Half-way through!

After living here in Italy for over a month, I have to say that my confidence has spiked. I feel comfortable attending music events, ordering in restaurants and cafes, taking the bus to different parts of town, navigating through the city, and meeting up with Italian friends. That’s not to say that I don’t have moments where I feel very out of my comfort zone, but the frequency of those moments has significantly decreased. I’m proud to say that in Italian I can ask for things behind the counter at most stores and buy a train ticket at the station without any problem.

In addition to living in a foreign country, living in my own apartment has also been an adjustment. I’ve only lived in a dorm room with a meal plan at Alma. I’ve now mastered how to live on a budget and how to cook. In fact, cooking has become a new hobby of mine. With so much free time because of our low course-load (in comparison to classes at Alma), I try to cook almost every night. Usually meals are pasta dishes with chicken, lots of fresh veggies, Maceratesi wine, and fresh bread from the bakery across the street. I love having people over for dinner too. I’m going to really miss this kind of lifestyle when I go back to dorm life and a meal plan.

Classes are as fascinating as ever. I’m taking the History of Art and Architecture, Making Renaissance Italy, Modern Italy, Italian language, and Cross-Cultural Communications. Learning all of the Roman, medieval and renaissance history of Italy makes living here so much more meaningful. I’ve gotten better at determining the time period of the buildings, cathedrals, and the art that I encounter on a daily basis. I’m constantly asking questions in my classes and on our excursions to take in as much as I can.

I finished up midterm exams this week. It’s been a little difficult trying to figure out the vague expectations of my Italian professors because my only grades are my exams. It’s apparently very uncommon to have multiple choice exams in the Italy, therefore most of my exams were solely 3-6 essay questions. Hopefully I did well on them.

Today started the first day of spring break! I’m extremely excited because my parents are flying into Venice tomorrow. We’re going to spend the week together in Venice, Florence, and Pompeii. My sister Emily and brother-in-law Chris are meeting up with us in Naples and then everyone is going to stay in Macerata for a few nights! It will be so great to share everything I’ve learned with them. This will be their first overseas trip too and I can’t wait to experience it with them. Tomorrow I’m going to take the train to meet my parents in Venice. It should be an adventure because I haven’t made a trip that far by myself yet. Wish me luck!

Carnevale di Venezia

Since I last wrote, I took my first trip outside Le Marche (where Macerata is located). Two other American friends and I took an overnight university bus to Venice to see the Carnevale spectacle. Carnevale is celebrated across Italy for 10 days before the beginning of lent. Adults and children wear costumes similar to our Halloween costumes, throw paper confetti, and eat lots of deep-fried Carnevale cookies and pastries. Venice is famous for its century-old tradition of dressing in Renaissance costumes and masks.

The journey there was exhausting on many levels, however. The cramped charter bus ride was certainly a full immersion experience. The day trip was advertised for the University of Macerata students so Rai, Diana and I were the only Americans. We left Macerata at 4:00am so that we could arrive in Venice at 10:30am. Luckily, we knew about 5 other Italian girls on the trip who were a huge help in navigating the winding streets of Venice and communicating with other people. Sandwiched between a group of seven girls loudly gabbing away in Italian and a couple’s endless, passionate smooching behind my seat (a common sight in Italy), I hardly slept on the ride. It was a relief when we arrived at Mestre and took a train to the island of Venice.

The city was absolutely breath-taking. For the first time in weeks, the sun shone brightly, making the colors of the buildings and the water so vibrant. Understanding the history of Venice made it even more fulfilling. Venice was one of major trade ports in Italy for hundreds of years. It’s known for connecting eastern European trade with the western world because many merchants from Constantinople (the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire) stopped there. Therefore, the architecture of the cathedrals, the doge’s palace, and the clock tower in the main square of San Marco look very Byzantine. It’s renowned for being one of the most unique and peculiar places on earth because of its unique location, its history, and its eastern influences. The magnificence of the ancient city, the elaborate Renaissance costumes, and the glittering masks of Carnevale was like walking in a dream.

Unfortunately during our walk to San Marco (the main square) to see the Flight of the Angels performance, I started to see spots. Though I refused to admit it to myself at first, I was getting a migraine. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew, I was lying down in the room of a random hotel in excruciating pain. Luckily with my medicine, I was only out for about an hour, and we still had adequate time to experience Venice. Rai (my roommate) was an incredible friend and stayed by my side the whole time.

Even though we missed the parade and a few performances in San Marco, we had a fantastic time exploring the city. Near the end of the day, we bought masks and took a boat ride through the Grand Canal. The view of the city from the water as the sun set was something I’ll never forget. We left Venice at 6:00pm and got home to Macerata around midnight despite class at 8:30 the next morning. It was so worth it!

