It's a lazy Sunday, so I've taken this opportunity to spend some time in the office updating pictures on my office computer. Still no Mac power cord (don't get me started about Macs).


Here are a couple of pictures from the weekly Market Day. Macerata's is Wednesday. Most towns have a day each week when traveling merchants ca set up their wares in designated areas in the city streets and piazzas. 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each week, Macerata has all kinds of merchants selling everything from produce to clothing to kitchen items - oh yeah, and shoes. This area is pretty big into shoe manufacturing. You have to be sure that what you buy, though, is locally produced and not imported from somewhere with less emphasis on quality (very big here).



This picture is to illustrate trash collection. Back in 2002 when we were here there were dumpsters, smaller than in the US but that operated the same. Citizens were expected to take their trash there. Today, instead the dumpsters have been removed from the city center because they don't fit the historic image and they crowd already crowded small areas. Dumpsters still exist outside the walls, but inside residents are to put trash bags outside their doors, where small garbage trucks come by to collect them.

These next two pictures are taken from the top of the town's clock tower. On Friday, part of our Macerata tour was to climb the tower to see the town and its surroundings from above. Note to those visiting: the clock tower is not regularly open to tourists. It's supposed to have "regular" hours a couple of times a week, but I haven't seen it. Filiberto, however,manages to get them to open for us (for a fee, of course) and we make our way to the top. I will be the first to admit I don't have any trouble going up all the steps, but walking out to the edge - not very likely. I stayed close to the bells. Here's a picture of Audrey from Ball State standing closer to the edge than I would. In the foreground is Amanda, one of the students from Oregon. Yes, those are mountains in the distance. Unfortunately, even though you see the sun it was still a little too hazy to see the mountains clearly. I guess that's the price we pay for the inordinately warm weather we've had - up in the 40s or 50s just about every day.

Here's the Bible I mentioned in an earlier post. It was produced in the 12th Century. Obviously it was hand-lettered and illustrated by Monks. What most surprised me is that they would handle it. It was explained to me that of course they are very gentle with it, and of course they wouldn't let everyone touch it, but that there was not an issue with the librarian handling the book, tuning pages and showing it to us.
The city library is actually undergoing major restoration work right now. We walked upstairs past much of the construction to an area that looks out over the town. This picture illustrates the view of a piazza below. From the left edge of this picture, our apartment and the AHA complex of classrooms and offices is less than 50 yards to the left. Under the last archway on the left of the portico is a bar that treats out students very well.
Note: A bar and cafe are nearly indistinguishable. Both serve coffee, alcohol and often small sandwiches.

I included this video clip to show not the game, but the volleyball rowdies. As mentioned in an earlier post, Macerata's men's team was national champion a couple of years ago, The

rowdies use drums, bullhorns and really do a good job of making themselves known.

Last night there was a very special dinner in Corridonia, about 15-20 minutes away. It was the 3rd Annual Pork Dinner held by the Slow Food Group of Corridonia. For those of you unfamiliar with Slow Food, as the title implies it a sort of antithesis of fast food. More information can be found here. The restaurant is the headquarters of the Slow Food movement in this area. This is their site, including a link to the menu. The special dinner made the paper. Check out (my name appears near the end). For those of you who don't read Italian, let it suffice to say that the meal contained multiple appetizers, a pasta and a polenta, a main course with side dish and dessert with fruit.

Filiberto and Angelica picked us up and drove us. The appointed time was 9:15 p.m. There was enough food to choke a horse. We waded through course after course, with accompanying wine. There were brief explanations by the proprietor before and during courses. I was asked to stand and explain what we Americans were up to here. We sat at the same table as the Chamber of Commerce president, and he, too, was asked to say a few words, particularly about the promotion of the region's foods. It was after 1 a.m. by the time Filiberto dropped us back off at our apartment.

This morning, we were off to Civitanova, the nearest town on the Adriatic and only a 25 minute train ride away. It was an optional excursion for the students; all but one participated. We met at the train station at 9:20. When we arrived in Civitanova, a friend of Filiberto's gave us a tour of the fish market: not where you and I buy fish, but where the wholesalers/retailers buy it from the fishermen. If you've ever been to a livestock auction, it looks a lot like that. Instead of parading livestock in front of bidders, there are conveyor belts that carry crates of fish. It's a Dutch Auction, meaning a high price is set and the price drops until someone bids. That's the high bid - no need to keep going. Keeps everything moving along. We didn't get to actually see it in action because the market starts at 4 a.m. and they were done before we got there. But, some students and I will go some morning so we can shoot video.

We had some free time to wander (Saturday is street market day in Civitanova) before lunch. Filiberto arranged a special seafood meal and a restaurant (we could see the Adriatic from out table). For 10 Euros, we got a 25 Euro meal with squid, cuttle fish, mussels, clams, shrimp, pasta, gnocchi and of course wine and water. Even the students who weren't really seafood eaters appreciated it.

This was quite a food weekend. I don't think we're likely to repeat it for quite some time.

While things in Italy are good, Thursday was not our best day so far.

