Last night was fun. A whole bunch of us planned all kinds of fun weekend trips to everywhere! I think I will be spending my first half of spring break in France with Nemo and then meet up with the rest of everyone in Spain for the second half. I'm glad I'm getting all these things planned. We're going to Rome tomorrow! We're trying to figure out hostels and train tickets right now.
I uploaded pictures on facebook finally! I brought my laptop to school at last.
This morning was unnaturally cold. I woke up about 20 minutes before school starts. I live about 30 minutes away, at a leisurely walk in the evening - but for some reason it always takes longer in the morning. I took the bus to school for the first time, and it got me there in like five seconds... so I wasn't late!
It was Ren Art History, and we spent the first half of class talking about Giotto. Then we went to Santa Croce Cathedral and looked at some of his remaining frescoes. It was so cold my feet were burning. However, I have a newfound appreciation for Giotto these days. I never really appreciated just how revolutionary he is.
Funny Story:
So for those of you who don't know, last summer I got cold sores from trying on a lipstick in a store. I did it properly, with the Q-tip to the lipstick, no skin to lipstick contact, but two days later I received a new blessing in my life... and all for a lipstick I didn't even buy.
I believe my weakened immune system is bringing it back... I feel like it might burst out any day. So yesterday I went a Farmacia to get a cream for it. I walk in and the first thing I see is giant plastic lips with this nasty like... rotten black apple in the corner of the mouth with the word "HERPES" right above it. So I walk up and point at my lips and say, "Herpes." and the woman says, "Oh Erpes." She made it sound luxirious, like an Hermes scarf. My cream cost 7,50.
I clearly didn't know how to end that story.
Rome tomorrow! We just fixed on our hostel.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
And I'm Proud to be an American??
Last night we went over to the guy's apartment for dinner. Kevin had made us pasta and salmon with bread. It was delicious. After we finished dinner, Renee made bruschetta, and it was also delicious... though I've never had bruschetta like her's. Typically it's just tomatoes and olive oil and whatever, but she made it with onions and tomatoes and artichokes and all kinds of things. But it was really good.
We didn't end up at the jazz club with Beatles night. We went to this swanky jazz club called Rex and we were just sitting around. Then one of the guys said something apparently HILARIOUS to one of my roommates and she stood up and leaned over the table to laugh. She ended up breaking one of our glasses. As we decided it was an ideal time to leave, another girl knocked over her metal chair to the floor. I haven't felt quite so American in a long long time.
Or at least, how Americans are perceived to be. Because it would be easy to decide that we were drunk and making an uproar.
Then we went to a bar where a lot of the kids from the program, and Americans in general, hang out. It was alright but I got bored after a few hours.
Tonight I am going to make a bruschetta burger for dinner! I'm going to make my own pesto and rub it into my burger meat and cover it with bruschetta and cheese and cook it on the stove. It will be delicious. On a side note... we've discovered our oven is broken. I don't know how much cooking I'll get done with it broken. I'm used to oven cooking, not stove cooking. The other girls thought that was weird.
I will really really try and post pictures tomorrow. I'll definitely bring my laptop to CAPA (if the weather permits.)
I'm almost done with Northanger Abbey. After she stops thinking all these Gothic thoughts at the Abbey, it gets really engrossing. But I have a lot of homework reading tonight, so I am going to have to force myself to put that aside.
A note on my closest grocery store... It is called the Coop, and I think it was designed by Brits. I wonder if Publix was any influence on it. They were the exact same color green vests with striped shirts (they're actually dresses) underneath. It just reminds me of the best grocery store in the world sometimes - but it isn't. Shopping there is really stressful, because there are like 10 million people also shopping there and they are in a hurry. I prefer the Standa, which is quieter and nicer I think. It also has a things like chicken fingers! But it is more expensive.
Now I'm Coop bound.
We didn't end up at the jazz club with Beatles night. We went to this swanky jazz club called Rex and we were just sitting around. Then one of the guys said something apparently HILARIOUS to one of my roommates and she stood up and leaned over the table to laugh. She ended up breaking one of our glasses. As we decided it was an ideal time to leave, another girl knocked over her metal chair to the floor. I haven't felt quite so American in a long long time.
Or at least, how Americans are perceived to be. Because it would be easy to decide that we were drunk and making an uproar.
Then we went to a bar where a lot of the kids from the program, and Americans in general, hang out. It was alright but I got bored after a few hours.
Tonight I am going to make a bruschetta burger for dinner! I'm going to make my own pesto and rub it into my burger meat and cover it with bruschetta and cheese and cook it on the stove. It will be delicious. On a side note... we've discovered our oven is broken. I don't know how much cooking I'll get done with it broken. I'm used to oven cooking, not stove cooking. The other girls thought that was weird.
I will really really try and post pictures tomorrow. I'll definitely bring my laptop to CAPA (if the weather permits.)
I'm almost done with Northanger Abbey. After she stops thinking all these Gothic thoughts at the Abbey, it gets really engrossing. But I have a lot of homework reading tonight, so I am going to have to force myself to put that aside.
A note on my closest grocery store... It is called the Coop, and I think it was designed by Brits. I wonder if Publix was any influence on it. They were the exact same color green vests with striped shirts (they're actually dresses) underneath. It just reminds me of the best grocery store in the world sometimes - but it isn't. Shopping there is really stressful, because there are like 10 million people also shopping there and they are in a hurry. I prefer the Standa, which is quieter and nicer I think. It also has a things like chicken fingers! But it is more expensive.
