No This is Not a Joke

I know what you're thinking. Me. With a hot stove and a spoon. Bad idea. But listen, I am basically a pro now because I was taught by the pros right? Italians know their food. Okay maybe I am not a pro but the two cooking classes we got to take last week were so much fun! I always thought I didn't like to cook but I think I have been living a lie. I enjoy it a lot! As long as I am not starving and grumpy or the kitchen is a mess then in the words of my roommate Cara: I think there is an inner baker inside of me waiting to come out. 

This is our view from the balcony of the Dante Alighieri school where we ate our appetizers. Good food, good view. Pretty darn good life.

Street Sightings Of the Week

My apartment window is right on one of the main streets that leads to the gates of the city. Naturally this means all kinds of Italians are coming and going and sometimes I get to see cool things like these --->

There was an antique car show in Siena one day and it started right on our street. My host mom came running into our room saying "Ragazze!!" (girls) and got all excited, opening our windows. We watched it with her while she had her arm around me and a huge smile on her face. This is one of my favorite Italy moments so far. And if you yell "Ciao" sometimes the people driving the cars would honk

One night I started to hear a ton of voices outside of my window and that whole week there were a lot of people just chilling on my street. Saturday night I walked past the field behind one of the buildings and saw this. We decided to join because.. perché no?! Apparently each contrada has 10 days of partying before the Palio event. This is the chiocciola party and oh my freaking goodness was it fun!! We danced all night and got to experience a festa Italiana. One of my favorite nights in Italy.

Another time I heard American music blasting from the apartment across from mine. These Italians love American music and it's nice to have a little taste of home.

And more than once I have seen the cutest little kids waving chiocciola flags and marching down the street, proud of their contrada.

My street is never boring, let's put it that way.

Hidden Gems of Italy

Castiglione della Pescaia. 

This place. Totally worth the craziness it took to get there, but really. It was quite the adventure! We bought tickets to go to Castiglione for Saturday and it's about a 2 hour bus ride. We got to the bus station just in time and then ended up sitting there for an additional 30 minutes because the bus was late for who knows why. Italians have a tardiness issue. (Not that I don't also have that issue...) But we finally left and had to make a bus change in Grosseto. Well, since our bus was late we thought we had missed the connecting bus and were going to have to wait 2 hours. Luckily they put us on a different bus passing through Castiglione. All was well. The bus ride was beautiful and then we saw the ocean for the first time since being in Italy. 

Well, one thing led to the next and we ended up getting too excited and getting off at the wrong bus stop... 30 minutes before the one we were supposed to get off at. 2 hours walking distance. We were stuck in a little town that I don't even know the name of. We went into a bar (bars are different in Italy - it's a little eating place with scones, not just alcohol) and talked to the owner, hoping maybe they could help us figure out what to do. The next bus didn't come for 2 more hours. I swear Italians are the kindest and most hospitable people ever. He said he would let us use their private beach for free until our bus came. So thankfully we didn't waste any beach time and were finally on our way to Castiglione. Or so we thought. We got to the bus stop at 1:20 and the bus was supposed to come at 1:45... 2:00 comes rolling around and we still see no bus. Remember how I said Italians were always late? Well, finally the bus pulled around the corner and we were OFFICIALLY on our way. 

We reached Castiglione, this time asking the driver where to exit. And found the most beautiful little beach town set on a hillside surrounded by the walls of a castle overlooking the ocean. We spent a couple hours just chilling on the sand and it was perfect weather. We hung out, took pictures, waved off annoying vendors, and soaked up the sun. Then we went exploring around the town and got gelato. You could climb up the old castle steps and see a view out over the entire town and ocean. I have to say I caught my breathe a little. I think the ocean just may be more beautiful in Italy than anywhere else in the world.... But maybe that's just because it's Italy and I'm in love with that place. Castiglione is somewhere I definitely plan on going back to before I leave. And the best part is that it's not too touristy. Not as bad as Florence or Rome. It was just an easy-going little piece of heaven. 

