3/10/09
I feel like today was really long, not in a strenuous “oh my god, I’ve had such a long day” kind of way, but in a “wow, a lot happened today” way. It all started at 7:30 AM, when I woke up to do some last minute hard-core studying for my art history exam at 9. I think the exam went pretty well. I mean, I know I got some things wrong, but I also know I got a lot of stuff right. I’m not tearing myself up over it because, like I said, it doesn’t factor into my GPA. Weird. Anyway, I finished the exam in about an hour, and so Alyssa and I decided to sit outside, get a coffee, and study some Italian. We went to Bar Pitti, which, I swear, has the best panini in the city. Colleen joined us shortly after we finished our coffees, and we all got sammies and enjoyed the sunshine. It was a beautiful day, and none of us wanted to waste it inside. Alyssa and I popped back home for our books, went to Italian but, dun dun dunnnnnn, Italian was cancelled again today. I’m thinking our professor is really, really sick, because she never misses class. It kind of sucks that we lost our only two days of review for the final. Some people are freaking out. I am not. If I don’t know the tenses by now, I’m not going to learn them in a day before the exam. Anyway, since class was cancelled, Alyssa and I met up with Andrea and Mattia. I bought new sunglasses. We ate gelato. It was nice walking outside, and we ended up at the Pitti Palace. Alyssa bought some Florence tourist cards, and we taught Andrea and Mattia how to play the game Bullshit. It was really nice and really fun. Afterward, us girls went home, had a snack, watched a Gilmore, etc. I’ve been studying off and on for the rest of the day for my literature and Italian exams, and I feel pretty ready. I also took a really nice nap and talked to my family for a long time, because it’s my little sister’s birthday today. I spent way too much time on the internet, but it was worth it. Anyway, that’s the majority of what happened, at least all the good stuff. Tomorrow is another early day because of the exam, so I’m going to head off to bed. I still hate the mold.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
3/9/09
Yup. Didn’t blog for a week. Oopsies. There are a few reasons why this didn’t happen: 1) I was tired, 2) when I was tired, I was sleeping, and 3) when I wasn’t tired, I was gone. So, we’re going to do this list-like, since that’ll be easiest.
Monday: Still exhausted. Went to all three class. Bought milk and cereal. Came home. Did homework. Passed out. That’s essentially it.
Tuesday: A bit more eventful. Got up for class, and it was cancelled, so I went back to bed until 11, when various noises from my phone woke me up. Got ready for Italian and went there. Dropped stuff off at home, then went to the library with Alyssa. We got a multitude of movies: Philadelphia, Gangs of New York, Psycho, and something called Spartan. Went to the 99 Cent store to get notebooks, napkins, etc. Dropped that stuff off, then went to the bigger supermarket to stock up. Came home and put stuff away. Fell asleep again. Dinner while Alyssa and I watched Philadelphia. Bar with the boys, but came home fairly early due to my exhaustion.
Wednesday: Watched a movie in class, which got let out early. Went to Italian. Post-Italian, still exhausted, I came home and passed out until I heard Colleen’s music. Thinking it was like 4:00 or so, I went out to see if she could turn down the music a little. When I re-entered my room, I found out it was 6:00 and I had slept for about 3 hours. Oops. Made some dinner. Watched Gangs of New York with Alyssa and passed out.
Thursday: I can not for the life of me remember what I did Thursday afternoon. We were wracking our brains last night and nothing came to us. I know I went to class, and then…. Blank. I may have napped. Anyway, it was nothing eventful. I made some din, but who knows what, then Jen joined us for an evening out. It wasn’t wild crazy, but really fun. We just danced and watched other awkward people dance.
Friday: Sushi lunch with some girls from my Italian class. $10.80 for all the sushi you want? Done and done. And it was quality. Afterward, I went to meet Larissa and Emily and we finalized spring break plans, figured out money, etc. Then I came home to study a bit more for midterms (I had also been doing that this past week). I got tired of studying, so I decided to wash the dishes that were lying around. Well, just like in If You Give A Moose A Muffin, it didn’t end there. I cleaned the dishes. Then I went through all the dishes in the cupboard to see if any were masquerading as clean when they were really dirty. Then I washed the counter and the placemats on top of it. Then the other counter with the foam thing on it. Then the foam thing. Then I took all the little pieces off the stove and washed those. Then I washed the sink. It was a few hours before I was done. I also did some laundry. It was productive. I then made dinner, called the parents, etc. before getting ready to go out with the boys. They actually came over first, and then we all went out to Twice. And I didn’t get robbed there this time, so that was good. And I saw “Dante’s face” in the ground. Italian urban legend…
Saturday and Sunday were great! Alyssa and I went to Livorno to see her family. Well, technically we took the train in and out of Pisa. Giorgio met us there and graciously watched all our stuff while we climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Yes, it was frightening. Ok, so, they’re all, “Its safe! Its safe!” But is it? IS IT? On the first balcony there’s a bar that maybe comes up to your waist, then some netting, but let’s be honest: if someone shoved you into the bar and pushed you over backwards and you fell onto the netting, it wouldn’t do shit. You would fall. And die. I thought that was scary until we were at the 2nd highest level. There were 3 or 4 steps. On the bottom one, the bar, once again, maybe came up to my waist, but at the top step, I could’ve jumped right off if I do desired. I don’t think there was even pansy-assed netting. And you could see straight down. I managed to keep my freaking out to a minimum though. The top was cool, because you could mostly just see out, which was better. You could see the entire city. Then we walked down the very little hallway quickly, amongst the many Asians trying to push past us in the other direction. It was a big tour group.
Giorgio took us on the scenic route to his home, which is in Constiglioncello (I think…). We went past the U.S. Military camp, and there were whores outside. I think they were the first actual whores I’ve seen in real life. We met the rest of the family, and they showed us this really cute apartment in this home where we would be staying. Then they gave us tea and we talking in Italian. Giorgio spoke some English, but his wife doesn’t speak any. She and her sister, Dahlia, both speak Italian and French. Alyssa also speaks French. So between the 3 languages, we could pretty much always understand what was going on. It was a lot of Italian and it was hard and I don’t think I should have to take the mid-term anymore. Since it was national Women’s Day this weekend in Italy, they took us to a chocolate festival and to dinner to celebrate. In the restaurant, there were some kids running around. One fell on the floor, and the mom proceeded to yell, “Stupido! Stupido!” then kicked her kid. I thought it was a tad inappropriate, to say the least, and it only make the kid cry harder. And made me like her a lot less. Giorgio ordered all the appetizers, because Alyssa and I didn’t know what a lot of them were, so we told him to pick. Believe it or not, each Italian totally out-ate Alyssa and me. Stuffed, we went home and passed out.
So Saturday, to sum up: train, tower, whores, chocolate, sleep
Sunday was equally busy. We had breakfast at 10, and it was the most delicious thing ever. And they packed up and sent us home with anything we seemed particularly enthusiastic about. We got cheese, tart, and cake. Plus all the food they bought for us and put in our room. We literally came home with a bag of food that they bought for us. Every time we tried to stop eating, they’d tell us, “Mangia! Mangia! Mangia!” and cut up more food for us to eat. After packing up and fighting out food-coma instincts, we piled into the car and went to Lucca. I swear, I think we saw 5 churches. They took us around and toured the whole town to us, which was really nice. It’s a walled city, but what’s really cool about the wall is that it’s a hill on the inside and the top (aka the top of the wall) is a boardwalk that goes around the entire city. There are big paths and trees and tons of people walking pets and children since it was a beautiful day out. We saw pretty much the whole city before they brought us to the train station and waited for our train to arrive.
So Sunday, to sum up: “Mangia,” churches, walls, train
Oh, also, we went to see this really old house that their relatives live in a tiny town near theirs. While we were there, a really, really, really old and small Italian woman came trotting across the street saying, “Oh, I’m so glad it’s you! I saw you’re light come on and wanted to check!” etc. etc. Then she went away. A minute later she comes back with fresh eggs from her chickens for us, shoving them in our face to take. They graciously took the eggs, and the old, small woman trotted back over to her house. Then a window opens. She sits in the window and watches us. The window closes. Moments later, another window opens. She sits there and watches us for a while. Then the window closes. A minute or so later, the door opens, and she sits in the door and watches us until we leave, waving goodbye. It was pretty cute and funny. This woman was what you picture old Italian women to be like.
