It was November but now it’s December

The past two weeks have been jam packed. Yesterday I came home from school and finally just passed out from pure exhaustion. Midterms ran from last Monday until this Wednesday, and it was no picnic. Not necessarily hard, but it was definitely time consuming making study guides in Italian and then trying to cram in vocabulary that may be useful for the exam. I will never again complain about studying for an exam in English.

[Jokes.]

Just when we thought we would go crazy from lack of sleep and over-stimulation of our brains, we were rejuvenated with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at one of our director’s houses. Now, I’m really more of a Christmas person, and don’t typically put that much emphasis on Thanksgiving, but I think the fact that I’m away from home and my family  made me a bit homesick for a good ol’ American holiday. And, thanks to our amazing directors and Pam, our famous (with Smithies at least) chef and past-host mom, I was one hundred percent satisfied with my American-Thanksgiving-In-Italy. The food was amazing, the setting was homey, and the company was entertaining. In addition our 10 JYA students (myself included), Monica and Maria (our directors), Maria’s two children, and 2 Italian friends of the program, we were joined by two former Smith JYA Florence students, one who lives in Florence full time with her husband and 4 year-old (I’m guessing) son and the other who was visiting after leading a student tour in Rome the week before, and two of our professors.

Having the professors there was one of my favorite parts of the night. Early on in the evening, we decided to play “BS”, but since we were accompanied by Maria’s kids, we decided to change the name to “Scherzi”, meaning “Jokes.” During our second round, our Italian Literature professor (a man who seems just as fit to be an actor as a college professor) joined in. He was absolutely horrible at the game, and kept getting outed by everyone. (Such a bad liar!) Later in the night, we played “Spoons” and our history professor (who many of us have a tiny crush on…) joined in. This time, both of them were horrible at the game! Regardless, it was fun to get to know our professors outside of class. It’s not something I feel I often get to do at Smith, and it’s nice to have my professors see something other than the studious side of me, even if it did give reason for them to make fun of me. Thanks, guys.

Christmas decorations on the walk to Maria's

What would Thanksgiving be without a hand Turkey? (Made by us, of course.)

Una cena bellissima!

We waited all day for this!

Magic tricks after dinner with Professor Maccari? Certo!

After our “cena del Giorno di Ringraziamento” (Thanksgiving dinner), two friends and I set off for Barcelona, Spain. Talk about no rest for the weary! Our flight left from Pisa at 9:30 am, so we set off for the airport from Florence around 4:30 am. (Gotta love those early morning alarms.) We finally arrived at our hostel around 3 pm, and after a quick shower, we set out to wander around Las Ramblas, one of the main streets in Barcelona, and made our way down to the waterfront. We got there just as the sun was setting, which was a spectacular sight. After a dinner of some not-so-authentic food (what can I say? We were craving sushi…) we headed to bed early. The next day we were up and out to see some more sights. First we visited La Sagrada Familia, an ENORMOUS temple designed by Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona’s prized architect. This place is AMAZING! It was started in 1882, but Gaudi died in 1926, before the church’s completion. Since then, Barcelona has continued with construction of the church, and it’s estimated that even today only 50% of the temple is completed. In addition to finishing the construction, the city has to keep up with restoration, meaning they are building AND restoring the temple at the same time. Crazy. I’m sure my pictures don’t do any justice to the building, as it was so big that it couldn’t fit in the frame of my tiny camera! Che peccato!

La Sagrada Familia

Original plans for the Temple

Details of La Sagrada

Sunset at the end of Las Ramblas

After the church came Park Güell, another creation by Gaudi. You could tell he must have been an amazing architect with crazy ideas. I love his use of curved walls and roofs. Some of his buildings made me feel as though I were in some alternate reality…maybe Whoville from How The Grinch Stole Christmas?

The view from Park Güell

Park Güell

That night we enjoyed a dinner of Sangria, Paella, and stuffed potatoes. The next morning, bright and early, we set off for Girona. What a mistake! Unfortunately, we went on a Sunday, meaning EVERYTHING was closed! In addition, our hostel was horrendous. I literally felt like I was spending the night in the sewers. I think we all got home and washed everything we had brought on the trip! Not exactly an ideal way to end a trip, but I loved Barcelona, and would definitely go back again. Who knows? Maybe in the spring? It was nice to have warm weather and NO RAIN for a change! (Seriously Florence, do you EVER stop raining?)

