Today was a very quiet day. Mark and Martha called to say that the overcast weather made it less-than-ideal for an excursion they were planning about 90 minutes away. It was just as well as Kim was also having a less-than-ideal day. I did some work, we shopped at a neighborhood grocery and just hung around the apartment. Kim suggested that today's blog entry be about the apartment: not just because that's where we were today but also so our guests can get a sense of what to expect.

The first pictures are really of the balcony rather than the view, although you can certainly see some. The first picture is looking north, toward Athens (the balcony faces east). You should be able to recognize that the balcony runs the length of the apt: not wide but very long. Athens is very much a balcony culture. Most apartments have balconies and people are seen using them. We've been a little voyeuristic: not lewd or anything, but we have been able to see into some very nice apartments. You'll see that some people across the street (west-facing balconies) have rolled their awnings down to avoid the harsher sun. We may have to do that before we leave but certainly not in February. The seond picture, facing south, shows the balcony from the other end (laundry in foreground) with the sea in the distance. Our tram stop is immediately in front of that (you can see the gray-roofed shelter).

Our bedroom has a queen-sized bed. It's low to the floor but otherwise just fine. I didn't want to include multiple pictures from each room, so I'll just explain that it has a door to the balcony (right of picture), large dresser (behind) and build-in closets (left). The picture is taken from the doorway to the hall. We can hear the church bells (see top picture) each morning at 7. We also hear a fair amount of street noise, but it's not too bad (light sleepers might have trouble).

The kitchen is very small. There is a table (on the left) that would seat two very snugly, but we use it for prep because counter space is limited. The refrigerator is good size, but the electric stove would never accommodate one of Kim's more elaborate meals.

This room I guess we'll call the family room, although it is actually serving mostly as an office right now. Just to the left is the secretary desk where we have the laptop. The daybed in the lower right is one of two guest beds. Notice the door to the living toom (straight ahead) and dining room (left) are both pocket doors. Yes, they still work. The building is from 1971: Mark says it's an "old" apartment. I didn't have the nerve to tell him our Muncie house is 7 years older. You may be able to tell that there are hardwood floors. The sketch on the wall is of the former owner/resident. Some of her many books on art can be seen in the built-in shelves on the left.

The dining room obviously has the table in the foreground (covered with 42 applications from Greek graduate students seeking a Fulbright to study in the U.S.). In addition you can see the second daybed on the left.

The living room obviously centers on the TV. We get a number of channels (20 maybe) including one Swiss (in French) and CNN International. Many of the Greek channels carry some US TV shows. Some are dubbed into Greek but many are subtitled, so we can watch and actually work on our Greek reading (we did that in Slovenia years ago - in Slovene, not Greek).

I didn't include a bathroom picture because I couldn't get back far enough to take in the whole room. It's large enough, though, for a toilet, bidet, sink, washing machine and full-sized tub.

Kim and Martha went to the Friday farmer's market this morning, so I worked at home. When they got home, Martha said Kim had been a big hit in the market. She mispronounced something and a Crete made a rhyme out of it (Martha tell us that's something they do).

I'm a little frustrated with the Internet connection. We're paying a lot (50 Euros) for wireless access and sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.

Martha and Mark took us just a short way down the coast to a place they sometimes go for coffee and a walk along the shore. The forecast had been for nice weather but it clouded up. They were very disappointed, as they said the scenery is far better when the weather is nice (Kim and I thought it was pretty just the same). We sat for a while enjoying the scenery then went for a stroll. Our timing was perfect. Just as we were getting into the car after our walk, the rain started.

We managed to figure out the washing machine (with a little help from Martha) and did our first Greek laundry. I know - pretty exciting, huh? But actually, the point I always make to students about good study abroad programs is that you actually live overseas rather than just visit a country like a tourist (like some others).

Another episode in living overseas was the visit today by the plumber. The toilet kept running so he came over. He also checked a minor leak in the kitchen. The bill was only 20 Euros. In Muncie it's over $60 just to get him to come to the house - whatever time he spends is extra. Martha explained that it's because he's the neighborhood guy and they've used him for years. I still can't imagine an American plumber who may have worked decades for someone changing so little.

Today I felt like I got to begin my "work" as a Fulbrighter. My day of dealing with bureaucracy on Tuesday was work, but it isn't why I came.

