Paderno Del Grappa
Time: 13:39 [1:39 PM Italia; 4:39 AM Oregon]
The first two weeks of this program have been insane! I have:
- Hiked Mt. Grappa, the enormous mountain directly behind campus
- Gone to Florence for a weekend and hung out with two guys from Wales
- Taken tons and tons of pictures of everything because I'm on an adventure in Europe!
The campus in this small town is beautiful. There are two buildings: the SGP and the Pio, both of which are very old and made of limestone and concrete.
The Pio has single rooms and the SGP, where I live, has doubles. The rooms are much nicer than I thought they would be. The furniture is made of hard plastic made to look like wood, the standard of any dorm room and the same as at U of O. I have a bed, a shelf, a desk, a chair and a window with red and brown wooden shutters. I like the shutters because they are truly European. They remind me of movies in which people close their shutters when an army rolls into town. On the inside of the window pane are glass windows on a wooden pane, closable and lockable to keep the bugs out.
Keeping the bugs out is not always easy. Mosquitos are public enemy number one here. They are relentless (when it's warm, but that's every day). Flies and ladybugs and moths and bees love the florescent lights in my room, so they literally come out of the woodwork to get to the light. There are grasshoppers on the other end of the building, but I haven't had any. The bugs are free to come and go as they please because they can fit through the gaps in the windows, even when they're locked. There are no screens.
The view from my window is great because beyond the Pio I can see farmland and the distant hills of Asolo (the closest town down the road). I see green fields and rustic country houses that have been there forever. I see a blue sky and green trees along the ridge.
Every morning a rooster crows in a nearby yard. People have chickens and a duck running around in a yard down the road, with cows in a pen next door. The rooster's internal clock must be off because he crows all day long, long before and long after the sun has risen and set.
Opposite the SGP and the Pio is the main CIMBA office, in which all of the busywork is done, not by the students but by those who intern and have volunteered to do very tedious administrative work. It is a building in the middle of campus with many ballroom-style room, and it's where the LIFE program took place (you'll hear about that later).
The campus itself is serene. In addition to the three large buildings is a fourth building, smaller but just as important. It is a U-shaped complex on the other side of campus with two classrooms, a library, a computer room and a bathroom.
The bathrooms in Italy are something else. Those that are less private have a basin and a hole in the ground. That's it. There is no toilet, no throne upon which to sit, but a flush box on the wall with a chain that you pull when you want to flush. To do so you have to pull a chain to release the block and allow the water to run through. I am certainly not used to having nowhere to sit.
The geography of this campus is a lot like that of Central Oregon. Flat and hilly with grass and trees along the walkways the grace the Earth around it. Right now it's a perfect day. It's usually very hot in direct sunlight, and just right in the shade. The land is dry, and even in late September it feels like summer. It has only rained twice since I've been here, and boy did it ever! Torrential downpours for two straight days with gloomy skies. It has not rained since, and I've almost forgotten what rain even is. I expect it to snow here because we're at a high elevation and it gets very cold in the winter (it never actually did snow).
On my first day here I took a walk down the main road, taking pictures of the wonderful things I saw. Cars scream down the narrow, curvy streets, so I walked in the grass off the shoulder. Down toward Castelcucco, a much bigger hill town, which might as well be Paderno Del Grappa Part Two. The two blend together on a shared country road, with only a roadside sign announcing CASTELCUCCO. In both are rural Italian houses with barnyards. Some houses have chickens, running around among the grape vines. The house next to the chicken house has cows. On every country road intersection is a Catholic shrine depicting an apostle or Jesus or Mary or a fascinating Saint in a statue. It's a nice touch to this hilly countryside. Ten meters from any old stone house are modern country villas with enormous yards and private drives. As nice as these villas are, they are uniquely Italian because they are covered in vines along dirt roads on a mountainside. This is exactly what I imagined Italy to be. La dolce vita!
In Paderno, back up the road, is the hotel, a pizzeria, a pharmacy and Alpina, a gelato and pastry shop that many of us visit daily. Across the street from campus are two tabaccis, small general stores that remind me of the ones back home. One has sandwiches and fruit and soda and beer, while the other has lottery tickets and toiletries and drinks.
