Buongiorno!
For 11 of our Aggies, the day began at 6:30 with a morning jog through the beautiful city of Castiglione Fiorentino! After the jog, we all enjoyed our first Italian breakfast: croissants and coffee. A wonderful native of the city, Giovanni, spent the morning giving us a tour of the city and its historical museums. His humor drew the attention of all of us and he shared secrets and the history of the city we will call home for the next two weeks. Our group enjoyed a pizza lunch while learning a bit about the Italian culture. After each pizza was finished, a waiter immediately replaced it with a new pizza. But, after eventually leaving a pizza unfinished, we were informed that it is rude not to eat everything in front of you…
Our afternoon was spent getting to know one another through ice breakers, and amazing friendships began to form. The afternoon wrapped up with an Italian lesson! A mixed group of both Qatar and Texas students, including us, missed the first half of the class after accidentally getting left behind. Even after a slight delay, we still mastered a few key Italian phrases and were able to order our gelato in Italian! The both of us feel like we fit right in over here. The people are friendly, the food is good, and our new friendships are beginning to grow.
Arrividerci,
Fatima AL-Najar ‘22 & Lauren Starkey ‘22
