Have you ever had a moment in your life when you just thought, there is too much information in my brain? I am thinking too much, and wondering too much and you kind of wish you could just turn it off? Well since you can't answer back, I'm going to assume, for my own sanity, that you said yes. Well up until yesterday for probably about seventy-two hours straight, that was my life. Now I'm not trying to complain, I'm not, because I know 99.9% of college kids have felt the exact same thing at one time or another. And do you want to know why, because here in Perugia, its FINALS week!!
And with two finals on Monday and one on Tuesday my study time was very much not my own this weekend and the beginning of this week. And on my last week in Perugia! In the words of Stephanie Tanner (yes I was a HUGE Full House fan when I was like ten) ... How Rude! So instead of fabulous European adventures full of new experiences and fun sights, this weekend, I saw the inside of the Umbra buildings and the four walls of my bedroom. Though again, I can't complain because I really did come here to go to school and learn. And I did! I learned a lot more than I thought that I did, so studying wasn't horribly difficult, just A LOT of information in NOT A LOT of time! And add that to packing, trying to enjoy my last week in Italy and thinking about going home and back to the US and my brain was just chock full of information. Like can't fall asleep/just want to stare at a wall/feel like your brain is going to explode in an instant kind of full of information. Well thats how I felt this week, and while it might not be as exciting as most of my weekly posts, or in any way as eloquent, its what this last week in Perugia has been like.
Though it hasn't been all bad. They finally lit the Christmas lights, and they're pumping Christmas music (American Christmas music) through loud speakers all over town. And Perugia is just glowing! This is the most adorably quaint Italian city ever created and it has been a blast seeing it go through the changing of the seasons and see the new preparations for the Christmas season. In the end, it has been the perfect place to study abroad I think and I could not imagine being absolutely anywhere else!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
I’ve had my run, Baby I'm Done, I gotta go home, Let me go Home
Well, its official, one week form today and I'll be making my way back to the US. And you know what? I can't tell which I am more, happy or sad. These past 3 months have been absolutely amazing. They have been even more unbelievable that I ever imagined, and I am one hundred percent positive that this is where I was supposed to be this fall. I have seen amazing things, made great friends and learned a lot about myself. And I wouldn't trade any of my experiences (even the not so pleasant ones) for anything in the world.
That all being said though, I cannot wait to get home. I spent this past summer living at home and spending practically every waking our with my best friends or some member of my family, and its really hard to just go cold turkey and not see any of them for months. Especially when this is the longest I've ever gone being away from any of them before. But I am happy to report that this (well the past few weeks) have been the first times I have felt homesick. I am quite impressed that I have managed to keep those feelings at bay for most of my time here. Quite an accomplishment in my book! So seeing as how there is only so much time left of my study abroad experience how about a lovely little list of all (er well most) of the things I'm going to miss about life in Perugia!
1. My friends especially my roommates who are probably the funnest craziest group of girls I've ever met and whom I've become ridiculously close to after such a short time.
2. The scenery - walking through these streets past adorably old and ornate Italian buildings and being able to glimpse the Italian countryside everyday, its going to be hard to give that up.
3. My professors! (yes I did in fact go to classes and learn things this semester!) But my Italian teacher is an awesome woman and my Food Cultures professor makes us laugh everyday - I'm going to miss them and their antics.
4. The food - everything is so unbelievably fresh and delicious here. And especially gelatto around every corner! (Why the US hasn't caught that trend yet, I'll never know)
5. Traveling and having adventures every weekend. Sure I can travel around the US, but how often can you just whisk away every weekend and end up in new and interesting countries? Not that often I'd say.
6. The people who work at the little grocery store around the corner from me who I see probably on a daily basis as there always seems to be something our apartment is out of.
7. My room. I have a single in my apartment, so I have a good amount of privacy, but I also have an extra bed in my room, so on any given night, I tend to have surprise roommates as my roommates have taken turns sleeping in this extra bed. (I have 5 roommates and I have managed to have them all as a roommate for at least one night, if not more). Also it has impossibly tall ceilings and beautiful exposed wood. And my window is right over an adorable little street.
8. Writing in this BLOG. Sure I can keep it up when I get home, but really who wants to read about things that aren't my European adventures? But I will say I've enjoyed writing it thus far. It's been a nice way to keep track of all my adventures here, but also I love that I get to "talk" to each of you who read it at least twice a week. I actually have no idea how many people read this thing, but I would like to say thank you for those that do. I can't imagine that my posts have always been exciting or interesting, but thanks for coming back and reading it anyway! It's been fun. :) Though don't get too sad yet, this isn't the last one. I've still got at least two more posts I'm required to make!
