I'm taking 4 classes while I'm abroad. Italian (of course), Medici Patronage of Art, 16th Century Art and Identity, and Italian and European Theatre. My professors are all really nice but unfortunately they all assign a lot of reading. Thank god I read quickly. Last year I took a political theory class and read Machiavelli's The Prince and Discourses. This week I read his History of Florence and Mandragola for various classes. I've now read most of the complete works of Machiavelli, like the Complete Works of Shakespeare but Machiavellian. I'm not sure why I thought reading the rest of Machiavelli in 1 week was a good idea. It must be some bizarre lingering effect of the jet-lag. My Italian class is just as insane. We have it 4 days a week and it meets for 2 hours at time. At the end of Italian I feel so dazed. The only thing that gets me through that class is my 10 minute hot chocolate break between the 1st and 2nd hour. Hot chocolate gets me through most issues in life.
On the bright side I've eaten a lot of really good food this week, which is a priority in life. Sandra, my home stay mother, served us the traditional Tuscan soup made with white beans, black cabbage, and garlic bread. It's amazing, especially in the cold weather. It makes you feel warm and full and happy. I also had my first porchetta of this trip. Porchetta is a slow roasted big that is heavily seasoned with herbs and spices. I had it in a sandwich. I was walking back from the bookstore and looking for a place to eat. I went into a cafe and was staring at the sandwich counter, when I saw the porchetta on top of the meat counter. I pointed at it and said "Porchetta?" the woman said yes, then I asked if it could be in a sandwich. She pointed at the breads and told me to choose which one I wanted, then she made me a porchetta sandwich. It was happiness in sandwich form and gave me the strength to get though all that Machiavelli. Sandra also gave us chicken liver for dinner bruschetta one night. She served it as a spread on toast. So far I haven't eaten anything that I've really disliked. I have my preferences and I liked somethings better than others but I will eat everything I've had a second time.
Back to lessons learned on site visits. Thursday morning my Medici Patronage class looked at sites around Florence. We discussed the relationship between architecture and power. What does a particular building say about the people who built it and why did they choose to build in that particular style? The lecture was really interesting but it was also freezing. The problem with standing out doors in 40 degree weather is that it doesn't feel cold at first. But as you stand still for long amounts of time in the shade (because in Florence very little sunlight reaches the streets) you slowly start to freeze. First your fingers go numb, then your toes, and finally your brain. By the end of class all I could think of was the school cafe and a cup of hot chocolate. The feeling did not return to my toes for another 4 hours. At least it wasn't raining. On Thursday night Glee premiered in Italy. They dub it all into Italian except for the songs. The beauty of watching the first season of Glee in Italian (besides the obvious fact that it's Glee) is that by watching it I'm "studying" Italian. Glee is also just as good in Italian as it was in English. I'm now obsessed with the same show in two languages. Perhaps this is something I should be worried about but I'm just not.
No comments:
Post a Comment