Domenica (Sunday) 17 Agosto When I awoke on Sunday morning, I went to the kitchen, rested and refreshed, to find only Nonna- no aunt or uncle (Tonietta and Franco). She spent some talking with me, or at me, rather, as I could not understand one out of fifty words she spoke. Despite the fact that she punctuated her paragraph long sentences with "Capisce?", I learned quickly that it didn't matter, and she was just happy to have someone new to speak with. She told me stories, we laughed, she cried, I mirrored her expressions and let her talk her heart out. [View Full Entry]

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Saturday (Sabato) Agosto 16 After a relatively painless two short flights (Venice to Rome, Rome to Catania), I arrived in Catania on a warm sunny day, although my clothes were still a little damp from Venice. I was becoming more nervous as I grew closer to my destination, as I had not been able to get a hold of my friends in Sicily, and the dialect in Sicily was strong, and the amount of people who spoke English was slim indeed.I managed to get out of the airport, get onto a bus, get the train station, and get on a [View Full Entry]

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(Venerdi) 15 Agosto- Ferragosto There comes a time in everyone’s trip where one regrets ever stepping foot on foreign ground. It’s only somewhat irrational, but natural, as something will always go wrong with at least one aspect of your trip. This weekend I had wanted to go home, immediately. Murphy’s Law was getting the best of me. Friday was my last day in Venice, and I had wanted to go to the beach on the nearby island of Lido. I was disappointed that Cheryl was too busy to join me, but I persevered, knowing that the next day would be [View Full Entry]

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Mercoledi (Wednesday), 13 Agosto 2008 I walked home from class this evening under a full moon, a cool breeze, and some distant rumblings of thunder. The sky was magnificent - a full moon- and I was thinking of the days to come, my upcoming flight to Sicily, and leaving Venice. After the sun sets, most would say that Venice is dead. The majority of tourists have packed it in and the walkways are breathable again. A few adoring couples walk slowly, mano a mano, and the canal echoes the quiet rumblings of local speedboats, some playing thumping techno beats. I stand [View Full Entry]

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Lunedi (Monday) 11 August 2008 The trip to Venice has, admittedly, been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. One minute I’m flying high, sitting in front of Titian painting that has been in situ (in its original designated AKA holy site) since its creation, marveling over this work of beauty I had seen so many times in books. The next, I feeling lonely, overwhelmed, and truly worried that my poor grasp of Italian would eliminate my ability to do any real dissertation research. One of the nicest personal self-affirming things I have done in Italy, which seems silly, has been [View Full Entry]

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Il fine settimana (Sabato e domenica) Saturday and Sunday, August 9th and 10th After the long day in Padua, I was ready for a rest this weekend. After a little sleeping in on Saturday, I made a short trip to the supermarket and had a quick chat with some German tourists over lunch. We were sitting next to each other in an outside café when a group of African vendors, spying trouble around San Vidal church where they were camped out, grabbed their goods and ran like on fire. They were screaming in their native language, and they were in such [View Full Entry]

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(Venerdi) Friday, August 8 Today Cheryl and I took the train to Padua to see the Scrovegni Chapel- a basic in Art History 102 or any Renaissance course. The ride to Padua was too short- only about 30 minutes- and I thought it odd that after only two weeks in Venice, the sight of cars seemed foreign to me. Our reservations for the chapel weren’t until 7:20 pm, so we paid 5 Euros to enter the Civic Museum, the “Eremitani” which was the “regular” art museum. The museum was a complete and unexpected delight, although the guards herded us like border [View Full Entry]

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Thursday, August 7th I managed to wake up before noon today! and set out for Giudecca to see two of the women's institutions (i.e. convents) about which I am writing in my dissertation. The Convertite (the Converted), which was originally created to house "fallen women"- i.e. ex-prostitutes and concubines who left their sinful lives and instead devoted their lives to God. In a not-so-ironic twist, after all religious institutions were suppressed under Napoleon’s rule, the convent was “converted” into a women’s prison. As I approached the institute, a prison boat was a [View Full Entry]

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Monday (lunedi) I had a nice lunch with Julie, my fellow American, and we chatted about raggazzi (guys) and enjoyed some overpriced pizza because it was next to the Accademia and right on the banks of the Grand Canal. Afterwards, I went to classes, where I was relieved to find out that I was now in a group more, um, suited to my abilities. I had some homework to do (allora!) and I had a late stroll, where I saw Matteo, and chatted with him while he closed down the restaurant. He told me his favorite band was Nirvana, he was [View Full Entry]

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Il fine settimana…the weekend! So, as the title implies- my weekend was saved by two lovely men- Matteo and then Jeremy. (And in the same place, and at the same time…but I get ahead of myself- let me begin again.) (Venerdi)Friday, August 1: When I walk around Venice now, I have my iPod on, which gives me a bit of relief and a taste of home to hear top 40 hip hop or enjoy the cooling sunset as I listen to George Michael’s “Father Figure” (thanks Maryam)- or a bounce in my step when Abba comes on. After a short private [View Full Entry]

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