So today was our first day of classes! Unfortunately, I woke up in the middle of the night for two hours, but we're hoping that this does not occur again. :) But after that, I slept like a rock!
Breakfast was interesting; the milk here is thicker and creamier than in the states and I had cookies for breakfast!!! Well, they're breakfast biscuits... We in the states know them better as cookies, but these aren't as sweet. For my English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish friends, you know what I'm talking about. :)
Afterwards was our first "Cultural History of the Renaissance" course with Professor Skillen in the classroom. It was nothing less than frigid in the classroom, so we all bundled up in our slippers, layers, and blankets! Class was very interesting; we'll be exploring 5 different fresco cycles, one of which is here in our very own Duomo in Orvieto! So what would class be without visiting the Duomo?
We headed over to the Duomo for the majority of our class time, returning to take care of some updates on life here in the monastero. Then it was lunchtime! :) We are all getting very fond of our Italian hosts at the "Locanda del Lupo", as they feed us well and the food is delicious! Afterward, a large group of us went to the gelateria down the street from the ristorante for some genuine Italian ice cream (gelato). All I can say is that I'll have to really force myself not to go there every day!!! The gelato is perhaps the best thing I've ever tasted!!!
After our gelato break, we headed back to the monastero for our first lesson in Italian!!! I have so much to learn and we all need to learn it by Thursday night, as we are all invited to various homes of Orvietani for dinner that night!
We also learned how to work the washer and dryer here, so hopefully that will help our life together to work a little better, since we've developed a schedule!
Classes are great, and I'm very excited to be learning!
Thanks for checking out my blog! I appreciate all the comments! Please feel free to leave me a note!!! I might not get back to you right away, but I have read your note, and I love getting all your comments!
Buona cera!
28 February 2011
27 February 2011
Wow...
So I know I wasn't intending to post more than once a week, but now I feel like I actually can get a few comments in about my actual time here!
After a grueling march up a hill dragging our luggage, we managed to get up to the Monastero San Paolo! The monastery is very cool, but only a portion of it is currently habitable. They're working on making more of it habitable, but until then we inhabit three floors. The first floor contains several large spaces; a chapel, a large dining area (that we don't use, at least not for its intended purpose), and a smaller area that has, in the past, been used as a exhibition space for the artwork the students here do (or the professors!). The second floor houses the Program Director and his family, a library for classes, and the Art Studio for the students taking the art track. The third floor is our floor! :) We live on this floor (occasionally with one of the professors and their families on the floor. We have our own rooms and bathrooms, and a communal "sala" (living room-type thing), as well as a kitchen and mini breakfast room. Our rooms are pretty sparse, but I'm finding that I really don't mind, since we're not that often in them... Which brings me to...
The town!
We've managed to walk around the majority of Orvieto proper (there's a smaller area below the main town called Orvieto-scala, which grew up around the train station that couldn't make it up the hill), and I think I actually might be able to walk around Orvieto without getting lost already! We live just a two minute walk away from the "ristorante Locando del Lupo", which is where we eat lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. We visited the Duomo (the very large cathedral just a minute from the center of town), and today (Sunday) we climbed up to the top of the clocktower in the center of the town. All I have to say about that is WOW (hence the title of this post). It was up about 5 stories of stairs. Imagine (for all you Chicagoans) trying to walk up a quarter of the Sears Tower. Yeah. My legs were killing me by the time we'd made it up to the top, but... The view was phenomenal. Really. You could see the whole city from there. We marked the "courso", or the main road that cuts the town in half, the Duomo (which you can almost see from anywhere in the city), and the newer and medieval parts of town. Our monastero ("monastery" in English) is in the "Quartiere della Stella", or "Star Quarter" of the city, and in the newer part of town, despite the fact that the monastery itself is at least 800 years old.
This morning (after waking up late... Both my roommate and I set alarms, but neither went off!) we walked around the city, starting at the old Etruscan fort just down the road from the monastero. From there we walked down to a passage underneath the fort and exited the city proper and began a walk around the cliff that houses Orvieto. It's really fascinating to observe how the Italians, over the centuries, have built themselves and their city walls into the cliff-- the fort and city wall itself are part of the cliff face, and also buttressed with the same rock, a soft stone that actually can withstand the occasional earthquakes they get here! The blending of nature and infrastructure was really fascinating, although walking back up into the city was a little difficult as we had to head up a couple of small hills... And since living in flat Illinois, I haven't been so good at that.
From there we made our way back up past the Duomo to the Bar San Paolo, and for those of you suddenly worried that I've become an alcoholic (Mom and Dad), allow me to inform you that it is the best pastry and coffee place I've ever been to! And it sells chocolate!!! So I was very excited. So after that wonderful breakfast (yes, all that before breakfast!), we headed to Mass at San Giovenale.
