Un Riassunto

This week has been incredibly stressful, since I have devoted most of my time to finding housing. My post will therefore be brief, with lots of pictures.

Sunday 8/26: As a group, we went to the Museo della Storia di Bologna (The history museum). It's a fairly young museum, as it's only been open for seven months! Bologna, in contrast, has been around much longer than that. In the fifth century BCE, it was inhabited by the Etruscans. If I remember anything from my Classics classes at UCLA, the Etruscans ran a very liberal society. For example, public displays of affection were common (something the Greeks and Romans found abhorrent), and men and women had much more equality than in other ancient western civilizations. When the Etruscans were here, the city was called "Felsina". Once the Romans arrived, it became "Bononia". Of course, Bologna has a rich Medieval history as well, but I did promise a brief blog post.

Monday 8/27: First day of class. My teacher, Goffreddo, is from Sicily. He's a sweetheart. Even though we are in class for 3 hours every day, it doesn't seem like it. Everyone in the group laughs a lot and seems to enjoy being at the Study Center.

Tuesday 8/28: We went to the post office to apply for the permesso di soggiorno, which is a residency permit required of all non-Italians.

Wednesday 8/29: A trip to the Museo Archeologico. We saw Etruscan, Roman, and Greek pottery and jewelry. I think everything was found in various tombs in Bologna. All of the objects that are buried with a person are called corredo funerario. If you are into ancient western civilizations, I definitely recommend this place. Afterward, we went to San Petronio, the half-built cathedral on the Piazza Maggiore. If it had been completed, it would be larger than Saint Peter's! Of course, the Pope had to put a stop to this in the middle ages, so he built a palazzo next to the church, halting the construction of the nave. Inside, there is fresco depicting Dante's version of l'inferno, il purgatorio, and il paradiso. In the early 2000s, there was an attempted terrorist attack by several Muslim men. The artist (Giovanni da Modena) had painted Mohammed in Hell, devoured by demons. Dante described this in the Inferno, because at the time, you were either Christian or a heathen. The fresco dates from the 15th century, but because it is forbidden to depict deities in Islam, there was a problem.

Thursday 8/30: Well actually, this day should get its own post. The guy who lives in our temporary apartment, Eli, came back Wednesday night, and Thursday night we had a great time cooking with him.

And today? Well I am not studying for my test that I have to take in 2 hours. It's raining, but since there are covered archways everywhere in the city, I think I will be able to stay dry.

A posto!

Prosciutto pizza! The pizzeria is right downstairs from the Study Center, and it's 4,70 euro for 8 slices!

The famous piadina (prosciutto, arugula, and squacquerone cheese)

Bologna has canals too! But they're mostly under the city.

Gnocchi

Peach popsicle!

MEAT

La Dotta

This is one of Bologna's three nicknames. It means "The Learned One." After today’s orientation into the UCEAP program, I hope that by the end of my year abroad, I too will become a “learned one.”

Let me start with yesterday’s activities. We finally made two appointments to see apartments. It is recommended that you don’t pick the first place you visit. I am thankful for that “rule” because neither place was very exciting. The first one, close to the university, had three tiny double rooms (doppia). The landlords were also still in the process of renovating it, even though they claimed it would be finished by September 1. Not likely. We were expecting an older signora, but the woman who opened the door was, well, a hot young mom. Because of the heat, she was wearing a cut-off shirt and booty (and I mean BOOTY) shorts. Her man friend (husband? boyfriend? baby daddy?) wore no shirt – which was a bit of a gift. And their young son was playing in one of the bedrooms while his parents painted the kitchen a subdued lilac color. Basically, the apartment was nothing special, and if I was desperate and needed a place for a short time, it would do. Later in the afternoon we went to see another place close to where we are staying now. None of the girls who live there were home, so the landlord came to show us inside. He was a sweet, rather pushy man. I tried to explain that I am here for the scholastic year and may leave before an entire calendar year. This was an issue for him. I reassured him that if I were to sign a contract, I would happily pay for the months during which I was not there. However, he wouldn’t accept this. He liked me a lot, because he is from Foggia, which is a city in Puglia close to Accadia, where my grandfather was born. He also repeated several times that he had many other potential tenants (as if that would somehow make me change my mind to sign a contract…). Anyway, like the other place, this apartment was nothing great. (Actually, as I was writing this post, the landlord called me because I hadn't called him back! I told him I had already found a place and was unable to call because I had been in class all day. Lying in a foreign language is a lot easier than in English!)

