Day #6 in Orvieto

February 28, 2013

Today in class we drew our hands for about half an hour, we drew some more cardboard buildings, had a few demonstrations, and then we were introduced to the black mess called “conte.” This is like charcoal but it stays your clothes… forever. It’ll definitely take some getting used to but it’s a pretty fun material to use. We practiced with that for a while in class and then went to lunch where we had baked ziti, chicken kabobs, and some potatoes.

After lunch, Rebekah and I started our homework. We walked from Locanda (the restaurant where we eat) back to the Palazzo (where we have classes). Normally it’s a 20min walk but it took us an hour because we did our homework assignment at the same time. We had to walk around town and find interesting textures to “rub” onto a huge white piece of paper. It was such a fun assignment! We wandered around the main street, getting textures from street and restaurant signs, stonewalls, etc. Here is a picture of what it turned out to be:

Rebekah, Laura, and I then went back to the same place that we drew yesterday. This time, we had to use the conte crayon. We met a few friends on our way (see the cat picture, above :)

I had a few embarrassing moments today: the first happened when I was drawing, and an older couple came up to me and the man gestured at my drawing and then smiled at me, saying something in Italian. I looked up from where I was sitting on the ground, and squeaked out a little “Ciao!” The couple then moved over to Laura and said something to her, and she said “Boun giorno!” before they walked away. I looked at her and burst out laughing, and I was like “You just told them ‘good morning’ and its 4 in the afternoon!” Laura was also laughing and I couldn’t figure out why, until she said “That man just complimented your picture and said it was beautiful, and you just informally said ‘bye!’” Anyways… not the best use of my Italian skills. The other embarrassing thing happened when I was shopping with Genevieve. We were milling in and out of the shops, and I was browsing a rack of beautiful sweaters and I started to try on one that I liked, only to look up and realize that there were a few men in the room… also looking at the sweaters… I WAS IN THE MEN’S SECTION.

Anyways, it was a good day. We then went as a group to the cloistered convent where we could listen to the vespers “ceremony.” Pretty much you just sit in the back of the church while the nuns (the nuns that never leave the convent) sing and pray in Italian up front. It was really interesting to be apart of and the singing was beautiful, but I almost fell asleep.

We had pasta salad for dinner, but it wasn’t just any old pasta salad. It had different cheeses, tomatoes, corn, random vegetables, and olives (Yeah Dad, I ate them).

Then we had lemon cake for dinner. And we also had cake in class today for Victoria’s birthday. I still haven’t had gelato yet because I need to get some smaller bills, but every time I pass the gelatoria on the way to class/dinner/lunch/anytime, I seriously start drooling. It looks delicious. 

Day #5 in Orvieto

February 27, 2013

Today we had our second class. Not sure if I mentioned this before, but the class is called “Disegno” and it is like an introductory drawing class but it includes writing as well. It’s like a “Text and Image class,” or that’s how Professor Doll described it. Today we came in with our drawings from yesterday and we hung them up and had our first critique. Even though I hated my drawing yesterday and I would’ve thrown it out if I had time to start over, it actually wasn’t TOO bad today. Still a little messy and not finished, but it definitely fit in with the rest of the group’s drawings and I just felt better about it. During the critique, Professor Doll said, “Megan’s drawing has some wonky things going on with the perspective, but it has nice shading and value.” Overall, it was a successful first class, even though it was a little strange to start off with a critique, especially when we don’t really know each other yet or what the class will be like. We then spent the next hour just making a bunch of contour drawings of the cardboard boxes set up in the middle of the room. The boxes were meant to look like a little city. I realized that I have zero patience with contour drawing and then I try to quickly do it and then I want to be done. Then I looked around and realized that everyone was still on his or her first contour, and that they were doing multiple drawings. So even though everyone seemed to enjoy that part of the class, I definitely wasn’t on the same page and I need to be more patient…

For lunch we had some cheesy broccoli ziti, some potatoes and carrots, and then a stuffed pepper. Once again, it was delicious.

