so, so much going on. (ps- i’m alive)

I feel bad that my posts keep getting shorter, but I don’t have time to give abbreviated updates anymore. We’ve moved from posts to abbreviated posts, and now we’ve arrived at the extremely abridged versions:

• I went to Verona with my friend Marco. We did an aperitivo for dinner, went drinking and dancing, and crashed at his friend’s apartment. The next day we did a brief walking tour of Verona, had lunch, and headed home. We went to a mineral bath on the Garda Lake, overlooking the Italian Alps.
  
  Mineral baths are more or less a spa. There are a few swimming pools of varying temperatures and each one has different types massage jets. One was a series of ramps that took you from heated water to really cold water. We went around it 10 times because it’s supposed to be really good for your circulation.
  
  The biggest pool is outside and overlooks the lake and the mountains. It started raining which might have been one of the most beautiful experiences of my life. The hot mineral bath, the cold rain, and the Italian Alps. It was surreal.
  
  
• One day my friends and I drank too much wine at lunch and decided to go to Barcelona. We booked the tickets on the spot. We stayed in a cute (see: tiny) apartment in Barceloneta, which is a beach neighborhood. The whole neighborhood reminded me of Coney Island, which ruled because I love Coney Island.
  
  As for tourist stuff, we saw the Picasso museum and a random technology/design museum, ate paella, drank sangria, visited a Labyrinth near the University of Barcelona, ate bombas, visited Gaudi’s Park Güell, and went to the beach! I’ll try and post some photos but I’m supposed to be writing a term paper so those might have to wait. Or friend me on Facebook, they’re all up there.
  
  
• Classes are finishing! My useless linguistics class finishes on Wednesday, Translation next week, and Italian the following week.
  
  In between going to classes, I’m furiously reading books and writing papers. I’ve loved everything about this semester, except I’ve never taken more useless classes in my college career. I’m rushing to finish because I want to get them over with. If I pass all my exams the first time, I’ll be done the 19th of June and back in America in July.
   
• The 6.0 earthquake originated in the province of Modena, but it was about 30 km away from us so my city was ‘spared’. The more rural towns got it a lot worse than we did. Some buildings collapsed, six people died, and there’s some pretty serious damage all over. We’re all safe, but admittedly a little shaken up. AU sent us an email to check in and Angela texted me to make sure we’re fine. Everything’s okay, but we keep feeling the aftershocks which isn’t very comforting. I keep telling my friends that I can’t wait to go home because the ground doesn’t move in New York. 
  
  So, all in all, I have about 7 weeks left in Italy. The time’s flown by and I can’t believe how much has happened since I arrived in January. I’m feeling at home here. It’s going to be a shame to leave, but I’m not worried. I’ll return to Modena.

Becoming Visible →

(click here)

Okay, so I’m going to take a break from talking about my amazing life in Italy to be real for a couple of seconds.

If you haven’t heard, I’ve been working alongside this awesome photographer named Josh Lehrer since I was in high school. He’s creating this amazing portrait series about homeless transgender teenagers in NYC.

That’s quite a mouthful and you’re probably wondering how many of them there could possibly be. They are the fastest growing homeless youth population in the country.

They’re everywhere and you don’t even realize it.

Josh’s project (dubbed Becoming Visible) aims to give these kids some much needed publicity. I started working as his assistant when I was 18 and have been involved ever since.

He’s created elegant and somber portraits that reflect the dignity and struggle of these kids, of these people.

In 2010, there was an exhibition at the Robert Miller Gallery in Chelsea that received rave reviews. I excused myself from class, hopped an Amtrak from Union Station, and attended the opening.

David Mixner, a former member of the Clinton Administration, has praised Josh and his ambition for change.

Last spring, Josh ran a promotional campaign on Kickstarter.com to fund the second phase of the project. I assisted him with public relations, social media, and marketing. He was met with overwhelming success.

To date, Becoming Visible is the third most funded photography category on Kickstarter.com.

The link above directs you to another contest. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for Josh to have an exhibit in Times Square and bring this underserved population to the forefront of New York City.

Please click the link, click COLLECT ME, and share it with your friends. You log in with Facebook and it only takes a second.

