San Gimignano and a little too much Ice Cream.

The past weekend I ended up taking a day trip with some friends to San Gimignano- which is about an hour away from Siena. It was completely beautiful there, and after climbing up 218 steps, we got to see the scenery in its full glory. After walking around for a bit like the tourists we were, we then decided to splurge the 5.50 euro for a really incredible “tour.” Which in actuality consisted of a ticket that permitted us into various places throughout the town. Splurge was obviously an exaggeration for all those who don’t understand my sarcasm. The museum was amazing- first there was the archeological exhibits, and then a room focused solely on one contemporary artist who I am now in love with- Giannetto Fieschi. There was also an incredible photographic exhibit called “Afinita” by Giuliano Briganti where he documents the construction of multiple projects through an incredibly interesting point of view. All who read this- if anyone really does- you should check it out.

Some pictures from San Gimignano:

We ended up waiting in a long, hectic line to sample some of the “world’s best ice cream,” which was actually, in my opinion, pretty tasty. I got cafe and hazelnut- two of my main flavors here.

Since i got back, i have mostly been taking classes and volunteering around the town. Tomorrow I am teaching fourth and fifth graders english- and i’m a bit nervous actually. Essentially my group director is showing us the school and leaving us there to figure out an hours worth of teaching for ourselves. I have back to back classes tomorrow, so wish me luck!

Unfortunately, Siena’s night life suffers significantly when university starts as most students stay home during the week nights to study. Plus, school is in session on saturday’s here too…so essentially saturday night is a major thing to look forward to each week. There are still bars and cafes open pretty late, so if we do decide to venture out, there is always something to do. Speaking of which- venturing out is not so easy around here. A lot of the time i have been here has been spent waiting for…something- the bus, a call, class to start, etc. My roommate and I attempted to go to the city a couple of nights ago and finally decided to call a cab after an hour of waiting for the number ten bus. Tonight it was late as well- and we were consequentially late for dinner. It’s actually really frustrating the amount of time i am in the state of anticipation. While i have come to terms with the italian idea of “being on time,” I have yet to completely shed my promptness and therefore am constantly in a state of anxiety! Okay, it’s not all that bad, but i cannot deny that I am frustrated at least once a day at the serious lack of any conception of time here.

Okay i’m going to bed because i need to be up early to volunteer at 9! See, there is the promptness again. I can’t get rid of it.

Staying For Another Semester

I woke up this morning and casually opened my email on my iPod Touch. Keep in mind that I’m half awake. My eyes focus upon an email from New Paltz. The first words I process are Global Scholar. Now I’m a little more awake. I read the subject of the mail which informs me that I received the Global Scholar Fee Reduction again.

What does this mean? This means Christmas in Australia, my 21st Birthday in Australia, New Years in Australia, more surfing, more footy games, more Aussie friends, more international friends, more Australian culture, and more Australian University classes (which to be honest is the real reason I’m here, to study). What do I have to say to all of that? I have three words. Bring. It. On.

How do I plan to celebrate? I plan to go to Torquay again for some more surfing. I was sore for two days after the first time I went last weekend and I have some small bruises on my right eye from where my board hit me. But it was still the most fun I’ve ever had; not to mention a great workout.

Barring unforeseen severe complications that prevent me from staying, expect to have another 6 months of blog posts to read. And a big thanks to the Study Abroad Office at SUNY New Paltz for helping me stay for another six months of wonder.

Stonehenge & Bath

On Saturday, October 9th, 2010, my British Life & Culture class went on a all day trip to Stonehenge & The City of Bath.  After waking up bright and early Saturday morning, we took an hour and a half bus ride to Wiltshire, England to the prehistoric monument Stonehenge.  One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones.  A piece of history I have only witnessed in textbooks, finally became a reality this past weekend as I got to stand before the iconic monument that is believed to have erected around 2500 BC.

Nothing but a brisk autumn day to make the whole experience worthwhile as classmates and friends took multiple snapshots of the incredible monument.  To stand before a piece of history dated back to the Stone Age was absolutely surreal.  Who would have thought a circle of stones would have such a significant meaning thousands of years later!?  I mean to think that this is an area that served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings is astonishing.  It was honestly one of the coolest and most memorable experiences of my life!

