Viva l'Italia!

Happy Easter from Paris!

2009-04-12T20:12:00.002+02:00

In spite of no Easter Bunny coming to the hostel, it turned out to be a great Easter in Paris. Nikki, Eldon, and I went to Notre Dame cathedral for Mass this morning. It was completely packed with people sitting and standing, with not even room for everyone to enter who wanted to, but it was neat to see so many people celebrating Easter Mass at once. Notre Dame was beautiful, especially the gardens outside of it. All of the flowers here are in full bloom, and the colors are just magnificent! I can definitely see now why people flock to Paris for Easter. After Mass we went for a picnic in a big park not far from our hostel. It turns out we had the right idea as far a picnic on Easter, as the park was just packed with Parisans enjoying picnics and strolls. When I go back to the States I will definitely miss the European habit of taking long leisurely strolls and relaxing in public parks on weekends. After our picnic we went to the Montemarte district of Paris, which is an area where many artists live and there are lots of little cafes. Lots of people were out and about in this area as well, and we followed the crowds and ended up on some steps that look out over the whole city of Paris. There were a couple guys singing and playing guitar on the steps. They were performing popular American acoustic songs, and they were really good! I am definitely worn out from the day, but it was a great day. Tomorrow night I leave Paris and head for Florence to meet my mom and brother. I probably won't have wireless for a while after this, but I will update you all when I have the chance.

Pictures from Munich

2009-04-12T00:06:00.001+02:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026185&id=173301949&l=5c154bbaad

Paris at Eastertime

2009-04-11T23:07:00.002+02:00

I arrived in Paris this afternoon, and Eldon and I met up with our friend Nikki who was studying with us in Florence. She has been in Poland for the last week or so, and it has been very interesting to hear her stories. After checking into our hostel and getting situated we went to the Eiffel Tower at night. I wasn't quite sure if the Eiffel Tower would be all that it is hyped up to be, but it turned out to be AMAZING when it is lit up in the dark! It really was breathtaking. Tomorrow we plan to go to Easter Mass at Notre Dame then go on a picnic for Easter lunch. Paris is really busy with people visiting for their long Easter weekends, but the atmosphere is very festive. I am definitely glad to be here, but of course it is a bit strange to be celebrating Easter away from home. I doubt that the Easter bunny visits hostels. But, on the upside, in just two more days my mom and brother are coming! I've been counting down the days.

Ireland

2009-04-11T23:06:00.000+02:00

04/09/2009

Within the past few days I believe I have spent more time riding public transportation than on the ground. Ever since leaving Munich on Monday, life has pretty much been constant travelling. When Eldon and I got to London from Munich all we had time to do was find our hostel, check in, walk around trying to find an ATM, and go to bed. The next morning we woke up at 7:00 a.m. to get an early start on our journey to Londonderry/Derry in Northern Ireland where our friend Katie is studying. We thought that we’d be able to arrive in Derry the same day that we left, but our expectations were thwarted. Our train left at 9:10 a.m. from London, and our ferry did not get into Dublin until around 6:00 p.m. The bus from Dublin to Derry takes about four hours, and the next bus did not leave until 7:45 p.m. That would mean that we’d get into Derry around midnight, and our hostel did not accept check-ins after 10:00 p.m. I guess we were just spoiled by Italy’s public transportation system. So we ended up having to cancel our hostel in Derry for the night and got a hostel in Dublin. In Dublin I did get to experience some Guinness and “chips” in an Irish pub, but that’s about all I did besides sleep in the hostel. The next morning (Wednesday) we got up early again to catch a 7:15 a.m. bus to Derry. I slept most of the way to Derry, but when I did open my eyes I was able to see the beautiful Irish countryside. It is obvious why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle because everything is a vivid shade of green. I also saw two rainbows during the bus ride, which called to mind Irish leprechauns and pots of gold.

When we finally did get to Derry we found out that our friend Katie didn’t get off work until 5:00, which is pretty much what I expected. I decided that I needed some major alone time, so I went for a long run in the rain (it seems to always be raining in Ireland) around the medieval city walls that enclose the city center. We finally met up with Katie around 5:30, and she took us back to her dorm to make dinner. Eldon and I had brought pasta and wine from Italy so we could make a nice dinner, and it was really nice to be able to cook again and to just be with an old friend. Katie is one of the friends who I’ve known since freshman year of college, and she is going to be one of my village-mates next year. I’ve come to really appreciate the group of friends that I met freshmen year, and after being away for a semester it is really nice to reconnect.

Today (Thursday) Katie had to work until 5:00 again, so Eldon and I took a day trip to Giant’s Causeway, which is a national park area on the northern coast of Ireland. It is a really beautiful area and contains a lot of volcanic rock formations that are really something to see. Ever since I saw Katie’s pictures of the area I had wanted to go, and I really enjoyed this day. After we got back we met back up with Katie and went out to dinner. It was one of her roommates’ birthdays, so we celebrated by going out to an Italian restaurant. It was kind of strange to eat Italian food in Ireland, as it wasn’t at all like the Italian food in Italy. It was still good food…just different. We also did some laundry, which was much needed for me. I have a limited supply of clothes, since I am living out of a backpack, and I must admit that certain articles were getting pretty foul smelling. It will be so nice to have clean clothes to wear again!

Tonight I am not staying in a hostel. Instead we are catching the 12:45 a.m. bus from Derry to Dublin, which gets into Dublin at 4:10 a.m. Then we take an 8:45 ferry and get into London around 3:00 p.m. It will be a long day, but I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. I am definitely looking forward to getting back to Italy next Tuesday and being with my mom and brother and doing some things that I am familiar with. It has been challenging to figure everything out during this week or so of travelling, but it has also been a great confidence booster. I feel like I could travel anywhere now and get along alright, and I really feel like I have developed an ability to think on my feet and to stay calm in stressful situations. These are two traits that you really need to have when you travel. You just have to trust that everything will be okay, and you also have to use your resources and ask for help when you need it.

Kudos to Obama...I couldn't have said it better

2009-04-08T17:33:00.002+02:00

President Obama recently spoke before the Turkish parliament during his tour of Europe after the G20 convention. During his speech he discussed repairing ties between the U.S. and the Islamic world and also Turkey's desired accession into the E.U. One of the main holdbacks from Turkey becoming an E.U. nation is their failure to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. There are also issues in Turkey with freedom of speech and the treatment of Kurdish citizens. Obama's words on this matter are especially relevant to my last post about Dachau and coming to terms with one's national history while taking a stand on human rights.

According to Tuesday's Financial Times:

Mr Obama said "the United States is still working through some of our own darker periods" - slavery, its treatment of native Americans and human rights abuses during the "war on terror."

"I say this as the president of a country that not too long ago made it hard for someone who looks like me to vote," he sid. "But it is precisely that capacity to change that enriches our countries ... Every challenge that we face is more easily met if we tend to our own democratic foundation. This work is never over. That is why, in the United States, we recently ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed, and prohibited , without exception or equivocation, any use of torture."

...

"Each country must work through its past," he said. "I know there are strong views in this chamber about the terrible events of 1915...The best way forward for the Turkish and Armenian people is a process that works through the past in a way that is honest, open and constructive."

End quote.

Obama is quite the man of words, and he knows how to use his words sensitively to inspire people to action. I am very grateful that we have a president who can communicate respectfully with other nations and can begin to repair international relations that have been strained in recent years. Hopefully with this leadership Americans can begin to recognize mistakes made in the nation's recent past and can address the damage done as a result of these mistakes.

Munich: I think I could live here!

2009-04-06T12:59:00.002+02:00

As I prepare to head out for London, I can't help but think that my time in Munich has gone by way too fast. I haven't had much time to blog during my time here, so I'll take you through day be day to let you know what I've been up to.

Friday:

We arrived in Munich at 6:30 a.m. and couldn't check into our hostel until 1:00 p.m., so, although we were tired, we went on a free walking tour of Munich. Our guide, named Luke from England, was really good; he was humorous, yet very informative on historical matters. We learned a lot about the history of Munich and how Hitler came to power here. We also saw the infamous glockenspiel! I really like the layout of the city of Munich. The streets are wide, people follow traffic laws, and it is very friendly towards bikers and pedestrians. This all probably has something to do with the fact that Munich is a fairly modern city, with much of it being rebuilt after WWII. It is actually very similar to a U.S. city, but after Italy it is nice to get back to some sanity.

Saturday:

During our tour on Friday Luke really encouraged us to make a visit to the Dachau concentration camp memorial site during our time in Munich. He was leading a tour today, so we decided to go on it. It was a very informative experience, and actually being inside a concentration camp made that history I have always learned about seem more real. It is just unbelievable what humans can justify doing to other humans. We say that we would never let something like that happen again, but there are gross human rights violations going on in many places in the world right now, but we turn a blind eye. Our tour guide made it clear that Germany is one of the best countries in the world as far as recognizing and coming to terms with their dark past. Many countries have had similar things happen in their history, but many do not even admit it, let alone memorialize it. Think of the Armenian genocide in Turkey or even Guantanamo Bay for example. Those things just tend to get pushed under the rug. There is no doubt that the Holocaust was one of the worst events in the recent history of the world, and for many years Germans were ashamed of this history. Just recently have Germans began to show pride in their country again. For example, last year's world soccer cup was the first time Germans have waved their flag proudly in public since WWII. Overall Dachau was an experience that really made me think about things that are hard to think about but must be thought about nonetheless.

After getting back from Dachau we went to the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall in Europe. It was sort of touristy, but there were still lots of Germans there, including many wearing leiderhosen. Munich is the home of leiderhosen, so we have seen quite a bit of it since being here. The beer was really good at Hofbrauhaus, probably the best I've ever had! German beer is very strong though--about three times the strength of American beer by volume--and it is served by the liter! After getting back from the Hofbrauhaus we spent some time at the bar in our hostel, and it was a really great time. I am really enjoying the hostel experience. At the bar I met people from all over the world and some from the U.S. It is really interesting to hear stories of people's travels and just to meet some new people. I talked to a German guy for a while, and he gave us some pointers on what we should see in Munich.

Sunday:

Today we started the day with Palm Sunday Mass at the Munich cathedral, and, let me tell you, it was quite the ceremony. The Mass began with the entire congregation outside of the church, and the bishop and priests processed in and said a few words. Everyone in the congregation was carrying pussywillow branches for some reason unknown to me. After the bishop blessed the congregation with holy water, there was a little parade with a brass band, children singing, men carrying a large wooden cross, and men and women dressed in traditional German wear (inclduding leiderhosen). The entire congregation joined the parade and processed around the church, then filed into the church. The entire cathedral, which is huge, was filled, and people had to stand in the aisles. The mass was projected up on big screens on each side of the church. The whole ceremony lasted two hours, which is a testimony to the German Catholic tradition of always using the long reading (as Fr. Meyer always used to say).

After Mass we headed to a castle called Nympfenburg, which is a place the German I met at the bar last night recommended we see. It was a really neat place, with huge grounds which have been converted into a park where lots of people walk. I will put up some pictures on facebook for you to see later. It turned out to be a very nice thing to do on a Sunday afternoon.

After spending a few hours at the castle, we went to the English Gardens, which is another place the German recommended to me. The English Gardens is a huge park in Town, but it is so huge that it feels like you are outside of town. There are lots of deciduous trees, and there is a river that flows through it. Overall, the landscape here reminds me a lot of Minnesota, and I can definitely see why many Germans chose Minnesota as their place of residence when immigrating to the U.S. In there English Gardens there is a huge beer garden. When we got there it was absolutely packed with Germans enjoying their evening beers. This seemed like a much more authentically German experience than the Hofbrauhaus. I had a drink called a Radler, which is beer mixed with lemonade. It sounds really weird, but I actually enjoyed it a lot. It is especially good with food. To eat I had a bratwurst, sauerkraut, and a giant pretzel...now that's my kind of meal! As we ate a brass band played in a nearby tower, and it was just a really great atmosphere.

Monday:

Today has been a pretty low key day. We packed everything up and checked out of our hostel this morning, then we went to climb up St. Peter's tower, which is a tower attached to a church. This was yet another recommendation of the German guy, and I am very thankful that I talked to him because this ended up being another great experience. We climbed up 306 stairs, and at the top we could see the entire city of Munich. It is a very flat city, so we could see the whole thing. There seems to be a lot of industry here, which is different than Italy where the main commerce seems to be fashion. On our way back from the tower we saw some street performers doing some traditional Mongolian singing and instrumental performance. They could make crazy sounds with the voice boxes, and it was really something to see. There have been many great street performers in Munich who have provided lots of free entertainment for us.

Now it is almost time to say goodbye to the homeland of my ancestors, but I really hope I get the chance to return here someday. I think I could live here and fit in just fine if I learned German. I don't know if I ever will, but I could definitely see myself here more so than I could ever see myself in Italy. Italy was just getting too hectic and touristy for me, and this has been a very much needed reprieve from that.

Pictures from Follonica, Orvieto, and Roma!

2009-04-03T20:08:00.001+02:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026095&id=173301949&l=bb3971b193

The last week: a whirlwind!

2009-04-03T19:54:00.000+02:00

I don't even know where to begin to start describing the time in between my last blog entry and now. When I last wrote I was in Orvieto, getting ready to head to Rome. On the train to Rome on Monday I finished my last final, so I have been done with schoolwork since then. I am finally a senior, and I'm glad to have made it this far with all the hard work I have put into everything. But I also have mixed emotions because this means that I only have one year left at St. Mary's, a place that I've grown to love. But I don't really want to dwell on that part right now. I am in Europe having a great time, and I am looking forward to returning home and starting my job at Whitewater State Park.

Now, for a brief synopsis, becuase that's really all I think anyone can handle, of Rome. I was in Rome for three nights, four days, and during that time I saw so much. Every night I was just ready to collapse! My first day in Rome I saw St. Peter's Basillica, Hadrian's Tomb, Bridge of the Angels, and the Spanish Steps at night. The highlight of the day was the Spanish Steps at night. There were tons of young people around our age there, and Rome had just won a soccer game, so they were doing lots of soccer cheers. Also, Nikki and I got to speak to some of the Swiss guards at the Vatican in order to pick up our tickets for the Papal Audience on Wednesday. Despite their ridiculous outfits, Swiss guards manage to be very attractive for the most part. Most of them are young, and it is required that they be single, fluent in at least four languages, be of a certain height, and be Catholic. So, in other words, they pretty much have to be perfect :-)

On Tuesday I went to the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and the Forums with a bunch of people from our group. We got a tour for the Coliseum and Palatine Hill, and I learned a lot about the history behind these ancient ruins. Palatine Hill is where the Roman emperors used to live, and the Forums are where the Roman government, worship, and markets took place. Also, the Vestal Virgins lived in the Forums.

On Wednesday we had the Papal Audience with Pope Benedict. There were tons of people there for this. We got there over two hours before the audience began, and we still had to wait in line for almost a half hour to get through security! There were people from all over the world there, and everything was spoken in Italian, German, English, Spanish, and Polish. Groups were welcomed in special announcements, so Saint Mary's got its name mentioned. Our group, being the group we are, actually cheered for the wrong St. Mary's college, as there was another one from England. So we actually ended up cheering twice. The ceremony itself got kind of long, as everything had to be said in so many languages. The Pope spoke about his recent visit to Africa and the Catholic Church's place in Africa. After the Papal Audience I went to the Pantheon, the oldest building in Rome that is still in use today. It was originally a temple for the worship of all Roman gods, but now it is a Catholic church, of course. Much architecture has been based on that of the Pantheon, including any building that employs a dome ceiling! After the Pantheon I went to go spend a little more time in St. Peter's alone and to look at the tombs of the Popes. It was very crowded for some reason, and I was kind of disappointed because many people were not respecting the holy significance of these areas. Also, there was a lot of set up going on in St. Peter's for a memorial Mass for JPII to occur the next day, and there was much confusion among the security guards, who all seemed to have different versions of where visitors could and could not go. Some were even turning visitors away from Mass, which really bothered me. Everyone should be able to attend Mass if they so desire! I even saw them turn away a nun! I hope my experience in St. Peter's is not representative of the experience of the majority of visitors.

On Thursday I went to the Vatican Museums with a few others. Once again, we had to fight the crowds. I guess April is just not the best time to be visiting Rome if you don't like huge crowds of people. The Sistine Chapel was really something to see and worth the effort it took to get there. I still really don't see why the Church needs so much treasure. I guess it all has to do with power. The more I learn about the history of the Church, the more I see why many people condemn the Church and why Martin Luther took the actions he did. However, I am Catholic, and I am not going to change this because of past mistakes of the Church. Almost every government and religion has dark things that happened in their past. The important thing is to learn from these mistakes so that they don't happen again. You cannot flee from an organization because it has made mistakes—that is the cowardly thing to do—you must accept your place within that organization and work to make it better. (Just a side note—I am not calling Martin Luther a coward by any means, but I just realized that what I just said could be read like that. Luther himself did not advocate splitting from the Church but desired to make public the flaws in the Church so that we may work to change them.) We cannot deny that the Catholic Church accumulated much of what they have in the Vatican through actions that do not live up to Christian standards. Since the Christian religion was at first solely practiced through the Catholic faith, all Christians have their roots in the Church. These are roots that we can choose to accept or deny, but the truth is that they are a part of all Christianity, and all Christians, Catholic or not, can learn from their Christian past through the history of the Catholic Church.

Okay, enough of my rambling. I am now in Munich, after arriving here at 6:30 a.m. on a night train from Rome. Eldon and I went on a walking tour of the city today, then checked into our hostel to get some rest. So far I really love Germany. It is so much more organized and clean than Italy! It actually reminds me a lot of Minnesota, and I can see why so many Germans chose to immigrate to Minnesota. Tomorrow we will be touring Dachau...another dark part of history that must be recognized nonetheless. For now I am going to get some much needed rest. That night train was quite the experience, just let me say that.

The sea and a symphony

2009-03-28T22:30:00.001+01:00

I just thought I should give a quick update on what I’ve been up to lately. I am now in Orvieto, a small village built on a plateau. I arrived here today after spending four nights in Follonica, a small resort town on the coast. In Follonica our hotel was right on the coast, and our rooms had balconies that looked out over the sea! While we were there we took most of our finals. I still have one more to take tomorrow, but after that I am all done with school work for this semester…yay! There wasn’t much to do in Follonica other than spend time on the beach, so it was a really good place to be with minimum distractions for finals. My daily schedule went like this: wake up, go for a run on the beach, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, study a bit for my upcoming final, take my final at 10:30, spend a couple hours relaxing on the beach, study for a few hours for the next day’s final, then go to dinner in the hotel at 7:30. I loved spending time on the beach, and I actually got a tan! Also, the dinner at the hotel was wonderful. We had a choice of what we wanted, and I usually chose seafood. I can’t imagine a better place to take finals. In fact, I think St. Mary’s should take all of it’s students to the beach for finals each semester.