That all being said though, I cannot wait to get home. I spent this past summer living at home and spending practically every waking our with my best friends or some member of my family, and its really hard to just go cold turkey and not see any of them for months. Especially when this is the longest I've ever gone being away from any of them before. But I am happy to report that this (well the past few weeks) have been the first times I have felt homesick. I am quite impressed that I have managed to keep those feelings at bay for most of my time here. Quite an accomplishment in my book! So seeing as how there is only so much time left of my study abroad experience how about a lovely little list of all (er well most) of the things I'm going to miss about life in Perugia!
1. My friends especially my roommates who are probably the funnest craziest group of girls I've ever met and whom I've become ridiculously close to after such a short time.
2. The scenery - walking through these streets past adorably old and ornate Italian buildings and being able to glimpse the Italian countryside everyday, its going to be hard to give that up.
3. My professors! (yes I did in fact go to classes and learn things this semester!) But my Italian teacher is an awesome woman and my Food Cultures professor makes us laugh everyday - I'm going to miss them and their antics.
4. The food - everything is so unbelievably fresh and delicious here. And especially gelatto around every corner! (Why the US hasn't caught that trend yet, I'll never know)
5. Traveling and having adventures every weekend. Sure I can travel around the US, but how often can you just whisk away every weekend and end up in new and interesting countries? Not that often I'd say.
6. The people who work at the little grocery store around the corner from me who I see probably on a daily basis as there always seems to be something our apartment is out of.
7. My room. I have a single in my apartment, so I have a good amount of privacy, but I also have an extra bed in my room, so on any given night, I tend to have surprise roommates as my roommates have taken turns sleeping in this extra bed. (I have 5 roommates and I have managed to have them all as a roommate for at least one night, if not more). Also it has impossibly tall ceilings and beautiful exposed wood. And my window is right over an adorable little street.
8. Writing in this BLOG. Sure I can keep it up when I get home, but really who wants to read about things that aren't my European adventures? But I will say I've enjoyed writing it thus far. It's been a nice way to keep track of all my adventures here, but also I love that I get to "talk" to each of you who read it at least twice a week. I actually have no idea how many people read this thing, but I would like to say thank you for those that do. I can't imagine that my posts have always been exciting or interesting, but thanks for coming back and reading it anyway! It's been fun. :) Though don't get too sad yet, this isn't the last one. I've still got at least two more posts I'm required to make!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Where's my happy Ending?
Now I know what you're thinking after that title, silly Brittany, there's no way you can unhappy, you're in Italy having an amazing adventure full of new and exciting things. And it's true, I am, and I'm having a fabulous time doing it ... but honestly, if there is one thing that Italy is missing - it's someone to be in love with! This is probably the most romantic and adorable place I've ever been, and not having a special someone to share it with, not so fantastic. True, I have my girlfriends and all of the new friends I've made here, but Europeans are simply the most romantic people I've ever met! And this weekend, in Venice, I realized that as never before!
Venice is beautiful! It's probably my favorite city in Italy, second maybe only to Perugia, because its where I live. But Venice is unbelievable! It is literally like something out of a movie, a mix between Pirates of the Carribean and Peter Pan. You can be told that there is water where streets should and boats where cars should be, but until you see it in person, theres no way to understand it. It is the coolest place I think I've ever seen. And while its a pretty large place, its pretty impossible to get lost. Jess and I got off the train and headed straight for the Piazza San Marco, or so we thought. Because really, there is no straight streets from one place to the other. It is literally a maze of backroads and winding alleyways, all very safe, just a little confusing. I think we took some wrong turns somewhere and eventually had to buy a map. After of course accidentally bumping into the Realto bridge. We took pictures, not realizing that that was exactly what we had found, and later came upon it again only to realize that we had in fact just bumped into the famous Realto bridge! We eventually made our way to St.Mark's Square, a really cool open square surrouned on three sides with short rows of buildings and loggia (rows of arches that extend past a buildings fascade to create a covered walkway) and on the third side with the St.Mark's Cathedral. Which is probably the most beautiful cathedral fascade I've ever seen. It has three arches, one large one flanked by two smaller ones and they are so ornately decorated, each top of the arch full of a gorgeously colored fresco. And many tiny flecks of gold mosaic looking peices. This probably isn't even an accurate description, but its all I can manage to put into words at this point. And the inside is just as incredible. The ceiling is literally covered in this gold flaked mosaic. And the Cathedral is huge! It was one of the biggest, most ornately decorated (as far ceilings go) cathedral that I've seen.
