Festeggiate!

I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted. The new classes have been keeping me busy. Between them and trying to experience everything around me, I haven't had much time for reflection or communicating back home. Maybe that's a good thing, but I wanted to let you know that I'm still here. I'll get to my classes at another time, but I wanted to let you in on the biggest thing that's going on right now: CARNEVALE!

It's hard to understand Carnevale without drawing up from a plethora of American experiences. The motive of celebration comes from a religious background, much like Mardi Gras. Soon, according to tradition, the people will be called on to fast and to reflect, so now they celebrate while they still can! People dress up like at Halloween, but dance and sing in a way that we can't fathom as Americans. Everyone buys in to the tradition. It only becomes obvious that you are an outsider if you are not dressed up, which happened several times.


I was first hinted at the beginning of real celebration when on my daily walk stumbled on a mass of people in the city center. I diverted my planned route to investigate and found costumed children running around loosely followed by parents and grandparents who were being covered by handfuls of confetti. There were also pockets of pre-teens too cool for costumes who could still celebrate with silly string and handfuls of shaving cream.


I chose to celebrate with some of my friends by taking a trip to Viareggio. Every year there is a celebration by the sea that lasts a month before Lent and is full of all types of activities. We were only there for the day but experienced quite a celebration. There was a parade I could only compare to what I have seen on television every year on Thanksgiving, but am sorry that I can't describe it any better than that. As we say at Meredith College, "You just have to experience it!" We spent the day dancing and singing along ("Y.M.C.A." was played four times in about 6 hours!), throwing confetti on strangers, and staring in complete disbelief at the incredible floats that passed by. On a side note, there were some effigies that made different cultural values evident. If you want to see more of Carnevale, view the pictures and videos in my "Fotografie" link. But for a quick taste of the experience, here's a video I'll leave you (but please excuse the poor videography). Buon divertimento!

Everyday Adventures

I've been told that I need to update my blog so that's why I've started this post, but I must admit that I don't know of much to tell you. Sure, my days have been busy, but I had been thinking about any spectacular event I found necessary to recall and couldn't think of anything right off the bat. So I need to apologize because I'm a brat.

I've been here 3 weeks and I've just realized that I'm already taking things for granted. Not in the traditional sense; I'm still going on my walks and trying to practice my Italian. I'm una monella because experiencing the exceptional has become an everyday activity. So much so that I occasionally forget that it's not normal to go on scavenger hunts and to walk into ornate churches by chance, but I'll get those stories in time.


First off, I spent my weekend in Florence. The city's only 45 minutes away in autobus. It's okay, you can be jealous (but I have to admit that Siena is still better). A group of us made the trip up there and met some amici I have kept up with since last summer that live in Florence. They only speak in Italian, so it was really nice to have a fun way to practice with no pressure. I decided to stay the night and ended up being really happy with that decision. My friends and I saw a huge group of people and tons of polizia and when we went to investigate found an anti-facist group. Interesting, to say the least.

But continuing, I was just chilling at the Ponte Vecchio, having a grand old time when I see my friend from Meredith College Sheryl 2 passi da me. I couldn't even believe it! I wasn't even able to form words I was so shocked. I took 2 steps and wrapped my arms around her without giving her any kind of warning. Like any normal person, she screamed. EVERYONE turned to look at us and out of complete incredibility of the situation we spent the entirety of the next 2 minutes laughing so hard we couldn't breathe. I knew she'd be in the city, but the city is ginormous and we happened to be in the same place. The more experience I have, the smaller this world gets and I love it!





















There are some really great places in Florence that I got to see (like the Church of Santa Croce pictured below), but there is far too much even for a weekend. I guess I'll just have to go back. Darn! But no worries because I have been having more adventures here in Siena since I returned. I'm not sure if you know, but I am enthralled by all things Siena including le contrade, le fontane, e il Palio. (For more general information, click on this great video I found or look at my post from this summer.) Some people call my passion obession, but whatever. I've been using my daily walks to find the baptismal fonts of each contrada.

Tuesday I went looking for the Oca (Goose) fountain but instead found the House of St. Catherine. I got there 5 minutes before mass, took the timely arrival as fate, and walked into a totally different atmosphere. So much so that my jaw dropped. This little church was gorgeous! The colorful paintings and the gold embellishments--I was shocked! There's nothing like that in the States. Un prioprio italiano laughed at me and reminded me that the Renaissance happened here in Italy before the United States existed. Gee, thanks!

But still no Oca fountain, yet the search continues. Today I found 2 new ones I'd never seen before along with a few others I already knew of, but I'm still lacking 8 of the 17. Eventually I will take pictures but for now I'm using the fountains as landmarks to learn the city streets. When I know how to get back to them on my own, then I'll take a picture. Until then, aspettate!

Daily Discoveries

I've been busy to say the least. But even looking back on things, busy is much different in Italy than it is in America. It's healthier and more enjoyable at first glance. On a crazy night with a lot of homework I get 7.5 hours of sleep instead of 3 back home. And while it feels like I've been in school from 9-5 all day, I still have time to take walks around the city as I mentioned before. Thanks to a terrific friend who made me promise to go in giro each day, I take time to "get lost" in the Siena. This part of the day is undoubtedly my favorite. I stumble across different ways to get home or things that I saw last summer that I forgot about. Ci sono i tesori dappertutto! (There are treasures everywhere!) Maybe next time I'll remember to take my camera and document it for you.

But getting to the events of the week, each day starts the same. My brisk walk across the north part of the city-my average travel time lands at 13 minutes-ends when I arrive at school just in time to open the doors of the Siena School as the bells of San Domenico chime. I slip into class and each day starts with our trip to the Wonderful World of Italian Grammar. A bit like Disneyworld, but not. After 2 weeks of this same thing, I can resolutely say that Italian grammar class and English grammar class are equally painful.

But I've made some more discoveries. At the close of the second week, either 1) my brain is learning how to learn quicker, or 2) my mind is starting to think in Italian. Or both. I'd be happy with that, too. Classes are becoming less painful and I'm less likely to hesitate before speaking. And two days in a row I haven't had a headache at the end of the day! I don't know exactly what's happening, but I think that is a GREAT sign!

Continuing on, we had course presentations this week. I attended them all just to get a feeling for each of the classes. Taking the pulse of the school, I think everyone is pretty excited. Excited to take other classes besides Italian and to get to know new and very interesting people. There are 6 new professors who are bringing with them a wave of excitement about their subject for us to tap into. Some are Italian, some are immigrants, but all have very interesting stories. There is still a whole week of intensive Italian before we get started, but time is already flying by so I'm sure I can wait a little bit longer.

Ho togliato la testa del toro (I cut the head of the bull, or made a decision when doubting between choices) and I'll be taking the two part Sociology class and Creative Writing. I'll go into more detail about them when we get started, but I wanted to talk about getting inspired by Jackie. I don't consider myself a creative person, but Jackie, the photography instructor, talked about the Photography class's requirement to keep a photo journal. I started today. I'll leave you with some of them. A dopo!