I was realizing last night that I promised recipes to several of you before I left and have never fulfilled my commitment. Here are a couple of my favorites. It sounds so simple, but truly, Italians appreciate each ingredients flavor, so most recipes don’t have more than a couple items in it. A few tips I have picked up: 75% of the taste is based on the quality of each ingredient, so buy fresh when possible! Most American pasta is cooked for too long making it soggy, cook for less time and just until it’s not crunchy. Older Parmesan is better to use for cooking because it has more flavor-grad it yourself. The type of pasta you use with the type of sauce is the key to pasta making. “Chunkier” sauces need a pasta that will catch the sauce. Thinner sauces can handle smooth pasta. Ex. Spaghetti with olive oil based sauce. Most sauces are tomato based. I have eaten a cream based sauce probably 3 times while here. America has it all wrong. It is totally expected and almost always done to clean your pasta plate of remaining sauce with bread. -And just plain yummy!-
The first recipe my host mom makes often-varying one or two ingredients each time-they are all wonderful and one of my favorite types of pasta. I am guessing on the exact ingredients and put as much of each as you would like and last thing, I have not made the first couple myself (I don't have a kitchen to use), so it is based on observation of ingredients and my own taste buds (that's my legal contract for any law suits coming my way):
Pasta:
Shopping list:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil-the fresher the better
Fresh garlic
Tiny red peppers-desired strength
Sun dried tomatoes
Spaghetti noodles
Sautee the EVOO with the garlic, pepper and tomatoes for flavor. Don’t add much garlic. The flavor of the garlic should not be strong at all. Cook noodles “al dante” (spell?) (just past the crunchy stage but not to the mushy yet). Enjoy!
Tips: one of my favorite variations of this was with FRESH parsley finely chopped instead of tomatoes and pepper.
Tuscan peas:
Frozen peas, thawed
Olive oil
Garlic
Bacon, finely chopped and partially cooked
Onion, finely chopped
Pepper
Combine olive oil, bacon, onion, peas, garlic, (just a little!) and pepper to taste. Sautee until peas are heated and oil is flavored. Serve with remaining oil. Enjoy!
Compliments of a cooking class:
My favorite pasta of all time!!! (and one of the easiest dishes to make)
Gnocchi di patate al pesto (Gnocchi with pesto):
Gnocchi (as freshly made as possible)
2 cloves garlic
100 g fresh basil
50 g grated parmesan (freshly grated is better)
50 g EVOO
Salt and pepper
Pine nuts or almonds if desired
In a mixer, combine all ingredients except olive oil and parmesan. Gradually add olive oil with the pulse button. Add the grated parmesan. Mix with pasta or gnocchi and add nuts if desired. Top with extra parmesan (again, if desired). Hint: it’s much better with gnocchi or a pasta that will catch the sauce.
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Actual blog:
Christmas! Yes, I am that dork who sings Christmas carols walking down the street, whose face lights up when she sees anything Christmas-esc, and who must cover the Christmas with tinsel so it doesn’t shrivel up and die. Every time I see something new for Christmas being put up in a store window, I have to say the word, with extreme enthusiasm, CHRISTMAS!! A giant ever green tree was put up next to the duomo Thursday (Thanksgiving, although I don‘t think it had anything to do with that), I just had to call someone and get my excitement out for this new fact. I have finally allowed myself to break out the new Dave Barnes Christmas album-after one day I have all the song lyrics memorized. Firenze is being covered with everything Christmas and it’s the most beautiful thing I have seen in a long time. I always new I loved Christmas, but being in a new place has put more perspective on things and I’ve learned, I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME.
Wednesday night, several of us went to an English movie theater and saw Harry Potter. As I had not seen the others, the highlight of the evening was being able to drink beer in the theater. I don’t even like beer that much but simply the fact that I could a- buy it because I’m not 21 but it’s totally legal b. buy it at a movie theater and c. I’m in Italy! Everything seems so much cooler doing it here. So, my first whole beer I ever drank by myself, totally drank in a movie theater. While watching the legendary HP. In Italy. Epic. -Turns out, the random beer I got was fairly good.
Thanksgiving was just a normal day for me, that’s what I’m telling myself anyway. I was telling people “happy thanksgiving” and such, but I never allowed myself to think about the day. I just kept saying over and over in my mind, it’s just a normal Thursday. I knew if I let myself think about it, it would ruin my day. However, I did break that a little my calling my grandparents. It was so good to hear my grandmother’s voice. I didn’t realize I needed to hear that until that moment. My host family did not do anything special, although they did wish me a happy thanksgiving : ). The school made 3 different types of pies for us to grab a piece from, so I got pumpkin pie (even though I’m allergic, it was my only source of anything Thanksgiving, so I ate it). My Italian prof let us out 1 whole hour early! She NEVER lets us out early so it was a surprise when she did. I think she sort of knows what we were going through that day because she is hosting 2 girls from the program. The school was so sweet and gave us a list of places where we could buy a turkey, and pumpkin pie ingredients, etc. My roommates mom was here, so they were going to Amsterdam, which would have meant I would do it all by myself. As it turns out, I got my usual pasta craving about 3 o’clock so was happy to go home and eat my host mom’s pasta. Yummy!