Before heading inside the church though, we climbed the bell tower next to the Cathedral - and again I say, if you ever come to Italy, climb the bell towers, they'll give you the best views you can get. And the views from this bell tower, did not disappoint! The water surrounding Venice stretched out for miles, and you could see the city for what it actually was, and island. It was phenomenal. Especially when, much to out surprise, the bells started chiming! And chiming is probably not the most accurate description as chime denotes a small, tiny noise and this was anything but tiny. These massive bells were swaying almost violently back and forth clanging and banging marking off the hour (it had just turned 2 o'clock) and it was awesome to be in the tower while this happened (even though my hearing might be worse for it!).
That night, we ate the typical Venice meal of fresh seafood and did some touristy souvenir shopping and picked up some beautiful Murano glass pieces (something that Venice is famous for).
The next day we wandered more around the city, hopping on and off, the vapporetto which is the public transportation there, and in fact is a ferry boat, not the usual bus or train. But even in our wanderings and stumbling into various beautiful squares and churches, we never got lost. Venice isn't a small place, but once you get inside the little back streets, which are more like walkways than streets since they are sans cars, you literally just walk in circles until you're right back where you started. And usually, that means you get back to the Grande Canal. Which is the main "street" in Venice and probably the most well known, as it houses the Realto and begins near the Piazza San Marco. And it was this interesting color blue. Not necessarily crystal clear, but sort of a hazy aqua color, quite pretty.
Venice (Venizia in Italia) is a gorgeous gorgeous city, full of the smell of ocean, beautiful glas sculptures and gondolas as far as the eye can see. But it is such a romantic spot, going without that special someone tends to feel a bit like you were cheated. So my suggestion, if you ever go, go with someone you love, or unfortunately, you might leave feeling like you missed out on some of Venice's charm.
Venice is beautiful! It's probably my favorite city in Italy, second maybe only to Perugia, because its where I live. But Venice is unbelievable! It is literally like something out of a movie, a mix between Pirates of the Carribean and Peter Pan. You can be told that there is water where streets should and boats where cars should be, but until you see it in person, theres no way to understand it. It is the coolest place I think I've ever seen. And while its a pretty large place, its pretty impossible to get lost. Jess and I got off the train and headed straight for the Piazza San Marco, or so we thought. Because really, there is no straight streets from one place to the other. It is literally a maze of backroads and winding alleyways, all very safe, just a little confusing. I think we took some wrong turns somewhere and eventually had to buy a map. After of course accidentally bumping into the Realto bridge. We took pictures, not realizing that that was exactly what we had found, and later came upon it again only to realize that we had in fact just bumped into the famous Realto bridge! We eventually made our way to St.Mark's Square, a really cool open square surrouned on three sides with short rows of buildings and loggia (rows of arches that extend past a buildings fascade to create a covered walkway) and on the third side with the St.Mark's Cathedral. Which is probably the most beautiful cathedral fascade I've ever seen. It has three arches, one large one flanked by two smaller ones and they are so ornately decorated, each top of the arch full of a gorgeously colored fresco. And many tiny flecks of gold mosaic looking peices. This probably isn't even an accurate description, but its all I can manage to put into words at this point. And the inside is just as incredible. The ceiling is literally covered in this gold flaked mosaic. And the Cathedral is huge! It was one of the biggest, most ornately decorated (as far ceilings go) cathedral that I've seen.
Before heading inside the church though, we climbed the bell tower next to the Cathedral - and again I say, if you ever come to Italy, climb the bell towers, they'll give you the best views you can get. And the views from this bell tower, did not disappoint! The water surrounding Venice stretched out for miles, and you could see the city for what it actually was, and island. It was phenomenal. Especially when, much to out surprise, the bells started chiming! And chiming is probably not the most accurate description as chime denotes a small, tiny noise and this was anything but tiny. These massive bells were swaying almost violently back and forth clanging and banging marking off the hour (it had just turned 2 o'clock) and it was awesome to be in the tower while this happened (even though my hearing might be worse for it!).
That night, we ate the typical Venice meal of fresh seafood and did some touristy souvenir shopping and picked up some beautiful Murano glass pieces (something that Venice is famous for).
The next day we wandered more around the city, hopping on and off, the vapporetto which is the public transportation there, and in fact is a ferry boat, not the usual bus or train. But even in our wanderings and stumbling into various beautiful squares and churches, we never got lost. Venice isn't a small place, but once you get inside the little back streets, which are more like walkways than streets since they are sans cars, you literally just walk in circles until you're right back where you started. And usually, that means you get back to the Grande Canal. Which is the main "street" in Venice and probably the most well known, as it houses the Realto and begins near the Piazza San Marco. And it was this interesting color blue. Not necessarily crystal clear, but sort of a hazy aqua color, quite pretty.
