Holiday Traditions Abroad

This week in Bologna marked the official kickoff to the Christmas season on Tuesday with a national holiday for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th. Similar to our American post-Turkey Day consumer spree, Black Friday, many Bolognese took off the day before to enjoy a 4 day weekend and get started on their Christmas shopping. Christmas stalls have started popping up around the city selling everything from candy and stockings to creches and ornaments. Our 2 foot Charlie Brown tree is a work in progress, but with a stop at the market over the weekend it should be post-worthy soon.

Ian and I have started getting into the Christmas spirit and are enjoying seeing how Italy celebrates, as well as learning about other cultures' holiday traditions, which we unintentionally end up comparing to our own. We thought we'd share our favorite Christmas story, as told by David Sedaris, which sort of sums up what it's like.

Open the following link in a new window. Then click on "Play all videos."

Six to Eight Black Men

The Dutch family I sit for made a quick trip home to the Netherlands this weekend to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. I asked the kids to tell me more about Sinterklaas and their holiday tradition and could barely keep myself from giggling as they told me about his arrival via boat from Spain. I asked if he had any elves with him and they told me, "Oh yes! There's about 31 of them and they're all black and wear lots of bright colors!" We compared traditions of stockings vs. shoes for goodies. I told them that bad American children get coal to which the little girl replied that bad children in Holland get beaten with a stick. Her brother chimed in that that wasn't true anymore and you might even still get one present, traditionally the first initial of your name in chocolate on St. Nicholas Eve. He also told me that Sinterklaas will find you anywhere in the world on St. Nicholas Day if you are Dutch or Spanish. I think this is likely how Santa Claus improves his efficiency and is able to cover the whole world Christmas Eve, since he's already got the Dutch & Spanish kids out of the way. I'm off to find us stockings to hang on our radiator, hoping he will find us in Italy...

Slovenia

I'm almost tempted to keep these albums a secret in fear that we'll start a mass of American tourists headed to Slovenia! We went for a quick trip this past weekend & can't say enough to describe how much we enjoyed it. Ljubljana was our first stop, where we stayed with my Aunt Jane's brother, Robert, his wife Janja, & their 6 year old son Luka. Our positive experience was certainly shaped by their welcoming family! They showed us all around Ljubljana Saturday morning (after feeding us breakfast---5 stars for accomodations, hospitality & the menu!!). Such a great little city! Lots of cafes, where the locals spend hours on Saturday mornings out on the patios along the river. I think they've got the Italians beat on how to linger over coffee. They also beat out Bologna for international cuisine--we ate Thai for lunch, Mexican for appetizers & Croatian for dinner. That will probably be our last Pad Thai, guacamole, and margaritas (not all together!) for awhile :(

Sunday we made a few stops outside the capital. Bled was gorgeous fairytale town complete with castle on a hill and medieval church on an island in the middle of a lake. Next stop, Vintgar gorge, which Robert recommended for a hike. I really enjoyed the fantastic fall colors as we followed a path along the river to a big waterfall. Hope you all enjoy the pics as much as I enjoyed taking them & being there!

Ciao & Happy Thanksgiving!

Laura & Ian

Ljubljana

Bled

Vintgar.Slovenia

though a picture is worth a thousand words...

I haven't done much writing on the blog since the first post, so here are the latest updates:

Ian is into the full swing of his semester. Classes are going well & his head hasn't exploded yet, but check back in when we hit midterms in a few weeks ;). Kidding, he's doing a wonderful job keeping things balanced & seems (at least from a familiar observer's perspective) to be keeping his stress in check. He's taking/auditing: Public Sector Economics, Macro., Comparative National Systems, International Trade Theory, Intro to Development, and War & Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa. He's started a research assistant position with a professor at SAIS focused on Charles de Gaulle and perceptions of him during the war years, which he's finding interesting. He is playing soccer with a group from school & found a squash court in town and has challenged a few Bolognese. We are both taking Spanish class 3 times a week (in Italy...we know) and aren't quite at the point where we can practice at home, but talk to us again in a few months.

