Letters to an Invisible Audience

Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun

2006-11-01T09:44:00.000+01:00

(taken from The Times website--the British one)

Roger Dobson and Abul Taher

THE modern gentleman may prefer blondes. But new research has found that it was cavemen who were the first to be lured by flaxen locks.

According to the study, north European women evolved blonde hair and blue eyes at the end of the Ice Age to make them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males.

The study argues that blond hair originated in the region because of food shortages 10,000-11,000 years ago. Until then, humans had the dark brown hair and dark eyes that still dominate in the rest of the world. Almost the only sustenance in northern Europe came from roaming herds of mammoths, reindeer, bison and horses. Finding them required long, arduous hunting trips in which numerous males died, leading to a high ratio of surviving women to men.

Lighter hair colours, which started as rare mutations, became popular for breeding and numbers increased dramatically, according to the research, published under the aegis of the University of St Andrews.

“Human hair and eye colour are unusually diverse in northern and eastern Europe (and their) origin over a short span of evolutionary time indicates some kind of selection,” says the study by Peter Frost, a Canadian anthropologist. Frost adds that the high death rate among male hunters “increased the pressures of sexual selection on early European women, one possible outcome being an unusual complex of colour traits.”

Frost’s theory, to be published this week in Evolution and Human Behavior, the academic journal, was supported by Professor John Manning, a specialist in evolutionary psychology at the University of Central Lancashire. “Hair and eye colour tend to be uniform in many parts of the world, but in Europe there is a welter of variants,” he said. “The mate choice explanation now being put forward is, in my mind, close to being correct.”

Frost’s theory is also backed up by a separate scientific analysis of north European genes carried out at three Japanese universities, which has isolated the date of the genetic mutation that resulted in blond hair to about 11,000 years ago.

The hair colour gene MC1R has at least seven variants in Europe and the continent has an unusually wide range of hair and eye shades. In the rest of the world, dark hair and eyes are overwhelmingly dominant.

Just how such variety emerged over such a short period of time in one part of the world has long been a mystery. According to the new research, if the changes had occurred by the usual processes of evolution, they would have taken about 850,000 years. But modern humans, emigrating from Africa, reached Europe only 35,000-40,000 years ago.

Instead, Frost attributes the rapid evolution to how they gathered food. In Africa there was less dependence on animals and women were able to collect fruit for themselves. In Europe, by contrast, food gathering was almost exclusively a male hunter’s preserve. The retreating ice sheets left behind a landscape of fertile soil with plenty of grass and moss for herbivorous animals to eat, but few plants edible for humans. Women therefore took on jobs such as building shelters and making clothes while the men went on hunting trips, where the death rate was high.

The increase in competition for males led to rapid change as women struggled to evolve the most alluring qualities. Frost believes his theory is supported by studies which show blonde hair is an indicator for high oestrogen levels in women.

-----------------------------

...blah blah blah.
Vote YES on all propositions, or something. Especially 86. Sorry Gene, you pay.

[Enter stage boring]

2006-10-12T08:11:00.000+02:00

Life has been pretty boring lately. I work. I sleep. I go to the library. I frequent classes (just not my Italian one, I despise it). The only thing that spices up my day is sitting outside and doing school work. I've been desperately soaking up the vestiges of the lingering summer sun because it will soon be too cold (windy, and maybe rainy) to camp outside beneath a magnolia tree on campus.

I've committed to begin listening to my iPod (while walking somewhere) more often in an attempt to reconnect myself to the dreamy side of me that flourished this past year in Italy. As I walk, the accompanying music makes me feel as though I'm the character in a movie. I don't know why this is a good thing to me, I have a strong dislike for movies in general and an even stronger ambivalence to actors. I will figure out why feeling like a character in a movie while walking down the street is comforting and inspiring to me...that and I will figure out what the hell I'm doing with this thesis. :)

My life has changed

2006-10-09T08:32:00.000+02:00

That's right folks. At 10:14pm, Sunday October 8, 2006, I discovered the wonderful services of www.questia.com. Check it out for yourself. My thesis has just become more do-able. I would say it's my favorite website, but I've also discovered www.ilovealpacas.com

Italian Labor Day Weekend--Bologna to...Bergamo?

2006-05-29T00:14:00.000+02:00

As American students in Italy, we are fortunate enough to celebrate both American and Italian holidays, doubling our school holidays and augmenting our standard three-day weekends. The final weekend in April was none other than Italian Labor Day and my friends and I planed a long weekend on the seashore but only after a quick stop in Bologna. (red landscape of Bologna seen left from Torre degli Asinelli--Tower of Asinelli...click photos for large view)

Bologna is a beautifully reddish city north of Florence, located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. I say it's red because all the buildings are shades of sienna (much like the city Sienna as seen in a much earlier blog entry). A Bolognese insider told me that there's something like an ordinance which does not allow you to paint your palazzo a shade other than red. The captivating medieval city is not only home to the world-famous Spaghetti Bolognese (spaghetti and meat sauce) but also one of our professori, Cosimo, a former Florentine who chose Bologna's thriving university (allegedly the oldest in Europe, but the French disagree) environment over Florence's tourist inferno. (pictured right with Megan P., Katrina, and myself...Megan, stop drooling)