While it would mean a lot to see this passed on, I promise it will mean even more to the kids.

I’m always happy to talk about the project, so if you have any questions or want to get involved shoot me an email at andrewdecaro@gmail.com.

‘Vieni a ballare in Puglia, Puglia, Puglia’
(click if you don’t know what that means)

OK. So if you didn’t hear, I spent Easter in Galatina with my friend Sara and her family. Galatina is in the province of Lecce, in Salento (Salentu in dialect). Puglia is the heel of the boot and Lecce is the last province before the ocean. It’s real Puglia.

I’m still overwhelmed with schoolwork so you’re going to get a few highlights of the trip:

+ I took the fast train down on Saturday, listened to Nicki Minaj, studied, and napped. I woke up and the train was three feet from the Adriatic Sea! Pretty cool.

+ I got in around 9, went to Sara’s house, dropped off my stuff, and we went out to Lecce (also a city). It’s called the Florence of the south and it’s absolutely beautiful. The whole city is covered in Baroque architecture. I could spend days just wandering around snapping photos. There’s not much to do so we just got drinks and hung out. Sara’s friend Antonio and I hit it off pretty well, so he got me to try this thing called an Angelo Blu which is some crazy concoction. 

+ The next day was Easter! We ate at Sara’s aunt’s house. We had two types of pasta (lasagna and handmade), salad, tomatoes, cheese, bread, homemade wine, lamb, and two types of cake. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t eat lamb, but I felt terrible refusing it since I was a guest. It was good, but I won’t be craving it anytime soon. Sara’s boyfriend Marco (who lives in SFN) was there too. They all spoke dialect, but tried to speak Italian for me. Nobody spoke English.

+ THE SEA. After Easter dinner we went to see some of her aunts. They live near the beach! It was too cold to go swimming (the weather was cold and rainy for almost the whole trip) but it was nice to go for a walk along the beach! Sara and I went Otranto my last day and explored the town, the castle, and the beach. So beautiful.

+ Eating. I ate everything. The day after Easter is called Pasquetta and we had another feast. We had some leftover pasta and chicken, veal, and these things called messicani which is basically veal wrapped pork. They tricked me into eating horse though, which wasn’t cool. The next day we had pasta with clams. The clams there are fresh and unlike anything you can find in the US.

+ Shopping. Sara, Maria Rita, Ola, Fabio, and Marco are all from Puglia (either Lecce or Bari) so I’ve been hearing about the amazing food there for a while. Sara took me to a few stores and I bough pasticiotti, scarmorza, provolone, orrechiette, Quarta coffee (best in Italy), and bread. So much bread. I can’t buy any frozen food until I finish the bread because there’s no room in the freezer.

+ The night train. Not a highlight, but worth telling about. I had heard horror stories of people getting robbed or mugged while they slept so I was admittedly a little cautious about the ride. It was the longest ride of my life, but it was fine otherwise. I barely slept so that was rough. Antonio and Sara dropped me off at the train at 10 right before it left and I got to Bologna at 7:30 am. I was back in my own bed by 8:30.

It was an incredible experience. With less than three months left in Italy, I find myself evaluating my life here almost daily. No matter how stressed I am about school or how much I miss my friends and family or how badly I want a bagel, I always reach the same conclusion:

I’m so happy I came to Modena. It is a bit sleepy and kind of boring, but I love the friends I’ve made here. This is the experience I wanted. I’m away from English speakers and tourists. My Italian has improved so much that I’m starting to consider myself fluent for the first time. I’m learning a lot about Italy, and surprisingly, myself.

“Dude.. Paris”

This post is incredibly overdue but I’m so overwhelmed with school right now that I don’t have time to do a proper update so here are some highlights from my trip to Paris with Fay and Keisha:

+ Taking a Xanax before leaving Bologna and waking up in Paris

+ Repeatedly saying ‘Dude.. Paris” because, well who takes a weekend trip to Paris?

+ Hour long bus ride into Paris, then figuring out the metro, then getting greasy food from the burger place near our hostel in Montmartre

+ Crawling into bed and waking up really, really early (around 7 am) to have a breakfast of chocolate cereal, tea, and croissants before going to the Louvre!

