Another week flew by while each day crawled. It is really astounding how that works like that. Nothing special this week except that I found out that the hours of one of classes changed about two weeks ago and I haven’t been able to find it for this reason. Now it starts at 9 and ends at 11. I’ve been going at 11.
This weekend, as is normally the case, was where the excitement could be found. As I hinted at in my last post, Annie, Danielle, Angela and I decided to go have an art and food appreciation weekend in Florence. It was a good choice.
We left Friday morning, at noon for Pesaro. We thought we’d missed the Rapid bus but it was just full and another one came soon afterwards. We got to Pesaro, took the train to Faenza, which I am convinced was named as such to confuse people into taking vacations there, thinking they were going to Florence. “Oh Betty, let me tell you! I booked my vacation this weekend. I am going to Florence! But they call it something different over there I think.” (To be read in Carolina accent). From Faenza, there is a train to Firenze. We had arrived in Florence by 4:00. We got to our hostel soon thereafter. The hostel called PLUS (People Like US) was pretty much a teenager’s resort colony. There was a pool and a bar and a restaurant. It was very lovely. Everything was done with loadable prepaid cards so you could charge your food with your room key. It was really quite a contrast from the Hostel in Venice, where, when we walked in, the only person there, in what looked to be his apartment, greeted me by saying, “David?” and my key was a skeleton key and behind my bed was a shelf that was clearly a door into the next room with a key hole where I could see into the adjacent room.
We had decided to make this trip about art and food so first thing; we had to find dinner. There was a Mexican restaurant suggested by the Hostel. Danielle has not been home in six months and hasn’t had Mexican food in this much time. Angela and I have been here just over a month and I’m already missing it. Annie is Irish so I don’t think Mexican is so commonplace but she was certainly keen on the idea. How better to feed ourselves than with a bit of nostalgia? We headed in the direction of the restaurant and at one point stumbled upon the Basilica. It was jaw dropping in the night; absolutely huge and incredibly ornate. The restaurant was wonderful, surprisingly enough. I haven’t had food that is so spicy it made my sweat since I’ve been here. That night was fun. We went back to the room, which was on the 1st (2nd) floor, called PLUS Girls! and painted in bubble gum pink.
The next morning we were all slow to rise. We made our way to the restaurant inside the hostel to have an all you can eat buffet English breakfast. Decent. We all felt that paying €5 meant that we were obligated to stuff ourselves. Greasy bacon and eggs sat like a rock for several hours to come. We made our way to the Uffizi Gallery afterwards. The line was incredibly long. We waited, without moving, for about two hours. The wait was worth it. The Uffizi houses some of the most famous paintings on Earth. It was nice to have Annie, who has studied art history, there to explain why each painting was important. From 1400 to 1600, people got so much better at art. It’s really incredible. It was also nice, in terms of comparing styles that it seems that every artist throughout history has done a painting of the baby Jesus being held by Mary. In the beginning, everything was flat and the baby looked like a little man. Later on, people decided to look at what they were drawing and they added dimensions like a big head and perspective. I understand why famous art is famous now. “The Birth of Venus,” for example, is incredible. I think the €6,50 entrance fee for the Uffizi was well worth it.
After the Uffizi, we made a brief stop at H&M (“Hache and Em” to Annie) for the girls. I am a great fake boyfriend. We spent a bit too much time there though and missed the hours of the Basilica. We put it on the list for the next day and made our way back to the hostel. However, on the way there we noticed that, because of the rain (oh yeah, it was raining now), the line at the Academia gallery was pretty short. We were going to do it the next day, but we had time. After about 15 minute and another €6,50 and we were in. After walking in, we turned the corner. Suddenly, all the other art in the gallery was obsolete. Michelangelo’s “David” loomed 16 feet tall in front of us. I cannot describe how incredible it is. You can’t even look at pictures of it. It is perfect. We sat and stared at it for probably 20 minutes if not more. Just “The David” alone was worth the price of admission.
