I've Been Published! in an interview about studying abroad.

Well... online, at least. I did an interview with fellow blogger Sasha from the Yankee In a New World blog about my study abroad experience. So my blog has someone linking to it and I feel really special. Go over and check it out!

Update - September 18, 2009: Unfortunately, Sasha is no longer blogging, and her lovely Yankee in a New World blog is not online anymore. I'm sad to see her go but I know her real life is keeping her very busy!

Her blog offers tips for expat living and points to helpful online resources. I left a comment on one of her posts a while back and we started talking and now I know what it feels like to be a part of the blogging community-at-large :-)

And she's such a sweetheart. Leave her a comment and tell her thanks for me!

There's No Place Like Home

Flight landed yesterday around 3:30 pm. I didn't exactly sleep on Saturday night as people were leaving at all hours of the night and I was packing pretty much the entire time, so I was able to sleep a little throughout the 8 1/2 hour flight. After going through baggage claim and customs and meeting up with mom and dad around 5 pm, we visited with Aunt Jeanne, Uncle Mike, and Alison. I ate a nice big juicy cheeseburger and fries!

Then we went to Uncle Michael and Aunt Lisa's house and visited with Avery and baby Jack - he is sooo cute! Finally we went home and I slept from 11 pm until 12 in the afternoon today. It's was so good to wake up in my own bedroom :-)

Things Learned

Well, well, well. Here I am with only a few days left. Some recent reflections on my experience before I get all busy packing and sad and stuff...

Things I Learned
While Living with an Italian Host Family

• You have to flip a switch for the hot water heater if you don't like taking cold showers.
• Don't you dare eat everything on the same plate. Use at least two plates at every meal.
• Do not eat while standing up. Also do not eat from a disposeable container. Or from a pan, pot, or tupperware. Basically do not eat like you are in college, even if you really are.
• Breakfast does not include eggs, waffles, pancakes, muffins, or bagels. But it does include the best espresso and an immesurable variety of biscotti.
• When learning a language, long awkward pauses are unavoidable. Embrace the awkwardness.
• Hanging out your laundry to dry takes a bit of skill combined with self-confidence: "I will not drop these panties on my neighbor's head below me. I will not drop these panties on my neighbor's head below me."

Things I Learned
While in Italy

• You can get by with ordering food in most bars and restaurants through pointing and saying "questo" or "quello" (this one, or that one) but sometimes it is better if you know how to ask what's in it as well.
• The "neutral" expression does not indicate that a person is unhappy, as in America's eager-to-please consumer society. Don't overuse the smile in public.
• Staring is okay. If you catch someone staring at you, and you quickly divert your glance or smile, chances are they will continue staring as you have revealed your foreign identity. Instead, stare directly back using aforementioned neutral expression.
• If a guy starts speaking to you in Italian and he seems nice and not too pushy, chances are he is not actually Italian but a bus driver from Turkey. And that is why you can understand his overly-enunciated dialect.
• If a girl starts speaking to you in Italian, you should probably get out of her way before she starts yelling at you in Italian instead.
• While the "fast food" options are limited, there is no shortage of pizza or panini. However, that's about all there is for lunch unless you go to sit down somewhere and pay considerably more.
• When asking for directions, don't rely on just one source. Some people may find it entertaining to misdirect you while others may act like they know what you're talking about even though they have no clue. Still other times, they may be pointing you in the right direction for the bridge named Matteoti instead of the street you're looking for - on the other side of town. Getting lost is sometimes inevitable, even with a map and a friend who speaks Italian fluently.
• Don't trust the cab drivers. The less Italian you know, the more likely they are to rip you off. However, there are also some nice cab drivers who tell you about things to do in Rome or talk with you about popular music. And still others who will do this while diverting your route and charging you for the second fare zone.
• "Index cards" or "flash cards" do not seem to exist. Study for midterms and finals using quarter-sheets of printer paper instead.

