Gap Year Draws To A Close

Well, I’m sitting in the airport getting ready to take the first of two flights that will get me home, thus, I have ample time to reflect on my past 3 months in Italy. Regretfully I have only written 3 blog posts about my time during Italy, but I don’t consider it slacking off. Yes, I may have been a little lazy, but I was just living the Italian lifestyle to a T, and it hasn’t disappointed. While during my 1^st month in Perugia I was ready to pack up and leave, looking back on it, these past 3 months (especially these last 2 months) have been great! I’ve made 3 amazing new friends, something that I’m always scared won’t happen, but thankfully does happen anyway, including one who I’ve been with night and day nonstop since about the 3^rd week I’ve been in Perugia. Eve is calm, easygoing, yet fun-loving, which makes her the perfect travel companion. While I went to the Universita per Stranieri in Perugia for 2 months – okay, let’s say a month and a half, since that last half a month I was barely ever in class – I got tired of the long hours pretty quickly, and I thought I had learned a decent basis of Italian. Thus, my parents had the idea that instead of Eve and I going back to the Universita, we could use this last month, the month of April, to travel around Italy.

         The first week we went to Bologna and Milan. Bologna is a cute little city, very tranquil and student-oriented. I think since it was the first stop on our trip after coming from Perugia, I was enthralled by it since it was a city, not merely a town like Perugia is. While there, Eve and I walked around and saw the “Nettuno” fountain, the piazza outside the Church, at sushi for dinner one night, went to an Irish pub another night (very authentic, I know), and went to a wine-tasting at a vineyard our second and last day there. The vineyard was right outside Bologna, and had apparently only been started up in 2009, so it wasn’t as rustic as I pictured a vineyard to be. However, the wine was good and the owner of the vineyard was nice and very generous with his portions of wine that he gave us. Next stop was Milan, and it just blew Eve and I away. It’s a huge city, not very walkable unless you only want to stay in the absolute Centro by the Duomo (or as English-speaking tourists endearingly call it, “The Domo”). The hostel we stayed at was only about a 7 minute walk away from the Duomo and was beautiful; I would recommend it to anyone (it’s called Ostello Bello). For 25 euro a night, we got a clean bunk bed (in a room with 8), and got to stay in this cool venue that offered a café/bar downstairs, a basement with couches, musical instruments, and games like foosball, 2 different outdoor terraces with hammocks, and a nice, clean, bright little kitchen with an herb garden on the accompanying terrace. Eve and I of course, with our newly acquired love of cooking, had to test out that kitchen, so we made some nice eggplant tomato sauce penne one night while we were there. We also of course went shopping (Milan IS one of the fashion capitals of the world), and went out at night. One of the places we were at was a converted little gothic Church that was now being used as a bar. The bar and DJ booth were where the altar should have been and there was a giant crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was beautiful, just up my alley in terms of décor... too bad the crowd in there was singles 45 and up. Oh well, we still had a good time and danced!

