Monday, September 20, 2010

hira: storia di un grande amore


while everyone else is frantically searching for cheap flights around europe, planning extravagant weekends in barcelona, madrid, paris, and munich (oktoberfest! too bad i hate beer...) i am seeking something else. you know why i'm here. to learn italian. to be in torino. to BE in torino. hopefully, by wisely investing my time and money, i will come out of these four months with some perspective. every day, i think about what you said to me just before i left: 'there is no way you can go to italy for four months and NOT be changed'. i see it every day.


throwing myself into learning. in the last two weeks, i have gone from knowing absolutely NO italian to writing short essays and compositions. miraculous. recently, i purchased a childhood favorite, written in italian. my goal is to read five chapters a week and learn pages and pages of new vocabulary. the inside pages are already covered in my notes.




another way to learn italian? go to a calcio (futbol/soccer) match. on thursday, i went to the Juventus match at the stadium--i had purchased my ticket earlier than my friends, and so i was seated in a different zone. turns out, i loved being surrounded by screaming italian fans and the energy was flowing. they taught me the words to the juventus song that was chanted at various times throughout the match---juve, storia di un grande amore...


i went into this weekend with no plans. turns out, thats the best way to live in torino, because plans will evolve. i promise. friday evening started with a trip to the Bicerin, a tiny cafe in the middle of torino that serves up torino's traditional signature drink, the bicerin. there are only five cafes like this one that still serve the drink; the one we visited is the second oldest. bicerin a warmed concoction made up of coffee, dark chocolate, and fresh cream. so delicious. i can imagine myself here quite frequently when it starts snowing, but this can certainly keep me happy year-round..




later that night, the torino nightlife at its finest---i guess everyone is back from august vacations (people in italia like to take the month of august off and usually, the entire family heads south for the month, returning in the beginning to mid-september). lets just say that the sunrise looked beautiful over the river Po...





after a late night out, the best remedy for fatigue is found outdoors. long walks on the weekend have been keeping me healthy and happy (the pedometer you gave me works SO well--i love the stats and use it on my runs and long walks). heading over to piazza castello and piazza carlo felice, we come to the city center--alive with music and festivities. another day in the piazza. normal. 150 years of a unified italia coming right up.





appreciating young talent.






books festivals, CHOCOLATE festivals. free samples everywhere--the best local chocolatiers. i'm a lucky girl.







girl, put down that map. lets just wander through the piazzas.



i love my life.



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