Cats are everywhere in Italy. Today we saw one on our roof too. Oh and gelato is just as common :) 

The ride back held a few adventures of its own too. On the first bus I had to endure the creepy flattery of a short, fat Italian man while his smelly armpit sat way too close to my face. We were packed in and sadly I was in the aisle seat, the creepy little man standing next to me. I tried to ignore his stares for a while, but Italians are persistent. The only things I understood were, "you have beautiful eyes," "your teeth are so white and you have a bright smile," and "bellisima." Every time I would try and continue to read my novel he would come up with some other creepy line and then cackle in a very serial killer sort of way. Luckily the smelly little man had to get off at the next stop. 

But va bene! Castiglione was totally worth it :) 

Families are Forever and Everywhere

Siena seems to have a good grasp on what the word "family" should mean. The whole town is its own family! Each contrada (sections of the town divided into different teams) is its own family. And within contrade extended families gather often. These families are an important part of Sienese culture. And I love it. Tonight at dinner we had Anna's daughter in-law and two adorable granddaughters over and the kitchen seemed so full and alive with people. I want that to always be a part of my life. I love how wherever you go you will always find families. Even though cultures can be drastically different, families are part of every culture. I am so grateful that this universally important concept of the family lasts forever. 

Babies dressed up in their "drago" contrada outfits. 

The choosing of which teams will be in the Palio race in July. 

Culture With a Lowercase "c"

My professor started off our Italy prep class before we left by talking about culture with a capital "C" and culture with a lowercase "c." The capital "C" represents the history of Italy, museums, art, and the like. While the lowercase "c" represents the people, the food,  and just the ways a population lives their daily lives. I suspected this would be the case and it has definitely been confirmed that I love that lowercase "c" best. Don't get me wrong, my jaw definitely dropped as I rounded the corner and saw Michelangelo's awe-inspiring David or the massive Colosseum. But what I have come to love more than anything is the way that these Italians live day to day. Here are some of my favorite things about their culture that I so badly want to adopt as my own ---- >

1. Their laid back way of life: Italians don't try and keep this aspect of their lives a secret. It's pretty evident in the way they stroll down the road at a snail-pace like they don't have a care in the world. And in the way they make dinner an uninterrupted and lengthy event to enjoy with family. Italians understand what it means to live in the moment and take it all in. I have been one of those people in the past who rushes to get to the upcoming corner or next step in life. Italy has taught me a thing or two about not missing out on what I have right now in front of me for my hopes about the future.

2. The fact that they know how to throw a party: Being in public relations and interested in event planning, I have always loved to be where the people are. My friend Katy and I joke that we have FOMO (fear of missing out syndrome). After experiencing the liveliness of Italian culture, there is no question that we are kindred spirits, me and those Italians. I went to a carnival and it was 10 times better than carnivals in America. Catholic communions and Italian weddings always result in parties extending into the late hours of the night. And on the weekends here it will be one in the morning and the streets are still filled with people! I swear Italians never sleep! They just party. I envy their lives just a lot a bit.

3. Their sense of community: Within my public relations career path I have been especially interested in community relations and how people can come together to create a sense of belonging. I don't know what I want to do with this yet, but the Italians are definitely inspiring with their communities. They have these things called contradas where each section of Siena is split into one of the contradas, represented by an animal. My host family is chiocciola... which means snail... haha. Proud of it! Anyways, each contrada has their own church building and parties and babtistry and museum and the streets are decked with flags and emblems of their particular contrada. They are very proud of their little contrada community. In the palio, or horse race, that Siena holds in the middle of town every year, each contrada has a horse and jockey and competes. There are rivalries and a huge post-palio party put on by the victors. Everyone gets so into it, and their sense of community is so strong because they do things within their contrada to become more united. And although the rivalries may not necessarily cause unity within all of Siena, the event itself and hype is a way for people to participate in their town and have a sense of purpose and belonging within the community. Personally I think it's brilliant.

4. Their constantly classy appearances: It's no exaggeration that Italians wear ray bans, scarves, and look put-together at all hours of the day and night. There are so many guys walking around in European cut suits, especially in Rome. And I don't know how the girls walk around these cobble-stone streets with heels but they do it flawlessly. They also never wear shorts. And I am realizing as I see Americans walking around Italy with short shorts and pasty white legs that they can look pretty.. well... whatever the opposite of classy is. Italians have such a love for dressing up and going out and that is something I love to do. They don't need any special occasion, they just like to look well-groomed. I love it. These are my peeps right here.

