Yes, I understand it’s been almost two weeks since I’ve written anything, and yes, I realize that those two weeks were probably the most picture-heavy weeks, making it even harder to convey the events of last week in these posts. As such, I’m going to divide it into two segments. The first will be talking about my five days in Catania, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily. The next will be discussing the five or so days we spent in Rome. I don’t know how long the posts will be, Dunbar, so no promises. We’ll start with the bus ride there.
The bus ride was a bit long (and started off delayed, in typical Italian style) but one good thing can be said about it: the countryside was beautiful. I know it’s been said countless times before, but the Tuscan countryside really is beautiful, and it’s a pretty awesome sight to take in when you’re seeing it for a good two hours straight. In other places a pretty sight may only last a few minutes – here, you have to try NOT to see the beauty of Tuscany to miss it.
Even though I didn’t write about this before, one thing is worth pointing out – it was vastly, vastly better of a bus ride, visually, than the Siena-Venice bus ride. That ride was probably the ugliest route in all of Italy (at least, one hopes). Everywhere, for three hours straight, there are smokestacks, industrial warehouses, parking lots filled with construction equipment. Every now and then there’d be an almost-picturesque town if not for the large corporate warehouse stuck staunchly yet wantonly along the side of the road. I understand that Italy has a rich and long tradition of industrial prowess in Southern Italy (Ferraris, anyone?) but really, why put the ugliest of ugly buildings for everyone to see on the highway? Tourists go to Italy to see the beautiful countrysides of the various regions in their entire diverse splendor, not to see the smokestacks from the headquarters of Alfa Romeo steaming and smudging up the sky. I’m not saying they have to give up the entirety of the industrial sector to please foreigners. I’d personally just have pushed the companies back a few kilometers, so that they’re not directly visible on the autostrada. Putting them behind some hills would probably help things out a lot.
Stopping in Rome, we took a quick (or, at least, as quick as possible) tour of the Vatican and of the Vatican museum. I had been here before in high school, but I still was visibly awed by the sheer amount, detail, and quality of the art here. There’s so much to see that a visitor can’t possibly see everything there is, or even everything they want. Fortunately, and surprisingly, because it was Friday and a later afternoon, the museum was almost completely – completely – empty. There were maybe two dozen other visitors, that we saw, in the entire museum, and our professor (who came with us for Rome) kept remarking on the awesome luck that we had.
Afterward the tour of the Vatican, we went to Termini train station, where we started the long, overnight journey to the city of Catania, in Sicily. To do this, we took a train, which had a series of four-person compartments for sleeping. Naturally, the rooms were more or less gender-divided: due to the odd number of girls, however (not to mention the absolute scarcity of men), it meant that a girl would room with the other guy and me. Also rooming with us, however, would be the program director for the tour. That awkward episode aside, the journey was pretty uneventful and we made it to Catania safely and smoothly.
While on our way to the hotel in Catania, I saw something that truly, truly saddened me. Not sad in the way that, say, a stroller full of puppies driven by a gypsy would make me sad (which I did see, and I was sad…for the puppies). No, what I saw made me a different kind of sad. A Timberland store, fully out there, was on the main street of Catania, not twenty feet from the main city square. Now, I know that clothing stores are common in city squares, and often expensive, showy stores at that; that’s not my problem. Why, in a city so full of history and culture as Catania, would a store like Timberland have the prime real estate? Tourists, especially American tourists, go to Catania to experience the Mediterranean Baroque styles and culture, and that includes the shopping. They don’t go there to buy things they could buy by driving twenty minutes in their car at home (it’d probably be cheaper in the states as well). Again, I’m not saying they have to get rid of the places, but sticking them somewhere not as tourist-treaded might spruce up the place a bit.
One of things that's admirable about Catania (and Sicily in general) is that it's got this sort of grimy charm. It's not sparkling clean or showy, but it's got this sort of feel that they have been through a lot (and, considering the ACTIVE VOLCANO just outside the city limits, they have) and it's something that makes it feel like a real city, rather than a tourist trap. It was a cool visit to a place that I wouldn't have gone to otherwise, and I'm glad that Catania was chosen as a place to go for the trip.
