Yesterday we took the students to the Marangoni Chocolate factory. It was a short bus ride outside the walls. The students were excited at the prospect of some free chocolate, which they got, but it was a very detailed explanation of the process before they got to that point. We began by understanding the plant itself, which grows only in the tropics. A single plant produces a very small amount of fruit/nuts, each of which only produces a very small amount of cacao. Plantations have to be massive to collect enough to be usable. As most of us already knew, the cacao itself is rather bitter. On the right is the unsweetend chocolate after the beans have been crushed and processed. There are three or four different varieties of cacao plants in the world, associated with the different regions. Chocolate connoisseurs can distinguish between the different varieties (Madagascaran versus Venezuelan, for example).


The pale yellow stuff on the table is the cacao butter that is extracted. Some of this is used in the production of chocolate bars, chips, etc - everything except the powder. It's the butter that holds the product together - at least in the higher quality stuff. Lecithen, soy and other stuff gets introduced into cheaper chocolate. The butter can be used in foods or cosmetics, so there's a market for it - which is why cheap chocolate uses less. Of course it's high quality fat - no cholesterol, so it has even more of a market.
We were also taught that chocolate should be examined by all the senses. Look at it to be sure it is a uniform color. Obviously you smell it. When you break a bar, it should make a crisp snapping sound (and you should further see that the break is a clean line, not jagged). As for the feel, there's a feel in the mouth of course, but you should also be able to take a small piece and rub it between your fingers until it melts, and the butter ought to coat the fingers. As for taste we were taught that if you do a tasting involving several chocolates, you should NOT use water or wine in between chocolates. Water won't cleanse the palate, and wine is too strong a flavor so it will mask the chocolate. Instead some hard liquor should be used, followed by a small sip of water to remove the alcohol taste.
Alfredo Marangoni then poured out some chocolate with toasted rice to make what was a chunchy chocolate bar. He explained that the chocolate takes about 10-15 minutes to cool but that to get the best flavor, it ought to be allowed to sit 5-8 hours before being eaten. He asked the students if they wanted to wait, and they all said "no," so he cut it into pieces for us. Here you see Ball Staters Audrey and John demonstrating the proper technique for eating the chocolate.

The paper published 2007 statistics that had been compiled locally. A couple of quick bits of info.

• Population has grown from 41,000 in 2001 to 43,000.
• There were 125 more deaths than births in 2007. Population growth can be accounted for by the 9 percent increase in immigrants.
• Seven percent of the population is 80 or older. Wow. I wonder how that compares to the rest of Italy, or to the US. I could do some research but won't.

More statistics next time.

Random thoughts:

• I've enabled comments on the blog. I hadn't done that before, but since looking at Kim's nephew Tim's blog, I decided to go ahead. Please feel free to post comments, but be gentle - I'm extremely sensitive :)
• Kim has a case of the winter crud. She's coughing, lots of drainage, etc. Several of the students here have had it, so we assume one of them probably caused it (tongue planted firmly in cheek).
• Last week Kim and I went to Ash Wednesday mass with a couple of BSU students, John and Jackie. The ashes were placed on our heads rather than on our foreheads. Filiberto later told me both systems are used here.
• Another church comment: in the US, where we say "forever and ever," Italians say "for centuries of centuries" (in Italian, of course). It's more poetic - is that why?
• A very interesting daily TV program is Blob, which is a 10-minute collection of video clips edited together. Most often they come from the previous day or two, but sometmes they throw in an older clip. The way they edit the clips can sometimes be commentary in itself.
• BUT, Blob doesn't hold a candle to Stricia la Noticia, which is a humorous news review. I'd compare it to Jon Stewart's The Daily Show but there are several differences. Many weeks, Stricia is the number one rated program. It's been on the air for 20 years with different hosts over time. You can't watch the show straight through online, but you can watch the pre-produced video segments.
• Students in the program have the option of participating in a Tandem program, where they are paired with an Italian student learning English. They're then supposed to meet and have conversations in both languages so each can learn. Kim is now participating. A middle school teacher is her Tandem partner. He happens to be one of the clients my 2002 students worked with when they made a video for the local hiking club.
• I heard on a game show recently that the median length of an Italian marriage was 14 years. I know what median means, but what I dn't know is whether that statistic is based only on marriages that have ended either through death or divorce (in which case the number seems frighteningly low) or includes all marriages, which I hope is the case. I also don't know how that compares to the US.
• Last week, one of the students commented that whenever people she meets find she's an American the first thing she is asked is whether she thinks Clinton or Obama will win the nomination. She was also astonished at how much they know about US politics.
• That leads to my next comment: Kim pointed out to the student that every bar or cafe here has at least a couple of daily papers, and that patrons from teenagers up flip through them. I don't know newspaper circulation statistics but I venture that a larger percentage of the Italian population peruses a newspaper daily than Americans.
• The Mafia may not be what it used to be in its heydey, but it's still alive and kicking. There was a major arrest last weekend in the New York-Palermo connection.