I went to Lucca with my photography class on Friday. Lucca is near Pisa and about a 1.5 hour train ride from Florence. We went for a digital photography exhibit. It’s a super cute town and very small, not like Florence at all. As I heard it perfectly described once, Florence, and most of Italy has prostituted itself out to tourism. While in Lucca, I did not get the feeling that this city had though. I hardly saw any tourists. It was a lot more tranquil and silent compared to most cities I have to also. Since it was farther north, it was absolutely freezing, we even had some sleet. By the end of the day my fingers where so stiff and sore from the cold it was difficult to open a bottle of water. The exhibits were wonderful though! My favorite was probably a photojournalism one with multiple photographers. It was very humanitarian-esc…..go figure why I liked it. With each photograph, there was a brief description of the situation. One that stands out the most to me was a photo of a young girl (maybe 7 yrs. old) who had been buried by rubble from counter attacks by Israel. She was obviously dead. I won’t be able to forget her expression for a while.
I am truly appreciating Italy more these days. If the way I felt about Italy these past months were a graph, there would be MAJOR spikes throughout it all! One week/day I love it, the next I’m ready to get out of here, very unstable (coming from a psy major). I have gone back to the “I love Italy” stage for this post though. I think it has taken me seeing the end is near to honestly appreciate everything here. I love the feeling of not having pressure on me all the time to look “put together” and thin. Here, it’s either that I can’t understand the language, the culture doesn’t emphasize it like Americans do, or my mind set it different. I think it’s a little of both. That whole theory of me viewing things different here just about sums up my life over the past 3 months. I don’t feel the pressure to conform, society telling me I need this and that to be happy. I am more adventurous. I eat things without asking what it is (ok ok, out of fear sometimes). I actually eat tomatoes now! I know, right!! (just on things, but it’s a major step!!) I love certain aspects of who I am here. It has only taken 3 months to realize that….haha
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
"This is [Rome]"
Jumping in:
Although trying not to get into the bittersweet aspect of study abroad because it’s not that time yet, I have learned a tremendous amount about myself and life in general. I’ve learned that I’m too sweet sometimes allowing less than honest people to walk over me, not ok.-I’m “fixing” that.- And many other little things such as that.
I crave carbs now. Seriously, one would think to come from America-a country in which people eat pasta 2-3 times a week in general-would make me get sick of the food quickly, but nope. I crave it. If I don’t get at least one serving of pasta a day my body literally tells me it wants it -and bread has to be eaten with that pasta. At dinner with my host family, I eat 3 or more slices of bread. I’ve come to love the food. I’ve never liked bread that much. I’m actually a little surprised I’m not gaining weight….it’s that U.S. “carbs are bad” brain washing though…I currently am living proof of that not being true.
Dinner with my host family is my favorite time of day. They are so sweet and I am reminded in little ways everyday how blessed I am to have such a family. My host mom loves to cook and stays home all day allowing her time to make a delicious meal with love and care. I have yet to eat the exact same pasta twice. It’s wonderful. Most everything is seasonal which helps with that fact. It’s a norm for me to hand my dirty plate from one course to Maria Luisa so she can hand me a clean plate for the next. I do it without thinking. As I mentioned in an earlier post, as I talk with my friends, I realize more and more how blessed I am to have Maria Luisa cook for us. Many of the other host families have students for the money aspect, so they don’t truly care. It is very evident, especially with Bruno, that mine is not that way. They are great! Maria Luisa does everything for us. She takes our laundry, and we see it return in a couple days. I have yet to discover where it goes, but it comes back clean. She cleans our room for us, changes our sheets, etc. We are so spoiled and blessed to have gotten such a caring family.
I notice more and more shops putting up Christmas decorations. There were several Christmas trees newly put up yesterday and the Florentine symbol is hung with lights above streets near the duomo and center. As I see boutiques with new red and green Christmas items, I have to keep my excitement in check. Christmas!! (I literally say that out loud to the anyone passing by, who knows if they know what I am talking about)
I asked Maria Luisa the other day what they do for Christmas. Being Catholic, they aren’t suppose to celebrate until a couple days into January, however for the children (grandchildren), they open the gifts on December 25. Since they are from Naples (a region of Italy), one celebration included foods with mostly fish for every course. The other day includes mostly meats for every course and lots of cookies eaten all day (like holiday baking in the states).
Regions of Italy are very important to the Italians. They are very proud of where they come from because every region is known for specializing in certain items. My host family is from Naples which has the best Mozzarella and pizza. In the course of our dinner conversation, they almost always bring up something about, “we are from Naples…”. The government does not help dissolve the prejudice the people have of each region either. Although I couldn’t fully understand because it was in broken inglese, Bruno said: due to their national healthcare, it’s hard to move around within Italy, thus many people stay in one place. Bruno tried to move his mom from a nursing home in Naples to one in Florence but the people owning the facilities said no. Something about the insurance wouldn’t travel with her.
