Monks 'n' Nuns!

Hey all,
I'm in Assisi. I've been here for a while now, about a week and a half, with very little internet access.
Things have been rather mixed. Sometimes great, sometimes dull. I am living with a family, Mom, Dad, and two Daughters age 25 and 31. The 31 isn't at home though.
Assisi, the town itself, is really beautiful but rather boring. There are 53 churches within the half mile but not much else. For the first week I was being dropped there every morning with no plans and just a sketchbook, but there's only so much one can do in such a small place. Lately i've been seeing a lot of Libby, being dropped at her house in the morning and going out with our Italian hosts in the evenings.
Otherwise I've just been eating and sketching. There are a lot of nuns and monks in Assisi.





Highlights:
A few nights ago there was a philharmonic orchestra performance inside San Francesco cathedral. The acoustics in there were unbelievable, and apparently they only open the building at night about once or twice a year. The colors inside were also really vibrant, lit differently than during the day.
Last Saturday Libby and I went up in a 4 person airplane over Umbria. It was the most breathtaking, amazing thing i've ever seen. There's a valley in between Assisi and Perugia, but the rest of Umbria is all mountainous. I don't have the pictures from that on my computer yet, but i'll put them up as soon as possible.







ciao annalisa





chewing gum fence

Sparkles

I am exhausted.
We topped off last night watching the South Africa v. England rugby game in a pub down the way. Rugby makes American Football look like a bunch of wimps.
Today we went to a beach about two hours away. I've never been to the mediterranean and I loved it. It was quite a bit warmer than the oceans in Maine (obviously) and also a good deal saltier, so we could float. The coast was lined with umbrella pines, which are apparantly almost extinct but are really beautiful and really green. It was more developed than any beach i've ever been to, though (thanks mom) with little umbrellas and chairs and restaurants. Also, there was no shortage of fat leathery men in speedos. gross.
At the restaurant we went to for lunch there was this big fat old pug named "Teo" who couldn't hold his tongue into his mouth due to a lack of teeth. He was painfully cute and made me so homesick.




After the beach we all hopped on a bus to the Niki de Saint Phalle sculpture park. It was kind of intense. Lots of bright colors and mirrors and sparkles. The sheer magnitute of it was impressive, though.

My legs hurt.

There were meetings nearly all day yesterday, so we weren't able to get out until about 9:00 pm. I was planning on just staying in, but Rob wanted to go out for gelato with a bunch of us, so we did that and then just kept walking. and walking. and walking. We got really really lost, and it was actually kind of scary because the streets here are so winding and all sort of look alike. I'm pretty sure we ended up by the Spanish steps, but I don't really know. There were all these funny stores with names like "Miss Money Money" and "Expensive!" It was really bizarre.



This morning I walked out to the botanical gardens, and it was really breathtaking but also really hot and buggy so I didn't stay too long.



Then I came back and started to bake my bread, but it came out funny and really dense. I think I just need to get used to the ovens (celcius?!) and the yeast, which comes in solid blocks.
This evening I've just been sitting in the kitchen, eating bread and cheese and olive oil and drawing and watercoloring and enjoying the coming and going company. Everything is so perfect looking all the time.

Valentino!

We had a lot more free time today than yesterday and than we will tomorrow. It was really nice.
Anne and I went out and did a lot of walking. We started on a trip to the market, and got prosciutto and conquered some language barriers. That's always a wonderful feeling. Then we did some wandering and ran into the Valentino show at Ara Pacis. At first it was really exciting because we saw this museum building in the distance and it was the first modern building we've seen since we've arrived. It was like a time warp. So Ara Pacis was this Roman tomb/alter/human slaughter house or something - A big tomb with beautiful stone relief carvings and holes in the bottom to let the blood drain. And then Valentino.






Today I learned: la fetta = slice, as in prosciutto.

Busy Busy

Ciao.
Today was less eventful than last. There were a lot of meetings all day – Orientation talks, Italian Laws, etc. We started our Italian classes. I really don’t like my teacher, nor do I like the level we’re at. We’ll see, though. It may get better.
I didn’t really go out at all today. All the meetings were scheduled within about 45 minutes of each other, so there was time for some quick coffee between each but not much else. We did get out at one point to check out this notebook shop that had really beautiful hand-bound leather sketchbooks, but they were all very expensive. I’d rather save up for a beautiful pair of shoes.

Art, Food, and Shoes.

Very busy day today. Jennie and I didn’t have a (working) alarm clock, so we slept in. Whoops. Didn’t miss anything, though.
We had a tour in the morning until mid-day. It turns out we’re just a few blocks away from the Pantheon, so that’s good news. Also every shoe store is like a museum.
I had my first real language barrier experiences today. Some people are very kind and helpful, while some will resent my lingual shortcomings. For the most part my Italian is okay – enough to get by – but then I’ll order gelato and won’t know how to say “scoop.” Where in most situations I may be able to find an alternative, under the pressure of an impatient Italian it is much more difficult to think of anything besides silly gestures.
The food is, of course, dangerous. Everything is so much better than I’m used to. Our simple, cheap and quick pasta dinner tonight was unbelievable. Just such a difference in the amount you can taste. I’m sure this is no news to anybody. It’s Italy. Duh.
They had a showing of two short movies that previous EHP students made about it. One was from 1972 and was really goofy – something about motorcycles and tough guys with moustaches. The other was from the late ‘’90’s and was a beautiful and lighthearted animation about a submarine and a fountain and soccer playing nuns, etc.
After that we went to this art installation thing. It was kind of cheesy, but really pretty. Just lots and lots of lights on the ground in this big flat area where there used to be chariot races. It was really nice to look at, but it’s the kind of thing that makes me question art. I mean, yes we would all like to be able to make the ground look like stars, but just because some guy has the millions to pay for it doesn’t make him a brilliant artist. Watching them all shift color was cool, though.



Isn't it kind of beautiful?

Finally! Internet!

Hey all - Sorry this has taken so long to set up. There have been ongoing issues with the internet here, but it looks like it is finally up and running. I've been writing nearly every day, so this one post should keep you up to date.

I am doing my junior year in Italy. This is through the European Honors Program at the Rhode Island School of Design. 25 or so other students come and we live in the "Palazzo Cenci" - this old Italian Palace. We study Italian and Art History and have plenty of time to pursue our own creative interests. I am incredibly lucky to be here.

I got into Italy today. The flights were okay. I slept like a baby, kind of, but not a calm baby. Like a really uncomfortable baby.
First thing after getting off the plane we were helped onto a bus by a middle aged gentleman named Fabio with a thick rug of chest hair and a few gold chains. I found that very satisfying.
Italy is, of course, beautiful. My room has this big floor-to-ceiling window with a view of a little cobblestone street with crooked buildings and children running around. This building, the Cenci, is huge and old and gorgeous. It’s one of those buildings that seems bigger on the inside than on the outside, and it’s very easy to get lost.
Other than arrive, we haven’t really done much today. Most people have been awake for who knows how long, so other than a short walk we haven’t done much exploring. Just a few blocks from us I discovered a pit about the size of a city block, with ruins and cats. Lots and lots and lots of cats living in this pit, with an observation deck so that we can look at the lots and lots of cats. Very strange.


The roof!