Greetings All,

My second week of school had largely the same schedule as the first week. One of the highlights, the Tuscan cooking class, took place on Monday evening. 

Our entire study abroad group. Picture from Bonnie Pratt. The above picture contains all of the students in our study abroad group including our student aid, Joey, and Dr. Pratt. Not pictured is Professor Pratt’s wife, Bonnie. Dante Alighieri, the Italian institution that we attend for language and culture classes, had us cook because one of the distinguishing features of Siena is the Tuscan cooking style.

We prepared a total of four courses that were crafted from a variety of different ingredients. In Italian, the four dishes we made were sformatino di zucchini, pappardelle con melanzane e funghi, rotolini di tacchino con champignon e limone, and tiramisu alle fragole, which translate roughly to zucchini quiche, pappardelle with eggplant and mushrooms, turkey rolls with mushrooms and lemon, and strawberry tiramisu. Pappardelle is essentially a broad fettuccine noodle. After we finished cooking, we were able to eat our meal.

Here are some students getting ready to eat. Picture courtesy of Bonnie Pratt. In the above picture, the blond woman is Dr. Pratt’s wife, Bonnie. She’s really nice and a favorite of the students. She enjoyed our meal. The noodles we made were by far the best noodles I have had while in Italy so far. Our meal lasted until around 10 PM at which we returned to our residence and went to bed in preparation for Luca’s class the next day.

My favorite lesson that Luca taught was about the contrade of Siena and the Palio. The contrade are one of the most distinctive features of Siena and originate from the Middle Ages. In the past, Siena had up to 59 contrade, or districts. Currently, however, the city has a total of seventeen contrade. Each ward has its own museum, fountain, church, colors, and symbol. Some even have allies and adversaries. 

The colors and symbol of the Woods contrada. Our residence is located in the Dragon contrada, but we pass through the Goose and Woods contrade on our way to Dante Alighieri, which is located in the Tortoise contrada. The Sienese who live in each area of the city feel very unified, patriotic, and proud of their contrada. For example, one day while I was at the post office, a teenage boy had a tattoo on his leg depicting the flag of his contrada, the Tower. The symbol of the Tower is an elephant with an obelisk on its back.

During our second week in Siena, the Dragon contrada was celebrating one of its holidays. The street was decorated with ornate lights that were painted the colors of the contrada: magenta, green, and gold. Children, teens, and adults alike walked around with their neighborhood’s flag tied around their neck. On the weekend, there was a giant feast that included the entire population of the ward on one of the streets near our residence.

These customs have been practiced for centuries. In the past, the neighborhoods were charged with protecting their fountain, which was the ward’s water supply, and to give men to serve in Siena’s army that protected the city. Today, they serve to enhance and enrich citizens’ cultural identity, allowing them to both remember the past and live in the present. For example, each contrade participates in the Palio, which dates as far back as medieval times.

The Palio horse race is held twice each year on July 2 and August 16. Siena puts quite a bit of money into each race in order to pay for the horses, hire jockeys, purchase decorations, etc. In addition, jockeys are given undisclosed amounts of money to bribe other riders in order to gain some sort of advantage during the Palio. Each race consists of ten horses that are ridden bareback by jockeys dressed in their contrada’s colors.

The stable of the Eagle contrada. The racetrack goes around the Piazza del Campo, the Siena’s city center. The race circles the Campo three times and typically lasts less than two minutes. Sometimes the goal of the jockeys is to keep the rival contrada from winning and sometimes jockeys are thrown from their horse. Luckily, the winner of the Palio is the first horse that crosses the finish line, not the rider. The loser of the race is considered to be the horse that came in second, not last. This is because the second place horse came so close to winning but failed to do so. We had multiple classes that taught us about the contrade and the Palio. Another part of our classes consisted of visiting different cities in Italy.

During the second week of our studies, we visited two cities, San Gimignano and Venice. San Gimignano, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in the providence of Siena, Tuscany. The walled medieval hill town is famous for its architecture, specifically its towers.