Travels:
Last weekend I went to Venice. It was fun. Not one of my favorite trips but it was good to be able to see the city with no roads. This past weekend I went to Rome with school. I loved Rome!!!! I have so much more respect for the Romans and ancient Rome in general since going. I can’t explain it but it’s so different from just learning about it and seeing pictures in a class room. The monuments are huge!! I completely understand why the slaves that arrived there said it was a city made by giants. I was there with the school so our tour guide was from SUF and was probably the best guide I have ever had. He knew so much about everything. We went to the Vatican and St. Peters Cathedral. St. Peters is so massive! It is said that people don’t understand the scale of it because the building itself does not allow human perspective. It’s true. It’s hard to explain but something I remember the most about what my guide said was the aisle is 2.5 football fields long. While standing at the very back, a pro football player could throw a football, totally thinking he could reach the end, only to see his ball land in the middle. The statues, many of them done my Michelangelo, are ginormous.
Along with the Vatican and St. Peters, we saw the Sistine Chapel. It did not have the awe factor I was expecting, that one that most everyone gets. It was super interesting learning about what they discovered in the restoration process though. Apparently after 4.5 yrs of painting on a ceiling, Michelangelo got bored and did little things to quicken the process. Making figures bigger, plaster work bigger and fewer, etc. While restoring it, they also found pig hair from his brushes, because he was painting so furiously it was destroying his brushes in the process. My favorite part of the Sistine Chapel was not Michelangelo’s ceiling, but the paintings on the walls. One sticks out in my mind the most. It depicted Moses and the Red Sea. The Egyptians are being covered in water while the Israelites are on the land. It was interesting that the artist (can’t remember who) put a rainbow in the background of this painting. I would assume to symbolize God’s promise to God’s chosen people: the Israelites. Very well done and very moving.
One Saturday, we saw the Coliseum and “Capital Hill” as I like to call it where the palaces once stood in ancient Rome. I didn’t realize until going to Rome how much of our history and the little phrases we have, what the Emperors decreed, and things such as that that have affected our lives today and carried down through the generations. Example: one of the temples (which was reconstructed and stands today) has columns that surround the building. Those columns have incisions in them in various spots. During the rise of Christianity, the people decided the temple needed to be destroyed because it was dedicated to pagan gods. It is so massive a structure, that even the most powerful piece of equipment (oxen) could not bring down the temple (Renaissance times). So two things stand out here. First: the saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them” was started because they couldn’t remove the columns, so they left them and just built a different building behind them allowing the columns to surround this new building. Second: even hundreds of years after ancient Rome, people did not have the technology the Romans had to bring down the columns. They didn’t even have to lift and construct it, like the Romans had to do while building it. They had the easier of the tasks and still couldn’t do it. That’s how amazing the Romans were.
The coliseum was another ah inspiring visit for me, and very possibly my favorite. Again, our guide was wonderful. He told us a lot of the culture of ancient Rome. 65% of Rome’s citizens (around 1 million in the city), were on “welfare” meaning what food stamps would be today. They didn’t have “food stamps” though. However, the empire was so wealthy that they didn’t go to the grocery store and get the cheapest stuff, they got caviar and champagne, etc. Rome was very wealthy! I have to see “Gladiator” the movie again soon. I would have a totally new perspective on it. -The Roman calendar at that time had 365 days (every year). Of those 365 days, 142 (around that number), had games in the arena. So roughly every two days there was a sporting event and holiday for the people. The coliseum held 50,000-80,000 people and could completely empty out in 20 minutes (it was that organized! That would come in handy for fire codes today). At the beginning of the day, hardly anyone came early because it was the funny stuff, dancing bears, circus material. As the day went on, more people trickled in as the games got more serious. Just before people fought, they would get animals that didn’t normally live together (from different areas of the large Roman empire), starve them, make them angry, and them put them in the arena together to ripe each other apart. -After this, people would go home and eat, relax, them come back to see the gladiators fight to the death-everyone‘s favorite. -very much like the movie, with the thumbs up/down for death and such. Today, a lot of the coliseum is destroyed from various earthquakes and such, but different parts of it have been reconstructed to see what it would have been like. The Romans were extremely smart and wealthy. So much more so than I had ever thought or learned in the classroom. It really is very amazing!! Their history is our history and REALLY effects what we do today without us even realizing it.
Architecturally, the Parthenon is one of the most intelligently made structures, ever. My guide said it is the most studied architectural building around the world. It has always been very well recorded and documented. They know exactly how it was made and use to look like because even after its completion, people studied it. However, no one knows for sure what it was used for. (I find that’s kind of funny. Everyone was so caught up on the fact that the building itself is a genius, but they didn’t really care what people used it for.) They have no fear of the dome falling (like they do with Brunelleschi’s dome in the duomo, hehe). The Parthenon has a 142 foot circumference and exactly that for its height as well. It is a perfect sphere and was designed that way. The dome was made from what is modern day concrete (they were so smart!) and many other fibers from that time. It has no central point (it’s an open circle at the top). It’s amazing! It was pouring rain basically the whole time I was there, so we saw the rain coming down through the middle of the open circle. So pretty!! It just fell on the marble below.
