July 6th: Catching up

It's getting harder and harder to update as we get closer to the end of the program. Things are pretty busy.

We're full-on into the opera right now, and it's pretty intense. There are four performances total -- tonight is our last -- with two casts in three different locations near Arezzo (Cortona, Sansepolcro, and Castiglion Fiorentino). We have large charter buses that shuttle everyone back and forth from Arezzo to the concert venues, which are great except that the overhead bins don't hold violins. Anyway, since the Italian people take their time with every aspect of life, it makes sense that evening concerts wouldn't start until 9 pm. And that's a lazy 9 pm -- it's usually more like 9:15 or 9:30. So do the math -- if the opera is four hours long, we're not getting home and in bed until well after 2 a.m. every night. Fortunately, the Italian teachers are gracious and allowed us to set back our class time until the afternoon, for the duration of the opera performances.

That said, many of the language classes have been cancelled altogether. They understand that music is our main focus here, so they allowed us to take a few days' break last week. Now that means not only is our test on Thursday (help!), but we've also had time to forget everything we learned in the past couple of weeks. And forget studying -- it's been hard enough just to stay awake with the crazy time schedule everyone's been on. Saturday "morning" I woke up and was shocked to find that it was actually 3 in the afternoon.... but, I guess I needed it.

Some of the kids' parents are visiting Italy to see the performances, and I'm a little jealous. I wish my family could be here too.

Going back to the Italians taking their time with life... that's one thing I really like about it here. Remember how I've said that the locals find it strange that we eat on the run? I actually am beginning to understand that. When I grab a ham and mozzarella panino per portare via, for takout, I find myself wondering whether it's actually necessary that I get it to go. And a lot of the time, the answer is no. Yesterday, for example -- I was in such a habit of getting food fast that I didn't stop to think that I didn't really need to be anywhere in a hurry. So rather than running with it, I sat down outside the cafe with a few friends and had a nice conversation while eating my freshly-made panino. It was a very pleasant change.

I haven't even seen anyone here eating while walking, let alone eating while working or driving. Even to go for a caffe', they deliberately stand at the counter and sip it slowly, making conversation with the bar owner or other customers. It's a nice change of pace.

Also, the time schedule of this culture is really different. For the first couple of weeks we were here, no one could figure out why stores seemed to close at random at strange times of the day. It was actually a little frustrating, since the afternoon is often the only time that we have free to do shopping, get groceries, etc.Then someone informed us that the town takes a break from 1-4 every afternoon, which we call their siesta time (although that's probably not really what it is). For these few hours, most stores shut down, and there are fewer people out on the streets. Everything re-opens late afternoon and the restaurants start preparing for dinner, which actually doesn't happen until 8 or 9. Then, naturally, everyone is out until 1 or 2 in the morning -- even on weeknights -- which is why it's not unusual to them for the opera to end at 1:30. It's as if they have their quiet time in the afternoon to allow them to stay out as late as they want. Who knows, maybe that's actually the point. Either way, I kind of like it. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen an Italian in a hurry -- these people just have a natural sense of taking it easy that makes everything around here really leisurely and enjoyable.

So while my dining habits probably won't be any different when I return to the States, it's really nice to enjoy here while I can.

(The picture above is the sign hanging outside the theater where we performed in Cortona.)

More later,
-Allie