Ciao Tutti,
I'm up and about to leave for the airport! It feels like I just got here yesterday, but these have definitely been the best four months of my life. I'll have a lot of time to reflect on the airplane.
My next (and final) post will be from the USA!
Ciao,
Michael
Friday, May 20, 2011
Last Day in Roma!
Pictures Coming Soon
-----------------------------------------------------
Ciao Tutti,
Today was my last full day in Rome. I have been planning on making the most out of this day for the past few weeks. I woke up early in the morning and went to Saint Peter's Basilica.
Then, I went and had gelato at "Old Bridge Gelato" by the Vatican. It is one of the places that has the "Best Gelato in Rome," thus I had to try it. For 1.50 euro, I got a cup of gelato bigger than anything I get for 2 euros. They also give you three flavors instead of two for their "small size." I picked chocolate and nutella and asked the guy to give me whatever he recommends. He gave me a ricotta flavored gelato - it tasted just like ricotta. Normally I like ricotta, but ricotta gelato did not exactly sound right!
After gelato, I went to my favorite panini shop in Rome to grab my last panini. I ordered a turkey, eggplant, and sundried tomato panini with a pesto sauce. Then, I went to Piazza Navona and had a picnic. I listened to the street musicians and people watched. So many people looked at me with sandwich envy - it was great! Then, I walked around Piazza Navona for a bit. They were setting up a stage for a concert, it looked pretty intense.
Then, I went to grab an espresso at the coffee shop with the "Best Espresso in Rome," Caffe Sant'Eustacio. It hit the spot...as usual!
Then, I went to the Pantheon to see it one last time. The huge gaping hole in the ceiling never gets old!
After the Pantheon, I walked to the Trevi Fountain. I threw the coin over my left shoulder to ensure my return to Rome (again, for good measure).
Then, I walked to the Spanish Steps and sat on them as I called my Dad for 10 minutes.
Then, I took the Metro to the Colosseum. I didn't go in, but I walked around it.
After the Coloseum, I saw the Arc of Constantine.
Then, I walked up to a lookout point that has a view of the Roman Forum.
After, I went to the Campidoglio which was a piazza that Michelangelo designed.
Then, I went to take a picture in front of the Wedding Cake (aka "Il Vittoriano) at Piazza Venezia.
Then, I went to my second favorite church in Rome (next to Saint Peters Basilica - yes, I know its in Vatican City), Chiesa del Gesu. It was the first Jesuit church and has an amazing painted ceiling that looks like it is made out of sculptures!
After, I went to Largo Argentina to see those ruins for one last time.
Then, I went to Teatro del Gelato for my final gelato in Rome. It is my favorite gelato in Rome, too, which is good because it was right by my apartment!
Then, I went home to relax for a bit and pack. Up to that point, I walked 10.2 kilometers or 6.34 miles! I call that going out with a bang!
After relaxing for a bit, I went out to my favorite restaurant, Monte Carlo Pizzeria, for my last meal in Rome. Monte Carlo is the first restaurant my Dad and I ate at when we were exploring Rome when I first got to the city. Talk about bringing it full circle. I had a potato croquette, pizza, tirimisu, coke, and some wine. It was great!
After dinner, I walked to Piazza Navona to say good bye. It was having a political rally for gay and lesbian rights with a band. It was the first time I've seen an actual band with special effects performing in Piazza Navona.
Then, I went and took some pictures of Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peters Dome at night before finally heading back to my apartment to finish packing.
I leave for the airport tomorrow morning at 6:45 AM. My flight is at 10:20 AM and gets in at 1:55 PM. It shouldn't be too bad.
Ciao,
Michael
-----------------------------------------------------
Ciao Tutti,
Today was my last full day in Rome. I have been planning on making the most out of this day for the past few weeks. I woke up early in the morning and went to Saint Peter's Basilica.
Then, I went and had gelato at "Old Bridge Gelato" by the Vatican. It is one of the places that has the "Best Gelato in Rome," thus I had to try it. For 1.50 euro, I got a cup of gelato bigger than anything I get for 2 euros. They also give you three flavors instead of two for their "small size." I picked chocolate and nutella and asked the guy to give me whatever he recommends. He gave me a ricotta flavored gelato - it tasted just like ricotta. Normally I like ricotta, but ricotta gelato did not exactly sound right!
After gelato, I went to my favorite panini shop in Rome to grab my last panini. I ordered a turkey, eggplant, and sundried tomato panini with a pesto sauce. Then, I went to Piazza Navona and had a picnic. I listened to the street musicians and people watched. So many people looked at me with sandwich envy - it was great! Then, I walked around Piazza Navona for a bit. They were setting up a stage for a concert, it looked pretty intense.
Then, I went to grab an espresso at the coffee shop with the "Best Espresso in Rome," Caffe Sant'Eustacio. It hit the spot...as usual!
Then, I went to the Pantheon to see it one last time. The huge gaping hole in the ceiling never gets old!
After the Pantheon, I walked to the Trevi Fountain. I threw the coin over my left shoulder to ensure my return to Rome (again, for good measure).
Then, I walked to the Spanish Steps and sat on them as I called my Dad for 10 minutes.
Then, I took the Metro to the Colosseum. I didn't go in, but I walked around it.
After the Coloseum, I saw the Arc of Constantine.
Then, I walked up to a lookout point that has a view of the Roman Forum.
After, I went to the Campidoglio which was a piazza that Michelangelo designed.
Then, I went to take a picture in front of the Wedding Cake (aka "Il Vittoriano) at Piazza Venezia.
