And then there was internet

I have no idea why, but today my internet decided to work and let me on without a password or any of the maddening stuff that hasn't worked for the passed two weeks.  So my classes are going reasonably well,  I have to resign myself to the fact that I am just not going to understand everything that is going on for a while, but all the professors seem really kind and despite the lack of office hours, claim that they are always available by e-mail and or appointment.  My literature class started of with literature of the 12th century (yes that's 1100's) which does not even remotly resemble modern italian and which I can only assume is the Italian version of Chaucer (Chaucer is to English what these poems are to Italian).  But on the upside, I found the textbook for waaaaayy less than I thought I was going to have to pay and now I can actually keep up with the readings.  I have my history of the social contract for the first time this week.  I'm excited to see if I can follow anything said in the lecture.

29-9-08

27-9-08: On cultural stereotypes
I can’t help but notice how few people smoke here. Given the cultural stereotype, I kind of assumed that everyone would be smoking everywhere. Apparently there has been a law passed that forbids smoking in inclosed public places, and I can’t help but notice the Italian equivalent of the surgeon general’s warning. In the US it says something like “the surgeon general advises that smoking may increase the chance of birth defects in pregnant women” in the tiniest print imaginable, but here, in big bold print, taking up about half the box it just says “Smoke Kills.”

I have also found the stereotype of the Italians being warm and welcoming to be false, at least here in Ferrara. Here, in a city of 130,000 people, hardly a metropolis, people breeze by each other as if they were air and stand silently staring ahead in lines and at the bus stop. They never offer to help other people (including those who appear to be lost or struggling) until they are asked for help and then only reluctantly do they oblige. Even in stores, I’ve found the clerks almost always sit quietly behind the desk, ignoring the customers until someone asks a question or wants to buy something.

In my Midd literature class, we are focusing on writings about Ferrara and so far the uniting theme is that of death. All the writers write that Ferrara is a beautiful city that is nonetheless devoid of lifelessness and while I find this to be an exaggeration, there is a strange peculiarity about this place that I can’t put my finger on.

I’m realizing that if I know there might be a certain vocabulary word I need, I should probably look it up before going to look for it and making a complete idiot of myself trying to explain what it is I'm looking for. I found myself at the fish counter at the grocery store this morning staring at an entire case filled with completely unrecognizable names of fish. So I tried to explain to the fish counter guy I was looking for a white fish (of course, I didn’t think to look up “cod”), but happily, that’s what I ended up with. Not that I found this out until I got home and got out my dictionary to see exactly what I had been sold. I was really quite appalled to have spent $55 on groceries this week, just for me, for one week. I bought some spices and other pantry items, but when you buy things on the scale of two carrots, three bananas, 6 oz of meat, etc., it’s a bit of a shock to hear them tell you what it all came up to. Still, I’m happy to try some new recipes I found online.

I tried again to pay my rent at the post office today, but I was told that you need a “codice fiscale” in order to make that kind of payment, and I don’t have one. In order to get one, I have to take my passport down to some office in town open only on weekdays and wait in line (again) fill out more forms, wait in line and then maybe get a series of letters and numbers that would allow me to make this one-time payment (usually I pay my roommate directly). I think I will ask my other roommate if she can pay the rent and I pay her instead, because this is all just a big headache. I’m also no closer to resolving my internet problem, though now that I have an official university account, I should be able to get the university wireless if I bring my computer there. Given my experience with my bike, that’s something I’m reluctant to do, but maybe I will bring it Monday, just for my first class and to post these entries, then bring it home before my afternoon classes.

26-9-08

26-9-08: There are few things more frustrating than bureaucracy. One of them is bureaucracy with the semblance of a nice, ordered system. Today I went to pay my rent. At the post office (which is where you pay bills). I went with the instructions that I was to go to the counter, give them and account number and the rent payment and I would receive a receipt. So I went to the post office and waited in a huge line for an hour and fifteen minutes, only to have them tell me, that no, I didn’t need to go to the post office, I needed to go to the post office/bank next door. So then I went there. There were people waiting quietly and a number machine, so I took a number, waited half and hour and finally got to where I needed to be. I told the teller I needed to pay a bill, so she gave me a form and told me to take it, fill it out and go back to the end of the line. So I left. It’s a good thing that I have until Monday to pay, because it might just take that long. I’m going back tomorrow morning before I do my weekly grocery shopping. Wish me luck.

