Picasso spent large parts of his life in different regions of Spain, however, a significant amount of his classical training occurred in Barcelona. Some friends and I visited the Picasso Museo today because it is free after 3pm each Sunday. We made the astute decision to arrive early; the line extended along the whole building by 3pm. I found out quite quickly that pictures are prohibited inside the museum. Most of Picasso’s famed works are scattered elsewhere in the world, however, his study of Velasquez’s Las Meninas was familiar to me. The 24-piece series, all done in Picasso’s famous cubism style, use varying shapes and colors to create different rhythms and tones in the works. I found that Picasso brought a lot of energy to the work and was able to draw attention to different parts of the original, such as the man in the doorway. Picasso’s ability to maintain a balance of light similar to the original is impressive and also shows his respect for the original work. This also gave me a new respect for Picasso’s cubism because it is clear that he did not just make weird shapes and angles out of normal objects, rather deliberately crafted each work. How else did my respect for Picasso grow? He was also an excellent writer and sculptor, Picasso even dabbled in ceramics with skill.

Following our tour of the museum, our group of friends decided to grab a café at a nearby café. Our posse included 4 Germans, 2 French students, 2 Midwesterners (present company included), and an East Coaster. My current favorite activity is to borderline interrogate the European students about their life and culture and they eagerly return the favor with questions about American living. It is perpetually a conversation of “we call that this” and “In (insert language/country), it is like this” and on and on. It is absolutely fascinating to share and hear common experiences and compare and contrast likes and dislikes about anything. The open-minded attitude of my peers really fosters a healthy environment to discuss and respect, and sometimes laugh at, the quirks of our respective nationalities. It is this spirit of camaraderie and cultural development that excites me for the rest of my time in Spain and Europe at large!

….

1. It’s January and it’s 90 degrees outside
2. I can buy a delicious sandwich for under a dollar, served wrapped in newspaper
3. Most people look different from me
4. I detect some sort of foreign language being spoken..
5. Strangers smile to one another
6. The street cleaners use witch brooms
7. Crossing the street requires skill and one’s full attention
8. I just saw a toddler urinate on the sidewalk with the help of her parents
9. Food safety is an ever-present concern
10. I miss my momma  (Happy Birthday Mom!)

11. I’m Relaxed

Buenos Noches! Ah it is finally my favorite time of the day, when you can finally relax and lay in bed after a long day.

Today was just another long, tiring Monday in Santiago consisting of waking up around 8 am to the construction 10 feet from my apartment, stray dogs yelping, fighting and mating extremely loudly and my host madre knocking on my door with the exact same tray of cereal, yogurt and fruit juice saying ” ocho y media mi niña, buenos dias!” Ah de mi…

Then I was off to my 45 minute transit to the university, a 15 minute walk to the Metro stop and then a 30 minute Metro ride, Alberto Hurtado reminds me a little bit of Loyola how it is so beautiful but nestled in a not so nice part of town. There are usually a spattering of homeless people, litter and homeless dogs galore outside of the university but inside, it is so beautiful! With brick walls, large oak tree INSIDE the cafeteria, palm trees galore, fountains and such great architecture! Oh the irony of Catholicism.

We had 4 hours of class today, then we walked over to Avenue Brasil for lunch, I had Pesto Pizza and it was delicious although not the best that is for sure, hard to compete when my mom at home is the master of homemade pizza 🙂

I would be lying horribly if I said I didn’t miss the food at home, sorry Chile you just don’t compare to my mom’s cooking.

We spent almost 4 hours just sitting at a table outside planning out our trip that is coming up in 10 days! It’s crazy thinking about it, we are going to buy the plane tickets and all of the bus tickets tomorrow after school after even more planning! Who knew that planning a 3 week vacation could be so complicated. But, once it is all set in stone I will let ya’ll know where we are going! Let’s just say..get ready to be extremely envious.

On Sunday my friend Teresa and I went hiking for a few hours and ended up talking about my experiences in Africa and what I want to do with my life, which brought me to feverishly writing in my journal at home, in yet another effort to keep the flame lit in my heart that Africa gave me.. and I really do believe that this journey is going to do the same for me! Get ready for yet another Shirley rant, of my typical journalistic, and social justice ramblings.