I am still a semi-leisurely lady. I have a smattering of odd jobs babysitting and "teaching" English. On Monday I started working with a small group of 11 & 12 year-olds that a friend of a friend, who is Italian & goes to school in Bologna, has been working with for a few years. She is too busy this year, so I am picking up where she left off. It's a pretty good gig; just 1.5-2 hours and we do a bit of conversation, play a game, or watch a movie in English. Every Wednesday, I babysit for a Dutch family I met at the international school where I have been subbing as a teacher's aide as needed. There are just 2 kids ages 6 & 8 and their English is great, so it's a pretty easy job. On Thursdays I have dinner with an older couple who have me over for dinner and we chat about current events for an hour and a half so they can keep up their English. Besides that, I joined the photography club that one of the students started. We've only met once, so I don't have much to report on that, but will keep you posted if we get a site going that's worth looking at. I also joined the International Women's Forum of Bologna, which is a group of English speaking women here that has various interest groups, professional networking, etc.

All in all, we are certainly staying busy. Miss you all--send us updates from home!

Buona giornata,

Laura (& Ian)

Paris

Paris

Cinque Terre

Another album...

On Saturday we did a quick day trip to Cinque Terre, the 5 towns along the Ligurian Sea on the northwest coast of Italy that are infamous for the gorgeous views from the trails connecting the towns, as well as the wine, seafood, & pesto from the region. The weather was gorgeous & water was also still warm (and not just from a Bostonian's perspective)...not a bad way to spend a day.

2009.10.03.Cinque Terre

Barcelona

Montserrat

Montjuic & the beach

Market & Modernist Route

Tibidabo

Park Guell

San Luca

More Bologna Pictures

Here are some more pictures around Bologna. Most were taken during a tour Ian's school funded.  I added a few tidbits we picked up on the tour in captions & attempted to "map" a few pictures onto google maps.  When you click on the album cover it should take you to a new page and the map will be on the right side of the screen.

Bologna

Ravenna

Ciao!

Nostre famiglia e gli amici,

Finalmente! We've settled in in Bologna & have finally found the time to post our blog. Thank you for all the emails. What did people do before the interwebs to stay in touch ;) ?!

Here's a quick recap of week 1:
8/25: Arrived in Bologna.
8/26: Found apartment on Via Solferino. Key features: Combo living room/kitchen/guest room; backyard with patio & grill. There are several other SAIS student apartments on our block, which has been nice for grabbing drinks with people, doing pot-lucks, etc.

Appartamento

8/27: Ian attended orientation at SAIS Bologna Center (http://www.jhubc.it/HOME/saisBC.cfm).
8/29: Went to Venice to meet Rob & Lindsay (Ian's cousin & his wife). We had a great time & recommend going early or late at night when the tourists thin out (see pics). We also recommend double & triple checking the train schedules, as we ended up on an extremely slow night train & didn't get home til 2:45 am. oof.

8/30: Buskers Festival in Ferrera. Very interesting street festival with street performers from all over Europe. They seemed to be organized into sections of the city by content of music/performances: American folk songs, traditional Italian music, one-man-bands, magicians & mimes.

Ferrara

This week:
Laura:
-Started an intensive Italian course in the mornings at La Cultura Italiana. Classmates include 8 Japanese girls in early 20s, 1 German guy, a Korean couple & a Swedish guy. My vocabulary is growing daily & I can form a few sentences, slightly reducing my appearance as un'idiota in il supermercado, ristorante, gelateria, etc. :)
-Started a part-time babysitting job 2 days/week for a family that lives near SAIS. They have a 4 year old daughter that they would like to learn English. I spend a few hours talking English at her, while she plays (read: barks orders at me) in Italian. I think she's going through a bit of a "thing" being the boss because she has a new 3 week-old baby sister.

Ian:
- Started classes full time-microeconomics 2 days a week and survival Italian every morning.
- Found a running group & is desperately seeking other soccer players to start playing some pick up games in the park near our apartment.
- Continues to be our social coordinator & hosted a few classmates for dinner.

Upcoming events:
- We are hoping to christen our patio this weekend with a BBQ.
- Laura has an informational interview with an international school around the corner from the apartment.
- Visit Cait & Joe in Barcelona in less than 2 weeks!!!
- Continue to miss you all & enjoy reading update emails :)

Hope everyone is well & will talk to you later!

Laura & Ian