Ciao, tutti!I am proud to report that despite being a long way from home, my classmates and I were able to celebrate President Obama's inauguration appropriately. Above is the scene at Le Scuderie, the ristorante we were at during the inauguration. They set up a large projector screen and invited all the American university programs in Bologna to come watch together. There were American students from all over the country - Cornell, Columbia, Vassar, Wellesley... it was awesome and somewhat moving that we were all able to come together to watch this historic event.
In other news, I have finally started classes! For the next three weeks I am attending an intensive Italian language class, aimed at further developing our grasp of Italian grammar and (hopefully) bringing us up to speed with the native speakers. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays we have our language class, and every Wednesday a special lecturer, Daniela Bigatti, teaches an Italian culture course that will educate us on the history of Bologna, L'Università di Bologna, and Bolognese art. The best part is that each lecture is accompanied by a site visit - we are literally face-to-face with the subject matter. Today's first lecture was to the Museo Civico Medievale, a museum rich in medieval Bolognese art.
Professoressa Bigatti showing us a Professor's mausoleum - spooky!
We learned that medieval Bolognese art is astonishingly informative; Most of the sculptures and carvings we saw today depicted detailed classroom settings with professors, international students, and even janitors!Although I have never taken an art history class before, I really enjoyed today's lesson. It was amazing to be able to learn about something famous as I stood right in front of it.
And, drumroll please...this weekend, Rachel and I are taking a trip to Florence! AND Carly Miller, a great friend of mine from Cornell who is currently studying abroad in Rome, is meeting us there! The train ride from Bologna is only an hour, so we should have a comfortable amount of time to explore. We leave Friday afternoon, and I AM SO EXCITED.
A presto!
And, drumroll please...this weekend, Rachel and I are taking a trip to Florence! AND Carly Miller, a great friend of mine from Cornell who is currently studying abroad in Rome, is meeting us there! The train ride from Bologna is only an hour, so we should have a comfortable amount of time to explore. We leave Friday afternoon, and I AM SO EXCITED.
A presto!
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ReplyDeleteHave a great time.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica. OMG this is so great!! I finally figured out how to get onto your blogs and it appears you are doing sooo well. I am so happy everything is going fine. Now that I am on I will keep updated regularly. Any how Italiano you can bring back for me????....lol....Ciao bella!!!....(I think that's how you say it....lol)
ReplyDelete.....i meant "hot" Italiano...lol...I can't type either...
ReplyDeletehi mon! yay we found each other. i really enjoyed watching you sleep last night in your green eye mask (sans lavendar smell). had a perfect view of you from my awesome top bunk bed! today we will be discovering florence together and racing up the duomo is top on my list. bet i win :)
ReplyDeleteHi Monica, I was considering a trip similar to yours and was doing a little research when I found this page. I was actually looking into the class you are taking with professoressa Bigatti and that's what brought me to you. It sounds like you just started your class. I'd love to read your critique after the completion of your class. I just want to make sure that I make the most of my studies and the trip, in general. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDelete