Today was final exam day! Went to school at normal time, around 9 am, and waited around for awhile until the profs came with the exam. Sat down and started to take it. Not bad at all! I don't think I aced it but I don't think I did horribly like I thought I would. I then had an oral part with Prof Branciforte which wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. Overall, not bad. And now I can
say some cool Italian phrases and sound exotic ;-)
After school, we got lunch at Da Maria again. We tried their pansotti con salsa di noci (the walnut sauce). It was ok but not the same as the classy restaurant. We came back to the hotel and I took a nap and then packed to come home! I know I am lucky to be in Italy and I am so thankful for this experience but I am ready to go home. I've had a great time and seen so many amazing, beautiful sites, and met so many interesting people, and learned so much... but I've also never been away, living out of a suitcase, for this long (I unpacked some but for short trips, you never fully move in and make the space yours). It will be nice to be home and see my parents, brother, aunt, grandma, etc and hear their voices (they get special shout outs because I know they are reading this ;-) lol) And I'm excited to see my cats and all my friends and see my home and apartment! I'm excited to sleep long
nights and relax and do nothing. I'm excited to TEXT! :-P I'm really going to miss Italy though. I'm going to miss the intricate buildings that never got boring to look at (well except those churches...), and I'll miss the delicious food and the interesting people I've met. I'll even miss hearing and speaking the language. I'll especially miss the view of the mountains meeting the ocean. That was probably my favorite thing about this entire trip... that view.
Anyway... back to today. After packing, I went to the aquarium with Behrad, Tasha, and Jessica. It was nice to be down by the harbor because it is pretty, interesting, and there is a lot to look at. The aquarium was an aquarium lol but it was nice and I had fun. None of their tanks have bars around
them so you can press your nose up to the glass... even with the shark tank! So the sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, sting rays, puffins, etc were inches away! So cool! And they had a touch tank!!! I petted a sting ray! Fun times :-)
Now, I need to go get ready for our last dinner all together! And then we are going OUT OUT OUT! to celebrate being DONE DONE DONE! with Italian class :-P Home tomorrow!!! :-D (plane lands at Dulles at 7:15pm so I won't be home til after 9 probably but everyone should text me lots!)
Last bit of love from Italia <3
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Blog Day 19 - Study Study Study! And Opera
Today we went to school and had an ALL REVIEW DAY! YAY! It was really helpful and i finally feel like things are starting to click... kind of. I'm still going to have to do some MAJOR studying tonight... except we are seeing a 3 hour Opera tonight so there won't be as much studying or sleeping as I would like.
Things are finally clicking location-wise too. I have a really horrible sense of direction (sometimes I get lost in Perry Hall still! :-P) and now, the second to last day, I've finally figured my way out around Genova! I suck at life :-P And I've finally figured out how to order food as well. Good thing pointing and grunting is understood in all countries!
After school, we had a CHEAP lunch at Da Maria, a pasta-lunch place right by school. It was so good and they let me get ravioli with PESTO! Genoa is known for its pesto and its stuffed pastas but I haven't seen them combined! So they had spaghetti and pesto and ravioli and ragu so I asked for ravioli and pesto. She gave me a funny look but I got it! It was really good. I feel like all I write about in this blog is the food but that is what Italy is known for!
We came back to the hotel (Siamo tornate a hotel... just doing a little studying/translating while writing my blog lol) and then it was study time. So many tenses and so much vocabulary! And we had to practice SPEAKING because there in an oral section too! I hate trying to have a conversation because we are so limited in what we know how to say. I feel like I sound like an idiot when I speak Italian.
We did some studying and then showered and started to get ready for the Opera. And then we watched the Inauguration! Congrats Mr. President Obama! :-D It was sooo exciting and such an awesome moment in history to see. The only problem was that the Italian channels all dubbed over the speeches in Italian! Go figure :-P I'm going to have to YouTube those speeches so I can be up-to-date on it all. It was still a cool thing to watch.
We got ready and left for the Opera. We saw "Il Turco in Italia" and it was fun to be there. It was opening night and some people were very done up! Good people watching place. We went in and we were supposed to be in the balcony but Suzanne said she got us an upgrade because they know her. She only got us an upgrade because the place was basically empty and there were lots of orchestra seats left! Haha! We were in the back of the orchestra and they were nice seats. The interesting thing about theatres in Italy is that the scenery is the height of the room but then the building goes down into the ground that same amount, and up into the air that amount again! This is because the scenery is like a giant painted wall and when they change scenery, they just drop it down into the ground, or pick it up into the ceiling! Pretty cool!