Now, today, I’ve had two mid-terms. Neither were particularly brutal. They were straight forward and stuff. Anyway, they’re done with. My hard one is tomorrow. It’s art history. I know I should care more than I do, but the class doesn’t factor into my GPA, so as long and I do decent on it, it’s not a big deal. I remember the paintings, and it’s pretty easy to identify the artist once you know what to look for. When in doubt, the painter is Giotto. When in doubt, the patron is the city. When in doubt, the architect is unknown. Honestly, most of these have one of these for part of the answer. I’ll look over my notes more and study tonight, of course, but what’s the point in killing myself over it? There isn’t. I’m just not used to being easy-breezey about school. Also, Italian got cancelled today, so Alyssa and I came home and watched Psycho. We have like a ½ hour left. It’s real good.Another thing this week has been the battle with the mold. I’m getting really bad allergies from the mold by the window in my room. Apparently it comes back every year, to which I ask, “Why don’t you spray the walls during the time nobody lives here?” Hmmm, I don’t know, Allie. That’s an excellent question. Maybe if I had you wouldn’t be breathing toxins. We couldn’t get a hold of our landlady, so we talked to Iris at school. She was surprisingly rude to us, but she called our landlord and they’re coming tomorrow to look at it to see what’s needed. She told me to open my windows. Well, I do every single day, and for longer than our landlord told me to. She told me to sleep with my window and door open. Well, if both are open, one will slam shut, thus ending the sleeping. Plus, bugs and noise from the window and noise from the door open. I mean, come on. There’s no reason why our apartment should have mold this bad unless it’s an ongoing problem and, quite frankly, I can do nothing about it because it’s 10 ft. above my head. Come on. They’re coming tomorrow to look at it and are going to clean it on Thursday. Hallelujah.
Ok, I’m exhausted from trying to recall the past week. Goodnight.
Yup. Didn’t blog for a week. Oopsies. There are a few reasons why this didn’t happen: 1) I was tired, 2) when I was tired, I was sleeping, and 3) when I wasn’t tired, I was gone. So, we’re going to do this list-like, since that’ll be easiest.
Monday: Still exhausted. Went to all three class. Bought milk and cereal. Came home. Did homework. Passed out. That’s essentially it.
Tuesday: A bit more eventful. Got up for class, and it was cancelled, so I went back to bed until 11, when various noises from my phone woke me up. Got ready for Italian and went there. Dropped stuff off at home, then went to the library with Alyssa. We got a multitude of movies: Philadelphia, Gangs of New York, Psycho, and something called Spartan. Went to the 99 Cent store to get notebooks, napkins, etc. Dropped that stuff off, then went to the bigger supermarket to stock up. Came home and put stuff away. Fell asleep again. Dinner while Alyssa and I watched Philadelphia. Bar with the boys, but came home fairly early due to my exhaustion.
Wednesday: Watched a movie in class, which got let out early. Went to Italian. Post-Italian, still exhausted, I came home and passed out until I heard Colleen’s music. Thinking it was like 4:00 or so, I went out to see if she could turn down the music a little. When I re-entered my room, I found out it was 6:00 and I had slept for about 3 hours. Oops. Made some dinner. Watched Gangs of New York with Alyssa and passed out.
Thursday: I can not for the life of me remember what I did Thursday afternoon. We were wracking our brains last night and nothing came to us. I know I went to class, and then…. Blank. I may have napped. Anyway, it was nothing eventful. I made some din, but who knows what, then Jen joined us for an evening out. It wasn’t wild crazy, but really fun. We just danced and watched other awkward people dance.
Friday: Sushi lunch with some girls from my Italian class. $10.80 for all the sushi you want? Done and done. And it was quality. Afterward, I went to meet Larissa and Emily and we finalized spring break plans, figured out money, etc. Then I came home to study a bit more for midterms (I had also been doing that this past week). I got tired of studying, so I decided to wash the dishes that were lying around. Well, just like in If You Give A Moose A Muffin, it didn’t end there. I cleaned the dishes. Then I went through all the dishes in the cupboard to see if any were masquerading as clean when they were really dirty. Then I washed the counter and the placemats on top of it. Then the other counter with the foam thing on it. Then the foam thing. Then I took all the little pieces off the stove and washed those. Then I washed the sink. It was a few hours before I was done. I also did some laundry. It was productive. I then made dinner, called the parents, etc. before getting ready to go out with the boys. They actually came over first, and then we all went out to Twice. And I didn’t get robbed there this time, so that was good. And I saw “Dante’s face” in the ground. Italian urban legend…
Saturday and Sunday were great! Alyssa and I went to Livorno to see her family. Well, technically we took the train in and out of Pisa. Giorgio met us there and graciously watched all our stuff while we climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Yes, it was frightening. Ok, so, they’re all, “Its safe! Its safe!” But is it? IS IT? On the first balcony there’s a bar that maybe comes up to your waist, then some netting, but let’s be honest: if someone shoved you into the bar and pushed you over backwards and you fell onto the netting, it wouldn’t do shit. You would fall. And die. I thought that was scary until we were at the 2nd highest level. There were 3 or 4 steps. On the bottom one, the bar, once again, maybe came up to my waist, but at the top step, I could’ve jumped right off if I do desired. I don’t think there was even pansy-assed netting. And you could see straight down. I managed to keep my freaking out to a minimum though. The top was cool, because you could mostly just see out, which was better. You could see the entire city. Then we walked down the very little hallway quickly, amongst the many Asians trying to push past us in the other direction. It was a big tour group.
Giorgio took us on the scenic route to his home, which is in Constiglioncello (I think…). We went past the U.S. Military camp, and there were whores outside. I think they were the first actual whores I’ve seen in real life. We met the rest of the family, and they showed us this really cute apartment in this home where we would be staying. Then they gave us tea and we talking in Italian. Giorgio spoke some English, but his wife doesn’t speak any. She and her sister, Dahlia, both speak Italian and French. Alyssa also speaks French. So between the 3 languages, we could pretty much always understand what was going on. It was a lot of Italian and it was hard and I don’t think I should have to take the mid-term anymore. Since it was national Women’s Day this weekend in Italy, they took us to a chocolate festival and to dinner to celebrate. In the restaurant, there were some kids running around. One fell on the floor, and the mom proceeded to yell, “Stupido! Stupido!” then kicked her kid. I thought it was a tad inappropriate, to say the least, and it only make the kid cry harder. And made me like her a lot less. Giorgio ordered all the appetizers, because Alyssa and I didn’t know what a lot of them were, so we told him to pick. Believe it or not, each Italian totally out-ate Alyssa and me. Stuffed, we went home and passed out.
So Saturday, to sum up: train, tower, whores, chocolate, sleep
Sunday was equally busy. We had breakfast at 10, and it was the most delicious thing ever. And they packed up and sent us home with anything we seemed particularly enthusiastic about. We got cheese, tart, and cake. Plus all the food they bought for us and put in our room. We literally came home with a bag of food that they bought for us. Every time we tried to stop eating, they’d tell us, “Mangia! Mangia! Mangia!” and cut up more food for us to eat. After packing up and fighting out food-coma instincts, we piled into the car and went to Lucca. I swear, I think we saw 5 churches. They took us around and toured the whole town to us, which was really nice. It’s a walled city, but what’s really cool about the wall is that it’s a hill on the inside and the top (aka the top of the wall) is a boardwalk that goes around the entire city. There are big paths and trees and tons of people walking pets and children since it was a beautiful day out. We saw pretty much the whole city before they brought us to the train station and waited for our train to arrive.
So Sunday, to sum up: “Mangia,” churches, walls, train
Oh, also, we went to see this really old house that their relatives live in a tiny town near theirs. While we were there, a really, really, really old and small Italian woman came trotting across the street saying, “Oh, I’m so glad it’s you! I saw you’re light come on and wanted to check!” etc. etc. Then she went away. A minute later she comes back with fresh eggs from her chickens for us, shoving them in our face to take. They graciously took the eggs, and the old, small woman trotted back over to her house. Then a window opens. She sits in the window and watches us. The window closes. Moments later, another window opens. She sits there and watches us for a while. Then the window closes. A minute or so later, the door opens, and she sits in the door and watches us until we leave, waving goodbye. It was pretty cute and funny. This woman was what you picture old Italian women to be like.
