I love the Current. It has to be my favorite station on the planet. They play the best mix of stuff, and so many bands I love. I also love that you can send requests. And that the DJs are down to earth. Sooooooo many reasons. And it's Minnesota. Which I miss some. But the Current makes me feel connected. And example of the awesomeness playing in the last set or two:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
_più forti le voci_
'Più forti le voci' - the strongest voices
So I've been really thinking a lot about/struggling with the whole 'in it not of it' concept recently, the way that Christians are supposed to be in this world, but belonging to another, from another. Yes, that makes us sound like aliens, but in a way we are. If you really look at it, our thinking goes against almost every worldly inclination. Instead of an eye for an eye, we are supposed to give thieves all of our belongings if they take one. Instead of hating those who hurt us, we are called to love. Instead of adorning ourselves with beautiful things outwardly, we are supposed to work on making ourselves more beautiful inwardly.
I've been seeing more of the contrast since I have been here in Italia. But it doesn't mean that I feel very separate. Sometimes it's crazy hard force my brain to stick to what I know, to the truth. It's a heck of a lot easier to listen to the world. For instance, with girls especially, it's easy to believe we are nothing without a boyfriend or without attention from guys. We see that message everywhere. We see a couple holding hands, looking happy. We believe that's what will make us happy too. We see tall, crazy skinny girls being photographed for commercials and ads. We believe that's the way we're supposed to be. We believe we need shiny cars, shiny rings, and giant houses. We need all A's, all good hair days, and shoes for every occasion.
I do enjoy all those things. I get pleasure out of so many things. But pleasure turns to inadequacy when my perspective shifts, and I feel like I need EVERYTHING. And then I feel crappy because I wasn't born a trilingual millionaire with a size 1 dress size and a permanently photoshopped face.
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 is one of those verses I have to constantly repeat in my head some days.. over and over and over. Most days I really feel the weight of having the opposite be true in our culture. Charming and beautiful women get all the praise. A woman who fears the Lord? Well, she's just crazy.
One band I've been listening to more lately is Zoo Animal, a local MN band with lyrics and honesty I love so much. This song is one of their more known, 'Folded Hand' :
I love this song. It's so honest. Men leave a woman for women, but women want so desperately to be someone's woman. They leave their home, their family, the ones that love them, in search for what they think is love, and end up with just an empty house instead of a home, what their heart wanted all along. But how often do we believe that lie? so often! Anyway, I guess I've been confronted with it more here. Maybe it's just the people I see and the people I'm around. But I have to figure out what voices I'm going to listen to: God's or the world's.
Today was refreshing, finally, to be in the park, surrounded by gorgeous families. All of them were unique and dysfunctional and lovely. Kids had cotton candy (zucchero filato) stuck to their faces, and others were pouting about gelato. Parents were juggling diaper bags and cell phones. Laughter and smiles and bikes and rollerblades everywhere. Un-photoshopped. Beautiful. Real.
Now for bed. Soon I will post some of the AMMMAAAAAZING looking recipes I found in the apartment cookbook. It made my life. I'm excited. Probably too excited.
ciao,
~Angie
So I've been really thinking a lot about/struggling with the whole 'in it not of it' concept recently, the way that Christians are supposed to be in this world, but belonging to another, from another. Yes, that makes us sound like aliens, but in a way we are. If you really look at it, our thinking goes against almost every worldly inclination. Instead of an eye for an eye, we are supposed to give thieves all of our belongings if they take one. Instead of hating those who hurt us, we are called to love. Instead of adorning ourselves with beautiful things outwardly, we are supposed to work on making ourselves more beautiful inwardly.
I've been seeing more of the contrast since I have been here in Italia. But it doesn't mean that I feel very separate. Sometimes it's crazy hard force my brain to stick to what I know, to the truth. It's a heck of a lot easier to listen to the world. For instance, with girls especially, it's easy to believe we are nothing without a boyfriend or without attention from guys. We see that message everywhere. We see a couple holding hands, looking happy. We believe that's what will make us happy too. We see tall, crazy skinny girls being photographed for commercials and ads. We believe that's the way we're supposed to be. We believe we need shiny cars, shiny rings, and giant houses. We need all A's, all good hair days, and shoes for every occasion.
I do enjoy all those things. I get pleasure out of so many things. But pleasure turns to inadequacy when my perspective shifts, and I feel like I need EVERYTHING. And then I feel crappy because I wasn't born a trilingual millionaire with a size 1 dress size and a permanently photoshopped face.
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 is one of those verses I have to constantly repeat in my head some days.. over and over and over. Most days I really feel the weight of having the opposite be true in our culture. Charming and beautiful women get all the praise. A woman who fears the Lord? Well, she's just crazy.
