Dear Reader(s)
After far too long apart, Nerea finally returned to Modena and now all is well again. We threw a small party for her, which involved cheap Lambrusco in the kitchen and Dani's speakers.
Lectures have started and I'm actually so excited that I feel like Hermione Granger! Having some form of structure to my week is great, and going to lectures isn't too bad. I need to concentrate very hard to keep up (which I didn't do in my first lecture). I enjoy the fact that my lecture theaters are in beautiful old buildings, and that my first lecturer used several Italian hand gestures to get his point across.
Today we (Nerea, Béa, Fran and Tamara) went to the park for a bit, we just chilled out in the shade and chatted which was nice. Then Nerea cooked us all a late lunch (I'm becoming Spanish with my eating habits) and then I went to my lecture which was 5pm to 7.30pm. After that, Christina (who had had the same lecture as me) and I found the others in the centro during happy hour and enjoyed a nice cold Carona.
"YAWT" is the abbreviated name for my 'Year Abroad Written Task' I have chosen to do my written task on the news. I can either choose to focus on local news and how it's written, or to see how international or national news is covered in the local press. Either way I have to buy the local paper every day il resto di Carlino and I may start buying a national paper too so that I can thoroughly get the most out of it. There are several YAWT options, but I think the news ones sound most appealing to me.
A presto...
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Friday 23 September 2011
"to bring flowers"
Dear reader(s)
Tonight there is supposedly going to be an Ibiza party in the TV room, organised by Dani, this is his poster:
Since I last posted I have been to a couple more lectures, finally got my bike (my rainbow bike) been to the library and taken out an Italian murder mystery, found my facoltà done lots of aperitivi, been to a disco, paid for my accommodation and worked out how to watch Doc Martin and Dr Who online woop! Nerea has gone home for the weekend and everyone is teasing me saying I can't survive without her (which I so can) because she's mothering me.
Wish me luck for the Ibiza party!
A presto...
Tuesday 20 September 2011
606
Dear reader(s)
Nerea taught me a phrase yesterday: "quien madruga Dios le ayuda" which means "the early bird catches the worm" because Nerea and I got up early and did LOADS. We sorted out our new room - and we're still sharing! We're now room 606 and everything works there which is a bonus (lots of plugs didn't work, and the bathroom door didn't close in 1108) to help with the move I geniusly thought of using the trolley.
We then went to the mercato together to look for bikes (which we didn't find) followed by going to the centro for our first italian coffees together :) Later we finally sorted out bikes: there's a guy who lives on the 8th floor who sells, fixes and then re-buys bikes for students in the residenza and so I've put my name on a rainbow bike (such a child).
Last night we all went to Soltero's Salsa Class which was AWESOME. The first lesson is free (then you have to pay €50 per month so we wont be going back) and we learnt the 5 basic steps and then danced in partners; whenever Gianni Soltero shouted CHANGE the girls had to take one step to the left (we were in a big circle) and change to the next boy. It was loads of fun and we wish it was cheaper because we'd all love to go back :(
Today I went to my first lecture, well Nerea's first lecture. I'm signed up to start 3rd October doing lettere e filosofia but I figured there's nothing stopping me from going and it'll be a huge help to listen to Italian. Nerea and I have decided to sit at the front next time because every one talks and we can't hear properly. I'm going to keep going to Nerea's lectures (she studies law) because it's very useful. After this I'm going to draw up a long vocab. list of legal terms and phrases (geek alert).
We have drawn up a list of themes for our latest agreement: every week we are going to have themed costume parties in the residenza should be fun :)
A presto...
Nerea taught me a phrase yesterday: "quien madruga Dios le ayuda" which means "the early bird catches the worm" because Nerea and I got up early and did LOADS. We sorted out our new room - and we're still sharing! We're now room 606 and everything works there which is a bonus (lots of plugs didn't work, and the bathroom door didn't close in 1108) to help with the move I geniusly thought of using the trolley.
We then went to the mercato together to look for bikes (which we didn't find) followed by going to the centro for our first italian coffees together :) Later we finally sorted out bikes: there's a guy who lives on the 8th floor who sells, fixes and then re-buys bikes for students in the residenza and so I've put my name on a rainbow bike (such a child).
