Well here it is. I have finally given in and started the dreaded blog as a basis not only for reflection but also for the convenience of being able to refer all family and friends to one place where they can all see how/what I’m doing without waiting for individualized information from me. I’m just being honest here.
So here is the catch-up of my Italian journey thus far. Travel on Saturday was far from boring: A 3 hour flight from Denver consisting of the life story of my seat mate and his summarized dissertation on the differences between faith and belief brought me to Washington D.C. It was here that I met my fellow travelers and boarded our 8 hour 44 minute flight to Rome. This leg of the journey was a hazy mixture of sleep and strange, shrink-wrapped meals interspersed by clips of Tangled, Due Date, and Austen Powers playing on my little screen. After spending about an hour and a half waiting in the airport for the rest of our company we drove 2 hours to Orvieto where we moved in to the monastery and had our first meal together. To be quite honest, I don’t remember much of the day due to extreme fatigue.
Sunday morning was lovely. After breakfast we embarked on a walking tour with our program director/renaissance art prof., R.D., and our Italian prof. We got to see the old battlements and stone walls that envelope the city, hike around small hills and climb up back stairs into the courtyard of our monastery. The tour culminated in all of the students (24 of us total) being taken out for coffee and pastries at a local chocolate shop/café. It was wonderful! I had a cappuccino and some delightful confection filled with coffee crème.
We then walked down to a local catholic church where we observed mass. The sanctuary was lovely, with multiple crucifixes, faded frescoes and a very large bronze tribute to St. Anthony. Then we took a “quick” 3-4 story climb up the bell/clock tower in the center of town where we were treated to a panoramic view of all Orvieto. It was breathtaking (and the chilling wind didn’t help that!). The town seems so alive, with it’s shingled roofs covered in moss and lichen providing a sea of blues, greens, and grays interspersed with a cheery orange. The only building remotely as tall as us was the Duomo a few streets away. It was a majestic view of this incredible cathedral.
After lunch Prof. Doll (the R.D.) taught us how to make our own cappuccinos, which is a skill that has already come in handy!! Now we all try to be the 2nd or 3rd person in the kitchen so we can reap the benefits of the first persons leftover coffee. The rest of the day was generally free time, spent together in the student sala.
Today (Monday) was our first day of classes! We had 3 hours of Renaissance Art History, including a trip inside the Duomo to observe the frescoed chapel. We had lunch and an hour of free time where I bought my first Gelato!! That was practically a spiritual experience. After trying to communicate sizes, amounts and flavors via a primitive sign language and some accidentally interspersed French I was rewarded with strawberry and lemon gelato J. This is an experience that will definitely be repeated!
This afternoon brought us our first Italian lesson. We had 2 hours of basic greetings and common courtesies.
Well that brings us up to the present! I know this was an incredibly long post, but they will be shorter in the future
Ciao!
