Ta-ta for now, Italia…

Well, I think it’s finally time, folks…

Tonight was the study abroad fair here at BC, where the youngins go to talk to students about their experiences abroad in hopes of finding the perfect program for them. After two hours of talking about Parma I am so emotionally drained (words from my friend Jing, who lamented from across the aisle at her Hong Kong booth).

You see, the real problem with studying abroad is when you come back home. People expect you to act normally and be the same person you were before you left, when in reality, that’s just not a possibility. You learn so much studying abroad that you can’t fit it into words or describe it to other people who haven’t been. It can’t even been described to people who have been. Usually the conversations about study abroad end after listing off the places you visited because you get too wrapped up in the memories and wishing you could live every single moment over again.

And that is why I have postponed this final blog post until now. Because I want to cry just thinking about it all actually ending. Even though it technically ended exactly 9 months and 1 day ago. Here come the tears…

Study abroad was the best time of my life (so far, at least). The rush of complete independence and self-reliance is exhilarating. Getting lost in foreign countries is my new favorite pastime. Weekend trips in countries where I don’t speak a word of the language creates moments of genuine panic, pride, freedom, and complete happiness unlike anything else I have experienced. There is nothing that can compare to being 19 or 20 years old and navigating your way through an entire continent so far away from home.

Which is why I told every single student at that study abroad fair tonight to go. Go anywhere. Study anything. Do not graduate college without going because there might not be another chance to live in a foreign country again.

As it is, I love being back on the BC campus. I missed football games, friends, family, and Boston a lot while I was gone. There still isn’t a day that goes by without me thinking about Italy, though. A year later and I can’t manage to change my computer background to anything but the Cinque Terre.

My only solace comes from the fact that I have thousands of pictures and memories to look back on with great fondness, to hold me over until I return to Europe again…

L to R: Caterina (one of my Italian mommies), me, Anna (my Italian grandma)

the whole Parma family together for our final goodbyes

 

Christmastime in Parma

From Christmas in Vienna to Parma…

Knowing that Italians take their religion, and therefore Christmas, much more seriously (and publicly) than the U.S., I was excited to see how Parma would decorate for the upcoming holiday. The one downside to the beginning of the Christmas season at “home”? It meant the beginning of the end of my fantastic time abroad. I knew I had to make the most of every moment, and try not to stress out about the upcoming finals per usual…

So to celebrate the season I joined the rest of the city of Parma in Piazza Garibaldi (the main square in town) one night to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree.

Parma’s beautiful Palazzo del Governatore (Governor’s Palace), built in the 17th century, at sunset

the other half of Piazza Garibaldi (across from the Palazzo del Governatore) with the Christmas tree and an “igloo” filled with little craft stands

Pretty Christmas lights adorned all the main streets–every street had a different size, color, and type of decoration!

Before the sun went down and the tree could be lit, people wandered the square and surrounding streets shopping, looking at the pretty Christmas lights, checking out the stands of knick-knacks and candies, and talking with their Parmigiani neighbors. As the sky became darker, more people filled the streets until the huge piazza was packed with people standing on top of each other. Although we did not all plan to go together, by the time the tree was about to be lit, almost all students from BC were crowded around the Christmas tree, taking pictures like tourists and listening to the adorable Italian children around us.

the soon-to-be-lit Christmas tree in the center of town (with the 13th century Palazzo del Governatore behind the tree)

Piazza Garibaldi

one of the main shopping streets in Parma off of Piazza Garibaldi

strings of lights, paper holly, and round ornaments with pictures of angels decorated the tree

After the tree was lit, a piano and chorus sang Christmas carols and we all sung along. Surprisingly, the majority of songs were in English so it was a nice touch of home in our most recent home. I love the sense of community that Parma has given us over the past 3 months.

Phantom of the Opera!

Well, now that you’ve seen one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world (in Vienna), I’d like to give you something to compare it to…

As a part of the program in Parma, our mommies (they’re officially site coordinators, but there’s not much of a difference) arranged for us to go to see an opera in October. One of my favorite musicals is Phantom of the Opera so you can say I was just a little (super) excited to be going to an actual opera in an opera house like I’ve seen portrayed in both the movie and the play. Look out, opera house! Here I come!