Things I Still Haven't Figured Out

• Why shopowners let the flower guys into their stores.
• How to properly pronounce "chiacchierare" (chit-chat).
• How to use a phone card to make calls from a public payphone.
• How to make pasta carbonara without it sticking to the pan!
• Why Italians insist on wearing their fur coats and boots in 70 degree weather.
• Why gelato is so much better than regular ice cream. And how skinny Italian women can eat it and still appear anorexically thin.

Sibling Rivalry: Italian Brother Style

For dessert tonight we had strawberries with homemade whipped cream. Here is a snippet of some typical dinner-table conversation between the two brothers, which I am finally beginning to understand (they talk really quickly!):

Leo: "Who made the whipped cream? Ludovico?"
Ludo: "No, I didn't make it."
Leo: "Oh ok, in that case it's perfect."

Some things never change, huh?

Whipped cream & strawberries... uploaded by pieceoflace.

I Professori

(The Professors)

In honor of our last week of class and finals and all that jazz, I thought it might be nice to share some information about my professors with you. Unbiased, professional information, taken from Temple's website. The real reviews will come later, wuahaha.

Aldo Patania | International Business Former senior economic specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Rome and senior country manager for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. MBA Director at the Rome Campus of the University of Malta. MA, Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies.

Greg Smith | Anthropology/Sociology Founding editor of the series Societa Mediterranea. Involved in a variety of Italian consulting projects. DPhil, Oxford University.

Mario Teleri | Printmaking Widely exhibited printmaker who has produced documentaries on the history and technique of printmaking for Italian television, and conducts seminars and lectures at the Italian National Institute for Graphics and other institutes throughout Europe.

Registilla Aloisi Masella | Italian Language Diploma, School for Interpreters and Translators of Rome.

Semi-Summer: Ventotene

I had been meaning to write this post since last week, but I have been so busy with finals coming up, a doctor visit, credit card issues, and registration for the summer and fall semesters at Temple - there just wasn't time! Anyway, I went to Ventotene last weekend with some other students. It's a little island near Naples about one square mile total. We left at 6 am on Friday morning by bus to the ferry in Naples, which took about 3 hours. Then the ferry took another 2 hours.

Here I am on the Ferry

The weather that morning was a bit chilly and rainy, but by the time we got to Ventotene it had pretty much cleared up and was slightly warmer in the sun. However, our rooms were extremely cold, especially at night, as they had no heat. Most of us had not packed our winter jackets and I pretty much layered up all my shirts underneath a sweatshirt to stay warm. As long as we were in the sun, though, we were warm. Unless we were in the water of course, which was also freezing cold!

On Friday afternoon we met our tour dude for lunch, and later again for dinner which was a little pricey (as lunch had been) but still nice because all 18 of us ate together. Plus, the prices included water, bread, and wine, and primi- and secondi- plates (i.e. pasta, and then fish) and our accommodations were inexpensive and beautiful.

Hallway leading from the back of the house to the street.

View from Terrace

The terrace was so beautiful in the evening and at night, while enjoying some wine and star-gazing. I was feeling more relaxed than I have been since my arrival in Italy.

On Saturday morning we got an early start and headed to the beach. It wasn't raining anymore, and there was plenty of sun. Part of the group decided to take on the challenge that was clearly tempting: swim to the nearby volcanic rock island just off the shore. I stayed behind with everyone's towels and belongings, awaiting a call from our friend Tim who was organizing a tour for later that day. The group made it to the rock and stayed for about an hour, basking in the sunshine and taking in the views. Everything seemed to be fine except one person who stayed on another small rock about 10 feet away the entire time. Turns out, it was our friend Lindsey who had become slightly hypothermic due to the extremely cold water on the way over, and on the way back she refused to get into the water again. The rest of the group returned, explaining that they had stayed for so long to try and warm up again. I myself swam about halfway over to meet them as they were returning, and felt my chest constricting. Ultimately, an ex-lifeguard friend had to swim out and rescue Lindsey from her perch on the smaller rock with a type of surfboard.