Mass was alternately fascinating and bewildering! I was alternately following and lost in the language, depending on how close to Spanish it was at that particular moment. But it was certainly an interesting experience to worship in a church in which I could see my own breath! But it was also even more interesting to worship in a church that has held services since the year 1004 A.D.!
Everywhere you walk in this city, history hits you over the head! The whole town is gorgeous and so full of history! The history is so much a part of everyone's life here, but it's no one is stuck in the past--they're all very present in the city and in their lives in the 21st century.
So after hitting up the church service, we headed to the clocktower, and then after that went back to the monastero for some relaxation before a delicious lunch, cooked by our program director, Matt Doll, and his wife. I have never liked soup for some reason, but as of today, I am a convert. Lunch was delicious! In fact, all of our meals have been fantastic! So no one need worry about me starving! :)
Well, my Internet's going to cut out in a minute, so Ciao!
Love you all!
Buona notte!
After a grueling march up a hill dragging our luggage, we managed to get up to the Monastero San Paolo! The monastery is very cool, but only a portion of it is currently habitable. They're working on making more of it habitable, but until then we inhabit three floors. The first floor contains several large spaces; a chapel, a large dining area (that we don't use, at least not for its intended purpose), and a smaller area that has, in the past, been used as a exhibition space for the artwork the students here do (or the professors!). The second floor houses the Program Director and his family, a library for classes, and the Art Studio for the students taking the art track. The third floor is our floor! :) We live on this floor (occasionally with one of the professors and their families on the floor. We have our own rooms and bathrooms, and a communal "sala" (living room-type thing), as well as a kitchen and mini breakfast room. Our rooms are pretty sparse, but I'm finding that I really don't mind, since we're not that often in them... Which brings me to...
The town!
We've managed to walk around the majority of Orvieto proper (there's a smaller area below the main town called Orvieto-scala, which grew up around the train station that couldn't make it up the hill), and I think I actually might be able to walk around Orvieto without getting lost already! We live just a two minute walk away from the "ristorante Locando del Lupo", which is where we eat lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. We visited the Duomo (the very large cathedral just a minute from the center of town), and today (Sunday) we climbed up to the top of the clocktower in the center of the town. All I have to say about that is WOW (hence the title of this post). It was up about 5 stories of stairs. Imagine (for all you Chicagoans) trying to walk up a quarter of the Sears Tower. Yeah. My legs were killing me by the time we'd made it up to the top, but... The view was phenomenal. Really. You could see the whole city from there. We marked the "courso", or the main road that cuts the town in half, the Duomo (which you can almost see from anywhere in the city), and the newer and medieval parts of town. Our monastero ("monastery" in English) is in the "Quartiere della Stella", or "Star Quarter" of the city, and in the newer part of town, despite the fact that the monastery itself is at least 800 years old.
This morning (after waking up late... Both my roommate and I set alarms, but neither went off!) we walked around the city, starting at the old Etruscan fort just down the road from the monastero. From there we walked down to a passage underneath the fort and exited the city proper and began a walk around the cliff that houses Orvieto. It's really fascinating to observe how the Italians, over the centuries, have built themselves and their city walls into the cliff-- the fort and city wall itself are part of the cliff face, and also buttressed with the same rock, a soft stone that actually can withstand the occasional earthquakes they get here! The blending of nature and infrastructure was really fascinating, although walking back up into the city was a little difficult as we had to head up a couple of small hills... And since living in flat Illinois, I haven't been so good at that.
From there we made our way back up past the Duomo to the Bar San Paolo, and for those of you suddenly worried that I've become an alcoholic (Mom and Dad), allow me to inform you that it is the best pastry and coffee place I've ever been to! And it sells chocolate!!! So I was very excited. So after that wonderful breakfast (yes, all that before breakfast!), we headed to Mass at San Giovenale.
Mass was alternately fascinating and bewildering! I was alternately following and lost in the language, depending on how close to Spanish it was at that particular moment. But it was certainly an interesting experience to worship in a church in which I could see my own breath! But it was also even more interesting to worship in a church that has held services since the year 1004 A.D.!
Everywhere you walk in this city, history hits you over the head! The whole town is gorgeous and so full of history! The history is so much a part of everyone's life here, but it's no one is stuck in the past--they're all very present in the city and in their lives in the 21st century.
So after hitting up the church service, we headed to the clocktower, and then after that went back to the monastero for some relaxation before a delicious lunch, cooked by our program director, Matt Doll, and his wife. I have never liked soup for some reason, but as of today, I am a convert. Lunch was delicious! In fact, all of our meals have been fantastic! So no one need worry about me starving! :)
Well, my Internet's going to cut out in a minute, so Ciao!
Love you all!
Buona notte!
26 February 2011
Made It!!!
I'm in Italy!!!
After the first-ever flight to make me motion sick (congrats to the winning gusts at Washington, D.C.'s Dulles Airport), I met up with the rest of the crew and we hopped on the 7 hour flight to Italy!!!