25-9-08

25-9-08 - Well, I’m officially now a student of the University of Ferrara. I know, most of you are saying, “wait, hasn’t she been in classes for the past two weeks?” The answer is both yes and no. I’ve been taking a class with the other Middkids which is a required literature and writing course (sort of an “English 099” if you will), but my actual university courses start next Monday. I have to pick three courses by the third week of classes to attend for the rest of the semester (again with the schedule weirdness). So far I have chosen: Italian Literature, Italian Linguistics, and either the History of the Art of Emilia-Romagna or the History of the Social Contract. So really just a nice light course load (ha ha). I’m hoping to have time to travel, but it doesn’t look like we’re going to get much time in terms of days off. I guess that’s what happens when your semester is 12 weeks. We have one three day weekend in December, which I’m hoping to use to visit MK in December (hope that’s ok MK, it’s Dec. 6-8). I’ve compiled the following list of places I’d like to see in Italy, some reasonable weekend trips, some requiring longer (after the semester ends, before exams start): Venice, Padova, Verona, Bologna, Assisi, Florence. I recently found out that the official festival of St. Francis is this next weekend of Oct. 4th, so I’d like to try to go then. I’m hoping the hostel still has space, I should hear back tomorrow. My searching for economical ways to travel has inspired me to write the following list.
Top 5 ways you know you’re a student traveler:
1. You’re happy to find a red eye
2. You choose when to travel based on the availably of hostel rooms
3. “Free breakfast” - becomes your favorite phrase
4. You find yourself asking if there’s a student discount at the supermarket, bar, etc.
5. Your motto is “getting there is half the fun”

Balloon Festival

24-9-08 - Today Emmons and I went to the Ferrara Balloons festival, which runs for about a week. We arrived at about 17:30 and wandered about a bit. There were a lot of vendors, some of exotic foods and some of toys and I almost bought a toy hot air balloon before I realized that then I would have to figure out how to bring it home. Emmons and I both enjoyed a crepe filled with Nutella at a little stand before venturing out to find the balloon launch area. There were probably about 20 balloons all stretched out on the ground with the baskets tipped sideways. To get the balloons in the air, they first hold up the opening to let as much air in as possible, then CAREFULLY turn on the fire and control it until the balloon fills up, a process which takes about 40 min. When the balloon is mostly full and starting to point upright, the baskets are tipped upright by a car attached to the basket backing up. All the while the balloons are filling up, there are at least two groups of Balloon “wranglers” whose job I can only guess is to keep the balloons as straight upright as possible. They were colorful and fun and I’m glad I went, but it was less than thrilling. Eventually all the balloons took of and made a short flight (you too can ride in a balloon for the paltry price of 150 euro), landing in a field west of the city. Here are some pretty pictures for your amusement.

21-9-08

21-9-08: Emmons and I went to the beach yesterday. It was a nice enough day and semi warm. The beach was nice, despite being sadly littered with plastic and all other types of refuse. The sand was very fine and soft and good for walking and I walked up and down two different beaches. There are a total of seven “lidi” each having their own particularities like having lots of stuff for kids to do or being nude. Neither of the beached we visited were nude beaches, though I did confirm my theory that thong bathing suits should be universally banned. We visited lido degli estensi and lido spina. Here are a few pictures.

Returning was a bit of a production, though ultimately easy. Having taken the bus from Ferrara to the lidi directly, we mistakenly assumed we could take it back. The way it actually worked was we got on a little bus (“taxibus”- neither taxi nor bus), then on a big bus which took us to a train station, then we got on a train to the Ferrara train station, then get on a bus from the train station back to where we had gotten on the first bus. By the time we returned, it was 8:00 and I was glad to have planned to make tuscan chicken stew (thanks mom) for dinner, which didn’t take long and was delicious. I unfortunately have no pictures of this process because my camera battery died at the beach, but I’m sure many more wayward travels are to come and these will (hopefully) be accompanied by pictures.

