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Published: December 11th 2004
The student
With a final exam around the corner, the finalization of our experience ends and another will soon begin...December 5-9
Letting the music sing me to sleep one restless evening, I decided to change the equalizing filter from “hip hop” to “jazz” and experienced sounds I had never before heard within songs I’d listened to hundreds of times. All of a sudden, I was paying attention to percussive rhythms in the backdrop, small sets that have, until this moment, remained present but out of my awareness-seemingly unnoticed. What a difference, a completely different perspective, a whole new song, the same song. A new song.
I can’t forget this-how adjusting the filter, the view, the glass, the lens, can offer newness and renew purpose. What made me want to come to Italy so strongly and passionately has not been lost, but the perspective has changed with the change in perspective. There is no longer a huge sense of novelty and newness. This has been exchanged with a growing sense of ownership. Although I have my favorite activities, and I’ve developed a bit of a routine or system, I am eager to know and not just admire this city: something or some place, some one, chosen for whatever reason to be a part of ones life, for good and for
The glow of Via Calzaiuoli
Me, Cecilia e Francesco beneath the holiday lights, which are only accented by glittering drizzle of rain. bad, willing to confront and also support, question and challenge.
SNIPPETS
-Today I spentt with my cousin, Cecilia, her boyfriend Francesco, and a Spanish friend they met in Portugal this past summer. For lunch I finally tried ribollita (which is the traditional Florentine soup with white beans, vegetables, bread), and took a minor role in a very energetic conversation on what is considered “family” in Italy and other countries, ideas of gay marriage, the increasing number of childless couples (or only child) in Italy and what comprises a families rights in terms of socio-political terms. Later, we walked around a drenched Florence (it rained for 2 days straight) and visited a German market in Santa Croce-most memorable of this market was the delectable Vin Brule, which is a yummy hot white wine mulled with fruits, cinnamon and clove! (I went back the next day for another “taste”)
I thoroughly enjoyed their company, light-hearted and amicable. We went out for dinner also on Saturday evening, but I had to go straight home afterwards feeling a bit ill (I think my inner ear is congested and I’m feeling the effects with a bit of vertigo). Still yet, we ate well
Aperitivi Smivi
We (Kim and I first, then Salima) meet up at Paris Cafe, near my apartment in Piazza Dalmazia, where between 7 and 9:30pm, you can enjoy a HUGE buffet with one drink...every 15 minutes they arrive with steaming goods-pastas, mini fritatas, crostati, deviled eggs, cheeses, roasted potatoes, nuts, etc. You have to fend off the feasting eyes of Italian men as well, however, but that is half the fun... at this charming little resturant on Via Delle Belle Donne (nice that a street is named after me and sisters!) My favorite of the night was dessert (you could see that one coming, eh!) which finally answered my long-enduring question: Why do Italians like to pair chocolate and pear? (I see it popular with alcoholic drinks and also in dessert puddings/cups) That evening I had indulged (as did Francesco, while Cecilia spooned gelato and hot chocolate sauce) in a pear torte topped with warm rich chocolate fudge, and will not regret it! Even if my head is spinning, there is no better remedy than warm chocolate desserts, to add to the rush!
Sunday, December 5th- The UFFIZI
-On Sunday Klajd offered to go to the Uffizi with me. Purchasing the tickets online first, we made it in without standing in line more than 5 minutes, which is a quite a feat in this city known for its mile-long lines (and I’m not over exaggerating….this time….) Inside, we wound ourselves through 30 something rooms full of medieval work by such artists as Giotto and Cimabue, through pre-Renaissance and Baroque-Titian in the middle, a tondo by Andrea del Sarto, a room
November's salad
My cucinary staples as well... full of Botticelli and his admirers, a Michelangelo in one corner, Caravaggio on the way out. Klajd stood thoughtful in front of some, and I was instantly attracted to those I recognized. Interesting to visit this museum, that opens my memory to all that I studied in art history for so many years, with someone with an objective view. After all, what makes the famous ones famous? And are they any better than another not so famous? And why are so many so similar in style and form? Why are they so obsessed with realism when they already have reality? All questions that I was in some ways glad to try to answer, and more often ponder without every really giving one.
Almost 2 hours went by before we ever got to the MOI exhibition, which was special exhibition of self-portraits by various artists-many of which quite famous (including Andy Warhol, Piet Mondrian, Alice Neel, Nan Goldin, Klaus Oldenburg, Pablo Picasso). In this hall, I admired the variety of expression on a much wider scale-as time has widened the definition of and encouraged the interpretation of art. (In a striking contrast to the content of 80% of the art
in the Uffizi-was defined by religion, and supported only by IT, for there was no other thing called ART, but that which was commissioned by those who had money and power). And so, my partner in crime and I pondered very different pieces of art-appreciating all, but, strikingly, being attracted to quite different modes of expression. I tend to favor those with whom I have some familiarity with (in my personal art experience or art making), while he bends towards those that offer complication, mystery, interpretation-all with no or little familiarity (which perhaps makes for an even purer experience!)
