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Saturday, May 21, 2011

Listen up, ya’ll!

It’s been another great day in the life of Witney Elizabeth Wilson! Sometimes I wonder if I’m living on the Truman Show because my life is way too great to be real!

Thanks to the long-awaited weekend, we were able to sleep in and catch up on all the Z’s we’ve missed out on. We rolled out of bed without the help of an alarm and grabbed some breakfast before heading out for the day.

We took a bus to a town on the hill called Fiesole today. Holy cow, it was absolutely beautiful. It’s the next town over from our hotel and has an incredible panoramic view of Florence. Again, like I’ve said a million times about all the things I’ve enjoyed the most, it looked exactly how I imagined Italy to be! It covers a huge green hilltop will cream and orange colored villas with orange roofs tucked back in the trees. It’s so lush and green and every last detail melted my heart; the shutters on the windows, the flowers on the window sill, the ivy growing on the 3-story stucco houses, the view of the entire Florentine valley… It was a dream.

We spent a couple hours just walking around, exploring, and taking pictures. Oh, and sweating our brains out… It was 85 degrees and waaaay too humid. I can’t remember the last time I felt heat like that! But, judging by the weather I’m hearing about where you are, I am so grateful to be wet with sweat instead of wet with rain! Suckas! It was so great to relax and spend the day going at our own pace. We weren’t in a hurry to go anywhere or accomplish anything and we took our time with everything. We even stumbled across a park overlooking the entire valley and laid on the shade beneath a tree. It’s always those simple moments that make me the happiest and remind me how blessed my life is!

After we got back into town from Fiesole, we took a stroll through the market and were killing time before dinner. Just when I thought our day couldn’t get any better, we were served PIZZA for dinner! We literally gave the restaurant an applause and some hoots and hollers when they brought out our food, because in the entire time we’ve been here, the only Italian food they’ve served us has been pasta. For EVERY MEAL! All we’ve been craving is a bomb pizza or a Panini… And all we get for every meal is a plate of pasta with red sauce and then some meat and French fries. It’s kind of ironic how we come to Italy, but they serve us American food. So, we were all ecstatic to eat pizza for dinner! A break from pasta and finally some authentic Italian food!

We were all on a high from each devouring our entire pizzas (Yes, we all got an entire pizza to ourselves and yes, we ate every last bite! ) as we walked back to our hotel and it seemed as though life really couldn’t get much better.

BUT IT DID!

We were rambling on and on and paying little to no attention to anything going on outside of our conversation when all of a sudden I looked up and saw lights and cameras. I froze right then and there and said, “Shut up! This is unreal! Get out your cameras!!!” Somehow, by the grace of God, we managed to run into the Jersey Shore crew AGAIN! They turned the corner and started walking right towards us! We gawked as they walked past us and then we played it cool as we followed close behind.

I walked hot on their heels right behind them for a few minutes making sure the cameras were capturing us in the background. We finally mustered up enough speed and enough courage to get up to the side of them. I couldn’t resist but to try my luck at sparking a conversation with the fellas. Snookie and the other ladies were nowhere around, so I figured now was my chance to talk to them without getting a black eye. In my most cool and collected voice, I said the wittiest thing I could think of…

“Hey.”

(Hahahaaaa. I’m engaged, I have no game!)

To my surprise, they were super friendly and started talking right back.

Imagine, the cameras are rolling and I am walking down the street with 3 of the main guys in MTV’s most famous reality TV show shootin’ the breeze!

(Some of you may need to educate yourselves on Jersey Shore to fully understand and appreciate this conversation I had with them. Others of you, may want to remain oblivious.)

So the guys responded with friendly hello’s and I took that as my initiation into the crew and just let my charm loose.

Pauly D and Mike “The Situation” both asked where we were from.

We replied: “Utah.”

Pauly D: “What are you doing in Italy?”

Me: “GTL! It’s a Saturday!”

Pauly D: Laughs and asks, “Do you know what GTL stands for?”

Me and Amy, in unison: “Gym. Tan. Laundry! Duhhh.”

Pauly D: Laughs again and says, “That’s right! We made that sh*t up!”

Amy asks if we can take a picture with them.

The Situation: “No, they won’t let us right now, but we can smile at ya!”

Pauly D: “How old are you girls?”

Me: “Old enough.”

The Situation: “Sooo…. DTF?”

Me: Blushing and laughing hysterically, I shrugged my shoulders as we went our separate ways.

OH. MY. GOSH.

We walked down an entire street carrying on a conversation with them as the cameras were rolling. Afterwards, we made an embarrassing display of jumping and screaming in the middle of the Piazza when a man came running up to me with a clipboard and asked if I’d sign a release form in case they used that footage in an episode!! I think I just about fainted!!! I filled out a form, signed a few lines, and took a mug-shot. Oh, and somewhere in there I may or may not have stopped breathing. And possibly wetted my skirt. My head was spinning and my heart was pounding. Every tween and teenaged girl’s dream is to be on MTV and I just signed a release form to allow them to air the footage I was in!!! Really? REALLY?? Is this real life? There is no way that that just happened to me! I’M GOING TO BE ON AN EPISODE OF JERSEY SHORE!!! Somebody pinch me!

Mom, Dad: I’ve always set out to make you guys proud and I’m sure you had different things in mind for how that would come to pass… but I am radiating with pride as I tell you that your baby girl is going to be an MTV Reality TV Star! Put that on your bumper sticker!

We sprinted (leaps, skips, and jumps were also included) all the way back to the hotel to tell everyone!

Due to all the adrenaline, there was noooo way I was getting to sleep at a decent hour. SO, what do you do on a study abroad when you can’t sleep? HIT THE TOWN! Us gals and Isaac got all dressed up and went out dancing at a disco club they have here in town. It was a BLAST! Prior to coming out here, I said there was no way I would’ve stepped foot outside the hotel at night, let alone in a club. But, since being here and after feeling so safe, I realized we would be just fine and we’ve been studious long enough to earn us a night out on the town!

We were basically the only girls there and none of the Italian men even danced. They just sat on the couches and bobbed their shoulders. I felt safe and comfortable and never felt violated. I probably felt safer there than at some of the dances I’ve been at in Utah! Our group just danced with each other the whole time and it was so great to release all that pent up energy from the last 3 weeks! Isaac (our gay friend) and I made a pact that any time a guy got remotely close to me he’d move in and dance with me. He was my stand-in boyfriend and body-guard for the night! Haha! It was hilarious! And it certainly kept the Italian Stallions at bay!

We made it back to our hotel room and crashed around 2am. Don’t mind the time, I arrived safe and sound, and that’s all that matters! I crashed into my bed in my clothes and make-up which explains the late arrival of this email!

All in all, it was a spectacular day! Definitely one of my favorites of the entire trip! I mean, what’s not to love… Panoramic view of the Florentine Valley, a nap in the park, pizza for dinner, signing a contract with MTV, and going disco-clubbing in Italy! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: MY LIFE IS A DREAM!!!

Now we’re just getting ready to take a train out to the beach! It means a lot to this little beach bum to be able to say she’s been to beaches in the Mediterranean and The Riviera!

I’ll write you guys again later tonight!

Love you all sooo much!

Ciao!

Wit