Ringraziemento all'italiano

Oh, and I didn't mention it before, but we had a Thanksgiving party here in Rome! My host mom, Sabrina, decided to throw it (she loves parties) because of Kelsey and I. We had the most traditional meal I've ever seen (I'd never even seen half the stuff. And people kept asking me about protocol and eating it and such.). Some friends from IES came, Grace and Arturo, and my friend Sara Burnworth from home came. And half of Rome, it seemed like. All the boys' friends, and Sabrina's and Arturo's (host dad) friends. Then all the Americans had to make a speech about Rome and what they're thankful for. Our poor guests had not been informed of this, but they did a bang-up job! Kelsey's speech kind of made me cry, while at the same time took all the stuff I wanted to say! So I just said it again. Lol. Oh, and I discovered that I like pumpkin pie! I ate my first piece last Thursday. I still miss pecan pie, though... Kelsey and I decided to make one. I just can't go another whole year without it! Sob!

We're getting down to the clock now! Three weeks til I'm done with classes, and 23 days until I meet the family in London!

Oh, and the title means Thanksgiving Italian Style, and is a pun off a film called Divorzio all'italiano, or Divorce Italian Style. Great film. Morbidly funny, lol. Love you all!

Ciao ciao...

Oh my goodness, I haven't updated in ages. I've actually been to Naples and Florence since I last wrote, and sat down to blog about each trip, but just wasn't in the mood. Now it's the last day of November! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. The family actually had a Thanksgiving party because of Kelsey and me, and it was fun. We had all this traditional Thanksgiving food (more traditional than I've ever actually eaten, lol) and a ton of people came over and we cooked for two days. Well, they cooked for two days. I helped. I sliced and peeled apples! And did a bang up job, if I do say so myself. Lol.

Yeah, so I went to Naples for an IES sponsored field trip, with a big group of people. It was pretty cool, though we really didn't see much of the city. It has a reputation for being dangerous, and I think that's why they only kept us there for a couple of hours in the daylight, and then carted us outside of the city to the hotel. We did see some lovely churches, but it was very quick. We stayed both nights in Sorrento, a slightly bigger town along the Amalfi coast. The second day of the trip, we did the coast, going to several towns (one with a beach! awesome!) and going to a limoncello tasting. It was a lot of fun, and there were some absolutely gorgeous views. Lol we went to a paper factory, which was excellent! And Sunday we went to Pompei, the old Roman city that was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius. As far as ruins go (and I've seen quite a few at this point), they were pretty cool, really well preserved. We actually saw some plaster casts of individuals who were caught by the eruption and died, which was really an experience, I felt. One of them, a little boy, was so well-preserved you could see his facial features.

Naples

Me at the beach in Positano

View of the Amalfi coast

Mount Vesuvius from the ruins of Pompei

I don't really have pictures from Florence, or Firenze, since most of the stuff I saw was in museums and such. But it was a really nice trip, really relaxing and pretty. Cold, though. The city is fairly small, and really pretty. It was quiet, but not boring. Kind of a nice break from Rome. I actually didn't want to leave Sunday! I saw the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia, which included the David. And the duomo was really lovely, pink and green and white Tuscan marble on the facade. I think the duomo was honestly one of my favorite things. Oh, and there were all these open markets, with stalls and guys selling stuff illegally. It was so funny, the cops would show up and they would grab their stuff, in one swoop, and take off running. But they would be smiling, and so would the cops. Shopping in Firenze was fun! It's famous for leather, and I got some really nice gloves. I as a rule don't go shopping crazy, so it was fun to treat myself with something.

This is one of the few half decent pictures of the duomo I managed to get. It's honestly too big to photograph well. I really think that to really see it, you need to be there. But I tried.

Obama 2008!

Oh, so I forgot to comment on the week's events! The election was insane here. It almost seems like Italians were more excited about the whole thing than we were. My host-mother was freaking out, and wanted us to stay up all night and watch the TV. Needless to say, I went to bed, and we set our alarm for 5 am. It went off and I was all confused, but Kelsey checked her phone right away and gasped. I initially thought McCain had won, but she assured me the opposite, and we turned on the TV to catch the end of McCain's speech and then Obama's. Wednesday it was crazy, because everyone (including me) was exhausted from staying up/waking up for the results, but everyone was so excited! There were all these articles in the paper about people staying out all night and such. I got to work late, but my supervisor just said "It's okay! Be happy today! Be happy tomorrow!" Like I said, crazy. Anyway, it's definitely an interesting experience, seeing foreign reactions to an American election. And in four years, I'll see the other side of the spectrum!