Now I'm Coop bound.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I don't have anything to make a title with
So last night I took Renee's friend from home around the city. We went to H&M and I got a sweater dress and a jacket. We had a good time.
It was pretty chill last night. I turned the TV channel and found Criminal Minds on! It was in Italian so I didn't understand more than a few words but I'd seen the episode so I knew what was going on.
Kevin is apparently going to make us dinner tonight and then after that we're going to go to a jazz club for a Beatles night. I'm excited for that. Kevin is making us dinner presumably with his roommates because we are planning on making dinner for each other every so often. The girls will sometimes, and then the guys will. Apparently it's the guy's time first.
It was pretty chill last night. I turned the TV channel and found Criminal Minds on! It was in Italian so I didn't understand more than a few words but I'd seen the episode so I knew what was going on.
Kevin is apparently going to make us dinner tonight and then after that we're going to go to a jazz club for a Beatles night. I'm excited for that. Kevin is making us dinner presumably with his roommates because we are planning on making dinner for each other every so often. The girls will sometimes, and then the guys will. Apparently it's the guy's time first.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sono un pò raffreddato
Or, I have a cold. I noticed on thursday that my throat was hurting and I immediately started taking cold medication to try and fight it off. It didn't work. That may have possibly been my own fault. I took it easy Thursday... I went to bed early and slept for 12 hours. On Friday we didn't go out, we just hung out in our apartment. Saturday may have been my undoing though. I went on a hike and then I went out dancing. Yesterday I woke up and I was more stuffed up than ever and I am pretty sure I had a fever and I spent the whole day resting.
I think I broke the fever though, cause I am feeling better today. Not super better, but better.
Friday I went with my roommates and some other people and we climbed to the top of Il Duomo. It was amazing! The climb was pretty strenuous. But it put me up close with the painted ceiling, which I spent FOREVER looking at. Then we climbed even more and we were on the balcony of the dome. All of Florence was visible, and the countryside surrounding it. It was unreal. I didn't have my camera because I hadn't known I would be going from school to the duomo, but Kevin took a picture of me. I'm going to try and post pictures tomorrow.
That night the guys came over and we all just talked for a really long time. It was nice.
Saturday we took a bus to a town called Fiesole just outside of the city. I think it must be where the super rich people live, because the food was expensive and these people all had BIG American cars. In the city, the biggest car you see is a Jeep Range Rover or Liberty, and the rest are all smartcars and mini coops and other cars of that design. That's what makes sense, because the streets are so narrow. (Somehow the buses can make it through.) But out in the country they all had Nissans and trucks and other big cars. Who says Europeans don't have big cars? Probably just Europeans and environmentalists. They're lying.
Anyway, we went on this hike up Mount Ciceri, which is where the Florentines used to get the stone to build the city. It was hard and a little nerve wracking, because I was so concious of the roots and the angle of the ground in relation to my ankle. We saw some of the caves. Lorenzo, the program director, was leading us and so he knew where to go. We couldn't go inside the cave he took us to, but he told us that before they put up the "don't enter" tape, that people used to go there with guitars and start a bonfire and just hang out. "It's a really nice cave," according to him.
We pretty much hiked up this entire mountain and we saw Florence. It's not a very big city, but it's pretty spread out. According to Lorenzo, you can walk from the east side to the west side in an hour and a half. The Duomo overpowers the city. It is so gigantic in comparison to everything else.
After we climbed down again, we went to an old monastary that's closed now. There are Roman ruins of an old theatre which I saw from afar. Then we went to a pizza lunch. The coke was 4€ and the pizza was supposed to be a spicy sausage pizza... I really wanted it to be way more spicy. I don't know why, since I normally try and avoid it. But I put spicy olive oil on it and peppercorns and it was just not spicy enough.
That night we went over to the guys' apartment for a little while before we went out. We went to a club called Glamour and just danced and had a great time. It was really a lot of fun. At one point I couldn't breath though. A lot of Italian guys try and pick American girls up at bars and clubs. When I sat down cause I couldn't breath, this guy came and put his arm around me and tried to talk to me. He may have been sincere, but I doubt it. At another point I was just waiting for my roommates to come outside and these guys tried to circle up and hit on me. I didn't look at any of them and just said, "Viavi... or Via Vi." I'm not sure which, but apparently it means "Go away" and they did.
We got home at 4 30.
We all woke up around 1, and I was sick as a dog. I'm jealous of my roommate Renee, because she had whatever I have, only she had it for a day, not 5. Yesterday I finished Jane Austen's Emma and today I'm going to start Northanger Abbey. 3 books in a week. Good thing I found an Anglo-American bookstore.
I think I broke the fever though, cause I am feeling better today. Not super better, but better.
Friday I went with my roommates and some other people and we climbed to the top of Il Duomo. It was amazing! The climb was pretty strenuous. But it put me up close with the painted ceiling, which I spent FOREVER looking at. Then we climbed even more and we were on the balcony of the dome. All of Florence was visible, and the countryside surrounding it. It was unreal. I didn't have my camera because I hadn't known I would be going from school to the duomo, but Kevin took a picture of me. I'm going to try and post pictures tomorrow.
