king cannavaro, il capitano

19 days until the FIFA World Cup in South Africa...

...and 18 until I land in London.



I can't wait for the day when Rooney is a caravan dwelling, pork 'n beans sludge-slopping gypsy.

FORZA AZZURRI!!!

gigi...

...ti amo.



HEI BELLA! You too la mia Puma.

why...

Do I take thousands of photographs and then neglect to even view them for years? Here's some Italia nostalgia on my Flickr page.

Mi mancano le belle giornate pieno di sole e vino rosso.

no method to the madness

I added a few new pictures added to my Flickr account... but all of them are from last January in Siracusa and La Valle dei Templi in Agrigento. Enjoy.

ritorno in italia

Tomorrow Ashly and I head back to Italia from Bucharest, Romania. The whole trip has been amazing but we are tired, and I am really excited to return to Italia... where things are a bit more familiar and I can speak the language.

But so, so much has happened since I last wrote anything. We traveled north through Pamukkale... one of the most amazing surreal natural wonders I've ever seen but was may be trumped by what we saw just a short while later. Then we stopped over in Selçuk to see the amazing Greek ruins at Efes/Ephesus.

After that was Istanbul. Cailan met us there and we had good times drinking in carpet shops with the owners and then going out to some hookah bars. Then came Kapadokya... pictures will have to come when I get home... hopefully. A fairy-tale land where ancient civilizations built houses into the strange rock formations and complete underground cities functioned on a level par to Fraggle Rock. Spectacular.

Back to Istanbul. Bought some stuff at the Grand Bazaar that we scoped out a few days prior and then off to Romania. All of the aforementioned included at least 4 night buses... maybe more and I'm just blacking them out because the rides were so rough.

Now we just spent a few days in the Carpathian Mountains and Transylvania... although it's doubtful if the real Dracula (Vlad The Impaler) even visited some of those parts. We stayed a bit in Braşov and are now back in the capital.

And now back to Italia... non vedo l'ora.

on the move

So it's been quite a while since I've written. Here's what's happened.

Ashly showed up and we saw Radiohead in Milano. The next day we went to Switzerland to visit my friend Antoine. From there Cailan met us and we went to an immense German music festival featuring Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Sigur Ròs, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Elbow, and a billion other bands. This happened in the hot sun surrounding by a war zone of beer cans. Seriously, it was like a refugee camp by the time we left on Monday morning.

Back to Switzerland and then a good rest in Salò. Ashly met some people around the school and town. The family I'd been tutoring for had us over for swimming and a barbeque. We did a bit around the area, laid out by the lake, rode the boat up the lake and hiked around Monte Baldo. Next was Padova and Venezia for a few days... which was way too touristy.

Now it's been Slovenia for a nice little while. Quiet and green, something like 57% of the country is covered in forest. Lake Bled, hiking in the mountains around Kranjska Gora and the Vršič Pass. Been staying with a Slovene who showed me an amazing time. Just a random friend who Kyle and Dwight met in Thailand... but that worked pretty great here.

Tomorrow we go rafting in the Soča Valley and a bit more hiking. Then off to Croatia early Monday morning. There's so much more to say and write... we'll see if I ever get around to it.

sardegna

The remainder of my trip in Sardegna was spectacular. The country is beautiful and has truly it's own culture, outside of Italian culture yet still a part of the nation... that's what these island nations are like though.

We spent a few days with one of Kris's students and her family. Bruna, Giuseppe and piccolo Pierpaolo showed us Sardegna's most amazing beach, Stintino, Giuseppe's hometown of Bosa, and above all else, AMAZING Sardinian food. Pizza of ridiculous proportions, a lunch of seafood that prolly could've filled a cubic mile of seawater accompanied by Sarda beer Ichnusa, mirto, and so much vino. Delicious. So much food it was stunning.

By far my favorite food from Sardegna is the flatbread, pane carasua, originally created to last for weeks so shepherds could take it into the fields and mountains without having to worry about it spoiling. But the ultimate way to eat it is as pane guttiau, where it is sprinkled with salt and olive oil and then warmed in the oven or over a grill. Who knew stale bread could be so simply amazing!!!