My time in Bologna began in Piazza Maggiore at the Basilica di San Petronio. The facade of this enormous Gothic cathedral is unfinished, supposedly because the Vatican heard that the Bolognese wanted to build a basilica larger than Saint Peter's in Vatican City (Rome) and the powerful church quickly put a stop to those plans. From what I saw, the size did not rival that of St. Peter's...yet. (unfinished Basilica di San Petronio, above left as seen from Piazza San Maggiore)

Also located in the piazza is the Palazzo Communale (town hall), built in the 14th century. It's red, it's medieval, it's typical Bologna. (portion of Palazzo Communale, right)

It was not until I saw the nearby Fontana di Nettuno (Neptune Fountain) that I remembered I had been in Bologna before, during a trip six years earlier. The fountain is definitely something you remember because many people over time, including the Catholic Church, have considered it indecent. How does one in the 16th century make a fountain indecent? See for yourself (left). Looks pretty tame, does it not?

Upon a closer look, you will see four sirens posed provocatively with water coming from their breasts (right). When I was 16, my friend and I mocked the fountain in a photo and so I had to recreate it upon my return visit (below left).

After making a scene at the fountain, I wandered the city while Megan and Kate were assaulted with their art history lesson compliments of the infamous Helen Manner. Like many older cities in Italy, some of the streets were small, charming, and so ideal that you felt as though you stumbled upon some movie set. Sadly, the camera could not capture this for me to show (my attempt, bottom right).

Although it was a dreary day, blue skies made an appearance so that this photo could be taken (below left).

My wandering about town brought me to the Tower of Asinelli and it's leaning neighbor, the Tower of Garisenda. As was the custom during the Middle Ages, the powerful and wealth families erected towers which served as a status symbol. The Garisenda family clearly had money and clout, but not enough to prepare a proper foundation for their tower and thus it began sinking much like the infamous tower in Pisa. (left: Garisenda tower is the shortr one, Asinelli the taller)

The approximately 490 stairs to the top of the Asinelli tower were no match for these gams! The view looking down from those rickety old stairs did play a number on my nerves though (below left). It was all worth it because of the spectacular views afforded from it's location 334 feet above the city.

The lush valley surrounding the city made me feel like I was in Florence. Bologna is blessed with the same rich colors with which I fell in love while visiting Florence for the first time several years ago. Because the city is nestled in a valley, it is often cloaked with a light haze which prevents one from
taking a crystal clear picture (except in winter when the wind blows so hard that no haze dares to linger). (looking down upon city and surround hills, right)

The obligatory young Italian couple engaging in some over the top PDAs (public display of affection) was one of the many interesting things that I encountered atop the tower. On of the most scary things was the father whose parenting skills were beyond than questionable. (see left, toddler hanging over the city Michael Jackson style...well, almost)

Another disheartening thing to see was how the tower was now being used by the rich and powerful families (corporations, governments) of our time. Who knew that medieval architecture + capitalism/technology = something that looks like a maximum security prison?

Another interesting thing to see from my bird's eye view of the city was the "trailer trash" like rooftop terrace of a 17th century palazzo, complete with astroturf lawn and white, plastic lawn chairs.

After meeting up with my cognitively overloaded art history companions, we took a much desired shopping break at H&M--the one and only store I will truly miss (that is until one opens in Pasadena this fall!).

The next leg of our tour was to be along the beautiful Ligurian coast in Monterosso, one of the five towns that make up the famous Cinque Terre of Italy. As we went to purchase our train tickets to our next destination, we retrieved our hostel reservations to confirm our train stop and purchased the next ticket to the city in which our hostel was located--Bergamo.

According to the hostel website, the hostel in which we had reservations for four very tired and excited gals was located in the Monterosso area. What we didn't know at the time we boarded the train was that Bergamo is 250 km away from Monterosso. After one stop, I expressed my doubts about the direction of the train because it did not coincide with the research I had been doing for the trip. We consulted our Italy guide books to discover the true location of Bergamo and got off that train as soon as possible. (Megan's train ride of shame after booking the Bergamo hostel, right)

A few hours and about 25 frantic phone calls to hotels later, we found ourselves safely locked in a room, close to the sea, enjoying the labors of our Italian holiday. (in our last minute hotel room in La Spezia after a tiring day of traveling, left)

To be continued in next entry...Cinque Terre! (below)

My Italian life, in pictures

2006-05-07T16:28:00.000+02:00

Italy thus far in pictures

I suppose I’ll start with the basics…

As you know, I have been living in Florence (known as Firenze in Italian) for about 9 months now. It is located in the beautiful, lush, and commonly idealized area of Tuscany, which is in central Italy. Florence is known for being the birthplace of the Renaissance because it was home to the wildly rich and powerful Medici family who were great patrons of the arts.

This is Florence:

by day

and by night.

This is the street I live on. The name translates to “Top of the World.”

This is the palazzo in which I live. Palazzo is basically what you call a building.

My Italian roommate (right) and her best friend (left) at the Madonna costume party.

This is my room:

I’ve been trying not to collect books because they are going to weigh so much and take up so much space when I go to leave, but it’s very difficult since I am here to study literature, you know. My library:

and yes, that is St. Augustine’s City of God next to Carmen Electra’s Aerobic DVDs.

I have some interesting neighbors…

this is Mimo, an unbelievably large cat. I am his number one fan.

another neighbor here in Florence, Michaelangeo’s David.

