mercoledì, maggio 31, 2006

€3.91 + €3

Lunch today was such a pleasure. After the interminable Michelangelo class (9:30am-1pm with a 15 minute break) which looses its joy after a while, I walked across the Tevere and stopped in a grocery store where I got a cute little package of coppa, a savory meat that I enjoy a great deal, and which I maintain can not be done justice made in America. (+I keep thinking for many reasons I ought to go to Bologna... to eat is just one of them.)

Alas. Coppa di Parma in a cute little perfect package of six slices, plus three very cute pizzette bianche, a can of beer, and Kinder barette, all for €3.91. Great price considering everything. Afterwards, as the market was closing at Campo de'Fiori, I passed some raspberries that were too good to pass up, so I paid through the nose for the pleasure. Highly worth it, as buying raspberrries usually tends to be.

Cherries are in season here, and also ridiculously good.

Last night for dinner we had bowties and cheese, Italian style; that is, with mascarpone! instead of Velveeta, with some eggplant thrown in. Oh wow. I think there was also some Philadelphia cream cheese involved, only because I know how much the Orzalis love it. Still, magnificent.

One comment on the current state of the Euro, which makes a great deal of sense: inflation is such that, for example, something that used to cost £it 1000 now costs €1, which used to be the equivalent of £it 1936.27. You can see where I'm going with this. Things cost effectively double. It seems that at the time, the exchange was made assuming that the US dollar would be staying strong. It has most definitely not.

Election Update

Italian politics is love. It tends to be much more exciting than American politics, although even they are headed in that direction... Stable governments, what? A country equally divided between left and right, what? A bad economy, what?
Sunday and Monday there were elections for the city of Rome, and Walter Veltroni was reelected. 921,491 Romans voted for Veltroni, which is more than 100,000 more than voted for him five years ago when he was first elected. His approval rating right now is over 60%.
Additionally, there were elections for the city council. There are 19 districts, even though I live in XX Municipio, because the XIV Municipio does not actually exist. All of the districts, except one are represented by the center-left. And what is the only district that is represented by the right (Casa della Libertà)? Yes! XX Municipio Cassia-Primaporta. However, the guy won by only 35 votes (50.5% of the votes were to him) Fulvia said.
At the end of the month, there's another election, because the Fascists want to change the constitution. It's really important to vote, because as Fulvia explained, if 20 people vote, and 11 vote for this change, then some horrible change to the constitution will be made. It seems to be something introduced by Berlusconi et. al. to give more power to the regions and comune. However, the left sees this as an affront to bicameralism and thinks it will take away the power from the national governing bodies. I should find more out about it. Upon cursory research, it appears that the Constitution changes often (take that, Scalia!) and is "per peggiore" depending on who's making the change (left or right) and what side one stands on.
Past changes from the right have come back to hurt them and actually favor the left -- this happened multiple times during Berlusconi's tenure. One notable example is the giving of the vote to Italians abroad. Berlusconi thought it would give him an advantage, but in fact, it did not (anche noi siamo coglione).
Alas. Italian politics is such a nice hobby, because it's so incredibly interestingly complicated. If only American politics excited me this much. I think for a time I was interested in politics in America only because I remembered how exciting they were here. It's so much easier to be involved in them here.

martedì, maggio 30, 2006

Changing of the Guard video

Here's 15 minutes of marching band music! It's been edited down... but there's still the actual changing of the guard, the Italian national anthem, some marching, and most of three marches played by the Banda dell'Esercito. I know the first march the band plays towards the end is Sousa, but if anyone knows what any of the others are, let me know, I'm curious.
Turn up your sound! Regrets for the poor image quality and my shaky hands: I wanted to make the file size smaller, although I may change that, but the sound is stereo.

Another movie location in Rome

This one's from the eighties! The location has changed a little, but this is really it.


The Cambio/Western Union is a hint in and of itself.

In a few days, I'll post the answers to these movies (see also 28/5 post)

happy, beautiful banality

Quickly, I wanted to share a bit.

Yesterday on the tram, and from the tram, I saw five old-school gypsy women, who were so beautiful and so real. European friends think this is nothing special, but it was so cool to be so close to them and to listen to their language being spoken. Additionally, one of them was reading Italian and then out loud translating a sign into Romany. Fascinating.

I also lost an hour of my life on a 1/2 mile stretch of the Cassia last night.

I should think more about looking before I cross the street. Generally, not just here or elsewhere.

I did laundry this morning -- some I'll do at home, but some I wanted to do in the laundromat. It was interesting, the woman tried to speak English to me, I told her she could speak Italian, I understood. It's always so interesting to me to see what language people decide to speak to me in. For example, today at the Anglo-American Bookstore I was buying a textbook and I spoke to the guy in Italian, so he spoke back to me in Italian, in what is otherwise an English-language environment. I think a lot of times I sound American, and I shouldn't be so lazy speaking Italian, but it happens.