After spending about and hour venturing around Stonehenge and exploring the huge wide-open land; home to numerous cows and sheep, we finally hopped back on the bus for about another hour ride to The City of Bath.  Bath is the great city located in the county of Somerset, in the south west of England.  It was granted official city status by Queen Elizabeth I in about 1590, and then in 1889, Bath was made a county borough.  Driving into the city of Bath was probably one of the most breathtakingly beautiful things to ever lay eyes on!!!  It as literally as if your in a dream as you come across these shockingly huge buildings and get to see some of the finest architecture and artwork in history.

Established as a spa resort by the Romans in about AD 43, The City of Bath was declared as one of the World’s Heritage Sites in 1987.  It was quite the treat to be able to have a tour of the city and have numerous theatres, museums, sporting venues, and other historical buildings pointed out to us!  Everything is so big and after seeing The Royal Crescent, which is now a hotel and museum and some of the houses are being converted into flats and offices…it was clear that we were witnessing firsthand one of Europe’s finest 18th century architectural masterpieces!

After walking around the city are final stop was in the Roman Baths.  This historical site was the Roman house for public bathing.  Within the Roman Baths there are four main features including: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House, and the museum of finds from Roman Bath.  The Baths generally attract more than one million visitors per a year…which its not hard to understand why!   Everything within the museum told a story and revealed a little bit of Roman history.  The best part was getting to drink the spa water from the hot springs in the Pump Room; the same water that the ancient Romans used to drink because it was believed to replenish them with all the minerals it contained.

After visiting the museum we headed back to Kingston…a long but eventful day it was!  Probably one of the most memorable experiences I have had thus far in my time here in England…I can honestly say that each moment of both those visits seemed out of a dream!  I have now seen firsthand two incredible “Wonders of the World!!!”

Holiday weekend

I’m not sure exactly what national holiday it is, but I do know the most important thing: 4 day weekend! Coincidentally, in the US right now it’s Columbus Day weekend. I’m not sure if that’s also what we’re celebrating here, but it would make sense since King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel of Spain paid for Columbus’ voyage…

A lot of international students on campus decided to take advantage of the four day weekend to travel around Europe. I was thinking about going to Paris because the flights out of Madrid are super cheap (around 40 euro round trip), but I figured I would stay and see more of Madrid. The only problem has been that this weekend has been pretty dreary. It’s been cold and rainy since Saturday morning 🙁 so I haven’t really ventured out much. I did however take the opportunity to visit some family. I spent Saturday with my one cousin Naomi. She took me to a really nice Japanese restaurant near Grand Via. The sushi and different dishes were presented on colorful little dishes that looked like UFOs and delivered to our table on a conveyor belt. It was really cool to see and the food was delicious! Afterwards I went to her apartment and we watched a scary movie.  Yesterday I saw my other cousin, Carolina, and had lunch at her house with my grandpa, aunt, and uncle. Later we went to a nice restaurant nearby to have some tea and coffee.

Today I was planning on going to central Madrid again to either go shopping or go to a museum but the museums are all closed on Mondays and it was sooo cold today I didn’t want to leave the house. I really need to go clothes shopping because most of the things I brought with me are meant for warmer weather.

I realize I haven’t written for about two weeks so I’m going to do a quick recap….

On September 29th there was a general strike all over Spain and in various parts of Europe. The strike was most felt in Spain in Barcelona (where police cars were put on fire) and Madrid. I didn’t get to see much of the action, except for on TV, because most of the metros and trains were down so I couldn’t go to the city center to see the protest, and I had class…  From what I heard the protesters were also active in Getafe. They were ambushing stores that decided to stay open during the strike and putting stickers on their windows and spray painting walls. I wish I could have taken pictures but maybe it would have been a little dangerous.

I did take pictures of the posters that were put up all over Madrid.

So what were Spaniards striking against?