Now, today, I’ve had two mid-terms. Neither were particularly brutal. They were straight forward and stuff. Anyway, they’re done with. My hard one is tomorrow. It’s art history. I know I should care more than I do, but the class doesn’t factor into my GPA, so as long and I do decent on it, it’s not a big deal. I remember the paintings, and it’s pretty easy to identify the artist once you know what to look for. When in doubt, the painter is Giotto. When in doubt, the patron is the city. When in doubt, the architect is unknown. Honestly, most of these have one of these for part of the answer. I’ll look over my notes more and study tonight, of course, but what’s the point in killing myself over it? There isn’t. I’m just not used to being easy-breezey about school. Also, Italian got cancelled today, so Alyssa and I came home and watched Psycho. We have like a ½ hour left. It’s real good.Another thing this week has been the battle with the mold. I’m getting really bad allergies from the mold by the window in my room. Apparently it comes back every year, to which I ask, “Why don’t you spray the walls during the time nobody lives here?” Hmmm, I don’t know, Allie. That’s an excellent question. Maybe if I had you wouldn’t be breathing toxins. We couldn’t get a hold of our landlady, so we talked to Iris at school. She was surprisingly rude to us, but she called our landlord and they’re coming tomorrow to look at it to see what’s needed. She told me to open my windows. Well, I do every single day, and for longer than our landlord told me to. She told me to sleep with my window and door open. Well, if both are open, one will slam shut, thus ending the sleeping. Plus, bugs and noise from the window and noise from the door open. I mean, come on. There’s no reason why our apartment should have mold this bad unless it’s an ongoing problem and, quite frankly, I can do nothing about it because it’s 10 ft. above my head. Come on. They’re coming tomorrow to look at it and are going to clean it on Thursday. Hallelujah.
Ok, I’m exhausted from trying to recall the past week. Goodnight.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
3/1/09
I. Am. Exhausted.
Friday was, yet again, a good day. Alyssa went out to walk around in the afternoon, making stops at the phone store, the bus station, and McDonalds. Which were great and productive? All of the above. We made a quick stop at the grocery store to get things for dinner that night, but I still need to go make a major run, seeing as I’m now out of milk, juice, eggs, and bread. That evening, Alyssa and I went over to a girl’s apartment from our Italian class named Savannah (who, p.s., has a rad apartment) to study for the quiz on Monday. There were about six of us there from the class, and while we didn’t study 100% of the time, it was nice to hang out with them. We had to leave early because of our plans for the night, so we rushed home (good thing she didn’t live far away) to shower, make dinner, etc. We then went out to the discotech, which is pretty typical, especially for this week (though I’m not sure why), and met up with the boys. It was packed and we all danced and had a great time. Once again, the time got away from us and we didn’t get home until late. Ooooofta.
Yesterday was a big day in a big way. We got up in what could be classified as “morning” but the normal world, so early for a Saturday. After packing some sammies, we walked to the bus station to go to San Gimignano. Mr. Bus Man told us the easiest way was to take the Siena bus and switch… though he didn’t say where. So we missed our first bus stop in the town we didn’t know we were supposed to know. On the way to Siena, Alyssa asked the driver where we should get off, and he replied that we missed our stop. He graciously stopped another bus going to San Gimignano, and we ran through the traffic to get on it. Also, his horn sounded like an ice cream truck. Through all the driving, we think we miss the stop to San G., so we’re about to get off the bus again, when the driver tells us we haven’t gone there yet. After 3 hours, we make it to San Gimignano. Keep in mind it should’ve taken us 1 hour and 15 min. to get there. Way to go, us. Eventually, we enter through the gate to the impressively walled town. Once we were there, we had a great time. We looked in all the shops, climbed to the top of the town and up a small tower. You can see in every direction for a billion miles, I’m pretty sure. After we felt we had explored the town sufficiently, we found a cute restaurant in the main square to eat dinner at. While Colleen ate her chicken, Alyssa and I got hot chocolate that resembled hot pudding in the best way. With plenty of time back, we made our way to the bus stop. We get off to switch busses at the main bus building. We wait. It says the next bus to Florence is in 5 minutes, so we wait. Then it disappears from the board. No such bus came. Crabby and angry at public transportation, we go to sit inside. A half hour later, an American comes up and asks me if I’m lost. I reply that we were waiting for a bus that disappeared and now we have to wait. His friend comes to join him, and their both dressed in suits which makes me think, “hmmmm.” They’re wearing name tags, but I don’t want to stare, and, besides, they’re offering to help me get home. They take me to the other room just as the train to Florence is leaving. Bummer. They offer to help me buy tickets for the next train, which is in an hour. I ask them what they’re deal is (politely), and it turns out, oh, hey, they’re Mormon missionaries doing their 2-year duty in Siena. Apparently, my helplessness called to their vow of charity. We went to go check the next bus, and it turns out we’ve been reading the wrong sign for busses. “Placeplace via Firenze” is a street in the stupid town we were stuck in. And the next bus to Florence wasn’t for an hour and a half. Aaaawwweeesssooommmeee. I find my roommates, the Mormons explain how they’re Mormon, and we take them up on their offer to help us get tickets. The Mormons get us good to go, we thank them, then they scurry off to do their Mormon deeds. We find a wooden bench, because the metal chairs were cold on our butts. Tired, frustrated, and cold, we start playing the game “I went to visit the Queen and I brought….” We got to “Quints” when four random 26-year-old Italians come up an invite us to help celebrate their friend’s birthday. They’re all wine makers and just happened to bring their wine in celebration for their friend. Um, ok? How do we meet these people? Anyway, we talk to them, and they’re on our train, so we sit with them on the train. Names were a difficult thing for them. “Colleen” was the easiest one, but sometimes came out “Colleeny.” “Alyssa” they could say, but they often confused it was “Anastasia.” “Allie,” well… they couldn’t get the “a” sound, and it was sometime “Aleene” but usually “Airline.” Finally “Alassandra” they got. This put us in a significantly better mood for the train ride back. We tried to speak as much Italian as possible, and helped them with their English. Shortly before we reach the station the “birthday boy” tells us his birthday is December 9… They said they just wanted an excuse to talk to us and couldn’t think of another reason, which is kind of funny. Anyway, we tell them we’ll see them at the club they were going to, which had live music, which I’m all about. Plus, they all liked The Beatles, The Who, the Chili Peppers, Janis Joplin, The Police, and The Doors so how bad could the club be? They said it was called “Lunas” and “Lunus.” Turns out the club was really called “Loonees.” We made it there eventually, and they were very nice. The music was good (Chili Peppers, Beatles, U2, the Police, etc.), the company was good, and one of their girlfriends said I spoke Italian well, so that made me happy. We left fairly early because we were all tired from the busses, trains, and walking, but I’m glad we went because it was fun. And we got Kabobs on the way home so… cha-ching.
Today I’ve literally done nothing. I know I said something similar about Friday, but today I have literally done nothing. At least Friday, the late afternoon and evening were productive, but today I’ll have none of that! Going out to places with people 5 nights in a row has made me exhausted, and I’m ready to spend the evening at home. Aside from going to use some free internet at Friends bar, I’m going to stay in my bed. It’s been grand so far. Alyssa is even picking up milk and oranges for me, so I don’t have to go grocery shopping until tomorrow. Money. I have some more work to do (study more for Italian and write a movie response, maybe start a paper), but it’s totally do-able. I’m also going to look up flights to Granada tonight for going over Easter to visit Elisa! Woo hoo!! Also, I had avocado today, and it made me think of Colleen. Also I lost an earring backing and I found it, which hardly ever happens, so that was great. Ok. That’s all for now.