Last night, I was like, I am so exhausted I can't speak Italian anymore, barely English. Fulvia laughed and said good night! We didn't eat dinner until about 10:30 because Zoe, the dog had to go to the vet because she got a thorny plant sort of thing in her ear... I didn't get back until about 9:30 anyway because of the traffic.

Today has been nice, very relaxing. I feel like it's my summer vacation, which is good even though I'm also getting a lot of stuff done.
Here's something I saw today, I present it as food for thought:
"Free Iraq, Bush to the wall!"


I present the following supplementary images:

The first is Goya's Second of May, 1808. The second is the illegal wall in Palestine.

domenica, maggio 28, 2006

In which Maria discusses Sunday

This sign I've seen a few places at restaurants owned by the same people. I think it's kind of a good thing, and so I wanted to share.

Today I've made multiple posts to organize things a bit better for myself. A short rundown of the day, however:
  • up early to the Russicum, to possibly see Daniel P, who is returning tomorrow evening and so wasn't around at 10am this morning.
  • Termini, where almost immediately the famous line of Italian poetry "quello spirto guerrier ch'entro mi rugge" popped into my head and I had the strong, strong desire to go somewhere, immediately, but I of course did not. Instead I got some books and read. Also at Termini, I bought savory meats and fresh bread for lunch, plus one can of beer and one chocolate + whole hazlenuts bar.
  • 910 bus to Villa Borghese, where I ate the aforementioned food and then read for quite a while, and walked quite a bit.
  • Quirinale Hill, when I realized that I wasn't far and it was nearly 4pm. Even though I have no interest in American patriotic type things, the changing of the guard at the Italian President's palace is something that I love. The band played even a Sousa (which I prefer for the Fourth of July instead of other, newer Americana songs) march, among others and I really enjoyed it. I can get into Italian patriotic things for a few reasons: it's not really emotional for me and so I'm removed from it in that respect; as far as the band is concerned, they're not really soldiers, they're artists, so I can get behind that; and finally, the new president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, is a communist (bet that one didn't make the American news!) ((I kid, mostly. Sort of.)). I took video with my digital camera of the whole thing, and as soon as I can I'll edit it and post it to give some flava from the wonderful band music.
  • Trastevere for liturgy + afterwards, a frullato.
  • An hour and a half to get back up the Cassia, arriving here at about 10:30pm.

The frullato. I know it looks kind of gross, but omgz wow. So, it's frozen yogurt, an entire fig, hazelnut pieces and walnut pieces all mashed together into one ice-cream-headache-inducing pile of wonderfulness, all topped with honey. It's one more little bit of Epicurean proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

In which Maria is spiritually renewed.

Traditional religious practices are important: they allow us to share with others the comunal experience of adoration and prayer. But we must never forget that spiritual experience is above all a practical experience of love. And with love, there are no rules.
I love the Communità di Sant'Egidio Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. It's a great point of return for me, like a home, and after fighting and fighting for months, I'm back to something that I can do and participate in and open myself to.

Quiz Time!

In an attempt to bring some interactivity to this blog, I have posted two photos involving famous movie locations in Rome. You can click on the photos to enlarge them. The first is easy, the second is not, because I'm actually not exactly sure if I'm right, I'm making a guess and I may need to track down the movie to see -- there may have been some clever editing involved that has confused me. In the future, there's at least one more movie location in Rome (although there are quite a few I could/would like to do) that I'll post.
If you've got any guesses, leave a comment. As of right now, there's no real prize other than lauds and esteem for knowing obscure movie trivia, but of course that could change.

For the above photo, you're given the fact that this door is on via Margutta. What movie character had an apartment at this address (whether or not it was actually filmed here)?

This one is much more difficult, but it is very nearby to the Spanish Steps. The film is relatively recent, and I like it because it's rather jetset-y, among other things. I could be wrong here, but this is my best guess for right now. My clue to you is that the film involves sharks and terrorists. What scene takes place presumably here?

In which there are *hawt* mannequins

To Mom: What if one of these were standing naked in your living room?

In which there are horses...

...which are also mermaids! (Merman, Dad, merman! - I'm in a movie-quote kind of mood today.)

The big thing, whatever it is, is going on at Piazza di Siena this weekend. It is an understatement to say that I am not really interested.

However, I did pass some lovely hours reading in Villa Borghese this afternoon. I also bought some rosette and coppa di Parma and it was quite lovely.

One of these things is not like the other

You can click on the image to enlarge it...
This one gave me quite a chuckle.

sabato, maggio 27, 2006

Friday and Saturday: Relaxation

I didn't really do anything. I spent most of the late morning/early afternoon doing research on Saraceni, and then I watched some Fraiser and Creature Comforts. When Ilaria got home, we watched an episode of "Una Amica per Mamma", more commonly known in the US as "Gilmore Girls". It was fun to watch it with her, because we're able to discuss the plot, et. al. She was very excited to hear that I live theoretically quite nearby to Kelly Bishop, who of course plays Emily Gilmore and who in real life also lives in South Orange.
Last night we went to Fulvia's sister's house for dinner, because her son is visiting from Brussels.