This morning Kim and I got our monthly tram passes (each a reasonable 15 Euros, given a single ride costs 1). We headed downtown to Syntagma Square. A correction to my earlier post: I thought Syntagma was "Parliament" given the square's location but it's actually "Constitution Square." We wandered around for awhile before my appointment. We wanted to try some street food. We found vedors with carts selling these all around. There were massive doughnuts, but we opted for the pretzel-looking things on the right. They were covered with sesame seeds and slightly sweet. Other vendors sold chestnuts, sweet corn and other baked goods. There were immigrants selling kids' toys, pirated CDs, knock-off purses, etc. as we'd seen before in Italy.

Kim and I parted company and I went to visit with Professor Sorogas, my contact from the University of Athens. The College of Communication and Media Studies has its offices on the 7th floor of an office building just off Syntagma Square. He showed me around the offices and introduced me to those who were available. Classrooms are in another building a few blocks away. We didn't visit the classroom building. It's still being put back in order after the riots of last month. A lof of vandalism to the building.

It appears I may be doing more teaching than I had realized. Professor Sorogas discussed the possibility of me taking on three different two-credit classes: Mass Media and the Visual Arts; Television and Radio Production, and; Telefilm and Documentary Production. In addition he asked me to go through the course offerings and suggest other classes where I might guest lecture. I met the media law professor and discussed doing a guest appearance in his class. He also suggested I visit the class he teaches in the law school. I was very excited about that. The only setback is I probably need to use PowerPoint so the non-native English speakers can follow. Drat!

Oh, yeah - and the TV Production lab. Professor Sorogas said he has assistants that handle the technical end but we would be involved with students actively producing production. Not sure if it's more like advising a BSU student organization or what. I guess I'll find out.

The actual class schedule has still not been completed - delayed due to the "events" of the past few months. The course offerings are known, just not the dates and times. Just another reminder that not everything can go according to plan, and the best attitude is to be flexible. That's a tough lesson for an OCD/control freak like me, but an important one.

I hate to rub it in to my midwest friends, but the temperature reached 64 here today.

Today was our first opportunity to "recover" from the trip. We arrived Monday after about 21 hours of travel (including driving to the airport, layovers, etc.) and spent most of the day doing things. Yesterday was very busy. Today our agenda was clear.

Good thing, too. Kim woke up in pain about 3 a.m. The airplane seating and all the walking was taking its toll. I got up for a couple of hours, too but returned to bed about 5. It was later than that for Kim. We awoke to the phone about 10 a.m. Professor Sorogas, my contact at the University of Athens, was calling to arrange a meeting. His schedule today was very hectic so we'll meet up tomorrow.

In spite of Kim's soreness she still wanted to get out...a little. We restricted ourselves to walking around our neighborhood. We stopped for a lunch/snack at a bar/cafe sort of place and shared two different items. We stopped in a couple of shops to pick up items the apartment doesn't have. The landlord kindly provided instant coffee but I insisted on buying a regular pot. We wanted a dish drainer (miss the built-in one from Italy), oven mitt, etc.

No tourist pictures yet (maybe this weekend) but I'll provide a culture lesson. We were sitting outside at lunch and here was one of the many random dogs. Dogs and cats are plentiful. As you can see from the picture, though, they don't pay much attention to people and people react the same way. At lunch Monday, Martha explained to us that it exemplified the Greek "live and let live" attitude. Dogs don't bark at people or otherwise bother them and people return the favor. This dog didn't even lift its head as people went by (yes, it was alive - we saw him get up and leave). We even saw little kids walk by and not attempt to pet the dog.

I promise to get around to pictures soon, but we haven't been sightseeing. Today was very busy dealing with lots of moving in issues.

We slept well. The apartment is not palatial but comfortable. At 7 a.m. the church bells up the street began ringing rather loudly.

At just before 9, Matta arrived to help us learn the tram system and walk us to the Fulbright office. The tram's last stop is right in front of Parliament (Syntagma) Square. From there it was a short walk to Fulbright's offices. We didn't even stop to take pictures of the guards or anything.

She was going to wait for us but they advised her it would be a while. We had some paperwork to do, and after we had to go three places. Most of the time we spent with Nicholas, a nice young man about as bilingual as you can imagine. It's nice to have a Fulbright Commission here: in 1995, none existed in Slovenia. Nicholas had so much already prepared for us, and has done quite a bit in advance to grease the wheels, including dealing with 14 Greek Consulates in the US making sure they provide the correct visas for Fulbrighters and their families.

First we had to go to the Tax ministry. There's a lot you can't do without a tax number. We took the subway - Kim even navigated transferring lines - and walked a few blocks to get there. After finding the correct floor we waited in line (several other internationals needed the same) then worked with a very nice man. We presented the letter provided by Fulbright (in Greek, of course), but still he had to call Nicholas for information. Evidently laws had changed and he needed a different bit of info.