We had our first Italian lesson today with Alessandro. For the first 45 minutes, we were filling our some forms that would give us “permission to sojourn.” The forms were pretty extensive and Alessandro had to help us, step by step because obviously the forms were in Italian. We then started the real Italian lesson and we learn basic hello’s and goodbye’s, a few other greetings, etc. I was so tired though and it was freezing in our classroom, so I almost feel asleep. Around 5pm the lesson was over and it was time to work on our homework. For homework we had to do two more contour drawings in the city and then one final drawing for homework. Thankfully, this homework assignment went better than yesterday’s (maybe one day I’ll put up a picture of my first drawing… but don’t get your hopes up). Here’s a picture of what I was trying and draw and a picture of the work in progress:

Laura was in the frame but I didn't draw her... sorry Laura

My drawing so far... believe me, it's a lot better than the one yesterday.

The sun began to set and we had to pack up our drawing materials because it was getting hard to see, but we saw a beautiful sunset. We then realized it was around 6:25 and we were all meeting to go to a prayer/worship meeting around 6:40, so we speed-walked back to the Villa to meet everyone, but we were too late! But since we had another hour before everyone returned from that, we went to the chocolate store and had “hot chocolate.” I don’t remember what it’s called in Italian but it’s pretty much melted chocolate and whipped cream. Laura and I shared one even though we both could’ve had a whole bucketful of that stuff.

For dinner, we had bread (as usual) and we each had a large salad with lots of vegetables. Dinners are usually light here – as compared to the HUGE lunch portions. 

Day #3 and Day #4 in Orvieto

February 25, 2013

- Went on a pilgrimage outside the walls of Orvieto and into the duormo (I NEED to write a different post on this experience – it was amazing).

- Pesto pasta, meatballs, and spinach for lunch

- Walked with Sara from 2-4 down to lower Orvieto, trying to find a phone store

- We went on a tour with our RA, Hannah, around town. Learned about where the post office and convenience stores were located, good and bad bars and restaurants, etc.

- Went into a pastry shop where the shop owner took us below the shop where there are huge Etruscan caves (I KNOW. CRAZY). These caves are from around 5 BC. Once again, I will write another post on this experience. I didn’t even have my camera because I thought we were just going to a café for coffee. Apparently the shop owner’s grandfather discovered the caves beneath his shop when he was remodeling, 40 years ago.

- Had a dinner of prosciutto, mozzarella, foccacia, egg and spinach “omelettes,” and fresh red oranges.

- Walked back from the palazzo (where we have wifi) with Rebekah and Laura when we saw the duormo at night. It was seriously breathtaking.

I have a better idea of the city now after getting lost and then later going on a tour, but I’m still not sure how to find a few of the restaurants! When Sara and I were walking back from lower Ovieto, a family (they looked Italian) stopped us to ask us in Italian for directions to the duormo. We stuttered and tried to explain that we don’t understand, and the father said “Oh sorry, we thought you were locals. We were just looking for the duormo.” What a compliment on Day #3!

February 26, 2013

- First class today (read over the syllabus, had some pastries and stood out in the sun during the break, went over some “introduction” sheets where Prof. Doll read the paper and then we had to guess who wrote it. I’m a little nervous about class because I had an awful time working on the homework. The only instructions were to “draw something” but somehow I had the worst time with it!

- Spaghetti, fennel, and chicken for lunch

- Ventured down to lower Orvieto for Round #2 of the “phone store” hunt. We finally made it after getting lost again, only to remember that the employees at the phone store only spoke Italian. After a lot of gesturing and a little bit of Spanish, Sara and I successfully bought her a data plan for her iPhone. She did most of the Italian/Spanish/English phrases while I stood there and smiled, hoping that I was being supportive. It was definitely interesting. All of the Italian shop owners or employees that we’ve met have been so open and they really want to help us with our directions, finding a bathroom, finding stores, etc. So that’s nice.

- Hiked back up to upper Orvieto for the next 45 minutes – had to take off my peacoat and my two sweaters – it suddenly went from SO COLD to boiling hot as we hiked up the hill

- Went to draw on the steps… ugh.

- Irish coffee at Mantanucci’s with Katherine, Sara, and Laura.

- Soup and pineapple cake for dinner. So delicious!

