The end.

I wrote this entry yesterday while I was on the plane, so keep all the timing in mind...

Ciao all,

It’s hard to believe how fast the time has gone by. Nine months seems like nothing now, especially because I can relive my first days in Florence down to the hour. Our last week consisted of countless hours of studying (which we resented considering the fact that our days were severely numbered), rushed shopping sprees for the last-minute things, wild nights out, and insane binge-eating of anything Italian we could find. Since my last update that brought a few tears to my eyes, I’ve both studied for and taken my Italian Literature exam, encompassing the works of the Sicilian writer, Giovanni Verga. Exam day was full of pressure, as expected, seeing that I always stress the poor organization of the Italian education system. Claudio (our tutor, if I haven’t mentioned him before) had signed us up for the exam and we had been scheduled to take ours in positions 1 and 2. We were very excited and anxious to get it over with, so we had been thankful to be the highest on the list.

Naturally though, things never seem to go according to plan with the Italian university. We arrived at 8:30 am on exam day to find out that there had been two other “hidden” lists, for different students. So right there, we moved from numbers 1 and 2 to numbers 6 and 7. The worst part about the whole Italian-style exam is the actual waiting experience. Each person’s one-on-one session with the teacher was scheduled to take 30 minutes, so that put me, the first of Kevin and I, scheduled to take the exam around noon. I was tired of studying, so we sat there for 4 hours chatting with Italians who were completely freaking out, and playing games on Kevin’s iPhone. According to us, what we didn’t know at that point we weren’t going to learn under stress, the last few hours leading up to the exam. So, we threw in the towel.

Because Italians are so wild about their mid-morning coffee breaks, good ol’ Professor Bruscagli decided to take his right before giving me my exam. Watching student number five exit his office with a smile on her face was a good sign, and it caused me to jump out of my seat, ready for my fate. However, I suffered from the false alarm when Bruscagli followed behind the student, announcing that he was going for a coffee. “Great,” I thought, “another half-hour stuck in this window-less building on such a beautiful day.”

When Bruscagli returned, I finally got my chance at showing him what I had sweated over since February. I was very nervous and shaky, but tried my best to look calm. However, when you’re speaking in a foreign language, one can hear the uneasiness immediately. My excellent grammar skills had pretty much flown out the window as soon as I asked him permission to close his office door. (Italian exams are a public event; anyone can sit in and listen if they want to). He sighed and said something like, “Yeah, if you want. I guess you Americans aren’t used to taking oral exams, let alone public ones.” So right then and there, we started the exam. The first few questions I knew very well. I know I sounded like a complete fool because I just blurted out everything I had studied in no specific order. The final question however, was one that I hoped he wouldn’t ask me. I knew exactly what he was referring to when he said the “Sciascia article,” but I conveniently attempted to compare it to the article that it was positioned next to in my book, as I knew more about that one and Sciascia had completely escaped me. To be honest though, I actually didn’t study any of Verga’s critics too closely because I had been so focused on the novellas, his short stories that were the basis for the exam. Claudio had told us that the critics would be supplementary material, information to add to a conversation about one of the novellas. When I completely bombed that question, I assumed that it had brought me from a 30 to a 26 or something, considering that fact that I literally knew NOTHING of Sciascia and that Bruscagli was known to be a tough grader.

With that last question, he digressed and said “Well, I know that you (meaning collectively, Americans) have studied. I’ve seen you in my lessons, and you’ve taken the class seriously. So, I’m going to give you a 29/30.” I was blown away, and soooo relieved. I escaped as fast as possible. Kevin followed after me and received a 28, and Claudio, who was present and anxiously waiting the results, was very proud. When it was time for us to get out of there, Claudio popped his head in and thanked Professor Bruscagli. Apparently he said to Claudio, “Well, they knew the material, but their Italian…” and while saying that, he made some sort of negative, Italian person’s gesture. Guess he wasn’t interested in considering that fact that we were very nervous and probably speaking in stream of consciousness. And, above all, we were taking his class to practice and use our Italian in an intelligent way, not because we had an insane interest in reading Verga, an author I had never even heard of before second semester.

With that, we had finished with the Italian education system and nerve-wracking pressure that we could never have become completely comfortable with. We were out by 1 pm, just in time to meet everyone else with Maria and Piero for a farewell cappuccino. Right after all the exhilaration, it was pretty painful to say goodbye to Maria and Piero, easily the most genuine, fabulous and wise Italian couple that I have ever been privileged to know. After saying goodbye, I spent the rest of the day running errands and enjoying the sunshine, knowing that I had no studying waiting for me. We went out that night to an outdoor techno concert that was a bit of a flop, as I think we arrived a little later than we probably should have. We also witnessed the results of a fatal moped accident, sheeted body and all. Needless to say, that put the icing on the cake for an unpleasant night that we would have rather avoided.

That day and night passed in a blur and now we arrive at yesterday. It was a disgustingly rainy day, but I woke up early to meet Elia (our cultural adviser) for a goodbye breakfast. The only others to make it so early on that gloomy day were Maggie Rossi and Maggie Wright. Elia had 95 euro remaining that he had to spend on us, so we just went crazy at a café, picking out every sweet, croissant and quiche that looked appetizing. It was really enjoyable, even though not many of us were there.

After breakfast, I spent some time walking around alone and soaking in whatever I could of my last day in Florence. My window-shopping on the Ponte Vecchio turned into real shopping when I bought a gold-plated, Florentine style filament ring. I had been looking for a gold-colored ring that wouldn’t turn my finger green and there was no way that I could afford gold, so I was delighted when I found this ring for 22 euro. It was much more in my price range. I met Andrea, Grace, Jeff and Carla for our final lunch at Borgo Antico at 1:30 and I ate a great veggie pizza. Then, we walked over to Gelateria Carraia, one that I had really wanted to try because everyone else had already had the chance to do so. I got the flavors “After Eight,” “Yogurt and Nutella,” and “Cookies.” It was fabulous, but still doesn’t compare to my all-time favorite gelateria- Vestri. I can taste my favorite flavors so perfectly when I think about it.

Yesterday afternoon, we had crisis in the Maria Pia- Andrea- Elsa household while we packed.  As far as space goes, I had guessed really well in my packing, but I was having some too-close-for-comfort weight issues. I had no idea how accurate or inaccurate Maria Pia’s scale was, so I did my best to be as close to 23 kg per bag, without going over. One was over by .8 and I was kind of banking on the airlines giving me a break. Poor Andrea’s flight was leaving from Milan (not Florence, like mine), so she had to drag her luggage on the train by herself to Milan central station, and then take a bus from the station to the airport. She had a HUGE problem with the weight and I’m pretty sure she decided just to accept the inevitable fees that came along with overweight baggage.

Maria Pia’s final dinner with us was delicious, as expected. She made my favorite pasta, spaghetti, olive oil, garlic and pepperoncino for our primo piatto. For our secondo, she made chicken cordon bleu, salad, and stuffed tomatoes. We LOVED the stuffed tomatoes. Earlier in the day while we packed, Maria Pia had given us her gift, a Toscana calendar and little Florentine mementoes, which were all very cute. So after dinner, we gave her our gifts. Together, Andrea and I had bought a beautiful hand-engraved silver frame from the metal artisan that Elisa had taken us too early on in the year. We inserted a cute picture of the three of us from our joint birthday celebration that Maria Pia had thrown for us in January. I alone gave her a set of beautiful stationary from a really famous store, called Pineider. In her letter, I told her that the purpose of the stationary was to keep in contact with me. She was very moved. Andrea gave her a gift certificate to a bookstore in the city center. All in all, Maria Pia was very excited with her gifts and I was so pleased to present them to her.

Last night, Maggie Rossi, Carla, Andrea, Kevin, Grace, Jeff and I met up on Piazzale Michelangelo for some champagne and quality time during our last few hours. It was a picture perfect night looking down on Florence, but my camera was unable to capture the beauty that we were fortunate enough to admire. We sat on the cement stairs where a bunch of different groups were seated, and Maggie began a toast by pouring us all champagne. Each of said something, every speech equally moving. Following our reflection session on a perfect year, we were rudely interrupted by 4 wasted Welsh boys, who were singing incredibly loudly and chugging bottle after bottle of wine. When Grace said something to us that I suppose these boys thought amusing, they found an opening and came over to talk to us all. In the beginning, they were all very presumptuous and rude, insulting Americans through their slurred vocabularies. I spent a good 15 minutes ignoring all of them well Carla requested tunes for them to sing. With time though, we all started talking a little bit more. Some were cooler than others, but there was one kid who was a complete fool. He and Grace seemed to have a bit of a personality clash, as they spent a good while insulting each other back and forth. This kid was way out of line and too egotistical for me, so I told him that he was definitely the most annoying person that I had ever met and that he’d have been better off staying quiet. (Yes, that was the best I could come up with. I’m not really good at dishing it out.)

