Entry 12: November 23, 2010

“Stay-cation”

This past weekend was our last travel break of the semester. We had been stressing out about where to go because we couldn’t think of a place we wished to see off of the top of our heads. Many of us are also staying for at least a week after classes end, so we knew that we will be travelling a lot during that time as well. Last Monday, on our way to our elementary schools, Janna and I had a mini-revelation: we really just wanted to stay in Sansepolcro. The fact of the matter is, Sansepolcro has become a second home to all of us, and we don’t have much time left to enjoy it. Plus, our lives here in Italy have been filled with homework and travel, and I am finding that, while I like to be busy, the constant action is making time go by way too quickly. So this past weekend, Janna, Emma, Molly, and I decided that we wanted to slow down a little, stay in Sansepolcro, and take day trips instead.

The last time we went to Perugia, it was during Eurochocolate, which was really fun but also incredibly chaotic. We decided we wanted to visit the city when the streets weren’t crowded with people, booths, and chocolate. And since it was a mere hour and a half local train ride, we decided that Friday was the perfect day to go!

Perugia is the capital city of Umbria, Tuscany’s neighboring region. The symbol of the city is the griffin, which we saw on plaques, statues, and buildings all over the city. Perugia is a notable artistic center of Italy. Many famous painters and architects such as Pietro Vannucci, Raphael, Pinturicchio, and Galeazzo Alessi came from and spent time in Perugia.

We mainly wandered around the city, taking in the sights that had been covered up by Eurochocolate. We sat for a long time in front of the beautiful Fontana Maggiore. We also met some Italian friends that we had met on Halloween for lunch. I love eating with Italians because I can listen to them converse. I enjoy seeing the looks on their faces when they realize we can understand bits and pieces of their conversation.

On Saturday, we decided to go to Pisa. I just couldn’t leave Italy without getting my picture with the tower! We arrived to find that there wasn’t much in Pisa except for its famous leaning tower, but the city, itself, was very beautiful. The moment we saw the tower was very exciting. There is something thrilling about seeing something that is so Italy. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, or la torre di Pisa, is a free-standing bell tower of Pisa’s cathedral. It is right behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa’s Cathedral Square. Construction of the tower began on August 8, 1173 and was divided up into three stages, lasting 177 years. The tower began to sink due to an unstable foundation once the third floor was completed in 1178. Construction paused because Pisa was continually engaged in battle. This pause allowed the soil to settle, thus saving the tower. Construction resumed in 1272 but halted again in 1284. The seventh floor was completed in 1319 by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, and the bell-chamber was added in 1372.

Luckily, the threatening rain held off long enough for us to take many pictures in all different kinds of poses. I think it is funny that we took this entire day trip just to take pictures, but, looking at them now, it was definitely worth it!

We stayed in our beloved Sansepolcro on Sunday. It was great to just have a day of rest (especially since we had danced into the wee hours of the morning at the discotecca the night before). The rain came with a vengeance, but I found it to have a calming effect. I had been a bit worried that I would regret not taking a trip over the weekend, but I found myself not regretting my decision to have a “stay-cation” at all!  
 
Entry 11: November 15, 2010

The Art of Imperfect Communication

I don’t believe that I am a perfectionist in any sense of the word, but when it comes to foreign language, I feel a need to be able to say everything perfectly, and, if I can’t, I tend to not say anything at all. This has always been the case for me in my Spanish classes, and has also proven true for Italian. It is sometimes frustrating because I feel as though I really do understand the language enough to be able to carry on a simple conversation; my nerves just interfere with my communication.

Something I have noticed about many Italians is that once they learn that I am American, they want to practice their English. One would think I would be happy about this, but I really want to say “No! Speak to me in Italian!” Will Italian be as useful to me as perhaps my Spanish will? Probably not— but now that I have lived here for almost an entire semester, I have developed a very strong desire to become fluent. I actually find myself to be extremely jealous whenever I hear Italians talking amongst themselves. I find myself even more jealous when I hear Italians my age and younger go back and forth between Italian and almost-perfect to perfect English. It makes me want to be bilingual so badly. And on a side note, I just want to add how impressed I am with the emphasis that is placed on learning a foreign language in the Italian schools. For example, my first graders are learning English while they are still learning their own language. I wish I had gotten that kind of language education when I was six years old.

I received a chance to practice my conversational Italian last Thursday night when Meredith Hyatt and I went to have dinner with an Italian family. Our “host-mother”, Cinzia, picked us up, and we were off! She knew very good English, but spoke to us mostly in Italian. I understood her for the most part, and was even able to say a few things, myself. She said that her family, along with several others, collectively decided to build their houses in a beautiful, rural area outside of the city of Anghiari. It was dark, so she described the area that we were driving through. Being so far into the country, we could really see the stars. They were insanely beautiful— I didn’t realize how much I had missed seeing them. We arrived at her house and met her son, Lorenzo, and daughter, Camilla, who are both in high school. One of their family friends and her daughter were there as well. We were a little timid at first, but once we started eating, the conversation started slowly flowing. Lorenzo also spoke very good English, and, like many of the Italians wanted to practice his English with us, but we developed a communication system of sorts– he would say something in English and we would respond in Italian. That way we all got to practice!

My proudest moment of the night definitely had to be when I asked Cinzia “Quando sei andata a India?” (When did you go to India?) She had been talking about a trip that she had taken to India, and the question just rolled off of my tongue! I took myself by surprise! We had just recently learned the past tense in class. I usually require a moment’s pause to make sure I am using the right verb and conjugating everything correctly, but something seemed to click automatically in my brain that enabled me to speak without thinking. It was a small question (and I’m not sure that I said it correctly), but I felt really proud of myself nonetheless!