Svizzera e Germania

So, I've been a bit lazy about updating. Last Monday evening Kelsey and I arrived in Rome at about 8, and I've been at class, work and sleeping since then. But fall break was amazing! I arrived in Geneva October 24, to meet Kelsey (she had no exams Friday and flew out the night before). Geneva was very pretty, though a bit more modern than I expected. We walked around the city, and the next day we went to the Red Cross museum, which was very cool and really interesting. Kelsey left Geneva a few hours before I did, so I could wander around a little in the daylight. In all I think Geneva reminds me a little of a sports complex, for some reason, since it's so clean and sparse. There are definitely some really beautiful older areas, though, like this cathedral that I saw and the area where Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived. The streets are winding and cobblestones, and the buildings interceded on each other charmingly. The river was lovely and clean, and in Lake Genéve there is a fountain called the Jet D'eau, that throws water 50 feet into the air. Saturday after Kelsey left I just walked around along the river for a while, and met a Swiss women who spoke English and Italian to me, and a man from Cameroon, in Africa. That's what's remarkable about being in Geneva, I think, that it's so international and historic.

The Jet D'eau at night. After I arrived and we ate, we walked in the parks along the river. I think the fountain is significantly more impressive at night.

The cathedral from below

Anyway, so after Geneva I met Kelsey in Bern. Bern is actually the capital of Switzerland, possibly the most understated capital in Europe, I think. It was absolutely darling. It's extremely well-preserved from the Middle Ages, to the point where it's been declared a Unesco World Heritage site. It was so cute though, with all these old carved fountains and men in the park playing with giant chess sets. On the way down to our hostel there was the loveliest view over the lower residential town, with snow-covered mountains in the distance. The first night we were there we ran into a guy from Australia, Tim. He was traveling alone, and came to dinner with us and out afterwards. We all had such a great time, even though the so-called excellent Bern nightlife mostly consisted of older people, and this not very attractive woman in a bar who took her top off. We definitely missed backpacker season, though, so that probably explains it. The second day we just wandered around the town in the daylight, and ended up eating dinner next to the river near the hostel. It was absolutely gorgeous, though rather cold (I was pretty much frozen the whole week). But we saw a group of Swiss jump into the river in bathing suits! It was crazy. They floated down and then climbed out, completely nonplussed, and marched back up the bank to get their clothes. I was simply amazed. I'm to used to warm weather, I suppose.

The lower city

Playing chess in the park. I wish I could play!

The city street in Bern


Carved fountain with a ogre eating babies! Awesome.


The lower city the morning we left. The fog had lifted, so the mountains were visible in the distance.

So after Bern we headed to Lucerne, or Luzern, as the Germans call it. It's a smaller city in a mountain valley, and is absolutely gorgeous. While we were there we climbed the old city wall and got some amazing shots from above the city. Besides the scenery and two 14th century covered bridges, there honestly wasn't a lot to do. We enjoyed the calm day, but I think a day was the perfect amount of time to spend there.

The view from the beach on the way to the town from the hostel

The covered bridge, dated 1333

View from the old city ramparts

Part of Kelsey's and my photo shoot on the walls

I think more than anywhere else, Lucerne really felt like Switzerland to me. Even more than Geneva.

So the morning after our explorations, Kelsey and I departed Lucerne for Basel. Unfortunately, it rained as we left and rained the entire time I was in Basel as well. Basel, or Bâle in French, was actually a lot of fun. It was wet and freezing, but we wandered around and were silly and took tons of pictures. That evening, looking for a fountain mentioned in Kelsey's travel guide, we accidentally found this festival that was going on while we were there. There were all these little carnival booths selling crafts and clothes and toys and such. We spent a long time just wandering, before heading back to the hostel to get warm and to hang all our clothes up to dry. Quite literally! The next day we found the fountain before catching the train to Germany, and though it was still raining, I'm glad we saw it in the daylight. It was really neat, with all these machines scooping and tossing and spraying the water. But we parted at the train station, Kelsey heading to Freiburg to visit her friend Lisa, and me to Tübingen to see a friend from school. Of course it rained and actually SNOWED in Tübingen, so I didn't get to see much of the town, though we did go out, which was excellent. I did drink an entire beer, for the first time! I guess I only like beer from Germany, lol. I don't feel too bad about that, honestly. It's starting to seem that I only like wine from France as well, strangely enough.

The old Rathaus, or town hall, in Basel. It's really fantastic, and I love the intricate tile design on the roof! That seems to be a common German architectural trait, as I saw it later on as well.

The painted courtyard and garden of the Rathaus

The awesome fountain in Basel! Kelsey took a video, and I actually ran her camera out of battery playing it over and over (She has a rechargeable battery though, so don't feel bad). But it was so cool!

