Okay, Thomas, this is for you . . .
I write much about food in my Food column at the bottom of every newsletter, so you should feel familiar with some of the terms which you'll use frequently. So, now, it's time to get REAL about food in Italy.
There's a huge pride concerning food in Italy. "Bad" restaurants just don't exist in Italy (unlike those which are actually CHAINS here) - people won't tolerate it over there. Here, we're so ready to be given what we want that we're willing to tolerate mediocre to get it. The food which you'll be fed will be made from what is good right now, which is the best way to do it. Tomatoes are at their freshest, and only fruit in season will be served. If you're a cherries fan, you're in for an amazing treat - I don't even LIKE cherries, and I devour them in Italy. Canteloupe will be great (one of my favorite dinners - prosciutto and canteloupe), as will figs.
In Sorrento, we choose where we're going to eat each night (we're on our own for this). I have a great, cheap pizzeria which I like to frequent on our first night in, but perhaps consider seafood for Saturday night? We ARE in a beach town, after all . . .
Check out this FABULOUS Recipe and Sorrento Restaurant website, given by sorrentoinfo.com:
http://tasteofsorrento.sorrentoinfo.com/
While in Siena, you can eat every night at your homestay if you like. In fact, I'll make it a point that we return even on our touring days to be home in time for dinner every night. However, if you head out for dinner, you can really savor some of the regional delicacies. Grilled meats, pastas with pesto, and the bruschetta with the tuscan spread (a bean mixture . . . kinda like a pate) are all tastes which should be savored at least once.
In Rome, our Friday night dinner is still up in the air. I have an idea of where we might go, but still looking around, and open for suggestions. However, my favorite pizzeria (great bookends of the trip, don't you think?) is the Pizzeria Montecarlo, located just near the Piazza Navona. We'll be there on our last Italian night . . .
Just a few weeks!
HUGS,
Laura :)
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Communications
So, let's face it, we are in the communications age. Calls between Europe and the US aren't the same old echoey, scratchy chats we used to have in the 80's (or even the 90's, for that matter). Everyone is linked to everyone, and even a text message can reach someone on the other side of the word in the length of time it takes to dial a phone.
As in everything else, blessings and curses come hand in hand. When you can contact someone whenever you want, you're able to satiate that feeling of missing them. But every time you feed the need to talk to someone, it becomes more and more of a necessity. Really, dependency on technology for effective communication and maintenance of relationships is an addiction. I literally have to PRY cell phones out of some of my cheerleaders' hands at football games, because they feel the need for such immediate reception (a sign of approval, perhaps?).
When we're in Italy, yes, it is possible to be text messaging your friends, calling your pals, complaining to your parents WHENEVER YOU WANT. However, please consider this: just like you're having to learn to live in a different home, with different people, on a different schedule in a different town, consider finding different ways to explore your friendships. Send them postcards - how rare is it for people to take the time to WRITE letters nowadays! Buy tourist junk that makes you think of them. It will mean SO much more to your friends when you return with a gift that's specially picked out for them, rather that just talking/texting with them every day while you're in Italy (and causing an enormous expense), which is what you do whenever you're at home.
SPI shared options for renting a cell phone, and I won't ever question a parent's decision to spend the money to keep a leash on their teenagers - Jeremy has his leash to me! Please consider that there are MANY ways of keeping in touch without the link (and expensive cost) of a cell phone.
Internet: Dante Alighieri has a computer lab at the school, and there are SEVERAL internet spots in town for very cheap use (did I mention that Siena encourages academic life - in such a small town, there are three universities there). Your child will have the opportunity to use the internet daily.