Today I had lunch at the Basilian Generalate, always good time. My Monday through Thursday really takes a lot out of me, it's nice to be able to relax a little and have a summer vacation! Tomorrow I'm going to try to go out and get some things done. We'll see.

My Michelangelo class starts on Monday, in addition to the other class.

Thursday: Field Trip

Thursday was a busy day, and involved much travelling around the center of Rome.

I have to do a project for my Caravaggio and the Carracci class on Carlo Saraceni, who is a kind-of-important-but-not-really Baroque artist who did a lot of work in Rome and environs between 1600 and 1620, when he died. Of interest is the fact that he was one of the first artists in Rome to use copper as a support instead of canvas or panel. I found a paperback copy of the fantastic Guide Rosse for Rome, and then used the wonderful Google Earth to plot where all of his paintings in Rome are, so that I could visit them in the most efficient way possible. Soon I'll put the file on the Google Earth Community, but I haven't yet.

To visit the Saraceni paintings, I visited San Lorenzo in Lucina, and Santa Maria dell'Anima. I also went to Santa Maria in Aquiro, but I got thrown out because they were praying the rosary. There are still a few more to visit, including one in Trastevere I'll go to on Monday between classes. For my project, I think I've decided on a painting in Santa Maria dell'Anima, the German national church in Rome, because the story of the miracle is so wild and so is the painting. It's of Saint Benno or Bennone pulling the keys to the cathedral of Meißen (near Dresden) out of the stomach of a fish from the Elbe River. Nothing I've ever heard of before, but evidently quite important to the Germans.

For the field trip for my class, we met on the Campidoglio, then went down to visit the Mattei Chapel in Santa Maria della Consolazione, and then back up the hill to Santa Maria in Aracoeli, for another Mattei Chapel there. After that, we stopped by the rooms of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at the Gesù, and finally we ended up at Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Most of what we looked at slightly predated Caravaggio, and was meant to show us the context into which Caravaggio arrived in Rome.

It took me about 2 hours to get back up the Cassia, because I took the 53 bus from Piazza San Silvestro, and it goes through Parioli, where traffic was at a standstill.

mercoledì, maggio 24, 2006

The Nerds

This following really has very little to do with anything else, but I post it for the benefit of my mother. It fits into this blog because I took the picture in Italy... eh.
Will she recall a certain Saturday Night Live skit featuring the Nerds and Mateus?

Trastevere Standa: A Dialogue

The following dialogue transpired in Italian, I provide it here in English.

Setting: Standa Supermercato on Viale di Trastevere, Rome.
Characters: Elderly woman, 60-something male, Maria, checkout lady, Italian male

Elderly Woman: The Republic is in chaos! Chaos! I'm 92 years old and I've never seen it this bad!
Male: (nods head, smiles)
Elderly Woman: Chaos! Are you a foreigner?
Male: Yes. British. It's nice here (qui bella).
Elderly Woman: Eh. (to Maria) Go ahead.
Maria: Thanks.
Elderly Woman: The Republic is in chaos! Chaos! I'm 92 years old and I've never seen it this bad! I was born during the Monarchy! I asked them for some orange juice here, and there isn't any! I can't believe it! Are you a foreigner too?
Maria: Yes, but I understand Italian.
Elderly Woman: At least you understand Italian!
Maria: Are you a monarchist?
Elderly Woman: Yes, monarchist!
Maria puts her purchases on the conveyor belt and prepares to pay checkout lady.
Elderly Woman (to Italian male): Go ahead.
Checkout lady (to Italian male): Can you go look for what she's asking for? I have no idea and she's going to let everyone go ahead of her until she gets what she wants.
Italian male: Sure. (goes to look for orange beverage)
Elderly Woman: Thanks!
Checkout lady: One euro, forty nine cents.

Symphony!


I didn't take either of the above photos, but the complex is so amazing and so cool that I needed to somehow illustrate. Last week, Fulvia asked if I wanted to go to a concert with her, I said sure, because why not? Her parents have season tickets for the symphony, and they take turns between Fulvia, her sister, and her parents, so they all go to the symphony once a month. We were using her parents tickets, but then they were there too because they were using tickets belonging to her father's cousin.
We heard a violin concerto by Sibelius, and the soloist was an American, Sarah Chang -- backing her up was the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia orchestra. The second part was a symphony by Brahms, which was really fantastic. The whole evening was such a huge treat.
The complex was under construction when we were living here, and so it's brand new and amazing. The architect was Renzo Piano, and the complex is called Parco della Musica. Basically it looks like three beetles facing each other, and in the middle there is an ancient-style ampitheatre. There was also a labyrinth made out of hedges in pots in the middle, very cool. Unfortunately for such an amazing new building, there are problems of accessibility, because there are a lot of steps, very few and tiny elevators, and few bathrooms, which is difficult for the elderly like Fulvia's parents.
There's always something going on at the complex, however, even in the afternoons. Most evenings there is a concert also. It's great that there is such support for the arts and that they can do this sort of thing so often. Very cool.

