Holy crapoli! (that’s Italian..) I have a lot to tell! I will not be doing the last few days justice in this blog, because I have procrastinated too long and forgotten too much.
I have dropped the ball the on the most important part of these blogs.. I don’t remember all the meals! I’ll do what I can. Actually, I don’t even know what day I left off on… I remember that on Friday the meal was fish, because it’s lent. The first course was like a small inner tube (it was shaped that way..it wasn’t coated in rubber) of rice with squid bits in it. I don’t know how they got the squid so tender, but it was very impressive and delicious. In the center of the inner tube was homemade pesto…mmmm, it’s all starting to come back to me now.. The main course was salmon on a bed of cabbage and lettuce, I think. At that meal we had the delicious red, sparkling, sweet wine again! Only I think I got the name wrong last time… I think it’sBrachette…or something. We had it because we were celebrating one of the girls getting a very important job as a lawyer for the Bank of Italy.
I also remember that at one of the lunches, someone had brought a bottle of Peroni (Italian beer…it’s mom’s fav), so I had a small bit of that. I told them that we have Peroni in the States, and they just responded with- it’s not the best. So perhaps I will need to try more Italian birre.
On Friday, I sat on the roof for a couple hours, reading and writing out the places on the calendar that I printed out of where Jenn will be in the month of April in order to decide which of her adventures I can meet up with her for. I am definitely going at least to Paris, because I already bought the tickets! I just love the roof terrace; it’s quite relaxing. A seagull sat down next to me. Seagulls are very talkative…
On Saturday, I met up with Natalia (a PHD student from Rolla who has been in Naples for the past month, but we hadn’t been able to meet up before Saturday. I helped her with a couple of her projects last summer in Rolla, so we already knew each other.). We met up at the metro station by the Villalta, and walked miles and miles and miles and my legs fell off once or twice, but I’m feeling much better today. I am kind of sore, though!
First thing, we stopped at one of the many cute, little sweets shops, and I got some sort of cookie shell filled with nutella. She had some kind of cream pastery that had a day of celebration in its honor recently… I dunno. But then we walked all along Via Mille (the long street by where I live that has all the great shopping), to Piazza Plebiscito, then to the shore where I walk to and from my Italian course. It started to rain for a little bit, so I suggested we go into the Castel delle’Ovo to keep dry, so we did! However, everywhere you can walk for free in the castle is not covered…so we were still rained on. Worth it. The castle had a fantastic view (pics are on facebook).
After going in the castle, we walked back to the Villalta so I could show her where I live. She was very impressed with the place, and said that it is the cleanest place that she has seen in Italy yet! She loved the roof…we sat up there for awhile.
After visiting the Villalta, we took a metro that goes straight up the mountain to Volermo(?). We walked around for awhile on a quest for food (my favorite kind of quest) and we ended up eating in a pretty cool pizzeria. She ordered the Margherita pizza, which came out in like 2 minutes because they mass produces those, and bruscetta (which was verrry good…not too hard to eat like it normally is). I was feeling adventurous, and I decided to branch out and order one of the other 50 kinds of pizza. I didn’t understand the menu very well, but I chose a pizza with one of the few descriptions I understood- fiordi latte, ricotta, (something I didn’t know), and tomatoes. The pizza was called Pizza Fritto, so I should have figured- it turned out to be a giant pizza, folded over and stuffed with all that stuff (mozzarella, ricotta, tomatoes, and turkey), and it was deep fried. It looked like a Monte Carlo from Benigans..but bigger! It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was still really good.
After pizza, we continued to walk around, and we ended up walking toward another castle- Castel Sant’Elmo. On our way, a man heard us say “castle” and said “Yes! Yes! Castle! This way!” and he started walking with us, which seemed pretty strange, so I asked him if he was going to see the castle too. He said no, he’s going to his factory, right by the castle. He spoke English very well, and he said it was because he visited his brother in New Jersey for 3 weeks. But I figured out that he had to speak English well, anyway, because his “factory” is a tourist shop that sells cameos- the really beautiful, famous Italian broaches or necklaces, carved out of shells, with the profile of women’s faces. He said that his family had been doing that for generations. When we got up towards the castle, we stopped in his shop and his brother was carving one. It was incredible. (Also, when we met the man, he told me that I look Italian!! A very different opinion from one of the girls that I live with who told me I look like an angel because of my blonde hair and blue eyes… I have neither, but apparently I am fair compared to them. I had not noticed. Just wait til I get my tan on! It’ll probably be getting my burn on, though..I don’t tan as well as I did in my years of youth.)