I. Am. Exhausted.
Friday was, yet again, a good day. Alyssa went out to walk around in the afternoon, making stops at the phone store, the bus station, and McDonalds. Which were great and productive? All of the above. We made a quick stop at the grocery store to get things for dinner that night, but I still need to go make a major run, seeing as I’m now out of milk, juice, eggs, and bread. That evening, Alyssa and I went over to a girl’s apartment from our Italian class named Savannah (who, p.s., has a rad apartment) to study for the quiz on Monday. There were about six of us there from the class, and while we didn’t study 100% of the time, it was nice to hang out with them. We had to leave early because of our plans for the night, so we rushed home (good thing she didn’t live far away) to shower, make dinner, etc. We then went out to the discotech, which is pretty typical, especially for this week (though I’m not sure why), and met up with the boys. It was packed and we all danced and had a great time. Once again, the time got away from us and we didn’t get home until late. Ooooofta.
Yesterday was a big day in a big way. We got up in what could be classified as “morning” but the normal world, so early for a Saturday. After packing some sammies, we walked to the bus station to go to San Gimignano. Mr. Bus Man told us the easiest way was to take the Siena bus and switch… though he didn’t say where. So we missed our first bus stop in the town we didn’t know we were supposed to know. On the way to Siena, Alyssa asked the driver where we should get off, and he replied that we missed our stop. He graciously stopped another bus going to San Gimignano, and we ran through the traffic to get on it. Also, his horn sounded like an ice cream truck. Through all the driving, we think we miss the stop to San G., so we’re about to get off the bus again, when the driver tells us we haven’t gone there yet. After 3 hours, we make it to San Gimignano. Keep in mind it should’ve taken us 1 hour and 15 min. to get there. Way to go, us. Eventually, we enter through the gate to the impressively walled town. Once we were there, we had a great time. We looked in all the shops, climbed to the top of the town and up a small tower. You can see in every direction for a billion miles, I’m pretty sure. After we felt we had explored the town sufficiently, we found a cute restaurant in the main square to eat dinner at. While Colleen ate her chicken, Alyssa and I got hot chocolate that resembled hot pudding in the best way. With plenty of time back, we made our way to the bus stop. We get off to switch busses at the main bus building. We wait. It says the next bus to Florence is in 5 minutes, so we wait. Then it disappears from the board. No such bus came. Crabby and angry at public transportation, we go to sit inside. A half hour later, an American comes up and asks me if I’m lost. I reply that we were waiting for a bus that disappeared and now we have to wait. His friend comes to join him, and their both dressed in suits which makes me think, “hmmmm.” They’re wearing name tags, but I don’t want to stare, and, besides, they’re offering to help me get home. They take me to the other room just as the train to Florence is leaving. Bummer. They offer to help me buy tickets for the next train, which is in an hour. I ask them what they’re deal is (politely), and it turns out, oh, hey, they’re Mormon missionaries doing their 2-year duty in Siena. Apparently, my helplessness called to their vow of charity. We went to go check the next bus, and it turns out we’ve been reading the wrong sign for busses. “Placeplace via Firenze” is a street in the stupid town we were stuck in. And the next bus to Florence wasn’t for an hour and a half. Aaaawwweeesssooommmeee. I find my roommates, the Mormons explain how they’re Mormon, and we take them up on their offer to help us get tickets. The Mormons get us good to go, we thank them, then they scurry off to do their Mormon deeds. We find a wooden bench, because the metal chairs were cold on our butts. Tired, frustrated, and cold, we start playing the game “I went to visit the Queen and I brought….” We got to “Quints” when four random 26-year-old Italians come up an invite us to help celebrate their friend’s birthday. They’re all wine makers and just happened to bring their wine in celebration for their friend. Um, ok? How do we meet these people? Anyway, we talk to them, and they’re on our train, so we sit with them on the train. Names were a difficult thing for them. “Colleen” was the easiest one, but sometimes came out “Colleeny.” “Alyssa” they could say, but they often confused it was “Anastasia.” “Allie,” well… they couldn’t get the “a” sound, and it was sometime “Aleene” but usually “Airline.” Finally “Alassandra” they got. This put us in a significantly better mood for the train ride back. We tried to speak as much Italian as possible, and helped them with their English. Shortly before we reach the station the “birthday boy” tells us his birthday is December 9… They said they just wanted an excuse to talk to us and couldn’t think of another reason, which is kind of funny. Anyway, we tell them we’ll see them at the club they were going to, which had live music, which I’m all about. Plus, they all liked The Beatles, The Who, the Chili Peppers, Janis Joplin, The Police, and The Doors so how bad could the club be? They said it was called “Lunas” and “Lunus.” Turns out the club was really called “Loonees.” We made it there eventually, and they were very nice. The music was good (Chili Peppers, Beatles, U2, the Police, etc.), the company was good, and one of their girlfriends said I spoke Italian well, so that made me happy. We left fairly early because we were all tired from the busses, trains, and walking, but I’m glad we went because it was fun. And we got Kabobs on the way home so… cha-ching.
Today I’ve literally done nothing. I know I said something similar about Friday, but today I have literally done nothing. At least Friday, the late afternoon and evening were productive, but today I’ll have none of that! Going out to places with people 5 nights in a row has made me exhausted, and I’m ready to spend the evening at home. Aside from going to use some free internet at Friends bar, I’m going to stay in my bed. It’s been grand so far. Alyssa is even picking up milk and oranges for me, so I don’t have to go grocery shopping until tomorrow. Money. I have some more work to do (study more for Italian and write a movie response, maybe start a paper), but it’s totally do-able. I’m also going to look up flights to Granada tonight for going over Easter to visit Elisa! Woo hoo!! Also, I had avocado today, and it made me think of Colleen. Also I lost an earring backing and I found it, which hardly ever happens, so that was great. Ok. That’s all for now.
Friday, February 27, 2009
2/27/09
So, basically, I haven’t written in forever. Here goes nothing:
Sunday: Went to Venice. We had to wake up early, which I think we all know I don’t like, but once we got on the bus we were all asleep. We arrived in Venice around 12:30 after taking a ferry down the Grand Canal. The city was absolutely filled to the brim. From the ferry it looked like an ant colony, with flows of people moving different directions, but you can barely see the individual people. We had to get lunch first, because we were all starving, so we ate some delicious pizza/pasta before heading down the main street along the canal. There were so many costumes!! A lot of people sported the 18th Century ball-gown outfits, which were all really elaborate and beautiful. Some were less classy, like the Banana man and Telletubbies. There were lots of kids dressed up as well; some spidermen, some monsters, some princesses. I got a lot of good pictures that I’ll put up on facebook. There was also some traditional street theater, which was great. It was in Italian, so we didn’t watch tons of it, though. Plus there was so much to see. We also saw a catwalk set up in Piazza San Marco, and I think it was a costume contest, because there were different groups and these people had the most elaborate costumes. We spent the majority of the day just walking around, people watching, and taking pictures. We all got masks as well. Mine is ice blue and gold, with feathers, of course. It’s beautiful and made in Venice, so extra cool. The bus ride back was the worst part of the day. I had drank coffee, our driver was on crack, and was dehydrated. In short, I very nearly got sick many times on the ride back and remained in a state of questionable digestion for hours. Pretty, right? I managed to keep the puke down though. I knew you were wondering.
Monday was when my really awesome, incredible week ended. Italian was awful that day, because none of us understood what was going on. Plus, I was exhausted. Plus, my phone was out of credit still. Plus, I didn’t want to go to photography. I was really just a crabby pants because of Italian. The day did get better though! We went to the Odeon to see Milk that night, and it was inccrrreeedddible. I can’t even express how much I loved that movie, and I’m ecstatic that Sean Penn won for best actor, because his performance kicked Brad Pitt’s performance’s ass. I also realized that this year may have been the first year I’ve seen all the movies nominated for Best Picture. I was happy Slumdog Millionaire won. I love love loved that movie. I would’ve been happy with Milk as well. Both were incredible. I cried during Milk, both at the happy and sad parts.