After our lengthy fights, conversations and jokes, we walked Maggie home because she had an exam early the next day and it was already 1 am. The rest of us made an attempt to go dancing but the club (Twice) reeked of European B.O. so we got out of there as quickly as possible. We then gave some drunk kids directions to their hostel and walked to Piazza della Repubblica and said our goodbyes. We all took turns hugging and talking to each other one by one. We were exhausted and emotional and really feeling the reality of the end of our amazing experience together. We all got in our respective cabs and went home.

For the past two weeks or so, I had been bothered by the fact that I hadn’t shed a single tear between all the goodbyes and gifts. Even at Piazza della Repubblica, I was shockingly one of the kids with the dry eyes. Typically, I’m one of the emotional ones, so I really beat myself up about the fact that I couldn’t seem to cry. I didn’t even feel a build-up or desire to and it made me feel uncomfortable, as if I had been ungrateful and unable to recognize the amazing year that I’d had. I did my best to let it go and imagined that I would have had an explosion of tears at some point. I guessed that my chances of that happening were most likely at the airport.

I went to bed around 3:30 am and woke up at 5:45 am to give myself ample time for the physical and mental preparation for my departure from the country that I had inhabited for the past 9 months. I weighed my suitcases a final time and tucked away my teddy bears. I took pictures of all the rooms in the house and then had my final, Maria Pia breakfast. She had made my favorite cake- apple, and also served me a yogurt and a cup of tea, as usual. I ate slower than I normally do, as the reality of my departure was finally starting to hit me hard and I was stricken with nausea. Maria Pia got herself ready, and we were out the door by 7:30 with 3 enormous suitcases, one backpack, one purse, and two heavy hearts.

At the airport, I grabbed one of those carts and thought about how lucky I was to have Maria Pia, willing to take me to the airport. I knew that most of the other kids would be taking taxis and, expenses aside, I was incredibly grateful for her presence. Once the suitcases were out of the car, I had told her to go home. However, she insisted on coming inside with me, which I ended up being incredibly thankful for, during the disaster that we faced.

We got ourselves into what we thought was the line, and were called forward by one of the attendants, who freshly told us that we were in the wrong line and needed to wait in the “Economy” line, “just like everybody else.” We were immediately rubbed the wrong way. When we arrived at the same woman about 5 minutes later, she started to weigh my bags. I was well aware that I would be paying for a third bag, so her rudely telling me that I would be shelling out 160 euro for that didn’t bother me. What bothered me is the fact that she spoke ENGLISH to Maria Pia, who was visibly lost by it and really only trying to help me. In weighing my bags, each was overweight by a kilogram or less, and she told me that I would have to pay 120 euro for each overweight bag. Then, she weighed my purse and carry-on together (which I’ve never seen done) and they totaled 14 kilograms, while they “should have” collectively weighed only 8. The fees that she rattled off to me caused my immediate waterworks, and this stupid woman didn’t even flinch. She said “get out of line and come back when you have figured it out.” At the end of that awful encounter, I had to tearfully explain the whole thing over again to Maria Pia, who was rudely ignored by this woman. She was so calm but felt horrible for me, as I was desperate. She did point out the fact that she was pretty sure our oh-so-friendly attendant wasn’t Italian.

I tore open my bags and did what I could to re-arrange and throw things out. The toss-able things that I found were minimal, and only totaled a kilogram between all 5 of my different bags. Maria Pia collected me and rushed me back over to the lines, as she saw that the rude attendant was busy harassing another customer. The second a nicer-looking attendant became available, she shuffled me and my stuff over to the respective counter as quickly as possible, with me hyperventilating at her side. I was still as pleasant as possible because even in situations of panic, anger doesn’t solve anything. Our new attendant couldn’t find my permission slip to check two bags without charge (when I left in August, the rules still included two free checked bags. As of January, it’s been changed to one. I had called the company and  been told that I would be permitted two.). Fortunately, I had printed out the flight change confirmation that blatantly stated my allowance for two checked pieces. Saved there, thank goodness. Maria Pia hustled my 3 overweight bags onto the belt, and the check-in process continued onward without our friendlier attendant saying a word about the slightly overweight situation. Maria Pia did a great job chatting her up, talking about the fact that I faced a grand challenge packing for 3 seasons, etc. The lady sent me off to pay for the one extra piece, and that all went fairly smoothly.

When I returned to the desk, my three enormous bags were gone, my boarding passes were ready, and the attendant had given my carry-on/purse combo a quick glance, an “OK” and a smile. We breathed a huge sigh of relief, narrowly escaping about 400 euro in fines. Maria Pia and I walked to the exit and she explained that when she had been conversing with the attendant, she had been able to confirm that our original attendant was not Italian, and was actually driving the other two check-in attendants crazy. All I have to say is God bless those who can see our sides of the story and know what it’s like to be a passenger dealing with the complicated airline industry.

Maria Pia gave me a brief speech on staying well, saying hi to people, and returning soon. I started crying in her arms and she started to cry too, which I was touched to see because she hasn’t found the reason to cry very much following her 2 painful divorces. We separated and I made it through security senza problemi and full of tears. See, I knew the tears were waiting to burst out at some point. The first leg from Florence to Frankfurt was uneventful. We arrived a half hour late and I got an immediate flashback of my Christmas horror story, so I booked it through the terminal, knocking through anyone in my way. It’s not like I’m going to see them again, right? I was unsure as to the size and distances within the airport, so I wasn’t risking a thing. I arrived at my gate, 10 minutes before boarding. Then, I finally stopped sweating.

So here I am on the plane, sitting in my chosen aisle seat and enjoying the concentration I am putting towards my final blog entry. We just breaked for what I guess would be lunch, even though the time has me all confused. I received a rude awakening by the spaghetti we ate and had the sad “I’m not in Italy anymore” realization. I would probably compare this spaghetti to a high-end play dough. Very appetizing. Maybe this diet I’m putting myself on will be easier than I thought, considering the fact that I’m pretty sure no food will be as good as Italy’s food and therefore, not worth eating.

For those of you who have made it to this point in my epic entry, bravi, because I am on page 6 in Microsoft Word and I’ve still got a ways to go! Allow me to digress with the list I have been compiling, the highs and lows of my nine-month, Italian experience.

What I will miss:

Pizza the Italian way- while I have always loved American pizza, the freshness of the ingredients and lack of soupy oil on the Italian pizzas have really made them winners in my book.

Piazzas- most likely the best architectural concept, certain to automatically relax a person

The Italian pace of life- while I had difficulty adjusting to what I thought was laziness in the beginning, I now appreciate the time that Italians devote daily to food, family and rest. That’s why everyone looks so much younger and lives so much longer.

Italian children- There’s nothing funnier than talking to a 5-year old who speaks better Italian than I do.

Public drinking- Yes, I’m guilty of the regular wine-drinking session on the Ponte Vecchio. The view is too breathtaking to miss for a drink, so why not do them both at the same time!?

The “pausa”- an Italian phenomenon that happens around 10:30-11:00 am when everyone heads to the “bars” for a cappuccino.

The cappuccino- I actually hate coffee, but there is a special place in my heart for Italian cappuccino. They have really mastered the art of coffee-making, from the dainty cup to the heart form that they create in the milk foam.

Outdoor discotecas- there is nothing better than breaking it down and sweating half as much as you would dancing inside.

Wine- Italy is wine capital. It’s cheap and delicious, so there’s not much else to say here.

Shopping- even though the supermarkets are strictly food and your shampoo must be bought only at the pharmacy, EVERYTHING can be easily found on the streets of Florence with a little extra thinking.

Italian family/friends- I now have discovered a whole other half to my life and people that I will love and appreciate forever.

Sitting down to dinner every night- As they always say “a family that eats together, stays together.”

I can guarantee that there is more, but I think that sums up most of the aspects of my life abroad.

What I can most certainly live without:

Senegalese immigrants- I think I’ll be able to breathe easier now that I won’t be followed around Florence by these horrendously smelling men, saying “Ciao bella” and trying to sell me tissues, umbrellas or light-up Duomos.

White-faced gypsy women- By saying “white face,” I am literally referring to the white paint that they cover themselves in while they chase people (and me) around, begging for money, making freaky kissing noises, and giving me the finger.

