As I was saying before, I am departing today and instead of finishing backing I am hanging out with my roommate Audriana, Ossenberg (check her out at italianaudriana.blogspot.com)! I think the hardest part is that we are both very excited to immerse ourselves in Italian life and culture so it is hard to focus... In a way it feels like Christmas Eve but instead of nestling all snug in our bed tonight, we have a red eye to Rome then onto Cagliari, which is basically the same right?
(image from: http://www.mapsopensource.com/italy-map.html)
If Italy is a boot, Sardinia is the soccer ball about to be kicked off the shin. On that island, the capital, Cagliari, is located in the south. Although we have some trips outside of Cagliari, we will be spending most of our time in the city. In Cagliari people speak Italian and Sardinian, a combination of a few romance languages. However, our professor who was born, raised, and educated through her PhD in Cagliari, has been very adamant that Cagliari, being a destination for European tourists’ Mediterranean vacations, has many English speaking people. Nevertheless, I have been practicing my Italian with this app called Duolingo. It is awesome and easy to use, I definitely recommend it to anyone trying to learn or brush up on a language. So far I learned a few phrases that I think will come in handy like “io mangio pesce” which means “I eat fish” and “io mangio gelato al cioccolato” which means “I eat chocolate ice cream.” As you may recognize, I have only made it through the food vocabulary of my studying, but for those of you who know me know that this is arguably the most important part.
This is a perfect segway into my thoughts and expectations, which center on food. I am going into this experience with few expectations because I feel like this will give me the best opportunity to experience the culture. I am most excited and have been told to expect for the food to be delicious. I can’t wait to meet more sheep than people and eat fish without the heads cut off. That may or may not be true, but I am going to keep an open mind and try everything… Mom, I am serious!
I think it is important to be open to immersing yourself in the culture if you want to take fully advantage of the experience. I am excited that we will be working on group projects with other students studying solid waste management. I hope to learn from other students’ engineering practices, language, and to meet some awesome people. Additionally, I want to visit as many beaches in Cagliari as I can to catch a few waves for Dad, taste wine for Mom, visit some churches for Meme, try not to have too many nights like Derek, and chase a ball for Bailey... This is my first summer away from my hometown and the Atlantic Ocean, but I am sure the Mediterranean Sea will measure up.
I am very excited and looking forward to learning more and updating my blog as I go so please check back in!
No comments:
Post a Comment