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!
Showing posts with label culture SHOCK. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture SHOCK. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Frustration
So I'm just going to jump right into this...
I am trying really hard to understand what’s going on in my Italian Literature class and today, I asked for clarification from my tutor, Claudio who told me to ask the professor. I had already been to class by the time I contacted my tutor, so now I have to wait to talk to the professor until Monday. I don’t get why my tutor, who has a job to do, can’t ask the professor himself. After all, they’re friends! I don’t even know the polite and politically correct ways to ask these questions.
In class today, we found out from some other Americans that we may not have to read the ENTIRE collection of Verga’s Le Novelle but instead, just two clusters of short stories. One of the students clarified with our professor and he said that we should be reading, Le Novelle Rusticane and Per Le Vie. When I asked Claudio for confirmation, he said that the professor had told him something else, but that maybe he had changed his mind. Then he said to just ask the professor “when you go to class today.” “You fool!!! I already went to his class today! You’re our tutor and you don’t know when class is?!”… I didn’t really say that though.
I’m just trying to be a good student and read over the weekend. I don’t want to fall behind, but no one can tell me where to start or what to read in this monstrosity of a book! I would go start to finish if this were an English book, but since I’m much slower in reading and understanding in Italian, I can’t afford to read things that I don’t need for the exam. I don’t even think my professor knows what he wants.
Monday and Tuesday were absolutely brutal. I was out of the house from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm and I'm sure my exhaustion is contributing to this frustration. I'm definitely going to bed early tonight, but I still need my answers!
Ciao...
I am trying really hard to understand what’s going on in my Italian Literature class and today, I asked for clarification from my tutor, Claudio who told me to ask the professor. I had already been to class by the time I contacted my tutor, so now I have to wait to talk to the professor until Monday. I don’t get why my tutor, who has a job to do, can’t ask the professor himself. After all, they’re friends! I don’t even know the polite and politically correct ways to ask these questions.
In class today, we found out from some other Americans that we may not have to read the ENTIRE collection of Verga’s Le Novelle but instead, just two clusters of short stories. One of the students clarified with our professor and he said that we should be reading, Le Novelle Rusticane and Per Le Vie. When I asked Claudio for confirmation, he said that the professor had told him something else, but that maybe he had changed his mind. Then he said to just ask the professor “when you go to class today.” “You fool!!! I already went to his class today! You’re our tutor and you don’t know when class is?!”… I didn’t really say that though.
I’m just trying to be a good student and read over the weekend. I don’t want to fall behind, but no one can tell me where to start or what to read in this monstrosity of a book! I would go start to finish if this were an English book, but since I’m much slower in reading and understanding in Italian, I can’t afford to read things that I don’t need for the exam. I don’t even think my professor knows what he wants.
Monday and Tuesday were absolutely brutal. I was out of the house from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm and I'm sure my exhaustion is contributing to this frustration. I'm definitely going to bed early tonight, but I still need my answers!
Ciao...
Monday, February 15, 2010
Venice Carnevale
Ciao!
Yesterday morning, we left our house at 7:05 am to meet the Florence For Fun student travel agency at the train station for our trip to Carnevale in Venice. We were scheduled to leave by 7:30, but didn't get on the road until 8:30 because they were so poorly organized with checking in about 100-150 kids. We arrived in Venice around 12:30 instead of 11:00 as originally planned. There were no spaces left for our busses in the parking lot, and that was really annoying. I think the guides were able to sense our aggravation because as we were leaving the bus, they pushed our leaving time back from 6 pm to 7 pm. All settled.
We boarded a water taxi to take us to Venice from the mainland, and it was a perfect day. The sun was bright and there was just a little haze from the water. It was so beautiful. I took a few pictures from the boat.
When we arrived in the main area of Venice, Maggie, Andrea, and I immediately bought masks. I chose a gold and white one, with white feathers and lots of glitter. Of course, I saw many others that I would have wanted too, but I could only afford one. Carla had brought a mask with her, and neither Kevin nor Jeff were remotely interested in sparkly, feathery masks. I guess that's understandable. We walked to San Marco where the major festivities of Carnevale were taking place. There were lots of people walking around, completely decked out in 16th and 17th century costumes and masks. (I was able to recall the names of all the parts of the costumes thanks to my History of Costume course.) Others had less-traditional costumes. I was intrigued by a man who was wearing a snail body so that it looked like he was riding it. There was also a man dressed up as a Playboy, which was kind of gross. There was a human sun that was so bright, I had a hard time looking at him with the real sun's reflection. It took a very long time to walk through the Piazza because the whole place was shoulder-to-shoulder people. On our walk through, I stopped and fed some pigeons. There are so many that if you bent down gently with some crumbs in your hand, they'd come right over and peck them off! I tried it, and it was fun :)
We got across San Marco and strolled around for a while, admiring the canals and taking pictures of all the gondolas. I didn't realize that there were so many! While we were gondola-watching, one came by with a couple in it. The woman lifted up her hand to show us her ring. Her fiancee had proposed to her on the gondola on Valentine's Day! Sooooo cute! We clapped for them :)
At 3 pm, the agency with which we had come had set up a glass-blowing demonstration for us. Carla wasn't interested in coming, so she got herself some lunch while Maggie, Kevin, Jeff, Andrea and I went to the demonstration. Usually, most of the Murano glass is made on the island of Murano which is right off the main island of Venice. This place was mainly just for demonstrations and it's huge number of showrooms. It was really cool though. The glass-maker made both a vase and a horse, and he made it look so easy! It's crazy how they do it! After seeing the actual blowing process, our guide brought us to a chandelier room and explained they way they change the colors of the glass using the natural elements. The chandeliers were absolutely amazing and the information was pretty cool too. Then, we were free to look around for a while. I couldn't afford anything, but their stuff was beautiful. It was so expensive because this store guaranteed that everything was hand-made. It also looked like a pretty famous store, as there were TONS of rooms with all different types of things.
After the demonstration, we scooped up Carla and started to do a little glass shopping. At the first store, I was terribly offended by one of the men who worked there. I was in search of small earrings in the form of a ball, so when he asked if I needed help in English, I responded in Italian (because I need the practice, of course!) that I was looking for earrings in the form of a ball. He rudely responded to me very quickly in Italian, thinking that I wouldn't understand him. He said, "it's better that we speak in English because your Italian is a disaster." I looked at him and said "Excuse me? Then you don't need my business." And I walked out. After the fact, I thought of a million other things I could have said to that guy, but I suppose my choice of action was sufficient. Maggie and Andrea were both with me and were equally shocked by how easily and nonchalantly he offended me. They also left immediately, following behind me. The next store I went to, I found my earrings and a few other things I wanted. HA. Serves him right. What he said is still bothering me, but Maria Pia assures me that my grammar is perfect and that all I have to do is learn more vocabulary and speed, which I'm already aware of and don't mind working on.
