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."
  

After a long day yesterday, Kim and I treated ourselves to sleeping in. It was after 11 before we got out of the house. It was such a beautiful day today we decided we'd just get out and walk around. We bumped into a couple of the students before we even got outside the walls. We decided we'd walk about 2 km to Santa Maria delle Virgine, built in the 16th Century.
Unfortunately, it was after 1 p.m. by the time we got there, so the church was all locked up. Once upon a time Italian churches were never closed, but just like everywhere else in the world, nut cases have ruined it for everyone else, so churches close when there is no one there to watch over the place. It's a shame we didn't get in, because there are some marvelous 16th century paintings including one by famous Italian artist Tintoretto.

The walk through the countryside was nice. As always, these pictures don't do it justice.
On our way back, we decided to walk through the local cemetery (it was on the way). In ancient times, people were buried in or near churches. At some point (Filiberto has told me when, but I've forgotten), they decided to bury the dead outside the city walls because of the possibility of contamination from the corpses. Nowadays, mausoleums are a lot more common. The Macerata cemetery is lined with them. As you can see, people decorate them, some elaborately. Most have pictures of the deceased. Flowers vendors are just outside the gate, and whoever doesn't show up with flowers probably stops to get them upon arrival. The wealthy families have family crypts, and here are what the modern ones look like. Just inside
the doorway of each is a small area (about 4 X 8 feet) for visitors to stand in front of the family crypts. The ones we saw contained 15 "slots," not all of which were filled. You can't tell from this shot, but some are adorned with family names, or stained glass or even some family symbols (crest, family business, etc). Inside the doors people leave tons of flowers as well. In the foreground are less elaborate family crypts built onto the ground, again in various states of "fullness."
The cemetery clearly had newer and older sections, as one would expect even in the new world. This section contained the traditional plots but with a slight twist. As you can see, people have planted things immediately on top of
the deceased. Some are small plants or flowers, but others are more significant - like trees.

After our cemetery visit we stopped at a bar/cafe for coffee and tea. A couple came in. Lo and behold, she is American, he is Italian. She lives half the year in Maryland and half in the Marche. We must have talked for an hour or more. We exchanged telephone numbers and hope to get together at some point before we leave. The man with her was the cousin of her deceased spouse. He lives in Macerata but has a place in Bolognola, about an hour away, and has told us they will take us there someday. It's funny that we would just happen to bump into each them. It's a small world...but I'd hate to have to paint it.

I must explain that this was a day that reminds me how perfect the Macerata experience is for students. Students in Rome, Siena or Florence are surrounded by wonderful things, but they do not get the depth of experience that the Macerata students do.

Today was our first "out-of-town" excursion with the students. At 8 a.m. we boarded our charter bus. The last student arrived (running) at 8 sharp. With 24 students, Filiberto, Kim and me there weren't many extra seats on our "small" bus. Our first stop was San Gineseo, about 45 minutes away - closer to the mountains. This was the wall where we entered the town's historic district.

This is the gate (Duh!). We walked in and looked around town. Filiberto explained that the medieval hospital located near the gate was to serve mostly travelers who would get sick or beaten (robbed) on the road.
This hospital no longer serves its original purpose, but because of its historic landmark status (it's from the late 12th century), the current owners can't make changes in the exterior that are not authentic. Lucky for us.
There are lots of historic things to see in San Ginesio but without a doubt the natural beauty is the star. The town elevation is about 2100 feet, so it's between the peaks of the Sibilini Mountains (the Marche's section of the Apennines) and the valley floor below.
As with most things here, pictures fail to do it justice, especially with amateurs like us taking pictures on an inexpensive camera. Just imagine what it really looks like. As the blue sky indicates, we had a beautiful day. Cold, but not awful - especially not for January.
This was Kim and my first trip to this town (population about 4K). Filiberto takes the winter term students here rather than a Roman ruins that we visited in fall 2002. In winter the ruins are too muddy to walk around, so he substitutes this trip.
This Romanesque church is in the town square, and parts of it date back to 1098. A lot of what you see is "new" though: the upper register (Gothic, not Romanesque) was added in 1421.
Under the main worship space is the Oratorio of San Biagio, with incredibly well-preserved frescoes from 1294. Directly in front of Filiberto you may be able to distinguish The Pieta. Believe it or not, we saw all of this (plus had a coffee break) in the span of less than two hours.
Back on the bus for a 40 minute trip to the Abbey of Chiaravalle di Fiastra. Kim and I visited in 2002 so I didn't take many pictures. Visit the link. In Italian, but the pictures are universal :)
John and Audrey from Ball State are clowning around while I'm trying to give a history lesson. The church/monastery was built in 1142. This column, however, is centuries older. Because people then were not concerned with historic preservation, they "recycled" building materials. This column is actually centuries older, from a nearby Roman ruin, which the monks mined for construction. After lunch we stopped at Castello della Rancia. This was also a site we visited before so I didn't take pictures, but check out the link. The castle is also from the 12th Century.
Our final stop of the day was Tolentino. This is the town square with its distinctive clock tower, but it's new - built in the 16th century! The small disk at the top is the phases of the moon, followed by the "old" timekeeping - dividing the day into 6, rather than 24 segments. The large central clock is the "regular" time and the lowest clock indicates the date.


