Halloween
Last night was the Festa di Halloween at the Enoteca Italiana. It’s strange think that Halloween has already come and gone. It doesn’t feel much like Halloween. The weather has been so strange here, cold one day, hot the next, that it’s hard to think of it as November already! Halloween isn’t very widely celebrated in Italy either. Stores didn’t have very many decorations, tons of candy in shiny wrappers wasn’t being sold, and there weren’t hoards of kids trick or treating. Only in the past couple years has Halloween started becoming popular in Italy, probably due to US influence, so it’s a pretty knew thing here. How strange to me, who grew up loving Halloween. The candy, the costumes, the friends, it was all great! But, there were a few stores with decorations up and some masks to buy, but nothing compared to all the decorations and costumes you can find at Target. I did see a few kids out with their parents in town last night, but their costumes were pretty plain, black capes and pirate hats.
The study center was able to organize a Halloween party for us UC students at the Enoteca Italiana last night. Originally we had to pay to get in, but then the Enoteca decided to open up the party to Italians as well, and we all got our money back. It didn’t start until 10pm and lasted well into the night. I walked there with this guy Alex who lives farther down the street from me. We were supposed to meet at 10, but he got his times mixed up at arrived at 9. Not having my number to call and ask why I wasn’t outside, he actually rang our door, talked to Mario, and came all up. I was listening to headphones in my room and missed all of this. The next thing I know Mario’s knocking on my door and there’s Alex standing next to him. I’ve never had anyone over, I didn’t even know if I was allowed to, and now here’s Alex who’s gotten himself invited in! I was really surprised but it was cool. Mario was really nice to him and didn’t mind at all if he was there. I wasn’t dressed at all so I told Alex to make himself comfortable and went and changed. I had a really hard time coming up with a costume since I didn’t want to spend much money and I didn’t have much too work with. I decided to go with the classical witch and more a black shirt, black shirt, black stockings and black boots. I went for a very classic look and topped it all off with a black jacket and black witch hat. I think I looked very witchy. Alex was Ron Burgundy/Will Ferrell from Anchor Man. He does look a lot like him so it was pretty funny.
We walked over to the Enoteca, thought no one was there yet so we sat in the Fortress for a while. It was a beautiful night so that was really nice. Then we saw Brooke, one of the Study Center coordinators, and her boyfriend and decided to go inside with them. Only to discover there were tons of people already there, in the back of the building, many of which had been drinking a lot before hand and were now working on finishing off the free wine and snacks. It was an interesting experience, the party, lots of people were very drunk and I saw a different side of many people. It will be a little strange seeing them tomorrow. People had really cute costumes though, for only coming up with them that day. There was a group of girls dressed as gondoliers from Venice, some cats, pirates, a Ninja Turtle, Mafia Gangsters and of course witches. Then the dancing started. Usually I don’t like to dance but I kind of forced myself to try and it ended up being kind of fun. Italian guys are very sleazy though and so the whole time we were just trying to get away from them. It was a very American party though, with very American music even. The Italians don’t seem to like to dance as much either, they just kind of stand around and watch which is a little strange. It was cool though. Nice getting out and doing something. I didn’t feel left out either, because everyone was there, even all us home stayers. The only bad thing was that someone took my hat! I took it off to dance because I was hitting people with and when I went to get it later, it was gone!
Basketball in Siena?!
So I’m just back from seeing an Italian basketball game. It was Siena vs. Berlin. It was a really fun and interesting experience. It’s always fun to go to any event, especially a sporting event, in Siena because everyone is always so enthusiastic and totally behind their team. It was no different tonight.
The stadium was packed with people, and the Siena section was totally filled with people weaving green and white banners, their was a drum that a guy beat throughout the entire game, lots of yelling, scarves waving and songs being sung.
The indoor stadium was actually pretty near my home stay so I walked there and back. It was nice being around so many Italian’s who were there just to support their team. I really like the feeling of being part of the community and participating in something special to Siena. The stadium was pretty big, and as I said, pretty full, as was the snack bar and parking lot. We walked in right when the teams were being announced and found some seats near the top, but still in perfect view of the court. The Siena team is green and white, with a duck as their mascot. I was surprised to see so many black guys on the team, just like in the US. My friend Alex was saying a lot of players from the US who just can’t make the NBA come play in foreign countries like this.