Today in Orvieto I did a bit of exploring, and when we went to the cathedral we were pleasantly surprised to find a symphony orchestra practicing. We found out that they were offering a free concert at 5:00, so we decided to go. I just got back from it, and it was amazing. The setting inside the cathedral was perfect, and the acoustics were great. When we arrived at 4:40, there was standing room only inside this huge cathedral. It turns out the band conductor used to be the conductor for the New York Symphony Orchestra, and he is world famous. What a day to pick to come to Orvieto! Then, as we were walking back to our hotel, a marching band came right by us on the street. They were citizens of Orvieto in an antifascism group. So, all in all it was a very musical sort of day.

I will be staying in Orvieto tonight and tomorrow night, then we depart for Rome, where I will be staying for three nights.

Pictures from the weekend

2009-03-23T16:56:00.001+01:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025821&id=173301949&l=8e3989f475

A busy, yet relaxing weekend

2009-03-22T12:10:00.002+01:00

As I mentioned before, I went on the Amalfi Coast tour this weekend. On Friday we spent the day in a small fishing village called Positano. While there I got in a good couple hours laying on the beach reading my book, even though it was overcast and not very warm. I have discovered that I really love the sea. I love the sound of the waves rolling in, the feel of waves washing over my feet, and the far-off horizon of water. Ashley and Bailey were there as well, but they went out for lunch, and I decided to just stay by the water. It was nice to get some alone time, something that has become quite the rarity on this trip. The downfall of the day was that it started getting really windy and raining heavily in the afternoon. It definitely wasn't the ideal day to spend on the coast, but I am grateful for the time that I did have on the beach.

Yesterday we spent the day in Capri, a small island off the coast of Italy. Capri is sort of a jet-set vacation destination. Some really famous stars have villas there, including Mariah Carey, so it is quite the expensive place. It was a nice place to spend the day though because it is beautiful and really clean without too many tourists around. We rode a ferry from Sorrento, where our hostel is, to Capri. It was sunny, but, once again, it was windy and cold. I really wanted to swim in the ocean for the first time during this trip, and I brought my swimming suit along. It wasn't looking too good for swimming as we made our walking tour to the beach. Even with jeans and a windbreaker I was freezing! However, once we got to the other side of the island it warmed up a lot, and the beach was sort of blocked from the wind. I decided I would brave the cold and jump in. After all, I have jumped into Lake Superior in October in the rain, so what could be colder? So Bailey and I changed into our swimming suits and jumped in. The water was cold, I will admit, but I've definitely been in colder. The water was really clear and blue, and, once again, it was just beautiful. It was very cold once we got out of the water, but I was still glad I did it. That was the highlight so far of this trip!

Today we go to Pompeii, which lies inland in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius. It 79 A.D. Mt. Vesuvius blew up, and the lava covered Pompeii. The houses and buildings were preserved exactly how they were in that time. Later archaeologists discovered the city, and now you can go on tours of the old buildings. I hadn't really heard too much about Pompeii before this trip, but the more I hear about it, the more excited I get about it.

Pictures!

2009-03-18T22:03:00.001+01:00

I just put up some pics from my birthday. If you'd like to see them, go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025711&id=173301949&l=88b64cbf2a

Update

2009-03-18T18:40:00.002+01:00

Since it's been so long since I've had Internet, it's hard to know where to start with this post. Tomorrow I leave for one last weekend trip, this time to the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Pompeii. This is another Florence for Fun trip, so it will be like the one I took to Interlaken. The part I am most excited to see is Capri, which is an island off the coast of Italy. I've heard that it is just beautiful. I am just hoping for good weather, as the forecast calls for rain.

After I get back from my weekend excursion, I will only have two more nights at Villa Bonelli, then the whole group heads out next Tuesday for Follonica, Orvieto, and Rome. During this time Bob will administer our finals to us, but we will not have classes other than that.

On April 2nd I am completely done with my study abroad program, and Eldon and I have finally got all of our necessary train and plane tickets and reserved hostels for each night. It all seems like quite the whirlwind right now, so I am looking forward to having this weekend just to relax and get away.

Last Italy Editorial

2009-03-18T18:38:00.000+01:00

This is this month's editorial for the Cardinal:

It’s hard to believe that it has been another month in Italy, and soon my time here will draw to an end. It will definitely be hard to leave, even though I really do love Minnesota. As I reflect on the time I’ve spent in Europe, I cannot help but come to the conclusion that everyone should study or travel abroad at some point. Not only have I had some of the best experiences of my life in Italy, I have also learned so much about being a citizen in today’s globalized world. My time in Italy has been a series of many “live and learn” moments, and each of these moments has given me confidence.
Before travelling to Italy, I had never been outside of the United States. I will admit that I was pretty scared and lost when I first arrived at the Minneapolis airport. I now feel confident finding my way through airports and train stations, and I know I can go into a foreign city where I don’t speak the language and find my way around. If I had not had the opportunity to study abroad, I don’t know how I would have gained this confidence.
It has recently come to my attention that Saint Mary’s intends to significantly change the Florence study abroad program to allow students to study a greater variety of subjects with a more diverse group of students and to live more independently while studying abroad. I agree that these changes will improve the SMU Florence program as a whole.
However, along with these positive changes comes a negative side. Since SMU will no longer operate its own program in Florence, students will only be able to apply $2,000 of their SMU scholarships to studying abroad in Florence. Previously, students wishing to apply their scholarship of more than $2,000 to study abroad could choose between the SMU programs in Florence and London. Now it appears that the only choice for these students will be London.
Studying abroad would not have been possible for me if I had not been able to use my full scholarship from SMU. It saddens me that other SMU students may miss out on this valuable experience because of monetary issues. I sincerely hope that the university will continue to realize the value of studying abroad and make this opportunity available to as many qualified students as possible.

Cinque Terre

2009-03-18T18:25:00.003+01:00

My Internet finally works again, allelulia! When everyone found out that the wireless was on, it honestly sounded like midnight on New Year's Eve out in the lounge. Anyway, here is what I had to say about Cinque Terre:

03/15/2009

People always seem to ask, “Was this your best birthday ever?” And usually out of politeness, I respond yes. But after this weekend, I can say with all honesty that my 21st birthday was my best birthday ever! Cinque Terre was beautiful, the weather was amazing, and my friends put a lot of work into making it a great celebration.

I will begin with Friday the 13th, the day before my birthday, which, in some ways, lived up to its unlucky reputation. The unlucky part came in the morning when we were headed down to the train station. Eldon and I had left before the rest of our group so that we could obtain our train tickets for Munich. When we were on the bus it was stopped by a police officer who told the driver that he could not take his usual route passing the Duomo. I’m not sure if there was an accident or a special event or what, but a ride that usually takes about a half hour took almost an hour, so I was very worried about the rest of our group missing the train to Cinque Terre. When we got the train station I called Villa Bonelli right away to warn the group, and I found that they had already left for the bus. What a relief! And that was the end of the unluckiness for Friday the 13th, because from there on out the day was fabulous!

It was about a three hour train ride to Cinque Terre, so it was around 4:00 p.m. when we arrived in Monterossa, the town we were staying in. Our first mission was to find Manuel’s Guesthouse, where we would be staying for the next two nights. I had directions that the guesthouse had emailed me, so I guided the group. I was pleasantly surprised when a man outside a wine bar asked us what we were looking for. When I told him we were looking for Manuel’s Guesthouse, he shook my hand and said, “I am Manuel,” then he directed us up the stairs. Manuel is an artist, and he paints outside in the plaza outside the wine bar in Monterossa. He lives in the guesthouse he runs and rents out his extra rooms for guests. Talk about living the dream! The guesthouse was a very authentic place, almost like living in an Italian home. We had to climb over 100 steps to get up the house, then Lorenzo, Manuel’s employee, showed us to our rooms. The rooms were nothing fancy, but they did their job. Just as the website promised, there was indeed a terrace that overlooked the sea, and on that terrace there was indeed a bar and grill. It was kind of strange because there was rarely anybody around, so we just had free range of the place. It ended up being the perfect place for our group, and I would definitely stay there again.

After getting settled into the hotel, we all went down to have a look around town, and we all ended up at the beach. I was just going to wade, but I ended up going in up to my hips and getting my jeans soaking wet. That wasn’t nearly as bad as what happened to Lorenzo, a member of the SMU group. He was standing in the water, about up to his knees, and I came up behind him. I was just going to push him a little to scare him a bit, but he ended up going in all the way. Luckily nothing in his pockets was ruined, and he decided to go for a swim after that anyway, so I didn’t feel so bad.

Our group decided to go out for a fancier dinner on Friday night, then grill out on my birthday. So we found a nice restaurant with an ocean view and went there. I had a caprese salad, a swordfish steak, and some great white wine. Many people in our group had seafood, which was served in some interesting ways. Ania and Ashley had fresh cod, and it came as a whole fish, head, skin and all. The waiter filleted them right there at the table. Allyson and some others had shrimp that came with the shell and antennas still on. Some people were a bit grossed out by this, but I guess its all part of the experience.

After dinner we all just went up to the hotel and sat on the terrace for a while with some wine. A group of us ended up going back down to the beach around 10:00 p.m. We climbed way up on a rock that looked over the sea and just sat there for a long time. We ended up ringing in my birthday on the beach when it turned midnight…what a way to start the celebration.

On my birthday we all got up fairly early to get started with our hiking, and we received some disappointing news from some others staying at the guesthouse. They went hiking the day before, and they said the majority of the trails were closed for maintenance. The ironic thing was that it was also one of the girls’ 21st birthday in their group on Saturday as well. But, anyway, we decided to try the hiking and see what we found. We bought our train and hiking pass at the train station, and we found that the trails were truly closed. The only stretch that was opened was from the first town to the second, a section called “Via di Amore,” or “Lover’s Lane.” So I reconciled myself to an easy hike and decided to just take things slowly.

I think it actually worked out better that most of the trail was closed, because it would have been difficult for our whole group to stay together given the size, and this way we could just sort of relax and take it all in. We stopped frequently to go down to the ocean and dip our feet in. At one point there was a bar along the trail, and Ania bought me my first drink of the day, a Pina Colada, which was very good, I must say. After we got to the end of the open section of trail, we took the train to the next town and walked around there for a while. All of the towns in Cinque Terre are just adorable. They are painted in pink, yellow, and salmon colored stucco, and they are all built right into the sea cliffs. There was one town we did not get to because it was getting late, and we were all ready to go back and grill. I would like to come back to Cinque Terre sometime when the trail is open, as I think it would be a very nice way to experience the towns.

After we got back to Monterossa, we all went to purchase our meat and other food. To buy the steak we went to this local butcher shop, and the owner working behind the counter did not speak English. There was basically a whole side of a cow lying behind the counter, and we weren’t quite sure how to ask for seven steaks. We finally figured it out, after we pointed to the wrong type of meat, and the owner made pig noises, indicating that the meat was pork, not beef.

When we got back to Manuel’s we discovered that using the grill, which also doubled as a stove, would be a bit more difficult than we intended. Plus, we wanted to ask permission first, but no one was around to ask. Manuel finally came home and helped us out, and the cooking began. Ania and Allyson prepared a pasta and vegetable dish for the entire group, and it was delicious! Lorenzo did all the grilling, and the steak was tender, juicy, and rare, just the way I now like it. It was the best birthday meal that I could have asked for. Everyone ate out on the terrace, and after we were done Ania, Allyson, and Bailey brought out a slice of birthday cake with candles on it. They also got me a beach ball and water wings, which, unfortunately I haven’t used yet. Hopefully next weekend…more about that later. I also received a couple of other gifts which were very suitable for a 21st birthday…I’ll leave that up to your imagination. Needless to say, we had quite the celebration.

We went down to the beach later that night, and I saw my birthday out the same way I brought it in, on the beach. I could not have asked for a more perfect weekend, and I am very thankful for everyone who helped to make it so great for me. I hope to go back to Cinque Terre again sometime when the trails are open. In fact, I have already decided that I am bringing my mom and brother there, although they may not know it yet. For anyone who ever plans to travel to Italy, I would definitely recommend putting Cinque Terre at the top of your list of places to see. It is just a very authentic Italian experience, and the natural beauty of the area cannot be compared to anything else.

Internet Down

2009-03-17T14:35:00.001+01:00

The wireless internet router exploded at my hotel, so that's why I haven't published anything about Cinque Terre yet. I'll tell you now that it was a wonderful weekend and the best birthday of my life! Hopefully I'll be able to get my post up soon.

It's been a while

2009-03-12T23:14:00.002+01:00

Dear faithful readers, I am sorry it has been so long since I have last posted a blog. I know there is not a valid excuse for such an action, but, to my defense, I have been pretty busy during the past couple weeks. As I mentioned last week, I am in the process of making travel plans for April, and I am glad that I have so much free time here, because it is taking more time to plan all this than I expected. Now I see why people still hire travel agents. But I am slowly getting everything figured out, and I'm sure it will all come together. I guess my main goal right now is to secure transportation from point-to-point for the eleven days that I'll be travelling before my mom and brother arrive in Florence.

Aside from all that, I have also spent a portion of the week planning the last minute details of my birthday weekend in Cinque Terre. We leave tomorrow and will not be back until Sunday, so, once again, you won't hear from me for a few days. The weather is supposed to be just beautiful in Cinque: 57 degrees and sunny all three days!

The weather is another reason for my not writing the past few days. Suddenly spring has hit northern Italy full force! The days have been sunny and warm, flowers are in full bloom, and everything is even more green than it was when we arrived! I have been going on some long runs and just trying to soak it all in. Sorry to make all of you back in Minnesota jealous, but I'm loving all this sun in March! I don't even have to worry about snow on my birthday, and that's the first time in my life that's happened.

Other than just enjoying the weather, I've done a couple other interesting things this week. One was for history class we went to the Medici chapels and to a museum that featured the inlaid marble art that is common for this area. I really like looking at the inlaid marble because it emmulates reality so well. You wouldn't think that you could make a realistic picture by piecing together marble, but often times the marble version of a scene looks even more realistic than a painting of the same scene. It is such an intricate art, and it is so strange to think that they did it all before the days of laser cutters and computer technology. It was all just painstaking work, and the results are beautiful.

Today for art class I finally got to see Michelangelo's real David. This is something that I have been looking forward to since I got here, and it was really a neat experience. I learned a bit about Michelangelo's, Donatello's, and Verocchio's Davids in honors class last semester, and now I have seen them all in person. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Florentine Davids, they are sculpures of the Biblical character from the David and Goliath story. The reason why there are so many Davids in Florence is that they are a symbol of the Republic. I really can't describe Michelangelo's David, and looking at pictures of it doesn't do it justice. I keep having experiences like this, and I just want to be able to communicate them. But really you cannot know until you've been to the Accademia and stood in the presence of David what I am really talking about. To begin with, David is a huge statue, bigger than I ever expected it to be from the pictures I saw. He is probably at least ten times as big as a normal human being, so he just towers over everything. Michelangelo carved him out of a single block of marble that had been discarded by other artists. He is the first David to be depicted before the act of killing Goliath, so you can see that he is in deep thought and poised for action. Michelangelo chose to represent David in this moment in order to emphasize his intellectual capacity and it's influence on his physical actions. It is just amazing to be in the presence of such a meaningful and famous work of art.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have lots of stories and pictures to post after this weekend. And I'll try to be a good blogger and keep my writing habit up!

Wishing I was still in Venice

2009-03-05T23:38:00.008+01:00

As I mentioned in my post last Thursday, I went to Venice for the weekend with Ania and Allyson. We stayed there on Friday and Saturday night and returned to Florence on Sunday afternoon. It was a very relaxing trip, and we had beautiful sunny weather the whole weekend. Venice is one of the most unique and beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. To begin with, of course, the streets are canals, so this means that we did not see a car once we entered the city. There are boats instead of cars or trucks for everything--we saw a police boat, a mail boat, and garbage boat, bus boats, and taxi boats, not to mention many gondolas. The city is actually built on a series of islands, so if you walk to the periphery, you can see the sea. There were many tourists there this weekend, and it is easy to understand why. If you'd like to see some pictures, here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025484&id=173301949&l=ab233. I will write a bit about each day to give you a better picture of my time there:

03/06/2009

Today I traveled to Venice with Ania and Allyson. We are going to stay here for two nights. I found a cheap one star hotel (75 euros per night) right in central Venice. We were a little bit worried about what we’d be getting, but it turned out to be great! It took us a long time to find our hotel because when you're walking on the streets rather than riding a boat you come to many dead ends. While we were walking, we paused on a bridge to look at a map and see where we were. This is when we saw a lone Asian woman going for a gondola ride. We were looking at her, wondering why she would go alone, and the gondola driver caught us looking. He yelled up to us, "You know Pokeman?" We said yes, then he pointed to the woman and said "Pikachu!" The woman had no idea what was going on, and we were just laughing so hard. His comment may have been a bit inappropriate, and it just makes me wonder what they say about us in Italian. After that little adventure and a quick stop for gelato, we finally found our hotel. When we entered the room the towels were folded like hearts on the beds! We had a small room with three beds that overlooked a canal. When I first opened the window there were some men outside unloading a boat, and they started calling to us and whistling. After we got settled in the room we walked around the city for a while. Venice just has such a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Aside from the sheer charm and beauty of the canals, people everywhere are friendly and happy, probably because they are on vacation. Today was just sort of our day to get adjusted to the city. We did some shopping at the many blown glass shops and markets then ended up sitting by the seaside for a while. Tomorrow we plan to go on a gondola ride and see the St. Mark’s Basilica. We saw St. Mark’s from the outside today, and I’m pretty excited to go in. St. Mark, the one who wrote the Gospel of Mark, is buried there, which to me is just amazing. Actually knowing where the bodies of the saints are just makes them seem so much more real. The gondola ride should be pretty sweet too…there are some pretty cute gondola drivers in their striped shirts and straw hats.

03/07/2009

Since today was our only full day in Venice, we had a lot to accomplish. I woke up early and read from a guide book that I had borrowed from Bob. I learned all about the city, and picked out the sites that are most important to see. Our first mission of the day was to tour St. Mark's Basilica. The basilica's construction began around 800 A.D., and, although it was sacked and rebuilt a couple times, it has still been around for almost 1,000 years! It is made in the Italo-Byzantine style, which basically means that it uses tons of gold, mosaics, and traditional iconography of the saints. The overall effect is just staggering! You walk in, and you are completely surrounded by gold! It is hard to know where to focus because the whole is just so magnificent. If you look closely at the mosaics, they tell stories of Christ and the Apostles. I also found out today that no one is really certain where St. Mark's body is. His tomb is under the main altar, but during the destruction of the church in it's early years, his remains were lost in the rubble. It is said that a prayer service for the recovery of St. Mark's remains was said during the early days of the new basilica. During this service, it is said that a cracking sound came from a pillar in the back of the church, and St. Mark's entire body came out of the pillar. Who knows, I guess anything is possible with miracles. After we were done touring the basilica we went to have a picnic in the Garden Reali. This is a place that I discovered from Bob's guide book, and I'm really glad I found it. It was a nice relaxing place to take in some greenery and be away from the masses of tourists. There were also these cute little nuthatches that ate bread crumbs out of our hands! After our picnic we went to see the Arsenale, which for many years was the largest harbor in the world. Then, after that, we went to the Piazza Margherita, which was highly recommended by the author of the guidebook. It was not all that he made it out to be, and it was a very long walk to get there. But we did get to see a lot of the city along the way. Oh well, live and learn. After that walk, we were all feeling pretty tired, so we went back to the hotel to rest up for the evening. In the evening we went for a gondola ride, which was amazing! It was quite expensive, but worth it. We went just at dusk, so the moon and stars were visible, but it was not quite dark yet. It was a really neat way to take in the city, and we enjoyed a bottle of wine along the way. Overall, I'd say this evening is an evening that I want to remember forever. Good friends, good wine, and a gondola ride in Venice, what more can a girl ask for?

