Prost! OKTOBERFEST!!

Ciao a tutti! Sorry I haven’t updated this in a while but it’s been a crazy week. I had an oral presentation, a big test, and a paper due for my cinema class so it’s been pretty hard to keep up. BUT….I had one of the greatest weekends of my life this past weekend!!!! It is hard to explain in words just how much fun I had but I will try. I traveled to Munich, Germany this past weekend on a program going to Oktoberfest. Now I know what you’re thinking, I just went to drink the beer….but you’re wrong! I mean I dabbled a bit in the beer scene but that was simply because I had to taste what beer from Germany and Oktoberfest would taste like. But so many other factors about this weekend made it great!

We took a bus to Germany Thursday night and arrived in Munich at about 8 am on Friday. We didn’t have too much down time before we went on a 4 hr bike tour around Munich. Now you see I have a problem because words cannot explain how beautiful, fascinating, and overall breathtaking some of the sights were that we stopped at. I wish I could put a million pictures up on this blog and describe everyone of them, but I’m going talk a bit about my favorite memorial we saw. This memorial (picture shown) is dedicated to the White Rose, a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany consisting of students who studied at the University of Munich. This group was well known for their “leaflet campaign” which promoted the opposition of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler. The six core members of the group were eventually arrested by the Gestapo and executed by decapitation in 1943. Yes, they were guillotined in front of their university. The rocks on top of the memorial are placed there by visitors and anyone who feels compelled and are returned to the park every two weeks. This was my favorite memorial because it represented the courage that all of these students possessed,as well as a very tragic time in history. Our biking tour brought us to other great sites such as the English Garden which is a large park in the center of Munich spanning 1.4 square miles making it one of the world’s largest public parks. It was so beautiful!!! In the garden, we went to the Chinese tower and had our first German meal and beer! So yummy!

Now, for Oktoberfest. Like I said before, words cannot describe how cool of an experience it was. Oktoberfest is a beer festival held in Munich that has been going on since the year 1810! Only beer which is brewed within the city limits of Munich is allowed to be served in this festival. Oktoberfest is basically like Disneyland with beer. EVERYONE is dressed in lederhosen and dirndles and there are tons of food, rides, and souvenir shops. The food was outstanding, in fact, I had the best chicken I have every had in my life there because the chicken is sitting on a rotisserie for hours and hours during the day. Pretzels, chocolate covered apples, and cinnamon- sugar almonds were a few other things I indulged in :) Now for the beer…sorry mom and dad….but it was incredible! There are about 15 large tents that make up the campgrounds and each tent houses a different type of beer! I was in the Hofbräu-Festzelt tent which is known for being one of the best tents at Oktoberfest (which it was!). A couple of my friends and I stood at a table with 4 other Australians and 5 German boys. It was such a fun group of people and let me tell you, the Germans can drink! They kept “prost-ing” every 5 minutes! (Prost is the equivalent of Cheers!) Germans also love the song “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channel, and if you don’t recognize the title, it was a song played in Dirty Dancing (see link below). Thousands of people in my tent were all jamming to that song which was really funny to see!! But overall, the day was so amazing!! Getting to try some of the world’s best beer and food, meeting tons of new people, and experiencing a little bit of the Bavaria culture is a pretty great day in my book! We went back to Oktoberfest Sunday afternoon for half of the day and had yet another great time! This time we sat with a New Zealand rugby team haha and just when I thought the Germans could drink, I met rugby players haha I could write on and on about last weekend but words cannot describe how great of a trip it was! I’m so happy I went, and would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nLFHUIl9o4&feature=related

La Scuola!

32 bug bites….You would think these dumb mosquitoes would be happy by now, but nope they keep on coming. I now have to sleep in long sleeve t-shirts, sweats, and socks, despite the fact that its 75 degrees at night, because I’m so tired of getting bitten! I hear they go away when it gets colder outside though. That day cannot come sooner!!!