After all these festivities, Tim came and told us where and when to meet for our tour of Santo Stefano, another volcanic island rising out of the Mediterranean, visible from Ventotene.

This is the view from our rooftop terrace of Santo Stefano.

Several of us grabbed a quick lunch; delicious and outdoors!

"Jardino" Restaurant for Lunch

After our long morning at the beach on Saturday, we took a little boat to visit Santo Stefano. At least, half of us took a boat... the other half took something that more closely resembled an inflatable raft with a motor, including myself.

The Guys on the Dinky Boat

The Calm, Safe Harbor of Ventotene

Leaving the Calm, Safe Harbor

The buildings sitting atop the Isola di Santo Stefano served as a prison from the early 1800's until the 1960's. They held many political, war, and other prisoners, under the precept that criminals could be redeemed. It is now privately owned and treacherous to visit! Since we'd experienced the chill of the water that morning, none of us really wanted to repeat the experience in the late afternoon as the sun was disappearing. Anyway, we safely arrived at the island, muscles tense from holding on so tight to the rope running around the raft.

Water, Water, Everywhere

Then we had to climb up some very uneven stone stairs.

It was a long way up!

At the top, we had a "tour" in Italian. There was a woman there who knew English and Italian so she translated some of it for us. When the other Italians on the tour realized some of us knew a little Italian, they asked us what the heck we were doing there from America. We told them we were studying in Rome so they kind of understood that, but few tourists visit Ventotene and even fewer ever see Santo Stefano, especially given how remote it is.

By the way, the whole complex is in a state of decay. In America, we would have had to sign a waiver for this...

But there are really some beautiful views.

The tour basically consisted of us walking up the stairs, entering the prison where the cells were located, making a circle around the outside of a middle courtyard where mass was normally held, viewing some old photos in a binder held by the tour guide, and then exiting and descending the numerous stairs to meet our raft and return to the mainland.

Inside the Complex

I believe they held religious services here.

Tyler School of Art students at work!

Just outside the prison cells. My photography skills are improving :-)

I wish I could say the way back to Ventotene was easier, but halfway to the mainland, in the open, rough water, our driver mentioned something along the lines of "si e rotto" which translates to, "it's broken" and those of us who knew some Italian freaked out a bit. However, we got back to the mainland safely with our driver manually steering by turning the motor with his bare hands. What a day!

We had another dinner with the group and our tour guide that night. Later on, we made a bonfire on the beach which was a lot of fun except for the part where I sat on a nail that was sticking out of my improvised wood bench. It was nice to feel some real heat, though. When we went back to our rooms they were slightly warmer than the night before since I had left all the windows open that day to let some sunshine and air in, but still very chilly.

The next day the weather was beautiful again. We spent some time on our terrace and some more time at the beach before heading home on the ferry at 15,00. So sad to leave!

The ferry back to Naples was super-crowded, as it was the last one leaving the island for the day.

Arriving in Naples

We got back to Rome around 20,00 Sunday. And I got back to reality. As in, maybe I need to get a tetanus shot for that nail I sat on...

Espresso Mess-o

My host family left for Sicily on Thursday morning. Ariana just bought a house there but it's not furnished yet so they're staying with friends. She left me a ton of food in the fridge and wrote out all the important information I need to remember, such as the cleaning lady's number and "Only one home appliance at a time," as not to blow a fuse. But just in case I forget, she also showed me where I might find the fuse box on the ground floor, and left me the key for that room.

One other thing I was delighted to learn before she had left was how to make espresso. I'm the first of the 4 other girls she's hosted to have learned; I guess they didn't drink coffee as much as I do here! You use this cute little metal stovetop machine and pack the espresso grounds into the middle container, fill the bottom one with water, screw the pieces together and set it on the stove to brew.