- Went back to the Villa instead of the Palazzo to use the wifi. It was nice to be quiet for a while and relax. I loved spending time in Jenna and Rebekah’s room. It’s so nice to be able to talk to people that I already knew before this trip to Orvieto. I definitely admire the students that came into the program and don’t know anyone, but it’s definitely nice to be able to go to Jenna or Laura (and a few other people) if I need anyone to really talk to someone who knows me outside of this place!

Irish coffee

Day #2 in Orvieto

Me and Laura on the walk :)

The Duormo - a huge cathedral in Orvieto

February 24, 2013

Today I learned two things (well, I learned a lot today but these are two of the more important things): The first is that Orvieto is a beautiful city – two beautiful to express in words. I’m already excited to explore more, go into the different shops and cafes, etc. The second thing I learned is that I don’t want to be a tourist anymore (even though this is only Day 1!). I don’t want to be confused or lost, I want to understand Italian, and I just want this to really be my home. And I know that it takes time and patience and work to really invest in somewhere new with new people, I just am anxious to make it through the first few weeks of orientation stuff and really feeling comfortable here! But the exciting thing is that I’ll be here for FOUR MONTHS and I know that Orvieto will soon feel like a home. And in a way I already feel like it is, it will just take some time to get out of this tourist-y feeling and feel as though I need to take pictures right away and do everything right away! Because there is so much time to explore. :)

A few random things that we did today:

- Going to a café for the first time (and there was a cat there!). Lots of pastries and my first cappuccino here

- Went to Catholic mass at a local parish. Everyone keeps their coats on in church because it’s so cold… no coat racks.

- Walking around, wandering through the streets, taking pictures for a while

- Going to palazzo to see the studio where we used the wifi for the first time and had some soup/bread for dinner

- Visiting the book store and gift shop

Day #1 in Orvieto!

This is a frantic journal entry/post because I only have internet for a little bit! I'm sure I'll fix this up a bit once a reread it - but this should give you a brief idea of what's been going on so far. :) 

February 23, 2012

After hours in the airport, over nine hours of flying, and then another six hours of waiting in the airport for the rest of our group, driving through the “industrial” part of Rome seems like heaven. Even the telephone poles, roads, and occasional strip malls barely take away the beauty of the landscape – rolling green hills, fluffy little trees, and the sun streaming through dark rainclouds. Even these glowing rainclouds emphasize the beauty of the landscape! I’ve never seen anything this beautiful before! It’s hard to believe that I’ll be living here for four months. I’ve been up for over thirty hours not without sleep – unless you count a 20-minute nap on the plane. My brain feels fuzzy and my eyes are all puffy, but part of me still feels alert and excited to start living in Orvieto! Even though we aren’t supposed to sleep now, the rock of this huge bus is putting me to sleep…

All of my luggage made it and my flights went smoothly. Laura and I watched Baby Mama, which was funny as usual. I know this seems obvious, but it was weird to walk off the plane and into the airport and only hear Italian voices. We were laughing because we continued to say, “excuse me,” “sorry,” and “thank you” in English without even realizing that our first reaction to speak in English isn’t the normal thing to do. As we looked for the baggage claim, a man quickly began to talk to ys in Italian, to which the four of us (myself, Laura, Christabel, and Katie) stared at him without any expression. He immediately switched to English and asked, “Are these the bags that came from Dublin?” We answered yes and when he walked away, I asked Laura How did he know we are American?!?  We then proceeded with our bags, where a group of individuals were waiting to pick up friends, family, clients, etc. A man walked up to me and said, “Are you Megan?” to which I was like HOW DID YOU KNOW? He chuckled and listed off the 3 names of my companions as well. Just as we were hoping, Professor Doll was ready and waiting for us – and apparently he already knew our names!

The rest of the 7 hours waiting in the airport was a blur. Meeting up with the rest of the faces (both old faces and new), waiting, waiting, waiting, bathroom breaks, and snack breaks. Now we are on the bus where I write this now, with plans to arrive in our temporary home in Orvieto (before the monastery renovation is complete), have supper, and call home. Tomorrow will be a day to explore the town.