So after I left Tübingen, Kelsey and I met up again in Bamberg. The first night we were there we just sat around and talked with people at the hostel (who were really nice and funny), being exhausted from the constant traveling. Then Friday we set out to see the town! It's also a Unesco World Heritage site, and has some really gorgeous architecture. There's a monastery and gorgeous cathedral, and Bamberg has canals that cut through the city. There's actually a location along one with little gondola-like boats, that they call Little Venice. We wandered around and played with some ducks and a swan by the river (quite literally), and would have gone to bed early, had we not realized that it was Halloween! So we dragged ourselves out, for the sake of tradition, intending only to have a quick drink and then back to the hostel for sleep. But we met some German guys at a pub, and ended up staying out until about two, having a fantastic time. They were natives of the town, and told us about it and the culture and such. And bought us drinks. Ahem. The next morning we met up with one of them, Andreas, and we went to a castle (fortress, more like) outside the city with a lovely view of it and the countryside. Then we caught the train to our final destination, Munich!

Along the canal

Our winged friends, by the river

Bamberg from above, at the fortress

So that Saturday, November 1, we arrived in Munich. Honestly, I was not much impressed with Munich. I've spoken with others who've visited it, and they didn't feel the same, so maybe we missed out on something. But it just seemed rather industrial and common, with the exception of a few buildings, the history and some excellent food. I had schnitzel, just like in The Sound of Music, the first night we were there (I kept singing songs from that movie the whole week. Especially when I had tea, tea with jam and bread, every morning for breakfast). Sunday we visited Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. I wouldn't call that visit fun, quite, but it was very interesting and I'm glad we went. That night we wandered around Munich for the longest time, looking for food. It was freezing, and I was starving. We finally just threw in the towel and had Chinese food (which was excellent). The next morning we went to the town square, Marienplatz, to see the Glockenspiel do its musical performance. Then on to the airport, where we caught our flight to Napoli, and took a train to Rome. Whew. It was a fantastic trip, though very cold, and I'm so glad to have been able to go. I really like the whole hostel dynamic, getting to meet people and the low prices, lol. I think I'm going to try traveling in southern Italy over Christmas break, the third week in January, probably.

The Rathaus, at Marienplatz. You can see the little figures in the Glockenspiel in the middle of the main tower (outlined in green).

The entrance to Dachau, that the prisoners saw. The visit was very sobering, but overall I think a good experience.

Ireland

Hello, I've got a break between exams (almost the end of midterms! two left!) and I thought I'd give a quick update about my trip to Ireland last weekend. It was amazing. I'm going to post pictures at some point on facebook, so Alissa or Andy can show you. They should already be doing that. I'm not putting albums up for my health, you know! But anyway, I flew out Friday morning. I was very stressed about the whole thing because I got to the airport with only about 1.5 hours to spare. Then I got in the wrong checkin line, and then when I found the right one, it moved excessively slow. There was a big group of nuns in front of me taking forever. They had like 12 bags. How many bags do nuns need? They were nice nuns, though. I talked to them outside the gate. But anyway, I finally got through checkin and then came security. The line looked really long, but went pretty quickly. Though I had a moment of panic when I remembered the whole no-liquids-allowed thing. But the only thing they took was my hair gel, which, though annoying, was better than losing $50 worth of makeup and toiletries. The flight was nice. For the first time ever, I slept through a flight. Just conked out and woke up a half hour before landing. It was great. And I understood most of the Italian being spoken around me! Then we got to Dublin. The airport was nice, and it was great to hear English and not feel bad about not being able to understand the language. I actually found that my cover-up had come open inside my make-up bag, so now I'm almost out and my hello kitty washclothe is permanently stained from cleaning it up, but worse things have happened. Then we had to take a 3 hour bus ride, because apparently Galway is completely across the country from Dublin. Funny story, I held my €15 out to the driver, but he told me to sit and he'd find me. Well, he never did. Laura (Sara's friend, on my flight) and I had a lovely ride, which was free for me! We had the whole back of the bus to ourselves, and Laura slept across the back 5 seats while I read in my own two seats. At Galway I met Sara and her friend Allison, who was really nice. We all hung out for a while, and then went to dinner at a genuine Irish pub. I had fish and chips. It was greasy and fantastic! I always eat so healthily in Italy... Then we went out to dance, and at this pub I discovered Irish guys. They are pushy, worse even than Italians. One guy grabbed my arm when I was trying to excuse myself from him and said he wouldn't take no for an answer. He didn't even ask a question! My response: "You need to stop touching me." The pushy guys (who weren't even all my AGE, thank you) kind of put a damper on the evening, at least for me, but it was still fun.