+ Pretending to be Italian. Seriously. The Parisians do not like Americans. When we got to the Louvre I started asking questions in English, but when all the guards got snooty I tried again in Italian. They were a lot nicer after that. Oh, and European students get in for free, so I used my University of Modena ID, and didn’t pay for anything. Awesome.

+ Racing to beat the crowd to see the Mona Lisa. It’s smaller than you’d expect, but it’s not tiny. Don’t be fooled when they say it’s the size of a postcard.

+ Meeting my friend Emma for lunch! We got baguettes and sat in this beautiful garden and talked for a few hours before heading to the Pantheon. I saw Rousseau’s grave!

+ I went to meet Fay and Keisha at the Eiffel Tower but couldn’t find them and our cell phones weren’t working, so that was a bit stressful but they found me while I was waiting on line for the bathroom. Sheer luck.

+ We went to see the Arc de Triomphe, which is beautiful but is basically a bigger version of the one in Washington Sq. Park. As we were leaving I saw a kid wearing the same shirt as me. He walked past, noticed, and came running back towards me. His parents were laughing as they took our picture. Coolest six year old ever.

+ After that we wandered around and tried to find a place to eat. We ended up going to the Latin Quarter, but the place we chose wasn’t anything great. I had steak tartare, but I’d had better at Bistrot du Coin in Dupont Circle. We headed back to Montmartre and passed out.

+ Next day we saw the Musée d’Orsay, which is a great art museum. I saw Monets, stuff from Egypt, Van Gogh’s self portrait and they even had cyanotypes on display (I spent a whole summer making them for my internship). Absolutely incredible. 

+ We got macarons from Ladurée, which is one of the most famous bakeries in Paris. So amazing. It made up for the restaurant we went to for lunch where they waiter insisted twice that Keisha, who is of Sri Lankan descent, try the curry. The onion soup was worth it though.

+ We went back to Montmartre, did a walking tour of where the film Amelie took place, saw Sacre Coeur, and I told a gypsy (in Italian) to fuck off because he put his hand on me when I refused to buy one of his trinkets. What ensured was a brief screaming match, in Italian, at the base of one of the most famous churches in Paris. I think Fay and Keisha were a little nervous since they’d never seen me that angry before.

+ Getting slightly turned around in a not so nice neighborhood and having an amazing dinner of escargot, bread, fondue, and creme brulée.

+ The crazy gypsy woman who tried to sneak on the Metro behind Keisha and started furiously praying when the turnstile closed on her.

The trip was really great. I had been feeling a little stancato in Modena so it felt refreshing to get out. The only two things I regret about the trip was that it wasn’t long enough and my camera died when we went to the Eiffel Tower at night. It sparkles on the hour!

Needless to say, I’ll definitely be back to Paris. I hear it’s a great place for a layover between Washington and Antananarivo.  

since Rome..

I feel like I’ve been running around like a crazy person!

Things I’ve done:

• Class. I know it sounds immature, but I really don’t like going to class. I still feel like I’m on vacation, so it’s easy to forget that I’m a student. I only skip classes if I’m traveling, which has only been twice so far and even then I try not to. At AU, your grade drops when you miss more than 3 classes. Here, they assign you more work and you’re tested on it at the end of the term so I begrudgingly go to all of my classes, even the 8 am ones.
  
  
•  Cooking! Maria Rita, Sara, Ola, and Antonella have taught me a lot so I’m starting to play around and get creative in the kitchen. I really enjoy it. I’ve already learned three easy and delicious recipes (sugo with pesto and two ways to make lentils), with much more to come. Maria Rita said she’d write them down for me so everyone should expect a really big dinner when I come home!
  