Then, I went to my second favorite church in Rome (next to Saint Peters Basilica - yes, I know its in Vatican City), Chiesa del Gesu. It was the first Jesuit church and has an amazing painted ceiling that looks like it is made out of sculptures!
After, I went to Largo Argentina to see those ruins for one last time.
Then, I went to Teatro del Gelato for my final gelato in Rome. It is my favorite gelato in Rome, too, which is good because it was right by my apartment!
Then, I went home to relax for a bit and pack. Up to that point, I walked 10.2 kilometers or 6.34 miles! I call that going out with a bang!
After relaxing for a bit, I went out to my favorite restaurant, Monte Carlo Pizzeria, for my last meal in Rome. Monte Carlo is the first restaurant my Dad and I ate at when we were exploring Rome when I first got to the city. Talk about bringing it full circle. I had a potato croquette, pizza, tirimisu, coke, and some wine. It was great!
After dinner, I walked to Piazza Navona to say good bye. It was having a political rally for gay and lesbian rights with a band. It was the first time I've seen an actual band with special effects performing in Piazza Navona.
Then, I went and took some pictures of Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peters Dome at night before finally heading back to my apartment to finish packing.
I leave for the airport tomorrow morning at 6:45 AM. My flight is at 10:20 AM and gets in at 1:55 PM. It shouldn't be too bad.
Ciao,
Michael
Thursday, May 19, 2011
IES Farewell Dinner
Ciao Tutti,
I had a great day yesterday. I had no exams, but exams continued until 2:15 PM on Thursday. I took advantage of my free time by going to the beach with a group of my friends for one of my friend's, Tahli's, birthday. The beach is about a 30 minute train ride from Rome and the train ride is part of the public transportation system, so it only costs 1 euro to go. We met at our school at 10:30 AM and got to the beach by 12:00 (we had to take a bus to the train station). Once we got to the beach, we met up with one of the Italian students who is a member of a private club on the beach. He took all six of us into his club!
The sand was so hot that I thought my feet were on fire when I had to walk on it! I didn't fully go into the water because it was so cold, but I sat along the shore and let the tide cover my waist. The water was so blue and it was so refreshing. The beach was a perfect way to relax after a week of finals, Tahli definitely had the right idea for how to spend her birthday!
I only stayed at the beach for three hours because I needed to get back to my apartment early and weigh my bag (I borrowed a scale from one of the people that works at IES). I made it back to my apartment by 4:15 PM. After weighing my bag, I found out that it was exactly 23 kilograms which is the limit - talk about luck!
I straightened up my room a bit and threw out some things I'm not taking back to the US. Then, at 6:00 PM our "IES Farewell Dinner" began. It started off with the screening of the two movies that our film class made in front of an audience of our peers. As director, I introduced one of the films. I think the students liked our film - it is kind of funny watching people you know on screen acting as people they are not!
Then, the two people who run our program gave out four awards to the student body - Best Comprehension of the Italian Culture, Most Motivated, Most Inspiring, and Best Full Year Student. I won the "Most Inspiring" Award. I was completely surprised! The director of the program, Octavio, said that he got a call two years ago from Penn State saying that they had a student who was determined to study abroad in Italy. Octavio also mentioned that I made it clear that I was going to have the time of my life over the past four months. He commended me for my rigorous travel schedule and also said that I was not ready to go home, which was true! The award came with an Amazon.com gift card as well.
After the award ceremony, we had a dinner on the school's terrace. The buffet was absolutely amazing. I filled my plate to the brim!
Then, we all started making rounds to say bye to everyone which was kind of premature because everyone met up late last night at one of the favorite hang outs for students. I stayed out until about 12:15 AM before calling it quits. It took me a good half hour to make my rounds and say my final good bye to everyone. I have met so many people over here that I think I will stay in touch with when I get back to America. I already have a few people from other Big Ten schools coming out to Penn State football games.
It was bittersweet night last night in Rome. Pretty much all of the students had flights out of Rome early this morning - I was only one of a few students who is staying late.
I had a great day yesterday. I had no exams, but exams continued until 2:15 PM on Thursday. I took advantage of my free time by going to the beach with a group of my friends for one of my friend's, Tahli's, birthday. The beach is about a 30 minute train ride from Rome and the train ride is part of the public transportation system, so it only costs 1 euro to go. We met at our school at 10:30 AM and got to the beach by 12:00 (we had to take a bus to the train station). Once we got to the beach, we met up with one of the Italian students who is a member of a private club on the beach. He took all six of us into his club!
The sand was so hot that I thought my feet were on fire when I had to walk on it! I didn't fully go into the water because it was so cold, but I sat along the shore and let the tide cover my waist. The water was so blue and it was so refreshing. The beach was a perfect way to relax after a week of finals, Tahli definitely had the right idea for how to spend her birthday!
I only stayed at the beach for three hours because I needed to get back to my apartment early and weigh my bag (I borrowed a scale from one of the people that works at IES). I made it back to my apartment by 4:15 PM. After weighing my bag, I found out that it was exactly 23 kilograms which is the limit - talk about luck!
I straightened up my room a bit and threw out some things I'm not taking back to the US. Then, at 6:00 PM our "IES Farewell Dinner" began. It started off with the screening of the two movies that our film class made in front of an audience of our peers. As director, I introduced one of the films. I think the students liked our film - it is kind of funny watching people you know on screen acting as people they are not!
Then, the two people who run our program gave out four awards to the student body - Best Comprehension of the Italian Culture, Most Motivated, Most Inspiring, and Best Full Year Student. I won the "Most Inspiring" Award. I was completely surprised! The director of the program, Octavio, said that he got a call two years ago from Penn State saying that they had a student who was determined to study abroad in Italy. Octavio also mentioned that I made it clear that I was going to have the time of my life over the past four months. He commended me for my rigorous travel schedule and also said that I was not ready to go home, which was true! The award came with an Amazon.com gift card as well.
