Naples

We decided to do a bit of an unconventional Easter and visit Naples (it's Napoli in Italian so you know just in case I write that below by accident) for the holiday weekend. The original reservation we had at a B&B in the city center was changed by a call the day before we arrived that the bathroom was flooded. We ended up in a very small apartment with a view of Vesuvius and the entire Gulf of Naples. It wasn't a great accommodation,  but it worked fine and was actually alright for being super last minute. The city was very busy and a bit hectic in the rain, but definitely nice to visit. There are a lot of sights to see as Naples has a lot of historic significance.

The first day of our trip we spent in the center. We visited Teatro San Carlo (the oldest theater still in use today), the gallery (a shopping center with a ceiling made of glass), and the Maschio Angioino, (the new castle). The second day we spent at the ruins of Pompeii and the Palace of Caserta (based off Versailles). The third day we visited Castel dell'Ovo (the castle in the bay of Napoli), the gardens of the church of Santa Chiara, and the Duomo. I was exhausted after three full days of sight-seeing, but definitely wished I could have stayed longer. The history and beauty of the large Italian cities always amazes me.

Teatro San Carlo and the King's Box

The Maschio Angioino

The Gallery

Pizza Napoletana!

Pompeii

The Palace of Caserta

Traditional Pastries of Naples

The Garden at Santa Chiara

Sicily: Part Two

Sicily

Hello again! I've had an extremely busy last couple of weeks, so hopefully I can catch my blog up in the next few days.

For a week in March I was given the opportunity to participate in the settimana di scambio (week of exchange) in Caltagirone, Sicily. All of the year student's are allowed to participate in this intuitive throughout Italy to gain a different perspective on Italian culture. Typically students placed in the north go to the south and vice versa. I decided to go to Sicily, though it's still the south and Italian spoken there is quite similar to my host region, because it has a very unique culture, and let's be honest, it's gorgeous. Each host chapter organizes their own activities, so you may be studying dialect or local foods depending on where you go. The Caltagirone chapter was pretty terribly organized, but my host family and fellow exchange students made it an amazing experience. We spent the majority of our time in Niscemi, a small town near Caltagirone, for their saint celebration and artichoke festival. Yes, I went to Sicily and spent my time at an artichoke festival. They are different than the ones we eat in the US and actually pretty good roasted, but I think I'm done with artichokes for a while. We spent several mornings in classrooms speaking about our experiences and then traveled during the afternoons and weekends. One week is definitely not enough time to see all that Sicily has to offer, but of what I got to experience it's an extremely beautiful and unique place. 

Theater of Siracusa

Siracusa

The Scala of Caltagirone

The Roman villa of Piazza Armerina

Caltagirone from atop la scala

The group of exchange students on Mt. Etna

AFS written in the snow of Mt. Etna

The theater in Taormina

My friend and fellow American, Regan, in Taormina

No artichoke festival is complete without a giant decorative artichoke

My amazing Sicilian host family

Carnevale!

These last couple weeks I have had the chance to experience and take part in different aspects of the holiday carnevale. For anyone who is as clueless about carnevale as I used to be, it is a sort of  costume festival. It varies in length by year, but always begins in the last few weeks of January. In Italy the celebrations vary by location, but usually include a grand parade, people in traditional character costumes and LOTS of confetti. I suppose it's a bit like Halloween, but slightly less about scaring people and slightly more about music and celebration. I attended the parade in Putignano which had massive moving floats, as well as a sort of "funeral" for carnevale in Taranto. It has been extremely interesting and I think it would be amazing to see the bigger celebrations in Venice or Rio someday.

Io Sono Qui

In my opinion, there is no better exercise than hiking. There is something about being surrounded by the beauty of nature and overcoming new challenges that  makes me feel incredibly alive. Whether it's a log jam, rock pile, or icy cold pool, the sense of accomplishment on the other side is tremendous. It's so much easier to push through that extra mile when you know there is a panoramic view at the finish.

Today my host dad and I went hiking with a local group in the hills surrounding Ostuni. It was a muddy and slippery trek, but not extremely difficult. Over the course of about two hours we visited two caves and enjoyed a picturesque landscape of cities and sea. The first cave was not far from the archaeological area where they found "The woman of Ostuni", a well preserved skeleton of a woman who died approximately 25,000 years ago. (link: http://www.ostuni.tv/English/Delia/Delia_En.htm ) It is amazing to visit places inhabited such a long time ago, rich with history and beauty. Every time, I find myself repeating in my head "I am here, this is real, this is unbelievable".

Another Video Update!

Two blog updates in one day, it's a miracle! This is another summary video of the last couple months. I visited lots of places, but really the video is mostly Matera. Enjoy :)

Ho vinto! Ho vinto!

For the past several years AFS Intercultura has put on a photography competition titled "Così vedo l’Italia" (So I See Italy). They invite year and semester students hosted in Italy to submit photos which represent true Italian culture. For five months, November through March, the participants submit three photos each. A single photo is chosen as a winner for the month and special mentions are given to other photos which did not win, but were well liked by the judges. At the end of the five months the top three of the five winners, as decided by a panel of judges, have the fees paid for them to travel to Ivrea and participate in some activities organised by the local chapter. I am excited and proud to say one of my photos was chosen as the winner for the month of December! Below is the official announcement, as well as my winning photo and caption.

English translation: 

"The History is still Alive"

One day my host family took me to see the living nativity of Pezze di Greco. In this place you can see people reenacting activities as they would have been done in the past. This experience gave me a new appreciation for the history of Italy and the way in which it lives on today.