So, I went to Rome

Part of the Olympic Stadium built by Mussolini. He was all about physical fitness.

The Palazzo of the EUR. It and buildings of a similar style were built for an exhibition that Mussolini was planning in Rome in 1942. However, the exhibition didn't happen because of a little thing called World War II.

Anyway, this trip to Rome was not about hitting the Colosseo or sitting on the Spanish Steps (although, I did actually go and sit on the Spanish Steps...). Instead, we were focusing on studying the little remnants of fascism in Rome, AND we got to see Cinecitta' which is the Italian equivalent of Hollywood. It was built in 1937 after Mussolini commissioned Luigi Freddi to study the Hollywood studio system. All the greats filmed there: Rossellini, Fellini, even Martin Scorsese! He chose to film Gangs of New York in Cinecitta'. Parts of his set are still up! Turns out Italian Cinema has been in crisis since about 1976 and Cinecitta' isn't a real booming place with shots being filmed on every corner. The fact that the Gangs of New York sets are still up is a testament to this. (There was also a bunch of really cool sets from an old HBO series called, Rome, that was filmed at Cinecitta', and a mock-up of the city Assisi for something being shot.) But I don't have any pictures of this stuff because Prof. Zagarrio said via email "Don't act like tourist and don't take picture."

It was quite the field trip because Prof. Zagarrio is a master of off-color comments. It keeps things interesting, and surreal. I really can't remember many specific things he said...and some I probably wouldn't repeat, but I kept thinking, "Is he really saying these things?"

But the sky is always more blue.

Buon Giorno di Ringraziamento!!!

So, it pretty much goes without saying that Thanksgiving does not exist in Italia.

At no time did the legendary Trojan exiles lead by Aeneas sit down and eat with the indigenous Etruscans to celebrate their first harvest of olive oil and figs.

Nonetheless, with the huge American diaspora in Florence (it's a hotspot for study abroads and any scholar of the humanities as well as well-to-do tourists), I'm sure I could find something. The NYU campus is having a dinner with all the festive foods and at church, to provide solace to the missionaries, which are almost exclusively American, they are having a little "Thanksgiving" dinner, but I would rather lay low at the apartment, attempt to chip away at some reading, gorge myself on rice pudding (my current treat of choice), and prepare for a Thanksgiving skype with la famiglia. I'm a little bit hermitish, I guess. Maybe it is a symptom of homesickness because that sort of flared up this morning.

However, I don't have class on Thursday, and I wasn't going to stay cooped up in the apartment all day, so to celebrate Thanksgiving I went to the Uffizi. It was not too crowded, so it was especially nice. I really don't know if I have a favorite painting. To be honest, I am much more into modern painting...after the camera liberated painting from the obligation to depict reality. But I really do like byzantine and renaissance art; I think they are windows (both visually and in what and how they choose to depict what they depict) into ages past.

But, anyway, I have millions of things to be grateful for. To get in the holiday spirit, and because gratitude should be a habit, and should be expressed regularly, here's a little list of things I am grateful for, in no particular order:
1) My family. So, it's a cliche; I don't care. And even in a list where things are in no particular order, my family is still first. I love them.
2) My friends. To keep up the cheesy sentiments, they're the family you choose!
3) The color "dusty rose"
4) The internet.
5) That I am studying in the beautiful city of Florence.
6) That I get to be home for Christmas (and that I was able to change my flight for nothing! So all, I'll be home from the 10th of December to the 17th of January!)
7) For all the wonderful people I've met here.
8) For church, I really always to have a simple, sweet peace and church. It's the kind of thing that keeps you centered. And to be specific, I am thankful for a loving God in heaven.
9) La bellissima lingua italiana e tutte le opere che spero di capire un giorno!
10) Good books.
11) Good movies.
12) Gelato.
13) Cell phones. I use mine as a phone, alarm clock, watch, and flashlight.
14) Muffins! And the package my mom sent me!
15) That feeling, when you listen to a really good song, or see a good movie, or read a good book, or hear an amazing speech and you experience an overwhelming conviction of your own worth and know that you can do anything and that everything is right and good and if its not it will be alright. In the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower it is called "feeling infinite." Maybe this is an abstract thing to be grateful for, but I think you know what I am talking about.

So, here's a picture of Florence: Thanksgiving 2009

Maria Giovanna.

Doesn't that sound (or since you are reading this, look) like the most beautiful name. Turns out it is the equivalent of Mary Jane in the slang sense, like Marijuana.

One last chance for Maria Giovanna. One last time to kill the pai-ai-ain

I was looking up a girl I volunteer with and she goes by Mari, short for Maria, and I heard someone else call her Maria Giovanna, so I thought Giovanna must be her middle name and I entered both names onto the facebook search engine, and all that came up were pictures of cannabis.

It seems way too pretty to be slang for Marijuana. Even though, Marijuana is sort of a pretty word itself; it has all those long vowel sounds.

My little old man

To make up for the lack of posting, I will do two posts back-to-back, because just as I hit "Publish Post" on my Baaria entry, I remembered my little old man. It is a short, little Italian anecdote that might be a welcome diversion.