I spend a lot of time walking on the uneven, stony streets of the city

and a lot of time reflecting

I spend a lot of time cooking for myself and for my friends

my typical dinner table

a silly apron

a feast, recipes compliments of Macaroni Grill!

delicious desserts are a must!

I also make delicious breakfasts for my friends. Yes, that is pretty much a troth of yummy breakfast potatoes and I am in the background preparing more!

I even make perfect cappuccinos to round out the meal!

Sometimes I go out for the incredible Italian ice cream—gelato

and when I’m lucky, I go out to eat.

The only bad thing about cooking and having guests over is you must clean.

When somewhere is too far to walk or it is raining, I take the bus

This is me waiting for the bus and below is Ajla bored on the bus

In true Italian form, I have zipped around the city on a scooter

Whenever I leave the city, I go by train

I go out for apertivo (drinks and snacks) with friends

I watch a lot of Sex and the City with my girls

I go out to plays and operas in beautiful and historic theaters

Leaving for a night out at the opera

Window shopping is a must

I babysit this cute British-Italian girl every week. More about that linguistic nightmare later…

A lot of time is just spent hanging around

I see beautiful things every day

Oh yeah, and I go to school too!

my school

me, my friends, and one of our teachers

I like to look at all the Italian books in bookstores, reading titles and looking for things that are familiar

I go on field trips and feel like I’m in elementary school again

the only redeemable thing about field trips for me is the fabulous hotels that we stay in! In them, I can finally pamper myself with a bath, something my Italian abode is lacking.

Besides bathtubs, another thing I desperately miss about the states is my Dr. Pepper

Without things like Dr. Pepper and baths, sometimes I feel like I am living under some communist regime. But then again, there are other things that make me feel that way.

I spent my New Year’s in Paris

and my birthday on the island of Capri (and no, I encountered no sirens)

I’ve experienced autumn for the first time

and after a long and painful winter, I finally experienced a true spring

Well, I’ve resized, uploaded, and semi-explained enough pictures, so I’m going to call it a night. Hope you enjoyed and leave me a note telling me you looked! I know you lurkers are out there so speak up!!

Torino 2006

2006-02-19T12:08:00.000+01:00

I just came back from the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy and it actually prompted me to update my blog. Therefore, you know it must be big!

Torino is about a four hour train ride north of where I am currently living and it was difficult to pass up the chance to experience my first Olympics. After all, I am in the host country, I am on a school break, and I don't have a job here in Italy. I went to Torino with two friends who had tickets to a preliminary hockey match and although at first I was sad that I didn't have tickets to an event, I soon learned that much of the fun of going to the Olympics is not really attending an event, but participating in the worldwide community and taking in the atmosphere.

My friends who had tickets were not afforded time to discover the nuances of the Olympic plazzas and host city like I was because they had tight schedules to stick to, which included a lot of waiting in lines. While they hurried up and waited, I walked around, taking photos, people watching, and visiting all the areas that Torino had to offer. Oh yeah, I was also in the Today Show audience, in the very front, waving to everyone back at home who wasn't watching (except my grandma!). Someday, when I have money money money, I will be able to go back to the Olympics and have the best of both worlds--the time to discover and the money to go to events. For now, my time in Torino will suffice.

The top picture is me in front of the Olympic stadium and torch. The second is the logo for this year's games. The third is me after the Today Show taping. I took a lot more pictures but those will come later!

It's vacation time!

2005-12-23T21:29:00.000+01:00

I am currently in the middle of a 5 country trip--Austria, Germany, France, (back to) Italy, and lastly Switzerland! My sister is my travel companion right now and we are spending Christmas in Munich. It will be my first white Christmas and I am very excited. Then we are off to Paris, to meet up with John and Justin, two of my friends from high school and we will all be spending New Year's Eve there. After which, we will hop on a train, I will show them Italy and we will head to Switzerland for some snowboarding in the Swiss Alps! Details to come. Happy holidays! (P.S. I would have inserted line breaks, but the enter button is not working on this crazy German keyboard)

Los Angeles Native Experiences Autumn for the First Time

2005-12-19T06:58:00.000+01:00

Florence is best known as the birthplace of the Renaissance. A place renowned as an area which has kindled the artistic abilities of many, resulting in one of the most highly regarded artistic movements of time. Amidst all this art and architecture, I have found the capoliveri (masterpiece) of Italy to be the autumn season that I have just experienced.

I have seen “The Birth of Venus,” I have seen Michelangelo's David, but the most beautiful thing that I have seen in Florence was a yellow-leaf filled park at midnight.

It was after three days of rainfall—the ground was saturated, spirits were low, and the sky had just become cleared of its nebulous beasts. The rain had prematurely beat down the bright yellow leaves, the bark of the trees were pitch black with rain water, and the moon was reflecting upon the dew covered leaves. It was magnificent and sadly, I don’t have a picture to show of it.

Since that night, the leaves have quickly turned brown, becoming a visible sign of winter, which officials arrives in two days. Of course, now that the leaves have officially become carcasses, I am fully armed with camera in hand. Without delay, my standing ovation to autumn as she takes her final bow...

The pictures:
Top right: Park nearby my school. Yes, that is a merry-go-round in the distance.
Top left: Me in the leaves.
Second right: More leaves!
Second left: The leaves on their hearse.
Bottom right: Naked trees.

