October 14 2014: So I've finally had some actual teaching classes instead of just standing around and talking to (at) my students. It's crazy though because this week I'll have 3 new classes of students who have never seen me. And we still don't know if this is my final schedule. I've worked with 7 different teachers so far and will possibly work with a few more. I was putting together an exciting presentation involving listening to songs and filling in the blanks on lyrics that I pass out but got the days mixed up so today's class (who I've seen every week) got a boring presentation instead. oops. They didn't seem to mind learning about how schools work in the USA though. I'd say we made it through 75% of the class before the talking got really bad. It's hard to make presentations for classes since they might not always have a computer (or it has to turn on, and log in, and take absolutely forever aka 5-10mins) so the length of time varies. I don't want to have lots of empty time but I also don't want to try to cover too much in one day. Have I mentioned I hate having 10 billion classes? I love all the kids, I really do, but it's hard to remember what we've covered in each class when each teacher is doing different things with different grades of students (I have first years all the way through fifth years). I'm trying to make the presentations more interactive because otherwise the kids lose interest and the teachers don't seem to be as strict (some) and the kids just talk over everyone. It's kind of annoying tbh. If it doesn't improve I'll have to step it up and tell them that yeah, it might not be the most exciting thing to sit here and listen to me talk, but it wasn't exactly a party creating the lesson either and they'll shut up and at least pretend to listen while I'm talking. Someone asked me in class yesterday what my favorite part of teaching was. I wasn't exactly sure what to say but I think it's when students are genuinely interested and you can see them thinking and understanding. There's only a few in each class that tend to talk and ask lots of questions but it's worth it when you know you're getting through to at least a few.
Quidditch is still going great. I went to a bar last week with a few of the team and Irish music was played. Definitely wasn't expecting to find that in Italy. It's been kinda rainy this past week but today was sunny and gorgeous. My host brother took me to a bookstore in Saronno where I bought some books in English to read. We've also talked for hours about all kinds of things. It's nice to chat in English during the week to someone my age (usually it's just on the weekends with the quidkids). One of the girls this week who will be joining the team during her stay in Italy is from Oxford. Our levels of Italian are pretty similar and she understands my jokes, woo (my puns don't have the same effect to non native english speakers). I was feeling kinda bleh the past few days but I think it's allergies. Finally found cough drops and then the next day I'm feeling back to normal. Host family is still wonderful, I think "reply all" should be eliminated as an email option, and I'm already ready for the weekend. Check my facebook for pictures because adding them here is a pain (sorry for those of you without facebook. wait til I get back or find Mom and ask her to show you).
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Lazy
Wednesday October 8th:
Each day I come home and I go "I should write a blog post!" then proceed to take a nap, check facebook, and do anything but. Here's a brief rundown of what's happened in the past almost week since I've posted.
Classes on Thursday, Friday, and Monday were basically all the same. I introduced myself and answered all kinds of questions. Some of the standout questions were "What do you think of marijuana legalization in the USA? What do you DISlike about Italy? Do you like Italian boys." Those were interesting to answer. Most of the kids want to know what TV I watch and what movies I like but sadly that list is very short so there isn't much to discuss.
Over the weekend I went to Milan, twice. Saturday for Quidditch practice but I didn't practice because I got awful blisters on my heels from my new shoes that I wore last Thursday. I had a lovely chat with Velia since she was recovering from a cold then a nice dinner where I tried kebabs (not meat on a stick but kind of like Turkey (the country) barbecue sandwich). On Sunday I slept in then ventured back to Milan for aperitivo with some quidditch friends. You pay like 10euros for a drink (alcoholic or not) then get an unlimited buffet of tasty food. Some places are cheaper but the food selection correlates to price. I had couscous, mini pizzas, brownies, pasta, breadsticks, french fries, onion rings, risotto, and who knows what else. I tried a bit of everything that looked good. Then we wandered around near the duomo, I found some headphones because I managed to lose mine somewhere, and I caught the train back to Saronno. I think I can use the trains and busses now, at least to and from Saronno and around Saronno, which is a relief. However, all the school kids ride normal busses so today my bus was jam packed with kids age 8-18, mostly elementary and middle school aged though. There had to be at least 30. It was like the p2p but possibly worse.