Second, we got back on the Metro to find our way to the national bank. We had to cash our check from Fulbright (travel reimbrusement and adjustment) at the bank where Fulbright has its account. Again we waited and produced the letter that Fulbright provided. We had to then take the cash from there and walk to a differnt bank. Greek law requires nonresident aliens to open accounts at a specific bank. After waiting we presented another letter in Greek to the bank and they processed our information, including the tax papers we had gotten earlier.

We stopped back in at Fulbright to pick up two large sacks of 42 Fulbright applications (I'm helping interview candidates in two weeks) and then walked back to the tram to head home. We got back about 4. We called our landlady Martha and she came over about 5. We signed the rental agreement, paid our first month's rent and security deposit (now that we had enough Euros) and then she volunteered to take us to the phone company. It was there that we arranged our Internet using a 3G thumbdrive to connect wirelessly (note: 3G is still not available in Muncie). It took time to set up (of course) so Kim, Martha and I crossed the street and had coffee, then returned.

As we walked back to the apt. we stopped in a grocery store and picked up a few items. We haven't done serious grocery shopping yet but we were hungry (hadn't eaten all day) and just wanted to get stuff we could go back and eat.

We're now back online! I may even get on Facebook again one of these days.

I'll finish with local news. Farmers are striking because of the low price of food. They have pelted police with all sorts of produce. Here's a picture from the news that my friend Tim "modified" a little. Look carefully.

Just a quick update to let everyone know we've arrived safe and sound.

Nicole drove us to the airport Sunday and things went about as smoothly as they can. Flight to Philly, Frankfurt and Athens all departed and landed on time. My headphones didn't work and I was too cheap to buy another pair on the overseas flight, but that didn't matter. Kim's worked fine (she watched a couple of movies) and I slept most of the time. Thankfully the overseas flight wasn't crowded so we were able to spread out.

When we arrived we were met by Matta - the friend who arranged the apartment for us. She drove us to the apartment where we met Martha, the landlady. She's lived in Greece 25 years but originally from the US. Then we all went a couple of blocks over to the sea and met Martha's husband for a meal. The 5 of us sat at at an outdoor table about 20 yards from the water. We had a wonderful mix of seafood: fried smelt, grilled octopus, fried calamari, another small fish I didn't know, pureed fava with onions, an eggplant salad and a plate of greens. They're doing us favors picking us up, renting us the apt., etc., and they picked up the tab. My first impression of Greek people is they are very generous.

Tomorrow morning we head to the Fulbright office downtown. Matta has volunteered to go with us the first time to show us how it's done. We're very fortunate.

My friend, colleague and racquetball buddy Tim Underhill took some photos. I'm posting this one not to show me at work but rather to show the spectacular window in my office. Yes, that's a Greek flag hanging in the window.

Kim and I leave for Greece one week from today.

Once we get there, it will probably be a few days before I blog. We have to arrange for Internet access in our apartment, and it will likely take a few days.

Our address is Achilleos 13-15 Palaio Faliro, 17562, Greece. If you're a Google Earth user, I strongly encourage you to enter the address. Not only will you be able to see we're just a couple of blocks from the shore but you'll be able to click on some photos, including one of the electric tram that stops just outside the apartment.

The apartment is on the 7th floor (yes, there's an elevator). If you'd like to call, the number is 30-210-981-8897. If you're planning to stay with us, call or e-mail with your reservations. Kim and I have decided that guests older than us can have our bedroom but younger guests get the sofa.

We've been very fortunate. Martin and Mary Catherine's friend Matta found the apartment for us and will pick us up at the airport. The landlords both speak English (she's a former American) and live nearby.

We're home. Now I need to update what happened once we left Macerata.

Thursday morning (the 11th), Filiberto drove us to the train station in Civitanova, about 30 minutes away. We could have taken the train from Macerata, but with 2 suitcases and 3 carry-ons, he wanted to make it easier for us (no need to transfer trains). We took the 9:30 a.m. train and arrived in Venice (Mestre) at about 2:30 p.m. The walk to the hotel was not far but I had to make several stops because of the bags. Once we dropped our luggage off at the hotel and headed back to the train station to head into
Venice, it seemed like the train station had gotten closer to the hotel :)

We were able to spend a few hours in Venice just walking around. Despite having been there before we still managed to see things we hadn't before, such as a visit to the Church of San Geremia where the remains of Saint Lucy are kept. We also visited both the old and new ghetto. Lighrt rain - no pictures.

