World Travelers

Last Saturday, I woke up at 5:30 am to leave for Riomaggiore, which is one of the towns in Cinque Terre. I hustled through the streets of Bologna to catch my 6:28 train at the station, where I met 9 other people from my study abroad group. We arrived at our hostel around 10:30. Mamma Rossa, the seventy-nine year old owner, greeted us at the door. The ten of us took a quick walk around the town, and then we headed to the beach. We spent the day enjoying both the sun and the refreshing salt water of the Mediterranean, saving our energy for Sunday’s trek.

Cinque Terre is composed of five main towns: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. The first two are connected by the “Via dell’Amore”, about a 20 minute walk. The pathway has not missed out on the popular tradition of “love locks”: couples write their initials on a lock, chain it to the fence, and throw the key into a body of water. The trail from Manarola to Corniglia was blocked due to landslides, so we had to take the train. In Corniglia, we stopped for pesto lasagna. After lunch, I had cinnamon and honey gelato…a perfect snack for the hour-long hike to Vernazza. The sea beneath us, trees around us, and friendly conversation distracted our minds from the heat. I decided to skip the next hike though, so Grace and I took another train to the last town, Monterosso. We relaxed on the beach with some other girls from the group. For dinner, we had focaccia: pesto for me and ricotta (I think) for Grace. I think it might have been the most delicious food I’ve had so far.

After dinner, the two of us hopped on the train to Pisa. For anyone who hasn’t been…well, a day in Pisa is more than enough time. We went directly to our hostel, where I went to bed. I had a full night’s sleep, so by the time we checked out at 11 am, I was ready to face the rather unexciting city. I took my obligatory picture with the tower (you know the one…pretending to hold it up, pretending to push it over, pretending to lean against it…). After a quick peek inside the duomo, we headed to the university area for lunch. I decided that I prefer Unibo to UniPi (that’s the name I made up for the University of Pisa…). Nevertheless, Grace and I rested in a park while I ate a lemon and berry gelato. Pisa was filled with tourists, unlike Bologna, and since it is a relatively small city, there’s not much to do for free. Despite my rather lackluster experience, at least now I can say that I have been. Plus, I had Paris on my mind…

When Grace and I landed at Paris-Beauvais, a sense of extreme happiness overcame me. I saw Carole through the security doors, and I knew that I had made the right decision. (I already had plans to visit Paris again for Christmas, and part of me had felt that I should go somewhere new during my week of vacation). The Dattins are my third family (after my own and the Hamners). Their eldest daughter Orianne stayed with me for 6 weeks the summer I graduated high school, and their eldest son Thibaut stayed with the Hamners in Piedmont last summer. Phil and Jack Hamner, my surrogate brothers, and I returned to France with Thibaut last July to stay with the Dattins and travel around France. Basically, the Dattins are a really special part of my life. Needless to say, I was excited to see them again.

Tuesday morning, Grace and I tried to get into Paris. There was a slight incident with the trains: all service to our stop was halted for two hours. I thought Carole had told me that she would be back for lunch, so we decided to go back to the house. Miraculously, as we were walking along one of the bigger streets in Carrières, Carole pulled up! It turns out she usually doesn’t go back to the house for lunch on Tuesdays, but she had forgotten her lunch at home. Nous avons eu de la chance! She took us to the next town, where we caught the train into the city. I have been to Paris several times before, so I am more or less familiar with where things are. We took the metro to the Bastille and made our way to the Place de Vosges. We wandered through the Marais, sharing a falafel sandwich from L’As du Falafel. From there, Grace and I headed to the Rue de Rivoli. We stopped into the city hall to see an exhibit about the “Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup”. During July 1942, French police arrested thousands of Jews and kept them in the velodrome of Paris, where they awaited deportation. It was not a proud moment for the French, and the exhibit commemorated the 70^th anniversary as a tribute. From there, Grace and I walked to Notre Dame. Since there were so few tourists, we only waited 10 minutes to get inside! After, we stopped at Shakespeare and Company, followed by the Louvre (we didn’t go inside) and the Tuileries. Then we headed to the Eiffel Tower. To see so many things in one day seems like quite an accomplishment to me!