There is no city like Rome. It has definitely been my favorite and the most awe inspiring. The Romans were seriously geniuses and there has never been a civilization as wealthy as it was.
Oh, Italy. It has stolen my heart and now holds it captive with a tight key that is suffocating. I absolutely love the country and the people, the food, everything…but it’s time to go home. The best way to sum up how I feel: bring everyone I love and my college to Italy, and I would be the happiest person ever! My home is where my heart is and my heart is back in the states with the people I love. Most of us students have started a count down.
Although trying not to get into the bittersweet aspect of study abroad because it’s not that time yet, I have learned a tremendous amount about myself and life in general. I’ve learned that I’m too sweet sometimes allowing less than honest people to walk over me, not ok.-I’m “fixing” that.- And many other little things such as that.
I crave carbs now. Seriously, one would think to come from America-a country in which people eat pasta 2-3 times a week in general-would make me get sick of the food quickly, but nope. I crave it. If I don’t get at least one serving of pasta a day my body literally tells me it wants it -and bread has to be eaten with that pasta. At dinner with my host family, I eat 3 or more slices of bread. I’ve come to love the food. I’ve never liked bread that much. I’m actually a little surprised I’m not gaining weight….it’s that U.S. “carbs are bad” brain washing though…I currently am living proof of that not being true.
Dinner with my host family is my favorite time of day. They are so sweet and I am reminded in little ways everyday how blessed I am to have such a family. My host mom loves to cook and stays home all day allowing her time to make a delicious meal with love and care. I have yet to eat the exact same pasta twice. It’s wonderful. Most everything is seasonal which helps with that fact. It’s a norm for me to hand my dirty plate from one course to Maria Luisa so she can hand me a clean plate for the next. I do it without thinking. As I mentioned in an earlier post, as I talk with my friends, I realize more and more how blessed I am to have Maria Luisa cook for us. Many of the other host families have students for the money aspect, so they don’t truly care. It is very evident, especially with Bruno, that mine is not that way. They are great! Maria Luisa does everything for us. She takes our laundry, and we see it return in a couple days. I have yet to discover where it goes, but it comes back clean. She cleans our room for us, changes our sheets, etc. We are so spoiled and blessed to have gotten such a caring family.
I notice more and more shops putting up Christmas decorations. There were several Christmas trees newly put up yesterday and the Florentine symbol is hung with lights above streets near the duomo and center. As I see boutiques with new red and green Christmas items, I have to keep my excitement in check. Christmas!! (I literally say that out loud to the anyone passing by, who knows if they know what I am talking about)
I asked Maria Luisa the other day what they do for Christmas. Being Catholic, they aren’t suppose to celebrate until a couple days into January, however for the children (grandchildren), they open the gifts on December 25. Since they are from Naples (a region of Italy), one celebration included foods with mostly fish for every course. The other day includes mostly meats for every course and lots of cookies eaten all day (like holiday baking in the states).
Regions of Italy are very important to the Italians. They are very proud of where they come from because every region is known for specializing in certain items. My host family is from Naples which has the best Mozzarella and pizza. In the course of our dinner conversation, they almost always bring up something about, “we are from Naples…”. The government does not help dissolve the prejudice the people have of each region either. Although I couldn’t fully understand because it was in broken inglese, Bruno said: due to their national healthcare, it’s hard to move around within Italy, thus many people stay in one place. Bruno tried to move his mom from a nursing home in Naples to one in Florence but the people owning the facilities said no. Something about the insurance wouldn’t travel with her.
Travels:
Last weekend I went to Venice. It was fun. Not one of my favorite trips but it was good to be able to see the city with no roads. This past weekend I went to Rome with school. I loved Rome!!!! I have so much more respect for the Romans and ancient Rome in general since going. I can’t explain it but it’s so different from just learning about it and seeing pictures in a class room. The monuments are huge!! I completely understand why the slaves that arrived there said it was a city made by giants. I was there with the school so our tour guide was from SUF and was probably the best guide I have ever had. He knew so much about everything. We went to the Vatican and St. Peters Cathedral. St. Peters is so massive! It is said that people don’t understand the scale of it because the building itself does not allow human perspective. It’s true. It’s hard to explain but something I remember the most about what my guide said was the aisle is 2.5 football fields long. While standing at the very back, a pro football player could throw a football, totally thinking he could reach the end, only to see his ball land in the middle. The statues, many of them done my Michelangelo, are ginormous.
Along with the Vatican and St. Peters, we saw the Sistine Chapel. It did not have the awe factor I was expecting, that one that most everyone gets. It was super interesting learning about what they discovered in the restoration process though. Apparently after 4.5 yrs of painting on a ceiling, Michelangelo got bored and did little things to quicken the process. Making figures bigger, plaster work bigger and fewer, etc. While restoring it, they also found pig hair from his brushes, because he was painting so furiously it was destroying his brushes in the process. My favorite part of the Sistine Chapel was not Michelangelo’s ceiling, but the paintings on the walls. One sticks out in my mind the most. It depicted Moses and the Red Sea. The Egyptians are being covered in water while the Israelites are on the land. It was interesting that the artist (can’t remember who) put a rainbow in the background of this painting. I would assume to symbolize God’s promise to God’s chosen people: the Israelites. Very well done and very moving.