That night the guys came over and we all just talked for a really long time. It was nice.
Saturday we took a bus to a town called Fiesole just outside of the city. I think it must be where the super rich people live, because the food was expensive and these people all had BIG American cars. In the city, the biggest car you see is a Jeep Range Rover or Liberty, and the rest are all smartcars and mini coops and other cars of that design. That's what makes sense, because the streets are so narrow. (Somehow the buses can make it through.) But out in the country they all had Nissans and trucks and other big cars. Who says Europeans don't have big cars? Probably just Europeans and environmentalists. They're lying.
Anyway, we went on this hike up Mount Ciceri, which is where the Florentines used to get the stone to build the city. It was hard and a little nerve wracking, because I was so concious of the roots and the angle of the ground in relation to my ankle. We saw some of the caves. Lorenzo, the program director, was leading us and so he knew where to go. We couldn't go inside the cave he took us to, but he told us that before they put up the "don't enter" tape, that people used to go there with guitars and start a bonfire and just hang out. "It's a really nice cave," according to him.
We pretty much hiked up this entire mountain and we saw Florence. It's not a very big city, but it's pretty spread out. According to Lorenzo, you can walk from the east side to the west side in an hour and a half. The Duomo overpowers the city. It is so gigantic in comparison to everything else.
After we climbed down again, we went to an old monastary that's closed now. There are Roman ruins of an old theatre which I saw from afar. Then we went to a pizza lunch. The coke was 4€ and the pizza was supposed to be a spicy sausage pizza... I really wanted it to be way more spicy. I don't know why, since I normally try and avoid it. But I put spicy olive oil on it and peppercorns and it was just not spicy enough.
That night we went over to the guys' apartment for a little while before we went out. We went to a club called Glamour and just danced and had a great time. It was really a lot of fun. At one point I couldn't breath though. A lot of Italian guys try and pick American girls up at bars and clubs. When I sat down cause I couldn't breath, this guy came and put his arm around me and tried to talk to me. He may have been sincere, but I doubt it. At another point I was just waiting for my roommates to come outside and these guys tried to circle up and hit on me. I didn't look at any of them and just said, "Viavi... or Via Vi." I'm not sure which, but apparently it means "Go away" and they did.
We got home at 4 30.
We all woke up around 1, and I was sick as a dog. I'm jealous of my roommate Renee, because she had whatever I have, only she had it for a day, not 5. Yesterday I finished Jane Austen's Emma and today I'm going to start Northanger Abbey. 3 books in a week. Good thing I found an Anglo-American bookstore.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Further Notes on Italy
I do not believe anyone outside of the food, merchandise, or CAPA industry has a job. Everyone else just wanders up and down the street and sometimes goes shopping at said food and merchandise industries.
Every gradma and their daughter has a fur coat. Sometimes a younger woman has a fur coat too, and when they do they are clearly the most expensive ones around.
Seeing children is rare. You can catch glimpses of them on their ways to school, but other than that, they are rare.
I do not believe anyone outside of the food, merchandise, or CAPA industry has a job. Everyone else just wanders up and down the street and sometimes goes shopping at said food and merchandise industries.
Every gradma and their daughter has a fur coat. Sometimes a younger woman has a fur coat too, and when they do they are clearly the most expensive ones around.
Seeing children is rare. You can catch glimpses of them on their ways to school, but other than that, they are rare.
Bouno Giornata
Last night's welcome dinner was amazing. We went to this restaurant that basically translates as something like, The Restaurant of the Crazy People, and they tried to live up to their name! They would walk by making weird noises and they gave out bubbles and at one point they starting tossing oranges all over the room. I got one, but then he wanted me to toss it back. I really wanted to keep it, it smelled delicious.
We got there a little late so we had to sit wherever there was room. I ended up at a table with kids from Ursinus... that's a school that is affiliated with CAPA but is not actually with CAPA. Their classes are in the same place and they can take CAPA classes, but they also have separate ones. Anyway, these kids are awesome! I found it so much easier to talk and connect with them than I have with a lot of the CAPA kids. We're all going to go out together on Saturday. Also, their professor is going to let me sit in on his class called the Philosophy of Art. I can't get credit for it, so I don't have to do the assignments, but it will be really great to just go and learn a little extra.
At the end of the dinner, the owner of the restaurant grabbed me from my seat and took me to the front of the restaurant to stand with some other kids he'd done the same with. They then presented us with free bottles of sparkling wine, since we had been such an awesome dinner company. I have a feeling it was really expensive to do so, and it was really really nice.
We had all kinds of great stuff at dinner. There were like ten million appetizers and three kinds of pasta and a desert. The dinner lasted about 4 hours.
Today I went to one of my history of art courses, and it looks like it will be great. We sit in for a small lecture and then we go out into the city and see the art. We walked around today and just had a sort of preliminary what's up class. I'm excited for it, he teaches two of my courses. He is also from Rhode Island, but he's been living in Italy for years.
I have to adjust my class schedule. I'm thinking about taking oil painting or cross cultural psyche or Italian Life and Culture. I would really like to take Italian Life and Culture, I think, but I don't know if OU would accept it for anything at all.
