Ostia!

Greetings, All!

Okay, so I had to give you a little Palio taste:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffOXBd9QBZ8

You can actually see one of the SPI Italy '08 kiddos in there - he's wearing a striped shirt. Mark was such a lucky dog that year. He chose l'Istriche to win (even though they hadn't won in decades) . . . think his homestay was in that contrade. With his Mediterranean background, whenever he entered a museum/church and used his best Italian (which he learned only on this trip), they assumed he was an EU citizen, and he entered on the cheap or for free! I'm so jealous!

I'll share with you about the Palio when we're there - such an incredible event!

ANYWAYS, as we approach our trip, I thought I'd share with you some of our itineraries/plans for our weekend excursions . . . just to whet your trip-petite. And, just to keep it exciting, we're going to talk through the trip BACKWARDS!

Our last weekend is designed to give you the best LAST DAY experience ever! Friday night, 9 July, is our last night in Siena. Jeremy has given us all an awesome gift of a pizza party at the cooking school! Dante Alighieri has a fully-stocked professional kitchen, where they host gastronomy classes - check out DA's website, if you're interested! The head instructor will oversee us making a pizza dinner (with desserts) in the kitchen for our last dinner in Siena. I promise, it'll be unforgettable for you! After our dinner, we might just stroll by the church of St. Agostino, where the first concert of the Chigiana's Settimana Musicale Senese will be performed - you can sit out in the park, and still hear the music! Nothing like a Mass by Beethoven under the stars to help digest fabulous food (and a fabulous trip)! Or maybe SienaJazz will be hosting a concert? Then, of course, there's always the Cinema in Fortezza, if the movie looks good . . .

On Saturday morning, we're going to meet early to catch a bus to get us back to Rome, and quickly check in at our fabulous hotel. Dress in your beach clothes, because we'll head directly to Ostia for a last day of ancient sites and beach fun!

Ostia (literally, "port" in Latin) was Rome's port town since Rome was founded in 753 BC. It alone held much prestige - it was the choice of visitors for their stays to Rome, if they were traveling by sea - we have records that Cleopatra stayed in a palatial area there, and St. Augustine recalls his stay when he was trying to return his mother from Ostia to Hippo, in north Africa, where he served as Bishop. There's a story about an obelisk being transported from Alexandria to Rome, and the barge needed to transport it was so huge that it beached outside of Ostia's shore (and made an island out there, big enough for Claudius to build a lighthouse on it). For almost a millennium, Ostia was in use, until it was hit by a plague in the 3rd C., AD, and was promptly deserted. The modern city has grown up around it, but the ancient city was left untouched, and, in spite of its proximity to Rome, generally untrampled by tourists (as opposed to other deserted ancient cities, where you eat dust the whole time). We will tour the city of Ostia in a leisurely afternoon stroll, then we'll head down to Ostia Lido until dinnertime, where we get to take in some beach time and Italian sun, before our next morning's departure.

This website about Ostia's beach cracks me up (all too true!!!): http://www.initaly.com/regions/seaside/michael.htm

We'll return to the hotel to clean up that evening, then head somewhere fun for dinner. I'm still researching spots, and happy to take suggestions! Often, our spot for our last night's dinner is driven by how many Euros we have left in our respective pockets . . . :) We will be staying at an awesome hotel, which has a roof garden and a great restaurant which offers a good deal for a fixed-price menu . . . ah, the options!

Next time: TOSCANA!!

Communication

Ah, to cell or not to cell, that is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

the expense of the phone bill

Or to await in nervousness

the next time they will make the call home.

No call, no news -- no news, no knowing?

'Tis a consummation for every parent of a child going abroad.

(I could go on! My other teaching area IS English!)

But in all seriousness- and this is a serious topic, truly-parents who send their kiddos oversea always struggle with the decision to invest in a cell phone. Rather than get preachy (as I have done in previous years), may I share a few of my cell phone stories with you?

Story #1: Parents rent a cell phone for their responsible child. Child never charges phone. Battery dies. Parents e-mail me to ask child to charge phone. Daily, I remind child to charge phone. No charged phone. Parents end up just reading my blog for news. (actually, this story happens once every trip!)