I will return to this place. Happily.
Little observations:
-I got off the bus one evening, and noticed an older woman facing me across the street. She began whistling to someone, and I turned around to see another older woman behind me, who seemed to be oblivious to her friend across the street. The madame across the streets, finally catching the attention of her friend after several aggressive whistles, begins gesturing wildly-the one I understood being the classic fingers pinched together, and the entire hand and wrist flicked out from under the chin, in the direction of the receiver, a
gesture of which I cannot translate in public…at 70 years old and older, there is no loss of spirit in this place!!!
-Crossing the main street in any place other than the cross walk is hazardous. One evening in central Florence, I was walking and looked up to see a cross walk ahead, at which I stopped suddenly when I heard a car around the corner. However, upon stopping, I realized I had a companion at my side, whom, after a firm “FERMI PEPI”, stopped his trotting and held is place beside me, looking eagerly but tentatively at the street ahead. Although the owner was no where I could distinguish, the dog was quite well trained in his city etiquette, and I quite entertained that he learned to look, and even stop, before crossing the street!
-Italian friends are very affectionate. Males and females speak to one another with their faces quite close, often bodies in contact, arms interlocked while walking, sometimes 4 kisses instead of two. This affermation of the importance of physical contact is like the enjoyment of food, of conversation, of laughing, all done whole heartedly and without inhibition. If I’ve written it before, perhaps
UFFIZI samples-Piero della Francesca
how odd to see before me in "flesh" jump from the pages of Art History 101. what story and human feat made one more memorable than another? it reflects my interest in the phenomenon….!!
-In my choir I am learning a second language-that of singers. Every Monday I have a lesson that requires training my voice to produce strong, supported sound, and to pronounce and form my sounds precisely-LATIN!!!!! One vowel, i, (pronounced EE my American friends) has many different sounds and I must learn to recognize which is long, short, open, closed, tall, fat, old or young!!! Also, in spoken Florentine lingue, the C is soft! So, for instance, casa is pronounced with a soft c, as in ha ha ha. A Coca Cola is then hohahola!!!
-One of my plants has finally died and I sadly dumped the innocent thing in the garbage…my olive tree is losing its leaves…one by one. My bedroom may be too warm, not enough light? Too little water? It is very important to me to have a room with at least ONE other living thing to share with it!
-Pandoro-“pan di oro” literally. Think of panettone (a rich, airy sweet bread (lots of eggs and butter) that rises very high, with a browned puffed top, and the yellowish cake contains often raisins and/or candied fruits. Pandoro is
a similar bread taste, but is without the added raisins/fruits inside, and is in the shape of a Christmas tree, with undulating sides and a frosting of confectioners sugar that reminds me of snow. The supermarkets vend between 5 and 20 different kinds of panettone and pandoro, in colorful sturdy boxes and ribbons as handles.
-The large supermarket, called COOP, has a deal that involves the salvation of Christmas trees. When one buys a live tree from their store, they are a given a partial refund in the return of the tree in January, in good shape, which is then replanted! What a wonderful way to renew!
ITALIAN PRACTICE COMPOSITION
Stasera, sto ascoltando alla mia musica (un po di Opera, music di danza che ho trovato qui, hip hop. Ieri, sono andata a letto a mezzanotte, c’e stato la practica per coro in Cerbaia (siamo andati la con macchina, quasi trenta minuti). Quindi, ero stanca tutto il giorno e adesso, mi riposo sul letto. Domani, non vado a scuola, per che’ La Festa della Madonna. Al pomeriggio, verro a lavoro, e dopo, incontrero con le mie amiche per aperitivi alle otto. Questa fine settimana, vorrei andare a Fiesole,
nelle colline, dove sara un concerto della musica classica. Vediamo!
Translation? Tonight I am listening to my music (Opera, dance music I found here, hip hop). Yesterday, I went to bed at midnight, because there was chorus practice in Cerbaia (we went there with car, almost 30 minutes). Therefor, I was tired all the day and now, I rest on top of my bed. Tomorrow I will not go to school, because there is the Feast of the Madonna. In the afternoon, I will go to work, and after, I will meet my friends for appetizers at 8pm. This weekend I would like to go to Fiesole, in the hills, where there will be a concert of classical music. We’ll see!
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