The countdown for Christmas in Bradford begins. I can’t wait! Kerosene lamps, Christmas pageant, good food, and glug (of course) – here I come!

Music for Today: Love Lost by Temper Trap

 

 

Dear University of Florence, I’d like to have some words with you……

This morning I woke up bright and early (6:30. Ugh.) and jumped out of bed so I could make it in time for my 9 am class at the University of Florence. (Side bar: for me to get anywhere these days, I need to leave an hour early due to the lovely punctuality…or lack thereof…of the Italian public transit system.) Just before leaving to catch the bus, I decide to check the Uni website, as my class was cancelled last Tuesday and I showed up and waited for an hour completely unaware of that fact. Go figure, my class is cancelled for this whole week. I’m all for more free time (especially with this being midterm week) but I’d also like to get some more practice with going to University before I actually have to do it for real next semester.

I started writing my final paper about the differences between American and Italian Universities the other night and I think I’ve found a way to sum up these differences: Level of leniency. Though I can only speak for Smith College, the difference in the level of leniency between Smith and the University of Florence is tremendous. Last Monday, a girl came into class an hour and forty minutes late (for a two hour class) and the professor responded to this with “Better late than never, right?” Wrong. Twenty minutes out of two hours is nothing. Especially when you continuously get let out 15 minutes early! (I’m not complaining about that.) And it’s not just the professors. Although we are supposed to greet our elders and betters with the formal “Lei”, I don’t always feel that, in the case of professors, it is deserved. Do I really owe respect to someone who comes into class an hour late, answers their cell phone during class, leaves early because they didn’t have time to go grocery shopping in the morning (true story), or makes their final exams impossible to pass (in one class I sit next to a kid who has taken the professor’s final exam four times and has yet to pass…) I’m not sure I do. Maybe it’s just me, but I expect a professor to be on time, prepared, and ready to teach. In return, I will be on time, prepared, and ready to learn. I guess it’s not just laws that change when you cross a border…Enough ranting.

In other news, my life as of late has been full of 3 B’s: Brussels, Brownies, and Books.

The First B, Brussels: Two weeks ago, a group of Smithies went to Brussels for a (short) trip. We were literally only there for a little more than 24 hours, arriving late Friday night and leaving early Sunday morning. The trip was great, though I would have loved to have had another day there. I’ve been to Brussels before, but I felt as though this time I got to see so much more of the city, and do so much more as well. Saturday morning we got up early and set off (in the pouring rain that didn’t stop the entire time we were there) for the Grand Markt, the large square that is home to the House of the King and a bunch of old Guild buildings. I absolutely love this square. It’s so beautiful. The mixture of gold and black (courtesy of aging) and the style of the architecture makes you feel regal just for being there. We went inside the Maison du Roi and learned a bit about Brussels history. More importantly (for us anyway) we got to see the room that houses all of the costumes of Mannekin Pis (a statue of a little boy peeing that is beloved by all Brussels residents.) Some of them were so funny and unbelievable non-PC, but cute nonetheless. After the museum, we set off to find waffles. (Unfortunately, there were no delicious Gluten-Free ones for me, but I survived with a chocolate milkshake.) After we had finished our treats and dried off as much as possible, we set off to see Mannekin Pis and wander around the city some more. We wandered for a loooong time, and then decided it was time for french fries & mayonnaise. It sounds like an odd combination, but it’s delicious. The mayonnaise in Belgium is flavored a bit so it seems more like a sauce than just plain mayo. So good!

Our next stop was the music museum, where we were given headphones and able to listen to the different types of instruments displayed there. Sure, the instruments were beautiful and some I had never seen before, but the best part of the museum was the ability to interact with the displays and hear all different types of music. I think we spent a few hours in there, wandering around and dancing (you can’t help but bob your head the entire time you’re in the museum.) After the music museum I had wanted to check out the Magritte museum across the street, but tickets were sold out. (Boo.) Someday…

That night we set out to find some real Belgian cuisine, and boy did we find it. While searching for some other restaurant (wandering around the same street for a long, long time), we stumbled upon a place with no sign out side, but TONS of people and a delicious smell. Obviously we had to eat there. It was nice to have mashed potatoes that didn’t come out of a box and weren’t whipped to a pulp! (Sorry Italy, you are not known for your potatoes.) The food was great, and when we got the bill, we realized it was the same place we had been frantically searching for before. Oh Brussels. You are such a tricky city.