One Saturday, we saw the Coliseum and “Capital Hill” as I like to call it where the palaces once stood in ancient Rome. I didn’t realize until going to Rome how much of our history and the little phrases we have, what the Emperors decreed, and things such as that that have affected our lives today and carried down through the generations. Example: one of the temples (which was reconstructed and stands today) has columns that surround the building. Those columns have incisions in them in various spots. During the rise of Christianity, the people decided the temple needed to be destroyed because it was dedicated to pagan gods. It is so massive a structure, that even the most powerful piece of equipment (oxen) could not bring down the temple (Renaissance times). So two things stand out here. First: the saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them” was started because they couldn’t remove the columns, so they left them and just built a different building behind them allowing the columns to surround this new building. Second: even hundreds of years after ancient Rome, people did not have the technology the Romans had to bring down the columns. They didn’t even have to lift and construct it, like the Romans had to do while building it. They had the easier of the tasks and still couldn’t do it. That’s how amazing the Romans were.
The coliseum was another ah inspiring visit for me, and very possibly my favorite. Again, our guide was wonderful. He told us a lot of the culture of ancient Rome. 65% of Rome’s citizens (around 1 million in the city), were on “welfare” meaning what food stamps would be today. They didn’t have “food stamps” though. However, the empire was so wealthy that they didn’t go to the grocery store and get the cheapest stuff, they got caviar and champagne, etc. Rome was very wealthy! I have to see “Gladiator” the movie again soon. I would have a totally new perspective on it. -The Roman calendar at that time had 365 days (every year). Of those 365 days, 142 (around that number), had games in the arena. So roughly every two days there was a sporting event and holiday for the people. The coliseum held 50,000-80,000 people and could completely empty out in 20 minutes (it was that organized! That would come in handy for fire codes today). At the beginning of the day, hardly anyone came early because it was the funny stuff, dancing bears, circus material. As the day went on, more people trickled in as the games got more serious. Just before people fought, they would get animals that didn’t normally live together (from different areas of the large Roman empire), starve them, make them angry, and them put them in the arena together to ripe each other apart. -After this, people would go home and eat, relax, them come back to see the gladiators fight to the death-everyone‘s favorite. -very much like the movie, with the thumbs up/down for death and such. Today, a lot of the coliseum is destroyed from various earthquakes and such, but different parts of it have been reconstructed to see what it would have been like. The Romans were extremely smart and wealthy. So much more so than I had ever thought or learned in the classroom. It really is very amazing!! Their history is our history and REALLY effects what we do today without us even realizing it.
Architecturally, the Parthenon is one of the most intelligently made structures, ever. My guide said it is the most studied architectural building around the world. It has always been very well recorded and documented. They know exactly how it was made and use to look like because even after its completion, people studied it. However, no one knows for sure what it was used for. (I find that’s kind of funny. Everyone was so caught up on the fact that the building itself is a genius, but they didn’t really care what people used it for.) They have no fear of the dome falling (like they do with Brunelleschi’s dome in the duomo, hehe). The Parthenon has a 142 foot circumference and exactly that for its height as well. It is a perfect sphere and was designed that way. The dome was made from what is modern day concrete (they were so smart!) and many other fibers from that time. It has no central point (it’s an open circle at the top). It’s amazing! It was pouring rain basically the whole time I was there, so we saw the rain coming down through the middle of the open circle. So pretty!! It just fell on the marble below.
There is no city like Rome. It has definitely been my favorite and the most awe inspiring. The Romans were seriously geniuses and there has never been a civilization as wealthy as it was.
Oh, Italy. It has stolen my heart and now holds it captive with a tight key that is suffocating. I absolutely love the country and the people, the food, everything…but it’s time to go home. The best way to sum up how I feel: bring everyone I love and my college to Italy, and I would be the happiest person ever! My home is where my heart is and my heart is back in the states with the people I love. Most of us students have started a count down.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Cha-Cha-Cha Changes
I truly could not have asked for a better host family. They are such a blessing. My host dad especially is quickly becoming one of my favorite people. He, especially, is so nurturing and caring. He always smiles and loves to see me smile. He’s one of the funniest people I know, in a nontraditional way. He and our host mom are excellent examples of a great marriage also. I was realizing this while eating dinner with my roommate, her dad who was in town, and Maria and Bruno. The three “adults” were joking about marriage and “yes dear” and everything like that. Maria and Bruno know when to joke and know when to stop. It is very evident they are happy. They know the secret to a good balance with each other which seems key for a successful marriage. I am truly blessed to have them as further examples of how a family works. I don’t have stories of them fighting to compare like my friends do with their host families. Maria stays home all day and makes the dinner almost all by herself, but Bruno is more than happy to help her in the kitchen cleaning up or taking up the plates between courses, or finishing up the dinner whenever he gets home. It is so refreshing. I am truly blessed to have such good parents back home and parents here. Both are wonderful examples of how a marriage works.