I left for work (Just across a small courtyard from the apartment is the AHA classrooms/offices). I let myself in because they don't open until noon. I went to my office and started to work. Back at the apartment, Kim tried booting up the ThinkPad we'd be lent, and it got in some kind of "loop" and just kept booting and booting: she couldn't do a think. She needed to get into her recipes to prepare a dinner for four students we were having over. So, she tried calling the office. I don't have a phone in my office, and there was no one in the main office. So, she walked over. Of course the door was locked, she couldn't get in. My office is way in the back, so even banging on the door, I couldn't hear her. She remembered that I have a cell phone (new system - AHA provided, I pay for any calling time) and went back to call it. BUT, she couldn't get back into the apartment. Evidently the door locking mechanism was not quite right, so you couldn't get a key in the lock. So, she went down the block to buy a phone card to use the pay phone (no coins accepted). Finally, she called me. I went over to the apt. with her and couldn't unlock it either. Fortunately the program director arrived. He tried, but no success. Filiberto then called a locksmith who was extremely busy and wouldn't be able to come for some time. Upon the suggestion of his wife, Filiberto tried a technique using a combination of sliding a sheet of plastic in the door jamb, shaking the door and turning the key. It worked. We got in, but now we're scared every time we go out.

Later in the day, Kim was running to the grocery to get a few things for the dinner. When she got to the grocery store she knew she didn't have enough cash, so she asked if they accept credit cards. When she reached for hers, she couldn't find it. She put away everything she had gotten off the shelves and frantically started searching for her card. She called me again, nearly in tears. I went home to help look for it, and was about to call the store where she used it last Saturday, when she found it. So two major bad things, fortunately had not-so-awful results (except Kim had to go back to the store and repeat her shopping).

Class Thursday: 14 students. Maybe the final count, maybe not. Students have until Wednesday to drop/add.There were a number of students a little nervous, but I hoped I calmed them that they would be able to do it if they would just make the time commitment. 13 of the 15 textbooks we ordered from Amazon UK arrived. Two are sill coming. Sidebar: AHA Portland had never ordered my textbooks, so when I got here Filiberto took care of everything. Just another example of why this guy is so perfect for the job. No complaints - he just took care of it.

The dinner: It's been a tradition here that the visiting professor has students over. In one or two cases they just buy a bunch of pizzas and some wine. In other cases they cook. In our case, as last time, we have the students over in groups of 4 at a time, one dinner per week. Last night we had 4 students over. Kim made stuffed mushrooms for appetizer, a farfalle pasta with feta, sun dried tomatoes, prunes and grilled chicken, salad and a kind of brownie/cake for dessert (I don't know what I'd do here without Kim). The young ladies very kindly brought some lemon bars they had made. It was a nice dinner and after, we played 6-handed Euchre (1 student was from Indiana, 3 from Michigan).

Today as the day for the excursion of Macerata. They've been here 10 days, but they still haven't seen the kinds of things Filiberto was able to show them today. He gets access to things no one else does. The Sferisterio, the outdoor opera theatre, is closed (it's not season) but we toured it. The town's bell tower (the prominent mark of Macerata's skyline) I never see open, but he got us in to go to the top (pretty scary up there). We visited the city library, under restoration, and saw some ancient books, including a bible from the 12th century (obviously hand done). NOT under glass, but handled by Filiberto and the library director.

OK, with the laptop issues I'm in the office using the computer. I need to get home (it's almost 7 p.m. here) and get ready for a big event. You'll have to wait for the next post to find out about it.

I am afraid it is going to be text only for a while.

Last night, just as I was finishing yesterday's entry, the power cord died. I have borrowed a Mac Book Pro from Rodger Smith, courtesy of CMD or IDEE or DEOP or WXYZ or whatever the acronym is. Anyway, they let me bring a nice laptop with Final Cut Pro so we could edit the class project. After 8 days, the power cord crapped out. I went online and found Mac USA sells it for $79. Mac Italia sells it for 89 Euros, or about $125. Unfortunately trying to order it from the US, the shipping and import tax would jack it up significantly, not to mention the delay in time. So, Filiberto generously lent me his OLD IBM ThinkPad. It's awfully convenient to have in the apt., and I really appreciate it, but I would be back in the US before a 10 second video clip would upload. In addition I am not quite sure where some of the keys can be found. I'm cutting and pasting from a webpage to inset the "at" symbol.

Mac Users - I have a question for you: why the heck do you put up with it? When I looked on the Apple website, the power adapters had a 1 1/2 stars out of a possible 5. People were extremely critical saying they melted or burned up, and Mac was unresponsive. One guy said he replaced 4 or 5. And yet, because they are the exclusive licensee of their product, they keep anybody else from manufacturing parts or accessories. You brainwashed Mac users who claim the product is better: Beta was superior to VHS, too, but it died because Sony wouldn't license anyone else. Oh well, what do I know? I know I wouldn't pay double for a Mac and have only one choice of where to buy the product, that's what I know. But, as Dennis Miller used to say, I could be wrong.

In any event, today was busy. Kim and I hit the market in the Macerata streets. Bought produce. At one of the stands where we stopped, one of the guys asked me if we had been here "a couple of years" ago. I told him it was 2002. He went into his truck and pulled from his visor a Ball State lapel pin I had given him 5 1/2 years ago. I was amazed. Looked at a bunch of other stuff but didn't buy anything (Kim didn't bring a working watch). Grabbed a slice of pizza and then I headed for the office. Copied some stuff for class, which is now down from 17 to 13. I guess I did intimidate some. Actually, the 4 guys who dropped are all from Rider U and do everything together. I assume if one dropped, the others had to. I took a break to meet up for coffee with a prof here who teaches Philosophy of Language. She looks in her early 30s, has very good English, and even spent time in Iowa City, my PhD alma mater. It was a nice chat, and she will try to connect me with some other professors, especially more closely related to my subject area.