Unfortunately, the other day I kinda left it on for too long while talking on Skype with my parents, and it was a huge mess. Not only did the plastic handle completely melt off, and the plastic knob on top get all disjointed because of the heat from the metal, but the inside of the container which holds the water pretty much turned to ash since all the water boiled out of it. I tried to clean it as best I could but the burnt metal smell just won't go away. You can't use soap to clean these machines otherwise the coffee will come out all soapy-tasting (Ariana specifically instructed me on this in Italian when I was learning) so basically I'm just going to buy a new espresso machine and hope that Ariana doesn't regret her decision to teach me in the first place.

I swear I'm not completely incompetent in domestic matters, contrary to what she may believe.

If you liked this story, you can support me by purchasing one of my prints:

 

Happy Holidays, etc.

March 9 was: Women's Day

For International Women's Day (or is it, "Woman's Day?") last Saturday, Arianna had a bunch of her girl friends over at dinner time, along with their kids who all played together while they ate and "fatto chiacchiere" (made chit-chat). It reminded me of Christmas Eve at home. I didn't expect to eat with the women since I usually only have meals with the family during the week, but they invited me to sit and we had some pasta, salad, and THEN... one of Arianna's friends brought out her specialty: fresh ricotta cheese spooned into balls on your plate with honey dripped right on top, mmmmm. And then strawberries with whipped cream, but I already had a stomach ache. There was plenty of food, Italian conversation, and mimose to go around. Plus lots of noise from the kids in the other room. It's starting to feel like home.

March 17 was: St. Patrick's Day

I didn't even know it was Saint Patrick's Day on Monday. Obviously it's not celebrated here in Italy like it is in the States, where we all claim to be Irish for the day. There are Irish pubs around but to every other Italian it was just like any other day. In reality, every day is a Saint Day for them but I would have hoped for some green leprechaun figures or tableware to pop up in stores. Anyway, a lot of my friends engaged in all-day pub crawls (clearly marketed towards American students and other tourists, haha) but I wasn't feeling well this past weekend and also had to finish an art project at school, and by the time I was done it was already after dinner so I ran home and reheated the risotto di funghi that Arianna had made that night. After all that was finished it was a bit too late to try to make plans, so I surfed the web in Italian and caught up on my blogging.

March 19 was: Fox's Birthday

Fox as in, The Fox School of Business at Temple. This year marks its 90th anniversary in the States and, in an effort to connect our Rome campus with our Main campus in Philadelphia, we celebrated in our Econ class with some champagne and a video clip of Dean Moshe Porat saying some inspirational stuff back in Philly.

March 24 will be: Easter Day

Mom and Dad brought me some PAAS to dye Easter eggs here. Unfortunately I haven't seen a white egg for sale yet, so I don't know how they will turn out. I was hoping to go to the beach one day this weekend with whoever is not traveling, or at least pack a picnic lunch and venture over to Villa Borghese, but the forecast doesn't look good. Rain with a chance of clouds. Oh well, it will be nice to have Monday off anyway and it will be really interesting to be in Rome for all of this.

Enjoy the holiday :-)

Roma - Chunk 5

*I am doing these updates in a series of chunks because it’s too much for one post!

DAY 10

Goodbye, Spring Break.

Homa Roma again.
I’m glad to be back. Especially because it feels about 60 degrees outside and spring-y in contrast to the Prague and Berlin climates. The Romans are all still bundled up in their winter jackets but I’ve left mine at home these past two days.

It also helps that all the stores have their spring collections out, no more winter left-overs, and I just bought myself a dress, two pairs of shoes, and a gorgeous handbag that I love to death had-to-have. Oops.

If you want to see all 321 of my Spring Break photos, and some of Sara's, and maybe order some prints or just bask in their beauty, click HERE.

Praga - Chunk 4

*I am doing these updates in a series of chunks because it’s too much for one post!

