gli lezioni ii

Here are some more things I've learned during my study abroad:

01. Dogs do, in fact, know how to look both ways before crossing a street.
02. I, however, have problems with that concept.
03. It is impossible to pay for yourself when you are surrounded by Italian men.
04. There is a shade of blue I thought only exists in coloring books but does, in fact, exist in the Adriatic.
05. There is, in fact, a population of people who do say "Mamma mia!"

Something I have not learned during my study abroad:
01. The etiquette for the cheek kissy thing. Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don't. Sometimes it's hello, sometimes it's goodbye. Sometimes it's two kisses, other times it's one.

I'm in class for 4 hours a day learning a foreign language but that is the one thing I cannot wrap my head around.

Also, I just bought a red red red dress for my birthday party tomorrow. BIRTHDAY.


My favorite dog in Lecce.

la mia finestra (my window)

By the way, my window broke last week or the week before that and it was the most terrifying thing of my life. I was sitting in my room, minding my own business, when a gust of wind swept through my room and BAM - the glass shattered and I suddenly didn't have a window. Tina told me that this happens to native Italians too and that there's this wind that comes from the Sahara and sweeps across Italy in such a fashion that doors suddenly slam and things fly everywhere. It's now fixed but I just thought you'd all like to know. Also, I cut my finger on some glass. Boo.

questo weekend scorso (this past weekend)

So I wrote this post late last week and it deleted itself. Cute. This weekend wasn't too exciting - the G8 was here so everything was closed Friday and Saturday. Sunday we went to the beach, which was cool, but that's a story for another time.

So Saturday we visited two nearby towns - Ostuni ("la citta blanca" - The White City) and Alberobello (literally "beautiful forrest"). It was a beautiful ride there - we must have passed a billion olive trees. Olive trees, for those of you who have never seen one, are completely gnarly looking and beautiful - the trunk wraps around itself and it's all twisted and awesome.

Ostuni is sort of how I picture Greece - all hills and stairs and white. Apparently they paint it all white to keep it cool in the summer. I thought that was pretty neat. Our tour guide, Maria, was really nice. The problem was, though, that she spoke super fast. She'd end every sentence with "Okay?" and Stephanie and I would both nod. We later confessed to each other that we were only picking up every 3rd or 5th word she was saying. Whoops.

Ostuni is mostly known for it's churches. There was one with a really old (I thought she said 24 thousand years but I'm not sure) woman in it. I think that one was my favorite. There was also one with a very significant window - I won't go into details but in the center was baby Jesus holding the world in one of his hands.

Here's a picture of us in Ostuni:



Okay so we weren't in Alberobello for too long because it was kind of dull. It's motly known for it's "trulli" which is a sort of stone hut with a cone roof. They were cute and everything, but that was basically everything there was to see. Here's the picture:



Sunday we took a tour of the Eastern coast and stopped at several beaches. I've never seen water quite as beautiful. I swam in the Adriatic Sea and stubbed my toes on some Adriatic rocks. Awesome!


Adriatic: Conquered!

i miei primi giorni a lecce (my first days in Lecce)

So I have tried to sit down and write this post multiple times. It got aggravating because I never had enough time or motivation or energy. But seriously, here is what I did my first couple days in Lecce (and then I promise I will post about what happened this week):

Saturday: One of my flatmates, Luciana came with Marika (Lecce's program director) to pick us up at the train station. Luciana is a language major so she speaks some English, which has come in handy. She's also very nice - twice now she's invited me to go out with her (once to the beach and the other time to go drinking) but I haven't been able to for various reasons. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her. It's very funny, though - she listens to Limp Bisket and Nirvana, which you would never expect of this tiny Italian girl. I'm going to play Finch for her sometime soon.

I dropped off my stuff in my room (which is very nice - I'll post pictures another time) and went out to dinner at a restaraunt called L'Obelisco with Stephanie, Valeria, and Marika. I ate a pizza "con panna" (with cream) - it sounds disgusting, but it was totally delicious. Here's a picture:



Yazzu (a friend of Markia and Valerie) came to join us for dinner a little later. He just ate from all of our plates - which was totally fine because the portions were HUGE. I really like Yazzu - he's Japanese - taking classes for Italian and teaching classes for Japanese. After dinner, we went for a walk in the square and ate gelato from Natale (Christmas) which is an uppity gelateria. After that it was, without a doubt, bedtime.

Sunday: Sunday almost everything is closed. In the morning Stephanie and I went to the Di Per Di (a mini-supermarket) to buy some staples, though. Nutella was one of my staples. Let me tell you something about Nutella: It is the most glorious thing on the planet. I've already eaten a jar and am working on my second. The two main components of Sunday (and of every day, actually) were walking and cooking. Sunday was when Stephanie taught me how to cook pasta with zucchini. I'm only just now starting to get sick of it. We took a mini-tour with Yazzu and Valerie around the historical center of Lecce.

The most important thing to know about Sunday is that I had my first crepe ever and almost died with happiness.

Monday: Monday we had our placement exam. I got up, had a coffee (which is actually a shot of espresso), and took my placement exam. Monday's theme was cheap stores - we went to a place called Eurospin where you can buy 2 liters of water for 19 euro cents. Sweet. Other than that, we went to the three bookstores on one of the main roads. I now have a favorite.