Well, most of you know that Spain is in a major economic crisis right now. They are in a similar state Greece is in although the cause of the crisis in each country is somewhat different. The strike was primarily against the austerity measures the government has implemented in order to get the country out of the recession. These measures include freezing pensions and increasing the retirement age to 62.

I can’t say I can completely relate to most Spaniards because workers in the United States retire at age 65 (or did it increase?), and we usually get only 2 weeks of vacation (most Spaniards get 4 weeks), our unemployment benefits are worse compared to here in terms of length and dollar amount, and we still don’t have universal healthcare, although we’ve made some progress… so I don’t know what Spaniards are really complaining about, but I really haven’t been in their shoes long enough to understand. Being an economics major, I see it logical to cut some of the social welfare costs if a country is facing incredible debt.

On the weekend of Oct 2-3 I went with a group of international students to Salamanca! The trip was organized by a club called ESN which is a group for Erasmus (European exchange) students, but they let non European exchange students join as well. Although the trip was pretty short, I had a really good time! We arrived Saturday at 1pm, check into our hostel rooms ( I was in a room with 9 other people!), and then we had lunch in town. At 4pm we met in Plaza Mayor and had a 2 hour tour around the old part of the city. Then that night we had a fiesta in Plaza Mayor which included visiting 3 different clubs. It was a blast! I met so many new people from France, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, and even some people from the US that I hadn’t met yet. It’s funny how I’m making friends with other international students and not really any Spaniards. I guess it’s easier to make friends with people who are in the same boat, but my goal is still to make a couple of really good Spanish friends because I need to start speaking in Spanish! All the international students speak English, so it’s way too easy for me.

Here are some of the best pictures from Salamanca (oldest university town in Spain) :

The week after my trip to Salamanca was pretty rough. I had two tests, one in Econometrics, the other in Game Theory, and a really hard problem set due for Markets and Environment, which involved differential calculus (something I have never done!). I think I did well on the two quizzes from last week but I’m worried about future tests because the math requirements here are pretty intense! Here is an example of one of the problems I have to figure out for my test in two weeks, and I have NO IDEA what it even says even though I go to class every day.

Just some advice to those of you thinking about studying economics here: Make sure you have a strong foundation in calculus, including differential calculus (which in New Paltz is after Calc 1 2 and 3), and some upper level statistics.

Wish me luck,

Sandy

Surfing and a sad epiphany

I went surfing for the first time yesterday. I awoke early at 6am on Sunday morning and was out the door at 7am. At first I was disappointed because I thought I wouldn’t be able to get to the train in time; I couldn’t find a bus to the train station. I walked up to the shopping centre and found that there was a bus there. Lukily it stopped at Footscray Station. I then caught a train to Geelong and then a bus from Geelong Station to Torquay. I rented a board and wetsuit and hit the waves. I didn’t expect it to be easy, but it was more difficult than I thought. Let’s just say I failed. I went back to the shop and stored my board, put on my shoes, and grabbed some lunch. At two I went back to the shop for my surfing lesson. There was a group of seven of us, not including Chris the instructor. I managed to stand up for about a heartbeat before falling off. I kept trying until it got to the point where I knew if I didn’t go back then I would soon be too tired to swim back. I had a lot of fun and walked away very tired, not to mention sore feet because I forgot my thongs (thongs are what Australians call flip-flops; seriously).

If you’ve read my previous entries you are probably wondering what this means for me moving here. Well, yesterday confirmed it. I’m moving here. [Side note: I mentioned that I didn’t want to move to Melbourne in a previous post. I’m not so sure now. I’d very much like to live somewhere near Torquay. It’s not too far from the city and the epicenter of surfing culture and beaches.]

That brings us to the “sad epiphany” of this post’s title. I have contacted Australian Immigration and spoke with someone on the phone. It looks like I have some hard choices to make if I want to move here. It will take at least 2 – 3 years after I graduate from New Paltz before I can move here. Then based on the cureent system, I will have to find an employer to sponsor me after having worked for 3 years. So it will take at least five years before I can move here; unless the system changes by the time I graduate.

