et al

good afternoon to all for whom it is in fact morning:

i've had a few flattering requests for a more basic overview of life in italy, so i will try to do that concisely and yet with an eye to the depth of each day in a culture that becomes slightly less strange every day. but if you could truly understand the fearless popularity of the mullet here in italy, you would understand how it remains still quite strange even after more than one month.

my friend lee mazur and i share room number 3 at La Terrazza, (http://www.iltrovavacanze.it/vacanze/album23/B_e_B_la_TERRAZZA_di_Arezzo.htm), and my friend joe bell lives next door. every night, joe and i agree to run the next morning at 07:15, and that happens rougly two thirds of the time. after a shower and a quick breakfast, which consists of coffee we make ourselves on the stove from a mocha and CAKE that Signora Paola makes for us every day, i awkwardly greet the other guests (up to 5, sometimes none), and am on my way.

after my experiences in taizé, which in hindsight were a culmination of previous thoughts and trends and a beginning of new trends, i am pleased to have gotten into the habit of daily silent prayer in a nearby church, San Giuseppe del Chiavello. i find the atmosphere delightful on several levels.

1. San Giuseppe is the italian equivalent of a storefront church - it's on a residential street and has nothing that denotes it as a church other than a modest mass schedule on the double wooden doors. the interior is decorated in baroque finery that seems far too opulent for an iconoclast such as myself, although, speaking somewhat objectively, no more than 50 people could fit in there at a time. much too shiny for only 50 people to see it.

2. there are nuns, for whom i have become a curious fixture in their daily routine. i'm usually there from about 08:40 until 9:00, at which time between 3 and 5 elderly women are entering the church for a prayer service. i don't think these women appreciate my presence very much, as one time i was detained by an interesting flyer in the vestibule on my way out, and as soon as i left, there was many angry italian words exchanged between them. however, since that time i have befriended one of the nuns, who seems to have intervened on my behalf in that social sphere. i don't know her name and now i don't know how to ask, but she gives me a big smile every day and often comes up behind me and startles me by putting both her hands on my face, physically turning my eyes toward the Madonna col Bambino above the altar, and saying 'Gesù ti darà la forza!' and other imperatives towards the priesthood. she also gives me printed prayers to read, which i always do immediately, partly because i am sort of afraid of this 60 year old woman but mostly because i'm moved by her compassion for the samaritan in the temple.

after chillin' with the religious, i'm off to school, although i often stop off for a caffé on the way and scan the headlines of the newspapers. monday, tuesday, and thursday, the academic day starts with italian, and on monday and wednesday that moves into art history. thursdays we have 3 hours of italian, straight until lunch. tuesdays we have 3 hours of italian history, which i enjoy because we look at history through the lens of novels. although i'm frustrated that we are reading them in translation. not that i'm capable at this point of reading long selections in italian with any expediency (or much comprehension, for that matter), but i wish i was spending less time in the english universe and more in the italian.

everyone on this program (all 9 of us) eat luch at 'Bar Centrale,' where i do my best to speak my best italian to the multitude of women who work behind the counter and in the kitchen, with my ultimate goal being to be able to casually flirt with them. the food is delicious.

every other afternoon we have another class taught by visiting u of r professors in their area of interest as it relates to italy. i'll speak more about this when i get the opportunity to write out here my reflections on this weekend's trip to ROME, which was other-worldly. on 'off' afternoons i get together with two italian students, erika and elena, and i help them decode videotaped interviews with american students studying in italy so they can write italian subtitles as part of their work on their final undergraduate thesis. they are both very nice and we have fun, and i am challenged both by the opportunity to provide an explanation of funny english idioms like 'i worship the ground she walks on' and the frequent need to apologize for the behavior and attitudes of the students being interviewed. it is a fascinating and sometimes painful look at how other americans perceive and perceived their time abroad.

currently, we are able to use the internet from 16:00 until 18:00. it's been very interesting to feel just how reliant i am on computers: for communication, for a sense of connection to the events of the world, and for writing. no one else can read my handwriting, so i have to use my time wisely if i want to turn in legible papers.

we eat dinner at santa caterina, a nearby girl's boarding school housing approximately 90 girls ages 14-22. there are 5 guys on this program - it's a little weird. we are definitely on display, a factor which we try to exploit for maximum comic effect. when i'm a little wound up, i sometimes sit down at a table of 4 middle school girls and try and keep up with their conversation. i've found this is the best way to acheive maximum exhaustion in miminal time. on more than one occasion, i have started sweating. the food could be better, but the social interaction is priceless.

