Le Grotte di Frasassi

Buongiorno tutti! Today is a lovely Sunday and I got to spend it with my host family! We left the apartment at about 8:30 am. To be honest I had no idea where we were going in terms of directions or the name of the place, so it was a cool little surprise.

We drove for a very long time (3 hours?), left Tuscany and entered Umbria, and then there were sunflowers.

A lot of sunflowers.

                                                      It was kind of ridiculous.

                                                      But beautiful nonetheless.

I actually fell asleep for a while because, honestly, I'm used to doing that on long car trips. From Dallas to OU, from Dallas to Galveston, from Dallas to San Antonio, my first reaction is, 'If I sleep, this will go a lot faster.' So yeah, I conked out for a while there.

However, we finally arrived at Le Grotte di Frasassi! It's a huge network of caves that we discovered on accident by some hikers in 1948. Technically we weren't allowed to take pictures, but I did manage to snap a few.

                                                              Welcome!

                                                On the bus up the mountain.

                                                       Tunnel to the caves.

                                                    Map of the cave system.

                                      That ceiling is actually about 200 meters away.

                                    The Giants, the largest of which is 20 meters tall.

After going through the caves, we rode back down the mountain and had some lunch.

                                                                Yum!

So after that we drove home (more sleeping! Yay!) and have proceeded to chill for the rest of the day. I have also been productive in terms of paper writing, so I'm going to count it as a win for all.

Interesting Stories of the Day:

• You know someone is a good mom when she lets her husband and child do this to her.

                                                             You just know.

• My host family reserved the English speaking tour so that I would be able to understand and because they've already had the tour before. Being a English tour, you'd assume that the majority would be from North America, Britain, or Australia. We were definitely overpowered by the Germans. So there was that.
• I got to Skype with my family before my siblings go off to summer camp for two weeks, so that was nice. More importantly, my mother finally has learned how to use Skype! Yay!

A dopo!

The San Polo Massacre

Ciao tutti! Today is the 14^th of July and though in Italy that is not a big deal, it is in Arezzo and the surrounding towns. Let me give you some background.

During World War II, Italy was very messed up. We had the Germans occupying Italy, fascism getting its time in the spotlight, and concentration camps popping up like daises. It was not a good time.

It especially was not a good time for Arezzo. They were occupied by the Germans and under heavy fire from the bombs of the Allied troops, who were trying to liberate the city.

It was July of 1944, and the German troops were being slowly forced to withdraw towards the north. Many Aretini had gone into the surrounding villages to wait out the bombs and the troops and thought themselves safe. They were very wrong.

The German troops had been ordered to show no mercy and disregard the Geneva Convention and normal rules of war to brutalize the civilian population. In the darkness of the morning, on July 14^th, the Germans went through the surrounding towns and forced civilians to march towards San Polo, killing any who resisted.

On the hill outside of San Polo, the soldiers separated the men from the women and children, taking the men down into the Villa Mancini, a house that was occupied by the Germans. They then proceeded to accuse the men of being partisans (Italian resistance fighters) and tortured them in an attempt to gain confessions from them.

                                                            Villa Mancini.

They were brutally beaten with rubber hoses and subjected to other forms of torture. In the end, the men were taken to a nearby field and forced to dig pit graves. They were put in three groups. One of the groups was lucky; they were shot in the head and then tossed in one of the three mass graves. The others were buried alive with explosives in their pockets, eventually dying from asphyxiation. They were then blown apart.

48 men were killed at the Villa Mancini and 17 people, some women and children, were killed on the march to San Polo. No one was allowed to bury the dead.

You can see why this is such an important event in the community. It is a tragedy that touched so many families, but it is not well known, even within the immediate community. It is just too painful for those affected by it to talk about.

But a man whose grandfather experienced this horror decided that he was going to tell the story again, getting it out to a larger audience. He directed a documentary movie about the event and we were lucky enough to see it. One of the OU students had actually been creating English subtitles for it during his internship, so we were able to comprehend the story and understand its meaning.