Story #2: Parents rent a cell phone for their responsible child. Responsible child uses phone only when parents call her (on a scheduled time). Child's roommate calls boyfriend (in Dallas) on cell phone every night. $500+ phone bill piles up. Responsible child's parents must pay bill.

Story #3: Parents rent a cell phone for their responsible child. Child, missing friends at home, texts constantly, and doesn't participate in group activities. Child never feels part of group, and never realizes that she is living in Italy. Responsible child's parents must pay bill.

Story #4: Parents don't rent a cell phone for their responsible child, but do schedule times to call the child's homestay (received calls cost nothing to homestay families), and child informs homestay of this. Child and parents talk twice during the trip (Tuesdays, at 5:30 PM - 10:30 AM Dallas time), and parents read my blog for trip news. Child has four weeks' of stories (including his takes on all of my blog stories) to share with parents after returning home.

Now, these are just a few stories I've seen regarding cell phones. I am not going to tell you to NOT get a phone for your kiddo, if you really want them to have one. Let's face it - Jeremy has his own leash to me! But, it's the same as in all other situations with going abroad: Whatever distractions you bring over with you are what will keep your experience from being the best.

There are many options - no calling outside of the country, may receive only incoming calls, etc. - but, what it all comes down to is, do you want your kiddo to have that extra link home? And to be spending their time on a phone, rather than experiencing life in Italy? With e-mailing/blogging (which is also FREE), they can get news out to all their friends and family in one note, then head out to enjoy la vita bella!!!

pace,

Laura :)

Looking for an ACCURATE Currency Converter?

Buona Sera!

Just a quick note - I did remove the currency converter from my page - noticed that the one I had doesn't update, and the one I want doesn't show the complete page! If I can find a suitable add-in, I will be sure to include it on the page. Until then, here's the best, and most recently updated one:

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

There is a way to get this onto one's website - if I can figure it out quickly, I'll get it on the page!

pace,
Laura :)

What NOT to pack

Ciao, Tutti!

While flipping through the channels the other day, I found a show which brought back funny memories. When my baby sister was in college, her friends turned her in to be on the show, "What not to Wear," for Christi's taste in dress. For over 1.5 years, Christi wore spaghetti-strap tank tops. Even in the winter. Madness.

I'd like to propose a new show: "What not to PACK". When it comes to travelling, packing is the most daunting concept of the experience. Even figuring how to get around a new city (with new transportation, new "home" location, new food types, all in a new language, even) is less threatening than the idea of giving up our home-based comforts.

Admittedly, too many rules or policies for anything drives me crazy. But some of the policies developed by the FAA since 9/11 have made such great sense to me! Who needs more than 50 pounds of stuff when you're traveling? Does where you're headed NOT have a supermarket? A food source? A sink? Also, who needs more than 3 oz of any liquid in their bags? You're just asking for a nasty spill!

SPI has given you a nice list of what you should pack. Definitely consider that list and your itinerary plans (when we tour on our first Saturday in Rome, we'll go into the Vatican - you need to have shoulders/cleavage/knees covered). So, here's my advice on what NOT to pack:
1. Anything more than 3 oz. of any liquid. Weigh your bottle of shampoo sometime, to see how much it really weighs. Need more shampoo or mouthwash? Pick it up at the supermarket (or beauty stores - they're all over Siena)!
2. Anything that needs a converter. Power surges will blow straight through converters, and I've seen them (and the converters themselves) destroy students' iPods, DVD players, and minicomputers. There are radios in the city, and computer labs both at the school and around town. Can't live without a hair dryer? Wait until you get to your homestay - they might have one there. And, if not, we can go shopping for one on our first day of classes - what a great gift to leave behind at your homestay (or to even have as a memorial of the trip)! Please don't weigh down your bags with expensive gadgets.
3. Anything you don't want to lose. Is it a family heirloom? It is something you can't live without? Consider leaving it at home for our brief stay. A lifelong loss of something priceless is way more painful than a few weeks' hiatus.

Siena has many universities in town, which means that they're going to have services you need all over the city. Remember how I mentioned that you could make it with nothing but your passport?

a piu tarde!
Laura :)

elenco di canzoni

Ciao, Tutti!