Every-day bus travel and etiquette- It’s hot, it smells like B.O., people fight for seats, people pick-pocket, there is yelling, babies cry, it’s never on time, it doesn’t come, the company goes on strike at random. It’s just a terrible combination and system.

Albanian men- They never tire of hitting on American girls that don’t speak Italian. They use the girls’ lacking knowledge of the language to convince them they are Italian themselves, and then they try to seduce the girls. They never won with our group.

Chain-smoking 14-year-old Italians- Italy definitely needs to crack down on the smoking problem

Italian drivers- They are MANIACS on the road.

Mosquitoes- Because Italian homes don’t typically have screens on their windows, the little critters enter by night and attack your body. The results are far bigger than those in America, and I don’t know why.

The University system- Everyone already knows my opinion, as I’ve ranted about it in probably ¼ of my entries.

Ridiculous superstitions- for example, Maria Pia thinks pepper (the spice) is terrible for you and clogs your arteries. Maggie Rossi’s host mom thinks ice is bad to put in your drinks. Maria Pia thinks that drenching foods in olive oil after they’ve been cooked is healthier than cooking olive oil with food. I will never understand where these ideas come from.

So in the end, this year abroad has taught me so much that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I have made some incredible friendships with such wonderful people. In thinking about my relationships with the other Holy Cross students, I am so grateful for the design of our study abroad program. Because there were only eight of us for a full nine months, we learned the good and the bad of one another and also learned to adapt to different personalities. Had we been in social situations where we could choose our friends from different groups, we never would have learned what it means to acclimatize and create friendships with those who you wouldn’t necessarily choose as friends from the beginning. Being able to feel so comfortable around each other is what made the year so successful and fun. No one was ever ashamed to get crazy, or cry, or fall on his or her face. And, I’m only now finding the words for all that I would have loved to have said to my friends last night. On top of benefitting tremendously from my full-Italian immersion, I have learned tolerance, acceptance and self-discovery, and I couldn’t be more proud with this huge milestone that I have overcome both individually, and with my group. While I feared the intensity of Holy Cross’ program, I now completely understand their thinking and would always recommend what I did to others. Host families are a golden opportunity for immersion and cultural acceptance. Staying for two semesters provides for the perfect balance between traveling Europe and creating a life for yourself in your respective host country. While there were many low points, those were the scenarios from which I have learned the most, as they have taught me how to enjoy the good as fully as possible.

I’m now three hours from the “real world” and preparing to close the most memorable chapter, and best year of my life. Adjusting back to the life I left in August is going to be a huge challenge, and I know that a lot of my friends may not understand the things that will upset me at home, but I’m going to work through it all as best as I can, and have an amazing senior year at Holy Cross.

Well all, thanks for reading my 9-month blog, and let’s hope that when this plane lands, my 3 overweight bags have made the journey along with me.

Baci e abbracci,

Elsa

A "light lunch" with Maria

A few days ago, Maria proposed the idea to use the gift card (that we had given her as a thank you for a great year) to take all 8 of us out to lunch. We were very flattered by her unnecessary gesture and happily accepted the invitation. So, today at 12:15, we met outside of CLIDA and walked to the beautiful 5-star plus hotel, called Hotel Helvetia & Bristol, for what Maria and Piero called a "light lunch." The hotel is absolutely gorgeous. Before entering the dining room, we had aperitivo in the lobby on velvet couches while admiring beautiful paintings hanging on the wall. We drank prosecco and snacked on olives, pistachios, peanuts and potato chips. Mmmm :)

Our table was beautifully set and Maria and Piero had already picked a set menu for the 10 of us, which was delicious. We started with vegetable lasagna which was lightly fried in a rounded crepe-type of pasta. It was probably one of the best lasagnas that I had ever tasted. Then, they brought out an arugula, parmesan, braesola and olive salad that was incredible. Sadly, I couldn't finish it all because I was so full. For dessert we had chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut gelato in one of those cone bowls. The entire meal was out of this world and we had a great time chatting with Maria and Piero.

At the end of the lunch, we took a great group photo and shed some tears (again) for the amazing relationship that we had built with Maria and the chapter in our lives that is coming to a close. Maria and Piero are such wonderful people and I'm so thankful to have come to know them so well. We'll be writing each other and calling as often as possible.

After we said goodbye, a few of us sat in Piazza della Reppublica for a while to soak up the sun and then we bought some books for next year's Italian class at Holy Cross. Then, everyone else had to go to tutoring, so I walked around the center and bought a few last-minute things and then did some window shopping on the Ponte Vecchio. I don't know why I torture myself. Now I have a ring idea in my head that I'll never be able to afford. I'll keep searching.

We're all staying in tonight because last night was pretty crazy and because everyone has a final exam on Monday. Mine is on Tuesday, so I fortunately have one extra day to study. To be quite honest though, I'd rather just get the thing over with. I think I'll just pack my bags a little bit tonight to get myself ready. I don't want to spend my last day in Florence packing.

On a side note, Miss Maggie Rossi found a great video of Dario Cecchini on the Bertolli website. Dario is the out-of-his-mind butcher that runs the restaurant, McDario in Chianti. Piero and Maria took us there in April, and we had a great time, so I thought I'd throw the video up here so that everyone could see how whacked out (and brilliant) this man is. I didn't realize that he was so world-famous! Aren't we lucky?!

A dopo!

Last family gathering

Buongiorno a tutti!

Yesterday, I was the honorary guest at my goodbye party, hosted by Antonio and Annarita. At 1pm, I went over their house, and every one of my Italian family members was there: Annarita, Benedetta, Antonio, Antonella, Alessandro, Arianna, Andrea, Alberto, Maria, Maurizio. Even Marcella (one of my Grandmother’s best friends) and Renato (her boyfriend) came!! When I arrived there, I hung around outside with Alberto while he manned the grill. Maria came out to join us and gave me such a thoughtful gift. She and Alberto had gone to Bosnia a few weeks ago and bought me a blessed pendant of the Madonna. I was so touched. Of course following my receipt of the gift Alberto asked me, “You’re Catholic right?” I said, “I’m on a level just shy of Catholicism, because my Dad is Catholic, but my mother was Protestant; so when they were married, they decided to meet halfway.” He didn’t seem to like my answer so he said, “Your Grandmother was Catholic, so you’re Catholic.” I left it at that. There is no convincing an 87-year-old man of anything.

We ate lunch on Antonio and Annarita’s new and beautiful enclosed patio, at a long white table. The food, as always, was incredible. We started with oversized ravioli in a mushroom cream sauce. Then we had penne with a tomato, mushroom and pancetta sauce. Then, we had grilled chicken drumsticks, grilled ribs, grilled sausages, and grilled steak with arugula and parmesan cheese on top. We had sautéed mushrooms and lightly French fried potatoes on the side. We drank amazing Calabrese wine, which was so light and perfect for the occasion. Annarita put mushrooms in almost every dish because she knew how much I loved them. She doesn’t even care for them that much! What a sweetheart to think of me so sincerely.

The most memorable part of the whole party was when they collectively gave me a heartfelt card and a pair of gorgeous gold earrings from the Ponte Vecchio. Because Italian calligraphy is so difficult to read, Benedetta read the card aloud for everyone, and we were all moved to tears. Antonella wrote the most beautiful things on behalf of everyone. I was so touched. Here’s what it said and then I’ll put the translation:

This was the cover of the card:

“Non accontentarti mai, perché oltre all’orizzonte c’è sempre l’infinito.” (Jim Morrison)

Here is what was written on the inside:

Cara Elsa,

Sono proprio la tua curiosità, l’intelligenza e la voglia di sapere che ti danno la spinta ad andare oltre il tuo orizzonte e ad oltre passare l’oceano. Qui hai trovato tante cose nuove e tante cose vecchie, ma soprattutto hai trovato la tua famiglia italiana, di cui avevi sentito parlare dalla tua nonna Rosa. Noi speriamo di non aver deluso quel che immaginavi di noi e quanto ricordavi da racconti e vecchie foto. Sicuramente tu per noi sei stata una sorpresa bellissima, sei veramente una bella persona, completa di gentilezza e dolcezza, decisione e forza d’animo che già avevamo conosciuto in zia Rosa. Cara Elsa, grazie di cuore da tutti noi per aver voluto conoscere l’Italia, la nostra lingua e la tua famiglia qui. Ti auguriamo le cose più belle, tante salute, tante gioie e fortuna nel lavoro e in amore. Ma speriamo anche di rivederti negli anni che verranno, e ci auguriamo che il filo che unisce la famiglia americana e quella italiana sia forte e ben stretto nelle tue mani come lo è stato nelle mani di zia Filomena e zia Rosa. Un bacio e un abbraccio forte da

TUTTI!

