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.

Recent Adventures

Ship that belongs to the local school of sailing which we were allowed to tour

The city of Matera composed of hundreds of sassi (a type of house) carved directly into the rock

The cathedral of Otranto, the bones of the Catholics beheaded by the invading Turks in 1480 on display.

Festa di Natale!

Ostuni!

Martina Franca

100 Days

Hello again! It's been way too long! But in all reality,  those of you who know me well will not be surprised that I haven't been good at keeping up with my posts. Here's what I've been up to:

Recently I have been incredibly busy with Italian lessons three times a week,  projects for every school subject, and technology issues.  We will address the technology issues first because they are easily explained.

Many of you will remember that previous to my departure I got a shiny new nexus 5, along with a protective case in anticipation of my usual tendency to  drop things. Unfortunately,  the one thing that the case didn't protect against was water.  I wish I could say my phone fell into the Mediterranean Sea or perished in a flood of expensive Italian wine, but the sad truth is that I bumped it into the sink while washing my hands.  At this point it is being sent off to some big city to be assessed for repair,  so fingers crossed it's easily fixed. (the only part that doesn't seem to function is the touch screen so I do have hope)

I can't remember if I mentioned here before that I've been having issues with my Italian lessons, but it has been a running problem for me.  My original teacher was inexperienced and her teaching style didn't match up with my learning style. We attempted to close those lessons and switch teachers but it was difficult to find someone nearby and the first teacher insisted on being paid in full. Therefore,  for the last several weeks I have been doing lessons with the original teacher twice a week and a new (and much much better)  teacher once a week. As a consequence my Italian is not quite at the level I had hoped it would be at this point. I am doing pretty well and I can understand almost everything,  but speaking is a slow and tedious process.

School is going alright, still difficult but most classes seem to have sorted themselves out. I have been removed from physics and philosophy due to some very stubborn and difficult to work with teachers and I am going to be aiding in an English class and possibly joining an extra literature class. Things have been a bit crazy with school occupation sand protests happening during the weeks before winter break, but everything wrapped up pretty well.

The holidays are finally upon us and I am enjoying the spirit of Christmas in Italy. The lights and Christmas markets create an amazing atmosphere and I hope to take some photos soon to share with you all. I am missing the familiarity of home and my family holiday traditions, but I'm proud and glad to have survived my first 100 days of exchange, and excited to experience the next 7 months.

A Little Thing I Made

This is a montage video I made to give a glimpse of my first month and a half in Italy. It in no way captures everything that I have seen and done here, but I wanted to share a small piece of all of the amazing things I've experienced. I can't adequately express all the emotions that going abroad has exposed me to, but hopefully you can gather an idea of the excitement and anxiety of arrival, as well as the wonder and curiosity of being settled in a new place, through this video.

Finding Fall

Anyone who has spoken to me over the last few weeks has heard my complaints about fall in southern Italy.  While the sea and palm trees are beautiful,  something doesn't quite feel right about autumn without all the plants changing color.  It's odd coming home without fire colored leaves hiding in the hood of my jacket or stuck to the bottoms of my shoes. So when I stepped out of the car in a tiny town in Basilicata last Sunday I was overcome with joy.  Wreaths decorated with leaves and berries adorned the houses and the air was filled with the warmth of woodsmoke. The occasion was a festival of chestnuts, and the amount of fall spirit all around was unbelievable. Freshly roasted chestnuts were sold in little paper cones and the streets were covered in the discarded shells. Cornstalks were tied to the trees and hay bales stood at the entrance to the main street. Afterward we headed to a nearby lake that transported me back to Oregon.  The beauty and diversity here constantly amazes me.

The main street bustling with people.

Nothing like a woven cornucopia full of dried corn to make it feel like fall.

My chapter mate Elki in a festive alleyway photography showcase.

Me on the shore of the lake where we picnicked. 

Photogenic decorated houses.

Photos!

Just some snapshots of my time here thus far!  You may have seen a few of these on Facebook.