After our shopping spree, we visited the Rialto Bridge and took a few pictures. It was swarming with people, so once we had gotten our photos, we left. Then, we found a little place to eat near one of the canals. The food wasn't out of this world, but it was just as tasty as we had wanted. I had spaghetti with red sauce and mini shrimp. I had read that the seafood was very good, so I wanted to try it. I don't think this place was the most ideal restaurant for seafood, but it wasn't bad.
We left dinner at around 6:30 and bought some Bellini in bottles. Bellini is a champagne and peach juice drink that is very famous in Venice. We pretty much ran all the way back to the boat dock with these bottles because we feared that the boat would leave without us. However, we should have learned from the experiences that morning because we arrived around 7:15 pm, and didn't leave until around 8:15. Fortunately, it didn't matter to us. It was a beautiful night so we drank our Bellini and took a few pictures. When the boat came to get us, Maggie ran into a high school friend on board, and two foolish American girls tried to pretend to be French to Kevin. It didn't work because they couldn't speak French very well, and their fake English was absolutely stupid. Also, when Kevin called me over and said "Hey Elsa, you remember a little French right?," they got very nervous and turned around. How can an American think that they can fool another American? We all know that we stick out like sore thumbs.
Anyway, we got back to the bus around 8:30 and I passed out immediately. I missed 5 calls from my Dad during the ride (sorry Dad), but I got back to him when I woke up in Florence around 11:45 pm. Andrea and I decided to take a cab because the next bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 12:30 am. We had a little trouble getting a cab because while we were figuring our plans, there was some kind of trouble between the cab drivers and a group of African men. They were all arguing and calling each other racists until the cops came over and broke it up. After that, the cab drivers got back in their respective taxis, and we went home.
I really enjoyed Carnevale. It was such a unique experience. It's amazing how much effort these people put into their costumes. It's really something special to see and I would recommend everyone to go if they ever get the chance. I hope that I can go back some day. It's most certainly classier than the American Halloween!
A presto!
Yesterday morning, we left our house at 7:05 am to meet the Florence For Fun student travel agency at the train station for our trip to Carnevale in Venice. We were scheduled to leave by 7:30, but didn't get on the road until 8:30 because they were so poorly organized with checking in about 100-150 kids. We arrived in Venice around 12:30 instead of 11:00 as originally planned. There were no spaces left for our busses in the parking lot, and that was really annoying. I think the guides were able to sense our aggravation because as we were leaving the bus, they pushed our leaving time back from 6 pm to 7 pm. All settled.
We boarded a water taxi to take us to Venice from the mainland, and it was a perfect day. The sun was bright and there was just a little haze from the water. It was so beautiful. I took a few pictures from the boat.
When we arrived in the main area of Venice, Maggie, Andrea, and I immediately bought masks. I chose a gold and white one, with white feathers and lots of glitter. Of course, I saw many others that I would have wanted too, but I could only afford one. Carla had brought a mask with her, and neither Kevin nor Jeff were remotely interested in sparkly, feathery masks. I guess that's understandable. We walked to San Marco where the major festivities of Carnevale were taking place. There were lots of people walking around, completely decked out in 16th and 17th century costumes and masks. (I was able to recall the names of all the parts of the costumes thanks to my History of Costume course.) Others had less-traditional costumes. I was intrigued by a man who was wearing a snail body so that it looked like he was riding it. There was also a man dressed up as a Playboy, which was kind of gross. There was a human sun that was so bright, I had a hard time looking at him with the real sun's reflection. It took a very long time to walk through the Piazza because the whole place was shoulder-to-shoulder people. On our walk through, I stopped and fed some pigeons. There are so many that if you bent down gently with some crumbs in your hand, they'd come right over and peck them off! I tried it, and it was fun :)
We got across San Marco and strolled around for a while, admiring the canals and taking pictures of all the gondolas. I didn't realize that there were so many! While we were gondola-watching, one came by with a couple in it. The woman lifted up her hand to show us her ring. Her fiancee had proposed to her on the gondola on Valentine's Day! Sooooo cute! We clapped for them :)
At 3 pm, the agency with which we had come had set up a glass-blowing demonstration for us. Carla wasn't interested in coming, so she got herself some lunch while Maggie, Kevin, Jeff, Andrea and I went to the demonstration. Usually, most of the Murano glass is made on the island of Murano which is right off the main island of Venice. This place was mainly just for demonstrations and it's huge number of showrooms. It was really cool though. The glass-maker made both a vase and a horse, and he made it look so easy! It's crazy how they do it! After seeing the actual blowing process, our guide brought us to a chandelier room and explained they way they change the colors of the glass using the natural elements. The chandeliers were absolutely amazing and the information was pretty cool too. Then, we were free to look around for a while. I couldn't afford anything, but their stuff was beautiful. It was so expensive because this store guaranteed that everything was hand-made. It also looked like a pretty famous store, as there were TONS of rooms with all different types of things.
After the demonstration, we scooped up Carla and started to do a little glass shopping. At the first store, I was terribly offended by one of the men who worked there. I was in search of small earrings in the form of a ball, so when he asked if I needed help in English, I responded in Italian (because I need the practice, of course!) that I was looking for earrings in the form of a ball. He rudely responded to me very quickly in Italian, thinking that I wouldn't understand him. He said, "it's better that we speak in English because your Italian is a disaster." I looked at him and said "Excuse me? Then you don't need my business." And I walked out. After the fact, I thought of a million other things I could have said to that guy, but I suppose my choice of action was sufficient. Maggie and Andrea were both with me and were equally shocked by how easily and nonchalantly he offended me. They also left immediately, following behind me. The next store I went to, I found my earrings and a few other things I wanted. HA. Serves him right. What he said is still bothering me, but Maria Pia assures me that my grammar is perfect and that all I have to do is learn more vocabulary and speed, which I'm already aware of and don't mind working on.
After our shopping spree, we visited the Rialto Bridge and took a few pictures. It was swarming with people, so once we had gotten our photos, we left. Then, we found a little place to eat near one of the canals. The food wasn't out of this world, but it was just as tasty as we had wanted. I had spaghetti with red sauce and mini shrimp. I had read that the seafood was very good, so I wanted to try it. I don't think this place was the most ideal restaurant for seafood, but it wasn't bad.
