Realized I wrote this and never posted it..whoops!
6:40 PM
Right now I am on the plane home. It feels very weird to be going back. Although a bit early I think I was ready, but was starting to miss Italy already when I had my last cappuccino in the airport in Rome. I realized how far I had come when I saw many clueless Americans in the airport trying to deal with the customs and the language and I was able to help. A particular elderly woman was very dramatic when she only had American dollars and couldn't pronounce brioche. After paying two dollars she exclaimed that it was a crime, but I wasn't sure exactly what she was referring to. (Don't worry, loaded up on the acqua frizzante and some chocolate before I left)All of the travel went very smoothly. Somehow, although I was supposed to pay for my extra bag, and both bags were overweight, they didn't ask me for anything, but I am not going to argue.I also met an interesting character while boarding the plane who when I said was a psychology major said that he did hypnotism as a hobby.Luckily , our conversation didn't go much beyond that (I was starting to get a little creeped out) Somehow, although I didn't get my seat until today I got the first row in the economy class so have had a lot of extra legroom. Still, the ride is going pretty slow, I didn't realize how long 10 hours really felt like! At this point I am just excited to be home and to see everyone.At this point 7 hrs and 45 minutes down and 2 hrs and 15 minutes to go, yay!
by the way, I made it and have been home for almost two weeks!
So I didn't have time to actually write out this post but many people were curious about how I finished my break so here it is in note form. It may or may not get transferred into full sentences, it is kind of funny with all of the spelling errors and short hand, enjoy!
Leaving at 3 am was an unavoidable adventure
Crazy tel aviv airport
Stupid got to rome- had a good cappucinno thank goodness
Then said going barcelona whoops bag already sent- knew it was trouble
Got to sevilla fine (great shopping barcelona airport)
No bag, sad
Went to H and M- power shopped really good, ended up keeping the stuff good price
Saw rachel- tapas- salmarejo so good!
Got early start, weather was nice, cloudy but still mild
-Alcazar- first muslim palace then christian - distinct style
Palm trees
-gardens- peacocks everwhere!!
Rachel then took me to the places that were formally Jewish, very little trace, made me appreciate italy, even if the jewish community isnt thriving the traces are still there
Went to museo bellas artes- surprised myself that I could understand most of the stuff in spanish
Really funny seeing an american college group on tour, felt weird they were very loud
Saw some famous stuff learned about distinct sevillan style
More tapas!
Palazio de Labrija- basically on old villa really cool mosaics- could definetely see difference betweenspain and italy, also some collected that dated back to roman times
It was pouring, shoe shopping, when to another neighborhood bought some beautiful ceramics
Lunch- goat cheese with marmalade on it- to die fo r
Came back wachted How I Met your Mother, love it now
More tapas! And more rain
Cordoba
Nicer day
Home of Maimonides
Went to synagogue, again different than in Italy not as magnificient but still really cool
Mamonides square (I was pensive)
Andlusia house- arab house really cool
Ate lunch- got scolded for putting my bag on the floor
La Mesquita famous mosque, cathedral inside
Train back
Final dinner
I was off, back to Verona
Had a mcflurry, little taste of home, so necessary
The second half of Israel was just as marvelous as the first.Tuesday, Amy had to go to a seminar so I ventured out on my own to the beloved Tel Aviv shuk I heard so much about. I was nervous because I did not have a map and had to use my memory to know where to get off the bus. Luckily my memory served me well (for once) and I got off at the right place. The shuk was filled with random things and of course, the very exciting gummy stands. If anyone knows my love for gummies, you will understand how exciting this was for me. Other exciting purchases include pretty think markers and stickers in Hebrew that say Tov Maod, Mezuyan etc. (to be used for a future job :) Also, going on right next to the normal shuk was an art fair that happens twice a week. This was really cool and most of the stuff was very reasonable. It was so exciting to have so many things in Hebrew and Jewish related to choose from. I ended up leaving witha gorgeous Challah cover and my favorite purchase of possibly my entire trip, a sheep made out of wood and paper. It sounds weird but trust me, it is so cool! After that I met up with Amy and rested a bit while she finished up her programming. I then attempted to grab a falafel, but the guy was so slow that me and Amy had to bolt out of there to catch the bus with her group to Jerusalem with no falafel.
Once in Jerusalem, I just pretended that I was part of the group and attended a seminar with a Rabbi who has been doing coexistence work with Israelis and Palestinians for over 5 years. We also got to hear from participants in the programming which was really an eye opening experience about Israeli society and the conflict. After the speaker we enjoyed bagels (oh how I missed you!!) and then headed out to Jerusalem. Amy and I walked around Ben Yehuda street and the area. I tried my first sufganiya of trip (jelly filled donut for Hannukah yum!) and we just felt the atmosphere. It felt pretty weird because there were so many Americans around. Amy has had a similar experience as me living in Verona by living in Yafo because there are a lot less Americans. We both prefer being more immersed in the culture than this. After grabbing a tea at a local coffee shop and talking, we met up with Amir, who was a counselor with us at JRF. We met him at what he called "the Soup Place" which was this really cool restaurant that had a chill atmosphere and a girl singing Jazz (a bit drunk I believe). We met a couple of his friends who also attend Hebrew U. His one friend is an art major and told us how he made a self portrait out of hummus. Oh how I love Israel. He told us that at the end of the exhibition he gave everyone pita and they ate it! (Hannah, new project ideas???) Once it started getting pretty late, we headed back to Tel Aviv. Instead of taking a bus we took this minibus thing that basically serves as a shared Taxi. It was really nice and got us back to Tel Aviv fast.
The next day we decided to check out the Diaspora Museum. It was located on the Tel Aviv University campus so it was pretty far north but definetely a cool area to see. So on the website it said that the musuem was being "updated," I'll just put it this way, it really needs to be updated. I think the museum was a cultural experience in itself because I got to see what museums were like in the 70s. Yes there were felt boards, and the modern times area about the Diaspora was from the 70s. Despite all of this (and the extreme amounts of propaganda to make aliyah from the Israeli government) I did learn a few interesting things. There were also temporary exhibits that were really cool. One was artists who had been inspired by Andy Warhol's paintings of famous Jews. Most of them were pretty hilarious. The other exhibit was photographs taken by American and Israeli children about their views on Jewish Peoplehood and Israel. I really enjoyed this, especially given my recent studying of photography.
