Sixties movies set in Italy always have this cool music. Cool is really the only world to describe it-when I hear something from La Dolce Vita or Roman Holiday, I feel like I should put on heels, a dress, and some red lipstick to go sip a cappucino near the Piazza del Popolo.
But I'm not Audrey Hepburn or Anita Ekberg. Audrey Hepburn's first thought upon seeing that there was a gorgeous blue sky above Rome would not be to run onto her balcony and yell "Good MORNING!!" (I didn't actually do that, but I really, really wanted to.) Anita Ekberg wouldn't wear leather flip-flops around her apartment while eating cereal out of the box. My life is pretty different, so I guess it's no shock that my soundtrack is pretty different...
1. MGMT-Electric Feel (I don't know why, but this has been stuck in my head for weeks.)
2. Sting-Desert Rose (When I went to a Tunisia pre-orientation trip, this was the song that accompanied the slideshow.)
3. Tom Jones-Sex Bomb (In Sicily there was a commercial at the train station that played over and over, with this song in the background.)
4. DB Clifford-Simple Things (The story of Italy-it's the simple things that matter here.)
5. Flogging Molly-If I Ever Leave This World Alive (Just because it makes sense to listen to Irish music in ROME.)
6. Kevin Rudolph- Let It Rock (This puts me in a good mood when I have to get up at sketch a naked man at 8:30 in the morning.)
Sunday 22 February 2009
Tuesday 17 February 2009
Sicilian Valentine
I spent the weekend in Sicily, home of the Mafia and the cannolo. Didn't see any mafiosos (at least that I was aware of) but I did see and eat many cannoli. Our first night we wandered over to the Teatro Massiomo and found this charming trattoria. We all ordered food and when I ordered a pizza for myself, the waiter gestured and explained that a pizza was too big for a girl like me. I proceeded with my order, determined to prove him wrong.
I ate that whole damn pizza, and had room for dessert. The pizza was yummy, but the taste of victory was better.
Sicily was freezing the entire time that we were there, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. We were in Palermo, which is Italy's 5th largest city. I actually preferred Palermo to Rome in some ways because it is so much more authentic. There aren't guys walking around in gladiator outfits, taking pictures with tourists. Instead, there are old ladies who will give you the Sicilian stare-down (a more hard-core version of the Italian stink-eye).
Now, I'm sitting on my Roman couch, waiting for my laundry to be done and procrastinating a museum report. There's a rhythm to my life here and it's comfortable. I guess that means it's time to shake things up. Who wants to go dancing?
I ate that whole damn pizza, and had room for dessert. The pizza was yummy, but the taste of victory was better.
Sicily was freezing the entire time that we were there, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. We were in Palermo, which is Italy's 5th largest city. I actually preferred Palermo to Rome in some ways because it is so much more authentic. There aren't guys walking around in gladiator outfits, taking pictures with tourists. Instead, there are old ladies who will give you the Sicilian stare-down (a more hard-core version of the Italian stink-eye).
Now, I'm sitting on my Roman couch, waiting for my laundry to be done and procrastinating a museum report. There's a rhythm to my life here and it's comfortable. I guess that means it's time to shake things up. Who wants to go dancing?
Tuesday 10 February 2009
Time Marches in a Circle
Tuesdays are my light days. I only have Italian, so I got to sleep in this morning before heading to my pre-departure meeting about my Spring Break trip to Tunisia. It's going to be so amazing-I've never been to an Islamic country before, and of course the ruins are supposed to be incredible.
I decided today that I need more Roman culture. I live with American students and take classes at the American university, and my Italian is lousy, so I tend to be much more isolated from the real Italy than I want to be. To change that, I've decided to make myself got to 1 museum a week, so at least I can understand more of the history and the culture of this country.
I've been reading the study abroad blog of a girl who graduated from Hamilton a few years before me. It's so comforting to see the parallels between our study abroad experiences. I think sometimes in our desire to validate people's unique characteristics, we forget to acknowledge just how similar we all are. This is the beauty of study abroad-not only do you get to see how different human beings are, you are also reminded that we're one people.
