Forza, Vanderbilt!!
Fiorenza International School Cup
Working hard ...
Sept. 28-Oct. 6 2009
Working hard ... ... playing hard ....
... and eating a lot of pizza.
mercoledì 30 settembre 2009
martedì 22 settembre 2009
CET Student Correspondent News: A No Good, Very Bad Day
By Murielle Wyman
Student Correspondent
Student Correspondent
When we first arrived here, giggling and in awe of the sights around us, Aria (our program's director) warned us that we would have bad days. I just scoffed and thought to myself, "Bad days?? Like what?! How could we possibly have bad days when the 'toscana' (tuscan) sun is shining so brightly and the things we are learning are so interesting and there are entire shops devoted to Italian leather??!"
Well, I will tell you--one week in, the novelty wore off. Last Friday was a bad day. My roommates were all gone to a drawing class and I wanted to be outside-reading, eating, enjoying, looking. But what is so easy to do alone when you’re home can be a struggle here. You step outside of the comfort of your apartment and suddenly you are again the foreigner, alone in a strange land, forging your way through Italian streets that never quite go straight and that change names out of nowhere. No one speaks your language and it all leaves you feeling self- conscious, out of place, and altogether disoriented. I want so badly to find what sociologists refer to as a 'third place' here--a place that’s not work or home where I can go to read or study and feel comfortable.
So far, I haven't found it. Today, for example, I was determined to do two things--1. Go to this cafe up the street and plop myself down in their outdoor seating area with a coffee and read for one of my classes and 2. Mail some postcards. I left my building, walked towards the cafe, and when I got to it, all the tables were taken by smiling, laughing Italians and I simply didn’t feel up to trying to find a spot knowing I would have to speak Italian and would probably be eyed by all of those sitting already.
So I walked past, bummed but still comforted knowing that I could just go around the block and try to find a mailbox. I walked around the block, up this street, and across this little pedestrian bridge and proceeded to … get lost. I was literally only two blocks from my apartment in an area that was familiarly unfamiliar but I simply didn't feel up to fighting it. I said forget it to finding a mailbox and made my way to the big street that runs by my apartment. Before seeking out the comfort of my apartment, I stopped by the gelato place—I desperately needed a scoop to calm my nerves. Even though it doesn’t seem like a big deal now—you just realize there are days when you feel up to it and there are days when you don’t. I’m realizing that it’s okay. To be out means to encounter different languages, foreign stimuli and unfamiliar situations where even the simplest tasks can become complicated. Though it was a pain last Friday, I think this is what I will end up appreciating most about Italian culture when all is said and done—oh, and the gelato.
Murielle Wyman
CET Florence Fall 2009 Student Correspondent
Need some help finding a "third place" of your own? Here are some suggestions for great places for food, coffee, books, and (best of all) comfortable spaces to feel at home in Florence:
Biblioteca delle Oblate. Library and Cafe'.
http://www.bibliotecadelleoblate.it/ Via dell'Oriuolo 26
Selection of books in English (can be checked out for 1 month). The DVD archive with 2,000+ movies which can be borrowed for up to 7 days (remember to bring your passport to sign up).
Via Martelli, 22 r http://www.libreriamartelli.it/
music, cafe', food, books, awesome space made ofrecycled materials!! Borgo San Frediano, 20r http://www.lacitelibreria.info/
La terrazza (5th floor of the Rinascente department store)Piazza della Repubblica. great place for coffee, lunch, or just a view of the cityscape. http://www.rinascente.it/
Caffe' degli Artigiani Via dello Sprone16r, in Piazza della Passera
lunedì 21 settembre 2009
Florence Student Correspondent News: Living Through My Eyes
By Claire Costantino,
Student Correspondent
It’s been sort of rainy in Florence, but I don’t mind because a) I have puddle-resistant and hip Converse, which all Italians covet greatly, b) it’s made it cooler, and c) I am the proud owner of one of these:
All classy Florentines wish they had one.Yes, that IS the Duomo. Cheesy? Duh. Brilliant? Clearly.
Rain I can handle. It would take a hurricane, or probably just a strong gust of wind, to crush my Duomo and take me off the streets. But earthquakes? Those I cannot handle, as I learned during my first one last night. It was so subtle that many people, including my roommate, didn’t even notice it. I did notice it, and not it in a calm or collected manner.
