Siena: Forever a Part of Me

Well, it's been three and a half weeks since I made my way home from three months abroad. While I really miss the people I met and the places I went, I am by nature a homebody, so transitioning has been fairly seamless. It has been great to catch up with family and friends and fall into the familiarity I missed while abroad. However, I know that the time I spent in Italy will always be a formative part of my life. Just the other day, my mom told me, "every time you talk about Siena, you light up!" The history, culture and passion of the people has awaken the passion for life in me. 

There are a few things I didn't get to cover in my blog before I left, and with the whirlwind of graduation, finding a job, 4th of July, and rodeo festivities, I'm just now getting around to finishing up. So here it is: the last post of my trip abroad. Thanks for taking the journey with me!

Italian Play: The Imaginary Invalid

While we were there, our program was nice enough to arrange for us to attend a play. The money from ticket sales benefited charity, and we got to experience Italian theater. It was a win-win! Claudia, Sylvia, Becca and I went to an adorable old-fashioned theater in Siena, Teatro dei Rozzi and watched a play entirely in Italian. It helped that Claudia and Sylvia gave us an outline of the play ahead of time, so we kind of knew what was going on. We were able to catch a few phrases and sentences, but trying to translate word-for-word was quite exhausting, so eventually I was content with following the general plot and enjoying the experience.

The gorgeous ceiling

The panoramic view of theater. In each little booth sat two or three people. It was such a charming theater!

Stanza della Memoria

Sylvia also arranged for us to visit the Stanza della Memoria, a museum designed to educate people about the time when Italy (specially Siena) were under the control of fascism. Many Italians avoid the topic because it is not a time in their history they are particularly proud of, but this museum both commemorates the bravery of those who resisted and also painted a realistic picture of the awful things that happened in Italy during that time. 

Portraits of all of the Sienese fascists. It's quite a lot, considering how small
Siena was at the time. 

Picture of the Sienese people rejoicing when the Americans liberated them during World War II. Men, women, young,
and old celebrate their freedom from the Fascist Party.

Palio Lottery

Every year, the people of Siena gather in the Piazza del Campo to await the revealing of the last three contrade that competed in the July 2nd Palio. Once their flag was posted, members of the contrada ran to the bottom of the main building and celebrated wildly. The passion of the Sienese for their community is incomparable to anything I've ever seen. Below is a video of the event.

There were so many people crammed into the Piazza del Campo

Snail Contrada Party

Our acquaintance, Michele, invited us to his contrada's party. When he invited us, I was not sure what I was expected, but it certainly wasn't this. All types of people--very young and very old--attended the party at an outdoor venue just outside the city walls. I can't imagine how much money was invested into this event. They had food, drinks, a huge stage and dance floor. We had a great time dancing and experiencing contrada culture.

Calcio (Soccer)

Soccer is by far the most popular sport in Italy. Our flatmates went to play against the sister residence, so we
had to go and be their cheerleaders.

Jewish Synagogue 

We also got a tour of the Synagogue of Siena. Although the Jewish population is not
very large, Siena has a long history of being friendlier to Jews than the rest of Italy

Water Museum

We got a tour of Siena's Water Museum. Since there is no river that runs through the city, intricate water tunnels had to built in order to get fresh water to the people. We got to tour the virtual museum, which explained the geological aspects, and then got to walk through some of the tunnels.

Siena Night Life

Italians are night owls! Events would be going on at 11pm, and young and old alike would attend. Young adults usually don't leave to go out to bars until midnight (and that's when they're accommodating their boring American friends).

A basketball tournament. It's not typically a popular sport here, so I was surprised to see a game going on,
even if it was half court;)

Boxing match going on in Piazza del Campo

Our last Saturday night we went out with some of our roommates to the Cuban bar in Siena.
We each had two delicious mojitos and then wandered to the Piazza del Campo, enjoying
the view and each other's company. From left to right: me, Antonio, Becca, and Teresa.

My study abroad adventure to Italy was absolutely incredible. It was not without its challenges, but it is incredibly empowering to know that I flourished in a foreign country independently. Everyone in the program helped me so much, including Sylvia, Claudia, Ginevra (our Italian teacher,) and Jeff (our art teacher,) and all of our roommates. And of course, my trip would not have been nearly as amazing without my partner in crime (otherwise known as my roommate,) Becca! There is no hiding your flaws when you spend that much time with someone, but she put up with me. She was the best travel buddy anyone could have asked for and I'm so glad she will only be 45 minutes away for the next two years. This quote perfectly captures how I feel about Siena and its people: "You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of knowing and loving people in more than once place." I'll be back someday, Siena. I promise.