lunedì, maggio 22, 2006

A Long Monday

This morning I was up before 7am, which has not really happened since I arrived here. I was out of the apartment quickly, and off to get to John Cabot as soon as possible, because I wanted to add a class to my schedule, and I also had class scheduled for 9:30am. I got a bus quickly, and about a mile and a half down the road, the bus got rear-ended by a car, which took out the back driver’s side corner. We all got out and waited for the next bus, because nothing was happening quickly, and the drivers had to exchange information. Not really the bus driver, but the driver of the subcompact Alfa Romeo who took out the tail lights. I finally got down to the Lungotevere, onto a 32, and I had a coffee at Piazza Risorgimento. Here, I will digress and swear that there are two price lists, one for if you speak Italian and the other if you don’t. This is covered up by saying that you have to pay extra for table service, but I think after some research it would become a little obvious. Just as I had finished my coffee, which took less than a minute, I got onto a 23 and headed to Trastevere. It’s only about a 5 minute bus ride from Piazza Risorgimento (Vatican) to John Cabot in Trastevere.

Once I got there, I went straight to the Registrar, because while at SHU we have all of our scheduling available online and we can modify it ourselves, at John Cabot you have to do it in person. Since today was the first day of add/drop, I wanted to get there asap because I’ve heard relative horror stories from the old days regarding registration. I ended up fifth in line, which was not bad. After adding Caravaggio and the Carracci to my schedule, I went to the classroom where my morning class is to take place, and saw that the class will not start until next Monday. At that point, it was before 9:30am and I had nothing to do until 4pm.

I acquainted myself with the library, found a Graham Green novel I’ve yet to read (although I think I may have and just forget), Stamboul Train. My name is yet to be put into the database, so the librarian held my id card until I brought the book back this afternoon. Before I forget and leave John Cabot for a while, I must add that I saw one of my former MMI classmates there, and many others I recognized. It seems that many of the Italian kids go there, and there are different hypotheses, but it is an interesting factoid nonetheless about the John Cabot demographic.

In search of a bathroom and some adventure before lunch, I walked over to Piazza Venezia. I saw that there was an exhibit about Stendhal (Henri Beyel) in the Vittoriano, and so I went through the maze that is the complex, trying to avoid the kitschy militaria of the Risorgimento. The Italians love them some Stendhal, and he did write wonderfully about Rome. Arguably, as in the case of many others, his work sounds much better in Italian than it does in the native language. They had lots of interesting artifacts, like letters addressed to him in different Roman palaces and his passport when he was the French consul at Civitavecchia. It seems that he did not spend much time in Civitavecchia, but rather in Rome and the countryside – back when Monte Mario and the area around Ponte Milvio were the Roman countryside. It was a small exhibit, but very interesting, and also free entrance.

Following toilette signs, I ended up on one of the terraces of the Vittoriano, and after finally finding the restrooms, which are actually in a corner of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, I also found a million Italian fieldtripping third graders who had beat me to the punch. Since that was not happening – mostly out of concern for Roman sewage systems in areas where there is both a ridiculously high concentration of tourists and also what I would imagine to be not-quite-modern infrastructure, I took off in the direction of the public restrooms at the far side of the Colosseum. First, however, I happened into the exit of the large and very good exhibit of Modigliani portraits. It was another lucky free entrance and very informative and appealing to an art history nerd like self.

As a result, I traipsed through the Forum, took a picture for some Spanish tourists and around the Temple of Vesta I really sincerely began wishing my mom was with me. If she knows one aspect of Rome that I don’t know well, it is where to go to the bathroom. However, in some ways, I also think she may have done the same thing I ended up doing.

At the Colosseum, I got to the bathrooms, and got mixed up in the middle of a very boisterous crowd of German women. There’s a glass little room there in the middle of the men’s and women’s rooms, and I watched the Italian cleaning lady eating her pizza Bianca and watching these German women wait. At this point, I was rather annoyed, so I walked over to the Metro and went to Termini. In seconds, I was there, paid my .70, and was … relieved.

Why do I share this? The reason is multifold:

· The route is yet another example of how it’s not always quicker to go from Point A to Point B in a straight line. In fact, it was more like those Family Circus comics they used to have, where Billy would take some crazy route to do something otherwise exceptionally banal.

· Elections are coming up next Sunday for Rome, and one of the suggestions for incumbent Walter Veltroni is to make some more public restrooms to accommodate all of the tourists he’s brought into the city.

From Termini, I got on a 175 bus and for lunch decided on an Aventine Secession, yet again. I’m a creature of habit. I had some leftover homemade pizza from last night and fresh, cool Roman mineral water. As I ate, I watched tween French fieldtrippers engage in the centuries-old mating ritual of splashing each other with water, the more enthusiastic ones ending up drenched. I would present the hypothesis that, if in fact the Pagan Slavs came from the Celts, then somewhere along the line, the Gauls got mixed up in things too, after what I saw today. I read Stamboul Train for a while, but I really couldn’t get into it, even though I was kind of interested in the character development, which is surprising for me and Graham Green entertainment novels. The more I think about it, it seems I’ve read it before.

After eating and being rather uncomfortable on the benches without back support after a while, I walked down the hill to the Municipal Rose garden, which is spectacular and lovely. There was a man reading a book about Buddha, and I watched some Gypsy/Roma parents being parental with their two young children.

Deciding it would be a good idea to get back to Trastevere, I went further still down the hill and waited for the 3 tram outside of the FAO headquarters, and in Trastevere I picked up the 8 tram to get to Piazza Belli. Besides a rather long wait, it was uneventful. In Trastevere, I sat and read some more in the shade on the steps of a preschool. Finally, I got back to John Cabot and had a bit of a wait after I returned Stamboul Train to the library, because I said I would, and I couldn’t take it out since my name apparently wasn’t in the database yet. There are lots of nice places to sit outside there, and I had some time to listen to some music, hide behind my sunglasses, and watch my colleagues interact and be American.

My afternoon class begins at 4 (ends at 6), and is taught by the same teacher who I took AP Art History with at MMI. He’s an excellent teacher, and it was great to be in class with him again. Listening to the lecture, in which a lot of the time he put things into their Roman context, I realized how much of what I once knew has become latent in me and also that I forgot my Touring Club Italiano Rome guidebook, so I may pick up another one. It’s got every single little obscure thing in the city in it, and is a fantastic reference book, besides being very small and convenient to carry around, unlike most guidebooks. We’ll be doing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday classes in the classroom, and then on Thursdays meeting at different places in Rome to look at the art first hand.

It took me 45 minutes on the 280 bus from Ponte Sisto to get to Piazza Mancini to get the 301 back up here. In all, it took me 1hr 15mins to get back this evening, but it was not bad as I had the great pleasure of listening to Cavalleria Rusticana for most of the journey.

Since I was mostly disgusting when I walked in the door, I mostly took a shower straightaway and now I feel much better. It was like the feeling one has after getting off the NYC subway times 30. I don't have to wake up tomorrow, but I think I'll be going to bed soon.

Sunday Dinner

Last year Alessandra, the elder of the two daughters of the family I’m living with, went to Mozambique for a month to stay with some missionaries, who are of the Servants of Mary, I think – at least that is the order of priests. At any rate, last night the sister who is the Superior General of the order in Mozambique came with a priest who is O.S.M. She is an African sister who spoke mostly Portuguese but also a little Italian and of course speaks the native language. The priest is Spanish, from La Mancha, but also speaks Portuguese and Italian. Alessandra speaks Spanish and a little Portuguese. Alas, at the dinner table we had Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and a little English spoken. Above all, it was a treat for me because I adore the Portuguese language. I could listen to it constantly – it has such an exotic yet understandable and melodic sound. I love it. …I remember once on the way home from SHU, late at night, my dad and I were at a rest stop, and there was a truck driver there who spoke Portuguese. It made my otherwise monotonous evening on the Turnpike to hear this guy say a few words.

At any rate, we spent nearly all day in the kitchen, and I learned a lot. I got up and took a shower, and then went with Alessandra to the grocery store, but we ended up having to go to two and still not get everything we needed – there was absolutely no basil to be found. I think it’s because they really don’t restock on Sundays, but at any rate, we got most of what we needed. We made:

  • Pizzas: regular, with anchovies, with onions, with buffala and cherry tomatoes. The dough was made at home.
  • Tiramisu
  • Quiche with zucchini – and the secret was mascarpone cheese, which I must remember for future quiche making.
  • Caprese salad, which is tomatoes and buffala mozzarella with basil, but since we didn’t have fresh basil, we used fresh parsley.

Additionally, there was prosciutto and speck that we forgot to serve, plus ice cream for dessert in addition to the tiramisu. Making everything was Alessandra, her boyfriend Andrea, Fulvia, and I helped out too. In the meantime, we also had time to watch a film, Sacre Cuore (Sacred Heart), but it wasn’t an overtly religious film. I almost forgot that for lunch, we had the famous Roman roasted chicken and potatoes. Amazing. The good news is that I don’t think I’ll be dying of hunger soon.

sabato, maggio 20, 2006

Two pictures

I saw this snail as I was walking up and then around the Quirinale Hill. There was a stack of crates, and some friends will know my love for these ephemeral wooden boxes, that every time I see them I have to stop, look, and contemplate taking. Alas, I walked around the boxes, was looking at them, and there was the snail!


