Auf Wiedersehen Berlin, Buongiorno Esame (And Happy Thanksgiving!) Thursday, Nov 26 2009

WOW!

Good afternoon Stati Uniti. I’m typing this VERY overdue blog update here at the Lion’s Fountain pub (the local pub that everyone hangs out at) ABSOLUTELY exhausted after what was another long week of work, work, and more work. It’s clear at this point that the end is definitely near, and finals period has officially reared its ugly head. Starting today, I only have FIFTEEN more days in this amazing country, and I can’t help but feel a little stunned. At one end, I can’t stand the fact that I have to leave the Florentine people, food, and culture behind, but at the same time I can’t wait to experience all of the incredible things in store for me back in Baltimore next semester, and for the next year. For now, I just have to look back and appreciate the incredible experiences I’ve had… like Berlin, for example!

What to say about this past weekend? My trip to Berlin was by far one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had in my life. From riding a bike in the city for the first time in probably 10 years (I don’t ride bikes to often, so it wasn’t really a surprise that I fell off my bike about 10 times during the day and got the wind knocked out of me on a couple of occasions/marked up all over my body!) to sampling distinctly German food and drink (beer, beer, and more beer!) to having the opportunity to live in a German household and really get the true cultural feel, I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Henning (some of you Goucher upperclassmen might remember him) was such a great host, and I really got the authentic treatment for the three days I was in Berlin. I could go on and on explaining every detail of the trip, but I’m going to let the pictures do the talking. UNFORTUNATELY, because I’m typing this in a pub and don’t have my camera on me, I’m going to have to put those pictures up a little later tonight. So check back later in the evening on my facebook page (if you haven’t already added me as a friend, DO IT! I have so many pictures up on my facebook page from Italy and beyond that you need to check out in my photo albums) and I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.

I thought I’d also let you know about the weeks ahead. Tonight, of course, is Thanksgiving day and sadly, I won’t have the pleasure of doing Thanksgiving Dinner with the family for the first time in my life However, NYU is throwing together a Thanksgiving Dinner party in one of the villas on campus tonight FOR FREE, so of course I couldn’t say no. Tomorrow, I’m going to be spending the day on campus enjoying what may be my last cultural immersion activity: harvesting olives! It’s an all day activity, and I get to take home my OWN bottle of La Pietra Olive Oil, which I’m very excited about! Saturday and Sunday I plan on devoting to studying for finals, and next week it all begins! Finals, papers, and projects galore, but I’ve already got a leg up on most of these, so I’m prepared for the worst. Next weekend my best friend Becky is actually going to be in town (she’s the girl that I visited a couple months ago in London) so we’ll be hanging out/I’ll be studying my culo off, and than in two weeks just one exam on Monday and than I’ve got a week left to go before I head home! I’m trying not to think about that now, so we’ll get to that at a later date.

In terms of the blog, I hope to at least write to you ONCE more before I’m headed home. I’ll aim for two, but with the craziness of this period, I can’t make any guarantees. I really appreciate all of you for reading this blog and taking a virtual peak into my life her in Florence. It means a lot to know that you guys care, and I hope that I’ve given all of you prospective study abroad students a push to check out Florence, and for everyone else a good luck into my daily life here. Stay cool, warm (I hear it’s getting chilly back in the States) and have a VERY HAPPY RINGRAZIAMENTO (Thanksgiving in Italian!)

Arrivaderci,

~Evan~

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Puglia, Parents, and Phillies vs. Yankees: The Past 2 Weeks in a Nutshell Monday, Nov 2 2009

Ciao a Tutti,

Yet again, I apologize for the late blog update. The weeks just go by so fast here I’m starting to not even notice that I’m neglecting all of you, so my sincerest apologies, and I hope that this very intense blog (filled with stories of Puglia, Rome, spending time with the parents, staying up until ridiculous hours to watch the Yankees dominate the Phillies on World Series webcasts, and my booked trip to Berlin, Germany) is satisfactory! So here we go!

First of all, I gotta say… I already miss the parents. Yes, I know that sounds really wimpy. But it’s incredible about how much more you end up relying for family when you’re abroad than when you’re back at college in the States. It was great seeing the folks, and while there were times that we had our family moments (it just wouldn’t be the Marx family without the occasional family squabble!) it was wonderful being able to enjoy Southern Italy with them. Well, I shouldn’t really say that, because Southern Italy ended up being a major disappointment for us. Not because it wasn’t beautiful or the food and wine wasn’t great. Frankly, there just wasn’t anything to do. The thing that I think makes the region of Puglia (considered the “heel” of Italy) and much of Southern Italy special is that there’s not much to do, and that you go down there to enjoy the peace and tranquility. But Puglia was truly an Italian town; even when my mother ran into a small medical situation where she needed an anti-biotic, I, with my 2 years of Italian under my belt, couldn’t even navigate the Puglian medical situation. I almost lost it when I was ordered around and around a hospital in the tiny town of Ostuni just to get a simple prescription for the medicine, only to end up finding out that the doctor we needed to see was out for lunch! These are definite cultural experiences, but situations like this definitely got in the way of our enjoyment of the region. However, images like the one below will stick with us forever.