On Monday, the three of us took a day trip to Bonifacio in Corsica... France. It's a small, beautiful town perched on the cliffs above the Mediterranean looking out towards Sardegna. I ate the most amazing crêpe of my life from a tiny vendor and we marched all over the town and it's medieval walls.

We watched a few matches of EuroCup, drank wine, beer, coffee, and liquore in the piazzas and cafés, ate well, lived well. Sassari is a very authentic city with a unique Sardo culture and identity. Mi mancherà la Sardegna.

la vita sarda

I made it to Sassari, found Nick and Kris, and we've been having an amazing time drinking vino (Buio Buio and Cannonau), mirto (a typical Sardo liquor/digestive made from myrtle) and most of all eating delicious, strange foods. On Thursday night we ate pizza al metro (pizza by the meter). Six of us ordered a quarter meter of the pizza we wanted and they brought out a long pizza on a huge board with three of our selections. We had things like salmon and cream, different types of mushrooms, spicy sausage, peppers and onions... and so many other kinds. We chowed down and then a few more meters emerged with our last three choices. Liters of beer accompanied as well as the Sardo equivalent of moonshine... filu 'e ferru. The name basically means an iron rod because long ago the alcohol was buried, hidden underground with a piece of iron sticking out to show where it was hidden.

Last night's appetizers at L'Assassino (The Assassin) included snails in a tomato sauce, small octopi in a spicy sauce, and beef tripe in a tomato sauce. All were amazing. My pasta was a large gnocchi-type pasta filled with potatoes, cheese, and mint all in a tomato sauce. After came pig with roasted potatoes and a doughy desert filled with sweet cheese and covered in sugar.

We also spent the afternoon in Castelsardo (named for the castle that towers above everything else) where we wandered around the town, which is perched on the cliffs above the ocean and practically surrounded by water on three sides. We then hiked down some trails below town and picnicked on prosciutto, cheeses, bread and salami. The rest of the afternoon was spent sampling some locally-made sweet vino and mirto in a wine shop, beers in a cafe, a nap on the beach, and a Magnum bar, classico.

Tomorrow we'll tour some more of the island with some friends of Nick and Kris and Monday we're gonna take a day trip to Corsica. La vita sarda è veramente bella.

mamma mia!

Bright and early tomorrow morning Ryanair whisks me off in luxury and class to Alghero. From there I go to Sassari to visit Nick and Kris where we'll romp chaotically through the wonders of Sardegna. I hope my flight goes smoother than little Kevin's.

mi mancano 4 giorni

EuroCup begins on 7 June 2008. Forza Italia.

school's out for summer

I went to dinner last night with a small group of teachers from Battisti. We ate at the pizzeria of Amalia's cousin, outside along the lungolago of Manerba. It was a great time and gave me a chance to reflect on my experiences here in Salò. And for all the times I've been annoyed with high school students or frustrated with general Italian disorganization, I've really had a wonderful time here and wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

We talked about politics, Italian and American, traveling, the ridiculous cost of concert tickets, Oregon, school, books, Italian culture and history, my future, and of course the bureaucracy of la vita italiana, and what this means for the state-mandated final exams next week, something that neither I nor Nicoletta understood nor did we care to. Amalia gave me a shirt and an interesting book to read. Here I am with Ilario and Nicoletta.

My time here has been vastly different than my experiences studying abroad. I have learned so much more about the language and culture this time around. There were no guided tours. No Italian lessons. And no one was watching over me and holding my hand. I prefer it this way. Of course, it helps living with two Italians and spending all of your time with locals, all of whom have been very friendly and helpful whenever I've needed anything. I've had to figure out a lot on my own but nothing has been too difficult or overwhelming.

Tomorrow is my last day and I am absolutely ready to finish my teaching stint, but I will also miss it as well.

I've learned:

• Teaching is not my future profession, especially not high schoolers. But the thing I most enjoyed about teaching was being able to work one-on-one or in small groups with students who were really motivated and cared about learning and speaking English. Helping several students prepare for a specialized English exam earlier this year was very rewarding.

• Italian high school is extremely different from American. Part of it is cultural, and part is the educational system. Culturally, life is more relaxed, and things just seem to move at a slower pace. Thus, school life is more casual. Students go to the bathroom more frequently than imaginable or are late to class with no real reprimanding. Teachers are late. Students are more disrespectful. Teachers seem to yell more, but that's because classes are often rowdy. In fact, the discipline system is virtually non-existent as far as I can tell. Warnings and threats of punishment often fly but are never enforced. There's always a sense of general disorganization present.

