Nothing creative coming to mind...

I usually try to base my posts around some theme or story rather than giving a minute by minute account of something, but nothing special (aside from the fact that I'm studying on the side of a mountain in the middle of Tuscany) is coming to mind. Instead, I'll share a recap of my typical weekday to give all of you curious readers a feel of what a day in the life of a Cortona study-abroader is all about.

I woke up at a nice and rosy 7:30 to throw on some clothes and head the door to our dining room, where we enjoy a buffet-style breakfast that our nice "housekeepers" set out for us on a daily basis. My typical breakfast includes the European equivalent of Special K and Granola (which is what I eat back home, so it works for me), a small fruit pastry, a roll with jelly, and some orange juice. I also usually try to comandeer a cup of yogurt to the studio with me for a mid-morning snack.

Class begins at 8:00 in the building next door. I have my landscape architecture design studio until noon. This time is spent drawing and writing as we create designs for one site or another. Right now, we are in the process of designing a front and back courtyard for the local elementary school. Our second day in class, we walked down and visited the site a in an effort to "get to know" the schoolyard and analyze its features by sketching, photographing, and taking notes. The next stage of the design process is conceptual, where we come up with loose, general ideas on what the site could be used for and how best to tackle those uses through plants, hardscapes (brick, concrete, walls, fences, walkways, etc.), art, paths, sitting places, etc. After the conceptual process, we start whittling the design down to specifics, like where a path should lead to and from, what the space will look like as you enter it, leave it, and move through it, how certain plants at certain times of the year will impact a space in different ways, what a space is appropriate for and what it suggests one should do in it, what kind of mood it sets the occupant in, and so on and so forth.

The last stage is putting the final pen to paper, as we draw a plan view (an aerial shot, basically), sections (as if you were looking at the landscape from the ground), and different detail sketches and drawings that clarify important parts of the design. I started the final sheet today, so hopefully it will be looking good by Monday's due date.

After my studio class, I have a one hour lunch break. Lunch is typically either a sandwich from the local grocer at the bottom of the hill, some fruit, or a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My choice usually depends on whether or not I want to brave the grueling walk back up the hill once I get my food from downtown.

After lunch I have photography. My professor is a UGA Grad that has taught photography at both UNC and Duke, and is now taking over the photography program at UNC-Asheville. She's only 26, and is very energetic and fun to be around. We've started from the basics of how to make your camera work and have come all the way to printing photos complete with burning and dodging to enhance them, so it's been a neat experience. I have strong connection to photography as an art form, so I love seeing how the process actually works. It's also interesting to see just how little I know about what makes a good picture. But that's what we learn for, right?

Photo is done around 3 in the afternoon. I have no set schedule for my afternoons yet; I typically update this thing and check email for a few minutes once class is done, but by then I've usually seen enough of the classroom building and am ready to high-tail it out of here. Afer that, it's either running, working a bit longer on my project, reading, napping, laundry, running errands and buying supplies in town, shooting basketball, or taking photos for my class. Regardless of the activity, I seem to run out of time every evening, just squeaking by with a shower before dinner at Tonino's.

I hop around tables at dinner, rarely sitting with the same group. I like getting to know more than just one group of people, so I make it a point to sit with someone I haven't recently whenever I can. Our dinners are served in the typical Italian style of a primi course, which is always pasta of some type, followed by a second course, typically with meat, some salad, and another something or other (veggies, cheese, potatoes, etc.) and then dessert, which is typically fruit. It's wonderful.

After-dinner plans usually include hanging around in town for a few minutes to let the food settle, sometimes with the help of gelato. I cannot tell you how good that stuff is. Just imagine light, creamy ice cream with amazing flavors. My favorite is nutella (basically vanilla/chocolate swirl) and caramel creme together. It's unbelieveable. After that, it's back up the hill, at which point is typically around 10:00. It's chill time after that for an hour or two, and then off to bed to start over.

Hope that didn't bore anyone too badly. Maybe I'll have some amazingly deep, introspective thought to share tomorrow. Take it easy, everyone.

-msr

EDIT: Check out my facebook- new album up today.