The scenery was nice and so were the costumes... but we couldn't understand a single word! Even if we spoke Italian better, we still wouldn't get it because they gave every word like 10 syllables! O0o0o0o0o0o0o!!! Up and down their voices went. It was kind of ridiculous. And the professoressas said that it would be an hour and a half long. No. That was the first half. Instead of getting home by 11, we weren't home til after midnight... the night before our final exam! Oy... Lets hope I don't fail! It was an interesting experience all in all.
Buonanotte!
Things are finally clicking location-wise too. I have a really horrible sense of direction (sometimes I get lost in Perry Hall still! :-P) and now, the second to last day, I've finally figured my way out around Genova! I suck at life :-P And I've finally figured out how to order food as well. Good thing pointing and grunting is understood in all countries!
After school, we had a CHEAP lunch at Da Maria, a pasta-lunch place right by school. It was so good and they let me get ravioli with PESTO! Genoa is known for its pesto and its stuffed pastas but I haven't seen them combined! So they had spaghetti and pesto and ravioli and ragu so I asked for ravioli and pesto. She gave me a funny look but I got it! It was really good. I feel like all I write about in this blog is the food but that is what Italy is known for!
We came back to the hotel (Siamo tornate a hotel... just doing a little studying/translating while writing my blog lol) and then it was study time. So many tenses and so much vocabulary! And we had to practice SPEAKING because there in an oral section too! I hate trying to have a conversation because we are so limited in what we know how to say. I feel like I sound like an idiot when I speak Italian.
We did some studying and then showered and started to get ready for the Opera. And then we watched the Inauguration! Congrats Mr. President Obama! :-D It was sooo exciting and such an awesome moment in history to see. The only problem was that the Italian channels all dubbed over the speeches in Italian! Go figure :-P I'm going to have to YouTube those speeches so I can be up-to-date on it all. It was still a cool thing to watch.
We got ready and left for the Opera. We saw "Il Turco in Italia" and it was fun to be there. It was opening night and some people were very done up! Good people watching place. We went in and we were supposed to be in the balcony but Suzanne said she got us an upgrade because they know her. She only got us an upgrade because the place was basically empty and there were lots of orchestra seats left! Haha! We were in the back of the orchestra and they were nice seats. The interesting thing about theatres in Italy is that the scenery is the height of the room but then the building goes down into the ground that same amount, and up into the air that amount again! This is because the scenery is like a giant painted wall and when they change scenery, they just drop it down into the ground, or pick it up into the ceiling! Pretty cool!
The scenery was nice and so were the costumes... but we couldn't understand a single word! Even if we spoke Italian better, we still wouldn't get it because they gave every word like 10 syllables! O0o0o0o0o0o0o!!! Up and down their voices went. It was kind of ridiculous. And the professoressas said that it would be an hour and a half long. No. That was the first half. Instead of getting home by 11, we weren't home til after midnight... the night before our final exam! Oy... Lets hope I don't fail! It was an interesting experience all in all.
Buonanotte!
Day 18 - So much to do.. so little time!
School kind of sucked today. We learned like 4 different verb tenses in about 5 minutes. I was trying really hard to understand when to use each one because instead of learning one, using it by itself,learning the next, etc, we just learned them and then immediately mixed them. So I was trying to figure them out and really TRYING and Professoressa Amodeo yelled at me that I wasn't paying attention so I got frustrated and kind of growled back. After class she asked why I got frustrated and I explained that I was trying and I don't like being accused of not working when I am so she apologized but all this Italian just doesn't fit into my brain :(
After the regular class, we got a short lunch break and then had a theatre person come and teach us about the Opera. We are going to the Opera on Wednesday so she was teaching us about the specific play we are seeing "Il Turco In Italia" or something like that. She explained the plotline and the characters because it is confusing on a normal basis but we would have been completely lost since we don't even speak the language. It sounds like it will be really fun though! She also told us about Italy's Operas and the comedic plays they do too.
After that class, Tasha and I decided to try to go to the aquarium Wednesday after the final exam because we need to study tonight. I really hope we get there! So we all just went back to the hotel and started the exam review. I've done about 2/3s of it but I don't even understand the rest. No clue... oh well. My brain needs a break from Italian and then I'll find someone to tutor me. I can't wait until this class is over but I don't want to leave Italy! There are so many more things I want to do in Genova and so many more places I want to visit and explore in Italy. And so many more people I want to meet and so much more food I need to eat and wine I need to drink! :-P Screw getting a job... can't I just magically be rich and travel the world? I kind of want to be a travel writer now... that would be fun!Who knows what I'll do after I graduate. I can't even figure out what life is going to be like back in CP for this spring semester? I don't even want to think about it. I just need to attempt to enjoy my last few days here. We still have the Opera, a group dinner, and hopefully I'll get to the aquarium and maybe another night of all bonding together and drinking some wine. I am excited to see my family, friends, cats, cell phone, and homes though.
