Merry Christmas to all!

Che Sarà Sarà

Saturday, after all my students departed westward bound, I headed east to Bologna to meet up with Gio, Shawn, and Carlotta.  Saturday night we got together with a few Italians who had studied abroad at UCSD and went out together to a fancy restaurant outside the center, and in our own private room at that.  We tasted so many delicious Bolognese plates, including tortellini in broth, spinach lasagna, pumpkin ravioli, prosciutto-wrapped filet mignon in balsamic vinegar, and a pork cutlet in truffle sauce. 

After dinner we went out to a club called Tresor where people were dancing maniacally and vying for the attention of a guy dressed in a giant spotted frog costume.

We walked around the entire town of Bologna on Sunday, swinging by my favorite charity store to pick up some Furla steals (including my new fur hat, which I have named Minsk and had to hide from animal rights protestors) and even stumbling upon the Santo Stefano antique market where we looked through lovely prints of Bologna and old Italian goods advertisements while singing along to Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera" (which is not spelled correctly in any language).  We were exhausted by the end of the day, but were excited to see a few snowflakes fall along the way.

Despite sub-zero temperatures, we remained gun-ho Castiglione supporters, as always.  Just how many pictures do I have on this bench?

I just missed Alessandro's Monday graduation because I had to work and get ready for my Tuesday flight back home to the states.  Fortunately, I was able to see almost everyone at an aperitivo the night before, including his parents and Azzurra.  It wasn't quite long enough (when is it ever?), but at least I got to wish him luck and give everyone hugs.  Tanti auguri, Ale!

Che Gelida Manina

The fog and the clouds and the cold have rolled into Florence, but I don't mind because I can find my way by the twinkling Christmas lights illuminating all the main streets in town.  Life's been more or less tranquillo for the last couple weeks, spent mostly getting into the Christmas spirit and saving up energy for my jam-packed trip back to the states for the holidays.  

Last weekend I went with the students and several professors to see Puccini's opera La Boheme at the Teatro Communale.  It was beautifully done with elaborate sets and melodious voices, and of course a heart-wrenching love story that had me in tears more than once.  They very smartly have subtitles running above the stage so the audience can follow along in Italian.  I had not anticipated understanding everything, so it was a wonderful surprise. 

Ho tante cose che ti voglio dire,
o una sola, ma grande come il mare,
come il mare profonda ed infinita...
Sei il mio amore e tutta la mia vita!

Thursday was the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and thanks to this wonderful Catholic country, everyone got the day off.  I spent the afternoon with my friend Anna, baking heart- and piggie-shaped Christmas cookies and listening to holiday jams.  Then we went out for a sumptuous dinner near her apartment on the other side of the river.

Let's see, I had an interesting bus companion the other day, an old Sicilian man named "Joseph" who regaled me with his views on Italians' world impact.  First of all, it's the old mafiosos like Joe Dimaggio that made America great.  Also, while the nazis were obviously terribly wrong in thinking that there is a superior race, we have to admit that Italians are effectively superior to all and Arabs are ignorant.  For example, Italians are the best painters in the history of the world and they invented everything, despite countless mistaken attributions believed the world over.  Chew on that, Benjamin Franklin.

Italianissimo

A little over an hour on the train and I find myself in a completely contrary world: the south.  People are speaking a different language, the traffic moves in new patterns, and the cuisine has reinvented itself.  I'm in beautiful, boisterous Rome!

At lunch with Carlotta, we were eavesdropping on the couple next to us speaking to the waiter, and the conversation went a little something like this:

Rascist Northern Italian Woman (RNIW): You're not from here, are you?  You don't seem Italianissimo (really all that Italian).  Maybe you're from farther south?

Victim/Waiter of RNIW:  No, more like west, Sardegna.

RNIW:  I knew it.

So watch out if you're from south of Rome or one of the islands because your passports may be invalid.

Carlotta and I spent most of our Roman (holi)day at the Musei Capitolini, which holds several very recognizable figures of ancient Roman art, including various body parts of the emperor Constantine, the original She-Wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, the mythological founders of Rome, and the incredible bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius (if you don't remember who this is, go watch Gladiator again).

Carlotta has a nasty habit of touching the statues.  I only fake touch them.