One band I've been listening to more lately is Zoo Animal, a local MN band with lyrics and honesty I love so much. This song is one of their more known, 'Folded Hand' :
"Some men leave a woman for women / But women want to be a woman / Those men don’t understand / we’ll keep you in our folded hands / we’ll keep you in our folded hands //
Some girls leave a home for a house / But houses want to be a home /Those girls don’t understand / we’ll keep you in our folded hands / we’ll keep you in our folded hands / we’ll keep you in our folded hands.“
I love this song. It's so honest. Men leave a woman for women, but women want so desperately to be someone's woman. They leave their home, their family, the ones that love them, in search for what they think is love, and end up with just an empty house instead of a home, what their heart wanted all along. But how often do we believe that lie? so often! Anyway, I guess I've been confronted with it more here. Maybe it's just the people I see and the people I'm around. But I have to figure out what voices I'm going to listen to: God's or the world's.
Today was refreshing, finally, to be in the park, surrounded by gorgeous families. All of them were unique and dysfunctional and lovely. Kids had cotton candy (zucchero filato) stuck to their faces, and others were pouting about gelato. Parents were juggling diaper bags and cell phones. Laughter and smiles and bikes and rollerblades everywhere. Un-photoshopped. Beautiful. Real.
Now for bed. Soon I will post some of the AMMMAAAAAZING looking recipes I found in the apartment cookbook. It made my life. I'm excited. Probably too excited.
ciao,
~Angie
Saturday, September 25, 2010
_favorite things parte tre_
The Piazza. Italy is filled with piazzas. (Piazze in italiano?) Basically, they are just squares: big open spaces within surrounding buildings. Many have fountains or statues or benches…or nothing at all. All of this came originally from Pienza, and the piazza in front of the church there alongside the pope’s palace. Anyway, the piazza was a brilliant idea. Rome is full of them. Actually, you need to know your piazza’s in order to get anywhere in Roma. The streets resemble a distorted spider web, and piazzas and landmarks are what most people go by as far as directions. In Torino streets are orthogonal which makes street names much more useful, but piazzas are still really awesome. The big piazzas along Via Roma in the super-shopping district and Piazza Castello by Palazzo Madama are the biggest ones near us. On weekends (or even during weekdays) you can see various events in every piazza. On Sunday I ran into a protest, a drag show, a concert, and a kids’ bungee/trampoline set up, all within two or three piazzas. And it’s very common to come across farmer’s markets or other markets in the different piazzas. Piazza Madama Christina is crazy on Saturdays with the huge market. So exciting though. I love it.
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| the piazza in Pienza! |
How confused I get when I hear native English speakers. It’s SO FUNNY! Because it’s so unexpected. The other day we were walking behind a group of three people, two women and one man. I was talking about something random, but as soon as I said anything the one woman turned around and gave me the strangest look. But then the man with here started speaking in English…with an American accent, and I totally understood. I’m sure we gave them the same look when they started talking. It’s really unexpected to hear someone speak your language here. Almost like, “What are you doing here?” Sometimes it’s really comforting though. I loved the two British ladies I heard on the way home tonight. One said something along the lines of, “Shall we look for the car then?” with a nice thick posh British accent. Cute.
The names. Everyone’s name sound so attractive here. Marina (Mari for short), Evelina (Eve), Giorgio, Gianni, Giovanni, Giulia, Marco, Matteo, Umberto, Roberto, Benedetta, Cesare, Mauro, Stefano, Francesco, Emilio... they all sound so great! Just by the name you instantly want to meet them. So interesting. Might have to put an Italian name or two in the database of baby names for later (much later…ahaha).
Friday, September 24, 2010
_favorite things parte due_
These are a few more of my favorite things since I've been in Italia.
Caffé. I absolutely love the culture of caffé here. Cappuccino o caffé latte in the morning (which I may or may not get a chance to have) and espresso around 11 or after lunch. I love that we can just walk up to the bar (the café) and get a fresh tasty espresso for 75 centissimi. And a cappuccino for 90. I wish I could bring back the cheap coffee prices with me when I go home. Actually, they aren’t always cheap. It’s around 1,20 for a cappuccino at a normal bar, but the campus bar has cheaper everything. And prices can get much more expensive if you sit down anywhere. Up to 4,00 euro if you are in a touristy area, like in the Campo of Siena or a fancier bar. You pay for service. But anyway, I love that people will take a short break, get an espresso, take their minds off their work and enjoy a little flavor in the middle of the day. Oh, and it’s real coffee. None of that watery American crap.
Next, comes the cheap awesome chocolate. I love this cheap extra dark chocolate I get at the LIDL supermercato. 81% cacao. MMMmmm. So dark I have to let it melt in my mouth a little bit to taste any sweetness. I love it. One piece is perfetto. I’ve tried some of the other candies and treats and things here too. Kinder is super popular (or at least super available) and makes so much more than eggs. The Kinder ‘Bueno’ is super tasty; it’s a segmented chocolate bar with cream filling inside and a little crunch to it. Sweet, but good. Ferrero makes similar things (they are owned by the same) and usually it’s a little better ..in my opinion. But still, I would trade all the super sweets for a small piece of ultra-dark chocolate.
Our drying rack. Ok, that sounds like a really random thing. But I oddly appreciate our drying rack a lot. It’s built into the cupboard above the sink, so your dishes are out of the way and just drain into the sink. Brilliant. It’s only awkward in the way it opens, but other than that I love the idea. Oh, and I love balconies. All apartments should have a balcony. And door/windows. I love feeling fresh, crisp morning air. Or crisp night air for that matter. And most windows open out onto courtyards or something similar, making for private(ish) quiet areas. I like the whole small apartment complex idea. Where you have the large exterior door, then an open space for parking/courtyard and then different stairwells of the apartment. Not all of them are like that here, but it just feels so… private and cozy? I don’t’ know if that is really a good way to describe it.