After the award ceremony, we had a dinner on the school's terrace. The buffet was absolutely amazing. I filled my plate to the brim!
Then, we all started making rounds to say bye to everyone which was kind of premature because everyone met up late last night at one of the favorite hang outs for students. I stayed out until about 12:15 AM before calling it quits. It took me a good half hour to make my rounds and say my final good bye to everyone. I have met so many people over here that I think I will stay in touch with when I get back to America. I already have a few people from other Big Ten schools coming out to Penn State football games.
It was bittersweet night last night in Rome. Pretty much all of the students had flights out of Rome early this morning - I was only one of a few students who is staying late.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Finito!
Ciao Tutti,
I'm official done with my finals and am a college senior! Kind of scary, right? I had three finals this week (hence the lack of posts) and was cramming ever since I got back from Tuscany. I had no classes on Monday (it was a study day), one final and one class on Tuesday, and two finals on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, I had my architecture final. I studied a lot for it and it paid off. It was the easiest final I have taken in college! Tuesday afternoon, I had my last film class. We put the final touches on our film and watched everyone's for the final hour of class. The big public screening is tomorrow night at the IES Farewell Party!
On Wednesday, I had two exams. My first one was for Italy and the European Union. It was challenging, but I think I did all right on it. My second one was for my Memory and Conflict course. I felt very prepared for that final and think I did well on it!
Now, I am done! I am going to Saint Peters' Basilica early tomorrow morning to see it one last time. Then, it is my friend, Tahli's, 21st birthday and a bunch of us are going to go to the beach to celebrate it for a few hours. Afterwards, we are all going to come back and go to the IES Farewell Dinner. It is kind of scary that I am already done with this semester. It feels like I just got here yesterday! It flew by!
On Friday, I am going to do as much of Rome as I possibly can in one day. I hope to see the main sites one last time before I head home early Saturday morning! I can't wait to get back to America, step foot on familiar soil, and see all of my family and friends. It is going to be a crazy and amazing next few days in Roma!
Ciao,
Mike
I'm official done with my finals and am a college senior! Kind of scary, right? I had three finals this week (hence the lack of posts) and was cramming ever since I got back from Tuscany. I had no classes on Monday (it was a study day), one final and one class on Tuesday, and two finals on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, I had my architecture final. I studied a lot for it and it paid off. It was the easiest final I have taken in college! Tuesday afternoon, I had my last film class. We put the final touches on our film and watched everyone's for the final hour of class. The big public screening is tomorrow night at the IES Farewell Party!
On Wednesday, I had two exams. My first one was for Italy and the European Union. It was challenging, but I think I did all right on it. My second one was for my Memory and Conflict course. I felt very prepared for that final and think I did well on it!
Now, I am done! I am going to Saint Peters' Basilica early tomorrow morning to see it one last time. Then, it is my friend, Tahli's, 21st birthday and a bunch of us are going to go to the beach to celebrate it for a few hours. Afterwards, we are all going to come back and go to the IES Farewell Dinner. It is kind of scary that I am already done with this semester. It feels like I just got here yesterday! It flew by!
On Friday, I am going to do as much of Rome as I possibly can in one day. I hope to see the main sites one last time before I head home early Saturday morning! I can't wait to get back to America, step foot on familiar soil, and see all of my family and friends. It is going to be a crazy and amazing next few days in Roma!
Ciao,
Mike
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Tuscany
Ciao Tutti,
I took my final trip of the semester on Saturday. I woke up at 4:30 AM (after getting an only an hour of sleep) to catch a bus to take me to the train station so I could catch a 6:15 AM train to Florence. I got lucky and caught a night bus at 5:00 AM which had me at the train station by 5:15 AM. It was way too early, but the night buses in Rome run even more sporadically than the normal buses do - now that's saying something.
I had an hour to get some breakfast, so I had an espresso, orange juice, croissant, and doughnut. I ate my breakfast and watched the train station come alive with tourists of every nationality, social class, and different purposes of travel. It was interesting to people watch.
After my breakfast, I got on my train and headed towards Florence. I started a new book that my father brought me when he visited me a month ago (it is so good!) and listened to my iPod. We arrived in Florence before I knew it - I love bullet trains.
After arriving in Florence, I checked into my tour and got onto the tour bus. The tour started right on time and I sat next to an older woman from New Zealand, Sue. We got to know each other quite well throughout the day. She was on a six week tour of Europe after selling her vineyard back home. She visited some family in England and decided to see Europe while she was over here.
Our first stop was Siena. Our tour guide was very concerned that I would not be able to keep up with the group tour as Siena is very hilly and wanted to call me a taxi at my own expense to take me to the city center. That would have meant that I would also have missed the tour! He said he needed to keep the tour moving and couldn't wait for me. He was also afraid I would get lost and not be able to find my way back to the bus. After about two minutes of telling him that I was a study abroad student who traveled across Europe the past semester and I would be fine, he still was very concerned. I finally told him that he could leave me behind in Siena if I missed the bus and I would find my way back to Rome or Florence. He reluctantly agreed. Lets just say that I think he was impressed when I rode the five escalators to get into the city with no problem. I would say I impressed him again when I was constantly in the front of the pack navigating the hills of Siena with more ease than most of my tour group.
Siena itself was a beautiful city. It reminded me a lot of Split, Croatia and the older part of Barcelona - both were built by Roman emperors, so I was not that surprised. Our first stop was one of the gates of the city.
Then, we saw the oldest surviving bank in the whole world, Monte dei Paschi. It was located in a beautiful courtyard.
