Tonight in il campo, which is the main public piazza, there was a big party for the civetta contrada (contradas are neighborhoods) who won the most recent palio (it's a horse race in the campo; there are two a summer, and they are the biggest deal ever). I was out having dinner with Ashton and we watched them party and they had two huge video screens and water effects and lighting effects and the horse that won the race came and everyone was happy and eating fancy dinners.
Other contradas are also partying it up tonight. Tortuca is having a pretty big party in their area because they won the July palio this summer. La torre is partying outside of my window with songs like "Disco Inferno" and "It's Rainin' Men." I'm assuming other contradas are having their own fun, too.
In any case, I'm convinced that the Palio and Siena's contradas make it the best city in Italy. The Palio has been going on FOREVER and the pride that everyone has in their neighborhoods and the camaraderie is really nice to see. Even though this is a city, people are still all really familiar and friendly with each other. Italians also aren't as afraid of showing fondness as Americans tend to be, so you just get to see a lot of love all the time.
You also can't compare the Palio to any other sport in terms of how big a deal it is. It's not like baseball where you can pick a team you like. You're born into your contrada. You are BAPTIZED in its baptismal fountain. You grow up learning the songs, wearing the scarves, going to dinners, watching the parades (where if you're a boy you might be a flag bearer or play the drum), and seeing the Palio twice every summer. So if your contrada wins, it means a lot more, because it's really your contrada. It's not just your favorite baseball team.
It's the coolest thing ever, and it makes me so happy to be here.
03 October 2009
29 September 2009
internet in italy
The internet here has this thing where some times a site will be working perfectly fine, and your internet connection is perfectly fine, but it decides to just be lazy and not even bother loading a page.
Internet, I just want you to know that I know that the connection is fine, and that I know you were just on the same site on which I'm now trying to load a different page.
My theory: the internet is Italian here, and like all Italians, especially those in community positions such as post and police offices, it just really doesn't want to work.
Q: Seriously, who works?
A: Not Italians.
Internet, I just want you to know that I know that the connection is fine, and that I know you were just on the same site on which I'm now trying to load a different page.
My theory: the internet is Italian here, and like all Italians, especially those in community positions such as post and police offices, it just really doesn't want to work.
Q: Seriously, who works?
A: Not Italians.
28 September 2009
Settling into Siena
SO since last entry I've been mostly sticking to Siena (with a small trip to Florence, where I bought a fabulous pair of boots). Our other classes have started, and for the most part are very interesting.
I'm taking Italian Language and Culture, obviously, and it's pretty good. Wish we were still learning as fast as we did at first; I also really wish that Wooster had Italian classes so I could continue with my Italian, but alas. Somehow, someday, I will find a way.
Also taking Creative Writing, which has been ok, but not as good as my intro class. Granted, we've barely gotten into writing, so I'm going to give it some time, but... whatevz.
Art History (Iconography!) is really really cool. The only thing cooler than learning Siena's ridiculous history is seeing the art that came about because of it and then actually SEEING that art not just on slides, but in person. Awesome.
Finally, taking Sociology and Sociolinguistics which is THE COOLEST EVER. Well, Sociolinguistics is, but I can't say about Sociology yet because the Prof for that half of the class has been out with injured ankle, I believe it is. But language is so cool so linguistics is cool so everything is awesome.
It's been really nice just hanging around Siena, for the most part. The weather is still gorgeous. More gorgeous, even, since instead of being a billion degrees, it's a nice 80 during the hottest parts and a brisk 56 at night. There was a lot of rain for a week and a half or so, but that hasn't returned yet, so it's been really really nice to hang outside. Outside is the best side, and I've been happy. Also it was nice to go to Florence and really put Siena into perspective - Siena is a lot smaller. However, the number of tourists, which seemed ridiculous at first, are actually a lot less in Siena. Siena's a lot cleaner, too. It's just all around way better. Except the shopping and the duomo in Florence are better, I will give it that. Probably the night life, too, but I've been enjoying myself.