It has been a struggle adjusting to this new culture, family and just the blatantly unfamiliar. I’ve always been able to express myself in class perfectly and my strength has been my charisma and vocabulary. But here, I am constantly translating Spanish in my head and struggling just to say the right words. I usually end up just nodding and pretending I have nothing to say, when secretly I want to say a million things that I have no clue how to say in Spanish- so at the end of the day my brain feels like mush from translating constantly and at the same time holding in so many thoughts I can’t express.

I have come to realize that no matter where you are in the world, construction men are HUGE creeps, little old ladies who own cats are not just an American thing and great for asking directions when you are a gringa lost in a sprawling city, just because I’m living in a country called Chile doesn’t mean the food is spicy, and that finally in every single person’s life they forget what is important. Somewhere along the line people end up valuing test scores over character, money over the true value of life and the material objects over the condition of others. Somehow I lost sense of what was important to me, and only when I am reminded of the dreadful conditions people face, am I compelled to make a difference. Everyone is vulnerable, no one is as strong as they think they are and at the end of the day my true strength doesn’t lie in my bank account, new camera, or lap top.. it lies in my compassion and tenacity to carry on with what I feel compelled to do.

These past 2 weeks also have made me realize the significance of and power of providing comfort and compassion when you and others need it most, solidarity, friendship and support are the counter-solutions to the myriad of problems that the world faces.

” You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own and you know what you know, and you are the one who’ll decide where to go.” -Dr. Seuss

January 31, 2012

Ciao!  True to schedule I’m writing you on a Tuesday morning procrastinating the impeding homework of the day.  But who cares about that part anyway?  What is really swimming through my mind this morning is Ferragamo, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, and Prada.  Yes, I am in love with Italian fashion history.  I have purposely morphed most of my class

projects into discovering the effect of fashion on political and social culture and have never had more fun researching.  This past weekend I experienced one of the most creative fashion centers of the world…Florence.  Leather and fur markets, dreamy department stores, and couture window displays epitomized my trip.  Unluckily, or luckily depending on whom you ask (*ahem* dad) I had no credit card with me on this trip.  To say the least, I will be going back with Visa in hand, but regardless I was able to scrounge the well worth it 5 Euro to explore the wonders of the Ferragamo Museo.  I am inspired.  Fascism and its effect on modernist art and innovation in the world of fashion were evident in this beautifully crafted museum.  I did not get the chance to check out the brand new Gucci museum though, just giving me one more reason to go back to Florence.

I stared at the majesty of the Duomo in Florence while treating myself to a gelato.  It is one of the most aesthetically pleasing buildings I have ever seen.  The colors and attention to detail make it a splendid center of town.   Just beyond the Ferragamo museum, the Arno River and its decadent bridges left me even more in love with Florence.   The food was true to Italian gusto although I have a guilt ridden secret to share.  I did in fact eat dinner at the Hard Rock Caffe in Florence. I know! Awful! But, if I didn’t get some American food pronto I was fearful of pizza and pasta override!  Needless to say I will not be quoted in the next Food and Wine about the fine cuisine of Florence but hey, the burger was damn good.

Peace.Love.Shoes.

Christine

With a train strike threatening our weekend, we started to picture simply staying here for some time to explore Rome, and become more acquainted with our surroundings, but… things turned out even better! Even with the strike, we made it out of the station and made our way up north in a little bit over an hour. Florence is truly inspiring. The streets make you want to go back in time to the Renaissance and play a part in the circle of ideas and artistic inspiration.

Popular sights to see are The Duomo, Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, David etc., although, if you are planning a girls weekend as we did, the fashion museums are a must! We visited the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum and went to the Costume Institute at Palazzo Pitti. I learned a lot about fashion history, and from a new perspective really looked at fashion as art. Whether you are looking at a beautiful dress from the 20s that has been completely hand beaded, or shoes designed by a man who had an individual artistic and personally customized perspective on each pair he designed, we were awestruck. The city alone will blow you away with it’s beauty. It is much cleaner and friendlier than Rome, and because it is smaller, we were able to absorb the culture and atmosphere over a weekend.

