Saturday, September 18, 2010:
Friday was the beginning of Yom Kippur, and the Jewish Ghetto was the place to be! From what I understand, they must have a day of feasting and a day of prayer and fasting (atonement). Let’s just say the Jewish community in Rome knows how to feast! I was still awake at 3 am; and even with all of my windows closed tight, I could still here the partying. My 6 am alarm came rather abruptly.
We went to Assisi today on a day trip with 68 students. It is a beautiful town with beautiful churches and quaint little shops, set on the rolling hills in the heart of Umbrian countryside. I thought it seemed almost mountainous (like the Rocky Mountain foothills).
The city was founded around 1000 BC and remained within the confines of the Roman walls until the 13th century. Now, close to 30,000 people live in and outside the walls. It was the birthplace of St. Francis (1181) and St. Clare (1194) who both have churches built in their honor:
the Basilica of Saint Francis and
the Basilica of Saint Clare.
Two devastating earthquakes hit Assisi in September 1997, but the restoration has been remarkable, although much remains to be done. Massive damage was caused to many historical sites, but the major attraction, the Basilica of Saint Francis, reopened less than 2 years later.
We ate at Cheri and Brenda's favorite restaurant. Brenda always orders an appetizer "to share" and I was really full after eating that; so when my meal came, I didn't even eat half of it. I just figured I'd take it home, had even said that out loud; and when it came to the end of our meal, I asked the food server for a "porta via" and she looked at me like I'd just said some nasty word out loud. She was so shocked... I said in English, "you know, a box". She turned and headed to the kitchen, Cheri and Brenda look at me and tell me they have never taken food with them from that restaurant, that no one leaves "with food", that it was probably the first time anyone had ever asked for a porta via in the history of the restaurant. I just said, "well, I'm not leaving half of my meal here for them to throw away. I'm taking it home and eating it later." She brought out a plastic bowl... that was it... a bowl... no lid of any kind, so when our main server came back with the capachinos Cheri and Brenda had ordered, I asked him for a lid. He came back with two napkins! With the different shops we had been to, Brenda had a small plastic bag, so I just slid the bowl and "napkin lid" into the bag and tied the handles tight. I'm sure they were talking about that crazy American that asked for a take-out box.
Sunday, September 19, 2010:
Brenda, the painting professor from ISU, found out her mother had passed away on Saturday. She had been very sick all summer. Brenda flies back to Oklahoma on Monday for a week. Cheri and I met her for lunch today. We came up with a plan of action for Cheri and I to take over her classes until she comes back. We spent the rest of the day together, she needed the emotional support of friends and is basically already packed and ready to leave in the morning. I'm exhausted, and now, wouldn’t you know, I can’t fall asleep! It will be a busy week this week with Brenda’s classes and the arrival of Primo Angeli, who owned one of San Francisco's oldest and largest design studios and is coming to lead a packaging workshop for the graphic design students. He and his wife live in Italy now.
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