Ravenna...and dumb things I do...

Dumb things I’ve done in the past couple days: 

1.     Spilling milk all over my coat (down the side and all over one sleeve) while walking to the bus for Ravenna at 6:30am.

2.     Trying to take head-set out of coat without unbuttoning (it was cold), resulting in breaking a button off of said coat.

3.     Only wearing a pair of tights and one pair of socks to Ravenna.  Another pair of socks might have helped. 

4.     Telling the Ikea man I understood how to work the self-serve gelato machine and then walking away without taking my cone or the token you need to put in the machine…I’m an embarrassment to America.

5.     Waiting until 30 minutes before drawing class to buy supplies.

Smart things I’ve done the past couple days:

1.     Put Nutella on bananas instead of cookies.

2.     Shopping for produce at the central market instead of the grocery store.

3.     Buying a sewing kit.

4.     Going to the Uffizi to see Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Primavera…it was a quick visit…I will be back.

5.     Making better use of my quiet time.

Alex and I were talking about food earlier and realized that, even though we kind of went on a Nutella binge the first week, we really have been eating better than at home.  Except for a few potato chips, I haven’t had any fried food since I got here.  We buy a lot of fruit for snacks, including some sun-dried fruit from the central market.  We rarely eat out for dinner and our meals at home usually include some sort of pasta or rice (ok, we might be a little heavy on the carbs), some veggies (zucchini, mushrooms, etc.), and sometime some meatballs.  I only have soda when I’m feeling homesick and I’ve even lowered my coffee intake!

I might have lied about the coffee.

Point is…I bet my mom would be proud! Love you, Momma bear.  This is a public thank you for letting me have this opportunity and for always supporting me in every way you can.  I will cook for you when you get here!

Yesterday was the trip to Ravenna!  Ravenna is not as beautiful as Florence, but its mosaics are incredibly striking.  The trip was with the Early Renaissance class and our stops were based mainly on where you can find the most preserved examples of Early Christian art and architecture.  The mosaics from this time are not quite like mosaics today, which are usually made up of small tiles or pieces of flat glass.  These pieces of these mosaics are often covered in thin sheets of gold and are not always perfectly flat.  Because of the more angular pieces, Ravenna’s mosaics dazzle like no others. 

It is strange to go into basillicas here, because they are usually a hodge-podge of different styles on the inside.  For example, Ravenna’s famous basilica, San Vitale, has a choir and apse that are fully decorated in Byzantine mosaics, while the cupola is full of 18^th century frescos.  It’s an odd experience to stand there with such opposite styles in one place. It’s kind of like wearing snow boots and a mini skirt.

We saw a lot in Ravenna, but sadly, I mostly remember the cold.  By the time we got back on the bus, I was chilled to the core.  My feet were kind of in a cold sweat (sorry if that’s gross) and I ended up taking off my socks because they were moist and making my feet even colder.  It was basically a day of wardrobe malfunctions (see above). 

Nonetheless, I’m still loving Italia! It’s not easy, especially on days like today when I can’t even figure out how to buy gelato, but it’s definitely becoming a positive experience.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt as alone as I feel here, at least not on a regular basis, but I’m finding that it’s a good kind of alone.  It’s the kind of loneliness that makes you realize that you’re never really alone.