La Citta Bianca: Ostuni, Puglia, Italia!

We decided, however, that we needed to spend a little time in a place with a tad bit more activity, so we decided to take the long drive north to Roma! And what a great experience that was… if only I took the effort to take the camera out and take some shots every once in a while. Sadly, I have no pictures (mainly due to the immense amount of rain we got the few days that we were there) but we had a wonderful time sampling typical Roman cuisine, visiting all of the famous sites like the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and more. I even bumped into an old friend from High School who was studying through the American University in Rome, which was pretty exciting! All in all, I had a great time in Rome, and it was a great way to spend a few more days with the parents before they’re trip back to the States.

In terms of academics, what can I say? Midterms ended up going better than expected, as I may have mentioned previously. Goucher really has done an incredible job of preparing me for the differences that I have been experiencing through NYU, and as always, I never doubt for a second choosing NYU over a Goucher program; not because I dislike the Goucher programs (in fact, I hear that they Office of International Studies just added a couple more programs to Italy, one of which is even up north in Torino which is pretty cool) but because of the fact that I would have never had the opportunity to study abroad through such a prestigious institution as NYU, and also because of the fact that I’ve begun to really appreciate the advantages that I have going to a small, liberal arts university where you know someone every where you turn and the administration treats you like a person, and not like a number. But I digress… midterms went very well, and the second part of the semester is already off to a bang with projects, final papers, and even a Final Exam taking place in a matter of weeks (and only 6 weeks and 4 days remaining for the program!!!) I’m definitely not rushing it.

And how could I forget discussing my Yanks. WHAT A WORLD SERIES! It’s amazing that even though I’m in Europe, away from the hustle and bustle of American sports, the World Series is only (illegally!) a click away! I’ve been loving every minute of the series, and even though it’s kept me up until the wee (and sometimes not-so-wee) hours of the morning, and regardless of the fact that I almost missed my Perception class today because I didn’t turn off the computer until 6 AM the morning, I can’t get enough of it. As I write this, the Yanks are up 3-1 in the series, and they’re only ONE game away from clinching the World Series. So I know that there are probably a lot of angry Phillies fans reading this, but I do wish you all the best of luck, and in the end, may the best team win!

To finish up this blog, I wanted to let you know one trip that I have planned for the weekend of Thursday, November 19- Sunday, November 22. I’m planning on making a trip out to Berlin, Germany, to visit a good friend from Goucher who just graduated recently and was born and raised in the city. It’ll be great to meet up with him and live like a German (my absolute first time, and, if finances mean anything, most likely my last time!)  for a weekend. And you know what I’m really excited about? Yes, the beer, nothing like a good German beer…but I’m also excited for the great food, the incredible German hospitality, and the chance to see some incredible pieces of history like the site of the Berlin Wall. It’s going to be a great weekend and most likely my last international trip abroad before I head back to the States, so I’ll be living it up while I’m out there, and of course taking LOTS of photos for all of you to see.

Alright, time to get at least a little homework in before the game tonight. Hopefully all is well for everyone back home wherever you are, and that you’re bracing yourselves for a cold winter (at least that’s the case in Denver!) Stay warm, and I’ll be back next week.

Arrivaderci,

~Evan~

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Tales from London… FINALLY! Thursday, Oct 15 2009

Ciao Tutti,

First off, let me apologize immensely for not putting this post up sooner. As I mentioned in a previous post, this week was the super-crazy NYU in Florence midterm week, and between studying, watching my Rockies heart-breakingly (is that a word?) lose to the awful Phillies (no offense to an Phillies fans out there), studying, not sleeping, and yeah, studying, I had just about enough time to upload my pictures from London… and that was about it. HOWEVER, I just had my last midterm a couple hours ago, and I’m glad to say, I lived to tell the tale. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m studying abroad, if NYU classes are always like this, or if Goucher really did an incredible job preparing me for what to expect with NYU classes (anything’s possible!) but all I can say is I think that I did a remarkable job with my first NYU exams. And they’re all done and I can finally relax knowing that I only have just under 2 months left! Crazy, I know. The time has absolutely flown by. But this next week is going to be great, and I’ll explain why later in the post. For now though, I bring you the main attraction: “Tales from London: The Evan Marx Story”.

