Taking Leave of My Senses

Wednesday, June 4, 2:30 p.m.
I wanted this stay in Italy to be a sensory feast, and it surely has been that. Last night was the Farewell Party held at the Villa Delfini, a renovated villa that is possibly 500 years old about 30 minutes outside of Carpi. It now serves as a site for celebrations, and we surely had one last night. See pictures I snapped as we gathered there just before 9:00 p.m. Inside the main hall we had catered buffet. There was Sushi, baked tomato halves, asparagus spears wrapped in proscuitto, and on and on. Wine and more wine. Then the caterer brought out a huge cake decorated as an American flag. It was light and tasted somewhat like Tiramisu.

All the Americans had brought our/their host families and some of the teachers we'd worked with in the schools here. I'll post one of me with my teacher Daniela Bonini, another with Britta and Franco Bovi, and some of the setting.

After the food disappeared we Americans stood on a stage and introduced our host families and teachers in Italian to the crowd. We gave them certificates of appreciation that had been made by the local organizers. Then each group of students sang their college's alma mater and/or fight song. The Italians found that very entertaining.

To bed about 1:00 a.m., and a welcome rest it was. I slept late and leisurely packed my bags. In a little while I'll walk across the street to buy my last gelato. Tonight I'll treat the Bovis to dinner out, at a restaurant of their choosing, and then it's off to the bus station in Carpi for the midnight ride to Milano. We'll find our gate and hunker down to sleep until our flight leaves at 11:00 a.m. We're scheduled to arrive in Atlanta about 3:30 in the afternoon. Three of us will be met by the Clemson Airport Shuttle van and then we'll be almost home.

As I said, I came to Italy for a sensory experience. I've awakened to new sights, smells, tastes, sounds, and feelings every day. I have laughed, cried, gawked, sung, clowned around, taken chances, gotten lost, asked for help, trusted in strangers, bargained for goods on the street, ran for a train with a 20 pound pack on my back, turned down a sexual proposition from a strange man in a passing car, played with a dog, watched parts of countless American movies and TV shows in Italian, been subject to Italian Rap music in shops, tasted 20+ year old Balsamico, discovered that Italian espresso doesn't make me jittery, bought a tacky tourist straw hat in Venice to keep the sun off my head, figured out the keyboard on an Italian computer (the apostrophe is under the question mark, which is up top next to the equals sign and the number zero), seen many, many babies and toddlers, but not many pregnant women. The stork, maybe?

And now I'm satisfied and full and grateful. And tired. Very tired. Time to go home.

Still Learning to Blog

I guess I still have a lot to learn about blogging. I couldn't add a photo I wanted to: the one of me reading my speech in Italian to the class, so I'll try again now.

Arrivederci, Carpi

Tuesday, June 3, 4:25 p.m.

The weekend in Florence was perfect. Although the weather continued to be hot, alternating with rain, it allowed for just the right amount of activity.

The college students stayed in a hostel very near the Duomo and all the hubub (sp?), the 6 older folks stayed in a charming hotel just across the Arno River, not far from the Ponte Vecchio and all the other action. See pictures of the terrace where we had breakfast and just hung out, as well as the view from the terrace.

Just up the street was an Osteria (small, family-owned restaurant) where we had lunch Saturday afternoon. I can't recall what I ate; amazing meals have become routine by now! My preference was to wander alone, so I took a "passagiata" (after-meal stroll) up above the hotel to the Michaelangelo plazza where there is a sad-looking replica of the David statue and millions of hot, tired tourists. However, all that doesn't diminish the pleasure of the view. See pictures of the Duomo beyond some trees. A rest and a glass of peach flavored iced tea (Lipton) later, and I was on my way back down the path, snapping photos of flora left and right.

Florence in early June of 2008 seems much more crowded than it did my last visit in 1995. In spite of the weak dollar against the Euro, Americans (especially students) are here in huge numbers. To get away from the crowds, I wandered a few blocks from the better-known areas, but I also wanted to revisit the Medici Chapel. I hadn't realized that due to a piece of marble having fallen from its perch in 1999, a complete analysis of the structure is underway. Scaffolding is everywhere, and the statues of the Medici princes are in storage somewhere. Still, it's a grand edifice and will be grander when they put it back together.

