Studying... Ugh.
September 28, 2006
I feel as if today was a pretty productive day. As usual I had class from 9 to 12. Class was actually ok today, I felt like I understood more than I usually do. Tomorrow we have a test though, ugh. I don’t feel like studying anymore! I’m not sure I’ve really studied that much but I’ve tried. I just can’t study for too long at one time… I just get bored and tired of it. It also seems like there is so much, at times I don’t even know where to start.
Anyhow, back to my day. Most of class was taken up with reviewing, which was good and made me feel as if I might actually know a little more about Italian than I thought. Although for a short period I was completely confused, as I think were most of the people in class. After class finally ended, I had five and a half hours until tutoring time. I used the Internet for a bit in the study center, sent a few quick messages, and then went to this café with Jessica to get some lunch. On the way we stopped at the Blue Store. I had no idea what this store was although we had been meeting in front of it for excursions for the past three weeks. Turns out it’s a big office supply store, so if I ever need pens or notebooks or whatnot I now know where to go. After that we went down to the Bus Station (to buy the tickets you go underground, then you are actually under the buses which stop above you) to get a schedule for the buses to San Giminogino.
Then it was off to the café. I spent a little more for lunch than I had planned but I had a really good pasta salad with pesto. Yummy. All the food here is yummy and that is really bad! I’ve totally gained weight! I eat so much for dinner that now I’m used to it and get hungry throughout the day. I think eating is also a comfort thing for me. Because when I get upset or lonely or bored I eat. I guess it just gives me something to do.
After lunch I wandered with Jessica a bit, we got some gelato (crème and almond – yum! And I hadn’t had any since Saturday!) and went to the tourist center in the Campo to see if they had free maps of Siena (they didn’t.) We split up at that point; she went to shop while I went to the library to study. Yesterday was my first day at the library. It’s really nice. Seems like any other typical library expect that its all stone and brick and the inside slopes downward so the farther you go in, the farther you go down. It’s a nice place though and I did get some studying done for a bit. Then I got tired of studying and started reading “Let’s Go Italy!” a travel book I’d borrowed from the Mini Residences. It was actually really interesting and I want to buy one of my own now. I found one in a bookstore later that day but it was 30 euros, which is almost 40 dollars, so I’m not sure if I’ll get it or not. But it gives detailed lists of nice hotels, hostels, restaurants and attractions to see in every major city in Italy.
After the library got old I used the Internet again at the study center before it closed and I headed over to my tutoring session. We went over prepositions. Yuck. Now I’m back in my room, waiting for dinner to arrive and putting off studying. DON’T WANT TO STUDY! But, I really probably should. I tell myself that AFTER dinner I’ll do so. And I probably will. I admit, I’ll be glad when I go back to Irvine and don’t have to talk a language anymore!
All in all, today was good though. I didn’t get too bored at anytime and felt pretty good the whole time. I’ve just got to boost myself into a GREAT mood! And I need to get excited about where I am and what I get to see! You think after all these years of imagining a foreign country now that I’m in one I’d be a little more excited… I wonder what’s wrong with me… just a little homesick I guess.
Well, that was probably a really boring read. I need to get better at telling stories. I feel like I haven’t written in so long and its really reflected in my writing. I always read back over my work and think it just sounds like a really boring recount of the day. I don’t need to be quite as exact as I am, more fluidity between parts of the day would be good, no? Ok, now I’m just rambling.
The beautiful Cinque Terre.
September 24, 2006
I’m back from Cinque Terre! What an amazing weekend this was! What is Cinque Terre you ask? It’s a national park and protected marine area located on the western (Mediterranean) cost of Italy. It’s called Cinque Terre, I think, because of the five coast towns that are all within walking distance of each other. The towns are literally perched on the sides of the hills and cliffs that make up the coastline. The farmers that first started these towns somehow managed to cultivate the uneven terrain of the hillsides into fertile farmland. Today, Cinque Terre is famous for the many vineyards perched on the hillsides that still continue to produce.
