Week 3: You Got Chopped

Our first cooking class took place on Tuesday afternoon. This week we made three antipasti, or appetizers, each from a different region of Italy. From the North, we made flan di carota, which was similar to an American carrot soufflé. The crostini toscani we made is a famous appetizer from central Italy, especially Florence. It is a chicken liver patae mixture served on slices of bread. Lastly we made caponata di verdures which originated in Sicily. The caponata was a mixture of many different vegetables and was similar to a very thick stew. Something that is very interesting about Italian cooking is that the different regions of Italy all cook food based on what is local. Northern Italy uses a lot of diary and egg, central Italy focuses on meat, and southern Italy uses fruits and vegetables. Italians like to eat food that is fresh and local so they cook meals that reflect that.

On Wednesday we all gathered in the classroom to hear a lecture from attorney Michele Capecchi. He is an Italian lawyer who represented the Olsen family in the murder case of Ashley Olsen. Ashely Olsen was a 35 year old American living in the Santo Sprito neighborhood in Florence, the same neighborhood our JMU Florence house is in. She was murdered on January 9th, 2016. Her murderer was sentenced to 30 years in jail on December 22, 2016. While speaking with him, we got to learn about some of the differences between the US and Italian criminal system. In Italy there is no such thing as double jeopardy, which is interesting because the concept is such an important part of the US system that it is mentioned in the Bill of Rights. In Italy plea bargaining isn’t used, instead criminals can get 1/3 of a sentence reduction by giving up some of their rights. Meanwhile, in the US 90% of cases are ended using plea bargaining. It was interesting learning about these differences because I often assume European countries operate nearly identical to America but it is very clear that is not the case.

On Thursday morning the Masterpieces of Renaissance Art class visited Santa Maria Novella, the first great basilica in Florence. We got to see a few art pieces that we had previously talked about in class, such as Giotto’s Crucifix and Masaccio’s The Holy Trinity. Masaccio’s work of art is especially impressive in person because it is the first work of art to successfully use linear perspective, meaning that the painting could be recreated in a 3D space.

For our first free weekend, 25 out of the 30 of us decided to visit Interlaken, Switzerland with the tour group Florence For Fun. On Thursday we boarded the bus and had a 10 hour ride to Interlaken. We didn’t arrive until 4:30 AM on Friday so we all went to sleep immediately. The next morning Libby, Hayley, Jackie, and I went on a hike in mountains behind our hostel. We were able to climb to the top of the mountain and back within 2 hours. After we grabbed lunch, we went to a chocolate tasting that was included in our program. We were able to sample different chocolates and learned how different chocolates are produced. Since we were so tired, we ordered take out pizza for dinner.

The next morning we got back on the bus to take a day trip to Switzerland’s capital, Bern. Our tour leader gave us some background information on the city. The word “bern” means bear. Since bears are extinct in Switzerland, Vladimir Putin gifted the city of Bern 3 bears. The bears are housed in a bear pit in the city. Unfortunately we weren’t able to see the bears because they were hibernating. We were able to explore the city and stopped by a cute, cat-themed cafe. Once we got back to Interlaken we headed straight to night sledding. Night sledding was not what we had expected as it was more similar to bobsledding, and it didn’t go well for me. Afterwards we went back to the hostel and had fondue for dinner.

Sadly Sunday was our last day in Switzerland. After checking out and grabbing breakfast, we took a bus over to Lake Brienz. The view of the lake was breathtaking. Needless to say we took a lot of pictures. Once we finished at the lake, we stopped by a Thai restaurant for lunch and I got some of the most amazing curry I have ever had. Then it was time to go back Florence. We made really good time driving back and I was back in my bed by 11 PM.

Next week I am off to Copenhagen!

 

Week 2: Sono Italiano

Throughout the week I got to go on two walking tours in Florence. My first tour was with my marketing class. We walked around Florence while our professor talked to us about the businesses we were seeing. One thing she said that really stood out to me was that around 70% of businesses in Florence are family owned. This is something that is very different from businesses in the United States. My second tour was with my culinary arts class. We talked a lot about the influence of wine on Italy and how different regions cook differently.