03/07/2009

Today Ania and I went to Mass in the morning at a church near to our hotel. It was a very strange Mass that did not completely follow the parts of the Mass that I am used to, and there were only about 10 people there, all of them over 65. It was a huge church, but the Mass was held in a side chapel. There are 107 churches in Venice, so I guess they all can't be filled. Plus, during communion there was no choir, so the priest played a song from a tape recorder. Can you say tacky? We should have gone to one of the bigger churches, but oh well. If there's a next time, I'll know where not to go. Other than that, we did a little more shopping, had lunch, then headed back to the train station for our journey home. The train ride home was a bit interesting, as there was an Italian man, probably about 30 years old, across the aisle from me who stared at me for about two hours straight. I was reading a book, and every time I looked up, his eyes were just locked on mine. Finally, I wrote a note to Allyson that said I was going to get up to go to the bathroom, then move into the seat next to her, which faced away from the man. When I got up to go to the bathroom, he turned completely to stare at me as I walked down the train aisle. So creepy! I hate it when this kind of thing happens on a train or bus and I can't get away from the person. At first it was funny, but now it's just getting annoying. I think I'm going to figure out how to say in Italian, "Take a picture, it will last longer!"

Planning, and now off to Venice!

2009-03-05T23:38:00.005+01:00

I haven't written too much this week because I have spent the majority of my time making travel plans for the 20 days I will be in Europe after my program ends, not to mentions some plans for this weekend. You'd be surprised at how much time is effort is needed in order to make sure your travel goes smoothly, and then sometimes it still doesn't. Beginning April 3 I will be completely on my own for providing food, lodging, and transportation for myself. At first that was kind of scary to think about, but the more plans I make, the better I feel about it. I will spend the first ten days travelling with Eldon and perhaps a few others. We will go to Paris, visit a mutual friend in Ireland, stay in London for a night, then head to Munich and stay there until Easter. After Munich we will part ways, and I will head for Florence, as my mom and brother Matt are coming to visit. They will be here for ten days, and I will essentially be their tour guide. We will mostly visit places where I have already been, so I will know how to get around. I'm looking forward to both of these adventures, and I have been doing a lot of searching for decent hotels and hostels. You'd be surprised how much more difficult it is to book hotels in Europe than in the U.S. Everything is privately run, so there are no Motel 6's or Super 8's or Holiday Inns where you know exactly what to expect and what you'll be paying. The hotels are rated on a five star system, but there is not standard way of deciding how many stars a hotel should receive, so some one star hotels are more like three stars and some 3 stars should be one stars. The prices are also a lot higher here for what you are actually getting. The cheapest hotel I could find in Florence was about 60 euros per night for a triple, which is about $80, depending on the exchange rate. In the U.S. you'd probably be able to get a fairly decent room for that. Here you get the most basic room you can imagine: three beds, that's it, no decorations on the walls, nothing. There is a sink and a shower in the corner, and they toilet is located in the hallway for sharing. Now I don't mind getting by cheaply, as long as the place is safe and clean, but it takes so much research just to find a place that will be suitable. In order to book our hotel in Florence I spent hours checking online rates and reviews, then I went into town to visit the hotel. I guess I could always just go with the blind date method and just hope for the best, but I just prefer having some idea of what I am getting.

On another note, I will leave for Venice tomorrow morning, and I am staying two nights there with Ania and Allyson. I booked a cheap hotel for us near the center of the city, so hopefully it's decent. I'm really looking forward to seeing Venice, as I've heard that it is beautiful. You probably won't hear from me until Sunday, then I'll tell you all about it.

Ayuto...help...I don't know

2009-03-04T17:48:00.002+01:00

I seem to have a knack for coming across elderly people who need help. There was the one old lady I encountered last month who needed help with opening her door, and today I had a bit more extreme experience. I was out on a walk just to get some fresh air, as it had been raining all day today and most of the day yesterday. I walked up the hill to the Franciscan monastery, and I entered the park that is on the monastery grounds. Shortly after entering the park, I saw an old man, probably about 80 from the looks of it, on his hands and knees crawling up the hill. At first I wasn't quite sure if I should say anything. I didn't know what he was doing, and I thought maybe he was a homeless person, as there are a few who frequent the monastery. Upon careful examination, I realized that he was quite nicely dressed in a knee-length wool coat and beret, and his umbrella, journal, and handkerchief were scattered on the ground in front of him. This is when I realized he must of fallen off the approximately two foot embankment on the side of the path. In the most comprehensive Italo-Spanglish I could manage, I asked him if he needed help. We were having some trouble communicating, so I just went down there, and he motioned for me to grab his arm and lift him up. Once I got him up I realized that his injury was more severe than I anticipated. He was not able to put any weight at all on one of his feet, and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. There was no way that I was going to get him over the embankment, so I sat him on the edge and tried to explain to him that I was going to get help and would be back. I didn't want him to think I was just leaving him, but it was so difficult to say what I wanted. I did understand him when he told me to go to the Franciscan brothers though, so that is what I did. The only thing was, I wasn't quite sure where the brothers actually lived. I tried to ask a homeless man who was sitting by the church, but I don't think he understood be because he asked me if I could give him some money for coffee. So I went and rang the nearest doorbell that I could find, and I figured it was the brothers' house because there was a religious crest over the door. Once again, I had to try out my Italian while speaking over the intercom, trying to explain the situation. Finally, a cook came to the door, and he came with me to find the hurt man. When we found the man, the cook started talking to him like they knew each other, so I assume they did. We helped the old man up, each taking an arm. That's when two British tourists came by and asked if we wanted more help. I let the British man take over my position at the old man's arm, and we worked our way back to the brothers' house. There they had a wheelchair, which they put the old man in, and I assume everything will work out fine now. I talked with the British people a little more, then came back to Villa Bonelli and told my friends about my unexpected encounter on my walk. It was kind of a scary experience, but I'm glad I could help the man out and that things worked out in the end.

A Dream Come True

2009-03-02T20:31:00.003+01:00

Let me just preface this by saying that Switzerland was amazing, and no matter how hard I try, words and pictures just won't do it justice. I've said I wanted to ski in the Swiss Alps for years, and I've imagined many possible scenarios of doing so, but I have to say that the actual experience was better than I ever could have imagined. I would go back in a heartbeat, and I know I will someday. In fact, I would consider living in Switzerland if given the chance. I felt so much more at home there than I ever have in Italy. Most people that we encountered there spoke German as their main language and French and English as other languages. Most people were pretty fluent in English once you started to talking to them, which was very nice for a change. Many people there are of German nationality, and I felt very at home. I know it may sound like I'm exaggerating, but I never realized how much my German heritage really has shaped who I am. You would think that it would all just be neutralized after generations in the United States, but I noticed many similarities between the German people and myself and my family. Their intonation and mannerisms are very similar to what I am used to. Unlike Italians, who use flamboyant gestures and sound like they're having a heated argument not matter what they're saying, Germans tend to use lower, softer tones and be more reserved in public. Another similarity is their looks. For the first time since being in Europe, I felt like I blended in. My dishwater-blond hair and hazel eyes did not draw attention at all amongst the Germans. People in Interlaken were also a lot more friendly than they are in Florence. I've heard that the unfriendliness of the Florentines is not common to all Italians, but it sure gets to be annoying after a while. Nobody says "excuse me" when they bump into you, and nobody smiles or says "hi" when they pass you on the street. In Interlaken people greeted us on the street and the store clerks were friendly. Now I know this may not be true for all of Switzerland, but it sure did make for an enjoyable weekend getaway. Interlaken is pretty touristy, since it is one of the biggest adventure sports destinations in the world, so this may be one reason why so many people speak English and such. I kept a journal while I was in Interlaken, and those are the two entries below this one. If you would like to see pictures from my weekend, you can go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025381&id=173301949&l=8c543

02/27/2009

After arriving at our hostel around 4:00 a.m. last night, I woke up at 7:00 a.m. to grab a quick breakfast of bread and jam at the hostel and go rent skis. I must admit, I wasn't too psyched to begin my first day skiing on only three hours of sleep. But I've survived on less before, so I just told myself I wasn't tired, and by the time I hit the slopes I was so amazed by everything I saw that I forgot all about my fatigue. Ever since sixth grade, when I started skiing, I have been reading ski magazines about Switzerland, and in high school I used to go online and look up Swiss ski vacations. Skiing in the Swiss Alps has been my dream for almost as long as I can remember, and today it came true.

Today I skied with a guy named Mike who was also with the Florence for Fun tour group. He is from New Jersey and studying in Florence for the semester as well. We men on the bus to Interlaken, and when we found out that we were both skiing, we decided to meet up in the morning. Our day go off to a bit of a rocky start because Mike could not find his wallet which had his credit card, debit card, and all of his money in it. He thought that it may have fallen out of his pocket on the bus, but the bus driver was sleeping and could not be woken until afternoon. So Mike borrow our tour guide Fabio's credit card in order to rent his skis and buy his lift ticket. The rental skis were very nice--I got a brand new pair of Solomon women's boots and Solomon skis, which are probably the best I've ever ridden.

Actually getting onto the slopes was an experience in itself. We rode a bus to a village just up the mountain from Interlaken, then we rode a train up the mountain to another little village where we changed trains to get up to one of the highest points in the ski area. I really wasn't expected to ride trains while skiing, but this is just the way the Swiss do it. You could "hike" all over the Swiss Alps without doing much walking at all, you could just hop on a series of trains and be at a peak. I will admit that it was confusing where to go at first, as everything is so big that maps can't possible give much detail. We pretty much just played it by ear most of the time, looking for slopes that looked fun and trying them. The design of the slopes is also a lot different than those in the U.S. There is a lot more open space that has not been converted to groomed slopes, and everything is very spread out. Also, one company does not own the entire area. I'm not quite sure how the land ownership works, but there are many private bars that sell beverages and food on the slopes. There are also many ski villages scattered throughout the mountains, and you can ski right through them on your way down. Some people must live in these villages year-round, because on our way down we saw a herd of sheep exiting a barn!

The snow conditions toward the top of the mountain were just amazing! It took me a while to realize that I didn't have to carve as hard here as I do on the icy slopes of Minnesota. it's a good thing I realized this because my legs were about to give out by the end of the day even with my gentler carving. I could literally ski down for miles without stopping if I wanted to, but my legs would get so tired on the way down that I'd have to stop. Throughout the day I just kept wishing that my family and certain friends could be here to experience this with me because I know they'd all love it so much. If I ever have the funds to pay for a group ski vacation to Switzerland, it will definitely be top priority. There is something for every level of skier here too--from miles of never-ending easy runs that snake through pine forests and beautiful vistas to off-piste skiing for the more adventurous.

The off-piste skiing was something Mike and I tried today, and I must say that it was the best part of the day, but also one of the most scary experiences of my life. While riding the lift up, we saw a guy skiing down an are that looked like it was covered in fresh powder. there were a few tracks, but not many. This was because no lifts went to the slope, but it looked so nice, we decided we had to try it. In order to get to the area where we wanted to ski we had to walk uphill from the top of a lift. It didn't look too far from where we began, but when we started climbing it sure felt far. After all, we were wearing ski boots and lugging skis and poles up the hill. When we got the the top we both just collapsed into the deep snow and started eating it, then just laid there taking in the scenery for a while. It was really beautiful up there, and the sun had just burned through the clouds, so we could see far. When we finally got up and got our skis on we realized that the slope was a lot steeper than it looked from the lift. The snow was powder, but it was not fresh, so it had some crust on top, which made it hard to maneuver through. Skiing in this type of snow also uses an entirely different skill-set than skiing on ice or even groomed slopes. We got about half-way down the slope, and we realized that it got even steeper. At one point I fell with my body going down hill from my skis, which were pointed across the hill, and I wasn't sure I had the strength to force my body to the uphill side of my skis where I needed to be in order to stand up. I just laid there for a while, not moving. I could tell Mike was a bit concerned, but I knew all along that I would find a way to work things out and get down the hill, because that is just what I do. Finally we got past the steepest part, and things were going better. I decided to let my speed go a bit, and I totally ate snow. I didn't get hurt at all, but one of my skis did come off, which make that the worst wipe out I've had in quite a while.

At the end of that fun I was just shaking from the physical exertion and the adrenaline. Mike was pretty shook up too, so we decided it was time for a break and went to one of the nearby on-piste bars. I was planning on getting water before I did the off-piste run, but after that I decided that a beer would be much better. So that's how we ended up sitting in lounge chairs overlooking the Alps and drinking Swiss beer. This is just what I imagined Switzerland being, skiing and relaxation all rolled into one nice package. I really think today was one of the best days of my life, and I think I've already said that a few times during this trip. I just never thought all those years when I was reading about the Swiss Alps that I would actually get there. Now I am here, and it is just so majestic that I can't describe it!

02/28/2009

Today I got a little bit later start to my skiing than I would have liked to. Mike and I had planned to meet at 10:00 a.m. and go together again, but I saw him at breakfast, and he was debating between skydiving and skiing. He had already renewed his ski rental for the day, but I told him not to let our plans prevent him from skydiving. After all, I am pretty used to navigating ski slopes on my own. So he decided to takes his rentals back and go skydiving. One of the Florence for Fun guides named Alison was going skiing today, and she invited me to join her for the day. She is originally from Australia and has travelled all over the world, so she had many great stories. We also met a girl named Melissa at the bus stop who was from Chicago and is studying in Rome this semester, and she was by herself, so we invited her to join us as well.

We planned our route fro the day and decided to work our way up to the highest peak in the area. This peak is featured in the Jame's Bond movie, Her Majesty's Secret Service, which was made is 1969 with George Lazenby as James Bond. This is the trailer for the movie, and it actually gives you a pretty good feel for the Alps:
At the top of the mountain there is a circular restaurant that is surrounded by windows, and the seating area slowly spins as you eat, so you take in the whole view. This restaurant is where the women in the film trailer are eating.

Today was a beautiful day in Interlaken, so lots of people were making their way to the top. I heard a couple of locals say this is the best weather they've seen in a month. There was literally not a cloud in the sky, and it was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit even near the top of the mountain. It was a bit warm for skiing, and the snow conditions weren't too great, but it was perfect for taking in the scenery.

We decided to do a bit of skiing as we worked our way up the mountain, and I realized that Alison and Melissa did not ski at the same level as me, as they stuck to mostly the easiest runs and snowplowed most of the way down. So we worked out a plan in which I did two or three harder runs while they did one run, then we met at the bottom of the lift. I was okay with taking it a bit easier today because I could definitely feel my legs after yesterday. If I had my choice, I would stay in Switzerland longer and allow for a day of recovery after each day of skiing.

We finally made it to the top peak around 2:00 p.m., after two bus rides, two trains, and three cable cars. People were just flocking to the top because of the nice weather, and the cable cars especially were packed shoulder to shoulder. At the top we walked around the terrace of the restaurant and took lots of pictures. Then we had dessert inside the spinning restaurant. After that Alison and Melissa were both done skiing for the day, but I definitely was not. The only way down from the peak without taking the cable car was a black, so the most difficult, and I knew I would beat myself up later if I didn't at least try it. We had been looking at it on our way up, and it really didn't look that bad. This turned out to be another of those live-and-learn moments that I keep having. The hill didn't look so bad from the lift, but once again it ended up being much longer and steeper than I thought it was. Imagine the toughest double black diamond with moguls you've ever seen in Minnesota, and multiply the distance by about 20, then subtract the ice and add some powder, and the result is this slope. I did almost the whole hill on the edges of my skis, inching my way down bit-by-bit sideways. You see, I have this irrational fear of letting my speed or control go even a little bit on steep long hills, and this fear is derived from my experiences on the icy slopes of Minnesota. Skiers of less ability than me were taking the hill just fine. Yes, it was steep, and yes, there were lots of moguls, but the snow was very soft, so it would have been easy to regain control. My mind just won't let me go though, and this can get very frustrating at times, especially when four-year-olds are whizzing by me. It took me about an hour to get down that entire hill, and once I go to the bottom, the lifts were beginning to close, as it was after 4:00 p.m. My energy was completely drained, and I still had to work my way to the bottom using the buses, trains, and cable cars. Everyone was heading down at the same time, so, once again, things were completely packed.

As I headed back to the hostel, I couldn't help but wish that I had more time here. I know I will come back someday. This may sound like something I just say but will never do, but I really mean it. I don't care what it takes, I am going to ski in the Swiss Alps again. Honestly, this weekend has been like a dream come true!

Off to Switzerland

2009-02-26T15:34:00.001+01:00

Today I will get on a bus at 6:30 p.m. and head to Switzerland for the weekend. As I mentioned before, most of the SMU group is going, but they will be skydiving while I will be skiing. I'm very excited, and I'm sure I will have many stories to tell when I get back. You probably won't hear from me until Monday.

Ash Wednesday

2009-02-25T18:24:00.002+01:00

Today is Ash Wednesday, so most of our group from Saint Mary's went to mass at the Fiesole cathedral. Once again, this was an experience unlike any I've ever had in the U.S. The service began at a small church just down the hill from the cathedral. The church was completely packed with nuns, priests, seminarians, and old people, so most of our group had to stand in the back of the church. Here began the music, which was some of the most beautiful I've ever heard. The choir was only composed of a handful of men and women, and they sang everything acapella. Their voices were so pure, and the acoustics of the church allowed to sound to resound so that the effect was just angelic. The bishop of Fiesole said a few words at this church, then we all processed out and formed two lines in the street and walked toward the cathedral. As we processed, we sang a prayer asking for the intercession of saints. There was a seminarian carrying a cross leading the procession, and there was another seminarian carrying loudspeakers on a pole so that we could hear the voices of the choir. The procession went right through the middle of the street, stopping traffic. Once we were in the church, the service continued similar to other Ash Wednesday services I've been to. There was just a lot more singing, and instead of putting the ashes on your forehead they sprinkle them in your hair. Overall this was a very neat experience, and I'm very glad that most of the group decided to go. Aside from small children, we were still definitely the youngest people at the mass even though the whole cathedral was filled. The majority of young people in Europe are just not very religious despite the culture of Catholicism that pervades. I was sort of surprised by this in the beginning of my time in Italy, although I had heard this before I came here. You'd think that when they have so much opportunity to practice their faith in their country they would do so. Even though it sometimes seems that American young adults are not very faithful, most do make a showing for major Church days like Ash Wednesday. I am proud of Americans for keeping these traditions alive in the younger generation, and hopefully we will not follow Europe's path.

The best party ever!