                                                Waiting for the movie to start.

                                                  A few words from the director.

After we watched the film, a group of us went up to the Villa Mancini, where they have a memorial service every year. There was an amazing trumpet player that performed a lovely piece and there were also soldiers and police there to honor the fallen. We then laid flowers on the monument that has been erected next to the field where the men were murdered and buried by the German soldiers.

                                                Walking to the memorial site.

                          The tombstone erected in honor of the victims of the massacre.

                                              The field where the men killed.

It was a very moving ceremony, even if it was pretty short. Afterwards, we shuttled back to Arezzo and I went home. At the very least, it was an exhausting day.

Interesting Stories of the Day:

• The only people who came into my internship today were Americans. My supervisor was very happy because it meant that she didn’t have to try and speak English to them. She says it makes her nervous. Honey, I know exactly how you feel.
• When I was going home, I stopped for gelato with Alex and Sean. Alex said something very true: “Gelato is the gateway drug to all Italian desserts.” Yes, Alex. Yes, it is.

A dopo!

A Tangent about Pigeons

Buongiorno tutti! I feel obligated to upload something, even though nothing’s really happened with in the last few days. So I’m going to do a tangential post about something that touches Italy, but is not really Italy.

Pigeons.

That’s right, you heard me correctly. Pigeons are a staple of Italian cultures, almost as important as margherita pizza and wine. (Maybe a little less.)

My first encounter with the winged vermin came in Rome, where they were chilling at the Piazza Navona. Though there have been attempts to destroy the pigeon breeding grounds by putting needles on all the places that they can land, pigeons are innovative creatures and not afraid of such puny attempts.

                                    The White Pigeon, much like the White Whale.

                                          They laugh at these mediocre efforts.

It wasn’t as bad in Florence, where the most we saw was at the Church of San Lorenzo (mainly because people felt the uncontrollable urge to drop their food on the ground. Jerks.).

But to truly appreciate the pigeon armies of Italy, you must go to Venice. Especially at San Marco’s Square, there was no escaping their presence. Most people just went along with it.

                                        Wedding photos with pigeons? No problem.

                                            Take pictures of ALL the pigeons!

One way to tell a true Italian child from tourist children is to see their reaction to pigeons. A tourist child will either shy away or making cooing sounds in the general direction of the closest pigeon. An Italian child will try to kick it or run over it with his or her toys. 

Tricky Italians. 

As I am not a true Italian (due to my dislike of nutella, wine, shopping, and shoes (as stated by an actual Italian)), pigeons don't inspire in me a strong desire to take them out. Though I know some people who definitely have some Italian ancestry (*cough* ELIZABETH *cough*).

                                    Also, no pigeons allowed on the restroom signs.

Interesting Stories of the Day(s):

• Saw a beautiful sunset from the park in Arezzo. Of course, I forgot my camera, but take my word for it, it was postcard worthy.
• Two nights ago, for dinner, I had a kebab of fish! There was salmon, and shrimp, and squid, and something else that was really good. Honestly, it was probably the best meal in Italy that I've had so far and my host mother made it. Seriously, Italian restaurants don't have anything on Italian mothers.
• Yesterday at my internship, there were three American couples who came into the museum, and every time I would say, "Buongiorno," they would say really timidly, "Umm, yeah, hi." I mean, yes people, I'm saying something in Italian, but it's only 'Hello'. Man up!

A dopo!

Another Day in Florence

Ciao tutti! I hope you all are having wonderful air-conditioned days, wherever you are. Today was a lovely day with a heat that burned immensely. It was good times.

But really it was very fun. I liked Florence a lot when I was there with JTI and it was just as cool this time, especially since I actually knew where we were going almost all the time.

The day started off at 7:30 am at the train station in Arezzo. My host mother made me some breakfast and sent me off with a nice sack lunch (tuna sandwich. Yum!) and we left on the 7:45 am train to Florence.

                                                Train stations are always busy.

                                                         It's like the lottery!