We got there a little late so we had to sit wherever there was room. I ended up at a table with kids from Ursinus... that's a school that is affiliated with CAPA but is not actually with CAPA. Their classes are in the same place and they can take CAPA classes, but they also have separate ones. Anyway, these kids are awesome! I found it so much easier to talk and connect with them than I have with a lot of the CAPA kids. We're all going to go out together on Saturday. Also, their professor is going to let me sit in on his class called the Philosophy of Art. I can't get credit for it, so I don't have to do the assignments, but it will be really great to just go and learn a little extra.
At the end of the dinner, the owner of the restaurant grabbed me from my seat and took me to the front of the restaurant to stand with some other kids he'd done the same with. They then presented us with free bottles of sparkling wine, since we had been such an awesome dinner company. I have a feeling it was really expensive to do so, and it was really really nice.
We had all kinds of great stuff at dinner. There were like ten million appetizers and three kinds of pasta and a desert. The dinner lasted about 4 hours.
Today I went to one of my history of art courses, and it looks like it will be great. We sit in for a small lecture and then we go out into the city and see the art. We walked around today and just had a sort of preliminary what's up class. I'm excited for it, he teaches two of my courses. He is also from Rhode Island, but he's been living in Italy for years.
I have to adjust my class schedule. I'm thinking about taking oil painting or cross cultural psyche or Italian Life and Culture. I would really like to take Italian Life and Culture, I think, but I don't know if OU would accept it for anything at all.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Italian Lit doesn't look like it will be very good. I would totally drop it if it weren't for my English major.
Maybe I'll drop it anyway.
I think I will look into that.
Last night the girls and I plus the guys all went out to a bar. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, because I have an 8 45 class on Wednesdays, but I thought, Jessica in America is a sourpuss that never wants to do anything. While in Italy, she should go out!
But it took us forever to go. I'm glad I went, but only so that these people know I go out places. I can't do it again. Italian lit is really boring and I don't think that I should risk being super tired in it EVER.
I went home before one though.
This morning my flatmates had to go register to be in the country. One of them didn't make it. I woke her up and told her she was going to be late, but she just got mad that she'd been left behind by the other girls and went back to bed. I had to fight the mom side of me and remind myself that she's responsible for this and it isn't my job to wake her up a second time.
Tonight is the welcome to Florence dinner from CAPA. Free food... yes!
Maybe I'll drop it anyway.
I think I will look into that.
Last night the girls and I plus the guys all went out to a bar. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, because I have an 8 45 class on Wednesdays, but I thought, Jessica in America is a sourpuss that never wants to do anything. While in Italy, she should go out!
But it took us forever to go. I'm glad I went, but only so that these people know I go out places. I can't do it again. Italian lit is really boring and I don't think that I should risk being super tired in it EVER.
I went home before one though.
This morning my flatmates had to go register to be in the country. One of them didn't make it. I woke her up and told her she was going to be late, but she just got mad that she'd been left behind by the other girls and went back to bed. I had to fight the mom side of me and remind myself that she's responsible for this and it isn't my job to wake her up a second time.
Tonight is the welcome to Florence dinner from CAPA. Free food... yes!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Alora
Buongiorno!
On Sunday evening, I went to IKEA! Haha. I've never been before, even though we have one in ATL, just a 15 minute drive to midtown, or a 5 minute drive from the 85. I went because I needed a lamp... my room is really dark. The flat needed things like a drying rack, a bath mat, toothbrush holder. So we all went and met up with Renee's friend Megan, who is attending an art school here. She and her other artist friends needed to go too, and Justin from Malta was here last semester, so he knew how to get there. However, we missed the bus! So we stood outside in the cold for almost an hour waiting for the next one to come, because IKEA is far away, in a more suburb-y sort of side of Firenze. We missed the bus coming back too... so we had to wait another hour. But at least that time we got to wait inside the warm store.
Once we were back in the more central area of Firenze, we had to walk about another twenty minutes to find the bus stop that goes by our house. It seriously goes right by it, and when it goes into the city center it's on our own road. But the buses sometimes take longer in Firenze than walking, so unless I need to go somewhere hella far away, I won't be using it. However, CAPA does provide a monthly bus pass. In fact, I'll be using it on Saturday to get to Fiesole, a little town outside of Firenze, because there is a CAPA hike out there.
I sleep all the time here! On Saturday everyone went out, but I was too tired. I slept from about 6 PM to 2 30 AM, from 4 30 AM to 9 30 AM. Sunday I fell asleep around 10. Yesterday I took a nap. Honestly, I'm really glad for it, because I think this is a great time to fix my sleeping schedule.
Yesterday was my first class. Italian1. It was pretty neat, but maybe Spanish will do me more harm than good when it comes to spelling and similar words.
Emily and I went out to the leather market after class. They have interesting tactics to try and get you to come to their stalls. For example - "How many colors are in your hair? Would you like to get a nice jacket to match them all?" A man deliberately tried to run me down with his Vespa, and the market laughed at me. It felt like Paris and the pigeons.
Last night the girls and I, plus the CAPA guys who live just down the road, all went out for our first authentic Italian meal. We chose a little restaurant a road over, and it was delicious! I had gnocchi con burro e salvia (with butter and sage) and it was seriously the best gnocchi in the world. Everyone's meal was really good. We all shared what we were eating, except for the guys because they ate so fast. Emily just had spaghetti e ragu (meat sauce) and it was way better than anything from home. Renee had ravioli della nonna (grandma's ravioli) and Gina's was called Pici. I think it was some kind of egg noodle dish with bits of ham. Whatever the noodles were, they were great.