(I had to get that down before I forgot what it said, since it’s so hard to read.)

Here’s the translation:

This is a loose translation of the quote, because I couldn't find it online:

"Don't let yourself be satisfied because beyond the horizon, there is always the infinite." (Jim Morrison) 

Dear Elsa,

It is your curiosity, intelligence and desire to know that gives you the push to travel beyond your horizon and across the ocean. Here you found many things new and many old, but above all, you have found your Italian family, that about which you have heard spoken by your Grandmother Rose. We hope not to have disappointed what you have imagined of us, and all that you remember from stories and old photos. For us, you were certainly a very wonderful surprise; you really are a beautiful person, complete with kindness and sweetness, decidedness and strength of soul that we had already come to know in Aunt Rose. Dear Elsa, thank you from the hearts of all of us for wanting to know Italy, our language, and your family here. We wish you the most beautiful things, good health, many joys, and luck in work and love. But, we hope also to see you again in the years that come, and we hope that the thread which unites the American and Italian families is strong and tight in your hands, as it was in the hands of Aunt Filomena and Aunt Rose. A kiss and a big hug from

ALL!

So after reading that, I’m pretty sure it’s obvious how easily the tears soaked the table. I was so touched, and crying can certainly become a chain reaction, especially when you’re with your family.

For dessert, they brought out a beautiful cake with the words written “Ciao Elsa” across the whole thing. I cannot forget to mention that Annarita had heard me last weekend talking about how much I had loved the cake at Benedetta’s birthday party, so today’s cake was the exact same thing, down to the bakery. It’s called Millefoglie, and it’s the best cake I have ever tasted (and probably will ever taste) in my life. There were also strawberries in syrup and dessert champagne which they had me open. They asked me to make a toast, which I of course panicked about briefly. I came up with (in Italian, of course): “Thank you all for your presence today, for your gifts, and for being my family.” I guess it worked well considering the fact that most of the women broke down and cried, and even Maurizio a little bit!

After our long lunch, we cleaned up and I hung out with Arianna, Bendetta and Andrea for a little while. Then, Antonella took me to the bus stop, and I came home. I was so sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially Alberto and Maria. Maria was a mess because I think she’s worried that she and Alberto won’t have the chance to see me again, since they are so late in their lives. I told them how much I loved them and how much they meant to me, and I plan to call them as often as possible when I get home, just in case what Maria thinks turns out to be true. Alberto sent me home with two bottles of wine for my Dad, wrapped in bubble wrap and masking tape. On the masking tape he wrote:

“Insieme alla tua donna bevi in buona salute. Stai attento a non ubriacarti. Insieme ci ubriacheremo allorche vieni in Italia. Tanti cari abbracci da tutti noi di famiglia. Il ginocchio mi fa tanto male. Ciao Prus. Alberto.”

“Together with your woman drink in good health. Pay attention not to get drunk. We will get drunk together when you come to Italy. Many dear hugs from all of the family. My knee hurts very badly. Goodbye Prus. Alberto.”

I guess Alberto heard wrong on Dad’s name. It’s ok, Prus sounds just as good. :) The whole knee statement while completely out of context and hilarious, is Alberto’s plea for the pain-killing cream that my Grandmother used to bring him. Dad’s working on the package and will be sending it to Alberto so that he doesn’t have to be in pain much longer.

As for the rest of the family, Annarita and Antonella wouldn’t allow the party to be the last time they saw me, which I knew would happen. They will be coming into the center of Florence to take me for gelato sometime in the next 2 weeks. Thank goodness I didn’t have to say goodbye to Benedetta and Andrea, since they are coming to America. Benedetta asked me today for help buying her an iPhone in the States. I have no idea what I’m doing with that technology, so thank goodness for Paul. I can’t wait to show them what America is all about!

All I have to say is that I’m so thankful for this family. Each one of them is just as amazing as the next. Even if I hadn’t learned anything else this year, knowing my Italian family has been the biggest treat of my whole experience here, and that would have been enough.

I’ll miss them, but I’ll be back soon!

2nd Last

On Thursday night, we had our final dinner at Elisa's house (my second "last"). The day's build-up to the event brought along some troubles, which naturally always start with the public transportation system. We were supposed to arrive at 7:45 pm in front of the David at Piazzale Michelangelo to meet Elisa, so I left my house around 6:15, knowing I would need at least 45 minutes on the bus with the traffic that I knew would be heavy at that hour. The bus was moving along nicely until it passed the two stops at which I would have been better off disembarking, as I quickly concluded when we were stopped dead in traffic for 45 minutes outside the station. During this time, I was thankful that the bus wasn't packed and that it wasn't a hot day because I probably would have punched someone otherwise. I was minding my own business and very antsy about making it to Elisa's on time, as it was already 7:15 and I was only outside the station (From my house to the station should be a 20 minute bus ride, on a normal day. It had been an hour at this point.) At a certain point, I heard loud gasps coming from the back of the bus and thought "Oh no. Who has a gun?" Fortunately, I was wrong about the gun and turned around to see an amusing scene. A euro-trash, trying-to-look-awesome, Albanian man had opened a beer on the bus, and it exploded all over the elderly woman sitting next to him (that his friend had offered his seat to 15 minutes prior) and 2 women in the seats in front of him. They most certainly weren't the happiest about it, and it made matters worse that he really didn't know how to apologize in Italian. He just sat there smiling stupidly and saying "Scusa," which is completely incorrect because he should have been using the formal, or the plural "you" form. So, for the rest of the ride, everyone was wiping themselves off and trying to ignore the stench of alcoholism within the bus.

When I got to the bus stop to switch to a bus in the direction of Piazzale Michelangelo, I popped my head out and saw Maggie and Maggie motioning for me to stay on the bus. They hopped on and we rode it to the other side of the river, and then walked up to the Piazzale, which was very pleasant. When we got there, we encountered Grace and Carla, and it was about 7:45. I couldn't believe that with all the bus traffic I had made it on time.

When we got together and realized that it would be our last time seeing Elisa and we had forgotten to get her a present (which is HUGE in Italian culture), horror took over our usually pleasant-looking faces. We panicked and scrambled around Piazzale Michelangelo looking for flowers, which were nowhere to be found. All of the stands were selling stupid tourist things that Elisa would most certainly have hated, and probably been offended by. At that moment, I thought to call Jeff because he had yet to arrive, and we hoped he would be near a flower stand or something. Calling him brought along more terror as he informed us that he had been stuck in my same bus traffic and hadn't even made it to his house yet to change!!! He lives  far out of the city, and his bus runs very infrequently, mind you all. Considering the not-so-warm relationship that Jeff has with Elisa, we panicked even more about his tardiness, while still trying to make Elisa's present appear from thin air. Of course, the girls all blamed me in having a flub of less-than-thoughtful thinking. But, we had to move on quickly so as not to waste any time while we were waiting for Elisa to arrive and pick us up.

Suddenly, Carla had a stroke of brilliance. Way back in September, Elisa had taken us on one of our first cultural outings to see a metal artisan. Carla has since then visited the metal artisan religiously and has bought tons of jewelry from him, a lot which she happened to be wearing. Thinking on her feet, she took off one of her adorable bracelets with a huge rose and said "We'll give her this. I really don't mind." We were in no situation to refuse a gift of this type, so we searched for something to wrap it in. Miraculously, Carla had tissue paper in her purse, though I don't know why. We made one of those little sacks out of it and put the bracelet in. However, we had no ribbon to tie it, making the fact that this was a "panic present" very obvious. Then, Grace had a moment of quick thinking when she eyed the Zara (a clothing store) shopping bag that I was holding. She grabbed it from my hand and ripped off the brown handles, which she tied around the tissue paper for what she excused as the "au natural" look. It totally worked.

Elisa arrived in that moment, and Carla shoved the present in her purse. Only 3 girls fit in the car, so Carla and I stayed behind to pretty the present. When Elisa came back for us, she found us giving directions to two women who were lost. They spoke only Spanish, so we used our Italian. It might have worked, but who knows. Elisa drove us up higher on the hill and we arrived at her house, which is walled in and sealed off with one of those awesome automatic gates. I knew that she was well-off just by knowing the area in which she lived, (not to mention that fact that she's an Art History PhD and Florence tour guide, and her husband is an engineer) but this complex was incredible. Carla and I were still shaking about the present thing, but we collected ourselves and walked into the beautiful villa to greet her husband, Marco, who is so charming and adorable, and the cutest little girl I had ever seen, their daughter, Elena Sofia. She is just about 3 years old and quite the talker. Hearing little kids speak better Italian than I do usually makes me melt, so this little peanut gave me the effect times 10. She was wheeling around a little baby carriage with teddies in it, and everyone was completely awestruck by her.

