Submitted by Monica Terreros on the 2016 winter session program in Siena, Italy sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
During the second week here in Italy, many great things have happened. I have been able to be part of the Siena community. My roommate and I arrived with my host mother Saturday night. She is a very nice lady. She has made me feel welcome in her home. At first, I did not know what to expect from her, but she treats me like her own daughter. Every night at dinner, we talk about a different topic: food, religion, Italian cities, health and sometimes we spend more than an hour talking. I enjoy talking because I learn about her, about Siena, and about Italians in general. She has made some great meals: soup made of rice, eggplant lasagna and different kinds of pastas. I can truly say I love them all.
My week is not overwhelming: breakfast at 8:00 am, school for a couple hours, lunch in the street and dinner. After dinner, I go out with the other students and we go to the Piazza del Campo, the place where the famous horse race, Palio di Siena, takes place. The Piazza is a really common place to go. There are restaurants and ice cream shops, but it is also a place to sit and have a good time with friends. We sure need places like this at the University of Delaware.