DUHH...... Just figured out how to switch the keyboard from Italian to North American!

Tonight, Kim, Jackie (one of the Ball State students) and I walked down the hill to a Macerata men's volleyball game. Macerata Lube (pronounced LOO-bay) was the national championship team in 2006. They won in 3 straight tonight, but between the two teams there must've been about 40 serve errors. There were probably about 3,000 in attendance in an arena that seats about 4,000 on three sides. I can't wait to upload video - the rowdies were amazing. They had drums and bullhorns and were wonderfully obnoxious. The Nest at BSU could learn a lot from these guys.

The game was great fun; the walk down the hill was OK. The walk back up, however, was difficult. We almost called for a cab, but it was only 10 p.m. when we got out, and we knew it didn't matter if it took a while, so we just went ahead and did it (no, we weren't wearing Nikes).

One final thing before I turn in for the night: there are many more immigrants/foreigners here now than there were in 2002. Italy has become a haven for people from eastern Europe and northern Africa. The country would be experiencing zero population growth were it not for the number of immigrants. It would be an interesting study for a sociologist, and I imagine it's being studied quite a bit. I'm too tired to explore the similarities/differences between Italy 2007 and USA 1897, or to consider the future impact on Italian culture, economy or cuisine - all of which we know were influenced in the past by the influx of others.

Basta

First things first: a correction. I reported previously that Kim and Angelica rode together to the mall. I need to apologize to Kim, who skillfully asked at the bus station, in Italian, for the correct bus, the correct time, and the correct stop. It was not until she arrived at the mall that she ran into Angelica. She got there completely on her own devices, using only Italian, and I did not give her her due. My sincerest apologies.

Today was my first day teaching class since mid-December. I really did miss it, and was thrilled to be "back in the saddle." Admittedly, the saddle is made of Italian leather and is thousands of miles away, but nonetheless... I showed the first episode of "Jamie Oliver's Italy" (a Travel Channel show that ran a couple of years ago) and plan to show more. From 10 pre-registered, 17 showed up for today's class. They must've heard it was easy (or maybe, because it's about food). After I told them the expectations, we'll see how many show on Thursday.













Internet is extremely important to the students, and so much has happened since I was here in 2002. Back then, students had to go to the University computer center to get online. Now, AHA has it available for them in a lab open 7 hours daily. On the left is the wireless lab, where students bring their own laptops (amazing how many travel with them). On the right is the lab with 8 PCs they can use. Many of them blog, facebook their latest pictures and Skype with their friends and family back home. Changes have been dramatic in just last last few years.

Today was Jenny's 21st birthday, so all the students went out to a local Chinese restaurant (go figure). I should say all but one. Evan, who is doing a home stay, is with his family. I think he really just wanted an excuse to stay home and watch the Juventus soccer game on TV (Juve won, 5-3). I'm including a link to Evan's blog in the sidebar of links on the right, if you want his take on things.

I panned the students at Jenny's celebratory dinner. They're a nice bunch of young people.

It was a sunny day in Macerata today. I took this picture from the Art Academy, where 5 of our students began the painting class today. Ten had pre-registered, but students have the first week-and-a-half to drop/add. Six dropped the painting class and one added. The talk going around was the combination of the 70 Euro lab fee (which they were informed of in advance) and the Wednesday morning session (which they were not). I was the main beneficiary of those drops - my class has gone from 10 to 15. We'll see if that number changes over the next week.

Students who had never had an Italian class began today by going to beginning Italian. Those who have previously taken Italian spent the morning taking the placement test to determine their appropriate level. I spent much of the morning in the officeThe view is not as nice as my Muncie office (unlike the art professor's view), but the hand-painted artwork in the ceiling (which of course I didn't photograph, but will) gives me something for staring at while daydreaming.




Kim had talked with Anthonylast night just after the Colts lost (it was night here), so this morning as the Ball State students arrived I told them they wouldn't be happy. They wouldn't believe me until they saw the news for themselves. I told them now they didn't have to feel badly because we will miss seeing the Super Bowl: it doesn't matter anymore. Adam explained that they lost because he wasn't watching and they sensed it.

This will be the most boring entry of all. It was our first day without the students. They (and I) had the day off. What's more, I don't have any pictures to share. It rained pretty much the whole day.

We went to 11 a.m. mass at the Cathedral, which is St. Julian (patron saint of Macerata). I thought the priest had a nice homily. It's kind of interesting/funny/disorienting to be in a centuries-old cathedral and seeing modern Catholic church practices. There were two altar servers: one male, one female. Microphones made the priest easy to hear, but the wooden kneelers reminded me of the stories my mom told of having bruises from kneeling all night Holy Thursday. The lighting made it difficult to follow the readings, much less see the artwork. The congregation is conflicted, too: some stand for the Eucharistic prayer while others kneel.

Walking home from mass we stopped at the Barratolo (flea market) held the second Sunday of each month. Looked around a little, but the cold rain forced us home early. Spent most of the day reading, watching TV, eating, etc.