GOOD NEWS, Alison and I finally sat down and planned our fall break plans. We're flying out of Bologna to Barcelona, but actually it's not Barcelona, it's 100 km from Barcelona. Which makes it super cheap, which is awesome. We are perfectly content with fake-Barcelona and will make a day trip visit to the real Barcelona, anyway. After a few days in fake-Barcelona we're going to fly into Edinburgh and see beautiful Scotland. :) WHICH I JUST REALIZED is a hollaback to Wooster and our dear Fighting Scots. That makes it even more cool than just going to Scotland. We'll stay there a few days and then fly back into Pisa and then bus-ride our butts back to Siena.
I'm also looking into a Greece trip over our long weekend, but that all depends on $$$$$.
One of the weekends coming up we are going to another agritourismo, which I am pretty pumped about because they are really awesome. Rumor has it this one is on / near the coast, which is even better.
I've realized that as much as I want to travel and as cheap as it is to do sometimes (and by "cheap" I mean it's more cheap than traveling from America to Greece, for example...) we just really don't have the time. There's so much I want to see, and the facts are that I just won't be able to. Not enough time, not enough funds. Which I am pretty ok with. I really like the idea of getting to know Siena pretty well. It really makes it more of a home.
Some pictures.
Sometimes it is sunny while it rains here. And most times it rains, it isn't for a super long time. The weather is very bipolar.
Here's some puppy-chow making action. (For those of you not from the Midwest, puppy chow is chocolate, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and cereal (usually chex) and it is the best.) Unfortunately, peanut butter is literally 3,77 euro. For like a cup and a half. Ridiculous.
One of the views from Siena's Medici fortress. Lots of great views up there, and it's a really nice place to sit and relax or walk around or run. And around the bottom every Wednesday is a fabulous market with clothes, food, and everything you would ever want ever.
Siena is the best.
I'm taking Italian Language and Culture, obviously, and it's pretty good. Wish we were still learning as fast as we did at first; I also really wish that Wooster had Italian classes so I could continue with my Italian, but alas. Somehow, someday, I will find a way.
Also taking Creative Writing, which has been ok, but not as good as my intro class. Granted, we've barely gotten into writing, so I'm going to give it some time, but... whatevz.
Art History (Iconography!) is really really cool. The only thing cooler than learning Siena's ridiculous history is seeing the art that came about because of it and then actually SEEING that art not just on slides, but in person. Awesome.
Finally, taking Sociology and Sociolinguistics which is THE COOLEST EVER. Well, Sociolinguistics is, but I can't say about Sociology yet because the Prof for that half of the class has been out with injured ankle, I believe it is. But language is so cool so linguistics is cool so everything is awesome.
It's been really nice just hanging around Siena, for the most part. The weather is still gorgeous. More gorgeous, even, since instead of being a billion degrees, it's a nice 80 during the hottest parts and a brisk 56 at night. There was a lot of rain for a week and a half or so, but that hasn't returned yet, so it's been really really nice to hang outside. Outside is the best side, and I've been happy. Also it was nice to go to Florence and really put Siena into perspective - Siena is a lot smaller. However, the number of tourists, which seemed ridiculous at first, are actually a lot less in Siena. Siena's a lot cleaner, too. It's just all around way better. Except the shopping and the duomo in Florence are better, I will give it that. Probably the night life, too, but I've been enjoying myself.
GOOD NEWS, Alison and I finally sat down and planned our fall break plans. We're flying out of Bologna to Barcelona, but actually it's not Barcelona, it's 100 km from Barcelona. Which makes it super cheap, which is awesome. We are perfectly content with fake-Barcelona and will make a day trip visit to the real Barcelona, anyway. After a few days in fake-Barcelona we're going to fly into Edinburgh and see beautiful Scotland. :) WHICH I JUST REALIZED is a hollaback to Wooster and our dear Fighting Scots. That makes it even more cool than just going to Scotland. We'll stay there a few days and then fly back into Pisa and then bus-ride our butts back to Siena.
I'm also looking into a Greece trip over our long weekend, but that all depends on $$$$$.
One of the weekends coming up we are going to another agritourismo, which I am pretty pumped about because they are really awesome. Rumor has it this one is on / near the coast, which is even better.