Drying racks. Again, I like the clotheslines out the balcony of our apartment. Clothes always smell so good when they are air-dried outside. Though…I wish we had a roof over our porch in that case. Everything was soaked the one morning when our forecast wasn’t quite as accurate as we’d hoped. Oops.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
_these are a few of my favorite things_
For the next couple days I shall post about the 'new' things in Italy that make me ridiculously happy :) So here are some new favorite things:
Some of these things are definitely not new, some are old and found again. I love the smell of the green and the cool and the leaves falling when I exit the Palazzo of the school. It’s this amazing mix of warmth and freshness and nature. If only I could repeat that feeling and that smell all the time.
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| part of my walk to school! |
Ah! Also with this, I was told today/yesterday that I am one of the easier Americans to understand. Apparently I am able to communicate beyond that awkward language boundary alright! My favorite was today when Marina’s old friend Roberto visited, and we were all talking and he told me “I speak English very beautifully and fluently.” Haha. Well, I’m glad I’m fluent in my mother-tongue. YES. But really, it was a nice compliment. Sometimes I don’t feel like I speak very eloquently, but apparently my English isn’t as bumbling as I thought!
And for food. My favorite new foods are the ‘granola cookies’ Sarah and Kateri and I have been devouring these past couple weeks. I think they are called “Grancereale” and kind of taste like NutriGrain bars in a round cookie format. They are pretty fantastic. Especially since they have around 11% of your daily fiber, and little sugar, and make me feel much better about eating them J But actually, my new favorite thing is dipping them into espresso. MMMmmmm. It makes this nice warm tasty snack, keeps me awake, and the coffee brings out just the right flavors in the cookie – and not too sweet like American biscotti. Anyway, it’s my happy indulgence :)Tuesday, September 21, 2010
_a scuola a piedi_
So this is how I walk to school each day! It's a short walk, and has good people watching :) I thought I would try a time lapse, and I'm hoping to make a much cleaner, better one in the future when I'm not just taking pictures on the fly. But this is what Torino looks like at 8:30 am on a Tuesday.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
_currently_
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| My chandelier in my bedroom Yes, a chandelier. Yes, random. |
I'm looking through pictures from today and also from the last part of the Central trip. Sometimes I can't even believe I've been the places I've been. Sometimes I can't believe I've been here for over a month. Sometimes God blows me away. Sometimes he feels really distant, like I left him back in America. But then he drifts back, my heart realizing he was there all along. In the little moments and the big events. In the wind and the silence, the warm and the welcoming. I feel.... graced and thankful.
(PS. ...currently listening to Zoo Animal. Perfect fit. Example :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPkbtFV8wfw&NR=1)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
_goodnight torino_
I'm really tired today. To the point that I had an espresso at 10:45 at night.... with extra dark chocolate. BUT today was good. Despite computer frustrations among other things. But two blessings of today were 1) the fact that I have amazing Italian partners and we all get along very well. 2) I had Bible study, which is always refreshing, and perfectly positioned in the middle of my week 3) I have someone to do an English-Italian exchange with. (OK, I know that's three different things, but more is always better!) I'm really excited about that last one. I've been kind of disappointed in myself that I haven't been able to really use my Italian lately. In class, we always speak English because it is much more efficient. And after class we go home...and are around Americans all night...so more English. And I would really like to get better at Italian. It was one of my main goals for the trip.
Also, two other things that have picked me up today (two videos, actually)
1. Janelle Monae // Tightrope Re-mix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GlpeFqMLZI
2. The Maccabees // Toothpaste Kisses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0cFBu4U5sk
I'm a fan of both. Very much so. I shall write more tomorrow, maybe when I have more than half a brain :)
Buona notte,
~Angie
Also, two other things that have picked me up today (two videos, actually)
1. Janelle Monae // Tightrope Re-mix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GlpeFqMLZI
2. The Maccabees // Toothpaste Kisses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0cFBu4U5sk
I'm a fan of both. Very much so. I shall write more tomorrow, maybe when I have more than half a brain :)
Buona notte,
~Angie
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
_computers are taking over my life_
Computers are officially taking over my life. All day long (well...at least from 9-6) I am on my computer for class. Whether our project becomes successful or falls flat depends on our knowledge and skill on the computer (as well as design...as well the potency of our computer). So we've been sitting in the classroom.. and then sitting in the kitchen.. for HOURS today trying to get complex geometries and pretty surfaces to appear the way we want them to. So much fun.
And on a completely unrelated and ultimately more pleasant topic - I'm increasingly loving the walk to school. First off: yesterday was the first day of school for all the youngsters. Which is really fun to see. Tons and tons of small children and highschoolers walking to school..many of them with parents in tow. All wearing their first-day-of-school-I-got-new-clothes best. And besides, the smells of fall are in the air. The slight smell of fallen leaves decomposing. The crunch under your feet. The increase in coats and decrease in shorts (which is probably a good thing...there are some short shorts here....on the guys...).
