2/10/09
Classes!! Hooray!! Yesterday I had cinema, Italian, and photography. We’re still doing neo-realism stuff in cinema, but now we’re moving on to the boundaries of it, what qualifies as neo-realism, what themes are maintained throughout time, that kind of stuff. In the second half of class we watched The Battle of Algiers. It was super intense. There wasn’t really a protagonist or anything though. I mean, there were reoccurring characters, but the story didn’t follow one person’s journey, which made it seem more “for the people.” Very interesting. We had our first test in Italian and, as expected, the articles kicked everyone’s collective ass. I did well on the grammar part, which was really the only part I cared about, so I’m good. I’m finally distinguishing and using tenses! Woo hoo!
Because the weather was so damn nice yesterday, we went outside for basically all of photography to shoot photos. We worked on showing moving in film, so isolate the shutter speed to show the movement of an object while the rest of the photo is still and clear. I thought every picture I took blew, but there are a couple decent ones as I look at them on the computer. Same with the aperture photos. Then I had to take a picture of the whole class, and I had no idea what to do, so that picture actually did blow. I’ll try to upload some good ones. Also, the park where we shot was filled with dog poo, so the class was really photography and an obstacle course all in one. That night we watched the Sopranos. We’re budgeting the episodes left on my computer.
I went to Renaissance Art bright and early this morning. It’s a good thing our professor isn’t boring. The subject matter is definitely interesting, but at 9 am in a dark room, it’s easy for a lecture class to become monotonous. Luckily, this class isn’t. We did Siena today, mostly looking at the duomo there and the main square. Actually, a lot of the class was focused on the basic architecture of the building, because it was built in stages and, despite being a prime example of Gothic architecture, has traditionally Gothic stuff lacking from it, like continuous lines from the point of the high point of the building. Yeah, Colleen, I’m learning stuff. I didn’t know there was supposed to be a whole other part to the cathedral either, so I liked that part.
After shopping with Alyssa this afternoon, we stopped by the library. Bad news was the De Sica films I wanted weren’t there. The good news is that they exist and will be returned this Saturday. I’ll be in Rome on Saturday, but I can stop by Monday and pick them off when I return the DVDs we got today. Tonight all three of us watched Red Dragon. In the dark. Choices, ladies. It was frightening. Ralph Finnes was a nutter in that film. I spazed a few times, but did indeed keep my eyes on the screen the whole time. Except when I was blinking. We watched a Gilmore to get over it, the one where there’s a fire at the Independence Inn. I brought Season 3, well, basically because Jess is in it. Pretty.
And now I must go to sleep because, as Scarlet would say, tomorrow is another day… at Terra… or Palazzo Pitti. I’m adapting now.

2/11/09
Well, quiet day today so far. I found out I need to buy another Italian book, which is kind of a bummer. We started on Passato Remoto, and all the information I had been pushing out of my mind from 2nd semester Italian came screaming back to me. It’s such a weird tense, and I haven’t really heard it used… well, unless it was being used and I couldn’t recognize it because it’s such a weird tense… Boo on it. Only 3 of us were in Lit class today, so I tried to say things, especially intelligent things. Then we watched of movie of an Italian actor. He spoke really, really fast and in a northern dialect, so I couldn’t understand a lot of it, but our teacher kept us up to date. Now I’ve returned to my room per un piccolo nap. It’s Wednesday, so that means we get to watch another episode of the Sopranos tonight. And I only have 1 more class until the weekend. I’m going to try to get as much of my homework done tonight as possible, because of Rome this weekend and, you know, generic hooplas. I also picked up the Rome itinerary today and it looks great, even though it requires me to get up early in the morning. On Saturday (Valentine’s Day, no less), we’re going on a guided tour around the area of the Trevi Fountain. Yes, I intend to act like Lizzie McGuire and throw a coin in. Hopefully I won’t hit someone in the head with it this time though… yeah… that might have happened… We’ll see a whole mess of stuff around there. Then it’s Vatican/Sistine Chapel/St. Peters in the afternoon, which I’m excited about. I may have touched a Bernini sculpture and the side of the Sistine wall before as well… but who is to say, really? The next day is “Imperial Rome,” so I’m guess that’s the Forum, Coliseum, etc. Looks like it’s going to be a great weekend! Better to be doing something on Valentine’s Day than just sitting around. It’s really probably my least favorite holiday because 1) it’s pretty made up. Sure, trace it back in time to some singular event if you want to, but even if all that is true, I seriously doubt singing Hallmark cards and chocolate were the original intention. 2) If you’re in a relationship, there’s all this pressure to do something exciting. Even if you don’t care and say “We’re not really doing anything for Valentine’s Day,” and you’re perfectly happy with that, people still respond with, “Awww, well, that’s ok…” Yes. Yes, it IS ok! 3) If you’re not in a relationship, you once again get the response, “Awww, well, that’s ok…” for your solitary existence. 4) It’s really a holiday that’s best when you’re in lower school because you get to give cards to all your friends and decorate a shoebox to put your own cards in. Honestly, those are my fondest memories of Valentine’s Day. I accept and understand other people enjoying the day by having a nice dinner, going out with someone special just to be together, etc., but the pressure some people put on each other to say “I love you” in an extraordinary way can be ridiculous and just superficial a lot of time. Of course, my bitterness towards this holiday could be because I’ve never had an outstanding Valentine’s Day past the age of 10. And that’s my Valentine’s Day rant. Better to be looking at Michelangelo’s painted ceiling and dead popes than watch You’ve Got Mail or Sleepless in Seattle on TBS three times in a row because the world won’t accept your public single-ness or coupled indifference to this greeting card holiday. At least for me.
Ok, nap time.