It has rained here like crazy the past couple days. Literally everyday it pours all day. Wednesday we had thunderstorms off and on, even some hail. Thank God it hasn’t been too freezing, but everyday after class I really just want to go back to my room, put on a hoodie and drink hot chocolate. That has yet to happen.
A good friend and I were talking about the Italian culture. I was expressing my frustration about the way men view women here. (Why yes, I do go to a women’s college). Italian society allows men to “ciao bella” women they find attractive. It’s the norm. Even in a different country, walking by men who are “people watching”, I fully expect a “ciao bella”. That confirms how much Italian men say it. I use to see it as devaluing women. There is more to a woman than how she looks. She didn’t even get to pick how she looks so it REALLY is not all she is made up of. We have thoughts, feelings; we are complex creatures. After expressing all of this frustration to my friend, she completely rearranged my thoughts. She said they appreciate beauty. It’s as simple as that. She was totally right. Walk down the street and observe how they dress and that will tell you, they appreciate looks. In a book I am reading, it mentions that a sales associate in a store maybe the least intelligent person, but she is in that position because she looks good. Italians want beauty. It’s just their culture.
As the semester comes to a close (a little over a month left), the feeling all around is it is going to be a mad dash to the end. Most weekend trips have finished, although I am still trying to fit in last minute ones (Switzerland!!). People have tons of work to do and traveling by myself is not as much fun as being with friends. A lot of people I talk to, including myself, really feel the pull to be home. The holidays are quickly approaching. We are already hearing of Christmas stuff and Thanksgiving plans. “Stuff” isn’t as new here as it was when we first arrived. I am more use to the culture and have fallen into a “rut” with how to dive in deeper. I’m still thinking and hoping on this one. Study abroad programs don’t put any of this in their brochures.
The concept of what season it feels like is not truly present with us American babies either. I can only imagine the holiday decorations going up in various locations in the states. Walmart stocking up and boosting their advertising campaign. Walking down any given street in Florence, there is no sign of any season anywhere. Italy is so unique in that sense. It isn’t trapped into the marketing tricks and money aspect of holidays that the US is. I’m fairly certain the government has something to do with that. As Americans, we are so spoiled. We want things now and we want them big. The Italian government won’t even let Italians turn on the heat in their homes until November 1st . If the US government started that, Americans would F.R.E.A.K. out. We don’t have an advantage to being spoiled like we are either. In many ways, it makes us little children who whine and stomp our foot when we don’t get exactly what we want-and no one likes bratty children.
Again, trying not to skip ahead, but I was thinking the other day how hard it is going to be to return back to the “boring” life I had before coming. My brain has been stretched to the max with constantly new stimuli. I won’t have any of that in the near future. Currently, my brains norm is processing a high level of foreign material (foreign in everyway possible). Next semester, I basically know what to expect. That’s comforting and I dread it at the same time. I am super excited to see my friends and family though!
Trying to picture falling back into my “normal” life at home with the way I have changed, is very hard. It’s completely cliché, but I feel so different than a few months ago….That’s totally cheesy, I am aware. I like cheesy. I’ve noticed little things in the way I act and handle situations. I can’t wait to see how that blends with “my world”. So excited!
It has rained here like crazy the past couple days. Literally everyday it pours all day. Wednesday we had thunderstorms off and on, even some hail. Thank God it hasn’t been too freezing, but everyday after class I really just want to go back to my room, put on a hoodie and drink hot chocolate. That has yet to happen.
A good friend and I were talking about the Italian culture. I was expressing my frustration about the way men view women here. (Why yes, I do go to a women’s college). Italian society allows men to “ciao bella” women they find attractive. It’s the norm. Even in a different country, walking by men who are “people watching”, I fully expect a “ciao bella”. That confirms how much Italian men say it. I use to see it as devaluing women. There is more to a woman than how she looks. She didn’t even get to pick how she looks so it REALLY is not all she is made up of. We have thoughts, feelings; we are complex creatures. After expressing all of this frustration to my friend, she completely rearranged my thoughts. She said they appreciate beauty. It’s as simple as that. She was totally right. Walk down the street and observe how they dress and that will tell you, they appreciate looks. In a book I am reading, it mentions that a sales associate in a store maybe the least intelligent person, but she is in that position because she looks good. Italians want beauty. It’s just their culture.
As the semester comes to a close (a little over a month left), the feeling all around is it is going to be a mad dash to the end. Most weekend trips have finished, although I am still trying to fit in last minute ones (Switzerland!!). People have tons of work to do and traveling by myself is not as much fun as being with friends. A lot of people I talk to, including myself, really feel the pull to be home. The holidays are quickly approaching. We are already hearing of Christmas stuff and Thanksgiving plans. “Stuff” isn’t as new here as it was when we first arrived. I am more use to the culture and have fallen into a “rut” with how to dive in deeper. I’m still thinking and hoping on this one. Study abroad programs don’t put any of this in their brochures.
