Week One: We Think You Guys Will Like Your Classroom
Classes began the first Tuesday. I’m taking Italian 310 with Prof. Alfie, which he describes as a workshop to hone the speaking skills we’re developing outside of the classroom. Our assignments include reading the newspaper, having long conversations with Italians, and eavesdropping on the locals. I’m also taking an illustration class focused on picture book art and design, taught by David Christiana. This 3-credit class meets only once a week (that is, 5 times total), for a four hour block. I’m not complaining.
The art students were told early on that we’d like our classroom, but specifics about its location were kept vague. The first day of class, we met in front of the school (which, by the way, shares a courtyard with Orvieto’s famous Duomo), and were led down the hill toward a large gate. We learned that this year, we art students have been granted access to a cave which is part of the Orvieto Underground, a series of centuries-old man-made caves which run under the city. Our classes meet either in the cave (if it’s hot out) or alternatively, in a covered area nearby which looks out onto miles of farms, fields of wild poppies, and a castle. This area also happens to be inhabited by a family of tiny kittens, who hop up and down the stairs, climb the walls, and perch on the trash can for our viewing pleasure. Oh, and we also save time each session for a gelato break.
I have, as expected, been pretty impressed by the food here. The cappuccino, gelato, and wine, at least, have been consistently outstanding. Restaurants, though, are a little bit frustrating not only because of the cost, even at the cheapest places (This tiny plate of bland pasta can be yours for only 7 euros!), or the very “relaxed” (slow) service, but because of the tendency toward simplifying dishes. For example, at one of the few semi-nice restaurants I’ve been to here, I ordered what was described as a pear, nut, and cheese salad, and received a plate which contained exactly four slices of pear, four slices of cheese, and one walnut. Along with the cost of a glass each of wine and water, this meal cost me almost 20 euros… Have I mentioned the $1.7:1 euro exchange rate? Have I mentioned half of the kids here have already run out of money?
Because we can’t afford to eat out, a bunch of us (on an average night, about 12) have been getting together and hosting dinner parties, rotating hosts and varying themes. It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s nice to get a variety of foods (my night, we made stir-fry, my roommate made fajitas, my friend Brian just made French toast…). The grocery stores here have a somewhat limited selection, but what they lack in variety they make up for with really entertaining produce-weighing machines, which spit out stickers so you can paste the price of your fruits and veggies straight onto their bags.
Wednesday, we were taken on a tour of Orvieto. We got to walk through the Underground, which we learned was used for a variety of purposes (olive oil production, bird-nesting, wells) and the rock removed to form the caves was used in the cement which holds the city together. We toured the Duomo, which is the large cathedral in town and the reason we see a lot of day-trip tourists around here. It has an almost gaudily decorated façade, and has been described as a “peacock in a chicken coop,” or something along those lines. We also climbed the clocktower which marks the center of town, which allowed us a pretty cool view of the city.
Thursday night, we went salsa dancing at the one discoteca in the upper part of Orvieto. It was tons of fun, and I got plenty of practice speaking Italian, as my gorgeous blonde roommate Lindsay, who speaks virtually none, kept getting herself into conversations with Italian men, which she couldn’t escape from… As many times as I taught her the magical phrase “Ho un ragazzo,” (“I have a boyfriend”), she continued to need rescuing. By the end of the night, I was yelling down streets as a parade of them tried to follow us home, things, translated, along the lines of “We are going home alone, no thank you, see you later,” and eventually, at a jog, just °Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.” Sigh. Sadly, the club is now closed until September.
Friday we went to Siena, my future home, and got a tour of the city from a very small, enthusiastic woman wearing metallic jeans and a purse decorated with a picture of a dog. She was very excited to tell us that part of the latest James Bond movie was filmed in Siena, and that although we would barely be able to recognize her after editing, we should watch for her as the next Bond Girl. It poured almost the whole day, which was unfortunate, but the sun came out for the last hour or so and a couple of us got to sit in the sun and watch some kids dance around to warm up for a soccer game.
It has been raining almost every day, and unfortunately I didn’t pack much warm clothing. Really, I didn’t bring enough clothing in general, in my mission to pack lightly, just because I didn’t realize quite how long laundry would take to dry (oh, you know, just 3 days or so, unless you want your jeans dry, too…). Other than that, though, no complaints.