Last night I stayed up until 12, which is impressive. I finished North and South. I don't know if I like the movie or the book better, but I appreciate my new insight into Mr. Thornton. If you like Victorian novels, read this.
Airframe, however, is proving to be really boring. By tomorrow, I should be done. Two books in... 5 days. Well, I found a store called the Paperback Exchange, and it deals in English books and I can trade in Airframe for store credit and get a new one!
Today in Italian we learned all kinds of greeting and other phrases like that, such as-
Mi chiamo Jessica. Sono americana di Tallahassee. Sono studentessa di storia dell'arte e inglese. Abito a Firenze, in Via .... but I'm not going to give that out to the internet.
Antoinetta is our professoressa's nome, and she said we can call her Anto, which is simpler and easier to pronounce, so that's what I'm sticking with lol.
Some notes about Firenze-
You have to watch where you step. People rarely put their animals on a leash, and they let them do their business everywhere. They don't pick it up.
They don't seem to like exact change. Everytime I have tried to fish it out, they always just demand I round up.
A lot of people think you speak Italian, and in the outskirts where I live they don't speak English. There's a whole lot of smiles and head shaking and No capito.
The men in Italy are more insistent while hitting on women than the men in America because they are used to having to work hard. However, they give up more easily too, if you make it obvious that you don't welcome the attention. Two men hit on me yesterday. The first one I sort of hemmed and hawed and the conversation took place in a weird mix of English, Italian, and Spanish. He said I was very beautiful and he'd like us to be friends, can we go out tomorrow night? But when I finally just said I'm not interested we exchanged cheek kisses and he left me alone. When the next one hit on me, I just said, "Please not right now" (cause I was stressed out) and he said, Scusi, have a nice day.
Tomorrow I have my Italian lit class. I would also have an art history, but it was canceled for this week.
On Sunday evening, I went to IKEA! Haha. I've never been before, even though we have one in ATL, just a 15 minute drive to midtown, or a 5 minute drive from the 85. I went because I needed a lamp... my room is really dark. The flat needed things like a drying rack, a bath mat, toothbrush holder. So we all went and met up with Renee's friend Megan, who is attending an art school here. She and her other artist friends needed to go too, and Justin from Malta was here last semester, so he knew how to get there. However, we missed the bus! So we stood outside in the cold for almost an hour waiting for the next one to come, because IKEA is far away, in a more suburb-y sort of side of Firenze. We missed the bus coming back too... so we had to wait another hour. But at least that time we got to wait inside the warm store.
Once we were back in the more central area of Firenze, we had to walk about another twenty minutes to find the bus stop that goes by our house. It seriously goes right by it, and when it goes into the city center it's on our own road. But the buses sometimes take longer in Firenze than walking, so unless I need to go somewhere hella far away, I won't be using it. However, CAPA does provide a monthly bus pass. In fact, I'll be using it on Saturday to get to Fiesole, a little town outside of Firenze, because there is a CAPA hike out there.
I sleep all the time here! On Saturday everyone went out, but I was too tired. I slept from about 6 PM to 2 30 AM, from 4 30 AM to 9 30 AM. Sunday I fell asleep around 10. Yesterday I took a nap. Honestly, I'm really glad for it, because I think this is a great time to fix my sleeping schedule.
Yesterday was my first class. Italian1. It was pretty neat, but maybe Spanish will do me more harm than good when it comes to spelling and similar words.
Emily and I went out to the leather market after class. They have interesting tactics to try and get you to come to their stalls. For example - "How many colors are in your hair? Would you like to get a nice jacket to match them all?" A man deliberately tried to run me down with his Vespa, and the market laughed at me. It felt like Paris and the pigeons.
Last night the girls and I, plus the CAPA guys who live just down the road, all went out for our first authentic Italian meal. We chose a little restaurant a road over, and it was delicious! I had gnocchi con burro e salvia (with butter and sage) and it was seriously the best gnocchi in the world. Everyone's meal was really good. We all shared what we were eating, except for the guys because they ate so fast. Emily just had spaghetti e ragu (meat sauce) and it was way better than anything from home. Renee had ravioli della nonna (grandma's ravioli) and Gina's was called Pici. I think it was some kind of egg noodle dish with bits of ham. Whatever the noodles were, they were great.
Last night I stayed up until 12, which is impressive. I finished North and South. I don't know if I like the movie or the book better, but I appreciate my new insight into Mr. Thornton. If you like Victorian novels, read this.
Airframe, however, is proving to be really boring. By tomorrow, I should be done. Two books in... 5 days. Well, I found a store called the Paperback Exchange, and it deals in English books and I can trade in Airframe for store credit and get a new one!
Today in Italian we learned all kinds of greeting and other phrases like that, such as-
Mi chiamo Jessica. Sono americana di Tallahassee. Sono studentessa di storia dell'arte e inglese. Abito a Firenze, in Via .... but I'm not going to give that out to the internet.
Antoinetta is our professoressa's nome, and she said we can call her Anto, which is simpler and easier to pronounce, so that's what I'm sticking with lol.