But I really like the fact that things in the morning are starting to become regular. I begin to see the same sights and the same people. The elderly man washing the sidewalk outside his restaurant. The regulars in the pasticceria/bar. The same dogs walking with their owners in the nearby park... and especially the three-legged dog on the boulevard near school with the owner with bright red sweet-looking shoes. I think I really like fall in Torino. ...minus the presence of way too much technology...
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| The pretty front view of a few modules. Screenshots. Classy. |
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| The "water pipes" of our module...that won't shell properly! |
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| This is what happens when 3DS Max is dysfunctional. . |
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| This is what happens when Rhino is dysfunctional. |
But I really like the fact that things in the morning are starting to become regular. I begin to see the same sights and the same people. The elderly man washing the sidewalk outside his restaurant. The regulars in the pasticceria/bar. The same dogs walking with their owners in the nearby park... and especially the three-legged dog on the boulevard near school with the owner with bright red sweet-looking shoes. I think I really like fall in Torino. ...minus the presence of way too much technology...
Monday, September 13, 2010
_sunday Sunday SUNDAY!_
Well, from the tone of the title of this post, you might imagine that my Sunday was pretty awesome. And you would be right! We were up late the night before, so I 'slept in' till 9, got ready, and attempted to find the church by 10:30. ..which mostly happened. I thought it was a clean, easy path to get there, and I was right. ..but somehow I complicated it and went over one block too many. Oh well, now I know. The church is based out of a school a little to the north of me. I was pretty sure I knew where it was, but I was sure when I could here talking and then singing filtering out through the large wood doors, one of which was open, welcoming. The singing came from above, and I walked up the stairs to find myself in the back of an auditorium, with red velvet-like upholstered theater chairs, sparsely filled by less than a hundred people. But it was beautiful.
The people, even by just their appearance, seemed to originate from all over the place. Some were dressed in traditional dress from and African country I am not quite familiar with enough to pinpoint. Others wore headphones to listen to the Italian translation of the announcements and sermon. Students, families, all were there, singing the best they could in a language that may be their second, third, or fourth tongue. The service was good. I still miss Hope and Terra most desperately, but I am so happy that the body of Christ continues across all man-made borders and beyond all language barriers. What I find so great about this church - this family that I am slowly getting to know - is their transparency. They are so concerned about knowing each person individually, praying for each person specifically. They refer to each person and prayer specifically.
I feel like especially in America, we are so nervous about "prying" into one another's lives, so we don't ask, don't approach on another on the state of our lives. But we are asked to be honest with one another - to share our lives. Not just the pretty happy things, but the hard, difficult, messy parts of our lives. We definitely all have those parts. So anyway, this church - this network and body seems to do that well. I have only been there once - my first Sunday was yesterday, but I was invited to play basketball afterwards (I don't really play basketball - I played one year in 5th grade...which was...... 10 years ago. ouch) But they were exceptionally gracious and let me play along. There were so many people from so many different countries! Three from America, one from Brasil, one Filipino, three from Ghana (I think).. and eventually a couple Italians, one Venezuelan, and one from Cameroon. All playing together; a friendly game of basketball.
I was pretty bad at basketball. And my running shoes did not help. But it was good exercise, and good bonding of sorts. (I was the only girl....RPI ratio anyone?) But it was really nice to hang out with all of them. On the way back, I got a ride with Dave and Chris was also in the car. We stopped at the mercato in Porta Nuova train station, and I bought some coffee because the apartment was running low. And you have no idea how nice it is to find a grocery store open late in the day on Monday! But I had heard rumors of peanut butter (they don't have it in Europe) and Chris though we should be able to find it at the Filipino mercato (I had no idea there was one!), so we went to it... which is actually pretty close to my apartment! They had peanut butter (!!!!) and I also bought white rice noodles and tamarind.
All were really good. Plus the guy at the store was really excited that I liked to try all of the different foods. So I will most definitely be coming back to try new things. And he said he would take me how to cook Filipino food. Pretty exciting :) I love cooking/baking wayyy too much.
Anyway, you have no idea how nice it was to be with some believers again. It was just so comfortable and homey, even though I've only known them for... a few hours. God has been so amazing with all of that. It's been incredible and I can't wait to see what is coming next. For now... I get to sit for 3 more hours and learn crazy commands on Grasshopper....I think I would rather be outside..or cooking. Soon enough...Chicken soup for all the sick people tonight :)
The people, even by just their appearance, seemed to originate from all over the place. Some were dressed in traditional dress from and African country I am not quite familiar with enough to pinpoint. Others wore headphones to listen to the Italian translation of the announcements and sermon. Students, families, all were there, singing the best they could in a language that may be their second, third, or fourth tongue. The service was good. I still miss Hope and Terra most desperately, but I am so happy that the body of Christ continues across all man-made borders and beyond all language barriers. What I find so great about this church - this family that I am slowly getting to know - is their transparency. They are so concerned about knowing each person individually, praying for each person specifically. They refer to each person and prayer specifically.