We returned to our hotel (we were very happy with it) to meet up with Martin and Mary Catherine, who had driven down from France that day. We went out for a late dinner then prepared for the next day.

On Friday, we drove to Slovenia. Martin was pretty tired of driving highways, having spent much of the previous day in bumper-to-bumper traffic, so the three of them "conspired" to take back roads to our hotel in Slovenia. We went on some mountain roads that I would NOT recommend. What Michelin said should take 3 hours to reach took us 5. But, we were in no rush, and we did see some beautiful country, but I sure was nervous for much of the ride. Kim took the video - despite Martin's excellent and safe driving, I was holding on.

We arrived at our hotel about 2 p.m. but the desk wasn't staffed until 3, so we decided to get something to eat. Found a local gostilna (restaurant) and had authentic local fare. Slovenia is a beautiful country that we fell in love with when I did my 1995 Fulbright and have returned to multiple times since. I was excited to show it to Martin and Mary Catherine. The structure to the left is a hay rack, used for drying. Of course it's not hay season, so the slats were empty.

As I have mentioned so many other times, pictures just won't give you a good idea of the place. You really have to see it.

On Saturday we drove down to Ljubljana, the capital, about an hour from our hotel. It was a glorious morning. The sun came out and the place was crawling with tourists. I heard lots of English speakers, but Italian, German, Spanish an Asian language (sorry - I can't tell Mandarin from Korean or Japanese) and an Eastern European language (Czech or Romainian, probably).

Ljubljana has done something great recently. They turned several blocks around the center of town into a pedestrian area - no cars. It was fabulous to just walk around.

After sightseeing there was business to attend to. Kim and I needed to get back to Mestre on Monday to catch a train to Milan to get our plane on Tuesday. At the train station I had a big shock. Only one train per day to Mestre - leaving at 2:22 a.m. Looked into renting a car from Ljubljana and leaving it at the Milan airport - that would incur a 350 Euro drop fee (over $500). There was a bus that left Ljubljana at 8:15 a.m.,

and Martin told us he wouldn't mind taking us even at that early hour, so we bought two tickets.

One very important agenda item for the day was a trip to Kamnik, about 30 minutes north of Ljubljana, to visit two friends, both former students from my Fulbright.

Helena just bought a brand new flat and was very active in designing a lot of the options, such as the layout of the kitchen. In addition to having been my student in 1995, Helena and her sister Andreja came to stay with us for three weeks when we lived back in Ames, then Helena made another solo visit to Muncie for a couple of weeks (she jokingly asked when we were moving so she could see another part of the US). In addition, it is Helena's grandfather's farmhouse where we have been hosted on two previous visits. Her family lives in Ilirska Bistrica, about an hour south of Ljubljana. Since Helena works in Lju, the

commute was very tough on her. She would have bought in Lju, but the porices are ridiculous. Every multinational corporation that wants a presence in Slovenia buys there and have driven the rates through the roof. So Helena got a brand new place in Kamnik. It's very nice - two bedrooms, a large balcony and underground parking. As you can see from the photo, she prepared a meal for us. She's quite a cook. Kim continued to pressure Helena with personal questions about her love life, but she expertly side-stepped them.

After our visit with Helena, we went just a short distance in Kamnik to visit Dragana and her daughter Tamara. Dragana's husband Ilija happened to be in the US at a conference so we didn't get to see him, but we had spent several days with them at the end of January when they drove down to visit us in Macerata. Dragana had been out that very day looking at a pre-fab home that had been built nearby. They're thinking about building a "duplex" sort of home - not uncommon in Italy or Slovenia where the price of land is so high. You can put two families on less land but still have something that is a house rather than a flat.

We drove back to Bohinj and looked for a place to eat. The restaurant associated with our hotel (in the neighboring village) was entirely reserved for a party. We drove around a little bit, then almost by accident came upon a place that we all thought was great. It was filled with locals, although during season the tourists must overrun it (the menu, as many in Slovenia, was in 4 languages). The singing you hear on the video below is from the people in the back room who had obviously been there for a while.

Our hotel was actually apartments located in Triglav National Park. We began our day Sunday by exploring the area around us. Kim and Mary Catherine were quite taken by this part of the woods. Again, the picture doesn't do it justice, but the combination of the leafless trees, white rocks and green moss growing on them almost looked like a surrealist painting.