There is a stone tunnel on the edge of campus that leads to the Centro Sportivo, home to two soccer fields, a tennis court and three paved basketball / soccer courts. The Key areas are widened in the FIBA (Euro basketball) style. One court is clay red, one is green, and one is red and blue. Circling each of them are coliseum bench seats so that fans can get a 360-degree view of the action. Further down the path is a bar that we call the Sports Bar because of its proximity to the fields. In the same lot is a gym with a pool and workout room. If you do not bring a sweat towel or a swim cap to these places, you will be stared at because you have committed a workout foul. At 6 PM the Americans are kicked out to make the facilities private to Italians. Lots of my colleagues go there every day.
My classes this term are spectacular -
Travel Writing is taught by an Oxford-educated English man who devotes his life to Venice and its sinking problems. I get to write something about my adventures every week (as seen in my other blog World Tour 2009), and focus on my travel stories for my larger works.
For Journalism Ethics I have the same teacher. It's about making good choices by balancing morals and media objectives.
Intercultural Communications is taught by an American, who has all kinds of imaginative, progressive ideas for the ways we see ourselves and others. Its focus is on the differences between cultures and how cultures come to be.
Italian For Travelers is the work of a real Italian lady who is a perfect bridge between English and Italian. We learn conversational Italian so we have something to say anywhere in Italy.
ECS (European Cultural Studies / Business, Culture and Society in Western Europe) is led by Milan Pagon (Mee-lawn Puh-go-n), who's from Ljubiana, Slovenia and is a cross between Robin Williams and Mr. Bean. At one moment he is making jokes, and the next he looks like an Eastern European assassin. On the very first day, we had to think of all the stereotypes that came to mind for Americans, Mexicans, the British, Canadians, the French, Germans, Czechs, Polaks and Russians. Russians received the most negativity and the Germans got the most love. He encouraged me to do the LIFE (Leadership Initiative for Excellence) Program when I was still deciding. He said "You should do it because it will change your life. It's a great opportunity that you might not get again." Thank you, Dr. Pagon.
The other weekend some friends and I decided to climb Mt. Grappa, the gigantic mountain directly behind the school. We left the campus at 8 AM Sunday morning and went through Bassano Del Grappa, a nearby town that is worth putting on a map. The trail went through town and up a 45-degree country hill, past an orchard and a beekeeper's residence. There are dogs in the yards and horses in the shade of the apple trees. Along the way were more statues of holy figures and the Stations of the Cross ... Italy is SUPER, SUPER CATHOLIC. We stopped and asked for directions halfway up the hill, having passed through an open market with clothes, fruit and fresh fish sold out of trucks. I asked a man where the restroom was and he didn't understand, so I asked him where the BATHroom was. He said "Aaah, the BATHROOM! In the back." I had said "restroom" because I thought he'd know the more proper word. NOT! The mountain trail zigged and zagged from the base on which a giant church stands, wedged into the valley. There was Sunday Mass at that time, and a creepy, froggy voice which sounded recorded could be heard from outside. There was a freshwater fountain and a mountain stairway outside the church. The trail was not friendly - it seemed that it would never end, but it was very scenic, much like Spencer's Butte in Eugene. We passed many Europeans along the way, who looked like they climbed the mountain every Sunday. I believe they were an assortment of Italians and Swedes (or Germans). There were Armstrong-esque bikers on the road to the church, amazing because we could not even imagine biking up the steep incline; we could hardly WALK it.
After hours and hours of stop-and-go hiking because of fatigue, we reached the top of the mountain. I lay down on my back, spread-eagle for five minutes, reveling in the splendor of the view and the fact that we'd scaled the mountain faster than people had said we would. We broke out the Persecco in victory. Going back down the mountain was easy; downhill the whole way with room to hop, skip and jump all along. We stopped at the Gelateria in Bassano and made it back to campus in time for dinner. It was actually more like 4 PM, but but was still in time for dinner.