I started out for Cinque Terre Friday afternoon with a big group of girls from school. Although I was ready to leave right after school got out at noon the rest of the girls hadn’t packed so we didn’t end up leaving until around 3:00. We had to take the train from Siena to Cinque Terre and just getting to the train station in Siena was bit of a journey. Then we settled in for a four-hour train ride. We had to change trains three times before we reached the southern most town of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore. It is a beautiful place! Right on the edge of the ocean, from the train station you can look out at the sea. We arrived right around the time of sunset so everything was very hushed looking and clear.
Besides looking at the sunset, we were preoccupied with finding the bus we had to take to our hostel. After waiting for an hour for the bus, we discovered we had actually missed the last one from Riomaggiore to our hostel, which was located about 20 minutes away in the hills. So, we had to get back on the train, go back one station and run to catch that last bus leaving from that station to our hostel! We just barely made it! I didn’t really know what to expect as I’d never stayed in a hostel before, but it was really nice. It kind of seemed like a big dorm with really small rooms. Each room had four beds with sheets, blankets and a pillow, as well as private cabinet that locked and a table. I roomed with two girls I knew and the fourth person was an Australian girl who had already been traveling Europe for four months! There was also a room where you could watch TV, play board games, etc and a terrace for eating breakfast. There wasn’t anything going on at the hostel because it was kind of remote, but we did find a place to eat before heading to bed around midnight.
Saturday my friend Ali and I got up at 6:15 so we could catch the 7:20 bus back to Riomaggiore and begin our hike. The rest of the girls decided they would just hang at the beach all day but Ali and I really wanted to hike all five towns because that’s what one does when one is in Cinque Terre! We got to Riomaggiore around 8:00 and the town was still really sleepy. We ate breakfast at the train station, I even had a café with milk, and wandered around the town for a couple of hours looking in shops, checking out all the fresh fruits and vegetables, looking at souvenirs and buying snack food while we waited for our friend Mike to join us. Around 10:30 we started out on the trail.
At first there were tons of people around, tourist groups and old people included and we made it to the second town, Manarola in no time. To get there we had to walk on the “Via dell’amore” (the walk of love)! The ocean was beautiful and the trail clung right to the side of the cliffs, you could look down and see the water slowly crashing against the rocks below. And the water of the Mediterranean was so clear! I have never seen water so clear and blue. You could see the rocks on the sea floor and even fish swimming around. It was so inviting I just wanted to jump in! (But we were saving that for later.)
On our way to the third town the trail got a lot harder and all the tourists disappeared. We also ran into a bigger group of UC students who came up behind us and stuck with them the rest of the day. After a long hike up and up and up (switchbacks galore) we arrived in Corniglia, the smallest of the five towns. We had wanted some gelato there but they didn’t have any so we pressed onto Vernazza. The hike got really difficult at this point; it was really steep uphill for a lot of the way. Half way to the fourth town there was a little bar along the trail so we stopped to rest while some of the group bought water and snacks. There we also separated from Mike who has bad knees, so he could rest for a longer while.
Two hours after we left the third we reached the fourth town. This was a bigger town with lots of hustle and bustle! There we ate a little, I got my gelato, and rested before the last stretch of the hike to Monterosso. (There is also a train that goes from town to town so if you don’t want to walk you don’t have to. We wanted to walk though because the whole time you are walking you are right next to the ocean surrounded by green trees and vineyards!)
The last part of the trek was the worst though! It was really steep and we were all tired at that point. An hour later, we reached the last town, which was the largest and most happening with actual beaches to lie out on! That was about 4:30 in the afternoon. The group stopped right as we got into town and ordered drinks. Most people got Pinocolats. Then they ordered a round of some kind of Italian shot for everyone. I told them I didn’t want one but they insisted I had to take one after walking eight miles! So I gave in and had my first shot. Not much to it, I didn’t really taste anything and it was gone in a few seconds. I think it gave me a headache though.