It has felt very surreal being here. I keep feeling as though this is a vacation, not a living situation, so I'll need to address that. And not knowing the language bothers me a lot more than I thought it would! Maybe it's because I'm a know-it-all, but I really dislike the feeling of being unable to communicate with people around me... Yes, the Italians can probably understand me when I speak Spanish, but it's not their language, and I really like their language! I don't want to be rude by attempting to speak Spanish to them, either, but I really don't know enough Italian to communicate yet...
However, I have the distinct feeling that this will soon change. Even just today by looking at signs and asking my Professors questions, I may have learned 60 new words! However, I may very well not remember them tomorrow as I am tired!!! I've been up for 27 hours now, and I didn't get much sleep the night before I left either... So we'll have to see how much of the barrage of information I got today I've retained by tomorrow!
I have to go before the Internet cuts out (we were allowed a longer period than normal to let our parents know how we are doing), but I'll keep you all posted! Hopefully I'll be able to put up pictures by the end of this weekend!
Love you all, and a buona notte! :D
24 February 2011
Packing!
Hello all!
I'm super excited to be going to Orvieto in... 19 hours! It feels extraordinarily surreal-- I can't be going abroad for an entire semester! I keep telling myself to get ready and keep packing and taking care of everything I need to do before I go, but there's a little Tori in the back of my mind who keeps saying, "Who are you kidding? You're not going anywhere! Psh, yeah. Orvieto, right. Keep dreaming, kid!" However, this evil mini-me is wrong, and I am departing too soon to be taking breaks!
I'm actually surprising myself by packing relatively lightly, especially because I am a horrendous over-packer... But this is a good thing, and I'm attempting to ensure that I don't significantly add to the load over the next half-day. I've been mentally packing since October, so it's kind of a relief to finally actually pack everything!
I may have told some of you about my usual pre-trip emotional state... Until about 24-36 hours from my departure date, I'm in denial. And then I panic. This trip has been almost according to usual. Until this morning it really didn't hit me that I'm going abroad for four months! Aaand then I woke up this morning and realized that it was the 2nd to last time I'd do that for quite a while... That set in the panic. Lucky for me (and my family!), I was too tired to really panic and the rest of the day has been spent pretty productively, so until just now I haven't had time to consider this much..... And now I'm beginning to panic again.
But I'm (very slowly) learning to trust God with all the events of my life, whether I think he can handle them or not, so I'm attempting calming breaths and a mantra of "Trust. Trust. Trust." (Maybe it's working?)
I'd love to hear from you all as I give you updates on my time in Italy, and I'll do my level best to update you all about once a week.
Please pray for me if you don't mind, though! Chicago is being hit with more snow!!! You may not know, but Chicago was hit hard this winter and we got about two feet of snow. And now there's more in the forecast that could interfere with my flight out to Dulles in Washington, D.C. (the flight that precedes the one to Rome)! So I'd appreciate any prayer time you can spare!
I hope to update you all once I get to Italy!
Buon pomeriggio!
~Tori
I'm super excited to be going to Orvieto in... 19 hours! It feels extraordinarily surreal-- I can't be going abroad for an entire semester! I keep telling myself to get ready and keep packing and taking care of everything I need to do before I go, but there's a little Tori in the back of my mind who keeps saying, "Who are you kidding? You're not going anywhere! Psh, yeah. Orvieto, right. Keep dreaming, kid!" However, this evil mini-me is wrong, and I am departing too soon to be taking breaks!
I'm actually surprising myself by packing relatively lightly, especially because I am a horrendous over-packer... But this is a good thing, and I'm attempting to ensure that I don't significantly add to the load over the next half-day. I've been mentally packing since October, so it's kind of a relief to finally actually pack everything!
I may have told some of you about my usual pre-trip emotional state... Until about 24-36 hours from my departure date, I'm in denial. And then I panic. This trip has been almost according to usual. Until this morning it really didn't hit me that I'm going abroad for four months! Aaand then I woke up this morning and realized that it was the 2nd to last time I'd do that for quite a while... That set in the panic. Lucky for me (and my family!), I was too tired to really panic and the rest of the day has been spent pretty productively, so until just now I haven't had time to consider this much..... And now I'm beginning to panic again.
But I'm (very slowly) learning to trust God with all the events of my life, whether I think he can handle them or not, so I'm attempting calming breaths and a mantra of "Trust. Trust. Trust." (Maybe it's working?)
I'd love to hear from you all as I give you updates on my time in Italy, and I'll do my level best to update you all about once a week.
Please pray for me if you don't mind, though! Chicago is being hit with more snow!!! You may not know, but Chicago was hit hard this winter and we got about two feet of snow. And now there's more in the forecast that could interfere with my flight out to Dulles in Washington, D.C. (the flight that precedes the one to Rome)! So I'd appreciate any prayer time you can spare!
I hope to update you all once I get to Italy!
Buon pomeriggio!
~Tori
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)