I feel like especially in America, we are so nervous about "prying" into one another's lives, so we don't ask, don't approach on another on the state of our lives. But we are asked to be honest with one another - to share our lives. Not just the pretty happy things, but the hard, difficult, messy parts of our lives. We definitely all have those parts. So anyway, this church - this network and body seems to do that well. I have only been there once - my first Sunday was yesterday, but I was invited to play basketball afterwards (I don't really play basketball - I played one year in 5th grade...which was...... 10 years ago. ouch) But they were exceptionally gracious and let me play along. There were so many people from so many different countries! Three from America, one from Brasil, one Filipino, three from Ghana (I think).. and eventually a couple Italians, one Venezuelan, and one from Cameroon. All playing together; a friendly game of basketball.
I was pretty bad at basketball. And my running shoes did not help. But it was good exercise, and good bonding of sorts. (I was the only girl....RPI ratio anyone?) But it was really nice to hang out with all of them. On the way back, I got a ride with Dave and Chris was also in the car. We stopped at the mercato in Porta Nuova train station, and I bought some coffee because the apartment was running low. And you have no idea how nice it is to find a grocery store open late in the day on Monday! But I had heard rumors of peanut butter (they don't have it in Europe) and Chris though we should be able to find it at the Filipino mercato (I had no idea there was one!), so we went to it... which is actually pretty close to my apartment! They had peanut butter (!!!!) and I also bought white rice noodles and tamarind.
All were really good. Plus the guy at the store was really excited that I liked to try all of the different foods. So I will most definitely be coming back to try new things. And he said he would take me how to cook Filipino food. Pretty exciting :) I love cooking/baking wayyy too much.
Anyway, you have no idea how nice it was to be with some believers again. It was just so comfortable and homey, even though I've only known them for... a few hours. God has been so amazing with all of that. It's been incredible and I can't wait to see what is coming next. For now... I get to sit for 3 more hours and learn crazy commands on Grasshopper....I think I would rather be outside..or cooking. Soon enough...Chicken soup for all the sick people tonight :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
_crazy life beautiful life_
So I think two words to sum up my experience over the past couple days would be 1) crazy, 2) beautiful. Not that I'm saying my life is perfect...it's just been incredibly enjoyable and ridiculous the past few days. The end of last week was the start and the first presentation of a project - one created entirely by studying animal physiology and behavior in response to the environment and transferring it to building skin technology. It's actually REALLY COOL and I really enjoy it.
My group is amazing. It consists of two American students: Me and Sarah M., and two Italian students: Marina and Matteo. They are so great. They came up to us the first day when we were choosing partners and asked us if we would like to be a group. Because the partner choices were completely blind - we have no knowledge or history with the Italian students - it was such a nice surprise to have two smart, funny, generous and generally awesome Italians as partners. We have been hanging out with Marina especially - she has quickly become one of our favorite people. ((Marina if you read this, thank you SO MUCH for how inviting and friendly you have been towards us!!)) She has included us in so much and taught us a lot about the city and surrounding area.
On Friday we presented our project, which was a module based on the circulatory system of dolphin fins (actually really fascinating) which went well! And then we had no homework for the weekend!! AMAZING! Being archies and having no work over a weekend?! that never happens! So, on Friday night I went crazy with baking. Actually it was really nice. I made a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, a summer vegetable tian, and eggplant bruschette. I had an incredible amount of eggplant from that giant eggplant I bought the previous Sunday, and it took forever to figure out what to do with it all. Kateri and I then watched 'Penelope' which was really good. Though....Kateri didn't really watch it. She fell asleep on the floor about 15 minutes into it. I enjoyed it though. It was very entertaining.. and cute.
Saturday morning we went shopping with Marina in the market - I can't figure out the name. But it was primarily clothing. I didn't really buy anything, but maybe the next time. On the way to our touring meeting point, we stopped by a shoe store Marina recommended, where I may buy boots. We'll see. It's a lot of money to spend, but for good Italian leather boots, it may be worth it. Plus, I'm getting really bored of having two different pairs of shoes. ...It gets old.
After we shopped, we had a tour (boring....long...tiring...) and I went quickly to the market and bought large quantities of pomodori (tomatoes) and prugne (Italian plums). 2 kilos of pomodori for 2 euro and 3 kilos of prugne for 1 euro. So... I'm going to bake a lot of plum cake. But I'm excited. The market was INSANE. I'm so excited to go there every Saturday. Definitely looking forward to that. Especially since everything looks delicious and everything is pretty cheap! I'm such a foodie. ...and a nerd. I'm totally fine with that :)
Saturday night we went to the wine festival in Asti. "La Festival delle Sagre" Hmm.. how do I explain it...... well, craziness. There were so many people there. It was not a wine tasting - it was definitely focused on wine drinking. Lots and lots of drinking. Asti was about a 45 minute train ride from Torino, and only cost around 4 euro with a free trip back. Unlike American fairs, the food was cheap! and amazing! we had risotto con Barolo - rice cooked with wine. That sounds strange but risotto is so tasty and this version was really good! and a big bowl was only 3 euro!