2009-02-25T08:20:00.003+01:00

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday, or Marti Gras if you're French and Martedi Grasso if you're Italian. But the words do not matter because,no matter where you are in the world or what language you speak, it is an excuse to party before the 40 days of Lent. And let me tell you, Italians know how to throw a party. Their Fat Tuesday celebration is called Carnivale, and it takes place in cities across Italy. The Carnivale I chose to go to with Ashley, Allyson, Ania, and Eldon was in Viareggio, a town on the Mediterranean coast. This Carnivale is known as the best in Italy, and it runs every Sunday for about a month before Lent. Yesterday was the last day, and we all got done with class at noon, so we decided to get on a train and go.

Aside from a bit of confusion about which train to ride, we got to Viareggio just fine, and then Ashley and Allyson bought beautiful Carnivale masks. We proceeded to search for the festival. At first we were a bit skeptical because it didn't seem like there was much going on, aside from a few families dressed in matching furry costumes roaming the streets. Finally we found the festival, which had kids' rides and lots of food booths. We had to pay 15 euros to get in, so we were all thinking, "This better be good." Once we got in we weren't sure what to do or where to go. We didn't know if we had to pay more to go on the rides and such, so we just wandered for a bit. Finally the good part came. We were just standing in the street, surrounded by kids and parents dressed in costume when we realized that the parade was coming, and we were directly in its route. And this wasn't just any parade, this was a parade unlike any I've ever seen before. Huge floats that fill up the entire street and are as tall as the multi-story hotels that rise up on one side are constructed from a sort of paper mache. The floats are all pulled by tractors, and they blast loud dancing music. They are all just packed with costumed dancing people, again little kids, parents, old people, teenagers, everyone participates. Unlike parades in the U.S., people do not just sit and watch the parade go by; they get up and dance in the street to the music, and lots of the parade marchers who are not on the float invited us to dance with them.

Many of the floats have a political theme. One that was specifically aimed at America was a satire of Barack Obama. He was dressed as a railroad worker in overalls and holding a hammer in his hand. In front of the float there were people dancing who had their faces painted black, and they were dressed as various occupations that represent middle class Americans. Other floats were less political, such as one based on Aladdin and another with a bunch of giant goose heads sticking out. The parade went on for probably 2-3 hours, and we were dancing almost the whole time. After the parade many young people just started dancing out in the street to the music that was still playing from the floats. It was just such a fun atmosphere and unlike anything I had ever seen in the U.S. before this. I especially enjoyed the fact that everyone, no matter their age, really got into it. I have never seen so many parents and children dressed up in furry purple cow suits before. Other costumes included a group of little girls dressed up as cheerleaders from Rydell High in Grease, a guy dressed up as the Pope who was handing out fake Eucharists, and a plenitude of young men dressed as women.

After the parade was over, I wanted to go see the ocean/sea, since I have never seen it before. So we walked toward where we thought it was, and then I saw it. I ran across the beach all the way to it, and when I got to it I kicked my shoes off and went in, panty-hose still on, as far as I could without completely soaking my mini-skirt. It was just such and exhilarating experience, even though I'm sure any Italians who saw me probably thought I was crazy.

After the ocean, we decided to try to find a place to eat. This is when we encountered two men who had been on a float in the parade. Ania and I had been blowing kisses at many of the men on the floats throughout the parade, so we think they may have been guys we were blowing kisses to. One was dressed as a clown, and the other had a cape and painted mask on his face. The clown seemed to have had a bit too much to drink, and he was asking us to come party with them. He was also shoving candy down our shirts and kissing our cheeks. He told us about a giant party that happens after the parade at the end of the street, and Ania, Allyson, and I thought it sounded like something worth trying. Ashley and Eldon weren't really feeling up to it, so they decided to head back to Florence. This was probably a good thing because it gave us an excuse to escape from the clown. Ania, Allyson, and I proceeded to find the party and, let me tell you, it was a party! There were food and alcohol vendors everywhere, and it was great food too. Since it was Fat Tuesday, I decided to splurge. Although I had already had a sandwich and gelato for dinner, I had a delicious cream filled, deep-fried pastry and a hot dog. I'm usually not much of a hot dog person, but this was a hot dog Italian style. It was on a homemade bread bun that was toasted and had fried peppers and sauerkraut on it...very tasty! Aside from the food, there were DJs set up on the street blasting loud music, and there was dancing everywhere. Although it was beginning to get late, small children and older people were still members of the party crowd. It was nothing like a street dance in America where usually people don't dance too much. Here everyone was dancing, and people you did not know would just start dancing with you. I've never had so much fun at a festival in my life! Unfortunately, the last train left Viareggio for Florence at 10:00 p.m., so we had to leave when the party was just getting started. I'm pretty sure it carries on all night, so perhaps another year I will find myself back in Viareggio for Carnivale. Until then, I will definitely remember last night as the best party I've ever been to.

This month's editorial

2009-02-23T18:04:00.002+01:00

Once again, it's that time of the month that I write an editorial for the Saint Mary's newspaper. And, once again, my editorial is going to do double duty as my blog entry for the day. If any of you are interested in checking out the Cardinal online, the address is http://cardinal-smumn.blogspot.com/.

A lesson in Italian flirting

I have almost hit the two month mark of my time in Italy, and each day I seem to discover new aspects of Italian culture. One aspect that has proven to be especially intriguing is the culture of romance, which I never realized the full extent of before coming here.
Being a young, blonde, athletic American female in Italy has put me at the receiving end of much flirting from Italian men of all ages and appearances. The most overt and persistent flirter I’ve encountered was a 39 year old man named Dario on the ski slopes. During our first conversation Dario told me that I have beautiful eyes. This may seem like a cliché compliment, but he seemed very sincere. Shortly after he told me that I make his heart beat like thunder and lightning, and he asked me if I would like him to get me a room in his town by the sea. I must admit that at this point I began to get a bit creeped out, but this is a prime example of the flirting that is considered normal in Italy. If a man perceives even the slightest chance that a woman may be interested in him, he proceeds at full throttle.
Another story of a persistent Italian flirter comes from Saint Mary’s own Dr. Mary Fox, who is currently on sabbatical and doing some traveling and research in Italy. Recently she was in Rome with Br. Stephen Rustyn, and they were eating at a restaurant. Br. Stephen left the table to go to the restroom, and the young male waiter came up behind Dr. Fox and began kissing and caressing her head and neck. The man proceeded to tell her that he fell in love with her when he first saw her, then he began to undo his belt. He told her that he just wanted her to “take one look.” In America a waiter could get fired or arrested for doing something like that, but here it is considered acceptable.
Lastly, I would not do Italian flirting justice if I failed to mention the ways Italian men of all ages address young women on the street. A couple common phrases are “Ciao bella!” which means hello beautiful, and “Mamma mia!” However, some men opt for more original methods, such as a one who neighed at my girlfriends and me as we walked by. Sometimes I cannot help but laugh at the ridiculousness of these methods, but they do make some great stories, and I think I will miss the romance culture when I return to the States.

More Photos!

2009-02-22T21:38:00.003+01:00

Aside from the few pictures I have uploaded into my blog, I really haven't shared any pictures, so I decided to share the links to all of my facebook albums. Take a look when you have the time...there are a lot of them!

Italia Due:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024377&id=173301949&l=9ec79
Italia Tre:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024647&id=173301949&l=ade09
Italia Quattro:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024703&id=173301949&l=0f5e6
Italia Cinque:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024863&id=173301949&l=bcf61
Italia Sei:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025132&id=173301949&l=2722d

Breaking Away

2009-02-21T21:04:00.006+01:00

Last night I was trying to decide what to do today, and I just decided that I wanted to rent a bike and explore the countryside. So that is how I ended up renting a Bianchi racing bike and riding 20 miles to the small town of Greve in Chianti (pronounced Gray-vay). I rented my bike at a place called Florence by Bike, and they helped me figure out a route. They even gave me maps and highlighted the roads that I should take. The route to Greve was absolutely beautiful! There were olive orchards and vineyards as far as the eye could see. I was really amazed by the expansiveness of the vineyards. Never before did I realize how big the wine industry actually is here. Today it finally hit me that this is how many people in Italy make their living. Many of the farms double as villas for guests, something the Italians call agritourism. It seems like a nice way for farmers to bring in a little extra income. When I reached Greve I explored the town a little and found a nice little bar to have lunch at. I was able to get a panine sandwich and a glass of Chianti wine for only four euros! After lunch I decided to do a little side trip up to a little village at the top of a big hill. It was about one extra kilometer, but it was extremely steep! I asked some guys on the sidewalk how to get there, and when they saw that I was biking they just started laughing because they didn't think I could make it. But I did make it, and I must say the view was well worth it. After spending a little time at the top of the mountain I began to make the 20 mile trek back to Florence. On my way back I saw some road signs that pointed to Florence, and I decided to follow them rather than retrace my same route. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turned out to be not so good. I ended up on a busy highway, and although it had a roomy shoulder, unlike the country roads, I still felt a little bit vulnerable when I was biking on it. But I did make it back to Florence in one piece and returned my bike. If you would like to see the route that I biked today, you can check it out on the Google map in the blog entry below. You will have to zoom out to view the entire route. Now I am extremely sore, and I have a feeling it will probably be worse in the morning, but it was definitely worth it.

2009-02-21T16:55:00.001+01:00

View Larger Map

Picnic European Style!

2009-02-20T20:44:00.004+01:00

Today we went to San Gimignano on our last group bus tour, which is a small medieval city situated atop a hill that overlooks countryside full of small farms and vineyards. It was an absolutely fabulous day! To begin with, the weather was perfect; at around 55 degrees and sunny it was probably some of the best weather we've had since arriving in Italy. At San Gimignano we first went on a tour with Bob which highlighted two of the main churches in town: Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta and Chiesa di San Agostino. The entire interior of Santa Maria was covered in frescoes. One wall was devoted to Old Testament stories, the other was devoted to Christ's Passion, and there was another wall depicting Hell and Heaven. St. Fina's tomb is in the church, and there are frescoes detailing her life. She was only 15 years old when she died, and she spent her life in San Gimignano. She was diagnosed with a terminal illness when she was only about 13, and she decided to lay on a wood plank on the floor rather than a bed in order to suffer more and to offer her suffering to God so that she could grow closer to Him. As she got sicker she grew very weak, and mice began to feed on her flesh. Finally she died, and all that was left was rotting, mouse chewn flesh. Not a very good image, right? Well God didn't think so either, so He turned her flesh into a pile of fresh flowers, and it is this miracle that made her a saint. I thought this was a beautiful story, and the frescoes about her life were very detailed and showed a lot of emotion in the faces of the people, many of which are small children. They are not happy paintings to look at, but the human emotion that they capture make them very captivating.

During our tour with Bob we also went up to an old hilltop fortress from the 1300s. It had a tower that was still in good enough condition to climb, and the view from the top was magnificent. You could see farmland and little towns and houses speckling the landscape for miles and miles all the way to the Apennines. Bob gave us the brilliant idea of returning to the fortress for a picnic, so that's what Ashley, Ania, Allyson, and I did. After our tour was over we went to an old church that had been converted into a wine shop. Here we sampled some of the white wine called Vernaccia, which is the San Gimignano region is famous for. I bough a bottle, and I am going to try to save it long enough to bring it home. I usually prefer red wine, but this is definitely the best white wine I've ever tasted. It is a sweeter and wetter wine than many, but it is great for a before dinner drink to whet the pallet. After purchasing our wine, we made our way to the coop where we bought fresh bread, Brie cheese, pesto, peach juice, and Pringles (the one American addition to our meal). On our way up to the fortress we stopped in one of the local sausage shops and bought some wild boar sausage. San Gimignano is famous for this type of sausage, and it was very good, I must say. We had a very enjoyable picnic with all of this food and a bottle of wine, and after our picnic we decided to just lay in the grass and take a nap. It just felt so good to lay in the sun and be warm, and I just kept thinking of how it would be if we were in Minnesota this time of year. Sorry to make some of you jealous, but just know that I do think of you occasionally while I'm laying in the sun. If I could bottle up the sun and send some to you, I would. But since I can't, I'll just enjoy it for myself.

Exciting plans

2009-02-19T21:34:00.002+01:00

I received two exciting emails in the past couple days, both of which have led to some very exciting plans for the next few months. The most recent email confirmed that there are rooms for 14 people available at Manuel's Guesthouse in Cinque Terre for my birthday weekend. I've been looking at pictures online with Ania ever since I received the email, and I can't wait to go. I think this is going to be the best birthday ever! You can see some pictures at the website www.manuelsguesthouse.com. The guesthouse overlooks the sea, and there is a bar that serves beer and wine on the terrace! Who could possibly ask for a better place to celebrate a 21st birthday? I'm literally counting down the days even though I have a while to wait and there are lots of other exciting things happening in between. I really hope the weather is nice and that everyone has a good time, or at least pretends to, for my birthday's sake.

The other piece of exciting news really has nothing to do with Italy, but it's exciting nonetheless. Two days ago I received an email from the head naturalist at Whitewater State Park, where my office was based for my internship last summer. He offered me an internship at the park for this coming summer which would combine the job I did last summer (teaching fishing clinics in SE MN) with doing naturalist work at Whitewater State Park. They combined the positions due to budget constraints in the DNR, but it sounds like the ideal position for me. I am already familiar with the fishing clinic part of the job, and the naturalist part of the job will allow me more flexibility to pursue my own interests in the field. I was very flattered that I was offered this job, and I am looking forward to getting to know everyone at Whitewater better this summer. The bad part of this good news is that I might have to cut my travels around Europe after my school program a little short because of intern training. I'm still waiting to find out if that is the case, but if it is, I will have to switch my flight. So that will be sort of a hassle, but I'm willing to do what I need to do to get this job.

Unbelievable Riches

2009-02-18T15:26:00.003+01:00

Today for history class we toured the Medici Palace (Palazzo Vecchio), where the famous Medici family lived during their reign in Florence. The Medicis were extremely wealthy, probably more wealthy than anyone ever has ever been in America. They made their fortune by trading wool and being the first pharmacists. At one point the family employed 700 servants! By the sheer power of their money they were able to secure leadership in Florence, and during their reign they funded much of the famous art that still exists in the city today. The palace really was a sight to see. Every room's walls and ceilings were completely covered with paintings, ornate carving, and gold. It is honestly unlike anything I've ever seen before in my life. The architecture itself is also amazing, as there are many arches and high ceilings. There is one room about the size of a soccer field that has an extremely high ceiling that is flat and entirely covered in framed paintings. Thanks to our teacher, Luciana, we were able to go on a tour of the "secret rooms" of the palace. We had an Italian tour guide, so it was a bit difficult to understand some things, but it was a really interesting tour. During this tour we were able to go up above the ceiling of the room I was just describing, and we found out that it is a self supported ceiling (no columns), and the paintings are all hung on beams. It is sort of hard to describe, but it was really pretty neat to see. The paintings that form the ceiling can be raised and lowered for cleaning purposes. The most interesting part of the secret room tour was when we were able to see a couple rooms that could only be reached by narrow secret passageways in between the walls. One such room was made to be like the interior of a jewelry box--the ceiling was arched, and it was the shape of a narrow rectangle. The walls were completely covered with paintings, and the ceiling was too. Some of the wall paintings opened up into secret storage areas where "treasure" was kept. Other paintings opened up to more secret passageways. There was one painting that looked like it had a completely black background, but then when a light was shined on it things appeared in the background. This painting opened up to a passageway that led to a tiny little library, only you could not tell that it was a library when you first walked in because all the books were hid behind pictures that opened up into bookshelves. It is just unbelievable that one family could be so rich that they could afford all of this. I don't even know what I would do if I had a house as big as theirs, but I guess that would probably be the least of my worries.

Let it snow...

2009-02-16T15:05:00.003+01:00

I thought when I came to Italy that I was done with snow for good, but I was wrong because this morning it snowed on my way to class. It was kind of exciting, since I have not seen snow in over a month. Okay, that's a lie, I did see snow when I went skiing, but you get my drift. So I caught a few flakes on my tongue, but the excitement quickly faded because now it's just really cold and drizzling outside. So today is a pretty low key indoors homework day. I feel for all of you in Minnesota, although I've heard it is finally "warming up" there, meaning that it's about 40 degrees.

Grrrrrrr....taxes

2009-02-16T15:05:00.002+01:00

I spent about two hours today working on my 2008 income tax returns, which is pretty much my least favorite thing to do in the world. I usually put it off until the last minute, but I figured since I will be travelling around Europe in April, I should probably have them done before then. The plus side is that I'm getting about $300 back, a nice little cushion in my bank account that is quickly being depleting from all this travelling. I am beginning to think I should take the Italian approach to income taxes. Hardly anyone in Italy reports their full income, so they don't pay the full amount of taxes that they technically should. However, since everyone does it, the government can't do anything about it. Here are some statistics from the Wall Street Journal (06/28/2007): unpaid income taxes in Italy from the country's black market economy constitute 27% of Italy's GDP; only 0.8% of Italians claim to earn more than $134,000 per year; Italian restaurant owners declare an annual average income of just $18,000 (less than school-teachers); there are 5,800 people in Italy who declare incomes of less than 5,000 euros per year, but who drive cars worth more than 100,000 euros. The reasons for these tax evasions are complex, but one reason is that the Italian government bureaucracy is notoriously corrupt, and taxpayers believe their tax dollars are squandered, which, in many cases, is true. I guess I feel a little more confident that the tax dollars I pay to the U.S. government are at least doing some good. Plus, if I didn't pay my taxes in the U.S., I'm pretty sure the IRS would be on my tail eventually. So I guess I will be a good American citizen and pay taxes, and I shouldn't complain too much because at least I'm getting some money back.

Better in black and white

2009-02-13T16:21:00.009+01:00

I tried to publish this post yesterday, but I was having Internet issues:

2/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

Today I went to a black and white photography exhibit in Florence with Ania. I have wanted to go to it ever since I first got here and saw the advertisements, and today was the last day of the exhibit. It was my first time visiting an art gallery on my own volition, and I really enjoyed it. I felt quite sophisticated wearing my dress and walking through the exhibits, quietly commentating on the works. Usually I have some trouble really digging deeper into a work of art, getting beyond its face value, but I have never had this problem with photography, especially black and white photography. I think it has something to do with the writer in me, but I just love to look at photographs of people from many years ago and think about how their life was and what they were thinking at that moment. The exhibit in Florence was very striking because of the age of most of the photographs. Many were from the 1850s, and they portrayed life in Florence and the surrounding country. It was very interesting to see what has changed and what has remained the same since that time. My favorite work in the entire museum was entitled "Springtime," and I believe it was by Roberto Robinson. It is a portrait taken of a young couple from behind as they walk down a country road in Holland. The man has his arm around the woman, and they look very happy and in love. On the right there is a Dutch windmill, and much of the country landscape is visible. I thought this photo really captured the emotion and beauty of the moment, and, even though it was taken over 100 years ago, the emotions it captures are still applicable today. Someday when I have an apartment/house I really want to collect black and white photography and have it all over my walls. I would probably never get anything done because I'd always be looking at my pictures and thinking about what those people were thinking, but at least I'll be thinking.