I've already lamented the "modernization" of my homeland. Funny - I want high speed Internet everywhere, but I hate seeing that the grocery store sells convenience foods that would never have been heard of here just a few years ago. I saw a TV commercial for Special K this week. Forget the fact that Italians generally didn't worry about their weight - they NEVER ate breakfast cereals. I remember my first trip to Italy as a teen in 1972: I wanted cereal, and my uncle had to made a special trip to a big grocery store to find anything. There were probably 2 choices. Not so today. I guess that's just part of internationalization. I remember telling Americans about Nutella back then. Now just about all the US groceries carry it. Just about everything is available just about everywhere.

The news has mentioned Bush in the middle east, but it's been dominated by the huge garbage crisis in Naples. It seems they can't find anywhere to send it. No one will take it. Since this story ran, they've tried shipping a bunch to Sicily, but protesters there have tried stopping the dumping (everybody seems to dump on Sicily).

I'm wrapping up. I'm very excited to watch a game show that we watched in 2002, Passaparola. We even visited a taping in Milan and I wrote a paper about it. The show comes and goes, always slightly reinvented. It returns to the air tonight after a long hiatus. Here's a clip from a 2005 finale.
Passparola host Gerry Scotti

The sun was out today! We took the students on another walk around Macerata, just for a couple of hours. Here are Ball State students Whitney and Bridget taking pictures - and goofing around. The second picture is program director Filiberto Bracalente leading us through the streets of town. You can see 3 Ball Staters in this picture: Jackie is the blond, Audrey is the red-head and Evan has the stocking cap. The large building in the background is a former church now used by the university.
We started out in the classroom. The students found out the schedule of excursions for the semester and the specific class schedule. My class wll meet Tuesdays and Thursdays 1-2:45. It may seem long, but remember our semester ends in early April. Filiberto had to play "bad cop" this morning as several students were 15 minutes late (unfortunately, the group included one BSU student). It was a source of great frustration last time whenever we had to wait for late arrivers. It stinks that 1 or 2 can hld up a couple of dozen people. Thought of another way, if one person is 5 minutes late, it wastes 2 hours of time (5 minutes times 24 people).

After traveling around a while, we "taught" the students the bus system, No one collects tickets or usually checks, but if they check and you lack a validated ticket it's a 50 Euro fine. We used going to the mal (about 6 miles away) as the excursion to learn the bus. It's also an opportunity for them to go to a mega-store with all the products they won'tfind in smal groceries, like corn chips, Chinese food, peanut butter, etc. Just to give you an idea, take a look at Kim in the wine aisle. It's all from Italy, and the other side of the aise is the same.

I rode the bus with Filiberto and the students, but Kim and Angelica met us there with her car. We all 4 rode back to town in their car. Good thing, too, as we had a few heavy sacks (including wine and grappa) to carry. It could be done, and we will in the future, but it's a little cumbersome on the bus.

Kim and I went out to stroll the streets - common in Italian towns from about 5-8 p.m. and referred to as "passegiata." We had to cut it short as it started to rain. Now I'm updating my blog listening to Ball State women's basketball on WCRD

Today's agenda was "light" in one respect. We only met as a group from 9:15 - 11:15 this morning. We finished touring in town.

11:30-5:30 was spent moving the students in to their residences. Kim helped with the process back in 2002, when we had a car, and Filiberto was recovering from surgery. This time, though, we have no car, so we couldn't be of much help. I spent much of the afternoon in my office trying to finish prepping next week's class.

The big thrill for Kim and me was the arrival of our second piece of luggage - after 4 days. Just another one of those cultural differences. They located the bag Tuesday; it got to Ancona Wednesday and was delivered here on Friday. Kim wanted me to write a complaint letter, but I told her it would be a waste of effort.

The weather improved slightly today - there were brief moments of sunshine. We were able to see a little more as we walked around town.

With the arrival of the luggage, we were able to take copies of Food and Wine magazine down to the owners of Trattoria da Ezio. The September issue was about Italian food. The editor asked people to write in with their own experiences. I mentioned da Ezio. They truncated my message, but printed it in the Nov. issue. I brought them the Sept. and Nov. issues, which were well-received.

I hope for my first full night's sleep tonight. I haven't been able t get to bed before midnight since we got here.

The first day, the students “only” met from 3:30 p.m. until the end of dinner, approximately 10:30 p.m. The second day was a little more demanding.

Filiberto and I met the students at their hostel at 9:45 a.m. We spent until 1 p.m. walking around Macerata and meeting in the classroom, continuing the orientation process. He’s been doing this for 15 years (longer if you count the years he conducted a program in Siena) and has developed a system of getting the students familiar with their surroundings without overwhelming them. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been very cooperative. We’ve had fog for the last few days, so you really can’t appreciate the beauty of the countryside. Looking out from the city walls, it’s difficult to see 100 yards, much less the Adriatic Sea about 15 miles away. In spite of this, the students remain tremendously upbeat. I continue to ask, “are we happy,” and I continue to get positive responses.

At 1 p.m., we led students through the university cafeteria – very different from the US. For 4 Euros they go through a line once and select from among choices for primo (pasta or risotto), secondo (meat or fish), contorno (side dish – veggies, potatoes, etc), fruit and beverage (beer, wine, soft drinks). The food is institutional (as is the ambiance), but edible and the best value possible.

From 2:45 until 5:45 we walked around town through the fog. We were fortunate to happen into the dean of the university’s communication sciences program. We had a nice chat and I hope to be able to meet with him more in the weeks to come.