19-9-08

19-9-08: Today we had a guided tour of Ferrara, which pretty much confirmed what I had already heard. We started at the “Castello” which was the original defense of the city of Ferrara. In its hayday, it had five working drawbridges and was connected by moat to the canal leading to the Po. After the city’s expansion, it was turned into a residence for the ruling family, who were eventually forced to move out when to church took control of the city. Unfortunately, they took most of the important art of Ferrara with them, and since we couldn’t get into the castle anyway (you have to pay), we really only saw the internal courtyard, pictured here.

Our tour then moved to the cathedral, which we learned was built in the middle ages, but rebuilt in the 1400’s. the inside is beautiful, ornate, and very much like many other cathedrals in the area. Our tour went by a small botanical garden to which I would like to return soon. We didn’t see much, because it wasn’t a stopping point of the tour, but there were two large greenhouses and a small grounds. There was a sign offering free classes in ornamental plant husbandry that I will have to look into.

I saw Emmon’s place for the second time today. It’s huge and very near the university. When I got here I was so jealous that she had a place to go back to and relax where she lived in a number of rooms with a family in a convenient location, but after having seen the place, I think I got a better deal. My room is smaller, the apartment is smaller and I have to share a bathroom, kitchen, etc. but I feel at home here. One of my roommates is sicilian and the other day I asked if there was oil for cooking and she handed me a bottle and told me that they make it at her house in Sicily. Both of my roommates are originally from the south of Italy and are incredibly warm and welcoming people. We eat together often and talk a lot. Though I’ve perfected the noncommittal sound/shrug, I’m slowly getting better at understanding them when they’re talking and gesturing at full speed, which for those of you that know her, is like listening to Taylor in full flow (I love you Tay if you’re reading this).

I got an e-mail from Middlebury saying they’d had a mumps outbreak and advising the students on how best to avoid getting sick. I guess that’s reason enough to not wish I were back there. Despite the fact that it’s really nice to always have someone who gets paid to help you for just about everything, I find that the homesickness, at least so far, has not been too much a problem. Speaking of contagious diseases though, I read in the paper that there have been several reported cases of West-Nile virus here in Ferrara. I guess it really is a small world after all.

17-9-08

17-9-08: It was a very trying day today, the kind that makes me want to pack my bags and get on the next flight out of town. After having trouble finding the garage, I was 30 min late to class, where we were studying pronominal verbs, which I had never studied. Adding pronouns to verbs not only confuses me, but changes the meaning of the verb completely. For example: andare means “to go”, while andar(sene) (lit. “to go oneself of it”) means to leave. After class, we went to apply for our permit of stay and on the way I stopped at the copy store to pick up our course descriptions. I was in the store probably one minute and left my new bike in plain sight right outside the door. You probably all know where this story is going. The bike was stolen. So I went and reported it to the police (a process in itself) and now, should I happen to find it, I call the police and they authorize me to take it back. There seems to be something wrong with this process that I can’t put my finger on, but given that this is a town of 130,000 people and 120,000 bikes, I don’t expect to run across it any time soon.
On the up side, my new apartment is turning out very well. I eat dinner with my roommates most every night and we talk a lot. One is a student of literature and philosophy and one is a recently graduated elementary school teacher. Without my bike, it’s about a 20 minute walk to the university, which isn’t as far as I originally thought. It’s almost the weekend and I will finally have two days of not having to get up at 6. Emmons and I might go to the beach on Saturday, which would be really nice if it isn’t cold. I’m told it’s around an hour by train or bus from here.
Also, my new address, should anyone need to contact me is:

Via Belgio, 24
Interno 11
Ferrara, Emiglia-Romagna 44100
ITALY

and my new mobile phone is:
011-39-327-5440758

The postal system is unreliable here, so I would strongly suggest not sending anything of any value (economically, historically, emotionally, etc.) or anything that you desperately need to reach me. I have my phone mostly for emergencies, so if you have an emergency, please call me, if no, an e-mail will suffice. Ok I leave you all with photos of my new place, I hope you like them.

I am woman, hear me roar

3 pm - no news yet and I'm really starting to sweat.  Every time I open my e-mail it is with my heart in my throat.  I found a used bike today for 70 euros and loved, but didn't buy it on the spot because I had rented a bike.  When I returned to the shop (which was closed for lunch) there was another middkid out front who told me she too was looking for a bike.  I'm going to go over right after class and try to get there first, but she lives right above the shop, so I'm going to need a little luck.

