So much to be thankful for...

Ciao,

Happy (early) Thanksgiving everyone!!! I have to say that we've been very lucky over here recently. We thought we would have to forego Thanksgiving this year, but Niraj and I have actually had 2 full Thanksgiving feasts and still have one more to go!

Last weekend we were invited out to some friends of ours who live near Reggio. Mariana is an American that Niraj met when he was living in L.A., and her boyfriend Enrico is Italian. There were a total of 10 people at their place (4 Americans, 6 Italians), and the food was incredible! Somehow she miraculously managed to make a full American meal in Italy where having to preorder a turkey weeks in advance from the butcher is only one of the many obstacles to overcome. She made a feast of an 8 kilo turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, peas, corn, cornbread muffins, cranberry/blueberry sauce, gravy, grilled onions, green beans, and applesauce. And for dessert... we had a grand total of 5 pies/cakes to choose from! We had chocolate cake, lemon cake, pineapple upside down cake, pumpkin pie, and the BIGGEST apple pie I have ever seen (literally, I think Italians have this impression that we make huge pies so as a result their pie pans are enormous). It was really a joy sharing the holiday with Italians. They were so intrigued by all of it and excited to learn the new food and the new traditions. They definitely imposed their "flare" on the meal by bringing lots of wine and insisting on espresso afterwards, and it was amusing to explain that everything is put on your plate and eaten at once, i.e. there are are no courses. We had such a great night and created many wonderful memories!

Last night was Thanksgiving #2 and was one of the best nights we have had with the students of SAIS since coming here. The student government organized a huge potluck at the school for the nearly 200 students, less than 50% of which are Americans. There were 10 (very large) turkeys and all of the standard fixins and sides. Again, it was amazing how such an American meal can be a success over here, but it was also really fun (and tasty) to see what kinds of flares and twists the non-Americans put on their dishes... especially the breads, stuffings, vegetables and desserts. The director of the University spoke before dinner and told the story of Thanksgiving. explaining all traditions from the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade to the post-Turkey naps. A few students put on a Thanksgiving play reminiscent of ones we would do in elementary school, and we all sat in the auditorium and ate and talked for hours. Again, it was a joy to share this important holiday with Europeans and with our new friends. At our end of the table, everyone especially had a wonderful time telling past Thanksgiving memories, sharing our family traditions, and thinking about the Thanksgiving food we would miss the most. My story was when we replaced the turkey in the oven with a rubber chicken and gave Grandmother a little birthday surprise, remember that year Hays folks?!?! The night ended with a cover band composed of students, Teaching Assistants, and an Economics professor! They even made a poster of the event (below). It really was an amazing night, and I know we will remember this year forever as a very unique, different, yet wonderful Thanksgiving.


And, we still have another potluck at a friend's house on Thursday! I'm pretty sure we are already close to being turkey-ed out... but something tells me we'll make room for more. :)

Besides all the Thanksgivings festivities, there have been lots of exciting things going on the past week. The Bologna chocolate festival was this week... need I say more?? There were chocolate makers here from all over Europe, and it really is amazing what they can do with chocolates. They come in every shape, size, color, flavor you can imagine and it was fun walking around all the tents and gawking at everything. Oh, and the cioccolata calda! So amazing! It is like drinking pudding, and when they make it they have to constantly have it churning since it is so thick. It is really spectacular how all the food and drink here (especially the sweets) is such an artform. Here in Bologna they have also put up a Christmas market down the street from the apartment, and it is exciting and wonderful to enjoy the season and really get in the Christmas spirit.

Yesterday, I also had another grand adventure when I got stuck in the middle of what was practically a mob scene! When I was walking home from the market, I suddenly realized that the street was closed to traffic and all of the buses were sitting empty in a line. There were people everywhere. Apparently there was some big-shot celebrity staying at the hotel there, and TONS of people were waiting outside in the street by their tour bus hoping they'd appear and come out of the hotel. I found the whole thing rather amusing (especially since I had no idea who it was), and just enjoyed the madness! See for yourself...