Today I went to my first lecture, well Nerea's first lecture. I'm signed up to start 3rd October doing lettere e filosofia but I figured there's nothing stopping me from going and it'll be a huge help to listen to Italian. Nerea and I have decided to sit at the front next time because every one talks and we can't hear properly. I'm going to keep going to Nerea's lectures (she studies law) because it's very useful. After this I'm going to draw up a long vocab. list of legal terms and phrases (geek alert).
We have drawn up a list of themes for our latest agreement: every week we are going to have themed costume parties in the residenza should be fun :)
A presto...
Sunday 18 September 2011
vale! vale! vale!
Dear reader(s)
Last night the plan for mass did not go so well, we got our times wrong and so have decided to try again another day.
Aperitivi went much better: 5€ for a drink (alcoholic or not) and an all you can eat buffet italian style. Visions of american food buffets can be wiped from your mind this instant: there were a few bars covered in hot platters of authentic italian food: chunks of parmasan, pork, salamis, warm and cold pasta salads, rosemary infused potato wedgeds, foccacia breads with different flavors, mini pizzas - real top nosh.
Today the plan for Parma did not happen because of cancelled trains, when the second one was cancelled we decided to get tickets for Bologna instead and spent the day there (our tickets to Parma are valid for the next two months). Bologna was lovely, we found the piazza and went to the cathedral which is much bigger and even more colourful than the duomo in Modena. We walked around all day (tired legs now) and got a pizza together. We carried on walking for a bit longer and went back to the station and caught the next train home, a very sleepy bunch we were too.
Tomorrow the crowds arrive as it's the first official date of arrival, however Nerea and I are going to try and move to our permanent rooms tonight to avoid the madness tomorrow, we also intend to carry on sharing (yay friends for life!)
A presto...
Saturday 17 September 2011
Siesta per la festa!
Dear reader(s)
Last night things really started to fall into place! Nerea and I came back after our trip to the centro and got a shopping trolley (carello) ...
... from the reception of the residenza and went to Lidl for our bits and bobs. It's a good quality cheap supermarket and it's only 2 minutes down the road. When we came back we had our dinner and everyone was there from our corridor, we spent a couple of hours eating and chatting and decided that we would spend saturday together in Modena, and then we all signed up for the esnbologna.eu trip to Parma on Sunday. In the centro we had a good look inside the duomo and then went to the fesitvale della filosofia where we met up with Giorgi again. At about 14:00 we got the bus back to our residenza and had lunch together, again eating and chatting for a long time.
Tonight the plan is that Javi, Blanca and I will go to the centro for a mass at 18:30 and then the rest of the gang (there's 9 of us in total) will have our aperitivi. Can't wait!
A presto...
Friday 16 September 2011
Spanish Italy
Dear reader(s)
Giorgi came and showed me Modena on foot last night with his friend Eugenia. The weather was still boiling hot, but it's not a humid heat so it's not horrible. He told me all about the city and showed me the best parts of it: 'i giardini' his favourite park, 'la bibliotecha' the library that I'd found earlier, and he helped me out with getting my library card (hot off the press) and also the duomo. We went inside and I asked why there was a curtain over the big stain-glass window, the guy who works in the duomo explained that it's to keep the place cool during the day, then he opened the curtain and said it's beautiful if you stand and look from the balcony, which is restricted and he let us up there! It really was beautiful looking at the 'Roses Window' with the late afternoon sun gently coming through it. Another very exciting fact that Giorgi told me is that the duomo has been renovated for several months (over a year) and that NEXT WEEK the cover will be taken down and the beautiful new duomo will be visible! I can't believe my luck!
After our grande giro della città we got a slice of pizza and a fanta before heading to Giorgi and Eugenia's band rehearsal. The band is pretty cool, there's Giorgi - bass, Eugenia - guitar and vocals, Margherita - vocals and Jonny (be goooood as they call him) - drums. They play their own songs and if you had to give it a genre it'd be folk-rock.