Our RA Hanna told us that if you see sheep, its good luck if you “pick them up and put them in your pocket.” I’ve seen a few sheep on the drive to Orvieto, all fluffy and milling around in pastures. They definitely seem like they would be good luck. If only it was easy to pluck them up out of the landscape and take them with me in my pocket!

Everyone was sleeping on the bus but I was the first to wake up from my nap. Professor Doll pointed out the window to what looked like a village of lights up on a hill. It seriously looked like a castle in the clouds. There was fog running through the hilltop and this made it look even more magical – as if the gleaming grey rainclouds weren’t enough! It was so coll. I tried to take a few pictures on my iPhone but they didn’t do it justice – my first glimpse of Orvieto. The coach bus winded up the mountain through a narrow street, higher and higher we went as the view of the countryside looked more and more like something from a fairytale. We finally entered the palazzo where the bus came to stop in front of the cathedral and we hurried to drag our suitcases through the cobblestone sidewalks, just as it began to pour. We were assigned rooms in the guesthouse (all the rooms were so unique and has different hooks, dresses, bedding, etc). Becky and I have a room with three beds. All the rooms have their own bathrooms. 

We didn’t spend much time unpacking before we walked through town to the family restaurant that would be our dining hall for the semester. We were introduced to the family and they served us pizza. We each had our own cheese pizza that was bigger than the dinner plates – and it was DELICIOUS. The best sauce I’ve even had (except for your spaghetti sauce, Grammy). We then had “Nutella pizza” for dessert while the father in the family sang and entertained us with a few songs. After a filling and lengthy (but wonderful) meal, we weaved through the streets once more before returning to our rooms! A bed has never felt so comfy. I’ve been away or 33 hours straight and I’m falling asleep to the sound of some catfights outside. Apparently there are a lot of cats here. I’ve already seen 3!

A weekend at Gordon

It was kind of strange to say "bye" to my friends at the end of last semester because I knew I wanted to come visit before I left in February. So while everyone was hugging goodbye in December and wishing me well in Italy, I was like "Oh wait! I'm coming back to visit in February! I'll say bye to you then!"

So when February rolled around it it was time to visit Gordon, I felt a little weird about it. Everyone was already a month into new classes and a new routine. Wouldn't it be weird for me to bust in and be like "Heeyyyyyyy I still haven't left for Italy yet!" Anyways, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to visit or not because I didn't want it to be awkward or weird. During my long weekend at Gordon, I seemed to get two responses from people. Either people said "Where have you been all semester?" or "Wait I thought you were in Italy?" But for the most part, it was wonderful to see friends and experience the blizzard at Gordon.

I stayed with Anna in Dexter throughout the whole weekend, but we had to evacuate on Friday night because of the blizzard. So we were whisked off in a bus and dropped off at different dorms around campus. Amy graciously let me stay with her (and eat her food, and drink all her chai latte k-cups, and take over her apartment... and so on) and it was so nice to stay with her for a night. Anna and I eventually trekked back to Dexter in the morning even though it was so hard to see in the snowstorm! It's about a mile to walk from Ferrin to Dexter on the road and even though there was a driving ban in the state of Massachusetts (so we didn't have to worry about cars) it was still a little bit scary walking back.

I thought it would be a good idea to work out on Saturday morning (free time! exercise! hooray!) so I walked all the way back to Bennett from Dexter, only to have the people at the Bennett front desk tell me that I can't go in because I'm not a student! They scanned my card, looked up and me and skeptically asked, "do you even go here??" I was about to pull up the Gordon athletic website and prove to them that I was Athlete of the Week a few weeks ago to use as proof, but after about ten minutes of explaining my study abroad plans at a Gordon program, they tentatively let me go ahead "for now." Anyways, it was a lot of work for the about of exercise I actually did (an average amount of time on the elliptical and treadmill before I was bored and then ending up milling around all of the machines. Overall, not the best workout but it gave me something it do!

I definitely felt annoying as I was harassing everyone all weekend (in an attempt to make them hang out with me), but everyone seemed to be sick or have a lot of work or didn't want to spend money. At times, the weekend was frustrating but I was SO THANKFUL for some great friends that made the weekend great and I loved spending time with them.

