Cruel Summer

Siena is hot, hot, hot! And there is not, not, not any air conditioning! It's even warmer than usual this year, so we're doing what we can to stay hydrated and sit in front of the fan as much as possible. Cold showers are the name of the game these days.

Classes have resumed now that we're settled in Siena, and with classes on Wednesday came a fun little visit from my Harvard Romance Languages and Literatures department friend, Louise! Louise is from Milan and is such a delight of a human. She popped into Siena Wednesday morning and stayed with me before leaving again Thursday afternoon. She came to class at the university (which used to be an insane asylum... now where they put us Harvard kids when we come to town!) and then joined us for the afternoon Savor Siena food tour of the city. We visited many of the same spots as last year, tasting wines, breads, tomatoes, olive oil, ciaccini (the local focaccia/pizza specialty), ricciarelli (delicious, soft powdered sugar-covered cookies made with almond extract), and lots more. What a fun and filling way to introduce the kids to the city!

We had dinner together that night and invited my student Louise to join us, so that the Louises could get to know each other and hang out. I considered it my job to let department Louise to see the ins and outs of the program since I'm sure she'll be running it before long! We had a good dinner and then went to the piazza to hang out with Finlay and Professor Erspamer's daughter, Melanie, for a bit before heading back to go to bed. The piazza is so cool at nighttime, both in vibes and in temperature!

Thursday was class and lunch with Louise and Professor Erspamer before sending Louise off to the train station and back to Milan to pack for her vacation in Switzerland. And Friday was field trip day, of course! But since only one TF is needed for the Florence trip, we sent Vincent so that I could have the day off. I went on a mini field trip of my own, to the itty bitty village of Casetta, just outside of Siena, where they have put in a little swimming pool complex in the literal middle of nowhere. The bus dropped me at a bus stop in the middle of some quintessentially Italian fields and I walked ten minutes to find the pool. I spent the day there, cooking myself under the Tuscan sun and soaking in the pool. I made friends with some moms and kids (including a two year-old who toddled over to my chair to say hi and smiled shyly at me each time I glanced over at him) as well as some older ladies who were grateful for a steady hand to hold onto while climbing out of the pool. I also learned that instead of yelling "cannonball" when they jump into the pool, Italian kids yell "bombaaaaaaa!," meaning "bomb," and I like that a lot. The giant ice cream advertisement behind my chair also served as quality entertainment for me. I got back to Siena around 5pm and went immediately for gelato before chatting with my dad for a bit, with Jack a bit, and then sleeping hard.vds

Today, I got an even shorter visit from my friend Leo, who was on my RA staff at Vanderbilt during my senior year. He came into Siena for just a few hours, and sweating as much as we were, we decided to start with a cold drink in the piazza before going to visit the Siena Cathedral and having dinner. It's been a while since we talked, so we had lots to catch up on.

Now I'm back at the Refugio and listening to the sounds of the Nicchio neighborhood's party, which I can see pretty much in my backyard. They're pumping the music, yelling, and having a good time, plus cooking lots of meat on the grills - all of that smoke has moved from their garden party directly into my room. Anyone feeling up for some steak?