We left dinner at around 6:30 and bought some Bellini in bottles. Bellini is a champagne and peach juice drink that is very famous in Venice. We pretty much ran all the way back to the boat dock with these bottles because we feared that the boat would leave without us. However, we should have learned from the experiences that morning because we arrived around 7:15 pm, and didn't leave until around 8:15. Fortunately, it didn't matter to us. It was a beautiful night so we drank our Bellini and took a few pictures. When the boat came to get us, Maggie ran into a high school friend on board, and two foolish American girls tried to pretend to be French to Kevin. It didn't work because they couldn't speak French very well, and their fake English was absolutely stupid. Also, when Kevin called me over and said "Hey Elsa, you remember a little French right?," they got very nervous and turned around. How can an American think that they can fool another American? We all know that we stick out like sore thumbs.
Anyway, we got back to the bus around 8:30 and I passed out immediately. I missed 5 calls from my Dad during the ride (sorry Dad), but I got back to him when I woke up in Florence around 11:45 pm. Andrea and I decided to take a cab because the next bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 12:30 am. We had a little trouble getting a cab because while we were figuring our plans, there was some kind of trouble between the cab drivers and a group of African men. They were all arguing and calling each other racists until the cops came over and broke it up. After that, the cab drivers got back in their respective taxis, and we went home.
I really enjoyed Carnevale. It was such a unique experience. It's amazing how much effort these people put into their costumes. It's really something special to see and I would recommend everyone to go if they ever get the chance. I hope that I can go back some day. It's most certainly classier than the American Halloween!
A presto!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Ancient Italian ways...
Usually I just laugh at how archaically daily tasks are carried out in Italy. I think their strange opinions on health and food are ridiculous, but I usually just let it roll of my shoulder. Today, I couldn't do any of these things. I can't believe I'm saying this but... I'm actually annoyed with Maria Pia.
Incident #1: Two days ago, I asked for some tea in the afternoon because I wanted to relax a little. I volunteered to make it myself, but I guess that wasn't the problem. As soon as I had asked, Maria Pia got all worked up and said, "You really shouldn't be drinking that much tea. It's not good for your health." I got a little ticked and answered back that it's fine for my health. I only use sugar and milk in the morning. Any time after that, I take it as is. It helps my digestion and I know that it's not "bad" for my health. I tried to tell her these things, but she didn't care to waver.
Incident # 2: This morning, Maria Pia scolded me for having given her too much laundry to wash. Allow me to remind everyone that when I gave her the laundry, I apologized for having a lot from our vacation to Amsterdam. She told me that it didn't matter because it would all fit in one load anyway. Well, I guess it mattered today because as she folded everything up for us, she counted how many things I had in comparison to Andrea. Do I have to keep watch on my laundry now to avoid frustrating her? Let's assume that she was having a bad morning or something. I don't want to blame her too much.
Incident #3: Also this morning, I came to the breakfast table in an outfit that I felt awesome in. I was wearing a sweater with my new skirt, stockings, high socks, and high boots. The second I came into Maria Pia's sight, she actually started to YELL at me. She told me that my legs were going to be cold and that I was too "nuda" and that it was below freezing outside. It most certainly wasn't, because I checked the weather before getting dressed this morning and it said 45 degrees. (The Italians are pretty retarded when it comes to temperature. They tell you that it's the coldest day of the year when there have clearly been colder days. They wear layer after layer when it's 50 degrees out. They are crazy and don't understand that America is muchhhh colder in the winter than Italy.) She heard me cough only one time and started moaning and groaning saying, "O Dio mio! (Oh my God) You are still getting over your cold and you are going out like that so you can get sick again and blah blah blah." Anyway, I argued with her for a while and told her about my layers that I would be putting on under my coat, just to make her happy. She still went on about how I was under-dressed for 10 minutes after I had sat down. For the record, I was perfectly comfortable all day, if not even a little on the warm side for wearing all the layers that I had promised to Maria Pia. When I got home, she asked me if I had been freezing all day in an "I told you so" way. I told her that I had actually felt very comfortable. She thought that I was lying, so she put her hands on my legs. Suprise-- they were a NORMAL temperature. She has to stop bugging me about this stuff. I KNOW that it's winter.
Incident # 4: Maria Pia made pizza for dinner tonight. One included veggies, and the other was a 3 cheese pizza. The pizza in question is the 3 cheese one, consisting of gorgonzola, brie, and mozzarella. When she served this particular pizza to me, I did the usual; I sprinkled a little pepper on it. No big deal. Well, apparently I was a HUGE deal because Maria Pia got all worked up and told me that pepper was terrible for my health. She claimed that it clogged people's arteries while I sat there eating the 3 CHEESE pizza that SHE made! I assured her that I was fine and that I disagreed with her theory. I told her that my Dad was in the medical industry and that there has never been a problem with a person consuming too much pepper. She told me, "That's right, because you Americans are special so you don't have these problems. Well, obviously there is something wrong because there is such a problem with obesity." I am full aware that there is a problem with obesity, but what does that have to do with pepper!!?? That really pissed me off. I just feel like I'm being watched with every bite I take. She makes fun of me for eating too little and doesn't understand why more won't fit in my stomach. She makes fun of me for PEPPER! Whatever, she can eat as little pepper as she wants, and she'll be fine too.
Love her to death, but sometimes I want to bring her into this century and let her know that we're all ok with the way we choose to live.
Okay, I feel better now. We're going out tonight to celebrate Andrea's birthday so I'm looking forward to that.
A dopo!
Incident #1: Two days ago, I asked for some tea in the afternoon because I wanted to relax a little. I volunteered to make it myself, but I guess that wasn't the problem. As soon as I had asked, Maria Pia got all worked up and said, "You really shouldn't be drinking that much tea. It's not good for your health." I got a little ticked and answered back that it's fine for my health. I only use sugar and milk in the morning. Any time after that, I take it as is. It helps my digestion and I know that it's not "bad" for my health. I tried to tell her these things, but she didn't care to waver.
Incident # 2: This morning, Maria Pia scolded me for having given her too much laundry to wash. Allow me to remind everyone that when I gave her the laundry, I apologized for having a lot from our vacation to Amsterdam. She told me that it didn't matter because it would all fit in one load anyway. Well, I guess it mattered today because as she folded everything up for us, she counted how many things I had in comparison to Andrea. Do I have to keep watch on my laundry now to avoid frustrating her? Let's assume that she was having a bad morning or something. I don't want to blame her too much.