As in Charleston, SC, there are horse-driven carriages for tourists, but these horses don't suffer the indignity our SC horses do of wearing "diapers." Alas, I wish they did; it's a challenge to gaze up at the sights and at the same time to look out for "road apples."

All in all, the weekend was much more relaxing than the one in Venice, what with no compulsion to do anything in particular. Am I "going native?" Well, I'd better snap out of it, because at midnight tomorrow night we board a bus for Malpensa Airport in Milan. Yes, I know that seems peculiar, and it is, but it was necessary to put us there in time for our morning flight to Atlanta. We'll have to snooze in the airport for a few hours, but we'll survive.

With Sarah Bovi's help (translating), I composed a little farewell speech to give my class. As today was to be my last day with the children, I read Sarah's Italian version of what I wanted to say, and it brought cries of "Brava!" from the children and tears from me. I'll really miss these kids. They are right at the cusp of adolescence and going off to middle school in the fall. I won't see them again, and yet they'll be in my heart always. The teachers gave me a pair of Murano glass earrings that will always remind me of them and their kindness.

Tonight (beginning at 9:00 p.m.) there is the Farewell Party at a villa outside of town. My host teacher will be there, as will the Bovi family and all the other host families and teachers from the various schools who took American students into their classrooms. It should be quite an affair. I'll be the one who's underdressed, snapping pictures of all the fashionable guests! Behind the camera is my favorite place!

It will be very hard to say goodbye to the Bovis. They really have treated me like family, and I have no doubt we'll see each other again, if not in Italy, then in the U.S. I cannot adequately describe what their hospitality has meant to me, nor what this Carpi Program has done for me. Thank you, OLLI, for opening up this program to your members. See you soon.

Historical Perspective

Thursday, May 29 the study abroad group took a bus ride of about 40 minutes to visit an open air archeological museum called Terramara di Montale. If you have a minute you should go to this website to see what I saw there: http://www.parcomontale.it/ If you can't open the site by clicking on it, it's worth a few seconds to type it into your computer and just look at the photos.

This place is one of three; the others are in Austria and Germany.


It rained the entire time we were there, so I didn't take any pictures. It seems that remnants of a Bronze Age (1500 B.C.) settlement were discovered some years ago there. It has been turned into a terrific place where school groups (and people of all ages) can see how people lived back then. There is even a room where children are given gloves and yellow hard hats to wear, brushes, trowels, sifters, etc. to use in exploring their own plastic (dish pan size) bins full of dirt and some fabricated fossils that have been hidden in the dirt by the staff. Then, in another room, they are given lab report forms to list and describe what they found and what they think the objects or fragments were used for.

After that they visit two replicas of Bronze Age dwellings filled with all sorts of likely tools, pots, weapons, skins, baskets, and so on. It was fascinating, despite the rain.

All I could think of was how thrilled I always am to visit Plimouth Plantation (yes, that's how it's spelled), and Williamsburg, VA. Parcomontale puts that in perspective!

Today, Friday, May 27 I gave the kids in my class some treats from America: Maple Sugar Candy. This was a follow-up to my telling them yesterday that I'm originally from the north and that this was one of my favorite treats when I was a kid. I also gave the class some decorative (fake) Maple leaves to help them remember where the candy comes from (Vermont). Then I gave the teachers and the custodians (ladies, one of whom has an art degree and speaks English) some pretty bookmarks I'd bought at the Pendleton Jubilee from a watercolor artist who lives in Easley. Since Daniella Bonini was my primary contact and is the "lead" teacher there, I gave her a pin in the shape of a basket that was made by one of the Sweetgrass ladies from Mt. Pleasant who were at this year's Pendleton Jubilee. Daniella was very moved by the fact that this is a genuine hand-crafted product of the descendants of African slaves. I also gave her a CD of Native American music (she sings in several local chorales and loves all kinds of music). Thanks to the internet she and I will remain in touch for a long time, I hope.

It's now about 2:00 p.m., and at 2:30 Sarah and I will join the other study abroad folks for what will be a very moving tour of the "Museum of the Deported," here in Carpi. I'll write about it tonight.

Ciao for now.

Italy's the Place to Be Young and Old

More time for blogging, as I have some time to myself now. Tuesday, May 27, both 5th grade classes walked a very short way to a senior center to make posters for a city-wide school competition whose theme this year is Alternative Energy Sources. The best in various grade levels will be chosen by the seniors at the center to display in their building.

