So, Italian is the Same Thing as Spanish ... Right?

-->

Today was our first day of classes and surprisingly I am still excited about them! My first class started at 9:00 a.m. which was my Italian Culture class and I can already tell I am going to love it. The class only has 4 students and the professor’s name is Silvia and she is a wonderful Italian woman who seems very enthusiastic about teaching us all about the culture. She kept the class really interesting and threw in some jokes about Italian culture. Enjoy!

        Heaven in Europe is where:

        the English are the policemen

 the French are the cooks

          the German are the mechanics

the Italians are the lovers

              and the Swiss organize everything

Hell in Europe is where

           the German are the policemen

   the English are the cooks

          the French are the mechanics

the Swiss are the lovers

                                                 and the Italians organize everything

ITAL 425 Italian Culture - Chris, Olivia, Kasey, Me

My second class was at 12:00 pm which was my Into to Italian class and also only has 4 students. She asked us at the beginning of class if we have any experience with the language and all of us said that we were starting from scratch. You would think that if not one student had any experience with the language she would, you know, “baby” us and help us with the language, right? NO. SHE SPOKE ITALIAN THE WHOLE TIME. Talk about culture shock. Bam! I could understand only a few words here and there which meant that she had to do a lot of hand gestures considering the blank stares she received back at herself. But even though it seemed really difficult, I think that I am picking it up pretty quickly and hopefully will be able to keep up. I loved taking Spanish classes in high school and learning a different language so hopefully Italian will be the same!

Hanging out in between classes (on my terrace)

After classes were through (at 1:30 pm might I add) most of us headed back to the apartment to begin the never-ending homework that is about to ensue upon us. Although I may complain about the work .. I suppose it isn’t thaaaaat bad considering where we get to do it ;)

Studying for classes (Sorry, camera had a weird setting)

At night we set out to the Piazza de Popolo for dinner where we all enjoyed dishes of pasta and pizza. Sitting in the piazza is just breathtaking, I feel like I could sit there for hours to just people watch and sit back and relax. After dinner we walked around the piazza (got gelato of course) and happened to stumble upon some of the citizens practicing for the Medieval Festival that is coming up in July. In July all 6 neighborhoods of Ascoli compete with each other for bragging rights, essentially, in all different Medieval events. Stay tuned for pictures and updates of the action!

Rainbow in Piazza de Popolo (still weird setting)

Flag Twirlers

Flag Twirlers Practicing

Me at the Piazza de Popolo

Look Out Ascoli Piceno, UNH has arrived!

Last night, after an 8 hour bus ride (without AC because Italians are not human when it comes to heat) we finally arrived in Ascoli Piceno! When we got to the city we stopped at every group’s apartment so that they could get off and figure out where they are going. My apartment has 8 fabulous ladies, and in my opinion, is one of the nicest apartments out of all of them. Our apartment is the top floor of a bed and breakfast so everything is super clean and very homey! We have 4 double bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and an outdoor terrace on top of the roof that overlooks the city. Believe me when I say that this flat has NOTHING on the apartments of Durham, NH. The professors even said that they think this apartment is too nice for students to live in. So naturally, I’m pretty happy. The kitchen is a floor below us since it is part of the bed & breakfast but we have full access to it. The landlord even said she would wash our laundry for us! (Sounds cool, however I personally would like to do my own). The apartment is very homey considering it has everything fully furnished, decorations on the wall, linens in the closet, and it even comes equipped with two cats and a dog! It makes the adjustment to living abroad 10x easier!

View from our Balcony

Balcony View

Door to our Apartment from Balcony

Our puppy!!

Hallway

Living Room

Me and Kate's Bedroom

Sitting Room

View of our Garden from our Balcony

Today we had our initiation in to Ascoli and a tour around the city to get us acquainted to our new home. We started our morning in the Piazza del Popolo where we met our three professors and the UNH-in-Italy Program Director. They gave us a quick introduction to safety in the city and the necessities we would need in case we had a medical issue/emergency. We then walked around the city and like true tourists took a ride on a train (train/trolley) that took us all around the city and described the history to us. One of the really cool things that happened is that while we were driving around we passed a wedding at one of the churches and as we drove by all of the people threw rice at us and were cheering and yelling out in Italian (obviously, I couldn’t understand them). The city is gorgeous and I feel like I am in a movie with all of the marble and stone and brick architecture all over the city.

Piazza Popolo

After the trolley ride around Ascoli, we were taken out to lunch as a group to a place that served us an Italian buffet. The food was absolutely amazing and so delicious. There was a wide variety of food and a huge spread of vegetables, pastas, and potatoes. I can’t name for you any of the dishes in Italian (I was too busy stuffing my face to ask) but I have some savory pictures for you all to look at!

My Food!

Lunch Buffet

Lunch Buffet

After lunch we were set free on our own to do with the afternoon as we please. We decided to go to the local “watering hole”a.k.a. a river that runs through the town where everyone goes to suntan and take a refreshing dip in the water. It was absolutely beautiful and all of the locals were surprisingly welcoming. We definitely put on a show when we show up with 24 Americans to a spot that is clearly meant for locals but we did our best to immerse ourselves and not stand out. There was a huge waterfall that ran down and was absolutely gorgeous. I didn’t take as many pictures as I hoped I would (I felt too touristy) but I’m sure that I will be taking many trips back, so stay tuned and you will see it!!