We also hiked up Mt. Etna (not all the way, but enough to get the scope of it all). As the largest active volcano in Europe, it’s something of a sight to see, and we spent the good part of a day just walking around it. It’s a pretty stunning view, and the size of the mountain is something to behold. There are lava flows everywhere (not hot anymore, of course) and so in places, the landscape looks really bleak and lifeless. You can almost imagine the lava flows as they sweeped down the mountainside, taking out everything as they went. Pretty surreal feeling.
I’ve found myself surrounded everywhere I go – gelaterias, cafeterias, stores, parties – by Italian music. Though not that I’m complaining. I like the music: some may find it cheesy, and that’s certainly understandable (although I don’t know how ‘cheesy’ translates…formaggioso?), but every now and then you find one you like. They do tend to overplay the hell out of the songs they like, though…
Here are some examples of those currently strangling the airwaves:
Here
Are
The
Examples
I must go to a quick class now, but I’ll be back – with pictures!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
The first month is gone, but so much more to do!
Since we’ve moved here, there has been construction next door to our apartment (in the case of our specific apartment, the construction also cuts directly under our rooms: I’ll get a picture for you guys showing this soon). We’re not particularly sure what the reason for the construction is, since it seems (for the most part) to be a very large, open space, with a few small buildings put in, but nothing big enough to hold anything except people. I talked with Roberta about this, and she thinks it’ll be a società for the Lupa contrada. The società is a place for the people of the various contrade to meet, hold parties, watch sports games, and other bonding experiences between neighbors. The closer it gets to Palio season, Roberta tells me, the more active the place will be. I don’t mind the construction, especially since they seem to be making progress (considering we’re in Italy, I was quite shocked), but they have a terrible schedule of working. Around 8AM, jackhammers, drills, and buzzsaws start not twenty feet from where I sleep. It’s annoying, but at least it makes me wake up at a reasonable hour.
Unfortunately, for the past week or so, the girls’ bathroom in our apartment has been completely broken. The shower works, but the toilet floods the floor every time it is flushed. They determined that much of the problem stems from the fact that they are building something directly next door to (and, in our case, directly under) our apartment, and it’s messed up the plumbing under the building. The plumbers have been coming all day to our apartment (each time it seems to be a different person) and asking us things. I’ve been, for the most part, the only one at the apartment at the time they came – Giorgio was at work and Roberta was at class. I stumbled and tripped through what comparatively little Italian I knew, but after a few minutes of me apologizing and asking what these guys meant in the first place, we managed to communicate effectively and figure out the problem. It is at this time that I’m going to explain the Sienese accent.
The accent here is weird. Quite weird. And, to my buffoonery American ears, it doesn’t make sense. Basically, it changes the ‘k’ sound to the ‘h’ sound. For instance, the normal way to say “My name is Carlo” is “Mi chiamo Carlo”. This accent turns it into “Mi hiamo Harlo.” “Let’s go to the Campo” becomes “Andiamo al Hampo”. It’s another wonderfully exasperating rule about Italians: every city, no matter how close to another city, has their own specific accent. Even if that city only has 1,500 people, an Italian can figure out where they’re from. On one hand, it’s really nice that Italy can have such a diversity, such a plethora, of different aspects that makes every tiny town and city unique. On the other hand, if they’re talking to me, I come across as more of an idiot than I usually do.
And now (finally) some more pictures!
The Piazza Del Campo on one of the warmest afternoons we've had while here. It's a favorite past-time, particularly of students, to just sit on the Piazza in warm times, sit or lie down, and relax.
The statue in the center of the Universita' di Siena (not the foreigners' university, just the regular one).
The MeetLife Cafe, a little hole-in-the-wall place that's really quite nice. The bartender knows our faces by now, and it's a nice place to relax between classes or after a stroll through the city. Plus his TV shows sports games.
The Siena soccer stadium. The soccer team here was established in 1904, and, while they're not going to win the championship this year, they're pretty good.