Elisa led us all outside to show us "the view" from her backyard, and Elena Sofia kept wheeling her carriage along with us, chatting up a storm and speaking in beautiful, full sentences. I knew she would be smart just by looking at her parents, but I was still very shocked and impressed. Apparently, she's "picking up" English too because Elisa and Marco speak it so often. We got to her backyard and saw their personal olive grove from which they make olive oil, and the most spectacular private view of the Florence skyline that I had ever seen. What an unbelievable piece of property. Marco explained to us that his great-grandfather had bought the land a long time ago, and now the huge villas are sectioned off to house a large part of his family. So cool.

We went inside and sat down to the dinner that Andrea and Kevin had prepared as their ICIP final presentation. (They both took a cooking class with Elisa's mother for their ICIPs). All of the food was amazing. We had a pesto lasagna and a vegetable lasagna, which were both heavenly. Then we had meat that was so soft we didn't even need knives. For our side dish, we had vegetable spring rolls, wrapped in cabbage leaves. Dessert consisted of tiramisu and strawberries, and both were incredibly delicious, especially considering the fact that strawberries are now in season. They really know what they're doing here in Italy with the cuisine.

To backtrack, by the end of the pasta course, it was 9 pm and Jeff still hadn't arrived. Elisa was getting PISSED because she felt that he hadn't taken her invitation to dinner seriously. Grace called Jeff to find out that he had been waiting at his bus stop, and the man waiting next to him had flipped off the driver, so he drove past the stop as punishment. So aside from being late to begin with, everything seemed to be working against him. He had made it to the bottom of Piazzale Michelangelo and was planning to walk up to the meeting spot that we had all left from about 1.5 hours before. Elisa was still very angry and sent her mother to pick him up in the piazza, even though she had no idea what he looked like. Jeff later informed us that she had been driving around the piazza screaming Jeff's name out the window, in order to find him. Just imagine the image of an old lady trying to find her date, which is exactly what it seemed like.

During the main course, Jeff walked in the door and Elisa's face lit up in sheer joy. He made the most perfect entrance, wearing khakis, a button down and a BOW TIE and carrying the flowers that I had made him buy during our panic session. At that point, it was better that Jeff had taken the credit for the flowers; he needed it to survive Elisa. Once Jeff walked in, the tension in the air was cleared and Elisa was so pleased that Jeff had been late because he had been taking his preparation for the dinner so seriously, as she thought.

During the meal, we all described our experiences with our ICIP projects and she gave us little Pinocchio's. Then, it was time to give her our present. Everyone did a great job in keeping a straight face and Elisa absolutely loved the bracelet! She put it right on and commented excitedly at how fondly we must have remembered our first cultural outing together to get her a bracelet from the actual site. Carla was sitting right next to her and says she saw the complete happiness in her eyes when she opened our gift. We breathed a sigh of relief after our quick thinking, and the dinner was complete.

At 10:30, a hired driver came to the house to pick us all up. We hugged Elisa goodbye and thanked her, and she actually cried! We're thinking that she probably liked us a lot more than people in other years because we were actually polite to her and thought to give her a present, which I'm sure she doesn't get often. I think we all started off on the wrong foot with her because she was very difficult to have as a tutor. Once second semester rolled around and we saw her only for non school-related things, she was very pleasant and fun to be around. So, we were actually sad to say goodbye in thinking about all the great outings she had done with us and all the strings she had pulled to make us happy at school.

Even though the hired driver was supposed to take us all to our respective homes, we were in a good mood and requested to be driven into the city center. We ended up partying and dancing until about 3 am. What an awesome night.

I forgot to mention that Carla was completely convinced that Marco, Elisa's husband, was American. He speaks English sooo perfectly with the right inflection, accent, and comedic timing that I would most certainly believe it if he had told me he were American. I can't believe how intelligent these people are. It's just amazing. Even though Elisa was a little tough to us in the beginning of the year, I'm certainly going to keep in touch with her. She's a great contact in Italy if I ever want to come over again to work or something.

So, that's another tearful "last" under the belt. Now I'm going shoe shopping :)

A dopo!

Sunday lunch with the family

I was feeling a little lonely throughout the past few days here in Florence, so I called up Anarita on Thursday night and invited myself over for lunch for today. It's never an issue inviting myself because they are always trying to get me to visit as often as possible.

Antonio picked me up from the bus stop as usual, and we went to Alberto and Maria's so that they too could be included in our lunch. We had a really nice time, and I was glad to see both Benedetta's family and Maria and Alberto at the same time. The food was terribly unhealthy, but delicious. We had two types of pasta, one with mushrooms and the other with fish. I loved them. Then we had fried chicken, fried veal, fried eggplant, fried zucchini and fried artichokes. Those Neapolitan folks really love their fried food. Maria also made a fabulous cake with strawberries and cream, but it was WAY better than American strawberry shortcake because the cake part was soaked in strawberry and sugar juice. I was in heaven.

I also got a kick out of their family dynamic, as usual. Alberto can't hear well and also likes to annoy his family members, so he started singing at the table and speaking very loudly. He was driving Benedetta crazy because she was trying to talk to me and couldn't hear what I was saying. Benedetta yelled at Alberto and he thought it was funny, so he just started yelling and singing even louder. I wish my voice carried a little more because I was rather unsuccessful today in the conversation department with Alberto as my challenger.

On a side note, I expressed my nervousness to Anarita about being able to see everyone before leaving and she solved my problem for me. I was afraid that I would continue to go over for visits with them planning a next time for me every time, up until the day I had to leave. I just don't have time for that. Anarita understood, so she planned a big party for me for next Sunday, and the whole family will come to say goodbye to me then. They are sooo nice. I can't wait!!!


Anyway, I have to go write my final paper. I'm almost done and Benedetta said that she would proofread it for me. I'm sure there are a lot of grammatical errors, so that will really help me out.


A dopo!

Dad's fun-filled vacation

Ciao a tutti!

If I were to write and describe everything my Dad and I did in the last 10 days, I would miss dinner tonight. So, I'm going to make a concise little list and inform everyone that we had a fabulous time at everything we accomplished! No negative experiences to report!

Here's more or less how it went:

Dad stayed in my extra bed at Maria Pia's house, which worked out just splendidly.

Day 1 (Florence, Tuesday):

• Santa Maria Novella pharmacy- Dad loved it!

• Delicious dinner at Maria Pia's.

• Pub Night at "Dexter's Laboratory" with my friends. Dad bought everyone drinks. What a guy.
  

Day 2 (Florence, Wednesday):

• Galleria Palatina in Palazzo Pitti.

• Sandwiches at Antico Noe. Dad was crazy for them.

• Gelato at Vestri. Another place that Dad loved.
  

• Bargain shopping in San Lorenzo Marketplace.

• Dinner at Alberto and Maria's with Benedetta, Antonio and Anarita. Antonio and Anarita wanted to see my Dad before they left for Vienna the following day.
  

Day 3 (Florence, Thursday):

• A few random errands.

• Had cappuccinos on the rooftop terrace of Rinascente. Took some great pictures of Dad "living the life."
  

• Bargain shopping again in San Lorenzo Marketplace.

• Mercato Centrale meat market. Fascinating and disgusting.

• Italian Literature tutoring= damper on the day. Dad shopped around for an hour in the bookstore downstairs from CLIDA.

• Lunch at Natalino. Warm and deliciously toasted sandwiches.

• Gelato at Grom. Yummm.
  

• Piazzale Michelangelo. It had been raining all day and then cleared up. The view was perfect.

• San Miniato church on top of the Piazzale.

• Dinner at Maria Pia's. Dad brought beautiful flowers.
  

• A walk around the center and a Charlie Chaplin impersonator.

Day 4 (Venice, Friday):

• Took a VERY early train to Venice and arrived around 10:30. 

• Dad bought a TON of glass souvenirs.

• Used Rick Steves' tip to cut the line and see St. Mark's Basilica. (His tip: Use the free bag check that not many people know about and get a card that allows you to skip ahead of everyone else).

• Found a nice family from Wisconsin and took an amazing gondola ride through the canals. Split the price 6 ways instead of 2= very key.

• Tried to get to Murano island to see the glass museum and demonstration, but discovered that it was too far away.

• Got the last train home.

