Saturday, August 9, 2008
L'ultima settimana e la rimpatriata
I had a fantastic time during my final days in Italy and met a multitude of people while I was traveling alone. Because I can't do anything that isn't exciting, I nearly missed my bus in Sansepolcro. Thankfully, Bekah was a helpful guide and got me there just in time. At the end of my very long day of traveling (I started at 8:00 am and arrived at my destination at 10:00 pm!) I grew to believe that the trains in Italy might be one of my favorite place! I shared my music with Marco on the second leg of my journey to Rome and had an entertaining conversation with a brother and sister to Sibari. I consider myself very lucky to have such great company on the long trip.
But when I got to Sibari I was finally able to meet my cousin Gianna and the rest of the family! Unfortunately I didn't get to spend nearly as much time as I would've liked, but the time there was fantastic. We stayed at their beach house which was a 5 minute walk from the most beautiful spiaggia I have ever visited. There were no waves at all, a phenomenon that made the water look more like a big lake then part of the sea, and the water was a refreshing temperature, neither too hot or cold. Gianna was very patient with my elementary Italian skills and often our conversations were heterogeneously mixed with Italian and English words. She took me to Terranova da Sibari, la patria of my father's maternal family. Here are a few pictures including the house where my great, great-grandparents lived.
When the day came that I had to return, Gianna and her mother made a big lunch for all of us and I was on the 3:oo pm bus to Rome. We got there at 10:00 pm, I took the hour-long train to my airport and I waited...and waited...AND WAITED. At 5:00 am I found out that my flight had been canceled due to uno sciopero (a strike) and was reassigned to a direct flight that left at 12:45 pm. Oh, the joys of travel! When I arrived in the Atlanta airport--yes, I still had 5 hours left to travel back home!--I found out that my luggage was left behind in Rome. All of these unlucky events on the trip home made getting there so much sweeter. But I'm already missing Italy a little which, I hope you'd admit, would be easy to do after such a great trip. Grazie mille for following i miei viaggi and I hope to catch up with you soon!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Vado in avanti da Siena!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Fun and Firenze!
But on to the good things that have happened! I had another cooking class, this time less professional, but still very tasty. Fiora, one of the teachers, gave us our Italian lesson while leading us through the tricks to making pizza and cantucci. Here’s a picture of me making pizza.
Also, we went to
We went to the Uffici for Italian class and Antonella, another teacher, took us around to the most amazing pieces of art and explained them for us—in Italian, of course. I couldn’t believe that I was actually seeing some of the most amazing works of humankind. I loved every second, but can’t get la sala di Botticelli (the Botticelli room) out of my head. Being at the Uffici left me feeling intoxicated and I can honestly say that this part was among the best moments of the month.
A group of us had decided to stay in
I’m starting my last week here in the Study in
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Busy, busy, busy
But the hot springs were beautiful! It was a spa about 30 minutes outside of Siena with an amazing view. We got there in the early evening right as the day was cooling and the water was a perfect warm temperature so it felt wonderful. The water also had sulfur deposits which proved to be a great exfoliant. Sadly, we had to say good-bye to Kim in the language intensive program that night, but what a last night, huh?
This past weekend I went to Italy's tourist central Cinque Terre with Cathy for a couple of days. It was gorgeous! We spent some time on the beach, hiked around, and relaxed. We stayed in Monterosso al Mare for the first day and had a lot of fun. We went exploring on some trails and found a beautiful church and a cemetery farther up the mountain. It was interesting to translate what was written about the people. Later we went to a dance party at a nearby pub and danced to the mixes of D.J. California which included the Village People and my new favorite song. The next day we woke up early to travel back towards Siena the next day, visiting all of the towns except Corneglia. Cathy and I agreed that our favorite was Vernazza because it had a lot of nice, quaint stores, yet retained a lot of breath-taking views. We took the train from one to the other, but decided to walk the Via Dell'Amore from Manarola to Riomaggiore. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Vestiti e cibi
I am really enjoying my service placement at the clothing distribution site. The people that I work with are fantastic and everyone that comes to get clothes are very appreciative. I feel like this opportunity has been among the most rewarding and humbling of my life thus far. I constantly feel like I am getting to see what Italy really looks like all of the time, instead of just seeing it through the eyes of a tourist.
But I do have a fantastic update! Lunedi, the group had our own cooking class and it was so much fun. We handmade pappa col pomodoro, zuppa, peci, gnocchi, e tiramasu' and ate it all! I wasn't so great with the peci, but am a gnocchi-making machine. We got le recette so I plan on trying again when I get home, but I am not so sure that any of it will taste as great as it did here.
