A Disclaimer first. This will turn into more of a video blog as soon as I am back in Rome. The internet is simply too slow where I am to upload video in Verona.
Without further ado...
More Random Thoughts From Verona.
1) I really value a language that puts such a heavy emphasis on the verb “to nap.”
2) Washcloths could be America’s next great gift to the world, I anxiously await a shipment of them from the states thanks to my Mom.
3) Venice has it right with all the canals, but the flooding of the streets at High tide has to be a constant reminder that the city is sinking.
4) I am not sure how well a city can venerate the remains of a saint that were stolen from another city during the crusades (The remains of St. Mark were stolen by Venetians and brought back to Venice)
5) The Lion with wings all around Venice looks like something out of Narnia.
6) “How you like me now” by the heavy is a song that everyone should have in their I-Tunes Library, if only for it inherent ability to build self esteem, despite its poor grammar.
7) The good people of the tourist industry will do everything they can to rip you off. For example, it was 104 degrees (40 Celsius) in the Dogge’s Palace in Venice on Sunday, we emerged looking for water in Piazza San Marco, and found a 2 liter bottle for 4 euro, which we though was a bargain until we saw it on sale for 50 Euro cents in the supermarket down the street.
8) Once you know Italian, going to the Opera is like going to a broadway show, only the lyrics and music are better. The Turandot in the Arena di Verona makes Les Miserables (my favorite broadway show) look campy.
9) That being said, it is easy to write poetry and lyrics in a langue where almost every word ends in a vowel.
10) Romeo and Juliet really loses its zip in Italian.
11) Itunes movie rentals are an important part of any expat’s sanity diet.
12) A sanity diet are those little things that you do to feel a little bit more at home during a transition.
13) Everyone here seems to assume that: I play basketball well, I can throw a baseball well, I know George Bush/Barack Obama, and that all I really want is a cheeseburger simply because I am American. Only one of these is really true, guess which one.
14) I responded to an email in Italian for the first time to an Italian Jesuit today. It was probably a hot mess, but I am still proud of myself.
I am glad that I got out of town before the Sox started to tank.
1 comment:
I was in Venice last month, what a truly unique place -- even if they did steal some of the most spectacular bits from the places their navy invaded. For me it was a quick side trip before visiting friends in Slovenia, which was spectacularly beautiful, I highly recommend getting there if you have the opportunity. I found my way over here from Facebook & I've been enjoying the posts, keep up the good work.
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