Blogs from Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Europe - page 33

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Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Parma February 7th 2008

Man oh man, these past few days have been kind of hard on me. I have been pretty sick for 1, with a headcold and such. But I've also become pretty lonely (though this may have been intensified due to my being sick and all). Somehow, my initial proficiency in Italian has gone slowly downhill. I have no idea how that is even possible but I am no longer able to speak with my host family the way I used to when I first arrived here. My explanation? Maybe subconscious rejection of the Italian culture? No idea... Anyway, Ive been missing home kind of a lot and this week has been really hard for me. The 40 min walk to school every morning in the freezing cold, and the fact that I have to think REALLY ... read more

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna February 4th 2008

So this is just a quick entry to keep you posted on what I am doing with my free time... I had a day full of classes (first day!) so we decided to take a break and make pasta. We all met at Osteria degli Angeli for a quick lesson on how to make pasta. We started with a big mound of flour, made a well, added an egg... and mixed it all together, rolled it out, rolled it up, cut it into tagliatelle... viola! we did it! easy huh? Stephanie and I worked well together... and made friends with the chef/teacher while we were at it. Then we moved to the bar to enjoy bellini and spritz... mmm! and of course aperitivo snacks... lil sandwiches, hot rice (baby rice cakes covered in something heavenly spicy!), ... read more
Lovely Ladies
Spritz
Oo La La!

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Ferrara February 3rd 2008

Hey all, sorry I havent updated in a while. its been a crazy past few days. So lets start with yesterday. My program has really been encouraging us to explore and figure out the massive public transit system here in Italy so yesterday we had another type of scavenger hunt assignment. The only difference was, instead of it being here in Parma, they broke us up into 3 groups, gave us the name of some random city and the directions to the train station, and from there we were pretty much on our own. Not only did we have to figure out HOW to get to our respective towns, but we had to figure out how to get back, it was kind of intense. Anyway, My group was assigned to the city of Ferrara (no Ferraris ... read more
Mote-Il Castello Estense
Il Castello Estense
Il Palazzo Dei Diamanti

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Parma February 1st 2008

Well, last night was interesting to say the least. Our program treated us to Pizza and drinks at a local Pizzeria (how nice) and in total there were about 30 of us, both italians and americans. It was pretty fun we just chatted and ate inordinate amounts of food. Then after sitting at dinner for about 4 hours (typical Italian) we got up and went to the international student night at a local club/pub called XXL. haha wow, when we got there, the inside of this place was remniscent of something you would find in Tijuana. Bartenders dressed in ridiculous outfits (for carnivale) and stupid American girls getting way too drunk and embarrassing themselves. It was fun though, its surprising how much the Italians here listen to American music. That is pretty much all they played ... read more

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Parma January 29th 2008

So Chris and I went on a little adventure around Parma today for one of our assignments (as i said before) and we found some pretty cool stuff. We ended up walking everywhere, I probably walked around 5 miles today, my feet are KILLLLING me. BUT here are some pictures that I took from our mini excursion in our new home. Edit: quick update, this morning we took our language level placement tests..and i got placed in intermediate-advanced with one other kid who has taken over 5 semesters of italian. I have taken one.... i think i might be a little in over my head.... read more
Chris and I
Parco Ducale
Parco Ducale

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Parma January 28th 2008

So after a long day of classes my friends from my program and I went to a local pub in the center of town for Aperitivi (before dinner appetizers and drinks). I ordered my usual Lambrusco (sparkling red wine) and my friends got various other things. Aperitivi are very common in Italy, basically you have a drink and by ordering a drink you get free appetizers that they put out on the bar for you. I had some crostini (crackers) with olive oil, salt/pepper, and tomato, little pizza, and some italian style bologna on foccacia bread. It was delicious. I felt like a genuine Italian. It got a little embarrassing though because my friensd are still fixed on the fact that it is legal for them to drink here so they ended up getting drunk and ... read more

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Parma January 27th 2008

Well its 3:25am and I have slept for about....2 and a half hours, but thanks to jet lag i am now fully awake, so why not update you all on my adventure thus far. Parma is an amazing city. It is small in comparison to most Italian cities frequented by american students but because of that I get a much more authentic feel out of the city. Small town on Italian terms by no means indicates that there is nothing to do! Our program had a welcome party for us at a bar (bar in italy is not what americans think of as a bar but rather more like a small restaurant/cafe) and we were able to mingle with italian students our age and exchange numbers so we would have people to go hang out with ... read more
My Bed
The Kitchen
View outside my bedroom window

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Parma January 25th 2008

for some reason my computer is really really slow. so...my host family is really cool. they fed me pasta and annalisa (host mother)pretty much only talks to me in italian, but she understands enough english to be able to forge some kind of meaning out of my english studded italian. they have a really cute house. not huge but its comfortable in an italian way. they have a backyard too. and they literally live in the middle of the city, right now all i can hear is the hustle bustle of smart cars just from outside their window. anyway, oh my god, the nephew, who lives upstairs....is GORGEOUS. i cant even being to explain it to you he came over today to meet me and i wanted to cry. Giacomo, the middle son (17 yrs) lent ... read more

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Reggio Emilia December 22nd 2007

As an Israeli, I’ve always thought of fire as something beautiful, powerful, exotic, fascinating, romantic, dangerous, unpredictable… Our almost only contact with fire is when we have a BBQ, and even then, fire is not wanted, we don’t want to burn the meat (Some of us want only to heat it a little)... Here, in the countryside in Italy it’s a necessity. This is the main way to heat the house, sometimes the way to cook (especially in winter). It’s something that keeps you busy all day and in the evenings. You have to prepare the wood - collect it or buy it, cut it, keep it dry, carry it home. Start the fire, make sure the fire is not to high and not to low, keep feeding wood to the fire, make sure it won’t ... read more
summertime
wintertime
il Panettone

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Rimini December 21st 2007

Down the Adriatic coast from Ravenna are a series of small towns. These are the 'Lidi' or resort towns where Italians flock in summer. Some, like Milano Maritimo are very trendy indeed, and some, like Rimini, used to be the 'in' place, but have become overcrowded and expensive. Cesenatica is between the two, it lives for the tourist Euro, but seeks to be quaint rather than trendy. This is a port designed by Leonardo da Vinci, the original plan drawn by the great master of ideas still exists. Unfortunately, the sea moved outwards, and the defensive tower he planned and the canals are rather more inland, so much for global warming, only 500 years ago, the seas were so much higher in the Adriatic. Nevertheless, it remains an interesting town with a museum of fishing. This ... read more




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