The next day we saw Montmartre, Sacré Coeur, the Moulin Rouge, Place Pigalle, Père Lachaise, and the Arc de Triomphe. We met up with Cassidy, a friend from our Bologna program, at a Canadian bar in the student area. Even though it had only been a few days since we left the others in Cinque Terre, it was nice to see a familiar face. On our way back to the Dattins’, Carole told us that the kids were finishing up a music lesson. She dropped us off at Arthur’s school, and we caught the last 15 minutes of the lesson. Thibaut made a point of telling us that it was the first time they had played that piece. We also saw a hedgehog outside of the school building as we were leaving!

Thursday, we went to Compiègne to visit Orianne. It was an hour away by car, but Carole needed to go there anyway to bring Orianne a chair for her adorable apartment. We went to a château that Napolean had used for hunting on the weekends. After, we walked around the town and saw the university. It was probably the ugliest building I’ve ever seen! (Don’t worry, Orianne admits it as well.)

We had to say goodbye to everyone Thursday night since we wouldn’t see them Friday morning before we left. Even though it was such a short trip, I am so happy that I had the opportunity to see the Dattins again. I am even more excited than I was to return for Christmas!

As my final hours of vacation are dwindling, I am becoming anxious for classes to start tomorrow. I know that it’s nothing I can’t handle, but the fear of the unknown is overwhelming. If anything, I will always have Paris!

Aspettate un momento

In this post, I will aim to give each moment of last week the attention it deserves, despite how many moments there were. I have never been very disciplined when it comes to keeping a daily journal (even those that were required). So this blog is kind of a miracle.

Let’s start with Saturday. I went to two different festivals last Saturday. In the morning, I volunteered with P.A.C.E., which has several programs dedicated to teaching English to Italian children. We had two arts and crafts booths. I spent my four-hour shift making maracas out of plastic water bottles. You basically talk at the kids, even if they don’t understand. First, you ask them what color rice they want to put in their shaker. “We have bluuuuue rice, and piiiiiink rice, and puuuurple rice…” Then, the kids get to put multicolored electrical tape on their bottles. Finally, we gave them each a cool sticker with English words: “Great!” “Awesome!” “Way to Go!” It was a lot more fun than I expected. In October, P.A.C.E. is organizing a Halloween party, so I am planning to volunteer then too.

Next, I met up with Grace to go to the festival in Via Broccaindosso, where we stayed with Eli. When we arrived, everyone had brought their tables outside, where all the neighbors dined together. Since it was lunchtime, nothing much was happening. So she and I (and our friend Natalia) continued back to Grace’s apartment. We did see Eli briefly, and he said to come by later. At Grace’s, we watched a fantastic and relevant film called L’Auberge Espagnole. It is about a young French guy who does a study abroad program in Barcelona. I really loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to know the truth about what I’m doing here (just kidding!). The three of us went back to Eli’s, where we had Eritrean food made by an Eritrean woman. Eli is such a sweetheart. It’s nice having a different kind of friend in a foreign country.

On Sunday, Natalia and I went to the antiques market near Santo Stefano. It is really fascinating how despite the geographical difference, many items were the same as American ones. At the same time, something typical of the 60s in Italy might be completely different from its American counterpart. Afterward, we ate at the Cremeria Sette Chiese, where I had coffee gelato and nutella gelato. (Santo Stefano, which is the place we visited in the rain, is alternatively called “Sette Chiese” because it is comprised of seven different churches). I am still on the hunt to find the best gelato in Bologna.

Monday, nothing of consequence happened, as far as I can remember. Tuesday night, we all went to this club called Sodapops. It was ERASMUS Student Welcome Night. The ERASMUS program is an exchange program for EU students (in fact, the guy in the French film was ERASMUS). Frequently Americans are grouped into ERASMUS as well, even though a lot of times that gives us a bad reputation. However, we are not technically ERASMUS. Anyway, a girl in my program found a job at Sodapops, and part of her first day of work was drawing students to the club. I think pretty much everyone in the program came by to support her. Despite the annoying, pathetic Italian guys, we had a lot of fun. I should probably clarify this definition. Everyone comes to Italy with the expectation that the male species are a cut above the rest: beautiful, romantic, sentimental. Well, they are certainly a different species. They will do anything to get a girl’s attention. I have been told that I have nice shoes, that I am loved, that I am cattiva (which can mean bad, awful, hurtful, bitchy…take your pick. I’m inclined to think the worst. Basically, I was on my way to class one day when this guy tried to say hi. He wouldn’t let me pass, and he stuck out his hand for me to shake. I said, “Devo andare a scuola, mi dispiace” and throwing his hands up in disgust, he exclaimed, “Sei cattiva!”… Che stronzo!).