         Next on the list was the Amalfi Coast. It had been nice weather all throughout March, so I was expecting it to be hot and sunny in April as well, especially towards mid-end of April. Our plan was to go to Capri for three days, since we’d read online that it was beautiful and quaint there, and then go to Positano for a day. We started our journey by train from Perugia to Naples (I personally do not recommend traveling to Naples just for the sake of traveling), then a tram from Naples Central Train Station to the harbor, then a ferry from the harbor to the island of Capri. While the island definitely had charm (all whitewashed houses, lemon and orange trees, and jagged, rocky cliffs jutting into turquoise waters), the weather was not nearly as charming. It was overcast when we first arrived, and gradually turned into a rainstorm later that day... lasting for 2 full days. By the end of the second day Eve and I had already explored Anacapri and Capri, the only 2 towns on the island, and gotten drenched more times than we could count, so we decided to go to Pompeii on Wednesday instead of staying another day in Capri and then going to Positano. I think that was probably a wise choice since Pompeii was very interesting (it helped that we got a private tour guide, which was originally my dad’s idea by telephone). We went back to Perugia on Thursday, cooked a nice meal and then went out for some dancing that night. The following week Eve and I went to Florence, which, even though I had already been there on 3 separate day trips, we were going to spend two full days and nights there and therefore hopefully get a feel for the city. It really is an amazing city, my only complaint being that I think all other English speaking people in the world realize how nice of a city it is too, and come here to do study-abroads or just vacation in general. Everywhere I turned I heard English, and actually, not just English, but American English... so I’ve deciphered that Florence must be quite popular amongst college-age Americans. Rightly so though, because the city is all so condensed so it’s easy to walk through the entire city without really breaking a sweat. The lack of need for taxis is not only more economical for a budget traveler, but I think it’s nicer in general, since Eve and I could walk from one nice café or bar, to the next café or bar, without spending money on taxi fare (which is really expensive in Italy). While in Florence, we took an awesome cooking class, where we learned to make a antipasto, a primo, secondo and dolce. We made some sort of roasted eggplant/mozzarella dish for antipasto, we made spaghetti from scratch (!!!!) for primo, we made chicken in white wine sauce for secondo, and tiramisu for dolce. We were all divided into groups of 4 (Eve and I were with a nice Canadian couple) at our own kitchenette area, and we learned how to cook all this food and then got to eat it too(!) The next two days after Florence, Eve and I went to Milan again, just because it’s teeming with people and life everywhere, the pulsating heart of Italy. This time we didn’t do anything particularly noteworthy, just kind of walked around and took it all in. To sum it all up though, I’m SO glad  that I got this month to just travel around Italy. I really feel like I’ve gotten to know the country and the culture quite well if I may say so, not to mention that it’s been so much fun. Eve and I as a team did things that were a bit off the beaten path for tourists. For instance, we didn’t even visit the Uffizi in Florence, yet we did that cooking class (and for me, that’s more fun anyways). and we didn’t go to swanky touristy restaurants, but we went to nice “aperitivos” at bars around town (an aperitivo is basically when a bar puts out a buffet and if you buy an 8 euro drink, you can eat as much as you want from the buffet of pasta/grilled veggies etc. that are on the buffet).

         And so, as all my friends start coming home from college, so concludes my gap year. If I dwell on it too much, it’s incredibly sad to see such an amazing and life-changing period of time in my life come to an end (so I try not to dwell on it but instead get excited for my next adventures in life) yet I wouldn’t change it for the world. Both Lima and Perugia, and Italy in general, have stolen a piece of my heart. I will always associate these places with some of my most carefree moments in life, so besides making me sad, it also makes me smile to think back on all that I’ve lived, seen, eaten, experienced, cried about, and laughed about in this past year. It’s official. This gap year was the best thing for me at this point in my life, and I think now I am SO much more educated in life than I was a year ago. :) I'm so thankful to everyone who supported me in this year off of school endeavor, because I think it's changed me for the better. And NOW - I get to go home and be with my family, what more could I ask for?

Changing My Mind

Up until now, I've thought I've desperately wanted to return to the States as soon as humanly possible. For me, Perugia was synonymous with creepy men and unseemly store-hours (a.k.a the italians have too much siesta time). However, as my departure date looms ahead, I've begun to revaluate my time here. I've realized that there's only a certain period in a girl's (or boy's) life that she can do whatever she wants in a carefree and spontaneous manner. That's why I took this gap-year after all - to do whatever I want when I want to do it, and to experience life to its fullest without being tied down with responsibilities such as school, work, having a family etc. When I really think about it, while I've been annoyed and at times scared  due to the sexist nature of most Italian men, I've had some amazing times as well. I've been able to learn a new language at my own pace, without having to stress over grades or tests, I've learned that I have a passion not only for eating (those who know me well can attest to this) but also for cooking, I've had fun nights out with my friends (pretty much every night), and with these people I've shared countless laughs due to the awkward situations in which we always find ourselves. And there's something to be said for experiences, as my dad so wisely says. Whether they be bad, good, or awkwardly funny, experiencing new sights/sounds/tastes/smells at this time in my life - when I'm completely uninhibited - is priceless.
I have to say though, as I've said before, without my parent's support I would not be able to this in the slightest. Financially and morally, they support my decisions, whether that may be wanting to return to the States at one moment, or continue staying in Perugia the next moment. They know that the experiences that I'm able to have during this gap-year will be unparalleled in the course of my life, and they are so willing and obliging to do everything that will let me have the time of my life, and seriously, for that, I could NOT be more grateful. It's a beautiful thing, to have the full support of my parents behind everything I do, even if what I do at the moment is drink cheap italian wine and host cooking parties at my apartment.
Take last night for example. My friends and I met some Italian guys who just happen to be chefs at a little home-style restaurant in Spoleto, Umbria. I invited them to the apartment, as they said they would cook for me and my friends. They said they would be over at 8:15, but when the clock struck 9 pm, I began to wonder if they were coming at all. At probably 9:05, two of the guys trickled in to the apartment .... without any food in their clutches. Disappointed, I thought they had probably gone back on their word. One of the guys said that he had to go get the rest of his friends, and disappeared. That left me and MY friends (4 of us) entertaining this one guy who was randomly in my apartment. The rest of the guys resurfaced though ... this time baring bags upon bags upon bags of STUFF. They had brought their own utensils (plastic, so that they/or I wouldnt have to clean up - kind!), their own glasses, and LOTS of foodstuffs. I asked them if they needed any help, but they made themselves at home in my kitchen, and told the ladies that we could just wait out in the living room or on the terrace, whichever we fancied more, while they cooked. Now I could get used to this.

