Monday, June 20, 2011
My first experience with a stand up Italian shower was mildly successful—I am all clean and even got to shave my legs—but ended with water EVERYWHERE. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, the toilets and even the vanity were dripping. I will have to try to be more contained in the future, especially when/if my roommate shows up.
Last night was a blast. Gretchen, Emily, Jeffery (Emily’s mentor) and I joined the other LML students and faculty at a restaurant that was serving us free food with the purchase of drinks. We shared a bottle of Sangiovese di Romagna, a red wine that had a very strong fruit flavor at the start and a little kick at the end. I loved it. At this restaurant, I also learned a very important phrase:
Alergica a muscalo e crustae: I’m allergic to shellfish.
I doubt my spelling is correct, as I learned the phrase by ear and had to sound it out, but I think I will be saying it more than writing it anyway.
Still hungry, the four of us went to another restaurant where we ate a delectable custard dessert covered in sweet sauce (chocolate or caramel) and powdered sugar. With it, we had a bubbly white wine which was tasty, but not my favorite drink of the night. With such treats in our bellies, we debated going to the café, a wonderful little place in the piazza with a patio that opens up to a nice little park. Finally deciding, we walked to the café and had the most wonderful red wine, a Negroamero 2009 with grapes from Salento, a local town. We chatted, walked the garden, and chatted some more. In the center of the little park/garden, is a large memorial for all those from Novafeltria who were lost in the First World War. I was amazed at how many names were there from such a small town. They really did lose a generation.
I ended the night with my first shot of limoncello, a very potent liqueur that tastes like a lemon bar, and walked down to my empty flat.
Cheese. Bread. Water.
Lots of water.
Thankfully, I awoke today clear headed and ready to take on the world.
I refrained from spending all my money at the once weekly market held this morning, which was incredibly difficult—designer shoes for 10 Euro?!!! In fact, the market had just about everything one could imagine; fresh-picked vegetables and fruit, prosciutto, live chickens, gorgeous handbags, accessories, clothing, electronics, glass wear… I finally retreated to the Hotel Magda up the street from the piazza to check my email and chat with Lance.
Here at the hotel, I paid 40 Euro for 5 weeks of unlimited internet access—I think I would have died without it. I am made more and more aware of how dependent I have been on technology. If I need to find someone, I have to just hope and pray that I will run into them somewhere in town. If I need to know the schedule for the day (because it is always changing), I have to walk up to the school or theater to look at the posted schedule. There is no interactive communication system between the faculty and students here, nor is there a well-laid out plan for every minute of every day. Life now is more left up to chance, I suppose. It will take some getting used to, but at the same time, I think it will be a liberating experience.
One of those chance meetings occurred today for lunch. Emily came in search of an early lunch before her rehearsals and I joined her and Jeffery. I had a prosciutto e meloni platter, which was tasty, but it was Jeffery’s lasagna that blew me away—it tastes nothing like any lasagna I have ever had in the states. It melted in my mouth, and took my heart with it. YUM.
I am now sitting outside, Emily and Jeffery gone to their rehearsals, with nothing to do until my first scene rehearsal at 6:30. I think I will begin my way home, get some food at the store, and rehearse a little on my own. I found a recording of my scene online, which will make things a little easier. Then perhaps I will do some more Rosetta Stone—I start my formal Italian classes tomorrow.
Until then, Addio.
Kimi
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