A Month?

My host mother informed me yesterday that it has been an entire month since i got here! Unbelievable. Time passes by so quickly and so slowly here: on one end, yes, I have been here for a month and I can’t believe it, but on the other, the concept of time that I have lived by all my life is obsolete in Italy. Time is not a thing to be set, to be finite, or to be agreed upon by any means. “Al’ ora di pranzo,” or literally, at the hour of lunch, implies a time anywhere from 1.00 to 3.oo in the afternoon. I unfortunately learned this the hard way- as I expected someone to call at 12, but had to wait an hour and a half to hear from them. But, I suppose that is all in the name of living the “Vita Bella,” or beautiful life- there is no beauty or enjoyment in constant efficiency: if this were so, you would have no time to sit down and sip your coffee, staring out the window at the mountainous landscape covered in tress.

My life lately has been mostly centered around volunteer work- which I am incredibly happy with. Namely, I have been volunteering at the Mensa de Poveri- or soup kitchen, for the past couple of weeks. Everyone is so friendly here and so ready to accept you into the group. There was no exception with the soup kitchen- which I found to be completely different from the one I volunteered at back in my home town of Oak Park. I don’t know why I was still surprised, but all those who come to the soup kitchen are greeted with three course meals and as much bread and water as they please. Everyone crowds to sit over a delicious, large, and warm meal- which I thought perfectly epitomized the very essence of life in Italy- good food, and good friends/ family. Though my language skills are sufficient enough volunteer without worry of totally misunderstanding, I can’t believe how much simply being there has helped me improve my abilities. Whether talking with the attendees, or with the staff afterward (all the volunteers are welcome to a family-style meal after work in which we similarly all crowd around one long table and eat pretty much the same delicious food that was served while the Mensa was still open), my vocabulary and ability to hold conversations in general has significantly improved. In addition to all this good, I met some really interesting/ incredible people while working there, and can never wait to go back.

Group picture on the beach at Viareggio

The most spectacular gelatto place I have ever seen, Florence

Mi in the Piazza del Campo, Siena

The First Day of Summer

Today felt like the first day of summer. It was also Daylight Savings Time; everyone in Victoria set their clocks forward an hour. I had wanted to go to Torquay to go for my first surfing lesson but it didn’t work out. Instead I did grocery shopping for the week and then decided to go for a run. On the way back from running two guys from the Village offered to give me a ride back. We got back to the village and after talking with some other people, we played some frisbee. I went back to my room to put on some sunnies. After awhile some other people joined in and there was a miniature footy being kicked around. I ran back to my room again and brought back my footy. I was surprised how well I did. Given, I didn’t kick or catch it perfectly every time, I did alright. Eventually everyone decided to leave. I got a towel and my Kindle from my room then went outside to read and work on a tan. It was a great day overall even if I wasn’t very productive.

I’ve started another book: Stephen Hawking’s The Grand Design

Wee on the Hob

If any American can tell me what “wee on the hob” means, I will title my next entry after you.

Classes began yesterday, and, much to my dismay, it turns out that there is a lecture for my Intro to Narrative class every other Monday. What will I do?!

In all seriousness, though, I don’t have too much of a sense of what my classes are really going to be like yet. Aside from the Intro to Narrative seminar, my classes are all big lectures and involve little class participation. Despite that, Lauren and I have been very warmly received when introducing ourselves to our professors, who had all been anxious to meet “THE ONES FROM NEW PALTZ!!!” It’s nice knowing that not everyone hates Americans, like we thought they would—maybe it’s just because we’re from New York!

Last night, Kirsty, Lauren, Berit, and our new Finnish friend, Marianne, and I went to a comedy show at The Graduate, which was, to my surprise, actually funny—except when one of the comedians’ sets was at least 50% made up of jokes about rape. Being a women’s studies major, I have learned some frightening statistics on rape, rape in colleges/universities in particular, and it sickens me to know that one in four of the female students in the bar last night were laughing along with the “jokes” so that no one would know they were really recalling their history with sexual abuse.