There were 'houses' set up all around the area with dishes from the region - ravioli, pasta, risotto, desserts...and of course wine. The festival celebrates the fall harvest, so all the new wine has just come out and people get together to celebrate and drink it! For 50 euro cents you can get a really "classy" pouch with a wine glass in it, so you can eat hands free and still have access to wine. I had a small glass of a red with from Asti, which was really good. But that was it for me. I'm not a heavy drinker .....at all. I just like to taste :) But everyone else drank enough to make up for me. People were drinking ..... a lot. Sooooo many drunk people everywhere. Very happy, loud, hungry drunk people. Everyone was chanting and singing at the top of their lungs.
We tried to leave on the 12:30 train back, but it was too full. So we waited for the 1:00 train. ...which was also full. The train platform was basically a giant moshpit of chanting drunk happy Italians. They would sing one song over and over and over and over and over again. "Bevo bevo bevo bevo / Mi ubriaco / e son felice / anche se poi vomito!" At the top of their lungs. Jumping up and down. Basically it means, "I drink I drink I drink I drink/ I'm drunk / and I'm happy/ even though I am vomiting" We totally didn't realize that last line there. Oh well, it was hilarious.
The train was packed all the way back. As in, 'you-have-absolutely-no-personal-space' kind of packed. And it was full of, again, happy drunk Italians. We were pretty ready to get off at the end. But we had a really good night. It was so so much fun to hang out with Marina and her friends at the festival. I'm really glad they put up with having a bunch of non-Italian-speaking newbie Americans hanging out with them. But we really enjoyed it. It was definitely a highlight of the trip so far.
((So this was the train platform - and all of the singing..and craziness.. Sorry it's sideways, but I can't seem to rotate it in the Blogger video function! )
After we got back, we hung out on the floor of our apartment, ate my cheesecake, and chatted until around 3:00. The other apartment had been drinking heavily (seems it was the thing to do that night!) so everyone was having a lot of fun...even though we were literally just sitting on the floor of the apartment. I like our group. We all get along well.
Sunday was amazing. I'm going to just write a new post tomorrow about how great today was. So great! Basically, God has been so amazing and so evident these past few days - with getting me involved and connected with Italians here, finding a church here, meeting people at the church here, finding amazing markets, etc. Seeing beauty in the people and places of Torino. He truly is evident in the little things, the simple and the heart-warming. Grazie Dio.
My group is amazing. It consists of two American students: Me and Sarah M., and two Italian students: Marina and Matteo. They are so great. They came up to us the first day when we were choosing partners and asked us if we would like to be a group. Because the partner choices were completely blind - we have no knowledge or history with the Italian students - it was such a nice surprise to have two smart, funny, generous and generally awesome Italians as partners. We have been hanging out with Marina especially - she has quickly become one of our favorite people. ((Marina if you read this, thank you SO MUCH for how inviting and friendly you have been towards us!!)) She has included us in so much and taught us a lot about the city and surrounding area.
On Friday we presented our project, which was a module based on the circulatory system of dolphin fins (actually really fascinating) which went well! And then we had no homework for the weekend!! AMAZING! Being archies and having no work over a weekend?! that never happens! So, on Friday night I went crazy with baking. Actually it was really nice. I made a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, a summer vegetable tian, and eggplant bruschette. I had an incredible amount of eggplant from that giant eggplant I bought the previous Sunday, and it took forever to figure out what to do with it all. Kateri and I then watched 'Penelope' which was really good. Though....Kateri didn't really watch it. She fell asleep on the floor about 15 minutes into it. I enjoyed it though. It was very entertaining.. and cute.
Saturday morning we went shopping with Marina in the market - I can't figure out the name. But it was primarily clothing. I didn't really buy anything, but maybe the next time. On the way to our touring meeting point, we stopped by a shoe store Marina recommended, where I may buy boots. We'll see. It's a lot of money to spend, but for good Italian leather boots, it may be worth it. Plus, I'm getting really bored of having two different pairs of shoes. ...It gets old.
After we shopped, we had a tour (boring....long...tiring...) and I went quickly to the market and bought large quantities of pomodori (tomatoes) and prugne (Italian plums). 2 kilos of pomodori for 2 euro and 3 kilos of prugne for 1 euro. So... I'm going to bake a lot of plum cake. But I'm excited. The market was INSANE. I'm so excited to go there every Saturday. Definitely looking forward to that. Especially since everything looks delicious and everything is pretty cheap! I'm such a foodie. ...and a nerd. I'm totally fine with that :)
Saturday night we went to the wine festival in Asti. "La Festival delle Sagre" Hmm.. how do I explain it...... well, craziness. There were so many people there. It was not a wine tasting - it was definitely focused on wine drinking. Lots and lots of drinking. Asti was about a 45 minute train ride from Torino, and only cost around 4 euro with a free trip back. Unlike American fairs, the food was cheap! and amazing! we had risotto con Barolo - rice cooked with wine. That sounds strange but risotto is so tasty and this version was really good! and a big bowl was only 3 euro!