I also received a ton of advice from both professors and students about Orvieto and now I'm even more excited to go! Well, I've always been excited but now I'm really excited and I feel like it's finally the real countdown (nine days!). I cannot wait. It's nice to be home now and have a week to finish up everything I've been planning to do over break but never actually did - reading a few books, sewing some clothes, and gathering the last few things that I want to pack in my suitcase. I don't really have plans for the rest of break, I might sub at the middle school a few more times, babysit, work at a few birthday parties at the youth center, hang out with my family and grandparents. Grammie and Papa took me out to breakfast this morning which was delicious, as always. Now I'm happily in a food coma while I try to pack a little bit more.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the weekend. :)

My mini van after the blizzard

Gordon College chapel

A perfect walk around Gull Pond!

Proof that Amy is a good friend for letting me stay with her for the night... scary.

I probably could've been a better guest...

Anna and I tried to make heart pancakes for Valentine's Day

My favorite view of the lake on the drive home!

Breakfast with Grammie & Papa

Transition

I feel like I spend so much of my time waiting! I waited to apply to Orvieto in the fall, waited to hear back from the Global Ed office to see if I was accepted, waited for the fall semester to end so the spring semester could begin, and now I'm still waiting at home. And there's still over two and a half weeks left before I leave! Thankfully, Anna came up from Gordon to visit me this weekend. Slowly, my friends from home have all returned from college - Sarah was the last to leave on Wednesday. So it was nice to see Anna because I feel like I've spent my days alone at my house or at the middle school with my Dad.  As much as I love my family, it feels weird to be alone and not surrounded by people my own age all the time. Because Gordon is the complete opposite... I feel like I'm always with a million different people that are the same age as me. 

Anyways, this week was strange because I said bye to Sarah before she left for Ecuador (she'll be there for 18 months for her church) which was sad but then I spent the weekend with Anna which was nice. We went ice skating on Lily Pond, which is a few minutes away from my house. I feel like ice skating is one of those things that I always forget how to do for the first few minutes or so, but then I remember how to do it. This always used to happen to me when I threw the discus. I'd get in the ring when it was my turn to throw, I'd lift the discus up and think, "Wait... how do I do this again?" But then I'd remember, obviously. Ice skating is the same way for me, because I always slip and slide around like a robot but then I slowly remember how to skate again. I mean I don't skate very well, but it's not as awkward and awful as the first few minutes were.

Saying bye to Sarah :(

Anna being cute

Trying to be casual... although I may or may not look like a kid stuffed in a snowsuit :)

Anyways, now that the weekend is over, I have a week full of babysitting starting at 6:30am as I get the kids ready for school and bring them to all of their activities. Then on Friday night I'll drive down to Gordon to hang out with some more friends until Monday or Tuesday. Then hopefully when I come back next week, I'll have a few more days of subbing. Then FINALLY the week after that, it will be time to leave for Orvieto! And that's it! Just as this is a weird time of transition, it also feels like the biggest countdown of my life. 

An update on how my Italian skills are coming along... they're not. I thought that when my mom brought home all of those "Learn Italian in 15 Minutes a Day" books, I would be fluent by now. But not only do I have a huge stack of unread books on my dresser, I have about $5 in library fines because those books were checked out like three weeks ago. But then again... I still have 3 weeks left so there's still time to learn! 

As much as I think about leaving all of the time, I wish it didn't feel like such a countdown. Sometimes I'll stop myself and think that I should appreciate this time at home while I'm here. I don't want to feel like I wasted this whole two months just waiting around (but of course it wasn't wasted since I finished all 6 seasons of Gossip Girl. I think we all know that's a big accomplishment). It's weird that I have an idea of what Italy will be like and what my experience will be like, but I could be (and probably will be) totally wrong! Just as I try to imagine what the food will be like, the people, my classes, and just living in Orvieto in general, it will probably be nothing like what I'm expecting (in a good way!). 

And I'm sure that in a few months when I return, I'll be like "Why did I write that post? Why was I nervous? Why did I spend so much time just waiting around?" I think that about high school all the time: "Why did I spend so much time worrying when everything turned out fine?"