Telephone Calls: There are international calling centers throughout town, as well. The one I frequent has individual booths where you make calls for 10 cents a minute to the US. And, to be honest, I don't think I even speak to my HUSBAND for 200 minutes during our stay. Also, when you receive the information on where your child's homestay is located, you'll have the address AND their phone number included. In Italy, phone service is such that, if you receive a call, there's no charge to you. Charges only happen when you make outgoing calls. You can always schedule a weekly call at a specific time at the homestay, where you can be updated by your kiddo. $20 International Calling Cards at the local drug store will last you the entire trip - it did for my husband! I will also teach the kids how to buy and use international calling cards from Italy, which also are a great deal (not as good as calling from the US to Italy, though).
The Best Sign: Never hear from them - isn't that the sign that they're having the time of their life? Of course, I'll be posting blogs here at least every other day for all of you to hear about our events and experiences during the trip, so if you never hear from your kiddo, you'll at least know from me what we're doing daily.
Please take these ideas into consideration as you plan how you want to keep your child in touch with you. And, if you want a little more, I can share some horror cell phone stories with you: one year, a child's parents chose to buy her a tri-band cell phone for her to use to call them while in Italy. The child's roommate used it to call her boyfriend for 2 to 3 hour phone calls every night. When they returned home, the roommate's parents didn't reimburse the parents for the OVER $1500 bill which the roommate charged. UGLY. Another one, you say? I had a student whose parents called her every night to chat. Child was so homesick that she never acclimated to living in Italy, spent most of her time hiding away in her bedroom at the homestay, and spent the entire trip finding ways to get back home. Made my job SO fun.
I'll share with you some phrases which are standard indicators for homesickness/culture shock later this week. Parents, you, as the adults, are going to have to understand that, the more you insist that your child stay in voice-based communication, the less they're going to find their independence and appreciation for their life in Italy. Sometimes these trips are as valuable for parents as they are for the students, to teach us all about how much we can trust and appreciate our relationships, as we discover different ways of expressing love for our dearest ones.
pace,
Laura :)
As in everything else, blessings and curses come hand in hand. When you can contact someone whenever you want, you're able to satiate that feeling of missing them. But every time you feed the need to talk to someone, it becomes more and more of a necessity. Really, dependency on technology for effective communication and maintenance of relationships is an addiction. I literally have to PRY cell phones out of some of my cheerleaders' hands at football games, because they feel the need for such immediate reception (a sign of approval, perhaps?).
When we're in Italy, yes, it is possible to be text messaging your friends, calling your pals, complaining to your parents WHENEVER YOU WANT. However, please consider this: just like you're having to learn to live in a different home, with different people, on a different schedule in a different town, consider finding different ways to explore your friendships. Send them postcards - how rare is it for people to take the time to WRITE letters nowadays! Buy tourist junk that makes you think of them. It will mean SO much more to your friends when you return with a gift that's specially picked out for them, rather that just talking/texting with them every day while you're in Italy (and causing an enormous expense), which is what you do whenever you're at home.
SPI shared options for renting a cell phone, and I won't ever question a parent's decision to spend the money to keep a leash on their teenagers - Jeremy has his leash to me! Please consider that there are MANY ways of keeping in touch without the link (and expensive cost) of a cell phone.
Internet: Dante Alighieri has a computer lab at the school, and there are SEVERAL internet spots in town for very cheap use (did I mention that Siena encourages academic life - in such a small town, there are three universities there). Your child will have the opportunity to use the internet daily.
Telephone Calls: There are international calling centers throughout town, as well. The one I frequent has individual booths where you make calls for 10 cents a minute to the US. And, to be honest, I don't think I even speak to my HUSBAND for 200 minutes during our stay. Also, when you receive the information on where your child's homestay is located, you'll have the address AND their phone number included. In Italy, phone service is such that, if you receive a call, there's no charge to you. Charges only happen when you make outgoing calls. You can always schedule a weekly call at a specific time at the homestay, where you can be updated by your kiddo. $20 International Calling Cards at the local drug store will last you the entire trip - it did for my husband! I will also teach the kids how to buy and use international calling cards from Italy, which also are a great deal (not as good as calling from the US to Italy, though).