Before bed my new (temporary) roommate came in and I love her. She's Spanish too, from Catalogna, called Nerea. We sat up chatting in our pjs for about 2 hours before turning in. Today I have worked out the laundry system and made my lunch - challenging myself with pasta and tomato sauce NOT. I met a few more Spaniards and one Portuguese boy in the kitchen, Victor & Dani, bringing my total friends up to 9: 4 Italians, 5 Spaniards, 1 Portuguese. After a while of letting them speak English to me I asserted myself and told them I refuse to speak anything but Italian.
Today Nerea and I intend to go to the centro to buy bikes, then to the supermarket to buy some food. Tonight there is a philosophy festival and we may go to some of the events there.
A presto...
Giorgi came and showed me Modena on foot last night with his friend Eugenia. The weather was still boiling hot, but it's not a humid heat so it's not horrible. He told me all about the city and showed me the best parts of it: 'i giardini' his favourite park, 'la bibliotecha' the library that I'd found earlier, and he helped me out with getting my library card (hot off the press) and also the duomo. We went inside and I asked why there was a curtain over the big stain-glass window, the guy who works in the duomo explained that it's to keep the place cool during the day, then he opened the curtain and said it's beautiful if you stand and look from the balcony, which is restricted and he let us up there! It really was beautiful looking at the 'Roses Window' with the late afternoon sun gently coming through it. Another very exciting fact that Giorgi told me is that the duomo has been renovated for several months (over a year) and that NEXT WEEK the cover will be taken down and the beautiful new duomo will be visible! I can't believe my luck!
After our grande giro della città we got a slice of pizza and a fanta before heading to Giorgi and Eugenia's band rehearsal. The band is pretty cool, there's Giorgi - bass, Eugenia - guitar and vocals, Margherita - vocals and Jonny (be goooood as they call him) - drums. They play their own songs and if you had to give it a genre it'd be folk-rock.
Before bed my new (temporary) roommate came in and I love her. She's Spanish too, from Catalogna, called Nerea. We sat up chatting in our pjs for about 2 hours before turning in. Today I have worked out the laundry system and made my lunch - challenging myself with pasta and tomato sauce NOT. I met a few more Spaniards and one Portuguese boy in the kitchen, Victor & Dani, bringing my total friends up to 9: 4 Italians, 5 Spaniards, 1 Portuguese. After a while of letting them speak English to me I asserted myself and told them I refuse to speak anything but Italian.
Today Nerea and I intend to go to the centro to buy bikes, then to the supermarket to buy some food. Tonight there is a philosophy festival and we may go to some of the events there.
A presto...
Thursday 15 September 2011
living the dream
Dear reader(s)
I am here and alone in Italy so it's official: I've started my YA!
The weather is HOT. Short shorts and denim skirt are now my best friends, along with airconditioning and ice creams...
Today I said goodbye to my parents quite early and then headed for the University to enroll. I received my student card and also made some friends: Javi and Blanca, two Spanish medical students who are doing their 5th year of medicine in Modena, they spoke mostly English to me and say they both need to learn Italian, and then on discovery that I'm studying French too Bianca and I both spoke perfectly with each other in French. They also gave me some useful tips, such as it's much more 'economico' to buy myself a second hand bike and re-sell it at the end of term than to get the bus every day. I intended to sort out a bike today but will have to do that tomorrow.
After enrolling I decided to find the library (getting more and more hot, walking around in the sunshine carrying my heavy handbag, over-night bag and laptop) and the library is beautiful (if interested here's a link to check it out: http://www.comune.modena.it/biblioteche/delfini/index.htm ) it has full airconditioning and loads of areas to hang out drinking coffee. I then went to a little cafe, found free wifi and got myself a pizza for €1,40. I decided it was time to work out the bus system and head to my room (I was pretty sick of carrying all those heavy things around) and so after a cold shower and a little nap I found the computer room.
Tonight I will be seeing some more of Modena with my good friend who did Erasmus in Durham last year, Giorgi.
A presto!
I am here and alone in Italy so it's official: I've started my YA!
The weather is HOT. Short shorts and denim skirt are now my best friends, along with airconditioning and ice creams...