When we weren’t doing the typical sightseeing activities, we enjoyed just being girls in a city where shopping is abundant. Might have spent a little more than I was planning, but this is of course the place to do it. Leather! That’s all I have to say, go ahead and splurge on a wallet, shoes, or handbag. You will appreciate the quality and have it forever. If you are not planning on spending too much head to the market and bargain for a possibly lesser quality material than you would find in a store, but of course it’s still worth it. It was so fun to also be able to eat great food and escape the cafeteria to order everything until our hearts were content. We found a few more affordable restaurants in a travel book and enjoyed every bite. On Friday night we met some other Americans at our restaurant and ended up spending the rest of the evening getting to know people in different, more mature company. It was a great experience to hang out with people who find themselves in the same place as you, but they can teach you a bit about life from a more experienced adult perspective and we had a ton of fun, actually found ourselves trying to keep up with them! ha ha.

I will definitely have to return to this city one day with someone special. Florence is relaxing in a way. You can opt for a lovely meal and chill night with wine, or go out and get crazy. But to really get the most out of your experience, I suggest you save the partying for other cities and just in bask in the grace of this city.

Ciao!

This past weekend was the first weekend without any mandatory trips planned, allowing students to venture out on their own.  Eight other girls and I decided to spend our time in Florence, Italy.  The city was beautiful, and it was such a great trip!  We were able to go to the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Gallery to see a ton of amazing artwork, including Michaelangelo’s David statue.  We also had the opportunity to climb through a series of extremely steep staircases to the top of “Il Duomo” as the sun was setting.  It costed 8 euro but was worth every cent.  The view was unbelievable and it was interesting to step foot on top of this dome that I learned about extensively in a high school history class years ago. 

We stayed at the Hostel Greci, which I would recommend to anyone!  It was almost like a mini-apartment, and it was much nicer and bigger than I ever expected a hostel could be.  There was also good food..everywhere.  We never really planned where we were going to eat, but instead just ate at whatever restaurant was closest when we became hungry.  Last, but not least, there was a little marketplace we visited often during our stay where leather and other goods were sold.  Florence is well known for its leather and there were so many great things to purchase.  After a couple days of touring Florence, we ventured back home by train.

Hahaha wait a second! When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think that I was going to end up participating in the best snow ball fight this winter…in Rome! Coming from Milwaukee, WI, I am not a newb to the snow and its awesome packing qualities, but snow in Rome? I also didn’t expect to go to lunch and have the Student Life Assistants play “Let it Snow” on the speakers.

Yup, chunky white flakes were definitely coming down on the city today. Had I gone back in time? Was Santa Claus to have a return? Unfortunately… no. There was no eggnog, no candy canes, no big man in a red suit with a jolly laugh. There were however, palm, orange, and lemon trees frosted with the good ol’ snow. What an interesting landscape. Whoever thought that palm trees and snow could make such a beautifully odd  site. But you know what? When the sky giveth forth snow, one must taketh and throw it at someone. Hahaha well, you can guess what some friends and I did after lunch!

Not everyone thought it was pleasant. A man on campus wanted help putting chains on his tires! The snow was not light, but after experiencing the “Snowpocalypse” in Chicago last January, it was a little amusing to see the man freak out over three inches of snow.  Taking pictures standing next to a tall snowman, my friends and I had recorded Romes’ weird weather history. And it was really weird. Apparently the last substantial snowfalls in Rome were in 1985 and 1986, though there have been other cases of lighter snow since then, including in 2010. Pay attention to the word “light”. This snow was definitely not light, and it’s supposed to go till tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.

Hmmmm, I wonder what the Trevi Fountain looks like in blanketed in all this white? And I bet there aren’t as many courageous tourists to venture up the Spanish Steps today! It is beautiful outside though, and the fact that it’s a rarity makes it even more magnificent.

After the snowball fight, I got a big cup of hot cocoa, some toast and nutella, cozied up in a blanket and watched the snow continue to blow through the palm trees. Oh, the little details of the day that it make it pleasurable. Till it’s sunny again, I’ll be singing, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…” Look out for pictures to come! It was pretty neat.

All right, so here is attempt two at starting this blog. I started to write a post a few days ago, but as would happen, I got sidetracked and left it. Now, it’s a bit unusable since it basically says that I have four days to go and have not packed yet. Well, that’s all changed because now I have zero days to go and have packed! I am actually sitting in Newark airport right at this very moment. I have a good six hour layover here (my flight landed early) so I am bound and determined to find some place to access the wifi and update. I’d really love to watch some Merlin too, but we’ll see if that happens.

If you couldn’t tell by the title, I am heading off to Rome for the semester. My school has a campus there and I will be spending four months there. Just a little excited about that. I am a journalism and history double major and will be spending my time there mostly studying the latter. What better place to study history than in the Eternal City?

