Fourth of July!

Buongiorno a tutti! Today is that most auspicious day, the day of American Independence! And let me tell you, Americans in Italy represent!

While there were not flags of the red, white, and blue found adorning the streets, nor was there a parade in which candy was thrown to small children and adults with an inner child, the University of Oklahoma students made a strong effort to bring that American spirit to all their Italian friends.

While we did our normal stuff during the day, such as class and some more class, the real party was in the evening.

At 5:00 pm, we all shuttled over to this villa that we borrowed for the night from one of Lucio's friends (I think). And of course, in true Tuscan style, it was absolutely gorgeous.

                                                               La villa.

                                                       Terrace della villa.

                                          Random garden at the back of la villa.

                                                      It's kind of artsy, right?

So we all got to the villa, where there was a pool! Of course I forgot my swimsuit at my host home, But I just put my legs in the water instead. It was equally refreshing.

                                                             La Piscina!

                                                 That means pool. In Italian.

So after we pool partied for a while, we all got to go grab some burgers and hot dogs. They were actually pretty good, but I think the cooks were surprised at how fast we ate and came back for seconds. In Italy, people eat slowly and talk a lot. In America, people eat faster and talk less while actually eating. So we finished up our first serving and came back for more, but they weren't ready for us! And the fries disappeared as soon as they hit the table.

                                                         Eat ALL the Food!

                                      We're just chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool.

But after that, people just chilled and talked to each other. It was not very stressful, which was a nice change of pace.

Then we had fireworks! It was kind of funny because they only had them in the colors of red, white, and green, so there was a severe lack of blue fireworks. Oh well.

Following the firework show, a lot of us went inside to do Karaoke. It was pretty awesome, and though some of the people were not the best singers, I will give them an A+ for effort!

                                                        So...this is blurry...

                                                   Audience participation is key!

Eventually we all started to shuttle back towards the center of the city so that we could go our separate ways (or go out drinking. That wasn't me.). I got in at about 11:30 pm, took a shower, and then fell into bed. 4th of July in Italy has definitely been a party!

Interesting Stories of the Day:

• At the villa, there was this bird cage and it had all these tiny birds in it! They were parakeets or something, I don't know, but I liked them!

                                                                   Birdie!

• Also, three of us got up and sang Eye of the Tiger as our karaoke song. Whenever a new person came into the room, they burst out laughing. It was very gratifying.

A dopo!