The Via di Pian d'Ovile, the street on which our apartment is. On the right you can see the Fontenuova, which I took a picture of earlier.
Me with the flag of the Lupa Contrada. I think it's a pretty cool flag, and it's nice and big, so I can hang it up here and when I come back.
I'm also going to stick the text here from my last update of my last post. I just updated it last night, and I want people to read it, since they might not have before this post. Anyway, here it is:
A few days ago, it happened. I thought it'd happen sooner, but I held out. I had my first yearning for American food. We were at a party, and there was a group of guys standing in the corner. Someone said something about 'look at those five guys over there', and it happened. I wanted Five Guys so badly. I still do. I love those little burgers and those exquisitely made fries. I should stop talking about it, come to think of it -- the pain of being without is too much.
Speaking of American food, I've given it up for Lent. I know what you're thinking: "Charlie, geez, you're in Italy, going without hot dogs should be easy." That part is easy -- I love Italian food and I love cooking it. At the same time, I'm also giving up American snack foods, like potato chips, M&M's, Coca-Cola, and other things, which is harder for me to give up. But, hey, I only have 30 more days or so to keep it up -- I can make it. Though I'll probably inhale an entire bag of M&M's on midnight of Easter.
Now that all of us students have settled into the rhythm of things like classes, meals, and the time it takes to get around the city, we've all started planning trips and excursions to other parts of Europe. I should rephrase: I'm starting, everyone else has been planning already. I'm not sure where I'd like to go, but I have a few ideas: France, Germany, London, maybe Prague. I have to start making trips and schedules, and so it's pretty good that I got a three-day weekend here.
I find I'm starting to miss things from home more often -- though not the things I'd expect. I miss my family, yes, but I talk with them fairly regularly, so that's good. I do miss my dogs, though, and seeing all the dogs people have here reminds me of them. I'm also missing Vanderbilt and my buddies a bit, but there's plenty of time for me to get absorbed back into the Vandy culture when I get back.
Finally, for Mike who wanted to know, here are the (rough estimate of the) swim times I had for the swim meet: 1:10.36 for the 100 Freestyle and 41.40 for the 50 Breaststroke. Not the best of my life, but I thought they were respectable.
Unfortunately, for the past week or so, the girls’ bathroom in our apartment has been completely broken. The shower works, but the toilet floods the floor every time it is flushed. They determined that much of the problem stems from the fact that they are building something directly next door to (and, in our case, directly under) our apartment, and it’s messed up the plumbing under the building. The plumbers have been coming all day to our apartment (each time it seems to be a different person) and asking us things. I’ve been, for the most part, the only one at the apartment at the time they came – Giorgio was at work and Roberta was at class. I stumbled and tripped through what comparatively little Italian I knew, but after a few minutes of me apologizing and asking what these guys meant in the first place, we managed to communicate effectively and figure out the problem. It is at this time that I’m going to explain the Sienese accent.
The accent here is weird. Quite weird. And, to my buffoonery American ears, it doesn’t make sense. Basically, it changes the ‘k’ sound to the ‘h’ sound. For instance, the normal way to say “My name is Carlo” is “Mi chiamo Carlo”. This accent turns it into “Mi hiamo Harlo.” “Let’s go to the Campo” becomes “Andiamo al Hampo”. It’s another wonderfully exasperating rule about Italians: every city, no matter how close to another city, has their own specific accent. Even if that city only has 1,500 people, an Italian can figure out where they’re from. On one hand, it’s really nice that Italy can have such a diversity, such a plethora, of different aspects that makes every tiny town and city unique. On the other hand, if they’re talking to me, I come across as more of an idiot than I usually do.
And now (finally) some more pictures!
The Piazza Del Campo on one of the warmest afternoons we've had while here. It's a favorite past-time, particularly of students, to just sit on the Piazza in warm times, sit or lie down, and relax.
The statue in the center of the Universita' di Siena (not the foreigners' university, just the regular one).
The MeetLife Cafe, a little hole-in-the-wall place that's really quite nice. The bartender knows our faces by now, and it's a nice place to relax between classes or after a stroll through the city. Plus his TV shows sports games.