So while we were on the terrace, one of the guys called us down, and there he had self-made drinks ready made (since his job is a barista). So, we were given a nice little aperitif and then left to relax again. A little bit later the boys called us again, this time beckoning us to the kitchen, where they had set out plates and plates of appetizers (sauteed prawns with soft-boiled egg and a slice of lime to accompany it)! - As we ate, they continued cooking, and after appetizers, they had made us tortellini with cream sauce and bacon. Afterward, they cleaned everything up, while the ladies were allowed to just sit around (don't worry, I offered to help, my parents taught me well!). But we didn't even have to pay for this feast!

Pride In the Form of Stars and Stripes

I've never been a particularly patriotic person toward my country, the grand powerhouse of the world called The United States of America. By no means do I dislike my country, but I have always been one of the first to acknowledge its flaws, of which it has many. However, so far, while my year abroad has understandably made me much more worldly, interestingly enough, it has also caused me to form a deeper attachment to the country in which I was born, bred, and of which I hold coveted citizenship.  Take yesterday for instance. I was with some friends, coming back from an outdoor market, and we were sitting on the minimetro (sort of like an above-ground subway system), and a random Italian lady started talking to us. Obviously she realized my two friends and I were speaking a different language, so she asked us where we were from. Both of the girls I was with are from Germany, and their response to her question gained nodding approval. When she asked me if I was also from Germany, I said no, I'm American. This answer resulted in a knowing glance from her as she said, "ah. americans. VERY patriotic, no?" Now. The tone of voice that she used to phrase this sentence sounded almost as if she were saying "ah. americans. TOO patriotic, no?" Like it was a bad thing to really love one's country. I said, well, I'm not super patriotic, but yes, I like my country, it really is "un bello paese." She just looked at me and arched her eyebrows... Sweet woman. My one friend then quickly told the woman in Italian that I was half Swiss, and the woman looked pacified. "Okay. So, you are a bit European then?" - Now. I didn't like this at all. Yeah I was half Swiss and half American, but what if I had just been 100% American? I mean, just because I was half Swiss, it didn't make me any more cultured than if I had been 100% American, and I have a feeling that that's what this lady was getting at.

I have to say, I really dislike when some Europeans almost look down on Americans. Take my winter break in Switzerland for instance. One night I met some guy from Wales, and was talking to him for a bit. I found out he studied for a year in New York, and I asked him how he found the States, since I was from there. He answered that it was "okay." Then after a brief hesitation he started to go off on the States, saying that I should be glad I'm half Swiss, because everyone in America is so ignorant, blah blah blah. After a while I was like, yeah, only I can diss my own country, buh-bye! I mean, hellooooooooo. If Europeans like him and this Italian lady on the train stereotype my ENTIRE country as being one specific thing (ignorant, uncultured, nationalistic, etc.), don't they realize they are being just as ignorant as they claim my countrymen to be? No one who is truly cultured would blackmark an entire country based on a few select individuals they've met or a few politicians they've heard of. There are good people, bad people, smart people, stupid people, kind people, mean people in every country.