At the Scuderie Papale al Quirinale (The Papal Stables on the Quirinal Hill), I saw the exhibit of Antonello da Messina, a late Gothic painter from Southern Italy who was highly influenced by Flemish art, although not so much the International Style. He grew up in Naples and the court at the time was I think Aragonese or something Northern. The stunning Annunciation above was the centerpiece of the exhibit, which was very impressive and brought pieces from all over Europe and even the Metropolitan Museum.
There was one very strange St. Sebastian, not painted by da Messina but similar to one that he did do, where there was this Adonis of a St. Sebastian, with only one arrow sticking out of the thigh, no blood or anything. It looked so sculptural, but also so not normal compared to other, more gory St. Sebastians that are more common perhaps.

venerdì, maggio 19, 2006

Frullati

One Bridget Murray especially will appreciate the following. Continuing in my celebration of banality, Italian style (infinitely better than banality, American style), I stopped off for my first frullato of the summer... Ahhh. And since I'm a 5-minute walk from JCU to the frullato place, one can assume it was the first of many. They were completely out of hazelnuts, which of course was terrible due to my intense infatuation with things hazelnut, so instead I got a biscotti frullato, which was quite excellent considering its lack of hazelnuts. A frullato is frozen yogurt with crushed pieces of frozen fruit or other toppings mixed in it, and I think comparable to TCBY or a DQ Blizzard.

Right after I got my frullato, I was walking down a vicolo and I think I saw a drug deal. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon. After consulting with Alessandra about it today, having thought it over for a day and deciding that it in fact was a drug deal, I know that these things happen in the afternoons here because then the police don't really expect it that much, they suspect more if there are two people in an alley at night instead of the afternoon. I think it was cocaine.

Today there's a bus strike, and so I hung out around here instead of taking the chance of being stranded somewhere in the heat of the afternoon -- the busses are only running during rush hour. I also had to finish my FAFSA, and so that's a weight off of my shoulders. I went and ate some pizza in the park for a while, and had my first peach iced tea, which is arguably one of the best beverages ever invented. The sun is so warm, it's like a blanket, which is such a lovely feeling.

giovedì, maggio 18, 2006

Yesterday

I wanted to post this last night, but then my wireless connection left me and there was no alternative but to wait until today. But I wrote the following last night.


I'm on my way to overcoming jetlag, by having a caffé this afternoon instead of taking a nap. I woke up kind of early, had a bathing experience, and then left the house at somewhere around 9. Having no plans until a 3:30pm appointment at Marymount with the headmistress, I decided it was the perfect day to go to one of my favorite spots in the whole city, the Orange Garden on the Aventine Hill. On the way, I stopped at the Ponte Milvio market for some raspberries and cherries, and then since I got the 32 bus to Risorgimento to pick up the 23, I stopped for some pizza bianca to accompany the fruit at a hole-in-the-wall pizza a taglio between Piazza Risorgimento and St. Peter's Square. At that point, I had to go to the bathroom badly, so thought it would be a good idea to go to the public bathrooms at the Vatican. Having noticed the unusually large crowds, I immediately remembered it was Wednesday morning, and hence just used the restrooms and did not stick around, for multiple reasons. Speaking of the Vatican restrooms, I am reminded of a moderately ribald haiku I once wrote, that I did not realize the complete genius of until I was thinking about it today: ah, the things that rhyme with "Holy See". I should dig it out -- my mom and I had a good laugh about it at the time, and it gave me another few good laughs this morning.


Having escaped the zoo that was the Vatican, I carried on to Trastevere, where I was recommended the fantastic book A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian -- having declined a serious book, the young Irish bookseller recommended this one, and wow, I could easily identify with large parts of the book, which was also quite hysterical and featured several laugh out loud moments. It was kind of like the movie East is East meets the book Everything is Illuminated, but above all, funnier than the two put together.

However, the best part was finally getting up the hill and sitting here:

That’s St. Peter’s straight ahead, and there are not many people there. I read, went over to the fountain to rinse off the raspberries and refill my water container, watched people go by, and watched some vivacious Roman cats play in and out of their cute little tent.

After, I went into the church next door, which is one of my favorites in Rome because it really is very unique and very old and was not renovated much in the Renaissance, Baroque or Rococo into some flowery monstrosity: Santa Sabina. Unfortunately, the photo I took was blurry.

Following that, I decided to head back north, got a 95 bus straight into Villa Borghese and found a bench there for a while before getting the 2 trolley and another bus up to MMI.

My meeting with the headmistress of MMI was very nice, she’s exceptionally busy but gave me a lot of time and we had a good talk. In many ways, she can most definitely understand my life experientially, since she’s basically familiar with every school I’ve gone to, obviously especially MMI. Comparisons odious though they may be, many were made between MMI and VA-DUQ, although of course it could be said, and I would say definitively, that there is no comparison between MMI and VA-DUQ. Marymount is the best international school in Rome, definitely one of the top in Europe and even the world, and has an IB program that VA-DUQ should kill for. We discussed the general lack of education surrounding the IB program, which exists often at MMI just as it does at VA-DUQ and obviously as what recently happened in Upper Saint Clair. I think she’s got a terribly difficult job. There are very impressive plans for building and developing MMI, but even with money I don’t think that the Italian/Roman bureaucracy should be underestimated. I hope everything is successful for them, it’s a great school and a great community.