Yesterday was the trip to Assisi. I had been there once before in 2002, but Kim was there several times in 2002 (when she took guests), and she and Nicole made a return visit in 2005 while we were staying in Florence.

Our chartered bus left just after 7 a.m. It's only about a 70 mile trip, but it takes almost 2 hours because you have to drive through the mountains to get there. I hope this link will show you. You may have to click the terrain button on the page - I'm not sure how it will load. I felt perfectly safe but it's no trip for someone who gets motion sick easily.

After a brief coffee break when we arrived (I included the picture of Filiberto's cappuccino for everyone to see, but mostly Nicole - those are chocolate flakes used to make the cup outline around the cream) , it was on to the Basilica of St. Francis. Even most non-Catholics know the story of Francis and how he gave up his wealth to live a simple life and follow God. In preparation for their visit, the students watched the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon, which provides a lot of historical background (a Zeffirelli film). The Basilica is massive consisting of Francis's tomb (and his four first followers) on the lowest level, a lower church and an upper church. The structure attached to the left was the rectory. When Napoleon took over all church property in the early 19th century he turned that area into stables and destroyed some priceless works of art. Some of the interior of the church is also damaged due to an earthquake back in 1997. You'll have to be satisfied with these exterior pictures I took of the Basilica. No pictures are allowed inside. Of course, that doesn't mean people didn't take pictures, it just means I didn't take any. There were all kinds of people snapping pictures. I guess I'm just a deontologist: even I think the rule is a little silly, but I still follow it because it's the rule. I can understand that people need to be respectful of people in prayer (like not using their flash or stepping in front of someone kneeling before an altar) but it seems some compromise would be possible. Nonetheless you should see the inside, which has spectacular frescoes. If you're really interested, here's the church's history, dating back to the 13th century.
Equally impressive in Assisi is the surrounding natural beauty. There is rolling terrain with mountans in the distance. Note all the green. Recognize that I took this picture on Feb. 9, and the air temperature on this day was about 40 degrees F. The artwork is certainly impressive to see, but one could easily spend a day just strolling around the countryside. Here's an olive grove on the walk from town down to San Damiano (St. Damian), the church Francis rebuilt.
No, this isn't how people in Assisi normally dress. We just happened upon an event with people dress in medieval costumes. Jason from Rider U (far right) and John from BSU (far left) couldn't resist getting in the picture.

I'm falling a little behind in updating all that goes on.

When Ilija and Dragana were here last weekend, one of the things Dragana did was to make burek. It's one of my favorites. As you can see from this Wikipedia explanation, there are many forms made throughout the former Ottoman Empire. Dragana's heritage is Bosnian, so of course she makes that version. Here's some video of her stretching the dough.


After that, it needs to be spread out on the table.

Of course, I was too stupid to get a shot of the final product. No, I'm being too harsh. I was too hungry to get a shot of the final product, so this is the picture from the Wikipedia site. Trust me - ours looked quite like it.