To sum this past weekend up in two words, I’d have to say “A Relief”. A relief because after 2 months of spending every single minute in the crazy, truly Tuscan city of Florence, it was so refreshing to go to a city like London where the culture is vibrant, the beer comes in more varieties than just “Peroni”, and the food is so good you just can’t help but ask for more. London truly had it all: fun, diverse people. Delicious food from all over the world. AMAZING weather (I know, surprising, but it was actually warmer in LONDON than it was in Florence, and now it’s only 62 degrees here!) London was an incredible experience, and while it’s impossible for me to tell you everything that went down this past weekend, I’ll try to give you the basics.

When I arrived in London last Friday, I was greeted by my friend/sister (at least that’s what we call eachother!) Becky. We’ve known each other for years, but this was our first time meeting up in a long time, so it was wonderful seeing each other. After a truly British lunch at Burger King (I know that sounds like a terrible way to start a trip abroad, but let me tell you, after months of not eating any fast food it was almost like being in heaven when I sank my teeth into a bacon cheeseburger and “chips”!) and my check in at my hostel, we hung out for the night at Becky’s room on her campus (she attends Regents College, a British university right in the heart of Regents Park in downtown London) and just relaxed until dinner time. Dinner, by the way, was pretty interesting. We ate at this restaurant called Nando’s which, if you’ve never heard of it before, serves some of the best chicken I’ve ever had. They also are known for serving some of the hottest sauce that goes WITH their chicken (they call it peri-peri sauce) and after one bite of my chicken pita with hot peri-peri sauce, I felt my face turn red with heat. It was seriously one of the spiciest meals I’ve had in a long time. And especially coming from Italian cuisine, which is not necessarily known for cooking the spiciest foods around, this was a meal I’ll never forget. After dinner, we went to this really cool pub near the tube stop called Weatherspoon’s where we had a couple pints, and than we called it a night, since we had a very full day of sightseeing planned for the next day.

The hostel that I stayed in from the outside. Great room, cool bar downstairs, and right across from the Shephard’s Bush tube station!

My first trip in the London Underground

The next day I woke up nice and early (mainly so that I could start the day off early, but also so I could handle the craziness of the showers and bathrooms at the hostel!) and met Becky at her school for a quick breakfast before we set off. And what a day it was. We experienced everything, from the National Gallery, to St. James’ park and Buckingham Palace, to Big Ben, Downing Street, and the London Eye, we did EVERYTHING the city had to offer in what was a very jam packed day. I’ve included a couple pictures below of some of the highlights, but for those of you who want to really see everything, check me out on facebook, as I have a whole photo album up chronicling my entire trip to London. Enjoy the photos!

Becks and I in front of the fountain at the National Gallery

Chilling at Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives

Beautiful panorama of London from the top of the London Eye

At the end of the day, I met up with another one of my good friends from high school who is currently studying in London, and we went with her British friends to some really cool locals-only pubs and bars for drinks. We all had a great time, and it was the perfect way to finish up a fast, yet really enjoyable trip to London.

Becks and I woke up the next morning absolutely exhausted, but I did have a train to catch back to the airport, so we decided to go out for my very first full English breakfast… which never made its way to the table! After waiting about an hour for our food, we were told that they ran out of ingredients for a full English breakfast, and that we could either wait for something else to eat, or that she would comp our drinks. I had to run sadly, so we stuck with the free drinks, made our way to the train station, and the rest? History. Thanks Becky for such an amazing weekend, and again, I really do hope all of you check out my facebook page for all of the great photos from this past week.

As I mentioned, midterm week is now officially DONE, and starting now, fall break week has officially BEGUN! I’m spending the next few days here in Florence recuperating from a busy week, and than on Sunday morning I’m taking a long train ride down to Bari, which geographically is located on the southeastern coast of Italy, also known as “The Boot of Italy”, to see my parents and spend some time with them for most of next week while they are here visiting. I’ll most likely be out of internet access, so I may need to put a hold on the blog post for the next week, but expect lots of pictures and reporting on how my trip goes in a couple weeks. Until then, hope you all enjoyed learning more about my trip to London-town, and as always, leave lots of comments and questions. Enjoy the first beginnings of winter (I heard it’s pretty cold back in the States!) and stay warm!

Ci Vediamo,

~Evan~

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Forza Viola! Monday, Oct 5 2009

Ciao Amici,

I really need to stop putting off my blog updates until 12:45 in the morning! It just feels like the closer I get to midterms, the crazier things get around here. Yet, I do have a couple important things to catch you all up on, so my much-needed rest is going to have to wait just a little bit longer!

