August 2010
8 posts
3 tags
the changing caffè culture(s) of italy
When most people think of European “cafe culture,” they probably think of spending long hours sipping coffee in old-style cafes, filled with little wooden tables and chairs that spill out onto the sidewalk, perhaps even a fancier cafe with waiters in white coats dashing about. But this is really just a French style of having coffee. Italians will almost always have an espresso, a...
2 tags
diamond for a nickel
What do they think they’re up to, here? Well, there is the official answer; preparing themselves for life which means a job and security in which to raise children to prepare themselves for life which means a job and security in which. But, despite all the vocational advisers, the pamphlets pointing out to them what good money you can earn if you invest in some solid technical training...
5 tags
ecstasy
A feeling I’m sure is not foreign to the people of this great city.
Santa Teresa in Ecstasy sculpture by Bernini; Santa Maria della Vittoria church
2 tags
pencil tapping against the desk
The first foreign language you study for years without using it, seemingly in a vacuum, wondering if it’s completely pointless. Those years that are like a waiting room for real life, spending countless hours learning things they say you’ll need later, learning slowly, thoroughly.
Now, the next language you’re learning all in a hurry, literally as you go along, out of direct...
4 tags
letting the quiet in
Let me be like a little light, a little flame that grows, stronger, steadier and brighter.
I’m not religious (nor am I even Catholic to begin with), but I do like going into churches in Europe when I can; I like finding one in a city I stay in for a while that can start to feel like “mine.”
There’s just something incredibly peaceful about it. Walking the length of the...
2 tags
just something that's been on my mind lately...
“My first days were painful. I spent hours upon hours behind my desk trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. Every time B had his back turned, I called my best friend, who was a journalist, and way smarter than me, and she explained everything to me with more patience than I could believe. …
What happened because of this first experience is that I realized that I’m capable...
5 tags
santiago de compostela
Background: A few years ago, when I was just starting my year abroad in Barcelona, after a week of settling into our apartments and host families there, the university program organized a trip for us all to go to Santiago de Compostela. On the other side of Spain, in Galicia, the city is still the destination for thousands of pilgrims (religious and athletic now, frankly) who walk there from as...