Venice (Venizia in Italia) is a gorgeous gorgeous city, full of the smell of ocean, beautiful glas sculptures and gondolas as far as the eye can see. But it is such a romantic spot, going without that special someone tends to feel a bit like you were cheated. So my suggestion, if you ever go, go with someone you love, or unfortunately, you might leave feeling like you missed out on some of Venice's charm.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Christmas is all around us ...
What's that you say? It's not December yet? Yes well I know, but maybe someone should clue the Italians in, because they've started their Christmas prep already. Here in Perugia, Christmas lights are being strung across every street! Hundreds of power lines connecting the dangling ropes of lights are being hung from every building! It's yet another exciting time here in the the beautiful city of Perugia, and I can't help but wonder if they ever stop preparing for an event of some kind!
However, I have been doing my research on Christmas in Italy, as much out of my own interest, as I have to give an oral presentation in Italian class next week (5 minutes speaking nothing but Italian ... oh my!) and I've picked the Christmas holiday as my topic! It turns out that in this lovely country, Christmas is not a day or two long affair, but instead, its about a month long celebration with various holidays throughout it! It begins next week sometime, though we've heard our Christmas lights on the street will be lit this weekend, and last until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. They have several traditions that seem like they would be fun additions to our usual family celebrations. One of my favorites, is that instead of sending a letter to Santa about how good they've been all year, the children here write one to their parents about how thankful they are for the year they've had with them and place it under their fathers plate to be read at Christmas Eve dinner! Another favorite is that they have something call an "Urn of Fate" and they put all of their presents into this urn and take turns drawing out presents one at a time for each family member and they open them together. They also have something that is known as "il ceppo" or the tree of light, and its a large wooden pyramid shaped frame with different tiers, the bottom one holding a manger scene and different small gifts of fruit and candy above it. Much like our Christmas tree, it is ornately decorated with these small gifts. One of the most well known traditions, is the Feast of the 7 Fishes on Christmas Eve night which takes place because back in early Christianity, Christmas Eve was a religious Feast day, and no meat could be eaten. Probably the biggest difference in celebrations though, has to do with children receiving presents from Santa. It is not Bobo Natale (Santa) who brings children presents, but La Befana, a nice old which who was asked by the wise men to come adore the new Christ Child. She refused, and later, when she saw how brightly the North Star was shining, realized she may have made a mistake. So she set off on her own to find the baby Jesus and got lost, along with the presents that she was bringing him. So instead, she gives her presents to the children of Italy. Italians share our tradition of stalking being 'hung on the fireplace' and good children do receive candy and things and bad children receive cobbone (or coal), or in the modern day case, black crystallized candy.
Christmas is an exciting time in any country I think, and I can't wait to get home and start celebrating! In fact, I already know that my first weekend home, I am already promised to two large traditions in my family, a family friend's traditional Christmas party and the getting of the Christmas tree ( a now 24 year running tradition in my household! Though I myself will only be experiencing my 21st lovely celebration of this tradition!). But even though I like my own traditions at home, and being able to celebrate with my friends and family, it is nice to think about other people around the world and the different ways in which they celebrate! Who knows, maybe I'll even bring a few of these new Italian traditions home with me!
However, I have been doing my research on Christmas in Italy, as much out of my own interest, as I have to give an oral presentation in Italian class next week (5 minutes speaking nothing but Italian ... oh my!) and I've picked the Christmas holiday as my topic! It turns out that in this lovely country, Christmas is not a day or two long affair, but instead, its about a month long celebration with various holidays throughout it! It begins next week sometime, though we've heard our Christmas lights on the street will be lit this weekend, and last until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. They have several traditions that seem like they would be fun additions to our usual family celebrations. One of my favorites, is that instead of sending a letter to Santa about how good they've been all year, the children here write one to their parents about how thankful they are for the year they've had with them and place it under their fathers plate to be read at Christmas Eve dinner! Another favorite is that they have something call an "Urn of Fate" and they put all of their presents into this urn and take turns drawing out presents one at a time for each family member and they open them together. They also have something that is known as "il ceppo" or the tree of light, and its a large wooden pyramid shaped frame with different tiers, the bottom one holding a manger scene and different small gifts of fruit and candy above it. Much like our Christmas tree, it is ornately decorated with these small gifts. One of the most well known traditions, is the Feast of the 7 Fishes on Christmas Eve night which takes place because back in early Christianity, Christmas Eve was a religious Feast day, and no meat could be eaten. Probably the biggest difference in celebrations though, has to do with children receiving presents from Santa. It is not Bobo Natale (Santa) who brings children presents, but La Befana, a nice old which who was asked by the wise men to come adore the new Christ Child. She refused, and later, when she saw how brightly the North Star was shining, realized she may have made a mistake. So she set off on her own to find the baby Jesus and got lost, along with the presents that she was bringing him. So instead, she gives her presents to the children of Italy. Italians share our tradition of stalking being 'hung on the fireplace' and good children do receive candy and things and bad children receive cobbone (or coal), or in the modern day case, black crystallized candy.