  
• La tesina, or as I like to call “the bane of my existence”. For the linguistics/intercultural communication class I’m taking, I have to analyze news articles about a theater production. Angela and the professor kind of came up with the topic for me and since I’m pretty much clueless about writing a 10 page mini-thesis in Italian, I just went with it. I’m writing about a show called “Rumore di Acque”, which is a monologue by a Mephistopheles-esque character about the illegal immigrants into Italy. A lot of Africans try to flee to Sicily in these tiny boats and most of them end up drowning because the channel is so dangerous. I saw the show last weekend, met one of the actors, attended a conference with the professor that translated it from Italian into English, and am almost finished reading the 30 articles I need to use. Angela has to defend her doctorate paper, and then she’s going to help me with it. I’d be so lost without her.
  
  
• Tandem/aperitivo. Every wednesday night I meet with Pina and Irene at a different bar for a happy hour where we practice talking (Italian for me, English for them). You buy a drink (I usually get wine or an Aperol Spritz) and then have unlimited access to a buffet of appetizers. So far, the best one I’ve done was in Bologna but I really like Caffe Colleggio or Caffe Concerto.
  
  
•  Trying to watch Mad Men online (if anyone has any working links, feel free to pass them on)
  
  
• Gelato. Lots of it. I’m determined to try every gelateria in Modena before I leave. Fortunately, my favorite one is also the closest to my building and they just announced their summer hours (they close at midnight, awesome).
  
  
•  Enjoying the sunshine. The weather’s so beautiful, that I’m trying to spend as much time outside as possible. Whether it’s going for a run or a walk or sipping espresso on the piazza with some friends, I’m trying to avoid staying indoors. Which again, makes it hard to remember I am here to study.
  
  
• Planning trips. Oh yeah, did I mention I’m leaving for Paris in about 3 hours. I should pack.. I also impulsively booked a trip to Barcelona on Monday. We all had a few glasses of wine with lunch, realized there was a special on RyanAir, and bought the tickets.
  
  
•  Apartment shopping. I’m still toying with the idea of leaving San Filippo. I looked at one, but it was really expensive and I’m pretty sure the woman just put a bed in a closet (there wasn’t even a window). For what I’m paying here, I could have my own room in a really cool old building. Lots of foreign students end up moving out of the dorms because of how expensive they are. Today, I’m going to look at another one with John. I really like my friends in this building so that’s holding me back.

and yeah, that’s about it! I’m off to check out this new place and pack for Paris! Expect an update when I get back on Sunday!

Ci sentiamo :) 

Part II.

I made it home and was feeling kind of down for the next few days. Fay and the Aussies did a really good job of cheering me up, and I had a lot of schoolwork to do to keep me occupied.

Angela invited John, Carol, and I over to her house for dinner on Wednesday night, so that was really nice. Her apartment is beautiful and she’s a really great cook. We had pasta with butter and sage, prosciutto and salad, and pudding for dessert. Afterwards John and I went home to change, met up with Carol, and went to her friends’ to have a few drinks before going to a club.

Her friends are really nice. Everyone is fascinated when we introduce ourselves as being from America, but they’re honestly floored when I say I’m from New York (the general reaction is “Ma che cazzo fai a Modena?!”, which roughly translates to “Why the hell are you in Modena?”).

Anyway, we were pregaming and Patrick called me. We ended up talking for a bit when I say that I’ll skip my Italian class on Friday if I can stay with him in the hotel for another night. He agreed. I excused myself, went home, bought tickets, packed, and wrote a paper for the class I was skipping (I wrote it in 30 minutes and got an A-).

I got the first train I could, since I had a conference that morning with a translator about the mini thesis I’m writing (more on that later, that’s a story in itself). I had to change in Bologna, so I had lunch with Keisha for an hour. I got to Rome around 4, went straight to the hotel, and woke Patrick up from a nap.

We went out and did a little bit of exploring, saw a lot of the same monuments as the first time, went back to the hotel, napped and got the group together. We went for dinner at a pizzeria, but then we left the group to go off on our own. We did a lot of walking around and we actually found the hotel I stayed at when I went to Rome in high school!

Patrick was tired so we went back and went to bed early. He had something to do in the morning, so I slept in and studied.

We got a quick lunch and headed to the Vatican! Unfortunately, while on the metro he realized he was wearing shorts so we had to turn around and go back. He got changed, we ran, and made it to the Sistine Chapel. We walked through the Vatican museum, taking pictures, and really looking at everything. I could spend hours there. I wanted to climb St. Peter’s again, but we didn’t have enough time.