Throughout the night, they were so complimentary of my Italian, despite the fact that my grammar was definitely not up to par. (This still irks me a bit because I know that if I had been writing everything I was saying, I would have gotten it all correct.) However, it really didn’t seem to matter, and I found myself not worrying about it too much. We were all able to communicate, and I realized how much Italian I actually do know. It gave me a small boost of confidence that I will hopefully be able to carry over into the rest of my time in Italy.

Today, Professoressa Nardi told us that we only have two more major concepts to cover in Italian before the semester is over. This made me genuinely sad—I know there is so much more Italian to be learned! I’ve really fallen in love with the language, and I hope to continue learning it (or at least keep up with what I know currently), even if I have to do so on my own!
 
Entry 10: November 9, 2010

Roman Holiday

After almost an entire semester in Italy, I finally went to Rome! We arrived without a hitch, which was an improvement from Verona and Venice. This was also our first time staying in a youth hostel, which, aside from the creepy-looking duvets, was actually pretty nice. Not wanting to do anything specific, we decided to explore our area of town. While wandering around aimlessly, we stumbled upon a film crew doing a scene with what looked like a crowd of extras outside of a hotel. It definitely wasn’t a news story— the cameraman kept doing the same pan repeatedly with the director yelling in rapid Italian behind him. It didn’t look like a huge production, but it was really interesting to watch nonetheless! We continued going in and out of many different stores until the day of travel caught up with us. We decided to turn in for the night, but not before a few loud and exciting rounds of Scopa, my new favorite Italian card game!

We began our Friday morning at the Pantheon. Starting during the Renaissance, the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Buried there are painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, composer Arcangelo Corelli, and architect Baldassare Peruzzi. Two kings of Italy, Vittorio Emanule II and Umberto I, are also buried there as well as Umberto’s wife, Margherita. Today, it is used for mass especially on important Catholic holidays.

After lunch, we went to the Vatican City, which we have been learning about in our Italy Today class. Italy became unified in the year 1861. However, the Pope refused to recognize it as a state claiming that the government was stealing from him. Because of this, he secluded himself in the Vatican. The Pope’s refusal to accept the new state was very distressing for the Italian population because they are a part of a Catholic country. This dilemma went on until 1929 when the government gave the Pope the Vatican State as his own territory.

It was absolutely beautiful! Our first stop was the Vatican museum, including, of course, the Sistine Chapel. It was amazing to finally be able to see this grand work of art that I have studied in many art classes. We went to Saint Peter’s Basilica in the evening, and, unbeknownst to us, made it just in time for mass! I was able to make out parts of the sermon, but what I really enjoyed listening to was the choir.

The next morning, we started our day at the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum is an area of Rome that is filled with the scattered ruins of shrines, government buildings, religious monuments, memorials, and various random statues of ancient times. It has been estimated that the Forum was the economic “hub” of Rome and was an area where citizens could gather for political, judicial, and religious rituals. The excavation of the Forum began in the late 18th century and still continues today along with restoration and preservation. It is absolutely huge! It took us the entire morning to walk around its entirety. Luckily, the weather was absolutely beautiful. I could definitely tell that we were in Southern Italy due to the warm weather.

Our next stop was the Colosseum. It has been and will forever be glorified in film as the stage of the extremely popular gladiatorial shows. They were, indeed, what the Colosseum was most famous for, but it hosted other types of events as well. Another popular show was a type of animal hunt called venatio. Animals such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, lions, panthers, bears, tigers, crocodiles, and ostriches were often imported from Africa and the Middle East. The floor of the Colosseum was also staged with movable trees and buildings for these battles and hunts. It is also speculated that it was also used to stimulate sea battles. There are accounts of the Colosseum being filled with water to show the skills of specially trained horses and bulls as well as to host reenactments of famous sea battles. Painters, technicians, and architects would also use the Colosseum to create simulations of nature for people to enjoy. These reproductions were sometimes used as backdrops for dramas as well. Occasionally, dramas were used as a form of execution; the hero of the story (who was to die at the end), would be played by a convicted person and they would be literally killed in front of the audience.
It was so surreal to be in the Colosseum because I’ve read so much about it and seen it in so many pictures, books, and movies. I loved how parts of the floor had been removed so that we could see the maze-like architecture that was underneath. I suppose it was used by the performers to get to opposite ends of the center. It was also incredible that only a small section of the actual seat were left. I guess that is indicative of the Colosseum’s age.

We decided to end the day at the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. The crowd at the Spanish Steps was stiflingly huge, so we soaked up some sun on the steps only for a few minutes before making our way through the shopping district. We saw high-end stores such as Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Cartier to name a few. All of the stores had stiffly dressed men guarding the doors who made me feel like I was committing a crime just by looking in the window. I really wanted to try going into one just to see if I would be allowed in, but decided against it. Instead, we went into something that was more in our price range— H&M.

After our brief shopping excursion, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain, which was so much bigger than I thought it would be. Like the Colosseum, I couldn’t believe that I was actually at a place that I have seen in numerous movies. After making our wishes and taking many pictures, we decided to take our extremely sore feet back to the hostel.

On Sunday, we wanted to go to the Catacombs before we left on our noon train. Unfortunately, once we got there, we discovered that they were closed on Sundays. I guess that is what we get for not double checking our guide books! We did find a very nice park to wander through as well as an old castle before catching the bus to get back to the metro.

Our Roman holiday was absolutely incredible! I could have easily spent an entire week there!
 
Entry 9: November 2, 2010

An Italian Halloween

I loved all holidays when I was little, but there was always something special about Halloween. I think it was that I could really express my creativity around Halloween. My costume would be planned out two months in advance so that I could coordinate with all of my friends. Halloween decorations went up on the first of October as I began to work on turning my room into a “haunted house”. Now, I see Halloween as more of a kick-off to the season of unhealthy eating- as it is closely followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas- but I will always have fond memories of it from my childhood.

