I Went Skiing in Northern Italy- Abetone

Finally home! After a five hour delay in the Rome airport (never fly Alitalia) which resulted in a missed train back to Boston which resulted in a night spent in the lovely Newark Airport Holiday Inn, I finally made it back to Andover on Sunday. Being at home has been really relaxing and has given me a chance to reflect on the past four months.

Going abroad to Italy was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The culture of Italy was one which I knew little about before I left and I feel that I have learned so much about the history and culture of a country which continues to fascinate me. Italy is such a unique and complex place. Although it only became a unified country in the 1800′s, Italy has a history which goes far beyond unification. It was fascinating to learn of this history; to walk around the Coliseum and explore Pompeii, and to enter churches and buildings constructed during the Renaissance. It was so interesting to see the ways in which American culture has influenced and entered Italy. Shows like “My Super Sweet 16″, “G’s to Gents”, and “Made” populate the airways and D-list rappers like Paul Wall and Lil’ Flip made the rounds at Florence nightclubs (I clearly went to a couple shows: Fabulous and Mario). Yet these American influences have in no way diluted Italian culture, and Italian identity has remained strong.

Another thing which interested me was the way that Italian youth engage in politics. On numerous occasions I walked out of my apartment to find thousands of young people in the street, protesting proposed education reforms. These protests were bigger and more impassioned then anything I have ever seen in the United States among my own generation. Florence also gave me the chance to travel around Europe, and I experienced countries and cultures which I never thought I would visit. Backpacking around and staying in hostels was a dream come true, and Europe was everything I hoped it would be and more. Despite that, it feels good to be home. I missed Comedy Central, buffalo anything, and the convenience of a 24-hour CVS. As we neared the end of our time abroad, most people in my program seemed ready to return to the country we call home.

Ciao Firenze

Spending four months in Italy living “la dolce vita” was an incredible opportunity and I am so lucky to have been able to experience it. I made great friends and learned so much. I drank beer at Oktoberfest in Germany, went kayaking in a glacial lake in Switzerland, spent Halloween in London and Thanksgiving in Morocco. I ate goulash in Budapest and pastries in Paris. Best of all, I got to explore Italy and to travel around a country that I grew to love. While studying abroad was not necessarily a life-changing experience, it was definitely a life-enhancing one. This will be my last blog post so thanks to everyone who read, and hopefully I will see you all soon!

Leather Dying in the Imperial City of Fes

Morocco! I went into the country without any expectations…or plans. Me and two friends traveled from Milan to Fes with the name of our hotel as our only guide. This proved a little problematic because when we got to the Fes airport we had to fill out documents stating the address where we were staying. Luckily our American passports guaranteed us a quick entrance into the country (one of the many perks of being from the U.S.). Exiting the airport at night we hailed a taxi and warily climbed in. We agreed on a price beforehand (100 MAD or about 10 euros) and off we went. The door of the taxi was held shut by a screwdriver. I couldn’t help but wonder what I had gotten myself into. Luckily the taxi was legit and we were brought to our four-star hotel which only cost us 50 euros for our two-night stay. Starving, we threw our bags in our room and hurried down to the hotel restaurant, where we ate in an empty dining room. Midway through the meal a Moroccan man sat down at the keyboard and began playing American pop music with a heavy accent. We were literally the only ones in the entire restaurant and it was thoroughly awkward. Midway through WHAM!’s “Wake Me up Before You Go Go” I began laughing hysterically, which didn’t make things any less awkward. Unfazed, we hired a guide through the hotel to take us through the Medina the next day.

Abdul arrived bright and early the next day ready to show us the wonders of the city center or medina. Since the medina has over 9000 alleyways and streets Abdul assured us that he was quite necesssary. He also informed us that if we got lost, we would most likely never be seen again. Feeling far from reassured, we drove to a pottery factory on the outskirts of the city. It was absolutely incredible to see the method of pottery-making from start to finish. All of the pottery is hand painted, and they showed us the amazing mosaics and crafts that they make everyday. After this excursion we headed into the funky cold medina.

Our Guide, Abdul, and His "Mercedes"

The medina was an all-out assault on the senses. People were screaming in Arabic (the national language; hardly anyone speaks French) hawking goods and produce. The smells were….pungeant to say the least. Men were walking around in djellabas, long, hooded, robe-like garments and mules and donkeys were roaming the tiny alleyways. Our guide, Abdul, made the same joke comparing large donkeys to Mercedes’ about ten times. We were shown around the various mosques (although not allowed inside), and given a tour of the major sites in the medina. In addition, we were brought into various shops where we were given the hard sell on some random items (I’m pretty sure that Abdul was getting a kickback on anything we bought). We were offered everything from Berber rugs to moisturizer made from a nut pooped out by a goat. In the pharmacy the proprietor slyly offered us opium. After politely declining most of the goods, we emerged from the Medina and headed back to the hotel.