One of San Gimignano’s remaining towers. At one point in time, the city had as many as seventy two towers. The largest of these were around fifty meters tall. It is thought that affluent families would have towers built to show their wealth and supremacy. Currently, however, there are only fourteen towers still standing. The others were taken down due to wear, rebuilding, and wars. In the past, whenever a city was captured, the conquerors would knock down the town’s tower to symbolize the loss of power. During our trip to the city, we took the time to climb up San Gimignano’s tallest tower in order to view the beautiful Tuscan landscape. We could see the rolling hills, neighboring towns, vineyards, and rows upon rows of olive trees.

A view of Tuscany from the tallest tower of San Gimignano. Later that same week, we visited Venice. The city is built on top of 118 small islands that are connected by bridges and canals. The city, and the lagoon it rests in, is considered a World Heritage Site.

The Grand Canal, one of the main waterways of the city. This picture was taken from the Scalzi Bridge. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Venice was a major maritime power and an important center of commerce due to the city’s location directly on the water. Furthermore, the metropolis was also the origin of many important artistic movements and styles, such as the Renaissance and the Venetian School. Presently, this town is very famous for its Venetian glass and the Carnival of Venice, which is when people wear intricate and beautiful masks.

During our first day in the city, we visited the Doge’s Palace. The Doge is the title for the chief magistrate and supreme leader of the Republic of Venice. They are elected for life by the aristocracy. The palace was built in the Venetian Gothic style. Originally, it was used to house the Doge, but now the building serves as a landmark and museum.

This is a view from the inner courtyard of the Doge’s Palace. My favorite exhibit in the museum was about medieval warfare. The display had many artifacts and was quite expansive. There were full suits of armor for people and horses, swords, daggers, crossbows, guns, spears, and so much more. Since my father loves knights, I grew up adoring castles and watching films about the Middle Ages. I was very disappointed to find out that I was not allowed to take pictures of the collection. I must have spent up to two hours in the museum.

After the Doge’s Palace, I had some free time with which I used to explore Venice. I saw both men and women in brightly colored carnival costumes wearing dresses with huge skirts and white painted masks. If people put euros into the baskets of the festival performers, they could take a picture with them.

Three people putting on their Carnival of Venice costumes. When I was walking around Venice from island to island across the bridges, I noticed that some of the crossings had locks attached to them. These locks usually had two names written on them and the date of when the lock was placed on the bridge. Sometimes there were even inscriptions about love lasting forever, giving them the name “love locks”.

Some of the many love locks that I saw attached bridges. The idea behind the love locks is that two sweethearts engrave their names onto a padlock and attach it to a public fixture such as a bridge, gate, fence, etc. and throw away the key. Since the lock cannot ever be removed, this symbolizes their undying love for each other. While an appealing idea, these love locks are considered to be controversial. Some people do not like them because they build up over time and can affect the aesthetic quality of public places.

Thank you for reading this entry and I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed it as well as learned a little bit about Italy.

Greetings All,

Before I get started about my travels to Siena, Italy and my experiences, I have one order of business to take care of. My previous entry mentioned Steven Bohlemann, a student who works in the Study Abroad Office, but I was not able to get a picture of him in time before I turned the journal admission. As promised, here is a picture of Steven (courtesy of the Study Abroad Office in Daytona Beach).

During my travel to Siena, Italy, I had layovers in Houston, Texas; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Rome, Italy. I found flying was the least stressful mode of transportation I experienced. My travel was fairly simple because I did not have to worry about carrying my luggage around and that my ticket told me, in English, directly where to go. However, when I traveled by train I was very tense because I had to constantly watch my luggage at the crowded train station and keep an eye out for the correct train.
The most nerve wracking event I experienced was when my train was fifteen minutes late. When this occurs, passengers neither know when exactly their train will arrive, nor do they know the platform, or binario, where their train will be located. To make matters worse, I only had a fifteen minute layover between trains in Chiusi Chianciano. Luckily, my delay did not cause me to miss my second train to Siena. After I arrived at the train station, I took a taxi cab to the Residenza San Domenico, the place where students are housed.