"My professor makes the best gin and tonics" and other recent utterances

2005-12-15T23:57:00.000+01:00

One of the many things that I will return home with is my newly reinforced ability to cook. Because I am afforded more time in the kitchen, thanks to my pleasantly relaxed daily schedule of activities (aka I am not working 30 hours a week like back at home), I find myself experimenting more with dishes and enjoying the process of cooking, therefore leading me to do it frequently.

I have even garnered a reputation among my friends here in Italy as an excellent cook and I am often finding myself at friend's houses cooking dinner for a gathered mass of hungry students. I have also become quasi-vegetarian while here because this country is so obsessed with ham and veal, things which do not excite me in the least bit. Also, because there is some chicken flu thing going around, no one is eating chicken, so the only meat I find myself consuming is sliced turkey from the deli at the grocery store.

One of my favorite new things to make is a from-scratch cappuccino! I never imagined that I would be able to make a cappuccino without a 200 dollar machine, but it can be done! They have these small teapot looking things here which make a cup of espresso, so I add warm milk to the espresso, and whip (by hand, which becomes tiresome if you have a couple of guests over) some more warm milk into foam, and there you have it. A 2.00 dollar Starbucks cappuccino brought to you my Krystle. (as seen at right)

When I am not feeding myself and my friends, I find myself at school, feeding my brain with lots of history and literature! Studying here is a great opportunity to be exposed to so many areas of literature and history that I probably would not encounter back at home. Moreover, without even trying, I am acquiring so much knowledge about art, architecture, and language than I ever could have imagined.

Recently, one of the facilitators of this learning opened up his house and hosted a Sunday Cocktail party for all of the American students that he teaches (most teachers that I've talked to in Florence teach at about 2-4 schools at a time). It was a great afternoon/evening and I came to discover that my professor has one of the most hip and interestingly decorated places that I have seen in years. (he's pictured left, moonlighting as bartender...and the best gin and tonic ever--which he made--is pictured right. gin and tonics are best served with heart shaped ice cubes)

Wireless and happiness

2005-12-01T20:18:00.000+01:00

After four long months of anticipation, the wireless internet has been set up at my school! I could not be more pleased! You can send me a message on AIM on the screen name "blondeambassador," as I am certain to be online often now.

Other than the overdue arrival of free internet access, my life in Italy is going very well. I was bumped up a class in Italian, I have been learning about medieval and Renaissance Italian (and European) literature, I have been learning a great deal about music and opera, and I am developing ideas for my honors thesis.

As expected, the method of instruction is different than what I am accustomed to in the States. Although it was jarring at first, I quickly adapted and things are progressing splendidly.

The only thing I am experiencing adversity with is the weather. As a native Southern Californian, I am used to sun, sun, sun, wind, and some rain. As a temporary Florentine, I am abused by bitter, damp cold, lingering rain, hail/slushy snow, and a depressing, continually gray sky. Even though it may seem that I am completely opposed to the weather, I have found solace in the opportunity to finally indulge myself in the fabulous winter clothes that are unnecessary for the Los Angeles climate. Scarves, boots, tights, winter skirts, hats, coats, gloves--I am all over it!

More to come...and I will (someday) get up more of my travel adventures (with pictures!).

--Kate and I enjoying a peanut butter and jelly sandwich somewhere in Italy and desperately trying to stay warm!

One and a half months down

2005-10-15T18:05:00.000+02:00

It is now finals week for our first round of classes. It is crazy to think that I have already earned 6 units since my arrival! My Italian is improving daily even though I am spending most of my study time on GRE material.

My mom is coming in one week to visit me and I am so excited! Not only because she is my mom and I love her, but also she is my first visitor. I look forward to visitors because I want to share my life here with others, share all the knowledge I have acquired, share my excitement and love for it all, and be the best, free tour guide ever!

Other than that, things have become routine and I am happy to have things in order. I am SO happy to have my literature classes begin in a couple weeks. The things I will be studying are amazing and I never would have been able to study them back at home.

I still have some blog entries I have yet to write. The next one will be on my weekend to Elba and I will get that up soon, with pictures and everything.

September 9th--School trip to Central Tuscany

2005-10-07T22:08:00.000+02:00

The first of five scheduled school trips was intended to expose us students to our new Tuscan surrounding and to provide us with a historical background of the area. We departed at 7:45 AM--the air was crisp, the sky was suspiciously gray, and the students were cranky because of the early departure time. As we drove towards Siena, we were afforded picturesque views of the Tuscan landscape (of which I missed many photo opportunities) however, the excitement of the day's events were lessened when it began to rain heavily. We quickly arrived in Siena and the rain seemed like it was intensifying. We sat in the buses, which were parked at the foot of a huge medieval fortress, hoping that the rain would have mercy on us unsuspecting and unprepared Californians. Alas, mother nature did not feel the need to cooperate and time constraints finally forced us to begin our tour. Eager vendors were waiting outside our bus selling cheap umbrellas. I was wishing that someone was selling rainboots because I was wearing open-toed, low heels!

We scaled the massive walls of the fortress, dodging puddles and huddling under umbrellas. We entered the partly-walled town of Siena at the absolute height of the rainfall. I don't think I have ever experienced such an intense rainfall, which scares me because it was only September and I am certain the worst is yet to come. With our feet soaking in rainwater, we laughed at the absurdity of the situation and blindly followed our tour guide through the beautiful city. We finally walked down a very narrow and highly down-graded street to find ourselves at the Piazza del Campo--the city's shell-shaped center, constructed in the 12th century.