The next day we had a new guide, Mehmet (pronounced Mek-met) who took us to various towns and villages surrounding the city of Fes. We got in his car (“Nice! Spacious! New!”) and began our trek. We first stopped in a “Swiss town” named Ifrane in the Atlas Mountain range which actually looked like it belonged in Switzerland. To our surprise, it was snowing… In Morocco…. In Africa. After lunch, we headed to the nearby cedar forest, where we mingled with monkeys who took the bread we brought out of our guides’ hands and got in monkey-fights over it. After our monkey excursion we traveled to a Berber village. We were brought by our guide into a cave where a Berber woman lives with her husband. Her family had lived in the cave for 400 years, and the place felt cozy and homey. She was an incredible woman and she made us tea after balancing a bucket full of water on her head and dancing around the room to impress us. After our delicious mint tea, our guide ferried us back to the airport where we milled around for a while (there were dogs running around on the tarmac) before getting on our flight back to Milan.

Tea in the Cave with the Homeowner

A Boy Collecting Water from a Fountain

All in all, Morocco proved a remarkable country and gave me such a different experience from any other trip I have taken. It was my first time traveling in a Muslim country, and the call to prayer from the mosque is totally unlike the bells of the Duomo. Thankfully, Morocco provided me a unique and exciting travel experience, which I will definitely remember for a long time. On Saturday I return to the United States, and I am just now coming to terms with leaving the country I have called home for almost four months. Let the packing begin.

View from Notre Dame

A few weekends ago, two friends and I traveled to Paris together to explore the city of lights (or is it love?). Our decision to go during that weekend was determined by one thing: Kanye West. Kanye was performing at Bercy (a huge stadium in Paris) and we bought our Kanye tickets before our plane tickets. Needless to say, the concert was unreal. Seeing Kanye perform his hits to a screaming crowd of Parisians was bizzare and totally fun. The performance was fantastic and Kanye showed off his ego by making a twenty minute speech about himself at the end. I even met up with some Jumbos at the concert who were studying in Paris.

Paris itself is a great city and I can see why it is a popular destination for study abroad. The stereotype of “rude Parisians” proved to be untrue and everyone was very friendly towards us. The food was great and I stuffed my face with pastries. I saw some amazing art at the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay which is housed in a converted train station and features a great collection of impressionist art. They had an exhibition on pastels and one on masks which were both great. We also took the elevator to the top of the Tour Eiffel at night and saw the city all lit up. It was absolutely freezing at the top and the wind almost knocked me down. One day we went to Versailles and saw the palace as well as rode around the gardens on bikes which was really fun. We explored the Montmatre district and while at dinner around the red light district we chatted with transvestites who my friend called hot before they came into the restaurant and we saw them up close and heard their ridiculously deep voices.

Sneaky

Overall Paris was really fun and it was good to travel with just a couple of people instead of a whole group. The trip was one that I will remember forever and I took a ton of pictures, a few of which are posted here for your viewing pleasure.

The Grand Canal in Venice

So I haven’t written in a while because I have been super busy and my internet has been super sketchy. So much has happened since my last post. My parents came to visit me in Florence and I had fun playing tour guide for a little while, showing them all of the sites that I had already seen. We celebrated my birthday and I got to eat lots of really good food all on my parent’s tab. After Florence we traveled to Venice together to see the city and stay for a little while. Venice was everything I imagined and more. Pictures really can’t do the city justice. It was so cool to ride around the city on the vaporettos (water taxis) and to get lost in the tangled alleyways of Venice. The city itself is actually really quirky and artsy, but it still has incredible sights to see.

Over my fall break I visited friends in London for an entire week. It was so nice to see people from Tufts and to be able to speak English and have myself understood. London is an incredible city with so much to see and do. It is very different from Florence mainly because of its size. Whereas in Florence you can pretty much walk to wherever you want to go, in London you have to take the Tube (They really do say “Mind the Gap”….a lot.)

I did all of the basic touristy things. I saw the Tower of London and the crown jewels, went up on the London Eye (the huge ferris wheel), and shopped at Harrod’s. I saw incredible art at the Tate Modern, and incredible theater in the West End (Billy Elliot, Avenue Q, and War Horse). We went to the Absolut Ice Bar which is a bar made entirely of ice so you have to wear ridiculous hooded furry capes. I was also in London for Halloween (I dressed as Big Ben: painted clock-face and all). It was really nice to spend a lengthy amount of time in one city and I felt like I got to know the city at least a little bit. I can definitely see myself living in London at some point in my life.