The Best Sign: Never hear from them - isn't that the sign that they're having the time of their life? Of course, I'll be posting blogs here at least every other day for all of you to hear about our events and experiences during the trip, so if you never hear from your kiddo, you'll at least know from me what we're doing daily.
Please take these ideas into consideration as you plan how you want to keep your child in touch with you. And, if you want a little more, I can share some horror cell phone stories with you: one year, a child's parents chose to buy her a tri-band cell phone for her to use to call them while in Italy. The child's roommate used it to call her boyfriend for 2 to 3 hour phone calls every night. When they returned home, the roommate's parents didn't reimburse the parents for the OVER $1500 bill which the roommate charged. UGLY. Another one, you say? I had a student whose parents called her every night to chat. Child was so homesick that she never acclimated to living in Italy, spent most of her time hiding away in her bedroom at the homestay, and spent the entire trip finding ways to get back home. Made my job SO fun.
I'll share with you some phrases which are standard indicators for homesickness/culture shock later this week. Parents, you, as the adults, are going to have to understand that, the more you insist that your child stay in voice-based communication, the less they're going to find their independence and appreciation for their life in Italy. Sometimes these trips are as valuable for parents as they are for the students, to teach us all about how much we can trust and appreciate our relationships, as we discover different ways of expressing love for our dearest ones.
pace,
Laura :)
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Spirit of Italy
With the history of the region, it's undeniable that Italy is a center of spiritual activity. Pompeii haunts its visitors with the ghosts of those who died in the volcanic burial in the first century. Capri shares over 30 centuries of history in its small island area. Tuscany reveals its historical background throughout the ages, with its Etruscan Tumuli, its Roman remains throughout the area, the medieval towers which loom over cities like San Gimignano and Monteriggioni, the Renaissance air blowing through Florence . . . Siena itself was the final stopping point for all pilgrims traveling to Rome - even Il Campo (the major center piazza of the city) is shaped like a shell, a symbol of baptism. Rome, in itself, is the focus point of pilgrims and historians alike.
So, perhaps you're not so driven to learn about these spiritual leaders, perhaps you're wanting to renew your time with some favorite artists or history-drivers? Want to see Raphaello's grave? Or perhaps the spot where Julius Caesar was burned . . . IN THE FORUM? Artists, did you know that every piece of art in the Vatican is either a sculpture or a MOSAIC???
Throughout our trip, we'll have the opportunity to visit the burial places of important saints and spiritual leaders. For those more politically- or historically-driven, we'll also visit the burial spots of important leaders, artists, and scientists (if you stop by the Museum of Science in Florence, you can even see Galileo's finger!). Either way, find a way to make this your own pilgrimage experience on this trip. A little research right now on your part will make the trip so much more meaningful while we're there! I always make it a point to stop by somewhere new every time during our visit, which takes quite some research on my part (when you've lived somewhere every summer for 13 years, it's a challenge to find a new spot to discover). Give me the challenge to help make your experience that much more interesting!
Hugs,
Laura :)
So, perhaps you're not so driven to learn about these spiritual leaders, perhaps you're wanting to renew your time with some favorite artists or history-drivers? Want to see Raphaello's grave? Or perhaps the spot where Julius Caesar was burned . . . IN THE FORUM? Artists, did you know that every piece of art in the Vatican is either a sculpture or a MOSAIC???
Throughout our trip, we'll have the opportunity to visit the burial places of important saints and spiritual leaders. For those more politically- or historically-driven, we'll also visit the burial spots of important leaders, artists, and scientists (if you stop by the Museum of Science in Florence, you can even see Galileo's finger!). Either way, find a way to make this your own pilgrimage experience on this trip. A little research right now on your part will make the trip so much more meaningful while we're there! I always make it a point to stop by somewhere new every time during our visit, which takes quite some research on my part (when you've lived somewhere every summer for 13 years, it's a challenge to find a new spot to discover). Give me the challenge to help make your experience that much more interesting!
Hugs,
Laura :)
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