I have a schedule for this week which is lovely. tomorrow I get to sleep in! I don't have to be at school until 11:10 so I'll catch either the 10 or 10:30 bus, probably the 10. Much better than waking up and leaving by 7:30. However, everyone's schedule changes next week so I still can't plan too much. One class today asked if I would cook something around Christmas time and they would also cook something for everyone to share. Recipe suggestions are welcome please!!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Day 2 At School
October 2nd: Today I went to school with Grazia again because I don't have a schedule yet. Nobody needed me until 10 though so I sat around and worked on stuff like finding important emails from my UNC account and sending them to my personal email. *boring* I showed one of the teacher's my presentation on North Carolina and she didn't know what Oreos were. I found oreos at the grocery store and my friends on the quidditch team know what they are. I think it's an age difference and the students at school will know. The students asked many of the same questions from yesterday but there were a few new questions. They asked me to speak some Italian so I said something like "My name is Alex, I have a younger brother, he is 18, I am from the USA." Then they asked if my brother was cute (this class was students aged 17 and 18). I said yeah, but he has a girlfriend. I think the girls were genuinely disappointed. One class had only one boy! The students don't switch classes either. I don't know how he does it. I taught 3 classes in a row and it was all basically the same. One class got to hear that awful 50 states song that most kids learn in elementary school (I never did and probably can't name all of the states).
The fun began when I decided to leave at 1:10 with the students since Grazia had a meeting with other teachers. I wasn't sure how to get to the bus stop, buy a ticket, and get off at the right stop. One of the girls (Francesca) in the class offered to show me the way and help. We walked to the bus stop which isn't too far, maybe 10 minutes, and she showed me where to buy the ticket. The guy selling tickets was super nice too. Francesca explained that my bus is orange and the blue busses go to other cities. When it arrived she told the driver that I didn't know when to signal the bus to stop (I had a street name and the description "near the elementary school") but he knew exactly where and said he would tell me. We left at 1:45 and at the second bus stop 20 elementary school kids crowded on. The bus was a public bus but me and the driver were the only non-students. The kids had bus passes or tickets that the driver tore instead of having the kids all stamp the tickets at the machine. My stop happened to be where many others were getting off the bus too. I recognized it and the driver confirmed. I took my shoes off for the short walk to the house (3 mins?) because they're new and I have awful blisters now. ughhh. But, I made it, and confused Gianluca when I walked in the door without his mom. I was proud that I made it and I think I can do it by myself now. woo!
I was confused when I walked upstairs and noticed my bed was neatly made. Usually I just straighten it up a bit but no use tucking in all the sheets when I'm just gonna sleep in them again (this has been my philosophy for years, nobody sees my room anyway). I assumed Grazia tidied it for me yesterday because she went upstairs to put snacks in my room while I cooked tacos for lunch but I know she couldn't have done it today. I asked Gianluca and apparently the housekeeper comes every day and his job includes making beds and emptying my little trashcan by my desk. umm, what? Yeah, I had no idea but it's super nice. I'll have to give him some Reese's or something. I met him my first day here and he carried both of my suitcases for me.