After the museum Amy and I headed back to Yafo where she volunteers. I helped her teach her informal English class about Thanksgiving. The kids were a very rambunctious group of 14 year olds, but they were all very smart. The point of the program was to take kids who were excelling and give them extra attention to ensure that they can make it to college. Amy and I led a lesson where the kids learned about Thanksgiving and then had to debate, one side being the Native Americans and the others the pilgrims. The resulting debate was hilarious. Somehow recycling came into the mix, but also only some of the kids realized the direct parallel that this story has to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I also like how Amy made the parallel to Hannukah, that a lot of people died but we don't talk about that we just eat a lot, which is so true. The kids were adorable when girl kept telling me how nice and pretty I was, I literally did nothing but nice to hear that feedback!
After the lesson Amy and I headed back to her apartment for a bit and then went for a late dinner. We went to a 24 hour breakfast place called Benedicts. We were both going to order Shakshuka because, hey we're in Israel! But the waiter convinced me to order eggs benedict. I have never had that before because typically it has ham or bacon in it I believe, but it's Israel so of course there's the option without! I had it with Spinach and cheese which was so good. We then headed back to Amy's apartment for bed. Unfortunately, we had to wake up at 3 for me to catch a cab to the airport. (I felt really bad doing this because it was Amy's birthday!)It had been a great adventure and I was very sad to leave, but excited for Spain.
I am currently on my flight to Israel! This morning was not something I was exactly looking forward to. It involved waking up at 4 a.m and catching the first train out to Milan. Luckily, some of the other girls heading to Paris were also heading out to Malenpesa, the airport in Milan so they also caught the train. I realized a major way of relieving my anxiety about missing this train would be taking a taxi, well worth it but of course I sat around for a half hour. I was most worried about getting to the airport on time for my flight, which was at 10:40. Luckily, we made it to the 7:40 shuttle, even though our train only got in at 7:35. The ride was beautiful though because beyond the industrial buildings on the outskirts of Milan we could see the Alps which at this point were completely snow covered and gorgeous. It convinced us to attempt to make a trip out to Innsbruck in our last weekend here. I was able to get through all of the security despite the fact that the El Al desk was the farthest walk possible from everything because of their extra interviews. This was my first realization that somehow when I attempted to speak Hebrew Italian came out, in the end I made a good decision to switch to English but hopefully I will improve. It is very exciting to simply be around something familiar. Hearing Hebrew spoken after being in Italy for so long is very nice. I am very excited to meet my cousins at the airport and then eventually meet up with a bunch of people from JRF as well as an old friend from OSRUI. Now, I will attempt to watch Salt which is proving problematic because although it is in English partly, it is partly in Russian and the subtitles are in Hebrew, moving way too fast for me.
Later…
I am currently sitting in the Rome airport. My adventure out of Israel began with a 6 a.m flight, but I will start from the beginning of my adventures in Israel. I arrived at the airport, and it took a bit of time to get through border control. What did not help was a large group of Russians that the customs people decided to give a really hard time, but I ended up switching lines and finally got through. I then met up with my cousin Gil. The last time he saw anyone from my family in Israel, my mom was my age visiting, so he and the rest of the family were very excited. I went back with him to his home which is in Beit Aryeh, which is about a half hour outside of Tel Aviv. Everyone was very nice, but I quickly learned how pathetic my Hebrew is currently (possibly at the expense of the Italian) I met my cousin Noam who was 6 who kept running away when I looked at him, and I was sad I couldn't speak in Hebrew to lighten things up. We had a very yummy Shabbat dinner, then relaxed and watched T.V. I tried to work on my Hebrew by looking at the subtitles, but I am not sure how much I accomplished. The next day I woke up and hung around. A highlight was definetely watching Mary Poppins in Hebrew. Although nothing could top Julie Andrews' voice, I do think they did an excellent job of dubbing and it was hilarious. After that the entire family came over. Although it was an overwhelming amount of Hebrew I enjoyed meeting everyone. It was really nice to meet Leah who was my Grandma's first cousin, but they basically grew up as sisters. We found some old pictures from when she had visited the United States a few years when I was born. I also learned that the family referred to my Grandma as "Erika in America" whenever they talked about her which I thought was really funny. Of course, Leah had the grandmother instinct to make me eat as much as possible which resulted in me being unable to move for awhile after lunch. Later that night, it was time for me to move on to Amy's apartment.
My cousin Gil drove me to Yafo, and I think he was a little surprised that was where she lived. I also noticed that the family seemed a bit worried about me going there which was confusing. I later learned from Amy that the area that she lives in does not have the best reputation because there are a lot of different cultural communities where she lives including recent immigrants from Ethiopia, Jews and Arabs. Many Israelis do not like to go to the area because they are worried but Amy assured me that she always feels safe. After arriving I dropped off my stuff and Amy and I walked around Old Yafo. It was a bit bizarre for me to be seeing an old friend from a completely different setting but also really nice and refreshing. She recommended that I try a famous "toast" off of a street stand which was basically a flattened bagel grilled cheese sandwich=success. She then showed me around near the sea and some of the older areas which is really cool. I did not realize how old Yafo really was, but it was interesting because when compared to places like Italy there are also more new, modern things mixed in with the Old.