Some notes about Firenze-
You have to watch where you step. People rarely put their animals on a leash, and they let them do their business everywhere. They don't pick it up.
They don't seem to like exact change. Everytime I have tried to fish it out, they always just demand I round up.
A lot of people think you speak Italian, and in the outskirts where I live they don't speak English. There's a whole lot of smiles and head shaking and No capito.
The men in Italy are more insistent while hitting on women than the men in America because they are used to having to work hard. However, they give up more easily too, if you make it obvious that you don't welcome the attention. Two men hit on me yesterday. The first one I sort of hemmed and hawed and the conversation took place in a weird mix of English, Italian, and Spanish. He said I was very beautiful and he'd like us to be friends, can we go out tomorrow night? But when I finally just said I'm not interested we exchanged cheek kisses and he left me alone. When the next one hit on me, I just said, "Please not right now" (cause I was stressed out) and he said, Scusi, have a nice day.
Tomorrow I have my Italian lit class. I would also have an art history, but it was canceled for this week.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
In Italy
Hey all! I am in Italy, and I have finally found an internet cafe.
So my trip thus far -
On Thursday morning my mom drove me to the airport and we said goodbye. I was sad, but I generally am whenever I leave home to travel. Terminal E in Atlanta now has a bookstore which is great! It didn't have very great books, but I still managed to get some. Then I got on my flight to Paris. It was nice - I had an aisle seat. I've discovered that my ipod shuffle is very useful in drowning out screaming toddlers. I couldn't really sleep though. I lost my headphones, so I ended up making the lines for He's Just Not That Into You. It also turns out the Airframe is not about disease on an airplane, but is instead about crashing airplanes. North and South is wonderful... I am almost done.
When I arrived in Paris the next morning, I got to re-remember my extreme dislike for the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. It sucks. I hate it. It's confusing and no one wants to help you. My flight was delayed by an hour. I was determined to not fall asleep on the plane, but I didn't even make it past lift off. When I woke up, I looked out my window - we were over the Italian mountains, and they were BEAUTIFUL! Firenze seems bigger than it is, and it was so beautiful to look down at. Since my flight was delayed, I ended up getting there with a CAPA group, and so I didn't have to figure out my own transportation. This was great, by the way. I hate having to deal with taxi drivers (and dad wanted me to take a taxi.) I am absolutely convinced that all taxi drivers want you to die. They are terrible at driving, and I am scared the whole time always. Also, there seem to be some very limited traffic laws in Firenze, which only makes it worse.
No one was at my apartment when I arrived. My phone was instantly helpful in this, because it meant I could call CAPA. The director of the program drove out to let me into the apartment, and then he carried my bags upstairs and showed me where to get food. He was really nice, and he taught me how to say "Grazie!" In the US, everyone says, "Gratzi" but it is pronounced just the way it looks - with an "e" on the end, and no "t" sound at all.
I explored for a while, and then I met Renee, one of my flatmates, on the street. I had the most delicious lunch ever - an herbed bread stick with green olives inside. Then I went home and took a nap.
Our apartment, by the way, is adorable. It was not at all what I was expecting. I have my own room too. It's a little cold at night, but my landlord put a purple flannel sheet with cows on my bed, and there were extra blankets in my closet.
That night, when all the girls had arrived, we had dinner. I made up spaghetti (or spaghetini) and sauce, and Laura added in peppercorns to the sauce, which made it absolutely delicious. Renee had bought white wine, and so we had a cozy dinner together in our little living room. My other flatmate is Gina.
Later we went out and met up with friends of Renee. We wandered around and ended up in a bar. We were just sitting at the table but then they started playing Grease and we decided to become as American as possible. We all got up and started dancing! Apparently we started a party because a whole bunch of Italianos got up and started dancing too.
Yesterday was orientation and a walking tour. Emily and I agreed that even though all the CAPA kids talked, there was no real "clicking." Hoepfully that will change. That night I fell asleep at six. The girls woke me up to ask if I wanted to go out again, but I was too tired. I woke up at 2 30 when a loud Italian man started yelling on the stairs, and then everyone came home. I got up and ate dinner and fell back asleep. I had the strangest dream - I had just been married in this dress I passed in a store yesterday, and apparently I was Jewish because Mrs. Ervin gave me a Jewish ring. It sort of resembled that ring from the X-Files episode about that Jewish man that was murdered and then rose from the grave. Then I went across the street to where Rob was parked with Courtney, Nikki, and Caroline, and asked them if they were coming to the reception. Slowly, Rob's car kept getting bigger and bigger and more and more friends appeared inside of it. Then I ran across the road to get back to my mom and called Duncan to chastise him for not coming to my wedding. Courtney said something about how I looked like a princess with my wedding gown hiked up around my knees. It was strange.
I woke up, so I don't know how that dream ended. My landlord was buzzing to be let in. He wanted copies of our passports. He doesn't speak any English, so I gathered that he needed them for the law, that it was cold outside, and soemthing about a machine. I only understood that much because of Spanish. I had to wake up Renee, who is the only one of us that speaks Italian. We all gave him our passport copies and then before he left he asked Gina and I if we had Italian boyfriends. He expects fast work I suppose!