Here’s what’s going on right now. I’m sitting in a lonely airport terminal fervishly wishing I had wifi so that I could relieve some of my boredom. I’ve already taken one flight and have two more to go. Tonight’s flight will be my longest at just over eight hours. I’m heading to Munich where in the morning I will make my final connection into Rome. I think I’m feeling a little bit of everything right now. I’m excited, happy, hopeful, a little nervous and genuinely looking forward to what’s about to happen.

I can’t say for certain, but there’s definitely a good chance that I am going to change and I am looking forward to it. Who knows what’s going to happen, but I’m definitely going to make the best of it. There’s not much more to say for now, but I hope that you’ll hang around for the ride. I have a feeling that it’s going to be pretty spectacular!

EDIT: As you can probably tell, I didn’t find internet access in the airport. And it’s been a bit crazy since I got here, but I’m getting a chance to post it now! That means I’m officially in Rome! Have been for three days now. Let’s just say that I’m already in love. I haven’t done much venturing out beyond the neighborhood I live in, but it’s one beautiful place.

The people are so friendly even if we are obnoxious Americans. Getting a taxi at the airport was a fun experience since there were a couple of drivers who wanted me to ride with them as soon as I walked out. Just as a note, don’t ever accept a ride from someone offering! Those aren’t official cab drivers and they can charge you a boatload of money to get anywhere. Always use the taxi stand.

I used my first bit of Italian when giving my driver directions (it was just our address, but so what?). Somehow, despite the fact that I was tired, I managed to take in and enjoy the beautiful countryside. I started to get worried that he might not be taking me on the most direct route, but didn’t have too much to fear. I made it to school for about €50. Not too shabby.

After that there was just a bunch of paperwork and picture taking for our special JFRC IDs (after three plane rides I looked totally awesome). This is getting to be a long first post, so I’ll leave you with the fact that I somehow made it through the rest of the day, moved in, met my roommate and stayed awake. Needless to say, I had an early night.

Here’s to being in Roma and starting my great adventure!

[For those of you reading from Loyola, I got a late start in posting here. This is from a couple of weeks ago. I’ll add the rest soon. ^_^]

I’ve been in Rome a few days now and it’s unlike other places I’ve ever been. It’s definitely unlike America. Don’t come here expecting to find everything you would at home. Because, except for a few things, you’ll essentially find nothing. Here are some of my impressions:

1.       The people here drive like crazy. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. There seem to be no rules of the road except to speed and have no fear. Cars park in different directions, sideways and backwards. I’m sure they would park upside down if it was possible. As long as there’s an open space, they’re going to park there. Motorcycles have a completely different system. They weave in and out of traffic like super crazy people. They seem to be paying attention, but we say someone with a helmet that had a slot for a phone. The driver could be talking on her cell phone while driving! I will say this, they do stop for pedestrians. Unlike Americans who never stop for anything, Italians are very quick with the brake.

2.       People here are very friendly. I don’t think I’ve met a mean Italian yet. I’m sure they’re here, but most of them seem pretty nice. They don’t seem to care that our Italian is horrible and we have no idea what we’re doing half the time.

3.       The weather is beautiful. All the Italians are walking around in like heavy duty winter coats that you would see back in Michigan this time of the year. I, on the other hand, am walking around in a fleece at the most. That is my “winter coat”. The nighttime is about the same temperature as some of the warmer days back home. The day is absolutely gorgeous. Also, there is this clean, crisp smell that I can’t get enough of. I like to open the door to my balcony and let in the fresh air during the day.

4.       Everything is super old. Like, you think things in the States are old. They’re only babies compared to Rome. We visited the Forum and the Colosseum today. I can’t believe how old it all is. It amazes me that people were able to build such structures back then with the technology they had. We could never do anything like that today. Also, the fact that everything is still standing is completely amazing. After everything Rome has been through, for there to still be things standing is incredible.

5.       I’m in love. Even though I’ve only been here a short time, I can honestly see myself calling this place another home. Once I get to know the language better and really experience being a Roman, I can say that I will always consider this place to be a home.

That’s what I think of everything so far and it’s only been a few days! Once I get through orientation and have some more time to get out and explore, I’m sure I’ll have even more to tell. Also, classes start soon and I’ll be back with my impression on them as well. For now, ciao!