The highlight of Tolentino was the visit to the Basilica of San Nicola of Tolentino. I took this shot from the website - it wasn't this well lit while we were there. The original church and convent come from the 13th century, but much of the present-day basilica is the result of work from over fur centuries.
I'll close with this photo for my Ball State friends - the statue of Beneficence from inside San Nicola.

Today was Wednesday market (again). Rather than take just another shot of the market, I decided to share this - a picture of something we bought. Some of you who have done hoity-toity farmers markets on the coast may have seen artichokes like these, but I haven't. Kim made a couple for dinner - these are the 8 remaining. We bought produce from the local guys we always go to, then hopped a bus to head up to the big supermarket at the mall to get the harder-to-find stuff.

I decided I ought to provide an installment about Italian TV, and I've decided to start with my favorite subject, game shows. I mentioned Passaparola last week (or was it 2 weeks ago?). Anyway, last week's Top 10 TV ratings in Italy included 3 game shows. I 'll start with those, then mention some others.

Ranked third last week was "Heredity." The show airs at 6:50 p.m. 6 nights/week. It's a quiz show that starts out looking kind of like "Weakest Link, with the host in the center at a rotating podium asking questions of contestants positioned around him. Two incorrect responses end you up on the "hot seat," and you challenge a competitor to answer a question. If the player answers correctly, you're out. Right, you remain. The game continues until they get down to two, and they compete. It's called heredity because you "inherit" the winnings of whoever you knock out. If you watch the clip, you'll immediately noticed the four women who "assist" the male host. A staple of most Italian game shows, the women are part dancers, part co-hosts, part eye candy. Lots of other clips exist online but each season the show makes some minor changes, as do most.

The Usual Suspects came in 5th place last week. The show pretty much follows the same format as the American game "Identity," hosted by Penn Gillette. It's regularly Thursday nights but has been aired more frequently of recent. One significant difference in the US version is the contestants never get a chance to take the money and leave. They have to go for all 9 contestants. No getting out. A wrong answer takes you to Zero Euros. So, if you screw up the last one, anything you got right before really doesn't matter. This clip is almost the start of the show.

Tenth place overall goes to my favorite, Passaparola. It used to be six nights per week when we were here in 2002, but now it's only Sunday nights. Mon-Sat, Gerry hosts Millionaire, then Sunday he does Passaparola. I couldn't find a current clip - this one is from a different version in 2005. I think if you watch all the clips in this blog, even if you don't understand Italian, you can immediately see he may not be the best looking, but he has the most charisma. He received a special award last night, similar to an Italian Emmy. Here's the story, in Italian.

Not in the top ten, but I want to mention one more. "Affari Tuoi" loosely translates as "It's Up to You." The show is a version of "Deal or No Deal." What I find tremendously ironic is that the US version uses scantily-clad models while, in Italy, the 20 "packages" (not 26 cases) are tended by other people. Last night's special edition had a family theme, so all the packages were kept by family members and friends. This clip is from last fall. The host has a thick accent and, unlike most of the other game show hosts, I find difficult to understand.

I will leave for another time the discussion of Wheel of Fortune, still on here with a new host. The "dean" of TV hosts, who had done the show for years, no longer hosts. It's late.

Here is a quick rundown of the events of yesterday. I worked most of the day. Kim and I went to lunch at our favorite restaurant, Trattoria da Ezio. It was our first time back there since we had the students' welcome dinner on the 9th. In the evening, I went with Jackie to the Lube volleyball game. Macerata Lube won 3-2 over Modena in a very tight match. As a matter of fact, the first 4 games all ended 25-23. The Macerata team has 7 Italians and one player each from Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia, Poland, Holland and Brazil. Macerata is currently in 4th place (out of 14 teams). It's very tight: 4-7th place is separated by only 2 points. The team we beat last night is currently in sixth. If you're really interested, check the leader board.

Yesterday's post was mostly pictures. Today, reflections on news.

U.S. presidential primaries are often the subject of the news. I was asked yesterday by our restaurateur friends whether I thought Clinton or Obama would be the next president. They seemed surprised to find that the election would not be until November, and that it was possible that neither of the two might be elected. The idea of a primary seemed odd to them. The newspaper understands primaries, but it may be a little esoteric for many.