After I got back, I went out with Alessandra to walk the dog, Zoë. We were gone for we think about an hour and a half, and I learned many Italian vocabulary words having to do with ticks (zecche) and their removal, which should evidently be done with olive oil (of course!) and not tweezers.

Later in the evening, we all watched the first part of an Italian movie, La Meglio Gioventù, and were also flipping back and forth to Viaggi di Nozze (Honeymoons), which had some similarities technically to Best in Show. It takes me back to the first Italian movie I saw without subtitles, the tear-jerking epic Cinema Paradiso.

Final good news, I have begun to get a bit of sun on my face and arms, so at least I no longer am completely nearly translucent and … pasty. The Roman summer is here.

martedì, maggio 16, 2006

Two things I thought about today:

  1. When Pliny the Elder went on the naval boat to rescue the people in Pompeii, he was the only one on the ship who died. Why?
  2. When nearby the Tiber, I think about how many bodies were thrown into the river after being murdered, only to show up a few days later decomposing, but also without any clues as to the murderer, really. The Tiber was not so well-fortified then, it had no measures against floods the way it does now. As a result, bodies washing up everywhere were, at times, quite common.

The Pittsburgh Mafia, et. al.

This morning, I went to Marymount, to see a few people again and to visit a bit. It was good to see everyone again, I don’t know that I would ever want to relive high school again, but at the same time of course I’m not going to forget that part of my life, because it was very happy and very, very good for me at the time.

I talked to a few teachers, the new PR/alumni relations guy, and I have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon with the headmistress. She’s also from Pittsburgh, and evidently there are so many people there now from Pittsburgh or with Pittsburgh connections that there is talk, half-joking, half-serious, of the Pittsburgh Mafia at MMI.

After leaving MMI a little before noon, I headed over to the Vatican to mail a card. Since I was over there, I made a stop at the famous Bar All Brothers, where I had a very refreshing Nastro Azzurro and also the remains of an equally refreshing strawberry frappé. It was too late in the day for a cappuccino. There were quite a few Americans there, and it was so strange to hear the All Brothers speak English, which they do quite well – although all I heard was limited to some people picking out ham and cheese sandwiches. Of course, it was wonderful to see them, to pick up where we left off, which generally is me saying I’ll be back soon, I just don’t know when, so see you next time I see you.

This year is the 500th Anniversary of the Swiss Guards, and there was an interesting exhibit in a small hall right off of St. Peter’s Square. The uniform is traditionally attributed to Michelangelo, but there was something there that says that now they think Raffaello designed them. Additionally, whereas yesterday I was thought to be Polish, today I was spoken to in German as I got my ticket. Go figure. People wonder until they hear me speak Italian, maybe?

After that, I wandered around the Campo Marzio for a while, and I hit also Piazza Navona and the Parliament, both of which I was trying to avoid due to the throngs of people everywhere. I think I ought to wake up early and walk then, when it is still cool and breezy and there is no one out yet. People will be happy to know that all of the bureaucrats involved with the Italian Parliament were out eating ice cream this afternoon in full force.

Earlier, as I was walking by Castel Sant’Angelo, I was thinking about where all of the people who sell the knockoff bags, sunglasses, belts, dancing Minnie Mice, etc live. It turns out, they either live in apartments on the outskirts of town, 10 to a room, or nearby to where I am, in houses where they have shifts, like 6am-noon, noon-6pm, etc to be in there. Also, there are definite countries where these men come from, and most of them are pretty good people, so it's unfortunate that they have such hard work. At the same time, there are always rich people, and they are kind of very visible in Rome. Even just being at Marymount made me feel a little guilty, because it’s such an oasis of privilege in an otherwise unprivileged world. In the whole nurture/nature thing, I think that there are intelligent kids who can’t get a good education, ever, and then there are not-so-intelligent kids who have an amazing education offered to them (paid for them) no problem. Most of us fall somewhere in between.

There are big economic issues here, and Italy is perhaps the most expensive country in Europe right now. This is mostly due to a gigantically scary amount of inflation in these few years after the introduction of the Euro. By gigantically scary, it means that in some cases, prices have doubled, and it does not help that the dollar is struggling so much right now. There are many businesses closed here that were formerly quite successful, just from what I can tell. However, I would also be inclined to blame at least some of it on Berlusconi, the great friend of our dear president. A while ago, one of my friends sent me an e-mail that had been forwarded around all of Italy and most of the world. The message discussed how Berlusconi, as part of his campaign, told Italians that they were making more money now than they were five years ago – but he told them the figures in US dollars. When you figure out the exchange rates, which the author of this message did, it turned out that in fact, Italians were earning on average much less.