On another trip, most of us went to the nearest mall a few dozen miles away for stuff we needed. We all went to the Burger King in the food court because we had been eating cafeteria food (which in its defense is relatively high-end) and we wanted something that wasn't served by a lunch lady. The XXL Burger I had was satisfying but way too expensive for being a Burger King. some bought fans and mattress pads at other stores, but I bought highlighters and contact solution. I am so cool.
Then came the DaVinci Challenge, a team-building ropes course in which you had to rely on other people to complete objectives as fast as you can. The missions were:
Jungle Vines
Cross a tightrope quickly while balancing on two hanging ropes, passing the ropes back to your teammate as you go. Only two people could be on the rope at once, and if you fell into the 'lava', your team had to start over.
The Spiderweb
Get everyone through a frame of 'spiderwebs', having only one person pass through each hole.
The Wall
Help everyone climb a huge green wall. The first person has to pull the others up, and only three people may be on top of the wall at a time. Those who've already climbed can only catch people if they fall.
The Planks
Set up two planks so everyone can cross from one platform to the next without falling off, and without dropping the bucket of supplies. Lift the planks when everyone is across. Do all of this as fast as you can.
My team and I were amazing - we set and / or broke the time records for three of the four activities. The other activity was to see how many people could stand up and sit down three times while crossing and linking arms. I believe the record was 29, and we broke it with 30. What a day.
The geography of this campus is a lot like that of Central Oregon. Flat and hilly with grass and trees along the walkways the grace the Earth around it. Right now it's a perfect day. It's usually very hot in direct sunlight, and just right in the shade. The land is dry, and even in late September it feels like summer. It has only rained twice since I've been here, and boy did it ever! Torrential downpours for two straight days with gloomy skies. It has not rained since, and I've almost forgotten what rain even is. I expect it to snow here because we're at a high elevation and it gets very cold in the winter (it never actually did snow).
On my first day here I took a walk down the main road, taking pictures of the wonderful things I saw. Cars scream down the narrow, curvy streets, so I walked in the grass off the shoulder. Down toward Castelcucco, a much bigger hill town, which might as well be Paderno Del Grappa Part Two. The two blend together on a shared country road, with only a roadside sign announcing CASTELCUCCO. In both are rural Italian houses with barnyards. Some houses have chickens, running around among the grape vines. The house next to the chicken house has cows. On every country road intersection is a Catholic shrine depicting an apostle or Jesus or Mary or a fascinating Saint in a statue. It's a nice touch to this hilly countryside. Ten meters from any old stone house are modern country villas with enormous yards and private drives. As nice as these villas are, they are uniquely Italian because they are covered in vines along dirt roads on a mountainside. This is exactly what I imagined Italy to be. La dolce vita!
In Paderno, back up the road, is the hotel, a pizzeria, a pharmacy and Alpina, a gelato and pastry shop that many of us visit daily. Across the street from campus are two tabaccis, small general stores that remind me of the ones back home. One has sandwiches and fruit and soda and beer, while the other has lottery tickets and toiletries and drinks.
There is a stone tunnel on the edge of campus that leads to the Centro Sportivo, home to two soccer fields, a tennis court and three paved basketball / soccer courts. The Key areas are widened in the FIBA (Euro basketball) style. One court is clay red, one is green, and one is red and blue. Circling each of them are coliseum bench seats so that fans can get a 360-degree view of the action. Further down the path is a bar that we call the Sports Bar because of its proximity to the fields. In the same lot is a gym with a pool and workout room. If you do not bring a sweat towel or a swim cap to these places, you will be stared at because you have committed a workout foul. At 6 PM the Americans are kicked out to make the facilities private to Italians. Lots of my colleagues go there every day.
My classes this term are spectacular -
Travel Writing is taught by an Oxford-educated English man who devotes his life to Venice and its sinking problems. I get to write something about my adventures every week (as seen in my other blog World Tour 2009), and focus on my travel stories for my larger works.
For Journalism Ethics I have the same teacher. It's about making good choices by balancing morals and media objectives.
Intercultural Communications is taught by an American, who has all kinds of imaginative, progressive ideas for the ways we see ourselves and others. Its focus is on the differences between cultures and how cultures come to be.