Arriving at the train station, we immediately made our way towards the Palazzo Rucellai, where we met up with a professor there who went to grad school with Professor Houston. He was pretty awesome and specialized in Renaissance history, so he had a lot to say about the political situation during the time.

                                                         It's a school now!

                              I don't know what's happening, but they're definitely Greek.

                That facade should look very familiar to everyone. There will be a test later.

After looking around the Palazzo, we all headed to Santa Croce, though we stopped by some familiar sights on the way there. It didn't even matter, because it was just as awesome the second time as it was the first. So we saw all this coolness.

                                                            The Duomo!

                                                       Municipal Building!

                                                     Chiesa di Santa Croce!

Following Santa Croce, we walked to San Lorenzo so that we could eat lunch and walk around the leather market. So we went inside the indoor market and ate, then walked into the chaos of the leather market outside. Some people spent all their money and literally had nothing left. Those who know me know that that did not happen to me.

After spending an hour and a half at the leather market, we met to go over to the Academia, where Michelangelo's David is located. Once more, I was not able to take pictures, but it is just as impressive the second time as it is the first.

Then we all walked out and down the street, getting gelato at the place run by Sicilians. It was really good and their fruit and nut gelato were the best.

So those of us who were not staying the night walked over to the train station, hopped on the train, and headed home. I've had some chicken, green beans, and bread for dinner, and I'm probably just going to chill tonight. Florence was exhausting.

Interesting Stories of the Day:

• So one of the girls realized when we got to Santa Croce that her purse was missing from her bag. Which has all of her money and credit card. So there was this mess with trying to cancel the card and stuff. Then we found out that the purse was found by the police on the train, so that was good. It's still up in the air if all her stuff is in it, but at least it didn't get far.
• At the Palazzo Rucellai, there was a summer performing arts program going on with students from Santa Barbara in California. So we were treated to the lovely sounds of classical music as we toured the building.

                                                 They were very talented.

• Also, there was the guy at the leather market that I bought something from and we got to talking. He asked what I was doing it Italy, and I told him I was studying Italian. He said that I should get Rosetta Stone because it's a very good program. I told him that if I was going to get Rosetta Stone, I'd probably get it for Arabic and then he said, "Oh, you're also studying Arabic? Ahlan."And I just freaked out! He then pulls his computer out of nowhere and pulls up all the languages he has on Rosetta Stone. He had 27! It was ridiculous. His name was Matteo and he is now my new best friend.

A dopo!

Fourth of July!

Buongiorno a tutti! Today is that most auspicious day, the day of American Independence! And let me tell you, Americans in Italy represent!

While there were not flags of the red, white, and blue found adorning the streets, nor was there a parade in which candy was thrown to small children and adults with an inner child, the University of Oklahoma students made a strong effort to bring that American spirit to all their Italian friends.

While we did our normal stuff during the day, such as class and some more class, the real party was in the evening.

At 5:00 pm, we all shuttled over to this villa that we borrowed for the night from one of Lucio's friends (I think). And of course, in true Tuscan style, it was absolutely gorgeous.

                                                               La villa.

                                                       Terrace della villa.

                                          Random garden at the back of la villa.

                                                      It's kind of artsy, right?

So we all got to the villa, where there was a pool! Of course I forgot my swimsuit at my host home, But I just put my legs in the water instead. It was equally refreshing.

                                                             La Piscina!

                                                 That means pool. In Italian.

So after we pool partied for a while, we all got to go grab some burgers and hot dogs. They were actually pretty good, but I think the cooks were surprised at how fast we ate and came back for seconds. In Italy, people eat slowly and talk a lot. In America, people eat faster and talk less while actually eating. So we finished up our first serving and came back for more, but they weren't ready for us! And the fries disappeared as soon as they hit the table.

                                                         Eat ALL the Food!

                                      We're just chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool.

But after that, people just chilled and talked to each other. It was not very stressful, which was a nice change of pace.

Then we had fireworks! It was kind of funny because they only had them in the colors of red, white, and green, so there was a severe lack of blue fireworks. Oh well.