As you might imagine, being in the mountains there are plenty of quick-moving waters, in the form of rivers, brooks, creeks, waterfalls - you name it. Of course the lake itself is fed by the mountain runoff.

The lake is fantastic. It's very clean and while there are lots of rentals nearby (ours was about 500 meters from the lake), none are actually ON the lake, keeping it rather natural. Kim shot this video to show the waterline is not discernable because it's so clean.

Kim took this picture after our visit to the lake. Martin was rather proud of his Renault Kangoo - rather large by European car standards. Fortunate, too, since Kim and I had all our luggage, in addition to the four of us.

We then went to Skofia Loka, between Bohinj and Ljubljana and visited a great museum there, walked around town and had another great, local meal.

I've been at this for hours, so no more pictures. I just want to tell the story of getting home.

Monday morning we left Bohinj at 6:15 to make our 8:15 bus in Lju. I knew that with traffic it would take more than an hour, so I wanted to be on the safe side. It's a good thing I did. We made it to the bus just in time. I was so nervous (are you surprised?) as it got closer and closer to the time. Martin thought we'd have time to sit and have coffee but we jumped out, grabbed our bags and waved. I was so relieved. I don't know what we would have done had we missed the bus (probably paid the $500 for a car).

The bus to Mestre felt almost middle-eastern. The music played on the radio sounded that way, and a number of the passengers were neither Slovene nor Italian - probably Albanian or Romanian. We arrived at Mestre at 11 a.m.

The next train to Milan (11:30) had no reserved seating, so we opted for the 12:03 (less hassle with luggage that way). That gave us time to eat. We had our first American fast food in 100 days (McDonald's) at the train station. I don't feel guilty. It was convenient.

Our train got into downtown Milan at 3 p.m. We then took a shuttle bus that got us to the airport at 4 p.m. The driver honked at every car that got in the lane in front of us. How dare they? He was on a mission, and drove like it.

Our choice was to kill 2 hours at the airport for our free hotel shuttle or spend approximately $30 on a cab. Guess which I chose. It wasn't too hard to kill time. Our shuttle driver got us to the hotel quickly and we never left the room. Showered, Kim reorgnaized the bags and we watched satellite TV.

The next morning we ate breakfast, shuttled back to the airport, then had fabulously uneventful travel from then on. Our Milan - Philly flight was less than half full so we could spread out. We did have to get our bags and go through customs, but that went smoothly and we had time. Philly to Chicago was packed but on time. In Chicago we had time to grab a sandwich before our Chicago-Indy flight. Small plane (70 seater) with every seat filled, but we were only in the air 30 minutes. From the time we left Bohinj, it was 46 hours to get home.

Bye, Bye Macerata.

I can't sleep so I thought I'd just post a brief message.
As we get ready to leave I get nostalgic. After two trips here, each for several months, it definitely has a feeling of home. No, it doesn't replace my US home, but there is no doubt that each time we went on an excursion or visited some place, it felt like we were coming home each time we returned.

All this last week I've been thinking "this is the last Friday in Macerata....this is the last Saturday..." Of course it's possible we'll return, but it is also possible we may not. Only God knows, and he's not telling.
The agenda for the remainder of our stay is this: Filiberto will take us to the train station in Civitanova in a couple of hours. That will save us the trouble of trying to change trains with our luggage, as we will be able to take the train all the way to Venice - Mestre. We spend one night there. Kim wants to run into Venice, even if just briefly, to see it again. She's been before, but not this trip, and it's high on her list of favorites.

We will meet up with our friends Martin and Mary Catherine there. The next day (Friday), it's off to Slovenia for 3 days. We want to show our friends a little bit of the country and see a few old friends. I know it won't be enough time but it's better than nothing. Not sure what, if any, posts I'll have between now and our return to Indiana on the 15th.

Yesterday, Kim and I spent time visiting the Sibillini Mountains and the Sibillini National Park with Filiberto. I was concerned about taking him away for the day, but he said he needed a day to clear his head from all the stress of the end of the term, planning a conference, etc. (I think he just said that so I wouldn't feel guilty). Filiberto picked us up at 8:30 and we didn't get back home until after 5. To be completely accurate the entire day was not within the confines of the park but rather we weaved in and out as we made our way around. Filiberto drove just fine, but as you might imagine some of the roads were not exactly four-lave highways. Fortunately for most of the day we encountered no oncoming traffic.