A great Valentine's Day after all

2009-02-13T16:21:00.006+01:00

In spite of all my doubts, Valentine's Day turned out to be pretty great after all. The goodness began with dinner last night, which turned out to be the best dinner I've ever had in my life! We began with a bottle of white wine then ordered our first and second courses with a bottle of Chianti. My first course was ravioli filled with goat cheese in an orange sauce with tomatoes. It was the best ravioli I've ever had, and I really want to learn to make goat cheese when I raise goats someday so I can make something like that. All of the food here is just so fresh and authentic, I don't know how I am going to react when I go back to eating preserved and processed foods in America. My second course last night was a fillet-mignon with a sauce made from fresh grapes, and I also had a side of fresh grilled zucchini, eggplant, and red pepper. The beef was definitely rare, but ever since I've been here I've discovered that's the way I like it. It would be illegal in American restaurants to serve beef as rare as they serve it here, but I think the texture and flavor are so much better when it is served this way. So when I go back to America people will probably look at me like I'm crazy when I eat my bloody steaks. Also, after all that food last night, we still had dessert. I had almond biscotti that came with a dessert liqueur to dip it in. It was pretty good, but I couldn't bring myself to drink the liqueur afterwards, which is what Bob said I was supposed to do, so Ashley drank it for me. Then we finished the meal with limoncello as an after dinner drink. So I must say I was slightly tipsy after drinking about four glasses of wine and the limoncello with my meal, but all-in-all it was a great meal!

Today we were going to go to Bologna, so we went to the train station around 11 a.m. to figure everything out. This was all of our first times figuring out how to buy a train ticket and board a train on our own, so it was a bit frustrating and confusing. To begin with, we couldn't find any local trains to Bologna, and the only ones we could find were expensive EuroStar trains. So on the spot we just decided to go to Pisa instead. A one way ticket to Pisa is about 5 euros, and it takes about an hour to get there, so it is a nice place to go for a day trip. We finally figured out how to buy our ticket and found our train and boarded. However, none of us realized that we had to validate our ticket before we boarded the train, so the conductor got a little angry with us. Overall though he seemed to be fairly understanding, he just wanted to make sure that next time we validated our ticket, which is understandable because otherwise we could use it again without charge. So the train was a live and learn type experience. Once we got to Pisa everything was very easy to figure out. We stopped at the tourism office and got a map, and we made our way on the ever-so-common tourist pilgrimage to the leaning tower. And, sadly enough, we did cave and take the obligatory tourist pictures of us holding up the tower. Other than the tower and the cathedral there is not much else to see in Pisa, so we found a place to eat a late lunch and then went back to the station and bought tickets back. The ride back was much less stressful than the ride there, as we actually sort of, kind of knew what we were doing. So now I'm done for the day, exhausted, but glad to say that it was a happy Valentine's Day. Oh, and I did receive two Valentines: a poem from Eldon and a rose from Bob (well, he doesn't say it's from him, but all of us girls got one, and the note is in his handwriting).

A day of rest

2009-02-13T16:21:00.002+01:00

Everyone in our group except for Allyson, Ania, Ashley, and me went to Venice today. They are staying there all weekend, so it is just us four here at the hotel. We didn't want to go to Venice because it is Carnivale weekend and Valentine's Day, so it will probably be super crowded. Plus it is still really cold there, and we'd rather go when it gets warmer. Next weekend I hope to go to a Carnival celebration (similar to Mardi Gras) at a small town called Viareggio. Today we were thinking about going to Pisa as a day trip, as it is only about an hour away by train, but none of us were quite feeling up to it today. Allyson and I are both recovering from our colds, and Ania just caught one. So instead of going to Pisa, I stayed in my pajamas until 2:00 p.m. and looked up information on Cinque Terre online. Cinque Terre are five little towns on the coast of Italy connected by a hiking trail. Everyone I've talked to who has travelled in Italy has said that it is a must see. So I decided that is what I'd like to do for my birthday weekend (March 14). All 14 people in our group want to go as well, so I'm in the process of figuring out how to get a hotel or hostel for all of us. I've contacted a few places via email, but I haven't got any responses yet. There is this really cute place called Manuel's Guesthouse that the group last year stayed at. My friend Ryan recommended it to me, and I would really like to stay there if the rest of the group is up for it. It's a bit more expensive than a hostel, but at least we would know what to expect. Other than looking into that, I went for a long run/walk, and I found a new public hiking trail that snakes through part of an olive orchard. It was really pretty, and it was a fairly nice day today: sunny and 46 degrees. It had been a while since I went running with midterms and all, so it felt really good to get back into it. Tonight it will just be us four girls and Bob for dinner, but the rest of the group has already paid for meals because of their meal plan. So Bob said that we would get a really fancy meal tonight. He is talking about ordering prosecco, wine, and steak along with other more high-class item menus. I've been trying not to eat a lot all day so that I can enjoy this dinner to the fullest. Tomorrow we are going to Bologna, but I don't know if it will just be a day trip or an overnight thing. Bologna is only about an hour away by train, so I'm kind of hoping for it to be a day trip, but it depends on what everyone else wants to do too. So all in all it has just been a nice day of relaxation to recuperate from midterms and my cold. I think it is a good thing that I did not go to Venice, because I would probably still be tired and sick if I did. Even when you're travelling sometimes you just need to take time to relax and realize that you will never have time to see everything. This is something that I learned when I was in Colorado for a summer working as a camp counselor. While I was there I tried to pack as much into every weekend as I could, and by the end of the summer I was just so tired that I had very little energy to do my job. So the moral of the story is, you have to find a happy medium of experiencing new things and taking time to relax and take it all in. The end.

Midterms = Death

2009-02-12T13:11:00.002+01:00

Sorry I did not write yesterday. I had my history and language midterms, and it was just not the greatest day. I'm pretty sure I did really bad on my history test because I studied all the wrong information. I knew what happened in the history of Florence backwards and forwards, but I did not study specific dates. Then when I got to the test it was all multiple choice, and most of it was on dates. I'm in denial that I ever took that test right now, but hopefully next Wednesday won't bring too unpleasant of news. The language test was really easy, and after I took that I spent the rest of the day studying for the art midterm, which is today at 5:00. This morning we went to the Uffizi, and now we have some time to study before the test. I also caught a cold this week, so I think I may take a short siesta before doing more studying. I seriously think my head might explode right now, and out of it will come a masterpiece of all the Italian artists combined with my sweat and blood. Sorry for the graphic image. I will be so glad when all of this is over. It is just such a different teaching style, and it is so hard to know what to expect. So after today the blogging should be back to normal. It's just been a rough couple days.

2009-02-10T22:42:00.001+01:00

One midterm down, four more to go. I'm tired and sick of studying, so I'm going to go to bed now. It will be nice when these are over. Sorry, that's all for today. Just wanted to let my faithful readers know that I'm still alive.

For the love of books

2009-02-09T18:43:00.003+01:00

Today I went into Florence once again. This time I went with Ashley, Ania, Bailey, and Jill so we could book a weekend trip to Interlaken, Switzerland for the end of February. We are going through a business called Florence for Fun, which specializes in travel and cultural experiences for English speaking students in Florence. So I am really excited for that weekend. I am going to ski, and I think everyone else is going to sky dive. Skydiving would be really awesome, but it's really expensive, plus I've always wanted to ski in the Swiss Alps. Actually I've always wanted to do this for my honeymoon, but this way I will know how things work, right?

After we booked the trip we all went our separate ways, and I chose to check out the library. It was a lot different than libraries in the U.S., but I really liked it. I don't think you can actually check out books there; it seems to be more of a place to study. But their were lots of students around my same age there, and it was a nice atmosphere for studying. I sat up on an open terrace in a sunny spot, and besides being distracted by the Italian couple across from me that kept making out, it was a great place to get some studying for midterms done. I think I will go back there again, as I tend to get very distracted when I try to study in the hotel. Plus their was a plenitude of very nice looking, studious Italian men who looked to be about my age, so perhaps I will get a chance to practice my Italian speaking skills ;-)

After the library I stopped at a cafe to get some cappuccino and use the toilet, which was more of just a hole in the floor...gross. Then I went to find the American English Academy in Florence. I had emailed them to see about volunteering as a conversational partner for Italians who are learning English. I figured it would be a good way to meet some Italians, feel somewhat productive during my time here, and get a jump start on my goal of becoming an ESL teacher. Unfortunately, the lady who I was emailing was not there when I stopped by, so I have to go back tomorrow. I am really excited about this if it actually works out, and I hope I can start soon.

Next I went to Edison, a large bookstore, kind of like Barnes and Noble, that has a large English book section. I browsed around for a while and became very disheartened to see the Twilight series printed in several languages. I just can't believe that book series is an international bestseller. The writing is just plain bad, and the female protagonist has no positive defining characteristics. I see it as a book that works against the ideals of good literature and feminism, so I would never support it, but I digress. At the bookstore I found a book of 501 Italian verbs and I bought it. I am hoping to be able to use it to learn some Italian on my own. My goal is to be able to be comfortable starting a conversation in Italian before I leave here. Right now I feel like if I start a conversation, I will just embarrass myself, because I know so little of the language.

So it's been a day of books, and now I am going to hit the books again because midterms are this week, and half of our grade is determined by how we do on midterms. Wish me luck!

Concentrated ENERGY!

2009-02-08T17:53:00.003+01:00

I just got back from the soccer game: Fiorentina vs. Lazzio, which are two cities in Italy. Each city in Italy has it's own team, and they all play against one another. I did not realize the amount of loyalty people have to their teams until today. The Lazzio fans had their own section in the bleachers, and the section was fenced off with chain link with barbed wire on top. Next to the Lazzio section there was an entire empty seating section on each side, and security guards flanked the edges of those sections. This is all done to protect against a riot, which, after seeing how the fans are, I can entirely see the reasoning behind. The Lazzio section was chanting in unison throughout the entire game. Their chanting seemed a little more coordinated than the Fiorentina chanting, probably because the Lazzio section was composed of all the most hardcore fans together in one place. But don't get me wrong, Fiorentina did their share of chanting and gesturing at the Lazzio section as well. There were people waving huge flags for the Fiorentinas, and everyone was wearing scarves, which they took off and used as banners to cheer with. I wish I would have known the words to some of the chants so I could join in, but it was fun just to watch too. In fact, even if you do not like soccer, it is worth it just to go to the game and watch the fans. It is different than in America too, because hardly anyone is drinking beer, but people are just so energetic and into the cheering. The score of the game was 0-0 for most of the time, but then in the last minute Fiorentina scored a point. The energy in that stadium was just so intense at that point that it cannot even be described in words. There were groups of younger guys piling on top of each other and basically rolling in the bleachers. All of the security guards around the Lazzio section stood up and formed a barricade to prevent anyone from approaching the section. Just this moment alone made the entire game worth going to. After the game, the Lazzio fans had to stay in their little cage until all the Fiorentina fans vacated the stadium, once again for riot protection. As I have said before, Italians take their competitions seriously.

A great day to be alive

2009-02-07T21:50:00.002+01:00

I woke up this morning, and the sun was shining, for once. So I went for a long run in an area I'd never been before. I was wearing just a t-shirt on my upper body, and I was sweating because it was so nice outside! Once I got back I did some homework and had cappucino with Bob and Simone (one of the front desk workers at the hotel). In the afternoon Ashley and I walked in Florence so she could go to mass. But I did not want to go to the English mass because I'd rather go to the Franciscan mass tomorrow. So instead I went to this bookstore/coffee shop place that I saw walking the other day. It was pretty much the perfect place for me: combine books, coffee, and cute decorations, and I'm sold. They also have live entertainment each night, so I'm planning on going. After my nice little me time at the coffee shot, I met up with Ashley, Ania, and Allyson for dinner, which was delicious yet again. There were so many people just walking all over the streets in Florence, it was like a fair or something. Everyone was just so happy that the rain finally stopped, and they had to get outside. On our way back to the bus stop after dinner I saw two dresses that I really, really liked, and they were on sale. So I bought both of them, for an amazing price of just 20 euros for the two of them! Right now I am getting ready to go out to the bar with the rest of the group, and I wearing my new red dress: the color of passion!

Siena in the rain

2009-02-06T17:08:00.002+01:00

Today we toured Siena, and it rained most of the day, but what's new? The churches we toured were San Dominico and the Duomo of Siena. St. Catherine's head and finger are preserved in San Dominico, which is a little bit morbid if you ask me, especially the finger, the right hand thumb, to be specific. It is displayed in a monstrance, but it just seems weird to be staring a thumb that is several hundred years old. The Duomo has lots of inlaid marble on the floor, which is really intricate. My favorite part of the whole day was looking at the library in the Duomo, which housed illuminated manuscripts. Last semester I made an illuminated manuscript for my honors class, but seeing these ones put the one I made to shame. I thought mine took a long time, but these were just so intricately done that it must have taken hours just to complete one tiny section. The end product is absolutely gorgeous though, something that you just can't get with modern printing machines. So I lingered in there for a while until Eldon came back and told Lorenzo and I that the rest of the group wanted to move on and that we had to come out. I seriously could have spend hours in there just looking at all those beautiful pages.

Another interesting feature of Siena is horse racing. In their main piazza they hold horse races each summer, with 10 different sections of the city competing against one another for the top place. For those of you who have seen Quantun of Solace, this is where the races in the movie take place. It is extremely competitive and deeply linked with family ties and religion. The races are done in honor of the Virgin Mary, and before the races the horses are brought into chapels into their section of town for prayer. Our guide said if the horse "leaves something behind" in the chapel, it is good luck. The piazza is oval shaped, and the middle is sunken down. About 30,000 people stand in the middle of the piazza and watch the horses race three times around the outer edge. The race is usually done in just a couple minutes, but the results determine which section of the city has the most honor for an entire year. Our guide married a man from a different section of the city than her family, so their horses race against one another. One year his horse lost, and hers won, so he did not speak to her for a few weeks. She said that their marriage is very tense each year around the time of the races. In the Duomo there was a corner devoted to praying for the racers. Prayers of thanksgiving are offered here, and people can hang something on the wall. Along with many dented scooter helmets from people who survived accidents, there are medals from the races and horse shoes and harnesses. The winner of the race gets to design a huge candle that is burnt in thanksgiving to St. Mary for a half hour each day for a year. They sure do take competition to a whole new level here in Italy.

A couple new Italian pick up lines

2009-02-05T21:15:00.002+01:00

Today was art Thursday, once again, but I don't really feel like blogging about that. It's interesting and all, but I don't have that much to say about it. Tomorrow we are travelling to Sienna, so I'm excited for that. I just thought I'd take this opportunity to update you all on a couple new pick up lines I've encountered this week.

I encountered the first two pick up lines on Tuesday night when Ashley, Ania, Allyson, and I were walking to the bus station after going into town for dinner. There were five or six guys just sitting on the curb in front of a store, and they were all drinking wine from the bottle. When we walked by, one of them said, "I only drink wine when I'm in love." He said it in English, so it was obviously aimed at us. Shortly after we were past them, but not out of earshot, one of the guys neighed at us. And yes, by neighed I do mean that the sound that a horse makes. It was probably the weirdest thing I've heard of a guy doing to try to get a girl's attention. He did really sound like a horse though, so I guess, you've got to use your talents.

Today when we were walking through the San Lorenzo market, one of the booth owners said to me, "Excuse me ma'am, you dropped something," and he pointed to the ground. While I was looking down to see what I had dropped, he proceeded to say, "Oh, it's just my heart." It was just so funny, I burst out laughing right in front of him. Of course, this American girl who was walking near us heard him and had to steal our thunder. She told us that he had said the exact same thing to her yesterday. I don't really care though, it's still hilarious. I should make a book when I get back of all the strange things I've witnessed men say or do for the sake of women here in Italy.

My crazy beautiful life

2009-02-05T00:32:00.003+01:00

So everything that was wrong with yesterday was right with today. I don't know what was up yesterday, it was just not my day, hence the depressing blog post. I was really missing my friends back at SMU, and my friend Mel back home had just found out one of her high school friends died. She was having a hard time, and we were chatting over facebook, but I just really wanted to be there for her. It also rained all day yesterday, which never helps to improve my mood. I know I shouldn't let it affect me so much, but it always does.

But today started out on the right foot when I woke up to shine shining in through the window. I didn't have class until 10, so I decided to go for a run. It was a good thing too, because when we got out of class it was down-pouring. I had another class at 2, so I did some homework in between classes. At 2 I went to my language class, which always frustrates me to a certain degree because it is way too easy. I really really want to learn the language, and the class doesn't challenge me at all. I know I could just try to learn on my own, but I have a hard time disciplining myself to do that. I think I might try to start writing another blog in Italian, and see if that helps me to learn a thing or two.

During Italian class, I was sitting between two of my classmates who make me laugh the most, Ania and Joey. So I was basically trying my hardest not to crack up completely for the whole class period. Also during class, Joey informed me that the guys would be going to go get soccer tickets afterwards. He knew I wanted to come to a game, so he asked if I was coming with, and, of course, I said yes. I have had so many people tell me I have to go to a soccer game that I would probably never live it down if I didn't. Don't get me wrong though, I am super excited for the game, which is on Sunday. I was also pleasantly surprised when we went to go tickets and found out that women get a three Euro discount! I guess they want more women to come to the games or something. I am the only girl from the SMU group going with all the guys, so that should be interesting.

After getting the tickets, all of the guys went straight back to the hotel, but I stayed in town by myself and just did some browsing around stores. The sales are ending soon, so I wanted to get my fill of shopping in. I ended up finding one thing that I was actually looking for, which was a book with the responses to the Italian mass in it. That way I can actually follow along with the masses in Italian, which will be nice. I also found a very cute little cappuccino shop and sat down for some coffee and sweets. It was just a little hole-in-the-wall type place, but the old lady who owned it was very nice and had it decorated cute.

On my way back to the hotel, I walked past a very small old lady who was trying to get into her apartment building, but her key wasn't working. She started speaking to me in Italian, but I didn't understand her. I told her that I don't speak much Italian, but through her gestures I could tell that she needed help getting in. She couldn't get the key to turn, but I got it for her and helped her into the building. She seemed very feeble and was using a cane, but she also had two big shopping bags with her. It was frustrating not being able to communicate with her very well, but at least I was able to understand enough to help her out.

I know this blog entry is getting long and making random jumps, but I want to remember all of these things that happen. So, next random topic, today at dinner I could not stop laughing. And I mean really laughing, where you can't breathe and no sound comes out and your eyes start watering because you're laughing so hard. I don't know what it was. I did not have anything to drink, but everything just struck me as funny. Sometimes I just have to laugh at the situation we're in: 14 American students who didn't know each other before, all from different backgrounds, stuck together in a foreign country for three months, expected to live, eat, sleep, party, study, attend class, travel, and do everything else together. No offense to anyone, but I really think this is the closest to living in a nuthouse that I will ever come. So that's why I just crack up laughing sometimes. If I don't try to find humor in some of the situations, I'd probably drive myself crazy.