I've mentioned that each week we have a different group of students over for dinner. Kim usually prepares something special. It's a real challenge, though, because she has t contend with the different students' food allergies, likes and dislikes. She also has to contend with things not being quite the same here. For example, here's last night's dinner bunch:

From the left, Katrina's from Northern Mich, Caroline's from Oregon, Kim of course, and Clark and Adam from Ball State. Adam has been pining for American food (his mouth waters and the mention of a Big Mac), so Kim prepared barbeque, complete with homemade buns. Couldn't have her "standard" salad because two people had nut allergies that precluded the toasted almonds, so she had to make a different one.

The week prior, we had Callie(Oregon), Audrey (Ball State), Andrew (Oregon) and Whitney (Ball State). We've made it to the end of the meal, where Kim had made Coke cake with real whipped cream (courtesy of the beater she bought). We've been having a lot of artichoke appetizer - it must be in season because it's reasonably priced and fresh.

The faculty member gets hired not the spouse, but these overseas programs should not overlook the value of a spouse who wants to be involved. Kim commits an awful lot of time (and expense) to preparing these meals. She makes an appetizer, first course, second course, salad and dessert. Others probably don't put in as much effort as she does, but they still spend time easing the transition for students in other ways.

Class today, then Assisi tomorrow.

What a small world. After commenting on Carnevale here in Macerata, my friend Jim in Muncie sent me a link to a story and pictures about it from the Macerata newspaper. Isn't the internet wonderful?



Tuesdays are normally regular classroom days, but Filiberto rearranged the schedule to enable students to experience Carnevale in Ascoli Piceno, which is really quite impressive. We spent the morning touring the town as we usually do, learning about history, architecture and art. When we arrived just after 9 a.m., things in the town were still pretty quiet. Ascoli Piceno sits in the valley rather than on a mountaintop, and has a history that dates back to the Roman times - much older than Macerata. The crypt below the cathedral has the remains of St. Emidio (for whom the church is named), and also contains columns (not visible here) that were made of material from construction centuries prior, much like the Abbey we visited earlier. The prominent marble statue is "much newer," added only a few hundred years ago. The frescoed ceiling dates back to somewhere around the 13th Century. Please forgive any inaccuracies: Filiberto provides us with a lot of information on these tours, and try as I might, I only retain a small amount.



Back up on the main floor, this is the main dome of the cathedral as seen from below (obviously).

We had lunch about 1:15. On day trips, meals are not included. Filiberto will make arrangements for a group lunch as an option for those who want to take advantage of it. We had a wonderful meal beginning with the famous Ascoli olives.

There was a pasta with a sauce like carbonara, but not. I'll be sure to find out the name (I was told but forgot). Then cutlets with spinach for the main course, followed by special Carnevale dessert cookies. Unfortunately, the one Kim took had chestnut filling. She ate about half of it when I tried to stop her. We discovered in 2002 that Kim's highly allergic to chestnuts. Kim, Angelica and one of the students took off to find a pharmacy so Kim could get some antihistamines. They ended up taking a cab to find one open at 3 p.m. (another hour and one closer by would've opened, but who knew?). She and Angelica spent an hour or more just sitting in a cafe having tea while the antihistamine kicked in.

Lots of people like all the kids in costume (pictures below) but what I like most is the political satire and commentary. Here was a troupe traveling around. The guy with the red beanie represents he cardinal, the guy in the suit who is being held up represents the mayor and the pope-like guy is St. Emidio. It seems a few months ago there was a music performance in the square right outside the cathedral, right when mass was being celebrated, and it created a little controversy and some ill feelings between the local church and community leaders. The performers (all volunteers) really got into their roles and had great fun, and the crowd loved it.

This was one of MANY troupes that addressed the issue of trash. As I explained in an earlier post, Campagna (the state where Naples is located) has a problem finding a place for all its trash. There were groups wearing trash bags, there were others carrying bags looking for places to "hide" their trash - lots of satire about the trash problem.