5 pm - YES YES YES! I got it.  I'm moving tonight.  I am so happy, I finally have a place to live, I can finally unpack and I can finally get up in the morning without having to get dressed in the dark.  I have a kitchen and a bathroom shared with three girls instead of seven.  Oh yes. life is good.  I will upload pictures as soon as I get them.  Also, I managed to find a used bike at a store today for a reasonable price and it seemed to fit me well, so I bought it.  I will need it where I'm going to be living as it's in a newer area of town and a 30 min walk from the city center, but it's an easy bike ride and there's a bus station right down the block.  Thank you all so much for your vibes, I'm sure it helped and it is such a relief to have a place to live.  I'm eating dinner with Emmons tonight, then I'm calling a cab and getting out of this hostel and into my HOME.  I'm on a cloud right now.  Having come to a foreign city where I know no one and there is no one here to help me, I found a place to live, a bike and a towel with NO help;  i feel like I could do anything right about now.

ps. I'd like to add that I will be without internet for a while before I can get set up on the wireless internet at the apartment.  I'll keep blogging, but all my entries will be posted at once when I get a connection.

Everyone's help needed

Ok everyone: I saw three rooms today, well actually only two because at the third the landlady met me outside and said "thanks but no thanks, we're looking for a student to stay the full year." Anyway, one was perfect.  Except for being fairly far from the university it was great: light, airy, big room with a balcony, clean and a great kitchen.  The girl who I met was really nice as well.  I want that one so much, but there were two other people coming to look at it and Gabriella said she'd e-mail me tuesday afternoon to let me know if they wanted me.  So I need everyone to rally and send some really good vibes her way to help her pick me.  Hopefully I'll have good news for you all tomorrow because I called another half dozen people today with no results.

A quick note to those of you who may have been following my blog but unable to comment.  I found the "comment settings" page and now anyone should be able to comment, but it will come up as anonymous, so INCLUDE YOUR NAME in the comment. Thanks

Musings on housing

I knew living in Europe would be expensive, but as I look for apartments to rent, I see just how expensive.  Many apartments cost in the neighborhood of 600-800 euros a month and are usually split between three or four people.  The average rent price is 250 without utilities or 300 with for a small single room, think about 150 square feet.  The price to buy an apartment is even more, I recently saw a 300 mq (900 square foot) apartment going for 850,000 euros, that's 1.3 million!  It kind of makes me wonder why there's anyone left living in Europe.

11:45 - well, I rented a bike this morning, and it's turning out to be the best five euros I've spent yet.  I rode to the train station to look for roommate advertisements, but didn't find any (so I'm really glad I didn't walk all the way out there for nothing) then I went to tourist information, which I assumed would be a booth with a person inside whom I could ask about where else to go, but it turned out to be a broken computer kiosk, so that was a bust too.  Since the university is closed today (literally, I can't get into the building) I can't go back there, so now I'm back at the hostel sitting on my hands and praying for an e-mail response.   So in the meantime, here's a few pictures of the train station to keep you all amused (maybe). 

1 pm - finally!  I received an e-mail back about a room.  What a scam the web site is though.  I had to pay in order to read the e-mail, because apparently, you can search for rooms and e-mail people for free, but in order to see their telephone number or read any e-mails you get form other members, you have to pay.  Well, I did because I'm desperate, so pray this works out.  I will also be getting as many phone numbers as I can before my "upgraded membership" expires.

3 pm - Yay!  I have three appointments to look at apartments tomorrow!  Everyone wish me luck and send some good vibes.  After all that work, I think it's time for a nap.

First little victory and first big disappointment

11 am -No, it wasn't finding an apartment, I'm still working on that one.  I've now made about 12 phone calls and sent out 10 e-mails, but it's not going so well.  My victory is that this morning, I found a towel store and bought a towel.  Sure, "big deal" you say, but it is.  You see, there are no department stores in italy, every item has its own store, for example, there's the bread store, the fruit store, the meat store, the shoe store, the sock store, etc. etc.  So after much wading around in the rain on streets where I ended up walking in circles, I finally found the towel store.  I figure that life's about little victories, so it is fresh from this flush of success that I set out this afternoon determined to find an apartment.