After dinner I was planning to stay in, but Ania got a facebook message from one of the bartenders at JJ Hill saying we should go down because there was going to be live music. So, heck, why not? We went down there for a while, and it was nice because the band, which consisted of an acoustic guitarist and a singer, played English songs that we knew. Oh, and I now have a favorite beer. I discovered it on Monday night, and I had it again tonight. It is called Strongbow, and it is an apple beer. I like to drink it with berry syrup, and it basically tastes like apple cider with a little kick. It's probably considered a girly beer, but I don't really care, because it's good. I don't know how good it would be with food, but when you're just at the bar to drink, it's a good drink to have. I really hope they have it in the states when I get back. Anyone know the answer to that one?

A hate love relationship

2009-02-03T23:32:00.002+01:00

For those of you who read the title and thought I made a mistake, that it should be "love-hate relationship," you are wrong. I meant it to be a hate love relationship, because at the moment I do hate love. It's 11 days until Valentine's Day, or as some prefer to put it, Single's Awareness Day. I've heard Valentine's Day is particularly big in Italy. I mean, it is the heart of romance culture, how could it not be big? I can already tell that this is going to be true, because stores are starting to put stuff out for it. Today I saw a heart shaped red frying pan in a store window, and I know this sounds really dorky, but I thought it was really cool. That's the thing, I always see all these cute little Valentine's Day gifts, and I always look at the flowers, and smell them, and admire them. I also constantly imagine going on dates to different places that I visit. This is something I pretty much do year-round, but the instinct is particularly strong this time of year. But then the day comes, and it's a big disappointment, because nothing happens. Not that I really expect anything to happen, but somewhere in my hopelessly romantic dreams, I think it will. I can try to make it better by going out with girls or buying myself a nice little gift, but that just calls attention to the unpleasant truth: I am single on a day that is devoted to couples. Now I still have 10 days to find myself a Valentine, so I'm not giving up hope completely. I do have one rule however: said man must be closer in age to me than to my dad; so, for those of you who have been keeping up with the previous blogs, Dario is not a contestant.

When I was in Assisi last weekend our tour guide told us a story of St. Valentine. I looked it up on a Catholic website to verify it, but I didn't find anything similar. So it's probably a legend, but I really don't care because it's a cute story. The tour guide said that St. Valentine lived in a small village in Italy when the Greeks and Romans were fighting. Every young man in the village had to go fight in the war as soon as he came of age. The only exception was for married men. They did not have to fight in the war because it would anger their wives, and then their wives would demand more when they got home. The wives would say, "You spent years and years away fighting at war, now you come home, and you are going to have to fight with me." And so the wives would always get their way. St. Valentine was a peaceful man and was saddened to see all of the young men in his village sent off to war. So he decided to use the marriage exception to his advantage. This is how he began his role as village matchmaker. He would arrange for young couples to get together and get married, and then the males would not have to go off to war. This is how the tradition of Valentine's Day got started and how St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers (also a myth, according to the Catholic website). But, in the spirit of the season, I am going to choose to believe this little legend and ask for the intercession of St. Valentine to make me a match.

By the way, it is still raining, but I didn't think anyone would be interested in reading another post about that.

News Flash!

2009-02-02T21:23:00.002+01:00

Okay....here it is, the news flash: Rainy Mondays are depressing, no matter where you are in the world. That's all there is to it. This one was made a little bit better at dinner though. We have two birthdays in our group this week. Today was Joey's 22nd birthday, and tomorrow is Jill's 21st. To celebrate Bob bought champagne for all of us, and we were surprised by it at the end of our dinner. It was a nice gesture, and it made the rainy day a little more bearable. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself, as the rain isn't supposed to stop until next Wednesday. Perhaps another trip to Abetone (the ski place) is in the stars for this weekend. I bet they're getting snow right now instead of all this rain.

Franciscan Mass

2009-02-01T13:07:00.002+01:00

I had a fun night at the Irish pub down the street last night singing camp songs (the moose, hippopotamus, and milk songs, for those of you who are familiar with them) and dancing to live Irish music. I still managed to get up for breakfast at 9 a.m. today and make it to the Franciscan mass at the monastery up the hill at 11 a.m with Eldon. I really enjoyed the mass, and I can honestly say that it is one of the most engaging Catholic masses I have been too, even in spite of the fact that it was in Italian. It was a youth mass, so there were lots of people my age there. I'm not sure if they do youth masses every Sunday or just on certain ones. There was a big oriental rug in from of the altar, and lots of people were sitting on the floor. It was a bit hippie-ish, I suppose, but I thought it was neat...but then again I tend to be attracted to hippie things. There was a Franciscan nun who led in the singing, and someone was playing guitar and tambourine. It was very lively and modern music, and I sang along it Italian because there was a song book with all the words. I think I am going to try to get a mass book in Italian so I can say the responses during the mass too. After the mass many people were sticking around to socialize, but we didn't really know what was going on, so we left. Before we left though a Franciscan monk named Augustano who spoke a bit a bit of English talked with us. He was pretty young, probably in his 30s, and very nice. From what I have seen, I really like the Franciscan order and what they stand for.

A Saturday Stroll in Lucca

2009-01-31T19:43:00.003+01:00

We finally were able to go to Lucca today, after the two thwarted attempts last weekend. It was about a one hour train ride from Florence to Lucca, and we spent the majority of the day there. When we got there Bob gave us a tour of the three churches in town: St. Zita's, St. Michael's, and St. Martin's. Once again, I was awed by the whirlwind of beauty in these ancient and holy places. St. Zita's body was in a glass case, just like St. Clare's, as she is another of the incorruptibles. She was not covered in wax though, so it felt kind of morbid to look at her.

St. Martin's church houses a crucifix that has a legend behind it. Legend has it that sometime in the 13th century a carved crucifix that was made by Nicodemus just after Christ's crucifixion was being carried by wild oxen from Jerusalem to a destination in Italy. The oxen had no driver, as there was dispute as to which city should house the crucifix. So those in charge left it up to chance, saying that whatever city the oxen arrived in first would be the city to house the crucifix. The oxen arrived in Lucca, and there was great celebration. Lucca became a site of religious significance for pilgrimages. Later, scientific dating was done on the crucifix, and it was found that it was made in the 11th century instead of at the crucifixion of Christ. I think I prefer the legend to the scientific evidence.

In Lucca there were lots of families with small children riding bikes and just strolling around the city. Some of the kids were wearing costumes, and they were throwing confetti everywhere. The historic center of Lucca is completely surrounded by original city walls. You can go on top of these walls and walk around the entire city. There is a rode on top of the walls, but vehicles cannot drive on it. There is also lots of green space and a few playgrounds for the children. It was really a nice place just to take a leisurely stroll and soak in the sun. If I have kids someday, I think it would be so much fun to bring them to this place.

Giorno Bellisimo (Beautiful Day)

2009-01-30T21:08:00.006+01:00

Today the entire group boarded a tour bus that Bob hired just for our group at 7:30 a.m. to head for Assisi. We arrived in Assisi at around 10:00 a.m. and met our guide, Giuseppe. Bob has gotten to know all of the talented tour guides personally over the years, so he just calls them ahead of time and sets up a group tour. Giuseppe is a middle-aged man who lives in the country just outside of Assisi. He speaks English very well and has lived in Italy all his life. He was a great tour guide for our group. Everything he told us was very interesting, and he kept our attention very well by telling jokes. He told us one such joke when he was trying to describe how old everything in Assisi was and how much of what is there is the original architecture and art. He said it was very unlike Elizabeth Taylor's face, which is all new.

We toured the Basilicas di San Francesco (St. Francis) and Santa Chiara (St. Clare) with Giuseppe before splitting up. Both basilicas are built above the tomb of their namesake saints. You can go downstairs and view the tombs. St. Clare's body is uncorrupted, and she is inside a glass case. They covered her body with wax a few years ago, so she doesn't really look real, but it is her real body. St. Francis is enclosed in a stone coffin. The Basilica of San Francesco is the more beautiful of the two, in my opinion. It is kind of ironic, because St. Francis preached living a simple life unhindered by materials, and the basilica built to honor him is probably one of the most fancy and expensive of its era. And today so much money is made through attracting tourists to the basilica and selling them souvenirs. Perhaps that is why St. Francis is in a stone coffin--they don't want the tourists to see him rolling in his grave.

The basilica of St. Francis has a few very interesting stories behind it. When it was being built, the pope called in architects from France to plan it. This is because St. Francis' name means Frenchman, and his mother was from France. The style they used for the basilica was the Gothic style, so the Basilica di San Francesco became the first Gothic style church in Italy. A lot of blue paint is used in the frescos in the church, and this is all created with the pigment lapis lazuli. This was a hugely expensive pigment at the time that had to be shipped to Italy from Afghanistan. It actually took several years just to get the pigment, but the results are stunning. I was not allowed to take pictures inside, otherwise I would show you. But the ceilings in the upper basilica look just like a night sky, and there are gold stars painted on it. The beauty of it just can't be described in words. Another interesting story about the basilica occurred in WWII. There are the basement, lower, and upper levels to the basilica, and, unknown to most people at the time of WWII, there is also a space between the lower and upper levels. So during WWII, all of the Jews in Assisi hid in this space until townspeople could furnish them with fake IDs and help them leave the city. One Nazi officer who was familiar with Assisi realized what they were doing, but he kept his mouth shut. There is a movie about this event called Assisi Underground. If you watch it, let me know how it is, because I want to see it now.

After the tour of the churches, the group split up and we all went to find places to eat lunch. The majority of the group ended up together in a very quaint sit-down restaurant. I ordered ravioli, and it was, as all the food here is, delicious. I also had a quarter-liter of red wine for only two Euros. It will be so different when I get back to America and can't order wine at fancy restaurants at such a bargain. After lunch I hiked up the hill with Eldon and Carla and saw an old castle, with a sweet view! Then we were going to go to mass at the Basilica di San Francesco at 2:00, but we found out the next mass was at 5:00. We went down to the tomb area to pray for a bit, which I was glad that we got to do. I often feel almost guilty when we just go into churches, look at the art, then leave without praying. They were built for the purpose of prayer, so I try to remember that while I am in them.

I also bought a lot of gifts and souvenirs at the basilica, but I can't talk about most of them because some of you who read this will be receiving a gift. I did buy one thing for myself though. It is a large, Franciscan tau crucifix made out of olive wood, with Jesus made out of a silver metal. It was kind of a splurge, but I just thought it would be so awesome to have it in my house some day. Every time I look at it I will remember my time in Italy and my visit to Assisi. Well, that's all for now. Tomorrow I head to Lucca, so there will be more to come.

The Next Chapter

2009-01-29T20:46:00.004+01:00

Last night I stayed up on my computer until 1:00 a.m., and this time I was not on facebook. I decided to look into how to become a teacher of English as a foreign language (EFL). This is something that I have been interested in for a while, and working in the writing center last semester really confirmed this interest. I love the satisfaction that comes with helping people express their ideas and communicate with one another. I also love learning about other cultures and travelling. Italy has been a great experience so far, and I would love to have more experiences like this one. Given these interests and passions, teaching EFL seems like the perfect fit for me. I have mentioned to a few people that I would eventually like to teach at the university level, but there are also so many opportunities for teaching in elementary and high schools abroad. Right now it just seems like it would be so much fun to experience different cultures while teaching English abroad. Then when I get to a point in my life when I want to settle down in one place, I could pursue a more permanent placement in a university setting.

I discovered a lot about getting TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certified during my Internet search last night. I learned that the certification is not actually a uniform thing internationally and that there can be many scams where the promised certificate really doesn't mean anything. After looking into things a bit, I found that there are many programs that are certified to administer a certification test through Cambridge University, and this test, called CERTA, is internationally recognized. Most programs that prepare you for the CERTA are about a month long, and they are offered in countries all around the world. I just think it would be so awesome to take the course in Spain, since I have a decent amount of exposure to the Spanish language. I was thinking about trying to take the course right away when I was done with my program in Italy, but I couldn't find anything that had dates that matched up.

Another option for becoming a teacher of EFL is to get a graduate degree in TEFL from an actual university. The programs tend to be very intensive, such as one in Seattle that allows you to earn a certificate along with 12 graduate level credits in one month during the summer. The website promises that you will be in class from 9-3 each day and will have six hours of homework each night, including weekends. While this program doesn't actually give you a degree, it does give you a certification, and the graduate credits would be applicable if you ever decided to earn your degree. I do not think the CERTA courses that I was looking into actually offered college credit with the certification, so that may be something to look into.

I don't really know what I'm going to do yet. I will probably try to talk to someone who teaches EFL at the university level to see how they went about doing it. I am thinking about possibly enrolling in a certification course for this coming summer. This is something that I am really excited about, and I think I will be good at it. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to do after college, and I know that I want to do something that I am passionate about, and I do not want to have a career that consumes my entire life. Teaching EFL seems to be something that will combine my passions while still allowing me to have time for other things besides work. Also, I have come to realize that I am not ready to settle down quite yet, and teaching EFL would give me some time to travel and explore. On the flip side, it is also a career that would be very compatible with settling down and having a family someday, God willing. So I will see where this new adventure takes me. I am just very excited about it right now, and I wanted to share that excitement with all of you faithful blog readers.

Oh, and in case you're wondering about what I'm doing in Italy besides surfing the net for TEFL programs, I had art class today and went to the cathedral of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. It was another truly beautiful cathedral. I want to go back there for mass sometime, so that I have some time for prayer and reflection, instead of listening to my art teacher dissect every art piece to death. She is kind of an annoying teacher, and, although I am learning a lot about art from her, it would be nice to just enjoy the art for its aesthetic appeal sometimes. Plus she always gets mad at us for not knowing the answers to her questions, which gets frustrating for me because I am really trying to pay attention and learn the information, but it is just very difficult. I guess art history is just not my subject. Tomorrow morning we get on a bus to go to Assisi at 7:30 a.m. I am really looking forward to this visit. The weather is supposed to be great, and I have heard that Assisi is beautiful!

Who let the dogs out?

2009-01-28T20:28:00.002+01:00

I went running earlier today, and I had an interesting experience with dogs. At one point I was taking a break from running at a scenic overlook, sitting on top of a fire hydrant (they have flat tops here, don't worry) just minding my own business when two dogs came seemingly out of no where. They must have sensed an invasion on their urinary territory (the fire hydrant). They were cute little dogs, well groomed and everything, and they were friendly, so I wasn't worried. The problem was I wanted to keep running, and they wanted to follow me. The roads are very narrow here, and the dogs were walking in the middle. There is really no room to get off to the side, considering that many of the streets are walled in, so I was scared that the dogs were going to get hit by a car. While I was in the process of trying to tell these dogs to go home in Italian by saying, "No, no, casa, no," an older man came by also walking a dog. I thought perhaps the dogs were his, because he was whistling and saying something to them. So I sent the dogs to go with him. Only after doing this did I realize that the dogs were not his. He gave me a look and asked something in Italian. I think he said, "Are these your dogs?" I just waved and kept running. I don't know what the man ended up doing with the dogs, but at least I got rid of them.

Later, when I was further out in the country I found a little path that went into the woods from the roadside. I followed it for a ways, only to find that it led to someone's villa. The view was amazing though, so I was just sitting on a rock, taking it in, when I had another dog encounter. This time it was a cute little beagle, also very well-groomed and friendly. I petted him for a little bit, but then I wanted to continue my run. I went back out to the road, and, once again, the dog followed. Luckily, this one hung back when I started running, but passing cars were starting to give me dirty looks. Obviously they thought the dog was mine and I was allowing him to run in the middle of the street. I don't know what it was today...maybe my scent is very attractive to dogs when I sweat or something.

On another note, I also had history class today. We walked around Florence with our teacher, Luciana, as a guide. She is such a fun teacher. Her first language was German, her second Italian, and English came somewhere after that. I think she has also lived in the Middle East for a period of time. Many times she is unsure how to say something, and she will gesture and say words in all different languages until we figure out the English word. If we don't get it, she just says, "Well, okay, you already know." She is so excited about everything that she shows us, so that makes the class fun. Today we looked at a couple little chapels, the old tower houses, the old Roman city walls, Dante's house, and the inside of a large home from the 13th century. Luciana is a great guide because she takes us to the nooks and crannies that aren't usually explored by tourists.

Shop till you drop

2009-01-27T22:06:00.004+01:00

Well, today was shaping up to be a pretty fine day up until a few minutes ago. Earlier I went into Florence with Ashley and the guys. We were going to buy tickets to the Milan-Naples soccer game that is set to take place in Florence tomorrow, but we were denied. The ticket salesman said they were only selling tickets to Tuscany residents for this game because of the danger of riots breaking out between fans. Italians follow their soccer passionately, apparently. Hopefully I will still get to go to a game of a little lower profile. I've heard it's something worth experiencing. So after the disappointing soccer ticket quest, Ashley and I split from the guys and did some serious shopping. The sales in Italy are government regulated and only occur in January and June, so we only have four days left to get the good deals. Ashley finally found the leather boots she was looking for at the great price of 19 Euro, and I bought my galoshes and an umbrella. Now I'm just waiting for it to rain again so I can use them. But hopefully we'll get through the weekend without rain so we can go on our field trips to Assisi and Lucca.

Ashley and I also experienced our first trip to an Italian McDonald's today. I was craving fish big time, as some of you know I sometimes do, so I had a fish sandwich. It's not too much different than the McDonald's in the U.S., but they have curly fries, they don't put ice in your drinks, you can order wine and beer, there's no drive-up, it's decorated nicer, the people working are friendly and dressed up, and it costs a lot more. They also have a separate section for the McCafe, which is like a coffee shop, and they have all different types of coffee and fresh baked goods. So it is a bit higher class than American fast food, but it is the lowest class food you can buy here. McDonald's is the only fast food chain in Florence, and they had to fight hard to be let in here. I think there are three or four in the entire city, with two of them being near the train station so all the foreigners can fill their grease cravings.

Everyday is Men's Day

2009-01-26T14:04:00.003+01:00

Today is another rainy day in Florence. I may go into town this afternoon to look for a cute umbrella and rain boots, if the rain lets up long enough for me to do so. As long as I'm going to be out in the rain, I might as well do it the Italian way: in style. Other than that, I don't really foresee anything else happening today other than a bit of homework and perhaps running, so I'm going to blog about something that's been on my mind for a while, the rights of women in Italy.

Italy is an industrious, developed nation, so many Americans may assume that in their culture men and women would have mostly equal opportunities, like in America. I say mostly because I know that not everything is perfectly equal in America, but that is another issue for another time. Since being here I have noticed that Italian women have a high dependency on men, and they do not enjoy as many of the same privileges as men. I have yet to see an Italian woman running or biking, whereas I see many men enjoying these activities. When I was skiing, there were many more men than women on the slopes, and the few women who were there came with groups of men. There are times that I feel that Italian women look at us American women disapprovingly when we are seen exercising or doing things on our own. I have also discussed hunting with a front desk attendant at my hotel, Simone, who lives in the country and enjoys hunting for wild boars and pheasants. When I told him that I hunt, he thought that was just crazy. In Italy a woman would never go hunting, as it is strictly a man's sport here.