I’ve been a little social butterfly this week, which is completely exhausting for me. Once my school work is done (I’ve become a big fan of the library for it’s free internet so I can get everything done quickly), I’ve gone out Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and will again tonight and maybe tomorrow. It’s not even that I’m hugely partying, because I’m going to all my classes and doing all my work, and if you hugely party, you can’t do that, but people just go out to socialize with people, like, every night. Tuesday we met up with the boys and went to a bar to hang out then went dancing. They very kindly walked us home, which I liked. Wednesday I went dancing with my girlfriends at a discotech, and we danced all night long. I stayed out way later than I intended, but we were just having so much fun dancing with each other. I’m glad my friends here like to go dancing. Every time we go, we have a great time. It wasn’t a tragedy that I was out late, since I only had one class yesterday. Then last night we met up with the boys again, and I had a great time hanging out with them. We met at the discotech, but Alyssa, Emily and I ended up going to a bar later with them. We thought we were going to do karaoke, but it wasn’t going on when we got there. Oh well. Another time. I hope I speak for everyone when I say it was a great night out. We did get home late again last night, and Alyssa and I immediately went to bed, after splitting a delicious kabob. I slept straight through until 12:30, proving yet again that socializing is exhausting. Other than Monday, though, it’s been a great week, just really, really busy.
I also had to give a presentation on Futurist Music this week, and that went well.
In other major news, Emily, Larissa and I have spring break all booked! We’re flying into Liverpool Thursday night, going to the Beatles museum on Friday, then taking the train to Bangor, where we’ll meet up with my relatives. We head to their town, where we’re going to a concert that night. We’re staying in Wales through Monday. Monday night we’re taking the ferry over to Dublin. We stay in Dublin at a sweet hotel/hostel thing until Thursday morning, when we catch a plane down to London, and remain there until the end of our trip. We got some great deals on planes, trains, hostels, etc. and I think we’re all really exciting. The excitement level is, of course, based on our fake Irish dancing to Flogging Molly after we finished booking everything. Oh yeah. Now we just have to figure out what we want to see, and that’s all fun stuff! Plus, Alyssa and Nick are going to come meet up with us in Dublin, which is a-ma-zing. I’m getting really excited now.
And now it’s time to study and grocery shop before another amazing night. Alyssa’s roommate from home is in town from Rome tonight, so we’ll see her. Plus, I think people are coming over. Plus, there’s Italian study party possibly early in the evening. Plus, Alyssa and I have become pretty good at making really good meals, so there’s dinner to plan. Basically, life is busy and just great.
And believe it or not, that's the Reader's Digest version of this week.
So, basically, I haven’t written in forever. Here goes nothing:
Sunday: Went to Venice. We had to wake up early, which I think we all know I don’t like, but once we got on the bus we were all asleep. We arrived in Venice around 12:30 after taking a ferry down the Grand Canal. The city was absolutely filled to the brim. From the ferry it looked like an ant colony, with flows of people moving different directions, but you can barely see the individual people. We had to get lunch first, because we were all starving, so we ate some delicious pizza/pasta before heading down the main street along the canal. There were so many costumes!! A lot of people sported the 18th Century ball-gown outfits, which were all really elaborate and beautiful. Some were less classy, like the Banana man and Telletubbies. There were lots of kids dressed up as well; some spidermen, some monsters, some princesses. I got a lot of good pictures that I’ll put up on facebook. There was also some traditional street theater, which was great. It was in Italian, so we didn’t watch tons of it, though. Plus there was so much to see. We also saw a catwalk set up in Piazza San Marco, and I think it was a costume contest, because there were different groups and these people had the most elaborate costumes. We spent the majority of the day just walking around, people watching, and taking pictures. We all got masks as well. Mine is ice blue and gold, with feathers, of course. It’s beautiful and made in Venice, so extra cool. The bus ride back was the worst part of the day. I had drank coffee, our driver was on crack, and was dehydrated. In short, I very nearly got sick many times on the ride back and remained in a state of questionable digestion for hours. Pretty, right? I managed to keep the puke down though. I knew you were wondering.
Monday was when my really awesome, incredible week ended. Italian was awful that day, because none of us understood what was going on. Plus, I was exhausted. Plus, my phone was out of credit still. Plus, I didn’t want to go to photography. I was really just a crabby pants because of Italian. The day did get better though! We went to the Odeon to see Milk that night, and it was inccrrreeedddible. I can’t even express how much I loved that movie, and I’m ecstatic that Sean Penn won for best actor, because his performance kicked Brad Pitt’s performance’s ass. I also realized that this year may have been the first year I’ve seen all the movies nominated for Best Picture. I was happy Slumdog Millionaire won. I love love loved that movie. I would’ve been happy with Milk as well. Both were incredible. I cried during Milk, both at the happy and sad parts.
I’ve been a little social butterfly this week, which is completely exhausting for me. Once my school work is done (I’ve become a big fan of the library for it’s free internet so I can get everything done quickly), I’ve gone out Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and will again tonight and maybe tomorrow. It’s not even that I’m hugely partying, because I’m going to all my classes and doing all my work, and if you hugely party, you can’t do that, but people just go out to socialize with people, like, every night. Tuesday we met up with the boys and went to a bar to hang out then went dancing. They very kindly walked us home, which I liked. Wednesday I went dancing with my girlfriends at a discotech, and we danced all night long. I stayed out way later than I intended, but we were just having so much fun dancing with each other. I’m glad my friends here like to go dancing. Every time we go, we have a great time. It wasn’t a tragedy that I was out late, since I only had one class yesterday. Then last night we met up with the boys again, and I had a great time hanging out with them. We met at the discotech, but Alyssa, Emily and I ended up going to a bar later with them. We thought we were going to do karaoke, but it wasn’t going on when we got there. Oh well. Another time. I hope I speak for everyone when I say it was a great night out. We did get home late again last night, and Alyssa and I immediately went to bed, after splitting a delicious kabob. I slept straight through until 12:30, proving yet again that socializing is exhausting. Other than Monday, though, it’s been a great week, just really, really busy.
I also had to give a presentation on Futurist Music this week, and that went well.
In other major news, Emily, Larissa and I have spring break all booked! We’re flying into Liverpool Thursday night, going to the Beatles museum on Friday, then taking the train to Bangor, where we’ll meet up with my relatives. We head to their town, where we’re going to a concert that night. We’re staying in Wales through Monday. Monday night we’re taking the ferry over to Dublin. We stay in Dublin at a sweet hotel/hostel thing until Thursday morning, when we catch a plane down to London, and remain there until the end of our trip. We got some great deals on planes, trains, hostels, etc. and I think we’re all really exciting. The excitement level is, of course, based on our fake Irish dancing to Flogging Molly after we finished booking everything. Oh yeah. Now we just have to figure out what we want to see, and that’s all fun stuff! Plus, Alyssa and Nick are going to come meet up with us in Dublin, which is a-ma-zing. I’m getting really excited now.
And now it’s time to study and grocery shop before another amazing night. Alyssa’s roommate from home is in town from Rome tonight, so we’ll see her. Plus, I think people are coming over. Plus, there’s Italian study party possibly early in the evening. Plus, Alyssa and I have become pretty good at making really good meals, so there’s dinner to plan. Basically, life is busy and just great.
And believe it or not, that's the Reader's Digest version of this week.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
2/21/09
Ok, so it’s been a few days. Wednesday night was busy and I was thoroughly exhausted through all of it. First I went to dinner with Larissa and Ali and chilled with them, which was both delicious and fun. Then I went to meet the girls from Italian class. Of course, I had forgotten that we were going to get appertivo before the movie, so it was a good thing I ate really early with Larissa and Ali and pretty late with the Italian class. The movie we saw was called Questa Piccola Grande Amore, which basically means “this young, grand love.” It didn’t have subtitles, but I was still able to follow pretty well. I definitely didn’t understand every word that was spoken, but probably about ½, so I knew enough. I’m pretty sure that Italian movies stopped having happy endings once neo-realism rolled around. The whole movie was about two people, Andrea and Giulia, trying to be together, despite a billion (sometimes really minor) problems, and then they don’t end up together? Ok.