The castle was amazing because of its size (I don’t understand how they built those things without cranes, etc…), but the view from the front of it was even more amazing. Naples is so chaotic and strange and constructed so differently from anything in the U.S. would ever be; I’m amazed every time I look at it. Also, on the way back down the mountain, we saw the first supermarket that we’ve ever seen in Europe! (I’ve told the girls I live with about Walmart- they are quite astounded that you can buy groceries, clothes, make-up, go to the eye doctor, stop by the bakery, pick up your medicine, get your hair cut, buy books and movies, and get new tires or your oil changed all in the same building.)
When we got back down to Piazza Amedeo, we got coffees at an Italian café (my first time doing this), and it was quite confusing. How you do it is, you go to the lady sitting at the register, and tell her you want a coffee. She prints out a receipt for you, you pay, then she prints out another receipt saying that you’ve paid. Next, you take that receipt to the man at the counter, and when you get your coffee, you stand there at the counter and drink it, with the man staring right at you. The cup was scalding hot, but I drank anyway because I felt very pressured by all the staring.
After our coffees, we again walked all the way down Via Mille, past all the shops, to the shore, past the Castel delle’Ovo (this is when my legs started to fall off), and back to the Villalta. After that, we parted ways, and she came back to the U.S. yesterday (Monday).
During all this walking, Natalia told me all about her research and about when she came last summer. She told me she’s never coming back to Naples, haha. She did not have a good time at all on this visit- she had a lot to accomplish with her research, and the Italian work ethic and language barriers really frustrated her. She also didn’t get as lucky as I did with where she was staying- she was in an apartment about an hour from campus with a guy who she hinted at being strange and unsocial. I think she had a little more fun when she came to Naples last summer with some undergrads from Rolla, but she didn’t let on that she did. They travelled every weekend when they came in the summer, and she warned me not to do that, because eventually you get exhausted, and you don’t enjoy the trips as much when they’re rushed. (Poor Jenn…) She did give me some good places to go see, though. She said to climb Mt. Vesuvius and look in the volcanic hole, which I definitely plan on doing. Also, she said to take another day to go to Pompeii to look at the ruins, go to the island of Iska and visit the Baths of Poseidon, and to take a water taxi to Solerno, because that was her favorite place in Italy.
She also told me about how she fractured her tailbone falling down the marble steps in her building when she was here last summer, and about her experience with an Italian hospital following the fall. I will avoid the hospital as best as I can. I feel so fortunate that nothing that horrible has every happened to me, and I pray that it doesn’t.
That night, I skyped with my parents and they looked up Italian hand gestures online, and did them in synchronization as I watched..it was a special time for me. So if any of you want to learn the hand gestures, they can be found on Youtube.
Later that night, I went out with Begonia (the Spanish girl) to one of those bars (I think I mentioned them?) with free all-you-can-eat appetizers if you buy a drink (I had some Italian wine). We also met up with two girls from Greece that are in Begonia’s Italian class. It was a cool night- we talked about a lot of differences between Greece and Italy and the U.S. They were all amazed that I considered the 4-hour drive from Morton to Rolla aspretty short. They said that it would take 10 hours total to drive from one end of Greece to the other.
I left pretty early that night because I was dead tired from the marathon I walked that day, and so I headed back before the rest. So, I’ve officially walked alone at night through downtown Naples. It wasn’t the most comfortable feeling… (I’m exaggerating this scenario…it was only 10:00pm and I was walking through the area with all the shops, which were still open by the way, and there were tons of people around- otherwise I would not have gone back alone. I also didn’t have a purse on me, and only 3 euros in my pocket…so I was pretty safe. I hear that pretty much all of the crime in Naples in theft- they don’t bother you, they just take all your money; so I was good to go). All the same, I still found a group of high school girls to follow close behind, trying to make it look like I was one of them- just the one that no one likes so she has to walk in the back of the group with no one talking to her. I probably freaked them out... but I got home safely!! They only turned around and stared at me a couple of times. I often use this techniquewhen crossing the street… I feel much braver jumping out into the road in front of cars, buses, and mopeds that are driving way over whatever speed is safe for the situation when I am attached to a person or group who is used to that sort of thing.
I was glad I left early that night, because the time finally changed here! (We’re back to 7 hours apart.. bah!) Even with the spring-forward, I still was able to get 10 hours of sleep! That’s been a pretty steady occurrence… is 10 hours every night just as unhealthy as 4?
So pretty much that whole day was spent fighting with the computer. I was trying to figure out how this trip to Paris is going to work. It’s hard enough navigating through tons of sites, that are always changing, trying to find the cheapest plane ticket (with different airports, different agencies, different times, different days..it’s all too much). But on top of that… everything was in Italian! I kept having to translate things, and sometimes things wouldn’t work because I had translated them. The ticket from Paris to Naples that I ended up buying, I couldn’t purchase because my card was an American card! (I used the Villalta’s and paid them in cash). It was a mess and I was in a very bad mood by the end of it.