Well I thought since I keep updating my blog purely about my travels, I would switch it up and talk about the main reason why I am here, school! It’s easy to forget that I’m here for school because I am having so much fun, but school has become pretty important these past two weeks. I tested into Italian 3 and will be taking Italian 3, 4, and 5 while I am here. Each course is about 4 weeks long so they are very intense; about 3 hrs Monday-Thursday. I am also taking an elective titled “Florence in Italian and International Cinema.” I must say it’s an extremely cool class! We just finished discussing Neorealism, a genre that developed in Italian cinema after WWII ended. Neorealism can be described as a movement that focused on the economic and moral issues post WWII, and how the daily lives of the poor and working class were affected by those issues. Neorealistic films were always shot on location, with non-professional actors, and were based on real life scenarios revolving around everyday struggles. The intent behind this type of filming was to confront the social reality present in Italy as well as abandon the artificiality that most films promoted. The most prominent filmmaker of this genre was Roberto Rosselini, who directed “Roma Citta Aperta” (Rome Open City) and “Paisan” (which I had to watch). Although these types of movies weren’t the most popular among Italians, they were affective at depicting social reality from an objective point of view. Great stuff. Some other fun facts I learned in my classes:

1.    Stendahl Syndrome- a psychosomatic illness that incurs when a person is so overwhelmed by the beauty of art that they faint! It includes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to particularly beautiful or large amounts of art is in a single place. This illness is named after French author Stendahl after his first experience in Florence.

2.    All the bridges that connect across the Arno River in Florence were bombed during WWII, except for the Ponte Vecchio (pics above) because Hitler liked it too much. Gee thanks Hitler.

3.     The term malaria (yes the mosquito-borne infectious disease) is derived from ‘mal’aria’ which literally means ‘bad air’ in Italian. This was derived in Medieval Italian, and came from the Ancient Romans who thought that this disease came from the horrible fumes from the swamps. Mosquitoes have clearly been a problem here for a long time!!!

4.    Sunflower in Italian is girasole. “Gira” means “turns to” and “sole” is the sun! There is a festival of the sunflowers this weekend, so that’s how I learned this! Depending on how many sunflowers open up, determines how big the festival will be!

ps. sorry if there are mistakes in my spelling or grammar, i was a bit rushed putting this up because i am just about to leave for Germany!!!

Gusto!

 So Jennifer and I had another wonderful day on Wednesday! We went to Gusto Pizza after I got out of class and man was it delicious. Probably the best pizza I’ve had here, and it’s cheap! We both ordered our own pizzas (at gusto, you have to order your own, its just that good) and came across a little treat when we picked up our orders. The chef who made our pizzas had shaped them into hearts :) I love gusto!

  After that, we headed over to the Piazza Pitti where the Bobali Gardens are located. The Boboli Gardens were laid out for Eleonora di Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I de' Medici. The Medici family was responsible for the majority of Florentine art during their reign and one of the reasons Florence still houses some of the most remarkable pieces of art to come out of the Renaissance. Because it was such a warm day, we found some shady spots and laid down to relax. To our surprise, the Bobali gardens also house many beautiful statues and pieces of art by upcoming artists which was fun to explore. When we got to the top of the gardens, we got yet another beautiful view of all of Florence. Its so peaceful and quiet there that I will be definitely returning with a nice book in the near future. After we relaxed there for a while, we went home, made some yummy dinner, and then went out with friends! Definitely a fun night :) Jenn left Thursday morning for Rome and Capri but will be back Monday morning for one more day with me! Can’t wait until she is back!

La Mia Migliore Amica!

MY BEST FRIEND JENNIFER COCCIMIGLIO IS FINALLY HERE!!!!!! Can you tell how excited I am? Maybe its because she has been my best friend since 2^nd grade and we are in Italy together?? Its so weird seeing a familiar face in a place that is so foreign to me still; I keep having to remind myself that this is really happening! She arrived Monday afternoon, and although I had class all that morning, I got a chance to take her to the Mercato Centrale which is a conglomeration of all types of fresh food markets (meats, pastas, olive oils, fruits, pastries, cheeses) so that we could cook a dinner together with some of the freshest foods Firenze has to offer! We made a delicious dinner that night with a caprese salad (mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes all from the Mercato aka the best!), pesto & cheese crackers, a spinach salad, fresh Tuscan bread, and spiral pasta with fresh basilico sauce! It may not have been the most difficult dinner to make, but everything was fresh and I was with Jenn so that made it extra special :) Not to mention, Jennifer purchased a bottle of Chianti wine and a bottle of Rosé which was a nice addition as well! After that, we walked around the streets a bit, grabbed some gelato from Grom (the best gelateria in Firenze!),and chatted about her travels these past couple weeks. Over the past two months, she has participated in a theater program in England, gone to Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as traveled to Germany where she stayed with her friend Liz! It was so amazing getting a chance to catch up; we talked for hours, reminisced about the past summer and year, and most importantly, enjoyed the scenery around us. Lucky for me, she is here until next Tuesday, and we have lots planned!!!