The Siena soccer stadium. The soccer team here was established in 1904, and, while they're not going to win the championship this year, they're pretty good.
The Via di Pian d'Ovile, the street on which our apartment is. On the right you can see the Fontenuova, which I took a picture of earlier.
Me with the flag of the Lupa Contrada. I think it's a pretty cool flag, and it's nice and big, so I can hang it up here and when I come back.
I'm also going to stick the text here from my last update of my last post. I just updated it last night, and I want people to read it, since they might not have before this post. Anyway, here it is:
A few days ago, it happened. I thought it'd happen sooner, but I held out. I had my first yearning for American food. We were at a party, and there was a group of guys standing in the corner. Someone said something about 'look at those five guys over there', and it happened. I wanted Five Guys so badly. I still do. I love those little burgers and those exquisitely made fries. I should stop talking about it, come to think of it -- the pain of being without is too much.
Speaking of American food, I've given it up for Lent. I know what you're thinking: "Charlie, geez, you're in Italy, going without hot dogs should be easy." That part is easy -- I love Italian food and I love cooking it. At the same time, I'm also giving up American snack foods, like potato chips, M&M's, Coca-Cola, and other things, which is harder for me to give up. But, hey, I only have 30 more days or so to keep it up -- I can make it. Though I'll probably inhale an entire bag of M&M's on midnight of Easter.
Now that all of us students have settled into the rhythm of things like classes, meals, and the time it takes to get around the city, we've all started planning trips and excursions to other parts of Europe. I should rephrase: I'm starting, everyone else has been planning already. I'm not sure where I'd like to go, but I have a few ideas: France, Germany, London, maybe Prague. I have to start making trips and schedules, and so it's pretty good that I got a three-day weekend here.
I find I'm starting to miss things from home more often -- though not the things I'd expect. I miss my family, yes, but I talk with them fairly regularly, so that's good. I do miss my dogs, though, and seeing all the dogs people have here reminds me of them. I'm also missing Vanderbilt and my buddies a bit, but there's plenty of time for me to get absorbed back into the Vandy culture when I get back.
Finally, for Mike who wanted to know, here are the (rough estimate of the) swim times I had for the swim meet: 1:10.36 for the 100 Freestyle and 41.40 for the 50 Breaststroke. Not the best of my life, but I thought they were respectable.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
On Weather, Dustin Hoffman, and More
I’ve started to see people around Siena that resemble famous people. I’ve seen an Italian Bono, an Italian Mickey Rourke, and an Italian Uma Thurman. The owner of the small grocery stand down the road from me looks like Dustin Hoffman – if Dustin Hoffman were an old, short woman. To be fair, not all of my comparisons are of famous people: I actually have seen many in Siena who look like people I know from Vanderbilt. One guy I saw looks like Benton, another like Brian. I even saw a Dunbar look-a-like. I haven’t seen someone who looks like Guy, yet, though…I don’t know why…
Actually, my Vandy friends are now soaking in some sun and enjoying the sights in beautiful Miami for Spring Break. With upper-70-degree weather, partly cloudy outlook, and thousands of fun-loving kids also undoubtedly in the city as well, what else would they do? Play World of Warcraft on their computers in the hotel room, most likely. I kid, I kid! Okay, maybe a little. Anyway, make sure you guys take lots of pictures, I want to hear about your fun times!
Speaking of weather, this week has been warmer. It’s hit sixty degrees each day this week, which is a welcome switch from the mid-40s we had been experiencing. It’s made walking around town a lot more enjoyable. Unfortunately, the last two days or so have also been filled with long rainstorms, which not only cool the air and make it harder to see, but make the roads more slippery (curse you, Via dell’Abbadia, and your slanted stature!).
A few days ago, it happened. I thought it'd happen sooner, but I held out. I had my first yearning for American food. We were at a party, and there was a group of guys standing in the corner. Someone said something about 'look at those five guys over there', and it happened. I wanted Five Guys so badly. I still do. I love those little burgers and those exquisitely made fries. I should stop talking about it, come to think of it -- the pain of being without is too much.
