Wednesday, June 29, 2011
A Temporary Pause
Good news: my cousin Anna and I got our tickets to Sicily! We leave for Taormina in the morning and I will begin volunteering at a new hostel, Taormina's Odyssey. Looking forward to it!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Three Kind Strangers
Friday, June 24, 2011
Partire è un po' morire
More Info on San Giovanni
Thursday, June 23, 2011
An Italian Tradition
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tranquillità
Lingua Franca
Monday, June 20, 2011
This Has Been the Best Monday Ever
We took a trip to the sea today! It was the Mediterranean (also known as the Tyrrhenian Sea which, as my 10th grade students may remember, was sailed by Aeneas and his men on their way to Italy) and the water was so, so, so blue. How is it so blue? I really don’t know. Maybe it goes along with how clear it is. The weather was also very nice – sunny and not too hot. I may have stayed out in the sun a little too long, but just a little. I went out swimming two or three times, took lots of pictures, studied my book of Italian Vocabulary. I learned the words for many insetti, frutte, e verdure (insects, fruits, and vegetables). I tried to pick things that I see most often, and both insects and food are involved in much of my day.
Thankfully, insects are not quite so involved as last year. For one thing, the common room now has a piece of clear plastic across the big window. (Some might remember the picture of it from last year. Actually, you can probably still click on that photo album link to see it.) It was a little sad at first, but I’ve gotten used to the sight and I think it does help keep the insects down – as do the scores of ragni (spiders) which make their homes here.
Another factor eliminating my exposure to zanzare (mosquitoes) and other pests is the fact that my accommodations were upgraded from last year’s ancient unfinished kitchen to a genuine guest room. This is due to Anna’s kindness, another volunteer’s use of my old room, and ultimately a rather slow season. I’ve been here four and a half days and we’re just getting our first guests. It’s nice to have guests, because that means my work has a bit more variety. Instead of sanding rusty metal for hours on end (okay, only three hours) I get to make breakfast and do dishes and clean rooms. It may seem routine, but it’s nice for a change.
A couple of people are leaving tomorrow. I really should do a post of all the people I’ve met. It’s one of the best things about being here – talking to these people who’ve come from all around. I think that the majority of people I talk to here in Italy are not Italian (which might explain why my language acquisition is not going as quickly as it could – maybe that will change when I am in Sicily).
Besides Anna, the Austrian girl who manages Via Piana, there’s another Austrian guy who’s a long-time traveler and been here for three weeks, Anna’s friend from Austria who’s visiting until tomorrow, the Welsh girl who’s been volunteering here for nearly five months now, the Welsh girl’s friend who’s also leaving tomorrow, a French guy who volunteers at both Via Piana and the farmstay, a British guy who has volunteered at both places off and on for a long time, and a Dutch girl whose name I can’t remember because I only met her once and she works at the farmstay. I don’t usually think of these people paired with their nationalities like that, but sometimes it’s interesting to sum up and see the wide variety that we really are.
Nice fact about Italian culture: I got a cappuccino today for only €0,90 (about $1.28) and it was delicious.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Free Time
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Sabato
Have had more wine in the last two days than the last two months (but none today…it really just depends if one is at a party when the host is offering home-made wine). Worked six hours today instead of three, so that a bunch of us volunteers can take a long hike to a waterfall tomorrow. It is a lot cooler here than it was when I left Maryland. It’s even getting down into the 50s at night. It’s beautiful.
More tomorrow, but I wanted to fulfill my daily quota!
Friday, June 17, 2011
First post from Italy, 2011
Whenever I start talking, or writing, I want to tell everything there is to tell! But since I really don’t have time to spare for sitting in front of my computer, I am going to post at least one interesting thing that happened each day I am in Italy. Featured today: a short account of my journey here, a fact about Italian men, and a fact about Italian women.
It started on Tuesday night, when I finally finished grading final exams and began packing. I had already planned what I wanted to bring (somewhat) and begun to set things out, but I still had some laundry to do and miles to go before I slept. And actually, I didn’t sleep that night. My dear cousin Amanda came to get me at 4:50 a.m. just as I had finished packing and changed into my travel clothes. She helped me empty the fridge of perishables and laughed as I had to lighten my suitcase by a few pounds. This amazing girl had to get up at 4 a.m. to get me. THANK YOU, AMANDA! We were (or at least I was) a bit slap-happy on the way to the metro.