After a nice nap Grazia and I took Aika for a walk. I fixed a small sandwich because I had a slice of pizza at noon and I was hungry again by 6. She lives really close to the edge of town and there's lots and lots of corn fields and other fields with a path through them 3 mins the other way from the bus. It was super pretty and relaxing. I don't think I like cities all that much. This felt more like home. Then I went to work more on my presentation of North Carolina and this blog (which I'm finishing now 4 hours later...). Dinner was pasta alla carbonara. The noodles were really thick spaghetti noodles but hollow....it was super strange and also very difficult to eat. However, it was very tasty. I'm not a fan of the pancetta though, too salty. I'm super slow at eating. Gianluca managed to eat two portions of pasta and most of his double burger with cheese wrap thing before I was finished with my pasta and apple. I didn't want a burger because it's so much food. He barely cooked the burgers and it was kinda weirding me out to look at. Gianluca went to go change outfits so he could watch his friend play soccer and I got my computer to show my host parents my NC presentation. Gianluca saw about half before he had to leave. He helped translate a lot (it's entirely in English) and google translate was quite helpful too. Tomorrow is Friday, huzzah! I'm excited and it's been a great first week. Missing NC after reading a post about UNC things. Link is below.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/38650-i-wish-they-all-could-be-carolina-girls-23-things-only-unc-students-can-truly-understand
The fun began when I decided to leave at 1:10 with the students since Grazia had a meeting with other teachers. I wasn't sure how to get to the bus stop, buy a ticket, and get off at the right stop. One of the girls (Francesca) in the class offered to show me the way and help. We walked to the bus stop which isn't too far, maybe 10 minutes, and she showed me where to buy the ticket. The guy selling tickets was super nice too. Francesca explained that my bus is orange and the blue busses go to other cities. When it arrived she told the driver that I didn't know when to signal the bus to stop (I had a street name and the description "near the elementary school") but he knew exactly where and said he would tell me. We left at 1:45 and at the second bus stop 20 elementary school kids crowded on. The bus was a public bus but me and the driver were the only non-students. The kids had bus passes or tickets that the driver tore instead of having the kids all stamp the tickets at the machine. My stop happened to be where many others were getting off the bus too. I recognized it and the driver confirmed. I took my shoes off for the short walk to the house (3 mins?) because they're new and I have awful blisters now. ughhh. But, I made it, and confused Gianluca when I walked in the door without his mom. I was proud that I made it and I think I can do it by myself now. woo!
I was confused when I walked upstairs and noticed my bed was neatly made. Usually I just straighten it up a bit but no use tucking in all the sheets when I'm just gonna sleep in them again (this has been my philosophy for years, nobody sees my room anyway). I assumed Grazia tidied it for me yesterday because she went upstairs to put snacks in my room while I cooked tacos for lunch but I know she couldn't have done it today. I asked Gianluca and apparently the housekeeper comes every day and his job includes making beds and emptying my little trashcan by my desk. umm, what? Yeah, I had no idea but it's super nice. I'll have to give him some Reese's or something. I met him my first day here and he carried both of my suitcases for me.
After a nice nap Grazia and I took Aika for a walk. I fixed a small sandwich because I had a slice of pizza at noon and I was hungry again by 6. She lives really close to the edge of town and there's lots and lots of corn fields and other fields with a path through them 3 mins the other way from the bus. It was super pretty and relaxing. I don't think I like cities all that much. This felt more like home. Then I went to work more on my presentation of North Carolina and this blog (which I'm finishing now 4 hours later...). Dinner was pasta alla carbonara. The noodles were really thick spaghetti noodles but hollow....it was super strange and also very difficult to eat. However, it was very tasty. I'm not a fan of the pancetta though, too salty. I'm super slow at eating. Gianluca managed to eat two portions of pasta and most of his double burger with cheese wrap thing before I was finished with my pasta and apple. I didn't want a burger because it's so much food. He barely cooked the burgers and it was kinda weirding me out to look at. Gianluca went to go change outfits so he could watch his friend play soccer and I got my computer to show my host parents my NC presentation. Gianluca saw about half before he had to leave. He helped translate a lot (it's entirely in English) and google translate was quite helpful too. Tomorrow is Friday, huzzah! I'm excited and it's been a great first week. Missing NC after reading a post about UNC things. Link is below.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/38650-i-wish-they-all-could-be-carolina-girls-23-things-only-unc-students-can-truly-understand
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
First Day Teaching!
October 1st: Today was my first day in the classrooms. First off, high school works WAY different than in the USA. The school format is class begins at 8:10 (many students waltzed in late, they were the older students) and you have two, one hour classes, then break. Then two more one hour classes, a short break, and then 2 more 1 hour classes and school is over at 2:10. They go to school on Saturday and the teachers switch classrooms, not the students. Students pick which high school to attend based on what they want to study. I'm at a technical high school where the focus is economics, business, tourism and the like as well as the basics math, italian, foreign language, history, etc. I don't really know the specifics. Teachers aren't at school all day, you can leave when you are finished or show up late if you don't teach until later. My host mom is a math teacher and she teaches for the first 3 hours on Wednesdays. Tomorrow (Thursday) she teaches the first 3 hours and the last hour. Then it changes every few weeks. It is super complicated and all the teachers carry schedules of where to be and when. Oh, and it changes 10 days from now.