DAY 7

The train ride over from Berlin took about 4 hours; it was kind of nice to relax for a bit. It was mid-afternoon by the time we found our hostel (did well will the Metro but once we got off, got a little lost a few blocks away). There were some Italians checking into the hostel in front of us, and between their broken English and the receptionist's broken English, it took them a good 20 minutes to get anything accomplished. I listened to the Italian comments they were making to each other and understood a good deal of it, and had to laugh to myself realizing that they had no idea what they were doing... kind of like me in Rome. Almost made me want to say, "Posso aiutarvi?" (Can I help you?) and try to translate for them.

Anyway, that night we went to a restaurant around the corner from our hostel, called Lemon Leaf. An instant favorite. It was very classy and the food was among the most delicious I have ever tasted, with a very diverse menu. Everything from Thai to Chinese to American and Italian-inspired. That night I had a carrot-ginger soup followed by a lamb dish. Sara had spring rolls and Pad Thai. Our bill came out to 1,044 crowns (roughly €30) which we found entertaining.

Big Spenders

After dinner we donned our Babushkas and set off to experience Prague nightlife. It was so much colder than Berlin or Barcelona had been!

Babushkas

On our way to Bombay Bar we got a bit lost trying to find Dlouha Street using a crappy free map that Sara got when exchanging money at the train station, but we didn't mind the scenery one bit.

Me in Old Time Square

After Bombay, we went to a 5-floor dance club called Karlovy Lazne. Only three of the floors were open that Thursday night, and there were a lot of young people, but a really cool atmosphere and a nice selection of music. First floor: "Black Files" aka hip-hop, rnb, anything that we could arguably call "Black" in a non-PC way in America. Second floor: trance, techno, the usual with some smoggy lighting effects and a nice lounge. Third floor: 70s/80s music with a funky light-up disco dance floor that reminded me of The Sims. Every floor had a bathroom, bar, lounge, dance floor, and nice traffic flow. There's the ex-architecture-student in me.

One other Prague peculiarity: they don't mind soliciting tips. You pay for your drink and they begin to hand you the change, barely extending one wrist over your outstretched palm as they inquire, "You give it to me?" indicating the tip cup with a slight nod of their head.

DAY 8

The next day, we decided to go on a tour which was advertised at our hostel. It was only 200 kc with our 200 kc discount from the hostel. I'm really impressed with the collaboration between hostels and outside businesses here, but I guess it's a lot different in Europe than in America where our hotels are full-service, offering dining and entertainment within their own doors. Anyway, it was a pretty rainy day but we packed our umbrellas, donned our Babushkas, and went to find breakfast before the tour. I had an "English breakfast" consisting of eggs, toast, a mini hot dog, sausage, and other deliciousness. We then met the tour group in Wenceslas square.

Wenceslas Square

After an extensive, drawn-out overview of Prague history from our nationalistic Czech tour guide while moving all of five steps in one direction, one of our first stops was in the Lucerna shopping complex, where we saw David Cerný's upside-down version of the Wenceslas statue. Quite entertaining.

After that we saw one of the theaters in Prague where Mozart either played, worked, or did something notable. Also mentioned was the Prague "Black Light Theater" which we didn't get a chance to see but includes dancers and people performing under blacklights.

Something About Mozart

Next up was Old Town Square, where we had taken our detour the night before. Our guide explained the astronomical clock, which has more ways to tell time than I ever imagined possible, and the whimsical imagery of a married couple carved into a church door, among other things.

Astronomical Clock

Streets of Prague

Next up: the Jewish Ghetto, where our tour guide noted the two clocks displaying different times, one reading left-to-right as usual, the other right-to-left as in the Hebrew tradition.

It's Backwards Time

On the way to our next destination we saw a memorial to a little boy whose face was cast in bronze or iron and slapped onto the side of a building or something. Our tour guide was kind of boring me at this point, and I became more interested in the view of the Prague Castle on the hill.

View from Afar

Crossing the Charles Bridge, we heard a story about St. John of Nepomuk, who was martyred by being thrown into the river. Rubbing his little gold body on one of the statues is supposed to bring good luck, but a lot of tourists like to touch other parts of the statue which have been polished gold... pictures later. Here is a picture from the Old Town side of the Charles Bridge, of who else but King Charles?