Incident #3: Also this morning, I came to the breakfast table in an outfit that I felt awesome in. I was wearing a sweater with my new skirt, stockings, high socks, and high boots. The second I came into Maria Pia's sight, she actually started to YELL at me. She told me that my legs were going to be cold and that I was too "nuda" and that it was below freezing outside. It most certainly wasn't, because I checked the weather before getting dressed this morning and it said 45 degrees. (The Italians are pretty retarded when it comes to temperature. They tell you that it's the coldest day of the year when there have clearly been colder days. They wear layer after layer when it's 50 degrees out. They are crazy and don't understand that America is muchhhh colder in the winter than Italy.) She heard me cough only one time and started moaning and groaning saying, "O Dio mio! (Oh my God) You are still getting over your cold and you are going out like that so you can get sick again and blah blah blah." Anyway, I argued with her for a while and told her about my layers that I would be putting on under my coat, just to make her happy. She still went on about how I was under-dressed for 10 minutes after I had sat down. For the record, I was perfectly comfortable all day, if not even a little on the warm side for wearing all the layers that I had promised to Maria Pia. When I got home, she asked me if I had been freezing all day in an "I told you so" way. I told her that I had actually felt very comfortable. She thought that I was lying, so she put her hands on my legs. Suprise-- they were a NORMAL temperature. She has to stop bugging me about this stuff. I KNOW that it's winter.
Incident # 4: Maria Pia made pizza for dinner tonight. One included veggies, and the other was a 3 cheese pizza. The pizza in question is the 3 cheese one, consisting of gorgonzola, brie, and mozzarella. When she served this particular pizza to me, I did the usual; I sprinkled a little pepper on it. No big deal. Well, apparently I was a HUGE deal because Maria Pia got all worked up and told me that pepper was terrible for my health. She claimed that it clogged people's arteries while I sat there eating the 3 CHEESE pizza that SHE made! I assured her that I was fine and that I disagreed with her theory. I told her that my Dad was in the medical industry and that there has never been a problem with a person consuming too much pepper. She told me, "That's right, because you Americans are special so you don't have these problems. Well, obviously there is something wrong because there is such a problem with obesity." I am full aware that there is a problem with obesity, but what does that have to do with pepper!!?? That really pissed me off. I just feel like I'm being watched with every bite I take. She makes fun of me for eating too little and doesn't understand why more won't fit in my stomach. She makes fun of me for PEPPER! Whatever, she can eat as little pepper as she wants, and she'll be fine too.
Love her to death, but sometimes I want to bring her into this century and let her know that we're all ok with the way we choose to live.
Okay, I feel better now. We're going out tonight to celebrate Andrea's birthday so I'm looking forward to that.
A dopo!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Teatro del Sale
Well, last night didn't turn out to be everything that we had been excited for. Elia (our cultural adviser) had emailed us in the beginning of the week inviting us to dinner at Teatro del Sale. All week, we looked up the place and reviews and got ourselves really excited. It's a type of club where you have to become a member to go, so we felt really cool to have been "privileged" enough to attend.
So last night, we met Elia in the center around 7:30 and all walked to the place together. It took about 15 minutes to get us signed in with our new membership cards and everything. We were so excited. When we finally got inside, the place was very unique. In the front room, they were selling artichokes in olive oil for 30 euro and sea salt for 15 euro. So, we figured that the place must have been really expensive. The dining area was very cool. It looked like an old, warm and cozy library with big leather couches and chairs, and lots of little coffee tables. Everything was fairly low to the ground, so we got all mushed up and very comfortable. Unfortunately, we had to sit at two separate tables because there were 9 of us, but the maximum place seated 5. It was alright though.
Once we got settled, the host explained the way the food and drink worked. Basically, the chef from the main room would scream out whatever dish was coming out of the kitchen. Then, it would go on a table and people would scramble to get some from the waiters that were assigned to dish it out. This main room had lots of tables and was much louder. So, I preferred our location in the back, lounge-esque area. We were also conveniently sitting right next to the never-ending, all-you-can-drink wine spouts. Everyone seemed to be entertained by that.
The whole night, the entire restaurant was basically on the same eating schedule. The chef screamed various entering appetizers and first course dishes for the first hour, and then moved onto the second course for the next half hour. The appetizers I liked included the freshly baked bread, kidney beans in olive oil, polenta with cinnamon, fuselli pasta with meat sauce, some other type of pasta with tomato sauce, sciaciatta bread soaked in olive oil, and mini meat balls. I also tried tripe since we didn't have to pay for the meal. For those that don't know, tripe is sheep's stomach, and it was gross. I don't think stomachs are made to be eaten. Anyway, the main course consisted of fish, veal, and chicken with the most amazing roasted potatoes. They were all very good. The chef also came out of the kitchen and walked around with huge sticks of bread that were made to look like femur bones. I got a kick out of that.
Now, despite the fact that all of this was very good and entertaining, we were also very frustrated with the crowd. ITALIANS ARE RUTHLESS when it comes to food. They can be rude and pushy and very unfriendly. At one point, I stood up at the buffet table waiting for the food to be handed out, and some lady came up from behind me and mushed her boobs into my back to get me to move! Then, she cut completely in front of me and I'm so short that the servers didn't even see me! Another time, I waited patiently for the veal and ended up being the last person to get served. At that point, all that was left was a bone, which I politely refused. I decided to share Kevin's.
At one point, I got my camera out to take a picture of my friends. Within seconds, the host came over and told us (in English, even though we had been speaking Italian the entire night) that photos are strictly not allowed. That was fine, whatever. BUT, I hate it when people switch to English when they are well aware that I know Italian. I think it's offensive because I know it means that they want to be SURE that I understand whatever it is that they want to yell at me about. It's always when we're doing something wrong that people switch over to English. I hate it.
After the meal, everyone was asked to get up and move their chairs into the main room for the performance. So, we brought over our chairs and our glasses of wine, excited for the show to start. As Maggie was setting up her chair, the same rude host (who we had originally thought was being really nice to us) turned around and bumped into her back, causing her to spill her red wine all over her dress. His apology was flat and insincere and he followed with "no drinks are allowed during the show." At that point, he walked away and didn't come back with anything to help her clean herself up. We were not very happy about that. Right before the show started, he came back to us specifically and said, very slowly in Italian, "do not under any circumstances get up during the performance." He said that to no one else but us. That pissed us off even more. How old did he think we were!? Five!? I've been to enough shows (better than this one) to know that you don't just get up and walk around during a show. We are not retarded. I know it was because we were the only Americans, and also the youngest in the place. So, Grace, Carla and Jeff snuck out while me, Kevin, Maggie, Maggie, Andrea, and Elia stayed for the production. It was some lady who sang and acted while her son (I think) played the guitar. Everyone was laughing, but I didn't find it very funny, especially after all the singling out that we had to deal with that night. So, I sat there not really listening and dozing in and out of sleep until it was finally over. Turns out that Elia (who's Italian born and raised) didn't even like it or understand that well either.