Anyhow, Ali and I went and checked the train schedules at that point because (unknown to me the day before) we didn’t have a hostel reserved for Saturday night and decided it would be better to return to Siena that night.
Then we hit the beach! Yay! I swam in the Mediterranean Ocean! The water was beautiful, you could see your feet clearly and it wasn’t very cold at all! The rest of the group was staying the night and partying until late. They tried to get us to stay with them, and it was tempting to stay in Cinque Terre another night but we left anyhow. I’m wondering now if it would have been better to stay, although all they were doing was drinking and sleeping so I can’t imagine I missed much. After saying bye to them Ali and I ate dinner and left on the 7:45 train to Siena. We ate at a cute little restaurant with an ocean and view and only paid 7 euros. Food and transportation is definitely cheaper here but communication and clothes are more expensive.
Ali and I made it back to Siena around 11:30 last night. And guess what? When we went to buy train tickets, the place as closed! We didn’t know what to do, but we were able to buy tickets to La Spezia where the lady told us we could get off and use a ticket machine. But if we had done so we would have missed the connecting train! She also said we could pay on the train so we decided to chance it and stay on the train. And guess what? No one ever asked us for a ticket so we basically got a free ride! Not that I ever want to do that again, but it was cool! Earlier in the day we had found money on the ground, which we realized was fake later in the day, so this was the pay off for that.
I kind of wish I had stayed longer but it was beautiful while I was there. I will have to go back someday.
My First Wine Tasting
September 20, 2006
On Wednesday our Food and Wine Class had our first excursion to a winery. It was a pretty good time. The whole thing only took three hours but the bus ride was only 20 minutes into the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Our bus was a Mercedes too! Very stylish, it was a shiny light green color. Anyhow, we rolled into Dievole winery, pilled out of the bus and made our way inside to meet our tour guide. We started with a white wine, called Bianco di Malvasia, with bread and olive oil. Usually I don’t like wine, but I actually liked this one, it was very good actually. Our teacher was with us the whole time, a group of about 40 people, and along with the tour guide explained to us how to taste wine, which is what we were there to do.
First, hold the glass by the bottom of the stem, three fingers under the base, two on top, so as to not change the temperature of the wine in the glass our dirty the glass with finger prints. Next, hold your glass up and look at the wine. It should be clear, with nothing floating in it. Then you swirl the wine around in your glass, stop doing so and hold it up again. You should be able to see drips on the inside of the glass. The more drips and the smaller the more alcoholic the wine is. Then you swirl again, stop, stick your nose (literally) in the glass and take a deep strong whiff. Depending on the wine you should be able to smell other kinds of foods, like nuts and fruits. That’s because the wine triggers the sensors in your brain that associates smells with foods. (Weird huh?) Then you take a sip, swish it around in your mouth to clear your palette, and then finally take a real sip. If your mouth feels dry the wine has more tannins in it, swish it in front of your teeth and you can really feel the dryness. Also, depending on the wine you should eat your food before, after or during the tasting.
Whew.
We then went down in the wine cellars and saw the vineyards while we learned more about the wine making process. We tried five kinds of wine; four were red and also ate salami, cheese and dark chocolate. By the end a lot of people, we included, were pretty tipsy! I didn’t like being tipsy on a school field trip. I even dropped all the change out of my purse, turned it over to stop the change from falling out and dropped all my bills on the ground! So dumb! The wine was good though! Beautiful little vineyard too.
Florence!