2:30 pm - Well I spent the rest of the morning walking around trying to acquaint myself with the various residential neighborhoods and mostly only managed to get lost.  I had lunch at a really nice little panini shop where I had a yummy tomato and mozzarella sandwich and saw the largest jar of nutella I have ever seen.  Please note that it says 5 kg, which for my american friends is 11 lbs.

5 pm- The official apartment count is up to 17 e-mails and 15 phone calls and I still only have had one appointment.  The room was about 20 minutes walking from the university and was really small.  I expected the small, but two of the three single rooms were inhabited by two guys and the apartment was a mess.  Disgusting crusty dishes in the sink, dried food on the plastic tablecloth and raw meat sitting on the counter (I have no idea why).  Why are all the rooms taken?  I'm starting to feel the pressure of trying to find a place tomorrow since orientation starts monday.  As is I'll probably have to see if I can stay another night here at the hostel because there's no way I can move out by Monday morning when here it is Saturday night and I have no prospects.

Leg work

I spent today getting to know the city by foot and after having had a very good slice of pizza at a corner pizzeria, I started the apartment search.  I found three of the college's five buildings, which are all spread around the city and found five prospective apartments.  Feeling rather satisfied with myself, I returned to the hostel, thinking about a nap and a well deserved resting of the feet.  Ferrara is paved in stones.  Not cobblestones, stones, as in big, chunky rocks.  I decided that finding a bicycle was high on my list of to do's given that the city is fairly large and throughout the course of the day, I made three trips in and out of the city center (about 15 min walking).  I found a bicycle shop that both rents and sells bikes that informed me that they would be getting their new stock for both rental and sale on tuesday.  I met up with Emmons for a lovely dinner at a restaurant in the piazza and we talked a little about what we've found so far
  We finished the evening by sampling the gelato of the store above, one of about 20 gelaterias in the area.  I then called all five of my prospective apartments and managed to secure only one appointment (one was filled, two went to voicemail, and one person was out of town), but I'm hopeful that either that will be the one, or I'll be able to contact more people tomorrow.  I'm now seeing the appeal of the pre-select housing, but I'm sure when I've found a place, all the legwork will be worth it.  And speaking of legwork, with all this walking I should have killer legs for these beautiful boots I saw in the piazza today.

in shock

I made it!  After 48 hours of travel, I have finally arrived in Ferrara.  And, by the way, for those of you traveling on a budget...don't (have a budget that is).  After the 9 hour flight form Minneapolis to Amsterdam, I spent 5 hours sitting in the amsterdam airport and for a town renowned for it's quirkiness, it sure has a boring airport.  I did somehow manage to get myself on the wrong side of "passport control" twice, which means that I have three stamps from the customs people, who seemed to find my confusion more irritating than amusing.  Arriving in Rome, I dragged my bags down and then up a flight of stairs to the train, then on to the train, off of the train, up and down the stairs to the hotel reception and up the stairs of the other building of the hotel where I ended up staying.  The room was small and ugly, but it was clean and comfortable.  This morning, I woke up at six to catch my 10 o'clock train and very nearly missed it due to some confusion about online reservations.  In the end, I ended up buying a first class train ticket just so I could get to Ferrara today.  The hostel here is very nice.  The room is clean and airy and I share it with 5 other women from assorted countries.  I walked around the city after checking in here and came back with 4 prospective apartments.  I'm feeling culture shocked right now and frustrated at the huge production that even little things like finding a slice of pizza or a bottle of water become, but it seems to be a very nice little town and I'm sure that once everything settles down, I will like it a lot.  Pictures and a town description to follow, but for now, here's a map.  I'm on Corso Rossetti right now.

What was I thinking?!?!?

Well, here I am, less than 48 hours from departure and after having spent the better part of the last three weeks running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get ready to leave, I feel no more prepared than when I got here.  Now I have all the official paperwork, identification etc. that I could possibly need, but I still don't have a place to live.  Part of me wants to say "never mind"  "what was I thinking?" and stay here, but that freaked out-ness at the unknown, unplanned for and unorganized is exactly why I want to make this trip.  The other part of me is screaming "Yes! Go! Be free!" I've decided to let that part win, so bring it on.  Che sarà, sarà.  My flight leaves denver at 430 on wednesday and I'll arrive in Ferrara at 12:00 on friday and keep you all posted on what happens from there.