La Maison du Roi

Les Palais de Corporations

Mannekin Pis

Beautiful Brussels at Night

The Second B, Brownies: Lately this is what I have been missing from home. Not just brownies, but cooking and baking. Not that I do it all that often, or that I’m a wonderful chef (Ask anyone. I’m not.) But one of my favorite things about fall is coming home and walking into a warm kitchen that smells like homemade goodies. Since our Pistoia internship was cancelled last Friday due to a train strike (How completely atypical of you, Italy) Leda and I decided to make brownies. Gluten Free, of course. The first part of this adventure called for a trip to the grocery store. Forgetting that I was, in fact, in another country, I forgot to translate the words for ingredients before venturing out to Esse Lunga (a nearby supermarket with great sconti (discounts). So, by my own fault, I spent about forty-five minutes searching for brown sugar (zucchero di canna) and baking soda (bicarbonato di sodio.) After miming what I wanted to a few people and getting nowhere (seriously, you can’t use your hands to indicate ingredients) I finally found a small baking section with small test tubes of vanilla (not joking) and Aha! Brown sugar! Go figure that this section was in a small room in the back, tucked in the corner near the fish section, along with bottled water and some kind of alkaseltzer type product. No wonder I couldn’t find it.

Next came conversions for amounts (yay metric system!), and then we were off and running! I had found the recipe on a gluten-free website, but as I haven’t had much luck with GF baking in the past, I was quite skeptical. It turns out, the recipe is amazing! The brownies came out wonderfully (just a little burned, but not enough to ruin them), and tasted just like real ones! THANK GOD. Even my host family enjoyed them! (They barely lasted a night in our house. 6 women. Go figure.) It was so nice to be able to hang out, bake, and feel like this house is my home, rather than just some place I’m staying in. A perfect way to spend a rainy day.

The perfect gluten-free brownie recipe, if you’re interested –> http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/01/dark-chocolate-brownies.html

Gli Ingredienti

 

Mixing, mixing...

Mmm, brownie batter.

Before...

Finito!

The Third B, Books: Midterm time! Smith in Italy feels a lot like Smith in Northampton. You do a whole lot of nothing, and then BAM! Everything is crammed into the last month of the semester. This week has been spent studying, studying, studying. History of Florence exam yesterday, Art history today (for those taking it, me excluded), grammar exam tomorrow, and Italian Literature next week. Then, onto final papers! I can’t believe I go home for break in less than a month! This semester has flown by. I can’t even imagine how it must feel for students abroad for only one semester. I would not be ready to leave here after only 3 months! It’s just too short! I know Smith is considering adding a semester option for the Florence JYA program, but I really hope they don’t. One semester is not enough time to really get to know a place. As soon as you get a routine and get comfortable, it’s time to leave! I’ll be glad for a break at home, but I am nowhere near ready to be done with Italy. There’s too much left to explore.

Thursday is our Smith Thanksgiving at the house of our director, Maria. I’m so excited for turkey and mashed potatoes! And pie!!!!!!! Hopefully there will be one for me! Ah pumpkin pie, how I’ve missed you! Then Friday morning (no Pistoia…again) I head off to Spain for the weekend. Barcelona for 2 days, then Girona for one. An exciting weekend ahead! Now,if I could just focus on studying…

Music for Today: O Children by Nick Cave

Lucca has the best walls out of all the walls.

Lucca at sunset

Yesterday a friend and I took a little day trip to Lucca, a small medieval town about an hour and a half out of Florence. We (finally) got up early and got our butts moving, arriving by train in Lucca around one. (Okay, so not super early, but early for us. Trust me.) One of the biggest attractions about Lucca is the medieval wall that still surrounds the city. Italian cities used walls during medieval times to protect from intruders. Most of the cities have since then removed the walls, or the walls were somehow destroyed at some point. Lucca’s remain intact and stand as an example of 16th century architecture. Today, the walls have trees and grass planted on top of the ramparts, and the wall is full of people biking, running, walking dogs, or just enjoying a stroll. The wall is only 3 miles around and it’s a great way to see the city.

Medieval walls. All well and good. The best part about Lucca for me? THE FALL COLORS! When we arrived off the train and crossed the street to get to the wall, we were bombarded with orange and red leaves. Oh hi fall, nice of you to finally make it to Italy! It is November 7th, and this was the first time I had seen fall colors here. It was so beautiful and a nice reminder of home. I definitely took way too many pictures of what was probably the same scene over and over.

