What a Weekend! Florence and Mirabilandia

I’d have to say this past weekend was about as good as it gets. On Saturday, we celebrated the 10^th birthday of my host brother, Simone, at an amusement park called Mirabilandia. There were some great roller coasters, and the weather was warm enough to enjoy the water rides too! We also got the chance to watch a fun stunt show where cars and motorcycles were flying all over the place (the show was Simo’s personal favorite).

Heading to the the New York
themed section of Mirabilandia

Watching the Stunt Show

We then concluded Simo’s birthday with an amazing Juventus themed cake, and the opening of my gift to him, FIFA 14. He was incredibly excited, even more so when he found out that you can play matches between Italian Serie B and Serie A teams Carpi and Sassuolo!

Arno River

But the fun didn’t end on Saturday… On Sunday, the program that organizes the school and host family aspects of my exchange put together a day trip to Florence! Cate (my host sister) and I, plus 4 other German exchange students, woke-up bright and early on Sunday morning to catch the train to Florence. Once there, we started by walking around the Piazza Dell Duomo and taking in the extraordinary size of the Duomo itself. We then meandered through picturesque yet crowd-filled streets, past the Uffizi Gallery, to Ponte Vecchio on the Arno River. The weather was yet again beautiful and the tourists, many of them American, were out in full force.

Ponte Vecchio

Palazzo Vecchio

Piazza della Signoria

Statues in la Piazza della Signoria

The Florence Chapel in la Piazza del Duomo

Dante's bed

Our next stop was Dante Alighieri’s house. It was interesting to see his house and get a glimpse into his life because of his importance in Italy. Reading his most important work, La Divina Comedia, is mandatory in all Italian high schools, and he is worshipped by Italian teachers even more passionately than Shakespeare is worshipped by English teachers.

The David

We then walked to the Gallerie dell’Accademie, the home of Michelangelo’s David. “Awe-inspiring” doesn’t even begin to truly capture the feeling when you first see the David. You turn the corner, and at the end of a long hallway stands the most amazing statue ever created. It was much larger than I expected, but the sheer perfection in its construction is what really struck me.

View of Florence from Giardino Bardini

We then had the chance to eat lunch and spend three hours doing whatever we cared to do. Some people decided to go shopping, but I decided to visit Giardino Bardini (Bardini Garden). Unfortunately the famous Boboli Garden wasn’t open, but the Bardini Garden was equally as beautiful. It offered a breath-taking and panoramic view of Florence, and was also a great way to escape the crowds.
  

All in all, it was an amazing (and very tiring) weekend, one that I will remember for a long time!

Soccer Update

Last Tuesday I found out that I will be able to train with the pro team Carpi FC U17's! I will be training with them 4 times a week and hopefully play games with another local club (Virtus Cibeno) on the weekends. Carpi's U17 team plays in a national league against other youth teams of Serie A and Serie B clubs, so as you can imagine, they play at a very high level. I am extremely excited for this incredible opportunity and hope to improve over the course of the season.

One Month and Nonno Cesare

The hall where I did my interview in Modena

Today marks my one-month “anniversary” since arriving in Italy. It has been an exciting first month, but  it feels like I arrived just a week ago because time has been flying by! The biggest change I’ve noticed in the month I’ve been here, is that my Italian has improved immensely. I now feel like I can understand the gist of most casual conversations, and this week I got the chance to test my speaking skills. At a meeting in Modena for Italian students who are considering a year abroad to the U.S., Australia, or Canada, I was interviewed by the program director about my experiences in Italy so far. It was very difficult, considering that I had to answer questions on the spot, in Italian, in front of over 30 people. But my Italian mom, Antonella, was standing next to me in case I needed help, and my sister and brother were in the front row supporting me as well. 

Focaccia!!

One of the most interesting and entertaining aspects of my first month in Italy has been getting to know my Nonno Cesare (Grandpa Cesare). Almost every morning before we leave for school, he comes to our place to drop of fresh focaccia for the three of us to take to school as a snack. When the weather isn’t great (it hasn’t been for the past week or so), we drive to school in his little red Fiat  - his “Ferrarina” or “little Ferrari” which he calls it (note, the Ferrari headquarters is in Modena, the same city where I gave my talk). During the drive to school we talk about anything from what the acronym “FIAT” stands for to what grandparents in the U.S. are like. Normally, these conversations are slightly one-sided, with Nonno doing most of the talking and me nodding my head “Si, Si.” in response. In the video below, Nonno asked me if grandparents in the U.S. are as “crazy” as he is.

Heading off to school with Nonno Cesare

Inside Nonno's "Ferrarina"...I just about fit

Non Crest Per Favore (No Mohawk Please)

typical Italian hairstyle for teenage boys

Two days ago, I got my first haircut in Italy. For Italian men and boys, hairstyles aren’t trivial and Italian soccer players sport some of the most interesting hairstyles I’ve seen. Typically, hairstyles for teenage boys are very different than those in the US. The most common hairstyle is where the sides and back are very short, but the top is longer. 

Needless to say, I was a bit nervous about getting a haircut early in my stay since I wasn’t sure I could communicate very effectively what I wanted.

My host father, Luigi has been getting haircuts from a kind old man named Gianni for many years. Though Gianni is officially retired, he still comes to the homes of some his long-standing clients. Gianni has been cutting hair for over 50 years, so he was a bit old-school; he only used scissors and a razor blade...nothing electric. He set up shop in the bathroom in front of the large mirror and got right down to business. I decided against the more outrageous “Mohawk” hairstyles of players in Serie A: The El Sharaawy, The Vidal, The Pogba, or the Balotelli, to name a few and opted for a simple trim, this time. Thankfully, I was able to effectively communicate what type of haircut I wanted and didn’t end up with anything too crazy.