To attempt take this observation beyond the level of sports, I did look into prime minister Berlusconi's council, and I was glad to see that several women serve as ministers on his council. I can't really comment on the fact that men hold the great majority, because the same is true in America, with women having only three of the 15 seats on Obama's newly appointed cabinet. It seems that women have equal opportunity to go to university here, as they do in the U.S., and it also seems that women are equally eligible for professional careers. However, it may be the uneducated women who experience more effects of societal inequality, as it is a proven fact that the unemployment rates, which are currently high in Italy, are highest among women and young people.

Perhaps I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, but it is certain that something in the way women are treated here is different that in the U.S. Whether it is a good, bad, or neutral phenomenon, I do not know. Personally, I am thankful to be an American because some of the activities that I enjoy doing most are things that are frowned upon for women to do in Italian society. Meanwhile, while trying to maintain a low profile, I will continue to be the independent American woman that I am regardless to whether the women scoff at me and the men stare at me.

What I am really looking forward to is Women's Day on March 8, which is a holiday for all European nations to show appreciation to their women. When Bob was telling us about this holiday someone asked if their was a Men's Day too, and he replied by saying, "Everyday is Men's Day in Italy." That pretty much says in a few words what I've been trying to say in all of these paragraphs.

Like Thunder and Lightning

2009-01-25T22:14:00.005+01:00

Let me just preface this blog entry by saying that today was the best day of my life so far! And I'm not a person who goes around saying things like that everyday. So I am going to write everything down in chronological order so I never ever forget it. Bear with me here, because many truly amazing things happened to me today.

Today I went skiing in Abetone, a small ski town about two hours north of Florence by bus. I started by leaving my hotel at 5:45 a.m. to catch the bus to the Florence train station, where I would catch the bus leaving for Abetone at 7:10. I got to the station around 6:30 a.m., and it was still dark outside, so I went into a cafe and had a donut. During this time I became very frustrated with the Americans I was seeing, and I was embarrassed to share a nationality with them. First of all I saw three drunk American girls walking into their apartment, staggering and slurring their words. It was just a pathetic image, and I hope they don't think they are safe wandering drunk around a foreign city at night. When I got into the cafe, I sat down at a table to read a book, only to be distracted, in a negative fashion, by two American boys (they don't deserve the title of men, although they were definitely in their 20s). They were both drinking beer at 6:30 in the morning, and they were completely wasted. Although the Italians do drink more than Americans, I have never seen an Italian drunk in public. These boys were playing a came where they spun a quarter on the table and tried to hit the other's knuckles. Half the time the quarter would fly off the table and practically hit someone who was sitting at a table across the room just trying to eat his/her breakfast. They were also extremely loud in their yelling and carousing. One time their quarter went other my table, and I kicked it back to them and pretended like I didn't speak English. I didn't want to associate with them in any way!

Finally at 7:00 a.m. I left my fellow Americans behind to board the bus. There were two other American guys on the bus who seemed to be as confused about things as I was, so that was sort of comforting. And, props to them, they were not drunk. At about 9:00 a.m. we arrived at Abetone, and I got off the bus. I was surprised at how different the ski areas are here than in America. The entire town is devoted to the ski area, and there are many private shops that rent out skis and sell ski tickets. You have to go to separate shops for rentals and tickets. So I spent the first half hour or so just wandering around the town trying figure everything out. Since Abetone is a smaller ski town, nobody there speaks English. My Italian is still very limited, so that added to the challenge. At the rental shop, the old man who was working just started laughing and speaking in rapid Italian when I asked him if he spoke English. He was a character in and of himself, more about that to come. After getting my rentals I wandered a bit more trying to find where to buy a lift ticket. Somewhere in this time I ran into the American guys from the bus. They were just as lost as me, trying to find where to get on the ski lift, so I talked to them for a bit. But they turned out to be ivy-league assholes, pardon my French. They were from Syracuse, and when I asked what state that was in they looked at me like I was from the moon. I'm sorry to burst your bubble guys, but the whole world doesn't revolve around your hoity-toity private school that you probably go to on daddy's dollar. I think I prefer Italian men by far.

So anyway, after a bit more ordeal, I finally found my way onto the slopes and began skiing. The pistes were absolutely heavenly today. There had been about a foot of fresh snow last night, so I experienced my first time skiing in real powder. The technique is much different than skiing on the icy slopes in Minnesota. On my second or third time up the lift I rode up with an Italian man who was in line by himself. He did not speak English, but he did speak a bit of Spanish, so we spoke in Spanish. I am surprised at how well I can actually carry on a conversation in Spanish when necessity calls for it. I've used my Spanish more here than I have ever before. On the way up the ski lift with by new Italian friend, Dario, we talked about all sorts of things. He proceeded to tell be that my "occi" (eyes) are "bellisimi" (beautiful). This little compliment went straight to my heart. My uniquely colored eyes have always been one of my vanities, and I am always greatly flattered when someone notices them. When we got off the lift Dario offered to let me ski with his group for the day. I agreed, why not? So I met Alexandro and his son Jo-Jo. Alexandra and Dario were both middle-aged, although I assume Dario was the younger of the two (he was 39). Jo-Jo was 16, and he spoke almost fluent English. He informed me that he had been taking English lessons since he was five years old, which he said was quite common for Italian youth in schools now. That may be promising for visits in coming years. So Jo-Jo acted as sort of an interpreter between me and the rest of the group, which got a bit awkward because Dario was flirting with me unabashedly, like any Italian man worth his salt. Jo-Jo first informed me that Dario wanted to tell me that if I ever wanted to visit their town by the ocean, he could get a room for me. I really didn't know how to respond to that, I'm just not used to men being so forward with me, especially 39 year old men. He's closer in age to my dad that he is to me, for goodness sake! Jo-Jo also helped to translate another of Dario's comments, which, in English, translates to, "You make my heart beat like thunder and lightning." Now, honestly, where will you find an American man who will tell you that? I was almost ready to look past the fact that he was 39 and had disgusting teeth when he said that.

Later in the day we met up with Dario and Alexandro's friends, Frederico and Barbara. Frederico was about the same age as Dario, and single, so you can imagine how that went. One of the first things that Frederico informed me of was that he was single and that Barbara was only a friend. Barbara did not speak a word of English, and Frederico was absolutely infatuated with the language, despite his inability to speak it very well. I've got to give him props for trying though. I know how hard it is. He was just hilarious though. He would try to repeat all of the English words I said, one of which was "fog." Only he pronounced his G more like a K, so you can conclude what that sounded like. I ended up telling Frederico a little white lie, saying that I had a boyfriend in the United States, and I think that word got out to Dario, because the flirting died down a bit after that. I was happy about that because, although the flirting is fun to a point, it is sometimes just difficult to deal with because I don't really know how to respond or how they expect me to respond.

Around noon our whole group took a break for lunch, and I had a panini sandwich. Alexandro brought espresso shots, which they simply call "cafe" for the whole group. It was the first espresso I had ever tried, and, boy, let me tell you, that stuff is strong. They just give it to you in this little plastic shot glass, and it is only about a third of the way full, but I had the jitters after that. After lunch we went out and skied some more, but our group got split up. For some of the time I was just skiing with Dario, and for some of the time Frederico and Barbara joined us. It was Barbara's first day skiing, so she was pretty slow. She skied exactly like my mom, for those of you who know how she skis. So we ended up waiting for her a lot. The top of the mountain was inside a cloud, so I never got to go all the way to the highest point. The four of us were going to go after lunch, but by the time the fog cleared I had to go catch my bus. I did get some beautiful pictures though.

I must say I was a bit sad to leave my Italian friends at the end of the day, but I didn't want to give out any of my personal contact information either. I just have to be extra cautious being a foreign girl travelling alone in a country where and American woman is considered exotic. Dario left me with a kiss on each cheek, the Italian way for close friends to say goodbye. It was a little awkward though because I wasn't exactly sure what he was doing at first, then I wasn't sure which way to move my head. But I must say he was very understanding, and he was very kind and patient with me all day today. I will most likely never see any of them again, but I am so thankful for the experience they gave me. I learned more about the Italian language and culture today than I could have ever learned in three months in the classroom.

At the end of the day I returned to the rental shop to return my skis, and I proudly announced to the old man, "Parlo molto italiano oggi." ("I speak much Italian today."). I still couldn't really understand him, but I could pick out the word beautiful in his rapid speech. He left me with a sort-of embrace where he grabbed my arms and said something about me becoming his son's girlfriend, I think. But I could be completely off-base there. It just seems like something likely for an old Italian man to say to a girl.

At 4:00 I boarded the bus and headed back to Florence to join my classmates for dinner. I just can't stop telling people about the amazing time I had today. I am so glad that I went by myself and became immersed in the culture. I know if I would have went with classmates we would have just spoken English and kept to ourselves. I would have still had a great time, probably, but I'm sure it would not have been of the magnitude that I could call it the best day of my life. I hope that I have many more experiences like this one, but even if this one is the best that I have, I think I will be satisfied.

Rain, rain go away, come again in May

2009-01-24T21:39:00.003+01:00

The last 24 hours have proven to be trying ones to say the least. I will begin with last night's dinner. When I arrived at the restaurant I was extremely hungry. I had run quite some distance during the day and not had much to eat at all. So I dug right in and ate the first course, spaghetti with pesto sauce, delicious, I must say. The second course was a bit more questionable: plain omelets with a mountain of cooked spinach on the side. It tasted okay, but it was just a weird combination with the pesto spaghetti already in the stomach. Next came dessert, which was pannacotta with blueberry sauce. It tasted disgusting; it was very chewy, and I think it came from a can. But those of you who know me well know that I never waste food, so I ate in anyway. Now I regret it. On the walk back to the hotel I felt very nauseous, and , sure enough, when I got back to my room it all came back up. Luckily I made it to the toilet. After that I still didn't feel so well so I just laid on my bed and watched music videos of sappy country love songs on YouTube. I guess that made me feel better, because I woke up feeling just fine today. Now that I've effectively ruined your appetite and depressed you thoroughly, I can move onto the next issue, which is rain. It has been down pouring all day today! As I mentioned yesterday, we were going to try again to go to Lucca today, but we didn't because of the horrible weather. I guess this is pretty common for Florence this time of year, but it is definitely not what I'm used to. In Minnesota the rain usually lasts a few hours and passes on; it hardly ever lasts for days on end. So I think I will buy a really cute pair of rain boots that I have seen in many of the shops here. Perhaps that will make this weather somewhat more bearable. Despite the torrents I still managed to get to mass and go out for Chinese this evening with a group of friends. We all had soaking wet jeans and were severely chilled by the time we got to the Chinese place, but the food was worth it. I decided to buy a bus ticket and go skiing tomorrow, just to get myself out of this hotel and rain, if nothing else. Hopefully it is cold enough in the mountains that all this rain we've been getting has been fresh snow there!

PHOTOS!

2009-01-23T15:03:00.003+01:00

This is a link to all my photos of this trip so far. There are a lot of them, so hopefully you have some time on your hands. For future reference, you can also click the slideshow that is scrolling in the upper left corner to view my photo album. I will try to keep that updated with new photos as well.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lizarose88/VivaLItalia?feat=directlink

Strikes and Holidays

2009-01-23T12:25:00.000+01:00

01/23/2008 Fiesole 12:25 p.m.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was scheduled to go to Lucca today, so I got up early, grabbed a quick breakfast and caught the 7:50 bus to the train station. On the way down, some fellow SMU students said that Bob had mentioned the possibility of a railroad mechanics' strike today. We all had our fingers crossed that we would be able to continue our journey. But at the train station we were met with disappointment. The train to Lucca had already been cancelled by the time we got there. It is quite common for workers to strike in Italy, as they have very strong workers' unions for almost every industry. This time they chose to strike on a Friday because it would affect the greatest number of people that way. They are able to pretty much get whatever they want as far as wages, hours, and working conditions go. Since I have been here there have also been strikes at Alitalia, the Italian airline. It looks like I may just get stuck here forever if the transportation workers keep it up.

There is also an Italian/European notion called "holiday," which I first encountered today. After we found out the train was cancelled, a group of us walked around with Bob a little bit. He was going to buy us all hot chocolate at the place he claims is the best in Florence. He says that you can stick a spoon in their hot chocolate and it will stand up straight because it is so thick. However, when we arrived at the cafe, the metal gates were pulled down over the facade. There was a paper taped to one of the gates, which said that they are "on holiday" from January 19 until February 2. I guess businesses here can do that since they are family run and usually only have a handful of employees. But honestly, closing down business for a two week vacation would be unheard of for most businesses in America. So I guess this is the negative side of having small, family-run businesses dominate the market. They set the hours, and the hours are going to be at their convenience, not the customers'. I guess it would be alright if you were a shop owner though.

Oh, I forgot to mention one thing in my blog yesterday. When we went to Santa Croce for art class yesterday, we were pleasantly surprised by a chocolate market in the piazza. There were rows and rows of chocolate vendors set up beneath white tents. They were selling everything from chocolate liqueur to chocolate fashioned to look like rusted iron tools. Many of the booths had free samples, so that was a decadent little surprise for the day.

Running in the Tuscan Hills

2009-01-22T20:40:00.000+01:00

01/22/2009 Fiesole 8:40 p.m.

I didn't start class until 11:00 a.m. today, so I went running beforehand. I've really started to enjoy running here. The beauty of the landscape gives me incentive to go, along with the fact that I have large portions of free time. Hopefully I will get back into the habit so I can train for some sort of race for when I come back to the states. I would like to train for a half marathon and see how that goes, and then maybe someday I'll train for a marathon. This morning the view was just so amazing, I don't ever want to forget it. The clouds that were in Fiesole yesterday had settled down into Florence, and there were more clouds above us, but everything in between was clear. I could see for miles from a lookout I like to go to, but all I could see was a sea of clouds below me. It honestly looked like an ocean, and the hilltops looked like islands poking out of the clouds. I wish I would have had a camera with to capture it. Running has sort of become my recharging time each day. I like to go alone so that I can think and have some time to myself. I also stop a lot to look at things, so that would probably get annoying for someone else.

On another note, I also had art and architecture class today. We went to the Santa Croce cathedral, monastery, and museum. It is one of the first Franciscan cathedrals ever, and it is so beautiful. There is so much to know about art and architecture though, I don't know if I will ever remember it all. I love looking at art and taking what I can from it, but sometimes I find it difficult to get into the history of art. My art and architecture teacher talks a-mile-a-minute, and her English is mediocre, so it sometimes hard to keep up. For this reason Thursdays can be very tiring because we are with her pretty much all day. We are supposed to have class from 11-12 and tour from 3-4, but both the lecture and the tour always end up going longer by and hour or so. So I am tired now, and I will be getting up early tomorrow to catch the train to Lucca for our first field trip. I will let you all know how that goes. Thanks for following my blog, to those of you who have hung in there. Ciao!

The "Routine" of Things

2009-01-21T22:27:00.000+01:00

01/21/2009 Fiesole 10:30 p.m.

Nothing really amazing or earth-shattering happened to me today, and I was just thinking that it seemed like a pretty routine day. For this reason, I got a case of writer's block and debated in my head whether I should even write a blog for the day. But I didn't want to get out of habit, so I decided to write. This is when it occurred to me that what I now view as a "routine" day is anything but routine. I am so fortunate right now, and sometimes it doesn't even sink in. Among other things, I went hiking today at the same park I went to on Sunday. This time I brought some friends along, and we petted the horses. For dinner I had delicious pasta, steak, French fries (sort of out-of-place, I know), and tiramisu. For most people these experiences are anything but routine, so I just realized that I really need to stop and realize the true value of all of the experiences I am having, even when they sometimes seem superfluous. There are so many people in the world who would just love to have the opportunity to do what I am doing right now, but, for whatever reason, they cannot. I have worked hard for this experience, and anticipated it for a long time, so I really want to soak it in for all it's worth.

Obama Mania

2009-01-20T20:57:00.000+01:00

01/20/2008 Fiesole 9:00 p.m.

As I left my hotel on my way to class this morning, the man who works at the front desk greeted a group of my friends and I by wishing us a happy inauguration day. He proceeded to tell us how excited Europeans were last year when Obama visited Germany during his campaign. When we arrived at class, the first words out of our teacher's mouth were, "Today is the day of the inauguration." I guess this is when it hit me that this day in history is a really big deal, not only for America, but for the world. I am now watching the t.v., and I can't understand most of it, since it is all in Italian. The one word that I do understand is "Obama," and it is being said frequently and with vigor. Armani came on one news channel that was featuring fashion, and he was wearing an Obama button on the lapel of his gray suit. There is just so much international excitement over the possibility of change, especially in matters dealing with America's foreign policy. I am not going to go into a rant of Bush bashing; the poor man has had to deal with enough already. But I will say that I would like to join the world in anticipation of positive change. Seeing the excitement of Europeans over Obama's inauguration has really helped me to see the historical significance of this event and helped me to embrace the hope that surrounds this day. No matter what your political persuasions may be, I advise you to watch the inauguration speech. This is a day that will be remembered in history around the world.

5 Things Italians do Better

2009-01-19T15:00:00.000+01:00

01/19/2009 Fiesole 3:00 p.m.

This is an editorial that I wrote for the Cardinal (my school newspaper). I figured it could do double-duty as today's blog entry.

This semester I am studying abroad in Florence, Italy, and as I write this I have been out of the United States for about a week. I must say that I am still in the process of adjusting to being a foreigner. To give a brief synopsis of my experience so far, I have compiled a list of five things Italians do better than Americans:
1. Leisure time: Italians seem to have mastered this one to perfection. Each day from approximately noon until two all stores with the exception of restaurants close down, and workers go home to eat lunch and take a nap. Also, stores close for the entire day on Sundays, and many Italians simply take leisurely walks around the city.
2. Staying skinny: Don’t ask me how the Italians manage this one with all the decadent food that is available, but a fat Italian is definitely a rare sight. Perhaps all the walking pays off.
3. Being green: Beside almost every garbage dumpster on the street is a recycling dumpster, so it is just as easy to recycle as to throw something way. Italians also drive much smaller vehicles than Americans, for example, Smart Cars and motor scooters are very common on the streets of Florence. These habits could be part of the reason that the carbon emissions per capita in Italy is 2.12 tons, whereas it is 5.61 tons in the U.S (www.ucsusa.org).
4. Vino: A decent tasting bottle of Chianti made in the Tuscany region of Italy is sold in the local grocery store for two Euro (about three U.S. dollars), and there is technically no legal drinking age as long as you are not in a pub or restaurant, where the legal age is 16. Enough said.
5. Fashion: With the abundance of designer brands that have origins in Italy it is easy to infer that Italians would revere fashion. Wearing a t-shirt or sweatpants on the street is completely unheard of. Everyone wears black wool coats, and most women wear calf or knee high leather boots. If you want to scream American tourist, try wearing a colored ski jacket.

Explore!

2009-01-18T16:43:00.000+01:00

01/17/2009 Fiesole 4:45 p.m.