Christmas is an exciting time in any country I think, and I can't wait to get home and start celebrating! In fact, I already know that my first weekend home, I am already promised to two large traditions in my family, a family friend's traditional Christmas party and the getting of the Christmas tree ( a now 24 year running tradition in my household! Though I myself will only be experiencing my 21st lovely celebration of this tradition!). But even though I like my own traditions at home, and being able to celebrate with my friends and family, it is nice to think about other people around the world and the different ways in which they celebrate! Who knows, maybe I'll even bring a few of these new Italian traditions home with me!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
So I guess I learned something new today ....
While in Italy, I have been taking Italian language classes (we are all required to) in the vain hope that by the time we leave here, I'll be semi fluent. Well it's almost three months in, and I wonder if I'm any better at Italian than when I started. True, I can understand MOST Italians if they speak to me slow enough, and I guess I couldn't do that before. And I can carry on a small conversation consisting mainly of small talk - how are you, where are you from, things like that - so I can get myself around Italy well enough. But at this point I believe I'm becoming even more fluent in the art of hand language. You might think that this is a silly thing to have conquered, the art of hand language, but I see it as basically learning a second language while I'm here.
Basically, I mean that during my stay here Italy occasionally I have no idea how to say something or what I am trying to convey in Italian, so I have to relay on a mix of pointing, gesturing and basically making a fool out of myself before the people that I'm speaking to understand exactly what I'm trying to say. It is an interesting thing, because its universal. If you point at something or gesture as to the size of something, or even shake your head in a yes or no fashion, regardless of what language you actually speak, the gestures are the same. True, each culture has its own specific gestures that they use and they occasionally mean completely different things in different countries, but on the whole, the major ones that are needed to convey basic points, are the same. It's incredibly convenient too! Especially when traveling, like I have been doing so much of, to countries that speak various languages, hand gesturing and my quasi European hand language has come in immensely useful.
I love things like that that are so universal that they are unmistakable. It makes you remember that even though countries and cultures are very different, at the end of the day we're all human beings and we all possess the same sets of emotions and feelings. And even when you can't necessarily communicate well with words, sometimes all you need is a simple gesture (like a smile) to communicate what you want to. :)
Basically, I mean that during my stay here Italy occasionally I have no idea how to say something or what I am trying to convey in Italian, so I have to relay on a mix of pointing, gesturing and basically making a fool out of myself before the people that I'm speaking to understand exactly what I'm trying to say. It is an interesting thing, because its universal. If you point at something or gesture as to the size of something, or even shake your head in a yes or no fashion, regardless of what language you actually speak, the gestures are the same. True, each culture has its own specific gestures that they use and they occasionally mean completely different things in different countries, but on the whole, the major ones that are needed to convey basic points, are the same. It's incredibly convenient too! Especially when traveling, like I have been doing so much of, to countries that speak various languages, hand gesturing and my quasi European hand language has come in immensely useful.
I love things like that that are so universal that they are unmistakable. It makes you remember that even though countries and cultures are very different, at the end of the day we're all human beings and we all possess the same sets of emotions and feelings. And even when you can't necessarily communicate well with words, sometimes all you need is a simple gesture (like a smile) to communicate what you want to. :)
Friday, November 23, 2007
Turkey Coma
A lot happened this week, and I'm just catching up - so there's two posts from today!
There's nothing like an American Holiday to make you miss home. In Italy, they clearly do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so us Americans were on our own for Turkey Day festivities. We still had to go to class which was a bummer, because if there was a time I did anything but eat mass amounts of food and visit with family on Thanksgiving, I can't remember.