5. Their appreciation of food: Spaghetti as the face of Italy may be a stereotype but it's a correct stereotype. Italians are very particular about what and even how to eat. One time I ate more bread after my last course of il dolce (sweets/fruit) and my host mom about had a heart-attack. "You're eating bread after your dessert?!!!"  Every time we try and eat our bread plain too she snatches it out of our hands and puts oil and salt on it and hands it back to us. They put dinner aside and take their time, appreciating every bite. And then after dinner they usually go out with friends for more coffee. They don't just eat pairs and eat cheese, they eat them together, and it tastes amazing. They are also cheese snobs. They won't settle for anything that is not stamped with the verification (literally) that it is good cheese. They are particular! But let's be honest, it's because Italians know best.

Florence?

What I am about to say may shock you.... buuuuut Florence.... meh... not all everyone says it's cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong, it's still Italy and most everything in Italy is beautiful, but compared to what I have seen it's not my favorite town. I expected it to be my favorite... but apart from the shopping it is just a smaller version of Rome. Of course, I didn't get to see a view of the city yet from a viewpoint so maybe I will change my mind next Friday when we go back. But in my opinion, Assisi, Rome, and Siena are all prettier and have more to offer.... apart from the shopping of course. Florence definitely takes the shopping cake. There is a giant market with toooons of leather. (I think I have found my new obsession) and scarves and jewelry and other random things. Plus, you can barter. Which is always fun. I tried to barter and only ended up taking it down 10 euros but hey! That's like a whole pizza... or 5 gelatos... which I could definitely consume in the span of one week. And may have done so already. But I finally bought my leather messenger bag I have been looking forward to for forever. And it wasn't as expensive as they are in America, aaaand it's genuine Italian leather. So it wins! But apart from the shopping... seriously... I would recommend doing Florence maybe one or two weekends but no more than that. Italy has other gems to offer.

This is the beloved bag. I only stared at it for an hour when I first bought it, don't worry. 

Italians Know How to Carnival

This weekend we went to a carnival in the middle of the fortezza and let me just tell you. Italians do it so much better. The food was nutella crepes instead of cold hot dogs, the swing ride had a game involved where you try to swing high enough to hit something they had hung, the bumper cars were faster and had fog machines, and the ferris wheel could fit four people per chair instead of two. Italians man... they know what's up. 

Ciao Mocha Babies

I don't know why but Italian children are about 20 times more adorable than American children. They all have these huge brown eyes with long lashes and dark curly hair. I don't consider myself a baby-hungry person, but in Italy maybe I am because every time I see one of those cute little things I just want to put them in my pocket and take them home with me! Not like kidnapping though... obviously.. Anyway, our host mom has a 6-year-old granddaughter named Vittoria (VEE-tor-ia... sounds much prettier said the Italian way) who we just met for the first time the other day. She came running into the kitchen yelling Ciao! And then came right up and put her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. She said "mi chiamo Vittoria" and was not shy at all with us. So cute!! And she has the best long curly brown hair that I hope all of my daughters have. She is probably my favorite Italian besides Cinzia and my host mom that I've met so far. I used to say I wanted a mocha baby but I didn't know what I was talking about! Italian babies take the cake. Guess my only option is to marry an Italian. Che peccato!!

My First Train Ride

I took my first train ride to Pisa. Yep, I've never been on a train before folks. But I loved it! I realized that I love train rides, airplane rides, car rides... I think it's safe to say that I just love traveling :) It never gets old! 

I Promise My English Self Is Not That Dumb

We have had some funny interactions with our host mom since we have been here. I absolutely love her! She is a cute 70-year-old lady who always says "ascolta" which means "listen" and then precedes to tell us a story. She checks up on us and does our laundry and cooks us wonderful Italian meals every night and tries to give us ten servings of each course. Honestly she reminds me a lot of my grandma Holdaway. Of course, that side of the family is Italian so maybe the loving force-feeding thing is in the blood. Well, I am not sure what her impression of me is so far based on a few instances....

Instance #1: The Laundry Mishap - On the first day we asked her where we could do our laundry and she came into our room and showed us where a laundry basket was to put our clothes in... well I thought she was then going to show us where the washer was so we could do our own laundry... wrong. We followed her into the kitchen and then she turned around and saw us behind her and was like what are you doing?! ... In Italian of course. Apparently she had said that she would do our laundry for us once we put it in the hamper... ya I didn't catch that. So we all started laughing and she was nice about it.