Trattoria La Burrasca!!!!!

Hello hello! I would like to start off by dedicating this post to my wonderful sister-in-law, Valerie Vandersloot, and my brother Derek, because they gave me some great advice before I left for Europe. They traveled to Italy a couple of years ago and felt compelled to tell me about this restaurant named Trattoria La Burrasca in Florence because of how much they loved its food. Naturally, I had to go! I was lucky enough to get the chance to go with my family when they were here (they left on Sunday) and needless to say, it was some of the most delicious food I’ve had yet! It’s this cute little restaurant, maybe 15 tables or less, that’s overflowing with the perfect Italian ambiance. I can definitely see why they liked it so much! My primi piatti (first course) was a zuppa verdura (like a minestrone, nom.) and my secondi piatti was a tender slice of chicken marinated in olive oil and other incredible Italian spices. It was fabulous. To top that off, we had a few bottles of wine and two chocolate cannolis! I’m so glad they told me about this place because I know I will be going there a couple more times before I leave this beautiful city. Thank you guys! Hope you enjoy the pictures Valerie! 

When in Rome...

So I’ve quickly learned how abundant mosquitoes are here. I have 19 mosquito bites and counting. In fact, I think I just got another one. Shoot. That’s one thing I’ve learned pretty quickly, but there are some other things I have learned over the past week as well:

1.     Deodorant companies do not advertise enough here because people don’t seem to know what it is! Either that or they need something stronger…

2.     Dogs are few and far between, and if you do own a dog, maximum size is that of a small child (or something that can fit in your purse)

3.     Do not eat pizza with your hands, or at least not at most restaurants. You need to cut it and eat it with your fork.

4.     When buying produce from a market, you need to use gloves to pick up any fruit or vegetables, weigh it yourself, and print up a sticker of its price. Us filthy Americans on the other hand, like to touch every apple available with our bare hands to see which is the best. Definitely not ok here, but of course I found that out the hard way when the attendant yelled at me in Italian. Joy.

5.     The men here are very forward. Don’t smile at them while walking. If you do, it will 8 times out of 10 elicit a “Ciao Bella”….among other things.

6.     THERE IS NO SALES TAX ON FOOD OR CLOTHES. Amen.

7.     Peanut butter is rare but can be found at Asian markets or stores

8.     Until it the season changes to Fall, Summer brings weather just hot enough that you will be perpetually sweating all day. Guaranteed.

9.     Italy has the best tomatoes I have ever tasted, and they are cheap! Caprese salads all day, everyday.

10. Florence as well as other countries I hope to travel to in Europe have incredible historical value unlike anywhere in the United States. For anyone who doesn’t take the time to appreciate its beauty and bathe in its immeasurable worth, I feel sorry for you. Discovering the copious amounts of history planted in Europe is too incredible of an experience to pass up!

Also, I have a few things to blog about that I have been a bit behind on, but I will catch up tomorrow!!!

Bella Cittá!

Salve! It’s officially been 5 days since I arrived in Florence and boy has it already been an experience. One of the first things I did was pick up my keys for my apartment! The doors to my apartment are these big wooden doors about twice my size, as well as two other gates to get into the building, which is nice from a safety standpoint. To my surprise, my apartment is really cute and quaint (not to mention spacious!) All pluses in my book! The kitchen is my favorite because it is so charming and cute. Also, it comes equipped with everything I could need, including a washing machine! Talk about multitasking…

I also love all of my roommates! Especially the one and only Maddy Kuttner, my good friend from UCSB and a fellow Kappa :)

So much has happened over the past couple days; lots of getting to know people in my program, getting lost, orientations, eating amazing foods…I don’t even know where to begin. Each day is a learning experience whether it’s from interacting with Italians or finding my way around the small (yet seemingly large when you get lost!) town of Firenze.  I have so much to write but because I don’t want to bore you yet, I will keep this post small, and add some pictures of my travels so far! Enjoy!