After the bank, we passed by a few cars that were decorated in a style that looks very "redneck." Apparently, Siena has a huge student population and they hold "car battles" at the end of every academic year. The cars looked really cool.
Then, we went to the most famous part of Siena, the Campo Square. It is one of the nicest squares I've been to in Italy. It is sloped down towards the Siena government buildings and people lay out on the square and sunbathe or just talk. It is so inviting!
The square is also home to the famous Palio horse race that takes place twice a summer. The Palio is a horse race in which all 16 neighborhoods of Siena compete. The horses are randomly assigned to a lucky 10 neighborhoods (the other 6 do not participate in the race). The neighborhoods can pay a jockey any amount of money to bring whatever horse they receive to victory. If your neighborhood wins, mass chaos erupts and people start crying. It sounds like a great event and is another example of how serious Italians take their sports!
Then, we went and saw the world famous Siena Duomo. It was absolutely beautiful and reminded me a bit of a smaller scale Florence Duomo.
Siena itself was absolutely beautiful! I wish we had more time in the city to explore it and "get lost." I feel like there is so much I did not see.
We left Siena about 45 minutes after our tour ended and headed to an organic wine farm just outside San Gimignano. We got a tour of the vineyard, stables, and wine cellar. It was quite interesting and so beautiful.
Then, we had lunch and a wine tasting at the wine farm on their terrace overlooking the Tuscan countryside. The food was even better than the view! They started us off with a garlic bread and a white wine. Then, they brought out handmade pasta in a meat sauce and served a Chianti along with it - it was the best pasta I've had in Italy. After, they brought out a platter of cheese and salami and served it with another red wine. Then, they gave us biscotti and an aged dessert wine. That wine was too sweet!
After we ate, I went and bought the first two bottles of wine we had for souvenirs back home for only 11 euros total!
Then, we took a 10 minute bus ride to San Gimignano. We had an hour to explore the town which was very cool. It earned the nickname "Medieval Manhattan" because it had over 72 watch towers in its prime. The watch towers were built by the rich - the richer you were, the taller your watch tower could be. If you became poorer, your watch tower was cut down to an appropriate size.
San Gimignano was another hilly town and it was a pleasure to walk around it. There was a gelato shop that won the World Gelato Championship two times in the past five years. The gelato was amazing! I had a chocolate and a tirmisu and it was the best gelato I have had in Italy!
After San Gimignao, we had an hour and a half bus ride to Pisa. I fell asleep out of exhaustion! When we arrived in Pisa, we boarded a tram that took us into the city center. The three main attractions in Pisa are right next to each other - the leaning tower, the church, and the baptistry. We had 45 minutes in Pisa which was just enough to take your cliche picture and climb the tower (if you wanted to, I did not).
After, we got back on our tram and had a quick tour of Pisa. We then got back on our bus and went back to Florence.
We arrived at 8:30 PM and my train was at 9:40 PM, so I went to a microbrewery by the train station we ate at the first time we were in Florence that had great french fries for only 3.50 euro. They hit the spot!
My train was 10 minutes late, but I arrived into Rome on time. I made it home by 11:00 PM and immediately fell asleep! It was a great trip, but a busy trip. It was a great way to end my semester full of travels!
Ciao,
Michael
I took my final trip of the semester on Saturday. I woke up at 4:30 AM (after getting an only an hour of sleep) to catch a bus to take me to the train station so I could catch a 6:15 AM train to Florence. I got lucky and caught a night bus at 5:00 AM which had me at the train station by 5:15 AM. It was way too early, but the night buses in Rome run even more sporadically than the normal buses do - now that's saying something.
I had an hour to get some breakfast, so I had an espresso, orange juice, croissant, and doughnut. I ate my breakfast and watched the train station come alive with tourists of every nationality, social class, and different purposes of travel. It was interesting to people watch.
After my breakfast, I got on my train and headed towards Florence. I started a new book that my father brought me when he visited me a month ago (it is so good!) and listened to my iPod. We arrived in Florence before I knew it - I love bullet trains.
After arriving in Florence, I checked into my tour and got onto the tour bus. The tour started right on time and I sat next to an older woman from New Zealand, Sue. We got to know each other quite well throughout the day. She was on a six week tour of Europe after selling her vineyard back home. She visited some family in England and decided to see Europe while she was over here.
Our first stop was Siena. Our tour guide was very concerned that I would not be able to keep up with the group tour as Siena is very hilly and wanted to call me a taxi at my own expense to take me to the city center. That would have meant that I would also have missed the tour! He said he needed to keep the tour moving and couldn't wait for me. He was also afraid I would get lost and not be able to find my way back to the bus. After about two minutes of telling him that I was a study abroad student who traveled across Europe the past semester and I would be fine, he still was very concerned. I finally told him that he could leave me behind in Siena if I missed the bus and I would find my way back to Rome or Florence. He reluctantly agreed. Lets just say that I think he was impressed when I rode the five escalators to get into the city with no problem. I would say I impressed him again when I was constantly in the front of the pack navigating the hills of Siena with more ease than most of my tour group.
Siena itself was a beautiful city. It reminded me a lot of Split, Croatia and the older part of Barcelona - both were built by Roman emperors, so I was not that surprised. Our first stop was one of the gates of the city.
Then, we saw the oldest surviving bank in the whole world, Monte dei Paschi. It was located in a beautiful courtyard.
After the bank, we passed by a few cars that were decorated in a style that looks very "redneck." Apparently, Siena has a huge student population and they hold "car battles" at the end of every academic year. The cars looked really cool.