Making it in Macerata

I apologize for the huge delay in writing this entry. Time has gone by extremely fast. I can hardly believe that I’ve been in Italy for over three weeks! Many of my initial perceptions have changed and I feel much more comfortable living and navigating in Macerata, and even conversing with Italians. It’s so nice to finally start seeing some familiar faces because Macerata is a small town. For example, we’ve made friends with the man in the vegetable shop across the street (where we buy at least thirty mandarin oranges a week--they are so addicting!), the two ladies in the shop where we buy fresh prosciutto and cheese, and some Italian university students who participate in the Tandem Program.

The Tandem Program started during our second week. Each of us was paired up with an Italian student that we meet with at least two hours a week. Because I just started learning Italian, my partner Andrea practices his English with me. We’ve met three times so far and we have a lot in common because he’s a philosophy major and I’m studying history. It’s so comforting to know that he’s happy to answer any questions I have about Italian culture. We usually meet from 7pm to 9pm in a café for aperetivo. During the hours of aperetivo you can order a drink at any bar and they provide free snacks like bruschetti and olives.

Since I last wrote, we’ve gone on two different excursions. The first was a walking tour of Macerata to see the historical sights. The tour lasted all day and we were absolutely freezing the whole time. But regardless of the cold, learning the medieval and Renaissance history of the Macerata region is so fascinating to me. We examine the architectural features of every building we see. I’ve learned that the Romanesque architecture is known for its semi-circular arches, thick walls, and small windows because people were still figuring out how to build windows and doorways without making the wall collapse.

In the Palazzo Comunale, we saw ancient tombstones and plaques of the Etruscans (the people who settled in Italy before the Romans) and the Romans.

We saw the old headquarter of the Universitá di Macerata that was established in 1290. On the wall of the Universitá, there were a variety of plaques that commemorated famous professors.

We examined the ornate interior of many churches, including Chiesa di Santa Maria Della Porta, the Cattedrale di San Giuliano, and the Basilica di Santa Maria Della Misericordia. We also walked to the Fonte Maggione, where Roman women would wash their clothes and collect clean water.

My favorite was the Cattedrale di San Giuliano (the main cathedral in Macerata dedicated to Saint Julian, the patron saint of town). It was built in 1313. At that time, clergy included stories of Christ in vast paintings and carvings to educate the illiterate peasants. Because of this, all of the ornate details in the cathedrals are full of symbolism. The paintings are breathtaking.

The following day we visited Civitanova, a town located on the Adriatic Sea known for its fish market. We went to the market and ate at a seafood restaurant for lunch. I’m not much of a seafood person, so I was less than thrilled to see deep-fried fish with their heads and tails still on and whole shrimp that still had their beady eyes. After awhile though we couldn’t help but play with them (something only stupid Americans would do), which seemed to amuse the Italians who were seated at nearby tables. After lunch we walked along the Adriatic Sea. It was beautiful even though the sky was gray. I can only imagine how pretty it is in the summer.

Last weekend during out excursion, we visited the nearby town of San Ginesio, the Abbazia di Chiaravalle di Fiastra (a Benedictine abbey) and the Castello della Rancia (my first castle!). Each location demonstrated material culture of a historical period we’ve discussed in class. For example, in San Ginesio, we examined many frescoes in the crypt of a church that were painted during Black Death. The expressive faces in the paintings emphasized the atrocity of the Black Death. We learned how the images were meant to give comfort to those who were mourning plague victims. In one fresco, Mary is sitting in a chair with Christ’s dead body across her lap that is covered in boils, implying that he too died of the plague.

We even saw Roman artifacts from the ruins of a nearby Roman town called Urbs Salvia that was destroyed by the Barbarian Migration that caused the fall of the Western Empire. There were Roman roof shingles that still bore the stamp of town, marble signs that marked the entrances to Roman temples, and artifacts that were buried with people in the Necopoli, the city of the dead.

Sorry for the history lesson. I could go on and on about this stuff. I can’t even explain how amazing it is to learn about these things in class and then go out and see the history during our excursions!

This Sunday we’re going to Venice for Carnevale, which is an annual 10 day festival that takes place across Italy before Lent. Carnevale in Venice is very similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It’s a big masquerade where people dress up in medieval costumes. It’s been a tradition for hundreds of years. I am so excited!

I inserted some pictures to my previous blog entries. Feel free to check them out. I’ll try to update more frequently. Also, thanks for everyone’s feedback. It’s very helpful because I’m new to blogging. Feel free to tell me what you think!