After we all were able to take pull eyes away, we went back to the room and everyone feel asleep for a bit. After I rallied the troops, we decided to try another recommended restaurant. It was already 8:00 so we’d be eating late. After a challenging search (props to Danielle for being the navigator all weekend), we arrived in a small rustic restaurant. After a short wait, we were seated in the basement. I liked the place immediately. There was a TV in each dinning room with a camera of the kitchen. We drank the house wine, which was wonderful and I finally ordered a primo and secondo instead of being cheap and just getting a pasta dish. I had cannelloni filled with funghi and mascarpone as a primo and then a grilled veal steak for secondo. It was well worth the money. We split the dessert tasting menu. We left full and happy and we wrote an improvised song called “Puffy Shiny Jacket” on the way home, mocking the popular Italian fashion of dressing like the Michelin man. Having started dinner at around 10:00, combined with the time change, which happened at midnight on Sunday, we didn’t get to bed until about 3:00 in the morning.
The next morning we awoke to a torrential downpour. We gathered our things and checked out and left our bags in the baggage room. Our first mission was to get an American breakfast at an American style dinner near the restaurant from the night before. This time it was easier to find, but much wetter on account of the rain. I had a breakfast sandwich of fried eggs, cheddar cheese and bacon with a big cup of drip coffee. I think I still don’t miss drip coffee, but it was nice for a change. After another heavy breakfast, we went to the Synagogue. It was really an impressive place, intricately painted from floor to ceiling with designs and stars of David. It was nice to see some religious diversity since everything is pretty Catholic here. After the synagogue, which was my first experience wearing a Yarmulke, we headed for the Basilica. We were at the front of the line when it opened. It is possible to go up on top of the Duomo, but we thought it was a bit too rainy to be worth the €6,50. The building is far more impressive from the outside than from within. The inside of the Duomo is painted beautifully but it’s difficult to see. After the Duomo, which we heard referred to as the “Dummo” by a map-holding American, we made another stop by “Hache” & M. I looked at the men’s section for about 20 seconds, but it made me uncomfortable so I went to the leather good’s market to look for a bag. They are all very, very expensive so I just perused all of the great smelling leather things. I tried on a jacket that was made by God especially for me, but at €180 and with spring weather approaching, I thought it wouldn’t make sense. It was so nice though. Oh well.
After H&M, I broke my umbrella by trying to look cool and swing it open, so I bought another, better one and we headed for the hostel to get our bags and to the train station. To make the end of the story more concise, we got home by 8:45 give or take a few minutes.
Florence was incredible. Once again, we heard more American English than Italian, but Florence retains its soul, which I feel, Venice has lost to consumerism. I feel like I did a lot but I know there is always more. I want to go back but if I can’t, I won’t feel bad because I got to eat and see art and that’s what I’d want to do anyway. I would say it was my favorite city in Italy so far.
In the coming weeks, look for my story about going to Rome and Ischia with my parents and about going to Greece with Danielle and Angela. I just got an email from Jan today and he wants to meet up too and I will most likely go to Norway and see Lizita. Many more voyages to come.
More as stories develop!
All the best,
David
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
St. Patty's Day, Danielle's B-Day, Black-and-White, San Marino, Éva's departure
What a week. I went to three classes this past week. Not three separate classes for all of their scheduled lessons, but three individual class times. This is not unusual. I tried to go to my Latin American History and Institutions class, but it didn’t happen. I was able to go to both of my Italian language courses and my Intercultural Management Competence class. But I didn’t come here to go to class all day after-all. The best parts of my weeks here are between, and after classes and through the weekend when I spend time with the ERASMUS family.