after our dinner we head back to la terrazza and make coffee, do some homework, watch some olympics (italian coverage of the games has been CRAZY - italian television itself is often hilarious, but, coming from the athletic dominance of the united states, no self-respecting nation should get that excited about a bronze medal), and crash around 11. sleep like i've never slept before.

in the coming days: ROMA extra, extra, read all about it.

venice et al

ciao tutti -

it's been a while since i last posted, i apologize for the delay. as always, i'm like a starving man torn between two plates at equal distances: on the one hand, i want to go out and live live live, soak it all up, and on the other hand i want to take time to reflect, to write, to place those experiences in a larger context that could be shared with others, with you. i've been doing a lot of the first, i need to do a better job of the second.

last weekend we went to venice. let me say, venice is beautiful. it's about 4 hours away by train, and after my extensive experience with american rail, i never cease to be amazed by the quality of european rail, notwithstanding odd ideas like having 6 stangers sleep together in a small closet moving at 60 mph. but these were day trains of a more standard and less intimate configuration.

the beauty of italy is at times overwhelming, in two senses: it can reach out and smack you between the eyes in a single moment, but its omnipresence can also be numbing after a while. venezia was the intrusion of a moment of this first type into what had become the surreally everyday. we walked out of the train station and looked out across the grand canal and i was pretty much speechless. i'm very excited to one day spend time in venice with a beautiful woman that i passionately love. it's that kind of city.

aside from the fantastic art (we visited the accademia, la scuola di san rocco, and the peggy guggenheim collection) and getting lost, we had the peculiarly venetian experience of visiting the workshop of Tramontin & Figli (www.tramontingondole.it). Signor Tramontin is the last remaining craftsman of handmade gondolas in all of Venice. His great-grandfather started this business, and while the workshop once was able to turn out 21 handmade gondolas in a single month (only 3 men working together), Signor Tramontin now works alone, making about 1 gondola a year. i must say: they are so choice, if you have the means, i highly recommend picking one up. about 35,000 euros for the basic model, and of course you can opt for extras.

Interesting things about gondolas!

• Tramontin Gondolas are made from 8 different kinds of wood, used very specifically according to their different properties.
• Tramontin Gondolas are custom-made according to the weight of the gondolier.
• Gondolas are asymmetrical, very asymmetrical.
• The paddle stroke used by gondoliers cuts the water 'like salami' (how apropos of Sgr. Tramontin to use this metaphor - his solid and substantial frame suggested that he was as familiar with the intricacies of Venetian cuisine as he was with the tools on his own workbench). This technique, which keeps the paddle blade in the water continuously unlike the English variation (think rowboat), works with the water to minimize turbulence around the blade and thus maximize efficiency. A gondolier paddling at 5 km/h expends no more energy than a tourist strolling across a campo.

needless to say, i found Sgr. Tramontin a very impressive figure. literally and figuratively. it's an interesting commentary on venetian life to think about the tragically slow death of the gondola craftsman and his art. venice, which earlier in the 20th century had 250,000 inhabitants, now has only 50,000 permanent residents, with tourists making up the difference. Sgr. Tramontin seemed acutely aware of the connection between the move towards gondolas made quickly and from lower quality materials and the move towards a tourist-centered venetian culture. in the 21st century, both gondolas and the venetian experience are, in a word, synthetic.

as we left, i made a point to thank Sgr. Tramontin in my best italian and shake his hand. he had the firm grip that i expected, but that final interaction left something to be desired, although it was an appropriate end to our time in the workshop. wrapped up in a conversation with someone else, Sgr. Tramontin looked at my hand long enough to guide his into it, and then back to his discussion. he never looked at me. he saw my hands - saw that they aren't used to long, hard labor, and moved on to more important things. while he generously offered us his time and a look at his workshop, he's not impressed by the tourist market. i'm glad.

my address

if the desire strikes you to write me a real live letter, here's my permanent address in Arezzo.

carl adair
c/o Accademia Brittanica Toscana
Vicolo Pietro da Cortona 10
52100 Arezzo, Italy

working on some spring break plans. tenative itinerary: stockholm, london, paris. just beginning plans, though.