Ciao world!

I hope things are going well in the vast land of America. Italy is pretty happening on this side of the Atlantic. Pasta, vino, bread, cheese, pizza, rolling hills, olive groves. All of the things. Perfecto! It is just as beautiful as I remember and just as rejuvenating as I had hoped. 

The past few days have been spent in seminars and touring a few towns. Specifically, we visited the weekend market in Greve and I was very pleased to be reunited with the porchetta sandwhich. I enjoyed some uninterrupted eye contact with the hog's head, yet again, but this year I took the bold move and got my picture with the fella. 

I couldn't really tell if he was happy about it or not, the expression is similar to what I call botox face- happy? sad? angry? annoyed? ALL OF YOUR LOOKS ARE THE SAME. At any rate, this is one of my favorite parts of the trip. 

After the market, we jumped over to San Gimignano which is the Manhattan of Tuscany in part because of all the watch towers that fill the city. You can see the skyline from miles away as it is perched on the top of a hill, surrounded by valleys and sprawling fields of trees and vineyards. If I were a picture person, I would have taken one to show you all, but.. yeah. Just take my word for it. 

So at the top of the Rocca, I said to Julia, "Hey, will you take my picture with this gorgeous view behind me?" and this is what she takes for me..

Thank you, Julia, for that beautiful work of art. I should probably be ashamed enough of that picture not to post it for the world to see, but the amount of laughter it has brought not only mysel but our entire group is too immense not to share with the world. So, there you go. I willingly lay my shame aside for you all to have a laugh at my expense.

There are two famous gelato shops in San Gimignano, one of which is the world champion gelato winner for several years running. Obviously I couldn't just eat at one of the places because that would be unfair, so I had both like only a true gelato follower would. 

Yesterday we ventured to Sienna, which is my favorite part of the entire trip- hands down. That city is totally my jam and I got to mingle with my fellow caterpillars again. That's my neighborhood, the caterpillars. Evolution, life-long growth, all those things. Reference my blog post from last year's trip to Sienna to understand the caterpillar business. 

And by mingle with my fellow caterpillars I mean we sat in the Campo for 5 hours and had pizza and birra, then climbed a giant tower. Total success of a day though. There was starfishing in the middle of the Campo also which is always a good time. 

Then of course we had to feed the pigeons, because it is illegal in Siena. The police provide the pigeon food daily because they have a breeding problem, so they put birth control in the food. We're lawless individuals. We can't be tamed. YOU CAN'T HOLD US DOWN WORLD.

I also caught Wallace doing some starfishing earlier in da bed. So that happened. 

Wallace also attended a seminar on the Italian language and he was quite the popular item. He made his way through a good portion of the attendants as well as through several glasses of wine. So, yeah. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Oh, Wallace. 

Fret not folks, we have also been doing work while we have been here. We've been in seminars for two days now covering topics from personal wellness to prostitution and human trafficking in Italy to the flow of operations in primary schools. One of my personal favorites from the institute is the trafficking and prostitution seminar where actual individuals that work with this issue here in Italy come and speak with us about their day to day and the specific issues they face and see. It's a topic I have a passion for and one that I just cannot get enough of, so it is always nice to hear a different perspective on it, how things work and the view of this issue in another country as I am so familiar with our own struggles in America. 

That should pretty much catch you up on the wonderful world of Emilie (WWE for short). The WiFi is absolutely terrible here this week. I think it is a combination of shady weather, 30 people trying to get on at once and the simple fact that we're on a hillside in Tuscany and it was just not meant for WiFi. Either way, it may be a while before my next post due to those factors. Be patient, folks. Just take a deep breath and eat a Pringle or two. I know you all are not missing me yet, so the wait should be fairly easy to bear.

It would be nice if someone other than Jamie could send me updates on the road to the WCWS. You guys know my heart is in pieces because I am missing it. Softball on, my friends. Softball on. 

I leave you with this picture of our villa, Casa Cares, because I realize that some of you have no idea where I am staying. I only ask that you not take the picture and plug it into Google Maps to triangulate my location. Because that would be positively creepy. That is all. 

Many loves, all.