May 08, 2009
First Week
Well I'm here in Italy everyone. I know a lot of you have been looking for updates and pictures, so I decided to start this blog. I'll do my best to post a blurb about each week, and maybe a picture from each day, (I already have over 400). I'm new at this though, so bear with me...I arrived in Rome on Sunday afternoon, and after a three-hour bus ride arrived at about midnight here in Castelraimondo. I checked into my room, which is very nice - balconies, a small kitchen and a bathroom (with hot water). Here's a view of the airport at sunset, and then the balcony view from my room.
Castelraimondo is a very cute little town in a hilly region of the "Marche" province. On Monday we started classes and had a tour of the town. We have four hours of class everyday, and then an excursion or some free time. The iconic tower of Castelraimondo is shown below. The weather has been nice all week, sunny and clear during the day (maybe 60 degrees), but cool at night.
There's an interesting mix of people here...a lot of older people/famalies/couples, especially from Argentina and Brazil. Only two other Americans, but its an enjoyable mix so far.
On Tuesday we went to Macerata for the afternoon, and got to see a bit of the University, some of the chapels, and the Teatro Lauro Rosso, which is seen below.
Thursday was our trip to San Severino, another small town about 20 minutes away. Very pretty and some awesome views when we climbed to the top to see the castle. This picture shows the town from above.
Fridays in Castelraimondo there's an open-air market and people come in to sell fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, and a ton of other goodies. I picked up a panino with porchetta, and some other groceries, mostly fruits like these.
Tomorrow we go to Assisi and Perugia, and the plan is to meet up with Gianni (my cousin), and stay with him for the weekend.
I'm very lucky to be here, and want to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers. Unfortunately comments are limited to umich students, but if you'd like, please email me at pjmin@umich.edu. Also, feel free to share with friends, or people who may want to see this but don't have internet axis.
Talk to you all soon,
Love,
Philip
Posted by pjmin at May 8, 2009 01:24 PM