Halloween Night in London

A couple of weekends ago me and some friends from my program traveled to Budapest. This was someplace that I had never imagined traveling to but I am so glad that I did. It is an incredibly interesting city with so much history. The communist regime in Hungary lasted until 1990, and it was fascinating to see how far the city had come since the fall of the Iron Curtain. We walked around the Castle Hill district (a hill with lots of shops and…castles), went to the Terror Museum which was a museum devoted to the history of the Nazi and Communist regimes, and went to the famous Budapest-ian spas. Budapest has sprawling outdoor and indoor spa complexes complete with healing waters, saunas, hot tubs, massages etc. It was such a relaxing day, despite having to look at hundreds of elderly Hungarians in their bathing suits.

This weekend it’s Paris where I’m going to see Kanye West in concert (!!!). I’m sure  I will have plenty to say about that when I get back.

At Oktoberfest

Early Monday morning I got back from Munich, Germany and the biggest party in the world: Oktoberfest. The festival was amazing and I had such a great time. I went with four friends from my program by bus (eight hours in a cramped bus seat is not something I want to ever do again) and we got there early Friday morning. The first thing that surprised me about Oktoberfest was that it is actually a huge carnival with amusement rides, game booths, and families galore. The beer tents are secondary to the carnival but where we spent most of our time (obviously). The tents are actually huge buildings and are absolutely ridiculous inside. We had to bribe waiters to get us in but when we did it was well worth it. There are literally thousands of people in each tent from all over the world singing, dancing, eating and drinking. The beer was some of the best I’ve ever had, the chicken was delicious and the people were insane. There is a big band in each tent playing German drinking songs and random American songs (I must have heard “Take Me Home Country Road” a dozen times while I was there). The first night we went to Haufbrau House which is the most touristy one but the second day we got into to a tent where we were pretty much the only Americans and we stayed there all day. It was a blast to hang out with drunk people from all corners of the globe! Also, there were people of all ages inside the tents and I’m pretty sure I saw some 12 and 13 year-olds downing liters of beer. All in all Oktoberfest was an incredible experience.

Inside the Tent

On our last day in Munich we got up early to visit the concentration camp Dachau, about an hour from the city center. Having learned so much about the Holocaust over the course of my life, it was unreal to see the camp and hear the stories of the people who lived and died there. The most affecting part for me was the crematorium building where the bodies of the dead were burned and where prisoners were gassed and killed before cremation. It was a haunting place but I am glad that I was able to go there and to learn more about the legacy of the camps. These next two weekends I am in Florence but then my parents are coming for my birthday and we are heading to Venice. After that I am off to London for a week for my fall break. I will write again soon!

Gate to Dachau- Work Makes You Free

Jungfrau- A Mountain in Interlaken

So this weekend I went to Interlaken, Switzerland, a small city in central Switzerland which is known as the adventure capital of the Europe. After an eight hour train ride (!) we arrived in Interlaken and checked into our hostel which was called Balmer’s Herberge. The hostel was awesome. It had everything: an underground dance club, a restaurant, a merchandise store, billiards, and of course, excursions. I went with a group of twelve people from my program and the whole weekend was a blast. The first night there I ate traditional Swiss fondue and met some really cool people at the club. The next day I went kayaking on one of the two lakes in Interlaken (which means between lakes).

Me and two others searched for hours to find the one kayak rental place in the whole city which turned out to be pretty sketchy. No one in Interlaken knows how to give directions. Anyway, when we finally got out on the water, I discovered that my one person kayak was extremely low to the water and that unlike the peaceful calm lake I was expecting, there were heavy winds which created waves. The result of all this was that the arctic glacial water piled into my kayak rendering me soaked from the waist down. Besides that, the lake was absolutely beautiful and the views made it well worth the wetness. Switzerland is filled with green pastures with cows roaming beyond which you can find huge snow topped mountains. This contrast really makes for a breathtaking landscape. On the next day (a Saturday) I went on an eight hour canyoning excursion an hour outside Interlaken.