Along the wall

Hello fall!

When the sun sets, it’s time to go home.

Our day in Lucca was quite relaxing. In many of the small cities, there’s not really all that much to see. You go and admire the buildings, the layout of the town, the small shops, maybe one or two main tourist attractions, and then you’ve got the town covered. Lucca is a bit like that. They have a tower that you can climb up and get great views of the city, the wall, a botanic garden (which, much to our dismay, closed for the season the day before we got there), a Duomo, and a bunch of other small churches. And so, without the pressure of feeling like we had a million tourist-type things we had to do and see, we were free to stroll around the wall, peak into shops, and best of all, have a little picnic in the grass on the wall. It was so nice to relax and take in the nature around us, something we don’t often get to do living in a city like Florence. All in all it was a wonderful day.

One of the topics brought up in discussion as we watched the sun setting over Lucca was that of the seemingly ever present feeling we have that we always need to be doing something new and exciting during our time abroad. Ever since I arrived here, I have been feeling like every second I spend in Florence should be filled with excitement. I feel as though this is something that many students abroad for an extended period of time struggle with or think about, even if they can’t exactly put the feeling into words. For me, it seems to be something that springs to mind when I talk to people who are on the outside of this experience (family, friends at home, etc.) Everyone is so excited for me to be here and to be having this experience (and so am I, don’t get me wrong) and talks about how many adventures I’m going to have. Yes, I am having adventures, but I’m also living a life. It’s hard to balance these two things sometimes. If I’m tired and want to go to bed at 10 on a Saturday night, I sometimes feel like I am cheating my experience. Shouldn’t I be out making memories and making the most of my time here? Sure, but should I also do what I would normally do in my everyday life back in the States? Yes, that too. Sometimes it’s as though there’s a little debate team in my head: Go out! No, rest, you’re exhausted. No! Go see the city! What to do, what to do. It’s interesting how everyone brings up the topic of homesickness as the hardest thing to deal with abroad, but I’d like to challenge that. I think it’s the process of exchanging one life for another, and understanding that, in whatever place, it’s still life. Everyday life.

Just something to think about.

Music for today: Monster Ballads by Josh Ritter

Life Issues That Really Aren’t Issues At All.

Today I stumbled upon a problem. There are too many things I want to do during my time here in Florence. Is this actually a problem or is it absolutely awesome? I’m thinking the latter…I made a list in case you were curious (whoever “you” is.)

ALL THE THINGS I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE RIGHT NOW:

1. Pick one university class to audit this semester. So far this has proved difficult, and not just because it’s hard to find one that fits in with the schedule of Smith courses we have to take here. It’s also been difficult because I keep finding ones I like! So far I’ve gone to 3 different courses (General Linguistics & Analyses of Modern Language, History of the Italian Language, and Italian Philology) and liked them all. Okay, so I really didn’t understand much from the general linguistics class (who knew memorizing the International Phonetic Alphabet two years ago would ACTUALLY prove to be useful later on? Not me. And that’s why I forgot it all about a year and a half ago. Darn.) but the others were quite interesting once my ear acclimated itself to the professor’s way of speaking. (Seriously, every professor speaks so differently!) But alas, I must chose one. I was thinking about choosing History of the Italian Language, but – go figure – it’s only a half-semester course, and guess what? It ends in 4 days! Great. Italy, I love you, but come on! Let’s pull it together a little bit.
2. Volunteer with Milano25. About 2 weeks ago, an amazingly inspirational woman named Caterina came to the Sede to introduce herself and her company to us. A while back, Caterina’s boyfriend (or at least someone very close to her) passed away from some type of cancer. He had owned a taxi, and upon his death, the taxi was left in her possession. Today, Caterina uses this same taxi (now painted with colorful animal characters all over it) to bring sick children/teenagers to hospitals or on outings in the city and surrounding countryside. While Caterina was explaining her story to us, I couldn’t help but start crying. I kept thinking of Melissa, my roommate from back when I was enrolled at Hobart & William Smith, and her struggle with cancer, and her death this past summer. I spoke with Caterina a bit about this (I mean, here I was crying while she spoke. I owed her some sort of explanation.) and she gave me this advice: I could either take my sadness and put it away somewhere and not think about it, or I could embrace it and make something of it, for Melissa. I think I’d like to choose the latter option. I don’t doubt that it will be difficult, as I’m now dealing with two other family members who have since been diagnosed with cancer, but I think the benefits (both for me and the people I would work with) outweigh the difficulties. I’ve been postponing asking our director about making a time for me to begin my volunteering, but I think I’m finally ready. Tomorrow. Yes.
3. Sing! This one I’m not sure about. I want to SING!!!!!  I miss singing, I miss my Poofs, I miss belting out random songs while driving or when I think no one is home. I rarely get alone time at my host-house, which I don’t mind at all, except I’m very self-conscious about just bursting into song while others are going about their daily lives. I would feel like I’m making others feel as though they’ve been cast in a musical that they didn’t sign up for. This one I have to think about some more…
4. WRITE MORE! I’ve been so negligent about all the writing I wanted to do here! This blog, my personal journal, letters, emails, AHH! The other day Maria (our director) asked if any of us have a blog that Bruno (next year’s director) could send out to potential Florence JYA-ers for next year. I absentmindedly said that I have one, which, obviously I do, but now I feel like I should keep up with it more/say something more intriguing. (Subliminal messages: Come to Florence! Tell your friends to come to Florence! Tell Smith not to change the location of the Sede!)
5. Travel! I love that I have tons of things to do in Florence, what with school, Pistoia, other volunteer/work opportunities, and University courses and all, but I want to travel! Next weekend a group of us are heading off to Brussels, Belgium for the weekend. I’ve been to Brussels before, but I’m excited to go back. Belgium is one of my favorite European countries (probably third to Italy [duhhh] and Switzerland.) It will be my first trip out of Italy since I arrived here, but certainly not my last. For Thanksgiving I’m off to Spain, and then to London after winter break. (Anyone have couches in either of those places? I’m really good at washing dishes. Ask anyone…)