First of all, my first on-call as a peer adviser with New York University! What to say about that? Honestly, not much happened. I thought it was going to be quite a bit crazier than it was, but really, the only incident I ended up responding to was a girl who happened to lose pretty much all of her belongings in Munich, at Oktoberfest! Her passport, wallet, everything… gone! I took her to the Police Headquarters (La Questura) and we filed a police report together (great way to boost your Italian) and all was said and done. And that was the only incident I needed to respond to! If only every on-call situation was as quick and painless as that. So I know some of you were hoping I’d have something more interesting to talk about in regards to my first time being on-call, but alas, it was quite boring.

But on to the interesting part of this blog update… my very first time watching a soccer (calcio) match! And wow, was that quite the cultural immersion! It was very much out of the blue too. My friend Dana decided she wanted to catch a game, so we went online and noticed that Fiorentina (the Florentine soccer team, known throughout Europe for their violet purple colors!) was playing Lazio (the region of Italy where Rome is located) last Sunday and that we were amazingly able to get student tickets for the game for only 24 Euro. And really good seats too! So we went, had the classic “Panino a Lampredotto” and a beer for lunch before the game (I won’t tell you what Lampredotto is because if I tell you you’re going to think I’m disgusting for eating it… and I mean fear factor disgusting. but it was in fact one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever eaten, and that’s the classic “cucina povero” or poor person’s food that you find people all over Florence eating for lunch, especially before a soccer game. If you’re curious, just do a google search for Lampredotto!) and than took our seats.

It was when we entered the Stadium that I was amazed with what I saw. At the far left of the stadium was a sight impossible to see at any football, baseball, or basketball game combined. Hundreds of Fiorentina fans sporting purple jerseys, purple hair, purple shoes… it was a sea of Viola! Hundreds of fans shouting “FORZA VIOLA!” and stamping their feet. It was a sight that made me scream when I realized that I left my camera at home. Instead, you’re going to get a google image of what I saw… it was quite the image!

La Curva Fiesole at Stadio Artemio Franchi!

If only you could hear the noise that was coming from that section! It was here that I realized something I touched up upon towards the beginning of this blog: pasione (passion!) The Florentines in the Curva Fiorentina were not just there to watch a game. They were there because they had a PASSION for Fiorentina. From the chants they made when Mutu made an outstanding save (despite the millions of dollars he recently was fined by FIFA for failing a drug test and his claims that he doesn’t have the money to pay the fine!!) from the boos, hisses, Italian swears and trash thrown on the field and at the referees when the ball just went over the goal line before the goalie saved the ball and they didn’t call it a goal (now THAT was a sight for sore eyes!) Unfortunately the game ended in a tie, but not before we left the game tired, our voices gone, and having totally been immersed in our VERY first soccer game, and hopefully not our last Fiorentina game.

Aside from that, this week was another pretty slow week. I can definitely feel the time speeding by as we get closer to midterms (next week!) and fall break (the week after!) but at least for this week, the studying commences, and the excitement starts to build up as I eagerly await my departure on Friday morning to beautiful London, England. Of course, next week, I’ll fill you all in with all the sights, sounds, and tastes that London had to offer, as well as upload a few pictures (I promise you I’m going to bring my camera this time, so I’ll upload lots of pictures!)

Just one more thing before I forget. If you have a facebook and we’re not facebook friends, please add me! I have lots of photo albums already on my facebook with over 100 photos in total of my experience here in Florence and Tuscany so far, so much more than I’m able to show here on WordPress. So find me on facebook, I’ll add you, and definitely check out the photos.

Thanks for keeping up with the blog, and check back next Monday for more.

Arrivaderci,

~Evan~

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Il Primo Sette Settimani (The First 7 Weeks) Monday, Sep 28 2009

Ciao Tutti,

Let me start off by saying WHERE did the semester go?! Today officially marks the seventh week since I arrived here in Florence (at least, that’s according to a fellow Peer Adviser) and I feel like I just arrived. You can imagine my horror when I learned that my first midterm exam is TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY (actually yesterday, seeing as how I’m writing this at 12:12 in the morning on Tuesday!) The time is definitely flying by, but the fun has just begun.

Just to give you guys a little preview of what’s to come in future blog updates (since I don’t have a whole lot to report on this week):

A.) All week this week I am the Peer Adviser on call. In a nutshell, this means that I have the phone that connects to a hotline that ANY NYU in Florence student can call 24/7 for non-emergency situations like lockouts, scheduling a time to file a police report at the “questura” (police headquarters) for lost or stolen items, etc. However, when a Residence Hall Manager (our supervisors) are busy, we may be called upon to assist in an emergency situation. So basically, anything could happen when you’re on-call. And I’m lucky enough to be on call ALL WEEK, so next week, expect a full recap with how my first time on-call as an NYU student went.

