Sunday 28 October 2012

do something better

So yesterday, after having had a whole week of late nights with amazing people, making my presence known a bit more in the conservatorio, buying a bike and finally riding it in the daylight and consequently getting drenched in the pouring rain, I made a promise to myself that I would have a lazy day. 

And I did. 

I set no alarms, and when finally waking up I snuggled cosily up in my pyjamas after a breakfast of nutella on toast, cup of tea in hand, and set out to watch films and generally not move outside the confines of my cosy bedroom, occaisionally smugly peeking outside and feeling good that I was not one of the ones caught in the rain.

The day should have been great and perfect and just what I needed but why was it that I just felt so guilty about it? Then, as I was trying to get to sleep last night, I had a thought - "what on earth am I doing... in Italy... stuck inside my bedroom...?"

It really was a simple question and I was annoyed at myself that I hadn't asked myself sooner in the day.

So the lights went back on and I started writing a list.


Night-time-me is a bit more cheesy than daytime me, so forgive the phrasing of some of these points.

But I am determined to stick to this. Make it my little project for every day. And let's face it - I actually have time to do 90% of this every single day. And will need all the help I can get about it really, so if anyone has ideas about what I could be doing instead on a rainy day inside, please do let me know...

Wednesday 24 October 2012

that was delicious, thank you

During my time at language school in Firenze, I did not get to take full advantage of the restaurants dotted in and around the city, only once summoning up the courage to try a bit of lampredotto and pasta. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Fiorentinan-to-the-core 'lampredotto' I urge you now to never look at a picture of it uncooked... The image still haunts me and I still can't believe that, whilst eating it, I was savouring every satisfactory mouthful.

I was however a big fan of exploring the Mercato Centrale - the central market in the city of Firenze open every morning and lunchtime selling fruits, vegetables, cheeses, herbs, meats and nuts, as well as housing the odd restaurant.




But I always enjoyed our almost daily visits to this place, taking in the sights and smells of such wonderful displays - the likes of which are much less common in England. I loved spending time in amongst the different stalls, searching for the ripest, most perfect tomato that would later that evening be turned into a simple pasta sauce.

And then when I came here, nothing changed. If anything, this wonderful food-choosing experience just got better. 


Emilia-Romagna is famed for its food, Parma especially for its (take a wild guess) parmigiano and prosciutto di Parma, otherwise known as Parma ham. When my father came to visit me last week, he insisted we get stuck into the finest that my new city had to offer, and encouragingly pushed me towards the three ladies sat behind the desk in the Conservatorio and sat and listened whilst I spoke eager yet timid Italian and asked them where the most typically Parmigiano food could be found.

The three ladies (now my idols for so many reasons), being Italian ladies, immediately started talking excitedly about all the things we must try, insisting we go immediately to a restaurant (which one of the women had just called to make sure they would definitely take us right away without the need for a reservation), and try all the things written down for me by one of the three:

Torta Fritta con Salumi
Tortelli con l'erbetta
Punta di Vitello ripiena alla parmigiana



I never recommend eating all of that for lunch as we attempted to do. But it was one of the most astonishingly delicious meals of my life. And my Dad's too judging by the perseverance on his face as he mopped up the last drop of sauce.

Here's what we spied on the way out the door, after having digested.


I feel incredibly lucky to have chosen to live in a city with such a gastronomically-rich culture; where food is how you judge people, how you meet new people and greet old friends. And I also feel lucky that the people of the city are willing to share it with me. Nobody here would ever think of eating a bad meal. Food is just too important. As is the coffee that follows it.


I think here's a perfect moment to say that I've got myself a bike and plan on using it every day... Otherwise the outcome is inevitable!





Monday 22 October 2012

waiting for something to happen


Although I may be settling into life here in Parma, and going out, spending time with new friends, slowly getting adjusted to wearing a coat even when in England the optimists would go without, my life is still lacking that one important thing which, being English to the core (and there's no helping that really), I crave.

Structure.