Then, we went to the most famous part of Siena, the Campo Square. It is one of the nicest squares I've been to in Italy. It is sloped down towards the Siena government buildings and people lay out on the square and sunbathe or just talk. It is so inviting!
The square is also home to the famous Palio horse race that takes place twice a summer. The Palio is a horse race in which all 16 neighborhoods of Siena compete. The horses are randomly assigned to a lucky 10 neighborhoods (the other 6 do not participate in the race). The neighborhoods can pay a jockey any amount of money to bring whatever horse they receive to victory. If your neighborhood wins, mass chaos erupts and people start crying. It sounds like a great event and is another example of how serious Italians take their sports!
Then, we went and saw the world famous Siena Duomo. It was absolutely beautiful and reminded me a bit of a smaller scale Florence Duomo.
Siena itself was absolutely beautiful! I wish we had more time in the city to explore it and "get lost." I feel like there is so much I did not see.
We left Siena about 45 minutes after our tour ended and headed to an organic wine farm just outside San Gimignano. We got a tour of the vineyard, stables, and wine cellar. It was quite interesting and so beautiful.
Then, we had lunch and a wine tasting at the wine farm on their terrace overlooking the Tuscan countryside. The food was even better than the view! They started us off with a garlic bread and a white wine. Then, they brought out handmade pasta in a meat sauce and served a Chianti along with it - it was the best pasta I've had in Italy. After, they brought out a platter of cheese and salami and served it with another red wine. Then, they gave us biscotti and an aged dessert wine. That wine was too sweet!
After we ate, I went and bought the first two bottles of wine we had for souvenirs back home for only 11 euros total!
Then, we took a 10 minute bus ride to San Gimignano. We had an hour to explore the town which was very cool. It earned the nickname "Medieval Manhattan" because it had over 72 watch towers in its prime. The watch towers were built by the rich - the richer you were, the taller your watch tower could be. If you became poorer, your watch tower was cut down to an appropriate size.
San Gimignano was another hilly town and it was a pleasure to walk around it. There was a gelato shop that won the World Gelato Championship two times in the past five years. The gelato was amazing! I had a chocolate and a tirmisu and it was the best gelato I have had in Italy!
After San Gimignao, we had an hour and a half bus ride to Pisa. I fell asleep out of exhaustion! When we arrived in Pisa, we boarded a tram that took us into the city center. The three main attractions in Pisa are right next to each other - the leaning tower, the church, and the baptistry. We had 45 minutes in Pisa which was just enough to take your cliche picture and climb the tower (if you wanted to, I did not).
After, we got back on our tram and had a quick tour of Pisa. We then got back on our bus and went back to Florence.
We arrived at 8:30 PM and my train was at 9:40 PM, so I went to a microbrewery by the train station we ate at the first time we were in Florence that had great french fries for only 3.50 euro. They hit the spot!
My train was 10 minutes late, but I arrived into Rome on time. I made it home by 11:00 PM and immediately fell asleep! It was a great trip, but a busy trip. It was a great way to end my semester full of travels!
Ciao,
Michael
Friday, May 13, 2011
Last Week
Ciao Tutti,
I spent pretty much all of last weekend writing an eight page policy paper for my Italy and the European Union class. Our topic was the conflicts in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia and we had to write it as if we were either a country in the European Union or someone who had an office in the Europe Union. I was assigned the position of the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. It took me a long time to write and I had four pages of citations, but I was really happy with the result.
On Sunday night, I treated myself to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Rome - Monte Carlo. I had a plate of gnocchi in a cream sauce and water for only 9 euro!
My last week of classes was pretty uneventful (in terms of a semester in Rome), but was still pretty exciting when compared to a normal week. On Monday, I had three of classes and they went off without a hitch.
Tuesday night, after my classes, I went to apertivo with a few of my friends from my Italian class. It was so good. A glass of wine was only six euro and I had four plates of food!
On Wednesday, we interviewed a Roma person (more commonly known as a gypsy) for our audio documentary for one of my classes. He told us about daily life in the camp and the difficulties of getting a job. The living conditions are horrible, they are not allowed to have visitors after 8:00 PM, and every movement is recorded on camera. He got a job, but his employers found out he was Roma after 10 days of work and fired him. It was depressing.
After that, I had my Italian oral exam. It went really well and I was very proud of myself. I felt that it was a good measure of how much I have improved my Italian skills over the course of the past semester. We were supposed to have a 10 minute conversation with my professor and if we ran out of things to talk about we had the option of describing pictures. We spoke for 15 minutes and did not use the pictures at all!
On Wednesday night, we celebrated my roommate, Zach's, birthday by going out to one of our favorite restaurants, "Da Tonino." It was really fun and I had a great dish of penne pasta with a pesto sauce.
On Thursday, I had my Italian final exam. It was very hard, but remain optimistic that I will get an A in the class.
On Friday, I had to participate in a Model EU for my Italy and the European Union class. It was the second part of our paper that I wrote earlier in the week. We held a mock summit where we discussed the same things we wrote about in our paper. As Head of Foreign and Security Policy, I was one of the more involved people in the discussion and ran most of the meeting. It was a lot of work, but I had a blast.
On Friday night, my Italian class went out to dinner with our Italian teacher. She took us to an area of Rome that some of the "artsy" Italians hang out at night called Pigneto. It was really nice to see a different side of Rome and we all had a blast!
Ciao,
Michael
I spent pretty much all of last weekend writing an eight page policy paper for my Italy and the European Union class. Our topic was the conflicts in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia and we had to write it as if we were either a country in the European Union or someone who had an office in the Europe Union. I was assigned the position of the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. It took me a long time to write and I had four pages of citations, but I was really happy with the result.