Love from Italia! <3
PS I hope the inauguration goes smoothly tomorrow! So excited to have a new president and one who is intelligent and competent and well-spoken. I just hope he stays safe and all those crazies out there stay home.
After the regular class, we got a short lunch break and then had a theatre person come and teach us about the Opera. We are going to the Opera on Wednesday so she was teaching us about the specific play we are seeing "Il Turco In Italia" or something like that. She explained the plotline and the characters because it is confusing on a normal basis but we would have been completely lost since we don't even speak the language. It sounds like it will be really fun though! She also told us about Italy's Operas and the comedic plays they do too.
After that class, Tasha and I decided to try to go to the aquarium Wednesday after the final exam because we need to study tonight. I really hope we get there! So we all just went back to the hotel and started the exam review. I've done about 2/3s of it but I don't even understand the rest. No clue... oh well. My brain needs a break from Italian and then I'll find someone to tutor me. I can't wait until this class is over but I don't want to leave Italy! There are so many more things I want to do in Genova and so many more places I want to visit and explore in Italy. And so many more people I want to meet and so much more food I need to eat and wine I need to drink! :-P Screw getting a job... can't I just magically be rich and travel the world? I kind of want to be a travel writer now... that would be fun!Who knows what I'll do after I graduate. I can't even figure out what life is going to be like back in CP for this spring semester? I don't even want to think about it. I just need to attempt to enjoy my last few days here. We still have the Opera, a group dinner, and hopefully I'll get to the aquarium and maybe another night of all bonding together and drinking some wine. I am excited to see my family, friends, cats, cell phone, and homes though.
Love from Italia! <3
PS I hope the inauguration goes smoothly tomorrow! So excited to have a new president and one who is intelligent and competent and well-spoken. I just hope he stays safe and all those crazies out there stay home.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Blog Day 16 and 17 - Milano e Partita del Calcio (Milan and soccer game!)
Off to Milan we went! Quick train ride (we are all train-pros by this point) and then we were in our 5th town in 7 days! We've been busy. We went to our hotel, called "The Best Hotel" and we were all worried it was going to be an omen for the exact opposite. It wasn't too bad though. We had 5 people in 2 rooms and then I was in a room for 4 people with Ash, Kel, and Tasha which was nice.
Two of the guys working the desk were really nice and helpful but one was CREEPYYY! I went out to ask him questions TWICE and each time he was on facebook and looking at a gross girl. One of the girls was naked but not showing anything in her picture and the other girl just had a picture of her boobs as her profile picture. GROSS!!! I wasn't trying to be nosy or anything but as he was helping me, he would look things up on the computer and didn't even bother to minimize or hide what he was looking at! So weirddd! But really amusing.
In Milan, we saw the Duomo, which is this HUGE cathedral with crazy spires and marble blocks and it was beautiful! It was Gothic style so it was a lot different than the other churches we had seen. It was a lot more open, with less little crevices and corners. It was darker and even had a bunch of tombs in it! There wasn't much gold on the walls and it wasn't as extravagant. It was interesting to see something new. And it is the second largest church in the world! (according to my Foder's travel book :-P) Outside the Duomo is this huge piazza and there are THOUSANDS of pigeons. I HATE birds with a passion and especially hate pigeons because they try to steal your food and they beg and walk in my way on the streets. So anyway, thousands of pigeons. Needless to say, I was freaking out. And these guys on the street would try to give you bird food and if you didn't take any, they would throw it at you so the birds would swarm around you. It was SOOO scary!!! One hit my EAR! And a bunch of others were all under my feet. OMG i hate birds so it was horrible! But it was actually really hilarious too because it was so different than anything I'd ever experienced. But yea... interesting! lol
After the Duomo, we tried to go see The Last Supper painting but it turns out you actually DO need reservations to see it! (The books all said the same thing about David and other things in Florence and that all worked out fine but not this one) So that was a bummer but oh well. We did some shopping, saw the Prada and Gucci stores, looked at other expensive places, etc. It was a fun day even though we didn't have much of a game plan.