So, the first class was a 4th year English class. The teacher asked me to introduce myself and then answer questions from the kids. Oh, the questions. Do I watch Pretty Little Liars, who's my favorite italian actor/american actor, favorite: movie, music, sports, teams, places to vacation? Do I like Italy, where else have I traveled, how is the currency, have I ever seen a celebrity (I mentioned the athletes that come back to UNC games, nope, haven't seen Johnny Depp, other coast), how is the weather at home, where did I study, what did I study, college parties (that was weird to discuss), do I smoke (smoking seems to be more prevalent here), my favorite car (a Ford mustang in case you're wondering)...the list is endless. Most were cultural related but they also had some really intellectual questions. They wanted to know my opinion on politics, Obama, ISIS, 9/11, and if easy access to guns was influencing the mass shootings. I was caught off guard but answered as honestly as I could, making it known that this was my personal opinion and not what all Americans thought. Even though it was early in the morning, my surprise visit was received very well and the kids were shy at first but their English was pretty good (better than my Italian). I want to work more with them but I think they only have this class once a week (I don't understand the complicated schedules).
Class 2 was full of either first or second year students, I think first. They looked really young and really didn't want to talk. I think two brave souls talked to me in English and that was after lots of encouragement from the teacher. This class wouldn't ask questions so I told them a few differences between my hometown and Saronno, a bit about my family and the weather, then we discussed the differences between American and Italian high schools. The grading is completely different, the course structures and materials, basically everything really.
After school (at 11:10 today) we went to the police station to turn in my paperwork. Since we had to pay for parking and there wasn't a line at the station we decided to take a look at downtown Saronno. We also had gelato :D yumm. Then we went to a supermarket so I could get some snacks and some food that I know I'll eat (type of cereal, lunch meats, etc.) I found oreos, ritz crackers, and pepperidge farms Milano cookies. no goldfish :( but now I have plenty of snacks to take to school and eat during the afternoon since dinner is so late. I found taco seasoning and taco shells at the store and offered to make lunch. It was lots of fun! The tacos were well received. I took a nice long nap since I didn't sleep too well last night and woke up so early then did some work and had dinner. We had spaghetti (the sauce had no vegetables, I'm not sure if this is normal or was because I don't like them) then the second course we had ricotta cheese (not a fan) and prosciutto. I also had an apple. The dog came inside for a bit and caught grapes thrown to her. She's adorable. Oh, Gianluca (host brother) loved the Reese's cup and asked for his mom to get peanut butter at the store (we found it today). I don't know what tomorrow has in store but I'm excited. good night everyone (well, good evening. I'm 6 hours ahead of the East coast).
So, the first class was a 4th year English class. The teacher asked me to introduce myself and then answer questions from the kids. Oh, the questions. Do I watch Pretty Little Liars, who's my favorite italian actor/american actor, favorite: movie, music, sports, teams, places to vacation? Do I like Italy, where else have I traveled, how is the currency, have I ever seen a celebrity (I mentioned the athletes that come back to UNC games, nope, haven't seen Johnny Depp, other coast), how is the weather at home, where did I study, what did I study, college parties (that was weird to discuss), do I smoke (smoking seems to be more prevalent here), my favorite car (a Ford mustang in case you're wondering)...the list is endless. Most were cultural related but they also had some really intellectual questions. They wanted to know my opinion on politics, Obama, ISIS, 9/11, and if easy access to guns was influencing the mass shootings. I was caught off guard but answered as honestly as I could, making it known that this was my personal opinion and not what all Americans thought. Even though it was early in the morning, my surprise visit was received very well and the kids were shy at first but their English was pretty good (better than my Italian). I want to work more with them but I think they only have this class once a week (I don't understand the complicated schedules).