From 5:45 until 8:15 the students met individually with Filiberto and Angelica (his wife who arranges all the housing) to discuss their specific living arrangements. Students requested either apartments with Americans, apartments with Italian students or home stays. Each arrangement varies dramatically. I am daily reminded of the thousands of details behind coordinating a program like this.

Dinner last night was at “La Volpe e l’Uva” (The Fox and the Grape), a restaurant that didn’t exist when I was here in 2002. We were joined by Professor Zampa, a fabulous man who teaches in the program and is always a favorite of the students. Another great meal. I think the students ended the day (after 11 p.m.) happy.

My only disappointment so far remains the missing suitcase. I shouldn’t say missing, because they called and told us it was in Ancona (about 40 miles away) but it has yet to be delivered. We continue to have hope.

The students arrived today! There are 24 students in the program, 8 of whom are from Ball State. One of the Ball Staters was not feeling well. He may have the flu, but it might just be a case of exhaustion from the long trip. One of the other students (not from Ball State) was having a severe anxiety attack. It was her first trip overseas, and she was fine until she arrived, then it all hit her.

It brings home the major responsibility directing a program like this can be. Filiberto Bracalente is a master. I sincerely can't imagine a site director anywhere who is better. He is knowledgeable, hard-working, caring, dedicated and pleasant. He worries about every individual student and does everything he can to make them welcome. If any of my colleagues are reading this you are absolutely crazy for not wanting to do a semester in this program.

The students spend their first couple of nights in a local hostel. Today they found out their housing assignments (beginning Friday). There was a lot of excitement in the room as they met their roommates, looked on the Macerata map for their addresses, compared locations with others, etc. Thanks to Filiberto and Angelica's (his wife) diligence, most students get their first housing choice. A few get their second choice, but none any less than that.

After orientation we had dinner at Trattoria da Ezio, my very favorite place to eat. It's a mom and pop restaurant that makes the pasta fresh every day. Check out the video of the Mom cooking http://www.marchemedia.com/WebTv/cosa%20bolle/ezio.htm. Kim and I were treated like long lost relatives who just returned. Of course dinner was spectacular, but so was the atmosphere. The students were getting a little sleepy (many of whom just arrived today), so we finished up early - probably about 10:30 p.m.

Still no suitcase. They called and said it had reached Ancona and a courier would deliver it Thursday or Friday. I told her we were missing it since Monday and pleaded with her to make it Thursday. She said they would try. Of course she knows and I know there's little I can do either way.

It's nearly midnight here so I'm turning in. Much more to do tomorrow. I'm thrilled they all made it safely and look forward to a great semester.

OK, we made it! No pictures, just a quick account of the trip.

After Nicole dropped us off at the Indy airport (and she continued on to Bloomington for her second semester), we had a leisurely wait for our first flight. It was our last leisurely wait. We had about an hour in Philly to get to our overseas leg. Fortunately a shuttle bus takes you to the international terminal, so we didn't have a long walk. The Philly-Brussels leg was OK, but I can tell you a ton of things - all minor - that were disappointing. First, we were an hour late leaving. Someone on the flight was sick before we left. They not only took the person off the flight but also searched the cargo hold for the baggage, which took quite a while. The aircraft was a 767 (2/3/2 seating) and seemed smaller than other overseas aircraft I've flown. It was pretty uncomfortable. Next, they had no scotch!!! I had to pay $5 for wine. OK, I understand charging to cut expenses, but not having liquor? The movie was Nancy Drew, so neither Kim nor I was interested in buying headphones. What's more, of the three flights, this was without question the bumpiest.

We had made up some lost time on the flight to Brussels but were still behind schedule. Kim and I walked very fast, having to go through passport check and re-check through security (not our checked luggage, but carry-ons). We didn't have seat assignments in advance on this leg and ended up in the back of the plane.

When we arrived in Milan, one of our two bags didn't make it. After waiting a long time in line we placed our claim and headed for the train station. You have to take a bus from the airport about 40 minutes to the station. From there we hopped a train to Civitanova, about 20 minutes from Macerata. For most of the 5 hour train ride, we talked with a couple that had just returned from Kenya. They were there on holiday when the uprisings occurred.

At Civitanova, Filiberto (the program director and great friend) picked us up, took us out for a bite (about 10:30 p.m., almost normal dinner time here), then took us to our apartment. Tired and happy to be "home."

More later

It's time to update the blog. We leave for Italy on Sunday, Jan. 6. We should arrive in Macerata about 24 hours later, if we make all the conections. We're flying Indy-Philly-Brussels-Milan, then training to Civitanova, then Filiberto will drive us to Macerata. At least that's the plan. Stay tuned to see if all goes according to schedule.

Here's a reminder of what Macerata looks like.

We returned home Wednesday. I'll fill in the details of our last week in Europe, then post a few pictures.

We flew from Bergamo (outside Milan) to London (Luton Airport) on Ryan Air. It was a simple trip. A short cab ride to the airport. It's smaller, so it wasn't hard to get through security and check in, but Ryan Air is more of a cattle call airline than even Southwest. People were herded onto buses to go to the plane, open seating. We were lucky to sit together.

A shuttle bus from the airport to the train station, then a train into London. From there, a cab to our hosts' flat. Tom and Linda Emmerson are friends from Iowa State who have been "part-time" residents of London for decades. They know the city well and were fabulous hosts. Having been there so soon after the bombings, security was evident everywhere, especially the entrances to the tube stations. Other than that, though, the only evidence we had of any problem was the fact that we had to walk from Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus because the Piccadilly Line was closed (just reopened Thursday).