The Palazzo Pubblico, the picture with the tall bell tower, was constructed in 1342 and is the second highest medieval tower ever built in Italy. The Gothic building was constructed as the town hall, which it still serves as today, however, there is also a relatively small museum inside, which served as a perfect shelter from the rain. To us, the Museo Civico and Palazzo Pubblico were highly regarded for the warmth and shelter they provided us, but to most it, they are well-known for housing a set of frescos by Ambrosio Lorenzetti, which were completed in the 14th century just before the Black Death stunted the prosperity of the town. The frescoes, named Allegory of Good and Bad Government, are important because they are one of the few secular paintings from the Middle Ages. They are located in the medieval "state room"--in which governmental business took place--and the paintings served as a reminder of the important role the men had. One part of the frescoes shows a thriving and ideal city thanks to the propriety of its government, while the other depicts a chaotic and dirty city which reflects its poor governing body. There were many other fascinating and beautiful medieval works in the museum but we soon found ourselves back out in the rain on the way to the city's duomo, or cathedral.

A quick note on "duomos" first...many people believe that duomo means "dome" in Italian, but this is not the case. Although many duomos have amazing domes, or cupolas, the term duomo comes from Latin domus dei, which means "house of God." These days, duomo signifies a town's cathedral.

The duomo of Siena is a prime example of Gothic architecture--no area is left uncarved, unadorned, or unpainted, be it the walls, the corners, the facade, the ceiling, and most impressively, the floor. Construction of the duomo began in 1136 and was abandoned in then 1300s after the town lost one-third of it's population to the Plague. Prior to the eruption of the Black Death, the town was thriving and had planned to expand the cathedral to make it the largest Christian church and you can still see the remains of the expansion project.(below)

When you are outside of the duomo, you are overwhelmed by it's size and most distinctly by the alternating black and white marble stripes. The overly ornate exterior was only the beginning of the visual menagerie that is this Gothic duomo--the interior surpassed any and all prior examples I have witness of the Gothic! The exquisite, marble-inlay, carved floor; the elaborate pulpit; the stunning navy blue and gold copula; the library, which houses illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages, and it's luminous frescoes; and the numerous altars,
each with their own individual charm and grandeur. In this church is where I finally fulfilled a long-standing inside joke, which only a few will understand (and love) so forgive the digression, but I lit a candle for Little Bucket.

After taking in the majesty of Siena's duomo, we headed back to the bus along the same treacherous, puddle-filled route. After we scampered onto the bus like the wet dogs we were, the bus ventured onward to Monteriggioni, a Sienese hillside town which has one of the most well-preserved medieval city wall and towers. As we hiked up to the town, the sun began to break through the clouds! Our stop at Monteriggioni was intended as our lunch hour, so we flocked to the nearest bars. In Italy, a bar is an establishment much like our coffee shops back at home.
They are known more for selling sandwiches and coffee, not alcohol. I got the most delicious cafe latte to warm myself and then went to explore the town. In minutes, we walked from the east entrance to the town, to the west entrance, which I found to be quite scary. The picture which shows the archway and the steep walkway doesn't look so scary when you are looking up at it, however, when you go down that pathway, in low heels, 15 minutes after a huge rainstorm, it is very scary! The path is so steep that they created this miniature step system to prevent people from slipping and falling...it looks much more scary in the second picture, yes?

One of the interesting facts about Monteriggioni is that it is well-known for having an almost perfectly circular city walls. So much that Dante used the town as a simile for the abyss at the heart of his Inferno. He compares Monteriggioni's "ring shaped citadel [...]crowned with towers" to giants standing in a moat in the 9th circle (Canto XXXI, if anyone wants to check it out).

After we all filled our stomachs with food and our minds with images of the town in it's full glory during the Middle Ages, we boarded the bus and headed towards San Gimignano. Another walled town on a hill, but more lively and with current residents. The area surrounding the town is beautiful and stereotypical of the Tuscan region.
Naturally, we stopped several minutes to capture the scene with our cameras and to embarrassingly pose for "Hi Mom" pictures. San Gimignano is a popular tourist destination today because of it's medieval charm, because it's businesses cater to tourists, and because it has many tall towers, dating from the 13th century. The towers, 14 of which are still standing of the original 76, served as private fortresses for the town's wealthy families, but they also served as a symbol for the family's power. I spent most of my time there trying to not get ran over by the hoards of tour groups.

Lastly, we went headed to our final stop, which was also the most anticipated because it included a full-blown Tuscan dinner! Our final stop of the night was at the former country home of Niccolo Machiavelli, the scholar and writer who is often regarded as the founder of political science. Country home is kind of a euphemism for "the home in the country to which he was pretty much exiled as a result of his radical ideas." In this country house, he wrote his most famous work, The Prince, which he dedicated to one of the powerful Medicis as a suck up ploy to gain social and scholarly status in Florence. It worked and Machiavelli no longer had to reside in the country. Today, the home is a miniature museum and also a wine cellar, where they produce "Machiavelli" brand wine.

We walked across the street to the neighboring inn, of which Machiavelli was a faithful patron. There we were given an informative presentation on the scholar and the country house and it's significance. I liked the copy of one of Machiavelli's correspondences in which he discussed his newfound provincial lifestyle.
It starts, "...I am in the country..." and tells about his daily life, which involves daily chores and daily arguments with the innkeeper across the way. He writes:

wallowing in all this lousiness, I keep the mould from my brains, and vent my rage against the malice of my fate [...] [w]hen evening comes, I return home
and enter my study; and on the threshold I doff those everyday clothes of
mine, all mud and filth, and don royal and courtly robes; and thus decently
attired, I enter the ancient courts of ancient men, where lovingly received
by them, I nourish myself with the food that alone is mine and that I was
born for [...] and for four hours I feel no boredom, I forget every worry, I
don't dread poverty, nor has death any terrors for me: I transfuse myself
entirely into them. And since, as Dante says, there is no science without
the retention of what is learnt, I have noted down what I have treasured of
their conversation, and composed a pamphlet: On princedoms, in which I
plunge as deep as I can into reflections on this subject, discussing what
princedoms are, of how many kinds, how acquired, how kept, why lost.
--from a letter dated December 10, 1513 to Francesco Vettori

After feeding our brains, we went to the upstairs dining rooms and prepared to feed our bodies delicious Tuscan food. We enjoyed a long, 5 course dinner, drank wine, and reflected on the day. About half of the students (not including me!) were purchasing bottles of disgusting table wine at the "Machiavelli" winery and drinking them with dinner. Therefore, about half of the students were completely drunk for the 40 minute bus ride home, which of course, made the evening more interesting. The bus was transformed from our rain safe-haven to the party bus. We sang along to cheesy songs (like "Hotel California" and some Prince songs) and when good ones came on, people felt the need to get up and dance in the aisle. It was very entertaining and promising to see everyone getting along so well.

When we got back to school it was after 11pm. Remember, this trip started before 8am, so we were exhausted. We ran back to our Italian apartments and slept sweetly.

It's a beautiful and sunny day in Florence

2005-10-01T14:46:00.000+02:00

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.
--from Emerson's essay "Friendship"

Saturdays are wonderful because I get to sleep in and this Saturday was no exception. Even more exciting is that today is the most beautiful, clear, sunny, and relatively warm day we have had in Florence for weeks. Undoubtedly, I am happy to be here.

Furthermore, I want to remind you all (my friends who keep up on my blog) that you can leave me comments to let me know you are reading what I write. At the end of each entry, just click the link that says "0 Comments," type your comment in the box at the right, choose "other" or "anonymous" as your identity, and send. Make sure to let me know who you are though. :) Hope to hear from you all soon!

September 7th--Festa della Rificolona

2005-09-30T13:13:00.000+02:00

In Florence, children are a rare sight. They do not play in the streets nor do you see them walking with their parents (unless you live next to a school). It is a known fact that contemporary Italy is experiencing problems with low birth rate and it is especially evident by the lack of children in Florence. That is why on the night of September 9th, I knew there was something amiss--the city was flooded with children. I had completely forgotten about a special event they had posted information about at my school, the Festa della Rificolona.

I have not been able to learn very much about the origins of the celebration because they are considered debatable, but it is an authentic Florentine tradition that possibly "commemorates the triumphant entry of Florentine troops into Siena on August 2 1555, when the soldiers tied lanterns onto the ends of their pikes" (More information about possible origins and information here). As with many other older traditions, times changed and the importance and meaning of the event diminished, allowing a new tradition to develop. Just like Halloween has become a night specifically for children, so has the Festa della Rificolona.

My friends and I stood in a crowded piazza awaiting the arrival of giddy children, colorful lanterns, and tired parents. A marching band proceeded the parade of lights and the piazza became illuminated by youth and 10 euro lanterns. (See first picture)

A band took the stage and played lively songs, children ran around causing mischief, parents stood around looking bored and imagining how difficult it would be that night to get the children to bed with all the candy they had been feasting on. I visited with friends from the program and marveled at the multitude of lanterns. Many had been bought at local boutiques and looked like they were better suited for a Chinese festival however, there were some that were handmade and those were the ones worth mentioning. My favorites were these two suns... or faces? It doesn't really matter, I was just happy that they were in front of me because they were the standouts in the crowd. (See second picture)

Another thing that I was impressed by, was the fact that none of these lanterns had caught fire. They were all flimsy paper with a burning candle inside and they were being held by CHILDREN! The absence of any instantaneous fire was the biggest surprise (and maybe let down?) of the night. :)

As the night progressed and the sugar in the bodies of the children began to metabolize, they grew increasingly more annoying and rambunctious. Out of no where, children appeared with these huge straw-like sticks that were wrapped with clay. They would pull off a chunk of clay, load it in the straw, and shoot it at people by blowing on the end of the straw. It was funny until I became a random target. I caught some troublemakers in the act--in the third picture you can see the older sister pointing to whom the younger sister should strike next.

It was a great night to observe and to feel like a part of the community. With tourists, children, locals, vendors, musicians, and even nuns. The most funny scene of the night was this nun who separated from her group to chat on the cell phone for a long time. The mischievous nature of the children present rubbed off on us and we tried to sneak a picture of the scene, as you can see in the fourth picture, my friends were pretending to pose! The final picture is of me and some other girls from the CSU program here in Florence.