This past week was one of constant activity and fun. I will begin on Thursday, because Thursday here, as I have said before, is like Friday and Saturday combined at home. Well actually, let me start on Tuesday; St. Patrick’s Day. Italians don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but the Irish and the Americans do. Not only was the 17th a day of Guinness because St. Patrick freed Ireland of their snakes all those years ago, but also because Danielle’s 21st birthday happened to fall on this day. To make a long story short, we went to 700-block and many beers and silly fotos of me wearing a green shirt and squinting in various funny ways later (see facebook), I made the trek back to bed in my room. The next morning, I begrudgingly woke up to go to my Latin American class. I had yet to go because we had a picnic with Danielle for her birthday, complete with pizza and soda and a beautiful view of Urbino. Antonio informed me that his girlfriend would be coming to Urbino that night and if possible, it would be best for him if I could spend the night with a friend or with his friend, with whom he had already arranged my lodging. I told him that would be fine and that I totally understood the need for my “sexile” but that ERASMUS was a family and that one of my brothers would surely take me in. I went into town to my class. I was on time. No one else was. I waited for 30 minutes and when no one showed, I assumed that class was canceled. I still hold this assumption. I walked back to the Collegi with Ola (Poland). An uneventful rest of the day was spent fighting my headache given to me by the Guinness the night before and wasting time on the internet. I feel asleep on the floor in Romain’s room after several episodes of “How I Met Your Mother.” It's funny to watch funny shows with someone who is reading the subtitles because Romain, for example, would laugh a split second before each joke was delivered.
The next day was Thursday. I went to my Latin America class and no one was there again. I went downstairs to ask about it and ran into my professor, the President of the Giurisprudenza School. He gave me a big fat book on Mexican and Central American Constitutionalism that he wrote and I left. I had a short Italian language course later that day and then I was to prepare for Danielle’s birthday party. The theme was black-and-white. I didn’t bring any black pants so I thought I’d just wear my jeans and a white sweater, but my better judgment took hold and I decided to see what Urbino had to offer someone looking for an all black-and-white outfit. €18 later and now I am the proud owner of extremely tight, incredibly bright, white jeans, complete with unnecessary zippers (See facebook photos). That night was a great time. I walked back to the Collegi and slept on the floor in Romain’s room. We had said earlier, that tomorrow, we would go to San Marino for the day. It did not seem likely taking into account the drinking that had taken place that night.
We awoke to the sound of Kevin pounding on the door. “Come on! Let’s go!” Romain and I were not too enthused about the idea of waking up at this ungodly hour (8:30am). Kevin is convincing though, and so off we went. We woke up Taylor and we had assembled our bargain search party. I say bargain search party because there is no sales tax in the Republic of San Marino and everything is advertised as “20% Sconto!!” We dragged ourselves to the bus stop, hopped on the bus for Pesaro and we were off, still feeling weak from the night before, especially Kevin, who had stayed up until 6 am the night before. We got to Pesaro, bought our tickets and in about 10 minutes, we were on a train headed for Rimini. Half an hour later, we jumped on a bus from Rimini to San Marino and after about three hours had elapsed we had traversed, in a very roundabout way 56 km from Urbino. San Marino central is spectacularly beautiful. The city was built around 300 AD and has remained separate from Italy for all of the time. It is atop a plateau from which you can see the mountains far to the east and the sea at Rimini to the west. Every store in San Marino sells crossbows, airsoft guns and liquor. It is like Venice is that way. There doesn’t seem to be too terribly much of a soul remaining in San Marino but at least the tax-free shopping serves as an explanation for the consumerism. We shopped around and looked at pretty things. I bought Absinthe and a pipe. Romain and Kevin bought knives and throwing stars (apparently ninjas originate from Italy. Who knew?). We decided to head down the hill by bus to the real shopping district, or more specifically, a large mall with a well-known musical instrument shop. Kevin bought a very nice guitar with a bag for only €150. Not too shabby. We headed back the same roundabout way and were back by 10:00, give or take a few minutes. I had tea with the Brits and Irish and headed back to my room.