The next morning Amy took off from her volunteering and we went to a Moshav about an hour away where Reut, an israeli who was a counselor with us at JRF lives. It was really cool being in this area because I got to go somehwere where most tourists don't go and got an insight to people who live outside of the major cities. We walked around these gorgeous gardens (in a desert what!?) and the town. Reut explained that there were three synagogues: an Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Yemenite in her town. We also went to lunch for what she kept assuring me would be the best hummus I ever ate, she was totally right! First of all, I was unaware that you can go to places and simply order hummus as a meal, but it totally worked. Reut recommended that we order a smoked egg, which was kind of like the eggs that are in Cholent, almost hardboiled but also with flavor. We had that, then ordered two things of hummus, one with beans and one with just chickpeas…so delicious!! We also got pita of course, and I ended up eating so much. I have to admit that I will never be the same when it comes to hummus, Sabra does not even come close, I have no idea what I am going to do, but this is an issue to be resolved once I return to Chicago because there is very little hummus in Italy.
I then accompanied Amy to a community center for Ethiopians where she tutors English. Although a bit rowdy, it was very interesting to get a small glimpse into this community. The girls kept trying to talk to me, asking if I was their new math tutor, I was essentially mute, and then they told Amy that I looked like I knew a lot, whatever that means. Once thing, that I guess is a broad generalization, but I bet is true for most of these girls is they are obsessed with Chris Brown. In the one hour tutoring sessions, he came up multiple times. After the tutoring we stopped at a small grocery store and picked up some fruits in veggies for dinner. All I can say is, why are pomegranates so expensive everywhere else, they are soooo good!!!I also tried persimion (spelling? this may be a combo of the English and Hebrew word in my head) anyways it is this fruit that looks like a tomato except more orangey in color (the look of it totally freaked me out at first) and is really sweet. I have seen them everywhere in Italy and now I know they are delicious so will take advantage.
The next morning Amy went off to her seminars and I met up with Rona. I hadn't seen Rona since we were counselors together at OSRUI the summer of 2008 so it had been a really long time. She was very excited to show me Tel Aviv, and I loved being able to see it with an Israel for basically the first time. We first went to a café and got an Israeli breakfast for two which included eggs, orange juice , bread, eggplant and all of these different cheese and other spreads and of course, we cannot forge the Israeli salad. This was sooo good. After lunch we walked around the main shopping streets and just caught. I found a beautiful necklace which a woman custom made for me while I waited. I then got to see the huge shopping mall, which was very overwhelming but fun. I ended up seeing a lot of the stores I see in Italy but it was still fun. Rona also took me to this area which kind of reminded me of Soho in New York. It had a lot of really cute boutiques and a bit of a Bohemian vibe. At the end of this neighborhood was the "Bimah" which is a big theater where they perform drama, dance and music. The entire area was really pretty and for us former Tiferet folks a must see. We then headed back to the car and parted our ways. It was so great to see her and I hope it will happen again soon!
This past weekend was our last weekend trip with Claudio (very sad :( ) On Saturday we left in the morning for Mantova also known as Mantua, a city very close to Verona. I had never heard about the city before coming here, but it was a huge center for art for hundreds of years. We visited two Palaces, Palazzo Te (some explanation I don't remember but does not stand for tea) and Palazzo Ducale (the Duke's palace) We had a wonderful tour guide who was quadralingual. She kept apologizing for her English yet was able to say things such as "spinster" and "juxtaposition" so I really think she was doing okay. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, but we were not allowed to take pictures anyways. My favorite thing about Palazzo Te was the room of the giants (http://literaria.net/RP/L7/GiulioRomanoGiants.jpg) This picture does not do it justice because it is all about the experience when you walk in the room. The giants are literally giant, and the room is circular so you almost feel as you are spinning while standing still. Before going on to the Palazzo Ducale we stopped for lunch. I had one of the most amazing interesting things I have eaten in Italy. For the first course I ordered steamed pears with asiago cheese and truffle sauce. I know this sounds like a really strange combination but it was delicious!
With very full stomachs we moved on to the Palazzo Ducale which has over 600 rooms. I found it really interesting that Austrians had taken over and put on their own decorations over the Italian ones. One of the rooms looked exactly like the ball room from the Sound of Music. The palace was a bit overwhelming but really cool. We got to see a lot of the paintings that we have learned about in art history class, many by Andrea Mantegna who is from Mantova. You may recognize this painting of his (http://eu.art.com/products/p15164620-sa-i3571900/posters.htm?ui=2125615E3D234AC2A84ECAB7081E01FB)
This painting is known to be one of the first using perspective and is therefore considered on of the first paintings of the renaissance. After exploring the castle with our tour guide we made a quick stop in a theater that Mozart played in as a 13-year-old. After piling into the van we stopped at an outlet mall that was largely disappointing. Then we were back to Verona!
The next day we went just outside of Verona to an Olive Fair. I had no idea what to expect, but as most of you may know, I LOVE olives, so I was excited. The fair was in the country, next to an olive oil factory and there were tons of people there. If anyone was curious to know, I had a dream when I was a small child that I drowned in a sea of olives (because my mother told me if I ate too many olives I would get sick) while that dream may have seemed very strange, I realized in this visit that it was possible to drown in a sea of olives because I encountered more than I ever have in my life.
After hanging around a bit, getting free food and wine, we headed back home for a relaxing Sunday. Now I am getting very excited for my adventures also known as fall break. I will be reuniting with some of my fellow JRFers, seeing some other old friends and meeting family that I have never met before. I will be going to both Israel and Spain. I will also attempt to speak the other two languages that have learned previously and will most likely struggle a great deal. I am still very excited and can't wait to see everyone.
Ciao! (cherish this, I may be unable to speak any Italian upon returning)
Today Karissa and I ventured out to the land of the famous Ferrari and Balsamic Vinegar....result= Piazza Grande (not so grande) and being called French multiple times despite speaking english and saying we were from Chicago.