Friday the 15th was school and our replacement test. Hopefully I don’t get moved down to level 3, although I think I could benefit from that. Level 4 Italian is hard and there is a lot of stuff we were supposed to have learned in Irvine but never got to. That makes it really difficult. Anyhow, after that I Ali, Niki and I tried to go eat at the Italian student mensa (cafeteria) but for some reason it was closed. So we wandered a bit until we found a cute café and got some sandwiches. That night I went back into town with to meet a big group of girls. They were all dressed up to go out on the town and I had normal clothes on! How lame was I! But oh well, we went to this bar called the Red Barron, apparently a big hang out for Americans and sleazy Italian men. Oh joy. It was ok, kinda dark and cramped. I ordered my first alcoholic drink ever though! (Aren’t you all shocked!) A Pinocolat. It tasted good because I couldn’t even taste the alcohol! And it didn’t affect me at all. Once the dancing started I was ready to leave. The music was some weird Indian techno too so that wasn’t super cool. It was really bad music. Two guys from the program ended up walking me back the entire way to my home stay, which was really nice. It was after 1:30 in the morning so I’m glad they were there!
Then yesterday I got up early again and hopped on the bus to Florence for the day! A big group of us left together and then split up when we got there. The bus ride was really nice, through the Tuscan countryside again, and only an hour long. It dropped us in the center of Florence, at the bus and train terminal.
With just my first glimpses of Florence I knew I loved it! It is a beautiful city! I can’t wait to go back numerous times, I already know I get to go with Mom and Dad so that’s exciting! The streets are wide and flat, not like Siena’s at all, and the buildings are bright and cheerful!
Our first stop was candy stores were where gaped at the marzipan treats shaped like fruits! We didn’t get anything and continued onto the Duomo. It was breathtaking! I couldn’t stop staring at its beautiful exterior. The greens, and whites, the detail, the statues, it was amazing. One of the most beautiful church’s, of the most beautiful structures, I’ve ever seen. Inside was beautiful as well, but a little dark due to the rain blocking the light. We didn’t climb the dome, I’ll save that for later, but it supposed to be amazing at the top, with 3-D paintings even. Apparently the church was built before the technology for a dome was developed, the builders knew someone would figure it out eventually, and they did!
We met up with three of Ali’s friends from old schools and walked with them towards the Uffizi Museum and saw the imitation David. We did a little shopping on the way too. I bought a scarf! The guy said “for you, special price!” And then proceeded to ask me out that night! I declined his offer but did by the scarf for 5 euros. Then it was onto the Ponte Vecchio. As Dad told me, it has always been famous for the jewelry that is sold there (and is still sold there today.) Ali’s friend, who is an Art History major, told me after World War II almost all of the bridges in Florence were blown up by the Italians to keep them from the German’s but they couldn’t bring themselves to blow that one up. And a good thing!
Then Niki, Ali and I wandered around the streets of Florence for the next few hours. It started to rain quite a bit so it got a little hard to walk around, but it was still enjoyable. We didn’t see too many tourist attractions, or any really, but it was still a beautiful city. With lots of shopping, we did look in some stores and I found beautiful shoes I wanted to by at Coin, Italy’s department store like Macy’s.
Around 7:00 we met up with some other UC students at a Mexican restaurant we had seen earlier. Yes, Mexican! A lot of the students were craving Mexican so they had to eat there. The place was actually pretty cute and we were lucky to get a table because they were all reserved. The food was good, spicy and warm, but not exactly what I’d call Mexican! I got a Margarita too (it was half priced during happy hour) that was pretty good.
As the night rolled to a close Ali and I found ourselves saying goodbye to the rest of the group who were staying in hostels and started walking for the 9:15 bus to Siena. The last one. We left the restaurant around 8:35. It was at most a 20 minute walk. We got lost. We got really lost. It was pouring rain. We ended up asking every person we saw on the street “dove la stazione di treno?” (where is the train station?) as we ran by. We gave up on our umbrella. Her cards and money fell out of her pocket onto the ground. They got wet. Our sandals were soaked. Finally we made it to the station with only 10 minutes to spare. We had no idea were the bus picked up so we proceed to run around the station asking people where to go. No one knew. The bus was supposed to leave in 3 minutes and in a desperate attempt we ran a little farther outside the train station hoping to see the blue Siena buses. And guess what? We did! But it was leaving so I waved at the driver and he stopped. He said this wasn’t the bus to Siena but the one pulling up behind him was. Whew! There was a group of people waiting and they all chuckled at the drenched American girls. It was fun though. Like a scene from a movie. It wouldn’t have been funny though if we hadn’t made the bus!