Later, we went to dinner at this nice little place down the street from our hotel. They were putting extra tables together and one of the girls with us, Marta, grabbed an extra place setting. They asked if she was a waitress and she said yes so they gave her an apron and a pen and told her to take our orders! It started out as a joke but then they actually wound up doing NOTHING! SO ANNOYING! And then they just decided to like make up a check and say we each owed $13.50 which was much more than some people were expecting. It was just kind of sketchy so we made them write an itemized bill and realized that they were in fact ripping us off by charging us for too much water and stuff so yea. I guess they thought we were an easy target but HA! We proved them wrong :-P The food was really good though.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and pre-gamed with $3 wine. Kind of a lame pregame though because SO many people were feeling sick and didn't want to drink :( We sang to Behrad at midnight because it was his birthday and then a bunch of us headed out. We tried to take him to a gay bar at first (I didn't want to cuz I thought that was mean for his 21st birthday) but we couldn't find it anyway. Then we tried to back track to this other place we saw but it wasn't really a bar.. just a sketchy cafe that had some alcohol. Then we tried to walk to this other place but people got frustrated and mad and it was just bad and annoying so we went back to the sketchy cafe and bought B some shots of grappa (basically nasty Italian grain alcohol) for his birthday. EWWW the guy behind the counter was being sketchy and hitting on me. First, he started off asking B which of us he was dating... "NONE just friends!" and then it went to "Well who are you sleeping with?!" and then it was like "She is pretty" and apparently got dirty from there. Eww I was really sketched out because he kept giving me really creepy looks and his tone makde it sound like he was being a perv. I felt like I needed a shower :( Gross!
After that, we just headed back to the hotel and crashed and headed back to Genoa.
When we got back to Genova, we got to chill for a few minutes at the hotel and then we went to a soccer game! Palerma vs Sampdomia (or something like that) which is a team from Genoa! Of course we cheered for them! But they lost lol the Palerma team had PINK jerseys on! SO WEIRD! They looked like their white shirts had just been washed with a red sock. They just needed some bleach :-P But yea it was a fun time. Outside the stadium, everyone was drinking and hanging out and joking around. Then we went in and it wasn't too crazy but the fans were loud. I wish I could understand what they were saying though! I bet it was bad :-P
But anyway... it was fun and things are good here :-) hope everyone is doing well at home!
I get home the 22nd so everyone get excited to see me! :-P I really want to eat a bacon cheeseburger :-P I miss eating meat! All I eat here is pasta and pizza, which I love, but now I'm starting to crave other stuff. So... big eating party when I get home! And then LOTS AND LOTS of gym time ;-P
Love to everyone! <3
A presto (see you soon)
ADDENDUM: I forgot to say this... we had MALE MODELS staying in the same hotel as us! They were cute but obviously arrogant and a little too "three hours in front of a mirror"-ish lol But it was amusing that they were there. I wanted Krissie to go talk to them because she is looking for a husband ;-)
Two of the guys working the desk were really nice and helpful but one was CREEPYYY! I went out to ask him questions TWICE and each time he was on facebook and looking at a gross girl. One of the girls was naked but not showing anything in her picture and the other girl just had a picture of her boobs as her profile picture. GROSS!!! I wasn't trying to be nosy or anything but as he was helping me, he would look things up on the computer and didn't even bother to minimize or hide what he was looking at! So weirddd! But really amusing.
In Milan, we saw the Duomo, which is this HUGE cathedral with crazy spires and marble blocks and it was beautiful! It was Gothic style so it was a lot different than the other churches we had seen. It was a lot more open, with less little crevices and corners. It was darker and even had a bunch of tombs in it! There wasn't much gold on the walls and it wasn't as extravagant. It was interesting to see something new. And it is the second largest church in the world! (according to my Foder's travel book :-P) Outside the Duomo is this huge piazza and there are THOUSANDS of pigeons. I HATE birds with a passion and especially hate pigeons because they try to steal your food and they beg and walk in my way on the streets. So anyway, thousands of pigeons. Needless to say, I was freaking out. And these guys on the street would try to give you bird food and if you didn't take any, they would throw it at you so the birds would swarm around you. It was SOOO scary!!! One hit my EAR! And a bunch of others were all under my feet. OMG i hate birds so it was horrible! But it was actually really hilarious too because it was so different than anything I'd ever experienced. But yea... interesting! lol
After the Duomo, we tried to go see The Last Supper painting but it turns out you actually DO need reservations to see it! (The books all said the same thing about David and other things in Florence and that all worked out fine but not this one) So that was a bummer but oh well. We did some shopping, saw the Prada and Gucci stores, looked at other expensive places, etc. It was a fun day even though we didn't have much of a game plan.