Wednesday was Grace’s birthday. I stayed over Tuesday night because I didn’t want to walk back to my apartment so late. I gave her a painting of her favorite spot in Bologna, a pack of Italian playing cards, and a small alarm clock. We had an apertivo before going to see a movie with our class. The aperitivo is a wonderful concept. In the early evening, you can buy a drink and get a complimentary buffet of little dishes. It is a pretty cheap dinner/snack. The film we saw was called L’intervallo. It was in the Neapolitan dialect, and it had Italian subtitles. The story deals with the Camorra (the Neapolitan mafia) and two teens who have to deal with living under its tyranny. It was a very moving film, but very typical of foreign cinema: nothing happened in the movie. So if you are more inclined towards happy endings, or an ending in general, I don’t recommend you see it. For everyone else who is a little more adventurous, see it.

Thursday night, I went to Ilaria and Beatrice to the Festa dell’Unità. It was a lot like a county fair, except it was organized by the Democratic Party. There were several “restaurants” offering regional Italian food, as well as other ethnic foods. We didn’t stay very long, but we did walk home with two plants. We paid 1.30 euro to pick a number. Our number (20) gave us 20 points to choose a plant. So Ilaria and I chose two 10 point plants. They are now sitting on my window sill. Plants apparently make us happier, though I really don’t need any help with that now. The highlight, though, was riding in Ilaria’s FIAT 500 for the second time.

Friday, we had a wonderful meal for 10 euro each. The menu completo featured a primo, second, and dolce or caffè. I had risotto with shrimp and zucchini, a fritto misto plate of seafood, and a coffee sorbetto to top it off. The five of us – me, Grace, Natalia, Kelly, and Kelly’s friend Hilary – were having a last meal before Hilary left. She also goes to UCLA, but she studied in Berlin this summer. On her way home, she stopped in Bologna for two weeks. Peggy (our wonderful, indescribable academic coordinator) graciously let Hilary accompany the group on our many fieldtrips to museums and even to Ravenna. She was a great addition, and it is too bad that she couldn’t stay.

Yesterday was Saturday once again. It marked my two week anniversary of living on Via Tiberio Fiorilli…and I’m happy to say that I love it so much. It seems like the best possible spot for me in all of Bologna. As I’ve said before, Ilaria and Raffy are so kind and fun to be around. Ilaria and I talk all the time (which is of course improving my Italian!).

Grace, Kelly (I just realized…Grace + Kelly = Grace Kelly. Nice.), and I went to the flea market yesterday afternoon. There is pretty much a stand for everything. Prices range from normally expensive to ridiculously cheap. Of course, so does the quality. I found my prized possessions there, however: green leather ankle boots. (Don’t worry, Vidduch, they were well-priced). Pimpa the rabbit seemed to like them as much as I do, because when I was still wearing them, he came up and took a bite out of the toe! It was so absurd that I wasn’t mad (you really can’t tell that much, and I inevitably would have scuffed them anyway). It would be one thing if I had carelessly left them in my room with the door open, but they were still on my feet! What a ridiculous creature.

I made dinner for the girls, too. I wanted to buy fish at the fish counter, but I was intimidated by how whole they were. I have never learned how to clean a fish, sadly. So, I was reduced to buying cod filets in the frozen section. Please don’t judge me for it. (It’s possible that no one is judging me for it except myself. I am trying not to think about the environmental consequences of my purchase.) Anyway, I also made a tomato sauce with onions and potatoes. It worked out nicely, so I’m pleased.

And that was basically my week. Now that I’m enjoying every moment here, each one disappears more quickly than I would like. 