The day was overcast but we weren't rained on all morning. Unfortunately, photos won't do it justice (they never do). First stop was the village of Pian di Pieca. From there we made our way to Pian di Ragnolo where there are lots of cross country ski trails. From there we drove to Acquacanina then on to the "big city" (compared to the villages we had been) of Bolognola. Wikipedia says it has 152 residents, but in fact most of these places have a number of vacation homes that people use mostly in winter for skiing and in summer for hiking. Of course there are weekend visitors, too, but the fact that we visited on a weekday in the spring meant we didn't have any crowds. We stopped for coffee at a lodge in Pintura di Bolognola where it was just us and one employee. As a matter of fact Filiberto explained that our coffee probably wasn't the greatest because a machine has to be used a little bit before it produces the best stuff.

What came next was rather surprising. We visited the Sanctuary of Macereto, a 16th Century basilica virtually in the middle of nowhere. A church would have been something, but this place had more than just the church. The old portico around two sides still showed where pilgrims would have spent the night. What fascinated me most was that there was nothing around this place, and here it was.


After our visit we went down to the town of Visso. This was a real town, with shops and restaurants and everything. It had started to rain lightly so our walk around town was somewhat restricted, although Kim made sure to visit at least the stone bridge she saw. As this website mentions, what you immediately notice is the presence of water - two very fast rivers run through town, and there's a trout hatchery. At lunch we actually bumped into someone we knew. A man who had done the wine tasting at a slow food event we had attended back in February came over to say hello. He works at a factory in Visso that produces frozen pizzas.














On the way back we went through the villages of Ussita, Valnerina, Cesi and Seravalle di Chienti, which was pretty much the epicenter of the 1997 earthquake that devastated a number of places from Assisi to Macerata. If you clicked on all the links you noticed that our travels took us out of the Marche and into Umbria, too.

We kept track of all the animals. We saw all sorts of birds (including hawks), Kim saw a deer, cattle, goats and we drove through this flock being herded down the road by a shepherd.

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This is Kim's artistic shot to show the mountain wildflowers and the mountains.



One of the rivers in Visso


We finished the day with Angelica and Filiberto over for dinner. Kim has been wanting to have them over, but they have been so busy.

The program in Macerata offers students an option of participating in "Tandem" - an opportunity to be paired with an Italian student for conversation. Angelica coordinates the program. Kim told her that if there were any Italians who did not have a Tandem partner, Kim would be happy to participate. Angelica paired Kim with Umberto, a retired middle school geography teacher. They would meet 2.5 hours once or twice a week for conversation - part English, part Italian. By coincidence, I had met Umberto when we were here in 2002. One of my student groups produced a video for the local hiking club, in which he is very active.
Yesterday we were all invited to his mother's house for lunch. The top picture shows Umberto. In the second photo, the white-haired woman is Umberto's mother, and the woman standing behind her is Svitlana (Lucia in Italian), the Russian cook. The meal was quite elaborate: 5 different wines (I had only 3), a mixed appetizer plate, a local version of lasagna, chicken cacciatore, tiramisu and coffee. I asked Svitlana if there was much of a Russian community here in the Marche and she said there was.
The apartment was just 5 minutes away by car but it felt much more suburban - a lot of light in the apartment and a nice balcony.

Kim and I walked a little bit. She wanted to see the "old laundry" outside the walls. One hundred years ago, this is where people brought their clothes do do the wash. Kim works the camera as I provide the commentary.

Just a couple of more days in Macerata. Back in the States a week from today. There certainly isn't enough time to do all the things I'd like to do but we've done so much that I will not complain.

Megan's mother JoEllen visited Megan, Anthony and Luca and created an online photo gallery of pictures. For those of you who don't do Facebook, you can see her Kodak gallery here.

An addition to yesterday's blog - in talking with Filiberto, I found out the Macerata women's softball team we were watching yesterday has won the national championship about 5 times in the last decade, and the European title a couple of times.

Our beautiful daughter Nicole turns 19 today. Happy Birthday, Nicole. We're really sorry we can't be there to celebrate it with you.

I won't write a book, but let me tell you just three things I like about my daughter (I'll resist calling her "my baby" because I know she reads this). First and foremost, she has a strong will (she must get that from her mother). While this has sometimes caused her trouble, overall I think it is a very positive trait. I worry about young people who get pushed around by their peers, and I don't think Nicole has that problem.

Second is her creativity, which is exhibited in so many ways. How many people do you know who wrote a complete theatrical adaptation of a book when they were in 8th grade? She naturally gravitates to all kinds of creative expression: theatre, music, poetry. My favorite story (we tell it often) is the fact that Kim had difficulty punishing Nicole when she was very young. Time outs didn't work because when Nicole went to her room, she simply played and didn't even realize she was being punished. A psychologist friend suggested making her have time out in the bathroom. When Kim tried that, Nicole simply made hand puppets out of toilet paper.