It seems that I have been posting a lot in a short amount of time, but now that I have the luxury of internet in my apartment once more I can update as soon as I write. This past Friday I didn't have any class so I set out for Cremona with Rose. Ever since I found out that I was a mere hour and forty minutes away from the home of Stradivarius, Amati and other masters of violin making I knew that I had to go. The town was cute and small, there was a lot less going on than in Verona, but I got to see a lot of cool things. After wandering around a bit looking for the main square (this can be very difficult without a map) we finally found the tourist office. We grabbed a sandwich and immedietely went to one of the government buildings that had a collection of Stradivarius' and Amatis. We actually had to call someone to come let us in, so I assume they don't get a lot of visitors this time of year. The exhibit was cool but not much to see. Of course, anyone who plays would agree that it seemed like such a same just looking at the instruments suspended in glass boxes and not being played. Luckily, I read that they are taken out periodically and played and concerts are even performed. After the exhibit we followed some signs that led to where some current Violin makers workshops were. I didn't walk in and try any violins, but we were able to peak through the windows and see them at work. It is cool to know that the tradition in this town has continued for hundreds of years. (even if the makers were mostly Chinese and Russian) I also love that violins are still made by hand, in largely the same manner as before. This is what makes them so expensive, but it also makes each violin unique and precious.
The real exhibit was the actual Stradivarius Museum which is located in the Civic Museum. I got very excited and whipped past all of the paintings that were on the way (I am sorry but there are only so many Crucification paintings I can handle in a lifetime, especially when the Stradivarius stuff was so close!)
The museum had a bunch of really cool instruments made by other makers. One of my favorites was the "Viola d'amore" I believe it had 8 strings. I wonder what it sounds like. Others were beautifully decorated. Probably the coolest thing to see though was all of these tools, stencils and pieces of wood preserved from Stradivarius' workshop. Although many have tried to mimic what Stradivarius did, no violin will ever be like his again. It was cool to see the actual things that he personally worked with. I also discovered that my violin was actually modeled at least physically off of a Stradivarius. I didn't know if I should find this exciting or disappointing, but it was odd feeling like I was looking at my own Violin in a display case.
After a stop for some souvenirs and chocolate we headed back to Verona. The rest of the weekend ended up being a lazy one, as the Olive Fair we were supposed to go to was canceled. Tomorrow we don't have class so I'll be making my way to Venice to see the Jewish Ghetto which my parents were raving about.
last minute add on..almost forget why I love Cremona so much: I was walking by a used bookstore and what is in the window but an Italian version of the Tea Rose!! is that fate or what?
I just finished an excellent 6 day adventure with mom and dad. The trip included many wanderings (mostly not on purpose) tripping (there are a lot of steps in Italy!), scarpe e sciarpe, an extreme overusage of the word "allora"and of course visits to some of"Verona's most suggestive locations" (recommendation from poorly translated Verona guidebook), oh and let's not forget that Hannah partied it up and burnt down half the house while Mom and Dad we gone (Facebook always tells the truth)
Mom and dad arrived in Rome on Wednesday where I hear they stumbled around ancient roman ruins after not sleeping for 36 hours. I met up with them Thursday in the late morning. We quickly (well attempted to be quick but failed) to see the synagogue in Rome which was absolutely gorgeous. I will probably try to make my way back there so that I can have more time. We were only able to stay about a half hour but it was good to make it there. After that we had a quick lunch (where I impressed mom and dad with my spectacular Italian ordering skills recently acquired) and then met up with our tour guide near the Vatican. We signed up for a Jewish tour of the Vatican and I was curious to see what that meant. I quickly found out that the Vatican museums are ridiculously large. Our tour guide took us to different parts and explained some general history but also some Jewish origins that were found. She took us at first to an area that was roped off and showed us stones with Jewish references that were found under the Vatican. We then made our way through some of the art that had been collected by the popes, there was sooo much. Mom and I loved the story about how popes could stroll around Rome and if they saw a statue they liked they could just take it (see our imitation in the picture below) As a result, there were tons of statues, so much that the people in the Vatican had to aimlessly stack them on top of each other, even if they didn't go together. We also saw the Sistine Chapel (did you know there are Jewsthere? Look for the little yellow or green hats)and the famous Cathedral just outside the Vatican.After the tour we picked up some gelato (my parent's first in Italy) and went back to the hotel to relax. We then went out to dinner and I finally got to try something I have read about and sounded delicious…fried artichokes. I know this sounds weird, but they were so good! It is also co to know that this dish was invented by Jews because sometimes they had to eat things, such as artichokes that they found in the forest when food was scarce.
The next morning we took a train to Florence. The first thing that I noticed was that Pashmina scarves were only 5 euros each ( I have been waiting for this all semester). It was definitely a sign of good shopping to come. Our hotel was located in a beautiful Piazza, Piazza Santa Maria Novella. The weather was absolutely perfect and we really enjoyed walking around. The first place we found was the synagogue, which is by far my favorite Italian synagogue I have seen.
Our plan was to maybe see one of the art museums that day, but there was a national strike on all museums in Italy (figures). It ended up being fine though because we made reservations for both the Ufizi and the Academia the following day.After a great dinner (served by a waiter who lived in Wisconsin for awhile) we went to bed, (so early for me but I was totally fine with it)The next day wehit the museums. I was very excited for the Ufizi and absolutely loved seeing the Birth of Venus and the Painting I had been copying in class. Mom and Dad got a bit annoyed with me for going too slow but I got better as the visit went on. After that we had lunch and then went shopping.San Lorenzo market was a lot of fun, but we sadly couldn’t find the stand that Suzy (author of Italy shopping book, mom and I pretend like we know her and always say "Suzy Says)"suggested. After successfully getting only a few things (I totally had this many scarves and purses when I came here) we had our appointment at the Accademia. We were mostly going here to see David but a great bonus was a musical instrument museum. We saw instruments from the D'Medici court including Amatis (shout out to Pappa's viola in Highland Park) and Strativariusis. It was really hard not to break into the glass and just try to play them (such a shame they are stuck in there) One of my favorite things was this stringed instrument that plucked strings but had piano keys so that "ladies wouldn't ruin their fingers"We of course saw the David after this. I was really surprised by how big it was and how amazing it was. After that we did a bit more shopping and rested before coming across a local restaurant called "La Spada" for dinner. The tiramisu we had there was the best I have ever had in my life, and the waitress even told us she gave us a little extra because we were all sharing.