• Italia has problems. Societal, governmental, financial... but that's not so different than any other modern nation. Still, it is a country that tends to live upon it's past reputation without planning or making changes for the future. And a lot of the world views Italia as a tourist attraction, vacation destination, or culinary heaven. But it is also changing culturally with an influx of immigrants from the Eastern Europe and Africa.

• Italians are generally very friendly, helpful people. They will welcome you into their social culture. Family is important, so are friends. There's often a strong sense of community and traditional Italian culture shines through these relationships, which often involve food and drink as well. They love to talk, hopefully while drinking a caffè or an aperitivo at the bar.

I came back to Italia so I could speak and learn more of the language I studied for several years and minored in at university. So I could experience another culture in a way that I wasn't able to when I studied abroad. Although, I must admit that having some advance knowledge and experience in Italia did facilitate my adjustment, making it quite smooth.

It is interesting to learn a language like Italian, which is literally only spoken and used within the borders of this country. Thus, any Italian musicians, artists, writers, athletes, journalists, etc. are well-known by virtually the entire nation.

It's amazing when an entire nation knows a traditional song from 50 or a 100 years ago and can sing along with it word-for-word. The sense of culture is very strong, whether it's Italian, (although my roommates say the only time Italia is truly united as a nation is when the national team is playing) or a strong sense of pride in where you come from, whether that be region, province, city, or even neighborhood.

I know I will never be able to speak like a native, with the myriad of dialects, accents, and cultural idiosyncrasies that I may never understand. But I am proud of my current ability. I accomplished what I set out to do: be able to communicate in my everyday life without worry or hesitation. I'm able to have conversations and understand everything that's going on around me.

Just don't make me ask some old nonno who speaks in a raspy dialect for directions.

indiana jones e il regno del teschio di cristallo

I am so damn excited for this!!! It comes out Friday here and I'm going.
I've been prepping myself with a marathon of the originals. The only thing I'm wary about is Indy's new sidekick, Henry "Mutt" Williams, a motorcycle-riding greaser.

No arrogant, wise-crack quipping smart ass could ever take the place of my dear, precious Short Round. There will always be a special place in my heart for that little rascal.

Just a few more days now.

colazione americana

This morning I made my roommates a true American breakfast... well it wasn't quite eggs, hashbrowns, and piles of sausage links with crispy bacon. I thought I'd ease them in a bit, because I wasn't even sure how maple syrup would be received.

We made pancakes (from the mix Ashly sent me for my birthday) topped with Mrs. Butterworth's. We also had a fruit salad with fresh strawberries, bananas, and kiwi to eat on the side or on top. Still the closest thing they'd ever had before was a crêpe.

They really enjoyed it and like the marionberry jam my parents brought from Oregon. We determined that there is no word for marionberry in Italian but that it's not too different from a mora, which would be something like our wild blackberry. Adesso sono bello pieno.

il grande viaggio dell'europa del sud-est

I just realized yesterday that school is finished in 2 short weeks. I can't believe it. The time has flown by. But lately I've been spending countless hours planning my immense and intense summer vacation through South Eastern Europe. Click on the map to follow our route.

I am unbelievably excited for the beautiful places I will see... more than any city, church, mosque, monument, museum, ruin, statue, or archaeological site, I am thrilled for the amazing beauty of the places I will be experiencing. Oh yeah, and of course the local food, wine and beer as well. I have big plans for activities outdoors in the mountains and rivers or on the beaches and in the ocean. I will let you in on the adventures once they happen.

But before I get ahead of myself, I have a spectacular 10 days planned in Sardegna with Nick and Kris in the beginning of June. Andiamo ragazzi!!!

la settimana dei miei

My parents were just here in Italia, and we packed in a good week of food, travel, and visiting friends, which also normally involved eating.

They arrived last Monday evening in Salò where I got them settled into an apartment I rented just off the lungolago. On Tuesday morning they came to school, met some of the teachers and one of my classes. We spent the afternoon around the lake in Salò and ate dinner at a nice, traditional trattoria, which turned out to be owned by the father of one of my students. They served us huge portions of Garda cuisine, local vino, and an extra focaccia on the house.