Ravenna

Last Friday, we took a day trip to Ravenna with the group. I didn’t realize until a few days before that I had studied the famous mosaics of Ravenna in my medieval art history class at UCLA. There are two important buildings in the city. One is the mausoleum of Galla Placidia, and the other is the basilica of San Vitale. Both contain beautifully preserved Byzantine mosaics. Inside the mausoleum, there are four notable ones. On the ceiling of the entranceway there is a representation of heaven in blue tiles. The dome contains a cross in the center to signify Christ. Four images in the four corners symbolize the Evangelists: Matthew the angel, Mark the lion, Luke the ox, and John the eagle. On the far wall, there is a mosaic of St. Lawrence the martyr, while the opposing side has a picture of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Commissioned by Galla Placidia, the daughter of a Roman Emperor, it is probably one of the earliest buildings to have a female patron. The basilica of San Vitale contains several mosaics of the emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. They are meant to represent the unification of church and state. Justinian, of course, stands in front of everyone, even the bishop. As with many works of art, it is impossible to understand the impact these mosaics have in person. There is definitely a presence inside the basilica, whether it is divine or historical.

After the church, we had long, relaxing lunch. The first plate was a simple pasta and tomato sauce. Next, they served us the separate parts of a piadina: the bread, the salumi, and the squacquerone cheese. We finished the meal with an espresso (naturally). Then, with our stomachs filled and our minds a bit…looser, we made our way to the tomb of THE Italian writer. Though Dante was born in Florence, he died and remains in Ravenna. We read the first canto of the Inferno in his honor.

Afterward, we had about an hour before the train left. Well, five of us California girls decided that we needed to see the water. On the map, it didn’t seem so far. However, after walking for about 20 minutes, we asked for directions. The girl told us that the beach was 8 km away! (8 km = 5 miles). Heartbroken, we returned to the park in front of the train station, where we met up with the other members of the group. 

Despite the last hour, the trip to Ravenna was an exciting experience for me as an art history student. I had no particular interest in the mosaics when I studied them at school, but seeing them in person gave me a real sense of awe.

Luigi

DISCLAIMER: This blog post contains a story that might be uncomfortable for some of my readers, especially if you tend to worry about me.

The Luigi saga began the first day that Grace and I arrived in Bologna, on August 20, and it continued until the 29^th, when Eli came back to his apartment. It was too weird to write about while it was happening. However, now that I am happily out of the area, I can look back on the entire experience and laugh.

When I corresponded with Eli prior to arriving, he told me that he unfortunately would be out of town during our stay. He entrusted his friend Luigi to give us the keys, show us how to work everything, and answer any questions. Grace and I took a taxi from the airport, and when we arrived at Eli’s, there was Luigi. He did give us the keys, but he didn’t explain all of the nuances of Eli’s apartment very well. Then, Luigi told us that he needed to clean up a few things around the house. He disappeared into Eli’s room. Grace and I went out for dinner and went to bed at 9 pm. We were woken up after midnight by the sound of someone entering the bathroom. Well, of course it was Luigi. It was a bit strange that he was still in the apartment. Grace and I were a bit disconcerted, but we distracted ourselves by watching a movie.

The next day, I emptied out my lunch bag that my mom had packed for my plane trip. In it were some chocolate chip cookies that my dad had made. I put the cookies on a plate. Some were broken in half because of travelling, so it was difficult to know how exactly how many pieces were on the plate. Grace and I went out, and when we came back around 3pm, Luigi popped his head out of Eli’s room to answer some questions we had (how does the shower work, etc). It was again strange that he was there, but since he apparently had some things to do, it seemed semi-reasonable. We went to the grocery store, and Grace bought some cookies. When we returned, my cookie platter seemed to be missing some pieces. Maybe I had fewer cookies than I remembered.

The following night, Grace opened up her own cookies. She folded the bag a certain way to prevent them from becoming stale. When we went to bed, we kept the door to the kitchen cracked open. Soon after turning the light off, I had to get up to go into the bathroom. Well, when I was in there, Grace saw that the light in kitchen was on. She heard someone (guess who?) munching on her cookies! When I unlocked the bathroom door, the light to the kitchen went off. Grace told me about what had happened, and I mentioned that our baguette seemed like less than what we had eaten with dinner. She had noticed it too. We silently giggled, partly out of extreme discomfort and partly because of the absurdity of our situation. Luigi hadn’t bothered us at all, but we kept our door locked. It wasn’t a problem for us to share the apartment with him, but it seemed like he was not supposed to be there (Especially since he was sneaking around after midnight to eat our cookies!).