They all went back to bed. I made lunch and I've spent some of today exploring. That's how I found this place. I think my flatmates have managed to get internet in the apartment, but I couldn't get my adapter to work this morning. I'll ask them about it later.
I hope this wasn't boring! I haven't done a lot of exciting things so far. This is the only day I've been truly awake at all.
So my trip thus far -
On Thursday morning my mom drove me to the airport and we said goodbye. I was sad, but I generally am whenever I leave home to travel. Terminal E in Atlanta now has a bookstore which is great! It didn't have very great books, but I still managed to get some. Then I got on my flight to Paris. It was nice - I had an aisle seat. I've discovered that my ipod shuffle is very useful in drowning out screaming toddlers. I couldn't really sleep though. I lost my headphones, so I ended up making the lines for He's Just Not That Into You. It also turns out the Airframe is not about disease on an airplane, but is instead about crashing airplanes. North and South is wonderful... I am almost done.
When I arrived in Paris the next morning, I got to re-remember my extreme dislike for the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. It sucks. I hate it. It's confusing and no one wants to help you. My flight was delayed by an hour. I was determined to not fall asleep on the plane, but I didn't even make it past lift off. When I woke up, I looked out my window - we were over the Italian mountains, and they were BEAUTIFUL! Firenze seems bigger than it is, and it was so beautiful to look down at. Since my flight was delayed, I ended up getting there with a CAPA group, and so I didn't have to figure out my own transportation. This was great, by the way. I hate having to deal with taxi drivers (and dad wanted me to take a taxi.) I am absolutely convinced that all taxi drivers want you to die. They are terrible at driving, and I am scared the whole time always. Also, there seem to be some very limited traffic laws in Firenze, which only makes it worse.
No one was at my apartment when I arrived. My phone was instantly helpful in this, because it meant I could call CAPA. The director of the program drove out to let me into the apartment, and then he carried my bags upstairs and showed me where to get food. He was really nice, and he taught me how to say "Grazie!" In the US, everyone says, "Gratzi" but it is pronounced just the way it looks - with an "e" on the end, and no "t" sound at all.
I explored for a while, and then I met Renee, one of my flatmates, on the street. I had the most delicious lunch ever - an herbed bread stick with green olives inside. Then I went home and took a nap.
Our apartment, by the way, is adorable. It was not at all what I was expecting. I have my own room too. It's a little cold at night, but my landlord put a purple flannel sheet with cows on my bed, and there were extra blankets in my closet.
That night, when all the girls had arrived, we had dinner. I made up spaghetti (or spaghetini) and sauce, and Laura added in peppercorns to the sauce, which made it absolutely delicious. Renee had bought white wine, and so we had a cozy dinner together in our little living room. My other flatmate is Gina.
Later we went out and met up with friends of Renee. We wandered around and ended up in a bar. We were just sitting at the table but then they started playing Grease and we decided to become as American as possible. We all got up and started dancing! Apparently we started a party because a whole bunch of Italianos got up and started dancing too.
Yesterday was orientation and a walking tour. Emily and I agreed that even though all the CAPA kids talked, there was no real "clicking." Hoepfully that will change. That night I fell asleep at six. The girls woke me up to ask if I wanted to go out again, but I was too tired. I woke up at 2 30 when a loud Italian man started yelling on the stairs, and then everyone came home. I got up and ate dinner and fell back asleep. I had the strangest dream - I had just been married in this dress I passed in a store yesterday, and apparently I was Jewish because Mrs. Ervin gave me a Jewish ring. It sort of resembled that ring from the X-Files episode about that Jewish man that was murdered and then rose from the grave. Then I went across the street to where Rob was parked with Courtney, Nikki, and Caroline, and asked them if they were coming to the reception. Slowly, Rob's car kept getting bigger and bigger and more and more friends appeared inside of it. Then I ran across the road to get back to my mom and called Duncan to chastise him for not coming to my wedding. Courtney said something about how I looked like a princess with my wedding gown hiked up around my knees. It was strange.
I woke up, so I don't know how that dream ended. My landlord was buzzing to be let in. He wanted copies of our passports. He doesn't speak any English, so I gathered that he needed them for the law, that it was cold outside, and soemthing about a machine. I only understood that much because of Spanish. I had to wake up Renee, who is the only one of us that speaks Italian. We all gave him our passport copies and then before he left he asked Gina and I if we had Italian boyfriends. He expects fast work I suppose!
They all went back to bed. I made lunch and I've spent some of today exploring. That's how I found this place. I think my flatmates have managed to get internet in the apartment, but I couldn't get my adapter to work this morning. I'll ask them about it later.
I hope this wasn't boring! I haven't done a lot of exciting things so far. This is the only day I've been truly awake at all.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Far Away, Far Away, Far From Florida
In about 12 hours I'll be getting on my plane to Florence!
I have been packing my suitcase for DAYS and I could not make it meet the weight requirement no matter what. Finally I just weighed the suitcase. It was 20 lbs. So I switched suit cases and I've got everything! Shoes, pajamas, sweaters, jackets, shirts, jeans! But most importantly, BOOKS! I managed to fit in all my books! I will hopefully not run out of reading material. But if anyone wants to send me some, I'll welcome it! (ahem, Beth.) If it's not uber expensive.
