Buongiorno,

This weekend was an exciting one. Two of my friends, Madi and Annalise, and I went to Amsterdam to visit some friends from DePauw that are doing a May term there. It was awesome to be able to travel to a new place for a weekend, especially a big bustling city which is much different from Grado. It was a really nice change of scenery. Before me and Quincy left (she was going somewhere else for the weekend), Patrizia came into our room and told us to be safe. When we told her we would be and not to worry she responded, "Of course I am going to worry, you are like my own daughters!" and then she gave us both hugs. It was such a small thing to say, but was so touching that she was worrying about me just like my mom was all the way back in America. That short sentence just shows how close we had all come in just two short weeks. But once we got to Amsterdam it was amazing. There were so many awesome restaurants and shops, and we were able to take a break away from the Italian language and Italian food for every meal. But once the weekend was over, it was really nice to come back to Grado where it is more calm and relaxing. Although the weekend was a nice getaway, I'm happy to be back to eating Italian and back in my routine.

Ciao,

McKenzie Boyle