The concept of what season it feels like is not truly present with us American babies either. I can only imagine the holiday decorations going up in various locations in the states. Walmart stocking up and boosting their advertising campaign. Walking down any given street in Florence, there is no sign of any season anywhere. Italy is so unique in that sense. It isn’t trapped into the marketing tricks and money aspect of holidays that the US is. I’m fairly certain the government has something to do with that. As Americans, we are so spoiled. We want things now and we want them big. The Italian government won’t even let Italians turn on the heat in their homes until November 1st . If the US government started that, Americans would F.R.E.A.K. out. We don’t have an advantage to being spoiled like we are either. In many ways, it makes us little children who whine and stomp our foot when we don’t get exactly what we want-and no one likes bratty children.
Again, trying not to skip ahead, but I was thinking the other day how hard it is going to be to return back to the “boring” life I had before coming. My brain has been stretched to the max with constantly new stimuli. I won’t have any of that in the near future. Currently, my brains norm is processing a high level of foreign material (foreign in everyway possible). Next semester, I basically know what to expect. That’s comforting and I dread it at the same time. I am super excited to see my friends and family though!
Trying to picture falling back into my “normal” life at home with the way I have changed, is very hard. It’s completely cliché, but I feel so different than a few months ago….That’s totally cheesy, I am aware. I like cheesy. I’ve noticed little things in the way I act and handle situations. I can’t wait to see how that blends with “my world”. So excited!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Life is Life
I haven't written in a very long time so I will quickly catch up and then dive into what is fresh on my mind.
I was in Ireland 2 weekends ago. The biggest surprise after seeing green stuff that grows out of the ground was the fact that I was naturally speaking Italian. Ireland speaks English. When someone would ask me something I would respond with "Si" without thinking, wrong language. I am naturally a very friendly and polite person. Instead of saying "thank you" or "hello" I would say it in Italian. It was funny at first but about the 2nd day of fighting it and still failing sometimes, I just gave up. Transitioning back to the states is going to be tougher in ways I had not even realized. In Ireland, I actually saw commercially owned businesses! Amazing! Dominoes, Pizza Hut, etc. It was crazy! I honesty didn't realize how complete opposites Italy and the United States are. They truly are. If I had gone to Ireland without ever being in Italy, I would probably think Ireland really was different, but after living in Italy for months now, Ireland IS basically the United States. Almost completely the same. Paris was the same feeling. It was so commercial compared to Italy that it felt closer to the US also. Weird. Due to this feeling, I had and still have a grudge against italy a little bit. With the holidays coming up, I'm majorly feeling the want to go home. I don't think that is going away like the other homesickness bits did. I'll be fine though. But, I love the Irish people. Literally everyone we met on the street went out of their way to help up, to the point of getting on a bus with us. They were so friendly and talkative. Ireland had the feel of a New England state. The leaves were changing, it was cold, it also had a small town feel even though we were in Dublin. It was wonderful!!
Paris was good also but in a different way. I love Paris for the architecture. The city is absolutely stunning. Probably my favorite place I have been yet. I was not crazy about the French people, in fact I was a little unhappy with them, but the city itself made up for that. Being with 3 other girls, we had a romantic picnic complete with french champagne and cheese at night under the Eiffel Tower at night. We got to see the light show that happens on the hour every night. It was so magical. We even saw a couple get engaged. I think I was more happy and excited for her than she was! Sweetest thing ever. Paris is truly a romantic city. It's just special. We also went to the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Palace of Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, grave of the unknown soldier, Notre-Dame, and Musee Rodin. I've already decided, I will be going back to Paris at some point in my life. It's happening.
Continuing some of what I am learning about myself abroad, I'm learning character traits about myself from people. Weird concept, but back home for example, people tell me I'm xyz (I despise bragging so probably won't insert a trait). Here, people are telling me the exact same traits. I know more about my personality and what the world would say about me. I definitely respect myself more right now because I am learning how unique I am. Feeling weird saying this because I feel like I'm bragging but w/e.....After people truly get to know me fairly well, they tell me all the time how they've never met anyone like me. Honestly, I'm not one to take this to a pride level, but it's turning into me respecting me for being Made for a special purpose. There is no one like me. I have extreme value that deserves respect, as all humans do. I'm complex and loving and understanding, etc. and that's "who I am". God made me like that and intended me to be that way. For the first time, I'm totally happy with that. Take it or leave it. I wouldn't have been able to learn that if I were at home. I wouldn't have that new perspective of who PEOPLE say I am.
Today I met with a girl in the freshman program through SUF. She is one of the most refreshing people I have ever been around. I have a real heart for freshmen. It is SUCH a vulnerable time in their life. If they don't have strong values, they will be swayed by everything new in their life, thus I feel the need to protect them. So this girl is a God sent. I've had a rough week to say the least. I just met her last week and have since spent time with her 3 times. Today, we were talking in a piazza for 6 hours straight. During this time, a guy was walking his dog at various times. He came over to us towards the end. In broken English he asked us why we were there all day. It was the cutest thing ever that made me realize, God sent me her at just the right time. She maybe a freshman, but she's one of the strongest freshman I know. I needed her at this very time. Even one christian is better than none. Quality not quantity. In an environment that has no people in it that remind me of God's love, she appeared at just the right time. "The other southerner and the other christian".