Things at school are still going well too. Midterms have been in full force so all of the students are stressed and overworked. The language midterms are this week, so we'll see how those go for both of us. Niraj is getting more involved with clubs and things at school, and he is now a part of the academic student government committee. He is working to improve some things for students and for his program in general, including getting weekly lunches with professors set up for the students and coordinating with the students in D.C. to prepare for his second year. We also had Azar Nafisi come speak to us this week, and she was absolutely incredible! She spoke about life in Iran, literature, importance of education, and was overall very moving and compelling. Niraj and I were both awed after coming out of her lecture, and I'm very anxious to read her books now.

Anyways, I suppose that is enough stories for now.

We do want to say that we are both very thankful for everything and everyone. We are so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity and this experience, and we are very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives. We miss everyone, and hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

GOBBLE GOBBLE!!!

Random thoughts on the day to day life...

1) Walking down the street and hearing a man playing the accordion on the corner makes you feel so incredibly Italian.

2) Meeting the girls for coffee at Piazza Maggiore on Saturday morning is quite fabulous.

3) You can't help but smile when you see two little boys running around with giant helium balloons in front of the Cathedral down the street... especially when one of the balloons is Winnie the Pooh.

4) It's fascinating that the woman who owns the tiny pottery shop on the way to school sits inside all day every day making/painting her artwork.

5) It's fun when the man who runs the produce stand considers you a "regular" and throws extra bananas, tomatoes, and clementines into your bag.

6) It's hard not to feel proud when the checkout clerk at the grocery store is impressed because you (the American) are buying a pizza pan so you can try making pizza at home.

7) It is still hard to beat a great class of wine in the evening!

Prosciutto, Parmesan, and Rain... oh my!

Ciao tutti! Just thought I'd write again to share out latest weekend adventures...

On Friday night, Niraj and I met some friends for an appertivi in the University District. They had found this amazing little restaurant that used to be an old house. It was 3 stories and each level of the house had it's own tables and a bar. The decor was gorgeous, and it did feel like you were in somebody's house! It was very quaint and definitely worth going back to. We all had a Spritz (a popular Itlian cocktail consisting of a fizzy white wine called Prosseco and Aperol Liqueor... yum!) and talked for hours. It was a great evening.

Saturday, I decided to explore the city some while Niraj locked himself in the library and ventured out to do some shopping. They are beginning to put up Christmas decorations and lights everywhere in Bologna (they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here so it's ok to do this so early... haha) and the city is starting to buzz with excitement! I cannot wait until the turn all the lights on, and you can count on pictures of that. That night, Niraj and I decided to make a full, home cooked feast. We made salad, lemon/garlic balsamic dressing (made with AMAZING balsamic vinegar from the local town of Modena), bruschetta, homemade bread, Spaghetti Carbonera, and a nice Pinot Grigio. The picture below doesn't even describe how amazing this food was! We were both quite impressed with how we're slowly mastering Italian cooking, and we filled ourselves to the brim! :)


Yesterday was the biggest adventure of the weekend, however. We decided to do a day trip to nearby Parma. We arrived at the train station early to catch the 8:30 train only to find out that nearly every train leaving that station was canceled. So not thinking anything of it, we waited around for awhile and managed to get one out of Bologna just before 10:00. We arrived in Parma a bit after 11:00 and walked outside to pouring rain and freezing temperatures! That didn't stop these two determined travelers though, and we faced the rain. We spent a few hours exploring the town which really is beautiful. It was a lot smaller than Bologna and very quiet (probably an effect of the rain and the fact that it was Sunday). We sat in on Sunday Mass at the Madonna Cathedral, saw the famous pink-marble Baptisery and its amazing frescoes, walked around the Duomo Cathedral, found the old town Pharmacy, walked along the riverfront, and explored the area and parks around the Government buildings. We saw some amazing sights, but it was a hilarious day due to being soaked head to toe and having umbrella difficulties. I now know that if you buy a 3 Euro umbrella you get what you pay for (and yes, I do know it was inside out in the pictures, but I had no control over it!!!). I've put the pictures below, so check them out!