The rooms at Residenza San Domenico are decently furnished. Rooms can house anywhere from two to four students depending on the room. My roommate is a girl from Prescott, Daytona’s sister campus, named Candace. We get along great. No two rooms are alike, but each has a bathroom with a large wardrobe that contains a small kitchenette unit that houses a large sink and hotplate. In addition, silverware, dishes, and cups are provided with the rooms. Some rooms have lofts and others will have large closets and drawers. One of the rooms meant for students has a phenomenal view of neighborhoods across the valley as well as the Duomo, a large gothic church located on of the other hills of Siena.

When the Duomo was constructed the thirteenth century, the Sienese wanted to make sure that the world knew that the people of Siena built the church, not the pope. As a result, the entire building displays the link between the Duomo and Siena. Outside of the main entrance, there are two pillars with statues on top of a female wolf nursing two small children. The she-wolf with the two children, Romulus and Remus, is the symbol of Siena and shows the city’s strong connection to ancient Rome.

According to the legend, Romulus, the found of Rome, had two sons, Senius and Aschius. It was these two men who founded Siena. Their colors, white and black, are displayed on the flag of the city and in the colors of the Duomo. On one side, there is an outcropping of red brick and a black and white marble wall. According to my professors, the church was supposed to be much larger than it is today. Work on the expansion halted when Siena was struck by the bubonic plague, which killed about two thirds of the population. I walk by the Duomo every day on the way to class.

My school day typically consists of taking two classes. One class is run by Dante Alighieri. The college is named after the famous Italian writer and is focused on promoting Italian language and culture. It is located in the tartuca, or tortoise, contrada.

The other class is run by Embry-Riddle. At 9 AM, I take an Italian language class with Massimiliano, an Italian professor. Our learning consists of using a text and workbook along with supplementary lessors. We have learned a lot so far. Typically we have a short 30 minute break at 11AM. This is when most students eat lunch. At 11:30, we either have Massimiliano again or we study Italian culture under Dr. Luca Bonomi, the director of Dante Alighieri. When we have Luca, we usually have a short presentation in class and then he takes us outdoors to walk around and explore Siena. We have visited the Piazza del Campo, which is the city center, as well as the main political buildings. One day, we even analyzed Italian body language and what each of the subtle nuances mean. It was fascinating. After either another session with Massimiliano or Luca, we get another short break of about 15 minutes or so at 1:30 PM. Then we are taught by ERAU professors Dr. Alan Pratt or Dr. Robert Fleck. Dr. Pratt teaches art history, which occurs during the first two weeks of our session. He tries very hard to make sure that we are getting the most out of our studies with daily quizzes that require one word answer and consists of about 15 questions. After Dr. Pratt leaves, we study under Dr. Fleck who teaches Italian contributions to both art and science. Professor Fleck is a high energy teacher. It is quite evident that he is passionate about science. One day, he even tried to draw the solar system on the classroom floor while jumping about in an Einstein t-shirt. He is very entertaining. The end of our day can occur as early as 2:30 PM and as late as 4 PM. It just depends on the day. Luckily, we get three day weekends.

During my first weekend in Siena, while I was walking around with my friend Nathan, I saw an old car race.

Picture of an old blue car that we saw racing, taken by Nathan Grand

These cars were going about 40 miles an hour throughout the city of Siena. Spectators could feel the vibrations of the ancient engines in their chests. When going around corners, they would warn everybody by honking their horns, which made the classic arrooga arrooga sound! Entire families were waving flags while the children cheered incessantly. It was truly a sight to behold. That same day, Nathan and I walked around and explored Siena.

The following pictures were taken around the city, both inside and outside of the old city walls.