Future entries: Day trip with the entire CSU program around the Tuscany area, including Siena, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, and the former home of Machiavelli; weekend trip to Elba, a beautiful Italian isle which was the place to which Napoleon was exiled (although, I don't see how it was any sort of punishment); day trip to Fiesole, a beautiful hillside town that looks down upon Florence (providing amazing views) and houses some of the most beautiful Tuscan villas, not to mention the site of some well-preserved Etruscan and Roman ruins (including a fully intact Roman theater); day trip to Impruneta, a small, Tuscan wine town, for a grape harvest festival; and finally my first Italian opera. Hold tight!

I swear, I'm alive!

2005-09-29T13:26:00.000+02:00

Alive and well, just busy speaking, learning, and thinking Italian. Also, I have been spending a lot of time planning trips, studying for the GRE (which I will be taking the day after Thanksgiving), and gathering information on graduate schools to apply to.

Tonight I am going to the opera with some classmates. Yesterday I took a 4 hour long cooking class with some classmates in the home of the sweetest Italian woman ever! This past weekend I went to a grape harvest festival in a nearby wine town and visited Fiesole, a beautiful hillside town that looks down upon Florence.

I promised myself that I would begin to update my blog and record my wonderful adventures, but I have become engrossed with reading a couple of novels that I purchased at a nearby English bookstore...so, hopefully this weekend!

"Move-In Day Eve"

2005-09-13T14:04:00.000+02:00

At long last, I am moving into my own wonderful place tomorrow. I have a cozy yet large room all to myself with a born and raised Florentine and her two cats! It is close by my school, in a quiet, "non-touristy," neighborhood that is along one of the main bus routes for the city. The best part is...there is DSL and a phone line. This almost absolves all of the qualms that I have been having with my first three weeks here.

I am excited!

Furthermore, I went to IKEA yesterday, which is another story itself, and got myself some essentials that I am also thrilled about.

Hold tight and I will catch my blog up with my life...in time. The picture posted is of some of the beautiful Tuscan countyside that I visited on Friday during the first "school field trip."

This weekend, some girls and I are planning a trip to Elba (weather permitting). Keep your fingers crossed for sun!

Someday

2005-09-08T16:40:00.000+02:00

Someday, I will begin to write. I am still finalizing housing issues and figuring out how to situate myself technologically.

Yesterday night there was the "Festa della Rificolona" and I took many pictures. I will post them and an explanation of the event soon!

We have our first school field trip tomorrow to Siena and the surrounding areas. It is going to be an amazing all-day trip and I will wait until I actually go on it to tell you the awesome things we are doing!

...Even longer

2005-09-04T16:56:00.000+02:00

I have not settled into a place yet and therefore I still do not have the time or ability to write like I would like to. Just know that I a safe, sane, happy, going to class, and learning Italian. Keep your fingers crossed that I get a good place and soon! That way, I can devote my free time to things like writing, taking pictures, and enjoying Italy.

I will leave you with a couple of pictures that I have taken thus far. They are not much though. To see them full size, click on the actual picture.

Things move slower here in Italy

2005-09-02T22:45:00.000+02:00

...and thus, the pictures I am dying to share will take a bit longer also. I am busy searching for an apartment. I might be living with Italians now, which could be quite a rewarding and interesting experience!

I have one picture to show right now, so here it is. It was taken over the Arno, which is the river that runs through Florence.

In limbo

2005-08-31T17:24:00.000+02:00

There's nothing new to report for this week because I am crippled without the pictures to show!

This entire week at school we are having orientation meetings, filling out paperwork, adjusting, and doing elementary Italian grammar stuff. It is not leaving much time to explore yet. Furthermore, most all the Italians in the city are just coming back from their month long vacations (during the month of August), so the city is still dead. Also, the Italian university does not begin until November, therefore the students don't arrive until mid-September.

My goal is to post pictures tomorrow...I will make it work somehow! Check back later, sorry.

2005-08-30T14:31:00.001+02:00

Getting settled...but not quite there

2005-08-29T10:13:00.000+02:00

On Sunday I move out of the hotel that we having been staying in since our arrival. I am glad to be getting out because it is similiar to the dorm experience that I never wanted. People run down hallways, smoke and drink (despite the "rules") in their rooms, people keep their doors wide open, there's gossip, cliches, and nasty cafeteria food!

My apartment is not yet lined up for certain, but things are looking really good. The place I will probably be staying in is very clean, safe, comfortable, well-lit, and most importantly, it feels like a place that I can make my home for nine months.

I have been taking some pictures to post and as soon as I get the whole computer situation figured out, I will post them. For now though, I am relying upon the "Internet Train"--Italy's chain of internet cafes--for computer and internet access.

Tomorrow my Italian language classes start, so tomorrow I will begin my attempts to become comfortable with speaking Italian. I am borderline terrified to speak because I am not so good at it! I bet within two weeks though I will make great leaps.

Until then...(leave me a comment!)

I'm here!

2005-08-26T12:22:00.000+02:00

I don't really have time to write as I am currently going through all sorts of orientation procedures but I just wanted to let everyone know that I am here, safe, happy, and temporarily too busy to write. You'll hear from me soon!

Coming soon

2005-08-22T09:21:00.000+02:00

A long post of the recap of my summer is coming in the next couple of days so come back in a few and check it out!

