"My professor makes the best gin and tonics" and other recent utterances

One of the many things that I will return home with is my newly reinforced ability to cook. Because I am afforded more time in the kitchen, thanks to my pleasantly relaxed daily schedule of activities (aka I am not working 30 hours a week like back at home), I find myself experimenting more with dishes and enjoying the process of cooking, therefore leading me to do it frequently.

I have even garnered a reputation among my friends here in Italy as an excellent cook and I am often finding myself at friend's houses cooking dinner for a gathered mass of hungry students. I have also become quasi-vegetarian while here because this country is so obsessed with ham and veal, things which do not excite me in the least bit. Also, because there is some chicken flu thing going around, no one is eating chicken, so the only meat I find myself consuming is sliced turkey from the deli at the grocery store.

One of my favorite new things to make is a from-scratch cappuccino! I never imagined that I would be able to make a cappuccino without a 200 dollar machine, but it can be done! They have these small teapot looking things here which make a cup of espresso, so I add warm milk to the espresso, and whip (by hand, which becomes tiresome if you have a couple of guests over) some more warm milk into foam, and there you have it. A 2.00 dollar Starbucks cappuccino brought to you my Krystle. (as seen at right)

When I am not feeding myself and my friends, I find myself at school, feeding my brain with lots of history and literature! Studying here is a great opportunity to be exposed to so many areas of literature and history that I probably would not encounter back at home. Moreover, without even trying, I am acquiring so much knowledge about art, architecture, and language than I ever could have imagined.

Recently, one of the facilitators of this learning opened up his house and hosted a Sunday Cocktail party for all of the American students that he teaches (most teachers that I've talked to in Florence teach at about 2-4 schools at a time). It was a great afternoon/evening and I came to discover that my professor has one of the most hip and interestingly decorated places that I have seen in years. (he's pictured left, moonlighting as bartender...and the best gin and tonic ever--which he made--is pictured right. gin and tonics are best served with heart shaped ice cubes)