However, I found some Halloween spirit about a week ago when I was at the elementary school. All three of my teachers asked me to prepare lessons about Halloween for the children. I made a power point of all kinds of fun Halloween pictures as well as different activities for them to complete. It was so funny to see all of children’s reactions to what I brought. Photos of Jack O’ Lanterns, ghosts, witches, and children in costumes seem so normal to me, but it was as if the students had never seen anything more exciting in their lives. The first graders, who are usually extremely good about remaining in their seats, were running enthusiastically up to my computer screen jabbering on in rapid Italian (which, I am happy to report, I am getting better at deciphering). Their excitement was definitely contagious and reminded me of how I used to feel around Halloween!

I also started noticing Halloween decorations in the store windows. I found this to be interesting as Halloween is a predominately American holiday. Until recently, Halloween was not an Italian festival, but celebrations have been rising in popularity. Children’s costume parties are held during the day while nightclubs, bars, and restaurants host special celebrations for youth and adults during the night. Many Italian cities hold night walks called “Urban Trekking” that include trips to medieval towers, crypts, dungeons, or castles. Participants are given a map of the city that gives them the starting point and time, places that they will be visiting, and the length of the walk. I don’t believe Sansepolcro hosted one of these treks, but I think it would definitely be a fun thing to do with a group of friends.

We decided to join in the festivities and host a Halloween party for the elementary school children. We began decorating the palazzo on Saturday with paper chains, pumpkin cutouts, spider webs, and ghosts; it looked amazing! (The inner nine-year old inside of me was extremely jealous.) We prepared activities and games, made food, and, of course, bought tons of candy! We had everything all planned out and under control.

Well, six o’clock Sunday evening rolled around and in poured an insane amount of children! I honestly did not think that many of them would come! I thought that parents wouldn’t want to take their children to some random palazzo for a Halloween party hosted by a bunch of college girls. Apparently I thought wrong. I believe the final count of children running around the palazzo was seventy-five, not including the parents who stayed. It was absolutely crazy, but I think everyone had a good time. “Candy Fishing” was the hit game of the night. I guess there is something really remarkable about tossing a string that is attached to a broom handle over a sheet only to pull it back to find a piece of candy at the end. However, chaotic though it was, I had a lot of fun just watching the kids be kids. Like when I was at the school, I was reminded how exciting even the simplest of holidays can be!
 
Entry 8: Wednesday, October 27, 2010
 
Val d’Orcia

I have been in Italy for about two months now, and, while its beauty has never failed to make an impression on me, I feel as though I had grown so accustomed to it that it didn’t hit me as hard as it did when I first got here. In fact, I feel as though I had become so acclimated to being in Italy that I forgot that I was in fact, in Italy. Well, the past weekend in Val d’Orcia served as a potent reminder of the lovely country I am in as I found myself, once more, awestruck by the view from where I sat in the back of the bus. I suppose it was because I was actually able to sit back and stare at it for a while.

Having read War in Val d’Orcia in my English class, it would have been silly of us not to visit La Foce, home of the author, Iris Origo. It was originally built as a wayside tavern, but eventually ended up belonging to the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. In 1924, Iris Origo and her husband, Antonio, bought it and made it their home. It was very peaceful there. I had a hard time imaging that this quiet, tranquil place had been overshadowed by war and violence. The hills, which I’m sure were helpful pieces of geography during World War II, especially served as objects of admiration and beauty.

I will be honest. We did not do anything really educational in Montepulciano, but we still enjoyed ourselves immensely. Interestingly enough, parts of the second installment of the pop-culture phenomenon known as Twilight were filmed in Montepulciano. We had a great time trying to figure out where the locations were and what parts of which buildings were shown in the film. I couldn’t believe that this random little town had been the sight of one of the past years highest-grossing films. This sparked my curiosity, so I decided to do some light research. As it turns outs, Academy Award winning films such as The English Patient La Vita è Bella and The Gladiator, as well as Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, were all filmed in parts of Val d’Orcia. Under the Tuscan Sun was also filmed in Val d’Orcia because of the region’s extraordinary natural beauty.

Before stopping for the day, we spent about a half hour in Montisi. It was a really sweet, quiet town except for the occasional cat or child darting across the streets. It was a quick run-through, but I was able to get some gorgeous pictures of the slowly rising moon.

We arrived at our monastery weary from a day of travel. It was very charming despite having no heat. My favorite part had to be the courtyard. It was covered in short, soft grass, and there was a fish pond as well as the perfect climbing tree. We all ran around like little girls doing cartwheels and round-offs before collapsing on the grass to stare at the stars for a bit before dinner. At dinner, I sat next to our bus driver, Emmanuelle, and carried on a fairly decent conversation in Italian. He later taught us SCOPA— an Italian card game that we were only slightly familiar with— which we played well into the night.

Saturday began at eight in the morning with breakfast and some time to take pictures of the aforementioned courtyard before we started our day of travelling. (We wasted no time in scaling that tree.) Our first stop was the Abbazia di Sant’Antimo. Commissioned in 770 by the Lombards, what was to be the Benedictine Abbey that we know today was originally intended to be a place of rest for pilgrims making their way to Rome. In 814, in was declared an imperial abbey by Louis the Pious only to later be referred to as a Palatine Court. After a donation made by Berardo degli Ardengheschi, construction began on the church, but was stopped by the mid-12th century as people began focusing their attention on other things. After some attempts to finish it, the abbey began to fall into ruin until the 1870s when the Italian state decided to restore it. It was truly beautiful, but I must say I believe that what I will remember most vividly from the Abbey was meeting a little English toddler named Rufus. Blonde curls, big blue eyes, British accent— this kid was the epitome of cute. We were admiring the olive trees outside of the church when he approached us with the boldness that only a two-year-old could have. I dusted off my babysitting skills and ran around with him for awhile. His parents were taking him and his little brother, Freddie, to Sardinia and were travelling through Italy on their way there. I thought it was great that they were exposing their children to such adventures! 