I had told Begonia that I would come with her to eat the dinner she was making that night (she was going to make a Spanish meal), and I was so frustrated that I considered telling her that I couldn’t come anymore. However, she came rushing into the computer room as I was in the middle of all this hubbub and told me that it was time for dinner! She was all in a hurry and that caught me off guard, and I didn’t want to be in front of that slow, Italian-speaking computer one minute longer, so I just stood up and followed her out the door. Once we got outside, I realized that Begonia wasn’t cooking the meal anymore, but that we were going somewhere for “happy hour” instead. (I forgot to mention that when I bought the ticket from Rome to Paris for this weekend- that it was a 26.99 Euro ticket, but $95.04 ended up being charged to my debit card because of all of the hidden fees and wretched exchange rate…. Ryanair is a joke! It’s not as cheap as it says it is! Don’t fall into the trap!) So anyway, not only was I feeling defeated, but also very cheap, because I didn’t want to waste any more money. When I found out that we were going up the mountain, I wanted to go even less because I had just been there the afternoon before, and I didn’t want to have to pay for another 2 metro tickets (they’re only 1.10 euros apiece…that’s how cheap I was being), and I asked Emanuela- she was coming along as well- if it would be rude if I headed back because I was tired and didn’t want to spend any money. She said no, no, you must come! It’s not expensive! And before I could argue back, we were up at the metro station, and a car pulled up to us… I realized that I was going out with Emanuela, her boyfriend, Begonia, and her boyfriend. So now that I was a 5th wheel on top of everything else, I really didn’t want to be going out. I wish I could say that when I remembered my promise to always go out with one of the girls if invited, that I decided to have a good attitude about the excursion, but that was not the case. I just wanted to go back, climb in bed, and tally up: Day-1, Hope-0. But I got in the car because it would have been too embarrassing to run home at this point, and I decided to at least be happy that I didn’t have to pay the 2.20 euros for the metro.
Every time I get in a car in Naples, I’m astounded at how boldly they drive- they have to drive this way, there’s no other option. I told them that you could not pay me to drive on those roads, and they thought that was funny. Then we started talking about how roads are bigger in America, and cars are bigger in America (I told them that I have a small car for America, and I pointed out a car that was about the same size as my Focus, and they told me that that’s a big car in Italy!), and eventually came to the conclusion that everything’s bigger in America (it’s certainly true for elevators. I mean really..how is it okay to cram 6 people into a 4’x4’ space… what if the elevator got stuck??).
So anyway, it turned out that I had a ton of fun that night. The group was very diverse (Begonia and her bf are from Spain, Emauela and her bf are from Italy. Oh, and I’m from America.), so we had plenty of interesting topics. Also, Begonia is studying to be an architect, and Emanuela is studying to be an Architectural engineer- so we also had similarities to talk about! The place that we went was crazy cool (it was like a jungle when you walk in- plants and fire everywhere, and weird wooden tables and chairs, and this was a free appetizer place like the place we had gone the night before, but the appetizers were way better!- baked pasta, spaghetti, polenta, peperolis (Monical’s), breads, rice, etc.).
We got into politics, which wasinteresting- even from someone who doesn’t like politics- they think it’s great that both Republicans and Democrats are patriots, where as there are way more present political parties in Italy and Spain, and not all of them like their countries. It turns out that foreigners like Obama (except for his stance on abortion), but they didn’t really like Bush- they said that Obama seems more friendly to foreign countries than Bush did- they said Bush seemed a little harsh at times. Emanuela and I talked about revit and autocad! (those are the programs we use in school…apparently they are international). We discussed average starting salaries… the average starting salary for an Architectural engineer in Italy is only like 10 or 15 thousand! (Ave. from M&T is around 50 I think..). And we also talked quite some time about Harry Potter!! A choice topic. We’re going to watch the 7th movie in English and then in Italian sometime. They tried to say “Harry Potter” in an American accent, and it was really embarrassing hearing what they think I sound like… Then we got into the different accents in Italy, so I gave them my flawless northern accent, and mimicked Dan’s natural Texan one (Bobble=Bible..).