We were so happy when we were able to leave. We remembered that Elisa had told us that we would really enjoy the dinner and show. But then, we also remembered that Elisa is a middle-aged, very rich and intellectual woman. Therefore, this place was exactly her scene, and not ours. All of the adults were very snobby and selfish. I could tell just by looking around that everyone knew that we were there, and that in their opinions, we didn't belong. I even saw Elia texting his friend commenting on the snobbery within the place.
I kept thinking back to the Yacht Club, the snobbiest place that I've experienced, and I have to say that this place, though different, was definitely more frank about it. At the Yacht Club, people are usually snobby to each other, and not as much to me. However, I wasn't a waitress last night either. So, I'm not sure what to make of it.
After leaving, we all went to Shot Cafe to meet up with Jeff, Carla and Grace and hang out. Elia surprisingly came with us (he's incredibly religious and rarely goes out at night), but looked so uncomfortable and out of place that we weren't surprised when he said he was going to head home. Either way, it was really nice of him to waste his time trying to entertain us when it was clear that none of us had wanted to be at Teatro del Sale. He said that next time, we'll all just go for a pizza. WAY BETTER.
After Elia left, we tried to hang around, but the mood had been completely killed. So around midnight, we all just headed home and went to bed.
Thankfully, tonight should be much better. Maggie, Maggie, Andrea, Kevin and myself are going to Benedetta's birthday party at a Castle in Fiesole. She's turning 18 and in Italy, that's the big one. It should be really fun!
Anyway, I have a lot of studying to do before that, so it's time to go.
Ciao!
So last night, we met Elia in the center around 7:30 and all walked to the place together. It took about 15 minutes to get us signed in with our new membership cards and everything. We were so excited. When we finally got inside, the place was very unique. In the front room, they were selling artichokes in olive oil for 30 euro and sea salt for 15 euro. So, we figured that the place must have been really expensive. The dining area was very cool. It looked like an old, warm and cozy library with big leather couches and chairs, and lots of little coffee tables. Everything was fairly low to the ground, so we got all mushed up and very comfortable. Unfortunately, we had to sit at two separate tables because there were 9 of us, but the maximum place seated 5. It was alright though.
Once we got settled, the host explained the way the food and drink worked. Basically, the chef from the main room would scream out whatever dish was coming out of the kitchen. Then, it would go on a table and people would scramble to get some from the waiters that were assigned to dish it out. This main room had lots of tables and was much louder. So, I preferred our location in the back, lounge-esque area. We were also conveniently sitting right next to the never-ending, all-you-can-drink wine spouts. Everyone seemed to be entertained by that.
The whole night, the entire restaurant was basically on the same eating schedule. The chef screamed various entering appetizers and first course dishes for the first hour, and then moved onto the second course for the next half hour. The appetizers I liked included the freshly baked bread, kidney beans in olive oil, polenta with cinnamon, fuselli pasta with meat sauce, some other type of pasta with tomato sauce, sciaciatta bread soaked in olive oil, and mini meat balls. I also tried tripe since we didn't have to pay for the meal. For those that don't know, tripe is sheep's stomach, and it was gross. I don't think stomachs are made to be eaten. Anyway, the main course consisted of fish, veal, and chicken with the most amazing roasted potatoes. They were all very good. The chef also came out of the kitchen and walked around with huge sticks of bread that were made to look like femur bones. I got a kick out of that.
Now, despite the fact that all of this was very good and entertaining, we were also very frustrated with the crowd. ITALIANS ARE RUTHLESS when it comes to food. They can be rude and pushy and very unfriendly. At one point, I stood up at the buffet table waiting for the food to be handed out, and some lady came up from behind me and mushed her boobs into my back to get me to move! Then, she cut completely in front of me and I'm so short that the servers didn't even see me! Another time, I waited patiently for the veal and ended up being the last person to get served. At that point, all that was left was a bone, which I politely refused. I decided to share Kevin's.
At one point, I got my camera out to take a picture of my friends. Within seconds, the host came over and told us (in English, even though we had been speaking Italian the entire night) that photos are strictly not allowed. That was fine, whatever. BUT, I hate it when people switch to English when they are well aware that I know Italian. I think it's offensive because I know it means that they want to be SURE that I understand whatever it is that they want to yell at me about. It's always when we're doing something wrong that people switch over to English. I hate it.
After the meal, everyone was asked to get up and move their chairs into the main room for the performance. So, we brought over our chairs and our glasses of wine, excited for the show to start. As Maggie was setting up her chair, the same rude host (who we had originally thought was being really nice to us) turned around and bumped into her back, causing her to spill her red wine all over her dress. His apology was flat and insincere and he followed with "no drinks are allowed during the show." At that point, he walked away and didn't come back with anything to help her clean herself up. We were not very happy about that. Right before the show started, he came back to us specifically and said, very slowly in Italian, "do not under any circumstances get up during the performance." He said that to no one else but us. That pissed us off even more. How old did he think we were!? Five!? I've been to enough shows (better than this one) to know that you don't just get up and walk around during a show. We are not retarded. I know it was because we were the only Americans, and also the youngest in the place. So, Grace, Carla and Jeff snuck out while me, Kevin, Maggie, Maggie, Andrea, and Elia stayed for the production. It was some lady who sang and acted while her son (I think) played the guitar. Everyone was laughing, but I didn't find it very funny, especially after all the singling out that we had to deal with that night. So, I sat there not really listening and dozing in and out of sleep until it was finally over. Turns out that Elia (who's Italian born and raised) didn't even like it or understand that well either.
We were so happy when we were able to leave. We remembered that Elisa had told us that we would really enjoy the dinner and show. But then, we also remembered that Elisa is a middle-aged, very rich and intellectual woman. Therefore, this place was exactly her scene, and not ours. All of the adults were very snobby and selfish. I could tell just by looking around that everyone knew that we were there, and that in their opinions, we didn't belong. I even saw Elia texting his friend commenting on the snobbery within the place.
I kept thinking back to the Yacht Club, the snobbiest place that I've experienced, and I have to say that this place, though different, was definitely more frank about it. At the Yacht Club, people are usually snobby to each other, and not as much to me. However, I wasn't a waitress last night either. So, I'm not sure what to make of it.
After leaving, we all went to Shot Cafe to meet up with Jeff, Carla and Grace and hang out. Elia surprisingly came with us (he's incredibly religious and rarely goes out at night), but looked so uncomfortable and out of place that we weren't surprised when he said he was going to head home. Either way, it was really nice of him to waste his time trying to entertain us when it was clear that none of us had wanted to be at Teatro del Sale. He said that next time, we'll all just go for a pizza. WAY BETTER.