B.) On Wednesday I’m going out to watch an Italian movie and have dinner with my Florentine pen pal as part of my Community Service course here at NYU in Florence. To put a long story short, after about 2 weeks now of communicating with my pen pal (a really sweet Florentine high school senior named Margherita) I found out that she is actually the daughter of my professor, and that she was assigned to me SPECIFICALLY! Also, I’m the only guy in a class of about 8 other girls, so not completely sure of the professor’s motives, but I guess I can’t really complain! We’re going to meet on Wednesday, and I’ll let all of you know next week how the movie/pizza night went.

C.) In 2 weeks, I’m happy to say that I’m going to be taking my VERY FIRST international trip to London to meet up with my best friend! Becky and I got back a long time (since middle school!) but I haven’t really had a chance to see her a whole lot since I graduated high school and she started college up in the UK, so I decided to splurge a little bit and visit her up in “Gran Bretagna”! I’m leaving a couple Friday’s from now from Pisa Airport (my first Ryan Air flight, wish me luck!) and arriving into London later that afternoon. I’ll be staying in a hostel while in London, but spending lots of time with Becky, getting to experience this city I haven’t been to in YEARS, as well as eating well (nothing like a nice big filling English breakfast to get the day started off right, very hard to find in Italy!) and enjoying the English nightlife. All in all, I think it’s going to be an awesome trip, and so happy to spend it with Becky! I’ll fill you all in about the trip in about three weeks time.

There is much more to come, but I wanted to give you a little sample of what’s happening in the immediate future. The middle of the terms is in about three weeks, followed by what is going to be an absolutely incredible fall break (more on that in a future blog post), and than the second part of the adventure.

That’s about it for now. Thanks everyone for keeping up with the blog and leaving me your comments and emails, and I’ll see you all next week.

Ci Vediamo,

~Evan~

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Academic Life Monday, Sep 21 2009

Buona Notte Amici,

  Well there comes a time in every blog when honestly, there’s just not that much to say. I think it’s officially that time in the study abroad experience when I’ve officially settled into life as a temporary Florentine, learned the lay of the land (both off campus and on), and realized that I’m going to go broke if I don’t stop spending money! So for the first time in a while, I’ve been very frugal! I decided last weekend to stay here in Florence, relax, enjoy the nightlife, and take a load off from what ended up being a VERY busy week. Much of that busy work being the work I have assigned from my classes. Which is why, since this past week has been a bit on the uneventful side, I wanted to spend some time this blog update talking about my classes, because, well, I am going to NYU in Florence to study, right?!

  First of all, let me describe my two Psychology courses, Sensation and Developmental, in one word: Different. Different in the sense that I have never taken a class that is pure lecture, and NO class discussion. Not once have we as a class had a discussion about what was in our reading assignment over the weekend, or about a topic related to the lecture. Instead, these classes are purely lecture based (with a lab component thrown into my Sensation class, for good measure.) This is definitely one of the biggest differences between my classes at NYU and classes I have taken at Goucher. No more round-table style discussions or learning from your peers. We’re in the big leagues now, and one thing about playing in the big leagues is dealing with classes that may be a little bit impersonal and, well, larger! And don’t get me wrong, I’m very much enjoying learning these very important fields of Psychology through a different department than that of which I’ve been learning Psychology for the past 2 years. But it’s definitely a different experience.

  Than comes by far the most unique course I am taking this semester, and probably the most unique course I will ever take in my collegiate career: Community Service (In Italian). This course is geared for students who have passed NYU’s version of Advanced Conversational Italian, or an equivalent at another school, so knowing this wasn’t going to be easy, I decided to enroll in the course and see what happened. Thinking that the hardest part of the course would be utilizing my Italian skills in my specific volunteer organization, I went into class my first day with a pen, an Italian-English dictionary, and my pride. Little did I know what I was about to get myself into! Aside from volunteering twice a week for 2 1/2 hours a week at the Comunita’ Ebraica di Firenze (The Jewish Community of Florence) at their kindergarten program, I also meet with about 8 of my peers in a very small, seminar style class (much more like what I am used to at Goucher, except for the whole “everyone must speak Italian and nothing else or else the professor won’t understand what I’m saying” thing) where we all discuss issues relating to cultural and language barriers, read books (in Italian, no surprise!) relating to intercultural awareness, and also work on bolstering out Italian language skills. And yes, I know I’ve said it before, but this is all in Italian. As of now, I’m starting to feel that maybe the 2 years of Italian that I took at both Goucher and Loyola may have not been enough! Because interestingly enough, I’m having an easier time communicating with my supervisors at the Jewish Community than I am communicating with my professor and my peers in my own class! But only time will tell, and I am absolutely certain that by the end of the semester, I will come out speaking far better Italian than I would ever be able to had I not taken this very culturally engaging course.