Tuesday we flew from London (Heathrow Airport) to Dublin for the evneing, to catch our flight the next morning. On Wednesday, we flew Dublin to NY, NY to DC, DC to Indy. Anthony and Megan picked us up at the airport and we were home about 10 p.m. A long day to end a long trip. It's great to go, but it's always great to come home, too.

OK, here are some pictures.

As I wrote back in July, Nicole ordered a birthday cake for Kim's birthday. What's particularly funny about this picture is that the cake, decorated by Italians, misspelled "auguri" (well wishes - a traditional birthday salutation).

Smart Cars are popular in Italy both for their economic gas mileage and their ease of parking in the city. This Smart Car was decorated in Starsky & Hutch theme - complete with a California license plate in front (can't see in the photo).

While sitting on the beach, all kinds of people come by wanting to sell things. This woman was very impressive in the way she carried her basket. I read a piece in the paper about Tuscany cracking down on sales of knock-offs. People sell purses, watches, etc., for a fraction of the designer label. Most of the unlicensed sales people on the streets of Florence were immigrants. Italy, like most of Europe, is having real issues dealing with the heavy influx of people from north Africa and eastern Europe.

There were 32 students in Italy with us, but only 15 took my classes. Here is a picture of the combined classes. It's funny that of the 9 students in the advanced class, 8 were from Ball State. Of the 7 students in the beginning class, only 2 were from BSU. A good bunch. I was very fortunate. I did not have any problems with any of them. The same could not be said by my colleagues. One of the students not in my class had a notorious reputation with both faculty and students.

As mentioned earlier, we had to make a trip to Venice. For some strange, unexplainable reason, Nicole feels compelled to feed the pigeons in St. Mark's Square every time we go.

The head of the household of our host family is Stane Skrlj. He loves his telescope. I told him he has three children - two daughters and a telecope. He has incredible pictures of the moon, sun spots, constellations, etc. He keeps extensive notes of his observations. One night while we were there we got to see Jupiter and four moons!

Here I am making a fool of myself with half of me in Italy and half of me in Slovenia. My right hand (left of frame) is in Gorizia, a town in Italy, while my right hand is in Novo Gorica, a town in Slovenia.

In my three trips to Slovenia, I've always noticed how meticulously people cut and stack wood. The woodpiles are amazing. This one was not nearly as big as many we saw while driving but it was conveniently located for a picture.

This is our "proof we were in London" photo. Tom has used this very phone booth (with Big Ben and Parliament behind) with other guests. I wonder how many people have taken this photo, or one very similar.

With Nicole's theatre interest, I just had to take her picture in front of the Globe. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to take in a production. Oddly, there was not a Shakespeare play at the Globe. We did make it to the theatre museum at least.

Not sure if I'll add more pictures later. Let me know if there's anything in particular you want to see.

After a week in Slovenia, we're back in Italy....for the night at least.

We spent a very nice week in our home in Ilirska Bistrica. The Skrlj family are very nice to us, letting us use a house, preparing meals... all sorts of things for us. My former student Helena, though, poor thing, is forced to "work" whenever we're there. She's a translator by profession, so even when she takes a day off to spend with us, she ends up translating between us English speakers and the Slovene speakers. By the time we leave she's exhausted!

You'll just have to wait until I'm back in the US to update pictures. Right now I'm doing this from the lobby of our hotel in Bergamo. It's a town just NE of Milan. Ryan Air uses this smaller airport as its Milan location.

Today we (Kim, that is) drove from Slovenia to the main Milan airport, Malpensa, NW of the city, where we returned our car. She drove well over 3,000 miles in just 31 days. We took a bos from the airport to the train station, then a train to Bergamo. Not really far (total of both trips $9), but waiting for the bus to leave and the train schedule, it ended up taking us an hour to drive from Bergamo to Milan Malpensa (we dropped our bags off before dropping off the car), then almost 2 1/2 hours to get back. As Kim said, though, we had all day to get there and nothing else to do. It was a fun excusion.

Off to London tomorrow.

So much has happened in a week that it would take more time than I have to report it all.

We left Sicily on the ferry boat Tues night/Wed. morning. We were fine in bed, but when we had to get up, rough seas made things a little questionable for Nicole and me. We finally made it up and out on deck by about 9, a half hour out of port, also meaning seas were calming. The fresh air helped, too.

Kim then drove us from Salerno (where the boat docked) to Macerata, our "home" three years ago. We walked a little inside the city (not nearly as much as we would have liked to) visited with Filiberto, the AHA program director in Macerata, had dinner with him in our favorite mom and pop restaurant in town, then went back to his house to watch a pre-season soccer match involving Juventus, Filiberto's favorite team and one of Nicole's.

Last Thursday we drove from Macerata to "our home" in Slovenia. The Skrlj famiy gives us the use of a home (it was my student Helena's grandfather's) all to ourselves. We have done a little touring since here, even driving back to Venice (actually closer to Slovenia than Florence). Kim loves Venice, and has been there more times than I have. We also visited the town of Nova Gorica where we met up with another of my former students from my Fulbright experience in 1995. She is working as a journalist for the newspaper in NG.