Instance #2: The Impossible Door - On the second day when we came home from our adventures in Siena we attempted to unlock the door. Italian doors are not the same as American doors, let's just say that. So we jiggled the key around for probably 5 minutes, determined to figure it out. Well, we didn't. So then we knocked for a while and nothing happened. Then all of a sudden Anna, our host mom, came to the window and poked her out, asking us what was wrong. She proceeded to attempt to instruct us on how to turn the key. She kept saying "in dietro" which I get mixed up with "destra." The first word means backwards and the second means to the right. So we kept turning the key to the right. Nah she meant to the left. Then Marcello our host dad was on the other side of the door trying to help us by turning some locks. There was a lot of noise and a lot of jumbling things around on both ends creating quite the scene. It took about 5 more minutes before we finally understood what they meant and got inside. They laughed for a good while about that one. Who needs TV when they have us?

These are only a few. I am sure there will be more entertaining interactions to come :)

Overwhelmed.

On Sunday after Assisi we finished the most beautiful bus ride I have ever been on in Siena, ready to move in with our host families. As soon as we got off the bus we were whisked away by our host parents who in our case didn't speak any English. We didn't even really get to say goodbye to the other people in our group. Then we got to our apartment and had to lift our giant suitcases up 3 flights of stairs. My fragile little 70-year-old host mom kept trying to help with some heavy stuff so I had to figure out how to stop her and speak in Italian at the same time. Then at dinner that night the food was amazing but I only understood about half of what my host parents said.... let's just say I was a bit overwhelmed. I think I came into my room after and just stared at the wall for like 30 minutes. My Italian skills are not where they should be. 

Fast forward a couple days and the overwhelmed feeling lessened with my host family but increased with a looming midterm. It just feels wrong to take a test while I'm in the most beautiful country in the world! Plus I hadn't been doing my readings so I had to catch up on those first and then study. Woke up at 7:30 am and worked all the way until 11 am. Then surprise! We had it sprung on us the night before that we were required to take a placement exam for the Dante Alighieri School classes we will be taking next week. It really wasn't that bad... but still a test. Sooo wrong. Let's just say I am glad today is over and that tomorrow we go to Florence. I have heard it has the best shopping in Italy :) 

Assisi: Possibly Even Better Than Rome

Just take a look at this for a sec. Yes, that's real life. I was shocked too, it's okay. 

Assisi is a tiny little town up in the hills of the Italian countryside. The streets are really old and narrow and lined with antique shops (and I thought I liked American antique shops!) You can hike above the town to find a beautiful castle and view of the green hills rolling out behind it. From now on when I dream at night this is where I will be. I've decided. My subconscious better respect that. 

One of the side streets in Assisi

We went to a restaurant for lunch called Ristorante Metastasio. Two of the guys in our group decided they wanted to take Cinzia, our director, out for mother's day. So we got a group together and splurged at this nice place that has a killer view over the countryside. Yes that picture is literally my view from where I sat for lunch. The food was amazing! I had the gnocchi which was the best gnocchi I have ever had. Olive Garden means nothing to me after this. But the really cool part about lunch was getting to hear Cinzia's conversion story and how her and her husband met. It was probably the most amazing conversion story I have ever heard. Since she probably wouldn't be comfortable with me sharing it to the world on here you should hunt her down on campus, become her best friend, and hear her story. She is an amazing lady and I am so grateful to have her to show me around Italy.  

Assisi wins. I don't know if any town can beat it.  

My Obsession With The Market

Yeah. It's bad. 

You get all the bread and fruit you want for a pretty cheap price at an adorable little market off the side of the street. Bread and fruit just happen to be my two favorite things in the world... I think I have found home!! Sorry Utah! 

Conversations

It's becoming more and more apparent to me that one of the spicess of life comes from our interactions with other people. So often I miss opportunities because of fear or my grumpy disposition and lack of desire to talk with those around me. Last week I had some experiences that although they took me out of my comfort zone, helped me to see the value in that.