I wrote an email to Eli, but he was travelling in Turkey with limited internet access. His parents were supposed to return around this time. They came one night to say hello (it may have been the same night as the cookie incident). Since we hadn’t heard from Eli, Grace and I went upstairs one afternoon to talk to his parents. Keep in mind that it was about 104 degrees, which is a very uncomfortable temperature for most people. You probably cannot guess what happened next. We knocked on the door, and Eli’s father answered. He stood there in his underwear, and we could hear a lovely classical tune playing in the background. We told him we had a problem, so he invited us inside. I explained the entire situation to Eli’s father while he was almost naked. It was such a bizarre experience that only adds more humor to the story.

Eli’s father told us to tell Luigi that he wanted to speak with him. Well, this wasn’t too comforting, because we had no idea when we would see him again. I eventually heard from Eli, who apologized profusely and said that he was very embarrassed. Luigi was only supposed to give us the keys.

When Eli came home, Grace and I realized just how different our first week in Bologna would have been. He was a wonderful host, and he deserves his own blog entry. I’ll probably write one later this week. In the end, no one was hurt or disturbed. At the time, it was unnerving, and it made our introduction to Bologna even more stressful (Don’t forget, we were searching for apartments at this point, too). With the passage of time, however, it has become a great story. 

Senzatetto

I have been unable to write down everything I’ve wanted to say for the past few weeks since I have been stressed beyond belief. All of that stress has now turned into an overwhelming sense of calm because I am no longer a senzatetto (homeless)!

My apartment is just outside the walls of the city center (centro), which means it is fuori porta (outside the porte, the large archways that surround the city, leftover from the Middle Ages). I have three flatmates. Ilaria and Raffaela are sisters from Foggia, which is a town in Puglia. My grandfather was born in Accadia, a tiny village near Foggia. So we are all pugliesi! The third inhabitant is a rabbit named Pimpa. He was frightened at first, but last night he ventured into my room to say hello. I think we will get along just fine.

I left Eli’s apartment yesterday, and he said we would see each other again. He is a very sweet guy, so I think he is right. When I arrived at my new home, Ilaria helped me lug my two suitcases up the two flights of stairs. Afterward, she and I went to IKEA. I bought two sets of sheets, one knitted blanket, one fleece/polyester blanket, and a rug to brighten up the room (some flowers, maybe daisies?). I have a lot of space in the closets, so right now everything is very neat and tidy. My mother will probably be the most skeptical as to how long this will last.

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I started this blog post on Sunday, and it is now Wednesday. I haven’t had internet in the apartment, but I went to the WIND store (another internet/cell company) to buy a chiavetta. It’s basically a modem that you plug into the USB drive. Unfortunately, I only get 10GB a month (which I believe is actually quite a lot, but I’m still wary). This means that my blog will have a separate page for photos from now on. Whenever I have WIFI, I will post my photos.

Saturday night, I went over to where Grace was staying. She is living with a friend from our program, but she moves into her new apartment tomorrow! I am thrilled for her, especially since I know exactly how it feels to be without a secure home. We finished watching a British movie called The Decoy Bride with David Tennant. Hilarious, a bit overdone, but definitely a good movie for a not so good mood.

Sunday, Ilaria and I went to the grocery store PAM, where I bought basic Italian staples: pasta and coffee. Monday, we were supposed to go to Santo Stefano, where the remains of Bologna’s patron saint San Petronio are. Our visit was cancelled, however, due to poor weather. Well, when we went to Santo Stefano yesterday (Tuesday), there was a downpour! Fortunately, the church had porticos, just like every other building in Bologna. Monday night I went back to Cecily’s (our friend from the program) to have dinner with her and Grace. I was having so much fun that I didn’t want to leave, but the best part about my apartment is my flatmates. When I came back home around 9:45-10ish, Ilaria and I talked for another hour and a half, at least. It’s so wonderful that I can go from being happy with my UC friends to being happy with my Italian flatmates. It’s a welcome change from UCLA.

Last night the three of us – Ilaria, Raffaela, and I – had dinner together. They are very patient with my Italian. Ilaria is very eager to relearn English, but she told me that I can’t laugh at her accent. I’m sure my Italian accent is not very pretty either.

Anyway, my life went from being miserable to wonderful in the course of a day. I am so at ease in my new apartment, and I cannot wait for my friends and family at home to visit me. I am starting to become more familiar with the city. Bologna has been inhabited from the time of the Etruscans to the present, without pause. I am happy to become a part of that vast history of population.