Saturday was going to be an interesting day. Síne (pronounced She-nah for us ‘Murkens) had organized a murder mystery dinner to celebrate Éva’s last day in Urbino. I was to play a controversial political theorist named Martin X. We were all going to bring something to eat and have a big potluck. The trouble was that, being Éva’s last day, playing a game that was somewhat exclusive was not really fair since she wanted to spend time with everyone and not just 10 people. It was decided that we would just have a great time and a potluck in the 700-block. I felt like such an old woman. I made breadcrumbs by hand by crushing up toasts and chopped up parsley I had bought from the market that morning. I rolled pieces of chicken in flour, salt and pepper and then egged them and tossed them in my breadcrumb, parsley and assorted grated hard cheeses and then fried them. Then I sliced cherry tomatoes (which tasted like tomatoes!!) in two with oil and salt and some chopped up fresh basil. How could you go wrong? Others made little tomato dipping bowls filled with deliciousness and couscous and other wonderful things. We all drank a bit and danced and sung until late at night. It was really a wonderful night. After tea, I headed up to bed and tiptoed as not to wake Antonio.
The next morning I woke up bright and early to start cooking again. It had been decided weeks ago that we would make an American breakfast. As word of this idea spread, so did the guest list. Allison and Leanne met me in the 700-block again and we started mixing pancake mix, homemade berry syrup, eggs and cooked ham. The scent of delicious, and verging on the unnecessary amounts of butter mixed with fruits and sugar and everything sweet attracted a crowd. Everyone was happy, most importantly Éva who had to leave in just a few hours. After everyone had finished eating, it was time to take the sad walk to the bus stop to say goodbye.
Éva is such an awesome person. She is nice to everyone, but not in an annoying way. She just loves and radiates love. She really did make my first month here just that much more fantastic. We were quite a large group walking to the bus stop. She would say her goodbyes in stages. The first stage was the night before after her party, then that morning after our breakfast. Allison, Leanne and I were next at the bus stop here in Urbino. Others would follow to Pesaro, and Gudy and Katy would go all the way to Bologna to say goodbye. With people like Éva, saying goodbye is not easy but I know that I will see her again sometime. After a difficult goodbye, the Villa girls and I went for a caffé and a walk. The rest of the day was very tranquil, because it was a Sunday. I had tea twice. I think this hanging out with Irish and British people is rubbing off on me. It’s almost like at home, having teatime.
Today is Monday. I woke up at 9:30, thinking I had a class at 11:00 but soon realized that I was taking the class I thought I had non-frequentare (a legitimate form of skipping class everyday) and I went back to sleep for a bit longer. I got up and went to use the Internet and have lunch at Tridente. Afterwards, I went to the 800-block to walk into town with Katy, Síne, Emma, and Annie. Italian class was slow and long and I hadn’t had coffee yet. After class, Samantha bought me a coffee in exchange for going to the Pharmacy with her to get something for her sore throat and to buy a SIM card. Afterwards, I took a video of Síne unsuccessfully riding a razor scooter down Via Mazzini and then went back to Tridente for Internet.
Here I sit. Right now, the Internet isn’t working. This is not a rarity. I will post this update as soon as I get service. Tonight I may go out to dinner with some French and then there is talk of going to El Piquero because there is no DJ on Mondays and we can play our own music. I don’t really want to though. We will see what this week holds in store for me. More fun is sure to come. This weekend I may go to Florence with Annie and Danielle. I will let you know.