Maybe that’s all. 5 things may not seem like a lot, but there’s a lot entailed in those 5 things. Oy. So much to do, so much to do.

In other news, I’m really feeling like I’m connecting with my host mom. She’s hilarious, and I feel like I can really talk to her. The other day we had a long conversation about her opinions about prisoners and how she thinks prison in Italy seems like a nice vacation because many prisoners don’t have to do any kind of work while they are incarcerated. I told her about the NH prison store in Concord where some prisoners are taught to make (beautiful) Amish boxes and furniture, and she exclaimed that she’d love to take a trip to NH and go to prison, if she can take one of these classes! Best response ever. She’s so easy-going and welcoming, as are all the other host families here from what I’ve heard. I feel so lucky to have been placed in this house. Sure, the bus ride gets old after 10 minutes of being stuck in traffic with another 20 to go on the road, but I like being outside of the city. Tonight when I got off the bus and starting my 30 second walk to my house, I turned back to see if any cars were coming before I crossed the road. Behind me was the most gorgeous sunset. A vibrant pink with clouds that seemed blue-gray. Beautiful. I need to be better about taking pictures, but sometimes I worry that when I travel I get stuck behind a lens and miss what is actually there. I’ll work on finding a balance, and then be better about posting pictures so that you can see what I see…or at least a copy of it.

IN OTHER REALLY REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS: KINGS OF LEON IS COMING TO BOLOGNA!!! WHO WANTS TO GO?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?! I DO!!!!

And in that spirit…music for today: Radioactive by Kings of Leon

Dear Mom, please send…

Blankets. I am freezing cold as I sit in my room writing this post. I’ve been fairly negligent about keeping this updated, but I hope to get better (if my hands don’t freeze to my computer.) Seriously. I was expecting warm weather for much longer. I literally have to hold onto the small light above my bed to defrost my hands. I kid you not.

Besides the cold, things here are going swimmingly. I can’t believe it’s been a month already! We finally finished our orientation on October 8th, so this past week was our first week of “real classes”, as we’ve all been calling them. So far, my “real classes” consist of an Italian grammar course, History of Florence, an Italian literature course, and my Pistoia internship.