After Elia left, we tried to hang around, but the mood had been completely killed. So around midnight, we all just headed home and went to bed.
Thankfully, tonight should be much better. Maggie, Maggie, Andrea, Kevin and myself are going to Benedetta's birthday party at a Castle in Fiesole. She's turning 18 and in Italy, that's the big one. It should be really fun!
Anyway, I have a lot of studying to do before that, so it's time to go.
Ciao!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
La Questura and a family style dinner
Ciao,
So, I had my second week of my ICIP yesterday morning. I ended up taking the 5th grade English speakers into a smaller room and reading them "The Happy Prince." All of them liked the story, except for Oliver (the troubled kid), who was of course playing devil's advocate. But whatever. I'm not his teacher, so I challenged him a lot and definitely got him a little confused. Sometimes, kids like that need to hear the hard truth with a kind delivery. It makes them wake the heck up and listen. As for the 1st graders, I ended up staying in the classroom because they were out of control and Eleonora definitely needed help. I was pretty tired after that, but fairly happy about what we had done as a class.
After that, I headed straight to the Questura (immigration office) in hopes of getting my Permesso di Soggiorno (so that I don't get deported when they realize I'm not on vacation). All 8 of us went, got a number, and waited from 1:30 to 4:30 until our numbers were called. I got up to the window, gave them my passport and my appointment paper, and they told me that I was missing paperwork and couldn't have my Permesso. This happened to 5 out of the 8 of us and we were absolutely fuming. Kevin, Carla and Maggie Rossi happened to coincidentally have their extra papers with them. The rest of us had left them home in safekeeping. We were only told to bring our appointment papers. We weren't even told to bring our passports, but we had decided to just in case. We soon learned after waiting 3 hours that, yes indeed, we needed EVERYTHING. Fools. I must say that the Italian government and legal system is very poorly organized and an enormous pain in the neck. Was it too difficult to write on our appointment papers what we needed to bring?! Guess so.
Anyway, after that disaster, we hung around town until dinner. At 7:00, we met both of the Maggies' parents and the rest of our group of 8 in Piazza della Repubblica. Then, we walked to the restaurant where they had chosen to treat us to dinner. It was called "Il Latini," and when we arrived, there was already a big line outside. It was obviously very popular. Fortunately, we had a reservation for the 12 of us. The atmosphere was awesome and very family-style oriented. We had a nice table set for us in a little corner, with three 2 liter bottles of Chianti on it. Once we got settled in, the food appeared in masses. There was no menu to order from. Instead, the waiters just brought whatever was being made for the night.
First, let me point out that everything we ate was family style. The portions set on the table were enormous! We started with freshly sliced proscuitto, mozzarella balls, tomatoes, liver crostini (which was actually really good), buckwheat salad, stuffed peppers and bread. I think that was it for the first course. Regardless, everything was absolutely amazing. The first course included a soup with beans and barley, ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach in a red sauce, pasta with wild boar meat and red sauce, and ribollita (a typical Tuscan bread soup). Everything was incredible! The main course consisted of a huge plate of different meats (chicken, rabbit, steak, pork and lamb). I had the chicken and also tried the rabbit- which tasted just like chicken anyway. For the main course, there was also a plate of awesome beans, spinach, and rosemary potatoes. For dessert, our waiter brought out a plate of sweets including fruit tarts, panna cotta, caramel flan, profiteroles and some almond cake. With dessert, we had biscotti dipped in Vin Santo dessert wine, which is out of this world. They also brought us a dessert champagne that tasted soooo fresh and crisp- exactly like a perfect pear! Afterwards, the waiter decided that he liked us and brought us a bottle of limoncello (which the other tables didn't get).
At this point, we had been sitting, eating and talking for 3 hours, and were pretty full and drunk. We had such an amazing time getting to know the parents, and I think they were really happy with the solid group that we have here in Florence. Everyone is friends and takes good care of one another. We were all so grateful of the Rossi's and the Wright's for taking us out to such an amazing dinner. I'm sure it was incredibly expensive. I can't even imagine. Such wonderful parents. It was a little bit of a bummer for me though since my family is on the fence about visiting. It seems that this month has randomly become parents' month- all of the students' parents have come, and all at the same time!
Anyway, Andrea and I got home around 11 and just about went straight to bed. We were exhausted. Today, we re-visited the Questura to try again for our Permessos. We arrived earlier, got better numbers, and sat for about 2 hours. 20 numbers before ours, the power went out in the whole building. The computers stopped, and the numbers stopped moving. We couldn't believe that something so ridiculous was happening to us again. So, we sat in the dark for about 30 minutes, wondering what to do. Finally, one of the policemen made an announcement asking all those who had electronic work to go home because the computers weren't functioning. Thankfully, the permessos were not included in that large bunch. So, we waited another hour (in the dark) for our numbers to come up and FINALLY got our permessos after a completely wasted day. I am soooo glad that I will never have to go back to that stupid office. Italy really needs to get it's stuff together when it comes to legal business. Now, I have a ton of homework to do for Voldemort (Elisa) so that's all for now.
Ciao.
So, I had my second week of my ICIP yesterday morning. I ended up taking the 5th grade English speakers into a smaller room and reading them "The Happy Prince." All of them liked the story, except for Oliver (the troubled kid), who was of course playing devil's advocate. But whatever. I'm not his teacher, so I challenged him a lot and definitely got him a little confused. Sometimes, kids like that need to hear the hard truth with a kind delivery. It makes them wake the heck up and listen. As for the 1st graders, I ended up staying in the classroom because they were out of control and Eleonora definitely needed help. I was pretty tired after that, but fairly happy about what we had done as a class.
After that, I headed straight to the Questura (immigration office) in hopes of getting my Permesso di Soggiorno (so that I don't get deported when they realize I'm not on vacation). All 8 of us went, got a number, and waited from 1:30 to 4:30 until our numbers were called. I got up to the window, gave them my passport and my appointment paper, and they told me that I was missing paperwork and couldn't have my Permesso. This happened to 5 out of the 8 of us and we were absolutely fuming. Kevin, Carla and Maggie Rossi happened to coincidentally have their extra papers with them. The rest of us had left them home in safekeeping. We were only told to bring our appointment papers. We weren't even told to bring our passports, but we had decided to just in case. We soon learned after waiting 3 hours that, yes indeed, we needed EVERYTHING. Fools. I must say that the Italian government and legal system is very poorly organized and an enormous pain in the neck. Was it too difficult to write on our appointment papers what we needed to bring?! Guess so.