A dopo,
David
This past week was one of constant activity and fun. I will begin on Thursday, because Thursday here, as I have said before, is like Friday and Saturday combined at home. Well actually, let me start on Tuesday; St. Patrick’s Day. Italians don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but the Irish and the Americans do. Not only was the 17th a day of Guinness because St. Patrick freed Ireland of their snakes all those years ago, but also because Danielle’s 21st birthday happened to fall on this day. To make a long story short, we went to 700-block and many beers and silly fotos of me wearing a green shirt and squinting in various funny ways later (see facebook), I made the trek back to bed in my room. The next morning, I begrudgingly woke up to go to my Latin American class. I had yet to go because we had a picnic with Danielle for her birthday, complete with pizza and soda and a beautiful view of Urbino. Antonio informed me that his girlfriend would be coming to Urbino that night and if possible, it would be best for him if I could spend the night with a friend or with his friend, with whom he had already arranged my lodging. I told him that would be fine and that I totally understood the need for my “sexile” but that ERASMUS was a family and that one of my brothers would surely take me in. I went into town to my class. I was on time. No one else was. I waited for 30 minutes and when no one showed, I assumed that class was canceled. I still hold this assumption. I walked back to the Collegi with Ola (Poland). An uneventful rest of the day was spent fighting my headache given to me by the Guinness the night before and wasting time on the internet. I feel asleep on the floor in Romain’s room after several episodes of “How I Met Your Mother.” It's funny to watch funny shows with someone who is reading the subtitles because Romain, for example, would laugh a split second before each joke was delivered.
The next day was Thursday. I went to my Latin America class and no one was there again. I went downstairs to ask about it and ran into my professor, the President of the Giurisprudenza School. He gave me a big fat book on Mexican and Central American Constitutionalism that he wrote and I left. I had a short Italian language course later that day and then I was to prepare for Danielle’s birthday party. The theme was black-and-white. I didn’t bring any black pants so I thought I’d just wear my jeans and a white sweater, but my better judgment took hold and I decided to see what Urbino had to offer someone looking for an all black-and-white outfit. €18 later and now I am the proud owner of extremely tight, incredibly bright, white jeans, complete with unnecessary zippers (See facebook photos). That night was a great time. I walked back to the Collegi and slept on the floor in Romain’s room. We had said earlier, that tomorrow, we would go to San Marino for the day. It did not seem likely taking into account the drinking that had taken place that night.
We awoke to the sound of Kevin pounding on the door. “Come on! Let’s go!” Romain and I were not too enthused about the idea of waking up at this ungodly hour (8:30am). Kevin is convincing though, and so off we went. We woke up Taylor and we had assembled our bargain search party. I say bargain search party because there is no sales tax in the Republic of San Marino and everything is advertised as “20% Sconto!!” We dragged ourselves to the bus stop, hopped on the bus for Pesaro and we were off, still feeling weak from the night before, especially Kevin, who had stayed up until 6 am the night before. We got to Pesaro, bought our tickets and in about 10 minutes, we were on a train headed for Rimini. Half an hour later, we jumped on a bus from Rimini to San Marino and after about three hours had elapsed we had traversed, in a very roundabout way 56 km from Urbino. San Marino central is spectacularly beautiful. The city was built around 300 AD and has remained separate from Italy for all of the time. It is atop a plateau from which you can see the mountains far to the east and the sea at Rimini to the west. Every store in San Marino sells crossbows, airsoft guns and liquor. It is like Venice is that way. There doesn’t seem to be too terribly much of a soul remaining in San Marino but at least the tax-free shopping serves as an explanation for the consumerism. We shopped around and looked at pretty things. I bought Absinthe and a pipe. Romain and Kevin bought knives and throwing stars (apparently ninjas originate from Italy. Who knew?). We decided to head down the hill by bus to the real shopping district, or more specifically, a large mall with a well-known musical instrument shop. Kevin bought a very nice guitar with a bag for only €150. Not too shabby. We headed back the same roundabout way and were back by 10:00, give or take a few minutes. I had tea with the Brits and Irish and headed back to my room.
