Before I left for Italy, everybody had their own two cents to offer me. “Appreciate every minute!” “Make sure you take advantage of where you are!” “It’ll fly by.” I took it all to heart.

In the land of pasta, wine, and cappuccinos, every meal is a gastronomic adventure. Even a simple two euro panini is a joy for the taste buds. I could write for days about my favorite meals: fried artichokes in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto, spicy tomato-garlic pici in a mom-and-pop restaurant in Sienna, and of course, margherita pizza in Naples.

Becky Lee '12 on the beauty of communicating in a foreign language and country.

Hannah Stamler '12 contemplates the glacial romance of the classic 1961 Italian film, La Notte. 

Most of us will be enjoying our Spring Breaks outside of Ithaca, but Claire Moser is spending hers in Rome.

Florence is a beautiful Tuscan city in central Italy that, for better or worse, is fairly small and largely traversable by foot. My host home is a 20-minute walk from the Syracuse campus villa where I will attend classes for the semester during my time studying abroad, and a 35-minute walk to the duomo, an imperial gothic cathedral in the center of the city.

Entry #1:

It is 11:47 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2009. My flight for Rome leaves in less than 24 hours. I am currently sitting in the middle of the explosion that is my living room amidst piles of underwear, suitcases, adaptors and converters up the bum (kindly, many friends and family provided me with ample amounts of these electronic devices, which I am told will soon be my best friend). I had to make the guy at The Shack write me a list of which device goes where. I am travelling challenged and stereotypically female in my complete ineptitude with respect to most electronics.

ROME (AP) — Even before all the debris from Italy's latest devastating earthquake is cleaned up, investigators fear that organized crime is poised to profit from contracts worth billions of dollars to rebuild schools, hospitals, courthouses and homes.

The crime clans have many connections to cement companies, debris-removal outfits and other businesses which could infiltrate the reconstruction process if authorities aren't vigilant, warned Franco Roberti, head of the Naples office of investigative magistrates who probe the Camorra crime syndicate based in that southern port city.

"We learned just how involved the Camorra is in this (construction work) by investigating the aftermath of the 1980 quake" near Naples, said Roberti in a telephone interview.

A offers advice on dealing with a spiteful roomie while Z helps a girl figure out how to address a possibly two-timing boyfriend.