So, every Saturday, I see this old Italian man as I walk to my volontario. He sits outside of Tabaccheria in a lawn chair and basically says, "Buongiorno" to all who pass the scarcely frequented street. Anyway, for several weeks I just uttered my customary, "Buongiorno," in response to his salutation. Then he asked, "Da dove vieni?" and I responded, "America." Then he said, "You are very cute." I swear, in Italy a girl can get enough compliments to last a lifetime. Anyway, when I saw him today he said, "I am happier when I see you." It was just nice and sweet and, I guess, one of those silly, little, simple things that pick your day up just a smidgeon.

So, I am wildly enamored with this film. Maybe because it has been dictated that it is a good film, it was nominated for an Oscar, and the buzz is that it will win (in the Foreign Language Films category, of course). I actually went and saw it at the end of October (they were showing it with English subtitles so I jumped on the chance to see it AND understand it). I could give you the summary, but it kind of eludes summary. It's one of those multi-generational epics that traces the life and family of one character from childhood to adulthood. It incorporates how the city Bagheria (Baaria in Sicilian slang, maybe like Spanish Fork is Spanish Fark in Utah Valley slang) changes in the course of those years, and has some very folkloric elements.

I really want to see it again.

But, why did I all the sudden decide to share this new film obsession with you? Well, I was just youtubing (yes, I believe youtube has become a verb) bits of it because I was trying to find a clip in the original Sicilian dialect that the film was shot in (which most Northerners and all foreigners who learned Italian in school CANNOT understand) and the standard Italian it was dubbed in. Anyway, I was watching the trailers (set to the stunning music of soundtrack god Ennio Morricone) and I seriously almost started crying because I remembered how beautiful the film was.

My film professor, ol' Vito, or I suppose out of respect I should say Professor Zagarrio, thought the film was good, but just a little too much. Too much melodrama emphasized by unnecessarily grandiose camera movements. So, there's a little criticism to kill the hype, so when you see it, you won't be devastatingly disappointed if it doesn't change your life.

But it changed mine, at least a little bit.

I guess lacksadaisical is not a word.

That is all. It is the one thing I learned today.

(Well, I also watched a lot of reruns of "Friends" on the internet, so I also learned that Rachel still has feelings for Ross. You see, I am very lackadaisical--notice "LACK"adaisical not "LACKS"adaisical--and that is how I came to know the one real thing I learned today.)

I think my problem is that not working and being in a foreign country put me under the false impression that I am on a vacation. I need to say, "No internet, Roni!" But the internet can also be used for good (research) as well as evil (online Boggle/"Friends"). My resolution for this coming Monday will be to be a better student...I will come up with ways to quantify that after I see what happens after Ross said Rachel when he was marrying Emily!

Deliciously tacky tile

In the bathroom we have some real stunning decor.
I also am mildly obsessed with taking pictures of my reflection.

La stagione della pioggia

Welcome November! The season of the rain.

I certainly don't miss the sweltering, humid heat of August.

Although, I would like my clothes to dry.

And I do worry about reckless scooter drivers going too fast on slick, wet roads and skidding into something. Sometimes, I'm a little bit like a mom.

And it would be nice if the bottom of my pants could stay dry so I don't get too cold in class. But I could buy myself some boots to remedy that situation. I finally get that tucking your pants into boots is not just a fashion statement (loathed by some of my acquaitances...you know who you are), but also a practical way to keep the flared part of your jeans from getting soaked.

But I love the rain.

It makes going outside an adventure.

I could totally handle life in Seattle.

I love weather.

But I miss the snow. I'm hoping for a hearty storm the day AFTER I fly in for Christmas. I will be building a snowman, lying in wait with ready-made snowballs in my mittened hands to launch a pre-emptive assault on my brother, and challenging whoever will brave it to run around my yard barefoot with me.

Then I will go inside drink hot chocolate and sit by the fire until I can feel my feet.

rainy sunday morning

it is a rainy sunday morning and church starts far too early.

i let myself get distracted by the internet so now i am going to be late.

i should take the bus, but i'm not sure which buses travel in the vicinity of church because i almost always walk.

well, i really need stop blogging if i am going to make it.

My experience in Italy by the numbers...

Number of times I embarassed myself at the grocery store: 1 (I took grapes out of a premeasured box...thereby ensuring that someone will not be receiving all the grapes they paid for)

Nationalities I've been taken for: 4 (American, obviously, Italian, French, and once Russian...I'm suprised I haven't gotten German yet with the last name Scheidler).

Cities I've Visited: 2 (I flew into Rome then went straight to Florence. I intend to get out more!)

Number of Times I've been asked by a gentleman to go out for coffee: innumerable

Times I've Accepted: 0 (I should be less of an ice-queen, but I'm shy!)

Museums I've Visited: Ahhh...I don't really want to count. Maybe, around ten.

Least Favorite Museum: Museo Salvatore Ferragamo--shoes are great, but I got a little bored.

Number of Times I've been asked for directions: lots

Times I've gotten people lost with faulty directions: ? probably at least once...

Times I've been lost: Too many to count, but I always find my way eventually.

Times I've let babies under my supervision fall off couches: 1

Times I've walked around in high heels: 1 and the blisters ensured that once is enough. High heels are for sitting in and for briefly standing in (to show of the leggies) but not for walking in.

Hours I've spent on internet: Too many. Get to work Roni.

Books I've bought (excluding textbooks): 2--and I even read one of them.