Ciao a tutti! As hard as it is to believe, it’s already been two weeks since we all came together here in Siena. I have never been to Italy before…or any country outside the US for that matter. Even better, I came here with no knowledge of Italian, so even the most mundane occurrences become an adventure in the blink of an eye. It was a huge culture shock arriving in airports in Europe and realizing that English was no longer the dominant language and that I was in a minority. No matter how many stories you hear from others, nothing can prepare you for the initial reaction to being in a place much unlike your own. It was kind of cool in retrospect to be mistaken for German at the Munich airport, except for the fact that I was rushing to make a connection and know absolutely no German, which at the time was somewhat overwhelming. It seems that everybody, even those who’ve had years of Italian, spent at least 20 minutes in Florence searching for the bus station to get to Siena, which, personally, was very satisfying when all you know is “Ciao” and “Grazie.”
I was extremely impressed with my first experiences in Siena. We all took cabs to our apartments or home stays, and the one thing that needs to be mentioned is that Siena is a medieval, pedestrian city, so cars drive on small, curved, stone streets filled with people walking in every direction. The phrase “foot traffic” comes to mind constantly when walking in Siena. Even a person with a good sense of direction can get lost in this city the first few days; I got lost on the second day just by taking a right fork that curved opposite the direction of the event I was going to. Oops. I also learned that I live at 13 Via del Poggio, the furthest apartment from the CET center, but I live next to the Duomo (dome in Italian) and Piazza Del Campo, two awesome landmarks that will be the coolest neighbors I will ever have in my life. The Pogg is a great place to live and is becoming the place where everyone goes, and will be a prime location for future students.
Siena is a great place to learn Italian because not many people here speak English, as you may find in the touristy cities like Rome and Florence. It was very intimidating seeing the upper level people being able to order a pizza in perfect Italian when I had to use the universal language of pointing to what I wanted, not even knowing how much some of the things cost! One of the first things I learned in Italian class was how to say I am an American (sono Americano), but considering my limited vocabulary and horrible pronunciation (and the fact that some people at grocery stores started speaking to me in English) I don’t really need that phrase. The classes themselves are interesting, because they are all taught in Italian, even for the entry level course (myself included). I thought it would be overwhelming, but the way it’s being presented is clear enough that we all can understand it. We’ve learned the basics so far, such as numbers, articles, greetings, days of the week, etc, some of which included songs about tables and dances created in the 80s. Thankfully, Rebecca Black’s "Friday" has not invaded Italy and was not required to learn the days of the week (which we were coincidentally learning on a Friday). The first couple of weeks, we have 4 hours of Italian, sometimes coupled with 2 hours of Art and Architecture. To some, this may seem much, but considering we live in medieval Italian city, I think we’ll bear it.
It hasn’t seemed like long, but we’ve begun to assimilate into the Italian culture. Since those of us living in the apartments either have to eat out or make our own food, we’ve taken on the communal tradition of potluck apartment dinners, where we each contribute something (such as vegetables, antipasti, pasta, meat, wine, etc) and cook at a different apartment each time, which both splits the cost of an huge meal and allows us to bond together as a group. At our second dinner, two girls brought a couple of bottles of Spumante (sparkling wine) that was on sale for 0.84 € as their contribution to our meal. From these inexpensive libations came a priceless experience as the corks unexpectedly blasted towards the ceilings of the apartment as we tried opening it. We have since learned the proper way to open sparkling wine (and to question wine costing less than 1 euro). So far, I’ve made green beans, bread pudding (with all the leftover bread from our other meals), and pasta with homemade sauce. Others have made roasted vegetables, chicken, gnocchi with pesto and vegetables, and cucumber and tomato salad. It really is fun to come together and make these meals, and it’s probably much cheaper than the restaurants. Also, since Italian meals seem to consist of mainly bread, cheese and pasta, we can make something slightly lighter for ourselves (if we so choose!). After dinner, we usually talk or play Scopa, an Italian card game that can be played by either 2 or 4 people, trying to get the most points by getting certain cards from a deck that is only sold in Italy.
Another way to eat at lower prices is Aperitivo, in which you purchase drinks and then have access to a variety of foods such as sandwiches, pasta and salads, with a larger selection on Fridays. The only thing better than the meals is Gelato Giovedi, when CET provides us with free gelato from Kopa Kabana, a hidden gem of Siena, every Giovedi (Thursday). Seriously, who doesn’t love free gelato, especially with a group like CET Siena Summer ’11? My goal for the next couple of weeks is to be able to translate flavors so that I can make the ultimate combo!
Since I’ve never been to Europe and may not come back anytime soon, I plan to do a lot of traveling on the weekends. Our first weekend, we all went to Arezzo, a small town about an hour and a half away from Siena, and visited their monthly Sunday market and took in some wonderful views from the park on the top of the city. This past weekend, we all went on a hike through the Tuscan hills from Serre to Asciano sponsored by the program. As a hobby photographer and having been to the Grand Tetons in America, I must say that pictures almost do not do justice to the views of the rolling hills and vast landscapes we visited.
The next day, a few others and me tried to go see the leaning tower in Pisa and the city of Lucca, and we had our very first traveling mishap. We were confused about the ticket for the train, and by the time we found out that nothing was wrong, we fought our way through a mob of screaming Italians in the underground passages of the station, but the doors of the train were closed and it left without us! I’ve missed subways like that before, but it’s a bummer to be able to touch the door of your train and not be able to go into it. But, instead of giving up, three of us headed to Firenze (Florence) and made the best of a rough situation. We got to see the David, Ponte Vecchio, and magnificent views of the city. I even got to haggle down some sunglasses from 10 to 7 euro (a skill that I hope to improve upon)! It was weird in Florence because it was filled with more tourists and was more English speaking. I actually missed everything being in Italian and not understanding anything; it sounded better. It wasn’t a huge disaster after all.
Even though we have less time here, the summer semester seems like it is the best time to come. Other than the freak downpours that can happen faster than you can say contemporaneamente, the weather is beautiful and perfect for travel and other leisurely activities. We have a wine tasting next week, a pasta making course sometime in July and of course, free Gelato Giovedi! And last but certain not least, we get to go to the Palio, a horserace of pride for the 17 contrade (districts) of Siena, devoted to the Virgin Mary. Out of all the ways to experience another culture, I couldn’t imagine a better program!
Alla prossima!
Jon Edelstein, Brandeis University
CET Siena Student Correspondent, Summer '11