So she took me to the metro, which I took to Reagan National, from whence (after an hour delay) I flew to JFK. I had a long layover in New York, but we left on time at 5 p.m. I was really tired by then, but I tried to stay awake all day long so that I could sleep on the plane. And I did, very well. You see, not long after I found my seat at the back of the plane (a window seat, 38G) the lady sitting next to me asked if I would switch with her daughter, who was sitting up several rows in 19G. Sure, I said. No problem. After I found my seat there, the flight attendant came up came up to say that those seats had been double-booked (or something that was unclear to me) and we had to move all the way up. I was now sitting in 1G. Business class. First class.
There were so many amenities, I didn’t know what to do with them all! Instead of a thin fleece blanket and small, flat pillow, passengers in first class get a comforter (practically) and a big, fluffy pillow. They also get noise-cancelling headphones, a bottle of water, and a completely different menu than the rest of the plane. I was so tired that I unfortunately did not get dinner, but I did enjoy the omelet for breakfast. And I really enjoyed the reclining seats as I slept.
So, it was a good flight! And even better, my suitcase turned up at the baggage claim. I kept thanking God after each successful stage of the journey. I took the train, then the metro, then a bus…and there were Anna and her friend, waiting to pick me up in Sora!
Since then I feel like I’ve done so much: hiked up to the old castle in Sora, dinner and il vino with Giuseppe (who is the father of Antonello, the owner, and only speaks Italian), lunch with all the volunteers at the house of Gabriele (who is a friend of Antonello and a park ranger in Abruzzo), and my first three hours of work. We cleaned rooms for guests and then I worked on sanding remnants of paint off an old door.
Observations from the past 24 hours:
Italian men are really great about helping with suitcases. One guy helped me get my 49-pound suitcase onto the train, and then two more helped me with the process of getting it on the bus.
Italian women like to match things. I spotted three matching outfits, yesterday. One lady had on golden-beige glasses, shirt, purse, shoes, and fingernails. Another lady had a blue patterned dress, light blue bag, and blue espadrilles. The third was wearing light purple from top to bottom. Oh, and I saw another all-purple outfit today.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
A Temporary Pause
Good news: my cousin Anna and I got our tickets to Sicily! We leave for Taormina in the morning and I will begin volunteering at a new hostel, Taormina's Odyssey. Looking forward to it!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Three Kind Strangers
Friday, June 24, 2011
Partire è un po' morire
More Info on San Giovanni
Thursday, June 23, 2011
An Italian Tradition
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tranquillità
Lingua Franca
Monday, June 20, 2011
This Has Been the Best Monday Ever
We took a trip to the sea today! It was the Mediterranean (also known as the Tyrrhenian Sea which, as my 10th grade students may remember, was sailed by Aeneas and his men on their way to Italy) and the water was so, so, so blue. How is it so blue? I really don’t know. Maybe it goes along with how clear it is. The weather was also very nice – sunny and not too hot. I may have stayed out in the sun a little too long, but just a little. I went out swimming two or three times, took lots of pictures, studied my book of Italian Vocabulary. I learned the words for many insetti, frutte, e verdure (insects, fruits, and vegetables). I tried to pick things that I see most often, and both insects and food are involved in much of my day.
Thankfully, insects are not quite so involved as last year. For one thing, the common room now has a piece of clear plastic across the big window. (Some might remember the picture of it from last year. Actually, you can probably still click on that photo album link to see it.) It was a little sad at first, but I’ve gotten used to the sight and I think it does help keep the insects down – as do the scores of ragni (spiders) which make their homes here.
Another factor eliminating my exposure to zanzare (mosquitoes) and other pests is the fact that my accommodations were upgraded from last year’s ancient unfinished kitchen to a genuine guest room. This is due to Anna’s kindness, another volunteer’s use of my old room, and ultimately a rather slow season. I’ve been here four and a half days and we’re just getting our first guests. It’s nice to have guests, because that means my work has a bit more variety. Instead of sanding rusty metal for hours on end (okay, only three hours) I get to make breakfast and do dishes and clean rooms. It may seem routine, but it’s nice for a change.
A couple of people are leaving tomorrow. I really should do a post of all the people I’ve met. It’s one of the best things about being here – talking to these people who’ve come from all around. I think that the majority of people I talk to here in Italy are not Italian (which might explain why my language acquisition is not going as quickly as it could – maybe that will change when I am in Sicily).