The museum was hosting an incredible exhibit with sketches from Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci that showed their incredible skill at the human form and engineering, respectively.  I snagged this photo of one of Da Vinci's famous sketches before they told me I wasn't allowed.  Hard to fathom such creative genius.  I was joking with Carlotta: what has happened to the Italians?!  From the Roman Empire to the Renaissance they rocked the world, and now they can't seem to get their act together.  Go figure.

The view from the museum's balcony is one of the most wonderful I've seen in Rome, and we were even graced with a sunset.  The dome in the very distance is St. Peter's (as far as we can tell) and the adorable apartment in the foreground is where Carlotta and I intend to live.

 

I couldn't resist swinging by a couple of favorite spots, including the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain.  I love the illusion of this photo Carlotta shot, as if I was there all alone, when really it was bustling with people.

 

And then we transitioned from touristy Rome to hidden Rome, taking the metro to the periphery to meet Roberta, Carlotta's best childhood friend, who was hosting us that night.  For dinner, we drove to a small town south of Rome called Ariccia, which is known for its Fraschette, a type of osteria that specializes in local wine, porchetta (roast pig), fresh cheeses and meats, and vegetables "under oil".  It was my kind of place, where we got to go up to the counter, and point at everything we wanted.

 

Then of course we couldn't resist ordering pasta.  Apparently bibs are required for pasta all'amatriciana, with which our Chillean-born waiter happily provided us.

  

Saturday we drove to Frosinone and spent time with Carlotta's family (her parents, older sister, Francesca, and younger brother, Andrea), enjoying mozzarella di bufala and sausage, doing some shopping, and relaxing in front of the TV with Nick Cage's National Treasure.  That night we went out for a beer with Roberta, and then all of a sudden it was Sunday morning and time to leave.  I had a two-hour layover in Rome which I spent at Palazzo Venezia (with Mussolini's famous balcony) seeing the "Rome in the Time of Caravaggio" exhibit.

Who knows when I'll see Carlotta again.  After a year in Provence, Dublin, and Cairo, she is soon headed back to Africa, this time Benin (look it up, I had to) for a whole year, to work with poor children who have gotten caught up in human trafficking and other such underground atrocities.  I'll miss her, but am so proud of her!

Time to brush up on my Florentine so as to avert any dirty looks...a weekend down there and my Italian's all muddled!

I am thankful for you

My mom insists that her wanting me home for Thanksgiving is not just on account of my mad vacuuming and potato-mashing skills, but the jury's still out!

This holiday is always the hardest for me to spend away from home and always marks the point in the year when I feel the most homesick.  In fact one of the things I feel most thankful for is today's marking the onset of Christmas, reminding me that my trip home is just around the corner and before I know it I will be snuggling on the couch in plaid pajamas drinking hot chocolate and watching Home Alone and Love Actually on repeat with my family.

But let's not skip to Christmas just yet!

While I was away from my biological family this year, I got to have another Thanksgiving with my villa family Wednesday night.  Thanksgiving all'Italiana was a big success, them having learned how to make everything from sweet potatoes to pecan pie over the years.  I made hilarious paper cup turkeys with my students Tuesday night and each one really took on its own personality, making for great additions to the table decor at Le Lance, the restaurant where we spent Thanksgiving, and where our villa cook's husband is head chef.  It's all in the family!

After a couple heart-warming speeches to remind us what this holiday is really about, we settled in for the feast.  I sat by Paul, our faculty in residence from Georgetown, and his partner, Vincent, as well as a handful of my students.  Throughout the entire dinner, Eva, our business manager Giuditta's toddler, kept playing tag between her and I from one side of the restaurant to the other.  I had great company, spectacular food, and even a baby!  I couldn't have been more content.

How our Italians manage to make such bomb American pies is a welcome wonder. 

Our end of the table played a wonderful game (at the suggestion of Paul and Vincent, of course) where each person put a question in a cup, and we went around the table each answering everyone's questions.  It was a wonderful way to jump start intimate conversations and to learn more about the wonderful people we spend time with every day here.  Other guests in our party thought we were the strangest people because we would always be intense in conversation, often sniffling at emotional stories or cracking up at hilarious ones.  It was such a special and memorable meal!  Here is my officially bonded Thanksgiving crew.

And what would Thanksgiving be without giving thanks?  Today I stopped by the duomo to light a candle for all the people I love and to thank God for blessing my life with them, I mean you!  Living in this beautiful and privileged place and being far from friends and family reminds me to count my blessings daily, but on this of all days, I want to make sure you all know how thankful I am to have your love, laughter, and support in my life.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!