Welcome Dinner and Montepulciano
September 17, 2006
A lot has been going on recently! Since Wednesday night I’ve been on the go quite a bit!
Wednesday was our welcome dinner at a local restaurant. It was fun, the food was good (not as good as my host mom’s) and it was nice to get to know some more people in the program. I’m finding lots of new friends now, people I actually want to hang out with that seem really cool! I also drank some of the wine provided and it was very good. Not really strong so it was nice.
Thursday was the first excursion for Group B. (Since there are so many people in the program we are divided into two different large groups for culture class and excursions, those groups are then divided into three even smaller groups for smaller excursions and Italian studies classes.) After language class we all loaded into a big bus and headed for Montepulciano, a small medieval town in the Tuscan countryside. The bus ride was a bit long, an hour and a half, but Tuscany looked beautiful, even though it was raining the entire trip! It would have been nice to have been able to see everything with the sun shinning but I love the rain (since it barely rains in Lancaster) so I didn’t mind much.
When we got of the bus we were greeted by a large church overlooking most of Tuscany. A few minutes later our Italian tour guide showed up and we shuffled into the church. Apparently, the church is centered around this really old fresco of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. The Catholic Church has declared the fresco the sight of a miracle. As the story goes, two girls saw the painting blink at them multiple times, and later that day while an old farmer was leading his oxen back from the field they stopped and knelt to the image. The church was built around the fresco and became a blessed site of worship. I also learned that anytime a gold crown is painted on or physically stuck onto a painting it means it was the site of a miracle. It was kind of a strange tour because we didn’t get to look at the church before we were back on the bus heading up towards the main town.
There we were quickly ushered through a winery, then another church (it also was built around a fresco that was declared a site of a miracle: One day there were some young boys playing a ball game near the wall with the fresco painted on it. One of the boys who lost the game was so angry that he took a hammer and struck the picture of the Virgin. Instead of cracking the wall, the image became bruised and the boy became paralyzed until the time of his repentance. The fresco still has the image of the bruise on its head, which is now garnished in a bright golden crown. We also learned another story about a nearby church with another miraculous fresca. One night a young man was playing cards and gambled away all his money. In anger he struck the image of the Virgin Mary, blaming her for his lost. Blood splurted out of the image at him and he died on the spot!) and then down the long and curvy streets of the city. In Siena they have the Palio, the horse race between the contradas, every summer. In Montepulciano they have a contest between their eight or so neighborhoods, which consists of two men pushing a large barrel of wine up and down the streets from one end of town to the next! The very end of the tour consisted of viewing a palace were a Pope once lived.
After the hour-long tour, which I’m not really sure what I was supposed to get out of it, we had an hour to ourselves. The town was very beautiful, very small and cute, but it was really hard to look around in the rain so we didn’t see much. I wish I could go back when it’s clear out. Me, Jessica and Sara ended up going into a café and having some dessert and my first café latte! It was surprisingly good. Then it was back to Siena. We were only there for two hours so it was kind of an odd trip but still very beautiful.
Lovin' the Home-Stay
September 15, 2006
As I alluded to an earlier, initially I was having major reservations about the home stay. I thought my family was really nice and accommodating but I didn’t like the fact that I was so far away from the city center. I kept thinking the MiniResidences, which are pretty much exactly like dorms, would have been better. But now that its been a little over a week since I’ve been here I am very glad to have a home stay! The MiniResidences are full of partiers and drinkers who are all very immature. I don’t really like many of the people living in them and think they would drive me insane if I was there. They all stay up late and sleep during the day. I would never been able to sleep early if I were there. Plus, they have to cook for themselves. I love, love, love dinner at my home stay.