Anyway, after that disaster, we hung around town until dinner. At 7:00, we met both of the Maggies' parents and the rest of our group of 8 in Piazza della Repubblica. Then, we walked to the restaurant where they had chosen to treat us to dinner. It was called "Il Latini," and when we arrived, there was already a big line outside. It was obviously very popular. Fortunately, we had a reservation for the 12 of us. The atmosphere was awesome and very family-style oriented. We had a nice table set for us in a little corner, with three 2 liter bottles of Chianti on it. Once we got settled in, the food appeared in masses. There was no menu to order from. Instead, the waiters just brought whatever was being made for the night.
First, let me point out that everything we ate was family style. The portions set on the table were enormous! We started with freshly sliced proscuitto, mozzarella balls, tomatoes, liver crostini (which was actually really good), buckwheat salad, stuffed peppers and bread. I think that was it for the first course. Regardless, everything was absolutely amazing. The first course included a soup with beans and barley, ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach in a red sauce, pasta with wild boar meat and red sauce, and ribollita (a typical Tuscan bread soup). Everything was incredible! The main course consisted of a huge plate of different meats (chicken, rabbit, steak, pork and lamb). I had the chicken and also tried the rabbit- which tasted just like chicken anyway. For the main course, there was also a plate of awesome beans, spinach, and rosemary potatoes. For dessert, our waiter brought out a plate of sweets including fruit tarts, panna cotta, caramel flan, profiteroles and some almond cake. With dessert, we had biscotti dipped in Vin Santo dessert wine, which is out of this world. They also brought us a dessert champagne that tasted soooo fresh and crisp- exactly like a perfect pear! Afterwards, the waiter decided that he liked us and brought us a bottle of limoncello (which the other tables didn't get).
At this point, we had been sitting, eating and talking for 3 hours, and were pretty full and drunk. We had such an amazing time getting to know the parents, and I think they were really happy with the solid group that we have here in Florence. Everyone is friends and takes good care of one another. We were all so grateful of the Rossi's and the Wright's for taking us out to such an amazing dinner. I'm sure it was incredibly expensive. I can't even imagine. Such wonderful parents. It was a little bit of a bummer for me though since my family is on the fence about visiting. It seems that this month has randomly become parents' month- all of the students' parents have come, and all at the same time!
Anyway, Andrea and I got home around 11 and just about went straight to bed. We were exhausted. Today, we re-visited the Questura to try again for our Permessos. We arrived earlier, got better numbers, and sat for about 2 hours. 20 numbers before ours, the power went out in the whole building. The computers stopped, and the numbers stopped moving. We couldn't believe that something so ridiculous was happening to us again. So, we sat in the dark for about 30 minutes, wondering what to do. Finally, one of the policemen made an announcement asking all those who had electronic work to go home because the computers weren't functioning. Thankfully, the permessos were not included in that large bunch. So, we waited another hour (in the dark) for our numbers to come up and FINALLY got our permessos after a completely wasted day. I am soooo glad that I will never have to go back to that stupid office. Italy really needs to get it's stuff together when it comes to legal business. Now, I have a ton of homework to do for Voldemort (Elisa) so that's all for now.
Ciao.
Monday, September 28, 2009
First day as a student at the Universita degli Studi di Firenze
So, I got up really early today and put on my first day of school outfit. :) Andrea and I arrived a half hour early to our Museologia class and just stood around sticking out like sore thumbs until we were able to go in. The lecture hall felt like a dungeon. It was poorly lit, the windows were barred and covered by black curtains, and the walls were a dirty off-white. Not very conducive to learning in my opinion, but whatever. I'll keep an open mind.
Class started a little late, as is normal for Italians, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Of course, I only understood bits and pieces of what the professor was saying, but she spoke at a decent pace, so I wasn't completely lost- I knew she was talking about museology and museography! I thought we were doing a good job blending in as Italians until the professor asked, in Italian, "how many foreign students do we have today?" So, I had to raise my hand. Well, that gave it away. It was nice while it lasted.
I proceeded to take notes on what I understood and of course, 15 minutes in, my pen ran out. I decided that it was probably better to just listen anyway, considering the fact that I have tutors to go over the material with. She decided to end the class at 10 instead of 11, and handed out some papers. Apparently, there was a pile of papers for foreigners and a pile for Italians, but I couldn't tell the differences between them because nothing was labelled. So, I took two different pieces of paper, but some other ones were already gone. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Dobby asked us to go back and clarify with the professor the things we should have taken.
After class, we took our exam at CLIDA to see if we passed the level. It was a nightmare. After the 1.5 hours it took me to finish, my head was spinning. I certainly wasn't alone though. We spoke with the secretary when we were leaving (she is Italian), and she told us that the only way a person can do really well on that exam is by being able to speak fluidly and understand cultural phrases, etc. So, that's proof that we are nowhere close to understanding everything, but it also shows that they have some sympathy for us.
We got some lunch and gelato, and then I ran a few errands. I booked the Trenitalia train for Rome (for Paul's visit) so that's all squared away. Now, I'm just sitting here in CLIDA waiting for 5:15 to roll around. This break is too ridiculously long. 5 hours?! I only wished we lived a little closer so it wasn't so inconvenient to run home for a nap or something. I'm thinking that tomorrow I'll see a museum to kill time.
I don't anticipate much happening later today. After class, we're going home for dinner. I am most definitely staying in for the night. I need sleep before Oktoberfest!
Ciao!
Class started a little late, as is normal for Italians, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Of course, I only understood bits and pieces of what the professor was saying, but she spoke at a decent pace, so I wasn't completely lost- I knew she was talking about museology and museography! I thought we were doing a good job blending in as Italians until the professor asked, in Italian, "how many foreign students do we have today?" So, I had to raise my hand. Well, that gave it away. It was nice while it lasted.
I proceeded to take notes on what I understood and of course, 15 minutes in, my pen ran out. I decided that it was probably better to just listen anyway, considering the fact that I have tutors to go over the material with. She decided to end the class at 10 instead of 11, and handed out some papers. Apparently, there was a pile of papers for foreigners and a pile for Italians, but I couldn't tell the differences between them because nothing was labelled. So, I took two different pieces of paper, but some other ones were already gone. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Dobby asked us to go back and clarify with the professor the things we should have taken.
After class, we took our exam at CLIDA to see if we passed the level. It was a nightmare. After the 1.5 hours it took me to finish, my head was spinning. I certainly wasn't alone though. We spoke with the secretary when we were leaving (she is Italian), and she told us that the only way a person can do really well on that exam is by being able to speak fluidly and understand cultural phrases, etc. So, that's proof that we are nowhere close to understanding everything, but it also shows that they have some sympathy for us.