Conversation #1: We got onto a bus in Rome and there were some little Italian boys probably about 10-13 years old. I heard them say a couple of English words that didn't really have any context and sounded like they were just reciting a few phrases they had learned. I don't know what possessed me to do this but I asked them in Italian if they spoke English and they said not much so I began to talk to them in Italian. I was terrible. But they were really nice and we could still find a way to interact. Although it was slightly painful to be shown up by youngsters it was humbling and fueled my desire to keep practicing.

Conversation #2: We met some Italian boys around our age at a YSA dance in a Roman ward. One of my friends and I worked up the courage to start a conversation in Italian and although I again was really terrible at it, it was fun to find a way to interact with them. It elated us for some reason, just being able to prove to ourselves that we could do it. The dance became a lot more fun because of our interactions with those around us.

Conversation #3: We were sitting in a park one day at the Villa Borghese, relaxing while some people in our group sang and played the ukulele. They have got some serious talent which is also humbling because I've got none of that. Nada. Anyway, we started a conversation with some American girls who were sitting nearby us and learned that they were backpacking around Europe and were staying in a hostel nearby. They had all done a lot of travelling in their lives and experienced a lot of different cultures. One of the girls is in marketing and talked about how she works for the music industry. She even got to drive home the band O.A.R. from one of their shows and they invited her to a party later that night. Unreal. It was interesting to hear about the lives of those that are so different from my own, especially because they are not part of the same religion that I am. It made the interaction all the more better because I got to learn and connect with diverse people. And hopefully I made a contact that could give me some tips on working in the music industry for PR.

So many people got in my head before I left for Europe, saying I would get taken and needed to watch my every move and hide my money. I scared myself into a paralyzed silence. But silence really doesn't get you anywhere in life. And yes I still believe in being careful, but interactions with others are too valuable to be passed up for fear of harming oneself.

When In Rome

They say if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder you will come back some day. I did it twice :). Ti vedrò di nuovo giorno a Roma! 

Italian Tinder

I always swore I never would but... when in Rome... Tinder Italian boys!!

My roommates and I started Tinder accounts specifically for this trip to chat with Italian ragazzi but I promise it will be deleted the moment I reach the states! For now it has been highly entertaining. The names are probably the best part because I am matching with Guidos and Lorenzos and other exotic creatures. My roommate matched with a guy named Lorenzo who mentioned that he works at the Vatican. Well, lucky us! We hit the Vatican this Friday. We just might have a Lorenzo sighting take place and if we do... possiamo avere una foto? Con un bacio? But just on the cheek! Probably. A couple of guys have asked to meet me for gelato and things like that but of course I'm not going to cross that line. I know meeting them could be dangerous. But no harm in having a little fun talking to them right? Let's keep this whole Tinder thing on the DL though huh? I don't want my Tinderless rep ruined...

Oh Those Streets of Rome...

I love sight seeing... but I think I have decided that my favorite part of Rome is just walking the streets with friends and having our own mini-adventures. Here are some we have had so far... 

This gelato thing is getting out of hand... some of the best gelato I have had is at Della Palma and Giolitti.

These are some postcards we found of famous Roman art, only there are hilarious conversation bubbles in the pictures that, in my opinion, just enhance the art's beauty. 

We found an open air market in Camp de Fiori and ate our delicious focaccia bread sandwhiches in the middle of the piazza surrounded by fresh fruit stands and street vendors. 

Favorite Sights So Far

THE COLOSSEUM 

This thing is so much bigger than you would expect it to be! And it just sits right in the middle of the city. Jaw may have dropped a little bit when I first saw it. 

TREVI FOUNTAIN

They say if you throw a coin in you will come back to Rome one day. Looks like I'm coming back :) 

THE SPANISH STEPS 

Not really sure why they call them Spanish steps... in the middle of Italy. But hey! They are a good place to sit down and eat gelato. 

MICHELANGELO'S MOSES 

Although Bernini's statues that we saw in the Villa Borghese were my favorite, we weren't allowed to take any pictures in there. So although "Apollo and Daphne" and "Rape of Persephone" were my favorite Bernini statues, Michelangelo's Moses was pretty amazing too. 

MUSEO VORAGINI 

This museum was the saddest sight we went to was definitely this museum. Whenever I think WWII I only think of the Jews and the terrible fate that befell them. But the Nazis had control in many more countries than I realized. Their effects left in Rome were just as painful as anywhere else. These graves had pictures of the faces of the people who died at the hand of the Nazis here in Rome. It made it a lot more real. 