The next morning we woke up and headed to Venice. All I'm going to say is that is was rainy and stressful, we were not happy. Fortunately, our hotel room was gorgeous and happened to be an apartment which we did not expect at all. I remembered my way around San Marco's square from when I visited earlier in the month, so we had a good time wondering around. The whole point of us going to Venice for one day since my parents were returning was that so I could see the Jewish Ghetto there with them, unfortunately it was too late and rainy by the time we got there, but I may go on my on sometime soon.
The next morning we headed to Verona, although it was raining I was excited to go back to something familiar. As we were taking the train we saw a ton of traffic that we later learned was due to the highway flooding. We were lucky it didn't affect any of our travel, but unfortunately a lot of people around the area are even displaced from their homes, so it was definitely serious.In Verona I showed mom and Dad around and we also ate a bunch of delicious pizza. On Tuesday I took them to Castelvecchio, a 13th Century Castle and Museum and the Ancient Roman theater and Archeological museum. Even though it was raining, it was still very enjoyable.
Most importantly, I purchased my first pair of shoes here, a really cute pair of gray leather boots that were impossible to commit to without mom's approval. A final highlight of the stay in Verona was meeting up with Claudio my program director and his wife Rita on Tuesday night. Claudio drove us to the top of a hill to view Verona at night which was beautiful. Wednesday morning, I woke up early, was very thankful that mom and Dad were there because like everything else in my apartment (aka washing machine and internet) my shower, and for that matter all the hot water in my apartment was broken. I was able to shower at the hotel after lugging a lovely red duffle of "goodies" to be sent home before I get home (a bit heavy but with a modification of packing fine) I was then off to class and Mom and Dad were off to Venice. Overall a great visit. I can't believe I will actually be home in a little over a month, so it wasn't as hard for them to leave as I thought it would be.
As for now, working on planning the last details of my fall break. Thanks to Mindy I have all of my flights figured out and will be going to Israel for the first 6 days and then Sevilla for the other 4. Who else would I be visiting but my dear friends from JRF.I can't wait!
Every week for photography we get an assignment. Usually it involves us going out an taking pictures with some sort of theme, or using a technique we've learned in class. This week our assignment was to make a photo diary using pictures we already had or ones we took. Here is what I came up with. Comments are welcome!
This weekend (not this past one but the one before) I got to visit Prague, somewhere I have wanted to go since I can't remember. Our flight left in the afternoon from Verona, so we left the apartment around noon. We then took a shuttle to the train station. On our first leg of the journey we flew a local airline "Air Dolomiti" although it was only an hour long it was really nice. First of all, everything was teal, including the flight attendants' suits. We also got a snack, a mousse type thing that was really yummy. The only issue was, the flight left 45 minutes late, making our 1 hour layover a bit tricky. We did not get to see much of the Frankfurt airport. It was all kind of a blur considering we were running, but we miraculously made it. Upon arriving to Prague we took out money (really confusing, about 20 Czech Krowns per U.S. dollar) We then met up with Karissa's friends who are studying there. We found our hostel and then went out to dinner. I quickly learned that Czech food is not just heavy on the meat, but really heavy in general. I tried some delicious beef goulash and potato and bread dumplings. (my stomach was not happy the next morning) We then returned to the hostel.
The next morning we began our full day with breakfast at a local bakery. This is where I discovered that everyone in Prague speaks english, literally everyone. I also discovered that I can really tell the difference between an Italian cappucinno and a non-italian one, but I lived. Anne and I walked around a bit, saw then Lennon Wall, and then I had my Jewish tour. My tour guide Roman was great, and there were a lot of characters in the group. This one guy looked like Eugene Levy, but yet wasn't Jewish miraculously! I discovered this because his wife was one of those people ( I think they were German) who was having a difficulty understanding the Holocaust. When our guide was talking about Terezin, a concentration camp near Prague, the woman kept interrupting him claiming that the Jews in the camp should have been able to defend themselves. I guess it was good to have this experience, but it was a bit annoying. I met some other really nice people on the tour. There was a nice Jewish couple from the U.K. and an older woman from the U.K. who was studying theology and asked me a bunch of questions about my practice. The Jewish Quarter was really cool. It is called Josefov after Joseph II ( Enlighted rule of Austro-Hungarian empire, son of Maria Theresa, if you want a better history lesson just ask me) It was really refreshing after being in the land of Churches known as Italy to see Hebrew everywhere and hear of familiar stories. Some of my favorite things that I saw were the Jewish cemetery ( really cool, also there is a gravestone that if you rub the lion's stomach, it is supposed to help you get pregnant..don't worried I steered clear of it see below) as well as a clock tower in Hebrew whose clock runs counterclockwise! I also learned at the Old-New Synagogue, you can go for services but they have bouncers at the door making sure you are actually Jewish and actually want to daven. I saw them in action on my way to the Reconstructionist services I attended. By the way, if you were worried that I forgot anything from the tour I took notes (come on it's me!) After the tour I met up with Anne and we took pics by these massive baby statues (with no faces) see the above blog post for a pic, really a bit creepy but worked for my photo diary because of metaphors. We then returned for the hostel for a bit and I got ready for services.
I decided to take a risk and not go to the touristy Spanish Synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat, but a local Reconstructionist community I found online. This experience was absolutely incredible. The community is small, and are located in the basement of an office building. I arrived and was immediately warmly greeted by the Rabbi who was actually Israeli and had perfect English. Everyone who was at services introduced themselves and said Shabbat Shalom. The rabbi asked if I would light the candles. I was really nervous, but excited to feel a part of everything. Also, at the beginning of the service he introduced me as a special guest "A Reconstructionist representative from the United States" ( I am not sure how the RRC or JRF would feel about this but I went with it) The services were great. The community used their own siddur but it had a lot of the modifications in the prayers that I am used to at JRF. I knew 95% of the tunes, even a little Debbie Friedman was thrown in there! I especially loved her Misheberach (prayer for healing) because it was written with a mixture of Hebrew and English and here it was sung in a mixture of Hebrew and Czech…so cool. There was also a discussion after the service about the Torah portion which was nice to participate in. I decided I had to come back for Saturday morning.