I'm really excited! North and South is my plane book, but I've also got Airframe. I'm amused by the idea of reading Michael Crichton's book on disease on a airplane while I am on an airplane.
Last day in U.S.A. was not so bad. A little stressful because I had all those last minute things to do. Mom made dinner and it was pretty good.
Okay, I have to clean up the mess I've made in packing, and then get some sleep. Last night at home! Tomorrow- the World!
I have been packing my suitcase for DAYS and I could not make it meet the weight requirement no matter what. Finally I just weighed the suitcase. It was 20 lbs. So I switched suit cases and I've got everything! Shoes, pajamas, sweaters, jackets, shirts, jeans! But most importantly, BOOKS! I managed to fit in all my books! I will hopefully not run out of reading material. But if anyone wants to send me some, I'll welcome it! (ahem, Beth.) If it's not uber expensive.
I'm really excited! North and South is my plane book, but I've also got Airframe. I'm amused by the idea of reading Michael Crichton's book on disease on a airplane while I am on an airplane.
Last day in U.S.A. was not so bad. A little stressful because I had all those last minute things to do. Mom made dinner and it was pretty good.
Okay, I have to clean up the mess I've made in packing, and then get some sleep. Last night at home! Tomorrow- the World!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
3 Days Til Lift Off
I am seriously running out of time.
I think I have all my packing done?? Today Duncan bought me space saver bags (which was very nice of him!) so I will hopefully have a lot more room in my suitcase than I have right now. I'm trying not to pack a lot of stuff, but winter clothes are bulky. Right now my biggest problem is determining what books I should not bring. I want to bring all of them! But I'm sure shoes and clothes plus too many books would exceed the airlines weight limit.
I've been chatting with the girls I will be living with, and I think I am really going to like all of them. We're all talking about things like working out together and exploring Europe and classes. My friend Nemo from Swarthemore (I'm not sure if there are two "e"'s in Swarth(e?)more) is already in Grenoble, France for his study abroad. Hopefully we will get to see each other while we are both in Europe. I haven't seen him since my senior year of high school.
I'm busy saying goodbye to friends now. I hung out with Duncan today and it was really weird to realize that this will be the longest we haven't seen each other in four years. Nikki came over for a little while tonight, and I will hopefully be seeing Caroline tomorrow.
It is so close. I can't even figure out if I have a lot to do or if I don't. I'll pack the space savers later. Getting my hair done today at 10:30 so that I don't look like white trash while I'm in fashionable Italia!
I think I have all my packing done?? Today Duncan bought me space saver bags (which was very nice of him!) so I will hopefully have a lot more room in my suitcase than I have right now. I'm trying not to pack a lot of stuff, but winter clothes are bulky. Right now my biggest problem is determining what books I should not bring. I want to bring all of them! But I'm sure shoes and clothes plus too many books would exceed the airlines weight limit.
I've been chatting with the girls I will be living with, and I think I am really going to like all of them. We're all talking about things like working out together and exploring Europe and classes. My friend Nemo from Swarthemore (I'm not sure if there are two "e"'s in Swarth(e?)more) is already in Grenoble, France for his study abroad. Hopefully we will get to see each other while we are both in Europe. I haven't seen him since my senior year of high school.
I'm busy saying goodbye to friends now. I hung out with Duncan today and it was really weird to realize that this will be the longest we haven't seen each other in four years. Nikki came over for a little while tonight, and I will hopefully be seeing Caroline tomorrow.
It is so close. I can't even figure out if I have a lot to do or if I don't. I'll pack the space savers later. Getting my hair done today at 10:30 so that I don't look like white trash while I'm in fashionable Italia!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Life Before Italy
I know this blog is called "Adventures in Italy" but I'm not actually there yet. Right now I'm experiencing life right before I go abroad for the longest period I will have ever been out of the U.S. in one go. I'm driving all over Florida trying to see family and friends before I go in ... 11 days. Then I will be a temporary resident of Firenze (Florence) Italy for 100 days. My student visa declares that I have the Permit to Stay.
I've learned a decent bit of Florence's history at college because of my Renaissance and Reformation class and through the study of art history, I knew it had to be Florence. I've been laughed at because I don't speak ANY Italian, other than what I've picked up in the movies. But I thoroughly believe that this will be the best way for me to learn.
This whole process has just been so... time consuming, and yet I managed to do it in very little time. I decided sometime last spring that I wanted to study in Florence.Because of school, however, I was very delayed in finishing my applications! I was accepted into Syracuse University's program, but you must be a homestay student, which just does not appeal to me in any way. So now I am going through CAPA. Getting a student visa was really very easy - it was way easier than renewing my passport, which I did last May.
I'm excited but a little nervous! I want to get to know Italian people, but when everyone in my family (including myself) thinks about sex slavery and the movie Taken, it makes me apprehensive. Plus that American girl just got arrested for murder while in Italy. I found out the girls I am living with and names of other kids in the program, plus I am very excited for my classes - Art from Antiquity to the Baroque, Renaissance Art, 20th Century Italian Literature, and Italian. I am signed up for a psych class, but I am probably going to drop it - who wants to take five classes in a totally different culture? I don't want to be overloaded, I want to explore!
I'm just trying to get ready now. I've bought an Italian-English dictionary, a new carry on, a new back pack... I have to figure out what to pack! AHHHH It's so close!
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