NG is a very interesting town. Gorizia was made part of Italy after WWII. Nova (New) was created on the Slovene side after the war. The two towns are "separated" by a low fence. There is a piazza with no fence showing the unity between the two cities (though it is officially illegal to use it as a border crossing, there are no guards or security). There was a big ceremony there in 2004 as Slovenia entered the EU. We visited a Franciscan church at the top of a very high hill as well as a Franciscan monastery.

Another very interesting trip was to Soline, a place where sea salt is still harvested as it was centuries ago. We had a tour of the salt pools (I can explain the whole process to you if you'd like), then lunch in the beautiful coastal town of Piran. We finished the day in Koper where there was a festival going on. We didn't stay very late (my fear of driving winding 2-lane roads at night) but were still able to see break dancing, soccer matches, a grafitti artist contest, etc.

Our itinerary calls for us to leave Slovenia Thursday. We must return the rental car to Milan . We have a flight to London on Friday to visit our good friends from Iowa, Tom and Linda Emmerson.

Hope to be able to update this again before we get home but I don't know if/when I'll have access before returning Aug. 3.

Just a short post today.

We drove down from Florence last Friday. Right around Salerno, the toll road stops and things get appreciably worse - number of lanes, quality of road, mountain curves, etc. We stopped for the night in Lagronegro. After having spent a week in Rome and 4 in Florence, the hotel was very nice, and very cheap by comparison.

We've spent Sat. until today with my cousin in Messina (my blog from Nov 2002 has pictures). Tonight we will leave at midnight on the overnight ferry to Salerno, rather than drive it again. It does cost more, but not appreciably given the cost of gas, a night's stay in a hotel, ferry, etc.

Yesterday we were on our way to Mt. Etna. We were at the base. The towns were built from volcanic rock but we weren't up enough for the temperature to drop. The other car (with my cousin's daughter, son in law and kids) had car trouble so we never made it up. We were close enough to see plumes of white smoke. Three years ago we didn't go because it was erupting. Either it is jinxed or we are.

Macerata next, then Slovenia.

I posted only a couple of days ago, but I'm not sure how long it will be before I get back online. Tomorrow will be a full day for me. I give the final at 10 a.m. (both classes will meet at the same time). Afterward I go back to the room and grade while burning DVD copies of the documentary for each person to take home. I really should say "first version" of the documentary.

Although I've only voiced it publicly to a few people, I was prepared to have the five week class end with less than a "polished" product. Frankly what 15 students have done in 5 weeks with no budget and only a PD 150 camera and G4 laptop has been pretty impressive. Six of the students had absolutely no video experience whatsoever. Two others had some, but limited. Pedagogically speaking, there is great learning that can occur when things don't go exactly as you'd like. I have no issues with any of the students, though. All of them have done what asked to the best of their ability.

So, one or two volunteers will work on the production when we get back. I got an e-mail from a grad student in music at BSU who has offered to provide original music. Version one will have the canned stuff we brought with us. Version two will instead have an original score. Cool!

On Friday we make the long drive from Florence to Messina. Depending on when we get out and the traffic, we will either arrive Friday night or Saturday. The plan is to spend 4 nights, although we were advised by my Bologna cousin that the mosquitos are pretty bad down there. If that's the case, we may have to leave earlier. Kim was eaten alive in Rome. Not just bites, but swelling and oozing (sorry about the image, but it was really quite gross). This picture, in the town of Ganzirri, is taken very near the spot my mother and father were married 57 years ago.

Nicole and Kim went to Pisa Monday and today they're in Siena. I've never been to Pisa but Nicole and Kim tell me I didn't miss all that much. The 16 Euro price to climb the leaning tower is not what kept them away. It was the 4 hour wait! I did enjoy Siena when I was there. Still, I'm happy that they get out and about in Tuscany without me. I'm not a very good passenger in the car. I'm way to uncomfortable. Before we leave for Sicily Friday I'm going to have to take one of the "happy pills" (as Steve calls them) that I usually take to fly.

One unexpected pleasure here in Florence has been the ability to go see Michelangelo's David for free. Call me cheap, but it's one of the most expensive tickets in town. The Accademia, where he is housed usually charges, but it's free Tuesday nights. Several of us have made it a regular weekly event to visit Dave (as we call him) every Tuesday night after dinner. It's truly magnificent. But, we were very disturbed to see a description in the museum stating that his pose is just after having slain Goliath. That is contrary to everything not only I know (I've never claimed to be an art historian) but also contrary to 2 art history experts and a book sold in the Accademia gift shop. A colleague speculated that some local professor/"expert" has probably tried to build a reputation by taking a radical position. It does cause one to reflect on other informational material provided in museums, and whether that has been vetted by others.

As a media guy, some of what I really want to bring back has been media: videotapes of Italian TV shows, music videos, commercials; CDs of music; newspapers (I'm saving one from the day after the London bombing); magazines, books. Unfortunately I have neither the money nor the room in my suitcase for all these things. I have told myself that I can get any books I want once I get home, either through the local bookstore or online. The hotel owner did videotape one thing for me, though, Calcio Storico (the site's in Italian but they have a button for photos). It only vaguely resembles soccer. It's more like a cross between rugby and a rumble. I met one guy who has played for 16 years. Back in 1993, he was on the operating table for 10 hours while the put his eye back in its socket. Many of the students went to see a game and have asked me for a copy of the video once I get it dubbed to NTSC.