Tuesday: Tuesday was a national holiday. They celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic. If I were in Rome, this would mean that there would be grand parades and parties and festivals. However, I'm in Lecce, and it meant everything was closed. Boo.

Anyway, Tuesday Stephanie and I re-explored Lecce and practiced our knowledge of the place. We did fairly well - found the two parks, San Oronzo (the city's Patron Saint - I like him), the market, and La Pucia ("The Belly" - a sandwich place where you design your own sandwich). We parted for the siesta.

Then Yazzu came over to give me a towel (I had not showered for 6 days - new record!). We sat around and tried to talk to each other, which was difficult but not impossible. Then Stephanie came over and brought her computer because I have internet and she doesn't. I made dinner, we hung out,I talked to Bonnie, and then all my plans for the night got ruined because it started to rain.

Although I had plans with Yazzu and Luciana, they both cancelled on me. I'm convinced Italians are scared of the rain. Stephanie and I, as the brave Americans we are, walked through the rain to get our first gelato of Lecce. We've now gone to this place, like, a million times because it's the best deal - 1.5 euro for 3 flavors, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. So. Good.

Here's a picture of one of the many views from my large balcony:


I tend to stay in the historical center of Lecce, so I need to be reminded of just how big this city is.

Hey, I actually finished this post!

come fare la pasta

I'm working on a longer entry but here is me, Stephanie, and Stefano making pasta:


"Look cute!"


Our cooking professor, Gianni.


Stirring the flour and salt with my hands.


Kneading the dough.


I had some trouble - Gianni said it was because I was only using my arms, not my whole body.


Learning!


Teaching (and cutting)!


Roll.


Roll, roll, roll.


Step one: cut.


Step two: spread.


Step three: mold over thumb.


And voila! (Wrong language.)


Le paste.


La salsa e le verdure! (The sauce and vegetables!)


Yum.


Mangia! (Eat!)


E finito! (It's finished!)

gli lezioni i

Here are a couple of things I've learned so far:
01. A "premezia" is a tradition in Italy where you make a wish every time you eat a fruit or vegetable for the first time that season. Tina said it's a good example of how much Italians love spring and summer.
02. Nutella comes in glasses you can wash out and use when you're finished - like how jelly used to be. The Nutella I bought has the Pink Panther (Pantera Rosa) on it.
03. "Fare un squilio" is something they do in Italy to contact each other. It's sort of like paiging someone. You call them, let it ring 2 times, and hang up. For example, Stephanie will famme un squilio when she arrives at my house so I know to come get her.
04. McDonald's is crazy expensive here. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a "EuroMenu".
05. It's possible to smile whilst brushing one's teeth.

I promise I will write about Lecce once I get some energy. I'm going to take adantage of the siesta today.


This is my favorite park in Lecce.

roma (Rome) ii

Alright, so Rome. I was there for one and a half days but it was some of the most amazing successive 26 hours I've experienced so far (although I can tell from here that there will be competition for that award).

I arrived in Rome with almost no sleep. The flight was an hour late, which was aggravating, but unsurprising for Italians. When I got there I met with Toni (the driver - he was holding the Arcadia sign at the airport and immediately took my bags for me), Stephanie (the other Arcadia student), and Valerie (the intern for the director position in Rome - she's been helping us with translations and things).

Stephanie:


(my kitchen)

Valerie:


(she didn't know I was taking this - I like it, though)

From the airport we went straight to the hotel which was actually a convent (I am officially a member of some religious group in Italy because that way it's cheaper for everyone involved) which I think is funny. The idea for bringing us back was that we would rest up (everyone takes a siesta from, like, 1-4) before lunch. Instead Stephanie and I took a walk. Which was not smart.

After our "rest", we met Tina who is this woman:


(in the middle - to the right is Stephanie)

Tina took us out to lunch. I ate gnocchi like I'd never had before - they were smushed and kind of crunchy. Delicious! She explained to us some of the ground rules form Arcadia and gave us the secret to all Italian cooking (and no, I'm not telling).

After lunch my memory gets a bit hazy. I do have it written down but instead I'll just tell you that the next day is a haze of food and walks around markets. We met Tina's daughter, Giulia, who is 13. We walked around this one market where Tina showed us how to order food from the meat place (and how to avoid getting horse meat), the cheese counter, fruits and veggies, etc. I'm going to have to try that later today, because I just ate my last zucchini.

Tomorrow is a holiday (similar to the fourth of July in the US) so it's a weird combination of everything is closed, but when it's open it's OPEN. For example, when we went out to dinner in Rome (at Pizzeria Remo) there was a communist fair going on in the square. We listened to the mediocre band and walked around. The next day, in the same square, there was a mini festival and all of the girls bought dresses. Mine is very mod looking - I wore it yesterday.

The neighborhood I was just talking about was very cool - they had an herbalist and homeopathist there. Tina told me that homeopathy is taken very seriously - more seriously than Western medication because homeopathists require more education here. We also went to a hippie organic-free-trade-free-economy place that was in an old stable. It was very neat.

Oh well. I told myself I'd log out in one minute so I guess that's a wrap with Rome! Next entry we'll get down to it - my first few days in Lecce.