton balls and eye make-up remover.  I found stripes of cotton that you pull off to use a little bit at at a time, which will work.  It's also imperative to recycle here.  Italians are very good about recycling and it's just a cultural norm... everyone does it and you are expected to.  For the most part people have been nice to me.  They help me out when I ask for it and are understanding of my language skills.  The man at the bus station was rude to me once and threw my change at me, but that's okay.  You take the bus or train here when you travel long-distances.  It's not bad at all and I have learned the ropes of transportation.  Going to Siena you ride a bus and it makes me completely sick, so I now sit at the very front.  They are a bit careless with their bus driving skills, so you feel even worse on those winding roads.  At restaurants you also have to salt your own bread, usually.  In this part of Tuscany the bread is not salted, so it's not very flavorful, but I still like it. They put olive oil on everything and that makes it much better!  Also, dogs are really funny here... people bring them everywhere!  They are in restaurants, they are in stores, everywhere.  It is normal to be at a restaurant and a dog to be tied to someone's table outside.  I have also seen some of the largest dogs ever here... it's crazy. 


I think that is about all I can think of right now.  Although I miss being able to jump into my car about run to Walmart for a quick item, there is nothing that I just absolutely miss.  American conveniences are, of course, missed, but nothing too severe.  I still love it here... even if I have to bag my own fruit and salt my own bread... :)  

Arte d'Italia

The art in Italy is amazing!  I am truly at the epicenter of some of the greatest artists whom ever lived.  Everyone you go in Italy there is something artistic about it and I am amazed at some of the paintings, sculptures, and buildings I have seen in person.  In Arezzo itself... it is a major medieval town and parts of the medieval wall still exist and are standing.  Several buildings are standing from the middle ages and are as old as the 1400-1500 hundreds. It is just beautiful!  The Monastery the students will live in a few years from now is from that time period and I can just imagine the nuns and monks (it was a building for one group and then the other at different times) studying, gardening in the back-yard, and praying in the various spots throughout the huge, timeless structure.  


One of the courses offered here that several students are taking is an Art History class taught by the director of the program. He takes them on several field trips to different cities to see the art and I have tagged along on those two trips thus far. We went to Siena first and then to Florence.  Although museums are popular, a lot of art is located in churches and we visited many of them.  In almost every city in Italy there is a Duomo, or a Cathedral, which is a city's biggest church.  They are always over-the-top, beautiful and amazing! The one in Florence can literally take your breath away.  I have been to Florence three times now and the Duomo still gets me.  The first time I went was with Alyssa on my Labor Day and we had lunch with a couple of her friends, did some sight-seeing, and then I shopped at H&M (my new favorite store!) while she was in class that night.  The second time I went was on the field trip and we visited three different churches to see the art. I always get to hear Kirk talk about the works, too, and he is a really great lecturer and knows so much.  One of the things that impresses me the most about the churches are the huge doors.  The doors are nearly as tall as the building itself and its incredible. We were standing in one place to observe some art when Kirk told us we were standing on an old grave sight for infants whom had been killed.  It really took me back. The third time I went to Florence was with the daughter of a professor I work with, Suzette.  I love them and I am so glad we all work together.  They make me feel like family and they are so great! Hannah and I went to Florence to shop (I really needed pants), to eat at Hard Rock, and to eat a canoli.  Canolis are amazing, mmm! I love them and Florence has the best ones.  I've had one all three times I've been there.  Florence is also famous for its real leather, which is expensive, but really pretty.  They have a leather market, which is very famous.  Italy also carries a plethora of my favorite jewelry, cameo, and Florence has a lot of it. I LOVE cameo and I and going to have to break-down and spend the money on some! I love jewelry and it's bad here how much there is... 