Later, we went to dinner at this nice little place down the street from our hotel. They were putting extra tables together and one of the girls with us, Marta, grabbed an extra place setting. They asked if she was a waitress and she said yes so they gave her an apron and a pen and told her to take our orders! It started out as a joke but then they actually wound up doing NOTHING! SO ANNOYING! And then they just decided to like make up a check and say we each owed $13.50 which was much more than some people were expecting. It was just kind of sketchy so we made them write an itemized bill and realized that they were in fact ripping us off by charging us for too much water and stuff so yea. I guess they thought we were an easy target but HA! We proved them wrong :-P The food was really good though.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and pre-gamed with $3 wine. Kind of a lame pregame though because SO many people were feeling sick and didn't want to drink :( We sang to Behrad at midnight because it was his birthday and then a bunch of us headed out. We tried to take him to a gay bar at first (I didn't want to cuz I thought that was mean for his 21st birthday) but we couldn't find it anyway. Then we tried to back track to this other place we saw but it wasn't really a bar.. just a sketchy cafe that had some alcohol. Then we tried to walk to this other place but people got frustrated and mad and it was just bad and annoying so we went back to the sketchy cafe and bought B some shots of grappa (basically nasty Italian grain alcohol) for his birthday. EWWW the guy behind the counter was being sketchy and hitting on me. First, he started off asking B which of us he was dating... "NONE just friends!" and then it went to "Well who are you sleeping with?!" and then it was like "She is pretty" and apparently got dirty from there. Eww I was really sketched out because he kept giving me really creepy looks and his tone makde it sound like he was being a perv. I felt like I needed a shower :( Gross!
After that, we just headed back to the hotel and crashed and headed back to Genoa.
When we got back to Genova, we got to chill for a few minutes at the hotel and then we went to a soccer game! Palerma vs Sampdomia (or something like that) which is a team from Genoa! Of course we cheered for them! But they lost lol the Palerma team had PINK jerseys on! SO WEIRD! They looked like their white shirts had just been washed with a red sock. They just needed some bleach :-P But yea it was a fun time. Outside the stadium, everyone was drinking and hanging out and joking around. Then we went in and it wasn't too crazy but the fans were loud. I wish I could understand what they were saying though! I bet it was bad :-P
But anyway... it was fun and things are good here :-) hope everyone is doing well at home!
I get home the 22nd so everyone get excited to see me! :-P I really want to eat a bacon cheeseburger :-P I miss eating meat! All I eat here is pasta and pizza, which I love, but now I'm starting to crave other stuff. So... big eating party when I get home! And then LOTS AND LOTS of gym time ;-P
Love to everyone! <3
A presto (see you soon)
ADDENDUM: I forgot to say this... we had MALE MODELS staying in the same hotel as us! They were cute but obviously arrogant and a little too "three hours in front of a mirror"-ish lol But it was amusing that they were there. I wanted Krissie to go talk to them because she is looking for a husband ;-)
Blog Day 15 - Nightlife in Genova?
So we got our quizzes back today... no one was very happy about the grades (again) but I did ok. I'm not too worried about my grade but an A would be nice. But I'm still doing some extra credit... I figure it can't hurt! :-)
After school, I got to take a nap! It was exciting (I know I'm lame) lol I caught up on journal entries and wrote my extra credit work. I meant to do some some homework but that nap was just too important :-P
After awhile, Kel, Ash and I got some dinner at the Mureno Suite again which was nice. I had gnocchi al pesto which was good! The girls both got Minestrone alla Genovese, which has pesto in it and makes it even more amazing than normal minestrone soup. I love the food here and I can't wait to try my hand at it when I'm back at the apartment! :-) (yea, weird.. Amy wants to cook lol)
After dinner, we all got ready and 12 of us decided to attempt to find the nightlife in Genoa. Since Italians have classes (and hard school work!) 6 days a week, they don't seem to go out as much as people do in College Park. People have tried numerous times to find a good club or bar here but to no avail.
So we went out and started walking around. We went to this one bar that some of the girls had found and it was interesting. Everyone was a little bit older.. and kinda creepy. But I had a corona and it was good. I hadn't really drank beer this whole trip so it was a nice change. We hung out and people watched and chatted.