Tomorrow, Lauren, Berit, Lucie, Marianne and I are going to Castle Hill, which is the most important ancient (as in 4,000 years old) fort in Yorkshire from the Iron Age. I hope that when I hike up the 5 mile hill tomorrow, that’ll mean a bit more to me!

Great Ocean Road

I had an amazing day yesterday going to the Great Ocean Road. I even got my wish to go with Australians. Unfortunately I didn’t see any kangaroos; just a lot of road signs warning of kangaroos. I did see breath taking views of the ocean and coast. The road through the forest and along the ocean felt like a roller coaster at times with all of them turns.

I woke up very early at six to get to Footscray Station where I caught a V-line train for the first time. The seats were much better than the Metro trains. I got my first real look at the Australian countryside while on the train. Australia is very flat and you can see very far into the distance.

I got off at Melton station where I met up with Jo and Cassie. We all got into Cassie’s boyfriend’s rather attractive slightly-off-gold coloured car. It feels a bit weird sitting on the left in a car and not being in the driver’s seat. I also had to restrain myself when we were making right hand turns because it feels like you are turning into oncoming traffic.

The first stop on the Great Ocean Road Trip was Torquay to check out the surf community. I will be going back next weekend hopefully to go surfing for the first time. I went to a Rip Curl shop and then to a Quicksilver shop. I bought two quicksilver shirts; one of which I’m wearing as I write this post. Expect to see these shirts in future posts photos.

We went to the beach where I took my first swim in Australia. It was freezing. There were some people surfing at the beach. I was very jealous but we didn’t have time for a surf lesson.

Our first big stop was at the Otway Fly in the Great Otway National Park. Below is a photo of me on one of the walkways high up in the trees, the photo is taken from a taller lookout.

We were walking through the forest when a pair of velociraptors surprised us…they looked like velociraptors anyway. I think they were more scared of us than we were of them.

The last stop was The Twelve Apostles. There’s not much I can say other than it’s a stunning sight.

We only got lost once; which was on our way driving back. Instead of ending up back a Melton station we went to Werribee Station. It all worked out in the end.

Via Del Amore e La Vita Bella

So I have been without internet for a while now, and let me tell you, it feels pretty good to not rely on technology once and a while. For the last four days I have been traveling Italy with my Siena Italian Studies group to Pisa, Viareggio, La Spezia and the Cinque Terre, and finally Lucca. Mostly we just walked until our bodies couldn’t take it anymore and then ate until our stomachs were more than fully satisfied. The food was incredible, and I’m pretty sure we were supplied food or a hundred instead of thirty.

In Pisa, of course, we saw the leaning tower- and yes, it does look the same as it does in postcards. Except a bit more real and a bit more surreal at the same time. Apparently not that long ago, the town made an attempt to stabilize the bottom by putting heave weights on one side and inserting cement into the base. As the tower is built on sand and as underneath that sand there is water- the plan didn’t really work and there was a mandatory evacuation of all surrounding houses just in case of collapse. Now, and again, the tower is stable- but it is also still leaning.

La Spezia and the Cinque Terra was my favorite part of the trip. We began by walking the “Via del Amore” trail which runs along the coast and has the most amazing view. The walk itself was not far, but with the amount of times we stopped in awe, I am sure we were there for at least an hour. After this less intense hike, a few other students and I decided to take the train to Vernazza to try out another path. It turned out to be the most “real”  hike I have ever been on- there were little to no railings to protect you from falling hundreds of feet into the oceany/mountainy abyss. We even were forced to traverse across a waterfall- and by forced I mean were really excited to see if we could survive the current. The air was incredible on the mountain- I actually felt healthier just being up there. I am starting to realize why Italians are known for living “La Vita Bella.” With the unavoidable exercise that comes with walking the hilly streets of Siena, with the inevitable digestive health that comes with eating only organic food, and with the promise of beautiful scenery wherever I go, I am starting to loose my American need for efficiency and opt for a more relaxed and more enjoyable way of life.

Via Del Amore

Via Del Amore

Via Del Amore

Via Del Amore