Anyhow, back to art... there are details in these churches that you do not even know about unless you look closely.  They are very carefully thought-of and decorated and I literally feel privileged to be able to see some of this stuff with my own eyes.  I am not Catholic, but in the Catholic faith, especially in Italy, I have picked up on the idea that they put more emphasis on Mary, not Jesus, and most of the art is religious.  I even got to see some old sheet music in Italian from the middle ages!  The stained glass is also beautiful.  The churches are still operating for services, but opened to tourists at other times.  When you go into the churches your knees and shoulders must be covered, so ladies are provided with a scarf to cover-up with if you do not bring anything... Well, you have to purchase a scarf.  Nothing is free in Italy.  Not even condiments for your hamburger at McDonald's in Florence (there are two) or public bathrooms, sometimes.  Yes, when I ordered my burger I asked for ketchup, mayo, and mustard and my total ended up being a little over eight euro.  That is way over 10 dollars!  Lesson learned... I have a lot of funny stories like that!  Siena is really great, too.  I talked about the piazzas in Italy in an earlier post and Siena has one of the largest piazzas in the country... it is huge!  It is this giant, opened circular area with shops and restaurants lining it.  Each year the Siena Palio takes place in the piazza and I hear it is pretty crazy!  It is a horse race that lasts a very short amount of time, but the exciting part is the crowd.  It is incredibly crowded and people are nuts, apparently.  I would love to go and stay in one of the hotels above the piazza to watch it.  Go check this out if you want to learn more about it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palio_di_Siena


I have also been to Cortona twice, which is another city really close to Arezzo.  I actually went today.  The first time I went was just to look around and visit with a few of the students and another professor and today we went as a part of one of the required classes the students take, called Getting to Know Arezzo.  We visited a vineyard to learn about wine production and it was pretty fabulous to see all of the work that goes into making wine.  Did you know some bottles have to sit two years and you have to rotate the bottles each day in order for it to be ready?!  It was a lot of fun!  I don't come from a family who drinks, but drinking wine here is second nature to Italians.  They don't drink it to get drunk... they just drink it because they enjoy it.  It's also very cheap in Italy and it is not considered something "bad."  It's just their drink.  


I really am loving everything I get to see here in Italy and I know there's only more to come!  

The Joust

I had two great parts about week two... The Joust and making a friend.  


I can't even explain the excitement with the Joust... but I'll try! The city of Arezzo holds two Jousts a year: One in June and the other in September.  The actual Joust is on the weekend, but the week is filled with parties, live music, gatherings, chants, etc.  The town is divided into four quarters:  Porta Crucifera (red and green colors); Porta del Foro (yellow and crimson colors); Porta San Andrea (white and green colors); and Porta Santo Spirito (yellow and blue colors)... the last one is where I live and the first one is where the OUA center is located.  Throughout the week the quarters are against each other and people can actually get hostile during this time, but after the Joust they are all friendly to each other again.  However, walking around the streets of Arezzo... you will always know which quarter you are in, because buildings are lined with the area's flags.  Their spirit is so great! Joust memorabilia is also sold all week long on Corso Italia.  Corso Italia is what I would call the main street of Arezzo, lined with shops and coffe bars, and the street where OUA is located.  The table selling the Joust memorabilia was set-up right by the center, so I passed it each day.  I bought a Santo Spirito bracelet and a Porta Crucifera scarf to represent my home and my work.  