We got some lunch and gelato, and then I ran a few errands. I booked the Trenitalia train for Rome (for Paul's visit) so that's all squared away. Now, I'm just sitting here in CLIDA waiting for 5:15 to roll around. This break is too ridiculously long. 5 hours?! I only wished we lived a little closer so it wasn't so inconvenient to run home for a nap or something. I'm thinking that tomorrow I'll see a museum to kill time.
I don't anticipate much happening later today. After class, we're going home for dinner. I am most definitely staying in for the night. I need sleep before Oktoberfest!
Ciao!
Friday, September 25, 2009
L'universita, l'aperitivo e le canzoni
Ciao! Yesterday morning was absolutely BRUTAL in our grammar class. Because we have our exam to pass/fail the level on Monday, Maria was hammering "grammatica" into our heads for 4 hours straight. I was ready to punch someone after that session.
After our tour, we headed back for our 4 o'clock class. We enjoyed this one because we had a chance to vent (in Italian, of course) to our teacher about our grueling morning.
Around 6:30, we met with Elia (our 22 year old cultural advisor) in the Piazza della Reppublica. He brought along 2 Italian friends, Luca and Chiara. They too, are just as awesome as Elia is. We all went for aperitivo which was amazing! I had never done something like this before, so I had to learn the process. Basically, you enter during a certain time frame and order any alcoholic beverage (usually wine or a cocktail). Then, you help yourself to the buffet of aperitivi--- for free! This place had pasta with meat sauce, risotto, rice salads, potatoes, cheese souffles, bread, grilled veggies, veal, pork, fruit, and a bunch of other amazing foods. It was all you can eat, but I could barely finish what I had chosen! Everything was very rich. Our group spent about 2 hours talking and then once we left, we met up with Elia, Luca and Chiara's other Italian friends. One girl, Margherita, was absolutely adorable! Once she found out that we were American, she got sooooo excited and started jumping up and down and telling us about how badly she wants to learn English and visit the States. It was really nice to hear what she had to say. Once everyone arrived and gathered together (there were about 20 Italians and 5 of us Americans), we all headed for gelato at the BEST PLACE EVER!!!! Grom. We had been there many times already, but it never gets old.
Oh yea, I forgot to mention that all of these foods and drinks were paid for by Holy Cross. :) So, after gelato, we went to a piazza and all sat down. The Italians handed out little packets to everyone there and just randomly started singing along to the songs that were pre-selected in this packet! A boy played the guitar, and a girl played the flute. A lot of tourists came up and took videos and pictures. It was such a crazy, awesome experience for us because it was just so spontaneous! A bunch of Italian friends just decide to sing in a piazza! What?! They were so welcoming to us and sang a hilarious song in honor of our presence. It kind of made fun of Americans, but we loved it! It was very accurate, after all.
After about an hour of that, we decided to call it a night. It was about 11:30 and we hadn't been home since 8:00 that morning. I am so happy with how the night turned out. We still felt like Americans, but blended in much better. On the way back, we joked about how each of our families has, thus far, paid $150,000 to Holy Cross so that we could have just a few Italian friends. Way to go HC for paying Elia and his friends to hang out with us! Even though this is true, I think they actually like us.. thank goodness.
Anyway, I'm on break right now in between classes and after class at 4, it will finally officially be the weekend! Yay! We're not sure what we are doing yet, but we know that we want to go out tonight. Potentially some shopping and/or musems tomorrow. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.
Ciao ciao!
During our lunch break, Elisa's assistant (who we call Dobby *from Harry Potter*--- she really looks like him!), took us for a little tour of the Universita degli Studi di Firenze. Classes start Monday, so we all wanted to know where we were going. Walking into the first building was quite a shocker for us "spoiled Americans." Graffiti covered the buildings inside and out, there was trash all over the ground and even a homeless man sleeping along the wall. I tried my best to be optimistic and open-minded about the surroundings, but they were certainly different then what we are all used to. I guess the sight suprised us as much as it did because even the public, city universities in the states look better than this. Thankfully, the library was beautiful. It's in a convent, so I would have been appalled if that too was a disaster. Anyway, school is school and I'm going to be just as confused with the language regardless of the appearance of my surroundings!
After our tour, we headed back for our 4 o'clock class. We enjoyed this one because we had a chance to vent (in Italian, of course) to our teacher about our grueling morning.
Around 6:30, we met with Elia (our 22 year old cultural advisor) in the Piazza della Reppublica. He brought along 2 Italian friends, Luca and Chiara. They too, are just as awesome as Elia is. We all went for aperitivo which was amazing! I had never done something like this before, so I had to learn the process. Basically, you enter during a certain time frame and order any alcoholic beverage (usually wine or a cocktail). Then, you help yourself to the buffet of aperitivi--- for free! This place had pasta with meat sauce, risotto, rice salads, potatoes, cheese souffles, bread, grilled veggies, veal, pork, fruit, and a bunch of other amazing foods. It was all you can eat, but I could barely finish what I had chosen! Everything was very rich. Our group spent about 2 hours talking and then once we left, we met up with Elia, Luca and Chiara's other Italian friends. One girl, Margherita, was absolutely adorable! Once she found out that we were American, she got sooooo excited and started jumping up and down and telling us about how badly she wants to learn English and visit the States. It was really nice to hear what she had to say. Once everyone arrived and gathered together (there were about 20 Italians and 5 of us Americans), we all headed for gelato at the BEST PLACE EVER!!!! Grom. We had been there many times already, but it never gets old.
Oh yea, I forgot to mention that all of these foods and drinks were paid for by Holy Cross. :) So, after gelato, we went to a piazza and all sat down. The Italians handed out little packets to everyone there and just randomly started singing along to the songs that were pre-selected in this packet! A boy played the guitar, and a girl played the flute. A lot of tourists came up and took videos and pictures. It was such a crazy, awesome experience for us because it was just so spontaneous! A bunch of Italian friends just decide to sing in a piazza! What?! They were so welcoming to us and sang a hilarious song in honor of our presence. It kind of made fun of Americans, but we loved it! It was very accurate, after all.
After about an hour of that, we decided to call it a night. It was about 11:30 and we hadn't been home since 8:00 that morning. I am so happy with how the night turned out. We still felt like Americans, but blended in much better. On the way back, we joked about how each of our families has, thus far, paid $150,000 to Holy Cross so that we could have just a few Italian friends. Way to go HC for paying Elia and his friends to hang out with us! Even though this is true, I think they actually like us.. thank goodness.
Anyway, I'm on break right now in between classes and after class at 4, it will finally officially be the weekend! Yay! We're not sure what we are doing yet, but we know that we want to go out tonight. Potentially some shopping and/or musems tomorrow. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.
Ciao ciao!
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