Parma’s claim to fame, besides its yummy prosciutto and cheese, is that it was home to famous composer Giuseppe Verdi (or at least it was the major city near his home). Verdi is most known for his operas Aida, La traviata, and Rigoletto. All of October in Parma is dedicated to him, with events all around the main piazza and shows in the opera house.

Parma’s opera house is named Teatro Regio, for the royalty that lived in Parma during the early 19th century when it was constructed. And boy, does it look fit for royalty. Just see for yourself. Words alone cannot describe.

the ceiling inside the theatre

ornately decorated box seats

the view looking out from the stage (minus the floor seats)

I was lucky enough to see one of Verdi’s own inside this gorgeous theatre. Does it get any better than this?

a view of the theatre before the performance from an upper level box

The opera we were going to see was Verdi’s Un ballo in machera, set in 17th century Boston. Ironic! Basically it’s about this love triangle involving the governor, his wife, and the governor’s right-hand man/best friend. Can you say awkward? Anyway, it’s full of jealousy, love triangles, conspiracies, singing, and Italian and I watched sitting in a gorgeous theatre. Needless to say, I loved every second of it and I was actually able to understand about 1/4 of it! (We did talk about the plot in class, though, so I had a headstart.)

the stage during the performance– Notice the subtitles (in Italian) above the stage to help the audience follow along.

a view from a box closer to the stage, with the chandelier lit up for the performance

It’s just hard NOT to be in awe and feel lucky when in a setting like this. Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for this experience. Gorgeous costumes, scenery, and a cultural experience all as class work! Not too bad!

the masquerade scene

(And no, there was no Phantom in this opera, though I haven’t decided whether that’s unfortunate or not…)

relaxing in Parma… finally :)

I spend most of my time in Parma doing what anyone would do in his/her hometown… I go to wake up, go to class, do homework, cook dinner, clean the apartment, go shopping, bike around town, and go to town events… except I’m in Italy and this is my first apartment so everything seems so much more exciting! These are photos from my daily life in Parma… 🙂

Bridget and Cynthia walking through Parma

Parma’s “river”

I love autumn ❤

villa family dinner numero 3 (or maybe 4?) was molto delicioso!

the organic festival we went to on Saturday around town

After our class trip to the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory we went to a beautiful castle. We didn’t go inside, but we wandered around the outside through the gardens, taking pictures, being silly, and taking naps (?!)…

the castle

the garden

the girls 🙂

such a beautiful day

Joe resting on the bench

Regular classes resumed after our excursion through the countryside, but I love that we can go and actually experience culture and history in person as we travel through Italy. THIS is exactly what study abroad should be. Classroom learning is important, but just as important are the experiences that shape a person’s way of thinking and challenge her assumptions. I’ve learned so much about myself through BC and its emphasis on experiential learning… my PULSE class that taught me philosophy and theology through a community service placement in the South End of Boston, TechTrek that showed me the business world/organizational culture/technology through our field study in Silicon Valley, and now classes in Italy that teach me about the things I’m experiencing everyday from the language to the culture and the sights. As I sat in front of the Venice train station this weekend (more about that later), a man from Detroit struck up a conversation with me because he saw me studying in English. We talked about my studies and travels as I gave him travel advice and as we were parting he commented that I didn’t realize how lucky I was.

But that’s where he’s wrong… I do know how lucky I am.

When people say that to me it actually gets me really upset. This man talked to me for ten minutes and he doesn’t know me personally so I’m not attacking him, but he’s not the only person who’s said this to me; even people close to me have said it and that hurts even worse. I’m not going to deny that I have a fairly easy life; I think fully recognizing that leads to an appreciation for everything and everyone I have in my life. I have two parents and an amazing brother who love me, a family who’d do anything for me, and friends who are always there for me. I rarely have to worry about anything of great substance. My parents ensure that my focus is on my schoolwork and becoming the person that I want to be. I know that I’m extremely lucky to have the experiences that I do and even the time and motivation to reflect upon them, especially at such a young age. While experiences like mine are certainly a privilege, the SJ Cadet in me recognizes that there is a responsibility that comes with this privilege (see, what I learned in high school is actually applicable to real life!); experiences like this are not something that should be wasted because not everyone is lucky enough to have them.

