A Busy Week!

It has been a crazy week! And it's the good kind of crazy where I'm meeting tons of new people, making new friends, starting my Intensive Language Program (ILP) classes, and just generally settling in to my new life. It still feels like I'm dreaming and this isn't MY life...it feels like I've replaced someone else's life, yet it feels natural. This past weekend, it finally wasn't strange anymore to hear Italian all around me. I can understand a lot of it and I'm now used to either A) zoning out and letting it flow in and out of my brain, or B) really focusing and understanding most everything that someone says. I try to stick with B, but it's exhausting to constantly focus with intensity and have to continuously translate in my head!

So here's the quick rundown of my week since a lot has happened, but I've been too tired to write about it:

Thursday--my cousin, Matteo, took Allison and I to a Bologna FC training (the soccer team here had a public practice), and then we went to play Risk (the boardgame) with his friends in a park!

Friday/Saturday--orientation to meet all my fellow University of Californians and it was nice to share stories, get to know each other, and get to know the wonderful people in the UC office here. They speak to us only in Italian, but they slow it down and explain things really well.

Sunday--went to the Acquapark Termale (thermal spring water put into pools and water slides) with Matteo and his girlfriend, Lisa. We spent the day in the sun and in the pools, and then went to a hillside restaurant for dinner to meet up with my Dad's other cousins Elio and Anna. The "restaurant" was an outdoor, family-style set-up and Elio and his band were the musical entertainment of the night. We had a beautiful view over the hills. Also, the highlight of the week is I squished grapes with my feet to make wine!! (Not really sure I'd want to drink it afterward...and it felt weird to step on grapes, but it was really fun to play with my food!)

Squishing grapes into wine!!! Mmm yumm...

The tables at the family-owned restaurant. Che bella!

Monday-Wednesday--my ILP classes started (3 hours a day, from 1:30-4:30pm...which kind of interferes with my naptime, but allows me to think about going for a run in the mornings), and they split the 28 of us in the program into 2 groups (morning and afternoon). It's great to get to know a smaller group of people, but we make plans to hang out altogether and we've been meeting up in the evenings for aperitivi (alcoholic beverages with food) and to go out to bars at night. Our teachers for the ILP class are Italian, and speak to us only in Italian (this IS an immersion program), but are very good about speaking slowly enough and clarifying things when our faces convey confusion. We've been learning about Bologna's history and we've gone to a couple museums and a church so far.

The wonderful woman, Peggy (who's in charge of our program here), giving us a tour of the church in Piazza Santo Stefano.

This weekend, we're planning to go to Rimini--a coastal town about an hour and a half train-ride away--to have fun on the beach and experience its famous nightlife! Stories to come after.  :)

A presto! Ciao!

In Fair Verona...

The first excursion out from Bologna was a success! Plus, we celebrated our 1-week anniversary of being in Italy on Wednesday! Verona is a beautiful, fairly small town that caters mostly to tourists (I didn't feel as out of place there when I spoke in English). Although Allison and I spent less than 24 hours there, I felt like I saw what I wanted to see: Juliet's balcony, the opera Romeo and Juliet in the old arena, and an old castle. If we had more time in Verona, we probably would have wandered through the museums (partially for the air conditioning...) and gone into the big churches. But, alas, there was only time to eat, walk around and take pictures, see an opera, and sleep. Those museums will just have to wait...

The most hearts I've ever seen in one place! (entrance to Juliet's balcony)

Me with the Adige river and a hillside castle in the background.

Allison and I at the arena before the opera.

The one word that would sum up the trip is: HOT. It was really hot. And there was no air conditioning anywhere. Which made sleeping fairly miserable, since our bed radiated heat left over from the day (yes, the bed itself emitted heat, and then we added our above-average body temperatures). I think I've only taken cold showers this past week...not the kind where it's sort of warm but refreshingly cool, either. I just turn the handle to cold and let the water splash on my head to cool off.

The main reason for the trip was to see an opera in the old arena, which was Romeo and Juliet (music by Charles Gounod). Unfortunately, I still can't profess my love to anyone or argue with a Montague or Capulet in Italian because the opera was in French... Bummer, I was hoping to take notes! The music/singing was gorgeous, the props were modern and amusing, and I really enjoyed the setting (we sat on the ancient marble steps--which also radiated heat). But to my disappointment, this version of Romeo and Juliet didn't live up to my expectations for my favorite parts: when Tybalt kills Mercutio and then Romeo kills Tybalt, and when Romeo and Juliet die (I know, kind of morbid). I like these parts because of their intensity, which the opera failed to do (for me, at least). The fight scene was in a spherical cage, which would have been cool if you could see anything that happened in there. Who killed whom and when was all muddled because you couldn't tell what was going on inside the cage. Then at the end, after Romeo and Juliet had their looooong aria and I'm expecting them to fall on top of each other and die in a dramatic way, they "die" by holding hands and walking offstage while a banner drops in the back that reads "When the power of love is greater than the love of power, the world will know peace." Ok, that's very sweet and all, but 1) it's an opera: people die in over-dramatic ways and the deaths are always drawn out, and 2) it's Romeo and Juliet: there's a lot of people who die! This should be perfect for an opera! Although there were these disappointments, nothing could take away from the majestic setting of the arena and the fruit salad and sweet, white wine Allison and I shared after the opera while gazing at the arena.