Later that night, Anne and I met up with Karissa and her friends to go out to dinner and the bars. We went with a big group from the Prague program and were all really nice. The first bar we went was completely underground and like a maze. The second one that we took way out of town was more like a disco and was themed with lots of metal gears and stuff (very post-Soviet Union in my opinion). Anne and I had a bit of adventure getting back, it took as an hour when it should have taken 15 minutes, but luckily Prague felt very safe and people were out and about.
The next day I woke up and went to services. The group was small ,but very nice. I then met up with Anne and went to see the Prague Castle. I did not expect the castle to be such a big complex but it was really cool. I spent a very long time in the art gallery, but also went to an exhibit about the history of the castle. I had no idea that the castle was over 2,000 years old. Exhausted, I decided to return to the hostel but on the way back got this circular doughy thing (see below) that is traditional in Prague (soo good) I then napped for a couple hours and met up with the group to go back out. This time they told us we were going to a Charles University Student Party. The party was just off the Old Town square, in a church, yes a church. The DJ booth even had a glowing cross. Yes this was a typical disco atmosphere with the drinks, techno music and dancing, and we were in a church. This ended up being a ton of fun despite the location being odd, we danced for two hours and then returned back to the hostel.
The next day was pretty relaxed. I saw a cool Mucha and Dali exhibit, visited Wencalas Square, tried a bit more street food and then went home. Overall, weekend trip= success!
having major internet issues, I have had a few requests for updates but coming soon. I am currently in Florence with my mom and dad (awesome!) news on Prague etc will be there as soon as I am back in Verona!
Before I leave for Prague I thought I should relay some important lessons I learned this week.
1. If people's expectations are really low of your ability, then even if you suck at something they think you are amazing: my violin lesson. I haven't played for almost 2 month can barely crank out a 3 octave g major yet my teacher (my age by the way), thought I didn't know how to play violin at all, so therefore I am a musical genius. I even got a call from my director who had arranged the lessons telling me that the director of the school had called him to say how good I was (really I am not good considering how long I have been playing) The only impressive thing about the lesson was that I semi-understood what was going on even though we spoke all in Italian.
2. Italians use Do, Re, Mi etc. when talking about instrumental music. I may be wrong, but is that used much in U.S. besides choral music and music theory? I think it is kind of confusing but I'm working on it.
3. If you are trying to paint "light" reflections in hair, even if the hair is red, it is probably a bad sign if the color is reminiscent of macaroni and cheese (no further explanation needed)
4. If people are loading money onto your debit card from home, don't try to buy things at the exact moment. My credit card got rejected in the span of a half hour from many atms in Verona as well as the train station. I come home to find more money on my account.
4. (dealing with the above problem) British customer service people are the best! I am not sure what it was about the conversation, but I suddenly was not in a bad mood, maybe it was that she said "lovely" every other sentence or "we'll sort this problem out right away!" It was really a pleasure to talk to them (no joke)
I believe that is all the life lessons for this week, until Sunday, Ciao!
This past weekend I had a wonderful time traveling with the group to Asiago, a small town in the mountains of Northern Italy. The weekend was very relaxing and low key which was perfect. We set out Friday for the two hour drive. I was a little nervous I would get car sick from all of the windy roads but I did okay. We arrived to this quaint little area that looked like it was usually a ski resort but was pretty much empty in the random month of october. The hotel was really cute. It is completely family run and owned, everyone from the reception, to the waitress to the bar tender were all part of the same family. I loved this and wish there could be more businesses like it in the United States.
Friday was pretty relaxing. After settling in we went to a small shop nearby that sold honey cosmetics and other products. I got some interesting things like strawberry and mandarin honey and some honey candies. Later we had a delicious dinner in the hotel and then went out on the town. We were directed to a bar that ended up being a bowling alley, so we bowled (not so successful on my part) all of the equipment was the same as in the U.S. (Brunswick) but the exciting thing was that for strikes and spares you got tickets like at an arcade.
Saturday we woke up to a day that was a bit overcast, but still gorgeous. Around 9:00, we set out for the cheese factory. (shout out to Inna, thinking of you this whole time, literally kept saying "my friend would die if she was here right now) I thought there was going to be an official tour, but really it was just Claudio taking us around. I thought it was really cool. First of all, you could see some cows literally grazing in a field next to the factory. We got to see how all of the different ages of cheese were made/ aged. We even got to try cheese that was fresh off of the line (literally Claudio just grabbed some from this machine that these men were operating, see picture of my hand below). We also got to see the large store rooms that the cheese is stored in to age. We then got to try all different kinds (I'm pretty sure I ate the most but it was so good!)
After the factory we went to the town center. Me and a couple of the other girls concluded that it looked a lot like Colorado. There were stores selling warm things (imagine that in Italy, I was surprised they sold anything that could provide real warmth) as well as handmade wood products. We went to the market which was a bit overwhelming but exciting. This was a legitimate market with clothes, shoes, scarfs etc. I left with a few pairs of warm socks and a new pashmina scarf (yay!). After the market, we returned back to the hotel for lunch and then horseback riding. Although it was raining, the ride was still gorgeous. Slight mishaps included a small jump and gallop (my horse only, screamed both times) Also, I somehow woke up the next morning with a huge bruise on the side of my knee, not sure how that happened. An interesting thing that I learned on this tour from our guide (a guy around our age) was that a lot of people in Italy still really admire Mussolini. He said, "I think that is in your country what you call 'rednecks' " I thought that comparison was pretty funny, but it is interesting that people still really look up to Mussolini, it made me want to do some more research into history (slowly making my way through my history textbook I lugged here). The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. It included a warm shower and hanging out in the hotel becuase it was raining and cold outside.