Class 2 was full of either first or second year students, I think first. They looked really young and really didn't want to talk. I think two brave souls talked to me in English and that was after lots of encouragement from the teacher. This class wouldn't ask questions so I told them a few differences between my hometown and Saronno, a bit about my family and the weather, then we discussed the differences between American and Italian high schools. The grading is completely different, the course structures and materials, basically everything really.
After school (at 11:10 today) we went to the police station to turn in my paperwork. Since we had to pay for parking and there wasn't a line at the station we decided to take a look at downtown Saronno. We also had gelato :D yumm. Then we went to a supermarket so I could get some snacks and some food that I know I'll eat (type of cereal, lunch meats, etc.) I found oreos, ritz crackers, and pepperidge farms Milano cookies. no goldfish :( but now I have plenty of snacks to take to school and eat during the afternoon since dinner is so late. I found taco seasoning and taco shells at the store and offered to make lunch. It was lots of fun! The tacos were well received. I took a nice long nap since I didn't sleep too well last night and woke up so early then did some work and had dinner. We had spaghetti (the sauce had no vegetables, I'm not sure if this is normal or was because I don't like them) then the second course we had ricotta cheese (not a fan) and prosciutto. I also had an apple. The dog came inside for a bit and caught grapes thrown to her. She's adorable. Oh, Gianluca (host brother) loved the Reese's cup and asked for his mom to get peanut butter at the store (we found it today). I don't know what tomorrow has in store but I'm excited. good night everyone (well, good evening. I'm 6 hours ahead of the East coast).
First Day in Saronno!
September 30th: I arrive at the train station in Saronno with Alisa who decided to accompany me because my suitcases are a total pain for only one person. Grazia spotted me/us immediately and we followed her to her car. Luckily she found a spot close to the station (which is rare). Alisa headed back to Milan and Grazia and I went to ITC Gino Zappa, the high school where she teaches math and I will be helping with English. I was introduced to many teachers and administrators, did some paperwork, then it was off to the police station for more paperwork. Unfortunately, we didn't have the paperwork so we went on home. Her housekeeper, Giueseppe (sp?), hauled my suitcases up the stairs for me which was super kind and super helpful! I'm staying in Grazia's oldest son's old room. It hasn't been changed so there are the planets on my ceiling, a spongebob outfit, plenty of books and toys, and wall art from when I think he was 5 years old. It's very cozy and I have a desk and a place to put everything. My window is actually two doors that open up onto a balcony. There aren't blinds, just a white curtain, which doesn't really block the sun in the morning but I got up before sunrise today anyway. For lunch, Grazia made breaded turkey breast with olive oil and lemon juice and cooked some carrots for me when she realized that and potatoes are practically the only vegetables I eat. We shared many laughs throughout the day with our Italian and English broken speech. I am going to be a PRO at charades! Carrying my dictionary around has proven quite helpful for both of us. The last girl she hosted, Angelica from Philadelphia, was a pescatarian and it was her 3rd trip to study in Italy so she spoke much better Italian than me. I'm pretty much the opposite of vegetarian which she found quite amusing. I went to take a nap and she went to school for a meeting. When I went back downstairs later, she had gone to the supermarket and bought red apples for me and nutella and bread for the toaster. In case you haven't noticed, she's super nice. Dinner was risotto (rice and mushrooms) which was very tasty but dinner is usually around 8pm :0 I'm going to have to get used to this. We also had prosciutto sliced very thin (ham essentially) and fruit. I shared Reese's cups with everyone (Grazia, her husband, and son, Gianluca). Gianluca was at Tchoukball practice but normally would eat dinner with us too (he arrives home from university in time for lunch as well). He loved the Reese's and requested peanut butter from the store. Apparently this sport exists in the USA but I've never heard of it until now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tchoukball
Grazia's house is very nice. It's a townhouse with 3 stories and a basement. Her husky, Aika (eye-ka) is very friendly. Many people smoke in Italy, I'm thinking more than the USA. She lives on the outskirts of Saronno so it's very quiet here and there is a park nearby but also a bus stop and small grocery store. Time for dinner so I'll write more later. check out my facebook for photos!