The next day was very busy. I had my first Foundations lesson (this is the one tat is one-on-one with the Professor, so I have to pay attention), and it was actually quite interesting. We just reviewed what I learned in Soils...but it was comforting to realize that some of the stuff actually stuck. Right after that, I had my first meeting with my Advanced Metallic Structures class (there are actually 5 of us! 2 from Turkey, 2 Italians, e io), but we only discussed what times we will be able to meet- the course doesn’t start until April 12th. After that, I grabbed lunch really fast from a café (a pizza- the entire crust was stuffed with ricotta, and it had marinara and a slice of mozzarella on top, and a packet of the greated cookies I’ve ever had- nuttella inside shortbread cookies) and ate it on my trek to the other campus for my Italian class. I discovered that Naples is not so beautiful when it’s cold and raining and you have a heavy back pack on and you’re walking for an hour from one class to another, dodging the myriad of cars (this number mulitplies in Naples when it rains because everyone else got the memo that it’s not so great walking through Naples in the rain). Also, the rain brings out some special smells…
I learn even less at each consecutive Italian class. It’s pretty terrible sitting in a classroom for 2.5 hours, having absolutely no idea what’s going on.
On the way back from class, I was thinking about the night before when someone asked me what American food is, and I had no idea- I answered that it’s seriously just food from every other country- Chinese, Mexican, Italian, etc. But on the walk back from my Italian class, I finally decided on one meal that is truly American- meat loaf and mashed potatoes. No joke, guess what was served for dinner that night? I guess it’s not all-American after all. Begonia helped me decide that we can claim barbeque… she had American barbeque when she went to Florida once, and said that it was amazing.
I’m getting tired and lazy- only a few more things…
I had a dream last night about going to Paris with Jenn and friends. We had a fantastic time. We hung out at the hotel and played with a dog that we got from the front desk when we checked in- it had puppies and we played with those… it was great!When it was time to leave, we realized that we didn’t see anything in Paris! We never went downtown! No Eiffel tower! NoLourve! No crepes! So…I have been spurred to research what to do in Paris so I will be ready for the trip. If any of you have must-see’s, let me know.
Noteable foods: The other night, we had a cake stuffed with ice cream, drizzled with strawberry sauce. Today for snack was the greatest cake everrrr and I had more than my fair share (I don’t know what kind it was, but I recognized the powdered sugar on top!)…I’m not sure how much of my love for the cake was the cake itself, or the fact that I have welcomed food back into my life as an idol, and I adore whatever I eat. And I eat so much! I’ll probably need to take a day to fast to remind myself that food isn’t as important as I’ve been making it. I went out today, after all that cake, solely to buy a bag of chips… I grabbed a bag with a red bell pepper on front, thinking that it would be something new and interesting. They were barbeque chips… I can actually remember what I had for dinner 2 hours ago, so I will go ahead and share that as well: first course- those pasta grits I talked about before; second course- an array of things..sausages, meat kabobs (with sliced smoked ham and turkey and some things I didn’t recognize, with 3 diff kinds of cheese separating thing on the kabob, and served on a bed of lettuce and tomatoes, with some ricotta cheese on the plate, with everything sprinkled in parsley), and a dish of what I think was shredded broccoli and spinach, mashed together. For desert- I stuck with a safe mandarin orange.
Last thing- I went to my university to get my research project today (mind you, I made the exact same visit last week, and came out of the meeting with no project), and I came out of the meeting with no project… The Professor told me that he did not know that I was expecting to do a research project, so he didn’t prepare one, and doesn’t really know what there is for me to do (when I got back, I went through our emails that we sent before I arrived, and I have no idea how he didn’t think that I was planning on doing a research project…). But anyway, we pretty much decided that I will be doing some Lit review, some independent study, and I will probably watch most of the tests being performed in the lab, and will help when it is needed, which sounds good to me.
He gave me a tour of the structural lab, and said that it is the best structural engineering lab in the country (which, nothing against the lab, but Rolla’s is way nicer, and it isn’t the best in the country..). I was talking with Enza about this, and she said that Italian schools don’t get very much money, so they aren’t very nice (the whole engineering campus at Federico II is pretty icky…). I asked her how much tuition costs, and it was very interesting- the price of tuition is based off of your family’s income….
Okay, that’s all I have for right now. Will write again soon. I won’t be procrastinating like this again, hopefully.
BYE!
P.S.- The things I miss from US today- Fast, spacious elevators. Fast internet. Computers with servers that don’t function in Italian. Having a car. Not needing to watch the ground I’m walking on because there is broken glass and dog poop everywhere (with cloth shoes..I can’t decide which is worse). Not needing to be afraid for my life when I cross the street because the U.S. has speed limits and stop lights, and people usually respect those laws. Having a 25 cent soda machine in the basment of the CCH right next door.
P.P.S.- Dan, my roommate has a TSwift ringtone…I’ll introduce you two when you come.