I've realized that as much as I want to travel and as cheap as it is to do sometimes (and by "cheap" I mean it's more cheap than traveling from America to Greece, for example...) we just really don't have the time. There's so much I want to see, and the facts are that I just won't be able to. Not enough time, not enough funds. Which I am pretty ok with. I really like the idea of getting to know Siena pretty well. It really makes it more of a home.
Some pictures.
Sometimes it is sunny while it rains here. And most times it rains, it isn't for a super long time. The weather is very bipolar.
Here's some puppy-chow making action. (For those of you not from the Midwest, puppy chow is chocolate, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and cereal (usually chex) and it is the best.) Unfortunately, peanut butter is literally 3,77 euro. For like a cup and a half. Ridiculous.
One of the views from Siena's Medici fortress. Lots of great views up there, and it's a really nice place to sit and relax or walk around or run. And around the bottom every Wednesday is a fabulous market with clothes, food, and everything you would ever want ever.Siena is the best.
12 September 2009
Siena, San Gimignano
So as I expected I'm kind of bad at keeping up with this blogging thing. Hanging out on the internet has a tendency to be boring, though, and I'd much rather be out and about or even just watching Barbie in Italian. (By the way, Barbie movies are really weird.) Living here is really fantastic. Most days I go to school, sit through the three hours of Italian in the morning, and then through language labs which are sometimes actually tours around the city. (And which sometimes include TWO tours in one day, and as much as I like learning about Siena, my legs and feet get angry.) Then afterward I hang out with some people in the campo until dinner time, which is at 8:30. So this also means that I frequently need something like gelato to tide me over. I am going to be so fat.
I want gelato right now, in fact. Chocolate mousse gelato is probably one of the best things to happen in the world.
SPEAKING of gelato, actually, we took an optional group trip to San Gimignano which has a gelataria that's won world gelato championships. I got banana and nutella, and it really was ridiculously good, although in retrospect I feel like I should have gotten one of there more exotic flavors. There was also a really beautiful fortress and the view was great. Fortresses are great places for views. It was also free. There was a tower we could choose to climb, but we didn't feel like paying to get in. Also really lazy. Anyway, San Gimignano was really adorable and just a smaller, less touristy version of Siena. It was pretty great, although lacking in the piazza department. But then, I don't think there's a better campo than the Piazza del Campo in Siena.
Siena is fabulous. It's a city, so there are things to do, but it's mostly university students and tourists (depending on the season). It's pretty safe and small, but still exciting. And it has the campo which is where we've been spending a good amount of time. Not sure what we're going to do if it rains / when it starts getting chilly. We spend a good few hours a day sometimes in the campo.
It rained today (this entry is taking many days for me to write, because I am bad at writing much at once). We made puppy chow. We cannot do this every day. Peanut butter is 3.77 euro for about a cup and a half. Not a good deal. (Nutella, on the other hand, is lots cheaper here, unfortunately for my weight.) We also looked up plane ticket prices. Trying to figure out where to go for fall break and also for some weekends coming up. There are so many options, none of them as cheap as I wish they were.
Unfortunately for our weekend plans, it's supposed to rain forever (until next Tuesday), so we're not gonna go to Rome as planned. Going to wait for a sunnier weekend, so that we can do more walking around and less bus ridin. Being thrifty in Italy during rainy times is tough.
SPEAKING of tough, my goal is to find Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Italian AND paperback and to buy it to bring home. I really really want it, but the hardcover is 16,80 euro, which I think is pretty ridonkulous. (That's like 24, 25 dollars. Amazon deals are way better.) I've been in four or five bookstores, to no avail. But I think I'll look in Florence and Rome for a copy, also. There's a whole Harry Potter store in Rome according to my host mama's brother, who is way cool.
All the family we're meeting is cool. I really love the family I'm with, and their family and the friends of theirs we've met. Basically the best.
I want gelato right now, in fact. Chocolate mousse gelato is probably one of the best things to happen in the world.