Oh wait. What’s Pistoia? Thanks for asking! Every Friday, I hop on a bus, then a train, then two more buses, and make my way to a small town outside of Florence called Pistoia to observe/help in a kindergarten classroom. The school I help at is called “La Filastrocca.” La Filastrocca is a public kindergarten that focuses on reading and story telling. I’ve only been one time so far, but already it seems like an amazing place. The school is organized around the idea that every child should be able to have the sensation that he or she has done well at something everyday, and the teachers work hard to provide many opportunities for each child to get involved. For example, the kids are in charge of attendance, setting up tables for lunch, bringing food to their classmates, clearing the tables after lunch, cleaning bathrooms..even repairing books in the library! This way, even if a child is too shy to participate in class or has some other disadvantage in the classroom, he or she can help with one of these other jobs and feel as though they’ve achieved something. (Especially since they are all praised highly for their efforts in these jobs.) At first I thought that having kids do all these jobs would create chaos within the school. And it does. But it’s a good chaos…no, a great chaos. The kids are up out of their seats, walking/running/skipping around, working together for a common goal – the running of the school. I stayed in the classroom and ate lunch with the kids. It was quite strange having a 4 year old clear my plate for me, but it’s so important that the students stick to their jobs and are able to complete them. These kids are so willing and able to do their jobs, and the pride in their work is evident on their smiling faces and in the way they yell for me to watch everything they do. It’s such a wonderful change from schools where kids are constantly in their seats, waiting for the teacher to do something or get something for them. Here it’s as though the teachers have all joined together and said, “Sure, I can do this for you. But look, you can do it too, and you can do it just as well as I can.” What a positive message. I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the highlights of my year.

Fun fact: The teacher I work with, Alga, really stressed the importance of talking about the students in a way that uses both the masculine and feminine forms (ie. i bambini, for the boys, and le bambine, for girls, instead of only using “i bambini”, which can mean a group of kids with both girls and boys in it.) Alga explained that this let’s the kids know that they all have their own identity as a girl or a boy at the school and that they are not clumped into one big group. I wonder if this also helps set a foundation for helping the kids learn about the use of the masculine and feminine in the Italian language, and aids them as they increase their vocabulary. Who knows. Something to think about…

ANYWAY. I rambled. Ah yes, “real classes.” In addition to my classes with Smith, I have to audit a class at the University of Florence. I started looking through the possible courses I could take at the University, and I think I’ve found two that I would like to take. One is a general linguistic theory class. The Professor who teaches it has taught all over, here in Italy, at MIT, in England, and a few other places as well. But get this: When she was doing her graduate work, her faculty advisor was Noam Chomsky. (For anyone who isn’t a linguistics nerd like me, he is basically the God of linguistics. He’s ridiculous.) I’m pretty sure this is fate. The other course I’m thinking about is one on the philology of modern languages. It’s kind of like I’m in linguistics heaven here. There are so many courses to choose from! BUT, we have to find courses that fit around our Smith course schedule, and voila. These are my choices.

Update: Now, in addition to my freezing hands, I am quite hungry. And dinner is not for another 2 hours. Oy…

Speaking of food, everything has been so far so good. I had one little stomach fiasco (is that an oxymoron? a little fiasco?) two weeks ago, but all is well now. It was so hard explaining (in Italian) to all the Smith professors (who had gathered around me as I laid in pain on a small cot in the Smith center) that sometimes this just happens and I can’t explain it. They wanted to know if I should go to the hospital, was I allergic to anything else, had they done something wrong? I can’t remember how many times I said “No, this just happens and I don’t know why” but it didn’t quite register. Either that or my Italian sucks and that’s not what I was saying at all. It’s 50/50 most of the time.

It’s interesting to look at the ingredients of gluten-free food here. In the US, most GF items are made with either corn flour or rice flour, or some other substitute. In Italy, they use a mixture of various types. Most of the pasta I eat is made of a combination of rice and corn flour. And guess what? It’s AMAZING! It actually tastes like real pasta! In the US, the “pasta” I make usually a.) turns to mush, b.) is absolutely disgusting, or c.) turns to mush, is absolutely disgusting, AND takes almost an hour to cook. Here? None of the above. Fantastic. I really want to buy a bunch of bags of pasta and take them home with me when I go home for Christmas. Can I do that or will the airport dogs be all over me in a heartbeat? Anyone?

I’m seriously contemplating going and putting on my gloves. Or making tea. Probably the latter. In any case, this has been a crazy long post, and I must do what little homework I have. My cousin comes to visit me this week, and I’m pumped. A few weeks ago she sent me a care package full of GF goodies (including pretzels. AMAZING!) and then informed me she’d be coming to capture me to come and stay in a hotel with her for a long weekend. The. Best.

Until I remember to update this again, ciao!

Music For Today: Beautiful Beat by Nada Surf

 

((And here I am making gluten-free gnocchi…)

mixing

still not quite edible looking...

a messy mess

success!