Speaking of American food, I've given it up for Lent. I know what you're thinking: "Charlie, geez, you're in Italy, going without hot dogs should be easy." That part is easy -- I love Italian food and I love cooking it. At the same time, I'm also giving up American snack foods, like potato chips, M&M's, Coca-Cola, and other things, which is harder for me to give up. But, hey, I only have 30 more days or so to keep it up -- I can make it. Though I'll probably inhale an entire bag of M&M's on midnight of Easter.
Now that all of us students have settled into the rhythm of things like classes, meals, and the time it takes to get around the city, we've all started planning trips and excursions to other parts of Europe. I should rephrase: I'm starting, everyone else has been planning already. I'm not sure where I'd like to go, but I have a few ideas: France, Germany, London, maybe Prague. I have to start making trips and schedules, and so it's pretty good that I got a three-day weekend here.
I find I'm starting to miss things from home more often -- though not the things I'd expect. I miss my family, yes, but they call me and send emails, so there's still communication. On the other hand, my dogs, sadly, can't call me. I don't blame them -- with four of them, it'd be pretty expensive for all of them to talk to me. I'm also missing Vanderbilt a bit, but there's plenty of time for me to get absorbed back into the Vandy culture when I get back.
Finally, for Mike who wanted to know, here are the (rough estimate of the) swim times I had for the swim meet: 1:10.36 for the 100 Freestyle and 41.40 for the 50 Breaststroke.
Actually, my Vandy friends are now soaking in some sun and enjoying the sights in beautiful Miami for Spring Break. With upper-70-degree weather, partly cloudy outlook, and thousands of fun-loving kids also undoubtedly in the city as well, what else would they do? Play World of Warcraft on their computers in the hotel room, most likely. I kid, I kid! Okay, maybe a little. Anyway, make sure you guys take lots of pictures, I want to hear about your fun times!
Speaking of weather, this week has been warmer. It’s hit sixty degrees each day this week, which is a welcome switch from the mid-40s we had been experiencing. It’s made walking around town a lot more enjoyable. Unfortunately, the last two days or so have also been filled with long rainstorms, which not only cool the air and make it harder to see, but make the roads more slippery (curse you, Via dell’Abbadia, and your slanted stature!).
A few days ago, it happened. I thought it'd happen sooner, but I held out. I had my first yearning for American food. We were at a party, and there was a group of guys standing in the corner. Someone said something about 'look at those five guys over there', and it happened. I wanted Five Guys so badly. I still do. I love those little burgers and those exquisitely made fries. I should stop talking about it, come to think of it -- the pain of being without is too much.
Speaking of American food, I've given it up for Lent. I know what you're thinking: "Charlie, geez, you're in Italy, going without hot dogs should be easy." That part is easy -- I love Italian food and I love cooking it. At the same time, I'm also giving up American snack foods, like potato chips, M&M's, Coca-Cola, and other things, which is harder for me to give up. But, hey, I only have 30 more days or so to keep it up -- I can make it. Though I'll probably inhale an entire bag of M&M's on midnight of Easter.
Now that all of us students have settled into the rhythm of things like classes, meals, and the time it takes to get around the city, we've all started planning trips and excursions to other parts of Europe. I should rephrase: I'm starting, everyone else has been planning already. I'm not sure where I'd like to go, but I have a few ideas: France, Germany, London, maybe Prague. I have to start making trips and schedules, and so it's pretty good that I got a three-day weekend here.
I find I'm starting to miss things from home more often -- though not the things I'd expect. I miss my family, yes, but they call me and send emails, so there's still communication. On the other hand, my dogs, sadly, can't call me. I don't blame them -- with four of them, it'd be pretty expensive for all of them to talk to me. I'm also missing Vanderbilt a bit, but there's plenty of time for me to get absorbed back into the Vandy culture when I get back.
Finally, for Mike who wanted to know, here are the (rough estimate of the) swim times I had for the swim meet: 1:10.36 for the 100 Freestyle and 41.40 for the 50 Breaststroke.
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