The next morning we woke up, had breakfast and went ice skating. The rink was indoors and largely reminded me of the rinks at home (except for the cheese advertisments). We returned back to the hotel, had lunch, packed up and set off for home. Before going home we stopped at a local grocery store to stock up on local cheese ( I purchased probably a bit too much) Claudio also had me try a local delicacy, this fruit jelly stuff that you're supposed to eat with cheese that is really spicy. I wasn't allowed to try it without purchasing so I took the risk. With one cherry..yes really spicy cherry my mouth was burning and my tummy felt a little funny. Currently 2.50 euro of it is sitting in my fridge...not sure if i'll attempt to eat that again, but it is all worth the experience. We took a beautiful scenic ride home, I was tired but had a great weekend. Currently counting down the days until Prague this weekend!
Looking over my posts, I realized that I have been focusing a lot on my weekend adventures but have posted little about a typical week. I thought that this was a perfect week to describe becuase it was very enjoyable (maybe thats because both weekends were extended but whatever) My Monday Italian class got moved to Tuesday since we had all been traveling last weekend so I began the week with Photography Tuesday morning. First of all, I never thought I would be that into photography (and I can't say I am very good at it) but I am absolutely loving our class. Our teacher Mauro is a professional photographer (why is he our teacher I don't know) but he's so cool! We got to visit his studio in Verona on Tuesday. There he showed us his computer, software printer (the size of a piano) etc. he also uploaded our pictures for the assignment of last week (foreground and background, did not go so well for me). We then learned a little more about the photography process then got to look at books of photographers we have talked about so far (check out Maggie Taylor she's really famous and her stuff is kind of creepy but cool, Mauro put together one of her books). We were then off with our next assignment finding things that are blue and yellow, which I have yet to complete, guess I'm procrastinating until Monday. After that we had a break for lunch then our Italian conversation class. I think I'm improving?
Wednesday was a very artsy day. We started in the Morning with art history. I am absolutely loving this class and our teacher Andrea. It is quite possible that I am annoying the rest of the class with my constant questions and mumblings about history to myself, but it is nice to feel somewhat in my element, yet realizing that I am appreciating something at a new level. Right now we are talking about iconography and symbolism in Italian art, both Roman and Christian. We also got a beautiful book filled with wonderful prints of Italian art from Roman times to the present. I haven't fully gone through it yet, but I definitely intend to. In the afternoon we had painting which I am feeling so/so about. We are copying famous paintings and I just feel like the teacher sometimes helps me too much. I know that she is making it look better, but I prefer to do things on my own, so we'll see how the next assignment goes. I returned home, had dinner caught up on Glee and talked to some people at home, all around successful day.
Thursday was by far the best day. Andrea our art history teacher took us around "ancient Verona" which is really just the center telling us all about the history and art related. We walked in places that I have been a million times, but I learned so many new things about the history and the past and present function of certain things all over the city. I was the only one in the class furiously taking notes in a little notebook while we were walking but I know I will appreciate it later. (by the way they have these really fun pens here that they only sell in art stores in the U.S. and the look really pretty and are in all different colors, obsessed, but definetely very doodle prone). I came home very tired but excited for the weekend.
As for today, we are off to asiago in the mountains with Claudio. I know that it's going to be cold and there's going to be cheese and that's about it. Update coming soon.
Here is a much needed update on a fabulous weekend. Last week, for whatever reason was a very long week and I was excited for a break from Italy. I left Italy for the first time I arrived here for Brussels! I mus say I am very proud of myself for doing this because the logistics were a bit confusing and I have not really traveled much by myself before. The trip involved a train from Verona to Milan, a shuttle from the train station to the airport and then a flight to Brussels. Some bumps included, reading the date instead of time on my train ticket, therefore arriving at the Verona train station for a train leaving at "8:10" yes, October 10th instead of 9:07, being given incorrect directions by policemen in the train station to get to the shuttle, and arriving to Linate so early that the Brussels Airlines desk was not open. Despite this I did not freak out too much (okay I know you don't believe me but seriously I didn't).
I met up with David my cousin from the Airport and started a great weekend. One of the first things that I noticed was that people in Brussels actually drive normal sized cars, compared to the tiny cars and vespas in Italy. Driving from the airport, the area reminded a lot of the east coast, it was a little more hilly than in Illinois and wooded. We arrived at their beautiful house and I was immedietely greeted by their dog Junior (see picture below), who I believe was not sure if he should be excited or scared to see me. He kept running into the room, trying to sniff my stuff, then when he noticed I was looking at him ran away. He quickly warmed up to me though, and I believe forgot that I wasn't always there within a few hours. After that we had a nice Shabbat dinner, something I definitely miss. I got to eat all of the foods I missed from home, matzo ball soup, chicken and Challah.
The rest of the weekend was just spent hanging around, which was something I definitely needed after the long adjustment to living in Italy. I started the day Saturday just laying around and reading while Gaby and Arielle did their homework. We then went to a gas station that sold American goods (random but exciting) I bought peanut butter (an unfortunate victim of the Brussels Airport Security), twizzlers and a People Magazine. After eating lunch we went to a park that was just two minutes from my cousin's house. It was a beautiful day (apparentely rare in Brussels) and there were tons of people in the park. The park had nice paths for walking, a road that was closed to traffic on the weekends and a big grassy area. The grassy area kind of reminded me of the quad at school except that there were tons of cute children (one little naked boy we were not sure why) and a lot of French (which I comprehended nothing of) In the park, we bought a "gaufre" (spelling?) which is a waffle. Brussels is famous for their waffles with big chunks of sugar inside but we got ones with chocolate and sprinkles too. (see below Arielle with hers)
After eating our waffles we walked around, the area was beautiful, with the leaves changing colors and falling off the trees. We spent a bit of time trying to catch leaves, because it is good luck to catch them before they touch the ground.
Once we returned to the house I helped Arielle a bit with violin (she just started and uses a quarter size!) we decided to bake some cupcakes. The cupcake recipe was in Hebrew, which was good practice but confusion for me. Unfortunately there was some miscommunication and instead of putting a "capit" (tablespoon) of baking powder, we put in a "sackit" (an entire packet)…result: exploding cupcakes. We decided to leave the baking for awhile, but later we made the double baked chocolate chip cookies which I always make at home, and they were a hit. That night we relaxed watched "strictly," the British version of Dancing With the Stars (very British) and watched 2012 which was a great movie.