Then we moved on and decided to just follow the crowds and see where they went. We walked past this one place but people spilling out on the streets were packed so thick, you couldn't even SEE a bar behind them! We walked some more and found this little back alley area where EVERYONE was! YAY we found some nightlife in Genova! Most people even seemed to be around our age. There was a bar and then tables outside and everyone spilled out on the sidewalk/street. There was a gelato place and a greasy hamburger place in the same area. Behrad said it was the Ratsies of Italy :-P I got gelato and it was gooooooood ;-D for someone who doesn't usually eat dessert, I love that gelato! We hung out for a few minutes but we were all exhausted and had to catch a train in the morning so we headed home and went to bed. Milan in the morning! :-)
Arrivederci (good bye)
And "Ti voglio bene" to my friends and family (I love you... in a non-passionate way :-P)
After school, I got to take a nap! It was exciting (I know I'm lame) lol I caught up on journal entries and wrote my extra credit work. I meant to do some some homework but that nap was just too important :-P
After awhile, Kel, Ash and I got some dinner at the Mureno Suite again which was nice. I had gnocchi al pesto which was good! The girls both got Minestrone alla Genovese, which has pesto in it and makes it even more amazing than normal minestrone soup. I love the food here and I can't wait to try my hand at it when I'm back at the apartment! :-) (yea, weird.. Amy wants to cook lol)
After dinner, we all got ready and 12 of us decided to attempt to find the nightlife in Genoa. Since Italians have classes (and hard school work!) 6 days a week, they don't seem to go out as much as people do in College Park. People have tried numerous times to find a good club or bar here but to no avail.
So we went out and started walking around. We went to this one bar that some of the girls had found and it was interesting. Everyone was a little bit older.. and kinda creepy. But I had a corona and it was good. I hadn't really drank beer this whole trip so it was a nice change. We hung out and people watched and chatted.
Then we moved on and decided to just follow the crowds and see where they went. We walked past this one place but people spilling out on the streets were packed so thick, you couldn't even SEE a bar behind them! We walked some more and found this little back alley area where EVERYONE was! YAY we found some nightlife in Genova! Most people even seemed to be around our age. There was a bar and then tables outside and everyone spilled out on the sidewalk/street. There was a gelato place and a greasy hamburger place in the same area. Behrad said it was the Ratsies of Italy :-P I got gelato and it was gooooooood ;-D for someone who doesn't usually eat dessert, I love that gelato! We hung out for a few minutes but we were all exhausted and had to catch a train in the morning so we headed home and went to bed. Milan in the morning! :-)
Arrivederci (good bye)
And "Ti voglio bene" to my friends and family (I love you... in a non-passionate way :-P)
Blog Day 14 - Trip to Camogli
Today is quiz day! We went to school after studying the entire day and night before. We all felt like we were ready. Then she hands it out. 3 pages. Directions all in Italian. Uh oh. It was pretty rough. we'll see what my grade is tomorrow :-\. We also learned today that we can write some mini-essays to get extra credit. One page, double spaced, in Italian, about any place we visit. I am going to write about Florence, Portofino, Camogli (where we went today.. description coming), and Milan, where we are going this weekend. I might not write about ALL of those places, but at least 2 of them. Definitely Florence because that will be easy. "Siamo andati alla discoteca! Abbiamo ballato!" (We went to a discoteca. We danced!).
After school, we headed to the train station and took a quick, 30 minute train to Camogli, another coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea. Professoressa Branciforte lives there! It is a tiny little town, where most of the men still make their living off of the Sea. Every town we've been to has had a lot of similarities but every one is unique and interesting and special. Camogli was right on the sea, with small, black rocky beaches, huge cliffs, and brightly painted buildings. Like the other towns we have visited, the twn climbed up into the mountains, providing every home with a view of the sea and in the afternoon, a view of the sunset over the sea. Like Genoa and other places, Camogli had the fake painted rock patterns and fake windows on the buildings. Unlike the other towns, Camogli has an annual fish-frying day. There are these HUGE antique frying pans leaning against this one wall that were the ancient pans that were used. They were literally like 10 feet across! It is a giant feast and everyone in town gets a free meal. Camogli is right down the coast from Genoa and they can see each other. During the festival, people in Genoa can see the glowing red embers from the giant fires that are built to heat the giant pans and cook the fish.
In the town, we just walked around, ate some foccacia and gelato, and stared out at the Sea. The water was so amazingly clear and turquoise! I want to live on the water some day... or at least own a beach house.. in Italy... on a journalists salary ;-). High hopes right?
We were playing on the pier and I was chatting with Professoressa Branciforte (Suzanne), just asking some questions about her life, life in Camogli, and life in Italy in general. Very interesting and very different.