Having had a meeting the other day (moved from 11 to 12 to 1 to 3 to 3:30) and hearing first-hand that "no one can really be bothered to arrive until November and none of the lessons officially start until then", at least I understand that this is the way. But the fact of the matter remains that without a plan laid out for me each day, I simply do not know what to do with myself. I find it so difficult getting myself up and out of bed and out the appartment if I don't know where I need to be or what I should be doing.

But thankfully I at least have practise rooms available to me so I can finally sing again and I am so glad about this. But when I'm not spending two hours in each practise room, waving my arms about, making silly warm-up noises, doing my own kind of form of yoga and wondering if the loud echo in the room means that people in the corridor can hear me, what is it that I should do with my time?

I've been walking, drinking tea, going out for drinks and watching far too many American TV series but I feel horrendously un-productive.

Today, after another horrendously slow start, I'm off to a practise room to start composing music for my Mum's wedding. This little project she set me is giving me something to look forward to completing. I'm enjoying the prospect of finally sitting down with a pen in hand and manuscript in the other and writing something for a purpose.

Here are two pictures of the mundane activities I have so far been participating in....

Arranging tea boxes.

Making pasta patterns.

So hello. If anyone feels like coming to visit me and going on an adventure then please do. I clearly need some better entertainment!

Monday 15 October 2012

the settling-in days

I have been in Parma now for a little under five days, getting myself completely accustomed to the unexpectedly grey, drizzly, dreary mid-October days here in this city. I am already loving it.

I have to admit that even from less than five days' experience of the way things are done here I know it'll be driving my stolidly English mind slowly crazy before long as I'll be sure to experience not having teachers turn up to the lessons on time, having to wait for an hour and a half to see a guy in charge who I was told would "be there soon", but of course the fun is in the experience, and mixed with all these things there have been some wonderful moments already. 

I have already met some great people - locals and foreigners just like me - and have experienced new things with them (on Saturday I went to a rugby match... didn't understand a thing but enjoyed the company and the atmosphere and the extremely Irish after party!). I've cooked some new dishes and am slowly but surely getting accustomed to having to turn the boiler on two hours before I want a shower.

But this is all such a wonderfully liberating experience - seeing how a whole nation go about their lives in an entirely different way to England. 

- Wandering about the markets which are everywhere on a Sunday, and sell everything, because absolutely no normal shop is open sensible hours.

- Working out when and where to pay when in a café or a restaurant.

- Knowing that if you want anything done quickly, it just ain't gonna happen...

- Nightclubs are all strategically placed outside of the city centre so a 15 minute bus journey is required.

- It's not polite to scoff all the buffet food whilst out for aperitivi (though this certainly did not stop us)

I'm so far loving the difference that living in Italy has brought to my lifestyle, though praying for much better weather for my Dad's visit starting from tomorrow... I've saved all the extremely touristy things for his trip to see me, so that we can while away the hours wandering round the galleries, churches and museums and I can listen to all the facts he's soaked up like a sponge throughout his life and get to know the historical, not just the (Italian-style) functional side of this beautiful City.

Here are a few pics.

Making the most of the little sunshine there's been!

Connacht vs. Zebre (aka big men with big necks)

The best Gelateria in town

A dog in a pub

The first building I properly stopped and stared at.
Still my favourite.

The ceiling of one of the chapels in the Duomo di Parma

Padlocks on the bridge - and a tree from The Lion King in the background.


Friday 12 October 2012

why having a long-distance relationship is not as scary as it sounds

Okay so maybe the title is a bit mis-leading. It's not a lecture on why everyone in the world should also go ahead and do it, more just to tell you the good things about it I have so far experienced.

The main one being the wonders of facebook, skype, texting etc. Without which I would not be able to hear about  the completely different yet still magically wonderful time my other half is having in the beautiful Swedish city of Göteborg.

The second good thing is that actually - from England - Göteborg is really not so far. So last week I got to visit. Another country ticked off my wishlist to visit!