Grazia's house is very nice. It's a townhouse with 3 stories and a basement. Her husky, Aika (eye-ka) is very friendly. Many people smoke in Italy, I'm thinking more than the USA. She lives on the outskirts of Saronno so it's very quiet here and there is a park nearby but also a bus stop and small grocery store. Time for dinner so I'll write more later. check out my facebook for photos!
Monday, September 29, 2014
The Center of Milan
Monday September 29th:
Alisa showed me around Milan today! We started by going to "Via Marina" for our good friend named (you guessed it) Marina! Then we headed to the very center of Milan and saw the castle. We didn't go inside because money and it's not castle-y but museums of other things. There were 3 big food trucks with gelato....except we missed the gelato festival by ONE DAY! this was super depressing but probably best for our health. I saw loads of different police cars and police. They do it a bit differently at home. We saw the regular police (polizia) as well as the bank police, military police (carabineri), and the traffic police. I liked all the cars and vans. We also saw actual military guys (perhaps carabineria in different uniforms?). Then we saw the "living room" of Milan which is a huge pretty shopping mall of sorts. I didn't dare go inside Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Versace but merely admired through the windows. Also, a touristy thing for good luck is to stand with your heel on the bull's balls and turn in a circle 3 times. Yes. You read that correctly. I had to participate.
For lunch we made our way to Luini where they serve panzerotti and many other delicious things. We went for the panzerotti fritti aka fried calzones. Mine had ham and mozzarella and was amazing! Marina was super jealous. We then admired the duomo of Milano (third largest in the world) from the cafe at the top of la Rinascente, a high end department store. Inside the cathedral was super pretty and awe inspiring. We then took a trip to see the bronze horse that Leonardo designed and the stadium where AC Milan plays. I was hungry and we passed a McDonalds so I had to try it. THEY HAD ICE IN THEIR SODAS AND IT WAS GLORIOUS! I miss ice. Also, have I mentioned that the light switches are on the outside of the room? I mean sure, turn on the light then go inside the room...works like a charm except for pranks and accidents. One of the girls on the quidditch team mentioned that her mom would sometimes accidentally turn off the light in the bathroom when she didn't know someone was inside. I know Evan would take full advantage of this if light switches were on the outside of rooms at home. We finally made it back to Alisa's apartment where naps were first on the agenda. Now I'm mostly packed up and ready to move to Saronno tomorrow morning!
Buonanotte!
Alisa showed me around Milan today! We started by going to "Via Marina" for our good friend named (you guessed it) Marina! Then we headed to the very center of Milan and saw the castle. We didn't go inside because money and it's not castle-y but museums of other things. There were 3 big food trucks with gelato....except we missed the gelato festival by ONE DAY! this was super depressing but probably best for our health. I saw loads of different police cars and police. They do it a bit differently at home. We saw the regular police (polizia) as well as the bank police, military police (carabineri), and the traffic police. I liked all the cars and vans. We also saw actual military guys (perhaps carabineria in different uniforms?). Then we saw the "living room" of Milan which is a huge pretty shopping mall of sorts. I didn't dare go inside Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Versace but merely admired through the windows. Also, a touristy thing for good luck is to stand with your heel on the bull's balls and turn in a circle 3 times. Yes. You read that correctly. I had to participate.
For lunch we made our way to Luini where they serve panzerotti and many other delicious things. We went for the panzerotti fritti aka fried calzones. Mine had ham and mozzarella and was amazing! Marina was super jealous. We then admired the duomo of Milano (third largest in the world) from the cafe at the top of la Rinascente, a high end department store. Inside the cathedral was super pretty and awe inspiring. We then took a trip to see the bronze horse that Leonardo designed and the stadium where AC Milan plays. I was hungry and we passed a McDonalds so I had to try it. THEY HAD ICE IN THEIR SODAS AND IT WAS GLORIOUS! I miss ice. Also, have I mentioned that the light switches are on the outside of the room? I mean sure, turn on the light then go inside the room...works like a charm except for pranks and accidents. One of the girls on the quidditch team mentioned that her mom would sometimes accidentally turn off the light in the bathroom when she didn't know someone was inside. I know Evan would take full advantage of this if light switches were on the outside of rooms at home. We finally made it back to Alisa's apartment where naps were first on the agenda. Now I'm mostly packed up and ready to move to Saronno tomorrow morning!