I was not prepared for the actual Joust day on Sunday.  All the students and faculty and staff who wanted to attend came and it was so much fun!! We sat on the very top of the bleachers, so we had a great view. It was so awesome... the way they were acting with their excitement and craziness reminded me of an American football game.  Arezzo has several Piazzas and the Joust takes place in Piazza Grande.  There is the huge area where the Joust takes place, an area filled with a lot of people that I can describe as general admission, the bleachers for the other fans, and a ton of police officers surrounding the place. The people who live in Piazza Grande are also sitting out on their terraces or peering out their windows  to watch the competition.  During what I will describe as the "pre-show," the group of competitors come out and the fans of the specific quarters go nuts for their athletes and horsemen. Again, it was so great to see! The Arezzo band, which is what I am calling it, also came out and marched in-sync and gave a performance.  They also went around the city all week long marching and playing in their maroon and white uniforms, which are the Arezzo colors, I believe, so it's neat that it is similar to OU colors. Then, before the actual competition began, the horsemen from each quarter practiced.  The Joust is set-up where two horsemen from each team work together to hit the dummy knight's shield.  There are two rounds and the horsemen work to get five points, which is the highest score per round. One of the coolest parts was to see the fans get so excited. When Crucifera knew they won the first round they went crazy with loud cheers, hugging each other, and jumping around.  It was also funny because when fans from other quarters knew they had lost they started leaving in the second round... just like we do in American at football games! Crucifera ended up winning and fans from all over rushed the playing field and the police officers let them do it.  There was huge celebration, but I didn't see any violence.  One man started getting pretty rowdy and began climbing the bleachers to get to a fan from another quarter, but he was escorted out.  He didn't have a shirt on, either.  After the competition Crucifera spent hours celebrating, marching around town with fans and the horsemen, and chanting.  The city was theirs for the day and they were awarded the golden lance, which is the prize, but I think they prefer the pride over anything.  It was just such a great week and I had so much fun at the Joust!  


I also made a friend shortly after I moved here, which really helped with my transition. Her name is Alyssa and she was a student in the program two years ago.  She is now in grad school in Florence and has a boyfriend here in Arezzo, so she commutes on the train to class.   We have fun together and it's nice to have someone here my age who is also American.  Now that her classes have started we don't see each other as much as we did the first couple weeks, but I get to hang out with her and her boyfriend and their friends occasionally on the weekends usually and it's so great! It's good stuff.  


A link that describes the Joust in detail: http://www.lifeinitaly.com/tourism/tuscany/horse-jousting.asp 

Week One was Interesting

Now that I am going back to retrace my steps a bit, I'll start out by talking about when I first got here. After a long plane trip from Oklahoma City to Washington D.C. and then to Rome, I was beyond exhausted when we landed in Italy.  With emotions running high I think I only slept about 30 minutes the whole eight hours in flight to Rome.  When we arrived (I was fortunate enough for my supervisor in Norman to accompany me and get me settled) it was hours before we got to Arezzo.  I'll spare all the details, but the waiting, the shuttle, and then the train were quiet the experience, especially on little to no sleep. You can see me privately if you want to hear the specifics on that story.  I will say, though, that I was mesmerized when I looked out the window and saw the Colosseum on the way to the train station.  I couldn't believe I was in Italy! It was an intense moment and that's when it got real for me.  I can't wait to go back to Rome for a vist!

When we finally got to Arezzo my supervisor here in Arezzo met us and took me to my apartment.  It was so amazing and I was so excited!  I still love it, too.  I'll put pictures up at some point.  Sometimes it makes me laugh that I don't have a base for my shower and I am only able to cook in a toaster oven and on two gas burners, but having a terrace, plenty of storage space, my own little private area on the top floor, and air conditioning definitely makes up for the Italian idiosyncrasies that Americans may see as inconvenient. I am very happy with my apartment and where I live.  I am about a 10 minute walking distance from the OUA Center and right across from the train station, so I am kind of in the middle and it couldn't be a better location.  

After arriving and getting in touch with my loved ones in the States we had a great dinner that night and I had my first real Italian Pizza (without cheese).  I am not a cheese fan and that still boggles the minds of several Italians I interact with.  The only cheese I've tried so far that I do like is the mozzarella they use here.  It tastes different and I can handle it, although I'll get no cheese if I can.  Throughout the next few days I visited all the student apartments to learn about the specifics, toured the town a bit, worked on paperwork, recovered from a case of strep throat (yes), met the students and helped them get acclimated with an orientation session, and classes began for them.  It took me a couple weeks to get in a routine and follow an office-hours schedule.  It also took me a while to get adjusted and to transition, but I finally feel settled and the feelings of being overwhelmed at times have deceased, which is why it was high time to start this blog.  Not to say I will never get homesick again, but I am feeling really great about my experience here and I am happy to be here.  