SPEAKING of gelato, actually, we took an optional group trip to San Gimignano which has a gelataria that's won world gelato championships. I got banana and nutella, and it really was ridiculously good, although in retrospect I feel like I should have gotten one of there more exotic flavors. There was also a really beautiful fortress and the view was great. Fortresses are great places for views. It was also free. There was a tower we could choose to climb, but we didn't feel like paying to get in. Also really lazy. Anyway, San Gimignano was really adorable and just a smaller, less touristy version of Siena. It was pretty great, although lacking in the piazza department. But then, I don't think there's a better campo than the Piazza del Campo in Siena.
San Gimignano is filled with towers that you aren't allowed to climb, but they're very picturesque:
The view from San Gimiagnano's fortress. The place you could go without paying. :)
Siena is fabulous. It's a city, so there are things to do, but it's mostly university students and tourists (depending on the season). It's pretty safe and small, but still exciting. And it has the campo which is where we've been spending a good amount of time. Not sure what we're going to do if it rains / when it starts getting chilly. We spend a good few hours a day sometimes in the campo.
Siena's tower is better.
Siena's campo is fabulous. Here's a contrada parade. No big deal. Party in the campoooo.
It rained today (this entry is taking many days for me to write, because I am bad at writing much at once). We made puppy chow. We cannot do this every day. Peanut butter is 3.77 euro for about a cup and a half. Not a good deal. (Nutella, on the other hand, is lots cheaper here, unfortunately for my weight.) We also looked up plane ticket prices. Trying to figure out where to go for fall break and also for some weekends coming up. There are so many options, none of them as cheap as I wish they were.
Unfortunately for our weekend plans, it's supposed to rain forever (until next Tuesday), so we're not gonna go to Rome as planned. Going to wait for a sunnier weekend, so that we can do more walking around and less bus ridin. Being thrifty in Italy during rainy times is tough.
SPEAKING of tough, my goal is to find Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Italian AND paperback and to buy it to bring home. I really really want it, but the hardcover is 16,80 euro, which I think is pretty ridonkulous. (That's like 24, 25 dollars. Amazon deals are way better.) I've been in four or five bookstores, to no avail. But I think I'll look in Florence and Rome for a copy, also. There's a whole Harry Potter store in Rome according to my host mama's brother, who is way cool.
All the family we're meeting is cool. I really love the family I'm with, and their family and the friends of theirs we've met. Basically the best.
30 August 2009
Cleveland, Chicago, Zurich, Roma, Assisi e Siena
This blog is officially dedicated to my parents, without whom it would not exist. Also they are the best.
Ciao from Siena! This is the second day I've had any internet access at all, but here's the scoop on what's gone down so far in Italia. (P.S. This entry is the length of a short novel. Or a novella.)
PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (or just planes and a bus)
I got to ride on one billion (read "three") planes on the way to Roma and they were pretty decent. On the way to Chicago a nice woman who had dropped off her daughter at college was flying home to Seattle. We had a seat in between us so plenty of room which was awesome. O'Hare airport in Chicago is the biggest thing that ever existed. When I asked for directions to the international terminal I was told to hurry because it would take 20 minutes to get there. (It didn't.)
Probably 75% of the economy section of the absolutely beautiful plane to Zurich was filled with study abroad students. I made friends with four of them when we all got of the plane and we all hung out at the airport while we waited for our next flights. (And by "waited for our next flights" I mean "waited for the Zurich airport to tell us at which gate our flights were.") During the flight I sat next to a nice Greek woman who didn't speak much English. I didn't sleep at all and night was about five seconds long. The food was pretty good though. I recommend Swiss Air for any international flights. Also getting to pick movies/television to watch was super. Because I am cool I watched Sunshine Cleaning and because I am really cool I also started watching 17 Again (although I didn't finish it before the plane landed).
I met a girl from that flight who was also flying to Roma and we hung out and freaked out about customs in Italy. (In case you are curious, customs in the Rome airport consist of walking through a door.) I sat next to a cute (and by cute I mean a bit unattractive and kinda smelly) British couple on the way, but they were loving and nice and I enjoyed the flight when the man had his arms down. Then I waited forever for my luggage which (YAY) wasn't lost/stolen/etc., but for some reason had six condoms in the front pocket when I unpacked it. (This is weird and totally creeped me out.)
