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
Showing posts with label Roma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roma. Show all posts
Friday, May 20, 2011
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
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
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Family Visit: Day 5
Ciao Tutti,
Saturday was the last day of my Dad and brother's trip to Italy. We spent most of the day in Florence and traveled back to Rome in the evening. We woke up around 8:30 AM and had breakfast in our bed and breakfast's kitchen. It wasn't bad and consisted of coffee, pastries, and cereal.
After breakfast, we walked to the Accademia and we saw Michelangelo's most famous sculpture, the David. I was able to point out that David's look changes from confidence to fear depending on how you look at him. We also saw an exhibit on musical instruments, some medieval art, and half-finished sculptures by Michelangelo which were started for a Pope's tomb, but Michelangelo got fed up with the Pope and stopped working with him.
After, we went to the famous Duomo, but the line was too long to get in. We did, however, see the famous "Gates of Paradise" of the Baptistry.
Then, we walked to a gelateria that is supposed to have the best gelato in Florence, GROM. It was pretty good. Afterwards, we walked down to Piazza della Signoria and saw a few famous statues.
Then, we went to the famous Mercato Nuovo where the wild boar or Porcellino resides. Matt and I rubbed the boar's nose which ensures our return to Florence one day.
Afterwards, we went to see the Ponte Vecchio and take a few pictures.
Then, we grabbed lunch at a restaurant on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio. After lunch, we went back to Piazza della Signoria and listened to an amazing guitarist. Then, we went to Piazza della Reppublica to attend an Olive Oil Festival. We wanted to buy a few bottles of olive oil from Italy for back home, so this was the perfect place for us. We tried about 15 types of olive oil and picked our favorite. My Dad bought a bottle for my Mom, my brother bought a bottle for himself, and I bought a bottle for my apartment in Italy.
Then, we headed to the train station to catch our train back to Rome. We took a taxi back to our hotel and packed our bags. Then, we took a taxi back to my apartment to drop my bag off and went to our favorite restaurant in Rome, Monte Carlo for the third time. It was great, as usual, and served as a phenomenal ending to a phenomenal vacation. Then, we all went back to the hotel and fell asleep.
Ciao,
Michael
Saturday was the last day of my Dad and brother's trip to Italy. We spent most of the day in Florence and traveled back to Rome in the evening. We woke up around 8:30 AM and had breakfast in our bed and breakfast's kitchen. It wasn't bad and consisted of coffee, pastries, and cereal.
After breakfast, we walked to the Accademia and we saw Michelangelo's most famous sculpture, the David. I was able to point out that David's look changes from confidence to fear depending on how you look at him. We also saw an exhibit on musical instruments, some medieval art, and half-finished sculptures by Michelangelo which were started for a Pope's tomb, but Michelangelo got fed up with the Pope and stopped working with him.
After, we went to the famous Duomo, but the line was too long to get in. We did, however, see the famous "Gates of Paradise" of the Baptistry.
 | |
| Gates of Paradise |
 |
| Duomo |
Then, we walked to a gelateria that is supposed to have the best gelato in Florence, GROM. It was pretty good. Afterwards, we walked down to Piazza della Signoria and saw a few famous statues.
Then, we went to the famous Mercato Nuovo where the wild boar or Porcellino resides. Matt and I rubbed the boar's nose which ensures our return to Florence one day.
Afterwards, we went to see the Ponte Vecchio and take a few pictures.
Then, we grabbed lunch at a restaurant on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio. After lunch, we went back to Piazza della Signoria and listened to an amazing guitarist. Then, we went to Piazza della Reppublica to attend an Olive Oil Festival. We wanted to buy a few bottles of olive oil from Italy for back home, so this was the perfect place for us. We tried about 15 types of olive oil and picked our favorite. My Dad bought a bottle for my Mom, my brother bought a bottle for himself, and I bought a bottle for my apartment in Italy.
Then, we headed to the train station to catch our train back to Rome. We took a taxi back to our hotel and packed our bags. Then, we took a taxi back to my apartment to drop my bag off and went to our favorite restaurant in Rome, Monte Carlo for the third time. It was great, as usual, and served as a phenomenal ending to a phenomenal vacation. Then, we all went back to the hotel and fell asleep.
Ciao,
Michael
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Short Week
Ciao Tutti,
I have finally caught up with this blog and posting all my pictures in the below posts (as promised). I have also put all my pictures up from my Spring Break trip - you can find them on the right sidebar.