Italian For Travelers is the work of a real Italian lady who is a perfect bridge between English and Italian. We learn conversational Italian so we have something to say anywhere in Italy.
ECS (European Cultural Studies / Business, Culture and Society in Western Europe) is led by Milan Pagon (Mee-lawn Puh-go-n), who's from Ljubiana, Slovenia and is a cross between Robin Williams and Mr. Bean. At one moment he is making jokes, and the next he looks like an Eastern European assassin. On the very first day, we had to think of all the stereotypes that came to mind for Americans, Mexicans, the British, Canadians, the French, Germans, Czechs, Polaks and Russians. Russians received the most negativity and the Germans got the most love. He encouraged me to do the LIFE (Leadership Initiative for Excellence) Program when I was still deciding. He said "You should do it because it will change your life. It's a great opportunity that you might not get again." Thank you, Dr. Pagon.
The other weekend some friends and I decided to climb Mt. Grappa, the gigantic mountain directly behind the school. We left the campus at 8 AM Sunday morning and went through Bassano Del Grappa, a nearby town that is worth putting on a map. The trail went through town and up a 45-degree country hill, past an orchard and a beekeeper's residence. There are dogs in the yards and horses in the shade of the apple trees. Along the way were more statues of holy figures and the Stations of the Cross ... Italy is SUPER, SUPER CATHOLIC. We stopped and asked for directions halfway up the hill, having passed through an open market with clothes, fruit and fresh fish sold out of trucks. I asked a man where the restroom was and he didn't understand, so I asked him where the BATHroom was. He said "Aaah, the BATHROOM! In the back." I had said "restroom" because I thought he'd know the more proper word. NOT! The mountain trail zigged and zagged from the base on which a giant church stands, wedged into the valley. There was Sunday Mass at that time, and a creepy, froggy voice which sounded recorded could be heard from outside. There was a freshwater fountain and a mountain stairway outside the church. The trail was not friendly - it seemed that it would never end, but it was very scenic, much like Spencer's Butte in Eugene. We passed many Europeans along the way, who looked like they climbed the mountain every Sunday. I believe they were an assortment of Italians and Swedes (or Germans). There were Armstrong-esque bikers on the road to the church, amazing because we could not even imagine biking up the steep incline; we could hardly WALK it.
After hours and hours of stop-and-go hiking because of fatigue, we reached the top of the mountain. I lay down on my back, spread-eagle for five minutes, reveling in the splendor of the view and the fact that we'd scaled the mountain faster than people had said we would. We broke out the Persecco in victory. Going back down the mountain was easy; downhill the whole way with room to hop, skip and jump all along. We stopped at the Gelateria in Bassano and made it back to campus in time for dinner. It was actually more like 4 PM, but but was still in time for dinner.
On another trip, most of us went to the nearest mall a few dozen miles away for stuff we needed. We all went to the Burger King in the food court because we had been eating cafeteria food (which in its defense is relatively high-end) and we wanted something that wasn't served by a lunch lady. The XXL Burger I had was satisfying but way too expensive for being a Burger King. some bought fans and mattress pads at other stores, but I bought highlighters and contact solution. I am so cool.
Then came the DaVinci Challenge, a team-building ropes course in which you had to rely on other people to complete objectives as fast as you can. The missions were:
Jungle Vines
Cross a tightrope quickly while balancing on two hanging ropes, passing the ropes back to your teammate as you go. Only two people could be on the rope at once, and if you fell into the 'lava', your team had to start over.
The Spiderweb
Get everyone through a frame of 'spiderwebs', having only one person pass through each hole.
The Wall
Help everyone climb a huge green wall. The first person has to pull the others up, and only three people may be on top of the wall at a time. Those who've already climbed can only catch people if they fall.
The Planks
Set up two planks so everyone can cross from one platform to the next without falling off, and without dropping the bucket of supplies. Lift the planks when everyone is across. Do all of this as fast as you can.
My team and I were amazing - we set and / or broke the time records for three of the four activities. The other activity was to see how many people could stand up and sit down three times while crossing and linking arms. I believe the record was 29, and we broke it with 30. What a day.
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