Two Dangerous Addictions.

#1: Gelato. American ice-cream will never taste good again. 

#2: Zara. Like a classier H&M. Need I say more? 

Getting There. Wouldn't Think It Would Be That Hard Right?

The adventures I took to get to Italy were surprisingly many ---->

Adventure #1: First flight to JFK - I sat down on my first flight and settled in next to the window seat. Head phones in, magazine out. A nice looking Columbian woman sat down next to me. So I thought everything was normal until she started to cry. There were audible sniffles to my left and while half of me didn't want to disturb her the other half couldn't stop imagining all of the reasons why she could be crying. Maybe her boyfriend dumped her and she got kicked out, or maybe she got fired from her American job or was being deported. It got more creative the longer I stalled. So finally we struck up a conversation and I got to find out the real story. She was from Columbia and came to Utah to be with her boyfriend. However, she owns a natural foods store in Columbia and is a fitness model and had to head back to Columbia for a while to work on her business and visit her 15-year-old son. She was a very interesting person to talk to although her English was broken. At one point we began talking about God and what we each believed. Well, turns out she is basically a Mormon but just doesn't believe in practiced religion. I was shocked to find out how similar our beliefs were on almost every subject. It was such a cool experience to be able to tell her what I believe and find common ground with someone outside of the Utah bubble. As we left the plane she kissed me on both cheeks and said she was happy she met me because it helped her forget how sad she was. I am so glad I finally talked to this woman and got the opportunity to meet someone so different and yet so similar to myself. I told her if she ever brought her business to Utah I would definitely buy. So I got her card. Who knows?! Maybe I will send her a missionary's phone number :).

Adventure #2: Almost missing my connection flight - My first flight landed at 3pm. My connection flight started boarding at 3pm.... yep... I basically ran through the JFK airport which is HUGE and way too confusing for an inexperienced traveler like myself. So I ended up asking for directions from a person on every corner until I finally found my terminal. I reached the international desk and when they saw my flight number the workers made a very unsatisfactory noise that made my stomach hurt. I realized being stuck in the New York airport for hours did not sound like my cup of tea. They ended up escorting me through security with another couple that was late and we raced through the portals until we finally reached our plane 10 minutes before the flight took off. As I walked onto the plane, exhausted, my stress quickly fled as I looked around. There were so many of them! And they were all Italian and spoke the beautiful language and looked so classy and the flight attendants even smelled good, like the perfume Cinzia sprayed around the first day of class claiming that's what the streets of Italy smell like. Yeah. She was right. I was suddenly okay. But then as I went to take my seat I saw that an Asian man and his wife occupied my window seat and the middle seat next to it. I tried to explain to him that he was in my seat but he kept pointing to "A" as the isle seat. Yeah, it wasn't. But I decided to let it slide. I had the window on my first flight after all. Well, as soon as I was finally about to doze off I heard an unpleasantly high voice say, "I go bathroom!" right in my left ear. That little Asian woman literally went 20 times and chose the exact moment I kept almost falling asleep to do it. I got up so many times, fully aware that if I'd battled for my window seat this wouldn't have happened. But oh well. Italy was coming soon :)

Adventure #3: Italian church meeting - So once I got to Italy, one of the guys in my group came and picked me up at the airport, thank goodness! Or else there is probably no way I could have gotten to the hotel by myself. I'm directionally challenged as it is. But on the way to our hotel we stopped at a Roman LDS ward of some people that he knows. Well. This church just happened to be up 3 huge hills and the sun was really coming down on us. Not to mention I wore all of my heavy clothing so as not to take up room in my suitcase. Ya I wasn't feeling too friendly towards church at this point. I showed up, sweaty and lugging my leopard print suitcase behind me that I've had since Jr. High. Let's just say I got a couple of stares. But church turned out to be pretty good! I understood maybe 1/3 of what was said so that's good right? My favorite part was the senile old people. My friend said there is at least one of these in every church in Italy. This little old man not only made hilarious arbitrary comments in Sunday school, but during fast and testimony meeting he stood up to bear his testimony and sat on the stands, waiting his turn. Then in the middle of the person's testimony before him, he decided to stand back up and wander down the isles, talking to people along the way rather than bear his testimony after all. I laughed so hard I almost cried. I think I'm gonna like this place.