Tuesday, February 21, 2012

An Air of Spring

The best carbonara in Rome, restaurant: Roscioli


When I saw my host mother this afternoon she told me I had an air of spring. Today was an absolutely beautiful, sunny, cool day in Rome and I was soaking it in. Even as I walked alone through the streets I couldn’t stop smiling. I had a great day at work with fantastic students that always put me in a good mood...not that I was in a bad mood, but they put me in an even better mood. Each time I leave work on Tuesdays, it reminds me of how teaching should be in the sense that the students make me feel good. I’m currently teaching a unit on The American Civil Rights Movement to one of my Tuesday classes and in the other classes I’m teaching different cultural topics. After work I decided to take myself to lunch to Roscioli (my favorite restaurant in terms of food), for the absolute best carbonara in all of Rome. Afterwards I walked through centro a little bit and strolled through Piazza Campo dei Fiori, all the while staying on the sunny side of the marciapiede (sidewalk).

Cultural Note: 1. The grades that students receive in high school have no effect on what university they will go to. When you are finished with high school you apply for the university you want to attend, and you will most likely get in. Some universities have their own admissions exams which the student must pass to be accepted; these are generally the better schools, but it’s not like the American admissions process where the university looks at everything from grades, to standardized test scores, to extracurricular activities, to teacher recommendations, etc. 

Highlights of My Week: 1. Last week I went to one of my colleague’s house for lunch and lesson planning. She made a delicious risotto alla milanese, arugula salad with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, and homemade bread. After chatting over lunch for two hours mainly educating each other on Italian and American school systems, we didn’t really feel like lesson planning. But we were able to squeeze out a game plan for the next three lessons.  
                                         2. I found out that the Italian Ministry of Education recently received from the United Nations the 11 candidates for the 2012-2013 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant grant. They are now in the process of narrowing it down to 5 winners. When I found this out it was surreal to think that a year ago from now it was my application that was in the hands of someone from the Italian Ministry.

Impara con me! 1. hai voluto la bicicletta e ora pedala- you wanted it, so handle it (literal translation: you wanted the bike, now peddle)
                           2.  stelle filanti- silly string           

Monday, February 20, 2012

A Venezia per Carnevale



castagnole and frappe- traditional Carnevale sweets





                                                   

spaghetti alle vongole

Sipping on my Bellini

When I was teaching my middle school students last year about Carnevale in Venice, I was thinking how much I would love to experience it. This past weekend Katerina and I celebrated the final weekend of Carnevale in Venice. When we arrived Friday night, we had quite the runaround trying to find a different hotel. The hotel we were supposed to stay at was an absolute dive, and there was no way we could rough it there for two nights. Giannis worked his magic and was able to locate a different hotel nearby that had availability and was even half the price. He had the front desk hold the last available room for us until we arrived. Although the hotel was nearby, Katerina and I got lost trying to navigate through the innumerable bridges and calle (Venetian for vie). By the time we got to the new hotel, the entire event took three hours. Afterwards we relaxed over a nice dinner of seafood risotto and ended with the best dessert I’ve had yet: torta alla mandorla (almond cake).  On Saturday we were on a mission for a pretty mask, which we found early in the day so that we could walk around Venice wearing them. It was such an experience to walk among those who were in elaborate costumes and dressed up from head to toe. The amount of people was insane and I definitely do not recommend spending the last weekend of Carnevale in Venice to anyone who has claustrophobia. For dinner that night I had the best spaghetti alle vongole I’ve ever tasted in my life and at night we went to Harry’s Bar. There were so many people out celebrating (including a fair share of obnoxious, loud American college students) and the music in St. Mark’s Square went up until about midnight. 

Cultural Notes: 1. The Bellini cocktail (prosecco with peach purée) was invented in Venice by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s bar.
                          2. A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale: Anything goes during Carnevale. This saying capitalizes on how you can pull any prank or play any joke during Carnevale because you are unrecognizable behind a mask. 
                           
Highlights of My Weekend: 1. Finding out on Thursday night that I was admitted into Columbia University for the fall 2012 semester. It was a great kickoff to the weekend. I will be working towards a Masters in Applied Linguistics. 
                                               2. Getting to wear a mask all day. That was probably the only time when I could wear a mask from morning to night and order spaghetti alle vongole in a restaurant while being taken completely seriously.
                                              3. People taking pictures of Katerina and I in our masks even though we weren’t in full costumes.
                                              4. A gondoliere shouting out buon giorno principesse from a canal below as we crossed over the bridge. It was like a scene from a movie.
                                              5. Although we weren’t expecting to get away cheap sipping on Bellinis at the infamous Harry’s bar, it was a bit of a shock when we received the bill of €77 for four drinks. It’s a highlight not because we enjoyed dropping €40 a piece, but because we got a good laugh out of it when we received the bill.

