Italian Fashion

There are some striking difference between Italian and American fashion, particularly for women. Here is what I have noticed:

1. Italians do not wear flip flops on the street. Flip flops are viewed as shoe wear only for the beach. Flip flops are the most popular shoe wear for people my age so this is a hard adjustment because we are use to wearing them everywhere, even in the winter! I have stopped wearing my flip flops because it is a give away that you are not Italian.

2. Leave your stilettos at home. Rome is a labryinth of cobblestone and paved streets. It is a definitely a physical challenge to walk in stilettos in Rome. I brought a pair with me and I am leaving them in the box. Most Italians don't wear stilettos anyway, but there are a few younger Italians who have managed to master this art.

3. Italians do not wear "gym sneakers" on the street. By gym sneakers I mean the white athletic shoes that Americans wear with jeans on a daily basis. No Italian male or female wears this kind of sneaker, ever. Instead Italian women wear brands like Converse or Diesel which are more of a cosmopolitan street sneaker with different colors, designs, and fabrics. It is true that an easy way to tell if someone is not Italian is by their shoes.

4. Italian women do not wear shorts or short skirts. Shorts are also considered beach wear. They do wear capris, but on the most part Italian women do not wear above the knee skirts or shorts. If you do wear shorts in Italy becareful because it will call attention that you don't want to you.

5. Italian women do not wear their hair in a ponytail. I believe it is viewed as a fashion faux pas here because I rarely see an Italian women with her hair up. Also I noticed women are "cat-called" less by men when there hair is up.

6. Italian women love to color coordinate, definitely more than in America. When I was in Florence I saw a woman wearing a red coat, red shirt, red pants, and red shoes. It was quite overwhelming. Even my Italian teacher today was wearing green jacket, with light green shirt, and green pants. I think in America we usally don't color coordinate as much.

7. On a daily basis Italian women do get more dressed up than American women. I don't usually see older Italian women wearing jeans during the weekday. Usually, a typical Italian women wears a nice woven top, a skirt or dressy pants, and leather flats or boots. Italians definitely love to wear boots, and I don't blame them beacuse they are so beautiful here!

8. Sunglasses are the main accessory for Italians. They definitely wear them with attitude. A trend right now with the youth are aviators. Designers like Ray Ban and D&G are huge here.

9. If I could offer any words of advice on how to not look like a tourist it would be to bring a nice pair of sunglasses, a pair of nice flats, black pants, and a plain tops. Not only will you feel more comfortable when you are in the city, but it will probably help reduce your chances of getting pick pocketed.

Italian Time

Anyone who has ever been to Italy knows that Italians work on their own special clock. Italians don't feel the need to rush to please everyone online. In the grocery store you could wait twenty minutes to check out because the customer is talking to the cashier about their life. The worst is if you are the first stop on the bus route, the bus driver could have his lunch or go talk to other drivers before he starts the bus again.

I'm not saying I don't like Italian time, in fact I do. It is just hard to get accustomed to because of the American go go go attitude that I have been brought up on. I secretly wish that Americans adopted this way of life. I think this is going to be one of the hardest points for me to readjust to, because I enjoy my two hour leisurely lunches and feel less stress about accomplishing everything on my list to do. It is definitely obvious that Italians are less stressful than Americans, they go with the flow much more easily and take time out of the day for themselves.

Gelato is my obsession

It is hard to imagine my world without gelato. Whenever I am walking down the street and see a gelateria, I find myself compelled to get a cup and try new flavors. There are a few things to look out for in deciding whether the place has good gelato. The first is the banana trick. If the banana gelato is yellow, politely walk away. Authentic banana gelato is white. Also usually bars that have only five to ten flavors from my experience do not serve the best gelato. They have it merely as a snack than a gourmet experience.

I keep looking out for new and unique flavors for Christine's project. Today, I might have been to the largest and delicious gelateria since I have been here. It is called Della Palma and it is about two blocks from the Pantheon. I believe there were at least sixty flavors. There were so many flavors that I started to feel anxious over the choice, but the good news is you can't really choose a bad flavor.

I had the mel verde, cioccolato peperoncino, and pesca. I would recommend them all. Other flavors I saw that looked good were Mozart (chocolate and almond), Watermelon, "Kit-Kat", Meringotto, Ricotta in salsa di fichi, passion fruit....the list is endless!!

I took some pictures and will post them so you can see the deliciousness yourself! I saw on the cup there was a location in New York! Does anyone know where? If you live nearby I highly recommend you go!

Italian in Context

My Italian class is completely different than what I expected before coming to Roma. Fortunately it is for the better. I studied French for eight years and Latin for five before college and am use to a different teaching technique. In High School when I took French I wanted to learn how to speak to French people and in context to their culture. Instead, my program was heavily weighted on grammar and little culture. I became bored with it and started dreading my textbook homework assignments. I felt studying French was a chore rather than an opportunity to explore an entirely different culture and language. Looking back I realize it was the assignments that were most connected to culture that I learned the most from. For example, when we were learning about baked goods, we went to a patisserie and were only allowed to order something in French. I remember my teaching helping me with the pronunciation of je voudrais in context.

