_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.  

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). 

_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. 

_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. 

part of my walk to school!

Despite the fact that it can be incredibly overwhelming sometimes, I love being completely surrounded by Italian speakers. I love not really knowing what they are saying but just observing their (many) hand motions, their facial expressions, their body language and the tone of their voice. It’s surprising how much of a conversation you can understand just by watching it. My Italian comprehension is getting better though. I really love listening in on conversations. …that sounds creepy and nosey, but it really isn’t. It’s more like continual opportunities for me to test my Italian comprehension.  I love that feeling of knowing what’s going on. But I do love just sitting and letting the sounds wash over me, letting my brain keep silent and just let them talk (This often happens when they talk too fast). It is a beautiful language.

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 :)

_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.

_currently_

My chandelier in my bedroom Yes, a chandelier. Yes, random. 

Currently....Sitting in bed, relaxing under the warmth of a fluffy down comforter, sweats and a Hanes mens undershirt.


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)

_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

_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. 

The pretty front view of a few modules. Screenshots. Classy. 

The "water pipes" of our module...that won't shell properly!

This is what happens when 3DS Max is dysfunctional. . 

This is what happens when Rhino is dysfunctional. 

 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...