VICENZA: CELEBRATING MY 24th IN ITALIA

I heard the 9am mass with Jerald and my roommate, Emme at the Vicenza Basilica (15-minute walk from the San Lorenzo Dorm). It was beautiful inside. There were stained glasses at the front of the church, while the stairs near the altar led to a beautiful half dome structure. Though we could not understand the homily as it was in Italian, it was interesting to participate and hear the Italians actively participate during the responses and short songs. The mass ended about ten minutes before 10am, which we believe was due to the fact that Italians do not sing songs that are too long... The three of us went to the back of the church were we made some offerings.

I took a siesta in the afternoon, after Emme and I did our laundry together.I had dinner at the local pizzaria (3-minute walk away from our dorm) with Emme, Je, Helen, Lenda, Maylena, and Nick. Got seafood (calamari) pasta. Before the night ended, the head waiter brought me a tiramisu cake with 6 lighted candles, while my friends and even some Italians sang for me; it was such an amazing experience! The owner gave us all a lemoncello (lemon with liquor) shot as our toast. We also went to the carnival (present only until the end of September) for the first time.. We all bought a token each for the bumper cars. It was a crazy set-up, and it took a while for Emme and I to participate.. most of the youth got more than 2 coins, thus they stayed in the field longer. I was the first to drive, and there were no set rules nor direction--nor seat belts available! We were  hit intentionally from all directions! No wonder Italians have a high car crash rate! Je and Maylena rode together... Every time they were hit, Je went after the couple that hit them. Maylena felt like she could have been thrown off of the car! It was so disorganized, and yet we all had fun. When we were just about to ride "The King," wherein the riders would be tossed in all directions, they turned down the lights and the carnival was closed for the night at 11:30pm. Overall, it was a fun-filled birthday that was celebrated with a great group of friends.

[Salute! Friends celebrating my 24th Bday]