The Synagogue at La Comunita’ Ebraica di Firenze

  And finally comes my absolute favorite course: Intro to Marketing. For those who are not aware, I just recently decided to boost my Psychology Major by declaring myself a Management Minor, and I decided to begin taking care of my Minor requirements by taking Intro to Marketing here at NYU. And honestly, outside of the professor (who I think is wonderful, but is a little slow in his teaching style and his English!) and the fact that he basically presents slides that are right out of the textbook, the class is really an interesting one. What also makes it interesting is the professor’s ability to connect marketing to where we are studying through presenting the material in an Italian context. By giving examples of Italian companies that utilize the marketing strategies discussed in the text, we are really able to go hands on and delve deep into the material (which can some times be a bit dense, but in the end is really useful information). So while I have lots of time before my Minor is complete, I’m very happy that I started everything off for it here at NYU in Florence.

  And that’s about it! Four courses, Sixteen credits, a ton of work, but definitely worth it. And again, that’s what studying abroad is all about, right?

Until next week.

A Presto,

~Evan~

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Pasione Sunday, Sep 13 2009

Buona Sera Amici!

  What a weekend its been! From enjoying my first Bistecca Alla Fiorentina (way too big, even for two people!) to hiking the amazingly beautiful trails of the Cinque Terre (The Five Cities along the coast of the Ligurian Sea) to having my first peace of simply grilled fish since I left the States (notice how food makes up 2 out of the three examples…) it has been quite the busy weekend. I’ll explain a bit more about the events of the past week (Siena, the first 2 days of my internship, and more on the Cinque Terre) but I need to first talk about “pasione”.

   Passion, in an Italian context, is a lot more complex than that of an American. For one, it doesn’t necessarily involve loving another person. An Italian who has “un pasione” for cooking (extremely common) is not IN LOVE with cooking. He just has a real passion for what it takes to really create a dish (which, to be honest, is a work of art out here, as simple as the dish may be). That’s one thing that I noticed in the two cities outside of Florence that I visited this past week.

  In Siena, it was the “pasione” that each Sienese had for his or her individual neighborhood. Each neighborhood in Siena competes in a big competition called Palio that could take hours to explain, so just to simplify things, I’ll tell you that each neighborhood (symbolized by a different animal) is really serious about winning the competition! And this stems each individual’s commitment to their neighborhood. It seems like everyone in the neighborhoods knew each other. In fact, when I visited, one of the neighborhoods was hosting a mass baptism at one of the churches in their area, and it wasn’t common to see a member of that neighborhood sporting scarves with their animal’s symbol on it (I think it was an Owl that day, but I’m not 100% sure!) Coming from someone who for 20 years hasn’t felt much of a connection to the neighborhood in which he lived (a little bit in Denver, but I just moved there!) this passion for your neighborhood really spoke to me. Siena was incredible, with it’s history, it’s piazzas, and it’s incredible Pici pasta (think spaghetti but thicker and hollow). And since it’s only an hour from Florence by train, I’ll definitely be making a trip back there at some point before I leave.

 

The front of the amazing Duomo in Siena

A look at the HUGE Piazza Mercato in the heart of Siena.

  In terms of the Cinque Terre… well, I don’t know where to start! The Cinque Terre had everything… beautiful streets filled with storefronts and restaurants overlooking the Ligurian Sea, some of the best food in Tuscany, and some of the FRIENDLIEST people in Tuscany. It was also, hands down, the most beautiful place in Tuscany that I’ve seen so far. Blame it on the sea, but I honestly was blown away with some of the view of the city (A couple of which you can see below, but find me on Facebook and check out my latest album for all of them!) This is the sort of passion I’m talking about. It doesn’t always need to be about a certain skill or a certain thing. It can simply be passion for the place you live, and I noticed that as I walked along the streets of each of the five cities and noticed locals fishing in the ocean, strolling the small streets, or simply kicking back and enjoying the amazing Tuscan weather. People really enjoy life in Italy, and it was so clear to me that the people of the Cinque Terre were no exception. I know the pictures below don’t do it justice, but here goes! 

A look down towards the third of the five “terre”, Vernazza

A look back at the last of the 5 “terre”, Monterosso

  In terms of the Internship, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Not only am I feeling more in touch with my faith (I’m volunteering a couple hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with the Comunita’ Ebraica, which is the Jewish Community of Florence, with their daycare program) but I also feel a really close connection with the woman I work with, Sabina, and the children I work with. It’s a great experience, and I’ll definitely update all of you as it continues.