Anyway, 16 hours or something later I was in Rome and Alison found me coming out of customs and on half an hour of sleep we got into the buses and started our drive to an agritourismo (tourist farm!) near Assisi.
ASSISI
Upon reaching our destination we lugged our ginormous suitcases up way too many stairs and into the rooms we were assigned. I lived with Kelly, who is awesome. Turns out, everyone on this trip is awesome. There are 25 of us and a whole three boys. Anyway, we ate dinner and it was the longest meal of my life for a couple of reasons. One is that in Italy every meal is the longest meal of my life. There are a billion courses. The other reason is that I was very very tired. Anyway, we all ended up staying up talking anyway, and being really excited and happy.
The next morning I dreamt I was a princess. As in I opened my window to this view:
And that was just one of the windows. Here's a view from the other window and the bathroom window for good measure.
Anyway, it was gorgeous. Everything there was gorgeous, the food was delicious, the people were wonderful (are wonderful) and I think it was the best orientation ever. On our last day there we walked 6 km to Assisi where we went to the Basilica and got a tour from our art history professor. It was ridiculously interesting and I don't think Pete is weird for liking art history so much anymore. Pete is still weird for other reasons, however. Anyway, the weather was hot hot hot and we had to not be skanky because we were going to the Basilica (longer shorts, covered shoulders, etc.). But it was also gorgeous. Here are a couple of Assisi pictures and a picture in front of the Basilica.
Anyhow, after the amazing Basilica (inside which we were allowed to take no photographs), we walked around Assisi a bit and then back to the farm. It was a billion miles (probably 13 or 14 km) and my legs and rear are very sore from it. I also have ridiculous blisters on my feet. I am totally going to be awesome at walking when I come back to the states, because the amount of walking here is ridiculous and also the best.
After we got back to the farm we had enough time to rinse off at best and then leave to go to a gas station outside of Siena to be picked up by our host families.
MI FAMILIA IN ITALIA
My homestay family / house is the best. Hands down. We're about a five minute walk from Il Piazza del Campo (which is the most awesome part of Siena) and only about fifteen or twenty minutes from the school (I think. I'll find out tomorrow when we walk there to start INTENSIVE ITALIAN.) and in the contrada della torre. (That's "the tower" and it's right off of the big clock tower in the piazza.) I'm living with another Siena School student, Julia, who is awesome. We basically have our own apartment with a little kitchen and living room, our two rooms and a shared bathroom. It's awesome.
Our homestay parents (Fabio e Barbara) speak a decent amount of English and are the nicest people ever. The children (Margherita (7) e Arianna (4)) are the cutest things ever and are helping us to learn Italian, and asking us how to say things in English and giggling and saying "Yes!" a lot because it is a cool English word I guess. I really can't get over how sweet they all are, and this family is perfect.
Fabio's mother and father are also hosting a Siena School student and we've gone over there for a couple of meals with them (including Fabio's brother, his pregnant sister-in-law, and his sister). It's a wonderful Italian family and most of them speak some English. The family meals are so lovely and everyone is awesome and everything is awesome and I'm happy happy happy.
A bunch of Siena School students ended up meeting up in il campo this afternoon and we wandered around and had a lovely time and got gelato.
LA LINGUA ITALIANA
I don't know if that's the correct grammar or way to phrase that or anything, but I do know that I've learned a ton of Italian words and phrases since yesterday. The most helpful has been "Como se dice ____?" which is "How do you say ____?" Margherita likes to help teach words and Fabio e Barbara will always answer questions and it's really easy to pick things up.
However, I don't know how to conjugate verbs at all and this is ridiculously frustrating. I can't wait to actually start learning Italian, since we haven't started classes yet. We watched Tulli (Tinkerbell) this morning with Margherita and she'd commentate in Italian, and we could tell some of what she was saying. Then we watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Italian with English subtitles. Italians have this thing where they think dubbing is the best, so there are tons of English movies and a bunch of seasons of Friends and a couple of House in Italian, and I think it'll really help my Italian skills.
We're hearing and seeing Italian everywhere so it's almost tough to think in English because I keep trying to think in what is all around me. At the same time, I've managed very little Italian so it's like having fluff in my brain.