Waka waka, eh eh.

First full week down. So many to go and I’m excited for it. So far orientation has been sort of a bust, at least in terms of the classes. Oddly enough, I wish we were doing some kind of grammar review. I feel as though we’re speaking incorrectly a lot of the time, but not being corrected. I can usually “feel it” when I say something wrong (or maybe it’s just that I can see a confused italian face in front of me searching for explanation..) but I’d like to know how to fix my mistakes. I’m not native. Help me!

As part of our orientation, we have to take a Florence history class, an art history class, go to cooking lessons (full of gluten free goodies and leftovers for me. Since nobody else eats “my food”, I get to take a lot of it home and save it for lunch. Tiramisù is just as good 3 days later) take tours around the city while learning about the bus system, the university, etc., and take a class called “Italiano in Movimento” – Italian in movement. I’m not quite sure the point of this class. Last week we talked about kitchen appliances, gave a presentation on Smith to some Italian students (I could feel their boredom from across the room…), and went on a 2.5 hour scavenger hunt that involved us getting lost more than actually finding what we were supposed to. I think it’s supposed to be fun and get us to practice our Italian, but we just get annoyed that we’re doing what feels like “kid stuff” when last semester we talked about Dante, Boccacciio, and the like. From college stuff to kindergarten stuff. I’m confused. But I’ll put on a smile and keep going…

Other than that, life has been good. A lot of walking around aimlessly has been involved, which is both good and bad. Good: I’m getting adjusted to the streets and starting to figure out my way around. Bad: I get sick of walking around so much. I need to find something to actually DO once I get finished walking (other than buy things. I might be poor soon.) Saturday two friends and I went to Siena. It was amazing to be back there, especially without the crowd of the Palio-goers. The last time I was there, I could barely get through the streets. This time, they were almost empty. Just the way I like it. We wandered around for the day, taking everything in. I hope they enjoyed it. I think I felt I had to go back there to take Siena back as mine. To see again why it was so important to me, without having biased feelings that stemmed from a former experience. Don’t worry. The effect was still just as powerful, and I left happy and ready to find the same goodness in Florence.

Friday night a group of us went out for the first time. Florence night life is ridiculous, and I love it. We first stopped at a bar where we could sit down, relax, have a drink, and talk. We then moved on to another bar, called Oibo (I think) where they played A LOT of American 80’s music. I think we heard the “YMCA” song at least twice. And everyone knew the words to it and was so excited it was on (as were we.) When the crowd inside started to seem a little out of our age range (seriously, so many older men.) we headed out to a nightclub called “Twice.” More YMCA there. And a lot of people who really like to dance. Until 4 am. Oy. I don’t know how many nights of this I can do…But it was fun. We met a lot of Italians, spoke a lot of Italian, and finally went home around 4:30.

The best line of the night, though, was when a guy named Alejandro introduced himself to me by saying “My name is Alejandro. My friends are Fernando and Roberto.” It was the best Lady Gaga reference I have ever encountered.

Oh Florence. You are full of surprises.

Music for Today: Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) – Shakira

This is crazy.

It may actually be easier to be Gluten-Free in Italy than in the US.

Okay, so maybe not, but so far it feels that way. My first four days here have been all-around amazing. Not that we’ve had anything spectacular planned (Perhaps the one downfall of JYA Florence? We’ll see…) but the food and my amazing host mother have made the transition and life all-around nothing short of stupendous.

There are upwards of 4 different diets living in this house. Kosher, Vegan, Gluten-free/Lactose-free, Vegetarian. My own mother has enough trouble with a vegan and gluten free. This woman is amazing. (I’m pretty sure the dreadlocks help her case. Yes, dreadlocks.) In any case, I eat well alla mia casa.

The city is a different story. Walking around with my classmates when we’ve finally taken a break from wandering like lost puppies and realized we’re hungry proves to be difficult.  I often take to being in the front of the group (Long legs, anyone?) and therefore appear like I’m taking charge. But I HATE taking charge when it comes to picking a place to eat. Anyone who has been around me long enough knows this. I don’t like to pick places based on what I can eat because many times it’s so limited, even in the US. Burgers? Not as exciting without the bun. Italian? Pasta, pizza, and the worst stomach ache ever. Mexican? Okay, that one I just don’t like. Etc, etc. I don’t like to make people walk around endlessly waiting for me to choose something. Pick a place, and I’ll try to find something to eat. Va bene?