Buonanotte!
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Firenze & Quidditch
Today is Sunday September 28th but I'm just now getting around to writing...
On Friday September 26th: Alisa and I took a high speed train to Firenze to visit Marina/Maureen Melita (my Italian 101 teacher and friend). The train went over 200km/hr! The view out the window was gorgeous because of all the pretty mountains and countryside. We arrived in Firenze, dropped our bags off at Marina's apartment, then set off for lunch! We ate at a fantastic sandwich shop where all the sandwiches are on baguettes and they were lovely and put only turkey (freshly sliced) and mozzarella (super fresh and delicious) on my sandwich instead of everything (like vegetables). Marina and Alisa's sandwiches were much more complex but all were equally tasty to each. I had a Fanta because yum, sugar, and it tastes better over here in Europe. Can sodas are way more common than fountain sodas. Probably not gonna drink too many more of them because they're usually 3 euros each. Water is also typically bottled because the water in the city is kinda bleh tasting though completely drinkable. The fountains are nice so I'll definitely have to get a re-usable water bottle. After lunch we saw Dante's church where his beloved Beatrice is buried and we saw "il duomo" which is actually named the Basilica of St Maria the flower but the dome is really pretty and easiest to see. It was super pretty inside and out. We also went and saw Michelangelo's David which is ginormous and awe inspiring. Marina was really happy because you are now allowed to take pictures of it. I'll get around to posting mine on facebook eventually... Then we had a lovely dinner at Trattatoria Anita, where Marina has been a regular for years, and enjoyed some amazing food and chats with the waiters/owners. After a taxi ride back to her apartment we went to sleep then Alisa and I headed back to the train station in the morning so I could make it back to Milan in time for Quidditch.
Saturday September 27th: Quidditch!!! well, first we had lunch at an amazing pizza place (Brick Oven Pizza) with oval shaped super thin crust pizzas. Then I stopped by a grocery store to buy my own shampoo and things. Learned the word for conditioner in Italian, lol. Then we got ready and went to Quidditch! It happens in Parco Lambro not tooooo far from Alisa's house. We took the bus to the subway then got off after 2 stops. We then walked and found the entrance to the park but couldn't find the rugby fields. We found a bar (which in italian is often coffee and snacks, so more of a "snack bar" but they're just called bars) in the park and the owner gladly gave us directions from there. Alisa was going to stay and watch for a bit because she has never seen it but the MOSQUITOES. holy ****. I didn't know I could hate anything so much. You thought the mosquitoes were bad in North Carolina? think again. I only seem to have one bite though so perhaps they were more like gnats or either weren't hungry. However, I wore my sunglasses for the entire practice so I didn't end up with any in my eyes and I definitely ate a few. When you stopped moving your arm had to continuously be waving around your face and body to keep them off. It makes playing quidditch extra difficult. Anyway, I was introduced as a player from the States and I don't know what else was said because it was definitely in Italian. Most of the team knows at least a little bit of English. We had a lot of fun doing drills, scrimmaging, and then playing ultimate quidditch (like ultimate frisbee, but with brooms and a quaffle instead of a frisbee). I learned all the terms in Italian for Quidditch and tried to help. I did keep mixing up everyone's names. Francesca was super nice and told me that she wasn't Clara...which is why she had never answered me when I was shouting for her when we were beating together. lol. I didn't feel like wearing my tall socks and wore normal socks with my cleats which was a mistake I won't be making again. I now have blisters because my socks were too thin. After practice we were going to go to an aperetivo but it was too late (aperetivo = buy a drink for like 8 or 9 euros and get loads of snacks/food to eat). We ended up going to a pizza place near Michele's apartment (where all the quidditch stuff was stored) where I tried gnocchi. I think either the gnocchi was not so good or either I don't like it. The pizza looked quite good. After pizza half of us went back to Michele's (where he stayed because he's old and pulled a muscle or something) to pick up our things and have some limoncello. Valeria and Gianluca helped me find my way back to Alisa's apartment and I slept for ages. Don't worry Mom & Dad, just because I'm in Italy doesn't mean I don't sleep in and watch video games :] Not sure what the plan is for the next few days yet but I'll post about it to be sure.