And I for one, am proud to be half American. To quote from a novel that I'm reading at the moment  called "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver, "The United States [...] [is] on the the existential cutting edge. It [is] is a country whose prosperity [is] without precedence, where virtually everyone [has] enough to eat; a country that [strives] for justice and [offers] up nearly every entertainment and sport, every religion, ethnicity, occupation, and political affiliation to be had, with a wild wealth of landscapes, of flora and fauna, and weather (pg. 50). [It is a place] that [calls] the shots and [pulls] the strings, that [makes] movies and [sells] Coca-Cola and [ships] Star Trek all the way to Java; the center of the action, a country that you [need] a relationship with even if that relationship [is hostile]; a country that [demands] if not acceptance at least rejection - anything but neglect. (pg 48).

From Peru to Perugia... and Oh What A Change

Well. Here I am. It's been a nice, relaxing 3.5 months since returning from Lima, Peru and the experience of a lifetime that enveloped me there. Since then I've spent quality time with my family for the holidays, and now I've packed up and moved on to Perugia, Umbria, Italy.

For most Americans, and probably people in general, Perugia is synonymous with the Amanda Knox murder trial. Although I didn't think that such a highly publicized murder in my new city of residence would bother me much (since in big cities there's probably multiple murders daily - try Lima!), it actually sort of did. It doesn't help that when I first arrived, Perugia was victim of fierce winter weather (not supposed to happen in Italy) and everyone walked around with their heads down, looking suspiciously intent to be on their way, as the city's stony, medieval buildings coldly towered above all the aforementioned pedestrians. Not to mention that I've also been told that Knox's apartment is rumored to be quite close to mine. All of this did not help to influence my idea of Perugia.

I've been here a month now, and unlike the weather (which is now way sunnier THANK GOD), my feelings toward Perugia have not changed much. To be completely honest, the people here are weird, and I still get creepy vibes from them - specifically the men, who seem to abundantly inhabit this city. First off, men AND women here don't seem to be specifically warm and inviting, especially if you have difficulty speaking their language (that would be me). They're curt, and oftentimes even hostile if you take more than a couple minutes to try to get your point across, or understand theirs... obviously there are exceptions... but this is what I've noticed from the grand majority of people. I think coming from Lima, where Latinos are just so inviting and sweet, the Italian mentality is a very different thing for me to adjust to. In a way they kind of remind me of the "New Yorker" stereotype. Quick to be on their way, unlikely to talk much to tourists/foreigners, and stressed out most of the time. But, this is just one girl's opinion. It kind of pains me to say all of this, since I know that Mia Mamma, and pretty much all the rest of the world, have this great, big love of Italy and Italian culture, and here I am smack dab in the middle of it, and strangely, I'm missing American supermarkets that stay open 12 hours a day (instead of EVERY store here closing EVER DAY between the hours of 1 and 4 pm), being able to joke around with people in my own language, and not being scared to go outside of my apartment because I'm scared creepy guys will try to hit on me.

Which brings me to my next point. Common stereotype that all Italian men are hot? SO WRONG! 90% of them are short, stubby, hairy, smelly, and REALLY strange.... as in, they stare at you (if you're a woman) with such a rabid ferocity that you're afraid their gaze alone will be enough to land you on a silver platter with an apple in your mouth like suckling pig - First course? WOMAN! --- But I'm serious. I've talked to my friends here, and they all agree, so no, it's not just my own opinion... it seems to be a collective female opinion. Which is sad, because I was kind of expecting sweet, romantic types who would woo you like Romeo did to Juliet (after all, Shakespeare's play took place in Verona, Italy).

BUT! amongst all the strange, there is good. I really like my apartment here, it's so cute and comfortable... and I enjoy hosting weekly dinner parties here. That said, I've been teaching myself how to cook, and I'm actually pretty proud of some of the dishes I've made (veal scaloppine with sauteed zucchini, spaghetti with roasted and marinated mediterranean vegetables, minestrone soup). I'm also teaching myself to be self-sufficient, as in, cleaning/doing laundry/paying my landlady on time. So, if nothing else, like I told my parents, I'm learning how to become a real person. yay adulthood!