These two pictures are from the same troupe. Roughly translated, the sign says, "What labor crisis? If you need a job just go back to doing things the old way." The display had al kinds of medieval laborers at work (a commentary on employment issues).

We were all very excited Sunday, because Macerata had a Carnevale celebration. Many of you will recognize that as the season that precedes lent. It's probably best known by the very last day of Carnevale, known as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Our town and many others had parades this weekend. I recorded the band above playing a traditional Italian song (Neopolitan, to be precise).

I thought people might like to see The Simpsons float. The show is popular over here, too.
We all thought this float was particularly interesting given the shifty-eyed Arab charicature that figured prominently. This float would have created a lot of raised eyebrows in the US, and probably a protest or two.









You can notice a few things here:
the corner of the bleachers;
a number of food vendors;
people on the sidewalk above the vendors;
a float on the road above, moving away from us.

We're outside the walls and the terrain is still steep, so the sidewalk and road above make a good vantage point for watching the gardens /park below, where the activities were occurring.




Ball State student Whitney enjoys her traditional Italian treat, zucchero filato, or "sugar string." Kim bought roasted candied nuts.
Also note the stuff in in Whitney's hair and the hair of the guy in the left of the frame. People in the parade throw confetti at the crowd, and the crowd throws it back (and at other people). Silly string is for sale all over the place, and people (especially kids) have no reservations about nailing any and everyone.

Today we took a trip to Treia, about 20 minutes from Macerata. Kim took this picture. I hope you can tell the steepness of the streets inside the town - it's the tippy-top of the hill (Kim says mountain).
The town is like many other hill towns in this part of Italy. It has walls to protect itself from
attack, and the narrow streets inside the walls were never intended to handle cars.
This door is actually to an apartment built inside the city walls. How would you like to have to walk up those steps after a long day? (Kim is at street level shooting this picture)

The town is only about a sixth the size of Macerata (maybe less), but we all decided it seemed in better condition - almost as if the restoration work was completed rather than in process.
Of course the best thing about the town isn't found inside the walls at all, but is the view of the countryside. Here's a pan Kim took from the city wall in the town square.
I'd love to be a photography professor and just bring students to this town and give them about 4 hours to come back with series of photos (not too many) that tell a story. Every time you turn your head there's another "photo opportunity" in this town.








I'll close the look at Treia with a photo from the web, http://www.pubblicitaitalia.com/cgi-bin/Epi/getp.cgi%3Ftabella%3DImmaginiArticoli%26campo%3DImg%26id%3D4093&imgrefurl=http://www.pubblicitaitalia.com/cocoon/pubit/riviste/articolo.html%3FidArticolo%3D5976%26Testata%3D2&h=324&w=482&sz=73&hl=en&start=14&tbnid=epeMWfJO7RPokM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtreia%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

It Provides a perspective that we weren't able to get from below.

A few days ago I posted about gates/doors to residences. I took a picture today to demonstrate a gated house with a bell at the gate so you can ask to be buzzed into the property.
This is a private residence (sorry it's not so clear) with a locked gate and buzzer/intercom located camera left of the gate.

Last night I attended a program at the Teatro Lauro Rossi. The theatre is only about 150 years old. The performance was a tribute to a local actor who died recently, put on by friends and the local artistic community. For most of the evening, the stage was too dimly lit for me to get any decent video of the singing or dancing or recitation or video clips from his performances. The exception came when the children's choir came out and sang Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - in English. Here's a portion.


On Thursday, my former students from Slovenia came to visit, Dragana, Ilija and their one-year old daughter Tamara. We stay in touch via e-mail and have visited with them on our previous trips to Europe (they visited us in Macerata in 2002). We have just been talking and walking around the town, catching up on each others' lives.
OK, I know this is short but it's late.

I thought I'd use today's entry to provide a little info about housing.

Why don't American households have these? Most of the Italian apts. I've seen have a cabinet above the sink where you can drain dishes after washing and close the cabinet doors so the kitchen looks nice. It seems to be an extremely practical way to dry dishes and keep the kitchen looking nice at the same time.