Small Waterfall at Swimming Hole

Tomorrow our classes start which I am super excited for. Some people are a little upset that we actually have to do work while we’re here but I am definitely excited to start learning the language and talk about the Italian culture. The classes I am taking are ITAL 401, which is the intro language class, and then ITAL 425 that is a class dedicated to learning about the culture of Italy. I’m a nerd at heart, so I am definitely excited to get started with my classes, however I am not as excited to be getting up early for class. Take the good with the bad I guess!!

Tune in tomorrow to see if I still have a positive attitude about my classes!!

World War I Italian Trenches and Great War Artifacts

Today is our last day in the Alps and we spent the day learning about Italian's history in The Great War (WWI) and how San Martino and the surrounding towns were affected by it. San Martino and it's surrounding towns were all part of one of the front's for the Italian border in their fight against Austria. Up in the Italian Alps (the Dolomites) and the smaller towns around this area there are still trenches and ruins from the Great War. Today we traveled to the town of Caoria where this is a small World War I museum, trenches, and cemeteries from the Great War. We had our own tour guide from one of the artifact museums take us around the town to show us the different sites. He spoke in such a heavy accent and broken English that it was difficult to understand him but we had two UNH professors help translate which made it easier to learn.

The area that we are in used to be under Austrian control and during the war the control of the land was constantly changing between Italian and Austrian. Because the land used to be Austrian, it influences the architecture and the food of the cities so everything looks very Austrian and not very Italian.

Apparently I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures in the museum, but I didn't find out until I was leaving. So, here are some pictures you would never see unless you visited!!

Italian Bunker

Italian Bunker

Italian Great War Soldier Cemetery (and our Tour Guide)

Italian Copper Factory Ruins

Bunker Entrance

Italian Grenade

During the museum talk, the guide was saying how important the invention and use of the machine gun was and how it influenced the outcome of the war. Most soldiers were not used to the new weaponry and were not prepared for how much destruction it could cause. The guide was saying that one round of bullets could kill up to 700 soldiers at a time which definitely influenced how the war was fought.

Great War Machine Gun

Recreation of a Bunker/Trench

Italian Great War Attire

Italian Knives

Italian Weapons

Snow shoes, horse stirrups

Helmets, Gas Mask

Great War Telephone

Italian Skis

Horn, Typewriter

Italian Sleeping Gear

Telescope

Poison Capsule

Italian Helmet

I Hiked the Alps in Nike Running Shoes .. And Survived

Well, after a few rolled ankles and a minor fall down the side of the Alps I can successfully say that I completed the San Martino Passo Rolle hike in the Italian Alps. Before I left for Italy I was talking to my brother about our potential hike and he kept insisting that I would need proper hiking shoes if I wanted to get anything done. Well, HA! My Nike running shoes got me all the way there. (However, hiking shoes probably could have prevented me falling off the side of the mountain)

We started the hike at 9 a.m. and got back down to our hotel around 3 p.m. I can definitely say that it was the most physically challenging task I have done in a long time (or ever) and I am very proud of myself for completing it. Even though I helped bring up the rear of the pack, I took my time and enjoyed the view (and stopped every 10 steps to catch my breath). It was definitely extremely rewarding! The hike was beautiful and had amazing landscapes. We even hiked so high we were able to reach the snow!! About 3/4 of the way through we cut through a farm and were able to hang out with cows for a little while on our journey. As we kept going we met our cow friends again out in the middle of nowhere and had a stand off of who was going to move to the side of the road first. (The cows won). We were battling the weather the entire time on our hike so the route changed a few times and we took some pretty treacherous trails. Some people were super excited about the adventure but others (like me) were a little anxious. Overall it was a great trip!

Disclosure: None of these pictures capture the actual beauty of the alps.

Italian Alps - San Martino

Italian Alps

The Dolomites

Melanie, Me

Garlande, Me

Italian Alps

Garlande, Melanie, Erica, Me

Oh look! The Alps!

Rest Stop at PART ONE

Italian Alps

We Found Snow!!!

The Dolomites

Italian Alps

Hey Look, Cows!

Me, Melanie

Me, Melanie, Kate

Oh, hello Mr. Cow

Italian Alps

The Dolomites

Walking single file down the windy roads

Italian Alps

After we got back from the hike we had an hour to shower and get ready for our next activity. (Seriously, one hour for 3 girls in a room to shower? Nonsense). But the next thing we did was actually pretty cool. We went down to the kitchen of the hotel where the Hotel's Chef taught us how to make two of the regional dishes of San Martino. He didn't speak any English so we had to have our program director translate, but he seemed very excited to teach how to cook the dishes. Since the cooking involved our hands I have no pictures to share, BUT I do have recipes!! :) (well, one) The experience was awesome and definitely gave us an inside look at Italian cooking.

Canederli di Speck (Big Bread Dumplings in Broth)

200 gr. Stale bread (pane raffermo)

50 gr Browned Onion (Cipolla Rosolata)

100 gr Bacon or Speck (Pancetta o Speck)

Chopped Parsley (Prezzemolo Tritato)

3 Eggs (uova)

50 gr Milk (latte)

Salt and Pepper

20 gr Flour (Farina)

-Put the bacon and onion in a large bowl with the bread and mix with hands.

-Add parsley, continue to mix

-Crack the eggs in a plate and check for impurities, if none add them to the mixture

-Mix with your hands and crush all of the bread pieces to make a past like substance

-Add salt

-Add flour

-Continue to knead with hands until the paste doesn't stick to your hands

-Use water to damp your hands and make the paste in to medium size ball shapes

-Cook in either a broth or fry in a pan with butter