Speaking of fluff...
FUN FACT: The Italian equivalent to "Fluffy" is "Foofi."
P.S. I'm totally putting pictures up on flikr or something eventually. Don't worry.
Ciao from Siena! This is the second day I've had any internet access at all, but here's the scoop on what's gone down so far in Italia. (P.S. This entry is the length of a short novel. Or a novella.)
PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (or just planes and a bus)
I got to ride on one billion (read "three") planes on the way to Roma and they were pretty decent. On the way to Chicago a nice woman who had dropped off her daughter at college was flying home to Seattle. We had a seat in between us so plenty of room which was awesome. O'Hare airport in Chicago is the biggest thing that ever existed. When I asked for directions to the international terminal I was told to hurry because it would take 20 minutes to get there. (It didn't.)
Probably 75% of the economy section of the absolutely beautiful plane to Zurich was filled with study abroad students. I made friends with four of them when we all got of the plane and we all hung out at the airport while we waited for our next flights. (And by "waited for our next flights" I mean "waited for the Zurich airport to tell us at which gate our flights were.") During the flight I sat next to a nice Greek woman who didn't speak much English. I didn't sleep at all and night was about five seconds long. The food was pretty good though. I recommend Swiss Air for any international flights. Also getting to pick movies/television to watch was super. Because I am cool I watched Sunshine Cleaning and because I am really cool I also started watching 17 Again (although I didn't finish it before the plane landed).
I met a girl from that flight who was also flying to Roma and we hung out and freaked out about customs in Italy. (In case you are curious, customs in the Rome airport consist of walking through a door.) I sat next to a cute (and by cute I mean a bit unattractive and kinda smelly) British couple on the way, but they were loving and nice and I enjoyed the flight when the man had his arms down. Then I waited forever for my luggage which (YAY) wasn't lost/stolen/etc., but for some reason had six condoms in the front pocket when I unpacked it. (This is weird and totally creeped me out.)
Anyway, 16 hours or something later I was in Rome and Alison found me coming out of customs and on half an hour of sleep we got into the buses and started our drive to an agritourismo (tourist farm!) near Assisi.
ASSISI
Upon reaching our destination we lugged our ginormous suitcases up way too many stairs and into the rooms we were assigned. I lived with Kelly, who is awesome. Turns out, everyone on this trip is awesome. There are 25 of us and a whole three boys. Anyway, we ate dinner and it was the longest meal of my life for a couple of reasons. One is that in Italy every meal is the longest meal of my life. There are a billion courses. The other reason is that I was very very tired. Anyway, we all ended up staying up talking anyway, and being really excited and happy.
The next morning I dreamt I was a princess. As in I opened my window to this view:
And that was just one of the windows. Here's a view from the other window and the bathroom window for good measure.
Anyway, it was gorgeous. Everything there was gorgeous, the food was delicious, the people were wonderful (are wonderful) and I think it was the best orientation ever. On our last day there we walked 6 km to Assisi where we went to the Basilica and got a tour from our art history professor. It was ridiculously interesting and I don't think Pete is weird for liking art history so much anymore. Pete is still weird for other reasons, however. Anyway, the weather was hot hot hot and we had to not be skanky because we were going to the Basilica (longer shorts, covered shoulders, etc.). But it was also gorgeous. Here are a couple of Assisi pictures and a picture in front of the Basilica.
Anyhow, after the amazing Basilica (inside which we were allowed to take no photographs), we walked around Assisi a bit and then back to the farm. It was a billion miles (probably 13 or 14 km) and my legs and rear are very sore from it. I also have ridiculous blisters on my feet. I am totally going to be awesome at walking when I come back to the states, because the amount of walking here is ridiculous and also the best.
After we got back to the farm we had enough time to rinse off at best and then leave to go to a gas station outside of Siena to be picked up by our host families.