  That’s all for now… I’m off to dinner on campus with my roommate (need to save money after this past weekend!) so until next time, arrivaderci!

Ciao,

~Evan~

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Studying Through NYU Saturday, Sep 5 2009

Buongiorno,

I usually love to sit down in front of the computer and get all my thoughts out. In fact, up until now, I’ve done a pretty good job at updating this thing. But today, I’m just not feeling it. Because today (and yes, today means everything up until now, which is 10:50 in the morning!) I realized the main difference between Goucher and a larger university such as NYU. Now NYU has many advantages, such as an all-star list of faculty, an unbelievable campus (both here in Florence and back in the States) and great student services. However, one thing it lacks is that close connection that you can only find at a school like Goucher. And while some of us complain about the Goucher bubble, and it sometimes being a little too closely-knit, it took me until now to really appreciate that aspect of my Goucher experience. And while I won’t bore all of you by ranting about my experience getting bumped off of a trip to Siena that I was supposed to be working as a Peer Adviser on today due to the fact that the trip was overbooked and so on and so forth, I do want to point this out, because if any of you plan on studying abroad through a university other than the school you currently attend, I think you too will witness the advantages, and yes, the disadvantages, of doing so.

On a brighter note, this past week has been quite nice considering the fact that it was the first week of classes! My classes are pretty spectacular. Certainly not easy (another thing about studying abroad through NYU…. I was told by an NYU student to expect some of the best professors I’ll ever have at the undergraduate level… who don’t really care how I end up doing in the class!) and they’re definitely no-nonsense professors. But I’ll take a professor of Psychology, for example, who is no-nonsense versus one who can’t stick to the game plan. So all in all, I’m very happy with my classes. The Italian community service course I’m taking is going to be incredible, but it’s already starting off tough. I’m going to be meeting with an administrator at La Comunita’ Ebraica di Firenze (The Jewish Community of Florence) on Monday to discuss with him (all in Italian!) my interest in working with the day care located within the community, which would be an incredible experience if all works out well. This will definitely be the first time I would have truly utilized my Italian (in Florence, you can definitely use the language wherever you go and Italians love to see Americans speaking the language… but 50% of the time they’ll just speak to you in English anyways!) so wish me luck!

Villa Ulivi, where my classes are held!

Outside of meeting professors and getting to know academics at NYU in Florence a little more, this week wasn’t too much different than my past couple of weeks here. Still getting to know the city, my neighborhood, and even my roommates (NYU kids are great, but again, just like everything on this program, very different!) but I’m sure that with time, things will start to settle in. And while it sucks having to get bumped off of a trip you REALLY wanted to attend, one thing I’ve learned about studying in a foreign country, even one that seems quite modern in terms of foreign cities, is that you need to learn to deal with disorganization. Because hey, there’s lots of time left for a trip to Siena, right?

I’m off to go shop for some food for the apartment at a farmers market down the street (think NYC farmers markets, than take the quality of the produce and times it by 1000!) but I’ll be back next week for another update. Ciao, e’ grazie per leggere mio blog!

A Presto,

~Evan~

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The First 7 Days Monday, Aug 24 2009

Buona Sera Tutti,

I cannot honestly believe that in just about 30 minutes I will have been in Italy for ONE whole week. From Peer Adviser training, to dinner out with friends, and everything in between, this has been a week that even four months into the future when I leave Florence I will never forget. I’m extremely hot (it’s hit over 100 degrees over the past week, and it only gets hotter in my steamy apartment) and have a very full day checking in the upperclassmen (all 250 of em!) so this post is going to be short and sweet, but it should familiarize you all with what my fun-filled first week in Florence has been like.

It all began a hot, summer’s night upon an arrival after hours and hours of flying on cramped airplanes! I immediately met my first PA counterpart upon my arrival… a fascinating guy named Antonio. The minute I met Antonio, I knew I was in for quite the trip. This kid was extremely well traveled, extremely bright, into the finer things in life. All in all, he was a true NYU student! We talked and talked the entire taxi ride through the incredibly beautiful city of Florence (lots of pics to come in future blog updates!) until we arrived at our palatial campus, La Pietra.

Again, more pictures will follow of La Pietra, but words just doesn’t do this campus justice. WOW! To know that I’m going to be spending week after week in this Tuscan masterpiece is beyond me! But immediately upon arrival, my job as a Peer Adviser came into play. The rest of the night was spent meeting my peers, as well as my supervisors, and helping to plan what would soon become the week of training, soon to be known as hell week (yes, some would say even more hellish than finals week!)