On our way back to the metro, we stopped in a shoe store.. I think I bought the most beautiful shoes I’ve ever seen. Patrick saw them first, but they didn’t have his size so I bought them!

We got back to the area near the hotel, did some souvenir shopping, I packed, and then he dropped me off at the train. It was hard saying goodbye since he’s one of my closest friends, but I was so glad we got to spend some time together.

I slept the whole way to Bologna, got off, and had to wait two hours to transfer to the local train to Modena. I sat in a cafe, got coffee, and texted some friends. Patrick called to thank me for coming down.

I got on the train and the police were checking paperwork. They didn’t explain why (I think there might have been a robbery or something). I was so exhausted by this point that I didn’t care. I showed them my UniMoRe ID and my NY driver’s license, explained that I’m American, and they didn’t bother me. I made it to Modena and was home around 2 am. 

The Eternal City, Part I.

A few weeks ago, I skipped classes to go to Rome. Twice.

Patrick is a friend from home that is taking some kind of food science/gastronomic honors class at SUNY Oswego. He’s explained it so many times that it’d be embarrassing to ask him to clarify again (although he’s probably reading this). The course ended with a trip to Rome over their spring break, which is pretty great since Rome is only a 2 hour and 40 minute train ride.

I arrived early Sunday, but he had some errands to do so I went looking for a cafe to have lunch at when I saw him walking down the street with the group! We said a quick hello and met back at the hotel.

The first day was pretty cool. We did a lot of walking around near the ruins, did some shopping, and took a lot of photos. Unfortunately, I shot them all in RAW and my Photoshop deleted itself, so I can’t post any of them until I can convert them into JPEGs but school is actually hard (I’m abroad, why do I have homework?) so I’m pressed for time lately.

We went back to the hotel, napped a bit, got his friends, and went to dinner at this really cool pizza place. I don’t remember what I ordered (pizza, obviously) but I remember that Patrick and I split a bottle of wine with some of the girls. That was fun. We went to a bar afterwards, but since it was Sunday there wasn’t much going on. We walked pretty far to find one, and it was totally American. The walls were covered in flags from American colleges, everything from Marist to GW (but no AU?). It was a pretty random place, but I ended up having an Italian Iced Tea, which was amazing. Basically, it’s a Long Island Iced Tea but with Amaretto. Wonderful.

It was late, so Patrick and I walked back to the hotel and we found the Trevi Fountain on the way! It was about 2 am, but there were still a few people there. We threw coins in (legend has it that you’ll return to Rome if you do), took pictures, and just stood there. It’s beautiful, and reminded me why I love Rome so much. I always feel at home there, and I’ve never even lived there.

We started the long walk back, and I was convinced we were lost but thankfully Patrick’s sense of direction is impeccable and we made it back before three.

The second day I slept in and met my friend Tarika for lunch in Trestevere, the student neighborhood. I had to take the bus there which took almost an hour since it was pretty far out of the city. We got sandwiches from a deli and sat in a park and talked for a few hours. It was so good seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar place. Afterwards I headed back to the hotel, met up with Patrick, packed, and headed to the train station. We got a gelato at a really cute place off the main street and the waiter took some pictures of us.

I got on the train, exhausted and sad, but happy to have seen him even for a few hours. Good thing I’m impulsive, otherwise that would have been goodbye until I come home this summer.

So a few weeks ago, I took a day trip to Parma with some friends. It’s only 30 minutes north of Modena, and it’s pretty small so we weren’t really sure what to expect.

It’s beautiful. There’s a small river and the bridges that cross it make the city look like a miniature Florence.

We went because we were tired of being in Modena and Bologna and wanted to explore. Parma is known for its food (they invented prosciutto) so we figured we’d walk around, have lunch, and head home.

We ended up spending the whole day there. We explored a bit and found this gorgeous theater near one of the major piazzas. We got a guided tour. Apparently, the theater was redone in red paint and tapestries because blue went out of style (this is centuries ago) and the Barons paid to have it redone. I want to say a queen, dutchess, or someone connected to Napoleon was a frequent visitor but I can’t remember.