The next day me and Jackie worked out while the girls had tennis. I was not as unfortunate as I thought I would be, but I definetely felt the past month of spaghetti and cappuccinos. We returned back to their house for a a quick shower, then went off to the main center of the city. A majority of the city was actually destroyed during WWII, so most was built in the 1950s or after. The center is the only remaining old part and was really pretty. There, we bought chocolates and frittes (fries that Brussels is famous for) and I learned that the symbol of Brussels is a small statue of a boy peeing.
We returned home with a mission to successfully bake the cupcakes and luckily they worked this time (with the help of a "capit"). We later decorated them and enjoyed. I also gave the girls the U of I t-shirts I had brought at home. I did not anticipate how much they would like them (especially their new American factory smell) and was happy to spread the Illini spirit in Belgium. After that we relaxed a bit and then went to bed, I knew I had a early flight in the morning.
The trip home was largely uneventful. The major things that happened were
1. I forgot I was going to Milan and kept trying to find Chicago on the flight board...whoops
2. Had to empty my entire backpack at security and had my precious peanut butter confiscated. The woman went "too sticky!!"
3. Wandered around, bought some more chocolate and books (in English yay!) until they finally told me what gate my flight was at (only 10 minutes before boarding)
4. Found this funny coca cola ad (if you were wondering what the peeing boy statue looked like)
Otherwise I made it back, very proud of myself for traveling independently and loving that I connected with new family. Can't wait to see you guys in Israel next year!
This past weekend was an excellent fun filled, interesting weekend. It started Friday morning with a trip to Bolzano with Anne and Janet. Bolzano was a place that I had heard a little about but kind of just decided to go on a whim. It was about a 2 hour train ride, totally worth it. Not only was the town completely off the beaten path for American tourists, but I felt like I was in a completely different country although I was still in Italy. The story with Bolzano is that it has changed hands multiple times between Austria and Italy, as has most of the area. It is one of the few towns that has official languages as both German and Italian, although it is a sensitive discussion. The main center of town is a part of the German area, so I felt it even more. I even felt weird using my Italian to order a cappuccino, but the bartender was Italian so it was all good. Anyways I had done my research and we did a ton that day. To my surprise (and delight) everything I wanted to see was all walking distance from the main square of the town so it was easy to do everything. We first visited the mercantile palace. This was the main place where trading went on. The actual building was gorgeous and had a lot of cool old furniture and artifacts. Right off the mercantile museum we found the fruit market which was amazing. They were selling every type of fruit, veggie, pretzel bread etc.
Next we went to an authentic German restaurant that Anne had read about in her guide book. It was delicious! Anne was adventurous and got the town's specialty white sausage, but I stuck with risotto with artichokes and trout (yum) it was there that i discovered that I actually like beer if it isn't too dark and is of good quality. I accidentally ordered a medium, which was difficult to finish but I thoroughly enjoyed it. (see below)
After lunch we took a visit to the archeological museum to see the "iceman," a 5,000 year-old man discovered just outside of Bolzano in 1992. That was really cool and what Bolzano is really famous for. After that we got some gelato (raspberry yay!) and finally took a cable card ride up into the mountains where we hiked around a bit. It was cool to be somewhere so green, very different from what I typically see here. We saw an interesting statue (see below) as well as llamas grazing in the fields. Overall I would say very successful day...oh yeah and did I mention I ran into a glass door at the mercantile museum...only the worker there saw me she kind of just gawked for awhile...remarkably this is the first time that has happened in my life, but well worth the great day!
The next day we took a trip with the group to Venice. I have been told by countless people that I would love Venice, and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. The town was gorgeous but crowded with so many American tourists (yes I am disassociating) that it just kind of bothered me. We saw a glass blowing demonstration which was really cool. By far the best thing we saw was a lace factory, where they continue to make gorgeous lace by hand. They are subsidized by the government to continue to do everything without machines. I learned that there is a specific type of Venetian lace that will be basically extinct over the next few decades so it was really cool to see it.
Unfortunately, my attempts to wander and get lost in Venice ultimately failed because I couldn't get away from the tourists! I am optimistic though, and will give it another chance when mom and dad come. I am also glad that I can really appreciate the more authentic experience I am getting in Verona. Even if there are a lot of tourists around, many of them are Italian and I am surrounded by the language and people just living their lives.
Luckily, I did not have to wait long to get a more authentic experience outside of Verona. Yesterday, we went with the group to Montagna, which is a town not far from Verona. It is one of the few towns completely surrounded by walls left in Italy. We were lucky enough to arrive there on a once a month fair. Since it was a small town, few people spoke English so I was able to practice my Italian. It was really cool seeing everything that was sold from veggies, fruits, antiques fresh meat and fish, different food spreads and honeys, purses etc. I left with some fresh olives and sun dried tomatoes which I cooked with tonight (fyi if you buy sun dried tomatoes fresh you should soak them in a jar of olive oil or they'll taste like raisins my issue tonight) the olives were absolutely delicious ahh. I also tried some sort of honey chocolate sprinklee sweet roll. The market totally reminded me of why I came to Italy. Unfortunately I regretted eating because we went to a castle..yes a castle to eat lunch. The castle (Belivicqua) was gorgeous and had a ton of cool artifacts. Claudio our resident director and his wife were married there. If only it were closer to Chicago, everyone would get married there...seriously. There we learned some medieval activities such as archery ( I had a good shot look below, yes the bullseye is a pepper...shout out to Hannah!)
We also visited a torture chamber. We had fun at pretending that we were being hung..weirdly I recognized a lot of the stuff we saw from writing my paper one women murderers in 17th century England...didn't realize I was such an expert.
What better way to end the day but with a trip to the mall? Although the ride there made me a bit nauseous, it was totally worth it, the mall was a cultural experience. Because it was Sunday, the mall was packed and insane. I left only with a cardigan but cannot wait to go back. As for this week, I am excited to continue my new classes, start art history and visit my cousins in Brussels this weekend!