The old part of the city of Siena is located within the medieval walls. The above picture displays what the Duomo looks like from afar. In addition, it shows the height and proximity of the buildings as well as that the city is built on hills.

The younger parts of Siena feature wider streets and more sunlight that reaches the ground.

 
Among our explorations, Nathan and I found where all of the locals go to exercise and play. About a five minute walk from our residence, we came across an old fort. The Italians treat the fort much like a park. There are plenty of people running and exercising, in addition to just hangout out on the low walls and benches. We even saw a father teaching his son how to play soccer.

Below the fort, to one side, is located a beautiful and very peaceful park. Citizens walk through this area on the way to the small market that takes place on Wednesdays and Sundays. Vendors at this market sell cheap clothing, food, crafts, and sometimes animals.

 
Notice that in the base of this statue contains the symbol of Siena: the she-wolf with the two children. This concluded my first week in Siena, Italy.

Greetings All,

My name is Brenna Freeman and I just finished my freshman year at Embry-Riddle. This university has so many amazing opportunities, one of which is the Study Abroad Program.

I initially heard of the organization during the fall activities fair that took place near the beginning of first semester. Steven Bohlemann, a student who works in the Study Abroad Office, had a table set up with pictures, posters, and flyers. He was the one who suggested that I look online at the Daytona Beach Study Abroad webpage, where there was information about summer programs, semester exchanges, dual degrees, and scholarships. For knowledge for opportunities in Prescott, Arizona, look here.

To get involved with Study Abroad, I filled out the application form provided online here for Daytona Beach, Prescott is here, and visited the program’s office. In Daytona, the Study Abroad Office is located above the Departure Lounge, which can be found near the university bookstore.

After entering, climb the stairs and look for a plain wooden door almost directly across the room from the staircase. Go through the door and proceed down the hallway until there is a branch to the right that has a sign reading “Study Abroad”.

Turn right, enter through the class doors, and make another right. At the end of the hall, to the left, is the Study Abroad Program office.

Working in the office are Steven Bohlemann, Kris Fields, and Sue Macchiarella, who is the Assistant Director of Study Abroad.

I talked to them and figured out which program would best fit my major.

The program I am specifically involved in is Siena, Italy. It starts on May 14 and ends on June 10. I’ll be taking two humanities classes, HU 199 The Culture and Dialects of Tuscany taught at Societa Dante Alighieri, an Italian institution, and HU 399 Italian Culture instructed by ERAU professors Dr. Alan Pratt and Dr. Robert Fleck. Both courses are worth three credits and fulfill the humanities requirements of my degree program, Aerospace Engineering. Furthermore, since I am in the Honors Program, Study Abroad also satisfies my HON 350 requirement. I was elated to find out that not only was I able to make my semester course load lighter and more manageable, but studying abroad cost less that attending Summer A on campus at ERAU. I found out this information and other helpful factoids when I attended Study Abroad meetings.

During assemblies held by the program, I learned about the wide variety of educational opportunities available (Italy, England, France, Germany, etc.). For example, the different programs were described in detail and many pictures were shown of our exotic classrooms-some programs travel to different countries while teaching. I am not sure about other programs, but for Siena, Italy, meals are not included in the original price. As a result, it is suggested that students budget for $30 a day. I also discovered that enrolling in the program does not mean that students are registered for classes. Therefore, students need to fill out the course registration forms, which can be conveniently found at Records and Registration, located upstairs above the departure lounge and near the Study Abroad Office. After I completed all the unexciting administrative paperwork, I started the first leg of my journey to Italy.

Currently, I am spending a week in Killeen, Texas visiting family friends. I have picked up plenty of reading materials in preparation for my long layovers and plane flight. In addition, I went through my suitcase yet another time to minimize the weight. This will make it easier to travel in Europe, where I will have to haul my own luggage multiple city blocks to get to my destination, Residenza San Domenico. At the end of this week, I will wake up at 4:30am and board an airplane to Houston. The first of three flights to Italy!