pioggia.

it's been raining a lot in modena. "pioggia." i mean one second it's beautiful next it's thunderstorming. i love rain, so besides that one time i had to wait thirty minutes for a bus in the monsoon in athens before my 8 am exam, it makes me so happy. and had it not been raining the day we toured the "piazza roma" or "center city" i would not have gotten this picture that makes me so happy:

i don't see why people always complain about rain. so many great things come from it. it gives you the perfect excuse to get muddy and dirty and wet. and jump in puddles even when you're 20.

it also gives you a great opportunity to lay in bed with 500 pillows and watch movies or tv shows all day. or listen to norah jones, or john mayer and sleep and relax. or curl up with a good book.

or you could go singing in the rain.

or even dancing.

or you could just go for it.

or be in love. simply be in love.

"tobie"

meet toby. he's the dog of the family i'm staying with for a month in modena, italy. ohh toby. they warned me "little dog, bark bark bark bark." but toby only barked at me the first day. they say "americano, piacuto!" haha i guess it's true he likes me because i'm american. toby barks at anyone else who comes in the house (besides the family of course), he's really warmed up to me quickly. he likes to sit at my feet and put his paws on me at dinner to beg for food (he does this to everyone). he'll even sit with me on the couch, i pet him a lot because i'm new i think that's the only reason he likes me so much. when i was completely overwhelmed my first morning here (i had left my passport and half of my euros on the bus, and i was living in a strange place with hardly any communication) toby was here for me. the rest of the family had school and work and it was nice to wake up to an empty house so i didn't have to worry about talking to anyone. and even though toby understands italian, it was nice to have him around to feel loved. it's funny how dogs are just like people. they learned the language they are spoken to in. i guess its' universal, dogs are a man's (or girl's) best friends.

moving on.

as i walk through the chi o house today i'm getting sad because some of the rooms are now completely empty. living with 69 other girls this year has been an absolute blast! i'm going to miss hanging out in the halls (which are quite large- this is a good rush topic) and eating meals together. especially wednesday or friday lunches. those are always the best. it's nice to have so many friends in one area, and it's definitely better than the dorms, although brumby was a blast. here's some of what i'm going to miss about living in the house!

hallway hang outs. mary cate reading the "red hot read," she ads her own little tid bits, quite entertaining.

late night escapades. providing unlimited amounts of laughs.

late night taco bell. any late night food for that matter.
the chapter room. here's us in front of the owl tree at christmas. during finals in the winter we'd study with the fireplace going, it was wonderful! i love the big couches and especially enjoy curling up and watching movies in here.

destroying carol's room! we took all the owls we could find and put them in carol's room, it was covered.

gameday banners.

the front lawn! with nilla our snowman.
we loved hanging out on the front lawn, or laying out in the courtyard on pretty days. favorite memory was walking out for my 2:00 class on a thursday to find carol, kennan and mary cate palying frisbee. well of course i wasn't going to go to class now. we brought out the speakers, jammed to some O.A.R. as we threw the frisbee for over an hour. great afternoon!

thanks Chi O for lots of great memories. i'll be sure to come back and visit every now and then.

s and b.

studying for exams is making me crazy (if you can't tell from all my recent blogging). last night during gossip girl i decided, i think i actually decided this a long time ago, that i would love to be friends with blair and serena. s and b. they're the trendiest, funnest, prettiest, sexiest, awesomest, most bad ass duo out there. no arguments. plus i wouldn't mind having either of them on my side if i was ever in a bind. who wouldn't want to be caught on the upper east side with these two?

"do i really have to graduate or can i just stay here for the rest of my life?"

italy, here i come!

this is modena. the town in northern italy where i will be living for the next three and a half weeks. isn't she cute? oh i can't wait! i'm living with a family and we have been emailing back and forth for awhile now, they are precious! they are so excited to meet me, and i am so excited to meet them. i can tell they are going to be just wonderful.

if every street looks like this i'm going to be in heaven. it's so bright and colorful. i'm hoping for wonderful weather. my mother says it is getting nice there now.

they are famous for balsamic vinaigrette. apparently if you look on most jars in the US they say "di modena." i'll have to bring back some authentic jars.

i'll be teaching in a class of either four or five year olds. we're focusing on the american family and hope to teach them how to say basic words when referring to their families. children are love of mine, but i have a feeling that italian children are going to be some of my favorites. i hear everyone there is so loving. i'm looking forward to seeing their bright little faces looking up at me everyday, and i'm ready for lots of hugs.

"cool is enjoying the view.

cool is making them hold their breath.

cool is time off for good behavior.

cool is living the legend."

i think Mischa Barton is cool. and she's even cooler in her keds ads.
i love that she loves dogs.

she makes a hammock look good. i love the cheetah print and hat here. also adore the flower in her hair below. these pictures make me so excited for summer.

right now i'm craving light yellow keds. they're so cute, i would love walking around in them while i'm in italy! they're just happy shoes.