Saturday was going to be an interesting day. Síne (pronounced She-nah for us ‘Murkens) had organized a murder mystery dinner to celebrate Éva’s last day in Urbino. I was to play a controversial political theorist named Martin X. We were all going to bring something to eat and have a big potluck. The trouble was that, being Éva’s last day, playing a game that was somewhat exclusive was not really fair since she wanted to spend time with everyone and not just 10 people. It was decided that we would just have a great time and a potluck in the 700-block. I felt like such an old woman. I made breadcrumbs by hand by crushing up toasts and chopped up parsley I had bought from the market that morning. I rolled pieces of chicken in flour, salt and pepper and then egged them and tossed them in my breadcrumb, parsley and assorted grated hard cheeses and then fried them. Then I sliced cherry tomatoes (which tasted like tomatoes!!) in two with oil and salt and some chopped up fresh basil. How could you go wrong? Others made little tomato dipping bowls filled with deliciousness and couscous and other wonderful things. We all drank a bit and danced and sung until late at night. It was really a wonderful night. After tea, I headed up to bed and tiptoed as not to wake Antonio.
The next morning I woke up bright and early to start cooking again. It had been decided weeks ago that we would make an American breakfast. As word of this idea spread, so did the guest list. Allison and Leanne met me in the 700-block again and we started mixing pancake mix, homemade berry syrup, eggs and cooked ham. The scent of delicious, and verging on the unnecessary amounts of butter mixed with fruits and sugar and everything sweet attracted a crowd. Everyone was happy, most importantly Éva who had to leave in just a few hours. After everyone had finished eating, it was time to take the sad walk to the bus stop to say goodbye.
Éva is such an awesome person. She is nice to everyone, but not in an annoying way. She just loves and radiates love. She really did make my first month here just that much more fantastic. We were quite a large group walking to the bus stop. She would say her goodbyes in stages. The first stage was the night before after her party, then that morning after our breakfast. Allison, Leanne and I were next at the bus stop here in Urbino. Others would follow to Pesaro, and Gudy and Katy would go all the way to Bologna to say goodbye. With people like Éva, saying goodbye is not easy but I know that I will see her again sometime. After a difficult goodbye, the Villa girls and I went for a caffé and a walk. The rest of the day was very tranquil, because it was a Sunday. I had tea twice. I think this hanging out with Irish and British people is rubbing off on me. It’s almost like at home, having teatime.
Today is Monday. I woke up at 9:30, thinking I had a class at 11:00 but soon realized that I was taking the class I thought I had non-frequentare (a legitimate form of skipping class everyday) and I went back to sleep for a bit longer. I got up and went to use the Internet and have lunch at Tridente. Afterwards, I went to the 800-block to walk into town with Katy, Síne, Emma, and Annie. Italian class was slow and long and I hadn’t had coffee yet. After class, Samantha bought me a coffee in exchange for going to the Pharmacy with her to get something for her sore throat and to buy a SIM card. Afterwards, I took a video of Síne unsuccessfully riding a razor scooter down Via Mazzini and then went back to Tridente for Internet.
Here I sit. Right now, the Internet isn’t working. This is not a rarity. I will post this update as soon as I get service. Tonight I may go out to dinner with some French and then there is talk of going to El Piquero because there is no DJ on Mondays and we can play our own music. I don’t really want to though. We will see what this week holds in store for me. More fun is sure to come. This weekend I may go to Florence with Annie and Danielle. I will let you know.
A dopo,
David
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Day The Week Stood Still
Today is “Domenica,” which roughly translates to “Sunday” in English or more literally “The Day Of Nothing To Do Because Everything Is Closed.” This has been a good weekend, starting on Thursday afternoon and not ending until tomorrow. This upcoming week should be a busy one however, because the deadline for registering for your courses is the 13th of March. The interesting thing about being here though, is that, where I would be nervous and preoccupied by having to make these choices and go through these procedures, with which I am completely unfamiliar, to get my classes selected if I were at home, I can’t be but too nervous here. It’s the strangest thing. I will think about the work I have to do and how it has already begun to pile up, but then, without trying, I let go of my stress. It’s wonderful. I know plenty of people back home who should study here. They need it more than I do.