My parents do more for me than I should ever expect and though I may not thank them enough out loud, I hope they know that I appreciate everything they do for me. So Mom and Dad, thank you not only for financial and material support, but thank you for your dedication, caring concern, opportunities for growth and learning, conversations that challenge my beliefs, loyalty, love, and experiences that give me a different perspective on my own life (among many other things). I don’t mean for this to sound conceited, but I finally like the person that I’m becoming after years of uncertainty and that’s all because of what you’ve given me. I appreciate that and all the little moments in my life (both with you and on my own that have been shaped by your influence) more than you can ever know. I love you and miss you!

p.s. Mom, don’t cry 😉 I can hear you sniffling all the way from Parma!

yummy Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese!!

“Senza patienza non andrai al paradiso, non sarai nel paradiso,” Anna remarks as she motions upward. Immediately she lowers her eyes, shakes her head and adds, “senza patienza andrai nella terra.” Anna is one of my lovely Italian mothers here and her words have been my motto for this semester … “Without patience you will not go to heaven, you won’t be in paradise. Without patience you will just go into the earth.”

Getting to know Parma has been much more difficult than learning Florence was, but I have to keep reminding myself to be patient because I still have two months here, plenty of time to get to know the city completely. I know I’m here to STUDY abroad but class is getting in the way of my cultural experience! I spend much more time in the classroom here than at BC (which I never expected would happen). At the end of the long day of classes (9 to 4 with no lunch break on Thursdays… ahh!) I’m usually too tired to go out and explore Parma, especially because it’s so cold! I’m glad there are cultural experiences built into our time here so I get to experience Parma through my classes. It makes studying fun! Last week our History of Parma class took us to a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory where we learned all about the process of making the cheese and the economic implications it’s had on the region.

Fresh milk comes into the factory twice a day, early morning and night. The milk from the night is stored in large containers (not shown here) where the fat separates overnight. That milk is naturally skimmed and then mixed with the morning milk which has not been skimmed to create a half-and-half like mix that goes into these large cone-shaped vats. The man here is checking the granulation of the milk after natural whey starters and natural rennet is added.

heat is then added to expel the water from the granules

The heat causes the granules to sink to the bottom and form a giant mass that will eventually form the cheese.

The mass of cheese is lifted up…

…then cut in half…

… and then hung to dry.

The cheese is then placed in these molds for 2 to 3 days.

This second mold will hold the stencil and the cheese together for a day to give the cheese its outer markings, labeling the specific date the cheese was made along with other required factory information and seals. After this the cheese will be placed into one more mold to give it the curved shape. (You can see the date of this cheese written on the top… 10-10-11 or October 10, 2011.)

Cheese is immersed in a salt water solution for a little less than a month, and it’s turned everyday to make sure that the salt enters the cheese evenly.

Finally, cheese is placed on the shelf to be aged for 24 months or more!

Cheese is only branded with the “Parmigiano-Reggiano Consorzio Tutela” mark (the large oval in the center) after it passes inspection…

Cheese is only tested (by sound and look) after the minimum period of aging (12 months) has passed.

passed inspection!

delicioso 🙂

the cheese is flipped and dusted often mainly by hand, but the bottom rows can be done by machine

so much cheese!!!

who knew food could be so beautiful??

Then we got a taste test, my favorite part… and everyone else’s too!

Buon Appetito da Parma!

Home sweet home– in Parma :)

First, I’d like to give you a tour of my apartment! I made a video for you, but it costs too much money to upload so I can only hope that these pictures show you enough to give you a general feel for our apartment. I live in a villa with 8 other BC students (4 boys, 4 girls besides me), but Cailin and I have an apartment to ourselves within the villa. Cailin and I have a bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. It’s a really awesome space for only two people. Then we have a common room downstairs that we share with all the other BC kids.

walking into the kitchen

the other half of the kitchen–Notice the window that opens on the floor and the slanted ceilings? We live in the attic. It’s awesome, except when I hit my head (very often because the ceilings get really low in the bathroom).

the bathroom (if you couldn’t tell…)–We have one of the two washing machines in the whole house! Definitely a perk because we can do our laundry whenever we want 🙂

I took this right after we moved in. We unpacked our clothes and everything ASAP because we were all so tired of living out of our suitcases!