But now, I'm off to the market with la mia amica Cathy to do some homework...and maybe find a sale or two.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Una settimana intensa
Then the next day was the day of the race. We tried to watch the blessing of the horse, but only had the chance to see the horse being lead into the church since la piccolo chiesa couldn’t fit all of us. “Go little horse and return a winner,” the priest tells the horse and a benediction is given to the horse and the jockey showing the mixture of holy and secular. Later was a parade which made me feel as if I was caught in a medieval century; the costumes were so colorful and I could only imagine what it was like walking around in the extreme heat wearing wool stockings or armor.
And finally, it was time for the Palio! Thousands of people poured into the Piazza Del Campo all waiting in anticipation. It is true what they say that the feeling of being there is truly indescribable. The tension of the piazza is nearly tangible. My own heart was racing and my breath was short when the actual Palio was brought in. The Palio is a banner with representation of the Holy Mary, a horse, and the 10 racing contradas on it. This year the mayor commissioned an artist to also honor the nuns that I am working with at the clothing distribution and soup kitchen. Although there was a great deal of inexperience between the jockeys and the horses, the race only took 45 minutes to start—and was over in about two!
I felt like I shared the pain of the Nicchio contrada when our jockey fell off in the infamous San Martino turn on the first lap, but it didn’t matter. The most experienced jockey was teamed with the decent Istrice (Porcupine) horse and when we saw them pull out at the starting line, there was never a chance for anyone else. The Torre (Tower) came closest, but alas Istrice pulled it out as predicted. At the end of the race, Istrice erupted in joy. People were crying all over—some in joy and others in despair. There was nothing but chaos all around. The Istrice paraded with the Palio, were blessed at San Provenzano with “new life” in a spiritual sense (which they display by wearing pacifiers for a week), and immediately the partying began. It appeared as if the Istrice contrada had multiplied several times over, but I am told that they are one of the biggest contradas of
Now that the July Palio is over it is time to begin preparation for the next one. I wasn't able to get to the Piazza Del Campo, but watched the picking of the final three racing contradas in the August Palio on televison with my roommate Kelly and Luciana, my host mother. Nicchio didn't race last year so they have another chance to win, and my poor host father was a bit upset when his Lupa (Wolf) contrada didn't make it in...Again!
But the end of the July Palio did usher a regular schedule with classes and homework for us. Italian class is rough but I do want to learn, so what’s better than a challenge? I really love my Immigration and Social Change class. There are only three of us in it and we have professor who seems to know her stuff. We are really forced to look at the best and worst of what
But don’t worry, because it’s not all work here. Friday and Saturday we went with the Language and Culture group to the coast. We learned that large groups of people is an attribute of an Italian beach, but it was wonderful nuotare (to swim) in the refreshing waters of the Mediterranean after a week of facing the worst of the summer. We visited the quaint beach towns, ate the best gelato, and had lots of fun. On the rough roads home, which were far, far worst than anything I’ve experienced in the mountains of
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sono al inzio.
The contradas will also be looking for the best, most experienced jockeys to compete for honor...e molti soldi. Last night I also got to watch la prima prova, or the first trial race. It was amazing. The competing contradas come in their groups singing songs with gusto to show that they are united and ready to win. The horses are difficult to control in a place filled with people singing and shouting, but it's necessary to get the race started. Our inside man Antonio is in the Nicchio (Shell) contrada. He got us tickets to all of the most important events that are coming up on Tuesday and is kindly answering my incessant questioning. But unfortunately, right now it doesn't look like Nicchio has such a great horse and we're all a little worried about that. Anyway, immediately after the race is over the contradas storm the track to receive their horse and sing for the rest of the Piazza Del Campo as they leave. Here's a video of it, but make sure to turn up the volume so you can hear them sing their sweet little militaristic hearts out.
This morning I also started my service. I've been placed in the clothing distribution site for local immigrants. The room is so small and it seems that there is always a lot of work to do. I started at 8:30 when it opened and didn't stop until it closed at 11. The people that I'm working with are nice, but again, don't speak any English. My ear is getting used to the Italian, but my brain is taking a little longer. I'm able to understand enough to get by, but sometimes I'm still lost, but that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Basically, we go through the clothes that are donated and throw out the ratty and stained clothes, but at the same time people are filling bags to the brim. The time went by so quickly, but everything is pretty hectic. The room is small--about 12 x 12--and the perimeter is just shelves filled with clothes and there's a big table in the middle leaving about 4 feet around. There are anywhere between 5-7 people in there at a time all grabbing and shifting. There is a window but everyone's sweating and the body odor can get really overwhelming. Did I mention that it is in the 90s these days? This morning at 7:15 it was already 86 degrees. Fun stuff!
But that's enough for now. I have to get on to my first Italian class which I've been looking forward to, but I can tell now that it's not going to be pretty. Later is the second trial race and probably homework. Hope all is well!