Following the firework show, a lot of us went inside to do Karaoke. It was pretty awesome, and though some of the people were not the best singers, I will give them an A+ for effort!

                                                        So...this is blurry...

                                                   Audience participation is key!

Eventually we all started to shuttle back towards the center of the city so that we could go our separate ways (or go out drinking. That wasn't me.). I got in at about 11:30 pm, took a shower, and then fell into bed. 4th of July in Italy has definitely been a party!

Interesting Stories of the Day:

• At the villa, there was this bird cage and it had all these tiny birds in it! They were parakeets or something, I don't know, but I liked them!

                                                                   Birdie!

• Also, three of us got up and sang Eye of the Tiger as our karaoke song. Whenever a new person came into the room, they burst out laughing. It was very gratifying.

A dopo!

Arezzo, Week 4, Day 2

Buongiorno tutti! I felt like giving you an update, mainly because I can. Plus, I've moved into my homestay and have pictures and I started my internship today!

I seem to have gotten a schedule going so this is how my day goes in general. My room faces out towards the east, so I wake up at about 5:00 am every morning by accident. After that, I stay in bed and pretend like I'm still asleep. So far, it's worked pretty well. I'm out of bed by 8:30 am and my host mother makes me some toast.

We went to the Ipercoop (small Italian Walmart) and got a lot of groceries. She kept asking me what I wanted, but I honestly don't want anything in particular so I kept saying that I didn't need anything. Though I did explain the night before what guacamole was, and then when we went to the store, she searched it out in the sauce section. So I have guacamole. Which is pretty legit.

Oh, and this is my room in our apartment.

                                                   Over there's the kitchen...

                                               And here we have the TV and fan...

                                                    Here is my lovely futon...

                                                 Yes, I have my own terrace!

                                      And here's the view from my awesome terrace.

So my host family is super cool. There's Tiziana, the mom, Roberto, the dad, and Giulia, their 20-year old daughter. They also have a son who's married to a German girl. I'm not quite sure where he lives actually. I seem to be getting conflicting accounts.

But yeah, Tiziana is really nice and keeps trying to do things for me. And she always tells me not to worry. Roberto is pretty cool and, according to Giulia, is extremely smart. He speaks French! And then,  there's Giulia, who is basically super awesome and speaks English really well, which comes in handy when the language barrier gets to be a little bit too much. I'll put up pictures of them later. They are very Italian.

Anyway, today I had my first exam for Italian class and I think it went okay. It's kind of weird to take a test in a foreign classroom so that threw me off a bit. But after that I got to head over to my internship!

I'm working at the Museo dei mezzi di communicazione and it's extremely underrated. Nobody goes there, but there's so much cool stuff! There's pre-cinema stuff and pre-computer stuff and it's basically the evolution of our modern technology. Which you have to admit, is super cool!

                                            The front desk, where I will party often.

                                                   Hallway of the Museum.

                                     I don't know what this is, but it looks really cool.

                                                             More cool stuff!

I'll be translating the information at the bottom of the cases into English in the hopes that eventually they'll be able to print a small booklet that people can take with them when they leave. We saw a lot of them in other museums so I think it's a good move. So I went over the English translations that were already done today and finished them up, so next time I start translating from the ground up. I think it's going to be a challenge, but I never back down from a challenge!...unless it bores me. Then all bets are off. But this doesn't bore me. Yay!!

Interesting Stories of the Day:

• My internship supervisor shut up the museum for 5 minutes to go get some coffee. That's something that would never happen in America, so it's an interesting juxtaposition between the two business cultures.
• Also, I have had conversations with my host mother concerning health problems, the political situation in both America and Italy, and the differences between American and Italian job culture. She likes to chat. A lot. So my comprehension is going to be super good when I go back home.
• I also went to hang out with some Ciao people last night at this bar. Though I didn't have anything to drink, it was still really fun. On a side note though, my host family has made it their mission to find me an alcoholic beverage that I will actually like. That's going to be fun.

A dopo!