Anna Goes Everywhere!: 11/19 - 11/22: Papers and Thanksgiving

Monday, November 19:
If you have ever tried to explain interpretative dance to someone totally unfamiliar with the concept, you will understand how weird today was. If have NOT ever tried to explain interpretative dance to someone totally unfamiliar with the concept, you should probably keep it that way. It's weird. The day started with an extra long class with Gail at Santa Maria Novella -- after months of walking past the church, I finally got to go inside! However I was slightly distracted by the thought of the papers we have due in the next couple of days, so I feel like I didn't appreciate it like I should have. Kebabs for lunch fixed that though. (Students: there's a kebab place on Via Faenza and another on the way to the Immigration Office -- seek them out.) After Italian, where we tried to explain interpretative dance to our teacher, I grabbed gelato and headed back to the house. My afternoon and evening were consumed with a paper for Jodie, interrupted only by dinner (rice with chicory, spinach frittatas, salad, and apples). Bonus: I held my own in some relatively successful dinner conversation, asking questions and making (get this--) meaningful contributions. Score.

Tuesday, November 20:
Gender class was at the Uffizi Gallery this morning, where we looked at more work by the female artists we've been discussing: Lavinia Fontana and Artemisia Gentileschi. I also found my favorite Judith and Holofernes yet (Artemisia's; I've included it below).

Artemisia Gentileschi's appropriately bloody Judith and Holofernes.

A few of us then had a nice coffee break, since we headed straight from the Uffizi to Santa Trinita, where we had class with Jodi. We got there early, owing to the fact that the two sites were much closer than we thought. A nice, unexpected break. After class, I splurged on peanut butter to go with my apples and bread (and discovered that I was much more tired of sandwiches than I had thought), before doing some researching, academic and recreational. After proof-reading, doing homework, and generally being more productive than normal, I decided that I deserved a break and read the rest of a play called The Deceived, that we'd been introduced to in Gender. It is hilarious. I don't remember if I've talked about it before, but everyone should read it. After dinner (pasta, salmon, cauliflower, and grapes), I spent the rest of the evening killing mosquitos. A matter of survival, really.

Wednesday, November 21:
What a lovely pseudo-day off. I had nothing except Italian, so I slept in, took care of some postcards, ate a pint of gelato, checked out more books (I'm up to 8 now), and bought train tickets to Naples for this weekend. Gretchen, Isa, Jessika, and I are headed to Pompeii! When I headed back to the house, there was a guy painting the entryway to the building, so I stopped and chatted with him for a little while. I might have tricked him into thinking I spoke Italian? It was surprising. Dinner was soup, chicken, salad, and grapes. And Nonna brought down my excitement over thinking I may have successfully had a conversation with the painter man by asking what language I was speaking -- while I was speaking Italian. Face palm.

Thursday, November 22:
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving Day in Italy feels like just another day... mostly because it is. Sarah, Gretchen, and I took the bus in to the train station, where we met up with the whole group and bussed out to Poggio a Caiano to see the old Medici country villa. After a short stop here, we continued to a very old, very famous vineyard for a tour of the oil making facilities plus the winery. Then lunch - a delicious, traditional Italian harvest feast. Crostini with spinach and white beans, pasta with vegetables, strip steak and MASHED POTATOES. I got seconds. Of everything. We visited the giftshop, got group pictures, and took the bus back to Florence, where my host mom had dinner all ready for us (noodle soup, roast beef, squash, clementines, and walnuts). After everything at lunch, I almost wasn't hungry. Afterwards, I packed. Pompeii tomorrow!