I think my enemy will be lunch. At least, lunch on the go. The Italian version of “Grab-and-Go” (Smith shoutout.) is pizza or a small sandwich. I don’t always (or very rarely) want to sit down for a long lunch. It’s expensive (you pay to sit down here) and more food than I actually need. Thankfully the Smith Sede (school) has a fridge we can keep food in, so I will be able to keep whatever I find and create some kind of lunch. Tomorrow’s goal is to find a grocery store and stock up for the week. Also to survive classes. (Dramatic. Obviously I will.)

More to come on life here, but for now…sleep.

A domani.

Music for Today: Picture by Filter

4.5 miles and a revelation.

Okay, so not really a revelation. But 4.5 miles faster than I’ve ever run before. Works for me. The house is super empty without the drama that ensues before one goes off to college for the first time (ie everyone going crazy, not quite knowing what to do or say, and so on and so forth.) Good news? She’s there, and doing well it seems. Brava.

This town is empty as well. Everyone has gone off either to school or abroad. Quiet, quiet, empty, empty. More time to think. (Ugh.) But also more time to do the things I’ve come to appreciate over this past summer. Getting up early and actually taking time to properly get ready for work (as opposed to rushing out in whatever clothes I just happened to pull out of my closet 5 minutes before I should be at my desk), going to work (I appreciate actually HAVING  a job after the hell that was “my life as a wanderer in DC”, but not necessarily the act of doing the job itself. Sorry stapler, I actually loathe you.) Above all, I appreciate my afternoon run and the dinner I cook afterward. I can’t really cook, and I can’t really run, but I’ve enjoyed both. I don’t run fast, I don’t run for that long (I’m comparing myself to my speed demon sister, so who knows what the reality actually is…) but I run. Then I return home to cook the one thing I can. (Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I can’t cook. Or bake. And should actually probably stay away from all kitchen appliances.) At the beginning of the summer I would have told you that this sounds like the most boring existance, but I am blissfully content.

This summer has been a rebuilding one, and I want to continue it. I want to run in Italy, and cook (or learn how to), and sing, and continue what I’ve started for myself. Piece of mind. All of this will mean coming out of my comfort zone, but I’m beyond ready.

At least, more ready than I am for the mountain of files that were just placed on my desk to be organized…

Music For Today: What You Know About Little Secrets – The White Panda

brain(and regular)storms.

Yesterday it rained. Today it is raining. Tomorrow it will rain, again. The weather appears constant for now, unlike our household. Tomorrow, my sister leaves for college. In a few weeks, I leave for Italy. My parents are faced with an empty nest for the first time. Change is in the air, and we have no choice but to be ready for it (or at least pretend we are.)

I haven’t given much thought to living in Florence for a year yet. I think we’ve all been a bit preoccupied with making sure the little one makes it off to UVM in one piece. (She will, contrary to Mother’s opinion.) In addition, the more I tend to think about a situation, the more I over-analyze (since I haven’t left yet, would that make it pre-over-analyzing?) and worry. So I’ve made a bet with myself. No analyzing. No worrying. No thoughts (well, okay, some.) Just go and let it happen.

During a recent lazy day at “The Rock” (Lake Massasecum to all you non-Bradfordians) I was asked by a dear friend what I was worried about in terms of the year ahead. This question seems as daunting as the age-old, ever-popular “What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?”

Uhhhhh…..(to both.)

I realized that the thing I’m most anxious over isn’t living abroad or making friends, it’s eating. I have been gluten free since last December. It was with a heavy heart that I decided to give up breads, pastas, pastries, pizzas, and the like, but as we apear to be enemies in the medical world, it had to happen. For the most part, I barely miss these glutinous items (except for the occasional chocolate chip cookie…ones that don’t crumble at the first bite.) At home, I can buy any substitute item I want, and cook what I want and what will adhere to my new diet. In Italy, this may not be the case.

Italians are all about pasta. Almost every dinner begins with a heaping plate of it. And cooking for yourself is not an option in “la cucina della mamma italiana” (the Italian mother’s kitchen.) And so, taking the advice of the previously mentioned dear friend, this blog was born. I hope to not only capture my experiences with the culture of Italy, my moods, my changing music interests (see link below), but also to document my adventures as a “donna senza glutine” (a gluten-free woman) in Florence.

Here’s to the sweet life, gluten free.

Music For Today: Walking Over My Grave by Holy Ghost Tent Revival