Basketball was actually surprisingly very different in Italy than in the US! First off the, key was in the shame of a triangle, with a wide bottom and smaller top, and the three point line wasn’t as far away. As far as actual rules when, goal tending was allowed, and there were lots of times when balls were slammed or knocked away from the baskets. The teams seemed a lot slower, less aggressive, and I guess just overall less polished than American teams. The players didn’t seem to be quite as cocky-aggressive as they are here. And everyone was a lot smaller. No big Shaq here. Both teams made a lot do dumb moves too, lots of missed shot opportunities and just poor shooting overall. And although they were less aggressive, there were a lot of turnovers and people falling on the floor. Also, the center took the ball out a few times and even dribbled under the basket! I’m not saying these guys weren’t good, because they were, but just not as super good as I’m used to, or maybe not even that, they just played a slightly different game. Siena won though! That was really cool! Nice to see everyone so happy and singing pride fully the song of Siena.
The cheerleaders were also a lot different here. They were more like dancers than cheerleaders even. And they were so petite! Most Italians are already so, but they were especially so. And they weren’t provocative at all. Instead, they looked more like little girls and their outfits seemed very 80’s inspired. They looked like real people, they danced well, with lots of amazing splits and turns and jumps and flips, but they all had different hairstyles and colors, and they weren’t plastic looking like the cheerleaders at home. Like I said, their dancers weren’t sexual at all, they were cute and a little strange. One included a ballet dancers, a… something dancer on a table, and a hip-hop dancer. But that was the only hip-hop in the whole performance as that type of music and dance is not nearly as popular here as it is at home. The rest was just lots of jumping and such. Oh, but it was great, two girls actually fit themselves through the hoops in one stunt, I was truly amazed! I don’t think I would fit through a basketball hoop but now I’m tempted to try… And they were wearing leg warmers for most of the stunts!
It was a really fun experience though and I’m really glad to have been able to go. The study center got us tickets for only 1 euro too so that was great!
Bologna Trip
Bologna, the city that created “bologna,” is where I traveled last weekend. The Bologna trip was an excursion run by the study center so everything was planned before hand. They bused us there, showed us around and fed us. Half of the students in the Siena program where on this trip, while the other half had made the journey two weeks before. We had to get up early Friday morning to make the bus at 7:30 from in front of the blue office. That meant a nice walk for me in the semi-dark morning streets of Siena. It was really strange being out that early, the streets were empty, and there were neither people nor cars about. And it was really cloudy which only added to the gloom.
The bus ride to Bologna was three hours, including one stop at an Autogrill for a snack break. I splurged and finally bought the iced tea and nutella snack pack I had been eyeing since Venice. But I saved it for later because my host mom had already packed me a lunch for the trip. The countryside up to Bologna was beautiful; it changed a bit from Tuscany, becoming flatter the higher north we went.
Bologna is a big city, and that was apparent as soon as we arrived. There were lots of brown and orange buildings and lots of graffiti. I liked it already. Siena is great, but it’s nice to get into a big city once and awhile. I like the cities being flat and open, there were even trees visible and medians down the middle of the street! Bologna is not a normal tourist town, but a city full of students so I was excited to see what it had to offer!
After we left the bus we had to walk 10 minutes to our hotel. The street we had to walk down to get there happened to be the number one shopping street in the city and was full of tantalizing shopping destinations. We vowed to return later that day. Our hotel was just off the street down a little side street, it was called the Holiday Hotel. It was pretty nice; I shared a room with Ali and Jessica that had three little beds. It was actually just nice being in a hostel instead of a hotel for a change. The bathroom and the more elaborate decorations are the biggest difference between the two.
After settling in we made our way to a local restaurant where we were provided with a HUGE lunch. (One of many huge meals to come…) We had appetizers, a first plate and second plate, dessert AND café! I was stuffed afterward. It was good that right after we had the two-hour walking tour of Bologna. It was a really interesting tour done by a local woman. She was nice but a little strange. She had studied at UCLA for tour years a long time ago and said the American university system was based more on knowing facts and dates than analyzing and understanding. Frankly she sounded a little snobbish, like European schools were so much better than that. I kind of wanted to tell her my major was all about analysis and I think the guy I was with wanted to tell her something similar as well. I think we were both a little offended. Other than that she was nice though. On the tour we saw two of the seven remaining towers of Bologna, which were built by rich families as protection, out of the 40 there once were. We also visited the University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world! That is why Bologna is such a student hub, people come from all over the world to study there, and have been for centuries. The building we visited was beautiful, covered in family crests and frescos. We got to sit in the room that was once used for anatomy lectures. It was full of statues of famous doctors all carved out of oak.