As it turned out, this visit was rich with insight about the oldest Italians in this area. OLLI members might be particularly interested in this posting.

As soon as school began in the morning, the teachers told the kids to gather their art supplies (which are varied) and their mid-morning snacks, and led them two-by-two to a place called Il Centro Sociale Anziani di Cibeno Pile di Carpi. It's a social center where elderly (anziani) = the ancient ones, but with no pejorative meaning, enjoy themselves. It's not a residential place; it's a community center run by volunteers, all elderly. There are 3 such centers in Carpi, and they're a cooperative effort by the Church and the Civic side of the community. Apparently this is unusual, and they're very proud of this progressive meeting of the minds.

All during the month of May school groups (K-12) come and work on their posters in a pavilion similar to the one at Clemson's Madren Center (for those who know that place). The volunteers have set up long tables and covered them with paper and have put a large square sheet of watercolor paper in front of each child. Then they leave the kids to their own creative impulses, and do whatever they usually do there: play bocci ball, pool, exercise, read in the library, or just sit and smoke (outdoors only -- no indoor smoking is allowed in public places in Italy) and chat. The main building is a restored country villa. The grounds are beautiful.

My teacher (Daniela Bonini) and I went into the little cafe' for an espresso, and chatted with a lovely woman who served us. Then I spotted a room with interesting murals and framed posters (winning posters from previous years), and asked if I could go in to see them better. Of course!

And wow! An 80 year old man named Luigi Borellini who volunteers there gave us the tour, including the office where another volunteer manages tech support and the books. I was so wowed by the art that I asked if there might be a little flier or anything describing this place. Off went Luigi and reappeared with a book full of information about the center and the poster contest. It contained pictures of all the previous winning posters (10 years of them), and he wouldn't take any money for it. So I asked for his name and if he'd pose with me for a picture, and I'll write to him c/o the center when I get back to the states. I was so moved by the beauty and the health of these people, by their warmth and spirit. Look for the picture of the 2 men and a baby stroller. One man had just wheeled his grandchild up there (see the umbrella to protect her from the sun) and was chatting with his friend. The rest of the pictures should need no explanation.

Back to School and Walking Home

On Monday, May 26 I snapped a couple of pictures in the classroom while the kids were at recess. I'd written in a previous post that there were only 2 maps in the room. I was wrong; there are 3. Also, look for the pic of the front of the school. My classroom is on the 2nd floor on the right. There's also one of the view up the street to the right from the classroom windows.

And I captured a few scenes along my 10 minute walk home at 12:30 for pranzo. The one showing the pedestrian crossing has the Bovi house in the background. It's the 2-story house closest to the street with the 2 tall trees in front. Hard to photograph it.

My next posting will describe one of the best field trips the class has taken. It was to a Senior Center, a social gathering place run by retired volunteers. I hope you'll check it out.

30 Hours in Venice

Our hotel was in a quiet area, opening onto a courtyard where I snapped the one with the laundry and the one of the cats. The others were taken from a Vaporetto (boat) on the Grand Canal. I thought the chimneys were intriguing.

On Friday, May 23, some of us enjoyed a special dinner featuring the locally produced, organic, Traditional (a sort of extra-special certification method) Balsamico. To be called Balsamico the vinegar must be processed in very time-intensive ways. It's tangy and sweet and syrupy and dark. Before each course of the dinner we were given a brief description of what distinguishes the conventional processing of vinegar from the Traditional method. Every course contained some Balsamico, even dessert. All were exceptional. I felt like I was sitting with the panel of judges on the TV show Iron Chef America. A little of this, a little of that, and so on. We had our first taste at about 9:00 or so, and midway through (about 10:00) we were given tiny plastic spoons for tasting a few drops of two types of Balsamico: a 12 year old sample, followed by a sample that was 20+ years old. I actually liked the 12 year old sample better, and bought a bottle of it. Dinner finally finished about 11:30 and it was about 1:00 a.m. before I hit the sack. We had to be at the Carpi train station no later than 7:15 Saturday morning for our trip to Venice.

We made it in time and caught the train to Modena and Bologna before changing to one heading to Venice. We got to Venice and our hotel "noonish," and enjoyed a memorable pranzo in the courtyard of the hotel. I ordered two appetizers, no main course: sardines grilled with onions, sultanas (tiny grapes) and pine nuts and the best bruschetta I've ever had! I liked the sardine dish so much that I ordered it in another cafe' for Sunday lunch. Never had fresh sardines before. Naturally, all was accompanied by Lambrusco wine.