Next, we went to Bagno Vignoni, which is famous for its hot springs. At the heart of the town is the “square of sources”, which is a 16th century tank that contains the original source of water that comes from underground volcanic origins. Apparently, Bagno Vignoni was a popular vacation spot for distinguished historical figures such as Pope Lius II, Santa Caterina da Siena, and Lorenzo the Magnificent. We didn’t get to test these glorious thermal waters, but we did dip our feet into some of the rivulets of water!   

I experienced my first wine-tasting in Montalcino. It is known for Brunello (which roughly translates to “nice dark one”) di Montalcino, a fine red wine that is produced in the vineyards that surround the town. We learned that it was awarded the first Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita designation in 1980 and is known today as one of Italy’s best and most expensive wines. I also found myself wandering into a church before we left. I sat down and read one of the hymnals for a good ten minutes, surprising myself with how much I was able to understand.

Pienza was our last stop of the day. It was yet another gorgeous city. After a day of touring the region, all we really wanted to do was sit down, have a coffee, and people-watch, so that is exactly what we did. We caught a glimpse of some architecture students from Penn State that we had been told were staying in the same monastery as us. We returned to the monastery for some more rousing games of SCOPA with Emmanuelle. Some of the Penn State students joined us, and we all played several different Italian, American, and Russian card games. I ended up going to bed much later than I should have, but it was well worth it!   

Buonconvento was where we began our Sunday. We visited a museum that was all about the lives of Italian farmers. The amount of work that they all had to do was incredible, but despite the labor-intensive nature of their jobs, they still managed to look like they were satisfied with their lives. I was again pleasantly surprised with the amount of reading I was able to do while in the museum. I feel as though I was able to get a lot more out of the museum than I would have if I had come at the beginning of the semester.
 
We finished out the weekend in Siena. After having lunch on the ground of the Piazza del Campo, we went to the Cathedral, which, to my delight, had an uncanny resemblance to the grand Cathedral in Florence. We also visited a crypt that contained perfectly preserved frescos. Because there was strict temperature control and no sunlight, the colors of the frescos were bright and vivid. It made me think about frescos in a whole new light. All semester I had been thinking that they all were painted with muted, duller colors, but I suppose I was wrong. It makes me want to look at all of the frescos I have seen again just so I can imagine what they would look like with the brighter colors that they probably once had. We also went to a lovely sculpture museum that included climbing to the Panorama of the Cathedral— a long ledge that overlooks the city. We finished out the trip with some big scoops of gelato (the gelato shops will be closing soon!) before piling back onto the bus for the scenic ride back to Sansepolcro.

I recently came to the sad realization that I have passed the half-way mark of my semester in Italy. This weekend in the lovely Val d’Orcia reminded me to absorb as much of Italy as possible in the time I have left!

So Much Chocolate… So Little Time

Travel Journal #7

Monday, October 18, 2010
A couple of weeks ago, our Italian professor gave us a newspaper article so that we could practice reading and translating the Italian language. Before I even had a chance to really delve into the article, my eyes caught one word- cioccolato. It turns out that the article was highlighting an annual chocolate festival held in the city of Perugia each year. That was all the information I needed to convince me to go!

Since 1993, Perugia has been the location of EuroChocolate, one of the largest chocolate festivals in Europe. It brings in over one million tourists and Italian natives each year. It lasts for nine days and covers most of the main piazzas and streets of the city- Piazza Italia, Piazza della Repubblica, Corso Vannucci, Via Mazzini, Via Fani, The Terrace of the Covered Market, and Piazza IV Novembre. The focus is mainly on local and regional chocolate producers, but the festival also celebrates the history of chocolate and the origins of the cacao bean. Perugina, Perugia’s powerhouse chocolate company and maker of the famous Bacio chocolates, has a museum that includes guided tours of their factory. Visitors can also sign up for half-day classes at Perugina’s Scuola del Cioccolato where they can learn how to create unique chocolate concoctions. I imagine these classes would make for a good, impromptu language course as well: they are only offered in Italian! 

But quality cocoa education aside, what everyone was mainly interested in was getting their hands on as much chocolate as possible! There were bars, truffles, and chocolate shapes of all kinds. The smell of crepes, churros, and chocolate kebabs (topped with chocolate shavings and whipped cream) wafted through the air. We saw many different kinds of fruit and nuts covered in dark, milk, and white chocolate. There was even chocolate pasta! Not wanting to make ourselves sick within the first ten minutes of being there, we wandered aimlessly up and down the streets observing all of the booths before we began to make purchasing decisions. My first buy of the day was a big, Nutella-filled crepe, which served as my lunch. We got to watch the people manning the booth make our crepes right in front of our eyes; it was so hot and fresh that it practically melted in my mouth. We then made a beeline for a clear bin of assorted mini chocolate bars with all kinds of fun toppings on them- strawberries, raspberries, pistachios, and coffee beans to name a few. We also got very excited over gigantic orange peels that were dipped in dark chocolate.

There was entertainment as well as food. People dressed as huge chocolate bars waltzed up and down the streets stopping to take pictures and promote their company. Several bands were scheduled to play throughout the day. There were even some typical fair rides! (Just a Ferris wheel and some small swings, though. I think the people who organize this event probably realize that mixing intense fair rides with chocolate isn’t a good idea!) And when we needed a break from chocolate, there were plenty of shops to browse through.

