I’m still sweating…
… but I guess I’ll write a little something, since this might very well be my last chance to use a computer before I come home. We just got our housing deposits back, and I plan to go spend my 100 euro in the next couple hours buying myself a dress for the goodbye dinner tonight. In an hour we have our end-of-“semester” art show, in which the arties and archies set up displays of their work, and the creative writing kids read a couple pieces each. From what I’ve seen so far, it should be pretty good. I’m a little frustrated with my own work for illustration, caused mostly because of the obvious limitations here to my access to supplies and, more than anything, time. It’s definitely not the most impressive stuff I’ve ever produced, but oh well… After today, the issue becomes how to fit it all in my suitcase.
Tomorrow we plan to go to a lake nearby and spend the day swimming and picnicking, then pack in the evening. We all have to be out of our aparments by 11 a.m. on Sunday, and most people are going home that day. Courtney and I are staying for four nights in Rome, and she has been planning a pretty packed few days for us. It should be great, but I’m a little nervous because our hostel, which is cheap and in a great location, will be putting us in a room with four strangers, gender unknown. Luckily, they have luggage storage, but after my friend Kim had her backpack stolen in Rome from under her feet at a restaurant (resulting in the loss of her passport, all other ID, credit cards 150 euro cash, iPod, camera, clothes…), I worry.
This past weekend, as I mentioned, we headed south to Naples. Since I’m really not in the mood to write much I’ll just highlight the points that stand out most in my mind. Naples is dirty. The food is great. It was deathly hot. We stayed in a hotel with all 75 kids from the program, which resulted in the eruption of many simmering social dramas. Vesuvius was erupting, apparently, while we were touring Pompei. My roommate pushed a homeless dog into a fountain. Claudio (one of the program coordinators) had me sing into the microphone which leads to everyones’ headsets. A bunch of us played in a very strange, surreal carnival at night in Pompei. I discovered, at a gelateria, a new flavor, which has swirls of Nutella in cappuccino gelato. Dear lord.
This week, we’ve had “finals,” which for my two classes means very little. Last night I finally went to Pizzeria Charlie, which is apparently the best pizza in Orvieto. I got one with mozzerella, gorgonzola, spinach, and asparagus, and it was pretty freakin tasty. At night, we all went out, and I ended up meeting two Italian guys with guitars and we had a little jam session on the street. I sang with them for a couple hours, and even got to play the legendary Blue Guitar, which apparently has been circulating between Orvietanos and UA students from the program for a few years.
The Italians, a few friends and I ended up sitting on the steps of the Duomo, and I got to listen to, and attempt to participate in, a conversation about Italian politics and law, most of which went way over my head, but I couldn’t have felt cooler. One point which I concretely picked up on was the fact that in Italy, one can be thrown in jail for three years instantly for the posession of marijuana, whereas the policy on murder is pretty relaxed. We also talked a little about American politics, and, surprise, surprise, these guys were pretty anti-Bush.
Overall, it was a very fun night, and all the Americans really enjoyed the guys’ renditions of songs by the Beatles, Led Zepplin, and Metallica. A group of Italian guys was hoping that I knew the words to “Sweet Home Alabama,” but as I sadly realized 5 words in, I do not.
As my Italian instructor Dr. Alfie pointed out yesterday, my comprehension level of the language has increased drastically in my 5 weeks here, even if my speaking ability is still pretty limited. It felt great to hang out with local twentysomethings, seeing as most of my friends here outside of the program have been 80+ years old. I feel like I’m ready to come home for a while, but these past few days have made me very excited to come back and experience complete immersion.
As this may be my last post from this portion of my time in Italy, I feel like I should acknowledge the great friends I’ve made on the program. I’m sad that I won’t be able to hang out with them in Tucson this year, and even more sad that several will have graduated by the time I get back. However, we’ve become really close over the past few weeks, and I can’t imagine we won’t at least stay in touch. To any of you who may be reading this, I love you to death.
That said, I should get to the show. If possible, I’ll try to post from Rome, but if not, I’ll be back in the States on the night of the 3rd (and socially functional 24-48 hours later), so please contact me to let me know what I’ve been missing while I’ve been gone. Baci ed abbracci, Adrienne