But I’m trying not to let a crippling fear of the earth splitting apart beneath me get in the way of real life, so here’s some other stuff I’ve (bravely) been up to:
Cooking class where we made gnocchi (from scratch!), veal sauce, and tiramisu (tough)! YUM!
How I spend my lunch breaks during school. How pretty is my bruschetta??I intentionally picked all food pictures because those will make you guys most jealous, but mostly because pictures of us in class or walking all the time and earning our feasts aren’t as cute.
During those gaps of time between delicious meals called real life, I’m trying really hard to learn Italian so I can feel a little less helpless doing things like grocery shopping or, well, anything. Our classes are moving a little slower than I would have liked, so today I decided to take matters into my own hands with two moves to improve my Italian, one uncharacteristically intrepid and the other exactly the sort of stupid shenanigans I’d expect from myself:
Bold- I’m volunteering with Florence’s Festa della Creativita to translate/edit the plaques next to the visual exhibits into English. I’m really excited about this! It’s supposed to be one of the coolest things that happens in Florence and everyone I’ve met around there is really nice and welcoming.
Typical- As a little kid, I learned to read by working my way through Calvin and Hobbes anthologies. Today I saw a book of Peanuts cartoons in Italian in a bookstore and decided to see if the trick would work a few years later with Italian… at the very least it will make me adopt a more adorably cynical and practical joke-prone tone.
Fun weekend coming up: going to Elba for some Napoleon history and Mediterranean beauty and Pisa for shoddy tower engineering!
Claire Costantino,
CET Florence Fall 2009 Student Correspondent
Group Dinner alla Divina Commedia
5 Giornate Roommates 
Lavagnini RoommatesWELCOME DINNER
Thursday, September 3 "La Divina Commedia"
Via dei Cimatori, 7/r www.divinacommediataverna.com
Benvenute e ...
Buon appetito!
TEAM VANDERBILT: Fiorenza International School Soccer Cup
Monday 9/28 6.00 pm : Syracuse v Lorenzo de Medici1 Florida v Vanderbilt
6.40 pm : Syracuse v Florida Lorenzo 1 v Vanderbilt
7.20 pm : Cea v AEF ABC v AIFS
Tues. 9/29 6.00 pm : California v Florida Syracuse v Vanderbilt
6.40 pm : California v Vanderbilt Gonzaga v Lorenzo 2
7.20 pm : Lorenzo de Medici 2 v Pal. Rucellai Capa v AEF
7.55 pm : AIFS v Florida Capa v Lorenzo de Medici 2
8.15 pm : AIFS v Syracuse Gonzaga v Pal. Rucellai
Wed. 9/30 6.00 pm : Syracuse v California Lorenzo de Medici 1 v Florida
6.40 pm : Gonzaga v Cea Lorenzo de medici 1 v California
7.20 : Gonzaga v AEF ABC v Vanderbilt
7.55 pm : Lorenzo de Medici 2 v Cea Capa v Pal. Rucellai
8.40 pm : AIFS v Vanderbilt ABC v Syracuse
Thurs. 10/1 6.00 pm : Lorenzo de Medici 2 v AEF Gonzaga v Capa
6.40 pm : Capa v Cea Pal. Rucellai v AEF
7.20 pm : Pal. Rucellai v Cea ABC v Lorenzo de Medici 1
7.55 pm : AIFS v Lorenzo de Medici 1 ABC v California
8.15 pm : AIFS v California ABC v Florida
Mon, 10/5 6.00 pm : 1\4 finale 1\4 finale
7.00 pm : 1\4 finale 1\4 finale
Tuesday 10/6 6.00 pm : 1\2 finale 1\2 finale
7.00 pm : finale
10.00 pm : Awards ceremony at THE LION’S FOUNTAIN
TEAMS HAVE A TOTAL OF 5 MINUTES TO GET ON THE FIELD AT THE SCHEDULED TIME, AFTER WHICH THEY AUTOMATICALLY FORFEIT.
THE AWARDS CERMONY (MVP/MOST VALUABLE COACH/WINNERS) WILL AT TUESDAY, OCT. 6 AT 10 PM AT THE LION’S FOUNTAIN PUB.
FIRST ROUND GAMES ARE 30 MINUTES LONG (15 MINUTE HALVES), AND QUARTER/SEMI/FINALS GAMES ARE 50 MINUTES LONG (25 MIN. HALVES).
Come support us! Tournament stats and details @ www.thelionsfountain.com
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