King Charles IV

Our leg of the tour ended in a cute little cafe under the bridge, since we had only opted for the 2-hour instead of the 4-hour version. A very good decision given our tour guide.

We had these things called Carpas in the cafe, like little sandwiches filled and pressed shut on the grill. Yummy and light.

Tea and Apple-cinnamon Carpas

When we were kicked off the tour, meaning the 4-hour part of the tour group left us, we headed back to the bridge on our own. We stopped for a picture with the flood line of 2002, marked on the side of the bridge. I couldn't even reach the top!

Floodline

I bought a souvenir photograph from one of the vendors, and Sara took this cool shot...

Charles Bridge

Then we stopped for some good luck from St. John. While others stopped for good luck from the golden puppy, who maybe will bless them from heaven but was actually shined up by some drunken college students 20ish years ago. Or the big lady underneath St. John, who also looks tempting with her golden sheen but probably doesn't carry the same weight as a martyr as far as good luck goes. But whatever floats your boat. The Chinese seem to like it.

What a cute little golden doggie.

Me Getting Lucky

Later that night, we did some more shopping and stopped for some traditional Czech food at a place that, according to our Czech tour guide, "is even good for me sometimes," called Medvidku.

Goulash & Beer, very hearty!

We opted to stay in that night and rest. We also got two roommates in our 4-bed room; one from Georgetown named Veronica who was visiting a friend on Spring Break, and one who didn't speak much English and had already left the next morning before we woke up. Veronica passed out around 8 o'clock, jet-lagged, in her sneakers and coat atop her bed.

Charles Bridge at Night

DAY 9

It hailed all morning so we got a late start. When we finally left our hostel, we walked south towards the Dancing House, an art nouveau office building.

The Dancing House is Not a Club

Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here

We enjoyed the scenery for a bit and took this video:

Partly Sunny

Then we headed north along the river, destination: Prague Castle. We took a pic of the club we had gone to Thursday night as we passed in daylight.

Karlovy Lazne IS a Club

Once over the Charles Bridge, Castle in sight, we stopped in the cafe from the day before for some refreshments.

Surprise!

We really were fascinated by the big bills. (The Czech Republic is on its way to converting to the Euro, however.)

Big Money

On the other side of the river, we stopped in the church of St. Nicholas. Breathtaking. These pictures came out a bit blurry because we were inside with no flash, but you still get the sense of the gold, glitzy interior.

Gilded

Awe

Pulpit

It's almost sacrilege. Anyway, to the Castle!

St. Nicholas' green dome marks the skyline.

It's a Long Way Up

We made it! The Italian word for "watch" is "Guarda," I am wondering if there's any connection? Anyway, we had some fun with this one.

Guard

They did a fun little march at about 4 o'clock, just after we found out that the Castle closes inside after 4. So on our tour yesterday, if we had opted for the extra two hours to venture up to the castle, we wouldn't have seen it anyway. Really glad we didn't do all four hours. But yeah, the guards were really serious while looking like complete ballerinas. Cute.

Seriously, guys. I'm serious.

Soooo windy up there.

Seriously Windy.

Back on the bridge, I had to get a picture of this statue since it wasn't in any postcards I had seen. Another interestingly gilded concoction. And Hebrew letters. Person on the right for a sense of scale.

Another bit of whimsy on the way back to the hostel. Doors to someone's apartment building maybe.

Lemon Leaf again. Loved it just as much, and the manager even brought us some nice appetizers. I had the most amazing goat's cheese salad for my main dish... just loved every second. The cocktails weren't bad either.

We went to a club called Mecca that night with our roommate Veronica, but I wouldn't recommend the trip up there. Hard to find, way overpriced, and really rude at the coat check. We should have gone to New Town. Meh.

Time to say goodbye to Prague. And Spring Break!