Third is the fact that Nicole is an extremely caring person. She cares about everyone and everything. I think her love for animals may stem from the fact that she wants to care for them. When she has a friend who is hurting, Nicole is super-stressed to the point of illness. She is a "sucker" for any cause - and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Anyone who needs help with anything can probably get Nicole involved, whether it's raising money or praying or spending a day helping on some project. If Nicole were given wishes, she wouldn't wish for money. Her wishes would all be to "fix things" that she sees wrong.

It's been difficult to be away from Nicole these three months. When we lived in Macerata in 2002 she was here with us, and a lot of times as we walk past places, we will say, "remember when Nicole..." We miss her and I'm pretty sure she misses us, too.

The Fiat Cinquecento (500) was the Italian version of the people's car for a long time. Back in the 1970s my cousin had one and, believe it or not, we put 4 people in it. It had a vinyl roll-top for the front half of the hood making it semi-convertible. Fiat stopped making it for a while, then reintroduced a new version - still small by American standards, but nothing like the old one that you still see around on Italian streets. I would absolutely love to have one of the vintage models to drive around Muncie.
There have been a lot of tears shed around the streets of Macerata in the last couple of days.
Yesterday (Saturday) was the official end of the program. We concluded with a farewell dinner at my favorite mom-and-pop restaurant (multiple pictures on this blog earlier) and many students cried most of the time, especially as we presented gifts to the director, his wife and the program assistant. Most of the students chipped in.

Some of the students who weren't leaving right away asked Filiberto and me if we could join them for a beer. Surprisingly about half the students in the program were still around last night. More tears as that group broke up. This morning we met a couple of the Ball State students leaving today for coffee. Again, a little moisture.

A great thing about teaching overseas is seeing the students grow. When they arrived on Jan. 9 many were overwhelmed and a few cried because they were homesick. After three months here, they cry because they don't want to leave.

I also want to recount that the students told me they learned here, unlike some other study abroad programs. For the uninitiated, some programs have reputations as places where students go and get drunk for the entire semester. One of the students told me that her friend studying in another program (that will remain nameless) never had to study, do homework or even attend classes (attendance was never taken). There is a controversy in higher education right now about the quality of study abroad programs. Based on what I was told, I can understand why. While the Macerata program has very high academic standards, not all programs do.

Kim and I will be hanging around Macerata until Thursday. We were going to go to my uncle's condo in Cesenatico, but none of my relatives will be there (they all live in Bologna and go there just for summer/weekends). Filiberto would like us to hang around here so we can do a few things, some social but some work-related, including helping him learn to blog. So now the plan is to leave here Thursday morning to head north. A night in Venice, then off to Slovenia.

We happened on a surprise event today. As we walked around town we came across a women's softball game. I don't know why I would be surprised that the game was so similar to that in the US. Not just the rules of the game - I expected that - but the other stuff like the chatter by the players, the overweight men coaching and even the between-inning warm-up.

I mentioned that my birthday was last Sunday, and that Filiberto had ordered spumante for after dinner Saturday night in Rome. Apparently that was not enough celebration. Monday after our weekly group meeting, Angelica had a cake and spumante waiting (thanks to BSU student Jackie for the pictures).
There's no way to adequately thank
them for all they do. Each semester a new American professor arrives and they have to do everything it takes to accommodate them. I think we're fairly "low maintenance" compared to some, yet we still interrupt their lives. For Angelica, this is only a part-time job (her first job is teaching at the university) but she's just as attentive as if it were her only job. This is probably the reason that almost everyone who has taught here has had glowing reports about the town the program and the people. Having experienced another consortium's program, I can tell you that it's not like this everywhere.

Twelve days until we return to the US. We leave Macerata next week. We're having the same pre-departure feelings as always, whether from the US or Italy. We hate to leave and we can't wait to go, both at the same time. Of course there's a grandson we haven't met yet back in the US and I've been away from my daughter for three months, but who knows when (if) we'll get back to this place. All the walking has been tough. Kim's fibro means she's almost always in pain, although she rarely lets anyone know. All the walking in Rome even got to me. My psoriasis caused a small crack in the arch of a foot - just enough to make it painful to take a step. I hobbled most of Sunday.