On Sunday night, I treated myself to dinner at my favorite restaurant in Rome - Monte Carlo. I had a plate of gnocchi in a cream sauce and water for only 9 euro!
My last week of classes was pretty uneventful (in terms of a semester in Rome), but was still pretty exciting when compared to a normal week. On Monday, I had three of classes and they went off without a hitch.
Tuesday night, after my classes, I went to apertivo with a few of my friends from my Italian class. It was so good. A glass of wine was only six euro and I had four plates of food!
On Wednesday, we interviewed a Roma person (more commonly known as a gypsy) for our audio documentary for one of my classes. He told us about daily life in the camp and the difficulties of getting a job. The living conditions are horrible, they are not allowed to have visitors after 8:00 PM, and every movement is recorded on camera. He got a job, but his employers found out he was Roma after 10 days of work and fired him. It was depressing.
After that, I had my Italian oral exam. It went really well and I was very proud of myself. I felt that it was a good measure of how much I have improved my Italian skills over the course of the past semester. We were supposed to have a 10 minute conversation with my professor and if we ran out of things to talk about we had the option of describing pictures. We spoke for 15 minutes and did not use the pictures at all!
On Wednesday night, we celebrated my roommate, Zach's, birthday by going out to one of our favorite restaurants, "Da Tonino." It was really fun and I had a great dish of penne pasta with a pesto sauce.
On Thursday, I had my Italian final exam. It was very hard, but remain optimistic that I will get an A in the class.
On Friday, I had to participate in a Model EU for my Italy and the European Union class. It was the second part of our paper that I wrote earlier in the week. We held a mock summit where we discussed the same things we wrote about in our paper. As Head of Foreign and Security Policy, I was one of the more involved people in the discussion and ran most of the meeting. It was a lot of work, but I had a blast.
On Friday night, my Italian class went out to dinner with our Italian teacher. She took us to an area of Rome that some of the "artsy" Italians hang out at night called Pigneto. It was really nice to see a different side of Rome and we all had a blast!
Ciao,
Michael
Monday, May 9, 2011
Naples: Dirty No More
Ciao Tutti,
As you may remember, I was absolutely appalled by the amount of trash on the streets of Naples when I went there a month ago on my way back from the Amalfi Coast. Someone important must have been reading my blog....
Italian army sent to help clear Naples rubbish
I came across this article on BBC this morning that stated that, for the second time in three years, the Italian army is being sent in to clean up the trash, literally the trash, in Naples. The European Union has fined the Italian government on numerous occasions for not taking care of this problem - the most recent infraction was back in November.
But wait, it gets better! Silvio Berlusconi, the currently corrupt Prime Minister of Italy, has been blamed for the problem and is being praised for solving it! As a matter of fact, cleaning up the trash in Naples was a point on his election platform.
Oh, and not to feed into the typical Italian stereotype any more, the mafia is also being blamed for the issue of the abundance of trash in Naples. Many say that some mobsters infiltrated the waste department and dumped hazardous waste onto the top of the landfills!
Well, that's my laugh for the day. I need to get back to work....
Ciao,
Mike
As you may remember, I was absolutely appalled by the amount of trash on the streets of Naples when I went there a month ago on my way back from the Amalfi Coast. Someone important must have been reading my blog....
Italian army sent to help clear Naples rubbish
I came across this article on BBC this morning that stated that, for the second time in three years, the Italian army is being sent in to clean up the trash, literally the trash, in Naples. The European Union has fined the Italian government on numerous occasions for not taking care of this problem - the most recent infraction was back in November.
But wait, it gets better! Silvio Berlusconi, the currently corrupt Prime Minister of Italy, has been blamed for the problem and is being praised for solving it! As a matter of fact, cleaning up the trash in Naples was a point on his election platform.
Oh, and not to feed into the typical Italian stereotype any more, the mafia is also being blamed for the issue of the abundance of trash in Naples. Many say that some mobsters infiltrated the waste department and dumped hazardous waste onto the top of the landfills!
Well, that's my laugh for the day. I need to get back to work....
Ciao,
Mike
Saturday, May 7, 2011
An Epic Game of Soccer
Ciao Tutti,
I just got back from one of the best games I've been to in my life. The fans of Roma are even more enthusiastic about their team than the Lazio fans were. I can now say that I am a lifelong fan of AS Roma.
AS Roma played AC Milan tonight which is a huge rivalry to start with - AC Milan is one of Roma's four main rivals. AC Milan historically has had a great team, but they haven't won the championship in five years. You can call it a bit of a slump. Tonight's game was a huge game because if AC Milan tied or won they would be crowned champions of the Series A soccer division of Italy. If Rome won, it would continue its quest to win the championship.
We got to the stadium donned in our orange and red Roma uniforms and t-shirts (much like Griffindor colors) at 8:00 PM for the 8:45 PM game. The handicapped seats for the game were too expensive, so we chose to tough it out in the middle of the crowd. This was kind of funny because they do not respect seat assignments in the soccer stadium, so it is kind of a free for all. We found three seats together around 30 rows back from the field in the corner in the section next to the die hard Roma season ticket holders.
The section of die hard fans was absolutely amazing. As a Penn State student, I wish our student section was that rowdy! They were waving HUGE flags, screaming chants the WHOLE game, and even had fireworks. They made the game so much more exciting.
Roma played well against the highly favored Milan. At the end of the game, it was a tie. 0-0 was the final score. Roma players jumped up and down as if they had won the championship and Milan was just standing there. It was a crazy atmosphere and the crowd went wild. I can seriously say that both teams deserved to win that game, so it was a game fit to end in a tie.
Now, I can say my trip to Rome is complete. I could go home now and be happy. AS Roma has won me over. I am now a fan and will chant FORZA ROMA for the rest of my life.
Forza Roma!
Ciao,
Mike
I just got back from one of the best games I've been to in my life. The fans of Roma are even more enthusiastic about their team than the Lazio fans were. I can now say that I am a lifelong fan of AS Roma.
AS Roma played AC Milan tonight which is a huge rivalry to start with - AC Milan is one of Roma's four main rivals. AC Milan historically has had a great team, but they haven't won the championship in five years. You can call it a bit of a slump. Tonight's game was a huge game because if AC Milan tied or won they would be crowned champions of the Series A soccer division of Italy. If Rome won, it would continue its quest to win the championship.
We got to the stadium donned in our orange and red Roma uniforms and t-shirts (much like Griffindor colors) at 8:00 PM for the 8:45 PM game. The handicapped seats for the game were too expensive, so we chose to tough it out in the middle of the crowd. This was kind of funny because they do not respect seat assignments in the soccer stadium, so it is kind of a free for all. We found three seats together around 30 rows back from the field in the corner in the section next to the die hard Roma season ticket holders.
The section of die hard fans was absolutely amazing. As a Penn State student, I wish our student section was that rowdy! They were waving HUGE flags, screaming chants the WHOLE game, and even had fireworks. They made the game so much more exciting.
 |
| They had fire fighters to put out the fireworks the fans threw onto the field |
 |
| The Roma fans threw a smoke bomb/firework at the Milan fans despite the two section buffer zone between them. |
Roma played well against the highly favored Milan. At the end of the game, it was a tie. 0-0 was the final score. Roma players jumped up and down as if they had won the championship and Milan was just standing there. It was a crazy atmosphere and the crowd went wild. I can seriously say that both teams deserved to win that game, so it was a game fit to end in a tie.
Now, I can say my trip to Rome is complete. I could go home now and be happy. AS Roma has won me over. I am now a fan and will chant FORZA ROMA for the rest of my life.
Forza Roma!
Ciao,
Mike
Soccer, Apertivo, Movies, More Movies, Homework, and More Soccer!
Ciao Tutti,
This week has been a pretty active week for me. I got into Rome at around 10:00 PM on Sunday night and waited for the bus to take me back to my apartment for about 20 minutes before we realized that the buses were not operating. Apparently, unannounced to us and the other 200 people waiting at the bus stops at the train station, the buses don't run on May 1 because it is a holiday. We were surprised by this because last weekend was a huge weekend in Rome as Pope John Paul II was beautified and there was an estimated two million extra tourists in Rome. This means it was kind of a bad weekend to have no public transportation on a Sunday night. We prevailed, however, and hailed a taxi to take us to our apartments.
On Monday night, I went to my first Italian soccer game. It was a Lazio v. Juventus match. Lazio can be likened to the Mets of Rome (Roma can be likened to the Yankees). Lazio has always had less money than Rome, but this year Lazio was actually doing better than Rome. The game I went to was a big game because if they won, their hope of winning the championship was still alive.
The game itself was amazing. I went with my roommate Zach, our friend, Tahli, and the assistant dean of IES, Giovanna. Zach and Tahli sat in a different section than us because we could only get two handicapped tickets. Lazio looked really good for the first 80 minutes and kept pressuring Juventus' goal, but could not get a goal. After the 80th minute, Lazio's best player got a red card which meant the team had to play a man down for the rest of the game. In the 87th minute, Lazio gave up a goal and the game was over about ten minutes later. Lazio's season was pretty much over. The fans were shocked.
After going to the game, I realized why I act the way I do when I watch sporting events. Italians scream, jump up and down, throw temper tantrums, and curse more than I have ever seen an American do at a baseball or football game. We had a little 8 or 9 year old boy two rows in front of us cursing for the whole game - the whole crowd was laughing at him, but I found it kind of sad. No one told him to stop once.
I had American ballpark food, too! They had hot dogs with ketchup and mustard and soda from the tap. The only downside was that it was Pepsi!
After going to the Lazio game, I decided that my trip to Rome would not be complete without going to a Roma soccer game. As a Yankees fan, I need to support the equivalent team of Rome. I decided that my trip to Capri could wait until next summer when I go backpacking and that I would stay in Rome this weekend. The game is tonight and it has a great match-up - AS Roma v. AC Milano. Milan is by far the best team in all of Italy (this year and historically). To use another analogy, it is like they are the Green Bay Packers. As if all that wasn't enough to make tonight's game sound exciting, Roma's chances of winning the championship were kept alive after Lazio lost last week. Roma moved above Lazio and has a chance to keep their season alive! I absolutely love sports!
I apologize to all the soccer haters, but I have one more thing to mention. On Tuesday morning, I had a field study for my architecture class to the Foro Italico which was the Olympic Sports Complex built by Benito Mussolini. We saw the swimming pools, track, tennis courts, and, yes, the soccer stadium. It was really cool!
Tuesday night, two of my friends from my Italian class and I went to something called "apertivo". Apertivo is basically a free buffet you get when you buy an overpriced drink between the hours of 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM. My soda cost five euro, but I got an all you can eat buffet along with it! The best part is they keep taking new and different types of food out. I was stuffed!
After apertivo, we went to a movie theater owned by an Italian filmmaker, Nanni Moretti, to see his most recent film "Habemus Papam" or "We Have a Pope". The film was in Italian and had no subtitles, but we each understood more than 85% of it. At the end of the film, we pieced it all together. The film itself was about a Pope who is elected, but is not ready to become the Pope and runs away. It can be likened to a coming-of-age story of a really old guy. My friends and I agreed that we hated the ending, though!
