Sorry, it has been a little while, but I have been so busy recently! The time is flying quickly by and my time in Florence is almost up! Though I am excited to see family and friends again, I would be more than content to stay in Florence for an indefinite period of time.
This past weekend, we went to Naples and Pompeii, which was quite a long train ride (6 hours!), but well worth it! I must say that when I got into Naples, my first impressions were somewhat less than flattering. It was something like, “Hmm, this must have been Dante’s inspiration for the Inferno.” Upon closer inspection, I realized that my initial reactions were pretty much spot on. There is trash everywhere. I’m talking about mountains of garbage, not just the random bottle or piece of paper in the street. And the streets are torn up, huge holes everywhere. Not potholes, mind you; holes that look like a meteor shower hit Naples. Our hotel was in a decent-looking part of town, near the train station, and from our balcony window we could see prostitutes on the street corner; for a while, we watched them go away with people and come back, and compared times. People drive like maniacs, red lights mean nothing, laundry is strung out between buildings, and the buildings are so close together it makes you feel claustrophobic! I was a little afraid for my life. But the pizza was very good, hehe.
Pompeii was much more family-friendly entertainment, but I have never been so hot in my entire life. I sweat so much that I don’t think I peed once that day, and I drank two huge bottles of water (sorry if that’s a bit graphic, but I’m trying to give you an idea of how hot it was). It was hot. No shade. No breeze. Just hot. Pompeii was definitely worth it, though, because it is just such a unique place. You walk through it, and it’s almost eerie, how it seems that at any point the owners of those houses are just going to return and continue on with their lives. It is so well preserved, it really gives a beautiful picture of what city life was like in early Italy. Prettiest spot: Garden of Hercules, where we found a patch of shade and sat down for a quick rest. Lots of flowers and a nice set-up. Saddest spot: Garden of the fugitives, where the shapes of around 10 bodies, including small children, are preserved in exactly the same position where they died when Vesuvius erupted. Most entertaining: the Lupanare (the town brothel, complete with illustrations on the walls of what went on…just goes to show, some things never change!).
On the train ride back home, we anticipated getting home at around 1:45 in the morning Tuesday morning. Instead, we got home at 3:30. Our train left almost 2 hours late, because there were electrical problems at the station ahead of us, and so we were all very tired once we finally got back home. Plus, apparently there weren’t enough seats on the train, so we had to stand for the last 3-4 hours of the trip out in the hallway. All in all, it was quite an experience.
Now, I’m back in Florence for the last few days, trying to soak up as much as I can and enjoy myself before I leave on Sunday for Cefalu, Sicily!

Things I Love About Italy/Italians!

Being an observer of a foreign culture has always been fascinating for me, but I think by far the most fascinating culture I have encountered is that of the Italians. Not just because it is what I study, they truly live a unique lifestyle. I thought I’d take this time to dedicate a post to things that I have discovered that I absolutely love about the Italian culture and people.

-From random shopkeepers to people standing in line at the grocery store, to the old homeless man on the corner…everyone whistles opera tunes. Everyone. It’s incredible. Coming from the USA, where opera seems to be something feared and looked upon as being for snobs, this has been pleasantly shocking. Not just the standard, “La donna e mobile” o “Musette’s Waltz,” serious, lesser known but still beautiful opera arias. I will truly miss that once I get home.

-Shopping in Italy:
Guy at the leather factory/shop: It costs 35 euro.
Me: I have 24.30 euro
Man: Va bene, you speak Italian very well for an American student, I’ll give you discount.
Enough said. But shopkeepers are friendly, there are open air markets everywhere, and it was a serious mistake to eliminate the piazza from city planning.

-Leading me to another point. Speaking Italian! I have had soooo much fun speaking Italian here, it is unreal. Everyone is so impressed to see an American that speaks Italian, that they are always so excited to chat with me, and are very helpful when I don’t catch all their phrases. So I am learning quite a bit of new vocabulary, as well as really solidifying what I already know. Speaking a second language (and having native speakers of that language understand and respond to what you have said) is almost an adventure in itself, it is so fulfilling!

-And in general, people talk more than in the USA. Italians are so very (VERY) open, to anyone and everyone. They say hello, they ask about you and your family, they speak their minds. They tell stories with such animation and passion. It’s as if every time they tell something, it has to be a grand production, complete with visual aids and sound effects. I love it! It’s so relaxing, so entertaining, just to chat and laugh together. In a world of email, cell phones, and Facebook, I feel like we’ve lost a little bit of that in America. Granted that sometimes the men are a little too open with their opinions, but you just take it as a compliment and keep walking (maybe I’ll miss that just a little bit too once I get back home).

-All the food is good. Even in the strangest little side street no-name hole in the wall places. Things I don’t like at home I eat here. The Italians just really know how to cook! (Granted, they’ve had what, 3,000 years to perfect things?)

-Incorporated English words. Words like “bar,” “facebook,” “sport,” “jog,” “shopping,” etc. in an Italian accent. It‘s really cute! I especially enjoy the commercials for American-made products, “Coco Pops” commercials in particular. Imagine a lot of really fast, really excited talking in Italian, and then all of the sudden thrown in there you hear “Coco Pops” (think about how the godfather would pronounce it, and you’ll get a mini-idea of how funny it is).

-Perhaps the thing that I have liked the most and will miss the most is the pace of life here. The Italians are known for being ‘inefficient’, which is true in a way, but it really does work for them. Shops are open at sporadic times, teachers come into class 5 or 10 minutes after the class was supposed to start, and in general people show up AT LEAST 5 or 10 minutes later than they say they will be somewhere, and no one thinks anything of it. Time has a different meaning here. It’s not a hunter chasing us down and forcing us forward as it sometimes seems to be in the US. Here, time is just a companion, someone along for the ride, gently reminding you to take advantage of what you have before moving casually on to what’s next. If you get everything done, great. If not, great. If you found something else to do instead, great. Everyone goes with the flow. It’s as if they just decide that they don’t want to be stressed, and so they aren’t. And it rubs off!

-There is history everywhere! I walk by the Duomo everyday on my way to school. I eat gelato looking out on the Piazza della Signoria. There is any opera you could want to see anywhere for any price at any given time. In a place so old, everything is full of history. And every time I step outside my door, I discover something new. There is so much to explore, and it is all so beautiful! I could spend a year here and still not be even close to discovering everything!

Basta, enough for now! I’ll be heading out to Venice this weekend, so look for new pictures and a blog at the start of the week!