The "cage fight" (a little blurry...)

The fruit salad and wine after...molto buono!!

Me and the arena!

Verona was a perfect way to reflect on our past week in Italy and to get excited for the rest of our year! Our orientation with the other people in our program starts tonight, and our intensive language classes (which will last 4 weeks) start Monday. I can't wait!! :)

Una Giornata in Piscina

Yesterday (Sunday), Matteo, his girlfriend Lisa, Claudio, and his girlfriend Luciana took Allison and I to a nearby pool (una piscina) in the hills. We spent 8 hours sunbathing, going down the water slides, sunbathing, swimming, sunbathing, eating lunch, sleeping (in the shade of the umbrellas), swimming, playing with a beachball, and sunbathing. To my utter astonishment, I got sunburned. I wonder which sunbathing part did that??

Pool and water slide (before the water slide was open--notice the lack of people)

...aaand pool after the slides opened. (Allison's picture)

View of the hills from our sunbathing perch.

Lunch with Luciana, Claudio, and Matteo

It was a nice release from the 95 degree heat (and humidity) here in Bologna. Since the pool was in the hills, there was a nice breeze at times and it was probably "only" 90 degrees (but heat is always more bearable when there's a pool of cool water waiting to be jumped into). There were cute little Italian boys and girls running around, there were young couples and families hanging out, and there were older men and women, all soaking up the sun and water. To add the perfect ending to an amazing day, we all went back to Claudio's house for dinner, and he made us a delicious meal of pasta, a dish with zucchini and scrambled eggs (really good!), salad, wine, and fruit. By the end, I was about to fall asleep on my plate!

Sunset on our drive back to Claudio and Matteo's house.

The view from the hills near Claudio and Matteo's house.

On Wednesday (the 24th), Allison and I will be taking a train to Verona and seeing the opera Romeo and Juliet in the old arena! We're really excited for our first adventure! Stories to come after our excursion. :)

Baci e abbracci!

Good First Impressions

First day around 100 degrees (uuuugggghhhhh...the only "bad" impression): check.
First time walking to Allison's apartment (20 minutes--not bad!): check.
First lunch in un ristorante and ordering wine (with Allison): check.
First riposino (a nap) in the afternoon: check.
First bottle of wine (Lambrusco--sparkling red wine) split between just Allison and I for dinner: check.
First dinner I made in Italy (spaghetti with tomatoes and zucchini): check.
First gelato in Bologna: check.
First time experiencing Bologna night-life / First 3 bars: check.
First Italian strawberry daiquiri, mojito, and Moscow Mule (gingerale, vodka, cucumber slices (what?!), and lime): check.

All in all, I'd have to say it's been a very, very good day! Going out with Elena and Matteo and their friends was so much fun, and of course the alcohol helps our Italian a lot! ...At least we think it does....

Daniele, Elena, io, Lisa, Matteo

Buona notte! xoxo

Photos!

The view from my room window.

I had to get the saffron...it was calling my name!

When our luggage got stuck between floors...

My bed and desk during unpacking

My wardrobe after unpacking! Plus room for more clothes :)

And I'm actually here, too (in Piazza Maggiore, Fountain of Neptune)

Le Prime 24 Ore

Wow, so it has been quite the first 24 hours! Overall, my first day in Bologna (yesterday, Thursday the 18th) was amazing, thanks to my cousins and my apartment-mate. They've all made this transition so much smoother than it would have been if I hadn't had all their help and hospitality.

My first night in Bologna (Wednesday) was interesting, because neither Allison nor I had any of our luggage. We had just gotten to the Bologna airport, and I turned to Allison, while waiting at the baggage claim (which was completely deserted except for our flight) and said "We did it! We're here and our trip has gone smoothly without any glitches!" Almost immediately after I said that, some of the Italian passengers started talking rapidly and gesturing to the workers and then allllll the Italians started to move. Naturally, Allison and I followed without any idea of what was going on. We followed them to the line for "lost baggage." Uh oh. We waited our turn (which took a while because even the Italians were confused about what happened and what to do...you know it's not a good sign when the Italians are confused), and then we got to the counter and figured out what had happened: apparently, the Amsterdam airport's x-ray machines were broken, so EVERYONE travelling through there didn't get their luggage. Oy, what a mess! Thank goodness Claudio and Matteo (my dad's cousin and his son) were there to pick us up and drive Allison and I to our apartments, because we were tired (running on 2-ish hours of sleep in 24 hours), we were hungry (hadn't eaten since we first got to the Amsterdam airport that morning, 5-6 hours before), and we were surrounded by Italian (more difficult to understand when tired and hungry).