Impara con me! 1. riga- part (in hair)
                            2. colpi di sole- highlights (for hair) 

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Interrogazione




The other day I observed my first interrogazione. Throughout the school year in Italy students are assessed in two different ways: 1. compito in classe are written responses to teacher-posed questions (short compositions in class). 2. interrogazione is an oral test in which the students are asked questions by the teacher and respond in front of the class. Teachers will announce when there will be an interrogazione, but they will not tell the class which students will be interrogated. Interrogazione lasts one class period (50 minutes) and the chosen students are interrogated for about 15 minutes. In the class that I observed, the students were tested on a specific reading passage and certain grammar points and vocabulary. The teacher asked questions about specific events of the reading passage, what happened, why it happened, etc. He also said sentences in Italian that the students had to translate into English. In one of the upper level classes the students were interrogated on different themes, symbols, and quotes of Shakespeare’s most famous works. The students are then graded on a scale from 1-10, left to the discretion of the teacher. There is no rubric.
            It was interesting for me to observe this type of assessment because it is so different from America. As one student was being interrogated you could see the others shuffling through their textbooks and notebooks to get in extra study time in the case that they would be called on next.

Cultural Notes: 1. In my upper level classes we did a lesson on Obama’s health reform and compared the American and Italian health care systems. It was interesting for me to discover that in Italy you don’t pay a single penny for health care and if you get a referral from a doctor, you don’t pay a single penny for medication either. Without a doctor’s note you pay a little for the medication, but not too much. If you feel very sick the doctor will come to your house…no charge…it’s completely standard. I thought that doctor house calls were obsolete. According to World Health Organization, Italy’s health care system in ranked 2nd best in effectiveness. America ranks 37th. (FYI: France is number one)
                        2. The garbage men come at night. In my neighborhood, they come at around 11:30. For some reason it’s soothing to me to listen to the trucks and the transfer of the garbage…I know, it’s weird…don’t ask. Also note worthy, many of the garbage workers are women.
                       3. At the grocery store there is no employee at the other end that helps you bag your items. Italy lacks the notion of customer service across all sectors. In America customer service is highly valued from everything to the largest restaurant chain to the smallest boutique. This is not the case at all in Italy. There is, however, one wine bar/restaurant that I continue to go to because they have the best customer service in Rome. And it’s authentic customer service, not cheesy touristy customer service. So let me take the moment to promote this place: Etablì on Vicolo delle Vacche (near Piazza Navona).

Highlights of My Week: 1. Since I arrived in Rome I have been disappointed with the sweets. Nothing seemed exceptional to me. The other day on my way home from tutoring my eye caught hold of a little sign that read castagnole ripiene alla ricotta (castagnole stuffed with ricotta). Le castagnole are similar to mutchkins from Dunkin Donuts…if I had to make some sort of comparison. My host mother loves all sweets made with ricotta, so I stopped in to pick up a tray for her. To reintroduce the topic of customer service, I was taken back when the worker offered me one to try. It was absolutely delicious and when he saw how much I liked it he offered me a taste of their homemade gelato. I was expecting a little teaspoon taste, but he gave me an entire full cup…now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Now I go there all the time both for the amazing sweets and the customer service.  
                                 2. My books arrived!!! I will be conducting an after school book club with a few of my upper level students on Friday afternoons. My cooperating teacher and I were so excited when we received the delivery: sixteen copies of The Hunger Games. Our first meeting will be on Friday Feb.24th. I’m so excited to carry out this project with them; they are such great kids.
                                3. Last weekend my fellow Fulbrighter friend, Natalie, and I went to Etablì for dinner. Our dinner lasted from 8pm-12 because we were having such a great time talking and laughing over delicious food and wine. Natalie’s adamancy of liking grappa was hysterical to watch…she couldn’t refrain from a cringe of disgust after each sip. Afterwards one of the other Fulbrighters in Rome was having a little Fulbright gathering at her apartment. It was nice to see some of the research scholars that I haven’t seen since the initial orientation. 