I got back to Rome on Monday night around 9:00 PM. I flew into the main airport in Rome - Fiumicino. Normally a taxi ride from the airport to the city center costs 40 Euro, but there is a train that takes you to the main train station in Rome for 14 Euro. Given that I had a suitcase with me and the train was not an option, I explored a different method of transportation. I found a shuttle bus that drops you off right at your apartment or hotel for only 18 Euros. It worked great. I arrived and waited for about 20 minutes, then the bus driver came and got my suitcase and put it in the van. I was the second person he dropped off and was at my apartment by 10:15 PM. Not too shabby.
When I arrived, my ISC, Silvio, was entertaining a few guests for a dinner party. There is no better way to start speaking Italian again after a week of speaking bits and pieces of other languages than to start talking to a group of Italians over dinner! Baptism by fire - and it worked. By the end of the meal, I was back in Italian mode. The meal consisted of very good pasta and something I have never tried before - liver. If I was back in the States I never would have tried it, but I am a bit more open minded while I am abroad and see everything as an experience. It honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It tasted like meat, but kind of crumbled once you put it in your mouth. It is not something I would ever make for myself or order at a restaurant, but is something I would eat if it was placed in front of me at an event or a business meeting.
On Tuesday, we had a field study for my architecture class at Saint Peter's Cathedral. Unfortunately, my iPad alarm did not adjust itself from London time and I was 20 minutes late to class. Fortunately, I was able to go through the line for people with disabilities and missed absolutely nothing! The field study was great in that it was an excuse to go into Saint Peter's Basilica again, but I did not learn a lot. I already knew most of what my teacher said from my audio tour of the Basilica I downloaded from Rick Steve's website. I'm still not complaining - who can say they went to class in Saint Peter's Basilica. That is something special that only a student studying in Rome can say!
Tuesday afternoon, I had my first three hour long class for film (it used to meet for two hours on Tuesday and one hour on Thursday, but now we meet three hours on Tuesday). It was pretty productive. We got our midterm grades back - I got a 95. I think I'm on pace for an A in that class. Our class is remaking two scenes from the movies we saw. I am directing one of the scenes and am filming the "behind the scenes" of the other. The scene I am directing is from "Caterina va in Citta" or "Caterina and the Big City" which was directed by Paolo Virzi. I had an hour of the class to describe my vision for the scene to the rest of the class, cast the scene, and do a few dry runs. I think it is going to come out very well.
Tuesday night, I fell asleep very early as all my traveling finally caught up to me.
Wednesday morning, we had a field study for my Italy and the European Union class at the Italian Crisis Unit. We basically got a tour of the department responsible for extracting Italian nationals from other countries when disaster strikes. It was pretty cool as their office reminded me of what we see in spy movies.
Wednesday afternoon, I had my Memory and Conflict class. We started off with getting our midterm grades back - I one-upped my film grade and got a 96. I was very happy with this. We then discussed the readings that were assigned to us over Spring Break. They were about the "Roma People" or people who migrated from India to Europe about 1000 years ago and are living a nomadic life. They are more well known as gypsies. For the second half of the semester, our class is going to make an oral documentary about their story. It should be an interesting project.
Wednesday night, I again fell asleep very early as I was still exhausted.
Thursday, I did not have class until 4:30 PM. I woke up at 10:45 AM and went to the store to recharge my iPad's 3G data package. Afterwards, I went and worked on the scene I am directing for my film class. I needed to edit my script and start working on a list of shots I need for the scene when we shoot in three weeks. It is starting to come along. Next week, I will sit down with my cinematographer and assistant director and get them on the same page. It is a lot of work, but is really fun and I am learning a lot more about film. I also think this experience will make me appreciate film better.
Thursday night, we went out to dinner with a few people from our program. They had a nostalgia for American food, so we went to an Irish pub for hamburgers and french fries. They were pretty good.
Tomorrow, I am going to Venice for the weekend with my program. They put together quite a good itinerary, so it should be a great trip. I'll post soon!
Ciao,
Michael
I have finally caught up with this blog and posting all my pictures in the below posts (as promised). I have also put all my pictures up from my Spring Break trip - you can find them on the right sidebar.
I got back to Rome on Monday night around 9:00 PM. I flew into the main airport in Rome - Fiumicino. Normally a taxi ride from the airport to the city center costs 40 Euro, but there is a train that takes you to the main train station in Rome for 14 Euro. Given that I had a suitcase with me and the train was not an option, I explored a different method of transportation. I found a shuttle bus that drops you off right at your apartment or hotel for only 18 Euros. It worked great. I arrived and waited for about 20 minutes, then the bus driver came and got my suitcase and put it in the van. I was the second person he dropped off and was at my apartment by 10:15 PM. Not too shabby.