There is a restaurant here in Perugia that nicely enough put together a traditional Thanksgiving dinner special, as most people in the city realized that there is a large population of Americans in town that would enjoy the whole turkey (tacchino), mashed potatoes (pure di patate), stuffing (riempimento) deal. However, this was not going to cut it for me and my friends. No we had to do this restaurant one better and make our own Thanksgiving day feast. And who was in charge of the tacchino and the riempimento? Of course, ME! And let me tell you this was an interesting project for me. Not only have I never cooked a turkey before, I've never even cooked anything larger than a few chicken breasts. So a WHOLE turkey, this was going to be interesting. First of all, they don't just have entire turkeys on hand here in Perugia so I had to go to the butcher (they also don't have supermarkets with everything in them, you have to go separate places for bread, meats, fruits and veggies etc.) and order a whole turkey a week before. But that was the easy part! I finally get it home and luckily I had my roommate visiting me from the US because I'm unsure I could've done the rest alone. Because the turkey came mostly clean, but unlike the turkeys you get at home, it still had the neck and tail attached, and several of the innards still
inside. So we had to clean out the rest of the turkey (gross!) and attempt to remove the tail and neck. We ended up leaving these attached because we had no idea how to take them off! But we washed him (Tommy, we named the turkey, it made the thought of handling the raw turkey less unnerving for it to have a name :) ) and managed to cover him and stuff him and put him in the pan. I made stuffing from scratch too, something I've never done before, and it may have been even tastier than the turkey!! My next issue though, was in Italy they use Celsius degrees, and my instructions (from the mum) were in Fahrenheit, and there is no dial on my oven to set it to a specific temperature either. So letting it cook was interesting! And Italians must also have an extra sense to simply know when a meat is finished cooking, because they don't have meat thermometers. Every time I asked a kitchen supply store if they had one, they looked at me like I was crazy. Not so great a feeling, especially when you're already a little sad not to be home with your family for Thanksgiving! But once my friends started showing up for the feast, things got much more enjoyable. Everyone was excited to be celebrating together, even if we couldn't be with our family at home, we could at least be with our 'family' here. And everyone brought a 
different dish and we ate picnic style on the floor. And Tommy the turkey, when he was ready was pretty darn good! I also had my first attempts at carving a turkey, which was also really fun. Sitting around with my girlfriends talking and eating and laughing was a perfect way to spend Thanksgiving! And the turkey coma that always follows Thanksgiving dinner and eating far too much was a welcome excuse to enjoy relaxing for a night, and not being a busy busy bee like I am for most of my time here!
If you asked me at this time last year what I'd be doing for my next Turkey day , I never would've thought that I would be spending it in Italy, cooking a whole turkey (basically by myself) and having a blast doing both, but that was exactly what I did! And you know what, I wouldn't have had it any other way!
There's nothing like an American Holiday to make you miss home. In Italy, they clearly do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so us Americans were on our own for Turkey Day festivities. We still had to go to class which was a bummer, because if there was a time I did anything but eat mass amounts of food and visit with family on Thanksgiving, I can't remember.
There is a restaurant here in Perugia that nicely enough put together a traditional Thanksgiving dinner special, as most people in the city realized that there is a large population of Americans in town that would enjoy the whole turkey (tacchino), mashed potatoes (pure di patate), stuffing (riempimento) deal. However, this was not going to cut it for me and my friends. No we had to do this restaurant one better and make our own Thanksgiving day feast. And who was in charge of the tacchino and the riempimento? Of course, ME! And let me tell you this was an interesting project for me. Not only have I never cooked a turkey before, I've never even cooked anything larger than a few chicken breasts. So a WHOLE turkey, this was going to be interesting. First of all, they don't just have entire turkeys on hand here in Perugia so I had to go to the butcher (they also don't have supermarkets with everything in them, you have to go separate places for bread, meats, fruits and veggies etc.) and order a whole turkey a week before. But that was the easy part! I finally get it home and luckily I had my roommate visiting me from the US because I'm unsure I could've done the rest alone. Because the turkey came mostly clean, but unlike the turkeys you get at home, it still had the neck and tail attached, and several of the innards still
inside. So we had to clean out the rest of the turkey (gross!) and attempt to remove the tail and neck. We ended up leaving these attached because we had no idea how to take them off! But we washed him (Tommy, we named the turkey, it made the thought of handling the raw turkey less unnerving for it to have a name :) ) and managed to cover him and stuff him and put him in the pan. I made stuffing from scratch too, something I've never done before, and it may have been even tastier than the turkey!! My next issue though, was in Italy they use Celsius degrees, and my instructions (from the mum) were in Fahrenheit, and there is no dial on my oven to set it to a specific temperature either. So letting it cook was interesting! And Italians must also have an extra sense to simply know when a meat is finished cooking, because they don't have meat thermometers. Every time I asked a kitchen supply store if they had one, they looked at me like I was crazy. Not so great a feeling, especially when you're already a little sad not to be home with your family for Thanksgiving! But once my friends started showing up for the feast, things got much more enjoyable. Everyone was excited to be celebrating together, even if we couldn't be with our family at home, we could at least be with our 'family' here. And everyone brought a 
different dish and we ate picnic style on the floor. And Tommy the turkey, when he was ready was pretty darn good! I also had my first attempts at carving a turkey, which was also really fun. Sitting around with my girlfriends talking and eating and laughing was a perfect way to spend Thanksgiving! And the turkey coma that always follows Thanksgiving dinner and eating far too much was a welcome excuse to enjoy relaxing for a night, and not being a busy busy bee like I am for most of my time here!If you asked me at this time last year what I'd be doing for my next Turkey day , I never would've thought that I would be spending it in Italy, cooking a whole turkey (basically by myself) and having a blast doing both, but that was exactly what I did! And you know what, I wouldn't have had it any other way!