On Friday September 26th: Alisa and I took a high speed train to Firenze to visit Marina/Maureen Melita (my Italian 101 teacher and friend). The train went over 200km/hr! The view out the window was gorgeous because of all the pretty mountains and countryside. We arrived in Firenze, dropped our bags off at Marina's apartment, then set off for lunch! We ate at a fantastic sandwich shop where all the sandwiches are on baguettes and they were lovely and put only turkey (freshly sliced) and mozzarella (super fresh and delicious) on my sandwich instead of everything (like vegetables). Marina and Alisa's sandwiches were much more complex but all were equally tasty to each. I had a Fanta because yum, sugar, and it tastes better over here in Europe. Can sodas are way more common than fountain sodas. Probably not gonna drink too many more of them because they're usually 3 euros each. Water is also typically bottled because the water in the city is kinda bleh tasting though completely drinkable. The fountains are nice so I'll definitely have to get a re-usable water bottle. After lunch we saw Dante's church where his beloved Beatrice is buried and we saw "il duomo" which is actually named the Basilica of St Maria the flower but the dome is really pretty and easiest to see. It was super pretty inside and out. We also went and saw Michelangelo's David which is ginormous and awe inspiring. Marina was really happy because you are now allowed to take pictures of it. I'll get around to posting mine on facebook eventually... Then we had a lovely dinner at Trattatoria Anita, where Marina has been a regular for years, and enjoyed some amazing food and chats with the waiters/owners. After a taxi ride back to her apartment we went to sleep then Alisa and I headed back to the train station in the morning so I could make it back to Milan in time for Quidditch.
Saturday September 27th: Quidditch!!! well, first we had lunch at an amazing pizza place (Brick Oven Pizza) with oval shaped super thin crust pizzas. Then I stopped by a grocery store to buy my own shampoo and things. Learned the word for conditioner in Italian, lol. Then we got ready and went to Quidditch! It happens in Parco Lambro not tooooo far from Alisa's house. We took the bus to the subway then got off after 2 stops. We then walked and found the entrance to the park but couldn't find the rugby fields. We found a bar (which in italian is often coffee and snacks, so more of a "snack bar" but they're just called bars) in the park and the owner gladly gave us directions from there. Alisa was going to stay and watch for a bit because she has never seen it but the MOSQUITOES. holy ****. I didn't know I could hate anything so much. You thought the mosquitoes were bad in North Carolina? think again. I only seem to have one bite though so perhaps they were more like gnats or either weren't hungry. However, I wore my sunglasses for the entire practice so I didn't end up with any in my eyes and I definitely ate a few. When you stopped moving your arm had to continuously be waving around your face and body to keep them off. It makes playing quidditch extra difficult. Anyway, I was introduced as a player from the States and I don't know what else was said because it was definitely in Italian. Most of the team knows at least a little bit of English. We had a lot of fun doing drills, scrimmaging, and then playing ultimate quidditch (like ultimate frisbee, but with brooms and a quaffle instead of a frisbee). I learned all the terms in Italian for Quidditch and tried to help. I did keep mixing up everyone's names. Francesca was super nice and told me that she wasn't Clara...which is why she had never answered me when I was shouting for her when we were beating together. lol. I didn't feel like wearing my tall socks and wore normal socks with my cleats which was a mistake I won't be making again. I now have blisters because my socks were too thin. After practice we were going to go to an aperetivo but it was too late (aperetivo = buy a drink for like 8 or 9 euros and get loads of snacks/food to eat). We ended up going to a pizza place near Michele's apartment (where all the quidditch stuff was stored) where I tried gnocchi. I think either the gnocchi was not so good or either I don't like it. The pizza looked quite good. After pizza half of us went back to Michele's (where he stayed because he's old and pulled a muscle or something) to pick up our things and have some limoncello. Valeria and Gianluca helped me find my way back to Alisa's apartment and I slept for ages. Don't worry Mom & Dad, just because I'm in Italy doesn't mean I don't sleep in and watch video games :] Not sure what the plan is for the next few days yet but I'll post about it to be sure.
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