Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Tuscania, the Land Kissed by God

Tuscania. Where to even begin?

I had a feeling that I would really love Tuscania before I ever set foot here. Something about small-town Italy, situated neatly between farm-spotted hills and framed by mountains on the horizon seemed more than a little appealing to me. What I didn't realize was that the sun and the silence and the people would do just as much good as the beautiful scenery.

la mia casa

It's so indescribably peaceful here. My weeks in Tuscania have been almost a vacation (despite my heaviest class load so far, thanks to a history class on Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans). The walk to school takes 15 minutes, but I like to take 20 because there's just no hurry here. Even our advisor speaks at a slower rate, with the most slurred Italian accent I've heard so far. 10:00 seems a good time to open your shop or bar, but maybe 11 if you're feeling lazy. Don't bother opening on Sunday, and you might as well stay closed Monday too. And stay open late, till 9 or 10 or even 11, because the evening is beautiful here - star-studded and perfect for being all socievole.


Our backyard

In the mornings, if we wake up early enough, we go to Bar Centrale, where literally every old man in Tuscania hangs out and has his morning caffe. If we bring our homework, they give us a free "lezione di lingua l'italiana" and then buy us coffee. Sometimes they practice their English with us, which is always a fun time.

Last week was carnevale. One of my friends lives with a host family, and her host sister invited us to ride on her float in the carnevale parade! The float was Alice in Wonderland themed, and the host sister (Orleanna) was the Queen of Hearts - so we taped up some cardboard and served as her dedicated cards! Riding the float was awesome. We were surrounded by ragazzi italiani dressed as all of the Alice in Wonderland characters, blasting music and dancing and throwing confetti into the crowd the whole time.



We also went to a church party with some elderly people from the choir. Honestly, their party was just as lively as any I've ever been to. Here, Italians dance. Dancing is a huge part of any festive gathering, and not just for an hour or two. We left after 11, and people were still dancing. It was someone's birthday, so we had a huge spread of desserts and champagne and hot chocolate. I befriended a ton of older locals (despite my poor Italian grammar), who dragged me to the dance floor and led me in waltzes, polkas, even a line dance or two. When I see them around town, they always say "Ciao!" and ask me if everything is still "Tutto bene, tuttokay?"

Just in case Tuscania isn't picture-perfect enough, I also have an Italian class that perhaps outdoes my last fantastic Italian class. This time, my teacher Marina is young - just seven years older than me - but I love every minute of that class more than I can explain. Despite the language barrier, we laugh and joke and I ask Marina ridiculous questions, when I can squeak out phrases a little more complex than my go-to's: "Si" and "Va bene."

We've also taken a few day trips: to the medieval town of Vitterbo, home of the first papal conclave, and to Tarquinia, home of Etruscan tombs which we actually got to explore!


These are a few pictures from my favorite park. I try to go there whenever possible. In fact, I gotta get back out there now... but you'll hear from me soon. Arrivederci!






Sunday, February 3, 2013

Old Blighty and Nederland

After eight days of traveling through England and The Netherlands, I'm glad to finally settle back into Italy - but I'm pretty jazzed to recap my Northern European adventures for you!

One of my best friends from high school, Sarah, attends the University of Leicester in England for graduate school, and I went to pay her and her flatmates a visit last week. We explored the town of Leicester, which was pretty interesting to me because I got to see the town from a student's perspective. 



On Friday, we took an early coach (fancy term for a bus with seat belts) to London for the day. Sarah, being a history enthusiasts and an Anglophile, was pretty much the perfect tour guide. We kicked off our day with a jaunt to Abbey Road, since we both share a deep-rooted love of all things Beatles. 



Then we headed off for a walking tour led by Sarah herself, hitting all the major sights - Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London, the National Gallery, Tower Bridge, and a few moments in the National Museum.



When I first landed in England, I was really thrown off by all of the English, and by the accents. I kept accidentally responding with "si" and "grazie," since I was so used to using those words in travel settings. Since I was so mixed up, I decided to find some Italian tourists and help them translate English signs to acclimate myself (plus I had some time to kill). I taught an Italian family that "exit" meant "uscita" and I helped another Italian tourist find her way to the train station ("il stazzione treno"). England seemed like such an international place to me, with food and people from all over the world. And so many things were similar to the States - even KFC and products in the grocery stores. While I liked the UK, I'm glad I didn't choose to study there and that I decided to challenge myself with a language barrier.



The British people themselves were friendly, and helpful. I understood immediately what people mean when they refer to "British sarcasm" - it's everywhere, in tons of their phrases. The Brits were fun, constantly wishing me "cheers!" But they definitely seemed more short and to the point than people in other parts of Europe, especially Italians.

Then, I left England and traveled to The Netherlands. The Dutch are extremely interesting, and I don't think I was expecting half of all the interesting things I found in The Netherlands. First of all, the land is beautiful. The Dutch have a saying: "God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland." And it's true - hundreds of dikes (once windmill-powered) reclaim much of the low-lying land from the sea. I think almost half of The Netherlands lies below sea level, and therefore the country is constantly keeping the water at bay. But the result is beautiful dikes and canals formed by world-class engineering.




To me, The Netherlands felt very homey. The country is completely drive-able, and I actually got to see much of it by car, which was cool. Much of it was rural, with small cities here and there. I spent a day in Amsterdam, which is a fascinating place. The Anne Frank house, on the site of the actual Annex, was a must-see, and the impact of that place is not small for any traveler. I loved how the purpose of the museum was to charge visitors with the responsibility of protecting human rights around the world so that such atrocities don't happen again.



I got to watch the queen of The Netherlands, Beatrix, announce on national television that she will step down in the spring and allow her son, Willem Alexander, to assume the throne as king. That was incredible, especially watching the Dutch people's reaction to this news. They seemed to hold their monarchs very dear. I can't really explain the Dutch people, but I was fascinated by them. They know their nation is small, but they are fiercely proud of their history and heritage and of their contributions to the world. At the same time, they were incredibly kind and welcoming and seemed like people I had known my entire life.



Overall, experiencing two linear-active countries in Northern Europe really helped give me a basis of comparison for my experiences in the multi-active south.