Immediately after moving in one of our program directors (aka our mothers while we’re here) Betta took us on a walk of our neighborhood, showing us the essentials like the grocery store, pharmacy, bank ATM, etc. Then we headed to our welcome dinner (#2!) for some delicious authentic Parmesan food. Oh my goodness was it delicious!!

The next day we got a brief tour of our new home… Though the tour was extremely boring and aimed at kindergardeners (we had just taken a 3 week art history course and could’ve taught our tour guide a few things), on day 1 I already knew that I loved it here and my opinion still hasn’t changed.

the clock tower on the governor’s palace

Piazza Garibaldi–the forum of Parma and a spot that I bike through many, many times every day (and yes, I did just say bike…)

the opposite end of the forum

Parma, Parma, Parma! (the Parma flag)

one of the main streets off the forum… so much shopping!!!

a random side street

EVERYONE here bikes… seriously, everyone, from the kids to the elderly.

welcome to the home of opera composer Verdi!! October happens to be Verdi Festival month… how lucky am I?? 

Parma’s Duomo!

Parma’s Baptistery

the Bishop’s Palace– The plates decorating the outside walls were a sign to pilgrims that they would find food, shelter, and hospitality in that building.

a calendar of figures above the door into the Duomo– Each figure represented a task or job during the month like harvesting grapes or curing ham.

inside the Duomo

so ornately decorated

This is what an art/architectural history tour looks like when we don’t have Rocky with us. Kevin is only smiling because he heard my camera clicking as I took the picture… trust me, he looked miserable and tired before!

my first home-cooked meal in my first apartment!

the meal– chicken with mozzarella and tomatoes, with a side of roasted vegetables… yummy!!

family dinner time! We’ve planned to have a pot luck supper every Wednesday night where each room brings a different plate and then we spend hours just sitting there eating and talking. It’s our own little family and one of the best parts of the week! (Cailin is missing because she’s taking the picture… everyone else is here. From left to right: Tommy, Liz, me, Allison, Joe, Liana, Kevin, and Justin)

my brand new bike! 

The people at the bike shop are such awesome people, so much fun to talk to and learn Italian from. I’m the lucky one who’s chain fell off going over a cobblestone within the first 24 hours so I got to go visit a second time. But I didn’t mind because I love that shop! And despite my fear of falling off a bike (because of a pretty bad fall many years ago), I’m absolutely loving riding a bike everywhere!!! At first it hurt to ride and I was walking around with a sore tailbone 24/7, but now that I’ve been riding my bike for almost two weeks I’m doing a much better job and am no longer hurting! woohoo!! 😀

the simplest dinner ever… chicken and onions… and I loved every bite of it!

it may not look that appetizing, but I love my eggs and I missed them (these pictures are nothing more than proof to my parents that I can take care of myself and feed myself a well-balanced meal 😉 )

I loved Florence and the city life, but Parma is home… I felt that as soon as I got here. It’s small enough that I can see people waving to others that they know on the street, but big enough that it takes me 45 minutes to bike all the way from my house to the other side of the city. I have room to explore and meet new people without feeling too overwhelmed or like I’m in a place that’s unauthentic. I have to speak Italian to everyone, but if I have trouble with a word some hand gestures, charades, and maybe an English word or two will get me by. There are so many people here that are excited to help students out with Italian phrases and culture that you’d really have to try hard to not learn anything!

Ti mancherò, Firenze…

How does one spend her last day in one of the most beautiful cities in the world after three magical weeks?? By eating, of course… we’re in Italy, the land of food! And there’s no better place to eat food than in a piazza that overlooks the whole city of Florence. Great food, new friends, and a beautiful view–sounds like a good arrivederci to me!

After our art history exam in the morning we went to the grocery store to buy the essentials for a picnic lunch…crackers, tomato and onion spread for the crackers, grapes, raspberries (my favorite!), prosciutto, salami, 2 different types of cheeses, wine, and water. Then we walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo (a fitting final outing because it was my first Florentine outing) and sat on the steps overlooking the Duomo and city as we ate our delicious meal.

the BEST raspberries I’ve ever eaten

After finishing our lunch we walked around the piazza taking silly pictures, talking about our favorite and least favorite parts of Florence, and what we’re looking forward to in Parma. We had nowhere to be, no more art history final to worry about and we were prepared to get silly and have fun…

my friend Bridget

Esther, Jackie and I (R to L)

Jackie taking a long last look at Firenze

We were all so excited to see this statue because we could tell you exactly what each of the figures represented, where the originals can be found, and all about the symbolism behind them. Thank you, Rocky and your awesome art history class!!