• Ate dinner at La Giostra at 9:30. OUT OF THIS WORLD, as usual. Dad loved it.

Day 5 (Florence, Saturday):

• Dad bought beautiful suede shoes. (I insisted that he buy some Florentine leather for himself)

• Boboli Gardens. We were glad to have waited because the previous two days were cloudy and rainy. This day was perfect.

• Lunch at Antico Noe, again.

• Train to Siena for an evening visit.

• Saw the Duomo and Piazza Il Campo, famous site of "Il Palio."

• Searched for about an hour for Uncle Roger's dinner recommendation and failed because Maria Pia and Andrea had misread us the information on the business card which we had left at home.

• Had a pricey, but lovely dinner right in the piazza.

• Took the train back to Florence.

Day 6 (Florence, Sunday, Easter):

• Decided to skip out on the Scoppio del Carro outside of the Duomo because we really needed to avoid sickness and get some sleep. (The Scoppio del Carro is an Easter tradition where they throw a plaster dove at the Duomo and then light off fireworks. Oxen are also involved, as I understand it.)

• Leisurely bussed into the city center around noon, got cappuccinos, and walked around San Lorenzo.
  

• Met Maurizio (Alberto and Maria's son who still lives at home) who brought us to the Easter celebration at their house.
  

• Celebrated Easter from 1:30 until about 9:00 at night. We ate for about 4 hours non-stop and at the 9:00 mark when we were preparing to leave, Maria was in the process of making dinner. She was confused as to why we were leaving, and we were confused as to why she was making dinner after a 4 hour meal. No hard feelings though.

Day 7 (Rome, Monday):

• Took the 9:15 am train to Rome.

• Settled in at our hotel near the Vatican.

• Found one of Paul's favorite sandwich places from his study abroad experience. The sweet lady was still there and made us some fabulous sandwiches.

• Spent a lot of time walking around. It started to pour. 

• Walked to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and all the way to the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument.

• Soaked, we stumbled upon one of Paul's favorite bars from his study abroad experience. We went in for a drink.

• Upon emergence, the sun was shining brightly, thank goodness.

• Searched for an internet cafe (our hotel didn't have wireless) so that I could check my email on interview updates with the Citi Performing Arts center in Boston. Didn't receive anything.

• Walked all the way back to the hotel and stopped briefly.

• Walked all the way to Trastevere.

• Ate a fabulous dinner at Dar Poeta.

• Stopped for some twilight pictures of the Vatican on the way home.
  

• Went home, exhausted.

Day 8 (Rome, Tuesday):

• Woke up at the crack of dawn and walked to the Vatican Museum.

• Skipped the line because I had made reservations.

• Spent 3 hours touring the museum and saw the Sistine Chapel at the end.

• Broke for sustenance in the Vatican Cafe.

• The weather was perfect, so we walked to the Roman Forum.

• Almost forgot to eat lunch, so we just grabbed one of those terrible sandwiches from a cart vendor and shared it.

• Toured the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill with the help of my trusty Rick Steves book.

• Skipped the line at the Colosseum because we had bought our tickets in the Forum (thanks to Paul's suggestion).

• Toured the Colosseum and filled Dad in on the history.

• Dragged our aching legs and feet to a Rick Steves recommended cafe, Cafe dello Studente, and had a light snack because it was too close to dinner for a big lunch.
  
  
• Stopped at an internet cafe. No word at that point.
  

• Opted for a cab back to the hotel.

• Attempted to walk to dinner, but only made it half way before running out of time and taking a cab.

• Had some incredible fried zucchini flowers and spaghetti at a spaghetteria called, Archetto.

• Took my Dad on Rick Steves' "romantic night walk." (Campo dei Fiori --> Piazza Navona --> Pantheon (where we stopped for gelato at the famous, and crowded Giolitti) --> Trevi Fountain --> Spanish Steps (where we were harassed by an Indian man selling roses).

• Took a cab home and went to bed.

Day 9 (Rome, Wednesday):

• Got up early, once again. (This time, we were incredibly tired and sore).

• Took a cab to the Borghese Gallery, whose tickets I had reserved a week before because they only allow 360 people in per time slot. What an incredible museum. Bernini is a genius.

• Walked around the gorgeously green Borghese Gardens.

• Took a cab to Basilica di San Clemente.

• Toured the Basilica and were amazed by the underground passageways and Pagan altars.

• Had lunch on Via Cavour and soaked in the sunshine.

• Found the bus near Circus Maximus and took it outside of the Roman walls and to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano.

• Toured the Catacombs. SOOOOOO COOOOL!

• Took a bus back to the center and found an internet cafe to check my email for an internship response.

• Received a rejection from Citi Performing Arts Center (thumbs down).

• Proceeded to walk towards the area of dinner, but stopped when we saw video cameras and people outside of a governmental building near Vittorio Emmanuele II.

• Discovered that Berlusconi was inside.

• Waited for 45 minutes and decided to leave, laughing to ourselves about the amount of film that had been wasted on Berlusconi-less cars with tinted windows.

• Stopped in Piazza Navona for a cappuccino.

• Became the first guests, with a 7:30 reservation, at a restaurant called Tre Archi. 

• Ate a wonderful final dinner.

• Bought gelato from a gelateria that was blasting techno music.

• Walked home.

• Went to bed early.

Day 10 (Rome, Thursday):

• Got up at 6:15.

• Had breakfast with Dad and then put him in a car to the airport. :(

So clearly, we had a very full vacation together. It was a wonderful time, and I'm so glad that he was able to come and see and understand my life in Italy. When I arrived home this morning, I checked my email and received something from the Avon Foundation in NYC. Turns out, their first person had turned down the position and so, they offered it to me! For my whole train ride back to Florence alone, I had been thinking about my career and getting used to the idea of spending another summer on the Vineyard. Looks like that's all changed and I'll be part of the workforce this summer in NYC!! At this point in writing this entry, Dad doesn't even know yet because he's still in the air. I've left him two voicemails that he will check when he's on his layover in D.C. I know I'll be getting a call. It's too bad I hadn't checked my email just one more time yesterday. The email came through at 10:30 pm last night and I would have been able to celebrate with my Dad. Oh well, he'll still be very happy.


Now, it's back to work mode. I have a lot to catch up on.


Ciao!!

Jeff's 21st and Mac Dario

Ciao!

Yesterday was Jeff's 21st birthday so after our test in CLIDA, we celebrated with some mimosas, cake and lots of other junk food until 1 pm. When class ended, we got lunch and then Grace took me to a place she had recommended to get my hair cut. I think I got one of the best haircuts I've ever had. It was a breath of fresh air to get it chopped off. She took so much weight off by giving me tons of layers. I still have my length though! My hairdresser was awesome because she was Canadian and obviously spoke perfect English. She explained that she has dual citizenship, which was really cool, and that she's living in Italy for a few months and then going back for a break. Then, she'll be coming back for a longer span of time. Kind of weaning onto the idea of living in Italy, I guess.

I was excited to have my new hair for Jeff's birthday dinner, which we celebrated at Borgo Antico, his favorite restaurant. His mom (who is still in America) treated us to the whole thing!! We had a great time. Andrea and I split these amazing ravioli and spicy spaghetti, because we both wanted both. So, it worked out perfectly. We drank lots of wine and had amazing cheesecake for dessert. We were in food heaven despite the fact that the owners were being hardcore creepers on all the girls at the table. Apparently, according to Grace and Carla who frequent Borgo often, they are always hitting on them.

After dinner, one of the owners came out with us and brought us to this really cool bar/club, called Slowly. However, the atmosphere wasn't right for the kind of dancing that we wanted to do because everyone was just sitting around and the music was terrible. So, we decided to leave. We'll probably go back for a drink some day, but not for dancing. After Slowly, we went to Cafe Bigallo and sat there for a while. Elmer came to hang out with us and did some more insulting of the American culture. Here's how our conversation played out.

Elmer: Yea, every American is fake.

Me: What do you mean exactly? I know there are some fake people, but I really disagree about them all being that way.

Elmer: Well, even you're a little fake.

Me: Excuse me?

Elmer: Well, you're the least fake out of all your friends.

Me: Thanks, I think?

Elmer: Yes, but even you are still a little fake. For example, when you see a person you don't like, why do you talk to them?

Me: Well I'm not just going to pretend they don't exist if all my friends are talking to that person or something. I'm not going to hug and kiss them, but I'll be civil of course.

Elmer: And see, that's a little fake because it's not the way you really feel.

Me: Okay, Elmer.

I let him say what he wanted to say because he doesn't really have a filter on anything. However, I just always remember to not take anything he says seriously. That's the only way to deal with him. He's very socially strange, but a nice kid when you get past that.