Show me some of that Spanish dancing ....
My last trip out of Italy, to Barcelona, this past weekend was bittersweet. It was my last trip out of the country, so it was a little bit sad, but I got to see two of my best friends from NU there! One of the girls has been studying in a little town in southern Spain this fall and the other just came to visit us. It was awesome having a little Boston reunion in Europe. I hadn't seen either of them for months, so a reunion was long overdue!
Barcelona is a gorgeous city. Our hostel was literally right on the beach, we walked out of the door and past the Mediterranean sea every morning - were we lucky or what? And across from the street from where our hostel was was an adorable boat yard full of rows upon rows of sailboats. It was incredible! It made me want to rent one and go sailing for the day, even though I get incredibly motion sick - but it would've been worth it!
Barcelona reminded me a lot of Boston, its right on the coast, most things are within walking distance, and it even had a street that reminded me of Comm Ave, lined with trees and brownstone-esque buildings and a square that reminded me a lot of Copley. But once you got off of the main streets, and wandered a little bit, you realized again that you were in Spain. The set up of the streets are a lot like Italy in that buildings are really close together and a lot of smaller streets connect hidden gems nestled in the middle of city blocks, like the Picasso Museum and the Santa Maria Church (both completely obscured from view from the main streets, but tucked away in little back alleys).
Gaudi, the artist/architect from Spain was also a HUGE influence on the city of Barcelona. His architecture is a little bit out of the ordinary and covered in mosaics of brightly colored tiles. His main work in Barcelona was unbelievable. The Segrada Famiglia as it is called, is a chapel that has bee under construction for 300 years. Its construction is fueled by anonymous donations alone, so it still has yet to be finished. It is probably the most outrageous religious building you will ever see. It towers well above most buildings surrounding it, and with its 18 towers and hundreds of turrets covered in the brightly mosaic-ed tiles, at first glance you're not sure if you're staring at a church or a giant wedding cake. Words simply can't express how interesting and intricate this building is, and its not even finished yet! Gaudi also created a number of other buildings and a park area. The park greets you with two giant gingerbread looking houses and 
and entranceway staircase covered in the trademark mosaics. the most famous peice of this staircase is a beautifully represented lizard. And at the top of the stairs is an informal sitting area with a winding row of benches surrounding a oval shaped portion of land, and the benches are just as beautifully ornamented with his signature color scheme as the rest of the architecture he created. And the view of Barcelona is unbelievable as well!
Soccer is also huge in Spain, so naturally we took a look at their football stadium, also really cool. It technically just looks like any other stadium, but if you imagine it full of people (literally no empty seats anywhere) and these people are decked out in their favorite teams colors, screaming their heads off, like only passionate Spanish residents can, it is quite the site to see!
They also held the 1992 Olympic Summer games in Barcelona and the "port Olympic" as it is now called was also quite amazing to see. There was another stadium where most of the games were held, and an interestingly shaped building where the athletes were housed for the duration of the games. Also, one of what I thought was the coolest parts, was a park opposite the stadium and all along the park were flag poles and during the Olympic Games, each flag pole held the flag of one of the countries competing in the games. Not so cool now that they're empty, I suppose, but if you walked down that strip of park area in 1992 amidst all of those flags flying, I think it would be really interesting.
Barcelona's nightlife is a little out of control. Luckily I didn't experience too' too much of it. We went out at night, because socialization is a big part of getting to know a country. And while it was interesting to be out an about in such a beautiful city, at the time we went out a lot of the area was dead. Apparently, bars are open until 2 or 3 in the morning and then at that point, the clubs and discos open. Apparently this is a HUGE part of Spanish nightlife, however, it was a art that I did not get to see. I'm not quite sure how the Spanish manage to operate on so little sleep, but apparently I'm not European enough, because I simply couldn't stay out and awake until 5, 6 or 7 in the morning! I keep kind of thinking to myself that that was was a pretty lame move, not staying out as late as the Spanish, but then I think, if I could operate on 2 hours of sleep, then maybe I could've done it. All I know is that even with a siesta (the break the Spanish take midday, and EVERYTHING shuts down for the equivalent of kindergarten nap time) the Spanish are pretty amazing people to be so energetic on so little sleep all of the time. Bravo Spaniards, Bravo!