Today I said goodbye to my parents quite early and then headed for the University to enroll. I received my student card and also made some friends: Javi and Blanca, two Spanish medical students who are doing their 5th year of medicine in Modena, they spoke mostly English to me and say they both need to learn Italian, and then on discovery that I'm studying French too Bianca and I both spoke perfectly with each other in French. They also gave me some useful tips, such as it's much more 'economico' to buy myself a second hand bike and re-sell it at the end of term than to get the bus every day. I intended to sort out a bike today but will have to do that tomorrow.
After enrolling I decided to find the library (getting more and more hot, walking around in the sunshine carrying my heavy handbag, over-night bag and laptop) and the library is beautiful (if interested here's a link to check it out: http://www.comune.modena.it/biblioteche/delfini/index.htm ) it has full airconditioning and loads of areas to hang out drinking coffee. I then went to a little cafe, found free wifi and got myself a pizza for €1,40. I decided it was time to work out the bus system and head to my room (I was pretty sick of carrying all those heavy things around) and so after a cold shower and a little nap I found the computer room.
Tonight I will be seeing some more of Modena with my good friend who did Erasmus in Durham last year, Giorgi.
A presto!
Tuesday 13 September 2011
getting there
Dear reader(s)
Today's the day! A difficult start involving waking up at 05:00 saw us arrive in Gatwick at around 08:00. As I blog I am currently waiting in the lounge for my next flight to Bologna which is not until 14:55, the long wait has involved a lot of window shopping for me (and actual shopping for the rents) and a free hand massage at Jo Malone (YUM). My parents bought me a Baedeker which I have totally geeked out about and am extremely excited to use.
Our flight to Bologna should land at 18:00 local time at which time I will probably have collapsed from the butterflies in my stomach due to all the Italian I will be hearing around me.
That's it for this travel update, catcha!
Today's the day! A difficult start involving waking up at 05:00 saw us arrive in Gatwick at around 08:00. As I blog I am currently waiting in the lounge for my next flight to Bologna which is not until 14:55, the long wait has involved a lot of window shopping for me (and actual shopping for the rents) and a free hand massage at Jo Malone (YUM). My parents bought me a Baedeker which I have totally geeked out about and am extremely excited to use.
Our flight to Bologna should land at 18:00 local time at which time I will probably have collapsed from the butterflies in my stomach due to all the Italian I will be hearing around me.
That's it for this travel update, catcha!
Monday 12 September 2011
The night before...
Dear reader(s),
Welcome to my year abroad blog, I hope it doesn't bore you to tears, and I hope I don't make too many spelling and grammar mistakes.
Year abroad itinerary:
13th September - 19th December 2011: Modena, Italy; Erasmus placement
January - April 2012: Limoges, France; Erasmus placement
So it's the night before the start of my year abroad (here after written as 'YA') and I am packed, checked in, and (hopefully) ready. Feelings of extreme excitement and nervousness are mixing in my stomach and the idea of getting any sleep tonight seems ridiculous. My parents and I head off very early tomorrow morning for Gatwick then at about 3pm we head off to Bologna where we will then go on to Modena (woop!)
Plans for the couple of days I spend with my parents: locate library, post office, cinema, accommodation, and my friends Stella and Giorgi.
Well, that's it for this first post; Roger that Maxi?
Welcome to my year abroad blog, I hope it doesn't bore you to tears, and I hope I don't make too many spelling and grammar mistakes.
Year abroad itinerary:
13th September - 19th December 2011: Modena, Italy; Erasmus placement
January - April 2012: Limoges, France; Erasmus placement
So it's the night before the start of my year abroad (here after written as 'YA') and I am packed, checked in, and (hopefully) ready. Feelings of extreme excitement and nervousness are mixing in my stomach and the idea of getting any sleep tonight seems ridiculous. My parents and I head off very early tomorrow morning for Gatwick then at about 3pm we head off to Bologna where we will then go on to Modena (woop!)
Plans for the couple of days I spend with my parents: locate library, post office, cinema, accommodation, and my friends Stella and Giorgi.
Well, that's it for this first post; Roger that Maxi?
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