I went with 2 other women to the island of Murano for the afternoon. I had expected it to be fairly rustic, with one large glass factory. How wrong I was. The place was packed with glass shops, most of which displayed identical pieces intended for tourists. So I walked and walked and walked, surveying every shop along the main sidewalk, and finally bought one pair of earrings that I could afford, and a little gift for my father. I'm glad I didn't take a tour of any of the glass factories. I hear there's a lot of pressure to buy the "good stuff." Back to the main island for roaming and poking around, followed by an early shower and bed.

Sunday involved more walking and poking and a long, quiet lunch with Sarah Bovi in her favorite cafe'. We both relished our meals under cover of a large sort of tent and watched a brief rainstorm move through. No hurry. We didn't have to catch the train back to Carpi until after 5:00. When the rain stopped we took a vaporetto to San Marco's Square. I'd first seen it at age 16, and I honestly don't remember it being so crowded, but it has become almost Disney-esque in its kitschiness (sp?). At my age I much prefer the quiet lanes and courtyards, so we walked back to the hotel through such areas.

Everyone caught the train that was going through Vicenza and Verona on its way to Carpi, and all was well. Unfortunately, due to several unknown problems and some known ones, the trainride took about 6 hours (2-3 hours longer than normal). When we arrived in Carpi, thirsty, hungry, sweaty and tired, Franco met Sarah and me and Britta welcomed us to the house with dinner! Food never tasted so good as at midnight Sunday night. Up bright and early (well, early) for school on Monday..... yawn.

So, the trip to Venice was fun and we all survived in tact. I'd like to go there in the winter sometime. But I'd never turn down a chance to spend time in that magical place, even in July if it came to that!

More Classroom Observations

Before I write about the brief visit to Venice I thought I'd share some observations I've been jotting down about what goes on in my school. In no particular order:

1. The children bring water bottles and are allowed to drink from them whenever they like.
2. School begins at 8:30 and there's a snack break about 10:30, followed by a 20 minute recess outdoors. The snacks are usually brought from home, and consist of bread or some packaged "junk food" item, and sometimes a juice box. However, there is a vending machine just outside my classroom, selling half-liter bottles of water for only .30 Euros (about 50 cents....much cheaper than in the U.S.), and various other carbohydrate snacks. I have never seen a piece of fruit eaten at snack time. There is also a vending machine selling all sorts of coffee (tiny plastic cups of freshly made espresso) and hot chocolate, again, very inexpensive.
3. At the back of the classroom is a huge roll of soft paper towels (softer than what we use at home to clean up) which the children use to blow their noses in....and there's a lot of nose blowing!
4. In my class the desks are in rows but grouped in twos. There are 2 Guilias (Julia) sitting together in the front row, and just behind them are 2 Giovannis. I think that may just be a coincidence, I haven't asked the teacher.
5. Until 5th grade, the girls wear pink smocks over their clothes (apparently to keep them clean), and the boys wear blue smocks. I'm told this is each school's option, but by 5th grade the smocks are "history."
6. Every child has several kinds of pencil boxes. The girls seem to all have pink ones, and you can guess the popular color of the boys' boxes. These boxes may contain regular pencils, colored pencils, pastel chalk, highlighters, watercolor markers, erasers, and so on.
7. Workbooks are stored in bins or cubbies in the back of the room. The kids use their own paper when writing, but for certain projects are given tracing paper, something I haven't seen since childhood.
8. The classroom has one map of Italy and one World map. I should have brought a large U.S. map, but wrongly assumed every classroom would have maps of all the continents. Oh, well.
9. In a classroom in a nearby school where our study abroad group meets every Tuesday afternoon there's a crucifix above the blackboard, but I haven't seen one in my school.
10. There is no Italian or EU flag in the classroom, so no pledging of allegiance in the morning.
11. The science book teaches about evolution. As far as I know, nobody takes issue with this.
12. Unless the students are taking a test (for which the adjoining desks are separated), there is a good bit of noise in the class. When the teachers have tolerated all they can, they let the kids know enough is enough by using a voice that projects in a volume and pitch such as I've never heard in America! They all seem to have that particular talent. It's impressive and effective and used sparingly. Of course, they also are masters of what I call "The Look." It could reverse Global Warming!