The news this week reported how inflation in March (3.3 %) was the highest it has been since 1996. Specifically, energy prices are up 9.8 %, food 5.5 % and transport costs 5.8 %. The increased value of the Euro compared to the dollar is a good thing for Italians who want to visit the US, but it's hurting tourism from the US to Italy, and it's harder to sell Italian products to the US. While in Rome it seemed to me there were a lot of Spanish tourists. Filiberto said that Spain is doing well economically.

My colleagues in the BSU Digital Policy Institute might be interested in this article that describes the digital divide in Italy. It's getting better but still exists. Surprisingly it's not necessarily the poorest areas that lack broadband.

I have noticed a marked increase in convenience foods. I mentioned earlier that the grocery stores seem to have more frozen "ready-to-serve" meals. Now comes this story that one of Italy's quality coffee producers is partnering with Coke to release a canned drink.

Rome: Day 3
March 30 is my birthday. The night before at the restaurant, Filiberto got a bottle of spumante after dinner, I was given a piece of cake with a candle, and the students sang happy birthday. The actual day (Sunday) there wasn't much of an opportunity to celebrate. We were out of the hotel by 9, bags packed and stored, for our last day in Rome. We hopped a bus for the Pantheon (Kim stayed behind waiting for the two young ladies who didn't wake up in time, and caught up with us). Like St. Peter's, the most amazing thing about this place is size. How did they build it? Of course most people know it for the massive hole in the ceiling, which allows in rain, sunlight, pigeons...
Most of Sunday was a "free day" for the students, so after 10:30 a.m. the formal tour was over, but Filiberto was going to continue walking and talking for those interested until 1 p.m. At 10:30 we had Filiberto, 24 students, 5 guests (family/friends), Kim and me. At 10:31 it was Filiberto, 3 students, 3 guests, Kim and me. At 11:30, Filiberto, 1 student, Kim and me. The students had things they wanted to see and do (no time on the schedule is provided for shopping) so I can't fault them (except for the ones who were scheduling a Burger King excursion). BUT, they missed out on visiting all sorts of interesting sites including Piazza Navona (unfortunately the Bernini fountain was under restoration), St. Agnes in Agony (we visited the church, not the lady), Campo dei Fiori, the Mouth of Truth and its church Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Filiberto left Kim, the lone remaining student and me at 1 p.m. at the Campidoglio Museum - free during Culture Week.
The big statue of Marcus Aurelius on the left is the original - a copy is in the square outside the museum. The scenery shots on the left are taken from the very nice cafe where we stopped for a brief sit-down (after about 4 hours on our feet). The museum had more than we could possibly see, so we decided to focus on some of the more famous works. In previous trips to Rome I've been in the piazza outside (in addition to the museum, the hill also has city hall, and the square was "remodeled" by Michelangelo back in the 16th century). That's probably what the majority of tourists do is simply visit the exterior, sit in the piazza and look out. This time we went in.

The time changed in Europe Saturday night/Sunday morning, so we were probably a little more tired than usual Sunday. Of course the AHA accountant wanted to meet with Filiberto after Saturday night's dinner - kept him
out even later. The next morning as he was leading the group on a tour, she slept in. Not sure whether that's an indication of being clueless or inconsiderate or both. That is going into my final report that must provide to AHA.

The Fortune Teller is a well-known work by Caravaggio, and the museum has several works by him.




















The she-wolf is the symbol of Rome. The wolf was sculpted (bronze) before Christ, but the little figures of twins Romulus and Remus (who legend says were suckled by a she-wolf) were added later.









A word about begging. Even in a small town like Macerata we have people in "strategic" locations, such as in the Wednesday market, or in front of large churches before and after mass. Some have children or pets, some kneel with their hands out and others are more street performers than beggars. In Florence beggars are everywhere, and some (especially in front of the cathedral) are in-your-face. In Rome it's less. I gave this guy a Euro for the privilege of taking his picture (I think it's wrong for tourists to photograph without contributing). He was playing on the path to San Pietro in Vincoli.

The church is off the beaten path. This is my fourth time in Rome (including 10 days in 2005) and the first time I've been to the church. There are two main attractions at SP in V. Art lovers are drawn to the church because of the statue of Moses sculpted by Michelangelo.








Religious pilgrims are drawn to the church because it holds the remains of what are believed to be the chains used when Peter was incarcerated in the Roman Forum.


We met back at the hotel to get our bags at 7 p.m., caught a train part of the way back to Macerata, then had our chartered bus the rest of the way. Going through the mountains we had to make a stop for one of the students who got sick. I was sorry for her and just glad it wasn't me.