In a nutshell, it was a rough week! From 9-7 PM, all day every day, we were doing things from learning about our new home, to learning about the ins and outs to being a PA, to performing various office work to prepare for the rest of the campus’ arrival in a week. Yet, through all the toil and yes, heat, I had a great time meeting my counterparts. As the only visiting Peer Adviser (every other student that I work with is an NYU student) I definitely got a few stares here and there, and a lot of questions posed my way about how I could POSSIBLY survive going to a school of only 1,500 students! Yet, in the end, I think I learned a lot about what makes Goucher such a special place… and I personally think my peers respect me for that. So, in the end, a win-win situation!

The week went by quickly, and before I knew it I moved from my temporary residence in hot, sticky Villa Coletta on campus to my hot, sticky, but extremely large apartment on Borgo Pinti 66, only minutes from Piazza San Marco and steps away from Santa Croce! It’s a great apartment for now, but starting tomorrow it’ll be filled with 14 other residents (frat guys, supposedly!) that will certainly add some life to this dull apartment… but I’m up for the challenge!

To sum up my weekend, not much happened! But sometimes the best weekends are the most relaxing ones. I simply took the time to explore my environs (the Comunita Ebraica, or Jewish Community, being one of the many close landmarks near my apartment) as well as my not-so-close environs (one such environ being a stretch of sand on the Oltrarno on the river, with lounge chairs, beach umbrellas, and a bar which makes the best Margaritas in Florence!) It was a chance to explore my new home, and I have to say, for just two days, I definitely packed a lot in.

Today was VERY busy. I checked in the 120 freshman, 100 which are NYU freshmen starting off their college careers in Florence, as well as 20 other visiting freshman from Franklin and Marshall College. They are a very interesting bunch of kids, but I have to give them credit, I definitely don’t think I could have handled the intensity of studying abroad during MY freshman year. Props definitely go out to this extremely bright group of first-years.

And here I am now, sweating like a pig, about to go to sleep before my long day of checking in the upperclassmen. Lots of work, but I couldn’t think of a better place in the world to being working than la citta di Firenze!

A Presto,

~Evan~

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And It All Begins! Saturday, Aug 15 2009

Well, here I am, bored as can be at 5 of 1 in the morning, watching the finale of The Nanny (what will I do without Nick at Night in Florence?!) and I can’t BELIEVE I’m leaving for the City of the Renaissance in one more day! This summer has been pretty intense: a move to a new home, a job that kept me up most nights until 3 AM, and most significant, the utter anticipation for what would come. And now, after months of waiting (hard to believe this whole study abroad process began all the way back in April!) the time has come… great food, incredible company, and beautiful city-scapes are only a day or two away!

Now, in my last post, I regretted to mention one of the most important aspects of the pre-departure process… PACKING! And let me tell you, without patience, time, and the most helpful mother in the world, I never would have been able to accomplish this  very daring task! Yet, by starting early (I essentially got both of my bags that are to be checked packed a week ago, and my carry-on was packed today) I was able to beat the pressure of packing the day before and save myself a day to get some r and r before my ridiculous flight plan on Sunday (see the previous post for more details on my flight plan!)

As previously mentioned, lots of anticipation has been built up for this trip… until now. For the first time since I applied for this study abroad program, the anxiety of being away from the comforts of Goucher (lets face it, sometimes we complain, but we all have it pretty nice at Goucher!) finally hit me. Being away from friends, meeting people from a school I never thought I’d ever be taking classes from (NYU always seemed pretty out of reach, until now!) and having to apply a language I’ve spent 2 years studying is ALSO only a day or two away. Also, add to the fact that I have an utter fear of long-haul flights, and you have quite the scenario. However, part of the fun is trying to beat the fear and just have fun, and despite sounding extremely cliche, I really do think all this will make me a stronger person. Because in the end, isn’t studying abroad about learning more about yourself?

So here I am, the morning before the longest flight plan in my life… and I couldn’t be more excited!

These next couple days will be pretty intense, with flying and training for my work study position (more on this in my next post) so please pardon me if I don’t post until the end of next week (Thursday or Friday at the LATEST!) I’m going to do my best to update this blog as much as possible, but definitely plan on checking back once a week, as I’ll definitely keep you posted weekly on all of the amazing happenings in the City of Florence. Also, if it’s more convenient, please check out my notes on Facebook. I’ve set this blog up so that every new blog update is also updated on my Facebook notes (the wonders of modern technology!) so if you’re my Facebook friend, check that out, but if you’re not, feel free to add me. And last but not least, if you all ahve any questions or comments or just want to know more about my experience throughout my trip abroad, feel free to leave me a message here on WordPress, or drop me an email at evan.marx@mail.goucher.edu.

Look forward to bringing you along the ride,

~Evan Marx~

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