Oddly enough, we took up bike riding this past weekend as well. I guess all of the chocolate inspired more physical activity? Anyway, there is a beautiful rode just outside the walls of Sansepolcro that is perfect for running and biking. It winds through the countryside and right in between two rows of foothills. I really enjoy being out there because apart from a few cars (going extremely fast, I might add), the road is practically empty. Today was a particularly beautiful day. We had about two hours between lunch and our English class, so we decided to seize the opportunity and get outside. It was chilly, but the sun was shining with full force, so being out of doors actually felt really nice. I definitely plan on keeping up with this activity!
Until next time!
Ciao!     
 

Entry 6: October 12, 2010

From A to Zed

This week we began our service learning projects. We are working in local schools to help teach in the English classes. The Italian school system can begin at age three with kindergarten. This is the equivalent to preschool in the United States, and, like the United States, is not required. At age five or six children begin primary school. There are two types of primary schools- part-time and full-time. Part-time schools are in session Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Part-time school kids only have one teacher, and they go home for lunch. Full-time schools are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is a morning teacher and an afternoon teacher at the full-time schools, and all kids eat their lunches during the school day. After primary school, kids start secondary school around age eleven. Secondary school is divided into middle school and high school. These classes are in session Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. In middle school, kids continue to learn both English and French. At the end of their third year, the students take exams and write several papers that determine if they can move on to the high schools. The high schools are specialized. Around Sansepolcro, there are six high schools- a science and linguistics school, a communication school, an economics school, an art school, a classical school, and a technical school. After they have passed their exams around the age of fourteen, students choose which school they wish to attend. They go the high school for five years, and then they can go to a university.

The fates must have sensed my previous babysitting experience because I was placed in one of the elementary schools. I met with my teachers a week before I started, and they told me what kind of activities to prepare. On Monday morning, I arrived at the school and went to the front desk, thinking that whoever was there would know what I was supposed to do. Of course, the first lady I ran into had no idea who I was or why I was there. I started searching my bag for the paper that my teachers had signed in hopes that she might recognize the names, but I couldn’t find it. I was starting to inwardly freak out a bit, but I guess the lady figured out my purpose because she took me around until she found where I was supposed to be.

Any feelings of being flustered disappeared when I walked into the first class. The entire class recited while giggling “Good morning! What is your name?” They also asked their teacher if they could sing the alphabet for me. I thought that was the sweetest thing in the world! I introduced myself, and then I helped them with the assignment they were working on before I came in. They were doing a connect-the-dot with the letters of the alphabet. I called out the letters that they were to draw a line to so that they could hear my pronunciation. (Although, they were really confused when I said the letter z. Apparently, they learn to pronounce the letter z as zed instead of zee, which I thought was interesting.) I then gave them my activity that I had prepared for the day- alphabet BINGO! They had to cut the letters and glue them to the BINGO board in any way that they wanted to. I was worried that they wouldn’t understand or that it would take too long, but, luckily, it was a success! I think the kids really got into it- especially when the teacher said that the winners would receive a prize next week.

The next class was with nine and ten-year-olds. I was more in charge of that class rather than just helping, which was new for me, but I think I did a good job. This class is learning about flags and geography, so I had them color an American flag. Several girls sat around me at snack time. I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I told them that I liked all their shoes. (Which was the truth- all these kids have the cutest clothes!) Hopefully they thought that was cool. After snack, my teacher actually switched to another class of nine and ten-year-olds. I had them do the same activity. This class was a lot more talkative than the first one. They asked me all kinds of questions. They also told me a lot about themselves. I actually couldn’t believe how well they spoke. I started learning Spanish when I was in elementary school, and the amount of English that they know far surpasses the amount of Spanish that I knew at their age. And apparently they are learning French too! I guess that makes sense since so many languages are spoken in such close proximity here, but I was very impressed nonetheless. Knowing their comprehension level of English will really help me in creating future lessons.

My last class was with five and six-year-olds. They were absolutely precious! However, the activity I had planned about color ended up being too difficult. I guess I don’t really remember what I knew and didn’t know when I was in the first grade. Plus, they are still learning their own language while trying to learn a foreign one. Regardless, I was caught off-guard because I didn’t have a back-up plan. With the help of the teacher, we ended up modifying my color activity a bit, so hopefully the day wasn’t a complete waste. Apparently some of the kids were saying that they liked me, so I’m guessing my lack of teaching ability didn’t faze them too much. They were also very enthusiastic about being able to say “BYE!” to me when I left. I thought that was really cute. Next week, I’m supposed to prepare something for Halloween, and I know exactly what I’m going to have them do. I’m going to try to find a way to explain the American tradition of pumpkin-carving, and then we are going to make paper Jack-O-Lanterns! I’m actually really excited about it. Hopefully, it will work out!
Overall, it was a good morning! I actually think they may help me with my Italian as much as I help them with their English. I think this is going to be a really fun service project!
Until next time,
Ciao!

Entry 5: October 5, 2010
Planes, Trains, and… Vaporettis

After feeling like I had been shut away in the palazzo writing papers and whatnot, this past weekend’s travel break to Verona and Venice could not have come sooner.

We bought our train tickets (in Italian), found our binario (train line), got ourselves to Bologna where we had a short layover, and checked the arrival chart for the time and binario of our train to Verona all by ourselves. Feeling rather accomplished already, we sauntered confidently to a bench to enjoy our bag lunches while we waited. The time came for our train to arrive, but there was no train in sight. Well, we figured that was ok- trains are late all of the time. Five minutes pass- no train. Ten minutes pass- still no train. Fifteen minutes pass- train! But upon looking up at the board, we discovered that this train was headed to Milano and was in no way going through Verona. Confused, we ran to the arrival chart. Maybe we had misread our train’s binario. The chart said binario two just like we thought it had, but upon a closer inspection, we saw the word OVEST underneath the number. Well, that didn’t help us much, so we decided to check with the Information Desk to see what was going on. We told the man at the desk that the Verona train never came, to which he replied that it certainly had come. Deciding not to fight that piece of information, we asked when the next train was arriving.