Something came up for me in class today, and I thought of y'all. As a trained musician, my soul is attached to music, and all best expressions of myself I've always found in music. My students often receive music during testing/in-class working time, and they, too, find more peace in themselves. Even my freshman football players in English I CP are transformed. Truly, music soothes the most savage beast.

This isn't unfounded professional behavior - it's been proven how sounds, in their various forms, affect water molecule patterns. And how music can truly change our moods. I'm a huge proponent of the Mozart effect during testing (even though I'll include other classical composers of similar style, plus Tchaikovsky).

When you view any tourist-based videos of Italy, you're going to hear music which is faintly familiar, but which is deeply based in the hearts of the Italians. There are some songs which you just should know if you're a music-lover visiting Italy. And this isn't stereotypical - you will find random groups of people circling around a pianist (or other instrumentalist), singing familiar songs.

I do own Dean-o's "Italian Love Songs", which is a good sampling of traditional Italian songs, but here's a general Italian Playlist, if you'd like to feel prepared for the party:
Volare
That's Amore
Funicoli, funicola
Arrivederci, Roma
Santa Lucia
Return to me (Song of Sorrento)
O Sole Mio
Lazy Mary
Buona Sera

Get this on your iPod! Got more to add to this list? Share your suggestions!

You might just find yourself surrounding a piano, and joining strangers in a familiar song.

un' abbracio,
Laura :)

What To Carry On

Buon Giorno, Tutti!

After sending out that note last night, I figured I should get on the ball with these blog entries!

This weekend, I joined my husband and father-in-law for one of their famed baseball weekends. This isn't my first time - we did Kansas City/St. Louis just two summers ago. And this one was even nicer - we flew into Miami for a Dolphins' game, then drove to Tampa for a Rays game (got to visit the Dali museum), and flew home on Sunday (not before enjoying brunch with some old family friends). A trip like this one reminded me of how important it is to pack smartly - Jay and I fit all we needed into one carry-on suitcase (and, yes, girls, I did have a pair of cute shoes and a pair of walking shoes).

The best advice about carry-ons is this: either carry on as much as possible, or carry on as little as possible. If you're checking a suitcase (as I'm sure all of us will for our trip), make sure you have just the essentials in your carry-on.
What do I put in mine (the backpack)?
Source of entertaining reading - a really good book (I'm taking my summer-reading assignment for my English classes), your copies of paperwork (and mine)
Important paperwork and medicines: If you take it daily, put it in your carry-on. If you need it for emergencies, put it in your carry-on. If it has a prescription, be sure you have a copy of that paperwork (and a copy for me) in your carry-on.
Emergency items: dramamine or bonine, bandaids, neosporin, gas-X strips (great if you get bloated easily)
hygiene products: facewash cloths (Mary Kay's are packaged dry and folded up - wet them in the sink), travel-sized deodorant, toothbrush/travel toothpaste
Color for jetlagged old lady like me: eyeliner/bronzer
Snacks (in case one of you needs it): packages of crackers/peanut butter or cheese
***Change of clothes in case bags don't make it (or, at least, underwear and a t-shirt . . . but, then again, it isn't terrible to have an excuse to go shopping in Rome . . .)

Please remember that we're living in Siena - a finely-developed city, not some third-world place without plumbing. I plan to make a visit to the laundromat in the middle of our trip, and don't want to spend my money on more than one load's worth of wash and dry. Some of your homestays will even offer to wash a load for you (mine doesn't, but I still love her - beg to live with her every year). Pack accordingly.

How do you know if you've packed too much? SPI does give a good packing list in your notebooks which you'll receive, but here's the real way to test it: Pack your suitcase completely, including toiletries you plan to take. Leave it to the side, and go out all night. Before you get to sleep the next morning, pick up your suitcase, and carry it up and down three blocks, climb and descend two flights of stairs with it, then run up and down your street with it. Still happy with how you packed?

There are a few sections of packing advice in the monthly newsletters (you can find their links in the greeting area of the SPI Italy Quia page) - check them out!

a piu tardi!
Laura :)

P.S. Want to see some good views of Siena in a recent movie? "Letters to Juliet", while I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for brilliant plotline (just like "When in Rome"), does have some great views of major locations in Siena!