My host mom Laura is a super cook! Every night is something different and its all good. I won’t be able to go to Italian restaurants I the US after this because they won’t be ok. Everybody is always asking me what I ate for dinner because it’s such a treat every night. So far my favorite has been the shrimp pasta. Yum. I’ve also had turkey with pesto, cauliflower, mushrooms with seasoning and stuff on top, moist breaded stuff with vegetables, this wonderful carrot salad, cheese and bread with every meal, wine as an option (either wine or water, every night), dessert on some occasions (pastries with frosting, nuts and cream) and my choice of fruit after every meal. I’m gonna get so fat! And they feed me so much! There are around three courses to every meal. Each on a different plate even! And there really is tons of gelato in Italy; I’m working on finding the best place in Siena, as are many people. There are also crepes with nutella and the best German chocolate I’ve ever had! Ah, so much good food! When I get home its gonna be like I’m starving! Hopefully by then I’ll miss Mexican and Asian food so bad it won’t be too hard.
Enough about food though. My host family is just super cheery and accommodating all the time. They are always asking me how I am, if I need anything. I can use the phone when I need to, as well as the computer, as long as I ask. The smoke is a little bothersome, like right now, but with the window open I’m good. Mario is really funny, he always pinches his mom’s nose at dinner! We all eat together every night and that’s when I can try talking to them. I’ve tried watching some TV with them but its super hard to understand! Strange shows though, but they are long with little commercials which is refreshing.
I also have my own keys to get in the house so I can come in whenever I want and they don’t mind. They’ve had lots of students before so they know the routine. Every morning and every night they also kiss me on both cheeks before I go. It was a little strange at first but now is comforting. So at this point I like the home stay a lot. I wonder if they’ll take me anywhere or do anything with me as time goes on… that would be really cool!
Getting into the Routine
September 12, 2005
So, not much has been going on lately. Everyone is kind of settling into a routine. Two days of classes down. Language class is pretty good. Not too hard so for, the first day was actually harder than today. Lots of memorization though! I can understand everything pretty well, grammar and all, but I have a hard time just remembering what all the verbs and adjectives mean! Amy and I were talking and we both feel like Franca did not prepare us very well for this... there are lots of vocabulary words we should know but don't because we were never tested on them. I did my homework for tonight already. Or what I could do of it, I need an Italian English dictionary badly! I wish I'd bought a good one and brought it with me. Hopefully I can find one at a bookstore tomorrow.
I'm still not sure if I want to do the acting class or not. I'm going to the info session on Thursday and will decide then. Sounds like it could be a lot of fun but also a lot of work! I went to the first session of the painting class today. It was... ok, we did sketches. Mine was so bad! Some people are so good too! She didn't really teach today, it was more about expressing ourselves but she says next time she will instruct more. I'm not sure if I want to do it or not though... its 70 E for supplies and such for 10 sessions. Not bad at all, but it was really stressful today.
Also I went on an hour tour of Siena. It was really interesting! Siena has the oldest bank in the world, and it is still in use today! Also we saw parts of a Cathedral that was never built. It was meant to be an extension of the Duomo but wasn't finished after half the population died of the plague! Siena is super old, dating back to the 11th century! Also, the Museum I will be interning in (so cool!) used to be a hospital, one of the oldest in the world. Hospital comes from the word hospitality, and used to be where travelers, pilgrims and orphans were housed, not sick people. I learned a lot more; the tour was well worth it. It was given by an older woman who I think is a Professor at the Siena University.
Also, during painting, it started to rain. And there was lightening. The clouds rolled in, it got a little windy and cold and then rained heavily for a half hour or so. When I walked back at 6:30 it was still sprinkling and cold.