“Four and ten.”

In our slightly panicked minds, this could have meant many things. Forty (four and ten) minutes? In four hours in ten minutes? Actually at 4:10? So we asked again, to which he repeated:

“FOUR AND TEN!”

Well, now we were on his bad side, so we decided to ponder this disappearing train on our own. By this time, the bathroom was becoming necessary, so we began that search as well, and what should we stumble upon? None other than a huge sign that says OVEST! It was like we had stumbled into a completely different train station! As it turns out, ovest means west, so any train that said ovest underneath its binario was a train that was just going in one direction instead of passing through the station. Because of this, it was put on a different track. Who knew? Of course, by that time, our original train was long gone and we were laughing hysterically at our silliness. Two hours, one McDonald’s trip, and a Kinder candy bar later, we were finally on our way to Verona! Needless to say, I will always remember the word ovest. However, our train troubles weren’t quite over yet.

Verona was beautiful (I have yet to see an Italian city that isn’t). Our main priority was to see Juliet’s “house” and stick our letters that we had written to her on the wall (yes, we were inspired by the movie Letters to Juliet). Leisurely we strolled through the city, admiring the pretty buildings, and when we found Juliet’s house, we took our time taking pictures and posing with the statue. When we actually thought to take note of the time, we realized that we had thirty minutes to get back to the station (a thirty to forty minutes walk), get our bags that we had checked, and buy tickets in order to catch the last train to Venice. We stuck our letters to the wall with Emma’s half-chewed gum and began our epic sprint to the train station. Thankfully, with some meticulous planning while running, we made our train. Ecstatic about our success, Janna and I serenaded Emma and Brianna while listening to my iPod throughout most of the two hour train ride not particularly caring about who else was in the car.

I have heard many things about Venice, none of which are particularly pleasant. I’ve heard that it is smelly, dark, depressing, and that a substantial percentage of people go to Venice just to commit suicide. I am happy to say that it took me all of five seconds on Venetian ground to realize that this was not how I felt at all. Even at eleven o’clock at night, this city was beautiful. The canals and bridges are huge- much bigger than I expected! The buildings were lit up and glittered across the water. I suppose I could see why some people wouldn’t like the fishy, sea smell, but, being partial to seafood, I loved it! But my absolute favorite thing about Venice was already the boats. Even in the dark, I could make out their sleek forms bobbing up and down in the water. Speed boats, taxi boats, sail boats, and, of course, gondolas were all over the place with beautiful Italian names written at their sterns in lovely script. We got our water bus passes for the weekend so that we could use the Vaporetti as many times as we wanted to (something that would quickly become my favorite pastime), found our hotel as quickly as possible, and collapsed on our beds, almost immediately falling asleep.

Unlike Florence, we didn’t really have any set plan for the weekend. We decided to go to Saint Mark’s square to see the Basilica. While it didn’t quite knock the wind out of me with its beauty like the Duomo in Florence did, it was still a glorious building. I have decided that construction must have been the most dangerous profession ever. I can’t even imagine constructing most of these impressive buildings without the technology of today. The exterior is dived into three “registers”: lower, upper, and domes. The lower register includes five arched portals, each covered with paintings and surrounded by marble columns. Bronze doors lead into the Narthex. The sanctuary is covered in mosaics of various Biblical and mythological characters and stories, Latin phrases scattered across the walls.

We could walk around the church as well as climb up to the balcony. Between this and Florence’s Duomo, I have decided that I really enjoy climbing old buildings, and I have decided to make it my goal to find one to climb in every major city that I visit. The architecture of the Basilica was gorgeous up close, and the view of the canal was awe inspiring.
After wandering around for several hours, we decided to visit the Guggenheim museum. I have to say, I love Renaissance art, but it was refreshing to see some weird, modern art for a change. Peggy Guggenheim was a famous American art collector in the 20th century. This museum is located on the Grand Canal in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Peggy Guggenheim’s actual home. She had such an eye for art and what pieces looked good with each other. She truly created a fantastical world unlike any museum I have ever seen with her whimsical collection.

The rest of our time was spent just experiencing Venice. We ate dinner at a charming hole in the wall that was filled with local Italians, peaked into the windows of beautiful glass shops, and bought chocolate-covered orange peels to eat on the Vapporetti as we watched Venice nightlife from the canal. I remained enthralled with all of the boats, and I was quite surprised to see people kayaking on the canal. We didn’t have time to do it, but I’ve added it to my bucket list! We spent Sunday trying to determine which Venetian glass shops were the most authentic, which was actually much more difficult than we had thought it would be. Unfortunately, the cheapest train was around lunchtime, so we couldn’t be out and about for too long, but despite that (as well as all of the travel drama), it was an extremely fulfilling weekend that I had a difficult time letting go of.

Entry 4: September 28, 2010

Run, Ragazza, Run!
Back home I can hardly go two days without a good run or I get terribly fidgety. I can’t even count the number of papers I’ve put off writing and exams I’ve put off studying for just so that I can run. I’ve tried to fight it, but if I want to run, I can’t focus on anything until I’ve done it. So you can imagine my amazement when I arrived in Sansepolcro and, even after a week, felt no need to exercise. I guess this is partially because I was still adjusting to my schedule, and I didn’t have the confidence to seek out a route in a foreign country. I also think that Sansepolcro’s laid-back mentality is delightfully infectious; I just didn’t feel the need to take an hour out of my day to exercise.

Well, that lasted about a week and a half before the urge to be active kicked in again. I suppose you can take the girl off of her turf, but you can’t take the runner out of the girl. Fortunately, I had hiked up to a more rural area with friends before, so I believed that I had a good route that I felt comfortable with. So up and around I went- just me, my iPod, and the 20 cats I came across. It wasn’t until about 30 minutes in that I realized how alone I was- and I don’t mean that in a whiney, metaphorical way. I mean it literally. Once I got past the walls of the town and out of the more “neighborhood-y” areas, there was no one in sight. This was such a contrast to what I’m used to seeing when I exercise back in the States. An obnoxiously large number of people usually exercise at the same time as me, but here it was quite the opposite. It was early evening. The weather was perfect- warm but with enough breeze to keep the heat at bay. The air didn’t have that sticky heaviness that it does in North Carolina at this time of year. The formula was in place, so where was everybody?

I suppose there isn’t as much pressure to exercise here as there is in the States? Or maybe running outdoors just isn’t something that is done? I’ve heard that there are gyms, but I have yet to see any. Of course, I could just be running in an area that people don’t typically go to in order to exercise. We’ve been discussing cultural differences between Italy and the United States in class, so I’m actually really interested to observe how many people I see exercising over the duration of the semester. I may keep a mental log of it.

Now, I’ve settled into a pretty good routine. I don’t like feeling as though I’m missing out on the action back at the Palazzo during the day when I’m not in class, so I’ve started getting up for my runs at seven in the morning. It’s hard to get up, especially with the workload becoming more demanding, but I really enjoy being outside at that time of day. I like that I can count the number of people that I see on one hand. (I also like that I don’t feel as though I’m about to get squashed by a car at every curve and corner.) I have also grown accustomed to the odd looks I get as I jog by in my bright pink Nike shorts and very American-looking tennis shoes that say something along the lines of ‘what on Earth is this girl doing exercising at 7 o’clock in the morning?’ I find this funny, as I often wonder the same thing as I scale the practically vertical hill when I could be sleeping.

Of course, I remember as soon as I climb to the top and take a second to catch my breath. Exercising may be my purpose in going up there, but the view is the reason why I keep going back. I’m sure I could find a flatter route that is closer to the city, but there is no way I’m missing out on what those mountains look like just after the sun has risen. I wish so badly that my iPod could take pictures because I feel as though I am looking at a completely different mountain range every morning. One morning it’s the generic blue and green, the next it’s purple, and the next it’s surrounded by fog making the mountains seem as though they are floating in midair! I also love how the morning light makes everything- the mountains, the terracotta roofs, the countryside- look so fresh and clean. It brings physicality to the phrase “today is a new day”, and it is all the inspiration I need to run off all that delicious Italian food!

Entry 3: September 21, 2010

When in Florence, Climb a Duomo!

I admire impressive architecture, but I don’t think any building has moved or inspired me as much as the Florence Cathedral. I’ve heard that some people cry when they see Michelangelo’s David. I almost wanted to cry every time I passed this cathedral. This is a structure that deserves its own musical score and a five minute film sequence just panning around its entirety. Just imagining the swell of the orchestra as the camera choreographs its way up and around every curve and crevice is enough to give me chills. Oh, the artistic possibilities are endless. I could have stared at it the entire weekend- the number of pictures I took is evidence of that. I feel as if every time I saw it, I was looking at a completely different building because of the way the lighting changed based on the time of day. Different details in the colors, paneling, sculptures, and other architectural elements were highlighted in the morning versus the evening, and nighttime gave it a completely new look entirely. Each moment was so fleeting; I had to capture it all!

The Florence Cathedral, or more accurately the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio. Its construction began in 1296 and was finally completed in 1436. It is a Gothic style building with polychrome marble panels in shades of green, white, and apparently pink (though I couldn’t tell while we were there- it’s due for a cleaning soon). The major attraction of the cathedral is its dome, or duomo, which was engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. He looked at the Roman dome, Pantheon, which is a shell of concrete, for inspiration. With the help of sculptor Donatello, Brunelleschi constructed a similar shell of wood and bricks as a guide for the craftsmen. My admiration for this building is only increased by this information. This dome was built at the beginning of the fifteenth century, and it still stands strong today. Brunelleschi was a miracle-worker for being able to engineer this beast without today’s modern technology. Learning about the difficulties of engineering such a structure also makes me think about the actual process of constructing it. It had to be one of the most insanely dangerous jobs of the day. I wonder how many people worked on it and never got the see it completed. I wonder what they envisioned it would look like and if they imagined that it would still be standing and admired in 2010. This is one of the things that I absolutely love about Italy- seeing buildings like this one that have really stood the test of time.

So now that I have made my obsession with the cathedral quite clear, I imagine that it is no surprise that I jumped on the opportunity to climb the Duomo. I already climb hills, mountains, and rock-walls, so I just had to add ancient Italian domes to the list. We entered into the church, stepped inside a little door, and so the epic climb began! Four-hundred and sixty-three steps, multiple spiral staircases, one circular ledge around the top of the church, several stone caverns, and many ladders later, we emerged on top of the Duomo, which I basically consider to be the top of Florence. There probably isn’t much I can say about the view that hasn’t already been said before; it really was a breathtaking sight. I could see how the city blended with the countryside and how that led up to the mountains. There was a sense of camaraderie among all of us strangers at the top as well. We all shared a common achievement as well as a common desire: pictures. Words of congratulations and cameras were being passed all around, which made for a unique bonding experience despite the fact that I will probably never see any of these people ever again. I knew from the moment my shaky legs touched back down on solid ground that this was going to be my favorite part of visiting Florence. Then I scurried off to take more pictures. After all, the lighting had changed once again since last I had looked at the cathedral from below.

We saw many beautiful and notable things in Florence, but every city has its museums. Seeing the Duomo begs the question, why just look at a historical building when you can actually climb one?

Entry 2: September 13, 2010

Of Medieval Games and Flag-boys

It’s Monday night and strangely quiet on Via XX Settembre. Just 24 hours ago, the streets were filled with trumpets, drums, costumed people, and Sansepolcro’s flag-waving team, who we all fondly refer to as the “flag-boys”. The silence is a sharp contrast to last week’s festivities.

The Palio della Balestra is a crossbow tournament that occurs every year in Sansepolcro and Gubbio, a nearby town. The main event is held on the second Sunday of September, but the entire week leading up to it is filled with celebration. The festivities began on the evening of Saturday, September 4, with a Medieval market. Many of the townspeople were dressed up in their medieval garb, selling handmade goods all along the city streets. Later in the evening, we got to don our own medieval costumes and process around the town to the opening ceremony. The ceremony, held in Piazza Torre di Berta (the town square), includes performances from dancers, children, stilt-walkers, and the flag-boys. It also serves as an introduction to the week’s competition. I can only assume that the man leading the ceremony, a herald of sorts, was explaining the rules and traditions (I have, after all, only had two weeks of Italian…). First, there is a competition within Sansepolcro. An old, but friendly, rivalry exists between Porta Romana and Porta Fiorentina (the “gateways” to Rome and Florence) that are on opposite sides of the city. Crossbow-men from either side compete against each other for the honor of representing Sansepolcro in the final tournament. Unfortunately, our side, Porta Fiorentina, lost, but with the inter-rivalry out of the way, we could focus on our overall Sansepolcro pride!

Sunday was the culmination of everyone’s excitement. The marching band rang out practically all day with what I believe to be Sansepolcro’s theme song. (I’ve heard it so much over the past week, I think I could sing it backwards in my sleep!) The traditional costumes were worn once again by many of the townspeople. I could tell how accustomed I was to the festivities when I didn’t even bat an eyelash when a couple of men in tights sauntered into the café where I was sipping on a latte. At five in the evening, we all gathered back in the Piazza for the final tournament between Sansepolcro and Gubbio. It began with the traditional processions, which I remained enthralled with, despite having seen many similar processions in previous ceremonies.

The actual tournament went by rather quickly. The players knew exactly what order they were to shoot in- something I couldn’t figure out from where I was sitting- and they gracefully weaved in and out of each other, keeping things going at a fast pace. The poor target was practically mutilated. I think the judges might have had a hard time determining the winner, judging from the length of time the bands played music to pass the time (although I did enjoy the performances from the flag-boys). When the verdict was finally made, the herald came before the crowd to make the announcement. He said many things in Italian, which was followed by a drum-roll, which was then followed by “Sansepolcro!” I cheered and clapped, confused as to why nobody else seemed as excited as I was, only to find out that the third place arrow belonged to Sansepolcro.

Oh.

Second place went to Sansepolcro as well. Finally, first place was announced…

Sansepolcro!

The Piazza erupted with applause, and the crossbow-men stormed to the middle Super Bowl-style. Elated for our adoptive town, we escaped the crowds as quickly as possible. We returned back to our Palazzo, but we were in no way separated from the celebration. Hanging out of our windows, we cheered for the crossbow team as they passed by, clapped in time to the rhythm of the music, and waved enthusiastically to our beloved flag-boys (several of which waved back!). Everyone was pumped up on joy and gelato, and the celebration lasted well into night!

Yes, it’s quiet now, but I can still hear the trumpets echoing in my head. I miss them.
Until next time,
Ciao!

Entry 1: September 7, 2010

“Now Voyager depart! (much, much for thee is yet in store;)”

It’s been a week since I stumbled blearily off of the bus into Sansepolcro making a complete spectacle of myself as I bumbled down the street and up the stairs of our 16th century palazzo with my huge bags in tow. But not even running on a mere thirty minutes of sleep could stifle my excitement as it began to sink in that I would actually be living here for the next three and a half months. This opportunity is something I have heard about since I first began touring Meredith, but after two years of anticipation, it was hard to believe that I was actually doing it. I actually got my act together and made it happen.

I can’t write about Italy without being a cliché traveler and mentioning its beauty. It’s something that can’t be helped; it smacks you wide awake even after a nine-hour flight when your body is telling you that its two o’clock in the morning. I have been here for a week, and I keep waiting for the backdrop to fall and find myself somewhere else entirely- it’s that unreal. It’s almost frustrating in a way because no picture that I have taken has truly been able to capture the vibrancy of this country. The warm colors of the buildings pop out against the sky, which seems much bluer here for some reason. And despite the fact that I am surrounded by stone, I don’t feel disconnected from nature because everywhere I turn, I see plants spilling over beautifully crafted, iron balconies. Even the way the towns seem to have been built around nature is something that is rarely seen in the States.

But what I don’t feel is talked about as much as Italy’s beauty is Italy’s people. Sure, we have romantic images of the suave Italian men who jet around town on their mopeds and trendy Italian women braving the cobblestone streets in their stilettos (mostly thanks to the American entertainment industry), but what about the charming café owner who takes the time to teach us how to say all the different kinds of fruit juices on our very first day and always puts cinnamon hearts on top of our cappuccinos? Or the lady in the bread shop down the street who smiles so warmly at you that it doesn’t even seem to matter that you completely butchered the Italian language when ordering your pastry? These are just two of so many lovely people that I have encountered so far in Sansepolcro. I feel like the town has welcomed me with open arms, and I am eager to learn more of the language in order to gain more confidence in striking up a conversation that doesn’t rely on rough translations and hand gestures.

For the past six months, whenever anyone has asked me what I’m doing in school (in regards to what my major is) I have responded with “I don’t know. I’m just going to Italy!” It does make me uncomfortable that I can’t answer that question any further than that, but from what I have observed thus far, the Italians really do seem to live in the moment, something that I admire greatly and hope to emulate. I know that I have picked a good place to be to get away from the mentality that I should know exactly what I want to do with my life that I have somehow adopted. I can’t wait to see what this semester has in store for me, not just in regards to trips and experiences, but also in regards to what I might just discover about myself.

Until next time!
Ciao!