Here in Italy, my instructor teaches me words that I need for survival. Our first day of class we learned what to say to Italians who harass us on the bus. First you say Basta! (stop!) second Vai Via! (go away!) and then finally something more severe which I am sure you can guess. We also learned how to order a cappuccino/caffe and cornetto (croissant), the typical Italian breakfast. We focus on our oral and pronunciation of words and not as much on the grammar and spelling. While there is no denying grammar is a staple and important part of a language, I feel the manner in which it is presented to students can be overwhelming and boring. Perhaps, using it more in a cultural context like I have been exposed to in Italy (for example showing signs found in Rome with different participles) could teach students grammar, while teaching them practical information about the area.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I think it comes down to a question of what are the goals of the student and what are the goals of the teacher. I know as a student I was never asked what are my goals were in learning a language. I think this can cause a disconnect between students and teachers. One of the reasons why I like my Italian class so much is because my teacher understands my goal of the class. Everyday she provides me with tools and information that enhances my understanding of daily life in Roma.

Additionally, I have learned a lot about Italian culture in my language class. For example, we did a lesson on hand gestures and what they mean in Italian. We also read an article about AS Roma soccer and explained to us who famous players were on the team. I feel like I am not just learning how to speak Italian, but I am understanding the Italian way of life.

In the end for me it is learning through culture, rather than learning about culture that has made my Italian class and my study abroad experience successful so far.

Assisi and Perugia!

Last weekend, I took my first trip outside of Roma!

Assisi was amazing, breathtaking, and truly the most enchanting town I have ever been to. If you can get away from the swarms of tourists who flood the this town that has only eight hundred residents and find a small narrow sidestreet you will feel like you are walking in a Medieval city.

The town is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. Literally, every souvenir had St. Francis on it. We went on a walking guided tour and started off by going into St. Francis’ basilica. I think I almost had a case of Stendhal syndrome. The whole church was floor to ceiling frescoes. It was absolutely the most amazing church I have ever been in. I saw a few frescoes that I studied, but most importantly I saw the St. Francis’ alter piece which was one of my favorite works in the beginning of my Art History class. One thing I have learned quickly in Italy is that art history slides do not do justice to the scale of works. I never really understood the magnitude and importance of envisioning a work in its actual size. The frescoes were at least five times larger than I imagined.

After St. Francis basilica we walked through the town and arrived at the Santa Chiara basilica. This basilica was beautiful as well. I would definitely recommend walking downstairs and seeing her tomb. For me, it was one of the highlights of the trip. The beautiful and elaborate marble work around her tomb is something that words and pictures cannot describe. Unfortunately it is hard to relay the darkness and somberness of the room that enhanced the overall experience.

After the tour my friends and I decided that we should climb to the top of Assisi were there is a I believe a former monastery because we thought the view would be gorgeous. It was hell. Fifteen minutes of uphill non-stop climbing in what felt like hundred degree weather. We did reach the top and views were stunning, but I would suggest taking a taxi next time. At least I can say I did it!

That evening we ate dinner in this restaurant called “La Stella” I would recommend the restaurant, but only if you eat outside. We are right by the grill and it was literally a million degrees. I had a delicious assortment of eggplants from grilled, sauteed, and fried. After dinner we relaxed in our hotel because Assisi does not offer a night life.

The next day we took a bus to Perugia. For some inexplicable reason, I was disappointed with Perugia. It had the qualities of an enchanting town with beautiful scenery, but as a whole I felt unimpressed and glad we only spent the afternoon there. I'm not sure if it was due to my lack of sleep, but I just didn't feel as much character and personality as the city of Assisi. Although, I must note there were a lot of clothing stores and definitely some good shopping can be found there, but the best part of Perugia for me was the chocolate store where I got chili pepper chocolate!

Next week I am going to Florence! Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do?

volume

I thought it was interesting what you wrote about the volume of Italians talking. I, too, have seen this. As you learn more Italian and become familiar with the culture, you will see/hear people talking at different volumes. Generally speaking you are correct. When they are involved or impassioned, the level goes up. But, I also noted that often the silence of Italians was louder and carried more of an impact than the loudness did. Also, try to figure out the socio-economic level of the Italians that you are observing. There is definitely a difference.

La Notte Bianca

Ciao!! Saturday night we went to La Notte Bianca! In case you don’t know what this is it is the night when all of Rome stays up and attends different events around the city. The events range from musical acts on stages to group dancing in the street. I have never experienced anything like this in my life. The whole city was alive and full of energy till eight in the morning. We started off the evening walked around Campo Di Fiori also known to Italians as the “Campo Di America” because it were a lot of Americans go to hang out. We went to a pub called The Drunken Ship, which was shockingly mostly Americans. It was fun for a few minutes, until we all came to the conclusion that we did not come to Rome to immerse ourselves with other Americans, but with Italians. We then headed to Circus Maximus where we stumbled upon a “cirque de soleil” like musical act. The performance was one of the most intriguing acts I have ever seen in my life. I posted some pictures, but words can really do it justice. After that act we walked to Piazza Novana and watched some impromptu Sicilian dancing. That was lots of fun to see Italians dancing so energetically at four in the morning. Our feet were starting to hurt so we had a much needed cappuccino and rested for a bit. Somehow, we walked to the Giancolo hill to watch the sunrise. I couldn’t believe how many people were there at 6 am. Although we were exhausted, it was worth it.