Bridget, me, Jackie, Cynthia, Esther, and Cynthia’s visiting friend Audrey– I look like a giant compared to all these girls!

Bridget and Esther 🙂

On our way back down into the city we passed a giant pile of confetti left over from a wedding photo shoot so naturally we decided to stop and have our own…

the confetti pile!

We walked through the gardens to get back to our hotel, taking our time walking so we could enjoy every last second of our time in Firenze.

I will miss you, Florence…

❤

An Eagle’s eye view of Firenze

(really bad pun, I know, but my other titles were getting boring)

After getting back from our class trip to Siena, I decided to take a trip of my own to the nearby town of Fiesole, which was about a 15 minute bus ride up the mountain. I wasn’t expecting to see anything but a gorgeous view of Firenze, so I was pleasantly surprised to find an archeological museum and beautiful church there! Although the people in my group are amazing, it was really nice to be able to take some time away to do exactly what I wanted to and go through the museum at my own pace.

a typical Italian street

I love learning about the ancient Greeks and Romans so walking through this museum was really interesting. From what I understood (not all the signs were in English), Fiesole was originally founded by the Etruscans (native people), but then redeveloped by the Romans so it has a history rich with both native and Roman culture. The museum itself had an amazing collection of pottery, sculptures, sarcophagi, figurines, coins and even a skeleton from the different periods of the town’s history. I loved taking my time looking at everything and reading the descriptions (skipping the few that I didn’t find interesting, of course).

view from the archeological museum

Hercules, anyone??

view of the other side of the mountain from inside the museum– Although the mountain was extremely small and you could walk all the way around the top in about 20-30 minutes, Florence couldn’t be seen from the museum.

By far, my favorite part of the museum was its coin collection… there were so many! I loved that you could see Caesar’s head on some of them and then others just look like pennies that were made by flattening an M&M (y’all know what I’m talking about). I could’ve spent an entire day there just looking at those coins. I just wish I could’ve had someone explain all of them to me, with the story of when and where they were used. The little plaque just didn’t give me the detail that I wanted!!

coins from ancient Fiesole– The coins were by far my favorite part of this museum. It was fascinating to see all the different ones from various regions/time periods and read about their histories. If I didn’t know before, I know now… I’m definitely meant to be a business/accounting major!

I have bad eyesight but I can definitely read the word “Caesar” on there!

After leaving the museum building, you can walk around outside through the ruins of the temples and theater. I loved Fiesole because it was so quiet and peaceful. It was a great escape from the city of Firenze where I was always moving from one museum to the next or finding some place to eat or going shopping in a crowded market with a group of people. Fiesole was my chance to relax and just stroll through the ruins enjoying the quiet and beauty.

The archeological museum is also used as a museum for more modern art. This was on the path between the museum building and the ruins.

the ancient Fiesole theater

ruins of one of the temples

Visitors were actually allowed to walk right up to and wander through the ruins (without actually touching them)… it was really cool.

all of the different temples, though distinguishing between them seems impossible to me

just another view from the ruins

Fiesole’s main piazza

After having my fill of stillness and relaxation, I walked around the piazza and headed over to Fiesole’s church because I had heard it was gorgeous. It was. I loved its simplicity in comparison to the churches in Firenze.

The church was so beautiful that I had to take a picture even though it wasn’t allowed…

the outside of the church

I left the church in search of a good view of Firenze. It took me a couple minutes to find somewhere that wasn’t private property (I made a friend with an elderly man who was looking for the same thing), but eventually I found a few good places along the busy mountain road. It was a fairly hazy day, but you can still see the Duomo standing tall and proud along the skyline.

walking to get a good view of Firenze

the view of Firenze from someone’s driveway

la bella Firenze ❤

the Duomo is on the left hand side near the horizon line

can you imagine these previous views of Florence from your living room window?