We all called it a night around 2:30am, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

Today was an incredibly memorable day.  At 11am, we met Maria (our teacher from CLIDA) and her husband, Piero in front of CLIDA to drive to a restaurant called Mac Dario, in Chianti. I was so excited to be a passenger in Maria's mini cooper as we took the curves, climbing up the Tuscan countryside. She's a pretty good driver, for an Italian, but I'm not sure how much that's actually saying. Anyway, we arrived at Mac Dario around 12:30 and it was the coolest little place! There was a long picnic table set up and two smaller picnic tables tucked into the alcoves in the wall. In the middle of the room on the wall was a huge charcoal grill and all these cool appliances. The bathroom was made too look like a closet among the series of real closets, so I had a hard time finding it.

Apparently this place and this man are very famous in America, but I had never heard of either. Naturally, Maria and Piero are great friends with the owner, so we were their special guests. I wonder how they come to know so many classy people in high places. Mac Dario came out and greeted us all, and I told him that he was a genius. The waitstaff was also great, and one of the waiters had the most amusing sense of humor. He kept saying "Oh you young people, beautiful like the sun." When it came time for the food delivery, he put bowls out on the table and each of us had an individual one to ourselves. He proceeded to throw this amazing spiced salt mixture into each of our bowls, launching it from a spoon. He only missed once! Then, they brought out the "Accoglienza," which consisted of raw vegetables dipped in the aforementioned bowl with the salt, and olive oil and vinegar. There was also sushi of Chianti which I can't believe I liked. It was completely raw ground beef with lots of seasonings. I am shocked at how good it was. Unbelievable! There was also tuna of Chianti, which was grated chicken that had cooked in some kind of broth for 10 hours. It was delicious. The following dishes included rosemary pork and some kind of amazing meatloaf with a sweet and sour sauce. The meatloaf was my favorite of all the starters.

Our main course was the famous "Mac Dario," which was probably one of the best hamburgers I had ever tasted. It was the perfect size and cooked exactly the way I like it, about medium-well. It had a light bread crumb covering and a side of rosemary steak fries, onions, and boiled vegetables. There were also three amazing sauces. One was spicy and thick, the next was sweet and sour and had a marmalade consistency, and the last was honey mustard! We were pleasantly surprised about the last one, considering it's nowhere to be found in Italy. Maybe Mac Dario got the idea from his wife, since she's American and is obviously familiar with honey mustard. I ate as slowly as possible to enjoy every bit of it. For dessert, we had a delicious, light cake, called Schiacciata alla Fiorentina. There was also espresso, of course.

I absolutely cannot forget to mention our lovely neighbor who sat himself next to Maria at the communal table. Lord only knows what his name was, but he was sooooo annoying. He was an American from Chicago, and spoke only English. From the brief background that Maria gave us, we learned that he goes to Mac Dario EVERY DAY for a hamburger and tries to make conversation with the people around him whenever he is there. At one point, even the waiter walked behind him mouthing to me that he never shuts up and that he's always there. He reached over our section of the table, and even got out of his seat to walk down to the very end of our section to re-fill our waters. I could have done it myself. Such a weird man. When Carla asked him what he was doing in Italy, he responded, "I'm eating." Period. The whole time, Maria was sitting with her back to him and blatantly ignoring anything he said to her. Knowing full well that he didn't speak Italian, she talked about him in Italian to us the whole time that he was seated next to her. Poor Jeff was his unfortunate victim of conversation, so they ended up talking American politics the whole time. Jeff majors in Political Science, and I assume he shared that with the man. Apparently though, all of his ideas and opinions were completely unsupported and nonsensical. I really thought Maria was going to kill him and I can't imagine how he visits Mac Dario every day. All they serve is meat! I imagine he's not leading the healthiest of lifestyles. Maria also told us that last time they had lunch there, the man turned to her and asked "how do you say 'to bleach' in Italian?" She responded with "candegginare" and he said "are you sure?" ARE YOU SURE!? SHE'S THE ITALIAN ONE! We won't even discuss the randomness of that question.

Anyway, when we were done with lunch, we went to the downstairs part of the restaurant where he had his butcher shop. All the meat looked so perfect and fresh. Mac Dario was so excited to have us that he gave us all mini sizes of that salt and herbs mixture. I asked him if I could take a picture with him and he was delighted and hugged the guts out of me for the photo. Then he said "ti sono piaciuti i bruciaculi, giusto?"--> You liked the (literally) butt-burners, right? I had no idea what they were, but I responded positively. So, he wrapped those up for me as another present. When I opened it up later, I saw that they were delicious looking peppers, soaked in olive oil. Those are most certainly coming home to the States. I guess they will be spicy, considering the fact that he calls them "butt-burners." As I walked out of the butcher shop, I saw his meat refrigerator, which was on display to the public. Hanging inside were huge cow legs and slabs of other types of meat. It was very unique, to say the least. Outside, our waiter popped out the top window and thanked us a million times over, blowing us lots of kisses. Then we went to take some pictures in front of the hills of Chianti.

On a side note, while this Mac Dario is a complete genius, I also understand that he is a little crazy. Apparently, he held funerals for the cows during the "Mad Cow" epidemic. Maybe he's a cow-whisperer and that's why he makes such great food. :)

As we were driving back towards Florence, I had such an amazing feeling about my study abroad experience. First off, I couldn't believe that I was living real life. I was in Chianti at a famous restaurant, eating incredible food with some amazing Italians. Maria calls herself our Aunt, and that's what she really is. She loves taking care of us and I will never be able to find the right words to thank her for all of it. I was so perfectly content at lunch, speaking Italian with my friends and experiencing something so totally unique. I felt so included in the culture because the waitstaff was so genuine and fun. Also, Maria and her husband make me so comfortable because everywhere they take us, they know the owners. We are always welcomed with warm hearts and that really makes me feel like a native Italian and not like an American who completely sticks out.

We returned to the center around 2:30 and I met up with my friend Alex, from high school. She is studying abroad in Ferarra and came to visit Florence for the day with her friend Nikki. As soon as I found them, they were sooo ready to go shopping, so I took them to the Ponte Vecchio as per their request. They bought some beautiful pieces of gold jewelry. I was amazed at how beautiful everything was. Then, I took them to Prada, Gucci, Hermes, and Fendi, and I don't think more needs to be said about this, except that they dropped a TON of money in all these places. I ONLY watched, but it was fun. Actually, when we were in the jewelry store Alex reminded me of something that I had done in 7th grade that she'll "never forget." I don't remember this, but apparently I really liked her silver heart link Tiffany's bracelet when we had French class together. She explained that one evening I called her house (this was pre-cell phone) and asked her where she had bought it because I had wanted to ask for it for my birthday. I guess her Mom thought that I was "soooo sweet" because I had no idea of any of these designer things, and I too found the story a little funny. I guess that answers my personal question of when I discovered Tiffany's. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing the bracelet as I type this entry.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I am so full from today and I think I'm going to stay in for the night and watch a movie. I need to be well-rested for homework tomorrow. Yay. Oh, and thank goodness that I had such a good weekend because I just received an email today that I didn't get the Avon internship in NYC. Apparently, they were impressed with my research and writing skills, but wanted someone with "more related experience." I'm sorry, but how much more related can my experiences get when I did Relay for Life for two years with the American Cancer Society?! Avon is a breast cancer foundation! What a lame excuse. Well, there's always more out there, I guess. I'll keep everyone posted.

A presto!

All-day lunch affair

Last night, we all stayed out very late dancing and had a blast, so when I woke up this morning, I wasn't exactly ready to go anywhere. But, I had made plans to have lunch with Antonella, Alessandro, Andrea and Arianna at their house in Bagno a Ripoli so of course, I still went. When I got there, we chatted for a while and they told me the story about how their cat Spotty, had been scraped by a car yesterday. Thankfully, he was alright but had to go to the vet for a look-see. The car had swiped him in the face, so his little lip was bloody and he had a broken tooth. Poor thing! Arianna was treating him like her teeny baby, rubbing him and giving him little bits of food and medicine. Soooo cute.

We sat at the table for 3 hours and ate way too much. We started with olives and chilled salmon and another type of fish. For our first course, we ate a delicious risotto with little pieces of clams. I don't usually like clams, but I really liked this risotto. Then, we had fried bakala, french fries and fried artichokes. Yes, everything was fried. I thought I was going to choke on grease. Obviously it was all delicious, but I couldn't believe she made frying the food the theme of lunch! When she heard me comment, "Wow, we're all fried today!," she asked if I also wanted a salad, which I happily accepted in addition. For dessert, we had fruit and tea and little cookies that were fabulous.