But I have to admit that after a months' worth of language course in Italia, soaking up the culture and slowly filling my brain with Italian idioms, I was not at all prepared for the completely opposite attitude to everything which Sweden holds! Nor was I prepared to be spoken to in Swedish as soon as I landed...

But I was so so so glad to see the boy. Glad to see more than just his head and shoulders (from the skype conversations). Even more so to see him happily cooking up a perfect feast of meatballs and  Gräddsås, order a table for two in Swedish and show me the sights of Göteborg. We were blessed with some absolutely gorgeous crisp Autumn weather - which according to him was very lucky considering how wet it had been before I arrived...

So we wandered hand-in-hand round the city, hopping on trams, drinking and eating coffee, cake, steak and beer, going to the Opera, meeting his friends and lazing about - making the most of the three whole days and four nights we had together.

I loved the City he's chosen to spend his year abroad in. It's vibrant and fun, super-slick and super-modern and seriously eye-catching. If not horrifically cold in the winter time... But it truly seems like a worthwhile place for a musician to be in.

The following photos are a combination of the beautiful things I saw and had to capture and the on-going, un-spoken competition between the boyfriend and me about who could take the most arty photo... He won... unfortunately...

An afternoon spent trying (and failing) to find a waterfall
The Opera house where we saw Rusalka
Inside the Palm House 
The wonderful Autumn sunshine
A place which literally translates as the fish church  where they "worship Cod".
Thanks Hugo ... Hilarious.
The standard building in Göteborg
The sunset from Hugo's bedroom window the night before we said goodbye.


After a stunning five days in such a magical City with such a wonderful boy, I was sorry to leave the two of them! But now, as I've officially started my erasmus year abroad too (more to come on that one), I'm looking forward to sharing the Italian experience with him when he comes to visit me. It's always good to have something to look forward to, and counting down the days to our trip to Milan is right at the top of my list at the moment!!

Tuesday 9 October 2012

why a language course is a total must

Tomorrow morning, nice and bright and early (5:41 a.m. I hop on the train), I'll be making my way to the beautiful region of Emilia-Romagna, and arriving at my cute and extremely-Italian-style flat in the old peoples' area of Parma. I would be nervous about this major change, only now I have no reason to be. I thank my lucky stars that a friend's mum researched into language courses and pointed me in the right direction to the one I eventually found myself on. Not only am I now confident and happy to speak to any friendly-looking Italian (which, let's face it, most of them are), I'm not in the least bit scared about flying once again on my own, arriving at an airport I've never been to before, and hauling my suitcase onto all the local transport I'll need to get myself to my new place of study.

The Cloisters of the Conservatorio I'll be singing in.

I've spent a full four weeks living in the centre of Firenze, shopping in the markets, tutting at the ignorant locals as they wander around touristically, taking shots of here there and everywhere (whilst I did all of that the week before), going for aperitivi with friends and taking buses and trains outside of Firenze to see the sights, taste the wine, and watch  the sunsets. I already feel like Italy could be my home.

The well-deserved view from the top of the Uffizi gallery

Alongside all of this, I'd been sitting down in a class full of other foreigners like me for four hours a day to soak up as much as I could about Italian Grammar and Conversation, whilst picking up some useful vocab and some very un-helpful words, which I'm sure I'll never really need to know... But all this total immersion into Italian left me happy and confident. When I went to Parma for the second time, to have a look around again, I got chatting to a woman who worked in the Conservatorio and she eagerly listened to me attempting conversation in her native tongue then praised me for my efforts as we said goodbye to each other.

Then as I was sitting at the airport, with a newly purchased Italian novel  in one hand, feeling smug that I could now pick out 80% of the words coming from the overhead speaker, an old man, seeing the book I was reading, sat down next to me and started up a conversation in Italian all about the Author of the book. He was Albanian and I was English and I felt so proud to be able to converse with a complete stranger and not have them attempt to repeat everything to me in English.

I have to say though that after more or less a week of being at home then a week of being in Sweden visiting the boyfriend, I'm hoping my Italian has not declined too much! I'll have to wait and see I guess! Plus one can only expect to understand so much after only a month's worth of learning..!