Showing posts with label Viterbo. Show all posts
International Day 2012 Università Degli Studi Della Tuscia
This semester I interned with my study abroad program (USAC) in Italy. My major duties were to assist the program director to promote and engage the student body in cultural events. Demographically the University was made up of a large native Italian student body, as well as the European and American study abroad students respectively. One of the major events USAC hosted was International Day. This day was filled with activities set to provide awareness among the various culture groups. Fall semester I had participated and was surprised at how many different nationalities were represented at Tuscia such as Poland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, America, the Czech Republic, and of course Italy among many others.
Now, having spent a semester already at Tuscia I had somewhat of a feel for campus life. What I noticed was that there was a distinct divide between the various cultural groups on campus. Walking into the student area you would find the Italians hanging out with Italians, as well as the Polish and the Americans sticking to their own cultural groups. My goal for this event was to bring the students together. I wanted to create activities that ensured that the various groups integrated and conversed with one another, and of course have fun.
We first divided the participants into groups as they walked into the theater, snapped some pictures by our map and began the event with some great activities. We had a hello workshop where the members of the groups had to introduce themselves to one another in there own native language.
"Annyeong Nanam Cariela-ya"
Hello my name is Cariela in Korean, Thanks Yu Jin Kim ^_^
Other activities were the animal noise game, where we asked various students what noise certain animals made. You'd be surprised at what noises are given to animals in different cultures. Then we had an Italian Gestures slideshow. After we had students work out a skit using only body language. Lastly, we had a music game, where we played clips of artist from around the world and they had to identify the artist and country. It was a lot of fun! Then we had a breaktime filled with yummy food and we ended the night with live music. A local band and a group of Brazillian students singing the popular song "Ai Se Eu Te Pego" by Michel Telo.
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| Stefano Pizzetti: Director of USAC Viterbo |
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| The Dean of the Language college and USAC |
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| Dogs in America say woof woof, but in Europe they go Bow Wow |
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| Gesture skits, it's all about that body language |
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| Rockin' out! |
All in all it was a successful event. Goals were met and the participants had a good time. I'm so fortunate to have been apart of it. Thanks for reading!
The 23 year of my life and I was fortunate enough to celebrate it in Italy. I'm so blessed and grateful for everything that's happened to me. Prior to my special day, March 15, I found myself in a state of melancholy. The fact that I was not at home with my family and friends as per usual made me very homesick. Also, although I know I'm quite young I feel so much older these days. Obviously I am, but my life seems to be going by so fast and that's something I cannot handle. When you are younger you have this idea of where your life is going to be at a certain age and when you aren't there you kind of feel a little lost. Sure, I was fulfilling a major dream of mine to be abroad, but there was still a lot missing. I'm still in school for goodness sake and now I won't graduate until I'm 24. MA DAI! (italian for come on...) Anyway once I got out of my head, and STOPPED thinking so much, I realized that I'm one of the luckiest people in the world being abroad for a birthday. This day will definitely be saved in my memory box forever.
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| <3 My roomies for leaving me this |
San Sisto, my favorite caffe in Viterbo, surprised me with a cake. They made me feel so special ^_^
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| The cake that San Sisto made for me |
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| It was so good |
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| Dinner with my amazing friends |
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| I <3 Caitlin she made my day 100 times better |
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| Here's to being 23 |
Snow?! Che Cosa
Snow Day, no it's a snow frenzy. It has snowed ferociously in Viterbo the first two weekends of February and because this quaint little city isn't equipped for snow storms of this magnitude it has basically shut down. Although I was so giddy to experience real snow for the first time after about 5 minutes of being locked in doors i was over it.
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| The Pope's Palace |
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| Araceli (roommate) Bundled Up |
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| My first snow man |
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| Dinosaur or Simba? |
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| @ School |
La Calza della Befana
Posted in Italian Holiday, Italy, La Befana, La Epifania, Study Abroad, Travel, Viterbo |
| Auguri e Buon Anno |
As a way to celebrate the holiday Viterbo hosts the procession of the largest stocking in the world (La Calza della Befana) on January 5. The stocking is placed on top of a row of Fiat 500s, driven by Viterbese, and hoisted with long brooms that are held by women dressed as La Befana. The procession begins at Porta Romana, and proceeds through the medieval walled city until it reaches Porta Fiorentina. There is cheers from crowds, candy for the bambini, and an array of different honks coming from the fabulously decorated Fiats.
I was lucky enough to be in Viterbo to experience this traditional event. I had never seen anything like this. I particularly enjoyed the Fiats, as they are my favorite car, and the excitement exuding from the children as the stocking went down the street.
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| La Befana |
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| Lining them up |
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| Isn't that the cutest little 500 you've ever seen |
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| Here they come |
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| La Befana handing out treats to the children |
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| Now that's Italian! |
Ciao and thanks for reading
Buon Natale and a very Merry Christmas
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| My first time eating oysters. It's definately and acquired taste lol |
Italian dinners are always an extravagant event and Christmas Eve dinner did not fall short of that. Every course played a pivotal part of the overall meal experience, we enjoyed fabulous food, wine, and conversation. La Bella Figura! The term dubbed by Italians describes their undeniable attention to the beauty of life and the celebration of it. The meal begins with an array of seafood for an appetizer (l'antipasto) , followed by a pasta dish (il primo), next we enjoyed a fish entree (il secondo), we finish it off with a traditional Neapolitan desert (i dolci). From the first sip of wine to the last bite of dessert this meal was unforgettable.
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| Antipasta: Oysters, Shrimp, and Sardine delicacies |
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| Primo: Spaghetti con Frutti di mare (Vongole) |
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| Secondo: Russian Salad and Cod Fish |
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| Dolci: Struffoli |
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| Buone Feste and Happy Holidays from Viterbo, Italy |
I had the opportunity of experiencing a very precious festival in Viterbo this past weekend called Il Trasporto della Macchina di Santa Rosa, which translates to the transport of the St. Rosa statue. The purpose of the festival is to pay homage to the great Saint Rosa who overcame adversity and served the city of Viterbo and the neighboring towns. What occurs is that they transport the statue from where S. Rosa was buried to where her church stands today. It's and up and downhill tread to get to the church. The statue is carried by 100 men called the Facchini. The opportunity to become a Facchini is a great honor and is passed down from generation to generation. Throughout the week there are other events to celebrate the Saint. There is actually a smaller version of the carrying ceremony that is done by the children of the town (it was so precious). Along with outdoor discos and a city wide outdoor market. It was an incredible experience and I am thankful to have been there for it.
Below is a video I created of all the events that took place this weekend. Enjoy...