I spent lots of time filling them in on family dynamics back in the States. They were 2 years behind in information because my grandmother used to call and tell them everything, so they were very intrigued by all that our family has been up to. They also graciously invited my Dad and I to a huge Easter feast at Alberto and Maria's house. I was hoping they would because I had heard about it (but played dumb) and was dying to get invited. My Dad is going to absolutely love it. Aunt Gail told me that it's a lunch/dinner that starts at noonish and goes one course after another until 7 pm. We're going to die, but it's going to be great to spend that kind of time with the family.

Anyway, I left their house at 6 and got home around 7 and Maria Pia made me dinner. Ugh. Too much food; it never ends. Tomorrow Aunt Gail and Uncle Ellis are taking me out to dinner and on Wednesday, I'm taking my friend Zach out to dinner. Here's the story on Zach. Last night, we were in Cafe Bigallo and I rounded the corner to get back to my table from the bathroom. Who is sitting at the table across from mine?!!! Zach, one of my best friends from my first year at Salve. I can't even tell you how excited I was to see him. I got the most amazing rush of excitement, probably because he knew all about my transferring before anyone else and always tried to keep my spirits up when I was unhappy at Salve. I hadn't seen him since the end of freshman year when I left, and he was supposed to be transferring as well. He never got around to it and informed that I made a very smart move because he now hates it there. That's too bad. He always made me so happy because he's such a nut. So anyway, I must have more time to catch up with him and that's why I'm going out to a millionith dinner on Wednesday. It should be great!

I'm currently in search of a used bike. I need exercise and I'm sick of taking the bus. Right now, I'm going to look at some ads and see what I can find. School tomorrow. Buona notte!

Italian hospitality

Ciao,

I just wanted to mention something funny that happened Tuesday at breakfast. It was around 10 am and I was minding my own business, eating my yogurt, when I heard a knock at the door. Maria Pia was rushing to get ready to go somewhere at 10:30, but she ran to the door and answered it. From my spot at the table, I couldn't see our visitor, but I knew he was trying to sell something. Maria Pia talked to him for about 3 minutes, but I wasn't really paying attention. Next thing I knew, he came inside! I guess Maria Pia invited him in, but I wasn't sure.

When I finally saw him, I thought he looked to be about my age, and I'm pretty sure he thought the same as he perked up when he saw me. He immediately came over and shook my hand, and wouldn't stop looking at me! I was thinking to myself, "What the heck is Maria Pia trying to do to me!?" I WAS going to eat my breakfast in peace, but that changed. After he offered me a job doing whatever boring thing he was here doing and I politely declined, he gave my face a rest and talked to Maria Pia. I went back to my breakfast and didn't really listen to the conversation. But, a little while in, I started to hear Maria Pia's voice raise, and I knew that she was frustrated. So, then I listened! He was trying incredibly (and desperately) hard to sell her these books. She explained that she had let him in because she has a "weak heart for young people that try so hard to make money," but that she didn't want to buy anything that was going to be sent to her house, and that she was never going to read. This kid would not take no for an answer, so they kept arguing and cutting each other off with their own explanations. It was pretty funny.

When the kid finally threw in the towel and Maria Pia was ready to push him out the door, he bid farewell to me and then Maria Pia quickly changed her tone to Italian Mom... "Have you eaten anything today? Did you have breakfast?" I chuckled at that. Yes, he had eaten breakfast, but I loved that Maria Pia was so aggravated with him and still felt the need to offer him, a complete (and creepy) stranger, something to eat. That's great Italian hospitality.

Maria Pia throws a party/ Leather creations

Ciao a tutti!

Yesterday evening, Maria Pia had all of my friends over to celebrate both mine and Andrea's birthdays. (Andrea's will be coming up on Feb. 16.) She extended the table and set it absolutely beautifully, with fancy plates and wine glasses and everything! We started with three types of crostini, one with a salmon butter spread and capers, the next with sauteed onions, and the last with pureed broccoli and kidney beans. All delicious. For the first part of the first course, we had my favorite, spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and pepperoncino. For the second part, we had lasagna with bechemel (sp?) sauce that was absolutely, indescribably incredible! For the second course, we had chicken soaked in a gravy and mushroom sauce and we also had roast beef. Both were fabulous, of course, and the chicken was sooooo moist for having been cooked the way it was! We also had grilled eggplant with chopped parsley and tomatoes on top.

Right before dessert, Maria Pia gave Andrea and I our birthday gifts. We each received an authentic Italian cookbook with recipes labeled by the different regions from which they originate. It's all in Italian and all in the metric system. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen! I was so incredibly touched because it was such a thoughtful gift. She had written me a card, but I asked her to re-write her words in the cover of the book. I never want to forget what she had to say. I absolutely love it. We took plenty of pictures :)

At dessert, she brought out two cakes with candles on them, one for me and one for Andrea. "Mine" was basically a chocolate fudge cake. It's made with no flour, so that's what made it so incredibly fudgy, just the way I like it! "Andrea's" was the famous "Torta della Nonna," which is a Tuscan classic. It consists of a gooey white cream inside and a a fabulously fresh pastry crust, topped with naked almonds and powdered sugar. It's to die for... seriously. There were also Maria Pia's famous "Cenci" which are hard to describe. They are a Tuscan specialty that are made only around the festival of Carnevale (which is Feb. 16) and they are a light, cookie-type pastry, but much more flaky and thin. They are drowning in powdered sugar and absolutely delicious. Kevin loved them and ate 12. I can't forget to mention that everyone sang "Tanti Auguri" to us with the lights off and the candles going. That was very nice as well.

With the dessert, she served us home made limoncello, Vin Santo, and a sweet red wine. After having had plenty of regular wine with dinner, this was pretty crazy for us, but it was a celebration, so we drank it anyway. After all of this, we were incredibly full, so Maria Pia made us some tea for digestion. She offered us a digestive liquor, but we passed. We couldn't take any more alcohol haha.

After dinner, we chatted for a while and then passed around photos of Maria Pia's family, which she was happy to show us. As we hear over and over, she adores her grandson Leonardo, who is 5. She shared a hilarious story with us that I absolutely have to retell... So, Federica (Maria Pia's daughter, Leonardo's mother) is trying to have another child with her husband, Lorenzo. Sadly, Federica has some irreversible problems with her female parts, so she and Lorenzo have been having a lot of trouble. Leonardo doesn't understand, and wants a sibling very badly. So one morning, Lorenzo walks into the living room and greets Leonardo. Immediately Leonardo asks, "did you try to make a sibling for me last night?!" Lorenzo doesn't answer and then the next day, Leonardo asks the same thing. This time, Lorenzo says "no," and Leonardo then asks "well, if you can't try any more, let me try!" We died laughing.

I think that everyone had a great time. We were originally planning on going out, but we were all so exhausted that we changed our minds on that one. Thank goodness, because I'm still exhausted today.

Today, we met Elisa at 12:45 for lunch at Teatro del Sale. Yes, that same terrible place that we went last time with Elia for dinner and a show. This time, it was better because lunch was much more calm and quiet. The asshole host was still there watching us though. We had a nice time and of course, ate too much. At 3:00 after lunch, Elisa took us to our cultural event for this month. Jeff, Carla, Andrea and myself went to the workshop of a leather artisan, while Kevin, Maggie, Maggie and Grace went to a book-binding workshop. For 3 hours, the artisan named Moranda helped us to make a real leather picture frame book! (You know, the ones that open like a book and have a spot for a 4 x 6 photo on each inside cover.) I was finally able to figure out how those imprinted designs on leather actually stayed that way because I got to do them myself! For that, you leave the metal stamp on an open flame for five minutes and then quickly dip it in water to cool it slightly. Then, you press the metal stamp right onto the leather- and there you have your imprint that won't ever go away!

I really enjoyed working on this picture holder with the artisan. The other ones with me didn't seem to enjoy it as much, but I'm so into arts and crafts that I had a great time! Mine doesn't look as good as all of hers do, but it takes practice!

Now, I'm home and about to take a nap. It's about 8:30 pm and at 11:44, Andrea and I will be taking the bus into the center to wait for our bus to Pisa that will be leaving at 3:30 am. When we arrive in Pisa, we will be flying Ryanair at 6:30 am to Eindhoven. From there, we will take a train to Amsterdam and finally arrive sometime during the day tomorrow. I'm really excited, but dreading the trip itself. I'm sure I will have plenty of stories on Monday!

A presto!