At 8pm, our program officially started. We went to a restaurant – Cantina Bentivoglio – on Via Mascarelli. There are 27 students in the program. Most of them go to UCSB, but six of us are from UCLA. Our academic advisor, Peggy, gave a brief welcome speech, and then we ate. It was a very relaxing evening, and although we were at the end of the table, we met a few other girls in the program. Everyone was friendly and excited to be there, which makes sense, because it takes a special kind of person to study abroad in an immersion program.

This morning Grace and I woke up at 8 am. Our orientation started at 10, but we wanted to have enough time to find the building. It was also our first opportunity for a cappuccino. We returned to the café with the crescioni. Our friend (whose name we later learned is Fabio) wasn’t there, unfortunately. He must work in the afternoons. Anyway, in true Italian style, the cappuccini were accompanied by a glass of sparkling water. Usually I am not a fan of mineral water, but I didn’t want to be rude or too American, so I mustered up the courage and took a sip. Honestly, it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. Plus, the cappuccino was perfect. (Actually, my mom will make a face at this, but the barista used soy milk!). I was expecting something strong, but it was really enjoyable. Everyone told me that I would become addicted to coffee during this year, and I didn’t believe it…but it definitely seems possible after today!

The orientation was everything I had hoped it would be. The coordinators LOVE what they do; their excitement and willingness to help with anything brought me an inexplicable sense of relief. Afterward, we went with two girls from UCLA to a Mexican/Kebab restaurant. The woman who co-owns it is originally from Mexico, and her business partner is Middle Eastern. Even though I’m sure most of the meat in Italy is much better quality than American meat, I was happy to hear it was Halal as well. One of the girls, Natalia, met this woman at a hostel, and so she came to open up the place just for us. The taco was just ok, but we were starving, so it did the trick.

Later in the afternoon, everyone in the program met by the Fontana Nettuno for a trip to a small museum in the Palazzo Comunale. We were split up into two groups, which we will be in for the remainder of ILP (That stands for “Intensive Language Program,” which helps us prepare for our lives in Bologna before regular classes start in September). My group leader, Goffredo, is from Sicily. The Palazzo Comunale used to be a residency for the Pope during the Middle Ages. One of the most interesting facts that I learned today was about the architecture of Bologna. Since the city was divided politically into two groups – i Guelfi and i Ghibellini – the buildings were distinguished as well. The Guelphs supported the Pope, while the Ghibellines were in favor of the Holy Roman Emperor. The papal buildings have systematic roofs shaped like П_П_П_П_П. The imperial roofs are more crown-shaped. I will definitely be on the lookout for differences in architecture after this.

After the museum, we went as a group for gelato. Three of us ordered granite, even though it was a bit more expensive (Our teachers very generously paid the extra three euros). Granita siciliana is shaved ice with flavored syrup. Mine was grapefruit and strawberry. Well, I can easily say it was the best thing I’ve tasted so far! It was so refreshing after a long, hot day.

Now I’m sitting in the apartment by myself. Grace has gone to a family friend’s place for dinner tonight, so I will be cooking pasta again. Since our program is an academic one, we have daily homework. One of our assignments is keeping a journal. My best friend Katie gave me a beautiful, leatherbound diary from Italy. It seems fitting to fill it with the eloquence of the Italian language.

Pasta that I made for me and Grace a few nights ago (Tomato, Zucchini, and Pancetta)

Tagliatelle Bolognese (from the Orienation dinner)

Salumi platter

Chocolate Mousse!

The "gateway" cappuccino!

The Mexican/Middle Easter place (Me, Kelly, Natalia, Grace)

Tacos (which were just ok)

View of Bologna from the museum

Granita con pompelmo e fragola!

TIM

Our mission for Wednesday was to buy Italian SIM cards. I had tried to buy one on Tuesday, but the guy in the store said I needed my passport. So Wednesday we returned to TIM, which is one of the main three carriers in Italy (the others are WIND and Vodafone). I was looking for just a SIM card that would make phone calls, but one of their offers was TIM YOUNG. Basically, I pay 9 euro a month for 1GB of internet and 1000 texts. Outgoing calls are 12 cents a minute, but to receive anything is free. Compared to American companies, it's a steal!

Well, the three guys in the phone store are our new best friends. I only know one by name: Jacopo. He helped me set up my phone. They are quintessentially Italian. Handsome, friendly, funny... At one point I mentioned that I am Italian-American, and one of the guys asked which region of Italy. When I responded "Puglia," his eyes lit up, and he said, "Ma, io sono di Puglia!". As it turns out, Jacopo was from Puglia as well! They of course had to argue over which area was better, Lecce or Bari.