I decided today that I need more Roman culture. I live with American students and take classes at the American university, and my Italian is lousy, so I tend to be much more isolated from the real Italy than I want to be. To change that, I've decided to make myself got to 1 museum a week, so at least I can understand more of the history and the culture of this country.
I've been reading the study abroad blog of a girl who graduated from Hamilton a few years before me. It's so comforting to see the parallels between our study abroad experiences. I think sometimes in our desire to validate people's unique characteristics, we forget to acknowledge just how similar we all are. This is the beauty of study abroad-not only do you get to see how different human beings are, you are also reminded that we're one people.
Monday 9 February 2009
Nostalgia...or Not
Wow, two posts in one day-I must really be procrastinating.
Anyway, I spent part of my evening looking at people from elementary and middle school on Facebook. It's weird- some people are exactly the same and some people are completely different. It's also comforting. Whoever you were when you were twelve can be miles away from who you are at 21. I'm not miles away-I still like the Muppets, Pauly Shore movies, pizza, and my dog. But I'm also pretty far from the girl who had terribly short hair, would read by herself at recess, and was hated asparagus.
This got me thinking-how much of our pasts do we really carry? Are they burdens or blessings? I'm grateful for everything that has happened in my life. I had an amazing childhood and any of the petty cruelty (let's talk about 6th grade sometime) or difficulties I faced made me a better person.
Maybe I'm pondering all this because I have been in Rome for almost a month. I know this experience is changing me, but I don't really know in what way or how much yet. Sometimes it takes years to figure out how something impacted you. The only thing I can say for certain is that for all the days when the maid yells at me in incomprehensible Italian, or I stumble over my Latin translations, or maybe it just won't stop raining...there is nowhere else I think that I should be.
Anyway, I spent part of my evening looking at people from elementary and middle school on Facebook. It's weird- some people are exactly the same and some people are completely different. It's also comforting. Whoever you were when you were twelve can be miles away from who you are at 21. I'm not miles away-I still like the Muppets, Pauly Shore movies, pizza, and my dog. But I'm also pretty far from the girl who had terribly short hair, would read by herself at recess, and was hated asparagus.
This got me thinking-how much of our pasts do we really carry? Are they burdens or blessings? I'm grateful for everything that has happened in my life. I had an amazing childhood and any of the petty cruelty (let's talk about 6th grade sometime) or difficulties I faced made me a better person.
Maybe I'm pondering all this because I have been in Rome for almost a month. I know this experience is changing me, but I don't really know in what way or how much yet. Sometimes it takes years to figure out how something impacted you. The only thing I can say for certain is that for all the days when the maid yells at me in incomprehensible Italian, or I stumble over my Latin translations, or maybe it just won't stop raining...there is nowhere else I think that I should be.
Pigeons
Someone asked me: "Elizabeth, why are you afraid of pigeons?"
1. They are basically rats with wings.
2. Their red beady eyes are freaky.
3. One tried to dive bomb me today and last week one fluttered its wings at me.
1. They are basically rats with wings.
2. Their red beady eyes are freaky.
3. One tried to dive bomb me today and last week one fluttered its wings at me.
Sunday 8 February 2009
Deeper Thoughts
The other night, Lindsay and I walked to her convent (haha) after a lovely Indian dinner. We strolled along the Tiber and as we walked we discussed our impressions of Rome thus far. I've been lucky enough to travel to a lot of cool places and the thing that really strikes me is how much Italy is about the physical. What you can see, what you can taste, what you can touch-that is what the Italians have a passion for. This stand in contrast to some of the other cultures I've experienced where there is a lot more contemplation and focus on the less tangible aspects of life, like philosophy. Italy seems to be a country of people with their feet on the ground, rather than their heads in the clouds. Maybe that's why the Italians seems to be a happy people. They live life for daily pleasures like a good glass of wine, a beautiful painting, or a charming lover.
I really like this place.
I really like this place.
Friday 6 February 2009
Things That I'm Scared Of
1. Nuns-I feel like they look at me, and they know.
2. Gypsy Cabs
3. Tripping on cobblestones and dying
4. Flashing on the Metro
5. Pigeons
2. Gypsy Cabs
3. Tripping on cobblestones and dying
4. Flashing on the Metro
5. Pigeons
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