It was our first full day at Casa Cares and we received a wealth of information.  We started with a lecture by Dr. Paul Krieg on some history of Europe, Italy, and then some regions of Italy.  He also talked a great deal about the Tuscany area.  This lecture was followed by a tour of Casa Cares.  From first glance the villa looks bigger than larger American homes, once the tour began we realized exactly how big the house actually is and it is enormous!  We were led into a basement which actually contain to lower levels.  The house has large barrels were wine can be stored, a chapel, theatre, and many guest rooms.  The house is built on top of a mountain which means it can spread as far as the mind can imagine and that is exactly what they have done in Casa Cares.  The next lecture of the day was with Nancy Bailey, an American school teacher in Italy.  She told us about the Italian education system and what it entails.  One very surprising note is that at the age of 13 Italian students must decide their career path!  The final lecture was with Dr. Pat Thomas.  This lecture was more of a reflection on what was to come in our lives.  The nice thing was the lecture was held outside in the warm sun and beautiful Tuscan scenery.  Our goal was to go through a personal inventory on Personal Wellness.  We each had the opportunity to venture out on our own and reflect on several aspects of our lives and decide if it contributes to our health.  First day was great, many more to come with a visit to Lucca and Pisa tomorrow! - Danny V.