Impara con me!  1. stampare fronte e retro- to print back-to-back
                             2. sono arrivato/a al pelo- I arrived by the skin of my teeth
                             3. spalare- to shovel
                             4. treccia- braid              

Monday, February 6, 2012

Happy Birthday to Me...Part 3


So excited to see each other 

A bottle of Chianti 

My morning view while I brushed my teeth 

The Duomo, Florence 

I waited for my boyfriend’s sister, Katerina, in a piazza in Florence and when we saw each other we were hugging, jumping, and laughing all at the same time. We walked around the city for a bit, I was hit with nostalgia from when I studied there, and then we celebrated my birthday at a wine bar. The weekend was filled with giggles, shopping, eating, and seeking refuge from the wicked cold weather.

Highlights of My Weekend: 1. Over the weekend I stayed at the apartment of my sister’s friend’s friend. She lives in the Palazzo of the Antinori family…yes, THE Antinori family whose wine making company traces back to 1385. I literally felt like a princess sleeping in the bed. Everything from the color of the walls, to the decor, to the sheets, to the comforter, to the church bells waking me up the next morning...I felt like I was in a fairy tale. 
                                               2. Katerina and I bought our tickets to go to Venice in two weeks. We will be celebrating Carnevale in Venice!!! 

Happy Birthday to Me...Part 2



My gift of light snow quickly changed to heavy snow in a matter of minutes, and as things progressed it wasn’t turning out to be very much of a gift. When we leave the house to drive to the train station there is already quite an accumulation. In the midst of Smart cars fishtailing and motorini chugging along on the sidewalks it takes us an entire hour just to drive around the corner. The city is completely paralyzed and I’m sure this is the only time I will ever see Romans driving slow and cautiously. It is obvious that there is no way I am going to make my train to Florence at this pace. We spot a taxi and I quickly transfer cars while my host mother iterates to the driver that it is my birthday and he must get me to the nearest metro stop as soon as possible. While in transit the taxi driver tells me that Rome hasn’t had weather like this in 25 years…an irony of numbers. I make it to the metro, make it to the train station, and have 5 minutes to catch my train. The information isn’t adding up as I look at the schedule to find my track number. I ask a conductor for help and he informs me that due to the weather conditions my train has been delayed and re-routed to a different train station in Rome. He adds that I will not make my train and that I will have to catch the next one. I look at my watch, and see that I have a mere10 minutes to get from one station to the next. At this point I’m determined to make that train and I start running in snow boots that are too big for my feet, my luggage trailing behind me. All through the train station and the metro, my spurts of running are frequently interrupted by slow moving people, but I do my best to dodge the hundreds of travelers who are utilizing the only functioning means of transportation. When I get to the other train station I frantically check the schedule for the track number, barely even stopping. I make it to the track and see a train quickly pulling in, only to zoom right past me. A straggler runs up to the platform and asks me what happened to the train. I tell him it didn’t stop and at this point I have no idea what to do. He runs off and I just start running after him. I am barely keeping up with him, but from a distance I see him talk to someone and then dart quickly to the left. I continue running to reach the point where he turned and I’m losing steam as I’m running up the ramp to the correct platform, screaming “aspetti!!!” like a lunatic. One of the conductors hears me, grabs my luggage, tosses it onto the train, and I stumble aboard. I have the taste of metal in my mouth, and I acknowledge how this was the most exercise I’ve gotten in five months. I can’t believe I actually made it.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Happy Birthday to Meee!!!


I looked out my bedroom window this morning to see snow! 

I am 25 years old today, it is the first time I am away from home for my birthday, and Rome’s gift to me is light snow. Work was cancelled because the city was anticipating more snow. It was a bonus not waking up early on my special day. I write as I watch the snow from the kitchen window, and I feel happy inside. My host mother just ran out to pick up a dolcetto (a little something sweet) for us to share for my birthday breakfast. This afternoon I hop a 1 ½ hour train ride to Florence to spend my birthday weekend with family…yes, real family…Giannis’s younger sister, Katerina, is studying abroad in Florence for the spring semester. I am so happy we get to be together this weekend. Since I studied abroad in Florence in 2007, I made reservations at my favorite Florentine restaurant for tonight. We are going to have a blast…I can’t wait to see her.

Highlight of My Day: 1. Coming to the realization that getting older is totally underrated.
                                     2. I know there will be many more highlights to come, especially once I get to  
                                         Florence!