It was only a short trip to Fiesole, but I enjoyed every second of it, from the relaxation and history to the beautiful setting.

Living life the Italian way

yummy risotto with mushrooms from the cafe around the corner from our hotel

I know it’s been such a long time since the last time I’ve posted, but I’ve been so busy squeezing every last ounce of fun out of my last week in Florence (oh yeah, and I was studying for my art history final too). We did so much in the last week… mostly we were were trying to act Italian by eating delicious food, people watching, picnicking, relaxing in piazzas, and meeting new people!

the sandwich "shop" I Due Fratellini (or more like a stand because it's literally just 2 guys behind a counter in the wall)-- really cheap sandwiches that are wildly popular among locals because of the fresh ingredients and delicious bread. It's been around since 1875!

eating on the curb outside I Due Fratellini just like the locals do 🙂

lunch from my favorite cafe in Piazza San Marco-- I spent my last Sunday afternoon leisurely eating my lunch by myself at an outdoor table and people watching. I felt so Italian.

a close-up of the dessert because it was just so delicious

pigeons are EVERYWHERE

Cailin and I just grabbed a bench in a park between our classes and sat there for 2 hours just talking, eating gelato, and watching the children get picked up from school.

making new international friends! This is Yves from Switzerland, whom we met while we were relaxing in the piazza in front of Palazzo Pitti before going in to see a museum.

lounging in a piazza before class... I have such a hard life 😉

experiencing my first Italian train strike while on the way home from Cinque Terre-- Now I feel like I'm truly Italian!!

More will come soon about the other things we’ve done in the last week… plus my first few days in Parma! Let me just tell you now, Parma is amazing and I love it here already. (Though my tailbone is sore from riding my bike on the bumpy cobblestone streets… any tips on how to best avoid this problem??)

A presto, mia famiglia e amici!! ❤

Seaicorns 4 Life!!

Santa Croce—the Franciscan church I mentioned in an earlier post—is where we spent our next day of class. In addition to the history of art and Florence that the class focuses on, we’re now learning about architectural development, St. Francis of Assisi, other saints’ lives, and the history of the Catholic Church!

about 1/3 of the BC gang in the program

inside the Santa Croce

Santa Croce is the burying place of many famous historical figures—within about 50 square feet I could see the tombs of Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and Galileo among many other famous Italians.

Machiavelli

Michelangelo

Galileo

I’ve missed the Disney store so much since they took it out of the Trumbull mall in CT. We were all SO excited when we saw this near the Duomo on one of our first days. I’ve been into this store about 2 or 3 times already and I’ve only been here for a week… I’m still a kid at heart!!

After our art history excursion to Santa Croce, Cailin and I decided to tackle the dome of the Duomo. To get to the top you need to climb 463 stairs, but these aren’t just regular stairs… They’re tiny spiral staircases that can only handle a single file line. A few sets had stairs that barely fit my big feet on them. These stairs are actually within the two layers of the dome. Brunelleschi’s innovative design of this dome is simply amazing and a technological miracle for his time. While climbing through these tight spaces at a practically vertical angle, I found myself amazed that people in the early 1400s could build in such a tight space… I could barely walk in it while standing up straight!

a spiral staircase for climbing up to the dome

climbing between the inner and outer dome– look how steep the incline is!

view of the fresco on the dome from the uppermost inside level— Though they don’t let you stop to look at the fresco for a long time because they want to keep the line moving, it was really cool to see it at eye level because you notice all the detail of the figures the artist included that you can’t see from the ground. The figures themselves are huge(!), which makes it so much easier to understand what the artist is portraying.

views of Florence from the very top of the dome…

just some random graffiti on the top of the dome that we thought was really funny… Charlotte, I thought of you as soon as I saw this!!

Cailin is smiling on the way down because she knows that the end of the 900 steps is within sight! (Only figuratively, of course, because you can’t see the end of a spiral staircase.) Notice that Cailin’s hand is on the wall to go down the stairs. When she was actually in the staircase she had both hands on the walls so she didn’t fall over and she’d wobble when she stepped off the spiral staircases. Cailin, who I will probably never see tipsy because she doesn’t drink, looked drunk when she was walking through the dome. Yup, the two sober girls of the trip gave Americans a bad name for being drunk at noon. Awesome 🙂