Seeing as I love Thursdays, Thursday was a great day. After sleeping in past 7:30, we watched a movie for Italian class with one of the beginning courses, which meant we got subtitles. The movie was called Le Fate Ignoranti (the spelling might be wrong), and it means “the ignorant fairy.” Antonia, the protagonist, discovers her husband, Massimo, was having an affair after he’s killed by a car at the beginning of the movie. Then she finds out he was having an affair with a man, Michele. Antonia and Michele become friends and stuff and try to get over Massimo’s death. It was entertaining, but Michele was a bad fake-crier. And Antonia looked a little like Meg Ryan. Good class. Afterward, I came home to make lunch, etc., before going over to hang out with Emily. When I was about to leave, someone buzzed our apartment, so I looked out to the window, and it was a two older women. I assumed they had the wrong apartment, so I didn’t say anything and pretended not to be. They kept ringing, so I did the really mature thing and waited for them to give up and leave before going over to Emily’s. We chilled at Emily’s apartment, and Keyana and Melissa joined us once they were back from class. Emily and Keyana had been invited to a get together at some kid’s house from their Italian class, so I went with them. There were at least five different languages spoken at this party: Italian, English, French, Arabic, some German, a little Russian. It was difficult to keep up, but a lot of fun. They were mostly Academia people, but we were the only Americans there, which was fun. We stayed until 11:30 or so, when I got really sleepy and started sneezing. It’s still a mystery as to why I started sneezing, but it lasted until last night, and now it’s only a sneeze every once and a while. Hopefully we’ll hang out with those people again. We exchanged numbers with them, so we’ll see. Then I came home and fell asleep after 2 days of exhaustion.
Yesterday was a lot of fun as well. After sleeping in (hooray!), Colleen and I mostly hung out at the apartment for the day. I went grocery shopping, which I desperately needed to do, did some organizing, and planned spring break. Well, researched spring break and made up a preliminary plan, but I think it’s a good one. It includes Liverpool, Wales, Wigley fun, and Dublin thus far. So I was productive! We made some delicious dinner here before Jen, Emily, and Keyana came over to have some wine and chill. Afterward we went out to the club, where we stayed until it closed. We met up with some of our Italian friends there. And before we knew it, it was almost 3 in the morning. Time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose. When we left the club, we went to get kabobs (yes!). We lingered before going home and ceremoniously falling asleep immediately.
Today I’ve literally done nothing. I slept in again, showered, and… that’s about it. I have a job interview over the phone at 6:00. I’m nervous, but prepared. It’s good to be nervous, right? Let’s hope it goes well. Afterward, we’re going out to dinner with the girls, and I think our school is hosting a carnival night at a club tonight, so we might go to that to get in the spirit for Venice tomorrow! I’m super pumped to go to Carnival tomorrow. We have to get up early, but that’s just fine. It’ll be worth it. And we can, once again, sleep on the bus. And… that’s about it!
Update: Had the interview. Nailed it. Got the job. High five!! I’m so so so soooooo excited!!! She really only asked me one question, but she said my resume was really detailed and in depth, so she didn’t have many questions. Because I can work all summer and all day, I get to work with all the different age groups. She said I get to be her right-hand person with everything, which is incredible. I can’t believe. I’m so excited and so happy. I will have worked at the two largest theaters in Minneapolis, which is difficult to do, and I’m doing a happy dance while thanking the gods of theater and karma. And I just had a delicious dinner at House of Sizzle and am fully prepared for the on-coming food coma. This week has been incredible.
Ok, so it’s been a few days. Wednesday night was busy and I was thoroughly exhausted through all of it. First I went to dinner with Larissa and Ali and chilled with them, which was both delicious and fun. Then I went to meet the girls from Italian class. Of course, I had forgotten that we were going to get appertivo before the movie, so it was a good thing I ate really early with Larissa and Ali and pretty late with the Italian class. The movie we saw was called Questa Piccola Grande Amore, which basically means “this young, grand love.” It didn’t have subtitles, but I was still able to follow pretty well. I definitely didn’t understand every word that was spoken, but probably about ½, so I knew enough. I’m pretty sure that Italian movies stopped having happy endings once neo-realism rolled around. The whole movie was about two people, Andrea and Giulia, trying to be together, despite a billion (sometimes really minor) problems, and then they don’t end up together? Ok.
Seeing as I love Thursdays, Thursday was a great day. After sleeping in past 7:30, we watched a movie for Italian class with one of the beginning courses, which meant we got subtitles. The movie was called Le Fate Ignoranti (the spelling might be wrong), and it means “the ignorant fairy.” Antonia, the protagonist, discovers her husband, Massimo, was having an affair after he’s killed by a car at the beginning of the movie. Then she finds out he was having an affair with a man, Michele. Antonia and Michele become friends and stuff and try to get over Massimo’s death. It was entertaining, but Michele was a bad fake-crier. And Antonia looked a little like Meg Ryan. Good class. Afterward, I came home to make lunch, etc., before going over to hang out with Emily. When I was about to leave, someone buzzed our apartment, so I looked out to the window, and it was a two older women. I assumed they had the wrong apartment, so I didn’t say anything and pretended not to be. They kept ringing, so I did the really mature thing and waited for them to give up and leave before going over to Emily’s. We chilled at Emily’s apartment, and Keyana and Melissa joined us once they were back from class. Emily and Keyana had been invited to a get together at some kid’s house from their Italian class, so I went with them. There were at least five different languages spoken at this party: Italian, English, French, Arabic, some German, a little Russian. It was difficult to keep up, but a lot of fun. They were mostly Academia people, but we were the only Americans there, which was fun. We stayed until 11:30 or so, when I got really sleepy and started sneezing. It’s still a mystery as to why I started sneezing, but it lasted until last night, and now it’s only a sneeze every once and a while. Hopefully we’ll hang out with those people again. We exchanged numbers with them, so we’ll see. Then I came home and fell asleep after 2 days of exhaustion.
Yesterday was a lot of fun as well. After sleeping in (hooray!), Colleen and I mostly hung out at the apartment for the day. I went grocery shopping, which I desperately needed to do, did some organizing, and planned spring break. Well, researched spring break and made up a preliminary plan, but I think it’s a good one. It includes Liverpool, Wales, Wigley fun, and Dublin thus far. So I was productive! We made some delicious dinner here before Jen, Emily, and Keyana came over to have some wine and chill. Afterward we went out to the club, where we stayed until it closed. We met up with some of our Italian friends there. And before we knew it, it was almost 3 in the morning. Time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose. When we left the club, we went to get kabobs (yes!). We lingered before going home and ceremoniously falling asleep immediately.
Today I’ve literally done nothing. I slept in again, showered, and… that’s about it. I have a job interview over the phone at 6:00. I’m nervous, but prepared. It’s good to be nervous, right? Let’s hope it goes well. Afterward, we’re going out to dinner with the girls, and I think our school is hosting a carnival night at a club tonight, so we might go to that to get in the spirit for Venice tomorrow! I’m super pumped to go to Carnival tomorrow. We have to get up early, but that’s just fine. It’ll be worth it. And we can, once again, sleep on the bus. And… that’s about it!
Update: Had the interview. Nailed it. Got the job. High five!! I’m so so so soooooo excited!!! She really only asked me one question, but she said my resume was really detailed and in depth, so she didn’t have many questions. Because I can work all summer and all day, I get to work with all the different age groups. She said I get to be her right-hand person with everything, which is incredible. I can’t believe. I’m so excited and so happy. I will have worked at the two largest theaters in Minneapolis, which is difficult to do, and I’m doing a happy dance while thanking the gods of theater and karma. And I just had a delicious dinner at House of Sizzle and am fully prepared for the on-coming food coma. This week has been incredible.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
2/18/09
Um, that past couple days have been great! I slept like a maniac on Monday night, and woke up feeling much better. It was the coldest it has been here yesterday! I have Renaissance Art Tuesday mornings, and yesterday was an “on location” day at the duomo here. This meant starting outside to look at the architecture. I was raining, so we were all having trouble writing notes and keeping our fingers from freezing, until it started to snow huge flakes, at which point Rocky (our professor) said, “Ok, this is ridiculous. Go get a coffee and meet back here in a ½ hour and we’ll go inside.” Which is exactly what we did. It was quite nice. It was still cold inside the duomo once we came back, but at least it wasn’t raining and we were able to sit down while we took our notes. I didn’t know the cathedral had so many architects! People kept dying off and getting fired, not to mention a little something called the Black Plague right in the middle of everything and the Opera procrastinating on building the dome. I always love going to that class. Besides (or maybe because of) the lovely voice in my ear, I learn a lot about the marvelous-ness that was the Renaissance. Plus, we usually get out of class a little early. Molto bene! Italian was also good, because we moved on from Passato Remoto, though the battle continues and so far I’m losing against the evil tense. We’re (re-)learning pronouns, which isn’t easy, but not nearly as hard as Passato Remoto. With the afternoon free, I went to the library to return some movies and, who would guess, but Sciusià was in! Honestly, it was quite possibly my lucky day. And I managed to have a whole conversation in Italian with the help desk person, though I’m sure she was humoring me. She did think my movie choice was “impressive” though. The only downside to my day was that I bought some juice, and when I got home I realized someone had already opened it and drank out of it. Yuck. So I had to go back and get a new juice. The conversation with the clerk consisted of me saying “someone already drank this juice” and him asking “was it yummy?” Eventually I communicated that it was not I that drank the juice, therefore I do not know if it was yummy, and it had been drank in the store. I got a new juice. Colleen, Emily and I headed across town to see Amalie Rothschild speak, and it was bbbbaaaalllllllllllleeerrr. She photographed at the Fillmore East from 1968-1971 when it closed. She met, hung out with, and photographed The Who, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, The Band, Jimmie Hendrix, John Lennon and mmoorreee. It was basically two hours of me being really excited. I must say one of my favorite parts was a film clip of Yoko singing terribly and somebody put a bag over her onstage. I laughed real hard. Her stories about the Grateful Dead trying to spike everything with acid entertained me as well. She took some incredible photos and I’m going to look into getting her book. After that I came home, chilled for a bit, then Keyana and I went to Red Garter (connected to House of Sizzle) for some good times. And good times we had. I don’t normally go out past, like, 11:00 on weekdays, but it was totally worth being exhausted today. I’d do it again. Eventually I made my way home and slept like a rock.