Jackie and I decided to visit the Ai WeiWei exhibit in the Palazzo Strozzi. Ai WeiWei’s work focuses a lot on censorship because that was something he had to deal with as an artist in China. My favorite pieces by him were his Lego portraits because I think it is something that is very creative, and I just love Legos.

On Saturday everyone in the program went on a day trip to Siena, which is about an hour outside of Florence. We stopped by a cafe to grab breakfast, then met up with our tour guide. She took us to the Basilica of San Domenico, which is where St. Catherine of Siena’s head and thumb are on display. It was interesting to see because people back then were much smaller than we are today. We then went to the city center to see where the biannual Palio takes place. The Palio is a horse race between the 17 “contrade” or districts of Siena. The horse race is a huge cultural event for them, and the winning district has a lot of pride. Next we visited the Siena Cathedral which houses St. John the Baptist’s right arm. The floor of the cathedral was beautiful marble mosaic. Across the street we stopped inside the Santa Maria della Scala Hospital. The hospital was filled with murals that told the story of the creation of the hospital. We then got to climb to the top of a building and got an incredible view of Siena. Once the tour ended I went with some friends to get pizza and gelato.

On Sunday Libby, Eliza, and I took a train to spend the day in Venice. When we arrived we took a public boat to the San Marco stop, and there we were able to see the Doge’s Palace. We went into St. Mark’s Basilica’s museum, where we got to see the mosaics that decorate the inside of the basilica. We walked around until we found a restaurant to eat at. Then we headed over to the canal to do a gondola ride. Our gondolier was really nice and was able to tell us a lot of interesting facts about Venice. Venice is a very unique place because of all the canals running through the city. The gondolier answered our questions about the logistics of the city.

We tried to take the public boat back to the boat stop in front of the train station, but we were stopped one stop ahead. An announcement was made in Italian and everyone started to rush off the boat. I asked the driver what was happening and he just gave me directions to the train station. We walked to the train station and there was a huge crowd in surrounding the canal and a police boat. We didn’t think much of it and decided to grab gelato. When we came back outside, the crowd had grown larger so we decided to stay to see what was happening. There were drivers going under water, clearly looking for something. We didn’t know what was happening until the police brought out a long blue bag and that’s when we realized they must have found a body. The divers went under water with the bag and when they came back up it was clear there was a body inside. The next day I found an article saying the body was a 21 year old man. They aren’t sure whether he jumped in the canal or fell, but he was unresponsive when they tried to rescue him. We ended up leaving Venice early after seeing the search.

Can’t wait for next week!

Week 1: Exploring Florence

I arrived to the Plazzo Capponi on Tuesday afternoon after 22 hours of traveling. A few people and I decided to go out and try to find pizza. We got lost but ended up running into Lindsay Lohan who was in Florence doing a photoshoot. I ended up going to bed at 8PM because I was so tired from traveling.

The next day my roommate Emily and I went to a cafe to grab breakfast. I was able to get a chocolate-filled croissant for 1 euro. From there we headed to a meeting to get us orientated in Florence. We got a group picture and split up to go on a walking tour of Florence. On the tour I got to see the Duomo for the first time and also learned where some practical stores were located, like the grocery store. Later that day, we had another meeting about the rules of our house and were given information about traveling. I went back to the grocery store I was shown to pick up food for breakfasts and lunches.

The next morning everyone woke up early to walk to the British Institute, where we will all be taking our Italian class. Those of us who have studied Italian before took a placement test and then played some Italian games. We all walked back to the Plazzo Caponni and had our first art history class. We learned about the events leading up to the Renaissance period, which is the period of art we will be studying. After class Emily and I went to H&M to pick up winter clothes because the weather is colder than we had been excepting.