The weekend starts on Thursday here, as I mentioned. After classes and dinner, at about 10pm, the bars and clubs get jammed packed with people. We dance and drink the night away until about 2:30am. It’s something I don’t get at home because I hate dance clubs and I don’t live on a college campus. Friday was very relaxing. I hung went into town for a coffee (which, for you Starbucksians, means espresso here) with Kevin and then hung around with Scott and Kevin and listened to music for a bit. Then I had dinner and wasted away the night with all of the other Erasmus kids. Saturday was also very relaxing. I watched “Religulous,” Bill Maher’s movie about religions. I found it pretty funny but mostly self-centered and arrogant on the part of Bill Maher. I had lunch with Kevin and Allison and then went for a nice long walk around town with Allison. We stood on the wall on the northwest side and talked about everything from Mr. Rogers to what we want to do when we grow up. We got a coffee and headed back to the Collegi. After dinner, I went with Allison to Kata’s room and met up with Viktoria (Austria), Maria (Germany) and Kata (Hungary) so we could try some of Kata’s Hungarian alcohol called Unicom. It was nice. We chatted for a while and I tried to remember some German so I could understand what Viktoria and Maria were talking about. I could get things like “I don’t know…” or “I have…to do/make.” I am getting pretty good with German helping verbs. I retired to my room by about midnight and hit the hay.
Domenica. Today I will start like any other weekend day. I will go to Tridente because that’s where everyone lives and gets Internet reception. I will probably have lunch at the dinning hall, Mensa and then hopefully go out for a coffee with whomever would like to. Tomorrow is a big day though so maybe some reading is in order.
Until I write again…
Yours,
David
The weekend starts on Thursday here, as I mentioned. After classes and dinner, at about 10pm, the bars and clubs get jammed packed with people. We dance and drink the night away until about 2:30am. It’s something I don’t get at home because I hate dance clubs and I don’t live on a college campus. Friday was very relaxing. I hung went into town for a coffee (which, for you Starbucksians, means espresso here) with Kevin and then hung around with Scott and Kevin and listened to music for a bit. Then I had dinner and wasted away the night with all of the other Erasmus kids. Saturday was also very relaxing. I watched “Religulous,” Bill Maher’s movie about religions. I found it pretty funny but mostly self-centered and arrogant on the part of Bill Maher. I had lunch with Kevin and Allison and then went for a nice long walk around town with Allison. We stood on the wall on the northwest side and talked about everything from Mr. Rogers to what we want to do when we grow up. We got a coffee and headed back to the Collegi. After dinner, I went with Allison to Kata’s room and met up with Viktoria (Austria), Maria (Germany) and Kata (Hungary) so we could try some of Kata’s Hungarian alcohol called Unicom. It was nice. We chatted for a while and I tried to remember some German so I could understand what Viktoria and Maria were talking about. I could get things like “I don’t know…” or “I have…to do/make.” I am getting pretty good with German helping verbs. I retired to my room by about midnight and hit the hay.
Domenica. Today I will start like any other weekend day. I will go to Tridente because that’s where everyone lives and gets Internet reception. I will probably have lunch at the dinning hall, Mensa and then hopefully go out for a coffee with whomever would like to. Tomorrow is a big day though so maybe some reading is in order.
Until I write again…
Yours,
David
Monday, March 2, 2009
Class part due
It's Monday, which means that there is some inclination toward going to class. Today, first thing on my calendar was to get my "permesso di soggiorno" figured out so I woke up and went to the International Students office. The woman there, who is very friendly and sometimes speaks in English when I don't understand (which is increasingly more infrequent) helped me figure out exactly what the big packet was asking. Apparently, I am not alone in not understanding anything about the Italian bureaucracy. Unfortunately this confusing and, as I see it, unnecessary procedure will ultimately put me back 75 Euro, più or meno. When in Rome...