Morning came too soon, but I was surprisingly on time to class and able to participate. It was literature class, and it was mostly presentations, so all I really had to do was ask questions about Futurism, which isn’t too bad. We didn’t even talk about the reading, but we will next week. Then we watched a movie about two authors, but I couldn’t tell you the name if I wanted to. Hopefully we’ll finish it next week and I’ll know then. Half of Italian was spent talking about books, which made me happy. I’m always up for a discussion on Faulkner, Fitzgerald, or Foer, which I happen to be reading at the moment. Tonight looks like it may be a big night again, so I’m resting this afternoon. I’m going to dinner with some friends, then meeting up with my Italian class to go see a movie that’s entirely in Italian. Good idea? Not sure. I think it’s a distinct possibility that I’ll sit there staring in confusion for 90% of the film. Good learning experience, right?
Now my M.I.A. jam just came on.
Um, that past couple days have been great! I slept like a maniac on Monday night, and woke up feeling much better. It was the coldest it has been here yesterday! I have Renaissance Art Tuesday mornings, and yesterday was an “on location” day at the duomo here. This meant starting outside to look at the architecture. I was raining, so we were all having trouble writing notes and keeping our fingers from freezing, until it started to snow huge flakes, at which point Rocky (our professor) said, “Ok, this is ridiculous. Go get a coffee and meet back here in a ½ hour and we’ll go inside.” Which is exactly what we did. It was quite nice. It was still cold inside the duomo once we came back, but at least it wasn’t raining and we were able to sit down while we took our notes. I didn’t know the cathedral had so many architects! People kept dying off and getting fired, not to mention a little something called the Black Plague right in the middle of everything and the Opera procrastinating on building the dome. I always love going to that class. Besides (or maybe because of) the lovely voice in my ear, I learn a lot about the marvelous-ness that was the Renaissance. Plus, we usually get out of class a little early. Molto bene! Italian was also good, because we moved on from Passato Remoto, though the battle continues and so far I’m losing against the evil tense. We’re (re-)learning pronouns, which isn’t easy, but not nearly as hard as Passato Remoto. With the afternoon free, I went to the library to return some movies and, who would guess, but Sciusià was in! Honestly, it was quite possibly my lucky day. And I managed to have a whole conversation in Italian with the help desk person, though I’m sure she was humoring me. She did think my movie choice was “impressive” though. The only downside to my day was that I bought some juice, and when I got home I realized someone had already opened it and drank out of it. Yuck. So I had to go back and get a new juice. The conversation with the clerk consisted of me saying “someone already drank this juice” and him asking “was it yummy?” Eventually I communicated that it was not I that drank the juice, therefore I do not know if it was yummy, and it had been drank in the store. I got a new juice. Colleen, Emily and I headed across town to see Amalie Rothschild speak, and it was bbbbaaaalllllllllllleeerrr. She photographed at the Fillmore East from 1968-1971 when it closed. She met, hung out with, and photographed The Who, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, The Band, Jimmie Hendrix, John Lennon and mmoorreee. It was basically two hours of me being really excited. I must say one of my favorite parts was a film clip of Yoko singing terribly and somebody put a bag over her onstage. I laughed real hard. Her stories about the Grateful Dead trying to spike everything with acid entertained me as well. She took some incredible photos and I’m going to look into getting her book. After that I came home, chilled for a bit, then Keyana and I went to Red Garter (connected to House of Sizzle) for some good times. And good times we had. I don’t normally go out past, like, 11:00 on weekdays, but it was totally worth being exhausted today. I’d do it again. Eventually I made my way home and slept like a rock.
Morning came too soon, but I was surprisingly on time to class and able to participate. It was literature class, and it was mostly presentations, so all I really had to do was ask questions about Futurism, which isn’t too bad. We didn’t even talk about the reading, but we will next week. Then we watched a movie about two authors, but I couldn’t tell you the name if I wanted to. Hopefully we’ll finish it next week and I’ll know then. Half of Italian was spent talking about books, which made me happy. I’m always up for a discussion on Faulkner, Fitzgerald, or Foer, which I happen to be reading at the moment. Tonight looks like it may be a big night again, so I’m resting this afternoon. I’m going to dinner with some friends, then meeting up with my Italian class to go see a movie that’s entirely in Italian. Good idea? Not sure. I think it’s a distinct possibility that I’ll sit there staring in confusion for 90% of the film. Good learning experience, right?
Now my M.I.A. jam just came on.
Monday, February 16, 2009
2/16/09
Rome was really fantastic!! We were running the whole time (not literally, but you know) so no time was wasted! Getting up at 5:30 sucked ass, and sleeping on the bus wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but once we started going the places the trip was awesome. First we took the train to the Spanish Steps, which were completely full of people on Valentines Day. The street was packed with tourists, beautiful Italians, and people selling crap, and it was magical. Then we jetted over to the Trevi Fountain, learned about it (though I couldn’t really hear, so I didn’t learn much), and threw some coins into the fountain backwards over our shoulders, Lizzie McGuire style. Once again we were off, this time to the Pantheon, also full of people, learned about the church’s history and the hole in the roof. And off again (!) to Piazza Navona to look at the buildings, fountains, and Egyptian column/post things that mark the four directions of the city. After we had 15 minutes for lunch, and we wolfed down our food like starving children. Most of us hadn’t eaten that day, except for whatever we could find in the dark at 6:00 in the morning, and it was now almost 2. I know, right? After wolfing, we blazed across the city to the Vatican! Walking on the street I ran into two people I knew from totally different contexts walking together, and it was such a weird coincidence but cool. We waited in line before learning that Arcadia never sent out money in to see the Sistine Chapel. Most of us decided to go anyway, so we waited in line once again, got a student discount, and moseyed our way through the art galleries, elaborate hallways covered in maps and tapestries, and the Raphael rooms covered in frescos. It struck me as a little odd that monks commit to a life of poverty and the Vatican is dripping with wealth. I know they’re not the same thing, but both monks and the pope/bishops/etc. give their entire life to Christianity but in completely different ways. Something to ponder, anyway. Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel. I found a place to sit and look for a while, and luckily it was right next to a personal guide who was telling two people all about the Sistine Chapel. When I stood up, I think my hand slipped over the plastic cover and landed on the actual wall, but I’m not sure. Our group stayed looking at the chapel for a real long time because it’s something that doesn’t lose its awe. You know how sometimes you look at a painting or movie or sculpture or building or whatever, and it first it seems like the most amazing thing in the world, but after 5 minutes you see how, well, it’s not. Yeah, that doesn’t happen with the Sistine Chapel, and I think it’s tied with The Last Supper in my book. Looking around the room, every person just stood there with their jaws dropped. We couldn’t figure out what the last section of the painting was of, though. It’s creation, Adam and Eve, sacrificing the ram instead of the son, the flood, then…… the last one is still a mystery. Anybody know?
