And then there were...________

This is kind of a rough day you can probably say, although it's a joyful day for the Italians at my University. Well, here is kind of a quick lesson in Italian culture. August is like national shutdown month. While (officially) most people take a vacation for 2 weeks in the month, many take off the entire month. So just like in Christmas time, Universities kind of go on shutdown. The funny thing is that according to our laboratory standards, nobody is allowed to make measurements or do experiments when no official staff (the head honchos in the lab like professors, researchers, and technicians). So when these staffers go on vacation, you essentially must take a vacation, too. I was reminded of that today by one of my researchers I work under. I know...tough life eh? I love it though. I think it's where the expression "La Dolce Vita" is really able to thrive.

So why a rough day? Well since it's the last full week of July, this is most people's last day and the phrase "Ci Vediamo a Settembre" which means "we'll see each other in September" has been thrown around a lot. People are going to Valencia, America, to their hometowns in Italy, and even simply to the Seaside to just relax while Rome continues to be a hot bed.

Well the first rough aspect is knowing that people are going on vacation while I'm going to stick it out until August 10th when the last professor will finally start his vacation (which means I can run experiments till then). The main rough aspect is that I leave in September. So today, I am basically saying goodbye to all the people and experiences that I have enjoyed at school. Just being at school regardless of the work that is being done has provided a very enjoyable experience. This includes all the group lunches, going 2 or 3 times a day to the bar to get espresso, learning to hold your breath while keeping all the smokers company, juggling the soccer ball, and just sitting/joking around in the office. With everyone gone, there's no more of that and essentially the University will become a ghost town for a few weeks. BTW...this never happens in American University Research Groups except maybe on Christmas day.

The Italian Family Switcheroo

So, this weekend I went with Corrado to his hometown of Priverno, which is about 50 km South of Rome. I was always curious why Corrado always went home practically every weekend. So when he invited me, I jumped at the opportunity. I told Corrado that going to Priverno reminded me a lot of going to my hometown of Orange Park to get away from Gainesville. In fact, the travel time from Rome to Priverno by train was about the same travel time from Gainesville to Orange Park by car. So we left last Friday night directly from school and took a train from Termini. Right when we got out of the train, Corrado's dad was waiting for us with the trunk of his Fiat 500 open for our stuff. It took us about 10 minutes to get to Corrado's house (shown above) and right when we got inside I met his mother. Just like when I arrive at home in OP, dinner was on the table ready for us to eat. It was the beginning of a great weekend of eating. Just on the first night, we had Cotoletta di Milanese, Caprese, and fresh Mozzarella di Bufala. I think I impressed Corrado's parents with my eating ability, given my skinnyness.

The rest of the weekend was spent meeting some of Corrado's friends (old and new) which included seeing some of his friends perform in a band. I even saw Corrado perform with his band. The two other guys in his band are brothers and lived on the family farm. They had this cool rehearsal space on the property. That was fun because I've been helping him make sure the English in his songs are correct.

Corrado also took me to his nearby beach. His beach was also about the same distance Jax Beach is from OP. So driving out to the beach listening to good classic rock again reminded me of being home. The nearby beach city had very much the feel of Jax Beach, with palm trees and people walking around in beachy clothing.

Corrado took me to the historical part of Priverno. It was very Medieval looking. I teased Corrado that this was the only different part of compared to Orange Park. We don't really have a historical center where I live.

The rest of the weekend could be summed up with eating and relaxing. If you combine the facts that Priverno is a more tranquil village than Rome, Corrado's family is so sweet, and many old friends still remain in the city, it's so easy to understand why Corrado enjoys going home so much. His family's hospitality is the same I see that my family extends to my friends. It's something typical I see both in Italian and Filipino families. So this weekend really made me feel like I was at home.

More Photos from the Weekend:



Priverno Photo Set (Flickr)

Note: Thanks to my friend Dennis at Thought and Theory for helping me get Lightbox to display my photos in a cool way.