There were 'houses' set up all around the area with dishes from the region - ravioli, pasta, risotto, desserts...and of course wine. The festival celebrates the fall harvest, so all the new wine has just come out and people get together to celebrate and drink it! For 50 euro cents you can get a really "classy" pouch with a wine glass in it, so you can eat hands free and still have access to wine. I had a small glass of a red with from Asti, which was really good. But that was it for me. I'm not a heavy drinker .....at all. I just like to taste :) But everyone else drank enough to make up for me. People were drinking ..... a lot. Sooooo many drunk people everywhere. Very happy, loud, hungry drunk people. Everyone was chanting and singing at the top of their lungs.
We tried to leave on the 12:30 train back, but it was too full. So we waited for the 1:00 train. ...which was also full. The train platform was basically a giant moshpit of chanting drunk happy Italians. They would sing one song over and over and over and over and over again. "Bevo bevo bevo bevo / Mi ubriaco / e son felice / anche se poi vomito!" At the top of their lungs. Jumping up and down. Basically it means, "I drink I drink I drink I drink/ I'm drunk / and I'm happy/ even though I am vomiting" We totally didn't realize that last line there. Oh well, it was hilarious.
The train was packed all the way back. As in, 'you-have-absolutely-no-personal-space' kind of packed. And it was full of, again, happy drunk Italians. We were pretty ready to get off at the end. But we had a really good night. It was so so much fun to hang out with Marina and her friends at the festival. I'm really glad they put up with having a bunch of non-Italian-speaking newbie Americans hanging out with them. But we really enjoyed it. It was definitely a highlight of the trip so far.
((So this was the train platform - and all of the singing..and craziness.. Sorry it's sideways, but I can't seem to rotate it in the Blogger video function! )
After we got back, we hung out on the floor of our apartment, ate my cheesecake, and chatted until around 3:00. The other apartment had been drinking heavily (seems it was the thing to do that night!) so everyone was having a lot of fun...even though we were literally just sitting on the floor of the apartment. I like our group. We all get along well.
Sunday was amazing. I'm going to just write a new post tomorrow about how great today was. So great! Basically, God has been so amazing and so evident these past few days - with getting me involved and connected with Italians here, finding a church here, meeting people at the church here, finding amazing markets, etc. Seeing beauty in the people and places of Torino. He truly is evident in the little things, the simple and the heart-warming. Grazie Dio.
Monday, September 6, 2010
_first week_
Current location?
Sitting in a cold basement studio, surrounded by college students of various nationalities typing furiously away at their laptops, attempting with confused frustration to get Matlab to work. Mine, unfortunately, is ntot working at all. Apparently I must reinstall Matlab for the third time. So I'm sitting here, following along through the fifty pages of the tutorial and writing notes as quickly as I can with pen and paper and without a keyboard. Am I frustrated? Mmm...not so much, actually. I mean, I wish my computer worked, but I've actually been able to follow along pretty well. I guess I'll find out once I try it later! Anyway, enough boring talk.
Today is the second day of class, another long day of 9-6, computer talk, and semi-functioning communication between native speakers of two different languages. Actually, they speak English impressively well. We just have to work on our Italian.. it's coming... slowly...
Currently I'm waiting for my Illustrator to respond while I make pretty, yet immediately useless graphs and charts.
Sitting in a cold basement studio, surrounded by college students of various nationalities typing furiously away at their laptops, attempting with confused frustration to get Matlab to work. Mine, unfortunately, is ntot working at all. Apparently I must reinstall Matlab for the third time. So I'm sitting here, following along through the fifty pages of the tutorial and writing notes as quickly as I can with pen and paper and without a keyboard. Am I frustrated? Mmm...not so much, actually. I mean, I wish my computer worked, but I've actually been able to follow along pretty well. I guess I'll find out once I try it later! Anyway, enough boring talk.
Today is the second day of class, another long day of 9-6, computer talk, and semi-functioning communication between native speakers of two different languages. Actually, they speak English impressively well. We just have to work on our Italian.. it's coming... slowly...
Currently I'm waiting for my Illustrator to respond while I make pretty, yet immediately useless graphs and charts.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
_finally a post from Italia!_
So I'm finally posting something. I don't know how long I can write... but I figured I would post something finally!
Currently I am in Torino, in northwest Italy. It's much, much different from Roma, and definitely from the cities we saw on our central Italy trip. But I think I really like it so far. I just got back from the crazy huge farmer's market I stumbled upon on an exploratory walk. Basically I saw a yellow tent, turned the corner, and was confronted with dozens of yellow tents, selling fresh produce, wine, cheese, canned goods, flowers, meats, bread, baked goods... anything food related you could think of. Thankfully everyone is really kind even though I speak very little Italian and have no idea what I am doing! I bought cinque pesche (five peaches), una melanzana (eggplant) GIANT eggplant the size of my head, and arborio rice. So amazing. I'm really excited about that, except for the fact that it's only the first Sunday of every month. I might walk back tonight (I don't really have anything else to do), but for now I'm enjoying a break to write and to listen to the church choir singing out my kitchen window. It sounds pretty heavenly. The bells in the morning are a bit......loud, but otherwise it's pretty cool.