I have been disappointed that the TV game shows I enjoyed so much just 3 years ago are not on the air. I was espcially attached to one (Kim, Nicole and I even were in the studio audience for a taping, and I met the producer, a writer and the host), but there were several on the air a few years ago. Now there are none to be found. They do have lots of summer special programs on, especially music festival programs. Probably the best known is FestivalBar. It's a series of shows from a piazza in four different cities with lots of different artists. Speaking of music, we enjoy music videos. I've tried buying them in record shos but to no avail. I've asked the hotel owner if he can record some but haven't gotten them yet.

This begins the last week of class. Now is the time for the editing crunch. I was a little concerned today when the people responsible told me there were still "one or two" things left to shoot. At this stage, we should not still be shooting. The VO audio was recorded this morning but will have to be re-done. Tried doing it in an upstairs bathroom (for the quiet) but it echoed too much. Not easy finding a quiet place in the city.

Kim's birthday was Saturday. On Friday Nicole got a cake for her (she had ordered it 10 days earlier). We shared it with the hotel owner and the only student we found around the hotel. The important thing is that we had cake, and we sang Happy Birthday. Friday night there was a free concert in one of the piazzas of Beethoven's 9th conducted by Zubin Mehta. Kim and I only stayed for a portion of it, as a very loud, very drunk couple sat down next to us about a half hour into the program. Don't think they were Italian, but couldn't really tell the way he slurred his speech.

On Saturday Kim wanted to go to the beach for her birthday. The closest beach is Viareggio, on the Mediterranean, about a 45-60 minute drive from here (depends on traffic). The system involves renting an umbrella and beach chairs for the day from any of the many bath houses along the coast. We went to Bagno Zara (couldn't find a website for them) and spent 4 1/2 hours without leaving the beach. We were only a little tender, though, thanks to sunscreen and the umbrella.

For her dinner, Kim chose a restaurant that she and Nicole visited twice before, Trattoria Marione. The owner is very nice and takes good care of his customers. A great meal for a reasonable price, especially as he keeps throwing in free stuff - glasses of wine, appetizer plate of figs and salami, etc. I suspect we'll visit again before we leave town Friday.

On Sunday Nicole was pretty tired (still in bed at 10 a.m.), so Kim and I went to the nearby Tuscan town of Lucca with Gil Smith, a prof from Eastern Kentucky U. Another nice, small, walled town. The previous night there had been a George Benson concert, but we just spent our time walking around, having lunch and taking lots of pictures.

I want to tell one other story, about the San Lorenzo Market. Those of you who have been to Florence know the market. For others, it is an incredible gathering of leather, ceramics, foods, etc. Everything from cheap dollar keychains to ceramic orginals costing thousands. Well, we visited one of the food booths. Lo and behold, the guy who made our sandwich is pictured in the front of the Williams-Sonoma Florence Cookbook that my son gave me for my birthday! The people were very nice, including his daughter who worked the booth and an American ex-pat who married an Albanian and now lives in Italy. We went back a second time. He said "I'll make your sandwich" (in Italian, of course). It was wonderful. Roast pork with sauteed onions. He also handed me an open bottle of wine from behind the counter from which he invited me to help myself. Their website has lots of stuff for sale, all of it good. I'll gladly promote his business.

We've been keeping very busy. Since last I wrote, we've had a chance to do some tourism. Friday we went to San Gimingnano, a small Tuscan hilltown noted for its towers. After having spent a week in Rome and two weeks in Florence, the first thing I noticed was the quiet and cleanliness of a small town. There's a reason I don't live in the big city. It was really pleasant just to walk around the town (limited wheeled traffic inside the walls).

We spent Saturday and Sunday with my aunt, uncle and cousins at their condo in Cesenatico. It's a beach town on the Adriatic that actually reminds me a lot of Hollywood, FL. It's a real family-oriented beach with lots of small shops, restaurants, etc. Kim greatly enjoyed driving. In both cases we took highway one way and small roads the other. In the case of Cesenatico, we came back a road that went right over the spine of the Appennine Mountains. Beautiful views, but we had to drive very slowly, and Nicole and I were still uncomfortable (motion sickness is a tough thing).

Both my cousins Nico and Cettta are married. We spent most of the weekend with Cetta (my age) and her husband Stefano. Her older brother is a plastic surgeon and head of surgery for a hospital in Bologna. He arrived late Saturday and left 24 hours later. We didn't get to see too much of him. He did have enough time to go diving while there, and we enjoyed the fresh mussels he fished out for Sunday dinner. The Emiglia-Romagna region we were in is quite well known for its good food. We went to a restaurant and had an incredible meal. Just the platters of appetizers would have been enough, but then we sampled 3 different pastas and had a bit of lamb after that.

Yesterday I taught class but Kim and Nicole went off to Assisi. This must make Kim's 4th trip. Obviously she is very fond of the place.

As for the documentary I feel a bit better about some things but more concerned about others. We still don't have a completed script and we will cut the narration audio on Monday. But the good news is all the interviews with experts have been completed except two (the Florence Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Bureau) and those are scheduled for tomorrow. I wish we had some female experts but I'm pleased with the mix we got:
a church official on the Cathedral board
a Syracuse prof who is a Brunelleschi expert
an Eastern KY architecture/art history prof
a Ball State architecture prof

Can we get it all edited in a week?