Also today, I was at the school waiting for her to show up when a woman approached me looking very confused. In total Italian, she said she was trying to reach someone who worked there but the buzzer wasn't working. In very broken Italian, I explained no one was there because it's Friday. She probably wouldn't be able to until Monday. I also answered some of her questions, IN ITALIAN! I was so excited. Just the feeling of accomplishment of being able to have a conversation and be helpful with an Italian was so wonderful. I felt smart for the first time in a long time. Learning a language is hard!
I only have half the semester left here. Mixed feelings about leaving but either way, I have already learned so much!
I was in Ireland 2 weekends ago. The biggest surprise after seeing green stuff that grows out of the ground was the fact that I was naturally speaking Italian. Ireland speaks English. When someone would ask me something I would respond with "Si" without thinking, wrong language. I am naturally a very friendly and polite person. Instead of saying "thank you" or "hello" I would say it in Italian. It was funny at first but about the 2nd day of fighting it and still failing sometimes, I just gave up. Transitioning back to the states is going to be tougher in ways I had not even realized. In Ireland, I actually saw commercially owned businesses! Amazing! Dominoes, Pizza Hut, etc. It was crazy! I honesty didn't realize how complete opposites Italy and the United States are. They truly are. If I had gone to Ireland without ever being in Italy, I would probably think Ireland really was different, but after living in Italy for months now, Ireland IS basically the United States. Almost completely the same. Paris was the same feeling. It was so commercial compared to Italy that it felt closer to the US also. Weird. Due to this feeling, I had and still have a grudge against italy a little bit. With the holidays coming up, I'm majorly feeling the want to go home. I don't think that is going away like the other homesickness bits did. I'll be fine though. But, I love the Irish people. Literally everyone we met on the street went out of their way to help up, to the point of getting on a bus with us. They were so friendly and talkative. Ireland had the feel of a New England state. The leaves were changing, it was cold, it also had a small town feel even though we were in Dublin. It was wonderful!!
Paris was good also but in a different way. I love Paris for the architecture. The city is absolutely stunning. Probably my favorite place I have been yet. I was not crazy about the French people, in fact I was a little unhappy with them, but the city itself made up for that. Being with 3 other girls, we had a romantic picnic complete with french champagne and cheese at night under the Eiffel Tower at night. We got to see the light show that happens on the hour every night. It was so magical. We even saw a couple get engaged. I think I was more happy and excited for her than she was! Sweetest thing ever. Paris is truly a romantic city. It's just special. We also went to the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Palace of Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, grave of the unknown soldier, Notre-Dame, and Musee Rodin. I've already decided, I will be going back to Paris at some point in my life. It's happening.
Continuing some of what I am learning about myself abroad, I'm learning character traits about myself from people. Weird concept, but back home for example, people tell me I'm xyz (I despise bragging so probably won't insert a trait). Here, people are telling me the exact same traits. I know more about my personality and what the world would say about me. I definitely respect myself more right now because I am learning how unique I am. Feeling weird saying this because I feel like I'm bragging but w/e.....After people truly get to know me fairly well, they tell me all the time how they've never met anyone like me. Honestly, I'm not one to take this to a pride level, but it's turning into me respecting me for being Made for a special purpose. There is no one like me. I have extreme value that deserves respect, as all humans do. I'm complex and loving and understanding, etc. and that's "who I am". God made me like that and intended me to be that way. For the first time, I'm totally happy with that. Take it or leave it. I wouldn't have been able to learn that if I were at home. I wouldn't have that new perspective of who PEOPLE say I am.
Today I met with a girl in the freshman program through SUF. She is one of the most refreshing people I have ever been around. I have a real heart for freshmen. It is SUCH a vulnerable time in their life. If they don't have strong values, they will be swayed by everything new in their life, thus I feel the need to protect them. So this girl is a God sent. I've had a rough week to say the least. I just met her last week and have since spent time with her 3 times. Today, we were talking in a piazza for 6 hours straight. During this time, a guy was walking his dog at various times. He came over to us towards the end. In broken English he asked us why we were there all day. It was the cutest thing ever that made me realize, God sent me her at just the right time. She maybe a freshman, but she's one of the strongest freshman I know. I needed her at this very time. Even one christian is better than none. Quality not quantity. In an environment that has no people in it that remind me of God's love, she appeared at just the right time. "The other southerner and the other christian".
Also today, I was at the school waiting for her to show up when a woman approached me looking very confused. In total Italian, she said she was trying to reach someone who worked there but the buzzer wasn't working. In very broken Italian, I explained no one was there because it's Friday. She probably wouldn't be able to until Monday. I also answered some of her questions, IN ITALIAN! I was so excited. Just the feeling of accomplishment of being able to have a conversation and be helpful with an Italian was so wonderful. I felt smart for the first time in a long time. Learning a language is hard!
I only have half the semester left here. Mixed feelings about leaving but either way, I have already learned so much!
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