The next day Allison, Sara and I took a bus tour of north-western Ireland, and it was lovely. Just mostly countryside and old towers and ruins from the ancient people. I've not heard a lot about Irish history, so it was a very informative afternoon. Strange, though, because we drove through a valley that had lost its population during the famine, and the guide was saying that the country went from 8 million to 2 million over the course of 60 years, from emigration and starvation. I know my great-great-grandparents immigrated to the USA about that time, so they probably left relatives who died and were buried in one of these valleys...Strange, huh? But despite that little realization, it was great. We saw an old manor house, more like a castle, that is now a convent and boarding school. Then that night we went out again for dinner, where I had bangers and mash, also Irish! I was really lame Saturday night and went to bed while everyone else went out. We had to be at the bus station for the 6.30 AM bus to make our 12.30 flight. That was actually bearable, because Sara and I had the back of the bus again! I slept the entire way to Dublin, and then we had Starbucks. Yum. The flight was really nice, since we had a seat open between us and I got to sit comfortably and read my art history. I took pictures of the Irish coast and of France from the window. It was really strange flying into Rome. We were flying over this really picturesque countryside, and for the first time, it wasn't new. I appreciated the loveliness, but it wasn't new, it was just the area north of Rome, where I lived. I was coming home, but home was this completely different place; not commonplace, but not really new either.

Well, I'm going to finish my Italian so I can leave the book here tonight. Tomorrow I leave for Switzerland! I haven't packed at all, lol. I'm so excited, though. I never thought I would make it to Germany or Switzerland, for some reason. Anyway, hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Provolone!

Ciao, only a few more weeks til Halloween! Or fall break, or whatever... I think I'm about over my cold! Kelsey and I spent the weekend inside watching movies and laying low, and I'm happy to say it's about gone. So back to the outside world! Yay!

Anyway, this weekend I'm finally going somewhere. I'm leaving Friday morning for Dublin, and returning Sunday evening. I'm meeting Sara there, who's flying out Thursday night. I had an unfortunate exam issue in which I had to change my ticket, for a rather exorbitant fee...but I'm over that now. Mostly. But I'm so excited, not because I'm going somewhere new, but it's Ireland! I've always wanted to go. Apparently Dublin isn't exactly the prettiest part of the country, but we're going to Sara's friend outside of the city, so I'm hoping. And I'm sure it'll be fantastic, whatever the case. It's Ireland! Go Irish people!

Today I had some exciting news. The lady conducting the communications between us and the city hall in Mompantero (where my Italian family is from) received a letter, with the birth certificate of my great-great-grandfather. Gioanni Pietro Alpe, born 24 October, 1872, died in Collinsville, IL, 14 November (I think , I don't have the paper with me), 1938. It's really thrilling, and apparently now we're just waiting for a list of possible living relatives that I can get in contact with. Better brush up on my Italian! Lol.

Oh, this weekend Kelsey and I met some new Italians. We were at a free concert in a piazza near our homestay, and we were about to leave out of boredom when some guys came up to us. They claimed to want to learn English (lines! all lines!) and we all ended up hanging out (in a PUBLIC place, mother). Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I got to practice my Italian! And I learned a new word. Provolone. Besides being a type of cheese, it's a guy in Rome who goes after as many girls as possible to see what he can get. Sounds like every guy to me...

Anyway, got to go work on my Italian oral presentation before dinner! Ciao tutti!

The bad part about the change of seasons...

Hey everyone! No major news, just thought it had been a while. I'm actually nursing a cold at the moment, and hoping it'll go away quickly, within the next couple of days! I've been kind of low key this last week or so. Over the weekend Kelsey and I stayed in town and went to Piazza Altieri, an old Renaissance noble residence. It was absolutely gorgeous, though I wasn't allowed to take any pictures. Oh, and I bought boots! They're gorgeous, and not TOO expensive...lol. No, they honestly are necessary. I didn't realize how cold it would get so quickly! They're amazingly warm and comfortable and go with everything. So you can't go wrong, right?

I'm fully into my internship now! I just helped with a proposal for a project in Egypt to create programs that will assist youths in Cairo slums to rehabilitate themselves for the future and take advantage of job opportunities. Whew. But anyway, it's interesting work, though a little tedious sometimes. It just involves a lot of writing of sections for applications and proofreading my colleagues' portions. I'm glad to be of help, but I'm glad it's finished now because it's been kind of stressful. There's an awesome kitten at the office though. She's so cute! Her name is Frattini (named after a government official, lol. I guess kind of an insult), and they call her Fratt or Fratti. She's the friskiest cat I've ever seen, without a doubt. She never stops moving! Today she was playing with her own shadow. It was hilarious, the kitten jumping twice her height and pouncing on nothing. But anyway, enough about the cat.

As much as I've been complaining about not going anywhere yet, I'm about to be busy! Next weekend I'm going to Ireland with Sara and then the weekend after is fall break. Kelsey and I are flying to Geneva, Switzerland, going to a few towns there, and going to Germany and flying out of Munich! I'm so excited. Germany! I never thought I'd go there. I'll be gone for a week, and then a week after we get back, I'm supposed to go to Florence, and then to Naples the week after that. So I think I'll try my best to relax and enjoy the weekend...

Well, I'm off to bed! Trying to beat this cold, you know. Stay bundled up, everyone! Stupid fall colds...