Italain is harder…but I have successfully finished Italian class in Italy with flying colors! The thing is, when you live in Italy, taking an Italian final is pretty similar to just trying to get around. I was nervous before the final and my friend Tyler gave me this nugget of wisdom: imagine you’re a penguin. Now just keep waddling. –And that gives you a peek into the character of this ACM group!
We have just completed our longer cast drawings…seven two-hour sessions on this one. I drew the head of the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, which I will be seeing in Rome very soon! So here are my progress shots after every day…
And the final product!
There have been several little events that I feel are worth mentioning. Yesterday, while riding the bus to school like I do every day, the bus got into an accident. I don’t really understand what happened because it didn’t look like either the bus or the car had actually touched one another or at least left any damage. I do know that one minute the bus was putting along and the next minute everyone in the bus was flying forwards. I will admit, I was surprised when the first thing the bus driver did was make sure that everyone on the bus was unharmed. My previous experiences with Italian bus drivers have never been positive. Well, there was that one time that I did a little dance when the bus came (it was very late) and the driver told me that when I flagged a bus, I should do it with my hands and not my feet. I giggled at that encounter. Anyways, all is well, everything is fine and I walked the rest of the way to school. No worries, just excitement.
As a part of my Italian final, I had to give a presentation on whatever I wanted so I decided to summarize Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in Italian (when I return from Italy, I will be designing costumes for Knox’s winter term production of said play). I know at least one of my readers would like proof that I can actually give a presentation in Italian so here it is!
Quando io tornara negli Stati Uniti, io fare le costume per un spetacolo Teatro le chiama “Dodiceisma Notte” di Shakespeare. All’inizio la rappresentazione una signorina ha sopravive una tempest e un naufragio. La signorina chiama Viola e lei pensa suo gemello morto. Lei non sa dove si e. Tra poco lei deduce la terra chiama Illyria e ha un duca si chiamo Orsino. Viola decide di traversi da un’uomo e lavora per il duca. Il duca Orisno e inamorato di Olivia, una contessa. Viola deve dare messagi d’amore al’Olivia. Ma Olivia pensa Viole e un’uomo e si inamora di Viola mentre Viola si inamora Orsino. Molto caotico! Poi il gemello di Viola arrivo (lui non e morto). Lui si chima Sebastian. Olivia sentira Sebastian e penso lui e Viola. Olivia e Sebastian sposarano. E molto divertenti quando Orsino penso suo domestic ha sposate Olivia. Alle fino, Viola rivela la sua vera identita. Tutti sono felice.
For Medici class we visited an exhibit at the Palazzo Strozzi (the enemy family of the Medici) called “Denaro e Bellezza” (Money and Beauty). This exhibit was much more interesting than I had anticipated. It displayed and explained a mix of economics, history and art, illustrating how closely tied the bankers and merchants were to the art of Florence in particular. First, it dipped into a different class subject of mine with a fresco from Santa Croce depicting the circle of Hell where the usurers are punished. There was another painting by a Flemish artist with quite a haunting image of death approaching a miser and the exhibition had categorized it as “The Wages of Sin.” I appreciated it and if you know my history of musical theatre, you will too. There were also numerous parts of the exhibit—the expensive red fabric dye, velvet textiles and alum (the most precious mineral at the time, potassium aluminum sulphate, that was essential for dying textiles)—which showed how important clothing and fashion have been throughout history. There were sumptuary laws which dictated who could wear what styles, colors or jewels and even special brocades made only for a specific family. Need I say it? So cool!!!
Then we saw lots of Fra Angelico and Botticelli paintings which got me more excited to see the Birth of Venus in the Uffizi next week.
Have I mentioned that I’ve seen David twice now? He really doesn’t get any less awesome. The duplicates are nothing compared to the real thing. Breathtaking. Totally worth the 11 euros everyone else has to pay to get in (did I mention I get in for free?).
Woo! Sorry about the bragging! It just feels so great to have finished a class and be going to Rome tomorrow. That being said—sorry to my complaining fans (Ahem, Allie and Joseph) who whine that I don’t write often enough—I will not be bringing my computer with me to Rome and therefore will have four new blog posts for you starting Monday. Buona fine di settimana! To all of my wonderful Knox friends, good luck on finals! Boca di lupo! (You have to say Crepi back or it’s bad luck, remember). Ciao!
You were right, I definitely wanted proof of your Italian skills. It was fun to read because I knew the plotline, so I could figure out what the words meant form the context and from your brief Italian lesson the other day. Way cool. Have fun in Rome! (and Moira says she'll pay you if you bring her a bag back ;D)
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