When It All Comes to An End

Today is Friday, November 18th, 2011, and it has been exactly 11 weeks since I first came to Lima; and tonight I leave. While I´m beyond excited to go back to see my family, at the same time I am also really sad to leave the environment in which I feel I grew so much as an individual these past 2.5 months. I´ll miss the Cross Cultural Solutions volunteer house, filled with its warm, friendly staff and the laughter of my fellow volunteers. I´ll miss Fe y Alegria #17, my teaching routine, and having the girls bombard me with relationship questions at random intervals of time. I feel like both my home and work atmosphere made my time here as amazing as it was. Since I was here for so long, I had the liberty of seeing 4 different volunteer groups come and go, and it was interesting to see how to the house-dynamic changed with each group. There were two people I really bonded with though, Mark and Meghan, who were from the 3rd group with whom I spent the most amount of time with. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love laughing, and these two brought out the best of my humor that had unfortunately been lying a bit dormant for some months now, and for that I will be forever thankful. I came to Lima thinking that I had to be serious for the majority of the time, since volunteer work by nature should be somber, right? Wrong. The laughter that I shared with my housemates when I wasn´t working transferred into my teaching routine, as I became more animated and took myself less seriously in the classroom (something that I think really helped get my teaching points across to the girls and the boys). All in all, I never thought I would have as much fun as I did here in Lima, but I did. Laughter transcends cultures and boundaries, and all the fun I had made me concentrate more on living in the moment instead of worrying about homesickness. That´s probably also why I was so serious and tense the beginning of my trip, since I thought that in a few weeks time from the start-date of my program I would be heart-achingly homesick, yet that never actually happened. I´m still kind of scared that it will happen with my next adventure, but for now, I´m so grateful I had all the experiences that I had here in Lima. The people here, the Limenos I mean, are one of a kind people. They´re so open, sweet, and easygoing, and I will never forget the amazing teachers and the curious students that I met at Fe y Alegria, nor the people that I met out and about the city. I know that anytime I come back to Lima I´d have at least 10 places to stay, and that sense of hospitality, radiating from these peoples, really touched me. Thank you Lima, you will forever remain in my heart as a beautiful, eclectic city that rendered me a young adult, instead of merely a teenager.

My Newest Endeavor...

I`ve realized - perhaps obviously - that a large part of the reason that adolescent Peruvian girls enter into unprotected sexual relationships is because of the guys. If the guys don`t specifically tell the girls that they want to use a condom, the girls will stay quiet and not even touch upon the issue. Thus, I decided to begin talking to groups of adolescent boys about the importance of condom-usage, just like how I talked to the girls about the importance of using both a condom and birth control pills if they are sexually active. However, from an anthropological standpoint, it was interesting how the way in which I had to approach this topic to the females was completely different than how I had to approach it with the boys. While the premise of what I was discussing was exactly the same (how use methods of birth control and the importance of using them), I had to alter the way I spoke to the two different sexes in order to get them to listen to what I had to say. With the girls, I was soft-spoken and used a very serious tone of voice, while with the boys I was a lot louder and a bit more hardcore, kind of like a drill seargent (the only thing missing from my spiel was yelling "DROP AND GIMME TWENTY!"). My approach to get the boys to wear condoms consisted of this:

Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Wear A Condom:

1) Some girls will try to manipulate you and tell you that they won`t get pregnant if you don`t use a condom. They only do this in order to have your baby and finagle you into being not only their husband, but also their economic provider. I ask you, "Do you want to be married at age 16?" If so, have fun saying goodbye to your hard-earned money.... AND your freedom.

2) Wear a condom because the withdrawal method does not work when used as an independent form of birth control because of its high failure rate. I ask you, what guy has the self-control to pull out right as he is in his moment of ecstasy? (all the guys mulled silently over this one......). Thus, it is easier just to use a condom and feel all the pleasure you want instead of having to remember to pull out.

3) Imagine if you have sexual relations with a girl that has already had certain sexual relations with some of your friends. If you don`t use a condom ..... It`s like having sex with your friends. I ask you... Do you have a strong desire to have sex with your best friends?

Overall, the boys seemed to respond to these reasons to wear a condom a lot better than by me just telling them, "wear a condom so that the girl won`t get pregnant and so you won`t get STDS." While it may be a bit risky to be telling the boys such things in a Catholic-run school, the reality is that sexual health needs to be discussed with today`s youth, and it needs to be discussed in innovative ways that really resonate with the new generation.

Beach Trip and Halloween