When I arrived, my ISC, Silvio, was entertaining a few guests for a dinner party. There is no better way to start speaking Italian again after a week of speaking bits and pieces of other languages than to start talking to a group of Italians over dinner! Baptism by fire - and it worked. By the end of the meal, I was back in Italian mode. The meal consisted of very good pasta and something I have never tried before - liver. If I was back in the States I never would have tried it, but I am a bit more open minded while I am abroad and see everything as an experience. It honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. It tasted like meat, but kind of crumbled once you put it in your mouth. It is not something I would ever make for myself or order at a restaurant, but is something I would eat if it was placed in front of me at an event or a business meeting.
On Tuesday, we had a field study for my architecture class at Saint Peter's Cathedral. Unfortunately, my iPad alarm did not adjust itself from London time and I was 20 minutes late to class. Fortunately, I was able to go through the line for people with disabilities and missed absolutely nothing! The field study was great in that it was an excuse to go into Saint Peter's Basilica again, but I did not learn a lot. I already knew most of what my teacher said from my audio tour of the Basilica I downloaded from Rick Steve's website. I'm still not complaining - who can say they went to class in Saint Peter's Basilica. That is something special that only a student studying in Rome can say!
Tuesday afternoon, I had my first three hour long class for film (it used to meet for two hours on Tuesday and one hour on Thursday, but now we meet three hours on Tuesday). It was pretty productive. We got our midterm grades back - I got a 95. I think I'm on pace for an A in that class. Our class is remaking two scenes from the movies we saw. I am directing one of the scenes and am filming the "behind the scenes" of the other. The scene I am directing is from "Caterina va in Citta" or "Caterina and the Big City" which was directed by Paolo Virzi. I had an hour of the class to describe my vision for the scene to the rest of the class, cast the scene, and do a few dry runs. I think it is going to come out very well.
Tuesday night, I fell asleep very early as all my traveling finally caught up to me.
Wednesday morning, we had a field study for my Italy and the European Union class at the Italian Crisis Unit. We basically got a tour of the department responsible for extracting Italian nationals from other countries when disaster strikes. It was pretty cool as their office reminded me of what we see in spy movies.
Wednesday afternoon, I had my Memory and Conflict class. We started off with getting our midterm grades back - I one-upped my film grade and got a 96. I was very happy with this. We then discussed the readings that were assigned to us over Spring Break. They were about the "Roma People" or people who migrated from India to Europe about 1000 years ago and are living a nomadic life. They are more well known as gypsies. For the second half of the semester, our class is going to make an oral documentary about their story. It should be an interesting project.
Wednesday night, I again fell asleep very early as I was still exhausted.
Thursday, I did not have class until 4:30 PM. I woke up at 10:45 AM and went to the store to recharge my iPad's 3G data package. Afterwards, I went and worked on the scene I am directing for my film class. I needed to edit my script and start working on a list of shots I need for the scene when we shoot in three weeks. It is starting to come along. Next week, I will sit down with my cinematographer and assistant director and get them on the same page. It is a lot of work, but is really fun and I am learning a lot more about film. I also think this experience will make me appreciate film better.
Thursday night, we went out to dinner with a few people from our program. They had a nostalgia for American food, so we went to an Irish pub for hamburgers and french fries. They were pretty good.
Tomorrow, I am going to Venice for the weekend with my program. They put together quite a good itinerary, so it should be a great trip. I'll post soon!
Ciao,
Michael
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Barcelona
Ciao Tutti,
A week or so ago, my ISC (Italian Student Companion), Silvio, had about ten of his friends over for dinner. I am happy to report that I was actually able to carry a conversation with them and understand the general ideas of what they were talking to each other about. We even played the Italian version of the game, Mafia. This was quite a challenge, but a great and fun experience!
Changing topics completely, last weekend I went to Barcelona. I arrived late on a Thursday night and took a train from the airport into the city center. By the time I got into the city center, the metro had stopped running (after midnight) so I had to take a taxi to my hostel. My hostel had a 91% review on HostelWorld.com, but I was immensely disappointed. I did not realize that the hostel only had a common bathroom in the hallway of every floor. I am so used to staying in hostels that have a bathroom in each room that this took a bit of getting used to.
A week or so ago, my ISC (Italian Student Companion), Silvio, had about ten of his friends over for dinner. I am happy to report that I was actually able to carry a conversation with them and understand the general ideas of what they were talking to each other about. We even played the Italian version of the game, Mafia. This was quite a challenge, but a great and fun experience!
Changing topics completely, last weekend I went to Barcelona. I arrived late on a Thursday night and took a train from the airport into the city center. By the time I got into the city center, the metro had stopped running (after midnight) so I had to take a taxi to my hostel. My hostel had a 91% review on HostelWorld.com, but I was immensely disappointed. I did not realize that the hostel only had a common bathroom in the hallway of every floor. I am so used to staying in hostels that have a bathroom in each room that this took a bit of getting used to.
On Friday, I took a free walking tour to see the architecture of one of Barcelona's most famous architects - Gaudi. His buildings made me feel like I was in Whoville and a world of Dr. Seuss, but they were really cool from the outside. It cost upwards of 18 euros to go in, so I decided that the views from the outside were good enough for me. We also saw a church that he designed over around 85 years ago that is still being built. It is a very complex church and they say it will not be done for at least another 25-30 years! That one complex building!
One of the houses Gaudi desgined
Another one of the houses Gaudi desgined
One of the three facades of Gaudi's church - the Sagrada Famiglia. Only two are finished. This is the Nativity Facade.
The Passion Facade. The Glory Facade just started construction.
After my walking tour, I took a hop on-hop off bus tour to see all of Barcelona. Barcelona is such a spread out city that the bus company had two different lines. It took me 6 hours to complete both lines, but I was happy I did it.
On Saturday, it poured the whole day. By this point, I had become a pro on navigating Barcelona's metro and decided to go to the Picasso Museum. The Picasso Museum was a homage to Picasso's older, lesser known works. All I knew about Picasso before this was that he painted "Scream," but was very intrigued by his life story. He moved around a lot and changed his artistic style about once or twice a year.
After the Picasso Museum, I decided to go to a restaurant to have typical Catalonian food - tapas. They are basically a bunch of small samples, so you order two or three and try a bit of everything. I had ham & cheese croquets and something very similar to sesame chicken. It was really, really good.
Then, even though it was raining, I embarked on my voyage to find Barceloneta Beach. By this point my map was useless because it was raining so hard, so I decided to follow the signs to the beach - big mistake. I wound up 3 kilometers out of my way and had to backtrack to see it. I was happy when I finally got there, though. It looked like a scene out of 2012, the waves were about four feet high (pretty high for the Mediterranean Sea and I saw the cliché surfboarder walking away from the sea. It was a beautiful beach, though.
The Beach
After this, I decided to walk and catch a metro back to my hostel. After an hour rest, I went to the only bar in Barcelona that was showing the Penn State v. Michigan State game for the Big Ten Semifinals. I think I managed to find the only empty bar in Barcelona, but a combination of a Penn State win and some nostalgic food like quesadillas and chicken tenders was enough to make my day.
Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day. I loved it! I woke up early in the morning to walk the "La Rambla", a very famous tourist promenade where artists and cafes line the streets. I decided to grab a seat and order "Churros and Chocolate" and people watch. They were so good.
La Rambla
Chocolate & Churros
After that, I took another walking tour of Barcelona. This one was a tour of Barcelona's historical center. It was beautiful and reminded me a lot of Rome. I gained some insight into the history of Barcelona that was absolutely fascinating like the fact that Barcelona used to be occupied by the Romans when it was a walled city (hence why it reminded me of historical Rome). Also, I learned that the people of Barcelona actually consider themselves to be Catalonian, not Spanish. They speak Catalonian and Spanish and are constantly protesting the Spanish government for their independence. I also got to see where the King of Catalonia greeted Christopher Columbus after discovering the New World. The final piece of trivia I learned was that Barcelona could have built the Eifel Tower instead of Paris, but the government thought it was too weird looking and built an arch instead - big mistake!
The steps that Christopher Columbus was welcomed back on
After the walking tour, I took the metro to Park Gϋell - another one of Gaudi's projects. It was declared a World Heritage Site a few years ago, so I figured a trip to Barcelona would not be complete without seeing it. Getting there was a difficult task. After taking the metro, it was a kilometer walk to a series of eight escalators to take you to the top of a mountain. At the top of this mountain, you had to walk down hill about a half of a kilometer to get to the park. By this point, I was exhausted. It was so worth it, though. I saw the longest bench I have ever seen and a bunch of other cool looking houses, sculptures, and architecture!
View from the Park
I think Dr. Seuss used to live here.....
An overhang at the park.
The other park entrance.
On my way back to the hostel to grab my bag, I found a Dunkin Coffee (they don't call them Dunkin Donuts over there) and splurged on the biggest ice coffee I have ever had. In Italy, I can only get an espresso - they really do not have American coffee. It was probably the best cup of coffee I've ever had (probably because I haven't had one in so long). I topped it off with a ham & cheese panini and a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles - the icing on the cake.
After grabbing my bag at my hostel, I went to the airport and came back to Rome. In my next blog post (very soon, probably later today), I'll bring you up to date with everything I did this week and weekend, post a few pictures from the past month, and post the bucket list I made of things I need to do while I'm in Rome.
Ciao,
Mike
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