That night our program went out for the free traditional Roman dinner, complete with two appetizers, pizza, dessert, and diet coke. Since we are all college students, we take advantage of anything free, and pretty much ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. Afterward, 10 or so of us, primarily girls, went to a classy bar-lounge thing for a bit, but we were all so tired that we were in bed by midnight. I coughed pretty badly all night, but still managed to sleep.
Day 2: Took advantage of the free breakfast after getting up early again (7:30 am… rough for a Sunday). Once we were packed up, we went to a church (whose name is slipping from me right now) where the whole ceiling was covered in gold leaf. I remembered it from last time I visited Rome, but even now I’m having trouble keeping track of the details. We couldn’t stay long because mass was going on, so we kicked at pigeons outside. Next we went to the church were Michelangelo’s Moses is. THAT I had never seen before, and it was awesome. You can’t go right up to it, or else I might have accidentally run into it or something. Also, they have a relic of Peter’s chains that he wore while imprisoned. I couldn’t hear where the real ones are. Actually, maybe they are the real ones… hmmm. Next it was Coliseum time, and we spent a long time there, which was wonderful! Since the weather was absolutely perfect both days, we could take our time walking around the open structure and, at times, pretend to be animals fighting. We spent an equal amount of time going around the Forum, and our guide Maurizio pointed out all the different time periods in the ruins. The pace was much more relaxed, which made it more enjoyable for me, though Saturday was great as well. After the forum, a bunch of us went to go see Baccio la Verità or The Mouth of Truth. The myth is that you’re supposed to stick your hand in the mouth, and if it doesn’t bite it off, then you’re truthful and innocent. We leisurely wandered the city after that, picking up some panini and gelato before heading back to the hotel to meet the bus. We were all exhausted last night after getting home, and I pretty much passed out after I finished my dinner, but it was totally worth it.
Today is a little less fun. The sun is peaking out, but I’ve got a mad migraine, which is why I’m writing this now. I went home after cinema because I was starting to see spots in my vision and get dizzy, so I should technically be in Italian right now. I told some people in my class to tell me teacher what was up, though, and I’ve only missed one day, so I think I have the best attendance in the class. Missing today is OK. I’m still debating about whether or not to go to photography later. We’ll see. I think I probably just didn’t get enough sleep over the weekend, and combine that with grinding my teeth and the curse of the gods, and you’ve got a migraine! Now I’m off to sleep.
Update: Well, I slept for most of the day. After I ate some dinner, I was feeling better so I went to see Benjamin Button with some friends. It was great, but definitely long. My butt was asleep by the end. I’m not sure what they could’ve cut, though. Also, I’m not sure how I felt about the end. Cate Blanchette and Brad Pitt were both great though. I’m curious to know how much they had to animate when they were making them both really old. It’s worth seeing anyway. My head is worse now, so I’m going back to bed. That is all.
Rome was really fantastic!! We were running the whole time (not literally, but you know) so no time was wasted! Getting up at 5:30 sucked ass, and sleeping on the bus wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but once we started going the places the trip was awesome. First we took the train to the Spanish Steps, which were completely full of people on Valentines Day. The street was packed with tourists, beautiful Italians, and people selling crap, and it was magical. Then we jetted over to the Trevi Fountain, learned about it (though I couldn’t really hear, so I didn’t learn much), and threw some coins into the fountain backwards over our shoulders, Lizzie McGuire style. Once again we were off, this time to the Pantheon, also full of people, learned about the church’s history and the hole in the roof. And off again (!) to Piazza Navona to look at the buildings, fountains, and Egyptian column/post things that mark the four directions of the city. After we had 15 minutes for lunch, and we wolfed down our food like starving children. Most of us hadn’t eaten that day, except for whatever we could find in the dark at 6:00 in the morning, and it was now almost 2. I know, right? After wolfing, we blazed across the city to the Vatican! Walking on the street I ran into two people I knew from totally different contexts walking together, and it was such a weird coincidence but cool. We waited in line before learning that Arcadia never sent out money in to see the Sistine Chapel. Most of us decided to go anyway, so we waited in line once again, got a student discount, and moseyed our way through the art galleries, elaborate hallways covered in maps and tapestries, and the Raphael rooms covered in frescos. It struck me as a little odd that monks commit to a life of poverty and the Vatican is dripping with wealth. I know they’re not the same thing, but both monks and the pope/bishops/etc. give their entire life to Christianity but in completely different ways. Something to ponder, anyway. Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel. I found a place to sit and look for a while, and luckily it was right next to a personal guide who was telling two people all about the Sistine Chapel. When I stood up, I think my hand slipped over the plastic cover and landed on the actual wall, but I’m not sure. Our group stayed looking at the chapel for a real long time because it’s something that doesn’t lose its awe. You know how sometimes you look at a painting or movie or sculpture or building or whatever, and it first it seems like the most amazing thing in the world, but after 5 minutes you see how, well, it’s not. Yeah, that doesn’t happen with the Sistine Chapel, and I think it’s tied with The Last Supper in my book. Looking around the room, every person just stood there with their jaws dropped. We couldn’t figure out what the last section of the painting was of, though. It’s creation, Adam and Eve, sacrificing the ram instead of the son, the flood, then…… the last one is still a mystery. Anybody know?
That night our program went out for the free traditional Roman dinner, complete with two appetizers, pizza, dessert, and diet coke. Since we are all college students, we take advantage of anything free, and pretty much ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. Afterward, 10 or so of us, primarily girls, went to a classy bar-lounge thing for a bit, but we were all so tired that we were in bed by midnight. I coughed pretty badly all night, but still managed to sleep.
Day 2: Took advantage of the free breakfast after getting up early again (7:30 am… rough for a Sunday). Once we were packed up, we went to a church (whose name is slipping from me right now) where the whole ceiling was covered in gold leaf. I remembered it from last time I visited Rome, but even now I’m having trouble keeping track of the details. We couldn’t stay long because mass was going on, so we kicked at pigeons outside. Next we went to the church were Michelangelo’s Moses is. THAT I had never seen before, and it was awesome. You can’t go right up to it, or else I might have accidentally run into it or something. Also, they have a relic of Peter’s chains that he wore while imprisoned. I couldn’t hear where the real ones are. Actually, maybe they are the real ones… hmmm. Next it was Coliseum time, and we spent a long time there, which was wonderful! Since the weather was absolutely perfect both days, we could take our time walking around the open structure and, at times, pretend to be animals fighting. We spent an equal amount of time going around the Forum, and our guide Maurizio pointed out all the different time periods in the ruins. The pace was much more relaxed, which made it more enjoyable for me, though Saturday was great as well. After the forum, a bunch of us went to go see Baccio la Verità or The Mouth of Truth. The myth is that you’re supposed to stick your hand in the mouth, and if it doesn’t bite it off, then you’re truthful and innocent. We leisurely wandered the city after that, picking up some panini and gelato before heading back to the hotel to meet the bus. We were all exhausted last night after getting home, and I pretty much passed out after I finished my dinner, but it was totally worth it.
Today is a little less fun. The sun is peaking out, but I’ve got a mad migraine, which is why I’m writing this now. I went home after cinema because I was starting to see spots in my vision and get dizzy, so I should technically be in Italian right now. I told some people in my class to tell me teacher what was up, though, and I’ve only missed one day, so I think I have the best attendance in the class. Missing today is OK. I’m still debating about whether or not to go to photography later. We’ll see. I think I probably just didn’t get enough sleep over the weekend, and combine that with grinding my teeth and the curse of the gods, and you’ve got a migraine! Now I’m off to sleep.
Update: Well, I slept for most of the day. After I ate some dinner, I was feeling better so I went to see Benjamin Button with some friends. It was great, but definitely long. My butt was asleep by the end. I’m not sure what they could’ve cut, though. Also, I’m not sure how I felt about the end. Cate Blanchette and Brad Pitt were both great though. I’m curious to know how much they had to animate when they were making them both really old. It’s worth seeing anyway. My head is worse now, so I’m going back to bed. That is all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
