The Real Work Begins and A Visit From Friends

Hey y’all! Sorry it’s been a few days since I’ve posted, but, this week, I’ve started working more since Francesca is now out of school. I teach her English every day. I have to be creative with how I approach this because I do lessons where we sit and I teach, which obviously can be boring (especially for a girl who just started her summer break). I also try and have fun with her. Today we played Uno and watched Disney sing along videos. We then watched Monsters, Inc in English. I am such a good teacher.

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On Sunday, I spoke to my friend, Colleen, who is visiting Europe. She told me that she was in Florence and wanted to visit me. So on Monday, she and another friend, Kate, hopped on a bus and came to Siena. I gave them general directions to my house, and I walked out the front door to find them looking for me in the street. It was good to see some familiar faces, and be able to talk without having to think about every word I say.

Colleen and Kate had informed me that they heard that somewhere in Siena there was a head and thumb on display. Disappointed that I had never heard of this, I went online, and sure enough, I discovered that the head and thumb of Saint Catherine of Siena are on display at the San Dominico Cathedral. I see this cathedral every day, but have never actually been inside. Naturally, we made our way to the cathedral.

On our way, while strolling through the streets, we stopped to get lunch. I managed to slightly impress them with my limited Italian, and we all enjoyed our meals thoroughly.

Next, we arrived at the San Dominico Cathedral. With our main goal in mind, we set out to look for the head. After a few moments, we found it. I could not get a picture of it, but you can find a good picture on the link I posted below (I know you want to see it). The whole time we just kept saying, “You guys… thats a head.” Next we wondered, “Where is the thumb?” We started looking at old relics, when suddenly Colleen announced, “Um. I found it.” Sure enough, there was a shriveled, old thumb right in front of our faces. I did manage to sneak a picture of it (you’re welcome, fans). There was absolutely no explanation of why the head and thumb of Saint Catherine were located in this church, and all we could manage to find was a questionably trustworthy website. Despite the fact the it is a .org website, we do challenge the historical accuracy of the content. For an entertaining read, check it out.

After the cathedral we kept strolling through the streets, went to the University of Siena, the Piazza del Campo, and, naturally, got gelato. We just enjoyed each other’s company, while I showed them the city that I am so lucky to be living in.

 

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As I mentioned earlier, Lucia and Giovanni hosted a dinner party on Tuesday. I was asked to prepare jambalaya. I got chicken and fresh Italian sausage. Needless to say, it was a hit. I just thought y’all would be proud of me for that one.

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An interesting language fact that I have run in to:

Quite often we eat peas. In Italian this is piselli. However, I have learned that pisello is used as a slang for penis, therefore, making piselli the plural form of the word, or, multiple penises. I’m pretty sure that the word also indicates a small size, however, I have yet to learn the full use of the word. It is now probably a word I will avoid to stay away from trouble. Thought you’d all be proud of how much I’m learning.

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I leave you with a picture that I took on a night stroll: