Visiting La Coruna

Ciao everyone,

This weekend, instead of shipping off to Ireland as initially planned, I hopped on a trip to La Coruna, Spain with Kevin, Maggie Rossi and Carla. I thought about the Fanelli's a lot and sent along a few prayers throughout the weekend.

On Saturday morning, the 4 of us took the train to Rome and arrived at our hostel around 5 pm. It was a great place and soooo clean. That was Carla's first hostel experience, so I'm glad it was a good one for her. Once we were settled in, we met up with Lindsey Madlinger who studies through Holy Cross' classics program in Rome. The 5 of us went to Trastevere for dinner at Dar Poeta. For some reason, they weren't taking reservations for that night, so we had to wait about an hour and a half to get a table. We got a few drinks and stood outside while we waited in the pleasantly warm evening air. I was a little nervous when everyone started to get antsy about having to wait so long, but when we finally sat down and started eating, I wasn't worried anymore. Everyone went crazy over the pizzas and the nutella and ricotta calzone. We all decided that it was well worth the wait.

After dinner, we went to a bar/club in Campo dei Fiori and danced for the rest of the night. A few of Lindsey's friends joined us (some from HC, some not) and we had an awesome time. We arrived back at our hostel around 3 am and only had 2 hours of sleep before getting up for our long journey to Coruna. At 5 am we woke up and walked outside of our hostel, where a shuttle should have been arriving to bring us to the airport. It never showed up, so we called a cab who proceeded to yell at us in Italian about the shuttle that should be there instead. We had to call him twice, and both times he yelled at us. We didn't understand why he was so against coming to get us when it meant a good fare for him. While we waited for this asshole to arrive, another driver pulled up and said that he would take us to the airport. We didn't have much time to spare, so we started loading our things into the taxi. Bad idea. As we were prepping to leave, the asshole pulled up and started screaming at us and at the other driver for taking his fare. Nobody wanted to hear it from him, so we told him to calm down and moved all our things from the other guy's taxi to this jerk's taxi. Once we closed the door and told him where we were going, he shot off down the road, speeding like a maniac and making ridiculous turns. We were scared out of our minds and this guy didn't say a word. If we were still half asleep before the ride, we were certainly terrified awake after it. There was definitely something wrong with him.

We flew into Santiago de Compostela airport in Spain and waited 2 hours for our shuttle bus. We took the shuttle from Santiago to La Coruna and finally arrived there around 2 pm after traveling 9 hours. Kathryn, Chrissy, Hadley, Erica, Kathryn's boyfriend Pablo and his friend Carlos greeted us at the spot where the shuttle let us off and then got us settled in to our hotels. We went out for a great lunch, Spanish style (which means huge because lunch is the big meal in Spain). We shared salads, meats, cheeses and breads and it was all delicious.

After lunch, we walked around along the water. It was gorgeous! It made me think so much about the Vineyard, even though it looked nothing like it. It was refreshing to see water being that Florence can feel a little too cramped with buildings to see the dinky (and brown) Arno. After walking around, we went back to the hotel and showered, and then met for tapas at a really great place. According to the girls studying in Coruna, it was one of the best places, so it was evidently very crowded. Most of us got what we wanted to try, and we all stood outside to eat with the rest of the Spaniards taking their tapas. I had a fried veal filet with a grilled pepper and potatoes all on a little stick. I also had a tortilla (which is something like a quiche but much better) which I loved. Then, we went back to the hotel for drinks because bars don't open until around 2 am in Spain. When that time rolled around I was obviously exhausted but rallied to go out and experience the Spanish nightlife. The bar was great and made some awesome mojitos. Around 4 am, things turned a little sour for me when I fell asleep while dancing, and also discovered that my new jacket had been taken. We searched everywhere for the jacket and Pablo (Kat's boyfriend) felt so terrible. I was a little sad about it, but more tired than anything, so Kat walked me home to hit the hay. I heard the next day (Sunday) that everyone had stayed out until about 6:30 am, which is the norm- something I would never get used to.

On Sunday, Kat woke us up around 11 for breakfast at a great cafe, called Cafe Vecchio, that had some awesome muffins and chocolate chip cookies, two things that are non-existent in Italy. We were exhausted, so it took us a while to eat. After breakfast, we walked around some more and saw the rest of adorable Coruna. At a certain point after lunch kebabs, Kat went back for a nap and homework and Kevin also left for the hotel while Chrissy, Maggie and myself decided to walk a little more. We got some beautiful views of the water and then stopped for some coffee and tea at Cafe Vecchio for the second time. I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and change, and then Kevin and I went back out to meet Kat's host family. Her family is adorable- especially the two little girls, Maria (8) and Camino (5). But, they are serious balls of energy that never leave Kat's room and certainly drive her crazy sometimes. They were very excited to meet the famous Elsa and Kevin that they had heard so much about, so they climbed all over us and gave us little performances that were adorable but got a little tiring.

After meeting the family, we snuck out on the crazy kids to play "Assassin" with all the Coruna HC students before dinner. It was a lot of fun. Simple concept, but a great thrill. Then, we got a little dinner at a tapas place and headed home for bed. We had been exhausted from the night before, so we ended up sleeping until around 11 am. On Monday morning, all of the Coruna kids were in class until 12:30, so Maggie and I went for breakfast at Cafe Vecchio, which was hilarious because we didn't know a word of Spanish and English was completely foreign to the Coruna natives. We managed to survive and get exactly what we wanted, but with quite a struggle. After breakfast, we did a little shopping and then met up with Kat and Erica to continue the fun. Kevin was pretty ticked about the whole shopping thing, so it didn't last very long before we decided to go for lunch.

Kat, Hadley, Erica and Pablo took us to a great sushi restaurant and we all got Bento Boxes that came with Miso Soup, white rice, a beverage, and a dessert for only 8.25 euro! It was delicious :) Afterwards, Kat took Kevin to her cooking class so that the girls could shop more, but we didn't end up shopping and Kat and Kevin ended up skipping the cooking class anyway. So, Chrissy took Maggie and I to meet her host family, and Kat spent some time showing Kevin around. Chrissy's host family was very hippie and absolutely adorable. They were so excited to have visitors that they did their bests to speak in English and make us comfortable. It was much appreciated. After the visit, we stopped back at Kat's house with my teddy because the girls had requested to see it the day earlier. They loved him. This time, Maria was very sassy and insisted on singing and dancing to us while we "controlled the music" according to her demands. Little firecracker. Camino was a total doll and just crawled all over everyone.

We left Kat's host house around 8:30 and then went for a tortilla at one of Kat's favorite places. It was delicious. Then, we met up with Hadley, Erica and Carla for a nicer dinner at a new restaurant in town. It was the kind of place where they made everything on a wood-burning grill, and the food was incredible. Kat and I weren't that hungry, so we shared grilled tomatoes, grilled peppers and grilled chorizo. I loved it. The Corunians made sure that we also tried a Spanish after dinner liqueur that tasted something like Bailey's, but shockingly better. At the end of the dinner we bid farewell to everyone because we had to head back to Florence early the next day.

Yesterday morning, we woke up around 6 am and were in a cab to the station by 7:15. Our total trip back to Florence lasted 11 hours because we had to deal with so many different legs of the trip:

Cab from hotel to Coruna train station
Train from Coruna station to Santiago station
Cab from Santiago station to Santiago de Compostela airport
Plane from Santiago de Compostela airport to Rome Ciampino airport
Bus from Rome Ciampino airport to Rome Termini Station
Train from Rome Termini Station to Florence Santa Maria Novella
Bus from Santa Maria Novella to HOME with Maria Pia.

In the end, the trip was very successful and we all had a wonderful time. Coruna is a real gem, and I'm so glad that we could make it despite the distance we had to travel. I both loved and felt freaked out by my lack of communication with the Spanish language-only culture, but had a great time laughing about it. All the girls were great tour guides, and I felt that the vacation included just the right amount of relaxation and adventure. Kat's Pablo is a great guy, and probably the only Spaniard in Coruna that speaks fluent English (though Kat doesn't use it with him). Now, I'm back in Florence and the forecast looks like rain until at least Sunday which is kind of a bummer, but I do have a ton of work to do, so it's a blessing in disguise I guess.

I also found out today (the day I would have been scheduled to fly out of Dublin) that there have been more ash emissions from the volcano in Iceland and that the Dublin airport, along with many others, is closed. Therefore, Grace and Jeff are stuck in Dublin until Friday AT THE EARLIEST. I think I would have been beside myself if my vacation in Ireland had gone as originally planned. It's so odd how things happen.

A dopo!

Day of Hell... Museologia final

Ciao all,

Contrary to what the title may lead you to believe, all is okay now. But, today was the longest and most torturous day of my life. All 5 of us (Me, Andrea, Maggie Rossi, Grace and Jeff) had been studying for our Museologia final since we arrived back in Florence early last week. Elisa was drilling info into our heads in our tutoring sessions that lasted from Friday until yesterday. Elisa had prepared us for the exam program and warned us on interview tactics. Today was judgement day.

We all arrived at the classroom on time, and our teacher took attendance. She wasn't very clear as to how long we would be waiting to take the exam, so we decided to stay in the classroom while the students ahead of us were doing it. (For exams at Italian Universities, the professors have a sort of "conversation" with the student in the front of the classroom, and other students can sit in the room and listen, if they so choose.) So, we stayed and listened. Bad idea. The first student was Italian and got a 30/30. Awesome. The second student was American and got a 28/30. We were pretty sure she knew nothing so we felt much calmer after that. Very quickly though, things started to go downhill. As people were stumbling more and more, the grades were certainly lowering. She failed just about all the Americans after that first girl. No one knew anything, she was mad, and the questions were getting harder.

We waited in that classroom trying to study, but we were so distracted by our nerves that it really wasn't working. My heart was beating so fast the whole day and my body was shaking so much that I couldn't write! I'm sure the 5 of us looked like we were going to throw up on each other. Anyway, all that stress throughout the morning did nothing for us because around 1, she broke for lunch. We had no way of knowing that we wouldn't be going until the afternoon, but had wasted all of our energy on freaking out the whole morning. So, we all took a walk and got a little lunch. I could barely eat, so I just got a little bit of cous-cous. We headed back around 2 and she started again. 3 people in, Andrea had her turn. The professor asked her some of the strangest questions, and then some questions that I had wanted to be asked! She ended up passing and doing well (first American to pass since early that morning). Next, an Italian went and following her, was me!

I sat down, and my mouth became immediately dry. I must have sounded retarded trying to form words in Italian with proper grammar at a steady, conversational pace. My mouth was so cotton-y that I couldn't even pronounce "universitaria" correctly. My first question was IMPOSSIBLE. I had no idea what she wanted as an answer. All morning, we had heard people failing on this question and still couldn't figure out the answer. She basically asked me "What happened after the war?" In my head, I asked myself, "What the heck is she talking about! There were soooo many wars in history and art history starts all the way back in BC. What's THE war?" It became established later on because she saw that I was stumbling a bit. She wanted the 2nd World War. Ohhhhhhh duhhhhhh why didn't I think of that war before all others!? Ugh. Anyway, the question was still so vague that I told her everything I remembered from the 1950s on. Not all of it was right, but I couldn't figure out what she was fishing for. Finally, she moved on. The next question involved the Accademia. She wanted to know where the art inside came from.

Well, a lot of the art was produced by the students and professors of the Accademia, so that's what I told her. She didn't like that answer. I then told her that the David arrived there in 1873 when it was moved from Piazza della Signoria. She didn't like that answer either, even though the fact was correct. Again, I went through every law and fact in the book until I found what she was looking for. La soppressione degli enti ecclesiatici (the suppression of the ecclesiastical agencies) in 1866. This was the time when all of the religious art came out of the churches, and was dispersed. Some of this art went to the Accademia. This is what I told her and finally she had gotten what she wanted. I think she may have asked a few more questions, and then my time was up. I ended up with a 25/30 (first module) and a 26/30 (second module). Phew.

However, I couldn't get the full feeling of relief until about 15 minutes later, when I stopped shaking and sweating. My signature on the professor's papers looked nothing like my actual signature- I couldn't hold the pen steady enough to write it! When I got outside of the purgatory, Andrea was there and Elisa had arrived. I guess Elisa had heard everything I had been asked. She hugged me (I know, so weird, right?) and then told me that I did well to continue talking, even when I wasn't sure of the answer. She said that the professor is always very picky and there's no way of telling what kind of questions you'll be asked. Slowly, Jeff, Grace and Maggie finished their exams. Everyone came out with the same grades. No one failed, thank goodness. I'm pretty sure those other Americans in the morning hadn't studied much because they stumbled over the simple parts and didn't recognize any names or events. But, I knew that it would have been unfair (but possible because this is Italy) for us to fail. We knew everything and fortunately, that helped us with the trouble areas.

I had remembered Elisa telling us, "Whatever you do, don't stop talking. If you don't know the answer, talk about something similar or something that happened in the same time period. She can be very moody, so don't look her in the eye. And, always smile." So, that's what we all did and thankfully, it worked. I think I would have thrown my books at her if she had failed me. I stressed and studied soooo hard that I can't even explain.

After this one, I'm sooo glad to have a break, but I officially HATE the exam system in Italy. It's completely based on emotion. If you are a nerve-y, emotional person (like me), you are at an immediate disadvantage. Had she given me a paper with questions, I would have passed much more painlessly. But this was complete torture. I have never stressed so consistently for such a long time period. So glad it's over! Obviously, we're going out tonight to celebrate.

On the 27th, I have to do it all over again. However, I don't think it will be as bad because only about 40 students took Storia del Costume whereas about 150 students took Museologia. Plus, the professor is MUCH nicer and way less moody. The material for Storia del Costume is also a little more open-ended when it comes to answering questions. So, that's good. But, I'm not going to think about that until the end of the weekend.

Maria Pia is making mushroom risotto, my favorite, for a celebration. Tonight is going to be awesome.

A dopo!

Lunch in Fiesole and Christmas shopping

Buona sera! Today, I reluctantly got up really early to meet Maggie Wright, Jeff, and Elia (our cultural advisor) for lunch. Andrea came as well. We all met up near Piazza San Marco and took Elia's car to Fiesole. We saw this cool Etruscan museum and the ancient amphitheater below it. It was sooo cool! And so old! We got to walk all over it and had lots of fun.

After that, we had lunch at a nice restaurant. Holy Cross paid for everything (yay!), so we ate bruschetta and assorted crostinis for apps, and each had a bowl of pasta. We also ordered a cheese platter and after lunch, coffees and cappuccinos. It was really nice to be able to have a long conversation in Italian. Elia made fun of me for the way I speak. He said that I pronounce every syllable and speak slowly- like an old woman! This was no surprise because I know I speak the same way in English. Oh well, that just means that people can understand me even better, right?! I hope so.

After lunch, Andrea, Maggie and I went downtown and I finished up my Christmas shopping. Andrea and I found a great gift for Maria Pia at the Luca della Robbia ceramics store. It's a wine carafe and it's beautiful! I can't wait to give it to her! We made friends with Mr. della Robbia, the guy who runs the place. We talked for about a half hour and he gave us a discount on our purchases! What a nice guy. I'll be going back there a lot.

Tonight, Kevin, Andrea, Benedetta, Benedetta's friend (Eleonora) and myself are going out to dinner in the center at this really good pizza place. They want to talk about America haha. Italians are crazy about America and it's so funny to hear! I'm really looking forward to speaking more Italian and hanging out with them. I really enjoy their company. They are so much fun... and Italian!

Perhaps I'll have more to report tomorrow, after my evening has finished...

Ciao!

Starting over...

So, I was very disappointed to discover that I can no longer access my previous blog. Everyone, myself included, can still see it, but I just can't edit it. Therefore, i started a new one that looks about the same, it's just missing my previous entries... Now, I'm going to post something that i wrote yesterday, hoping to have my blog fixed by then. So, it's a little off with the timing, but it was a long and important entry:

Ciao!!! I haven’t written in a few days because there hasn’t been much to say. I’ve just been doing the school thing. Last night, we went out for a few drinks and ended up meeting up with our foreign language assistant from Holy Cross! His name is Daniele, and he studied at Holy Cross this past year while teaching our practicum language classes. It was cool to be hanging around with an Italian- then other Italians think I’m Italian! We decided to call it an early night, but still had a hard time waking up this morning to go to Prato. But, we made it!

We met Elisa (our advisor) at the train station at 8:50 am and went to Prato, a small city in the Tuscan region. It’s famous for its textiles, so we went to a museum dedicated to that industry specifically. It was actually insanely boring because the tour was conducted completely in Italian and I was so exhausted that I couldn’t get the energy to understand, so for a while, I just stood there. After the textile museum, we went to the Duomo di Prato. It was one of the most magnificent churches that I have seen so far! The frescoes were unbelievable! We were also lucky enough to see the back areas of the church, where other tourists are not allowed to go. We walked through the back walls and climbed some stairs that overlooked the whole church below. We also went up another flight of very narrow and steep stairs to the clock tower. It was a really cool experience.

After seeing the church, we went to the underground area where Cardinals are buried. There were a lot of cool rooms and passageways to explore. After this tour, we were absolutely starving. So, even though we had the option to hang around Prato, we decided to head back to Florence to eat.

We met my cousin, Benedetta (and her friend) for lunch at this awesome pizza place. I wasn’t interested in getting pizza because Maria Pia is planning to make it tonight. So, I ordered what said “focaccia, formaggio e insalata”. I thought it was a simple assortment of foods. Instead, it was a pizza. It was still delicious, of course, but humorous because it was clear evidence that I still have a lot of things to get used to. Oops!

After lunch, we did a little shopping and I bought a fall coat, since I don’t have one. I was hesitant because I hate buying things, but I guess I do need to keep warm. Haha. Anyway, we decided to head back to the house early because Andrea and I both need a nap. We’re looking forward to going out tonight. There’s a new discoteca opening called SPACE that I think we’re going to go to. I’ll update again soon. A presto!

Ok, so that was yesterday's. Today, Andrea, Maggie, Kevin and myself walked to the top of Piazzale Michaelangelo to get a view of the city. It was so high up and everything was beautiful! We grabbed some lunch at the supermercato because no restaurants were open. Then, it started to rain, so we all went our separate ways. I've come down with a bit of a cold since I stayed out too late last night. We went to a discoteca called SPACE. It was a huge place, lots of fun, and really crowded and smelly. I got in around 4am. Ugh.

So, that's it for tonight. From now on, I'll be updating this blog, the other one will RIP.

Buona notte!