The long wait

2005-07-30T10:44:00.000+02:00

These last couple weeks feel like eternity for me. At this point, there is only 25 days left until I depart for Florence. Every other thought I have is about Italy and wedged between all those day dreams, I am still managing to concentrate on my intense summer courses (which I am doing very well in!), to work almost full time at the restaurant, to complete mundane administrative tasks which one has to do before a long departure, and to spend quality time with the ones I love and the ones I will miss greatly.

I am in the workings of planning my going away party. The control freak I am, I am insisting that I plan it myself. I am the one who is most well known for throwing the memorable parties (i.e. the famous Yolanda Avenue house parties) and this one will be no exception. As with my other parties, I always have to have a theme to add that extra element of fun. The theme for my going away party is "eurotrash," which I find perfectly fitting. It should be a fun excuse to dress up silly and have a great time!

I just realized that I don't know why I am even writing this, seeing that no one reads my blog yet. I guess that's why I titled it "Letters to an Invisible Audience."

The soundtrack of my life

2005-07-28T08:40:00.000+02:00

When I saw this silly internet quiz thing, I couldn't help myself--I had to fill it out . I often feel like I do have a soundtrack to my life because I listen to my iPod so often as I walk to school, do homework, workout, wait in lines, and complete other various tasks. So here it is--the soundtrack of my life.

I spent about thirty minutes uploading all these songs so that you could click on a link and hear them all. Unforutnately it was eating up all my iDisk space so I deleted the songs. Sorry everyone. If you really want a file though I will be more than happy to email it to you or something!

Your Life: The Soundtrack
Created by aiko and taken 31898 times on bzoink!
Opening credits	Here Comes the Sun--The Beatles
Waking up	Perfect Day--Hoku (from the Legally Blonde soundtrack)
Average day	Just Like Heaven--The Cure
First date	Hands Down--Dashboard Confessional
Falling in love	Blue Skies--Frank Sinatra
Love scene	The Music of the Night--Phantom of the Opera
Fight scene	Beautiful Disaster--311
Breaking up	Criminal--Fiona Apple
Getting back together	Moon River--Henry Mancini
Secret love	Dream A Little Dream of Me--The Mamas and the Papas
Life's okay	Smile--Onelinedrawing
Mental breakdown	You May Be Right--Billy Joel
Driving	1979--Smashing Pumpkins
Learning a lesson	Don't Look Back in Anger--Oasis
Deep thought	Moonlight Sonata--Mozart
Flashback	Scenes from an Italian Restaurant--Billy Joel
Partying	Summer of '69--Brian Adams
Happy dance	Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano--(from The Talented Mr. Ripley soundtrack)
Regreting	My Stupid Mouth--John Mayer
Long night alone	Ghost of a Good Thing--Dashboard Confessional
Death scene	Somewhere Over the Rainbow--Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Closing credits	The Pretender--Jackson Browne
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Summer activities

2005-06-11T10:20:00.000+02:00

Summer has been wonderful so far! Aside from the extreme amount of extra hours I am working weekly, it is liberating to have so much flexibility in my daily schedule. Granted, this will only last for another two weeks before my two summer classes commence.

Most of my summer vacation has consisted of preparation for my ten months in Italy. I spent several days organizing, throwing away, donating, and packing up 80% of what I own. I am storing everything at my mom's house, which is two hours from where I currently live. I own so much stuff, it's insane! I have to make sure I know where anything and everything is when I am 15,000 miles away, so that I can tell my mom where to find it. Also, I have been putting together a binder of important documents and information/passwords/account numbers so that my mother and grandmother can have power of attorney while I am abroad. Oh--and there's that pesky money aspect. I have been working non-stop in a desperate attempt to save up what I can.

Fun things I have done this summer have been equally as numerous. I hosted a delightful little party for my girlfriends. I called it my Sex and the City trivia game party because we gathered together to play the trivia game that my sister had given me for my birthday.

I had forgotten how much I love to be a hostess. One of the many ways that I demonstrate my love is by serving people and hosting friends in my home, it is one of the things that brings me endless joy. I look forward to owning my own home when I am settled in a career and sharing my time and love with special people. I'm hoping that I will be fortunate enough to live in a nice apartment in Florence, in which I can have a dinner party or two.

The weekend before summer school begins, I will be going to Las Vegas with my group of friends from high school. That will probably be the highlight of my summer and I am looking forward to it greatly! It will be a nice contrast to the jury service that I was called upon to participate in this week. Two days of my life, wasted away waiting outside a courtroom, inside a courtroom, at the courthouse cafeteria, etc. At least I will be excused from any summons that I receive in the next twelve months. And, I got paid fifteen dollars for the second day.

Summer vacation has begun

2005-06-01T11:30:00.000+02:00

It is finally summer and it could not have come a moment too soon!

I have given up on www.livejournal.com for now because I feel very restricted by its imposing and aesthetically displeasing templates. I am also looking for the freedom of playing with my own HTML at some point in the near future. I miss being such a computer geek.

Additionally, I think a journal with Blogger will better suit my needs next school year in Florence. That way, friends, family, etc. can have equal access to my journal without signing up for yet another internet annoyance. I just need to be mindful of what I post seeing how Blogger posts tend to appear frequently in Google searches. Maybe I'll go by a pseudonym like K!