I was so grateful that my apartment-mate, Elena, was here to greet me. She showed me around the apartment, gave me an extra towel to shower with, a sheet to sleep on, and a nightgown to sleep in (since all of my stuff was in my luggage). Her English is excellent, and she is happy to practice with me, which was especially wonderful the first night and morning when everything was so new and had a lot of potential to be stressful.  So, long story short, all our luggage arrived Thursday morning at my apartment. Yay!! I finally had my clothes within reach, and I'd deliver Allison's to her that afternoon. So Elena and I put all 4 suitcases into the amazingly slowwwww elevator (for which you have to to keep the button pushed until it arrives at the floor), closed the door, and went up to our floor via the stairs to bring up the elevator. The elevator stopped between the ground and 1st floor. And then wouldn't move. We were SO close to having our luggage...of COURSE the elevator would break. So, Elena called the elevator assistance number, a service man arrived fairly quickly, and fixed the elevator. No, we didn't break it because all the suitcases were about 50 pounds each, it stopped working because the suitcases were blocking the laser sensor at the front of the elevator (since it doesn't have a door, it stops when the sensor is blocked). And this concludes the first 20 hours of my Italian experience. Whew!

The rest of the day was infinitely better because Matteo picked us up around 2pm, took us to get some lunch, get cell phones, buy towels at a sports store, and go to IKEA (yes, there's an IKEA just outside Bologna) to buy sheets and a pillow. We are so grateful and lucky that he was willing to drive us all over the place, because trying to do that with a bus and carrying everything back to our apartments and figuring out a the cell phones would have been close to disastrous and definitely wouldn't have gotten done in 1 day. And it only took us a couple hours. Around 5pm (dinner time in the U.S.), it was naturally time for a glass of wine. So Matteo took Allison and I out to a cafe (where we sat outside with cool mist blowing all around us, which felt fantastic since it's in the high 80s and humid) and drank 2 glasses of wine each (on a slightly empty stomach...). It was really good wine--fizzy white wine, and gee, somehow it really helped Allison and I with our Italian! Matteo's English is quite good, considering it's been several years since he took classes in school. So we're able to communicate quite well with half English and half Italian. To further this Italian way of life, we ate dinner at Claudio's house around 8pm (he cooked us pasta alla bolognese), which was amazing!, and ate mozzarella cheese, grilled bell pepper and zucchini, prosciutto, fruit, nutella with bread, and drank another glass of wine and a shot glass of limoncello (homemade by Luciana, Claudio's girlfriend).

And thus concludes my first full day in Bologna. It's been a bit overwhelming to jump right in, but the friendliness, hospitality, and understanding by everyone we've met has made it as smooth as possible, considering it's a stressful thing to move to another country for a year where they speak a different language. It still feels like I'm dreaming, and who knows if that will wear off during the year, but for now, I'm content with taking it one day at a time and having no worries because there's so many people around us who will help take care of things if something (else) should go wrong. Non ti preoccupare! "Don't you worry!"--a common Italian phrase equivalent to Hakuna Matata.

(Photos coming soon!)
Ciao ciao!

Hakuna Matata

What a wonderful phrase. It means no worries... which is what I'm trying to have: no worries. Which is proving to be difficult in the week leading up to my year abroad in Bologna, Italy. Among all the emotions I've been feeling (excited, stressed, sad, grateful, etc.), the primary thought I have is "this is surreal."

It reminds me of 2 years ago, when I was starting to pack up my life to move to UCLA. Through elementary, middle, and high school, I knew I'd go to college "someday" (maybe even study abroad "someday"), but it never seemed to be a concrete day until the week I had to pack up my life in preparation for moving down to So-Cal. I had no idea what to expect--I couldn't fathom the life I would lead in a dorm room and I had no idea what kind of people I would meet or who I'd become friends with (it turned out quite well, I'd say!). Every thought of the great adventure of college was a hypothetical one and the idea of packing up my life into a car and unpacking it in a tiny dorm room was stressful.

Well, "someday" has come again. The concrete day (Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 2 pm) has arrived and I will step onto a plane (with my good friend Allison, whom I met in Italian class) and live my life in an apartment in Bologna for a year. Don't get me wrong, I'm SO excited and grateful that I'm able to have this opportunity. I can't wait to immerse myself in the culture, language, and food of Italy, to travel around Europe, and to meet new people! At the same time, however, it is really hard to leave the places I'm familiar with and the people I love.

But, just like Timon and Pumbaa, I'm going to try to use "Hakuna Matata" as my motto, my problem-free philosophy for the next year. I'll try to sink into the Italian culture and learn to just roll with whatever comes my way and to be flexible (another key word that will remind me to breathe). Goodbyes are hard, but I'm counting on staying in touch with all you lovely folks back at home, and I hope this blog will be a way that I can share my adventures with you. And then the goodbyes won't seem to be for so long. It will just be an "arrivederci!" (see you soon!)

Baci e abbracci,
Natalia