It was pretty big news here that the Pope was protested against. The Pope had been invited to speak at the start of the academic term at the University of La Sapienza. A group of science faculty calmly voiced their protest. Their contention was that the church's history was anti-science, reminding everyone of Galileo's treatment, and that the current pope was no promoter of scientific advances. The faculty protest was picked up by more radical voices who marched, demonstrated, etc. The Pope responded by saying that he wouldn't go if he wasn't welcome and opted not to go last week. At the Pope's weekly address to the crowd Sunday, he characterized himself as a victim of censorship and encouraged academics to be open-minded. St. Peter's Square was estimated to have 100,000 people, mostly there in a show of support for the pope.

The possibility of an American recession and its impact on world stock markets was a big story yesterday, and from this morning's news will probably be once your market opens later today. I just wish the exchange rate would get a little better.

Of course it's big news here that we may be on the verge of a new government. The current majority seems to have dissolved. I believe there will be a vote in Parliament tomorrow. In case you don't know, the PM in Italy is determined by the majority in Parliament. Because there are more than two parties, it is quite rare that a single party has a majority, so they must form alliances with other parties. When there is discord between the parties over any major issues the coalition can fall apart, which means the PM loses the majority.

And finally, the trash situation in Naples continues. There is some relief but still there is much that has not been removed. The issue continues to be where to put it. Landfills across Europe are filling at an alarming rate and no one wants to take anyone else's stuff. If I were a entrepreneur I would be interested. There is going to be a major need to deal with this, which is only going to increase.

I just discovered that the link for the newspaper article I provided in Saturday's post takes you straight to the front page, not the precise article, so here it is, minus all the nice graphics.:


Edizione del 20 gennaio 2008
Edizione del 20 gennaio 2008, oggi in edicola:(Ogni giorno dalle ore 14 potete trovare online il giornale in edicola)
Articolo del giorno 18/01/2008 Cronaca di Macerata

Filosofia del Maiale e cena-degustazione Slow Food d’eccezione

CORRIDONIA - Questa sera lo Slow Food torna con la terza edizione di Porco Corpo. Si parla della Filosofia del Maiale nella cultura enogastronomica italiana nel corso di una cena degustazione al ristorante I beati Paoli in cui Evio Hermas Ercoli presenterà insieme all'autrice Lorenza Natali il libro edito dalla Camera di commercio La Coppa di Testa: un patrimonio popolare che viene dal passato. Presente anche il presidente della Cdc Giuliano Bianchi. Eccezionalmente parteciperà anche il prof. Dom Caristi docente di Telecommunication al Digital Policy Institute. Prenotazioni allo 0733-433235

e-mail : info@corriereadriaticonline.it
Corriere Adriatico - via Berti, 20 - Ancona - Tel. 071.4581 - Fax 071.42980 - C.F. e P.I. 00246630420

Time to catch up a little more. This is one view of the stairs up to the top of the clock tower we visited on Friday. You can see how narrow the passage is. Despite the steep incline, this is less frightening because you have solid wall on either side. Where more people had trouble was the higher partfs of the stairwell which were modern, but you could see a long ways down as you walked up, as they are out in the open. I took a picture but it doesn't really show it very well so I didn't include it.

The next picture shows part of the interior of Teatro Lauro Rossi, our local theatre. It's done to look old style (it's faux marble), but it's realy only about 150 years old - rather new, really. The picture is taken from the main floor of the theatre (is that the mezzanine?) where there are some very nice leather seats. The balconies may seem to be better, but the chairs aren't as nice and they actually sell for less than floor seats. Obviously the theatre has plays but they do other events as well. Last night a few of our students attended a jazz concert. Chet Baker was actually a regular in this town up until his death, and they still remember him in concerts, photos and other memorabilia. The place we had lunch Friday was a regular hang out of his, and it's covered in pictures.

On Friday

we also visited a palace that is currently under restoration, and wil probably be open to the public this summer - but of course Filiberto got us in. The place belonged to a wealthy family and it was given to the town. It, too, is only a couple of hundred years old. They have already brought over the carriages from the basement of the city library where they had been housed. I was extremely distraught (as were a couple of the students) when one of our students walked over to one of the carriages and opened the door. When it made noise she let the door go and ran away, causing the door of this 200 year old carriage to bang. All of us know that the behavior of one should not reflect on the group, but what does the curator now think of college students, or Americans?

Kim shot this video from the amazing seafood meal we had in Civitanova Saturday. After the fresh tuna appetizer came the clamsand mussels steamed in garlic and oil. As you an see from the video, some of us were pretty darn excited to have them. They were fresh (as you might expect) , tender and delicious. The guys in the foreground of the picture are from Rider University in NJ and accustomed to seafood. Unlike one or two of the midwesterners, they had no hesitation in digging in.

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.