We took the train back to Genoa and watched the sunset on the Mediterranean Sea. I swear you can see every shade of every color in these sunsets!
Soon, we are going to go out to eat some pasta, then come back here, drink some wine, do some extra credit work, and relax. I hope we go eat soon because... ho fame e ho l'acquolina in bocca! (I'm hungry and my mouth is watering!)
Alla Prossima (Until next time) :-)
Continued... We went to this REALLY good restaurant called Il Rustichello. They had amazing, delicious traditional Italian food. I had some type of pasta with pesto on it and it was amazing! Everyone elses meals were really good too. Yum I love the food here! Now, I'm hanging out with all the other girls, drinking wine, and updating my blog and journal :-) But now its bed time!
Buonanotte!
After school, we headed to the train station and took a quick, 30 minute train to Camogli, another coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea. Professoressa Branciforte lives there! It is a tiny little town, where most of the men still make their living off of the Sea. Every town we've been to has had a lot of similarities but every one is unique and interesting and special. Camogli was right on the sea, with small, black rocky beaches, huge cliffs, and brightly painted buildings. Like the other towns we have visited, the twn climbed up into the mountains, providing every home with a view of the sea and in the afternoon, a view of the sunset over the sea. Like Genoa and other places, Camogli had the fake painted rock patterns and fake windows on the buildings. Unlike the other towns, Camogli has an annual fish-frying day. There are these HUGE antique frying pans leaning against this one wall that were the ancient pans that were used. They were literally like 10 feet across! It is a giant feast and everyone in town gets a free meal. Camogli is right down the coast from Genoa and they can see each other. During the festival, people in Genoa can see the glowing red embers from the giant fires that are built to heat the giant pans and cook the fish.
In the town, we just walked around, ate some foccacia and gelato, and stared out at the Sea. The water was so amazingly clear and turquoise! I want to live on the water some day... or at least own a beach house.. in Italy... on a journalists salary ;-). High hopes right?
We were playing on the pier and I was chatting with Professoressa Branciforte (Suzanne), just asking some questions about her life, life in Camogli, and life in Italy in general. Very interesting and very different.
We took the train back to Genoa and watched the sunset on the Mediterranean Sea. I swear you can see every shade of every color in these sunsets!
Soon, we are going to go out to eat some pasta, then come back here, drink some wine, do some extra credit work, and relax. I hope we go eat soon because... ho fame e ho l'acquolina in bocca! (I'm hungry and my mouth is watering!)
Alla Prossima (Until next time) :-)
Continued... We went to this REALLY good restaurant called Il Rustichello. They had amazing, delicious traditional Italian food. I had some type of pasta with pesto on it and it was amazing! Everyone elses meals were really good too. Yum I love the food here! Now, I'm hanging out with all the other girls, drinking wine, and updating my blog and journal :-) But now its bed time!
Buonanotte!
Blog Day 13 - Italian Analysis
So today was not a very good day. We went to school and that has been frustrating. This Italian course is normally taught during a 15-week semester. We are doing the ENTIRE course in under 3 weeks! It is MUCH harder than any of were expecting. It is a 100-level course but Italian is nothing like English. Knowing Spanish or French only seems to get in the way of our Italian. It is really difficult but I actually really like it! And lots of people that we encounter in our daily routines enjoy teaching us new things, and every where we go, we learn something new about Italian culture. The guys at the bar that we stop at for paninis teach us how to properly order food. The waitresses at a restaurant down the street teach us curse words. The train rides teach us geography. Walking the streets teaches us how to act Italian, dress European, read signs, and dodge cigarette butts and dog poop! :-P Everything here is a learning experience... and an adventure!
After school, we did nothing but study. We have an exam tomorrow! I'm scared :( So yea... nothing more to write about the day because we just studied.
So since this is a boring entry, I will write about some things I have observed (I'll probably repeat a lot of things that I have already said but oh well).
- Everyone has a dog and they go to the bathroom everywhere. They are taken into stores and restaurants and anywhere that the owners go.
- Everyone here smokes.
- Italy keeps weird hours, compared to what we are used to in the US. Stores, shops, and bakeries open at a normal hour in the morning, like around 8 or 9, close around 2, and reopen around 4, and then close for the night around 7. At 7, the restaurants open. Bars here are not like bars at home. They are more like cafes and little sandwich shops or bakeries.
- Everyone here owns at least 10 pairs of boots. I bought myself a pair to feel Italian :-P
- All the girls have dark hair, dark eyeliner, and either straight or side-swept bangs that fall in their eyes.