The weather here is absolutely perfect. Your could wear anything and be comfortable - much different than Roma, where it was crazy hot all the time. I was so thankful when I could break out my jeans once we got to Firenze (Florence). Ah yes, our central trip. We spent five days traveling from Roma to Pienza, Perugia, Siena, Orvieto, San Gimignano, and Firenze (there were definitely a few more cities...I just can't remember them all). We saw approximately 3.2 churches per day (some days 4, some days 3, some 5...there were a lot of them). When going through my pictures I have no idea what is from which day. Or the names of any of them. But they were all beautiful. Each city we visited had it's own personality. Pienza smelled like cheese...perhaps due to the cheese festival that spanned the day we visited. Siena was busy and beautiful - the Campo in the middle was one of my favorite places I've been the entire time I've been here. One of the best places to just sit, relax, enjoy the weather and people-watch. Firenze was awesome because 1) we spent more than 18 hours there, 2) the view from the top of the Duomo was magnificent and 3) we had some excellent food and some interesting run-ins with the shop-keepers in the market. If any city had leather, it was Firenze.
The trip was amazing - Emilio, our teacher and guide, was hilarious. But he seemed to have a much better stamina for museum-going and sight-seeing than we did, even though he was 40 years our senior. By the end we were all exhausted constantly. It's just a lot to pack up all of your luggage (luggage for our 5 weeks in Torino) move in to a hotel, walk a few kilometers around a city, break for lunch, walk a few more kilometers, sleep, pack, and do it all over again the next day. Amazing, but definitely tiring. Finally on Friday night we arrived in Torino, moved in to our new apartments, and slept. Saturday (yesterday) we met the Italian students we will be working with for the workshop, and most everyone went out Saturday night to the discotecca with them. I, unfortunately, was unable to, due to a sudden fever that only escalated during the day, waned, and then came back in full force. Today I'm doing much better, thank goodness. It is no fun to be sick the first day you arrive in your new (5 week) 'home'
Today is Sunday, which has been a slow, yet ultimately pleasant day. I think I may have found a church! Unfortunately I did not find it before Sunday, but next week I will be able to find it and try it with less difficulty. It's an International church, and it's only a 10-15 minute walk from mi casa! I'm a fan already :) Plus I think the pastor is...Scottish? Who knew?! We just ate a simple supper, and I think we're headed back to the market to see if anything is going on. I may dive into the crazy library of cd's and books in our apartment - sometimes I swear we just moved into someone else's apartment, there are so many books, kitchen supplies, random odds and ends everywhere! I love it though. it's beautiful. Well, this is all for now. I'll write again soon, but for now I thought I would post something :)
ciao,
Angie
Currently I am in Torino, in northwest Italy. It's much, much different from Roma, and definitely from the cities we saw on our central Italy trip. But I think I really like it so far. I just got back from the crazy huge farmer's market I stumbled upon on an exploratory walk. Basically I saw a yellow tent, turned the corner, and was confronted with dozens of yellow tents, selling fresh produce, wine, cheese, canned goods, flowers, meats, bread, baked goods... anything food related you could think of. Thankfully everyone is really kind even though I speak very little Italian and have no idea what I am doing! I bought cinque pesche (five peaches), una melanzana (eggplant) GIANT eggplant the size of my head, and arborio rice. So amazing. I'm really excited about that, except for the fact that it's only the first Sunday of every month. I might walk back tonight (I don't really have anything else to do), but for now I'm enjoying a break to write and to listen to the church choir singing out my kitchen window. It sounds pretty heavenly. The bells in the morning are a bit......loud, but otherwise it's pretty cool.
 |
| The lovely bag of Arborio rice I got from a nice Venezuelan guy at the Farmer's market |
 |
| Pesche fresche (fresh peaches!) |
 |
| Melanzana gigante!! |
The trip was amazing - Emilio, our teacher and guide, was hilarious. But he seemed to have a much better stamina for museum-going and sight-seeing than we did, even though he was 40 years our senior. By the end we were all exhausted constantly. It's just a lot to pack up all of your luggage (luggage for our 5 weeks in Torino) move in to a hotel, walk a few kilometers around a city, break for lunch, walk a few more kilometers, sleep, pack, and do it all over again the next day. Amazing, but definitely tiring. Finally on Friday night we arrived in Torino, moved in to our new apartments, and slept. Saturday (yesterday) we met the Italian students we will be working with for the workshop, and most everyone went out Saturday night to the discotecca with them. I, unfortunately, was unable to, due to a sudden fever that only escalated during the day, waned, and then came back in full force. Today I'm doing much better, thank goodness. It is no fun to be sick the first day you arrive in your new (5 week) 'home'
Today is Sunday, which has been a slow, yet ultimately pleasant day. I think I may have found a church! Unfortunately I did not find it before Sunday, but next week I will be able to find it and try it with less difficulty. It's an International church, and it's only a 10-15 minute walk from mi casa! I'm a fan already :) Plus I think the pastor is...Scottish? Who knew?! We just ate a simple supper, and I think we're headed back to the market to see if anything is going on. I may dive into the crazy library of cd's and books in our apartment - sometimes I swear we just moved into someone else's apartment, there are so many books, kitchen supplies, random odds and ends everywhere! I love it though. it's beautiful. Well, this is all for now. I'll write again soon, but for now I thought I would post something :)
ciao,
Angie
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