At around 3 this afternoon I started back up the Cassia, which right now does not seem like such an arduous journey as I remember it, but that could easily be explained by my current excitement about being here again. I took a nap, a huge luxury after the last month or so at SHU this semester, and went outside with Ilaria as she studied for a literature exam. She’s in liceo classico, and so besides studying Latin and Greek, she has an oral exam tomorrow in ancient Roman literature, but already translated into Italian. It’s of course not easy, and when I asked her what she thought of it, she told me that they’re always telling them that it will open their minds, and sometimes she believes them and sometimes she doesn’t.

Overall, a happy day. It's generally very hot here during the middle of the day -- nearly time to revert to Mad dogs and Englishmen mode.

Something interesting happened this afternoon as I was waiting for the streetcar at Piazzale Flaminio. I got off the 95 bus right as a tram was leaving, and so I saw this guy not get on the tram. I was holding a book, looking around and reseeing a very familiar place. So this guy somehow makes eye contact, comes over to me, and here follows the dialogue, more or less.

him: Does the tram come about every five minutes?
self: Yes, more or less.
him: Are you Italian?
self: Yes. (which isn't really a lie but also not really the truth)
him: That's strange, because you look Polish or something.
self: Actually, I'm American.
him (in English): Really? Because I used to live in New York for 8 years, for 2o years and I was an editor at the New Yorker. (or something totally strange like that)
self: (blank stare)

Finally, the tram comes, and so I get on and sit down where he can't sit next to me. He was standing over me kind of, and I take out my book and start reading. Thankfully, yet also strangely, he gets off the tram.

lunedì, maggio 15, 2006

I've arrived.

Alas, everything is well. I'm alive, well-rested, and content thus far.

Yesterday morning, I arrived in Rome, and then after making a stop on the way back, returned to my old neighborhood off of via Cassia. Things are familiar, but it's like I've just returned from having amnesia or something, and sort-of remember everything, but not quite, and the same for everyone else with respect to me. As a result, there's a certain degree of familiarity, but then it comes back to confuse me at some point. The following example, for example: Today, I wanted to go get pizza from my favorite place, at Piazza Risorgimento, and it was formerly called Pazzi per Pizza. Today, I happen upon Paradiso Pizzestre, in the same location and with the same pizzaiolo. Then, shortly thereafter, I happen upon Pazzi per Pizza again in Piazza Trilussa, nearby John Cabot University. I remain kind of confused and will have to see what happened.

I was awake between about 2am and 5am, so I finished the rereading of a John Grisham novel. At 5am I finally went back to sleep, thinking I'd wake up kind of soon again, but instead I woke up at noon! This is after going to sleep at about 8am the night before! So I'm well-rested. I went to John Cabot today, made sure things are cool and found out when I have to be there, which is on Thursday around 2:30pm for orientation. I'm not sure what to expect.

My bus pass is expired, and you can't buy monthly passes in the middle of the month, so I paid €16 for a week bus pass, with 2 weeks left in the month, and a monthly student bus pass only costs €18. So for next week, I was advised to get single passes and then be careful... We'll see. Of course at the first of the month I'll get a monthly pass.

It's beautiful weather here, a lovely 70-75 degrees and sunny. I walked around Trastevere, around the centro between the river and Largo Argentina. My body needs to adjust a bit to the temperature, and I need to drink more water. I sneezed a bit today.

I've begun reading Paulo Coelho's book The Zahir, which I like quite a bit so far, as with all of the books he's written that I've read. I also got a book called Chiesa e Religione Popolare nel Mezzogiorno (The Church and Popular Religion in Southern Italy), which I hope will answer some questions. On the plane, I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Johnathan Safran-Foer, who does an amazing job of connecting different times and places and making that into a story, as he first did with the fantastic Everything is Illuminated.

Finally, the speaking Italian is going well. When I'm where I'm staying, I have to speak Italian, even though English is kind of a possibility in a pinch, but everyone's kind and complimentary about my skills, which makes me happy, but also needing to keep working at it. Happily enough, I am also being introduced to some words and phrases in Romanesco, which is cool and also useful.

venerdì, maggio 12, 2006

Welcome!

Dear Techno-Savvy Family and Friends,
As many of you know, I'll be studying in Italy this summer from 14 May until the end of July. In lieu of sending out mass e-mails, I've set up a blog specifically for the summer and to document my adventures. Please feel free to forward this blog along to anyone I may have missed, or even to others I may not know -- the Internet is very democratic this way. Even after many years of traveling in Italy, there will be much new about this experience for me and I look forward to it.
If you're unsure of what a blog is, you can start here. If you use an RSS reader or aggregator, the feed is here. I'll be setting up an LiveJournal feed soon, but I haven't yet, so if you use that, hang on. If you want to e-mail a specific post to someone, you can click the small envelope icon at the end of each post.
I anticipate being able to update quite frequently, however I won't know for sure until I get to Rome. Thank you for your support and for sharing in this adventure with me. Happy summer!
Ciao!

housekeeping

Images for the blog