Canyoning turned out to be one of the craziest/most extreme/most exhilarating things that I have ever done. Basically, three guides brought us into a canyon at the top and we had to leapfrog our way to the bottom. We accomplished this by jumping off cliffs into glacial pools (the highest cliff was 30 feet and the water was FREEZING), sliding down huge waterslides, repelling off rock faces, and being lowered down waterfalls. It was such a crazy/fun experience which was hindered only a little by me hurting both my ankles. On one of the jumps I guess I jumped into the wrong spot in a pool and it was too shallow so I ended up landing in the water and hitting rock at the bottom. Currently I am hobbling around Florence like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and my ankles have swelled so that I basically have cankles. I think its just a light sprain though and they are already feeling better. Also in Interlaken a couple of us hit up the local casino. The first night there I broke even but when we went back for a second time I won about 80 bucks playing blackjack.

The Group Pre-Canyoning

Anyways I am back in Firenze now recovering from my weekend. Last night I went out for Mexican food and went to an American movie theater to see Burn After Reading. Afterwards I went to my new obsession which is a gelato place called Grom (think Berryline times 10 for all my Tufts friends). This weekend I am heading to Munich to go to Oktoberfest so I am sure that I will have plenty of stories when I return.

Thanks for reading!

Vernazza-The Fourth Village

On Saturday some friends and I took a day trip to Cinque Terre, the five hillside villages located on the western coast of Italy overlooking the Meditterranean Sea. After missing our train in the morning (the Italian transit system can be quite complicated) we boarded the next train out and took the two and a half hour ride through the Tuscan countryside. Cinque Terre is a national park and you are able to hike between the various villages. The towns are stunningly beautiful and truly picturesque. We decided that since we got off to a late start we would only hike between the last two villages: Vernazza and Monterosso (which has a big beach). The hike took about an hour and a half and was pretty vertical. Some parts were strenuous but on the whole it wasn’t too bad (I did the whole thing in my Rainbow flip flops).  We hiked along the coast the whole way and seeing the blue water below made me really want to jump in (unfortunately it was about a three hundred foot drop). When we finally got to Monterosso I changed quickly and jumped in the water, which felt amazing after the long hike. After the beach we ate on the deck of a seaside restaurant before boarding a train and heading back to Florence. It was a really great day and well worth the train hassle.

Having lived here for a while now, I feel ready to start talking about the city and it’s quirks and to relate some of my experiences here so far. Florence is unlike any other city I have been to. I have yet to figure out the walking pattern of the people who live here and for this reason I constantly find myself bumping into people. Also, I have tripped and fell twice now, because there are poles with chains everywhere for no apparent reason. I have oriented myself pretty well within the city, yet I still have a hard time finding some things (I can never seem to find but always stumble upon a place called Santa Croce, which I have decided is like Narnia in that its only there when you’re not looking for it). People here say the word “Prego” ALL the time. I’ve figured out that it’s the opposite of the how the Eskimos have so many words for snow: it is one word that means so many things. There are no dryers here, so I have to dry my clothes outside, which is always unsuccessful because it has rained both times I have tried (the two days it rained since I’ve been here). I am constantly dodging mopeds with 14 year old Italian kids maneuvering to avoid me. The city is pretty expensive. I ate at McDonald’s one time and it cost me like 12 bucks. However, right around the corner from our apartment is a Euro store, which has provided me with one Euro bottles of wine more times than I can count.

In short, life here is very different from life in the United States. However, I wouldn’t say that I’m experiencing “culture shock” but rather it’s Bushian counterpart “culture awe”. I’m learning to live here and becoming a little Euro myself (I recently bought a blue kafiyah scarf) and each and every day I’m experiencing what life in Italy is truly like. This weekend I am heading to Interlaken, Switzerland for a weekend of fun, sun, and extreme sports.

Ci Vediamo!

The View From My Apartment!

The bells of the Duomo continue to ring (on the quarter hour, every quarter hour) and I, like them, have begun to settle into a daily routine. Despite my routine, this city continues to surprise me. Each and every day I hear a minimum of five languages being spoken around me, the bustling tourist crowds at the Duomo contrast sharply with the peaceful serenity of the Oltrarno (across the river), and immigrants hawking fake designer sunglasses walk up and down the trendy streets which house the same (real) brands. One of these men (Moosa) sold me a pair of black aviators on the Ponte Vecchio (The Old Bridge). The moment I showed interest in his wares he packed up his things and pulled me into a dark alley away from the eyes of the corruption police. The sunglasses weren’t fake designer but just a regular pair, so when he told me they cost 45 Euro (about $70) I was flabbergasted. After trying to give them back to him (he hid his hands from me so I had to stick them in his shirt pocket) I walked away. Moosa pursued me down the street until we finally agreed on the more reasonable price of 5 Euro.  I’m finding more and more that Florence is a city of contradictions, and I’m discovering that this is what makes it so fascinating.