After activating our phones, Grace and I headed to get gelato. We stopped at the same shop, and I had melon and peach. Then we walked down Via Zamboni, where the majority of the University buildings are. We were looking for the University Store, but it was closed.

At the apartment, I went onto the TIM website to register my phone. I made a quick call to what I thought was an information number. When I checked my balance, only 2.80 euro remained from my 5 euro balance! Since my phone call was about 8 seconds, I had a hard time believing it cost 12 cents. This whole situation stressed me out, because I couldn't understand any of the information on the website. Grace decided that we needed to get out of the apartment, so we walked back to Piazza Maggiore.

We had dinner at a place right off the piazza. The food was just ok. I'm still looking for exquisite food here, but I have yet to find it. Since we didn't want to return to the apartment to face the daunting task of looking for housing, Grace and I sat in the piazza and attempted to do some puzzles from a British newspaper. The puzzles were way too difficult (probably because they contained too many regional references), so we gave up and headed back.

At the apartment, we started to look online at housing options. It's a very stressful thing to do. We are already on the second day of searching and so far we have zero solid offers.

Today we went back to the TIM store to figure out why I had been charged so much money. Apparently, the number I called was a very expensive information guide! They answered a few more questions and when we left, I said "Speriamo di non ritornare domani!" Our friends countered that, telling us that we definitely should come back tomorrow! We'll see.

After the whole phone debaucle, we went to a bookstore that was supposed to be air conditioned. Nope. The 104 degree heat is really unpleasant, especially when there's no break from it. So we walked to a cafe in the Jewish section (It wasn't a Jewish cafe though -- don't worry, Mom, no matzo for me!). Our program coordinator sent us an email of places to cool off, and this cafe was on the list. No air conditioning there, either. It seems the only places that have it are clothing stores.

Our apartment search continues. Tonight we are going to go see a free orchestral concert near the university.

The middle of a looooooong wall of apartment listings

My mediocre tortellini and "pancetta"

Piazza Maggiore

Bologna, at last!

These are the words that welcomed me into the terminal at Gugliemo Marconi airport. Reading that phrase, "Bologna, at last!", I felt both relief and anxiety. Finally, after almost a year of planning, I have arrived in Italy. 

After a difficult goodbye in Buffalo, I took a small jet plane to Chicago. On the flight from O’Hare to Heathrow, I watched two movies and several episodes of Modern Family. The first movie, Salmon Fishing on the Yemen, was not as captivating as I had hoped, even though it stars Ewan McGregor. The second movie, Le Gamin au Vélo (The Kid with a Bike), was about a young foster boy who is adopted by a hairdresser. Once we landed in London, it took an hour to go through another round of security. But I was happy to be at Heathrow, because my friend Grace, from UCLA, was there to join me on the flight to Bologna!

The entire journey was pretty much hassle-free. After we settled into our apartment (where we are staying until the end of the month), we decided to take a walk through the city center. We stopped into several stores along the way to enjoy their air conditioning. We gratefully ate some pizza in a place called PizzAltero. It wasn’t the best, but it was definitely welcome after such a long day of travelling.

We finally went to bed around 9, and we both woke up in the middle of the night, thinking it was 4 in the morning. Nope, 12:45 am. Grace suggested watching a movie, so we found another one with Ewan McGregor, Brassed Off. We fell asleep again before finishing, so I’m not sure how it will turn out.

Today, we slept until 2:30, which is probably the latest I’ve ever slept in. Our next meal was something called a crescione, which was a piece of flat bread with melted cheese and tomato paste inside. It was warm and delicious. Since it was so hot outside, (99 degrees!), I had lemon and peach gelato to cool down. It only worked for about a minute.

Grace and I wandered over to the Sala Borsa on the Piazza Maggiore. It is now a three story library, but it has a rich history. It lies on top of ancient Roman ruins, which you can visit for a small donation. The woman at the entrance to the archaeological site was talking with her friend when we asked if we could go in. She was so happy that Italians were visiting! I had to say, “Davvero, non siamo italiane!” She was shocked. She told us that she likes Americans, because we are friendly and always smile. However, she wasn’t really a fan of Germans.

After the Sala Borsa, we looked for a market, but by that time, it was 6pm. We didn’t find the one we were looking for, probably because it had closed. We made our way back to the apartment, stopping in a small grocery store. For dinner, I made spaghetti with mozzarella and zucchini. Not bad for one of my first cooked meals!

Tomorrow we begin the apartment hunt…

Bolognesi buildings

The "Crescione"

Ancient Ruins

Keeping cool under the city!

Spaghetti with Mozzarella and Zucchini