On Friday we started the day off with Italian class, and then had to head straight to a meeting. We all had to fill out paperwork for our stay permit in Italy. I then grabbed a panini from a little cafe and went to my next class, marketing. In marketing my professor went over what we will be studying this semester and discussed our final paper. Later in the afternoon Emily and I had a meeting with some of the people who run the semester abroad to make sure we were adjusting well. That night most of us decided to go to a club so we all met in the kitchen beforehand to hang out. We didn’t end up getting home until 3AM, so I went straight to bed.

Since I was so tired from the night before, I didn’t wake up until 12:30 on Saturday. A few of us decided to go to the San Marco convent. The convent was restored for Cosimo the Elder by Michelozzo in 1437. A lot of the museum was in Italian, but we were able to understand some of the descriptions. We enjoyed walking around the museum and especially liked the center garden.

On Sunday we decided to climb Giotto’s Bell Tower. We bought tickets that would get us into all the monuments for only 15 euros. The climb up the tower was 414 steps, but luckily we had breaks along the way. It was really windy when we got to the top, but the view was amazing. After we climbed back down, we went over to the Opera Dome Museum. The museum was made up mainly of sculptures that were crafted as decorations for the monuments.

Throughout my first week in Florence I have noticed a few cultural differences. The first one has caused confusion for me a few times, floor levels. In America we call the level you enter on floor 1, but in Italy it is floor 0. The other differences are at restaurants. In Italy you have to order and pay for water with your meal, as opposed to in America where water comes with your meal. In many restaurants in Italy you have to pay a cover charge to eat there, which is used to replace a tip. Lastly, in Italy people don’t split checks. People always carry cash so they just work out the bill among themselves.

I am excited to see what happens next week!

 

Travel Day

My travel day to Florence, Italy started at 12:30 on Monday when my dad drove me to the Philadelphia airport. I printed my boarding pass, made it through security, and boarded my first flight. From the Philadelphia airport, I flew to JFK. After asking about 6 people how to get to my terminal (which ended up requiring exiting the airport and going through security again), I was able to board my flight to Paris. Once in Paris, I had another trip through security which this time lasted 2 hours. I was then able to board my last flight. After a short plane ride, I finally made it to Florence, Italy. I got my baggage and took a taxi to the Palazzo Capponi, my home for the next three months.

Throughout my travel day I noticed a few cultural differences between Europe and America. Starting with Paris, the security in the airport moved even slower than in the US. There were far fewer staff working at security in Paris which caused longer lines. I found it interesting that many people didn’t seem bothered by the long wait. During my taxi ride from the Florence airport, I experienced Italian driving for the first time. Unlike America, drivers seem to take road signs more as a suggestion than a rule. For example, my taxi driver ran a stop sign while doing a full-speed left turn. I talked to other people in my program and they had the similar taxi experiences. I also noticed that pedestrians in Italy often walk in the street if the sidewalk is crowded. In America, it is common to see people jay-walk, but in Italy people will walk in the middle of the street until a car comes and they need to move.

I captured some parts of my day and compiled them into a video.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

For as long as I can remember, my answer has been Italy. And it is crazy to think that in less than 2 days I will be there.

I applied to James Madison University’s semester in Florence program nearly a year and half ago, but I have planned on studying abroad in Italy since the day I learned it was a possibility. Growing up, my mom would tell me stories of her experiences studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain, and I grew up knowing I wanted to study abroad. Italy was the obvious choice for me, considering how much I have always wanted to travel there. My dad’s side of the family emigrated from Italy to Philadelphia in the early 1900s, so I grew up experiencing Italian-American culture. Now that I get to experience Italian culture, I am excited to see how the Italian-American culture compares.

I want to use this blog as a way of documenting my travels while studying abroad. There is a lot I want to do while I am abroad, and I want to be able to look back on my experiences. I also plan on using this blog to compare my experiences in American and Italian culture. People always say when traveling abroad you can get culture shock, and I want to capture all the differences I experience in the two cultures.

I have just finished packing and leave for Italy tomorrow. I am going to be documenting my travel day experiences and hope everything goes smoothly!