Besides Anna, the Austrian girl who manages Via Piana, there’s another Austrian guy who’s a long-time traveler and been here for three weeks, Anna’s friend from Austria who’s visiting until tomorrow, the Welsh girl who’s been volunteering here for nearly five months now, the Welsh girl’s friend who’s also leaving tomorrow, a French guy who volunteers at both Via Piana and the farmstay, a British guy who has volunteered at both places off and on for a long time, and a Dutch girl whose name I can’t remember because I only met her once and she works at the farmstay. I don’t usually think of these people paired with their nationalities like that, but sometimes it’s interesting to sum up and see the wide variety that we really are.
Nice fact about Italian culture: I got a cappuccino today for only €0,90 (about $1.28) and it was delicious.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Free Time
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Sabato
Have had more wine in the last two days than the last two months (but none today…it really just depends if one is at a party when the host is offering home-made wine). Worked six hours today instead of three, so that a bunch of us volunteers can take a long hike to a waterfall tomorrow. It is a lot cooler here than it was when I left Maryland. It’s even getting down into the 50s at night. It’s beautiful.
More tomorrow, but I wanted to fulfill my daily quota!
Friday, June 17, 2011
First post from Italy, 2011
Whenever I start talking, or writing, I want to tell everything there is to tell! But since I really don’t have time to spare for sitting in front of my computer, I am going to post at least one interesting thing that happened each day I am in Italy. Featured today: a short account of my journey here, a fact about Italian men, and a fact about Italian women.
It started on Tuesday night, when I finally finished grading final exams and began packing. I had already planned what I wanted to bring (somewhat) and begun to set things out, but I still had some laundry to do and miles to go before I slept. And actually, I didn’t sleep that night. My dear cousin Amanda came to get me at 4:50 a.m. just as I had finished packing and changed into my travel clothes. She helped me empty the fridge of perishables and laughed as I had to lighten my suitcase by a few pounds. This amazing girl had to get up at 4 a.m. to get me. THANK YOU, AMANDA! We were (or at least I was) a bit slap-happy on the way to the metro.
So she took me to the metro, which I took to Reagan National, from whence (after an hour delay) I flew to JFK. I had a long layover in New York, but we left on time at 5 p.m. I was really tired by then, but I tried to stay awake all day long so that I could sleep on the plane. And I did, very well. You see, not long after I found my seat at the back of the plane (a window seat, 38G) the lady sitting next to me asked if I would switch with her daughter, who was sitting up several rows in 19G. Sure, I said. No problem. After I found my seat there, the flight attendant came up came up to say that those seats had been double-booked (or something that was unclear to me) and we had to move all the way up. I was now sitting in 1G. Business class. First class.
There were so many amenities, I didn’t know what to do with them all! Instead of a thin fleece blanket and small, flat pillow, passengers in first class get a comforter (practically) and a big, fluffy pillow. They also get noise-cancelling headphones, a bottle of water, and a completely different menu than the rest of the plane. I was so tired that I unfortunately did not get dinner, but I did enjoy the omelet for breakfast. And I really enjoyed the reclining seats as I slept.
So, it was a good flight! And even better, my suitcase turned up at the baggage claim. I kept thanking God after each successful stage of the journey. I took the train, then the metro, then a bus…and there were Anna and her friend, waiting to pick me up in Sora!
Since then I feel like I’ve done so much: hiked up to the old castle in Sora, dinner and il vino with Giuseppe (who is the father of Antonello, the owner, and only speaks Italian), lunch with all the volunteers at the house of Gabriele (who is a friend of Antonello and a park ranger in Abruzzo), and my first three hours of work. We cleaned rooms for guests and then I worked on sanding remnants of paint off an old door.
Observations from the past 24 hours:
Italian men are really great about helping with suitcases. One guy helped me get my 49-pound suitcase onto the train, and then two more helped me with the process of getting it on the bus.
Italian women like to match things. I spotted three matching outfits, yesterday. One lady had on golden-beige glasses, shirt, purse, shoes, and fingernails. Another lady had a blue patterned dress, light blue bag, and blue espadrilles. The third was wearing light purple from top to bottom. Oh, and I saw another all-purple outfit today.