Today is Sunday so all the stores are closed and restaurants don't open until dinner time. We went to church last night, so today was basically just a lazy day. Most of my group was doing homework, but I had mine done, so I decided to just go for a walk on my own. For those of you who are wondering whether this was dangerous, it wasn't. It would be just like going for a walk during the day in a Minnesota suburb. As long as you know where to go and stay in the right areas, there is very minimal threat. I walked all around Fiesole just to become a little more familiar with my surroundings. I was able to find a park that has a lot of hiking trails through the woods on a big hill. At the top of the hill I stood where DaVinci tested the wings he invented! The view was just so beautiful, I cannot even describe it in words. I could see a combination of olive orchards, villas, and expansive farmland along with the entirety of the city of Florence. I find it so amazing how harmoniously the city and the countryside blend. It is not like in America where unsightly and environmental unconscious urban sprawl invades farmland. Cities are closer together here, but they are all very self-contained. If you see them from the air, you can tell that they have been the size they are now for years and years. I don't know how they manage to remain so contained; perhaps they do not have the population growth that America has. Whatever they do though, it sure does work. I think I could handle living in a city when it so easy to escape from its boundaries and get into the countryside. I mean where in America can you go from the center of a city of around 700,000 people to a leisurely country lane in an afternoon walk? I love it; it is like having the best of both worlds!

Walking With Bob

2009-01-17T19:34:00.000+01:00

01/17/2009 Fiesole 7:30 p.m.

I didn't get much sleep last night because people were extremely loud and obnoxious when they returned from the bars around 2:30 a.m., and the noise continued in spurts until around 5:00 a.m. Hopefully that doesn't become a routine thing. I'm pretty sure it won't last, because hotel guests complained about the noise last night. So this day started off on the wrong foot, but I decided to go on a walk with Bob (our program director), Eldon, Ashley, and Carla. I thought we were just going to walk down to Florence and come back, but it turned out to be an all day affair. I felt a little bit out of place because I hadn't had time to shower before leaving and I was wearing a sweatshirt, which definitely pegged me as a tourist in Florence. However, the day did redeem itself. Bob took us into the parts of Florence outside of the main touristy areas. He also took us out for lunch and cocktails. We ate the best Chinese food that I have ever tasted! I know, it is ironic that this excellent Chinese food is found in Italy. For 10 Euro we got a full meal, which included your choice of Chinese tea (very authentic, loose leaves), wine, or a half liter of mineral water for beverage, two spring rolls, Cantonese or white rice, a main dish of chicken, veal, pork, or vegetarian options, and a shot of grappa (Italian hard liquor) or coffee. For my main dish I had pineapple chicken (see picture), and we all had shots of grappa afterward. Unlike in America, it is quite customary for Italians to drink wine with their lunch and take a shot of grappa afterward. Some Italians even begin their day with a shot of grappa in their coffee. This is not in any way frowned upon or discouraged here. To top off the great meal, we all received hot towels from the waitress/owner when we were done. We then walked around Florence some more, window shopping the designer label shops. Bob walks at a very fast pace and is intolerant of dilly-dallying, but you see and learn a lot when you go with him. He is like a walking encyclopedia. He knows everything about all the current celebrities, and he also knows everything about history and politics, it seems. I have never asked him a question that he could not answer. In the afternoon, we were all getting a bit weary, and Carla needed to use a restroom, so Bob suggested that we sit down and get some drinks. But, get this, we did not just stop in at some dingy cafe, we went to the lounge of the Hotel Lungarno on the Arno River. The hotel is owned by the Ferragamo family, and a classic double room costs 380 Euro per night. The price of cocktails can be left up to your imagination. So Bob treated us to drinks, and I tried a Cosmopolitan for the first time. The lobby looked over the Arno, and we sat in plush white couches and sipped our drinks. It was a very nice place to stop and rest, although I would probably never do so on my own dollar. After the drinks we went separate ways: Bob and Carla rode the bus back up to the hotel and Eldon, Ashley, and I stayed in town to go to English mass at the Duomo. After mass they announced a social group for Catholic students studying in Florence, and I think I may join. I really would like to meet some people outside the group of 15 SMU students who came on this trip. It is difficult to meet Italians because I don't speak the language so well yet, but I am improving. It will be nice if I can get to know some English speaking people outside this group because, even though it is great fun spending time with many of my fellow SMU students, only speaking to 15 people for four months sounds like a nightmare to me!

Take a picture, it'll last longer!

2009-01-16T22:07:00.001+01:00

01/16/2009 Fiesole 10:06 p.m.
Today I had my first real encounter with the perceived creepiness of Italian men toward American women. Up until now I did not realize why the girls who went in previous years had so many stories about their encounters with Italian men. To me they seemed just like American men, but that was before today. The first encounter happened when Ania, Allyson, and I were standing at a bus stop at the Piazza di Michelangelo for about a half hour waiting for the next bus. It was around rush hour, so lots of cars were passing. It was so hilarious to see the head of each Italian man who passed by turn to stare at us as. It is not a subtle stare either. It is a full on, shameless, I don't care if you see me staring at you kind of stare. And these are not some hot 20 somethings, these are old Italian men with their long blackish gray hair greased back, wearing leather jackets, staring at you down their pointy noses. Creepy, right?!? But the story does not stop there. There was a carload of 20 something Italian men who slowed down to stare, and the one in the passenger seat pulled out a camera. This wasn't just any camera though, it was a huge SLR professional camera. We just burst out laughing and gave them a little wave. A little bit later a car passed, and the man actually slammed on his brakes in rush-hour traffic to take a closer look. I swear, sometimes I feel like an animal in a zoo or something! Italian men are just so enthralled with American girls. We think it is because we are much more outgoing than the Italian women. When we are together we laugh and talk and have a grand-old time, but Italian women tend to be guarded and less inclined to smile and laugh in public. Whatever it is that draws Italian men to us American girls, it is quite amusing to see their reaction to us. There were also some very cute Italian carpentry workers returning home for the day at the bus station who beckoned to us girls to get on the bus with them. We had just been saying how cute they were, but it was not until they called out to us that we noticed that one of them was missing a tooth. Of course the thought of getting on the bus with them did not even cross our minds, in case you're worrying. I just said, "No capisco," (I don't understand) as the bus doors closed on them, and they were gone for good.

Wait a minute, how old is that?

2009-01-15T23:17:00.000+01:00

01/15/2009 Fiesole 11:50 p.m.
Today was my first day of my Art and Architecture of Florence class, and it turned out to be a whole day affair. The class itself took place from 11:00 to 1:00, then we toured various sights from 3:00-5:00, so this has been my busiest day by far. We went to the Duomo, the baptistery, and a Gothic style chapel. All of them were so amazing that they cannot be described in words or pictures, although I will present a feeble attempt. There is just such a sense of history here that cannot be found in the United States. The architecture and sculptures that we were looking at dated back to Greek and Roman times. Every day I pass by buildings and statues that bear such significance that I can hardly fully fathom it. If a chapel in the U.S. had even a tiny part of the mosaic ceiling of the baptistery, people would come from far and wide to see it. However, since it is so common here I sometimes tend to grant less credence to these great works of art. I just have to remind myself of what I am looking at, the history behind it, and the work that went into making it, then I am truly amazed.

One dark and rainy day in Fiesole...

2009-01-14T17:19:00.000+01:00

1/14/2009 5:20 p.m. Fiesole
It was a gloomy day in Fiesole, and besides going to class we had been cooped up inside the hotel all day long. Facebook and other such online entertainment had ceased to entertain, and I was pining for some real adventure. This is when I decided to go for a run, which is something that I vowed to myself that I would do during my time in Italy. Eldon had also made the same vow, so, overhearing me say that I was going running, he asked to come along. I said yes, on the condition that he wore a shirt. He pleasantly agreed to do so, and our running excursion was on. The hills of Fiesole proved to be a bit more daunting than anticipated, but, nonetheless, we made it a decent distance at a decent pace, according to my standards. We ran up to the lookout over Florence and onto the monastery grounds. Running up the hill to the monastery, I was the first one to crest, and my eyes came upon a man who appeared to be in his fifties. He was standing on a sidewalk behind a stone rail by the chapel, facing his backside toward us. I was quite taken aback to see that he was not wearing pants. Upon getting closer, he began to speak to us in Italian. I responded by continuing to run and saying in Italian that we do not understand. Eldon, on the other hand, decided to speak German for a reason unbeknownst to me. This is where Eldon and I had a minor dispute. He claimed that the man was a monk and that he was wearing a habit. I still hold my claim that he was probably a homeless man, as he was not wearing pants and what Eldon thought was a habit I thought was a stocking cap. Perhaps we shall never know. But I digress. We continued to run through the monastery grounds and came upon a cemetery. Eldon has a cemetery fetish, and I admit that I also find them interesting, so we decided to check it out. We went through the gate and had a little walk around before deciding to head out of there before it got dark. This is when we discovered that the gate had closed while we were in there. We tried the gate only to find that it was padlocked. I had a moment of minor panic at the thought of spending my night in an Italian cemetery in the cold rain. However, we found a way to climb over the wall at a low spot by stepping up on a water fountain. Relieved, we made our way back up the hill to the hotel and told our story of being locked in a cemetery to all who would listen. Moral of the story: Always read the sign that is outside the cemetery gate before entering.

Today's Walk in Fiesole

2009-01-13T22:38:00.001+01:00

1/13/2009 Fiesole 10:45 p.m.

This is my roommate Ashley on a street in Fiesole. Surprisingly this a two way street! I really don't know how European drivers do it. It's scary walking on them sometimes, so I can't imagine driving.

This is me sitting on the wall to a private villa/olive orchard.

Pretty much all private property is gated and walled around here.

Spare Time....What's That?!?!

2009-01-13T21:49:00.000+01:00

01/13/2009 10:50 p.m. Fiesole
Today after class the amount of spare time that I now have hit me for the first time. At SMU I am used to always having something to do between classes, work, homework, and extracurricular activities. In fact, I don't think I've ever had a time that I could say that I had no homework since I began college. Today I could say that for the first time. I finished all of my work for the three classes that I've had so far. The classes seem to be very simple; the literature class is pretty much all review for me, and in the language class we learned the Italian ABC's today. While this is definitely a welcome reprieve from the fast pace I was living at SMU, I have also come to realize that there is a happy medium. Part of my newly acquired free time also has to do with the Italian culture. All stores and banks completely shut down from about noon to two each day. This is so that workers can go home and have lunch and a nap. This is definitely not what we're used to in the U.S. with our 24 hour supermarkets. Also, most shops besides restaurants close for the entire day on Sundays. There just seems to be this European appreciation for free, leisurely time. When we were out walking on Sunday many people were just meandering on the streets with their friends or family, seeming to have no particular destination in mind. I guess my dilemma right now is just finding a way to use my free time so that I feel productive. I have found that this is something that I really need to feel, and I assume it is the same for many middle-class Americans. Whether I am working, doing homework, or volunteering, I like to have a level of personal responsibility. So far I have been spending a lot of time online keeping in touch with friends and blogging. While this is not exactly my first choice of activities while I am in Europe, I can't be out spending Euro in the shops and restaurants all the time either. I am working on finding a happy medium, and hopefully I will be an expert at leisurely activity by the time I'm done here just like the Europeans.

On Being a Foreigner

2009-01-12T20:57:00.000+01:00

01/12/2009 Fiesole 9:00 p.m.
I feel like I am getting more into the swing of things now. Today was the first day of class, which is held in a room about a block away from the hotel. The class schedule is very light while we are here, but there is a lot of work outside of class. Mondays I have Global Issues at 10:00 a.m., then the rest of my day is free. Today I did homework for a few hours after class, as I want to stay on top of things so that I have free time to travel during the weekends. In one of the particular texts we are reading for the class, The United States of Europe by T.R. Reid, the perception of Americans by Europeans is discussed. And, let me tell you, their perception of us is none too flattering. According to opinion polls, Europeans see America as a nation of violence, social inequality, and racism. Of course, the stereotypes of Americans are not true for every American, but I feel as if I am judged because of this stereotype to some degree. Walking the streets of Florence it is easy to pick out the Americans. Not only is their skin and hair color different, but also many Americans will be wearing a colored ski jacket, be speaking loudly, or be slightly overweight. These things may not seem too out of the ordinary, but in Italy they really make you stick out. Even Americans, such as me, who try to fit in by wearing black and trying not to draw attention to themselves can easily be pegged as foreigners. But, perhaps you're wondering why this is a big deal. For me it is difficult because people treat you much differently than they would treat someone from Italy. They are less likely to strike up a conversation with you because they know you don't speak much of the language. Often times they are ever-so-subtly hostile by not apologizing if they bump into you or giving you strange looks or exasperated sighs. Now I know that I am the guilty party as well because I do not exactly go around trying to strike up conversations with native Italians. The reason being that I can only say hello, how are you, and a few other simple phrases. But I cannot help but think that learning the language would be much easier if people were friendlier about it. Now I can see how much it must mean for people who are coming to the U.S. as immigrants or students when an American initiates a conversation and patiently tries to understand him/her. Working in the writing center last semester I spoke with many foreign students, so I have been on both ends of the spectrum. I know that there are days when you just don't feel like struggling through another conversation, but when you think about how much it might mean to that person it takes on a whole new significance. I hope as I learn more Italian I will become more comfortable having short conversations and that this will help Italian people become more receptive towards me, not as a stereotypical American, but as an intelligent person who respects their culture and wishes to learn more about it.

Getting Lost

2009-01-12T07:55:00.000+01:00

01/12/2009 7:55 a.m. Fiesole
I woke up before my alarm, so I decided to get up and write. I'm still adjusting to the seven hour time difference, I guess. In my last post I mentioned that I had quite the adventure yesterday. This adventure entailed getting lost in Florence. Br. Bob, the program director walked our group through Fiesole and into Florence yesterday morning. He then gave us directions to the Duomo, a large cathedral dome in the center of the city where there is a bus stop. However, Carla and I got separated from the rest of the group in a supermarket and we were on our own. Luckily we had a map, so we weren't completely clueless. It is difficult to get your bearings in the city though because it was built in ancient times and it isn't really on the grid system. Also, there are many tall buildings with no gaps between them, so when you are on a street you cannot see what lies to the left or right. We wandered around all day, using the little Italian we knew to ask for directions. We ended up eating pizza sitting on the curb by a dumpster because we were so hungry and we couldn't find a bench, although benches seemed to spring up all over after that when we had our eyes out for them. Finally, around 2:00 pm we saw a dome, and we thought for sure that it was the Duomo. It was on the other side of the river, so we crossed the bridge and found the cathedral. However, it turned out to be the wrong dome. I looked at the map and realized we were on the wrong side of the river, so we crossed again. We ended up in the high fashion district of Florence. Carla tried on some Ferragamo shoes and I had to pull her away from the other shops because we needed to find the bus stop so that we could make our 6:00 pm meeting back at the hotel. Finally around 4:00 pm we found the Duomo and located the bus stop, and it's a good thing because we were both dead on our feet by then. We rode the bus back to Fiesole and made it back about a half hour before our meeting. My estimate is that we walked over ten miles yesterday!

My First Day

2009-01-10T21:55:00.000+01:00

1/11/2009 Fiesole, Italy 5:35 p.m.

Since my flight arrived in Florence, my days have been quite eventful. After claiming my luggage in Florence I got a taxi from the airport with Eldon to go to Hotel Villa Bonelli. Let me tell you, that taxi ride was harrowing! Speed limits mean nothing in this area, and there are so many cars, motor scooters, and pedestrians on the roads. Not to mention that most of the two way streets are narrower than American one ways, and many of them have walls on either side. Eldon and I were pretty much holding on for dear life all the way to the hotel. After arriving at the hotel we got our hotel room. It is smaller than expected. I will put up pictures soon. We have two small twin beds which are pushed together, so it's basically a double bed. We also have a couch, a desk, a small closet, a mini fridge, a TV, and a bathroom with a heated towel rack :-) The best part about our room though is the view. From our window we can see rolling green hills. You can see a picture at the end of my previous post. It would be better if the crane wasn't in the way, but oh well. Also, we've been able to have our windows open much of the time because it is in the upper 40s and low 50s and sunny! It is basically like late April in Minnesota! Everything is green. I got to explore Fiesole a bit yesterday evening. I went to mass with Ashley, which was in Italian. We were the only ones under 50 in the church besides a couple with a baby. The mass was in Italian, so we only understood the words "Amen," "Alleluia," and "Christo." What I got out of it was that it was the baptism of Christ yesterday. One neat thing about the mass was that it was held in an old Roman temple, and there is still one of the existing columns. I also went out to eat at a restaurant in Fiesole. There I had real Italian pizza (not like the American stuff) and wine, legally for the first time! Today was another eventful day, and I will get to that later.

My Journey to Italy

2009-01-10T21:00:00.001+01:00

On each of my flights on my way to Florence I jotted some notes about what was happening. Travelling through airports actually ended up being much easier than expected, and I actually enjoyed it for the most part. Anyhow, here is what I wrote along my journey:

1/9/2009 10:50 a.m. Minneapolis, MN
I took a Rochester Direct shuttle bus from Pine Island to the Minneapolis airport because it was snowing and the roads were not so good. On the shuttle I met a very nice guy named Tim who works at Mayo as a P.A. He was travelling to London to visit a friend, and he was able to give me some hints about travelling, including ways to avoid severe jet lag. He has been to Europe several times, including one trip to Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy.

Right now I am sitting in the plane, awaiting takeoff. Due to the snow moving through the Midwest they put me on an earlier flight. This means that I am not with Eldon and Ashley as originally planned. At first that was a little bit scary, but I found that three guys from my class are on this flight, so that made me feel better. Hopefully I will meet up with Eldon and Ashley in Chicago, as we all have the same flight to Frankfurt, then to Florence. I can't believe I will be in Europe in ten hours or so!

1/9/2009 2:20 p.m. Chicago, IL
Once again, I'm awaiting takeoff. it is strange to think that next time I touch the ground I will be in Europe! I met up with most of the Saint Mary's group on this flight, and it is good to know that we'll be together. I am sitting next to a recreation professor from California who is going to Latvia. She seems to be pretty well-travelled. She told me to be sure to see Sienna and to get tickets online to see the "Last Supper" in Milan. She also advised me to try many flavors of gelato. She cited salt, cactus, and watermelon as various flavors available. It will certainly be interesting to try some of those!

1/10/2009 7:55 a.m. Frankfurt, Germany
Well, I've made it this far; I am now in Europe. Now I just have to get off in Florence and make it to the hotel. This might be the hardest part of the trip, in all honesty. We'll have to figure out how to get a taxi or ride the bus. With all of our luggage it is bound to be difficult either way. It is strange being a foreigner now. Announcements and such are always spoken in other languages before the English announcements. So far though, getting around airports has been easier than I anticipated.

I made it Florence safe and sound, arriving at Hotel Villa Bonelli around 10:30 a.m. I am currently suffering from a bit of jet lag, but I will continue to keep you updated. My day in Fiesole has been quite eventful already...to be continued.

COMING SOON: Italian Adventures!

2008-12-29T00:51:00.000+01:00

On January 9, 2009 I will be departing for Florence (known as Firenze to the Italians) to study for a semester. While I am there I will be taking classes on Italian art and architecture, global issues, Italian language and culture, history of Florence, and Italian literature. I will be there for approximately four months, with the last three weeks devoted to travel. I hope to keep this blog updated with all the adventures I have while I'm there.