Wednesday we toured Verona, spending our time lounging in piazzas eating well and drinking aperitivi in between the sites. On the way home we stopped in San Felice to eat paninis along the Garda lakeside.

Thursday was il Vittoriale the house and garden of Garda's poet, war hero, writer, and eccentric personage Gabriele d'Annunzio. Needless to say, he was crazy and his home and lifestyle keep this legacy intact. From the reconstructed boat in the garden to the thousands of religious trinkets from all over the world inside to his "personalization" or manipulation of famous pieces of artwork... it was an odd experience. We ate a picnic in Gardone Riviera and spent the rest of the day by the lake in Gargnano with dinner by the lake in Salò.

Friday we headed to Parma, wandered town and my friend Johnny took us to Tri Siochett, an authentic restaurant outside of town in the middle of nowhere. He proceeded to get lost for about a half hour while we crossed the same bridge about 4 times.

When we arrived, we ate way too much delicious Parmigiano food from prosciutto di Parma and other varieties of salami and ham, to pastas filled with creamy, buttery herbs and cheeses, to horse steaks and eggplant parmigiano and numerous preparations of beef... the food was so amazing that it was oppressive because there was simply just too much.


Johnny and I went out after dropping my parents at the hotel, and we couldn't even finish a drink because we were so full. But the bravi Sardi (Marco e Marco) made us stick around. Around 3 AM or so when we thought we were just dropping them off, they literally drug Johnny out of the car and pushed us inside feeding us bright pinkish-red cured fish eggs (basically the entire feminine organ) on flatbread with olive oil and pepper. Interesting but good. And after busting out the vino and guitar, it looked like this at 6 AM as we stumbled down the street to Johnny's apartment.

Saturday night my parents and I returned to Salò, and the family whose kids I have been tutoring had us over for dinner. We ate with Virginia, Alberto and the kids Alessio, Matteo, and Gioia, and my dad finally got his sample of grappa.


Sunday was our amazing drive in the hills above Lago di Garda with the absolutely beautiful and untouched Val Valvestino and its lake and the following lakes and small villages around Lago d'Idro and Lago di Ledro.


In Idro we found the most amazing market I've ever seen. The kind that offers all-you-can-eat free samples of fresh baked bread from focaccia with cherry tomatoes or rosemary to fruit filled croissants and other local breads and sweet cakes. The market was in conjunction with the local elementary school, and the kids were there learning how to make bread. A woman told me this was the first time they'd ever done it, and she hoped that this initial experiment would lead to a weekly or monthly market. I'd definitely return just for the bread samples, who cares about the ridiculously gorgeous lake and scenery around. It was like Costco times a billion.


After entering Trentino-Alto Adige in the north and eating paninis, we eventually came down from the hills through a series of extremely long tunnels and followed the lakeside road to Limone sul Garda. We strolled the lungolago while navigating between the masses of German tourists (just like all over Lago di Garda).

And last night a large table of friends and dinner awaited us in the hills above Gardone Riviera overlooking the lights of Garda. After a walk by the lake today, my parents left this afternoon for Amsterdam before catching their flight back to PDX tomorrow.

I ate way too much and I am exhausted just thinking about it. It feels like I ate more this last week than I have in my entire duration here in Italia... and that includes studying abroad 3 years ago.

I'm fasting until Sardegna. Or performing some other kind of miracle.

sono britney, stronza

Summer is finally here with gorgeous weather, hot temperatures, and time in the sun by the lake. My parents arrive tomorrow. And you know, just when I thought things were goin' great in Italia... this happened:

feste, ferie, e ponte

The good ole' holiday season is finally coming to a close here in Italia. After a few days off for elections in mid-April and the Festa della liberazione last week on April 25th (celebrating Italia's liberation from German occupation and fascism in 1945 during WWII), we now have today's Festa dei lavoratori (Labor Day).

We celebrated last night with a huge dinner at our house for friends and by drinking copious amounts of vino and of course party poppers from my birthday package that FINALLY arrived... thanks Ash. Lorella's sister and cousin from Milano surprised us in the middle of dinner.