    

I FINALLY have a Blog!

Well, it sure did take me a while to start this blog, but I figure... better late than never!  I am now ending week six of living in Arezzo, Italy and really loving everything!  I still find myself walking down the street back to my apartment after a day at work and thinking to myself, "Wow, I live in Italy!" Although I still haven't adjusted to my European shower, the seven hour time difference from home, and Coke Light, I know how lucky I am to be having this experience and I do not take this opportunity I have been given for granted.  I try to live each day here to the fullest. Now that I have started this blog, I will post every day or every other day. There are more stories to tell right now than I have time to recall tonight, but in the next couple of days I am going to post some of the interesting and exciting times I have had thus far.  


I suppose I need to give some background information on myself and what exactly got me to Italy. I am from Benton, Arkansas where I was raised by two very hard-working parents, for whom I give credit to how I got to where I am today. Since I can remember they told my older brother, twin sister, and I to "study hard and learn a lot, so you can grow up to be an astronaut," and although neither of us became an astronaut, it was their way of pushing us to succeed and supporting us in the decisions we made when it came to education and work.  Without their support, along with the support of my grandparents, other family members, and friends, I would not have succeeded.  


From middle school on I was highly involved, so when I went to college at the University of Arkansas I carried on this tradition. I originally wanted to be an Athletic Trainer and worked for the Razorback football team as a student equipment manager throughout college. However, I changed my mind to Broadcast Journalism and just knew I would be like Barbara Walters one day (I still might). :)  Throughout college I was involved with many Student Affairs offices and other departments, such as admissions, athletics (as mentioned), student media, student government, and housing.  It didn't really click that this was my passion until I started working for housing as a resident assistant.  Holding this position, I knew I had discovered what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and decided the last semester of my junior year to go to graduate school for Higher Education.  I decided on University of Oklahoma and focused on the Student Affairs track of the Adult and Higher Education program.  I also held an assistantship throughout my graduate work with the Housing and Food Services Department as a Graduate Resident Director for Residence Life.  I worked in two different residence halls with student staff members and student leaders and loved my experience. I fell in love with the job of working with students and knew I wanted to stay in housing upon graduating and would eventually try out other Student Affairs departments on college campuses.  


In the middle of my second year our Director of Residence Life offered the position I am in now to us as a possibility.  It would be the first time to have this position and this individual would be better served if he or she had housing experience. After months of going through the application process and interviews, I was offered the job. What's funny is I was also offered another full-time housing job at a different institution the same day I found out I got this job--within 30 minutes of being told, in fact.  It was a grueling weekend with my emotions experiencing highs and lows, but I knew I could not pass up the opportunity to work abroad for a year with such a great program.  This, in fact, is on my bucket list I created a couple years ago and I can now cross it off.  :)  I finally felt comfortable with accepting the position after my mom called late on Sunday night (before I had to give my answer on Monday) and gave me her blessing.  She said, "Leanna, I just think you need to do it. This is an opportunity you can't pass up."  I accepted the position and worked all summer to prepare for my arrival and started learning Italian and here I am now! 


So what do I do and what is this program?  The "OU in Arezzo" program is the University of Oklahoma's branch campus in Arezzo, Italy and gives students the opportunity to study abroad at an OU facility, to be taught by OU faculty members, and OU Student Affairs staff work with them to ensure their well-being, like myself. We have 26 students this semester and nine faculty/staff members.  As the Graduate Resident Director I am still technically a student, although I graduated in May, but decided to continue on with the Graduate College, so I could have this experience. My job is to work with the students on a daily basis and to ensure they are succeeding here and to help combat homesickness, roommate issues, apartment problems, illness, and a plethora of other problems college students face, which seem to be escalated


With all of that, I have also found time for fun and travel since I have been here and plan to keep that up.  As I said, I am going to continue to post in the next couple of days to make-up for the experiences I have already had that need to be shared and, in the meantime, thank you for reading my first blog entry.  A presto!