That'll do it for now. Next time I'll describe our short weekend in Venice and will attach more pictures. Busy day tomorrow and Thursday. In class on Thursday I will tell my class about SC and my home area of New England. I've brought the kids some Maple Sugar candy and some decorative (fake) Maple leaves as they appear in the Fall. I wanted to bring them a treat that's uniquely American. Also, I'll talk about Clemson Elementary School. The principal there gave me a short CD the kids have made about their school, so I'll show that in class. I'll also talk about an aspect of American culture that they probably never hear about: the role of African Americans in our history. I have a set of cards (about the size of playing cards) called Great African Americans. Each one has a photo (or drawing, if the person lived before photography) on an important African American on one side of the card and an interesting summary of that person's accomplishments. The teacher was especially keen to use these. I think it's so important that we expose these children to Americans other than Pop Stars!

Over and out for now.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

It's now 4:00 p.m. Thursday, May 22, and I'm beginning to recover from the "big" show we put on for two groups of 6 and 7 year olds at the children's library. With great gusto we acted out the very simple children's story called Spot Goes to the Circus. I volunteered to be the elephant. We also had a lion, a tiger, a bear, a pig, two dogs, a kangaroo, monkeys, and a clown. I played one of the monkeys in addition to playing the elephant. Wearing homemade "costumes" we sweated our way through the story and a bunch of songs we sang with the children. They loved it.

When we finished I too a slow walk home (about 25 minutes), stopping now and then to snap pictures of flowers planted between the sidewalk and the busy street. Maybe now's a good time to describe the architecture in Carpi. Everything looks pretty well maintained. Neatness counts! The house I live in is a free-standing stucco, two story house with a 2 car garage at the back. No yard to speak of, but two magnolia trees in the front, providing some shelter from road noise and passersby. Every house is separated from the sidewalk by iron fences and gates. The windows are either covered by bars or are double sets of what we might call French Doors. Windows are draped with somewhat sheer linen curtains. The floors are tile, the walls are white, and the lighting fixtures have compact fluorescent bulbs which they call "basso consumo" -- pretty self-explanatory, huh? While Italians abhor air conditioning, they also think they'll freeze if the temperature is below 75F. They wear scarves around their necks, sweaters or long-sleeve shirts and jackets. Apparently, it is believed that all sickness is caused by bad air, "mal aria." I've just hung out my laundry to dry. It may take overnight, especially if we have any mal aria! The drying racks are brought into the garage or the house if it's too damp outside. Britta Bovi irons EVERYTHING: sheets, towels, underwear, sox, you name it. The steam iron is in constant use (distilled water, of course, as the water here is very hard), but I iron the few things of mine that need ironing while they're still slightly damp, a concept unheard of here.

I know that was a digression, sorry.

So, some houses are free-standing and of all sizes. Ours is quite compact. The apartment bldgs. are usually no more than 3-6 stories high, allowing for a small-town feel. A lot of the city reminds me of parts of San Francisco (minus the hills), San Diego, and Granada or Seville, Spain. The residents, young and old, look healthy and unstressed. Nobody takes a pill of any sort unless they're in dire straits. The other day my back ached after a very long period of standing, and Franco had to excavate a drawer in the kitchen to locate something akin to an aspirin.

Every house has satellite tv. You name it, they can watch it: French, German, Spanish, British, Arabic (Al Jazeera, Int'l., which, by the way is also in English and very good!), and that's all I've landed upon, so far. We don't watch a lot of tv. At this very moment, though, there's something very exciting to see: Italy has it's own bicycle race, similar to the Tour de France. When I left the children's library at the main piazza tv commentators and technicians were setting up a Jumbotron (sp?) screen and racing fans were streaming into the piazza to buy souvenirs and food prior to catching a glimpse, in person, of the Finish Line which is here in Carpi for the first time, ever! A very big deal. I couldn't wait there for 4 hours to do that (Franco was expecting me for pranzo), so I'll now watch it on tv.

Ciao for now.

More Photos

Here are a few more photos: One is in a farm co-op shop where 10 dairies send their milk every day to begin the 2-3 year process of making the local cheese. Other pictures will show various stages of this process.

As in American schools, one is not allowed to photograph the children, but I did take some pictures of the art hanging in the hall, and one of the poster my class made to welcome me my first day.