I had a pretty normal week of classes this week. I ended my "real classes" on Wednesday, though, because I had a field study to Cinecitta, or the Hollywood of Italy, with my Italian class. It was really cool and we got to see how they make a movie from start to finish. They also took us to see the sets of Gangs of New York and the HBO series, Rome. I really enjoyed it!
I have been cooped up in my apartment since Friday morning writing a paper for my Italy and the European Union class. The first draft is finally done, and I only have a few quick edits left which should only take another hour or so!
Next up is a three page paper for my architecture class, but it should only take a few hours. Then, next week I have to translate a bunch of transcripts from Italian into English. I have no idea how long that is going to take! Our film class is editing our film, so we only have two more sessions to do that. I hope we get it done.
Since IES poured all this work onto us, I am now ready to go home. The "study" part of study abroad is coming to fruition.
I'll blog as soon as I can with my experiences from the Roma v. Milano soccer game tonight! I can't wait!
Ciao,
Mike
This week has been a pretty active week for me. I got into Rome at around 10:00 PM on Sunday night and waited for the bus to take me back to my apartment for about 20 minutes before we realized that the buses were not operating. Apparently, unannounced to us and the other 200 people waiting at the bus stops at the train station, the buses don't run on May 1 because it is a holiday. We were surprised by this because last weekend was a huge weekend in Rome as Pope John Paul II was beautified and there was an estimated two million extra tourists in Rome. This means it was kind of a bad weekend to have no public transportation on a Sunday night. We prevailed, however, and hailed a taxi to take us to our apartments.
On Monday night, I went to my first Italian soccer game. It was a Lazio v. Juventus match. Lazio can be likened to the Mets of Rome (Roma can be likened to the Yankees). Lazio has always had less money than Rome, but this year Lazio was actually doing better than Rome. The game I went to was a big game because if they won, their hope of winning the championship was still alive.
The game itself was amazing. I went with my roommate Zach, our friend, Tahli, and the assistant dean of IES, Giovanna. Zach and Tahli sat in a different section than us because we could only get two handicapped tickets. Lazio looked really good for the first 80 minutes and kept pressuring Juventus' goal, but could not get a goal. After the 80th minute, Lazio's best player got a red card which meant the team had to play a man down for the rest of the game. In the 87th minute, Lazio gave up a goal and the game was over about ten minutes later. Lazio's season was pretty much over. The fans were shocked.
After going to the game, I realized why I act the way I do when I watch sporting events. Italians scream, jump up and down, throw temper tantrums, and curse more than I have ever seen an American do at a baseball or football game. We had a little 8 or 9 year old boy two rows in front of us cursing for the whole game - the whole crowd was laughing at him, but I found it kind of sad. No one told him to stop once.
I had American ballpark food, too! They had hot dogs with ketchup and mustard and soda from the tap. The only downside was that it was Pepsi!
After going to the Lazio game, I decided that my trip to Rome would not be complete without going to a Roma soccer game. As a Yankees fan, I need to support the equivalent team of Rome. I decided that my trip to Capri could wait until next summer when I go backpacking and that I would stay in Rome this weekend. The game is tonight and it has a great match-up - AS Roma v. AC Milano. Milan is by far the best team in all of Italy (this year and historically). To use another analogy, it is like they are the Green Bay Packers. As if all that wasn't enough to make tonight's game sound exciting, Roma's chances of winning the championship were kept alive after Lazio lost last week. Roma moved above Lazio and has a chance to keep their season alive! I absolutely love sports!
I apologize to all the soccer haters, but I have one more thing to mention. On Tuesday morning, I had a field study for my architecture class to the Foro Italico which was the Olympic Sports Complex built by Benito Mussolini. We saw the swimming pools, track, tennis courts, and, yes, the soccer stadium. It was really cool!
 |
| You don't see a monument commemorating Mussolini every day |
 |
| Soccer Stadium |
 |
| Track |
 |
| Really big statue on Track |
 |
| Swimming Pool |
Tuesday night, two of my friends from my Italian class and I went to something called "apertivo". Apertivo is basically a free buffet you get when you buy an overpriced drink between the hours of 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM. My soda cost five euro, but I got an all you can eat buffet along with it! The best part is they keep taking new and different types of food out. I was stuffed!
After apertivo, we went to a movie theater owned by an Italian filmmaker, Nanni Moretti, to see his most recent film "Habemus Papam" or "We Have a Pope". The film was in Italian and had no subtitles, but we each understood more than 85% of it. At the end of the film, we pieced it all together. The film itself was about a Pope who is elected, but is not ready to become the Pope and runs away. It can be likened to a coming-of-age story of a really old guy. My friends and I agreed that we hated the ending, though!
I had a pretty normal week of classes this week. I ended my "real classes" on Wednesday, though, because I had a field study to Cinecitta, or the Hollywood of Italy, with my Italian class. It was really cool and we got to see how they make a movie from start to finish. They also took us to see the sets of Gangs of New York and the HBO series, Rome. I really enjoyed it!
I have been cooped up in my apartment since Friday morning writing a paper for my Italy and the European Union class. The first draft is finally done, and I only have a few quick edits left which should only take another hour or so!
Next up is a three page paper for my architecture class, but it should only take a few hours. Then, next week I have to translate a bunch of transcripts from Italian into English. I have no idea how long that is going to take! Our film class is editing our film, so we only have two more sessions to do that. I hope we get it done.
Since IES poured all this work onto us, I am now ready to go home. The "study" part of study abroad is coming to fruition.
I'll blog as soon as I can with my experiences from the Roma v. Milano soccer game tonight! I can't wait!
Ciao,
Mike
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