We then headed towards the City Hall and Duomo. Underneath the City Hall they had recently done some excavations and found remains of ancient Roman structures! So now when you walk into the building the floor is all of clear glass and you can look down on the Roman structures. Excavation is still going on to see what else they can find. The Duomo also has an interesting story. It is only half done. The Duomo was commissioned by the people of Bologna and was to the one of the largest, if not the largest, Church’s in Italy. But, Bologna was taken over by the Vatican and Pope for some time and the building was stopped. The Pope didn’t like a certain someone in Bolognese history and therefore wanted everything done his way. He had a building built right next to the Duomo that not only took away the space that was to be dedicated to the Duomo, but also took away the time and money needed for construction. Now the outside façade is not finished. The bottom fourth is complete, with marble finishing and statues (marble that had to be imported because it is not found in Bologna, rather there is lots of red stone around, typical of the area, which is why red became the color of Bologna) but the top three fourths are all made of uneven, uncovered brick. It’s quite a sight and something you don’t see very often on Church’s! Even the inside is unfinished. So instead of being the gaudy, beautiful Church that is overflowing with colors and things to look at, the inside is pretty plain.
Our guide left us at the Statue of Neptune and then we were free for a few hours before dinner. So we went shopping! Bologna had wonderful shopping, with tons of stores to choose from. H & M was the collective favorite. It was cheap and very cute. I ended up buying a really nice long black jacket with big buttons on the front. I’m very glad to have found it. After our marathon shopping it was time for the group dinner. It was at this really cute jazz restaurant where they actually had live jazz music playing! After dinner we wandered about Bologna until heading in for bed.
The next morning it was off to the Parmesan Factory! The bus ride there was beautiful and it drizzled the whole way. I really like it when its all rainy and green out, it reminds me of driving in the hills during Christmas time at home. The factory was really interesting. We all had to put on these cheesecloth like white coats to begin with and then were led into the room where the milk was being processed in large vats. Then we got to see and feel some cheese. And then, oh and then, we got to see the storage facility for the aging cheese… it was amazing! I’ve never seen so many wheels of cheese in my life! There were literally thousands; all being aged a certain amount of years. Each wheel cost around 500 euros or over $1000 in the US! Each wheel is also marked with official Parmesan cheese markings, to signify it has been tested and deemed a grade a brand cheese. We got to see how the cheese is tested too, they use a hammer to pound the outside of the wheel and see if there are any air holes inside. If there are, that’s bad. They sell the bad stuff to factories like Kraft and stuff! I have to say, seeing that much cheese was pretty amazing…
Then we got to go to a Vinegar Factory. It was this little country looking home where they raise grapes and brew vinegar in barrels. Our guide there was this cute little old Italian man, who liked to do all these sounds effects while he poured the different kinds of vinegar for us to taste. He was really nice! He’s also part of a noble family that can be traced back to the day when the titles of noble Italian families were given out. Tasting vinegar might not sound like much fun, but it was, because it was sweet and wonderful vinegar. There were varying degrees of sweetness, depending on how long it had been aged (the longer the sweater and more expensive,) there was white vinegar, vinegar liquor and vinegar chocolate! We didn’t get to try the chocolate though. Then it was off to another big lunch, then back to Bologna for some more shopping and then a dinner of our choosing. A small group of us ended up at this restaurant that was recommended in a guidebook that turned out to actually be really good. The owners were really nice and our waiter was named Fabio, he was really cute actually. Then we did some more wandering around Bologna, we just had fun goofing around and taking pictures in the main square. There were so many people around it was really nice. The whole city seemed to be lit up even thought it was past 11:00. We didn’t stay out too late though because we had another busy day ahead of us.
Sunday we left Bologna and the hotel behind to visit the Ferrari museum! I’m not much into cars, but I have to say, the Ferrari’s were beautiful. They were all shiny and red. We had a tour of the whole museum; I’m not sure what I learned besides: Ferrari’s go fast and have won a lot of championships. But it was still a fun place. Then it was back to Siena. Whew. It was a long weekend but since we got back earlier than expected in the afternoon, and the rain finally stopped, I went for a quick run. It was actually pretty nice and relaxing. All and all, a good weekend.