Another thing which makes Florence unique is its inhabitants. Going out at night has been such a fun and interesting experience, and meeting local Florentines has been one of the best parts of my trip so far. At a bar the other night a man approached me and some friends and told us that, and I quote: “I used to be a model, but you can take my picture for free”. He and his friends ended up showing us around the city, pointing us in the direction of the best hangouts, and gently correcting our Italian. The people here are so friendly and most are thrilled to talk to me in Italian, which I love because I am getting better every day. I got a chance to barter at the Central Market, a huge indoor food market with fresh everything, and got a tour of all the best places to eat from my Italian cooking teacher.

I Couldn't Resist

Today I travelled with two friends to Pisa and Lucca. We had heard mixed reviews about Pisa and nothing but good things about Lucca so we planned our day accordingly. In Pisa we jumped off the train, powerwalked to the tower, took the traditional cheesy tourist photos (see attached!) and then hightailed it to Lucca. Lucca is a very charming smaller Tuscan city twenty minutes north of Pisa. We entered the city through its circular medieval wall system and proceeded to walk around exploring. We had an amazing lunch at a little ristorante where we could see the Mamma cooking our food in the kitchen. After that we explored the back alleys and little streets, getting lost and not caring. We ended our day with gyros and gelato back in Florence, eating in the Piazza della Signorina with live violin music playing in the square.

I have so many stories (and pictures) but this blog can only be so long so I’ll have to save those for a later post. Thanks for reading!

I Made It!

This morning I awoke to the sound of bells ringing in the distance. The pleasant noise was coming from the Duomo, Florence’s largest cathedral which is located two blocks from my apartment. As I lay in bed, I reflected on the past week I have spent in Italy. It has truly been a whirlwind. I arrived in Rome on Sunday morning, and quickly settled into the hotel that my group was staying at before heading out to explore the city. Rome is unlike any place that I have ever been. I have never experienced a city which houses such a unique blend of old and new. Vespas buzz past ruins from before the birth of Christ and the “Wedding Cake”, a huge memorial structure in the center of the city built a hundred years ago is considered modern. On my first day in Rome I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain (superstition says that this gesture will ensure my return to the city), climbed the Spanish Steps, and sampled fantastic gelato. The next day we toured the Coliseum and the Roman Forum with our tour guide Paolo, who did an excellent job of giving us a sense of what life was like for the people who lived in ancient Roman times. We saw where the gladiators prepared for battle, where the Vestal Virgins were housed, and where Caesar Augustus was cremated.

Even though I thought that the ruins in Rome were well preserved, I was completely unprepared for the fascinating tour of Pompeii the next day. The city, uncovered just a couple hundred years ago, seems almost unchanged from the time when it was a bustling metropolis. It was truly a history lover’s dream. We toured through homes of wealthy merchants with preserved frescoes, bars and shops, and even the famed brothels of Pompeii. From Pompeii we headed to Sorrento, a seacoast town on the Almafi Coast. Sorrento is an incredibly beautiful place, and the water of the Mediterranean was a welcome respite from the heat and humidity. Swimming in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius was a real trip. After returning to Rome that night we headed out the next morning to travel to Florence. We took a stop in Siena, a peaceful medieval city in Tuscany with some very quirky traditions. The city is divided into sixteen sections, each with a different animal representative. Each section of the city sponsors a rider for the Il Palio, a huge horse race in the main square held twice a year. Our tour guide (a funky Italian lady named Donatella) told us that for a up to week before the horse race, married couples from different sections of the city (say a caterpillar and an elephant) refuse to speak to one another because of the fierce competitiveness associated with the race. After Siena we finally arrived in Florence.

Amalfi Coast

Though I have only been here three days, I can already feel myself falling in love with this city. It has the hustle and bustle feel of a larger city, yet it still maintains the charm of a smaller one. In this way (and this way only) Florence reminds me of Boston, and I am feeling more at home here everyday. My apartment, located near the city center, is truly amazing. Spacious and modern, it is a recently converted bed and breakfast (I live in the “green room”) and has spectacular views of the city, along with a large terrace which is my first stop when I wake up in the mornings. The people on the trip and those who I live with (six guys from all over-my roommate is from South Africa) are really nice and I’ve already made friends with many of them. I can already feel my Italian improving and I’m getting a sense of what life is like here and starting to settle into a daily routine. I have so much more to say and many pictures to post (my internet connection is not so great) but am super tired and need to get some rest. I will go to sleep tonight knowing and loving the fact that I will be woken up by the bells.

I hope that you enjoy the blog, Ciao for now!