I just included this picture to provide a little perspective of the kitchen. You can barely see the cabinet over the sink from the previous picture. The following pictures will highlight the window behind Kim, and the item with the switches and dials located just over the radiator.

This was a picture of the 2nd group of students we had over for dinner and cards (6-handed euchre). Clockwise from left, Jackie from Ball State, Megan from Oregon, Kim, Kacey from DePauw and Rachel from Washington State.


The window arrangement is very different from the States. Outside you see the shutters (gray). Most Italians close them at dusk and leave them closed all night (some even during the day). Not us. We always have them open. People must know the crazy Americans live there. The middle piece is the glass pane. Yes, we keep that closed in January. The white piece on the left is the inside shutter. Closed, it blocks out 100 percent of the light and most of the street noise. Again, we rarely close the ones in the kitchen, although we close one set in our bedroom (not both or we couldn't see our hand in front of our face).

This device serves as both the central heat and the water heater. It's a sort of on-demand water heater, but it also provides the warmth for the radiators. According to Italian law, homes are not supposed to have the heat on for more than 10 hours per day. Not sure how that is monitored, but we have been advised not to use it too many hours of the day. With gas prices in Italy about $5.96 per gallon, you get the idea of how precious energy is. My Italian friends laugh at us for thinking $3 is too much. They also find it absurd that we have huge oil reserves, but that's a discussion for another day.

This is the ceiling in our changing room. The apartment we live in, as well as the AHA offices and classrooms, are part of a 200-year-old palace. We have a room off our bedroom with our dresser and wardrobe, and this is the ceiling in that room. No, it's not wallpaper - it's painted.








I have mentioned how people realize before coming here that some things are going to be different (like the currency and the language) but never think about other things being different. The top key ring is my office keys. The one displayed is the key to the main door of the AHA suite. The bottom ring is our apartment keys, and the displayed key is the one that caused us some trouble last week. Coming home, it's the second key we use. First, a key to enter the building. Second, a key to enter an area accessible only by us and one other renter. Finally, a third key for our individual apartment.

This is the locking mechanism that the key above (the apt key) unlocks. Not only do the four bolts you see go into the doorjamb, but the rods extending up and down also latch. It's a very secure door. If you need more proof that we are quite safe in our apartment, take a look at the next photo. What you see is Kim's hand demonstrating the width of the wall and door to enter into our apartment.

I remember when my Italian cousin came to the U.S. for the first time just a year or two ago. I asked her what was the thing that surprised her most about the US - that she hadn't expected.

Her response was that she was astonished how everything was "open" - that anyone could simply walk up to a house and knock on the door. In Italy, there is always an outer entrance of some kind that prevents access to an inner entrance. The picture below is an example of the outer entrance to some apartments, with a bell for each residence. I know, in the US this is not an uncommon thing for city dwellers. I want to point out two things: first, Macerata is far from a big city. It's more on a par with Muncie, yet everyone has controlled access. Second, although I haven't provided a photo (I'll have to do it next
time), even single-family dwellings are surrounded by a fence, and at the gate is a bell/intercom system for requesting access to the property. It definitely would inhibit door-to-door solicitation, but I have been told that Jehovah Witnesses are very active here, and go door-to-door (more accurately, outer door to outer door) ringing and requesting access to visit with the residents.


Finally, I know most people don't provide bathroom pictures but I think it's relevant to the discussion. The first thing the students remark
about is the bidet, most of them not knowing what one is. Second, they note how the water level in the toilet is far lower than they are comfortable with (I have spared you a shot inside the toilet). They find it rather disturbing and "gross." I have tried explaining to them that Italians find our toilets with lots of water a bit strange and "gross" because it might result in water splashing their backsides. This is beginning to get a bot graphic so I'll just drop it here, but I think it's a great cultural lesson: what one culture finds refined and appropriate another finds quite repulsive. Neither is the right one - it's just a matter of custom.