Parma Pictures

Probably the best part of Parma was our lunch. YUM!!! We went to this quiet little trattoria tucked away in a small alley, and it was one of the best meals either of us has ever had. We started off with the famous, local, incredible plate of Parma's Prosciutto and Parmesan Cheese which is eaten with Torta Fritta (a type of warm, soft fried bread). This meat and cheese was unlike anything else and it was incredible... no wonder it made the town famous! Then Niraj had pumpkin tortelli, and I had tortelli stuffed wtih prosciutto and cheese. Both were again topped with Parmesan and covered in oil and butter. We also enjoyed some house red wine, and concluded the meal with a piece of chocolate cake that literally melted in your mouth. We sat there about 2 hours, watched other Italians eat to learn "proper" etiquette, and walked out in a food coma.

Our adventure didn't end there though, because once we arrived back at the train station to head back home, we again noticed nearly every train was canceled. In summary, there was a train strike and we were stuck in the station for over 3 hours!! We finally made it out on a jammed packed train, and our short little day trip turned into a 12 hour journey! Needless to say we'll be checking to see if it's a strike day before venturing out from now on...

So, that's our latest Italian weekend! This week we have the typical classes and work, but there are some interesting events and speakers happening at school that we'll keep everyone posted on. So, happy Monday!

Trick or Treat!

Well it is now November, and I have officially been here over a month which does not seem possible! Niraj has been here over 2 months and it's amazing how fast time is going. Fall is in full swing with cooler temperatures, changing leaves, and a sense that winter is just around the corner.

We had a fantastic Halloween weekend, especially considering Italians don't really do Halloween. The city's only festivities consisted of a few ghosts hanging from lampposts on random streets and stores putting up a few spiderwebs and plastic pumpkins in their windows (which by the way is very misleading when you're looking for Halloween goodies because that does not mean they actually sell Halloween stuff). We did manage to carve a pumpkin out here though!

Saturday we actually had a Deep Dish Pizza Party (which I know all you Seattle-ites will appreciate!!). We made our famous deep dish pizzas from scratch for some friends of ours. We had 3 pizzas for 4 Americans, 1 Colombian, 2 Canadians, and an Englishman... and we couldn't help but wonder what an Italian would think of the gigantic pizzas! It was a great night, the pizza was fantastic, and below is a picture of Niraj anxious to sink his teeth into them.


Sunday night the entire school got costumed-up for the big annual Halloween party. It was a great time, and there were some fanstastic costumes. It was impressive how creative people were and how much everyone enjoyed getting all dressed up! I was a gypsy-pirate and was quite proud of how my thrown-together costume turned out. Niraj was a street vendor selling roses. For those of you who have not been to Italy, there are always Indian men out in the streets at night with roses for 1 euro each. They walk up to your table in restaurants and also just approach you on the street. So Niraj threw on tennis shoes, a beanie, and a wool scarf, bought some plastic roses, and proceeded to approach everybody at the party (without saying a word) to try to get them to buy his roses. He was a HUGE HIT!!! Everybody loved it and thought it was hysterical, and he even won 2nd place in the costume contest! It was hilarious, especially when a "real" rose vendor walked into the party (you can see him in the pictures). So, needless to say we had a fantastic time!

Halloween Pictures ... Boo!

Other than that, things are still moving along. We went out to a nice dinner the other night at a little Trattoria and had amazing Tortellini Bolognese and Lasagna Verdi. We are getting anxious for Thanksgiving and many of the Americans are trying to figure out how to make a traditional Thanksgiving feast. I'm sure it'll be interesting, and I'll let everyone know how it turns out. We have some more day trips planned for the near future, and we are also hoping to put together a short trip for New Years... any suggestions on where to go??

So until next time, enjoy fall, stay warm, and keep in touch... ciao!