MI FAMILIA IN ITALIA
My homestay family / house is the best. Hands down. We're about a five minute walk from Il Piazza del Campo (which is the most awesome part of Siena) and only about fifteen or twenty minutes from the school (I think. I'll find out tomorrow when we walk there to start INTENSIVE ITALIAN.) and in the contrada della torre. (That's "the tower" and it's right off of the big clock tower in the piazza.) I'm living with another Siena School student, Julia, who is awesome. We basically have our own apartment with a little kitchen and living room, our two rooms and a shared bathroom. It's awesome.
Our homestay parents (Fabio e Barbara) speak a decent amount of English and are the nicest people ever. The children (Margherita (7) e Arianna (4)) are the cutest things ever and are helping us to learn Italian, and asking us how to say things in English and giggling and saying "Yes!" a lot because it is a cool English word I guess. I really can't get over how sweet they all are, and this family is perfect.
Fabio's mother and father are also hosting a Siena School student and we've gone over there for a couple of meals with them (including Fabio's brother, his pregnant sister-in-law, and his sister). It's a wonderful Italian family and most of them speak some English. The family meals are so lovely and everyone is awesome and everything is awesome and I'm happy happy happy.
A bunch of Siena School students ended up meeting up in il campo this afternoon and we wandered around and had a lovely time and got gelato.
LA LINGUA ITALIANA
I don't know if that's the correct grammar or way to phrase that or anything, but I do know that I've learned a ton of Italian words and phrases since yesterday. The most helpful has been "Como se dice ____?" which is "How do you say ____?" Margherita likes to help teach words and Fabio e Barbara will always answer questions and it's really easy to pick things up.
However, I don't know how to conjugate verbs at all and this is ridiculously frustrating. I can't wait to actually start learning Italian, since we haven't started classes yet. We watched Tulli (Tinkerbell) this morning with Margherita and she'd commentate in Italian, and we could tell some of what she was saying. Then we watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Italian with English subtitles. Italians have this thing where they think dubbing is the best, so there are tons of English movies and a bunch of seasons of Friends and a couple of House in Italian, and I think it'll really help my Italian skills.
We're hearing and seeing Italian everywhere so it's almost tough to think in English because I keep trying to think in what is all around me. At the same time, I've managed very little Italian so it's like having fluff in my brain.
Speaking of fluff...
FUN FACT: The Italian equivalent to "Fluffy" is "Foofi."
P.S. I'm totally putting pictures up on flikr or something eventually. Don't worry.
26 August 2009
aaaaahhhhh
It is officially only about an hour until we leave for good ole Cleveland Hopkins airport. Starting to get ridiculously anxious, but here are the questions on my mind:
- Are they going to feed me dinner? (I don't have time to go get dinner in Chicago.)
- Will I be sitting next to a creeper?
- How about a hot dude?
- Will I look seven dragging two big suitcases behind me?
- ...do I have everything I need?
24 August 2009
the day after the day after tomorrow...
is the day that I'm leaving for Italy. No packing has been done yet, and I've got some clothes to alter before I go, but I think I hopefully maybe probably have enough time. Perhaps.
In any case, this weekend was spent on Chautauqua Lake, which is always nice. I'm pretty jealous to be missing my family's trip up for Labor Day (which isn't celebrated by Wooster, anyway, but I'd probably go if I wasn't in Italy, which I will be IN THREE DAYS WHAT?). I'm also really really really sad to miss a semester in Wooster, even though this semester will be the best ever. In my opinion, things that are fun shouldn't happen when I'm not there. When I'm in Italy, Wooster should just pause and wait for me to get back. My friends (sorry guys) who are there should not be allowed to hang out with each other and have good times. They should be separately in their rooms, mourning my absence.
Obviously.
In any case, this weekend was spent on Chautauqua Lake, which is always nice. I'm pretty jealous to be missing my family's trip up for Labor Day (which isn't celebrated by Wooster, anyway, but I'd probably go if I wasn't in Italy, which I will be IN THREE DAYS WHAT?). I'm also really really really sad to miss a semester in Wooster, even though this semester will be the best ever. In my opinion, things that are fun shouldn't happen when I'm not there. When I'm in Italy, Wooster should just pause and wait for me to get back. My friends (sorry guys) who are there should not be allowed to hang out with each other and have good times. They should be separately in their rooms, mourning my absence.
Obviously.
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