The last thing I did in Barcelona though, was possible the coolest, my roommate and I got up really early and watched the sun rise over the Mediterranean Sea. Not only did we literally have the best, most obstructed view of the sunrise, but the colors were magnificent! IT was literally the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen! And it definitely helped that I was experiencing it in Barcelona, the sun seems a bit brighter there :) Sadly after that it was back to Italy I went, but it was interesting to see the sun set in Italy and think, I saw the sun rise in a completely different country that I am seeing it set in and neither is the country I come from. Unreal. Simply unreal.
Barcelona is a gorgeous city. Our hostel was literally right on the beach, we walked out of the door and past the Mediterranean sea every morning - were we lucky or what? And across from the street from where our hostel was was an adorable boat yard full of rows upon rows of sailboats. It was incredible! It made me want to rent one and go sailing for the day, even though I get incredibly motion sick - but it would've been worth it!
Barcelona reminded me a lot of Boston, its right on the coast, most things are within walking distance, and it even had a street that reminded me of Comm Ave, lined with trees and brownstone-esque buildings and a square that reminded me a lot of Copley. But once you got off of the main streets, and wandered a little bit, you realized again that you were in Spain. The set up of the streets are a lot like Italy in that buildings are really close together and a lot of smaller streets connect hidden gems nestled in the middle of city blocks, like the Picasso Museum and the Santa Maria Church (both completely obscured from view from the main streets, but tucked away in little back alleys).
Gaudi, the artist/architect from Spain was also a HUGE influence on the city of Barcelona. His architecture is a little bit out of the ordinary and covered in mosaics of brightly colored tiles. His main work in Barcelona was unbelievable. The Segrada Famiglia as it is called, is a chapel that has bee under construction for 300 years. Its construction is fueled by anonymous donations alone, so it still has yet to be finished. It is probably the most outrageous religious building you will ever see. It towers well above most buildings surrounding it, and with its 18 towers and hundreds of turrets covered in the brightly mosaic-ed tiles, at first glance you're not sure if you're staring at a church or a giant wedding cake. Words simply can't express how interesting and intricate this building is, and its not even finished yet! Gaudi also created a number of other buildings and a park area. The park greets you with two giant gingerbread looking houses and 
and entranceway staircase covered in the trademark mosaics. the most famous peice of this staircase is a beautifully represented lizard. And at the top of the stairs is an informal sitting area with a winding row of benches surrounding a oval shaped portion of land, and the benches are just as beautifully ornamented with his signature color scheme as the rest of the architecture he created. And the view of Barcelona is unbelievable as well!Soccer is also huge in Spain, so naturally we took a look at their football stadium, also really cool. It technically just looks like any other stadium, but if you imagine it full of people (literally no empty seats anywhere) and these people are decked out in their favorite teams colors, screaming their heads off, like only passionate Spanish residents can, it is quite the site to see!
They also held the 1992 Olympic Summer games in Barcelona and the "port Olympic" as it is now called was also quite amazing to see. There was another stadium where most of the games were held, and an interestingly shaped building where the athletes were housed for the duration of the games. Also, one of what I thought was the coolest parts, was a park opposite the stadium and all along the park were flag poles and during the Olympic Games, each flag pole held the flag of one of the countries competing in the games. Not so cool now that they're empty, I suppose, but if you walked down that strip of park area in 1992 amidst all of those flags flying, I think it would be really interesting.
Barcelona's nightlife is a little out of control. Luckily I didn't experience too' too much of it. We went out at night, because socialization is a big part of getting to know a country. And while it was interesting to be out an about in such a beautiful city, at the time we went out a lot of the area was dead. Apparently, bars are open until 2 or 3 in the morning and then at that point, the clubs and discos open. Apparently this is a HUGE part of Spanish nightlife, however, it was a art that I did not get to see. I'm not quite sure how the Spanish manage to operate on so little sleep, but apparently I'm not European enough, because I simply couldn't stay out and awake until 5, 6 or 7 in the morning! I keep kind of thinking to myself that that was was a pretty lame move, not staying out as late as the Spanish, but then I think, if I could operate on 2 hours of sleep, then maybe I could've done it. All I know is that even with a siesta (the break the Spanish take midday, and EVERYTHING shuts down for the equivalent of kindergarten nap time) the Spanish are pretty amazing people to be so energetic on so little sleep all of the time. Bravo Spaniards, Bravo!
The last thing I did in Barcelona though, was possible the coolest, my roommate and I got up really early and watched the sun rise over the Mediterranean Sea. Not only did we literally have the best, most obstructed view of the sunrise, but the colors were magnificent! IT was literally the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen! And it definitely helped that I was experiencing it in Barcelona, the sun seems a bit brighter there :) Sadly after that it was back to Italy I went, but it was interesting to see the sun set in Italy and think, I saw the sun rise in a completely different country that I am seeing it set in and neither is the country I come from. Unreal. Simply unreal.
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