Afterwards, we got lunch at Trattoria Corrieri, which is probably the best place I’ve eaten in Italy. I had prosciutto in a cream sauce over pasta. We shared a platter of meat and cheese for the table, and had pane fritto which is basically puffed, fried dough.

We saw the Duomo, and went inside (that’s the pictures of the Church). We did some shopping, got gelato, and then got the train back to Modena.

I’m a student?

I hadn’t set foot in a classroom in almost 3 months so I’d almost forgotten how to be a student.

I have class on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I’m taking a translation class, an Italian class, and a linguistics communications class about English.

Italian starts next week, so I don’t know how hard it’s going to be. I got into level B2, which is fairly high (C1 and C2 level speakers are considered fluent). Translation doesn’t sound very interesting or fun, but the professor is really nice and it’ll definitely be useful. I did some homework for it this morning and it wasn’t too difficult. I hope it doesn’t get harder, but I’m sure it will.

The linguistics class is really interesting. We’re looking at websites for Shakespearean theaters and examining why the sites are organized the way they are, from a linguistics standard. Meaning, what words are used and why particular phrases are chosen. The only thing I’d change is that it’s at 8:30 am, three times a week. It’s a pretty difficult class, worth 6 credits at AU (most are 3 or 4). I have the same professor for translation, which works out well. She’s also the direct point of contact between AU and UniMoRe, so she knows I’m an international student which makes my life easier in case I ever need help or anything.

The weather here has been absolutely beautiful. I’ve managed to go running, outside in just a t-shirt and shorts! I didn’t do much this weekend. We had the Aussies and the Polish girls over for dinner. We made pasta and salad, and that wasn’t too much of a disaster (Antonella and Ola had to help me cook since I’m inept). Tonight I’m going to shower before heading to Fay’s for dinner.

MILANO.

Okay so if you guys hadn’t heard, I went to Milan for a weekend. It was Fashion Week, Carnivale, and my friend Matt’s birthday! He flew in from London and we all crashed at my friend Kate’s apartment. She’s studying at some school that I can never remember the name of and has a cute apartment in Naviglio, which is a really cool neighborhood in Milan.

I got the train from Modena right after my placement exam (I passed) and made it to Milano Centrale in under two hours. Matt and Kate met me with Kate’s roommate Anna and we hailed a cab to their place since the trams (streetcars) weren’t running. The driver didn’t speak English and I was the only one who spoke Italian so that worked out well. We cooked dinner but the lights kept going off so that was a bit of a challenge. We made spaghetti bolognese, got dressed, and had people over for drinks before going to a club.

We went to this place called Limelight which was pretty insane. The picture up there, yeah that’s the main dance floor. You had to go down three flights of stairs to get there and there wasn’t any room to move. Insanity. We lasted there for about 5 minutes before going back upstairs to dance on some couches.

We went home and crashed. The next day we slept late and went out for breakfast. THEY HAVE BAGELS IN MILAN. There’s a place called Bagel Factory that is actually really good. I felt like I died and went to heaven. We tried to see some fashion shows. We didn’t make it inside, but we found the private Pucci event. It was an interesting mix of people since it was also Carnivale. There were women wearing $10,000 fur coats surrounded by little kids in Spiderman costumes throwing glitter. We wandered around the center of the city, near the Duomo and went into a few stores. The Abercrombie and Fitch just opened so the Italians are going crazy over that.

 Matt, Kate and I got a pizza for dinner from a place near Kate’s apartment. We showered and got ready to go out. It was a much more low key night, we ended up going to two bars and then Kate and I called it a night. Matt stayed at the second bar for a bit while Kate and I went home to make a pizza.

The last day was short since I had to catch my train at 3 pm. We had gelato for breakfast and caught the tram to the Duomo. We walked around and took some pictures before Matt and Kate dropped me off at the train station. I went and got a sandwich while they ran to the Missoni show. As I got on the train, I got a text from Matt- they got in the press section!

The train ride was really pretty. I made it home around 5, unpacked, and cooked dinner. I went to bed early since I started classes the next day!