After that I wandered for a bit and looked for the books I need to buy for my class, Analisi del linguaggio politico. I found one that I was pretty certain I couldn't find in English. The other is by Max Weber and would be translated from German to Italian, so I figure that if you can find an Italian translation, I have no doubt you could find an English one. That book will have to wait. I arrived with my book to class about 15 minutes early, but no one was in the room so I had a seat to read and look over my potential schedule. A kid came in and asked if I was part of the political science Facoltà. I said yes, sort of. He told me there was only two minutes and I had to "Firmare" (which means sign). He explained that I should come with him and we went to an office and he asked if I should sign up even though I'm uno studente straniero. Everyone was confused but they said I could, so I did. Not exactly sure what that was all about. Maybe now I'm an organ donor in Italy. More likely though, it includes me in the department so I can take classes. I'm almost certain it was unnecessary but I figure if no one else knows, why should I? I had a nice conversation with the kid who brought me, whose name escapes me. It was good language practice.
What was not exactly good language practice was class. I followed better this time than last, having eaten today as opposed to last time when I was running on the leftovers from the tequila the night before and coffee. I will take that class though. The professor is very passionate about the topic and it's something I find interesting. Two hours later, I left class and wandered in the drizzle until it was time to go to lingua Italiana class. I got a piece of pizza. Not too shabby.
Language class on Mondays is in the computer lab. We do some listening exercises, which are not too difficult but often seem nit-picky to me. I guess if someone speaks with incorrect grammar in English it does bother me, but only if they have no excuse, like being from Italy. After the lab, we went to the classroom and had a bit more practice. Not too bad.
I walked back to my room in the drizzle and ran into the woman from Manchester, England who is there teaching at an elementary school. We chatted about our situations and mutual confusion. I went to my room and got a call from my, until now imaginary roommate. He's coming back tomorrow. This should be interesting. I emailed home and set up a Skype date with my snowed in parents and brother. It was nice to hear from them and see that everyone is happy to have snow (Jerks. All of 'em). Now I sit in the little room off of the pit where the international kids usually sit in Tridente.
Nothing new other than that. La cena alle 20:00.
A presto,
David
After that I wandered for a bit and looked for the books I need to buy for my class, Analisi del linguaggio politico. I found one that I was pretty certain I couldn't find in English. The other is by Max Weber and would be translated from German to Italian, so I figure that if you can find an Italian translation, I have no doubt you could find an English one. That book will have to wait. I arrived with my book to class about 15 minutes early, but no one was in the room so I had a seat to read and look over my potential schedule. A kid came in and asked if I was part of the political science Facoltà. I said yes, sort of. He told me there was only two minutes and I had to "Firmare" (which means sign). He explained that I should come with him and we went to an office and he asked if I should sign up even though I'm uno studente straniero. Everyone was confused but they said I could, so I did. Not exactly sure what that was all about. Maybe now I'm an organ donor in Italy. More likely though, it includes me in the department so I can take classes. I'm almost certain it was unnecessary but I figure if no one else knows, why should I? I had a nice conversation with the kid who brought me, whose name escapes me. It was good language practice.
What was not exactly good language practice was class. I followed better this time than last, having eaten today as opposed to last time when I was running on the leftovers from the tequila the night before and coffee. I will take that class though. The professor is very passionate about the topic and it's something I find interesting. Two hours later, I left class and wandered in the drizzle until it was time to go to lingua Italiana class. I got a piece of pizza. Not too shabby.
Language class on Mondays is in the computer lab. We do some listening exercises, which are not too difficult but often seem nit-picky to me. I guess if someone speaks with incorrect grammar in English it does bother me, but only if they have no excuse, like being from Italy. After the lab, we went to the classroom and had a bit more practice. Not too bad.
I walked back to my room in the drizzle and ran into the woman from Manchester, England who is there teaching at an elementary school. We chatted about our situations and mutual confusion. I went to my room and got a call from my, until now imaginary roommate. He's coming back tomorrow. This should be interesting. I emailed home and set up a Skype date with my snowed in parents and brother. It was nice to hear from them and see that everyone is happy to have snow (Jerks. All of 'em). Now I sit in the little room off of the pit where the international kids usually sit in Tridente.
Nothing new other than that. La cena alle 20:00.
A presto,
David
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)