Today the weather was abbastanza bello and we spent the afternoon by the lake in San Felice eating paninis and potato chips. Che belle feste.


I guess the vacation time isn't quite over for me though... seeing as my parents arrive on Monday, I'll be working another short week at school. Va bene, I'll make it up later.

zero zero sette

They've been filming the new James Bond movie just up the road from Salò for a while now. First Bond received a ticket for driving too fast and now his Aston Marton ended up in the Lago... completamente distrutto. BBC caught them retrieving it here.

Quantum of Solace also has scenes that take place in my other favorite place: Siena. Including a car chase and an underground fight in Siena's cisterns. Che bello.

le belle giornate

The last few days have been one amazing thing after another.

Over the weekend I went to Parma to visit an amico I met 3 years ago while studying in Macerata. We met at a Kaiser Chiefs concert in Rimini and this time we attempted to repeat that same casino. Met his bravi roomies, ate great food, drank good vino, and drank a lot of beer... also good, but as you may or may not know, good beer does not come from Italia so of course this beer was from Germany, Ireland and Belgium. Spent the weekend in giro per Parma and made some amazing new Sardo friends (from Sardegna).


After elongating my stay in Parma for an extra night, I returned to Salò where I promptly booked a ticket to Sardegna to see two of my favorite ragazzini, Nick and Kris, in the beginning of June.

Then I met a very nice German girl from München who is also living and working here as an au pair for an Italian family. We had an aperitivo together and she definitely got rid of the bad impression that last German girl left on my psyche.

Today, many of the students I've been working with individually took their specialized English exam. It's offered by a London-based company so a woman flew in from England to test them. They had to talk, completely in a casual, conversational manner, for anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes. All of them did well and some very, very well... abbastanza bene.

And after some time of weather has been proprio merda (kinda like Oregon often is at this time of year), we had a beautiful, sunny day with bright blue skies. But because the weather has been bad, there is a lot of snow in the mountains and even the hills on the gulf behind Salò.

So I went for a jog and a couple kilometers out I decided to stop by the lakeside to stretch. I tried to skip some rocks but the water was too turbulent and choppy today so that was a no go. Then I saw something about the size of a milk jug floating about 50 meters out — about the distance from the end touchline to midfield on a football pitch.

It took me about 35 or so throws but I nailed it. Che belle giornate.

Now, to top it off, I am on the way to the grocery store to buy my favorite crunchy, spicy grissini con peperoncini AND my birthday is this Saturday. Festeggiamo.

la cena veronese

Yesterday I went to Verona with a friend and got my own personalized tour from a few true Veronese. The city of Romeo e Giulietta is filled with churches, piazzas, gelaterias, Roman ruins, palazzi, bridges, castles, and Asian tourists. Everywhere you look there's medieval architecture and the winding Adige, which cuts the city in two.

It's a beautiful, quaint place, easily navigated on foot, constantly bustling with tourists and locals alike, with many of them taking their dog for a walk. Promenade walkways are worn from centuries of foot traffic. Today they are lined with shops with a nearly every window containing a bottle of wine regardless of the wares they sell. From souvenirs to Diesel Jeans to beauty products... maybe it's just because this week is Vinitaly the annual wine trade show and the largest in the world.

Giulietta's balcony is crowded with tourists and forgettable where Romeo's house is all but forgotten... or at least my Veronese friends told me that only the locals know where it is.

But real highlight yesterday was a visit with a friend who lives in the campagna or the countryside, five minutes outside of Verona's center. It's like a completely different world out there. Vineyards and parks full of trees and green vegetation cover the terrain. We went to la casa di Laura, a massive countryside villa surrounded by vineyards and farmland, where her family has lived for at least six generations. Complete with a beautiful garden and plenty of livestock. Fresh eggs from the chickens, milk and cheese from the sheep and goats, and rabbits for pasta sauce or stew. And horses, dogs and roosters romping freely around the property.

We ate dinner with the family where she served us risotto con radicchio rosso (which turned the rice purple) served in a fragile bowl made of crunchy Parmesan cheese followed by fish with potatoes and tomatoes accompanied by fancy white and rosa (pink) champagne. And of course there was an antipasto before and dolci after... che buon appetito.

Era una bella giornata... not to mention the bluest, clearest, warmest, most beautiful day of spring thus far.