Remember when Larry King wrote a column for USA Today? Whenever he couldn't come up with 500 words about one subject, he'd just do a series of random thoughts. If it's good enough for a multimillionaire media personality, it's good enough for me.

• Kim bought an electric beater today. Spent 15 Euros on something we'll leave here because of the different electrical system. Making special meals each week for the students, she wanted it so she could do a better job.
• We've been attending mass at a different church each Sunday. It's good because we see the differences and don't assume "all" Italian churches are the same. We've been to 3 different churches and haven't had to go outside the walls yet. The first had an organ and small choir. The second had a capella singing, but only a little. This week the church used recorded music.
  
• Have I mentioned that I was shocked to see a number of vending machines here? In 2002 about the only thing sold in machines was cigarettes. The idea of getting a soft drink or - horrors - coffee - from a "self-service" machine was unheard of. I guess even Italians want convenience.
  
• Along those same lines, it could be my imagination but I believe there are more frozen foods. There was always plenty of frozen stuff, but there now appear to be more of the "heat and serve" sorts of items.
  
• I came over here wanting to be of service to the program but I can't help but feel I am a burden. No, this is not some "woe is me" sentiment: I feel the visiting professor, whoever it is, must require a tremendous amount of the staff's time. I mean, I speak some Italian but I still need their help all the time. For instance, our washing machine went out last week. No big deal, but it required Angelica to call the guy who does the repairs. Then, because he was coming on a Friday when Kim and I accompanied the students on an excursion, Angelica had to meet the repairman at our apartment, let him in and wait for him to do the repair. The same was true a couple of weeks ago with a plumbing issue. Filiberto had to drive me to pick up my Mac cable (it arrived after 6 days). And I don't really consider myself high maintenance - imagine the professors who require a little more "attention."
  
• Italy is "leaderless" since last week when Prodi stepped down. One of these guys is highly likely to be the next PM - Velroni (left) or Berlusconi. Berlusconi was Prodi's predecessor and is probably the wealthiest man in Italy, or certainly one of them. His company owns the three major private TV networks. If an election happens right away, everyone predicts he would win. Veltroni is the mayor of Rome and his most likely opponent.
  
• Italy gave up the Lira as its currency when it adopted the Euro, in 2001 or 2002. Yet, there are still a number of price tags around that have, in small print, the price in Lire. In conversation when someone mentions that something cost X Euros (usually some large amount, like the price of a new car), they then say "or Y Lire." It's an addendum that has come to mean, "My how prices have gone up."
  
• Some of the students are frustrated by the way things are done here, especially the hours of businesses. In Rome or Florence most things are open morning until night, but in the rest of the country, they still follow the old way. Shops open in the morning and close around 1 p.m. They will reopen sometime between 4 and 6, depending on the business, and remain open usually until 8. Restaurants have a different schedule: they open usually about noon and close around 3, reopening around 8 (some a little earlier). Pizza places that specialize in "by the slice" are generally closed 1-3 or 1-4, and then close again early when restaurants reopen. Of course all of them have at east part of the week they don't open. Most stores are closed Sunday, but if they happen to be open Sunday afternoon they will be closed another afternoon during the week. I try explaining to the students that it's part of the cultural difference they came over here to experience.
  
• Having reread that last bullet point, I'm convinced I have manic/depressive tendencies. There are moments when I am so proud of these students and think they are great for stepping out of their comfort zones to learn. Other moments I get frustrated because they don't want to try something different, or get tired during an excursion. If an overweight 51-year-old like me can make it through the day, I can't understand why they get so tired and have to sit rather than pay attention to an explanation about some architectural or artistic work. Let me reiterate that I think they're a good bunch and haven't had any trouble.
  
• Anthony and Nicole will get a chuckle out of this: I've got the students saying, "It's not weird, it's different." That started back in 1995 when we went to Slovenia. To me "weird" implies something out of a science fiction novel. Students tell me that's not their interpretation of the word, that they consider it synonymous with different, but they humor me and say, "that's different" now instead of calling things unfamiliar to them "weird."