- All the guys are dressed either super metro or really punked out. Their pants are so tight, I can practically count the change in their back pockets.
- People live off of wine, foccacia, pasta, gelato and oranges.
- People walk a lot and from far distances, but they also CRAM onto the buses during rush hour. They are packed in there so tight, they pretty much POP out the doors when the bus stops!
- In this region, everyone's home has a gorgeous view of the Sea.
- Bathrooms are not meant to spend much time in here. The windows let in cold air, the flusher on the toilet takes all my strength to push in, the shower temperature changes at its own will, and the towels are rough!
- People drive CRAZY in this town! There are sometimes 4 mopeds side by side in one lane on the streets and they zip in and out of the itty bitty cars that are driving the same streets.
- The cars are MINUSCULE! You know the smart cars that are on campus that you can pay to use? That is the size of a normal family car here!
- The pigeons and seagulls are fatter and meaner here than in the States. I HATE birds! Stupid creatures, trying to steal my foccacia.
- There are CONDOM machines at random places along the streets!!! So weird and random. I guess maybe they are for the prostitutes that we saw around the older areas and down on the water front?
- There are more churches than grocery stores.
- Everyone makes out EVERY WHERE!!! and for no reason! It's kinda ridic, and REALLY amusing. A couple will just be walking down the street and for no reason, stop and start making out in the middle of the sidewalk! Standing at the bus stop, I guess they get bored, so they start making out! Full tongue and everything! It's really funny and shocking :-P
- If you are an art history major, move to Italy and study for the rest of your life. There is enough artwork to last a lifetime and longer.
- The Italian language sounds pretty because pretty much everything ends in a vowel and accents are naturally in the middle of many words. This makes the language sound since since there aren't as many hard sounds.
That's it for today! Bacioni! (*Kisses*)
After school, we did nothing but study. We have an exam tomorrow! I'm scared :( So yea... nothing more to write about the day because we just studied.
So since this is a boring entry, I will write about some things I have observed (I'll probably repeat a lot of things that I have already said but oh well).
- Everyone has a dog and they go to the bathroom everywhere. They are taken into stores and restaurants and anywhere that the owners go.
- Everyone here smokes.
- Italy keeps weird hours, compared to what we are used to in the US. Stores, shops, and bakeries open at a normal hour in the morning, like around 8 or 9, close around 2, and reopen around 4, and then close for the night around 7. At 7, the restaurants open. Bars here are not like bars at home. They are more like cafes and little sandwich shops or bakeries.
- Everyone here owns at least 10 pairs of boots. I bought myself a pair to feel Italian :-P
- All the girls have dark hair, dark eyeliner, and either straight or side-swept bangs that fall in their eyes.
- All the guys are dressed either super metro or really punked out. Their pants are so tight, I can practically count the change in their back pockets.
- People live off of wine, foccacia, pasta, gelato and oranges.
- People walk a lot and from far distances, but they also CRAM onto the buses during rush hour. They are packed in there so tight, they pretty much POP out the doors when the bus stops!
- In this region, everyone's home has a gorgeous view of the Sea.
- Bathrooms are not meant to spend much time in here. The windows let in cold air, the flusher on the toilet takes all my strength to push in, the shower temperature changes at its own will, and the towels are rough!
- People drive CRAZY in this town! There are sometimes 4 mopeds side by side in one lane on the streets and they zip in and out of the itty bitty cars that are driving the same streets.
- The cars are MINUSCULE! You know the smart cars that are on campus that you can pay to use? That is the size of a normal family car here!
- The pigeons and seagulls are fatter and meaner here than in the States. I HATE birds! Stupid creatures, trying to steal my foccacia.
- There are CONDOM machines at random places along the streets!!! So weird and random. I guess maybe they are for the prostitutes that we saw around the older areas and down on the water front?
- There are more churches than grocery stores.
- Everyone makes out EVERY WHERE!!! and for no reason! It's kinda ridic, and REALLY amusing. A couple will just be walking down the street and for no reason, stop and start making out in the middle of the sidewalk! Standing at the bus stop, I guess they get bored, so they start making out! Full tongue and everything! It's really funny and shocking :-P
- If you are an art history major, move to Italy and study for the rest of your life. There is enough artwork to last a lifetime and longer.
- The Italian language sounds pretty because pretty much everything ends in a vowel and accents are naturally in the middle of many words. This makes the language sound since since there aren't as many hard sounds.
That's it for today! Bacioni! (*Kisses*)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
